LOG904-151 Disaster Relief Operations and Supply Chain (Autumn 2024)

Disaster relief supply chain and operations has attracted increasing academic attention since the

early 2000s (Kovacs and Spens, 2007). A wealth of research articles and other publications

emerging over the two decades that witnessed large-scale humanitarian disasters such as the 2004

Asian tsunami, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the 2014 Ebola outbreak have acknowledged the

various challenges faced by organisations, actors, and communities.

Humanitarian aid is a complex and tricky subject, and the public understanding of the humanitarian

system is often oversimplified. Increased demand for assistance is augmented on the humanitarian

system, heaping pressure on operations and supply chain systems. For every call to provide aid we

read in our news feeds, there are many more ongoing projects that don’t attract the media’s attention.

Moreover, the ‘business of humanitarianism’ (Smilie and Menear, 2004; Werlau, 2013) drives

competition (e.g., for funding) with stakeholders often operating in isolation, a phenomenon

articulated by one supply chain director as ‘holons’ (as in Koestler’s [1967] description of “self-reliant

and autonomous units, dependent on the greater whole of which they are a part”).

Understanding the challenges and enhancing the effectiveness of disaster relief and humanitarian

work is regarded as vital to enhancing the efficacy of future relief efforts.

Knowledge: To apply the principles of operations management, including supply chain management, to the problems faced in disaster relief and explore the principles of resource competency by studying the principles of the resource-based view (RBV) as applied to the disaster relief sector and extend your understanding of this to include the emerging capabilities theory which considers fast-changing and uncertain environments

Skills: To critically analyse case studies for in-class discussion plus apply theory presented in the lectures (and from other courses) to create a coherent response to the assessment questions.

General competence: To prepare and discuss solutions to complex challenges using various media including written and verbal forms of communication through both interaction with an industry practitioner and asynchronous assessment.

• Lecture and discussion seminar introducing the humanitarian system.

• Case study on the MSF response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

• ‘Medicines, Materials, and Mobilisation.’ A practitioner seminar with MSF Supply.

• ‘A View from The Front Line.’ A Practitioner seminar with the Norwegian Red Cross.

Form of assessment: Home assessment. Group panel discussion which pre-recorded and uploaded to Inspera

• Proportion: 50%
• Duration: 7 minutes
• Grouping: Group
• Grading scale: Letter (A - F)
• Support material: PowerPoint, Prezi, or Google Slides. Details to be shared on Day One. Deadline Saturday 23.59.

Form of assessment: Home assessment. Individual report

• Proportion: 50%
• Duration: 1,000 words
• Grouping: Individual
• Grading scale: Letter (A - F)
• Support material: MS Word submitted via Inspera. Details to be shared on Day One. Deadline Saturday 23.59