bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trade unions and the pension crisis: defending member interests in a neoliberal world
Authors: Grady Jo
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to draw upon empirical research in order to demonstrate the ways in which trade unions have responded to the so‐called current UK pension crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses both theoretical approaches to neoliberalism, and empirical research in the form of interviews, to examine the contradictions between the rhetoric and reality of government policy towards, and trade union responses to, pension reform in the UK.

Findings

That trade unions have been constrained by: the fact that the labour party, which they support, has been in government but has increasingly become receptive to neoliberal economic policies; and by the broader discourse of pension reform, advanced by elites that are committed to neoliberal reforms to the British welfare state.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of the paper is large and thus certain issues regarding the pension crisis and ideology are not covered in as much detail as would be preferred.

Practical implications

The paper offers forward a unique critique regarding the current favoured pension policies and solutions.

Originality/value

This paper draws upon front‐line theoretical contributions and combines them with the author's interviews with leading trade union general secretaries. As such, it is a unique insight into not only the current so‐called “pensions crisis” but also the responses of trade unions, and the labour movement more broadly, to this constructed dilemma.
The work‐to‐retirement transition of academic staff: attitudes and experiences
Authors: Davies Eleanor , Jenkins Andrew
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the significance of the work‐to‐retirement transition for academic staff from a life course perspective and the manner in which individuals have managed the transition.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 32 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with academic staff from ten Universities in England. The data are analysed using matrix analysis.

Findings

Marked differences in the experience of the work‐to‐retirement transition were found and five groups are identified which characterise the significance of retirement. Clean Breakers view retirement as a welcome release from work. Opportunists and Continuing Scholars use retirement to re‐negotiate the employment relationship. The Reluctant consider retirement as a loss of a valued source of identity and the Avoiders are undecided about retirement plans.

Research limitations/implications

The focus of the study is at the individual level. A more complete understanding of retirement decisions would encompass organisational approaches to retirement issues.

Practical implications

There are practical implications for academics approaching retirement. Not all academics wish to continue to engage in academic work in retirement. For those who do, opportunities are predominantly available to staff with stronger social and professional capital. Continued engagement necessitates personal adaptability and tolerance to ambiguity. Staff who are planning their careers might build such factors into retirement planning.

Social implications

Organisations need to rethink their responsibilities in managing retirement processes as they face an increasing variety of retirement expectations in the workforce. Given the unfolding de‐institutionalisation of retirement, both individuals and organisations need to re‐negotiate their respective roles.

Originality/value

The paper characterises the diversity of modes of experiencing retirement by academic staff, highlighting differences between the groups.
What makes managers effective in Mexico?
Authors: Ruiz Carlos E. , Wang Jia , Hamlin Robert G.
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The aim of this study was to identify what people in Mexican organizations perceive as effective and ineffective managerial behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study based on the grounded theory approach was conducted. Interviews using the critical incident techniques were conducted with 35 participants from six different companies located in Yucatan, Mexico.

Findings

Results suggest that effective managers in Mexico are considered approachable, democratic, fair, considerate, understanding, supportive, caring, and hard working with problem solving skills.

Research limitations/implications

This study is based on the responses of participants located in one region of Mexico. This study focused on the perceptions of Mexican participants only.

Practical implications

Findings of this study have practical implications for human resources professionals, Mexican managers, and expatriates who manage operations and manage people in Mexico. Human resources professionals can use the findings of this study to develop programs for leadership and management development. For Mexican managers, this study set parameters of what is considered effective or ineffective management behavior. Also, the findings of this study can help multinational companies better prepare expatriates for their international assignments in Mexico.

Originality/value

The article explores leadership practices internationally.
Authentic leadership and implicit theory: a normative form of leadership?
Authors: Nichols Thomas W. , Erakovich Rod
Published: April 2013

Purpose

This empirical study aims to consider the stability and connection of implicit leadership theories to authentic leadership using performance feedback as a first step in a larger research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

Scenarios were created to operationalize implicit and authentic leadership, manipulate implicit leadership theory between followers and leaders, and discover perceptions of leader effectiveness. The use of scenarios was purposely intended to create anticipatory future research agendas.

Findings

Components of authentic leadership may be a part of implicit leadership theory and leadership performance feedback may alter leader and follower implicit leadership theories.

