Developing Cultural Awareness Competencies in Purchasing and Supply Management Education

Abstract

This paper examines the evolving demands of purchasing and supply management (PSM) education, especially in addressing topics that have gained prominence in global supply chains. One such topic is cultural awareness. However, despite its critical relevance in today’s global landscape, the topic is often underrepresented in PSM curricula. This gap is further compounded by the unique learning preferences of Generation-Z, who are less inclined toward traditional “reading and writing” methods, presenting additional challenges for educators in teaching such complex topics. This underscores the need for innovative teaching strategies that engage students and improve knowledge retention. We propose employing an Entertainment-Education approach by integrating movies into PSM courses. We describe a specifically tailored activity for a PSM course that includes a movie available on an over-the-top platform implemented at two state universities in the United States. The outcomes from both universities offer evidence supporting the development of cultural understanding within the PSM domain among the students. Although numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of movies as educational tools, our research is one of the first within the PSM domain to investigate their potential for cultivating cultural awareness, thereby paving the way for further research into the role of movies in PSM education.