NewsLine
May 1999, Vol. 11, No. 5
for the volunteer leadership

In This Issue

NEWSLINE is produced ten times a year and distributed to: NAPM Board of Directors, NAPM Assistant Directors, the National Group/Forum Chairs, the Educational Resources Committee, the Certification Committee, Organization & Planning Committee, Affiliate DNAs, Affiliate Presidents, Affiliate Vice Presidents, Affiliate Executive Officers, Affiliate Secretaries, Affiliate Treasurers, Affiliate Activity Committee Chairs, Affiliate Programs Chair, Affiliate Designated Mail Recipient, Chapter/Satellite Officers, Former NAPM Presidents, Miscellaneous VIPs, NAPM Staff.

Recruiting and Keeping Faculty and Students in NAPM

NAPM has a long history of providing significant support and opportunities to educators and schools. Even so, many of us across the country, NAPM members and leaders, as well as those in academe, are unaware of the opportunities available to academe through NAPM membership. This article responds to inquiries for help in recruiting and keeping faculty and students as NAPM members. The question is how to expand NAPM involvement at all levels within academe to enhance the education process and create opportunities for students, academicians, and NAPM members. This article will highlight what NAPM does, and then discuss the needs of faculty, students, academic institutions, affiliates, and membership.

NAPM Programs Supporting Academe
NAPM is dedicated to supporting academic centers of excellence and academic teaching and research programs across North America. Long ago NAPM granted dues-free status to faculty and students. The NAPM resources committed to academic support or relationships are as follows:

• NAPM Dissertation Grant Program (a total of $40,000 per year for four or five grants)
• NAPM Case Writing Workshop every other year
• Purchasing Instructors Workshops
• North American Research Symposium
• The Journal of Supply Chain Management
• Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies (CAPS)
• NAPM dues-free status for faculty and students
• NAPM student chapters and career awareness/development opportunities
• Support for research (sample selection, reference material, and publication)
• Research and academic meetings at the Annual International Purchasing Conference
• Leadership involvement/research and presentation opportunities at the local level
• Access to the NAPM Web site and library for research work
• Leadership and involvement at the NAPM district and national levels
• Access to local leadership and organizations for internships or classroom support
• NAPM or local faculty endowments and other financial support for scholars

Many NAPM members and leaders, and those in academe, are unaware of the opportunities available to academicians through NAPM membership. Following are 10 examples of ongoing projects that are reaping meaningful benefits for the affiliates and academicians involved.

Example 1: There are numerous scholarships available that provide financial support for students and NAPM members.
Example 2: Some affiliates offer endowment programs to provide financial support for individual faculty members in their research and teaching.
Example 3: Several affiliates have created and continue to support NAPM student chapters.
Example 4: Many affiliates provide dues-free status to academicians and involve them in leadership, educational, and professional development roles in the affiliate. Sometimes this includes financial support to attend district or national education conferences.
Example 5: Some affiliates offer paid or unpaid internship opportunities for students.
Example 6: Some affiliates work with local high schools and colleges to promote and support job fairs and other professional opportunities.
Example 7: Several affiliates have worked with faculty and students to develop the market research needed to create affiliate marketing plans.
Example 8: Several affiliates have provided financial support to faculty and students for specific research projects in their market areas.
Example 9: Some affiliates encourage their members to teach purchasing courses at community colleges or universities.
Example 10: Some affiliates make NAPM training materials available to faculty and students.

Each relationship will be different and will require unique projects. The challenge is to tailor the relationships to satisfy the highest needs of the academicians, schools, and affiliates involved.

Academician Needs
Most faculty development programs rest on three major criteria. To be successful, the faculty member must be (1) a satisfactory instructor, (2) a satisfactory researcher, and (3) a satisfactory servant to the local, regional, and national communities. From these primary needs, it is possible to identify basic working needs that, if satisfied, would support a growing relationship with NAPM at the local, district, and national levels. NAPM can support efforts to achieve all three criteria.

Faculty Needs:

• Support for classroom teaching activities and resources such as speakers or materials
• Support for student involvement (course projects, internships)
• Research opportunities and support
• Local and regional opportunities for community service
• Opportunities for leadership and professional involvement
• Opportunities for consulting or professional presentations in business
• Opportunities for publications and supporting reference materials

Most faculty members have two overarching concerns - their students and their own time. Most faculty are dedicated to creating opportunities for their students and any assistance is greatly appreciated. Any involvement with NAPM competes head on with other demands on the faculty member's time, interests, and talent. Given this situation, what can NAPM, at the local, regional, or national level, do to support the academician? Before proposing answers for that question, let's look at the needs of NAPM affiliates and members.