Research limitations/implications

Data collected in this study were from students’ perceptions, and did not infer causality between constructs. This study is also subject to mono‐operation and mono‐method bias.

Originality/value

This research provides an extension of theory in several ways: by looking at the authentic leadership paradigm; and by viewing perceptions of leader authentic effectiveness as a continuous influence on implicit leadership theories.
Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Gender and beauty in the cosmetics sector
Authors: Kim Jaeil , Han WoongHee , Kim DongTae , Paramita Widya
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the use of a male decorative model, so called Kkot Minam in Korean, can be effective in Indonesia as well as in Korea, and whether consumers from different cultural and religious backgrounds will respond differently to this kind of advertisement.

Design/methodology/approach

A personal interview survey was used to collect the data. The respondents, 159 Koreans and 149 Indonesians, were female consumers in their twenties. They represent the target market of “The Face Shop” brand, whose advertisement was used in this research. Structural equation model was employed to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Overall results indicate that the use of Kkot Minam in cosmetics advertisement is effective in Indonesia. The findings also showed that religiosity affects Indonesian consumers’ attitudes toward Kkot Minam. However, when attitudes toward Korean wave were used as a moderating variable, the negative effect of religiosity on attitudes diminished.

Practical implications

Companies in emerging markets may use decorative male models in advertising once the social and economic status of women reaches a certain level.

Originality/value

The present study investigates the effect of a decorative male model on the attitudes of consumers with different cultural and religious backgrounds, using Korean wave as a moderating variable in the same research setting.
The internet as an alternative path to internationalization?
Authors: Sinkovics Noemi , Sinkovics Rudolf R. , “Bryan” Jean Ruey‐Jer
Published: April 2013

Purpose

While the internet enjoys increasing interest regarding its potential to extend the global reach of firms, especially small and medium‐sized firms (SMEs), little work has been done on the viability of the internet as a new and effective path to internationalization. Specifically, it is unclear how the internet can successfully support export marketing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the drivers and performance outcomes of two patterns of internet use supporting export marketing: the internet as an alternative to a physical presence and the internet as a sales channel.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 115UK‐based SMEs involved in “active online internationalization”. Relationships are examined in a “soft‐modeling” partial least squares (PLS) analysis.

Findings

The findings suggest that online channel support positively enhances export performance for SMEs. Yet, the use of the internet as an alternative to a physical market presence does not lead to higher export performance. Specifically, born‐global firms that are relying too much on the internet are prone to fall into the “virtuality trap”. Entrepreneurial firms that use the internet as a sales channel can improve their overall performance, however.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides some empirical evidence of the existence of the notion of the “virtuality trap”. The paper also shows that the internet can serve a valuable complementary role. Traditional exporters are likely to use the internet as a complement to, and thus to support, existing physical operations.

Practical implications

Managers should focus on relationship building and on‐site learning, instead of putting too much emphasis on the internet as a substitute for a physical market presence.

Originality/value

The authors develop a framework and explore previously untested relationships that suggest the internet may play a complementary role in firm internationalization.
Cost‐effective importance measure
Authors: Gupta Suprakash , Bhattacharya Jayanta , Barabady Javad , Kumar Uday
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new measure for criticality analysis of different components of a production plant, called cost‐effective importance measure (CEIM) that considers the component's performance, system structure and economic aspects.

Design/methodology/approach

In this work, an explorative literature study covering the concept of importance measure and criticality analysis has been carried out on contemporary literature. The literature study shows that the commonly used importance measures consider the probability of failure of a component and systems structure, and ignore the effect or severity of failures, which is an important factor in engineering decision making. It is not clear how to use the concept of importance measure in combination with cost parameter. Hence, a cost‐effective importance measure (CEIM) is defined and a case study is presented, to demonstrate the application of the proposed importance measure.

Findings

The paper indicates that CEIM useful for the analysis of production plants where reliability and cost of break down are of paramount importance.

Research limitations/implications

The concept of CEIM is demonstrated using only a case study of a belt conveyor system in the underground mine of Singareni Coal Company Ltd. However, the concept of CEIM can be used in other area.

