Ethics, Mindsets & Responsible S&OP

In today’s environment where ethics are often used to make business decisions, S&OP meetings might become less functional than they were previously. Managers need to be cognizant of this, because not everyone might be wearing their ‘corporate hat’—that is, doing what is best for the company. In this article I advocate for working towards executive-led, financial and operational targets, not moral ideals. To help facilitate constructive S&OP meetings, I highlight research into mindsets taught in MIT’s Masters of Engineering in Logistics program that reveals peoples’ mindsets and strengths in business using colors, including a type that is focused on doing what is considered to be right, perhaps at the risk of business performance. I suggest using this framework to identify such activists, and help ensure S&OP teams act responsibly, ...