Penn State Executive Programs Hosts Wholesale and Retail Group from South Africa

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (April 26, 2010) – Penn State Executive Programs this month designed, developed, and delivered a custom executive education program for members of the Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (W&RSETA) located in Pretoria, South Africa.

Twenty-two high-potential managers and future business leaders in South African wholesale and retail markets representing both small and large enterprises serving durable and non-durable goods markets were in attendance. The group spent a week at Penn State's University Park campus in executive education programs focused on supply chain, leadership, collaboration, and entrepreneurship.

The program's objectives were to provide end-to-end supply chain thinking for the participants, share best-in-class supply chain models and a supply chain thinking culture, and identify and apply entrepreneurial skills and competencies for business success.

"Most members of our group have a college degree and some are MBA graduates, but this program is like nothing we’ve experienced before," remarked participant Rekha Sing, an area manager with Truworths, one of South Africa's leading fashion retailers. "It has presented us with a whole different way of thinking and of doing things—the ideas that have come out of it and the things you can’t wait to get back and implement. We've learned so much in such a short time period."

Pat Cataldo, as the account manager for Penn State Executive Programs on this project, collaborated on the program with Immersion Labs, a Toronto-based development group that specializes in providing customized learning experiences to clients for solving complex business issues while developing leadership for economic development.

The content was developed by Penn State Executive Programs in conjunction with two research centers at the Smeal College of Business: William Grenoble of the Center for Supply Chain Research and Anthony Warren of the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The program, which was customized to meet the particular needs of W&RSETA, was comprised of readings, lectures, exercises, break–out sessions, a distribution center tour, guest speakers, and a simulation exercise. Session topics included Global Supply Chains: Meeting the Challenge, Inventory and Distribution Management, Supply Chain Collaboration, Order Management and Customer Service, and Entrepreneurship Challenges and Opportunities.

W&RSETA is part of South Africa's Sector Education and Training Authority, which fosters the development of skills in the South African workforce. The mission of W&RSETA is "to contribute to the social and economic development and growth of the country by enabling education and training of the highest quality in the wholesale and retail sector, to the benefit of employers, employees, and learners."

For more information on W&RSETA, visit www.wrseta.org.za.

Penn State Executive Programs
Penn State Executive Programs, the executive education division of Penn State's Smeal College of Business, has been serving the development needs of the world's business leaders since 1954, providing both open-enrollment and custom programs. Nearly 42,000 executives from 43 different nations have participated in programs on topics ranging from strategic leadership to supply chain management.

For more on all the offerings of Penn State Executive Programs, visit www.smeal.psu.edu/psep.