Practical implications

The concept of CEIM can be a handy and effective tool for scheduling of inspection, maintenance and fault diagnosis and these activities can be carried out as per the rank of the components to maximize the benefits in skilled manpower crunch. It also indicates that the upgradation of the production plant's performance can also be done by improving performance of components with relatively large CEIM values.

Originality/value

In this paper, the concept of importance measure is extended to include the effect of severity of failures and cost parameter in the criticality analysis.
Multi‐faceted views on a Lean Six Sigma application
Authors: Assarlind Marcus , Gremyr Ida , Bäckman Kristoffer
Published: April 2013

Purpose

Lean and Six Sigma observers, researchers and managers are awaiting the next step, which many feel could take the form of a combination of the two concepts, known as Lean Six Sigma. The purpose of this paper is to explore an application of Lean Six Sigma in practical improvement work, as a way of identifying factors of importance for improving future Lean Six Sigma applications.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical study was conducted through interviews, meetings, document analysis and observations over a period of four months.

Findings

The findings of this study suggest it is unfeasible to apply one standardised approach to improvements in one company. Continuous smaller improvements and larger improvement projects demand different formulas. It is appropriate to use Lean and Six Sigma in parallel but this should be done through clever cross‐fertilisation, such as taking variations in project complexity into consideration.

Research limitations/implications

This paper shows one way of working with an improvement initiative in one particular company. It does not propose that this is the only way to combine Lean and Six Sigma nor does it suggest universal applicability. Further research on other possible combinations would be valuable.

Practical implications

This paper provides an outline of how to structure a combination of Lean and Six Sigma. This could provide valuable insights to managers who wish to structure their improvement processes depending on the type of problem at hand.

Originality/value

This paper expands the theoretical foundation for combining Lean and Six Sigma by studying and analysing a practical application of the concept. As a result, it provides new factors of importance for successful Lean Six Sigma applications, such as having a clear structure that guides the company in terms of what components of Lean Six Sigma to apply and what competences to involve in various projects, depending on the scope and complexity.
An efficient method for Cauchy problem of ill‐posed nonlinear diffusion equation
Authors: Matinfar Mashallah , Eslami Mostafa , Saeidy Mohammad
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new homotopy perturbation method (NHPM) to solve Cauchy problem of unidimensional non‐linear diffusion equation.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper a modified version of HPM, which the authors call NHPM, has been presented; this technique performs much better than the HPM. HPM and NHPM start by considering a homotopy, and the solution of the problem under study is assumed to be as the summation of a power series inp, the difference between two methods starts from the form of initial approximation of the solution.

Findings

In this article, the authors have applied the NHPM for solving nonlinear Cauchy diffusion equation. In comparison with the homotopy perturbation method (HPM), in the present method, the authors achieve exact solutions while HPM does not lead to exact solutions. The authors believe that the new method is a promising technique in finding the exact solutions for a wide variety of mathematical problems.

Originality/value

The basic idea described in this paper is expected to be further employed to solve other functional equations.
Novel gradient‐based methods for heat flux retrieval
Authors: Molavi Hosein , Rezapour Javad , Noori Sahar , Ghasemloo Sadjad , Amir Aslani Kourosh
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present novel search formulations in gradient‐type methods for prediction of boundary heat flux distribution in two‐dimensional nonlinear heat conduction problems.

Design/methodology/approach

The performance of gradient‐type methods is strongly contingent upon the effective determination of the search direction. Based on the definition of this parameter, gradient‐based methods such as steepest descent, various versions of both conjugate gradient and quasi‐Newton can be distinguished. By introducing new search techniques, several examples in the presence of noise in data are studied and discussed to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the present strategies.

Findings

The verification of the proposed methods for recovering time and space varying heat flux. The performance of the proposed methods via comparisons with the classical methods involved in its derivation.

Originality/value

The innovation of the present method is to use a hybridization of a conjugate gradient and a quasi‐Newton method to determine the search directions in gradient‐based approaches.
A process evaluation of student participation in a whole school food programme
Authors: Orme Judy , Jones Matthew , Salmon Debra , Weitkamp Emma , Kimberlee Richard
Published: April 2013

Purpose

Health promotion programmes are widely held to be more effective when the subjects of them actively participate in the process of change. The purpose of this paper is to report on an evaluation of the Food for Life Partnership programme, a multi‐level initiative in England promoting healthier nutrition and food sustainability awareness for students and their families through involvement in cooking, growing, farm visits and School Nutrition Action Groups (SNAGs).