NAPM Affiliate/Member Needs
NAPM affiliates have several needs for expertise that, if filled, would enhance local and regional operations. These needs include:

• Research projects concerning local markets and affiliate operations
• Student internships to support affiliate projects such as market or economic studies
• Faculty assistance to provide leadership training and assistance for planning
• Increasing professional knowledge
• Opportunities to identify students as potential employees
• Faculty to provide programs or lead professional training
• Interaction with faculty to develop formal supply management courses
• Support for affiliate communication such as newsletters, home pages
• Educational resources for programs
• Opportunities for members to be actively involved in the community

Matching Needs to Create Great Relationships
Every successful economic venture depends on its ability to match its output to the needs of its customers. This traditional economic fact is as true for NAPM and its affiliates as it is for Microsoft or General Motors. Similarly, it is true for faculty members and colleges or universities. Our problem - expanding NAPM involvement with academe to enhance the education process and create opportunities for students, academicians, and NAPM members - offers a perfect example of how needs can be satisfied by needs.

The matrix in Figure 1 shows how the needs/opportunities of one group can be satisfied by the needs/opportunities of another group. The column on the left lists the needs of faculty. The right column shows the needs of NAPM affiliates and members. The center column identifies community opportunities or resources where needs can be satisfied. As noted above, neither of these lists is all inclusive, nor can they ever be complete.

The content of the matrix demonstrates that we have many opportunities to make matches that satisfy the needs of both groups. The question is, how do we bring the two groups - academicians and affiliates - together to build meaningful relationships?

A Model for Building Professional Relations
First, NAPM at the national level can not build relationships between affiliates and local academicians or schools. Affiliate leadership must build these relationships at the local level. Affiliates should work to establish meaningful relations with the colleges or universities in their area.

Figure 2 presents a schematic model showing a seven-step process to success in recruiting faculty and students. As purchasers we know that we have to do our homework before an important negotiation session. The same requirement is true here - we must do our homework. This model and the recruiting plan matrix is a guide to get ready for the recruiting process.

The seven steps are discussed in detail below.

Identify our customers: Who are the academicians with capabilities that we value? What are their opinions concerning supply management, respect for our profession, and support for professional development?
Determine academician needs: Determine what drives their opinions and what information would change their minds to a more desirable position.
Identify specific opportunities: This is marketing at its best - name the NAPM products and information sources that will best support your needs and those of the academicians.
Formulate product plan: Decide how you will introduce the academicians to the sources and information you selected in the previous step.
Implement plan: Carry out the steps that will help familiarize academicians with NAPM, and NAPM with academicians.
Measure performance and response: Determine the products that are having a positive impact and expand the use of them in your market. Drop products or actions that are not producing the desired results.
Manage relationships and participation: Fine tune the academic relations program and establish clear goals and procedures for follow-up meetings.

This seven-step process can lead to better relationships between academe and our profession. It is a "win-win" situation, but affiliate leadership must lay out the plan, build a rationale for support, and demonstrate that, by supporting the affiliate, academicians will benefit. Academicians are like managers, they want to see a return for their investment. They have significant professional talent and support that we need. The return to them is support for their programs.

Every affiliate can use the resources available from academe. Every academician can benefit from NAPM's resources. Building better relationships is a "win-win" situation. It is part of the strategic process. NAPM stands ready to help affiliate leadership in every possible way, but only the leaders can step up to the plate for the "big swing." Nationally and individually our future relationships with academe depend on more of us making a clean "hit" that builds successful academic relations and educational programs for the profession.

Note: Contributed by NAPM Immediate Former President Robert A. Kemp, Ph.D., C.P.M.

Figure 1
Matching Academic Needs/Opportunities to Affiliate Needs/Opportunities

Figure 2
The Model for Recruiting and Retaining Faculty and Students in NAPM

1. Identify our customers
2. Determine their needs
3. Identify specific opportunities to match needs
4. Formulate a plan to apply resources to satisfy the needs
5. Implement the plan - make calls to recruit them
6. Measure performance and responses
7. Manage the relationship and participation by follow-up to ensure ongoing satisfaction

Feedback

DID YOU TAKE THE TELEPHONE SURVEY?
The January issue of Newsline, which was sent to all C.P.M.s, included a telephone survey. We would like your help in encouraging C.P.M.s who would like to participate in this survey and have not already done so to please take a few minutes and call 800/988-6276 and listen for further instructions. We would like to know what organizations are doing to encourage certification. The information gathered for this survey will be published in a future issue of Newsline.

Attend the Conference - In Person or Virtually!
If you're heading to NAPM's Annual International Purchasing Conference in San Diego later this month, make sure that your personal planner is up-to-date with all the workshops, pre-conference seminars, and other events you plan to attend.

And, whether you make it to the conference or not, be sure to check out the Daily Clipper! Located on NAPM's Web site, the Daily Clipper will feature updates from conference events shortly after they happen - synopses of keynote speakers, summaries of conference workshops, and highlights on Person of the Year and J. Shipman Medal award winners.

To access your personal planner or the Daily Clipper, go to the Education area of NAPM's Web site. Select International Purchasing Conferences, then choose the link to NAPM's 84th Annual International Purchasing Conference. To register for the Conference, contact NAPM Customer Service at 800/888-6276 or 480/752-6276, extension 401.

In This Issue:

• Main Page
• Creating a Volunteer Skills Bank
• Affiliate Support
• 1999 Summer Workshops
• NAPM Seminar Schedule
• Technology
• Liner Notes
• C.P.M. and A.P.P. News
• Reminders
• Past issues of NewsLine