OLS historically plays a vital role on campus and in the business world

by Michael Beyerlein, OLS department head

Organizational Leadership and Supervision (OLS) addresses all aspects of applied leadership. It began 40 years ago with a single focus on training supervisors for manufacturing, and over the years has added the leadership dimension in response to industry needs for qualified leadership professionals, growing student enrollments, and the expansion of college curriculum offerings.

OLS serves about 3,000 students each year — 615 undergraduates, 1,900 students representing 41 departments in the undergraduate minor, 32 masters and doctoral students, and 400 BS students at the statewide locations.

OLS courses provide students with skills to serve them throughout their careers and especially in their first five years on the job, including:

• Effective team leadership
• Meeting management
• Quality-control oversight
• Conflict management
• Training program development and delivery
• Compensation plan design and modification

As in the other CoT programs, an OLS undergraduate degree builds skills for problem solving. The relevance of this preparation to employers is shown by a consistent 97 percent placement rate of our graduates, and in 2007, most of the 130 internship students received job offers from their intern organizations. Recent OLS graduates work in a variety of organizations and capacities in positions such as team leader, procurement associate, human resources generalist, and operations supervisor at companies such as Pulte Homes, Red Gold, Target, and Cummins. A more complete list is available at www.tech.purdue.edu/ols/career/placement.cfm.

OLS instruction focuses on the types of workforce problems that the first- and second-level leaders in supervisory and management positions face. Much of the OLS skill building occurs in learning labs (recitations). For example, in OLS 388, the 270 students meet in weekly recitations of 30 students each and then are grouped into five-member teams for exercises and assignments. This puts theory to practice giving students a hands-on learning experience that complements the large lecture format.

Leadership represents a critical factor in every human organization, including business, government, education, and nonprofit organizations. Leadership relates to:

• Planning and strategy
• Motivation and empowerment
• Global communications
• Supply-chain flow
• Project management
• Team effectiveness

OLS faculty and graduate student research is addressing a variety of practical, workplace topics, including:

• Leadership effectiveness
• Mentoring
• Creativity and innovation
• Product lifecycle management
• Team effectiveness, including Internet-based teams and their reliance on computer systems
• Hospital quality control
• Human resource development systems
• The history of leadership practices in the 1930s
• Ethics in the workplace
• Information security practices

Just as Purdue’s partnerships with universities around the world continue to grow, OLS is strengthening its global relationships. An increasing number of international students are enrolled in OLS program, including students from Poland, Brazil, Thailand, Korea, China, United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan. In 2007, OLS students and faculty traveled to a variety of countries for internships, study abroad, conferences and speaking engagements in China, England, Germany, Canada, and Australia. Also, OLS is currently negotiating with the University of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, to establish a student and faculty exchange program and collaborate on relevant research projects. Plans are also in the works for other collaborative, distributed e-research teams.

Over its 40-year history, OLS has expanded its curriculum offerings to respond to changing student and industry needs. OLS is still focused on the future — equipping students with the leadership skills necessary to negotiate an increasingly technologically driven workplace. The dedication of OLS faculty evident in the early years is still present today — hardworking OLS faculty and staff in West Lafayette and the statewide locations are using their energies and talents daily to give students a solid leadership education that will help them prosper in their professional lives.

Success is often measured in small ways, such as a student’s voiced appreciation to a faculty mentor or counselor, and the achievements of OLS alumni. For example, Brittany Brees, ’00 OLS, has created the Brees Dream Foundation. The learning, discovery, engagement mandate is at the core of effective 21st century higher education.

The college’s OLS department is very pleased to be part of this exciting time in Purdue’s history and exceptionally proud of its students.

In the News

Purdue College of Technology at Richmond to host workshop on problem-solving

The Purdue College of Technology at Richmond will be the host of a free workshop geared toward business owners and associates that will examine the causes of common problems and outline solutions.

The Purdue Technical Assistance Program will offer Problem Solving Basics from 1-4 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Indiana University East campus, Community Room/Whitewater Hall, 2325 Chester Blvd. More Info.

Schools invited to sign up for Web design contest in Anderson

Teams of high school students are invited to compete in the first Community Service Web Design Contest at the Purdue College of Technology at Anderson.

The event will take place from 9:15 a.m. to noon Feb. 29 at the campus, located at 2705 Enterprise Drive in the Flagship Industrial Park. All high schools in east-central Indiana are welcome to send teams, and there is no cost to compete. More Info.

Scholarships offered for students in Kokomo

Students who are planning to attend Purdue University's College of Technology at Kokomo during the 2008-09 academic year are encouraged to apply for the location's scholarships by Feb. 15. More Info.

Purdue holds its second Internet search contest

The College of Technology was a co-sponsor of the second Digital Information Literacy Contest that was held Jan. 23 at Purdue. The event is a competition that tests a participant's Internet-searching skills. More Info.

Guest speakers at Anderson discuss industrial ergonomics

Paul B. Phipps, president of Comfort Motion Technologies, was a guest speaker recently at an industrial ergonomics class at the College of Technology at Anderson.

Phipps spoke about the ergonomics of sitting and the biomechanics of the human spine. Chris Meyer, product engineer for Comfort Motion Technologies, joined Phipps in his presentation. They discussed weight redistribution technology, spinal biomechanics and talked about the company's weight redistributive technology product called Vehicle Seat Multi-Position software.

The industrial ergonomics class introduces students to the fundamental concepts of work design and ergonomics. Students learn to apply higher-order critical thinking skills necessary to solve problems related to the human body in the workplace.

"We are excited about the possibilities of our students learning firsthand from these businesses," said Jody Pierce, assistant director of Purdue's Anderson location. "One cannot ask for a better learning lab than what we have available here with Anderson University, the Enterprise Center and Purdue University."

Phipps said the company plans to continue its relationship with Purdue, which is supplying some of the lab equipment for the company's testing and is providing research support.

Aviation colleagues remember James Maris as friend, 'hero'

James Maris, creator of the Department of Aviation Technology, died at the age of 88 on Jan. 9. "He was a hero in my eyes," said Tom Carney, a former student in the flight program and fourth department head. More Info.

Students hope to employ training in Iraq

Even as the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq quickly approaches, two Purdue students hope that it will not end any time soon.

"It's not that we're crazy, gun-toting freaks," said Tim Schriver, a senior in the College of Technology and the cadet battalion commander of the army branch of the ROTC program. "But we want to protect people during times of war. This is what we've worked for." More Info.