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a mixed methods approach, drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data sources. The data sources included quantitative data on school level programme related activities, qualitative data collected through focus groups with children and reports from teachers and other staff involved in the delivery of the programme.

Findings

The paper concludes that the pivotal role of SNAGs in catalysing and embracing a whole school approach must be seen as an important mechanism for any health promotion in complex school environments.

Originality/value

This was a national evaluation of a unique school food project aiming to transform food culture in primary and secondary schools. The findings highlight the importance of a whole school approach to public health initiatives and the centrality of pupil participation in the success and sustainability of such interventions.
The influence of conflict centrality and task interdependency on individual performance and job satisfaction
Authors: Tsung Jen Ching
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyze the connections between centrality within conflict networks, individual performance, and job satisfaction from the perspective of social networks. The intervening effects of task interdependency on these connections are also examined.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the social network survey approach, the empirical data from 310 engineers of a large R&D Institute affiliated with the Ministry of National Defense in Taiwan were collected.

Findings

The results show that centrality within relationship conflict networks was negatively related to individual performance and job satisfaction. However, centrality within task conflict networks was positively related to individual performance and job satisfaction Task interdependency mitigates the negative influence of relationship conflicts on individual performance and job satisfaction, and the positive influence of task conflict on job satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

As the evidence in this study came from the employees of one organization, future studies should corroborate findings by surveying more organizations.

Practical implications

The findings have important implications for individual social networks. Within the conflict network, people who occupy the central position of relationship conflict have a negative impact on performance and job satisfaction.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on social networks and conflicts theory by demonstrating the concept of centrality within conflict networks. In addition, it also demonstrates that the centrality of conflict network is an important factor in influencing individual performance and job satisfaction.
Promoting integrative bargaining: mental contrasting with implementation intentions
Authors: Kirk Dan , Oettingen Gabriele , Gollwitzer Peter M.
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The present experiment aimed to test the impact of a self‐regulatory strategy of goal pursuit – called mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) – on an integrative bargaining task.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants were randomly assigned to dyads and negotiated over the sale of a car. Before negotiating, participants were prompted to engage in MCII, or one or the other of its two component strategies: to contrast mentally achieving success in the integrative bargaining task with the reality standing in the way of this success (MC), to form implementation intentions on how to bargain (i.e. if‐then plans) (II), or both to contrast mentally and form implementation intentions (MCII).

Findings

The strategy of mental contrasting with implementation intentions led dyads to reach the largest joint agreements, compared to dyads that only used mental contrasting or if‐then plans. Moreover, participants who mentally contrasted formed more cooperative implementation intentions than participants who did not mentally contrast, mediating the effect of condition on joint gain.

Research limitations/implications

The findings suggest that the self‐regulatory strategy of mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) leads to higher joint gain, and that this effect is mediated by mental contrasting's promotion of cooperative planning. More research should be done to understand the specific negotiation behaviors engendered by MCII, as well as its applicability to other negotiation scenarios.

Originality/value

These findings have implications for both self‐regulation and negotiation research. The result that MCII fosters integrative solutions reflects its potential to help people form cooperative plans and reach high joint‐value agreements in integrative scenarios. For negotiation research, the paper identifies an effective self‐regulatory strategy for producing high‐quality agreements.
Digital assembly and direct fabrication of mechanism based on selective laser melting
Authors: Su Xubin , Yang Yongqiang , Wang Di , Chen Yonghua
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to obtain more design freedom and realize fast fabrication of mechanism which is the core subsystem of many machines and always consists of several parts with assigned relative motion.

Design/methodology/approach

The mechanism is digitally assembled and later directly fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) without post‐assembly. The joint is re‐designed to facilitate powdered material removal; the displays and the corresponding support additions are discussed to avoid too many supports within the clearances. Then, a series of universal joint are directly fabricated using SLM machine and a minimum clearance of 0.1 mm is obtained; a crank rocker mechanism is also fabricated and it can achieve the required performances.

Findings

The digitally assembled mechanism can be successfully fabricated by SLM technique using metal powdered material.

