Dr Patmond Mbhele was awarded a PhD.PhD Study on Supply Chain Management Systems
Lecturer in the School of Management, Information Technology and Governance, Dr Patmond Mbhele, has been awarded a PhD for a thesis titled: “Electronic Supply Chain Management Systems in Managing the Bullwhip Effect on selected Fast Moving Consumer Goods”.
Mbhele was supervised by Dr Maxwell Phiri from the College of Law and Management Studies.
Mbhele said his study investigated the selected fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry on the amplified consumer demand order variability as orders move from downstream to the midstream as well as upstream sites of the supply chain network.
Phiri believes that the findings of Mbhele’s study respond to South African challenges and indirectly inform about supply chain reform pillars within the retail industry.
‘The PhD journey is physically and emotionally arduous, intellectually challenging but self-fulfilling,’ said Mbhele who praised Phiri for his wisdom and guidance.
He added: ‘Despite the long hours, unprecedented workload and every other challenge in seeking professional fulfilment, deciding to pursue a PhD should emanate from the love of intellectual stimulation to tackle intellectual problems and explore new areas of knowledge economy. Getting a PhD is intellectually rewarding and partly meets the required credentials for an academic job.
Mbhele is one of four academics to graduate with a doctoral degree in the College of Law and Management Studies in 2014. This achievement is commended by the College Management as it contributes to the College target to have 60% of academic staff with PhDs by 2017.
- Hazel Langa