Originality/value

It is well known that the components fabricated by SLM have good mechanical properties. Therefore, it can be expected that more mechanisms with more design freedom will be developed and be used in some practical fields with improvement of fabrication quality.
Additive manufactured textiles for high‐performance stab resistant applications
Authors: Johnson Andrew , Bingham Guy A. , Wimpenny David I.
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the stab resistance characteristics of a series of planar and articulated laser sintered (LS) samples, in accordance with the United Kingdom Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) Body Armour Standard – Publication 39/07.

Design/methodology/approach

A series of LS planar samples were manufactured using an EOS P100 Formiga system, manufactured from 100 per cent virgin or a 50:50 mix of recycled and virgin Nylon (PA2200), ranging in thickness from 1‐10 mm. All planar samples were stab tested to the HOSDB knife‐resistance (KR) level one impact energy of 24 Joules, using an in‐house manufactured HOSDB guided rail drop test impact rig and standardised knives. Penetration through the underside of each sample was measured and recorded. These results were then used to develop an articulated, additive manufactured (AM) scale textile – LS from a 50:50 mix of recycled and virgin PA2200 powder. These samples were then tested using the aforementioned impact rig and stab impact energy.

Findings

The research demonstrated that while virgin PA2200 sample required a minimum thickness of 8 mm to achieve stab‐resistance below the HOSDB maximum penetration limit of 7 mm, this figure can be reduced to 5.6 mm when manufacturing LS planar samples from a 50:50 mix of virgin and recycled PA2200. Results from stab testing the articulated samples indicated a successful AM textile‐like design, with a maximum knife penetration of 1.6 mm – below the 7 mm HOSDB limit.

Originality/value

The paper describes a unique application of AM technologies for the manufacture of high‐performance stab resistant AM textiles.
Export and growth: a linkage effect perspective
Authors: Cheung Lam Richard
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the linkage effect provides a better understanding of export‐led growth hypothesis in developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature review on the externalities of export‐led growth implied a hypothesis that the higher the linkage effect of export manufacture or industry is, the greater the externality effect and the faster the export growth of it will be in developing countries. The export growth pattern of the Hong Kong electronics industry and some selected data from China's export manufactures have been used to verify the hypothesis.

Findings

The findings have strongly supported the research hypothesis at both the product and industry level.

Originality/value

In the ELG model, it is the externality and the linkage effect of export that lead to the output growth of an economy. The findings have illustrated that the ELG model cannot simply be based on the effect of the amount of export or the export growth rate, rather the externality and the linkage effect of export should also be incorporated into the model.
Raising capital from real estate
Authors: Evans Michael
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the range of options available to corporates to raise capital from their real estate.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides a brief description of alternative capital raising capital options and their costs and benefits.

Findings

There are many options available to corporates to raise capital other than a sale and leaseback with different potential proceeds and costs of capital depending on the objectives of the corporate and the lease term they are prepared to sign.

Originality/value

This paper provides an introduction to alternative methods to raise capital from property including fixed and strip income investment models, raising debt against corporate property, the opco/propco model as well as the traditional sale and leaseback.
Are REITs a good shelter from financial crises? Evidence from the Asian markets
Authors: Chiang Ming‐Chu , Tsai I‐Chun , Sing Tien‐Foo
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The goal of this research is to investigate the time‐varying relationship between REITs and the stock markets in four Asian markets such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.

Design/methodology/approach

The Multivariate GARCH‐vech model is used to capture the time‐varying correlation. The extreme value theory (EVT) is then employed to describe the extreme connection between REIT and market returns before and after financial crises.

Findings

Empirical results show that the conditional risks in both markets have increased abruptly since the start of the sub‐prime mortgage crisis and soared to a higher level as Lehman Brothers collapsed. Besides, the REIT markets have been positively correlated with stock markets since the sub‐prime crisis unfolded and the increases of correlation coefficients after the crisis are more than two times larger than those before the crisis in most of the countries. Lastly, the size and probability of having extreme positive coefficient are greater than those expected in normal market conditions.

Practical implications

Thus, empirical evidence suggests that REITs are not as defensive as they are in times of stable markets and may not be a good shelter during financial chaos.

Originality/value

To investors, the authors' findings can fortify the understanding of market connections and assist in forming their portfolios. The authors' conclusion, which is drawn given the background of financial market turbulence, is different from those of other works, which mainly focus on the connection of REITs and stock markets in normal market conditions.
Is adaptation sustainable?
Authors: Fu Ernestine , Newell David , Becker Austin , Schwegler Ben , Fischer Martin
Published: April 2013

Purpose

Though production rates for construction materials are generally available, potential capacity on a global scale is poorly understood. Commencement of infrastructure projects to address climate change, such as dikes and levees, could increase demand making critical resources scarce. Since increasing production capacity of scarce products can be a challenge, understanding current potential capacity is an imperative. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new method to assess capacity and to create one such global estimate for cement.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed global hybrid method creates a global estimate of cement production capacity in four steps: collect capacity and production data from existing reports; select top regional capacity holders; compute regional utilisation; back‐calculate capacity from production.

Findings

The method overcomes shortfalls of other methods, but – like all estimating methods – is inherently limited by the amount of data available. It nonetheless provides economists, climate change scientists, government officials, investors, and other researchers a better understanding of current maximum global cement capacity.

Originality/value

Most studies only focus on industry demand and actual production, because these forces drive commodity pricing. Capacity is generally estimated either through surveying goods‐producing industries at the plant level or examining economic data. Methods that employ these types of analysis are useful for regional estimates of production, but are ineffective at the global scale.
Internationalization and environmental disclosure: the role of home and host institutions
Authors: Kolk Ans , Fortanier Fabienne
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The domestic institutional context has emerged as a key determinant of firms' environmental disclosure, but studies have hardly addressed the extent to which exposure to foreign institutional contexts plays a role in the occurrence and contents of non‐financial disclosure, which are crucial aspects for understanding multinationals' accountability. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between internationalization (both degree and spread) and environmental disclosure.

Design/methodology/approach

It is hypothesized that both home and host country institutional pressures affect the relationship between internationalization and environmental disclosure, and that these effects are more prominent in environmentally‐sensitive sectors. The proposed relationships are tested using data from the Fortune Global 250.

Findings

Results show a significantly negative relationship between the degree of internationalization and environmental disclosure, which is only partly mitigated by environmental governance and institutional quality in home and host countries. The relationship is only positive for firms in high‐sensitivity sectors from high‐standard countries. Findings are particularly strong for the degree of internationalization; and non‐significant for dispersion/spread.

Originality/value

This article moves beyond the predominant focus on country‐of‐origin effects by adding exposure to foreign institutional contexts, for which it develops a new indicator. It renews attention to non‐financial disclosure, a topic underexposed in the IB literature. Viewed from a broader IB perspective, this article provides an empirical illustration of the effect of home and host institutions on firm strategy, and of the use of different metrics to assess internationalization with divergent results for degree versus spread, as well as for sales versus assets, pointing to areas for further research.
A methodology for the design and operation of pull‐based supply chains
Authors: González‐R Pedro L. , Framinan Jose M. , Ruiz‐Usano Rafael
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The aim of this article is to propose a methodology for the design and operation of a just‐in‐time coordination mechanism to control the flow of materials in the supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review of the problem is presented and a new supply chain coordination mechanism is then proposed.

Findings

The paper reveals that the one aspect not deeply studied yet in the supply chain management is their short‐term control. A simple kanban coordination mechanism demonstrates that is practical in the flow coordination of materials among the different nodes (companies) in a supply chain.

Practical implications

This paper shows recent approaches in the supply chain context, useful to companies looking forward new opportunities in coordination systems for the supply chain.

Originality/value

The paper begins with a review of previous research in the material flow control in the supply chain. The authors then propose a new mechanism and an optimization methodology to deal with the coordination mechanism.
Kanban‐controlled exponential production lines: analysis and design
Authors: Zhang Liang
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study kanban‐controlled pull‐systems with machines having the exponential reliability model and with buffers finite capacities.

Design/methodology/approach

Using Markovian analysis closed formulas are derived for the performance metrics such as customer service level, average inventory level, and throttling of raw part release, for one‐machine systems. Then, a recursive procedure is developed to extend the performance evaluation technique to multi‐machine systems.

Findings

Once system‐theoretic properties of the systems under consideration are investigated, the paper reveals methods for evaluating the smallest, i.e. lean, number of kanbans that ensure the desired level of customer service which are developed.

Originality/value

Production systems can operate in either push or pull regime. The push‐systems have been analyzed extensively for over 50 years, while the pull‐systems have been studied to a much lesser extent.
Assembly line segmentation: determining the number of stations per section
Authors: Cohen Yuval
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain and expose considerations related to the division of assembly lines into segments, and to develop a framework for assessing the impact of line segmentation. In particular, the paper aims to investigate the decision regarding the number of stations in each segment, and its impact on costs, throughput, and span of control.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyzes the literature, identifies the main considerations related to assembly line segmentation, and develops a mathematical model that reflects important factors related to the impact of segment length on the throughput and costs. The paper derives several important bounds on the number of stations (length) of a line's segment, which should be incorporated in the final design of the line sections.

Findings

A trade‐off was found between the revenue (and throughput) and the buffer spaces located between each pair of sections of an assembly line. The higher the product price, the shorter the segments are. On the other hand, when buffer costs are higher, the line segments are longer (fewer sections and buffers are used). Interestingly, except of stoppages, the other two dominant factors in the segmentation decision are: absenteeism, and span of control. Using these factors, various upper bounds were found on the number of stations per section (which determine the total number of sections). The tightest upper bound is the active one, and this ensures line sections with a small number of stations.

Practical implications

The model provides a framework of considerations to help designers of assembly lines and production lines determine the appropriate division of the line into sections and zones, and the best allocation of stations to sections. In addition, finding effective upper bounds for the number of stations in a line section establishes the practicality of exact methods for designing and balancing each section.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to offer a quantitative treatment of the various factors affecting assembly line segmentation. By finding the upper bound on the number of station per section, the paper establishes the practicality of exact methods for designing and balancing each section separately. Moreover, it provides a sound basis for future research related to design of assembly and production lines, and management of sequential processes.
Ant colony optimization for sequence‐dependent disassembly line balancing problem
Authors: Kalayci Can B. , Gupta Surendra M.
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce sequence‐dependent disassembly line balancing problem (SDDLBP) to the literature and propose an efficient metaheuristic solution methodology to this NP‐complete problem.

Design/methodology/approach

This manuscript utilizes a well‐proven metaheuristics solution methodology, namely, ant colony optimization, to address the problem.

Findings

Since SDDLBP is NP‐complete, finding an optimal balance becomes computationally prohibitive due to exponential growth of the solution space with the increase in the number of parts. The proposed methodology is very fast, generates (near) optimal solutions, preserves precedence requirements and is easy to implement.

Practical implications

Since development of cost effective and profitable disassembly systems is an important issue in end‐of‐life product treatment, every step towards improving disassembly line balancing brings us closer to cost savings and compelling practicality.

Originality/value

This paper introduces a new problem (SDDLBP) and an efficient solution to the literature.
Cycle time reduction in context to the make to order (MTO) environment
Authors: Sharma Sanjay
Published: April 2013

Purpose

A flexible production rate has been discussed and analyzed in the literature for different business situations. This paper aims to consider this for a make‐to‐order (MTO) environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Generally the production rate and cycle time are significant parameters among others, where other parameters might include demand, and production time cost. An improvement in the cycle time or the cycle time reduction is a prime objective in the context of an overall productivity improvement particularly in the MTO environment. In order to gain some insights, an interaction of the production rate and cycle time is described.

Findings

The focus of the present paper is on the supply chain cost using these parameters among others. A framework for the conceptual understanding and analysis is provided along with the practical implementation issues.

Originality/value

A relevant measure for the degree of flexibility (DOF) in the context of supply chain is also discussed in this paper.
Organizing for learning and knowledge creation – are we too afraid to kill it?
Authors: Ragnhild Nilsen Etty
Published: April 2013

Purpose

This paper aims to raise the question of how to organize for learning and knowledge creation at work, and in particular whether intervention and facilitation may obstruct or ease these processes. Learning and knowledge creation are often seen to be hindered by lack of interaction and meeting places, and a project may offer such a meeting place. The purpose of the paper is to show that in spite of being a top‐down organized project, this project still forms a space for learning with features of a community of practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is a longitudinal case study of a project within one ward in a hospital. Data were constructed from observation, interviews and informal conversations; supplied by document studies of reports and minutes from meetings in the project group.

Findings

Findings from this study indicate that through facilitation of a project embedded in a single department, a hospital unit, a space for learning and knowledge creation is created. This learning space has features of a community of practice due to the embeddedness of the project and in spite of the alienating nature of the project task. As a consequence, practice is changed.

Practical implications

This paper concludes that projects can provide a field for learning and knowledge creation, and that organization and controlling structures do have a facilitating effect. This means that projects as a knowledge management tool can be useful.

Originality/value

This paper addresses how a top‐down project can work as a learning space and be a source of changes in practice. It is of value since projects are increasingly used as a tool to organize work also in public organizations like hospitals.
Managing knowledge in large‐scale virtual projects: a community‐based approach
Authors: Marabelli Marco , Rajola Federico , Frigerio Chiara , Newell Sue
Published: April 2013

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how virtual communities of practice (V‐CoP) develop in large‐scale virtual projects.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study of a large‐scale ES implementation was conducted in Italy and in the USA.

Findings

It was found that management can encourage the formation of V‐CoP if, along with the creation of virtual project teams they promote informal interaction between the team members, encourage commitment, and put together “the right mix of people”.

Originality/value

Understanding how the technical and the functional communities communicated is meaningful to understand the extent to which different CoP can, virtually, overcome context‐specific barriers.
Uncovering knowledge‐based time management practices
Authors: Wu Dezhi , Passerini Katia
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to investigate individual perceptions of time and time management strategies that professionals utilize to achieve their productivity in the execution of their daily tasks, projects and routines. Projects have specific time durations from the beginning to the end, which often need to be broken down into smaller temporal elements (e.g. milestones), and require learning and knowledge capture throughout different project phases. It aims to observe how knowledge management processes tie to personal time management, and how this observation could contribute to project management practices in organizations. The understanding of individual time management strategies, especially when they are connected to the capture, storage, transfer and application of knowledge, can create operational efficiencies in projects.

Design/methodology/approach

Two sets of in‐depth semi‐structured interviews and field observations were designed and conducted with 20 busy professionals at an academic institution in the USA. All interviews were audio‐taped and transcribed generating over 350 pages of individual time management strategy statements. An extensive content analysis was performed to categorize the types of knowledge being used by professionals when engaged in daily organizational tasks and projects based on their roles and job hierarchy. Alavi and Leidner's knowledge taxonomies were used as the main coding scheme in order to classify types of individual temporal behaviours uncovered in this study.

Findings

This study shows that both explicit and tacit practices of individual time management are an important component of how professionals complete project tasks within their daily routines. Project managers play an important role in leading a successful project, and their time orientations directly affect all project phases.

Originality/value

Although good time management strategies may be one of the key determinants of organizational productivity (driving increased output per unit of time), limited knowledge management research has been conducted within the context of professionals' time management practices. The findings reveal that individual time management is shaped by organizational temporal structures and norms, which organizations use to govern their employees and resources around clock time.
Organising project‐based companies
Authors: Jerbrant Anna
Published: April 2013

Purpose

With the purpose of enhancing the understanding of multi‐project management, this paper is based on the findings of a doctoral thesis that focuses on the management and organisation of project‐based companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The research presented here is based on an inductive and qualitative case study approach, characterised by an exploratory purpose and based on an in depth analysis of two individual cases.

Findings

The study sheds light on several important aspects for managing and organising the special dynamics that characterise project‐based organisations. The thesis discusses how the balance between structuring mechanisms and the ability to handle the ever‐present uncertainty in project‐based organisations (PBOs) can be understood. This balance is necessary in order to handle the amount of changing requirements – both operational and contextual – during a certain period of time, thereby, being given the opportunity to encourage the organisation's dynamic capability.

Practical implications

This research proposes that the traditional theoretical focus of “How to … ” in project portfolio management is neither adequately efficient, nor sufficient. This view must be complemented with active individual and situated management actions, and the findings encapsulate the importance of the multi‐project management to focus on the balance between creativity, flexibility, and structure.

Originality/value

The profound theoretical ambition with this work is to complement the literature on project‐based organisations with an empirically‐based understanding inspired by organising theory, for both the research and practical execution of multi‐project management from a project‐as‐practice perspective. This research expands the conceptual view on the balance between structuring mechanisms and the ability to handle the ever‐present uncertainty in PBOs.