bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Problem solving for managers: a mathematical investigation of Toyota's 8‐step process
Authors: Marksberry Phillip , Bustle Joshua , Clevinger Jeff 
Published: September 2011

PurposeToyota's success in the automotive industry has been attributed to many factors, one of which is their systematic company‐wide problem‐solving approach. While Toyota's structured framework for thinking through problems may offer some interesting insight, it is speculated that how they develop and train their managers to share this thinking with their employees is the key to implementation. The purpose of this paper is to share these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis work utilizes a new and novel technique to examine how Toyota trains and develops their managers to support problem solving. A form of data mining will be used in this research combined with Singular Value Decomposition to mathematically analyze organizational documents from Toyota.FindingsThe findings of this research show that the role of management is essential to the successful application of problem solving at Toyota. Results indicate that managers are trained to provide more intense coaching early on the front end of problem solving, specifically in step 2 problem breakdown, so that decision making and involvement of employees can occur more naturally in developing countermeasures.Practical implicationsThis research method is solely based on mathematical and statistically analysis of organizational documents to reveal important and latent criteria critical for effectiveness.Originality/valueThis paper provides new insights and understanding of Toyota's 8‐step problem‐solving process. The role of management has been identified as an essential element in coaching and developing employees in the implementation of a company‐wide, systematic problem‐solving methodology.
Integration of economic production quantity in optimization design of control chart based on loss function and random process shift
Authors: Pan Er‐shun , Jin Yao , Wang Ying 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop an extensive economic production quantity (EPQ) model on the basis of previous research. Considering an imperfect three‐state production process, this paper makes contributions to an integrated model combining conceptions of quality loss and design of control chart based on EPQ model. The objective is to minimize the total production cost with the determination of EPQ and design parameters of control chart subjected to quality loss and other process costs.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, imperfect process is defined as a three‐state process, and the quality cost corresponding to each state contributes to the eventual total expected cost formulation. Control chart is used to monitor the shift from the target value within whole process and its control limits are set to be related to the quality cost.FindingsThe proposed integrated model conforms more closely to the real situation of production process considering the process shift as a random variable.Practical implicationsNumerical computation and sensitivity analysis through a case study are presented to demonstrate the applications of the model.Originality/valueFew research efforts investigate an integrated model considering EPQ, control chart and quality loss simultaneously. In particular, compared with the former researches, the process shift, due to which the quality cost incurs, is considered as a random variable in this paper.
Strategic decisions as drivers of innovation: the case of MicroLink
Authors: Kask Triin 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to find out how strategic decisions have resulted in innovation in the context of the organizational environment. The author studies connections between strategic decision making and innovation to find out what kinds of factors of the organizational environment influence strategic decisions that lead an organization to innovate.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical and empirical part proceeds from dividing strategic decisions into proactive and reactive; the environment into internal and external, including primary and secondary environment, and dynamic capabilities; and innovation into product, process, marketing and organizational innovation. The study uses qualitative research and case study methodologies to analyse the case of an Estonian IT company, MicroLink.FindingsThe results show that even if innovation is not strategically managed in a company, it can still be innovative. However, the potential for different types of innovation at the organizational and local and global market level is very often determined by the company's general strategic vision and its proactive nature, which should be supported by its dynamic capabilities.Practical implicationsBased on the results, some conclusions are also presented for other Estonian IT companies in terms of what aspects they should keep in mind when making strategic decisions and implementing innovation.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the understanding of how innovation evolves and it is presumed that innovation is not always a purposeful, but rather an episodic manifestation that could be a result of strategic decisions. Besides, product and process innovation, this study also helps to highlight the role of marketing and organizational innovation, which have gained much less attention in the literature.
Virtual work usage and challenges in different service sector branches
Authors: Mihhailova Gerda , Õun Kandela , Türk Kulno 
Published: September 2011

PurposeVirtual work presents new challenges for managers compared to using ordinary, face‐to‐face work practices. The purpose of this paper is to show how different virtual work types are related to different challenges that require different managerial and co‐operation approaches.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data were gathered during a period of two years using a questionnaire (3,156 respondents from 323 companies representing different Estonian service sector branches) and interviewing.FindingsThe paper concludes that a higher level of work virtuality leads to a lower level of work satisfaction, mainly due to inappropriate management techniques and problems related to information and communication technology‐mediated communication.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample consists of only service sector organizations, limiting generalization of the results to the practice of manufacturing companies.Practical implicationsThe results will help managers of service organizations to prepare and choose appropriate management techniques for working with virtual workforce.Originality/valueThe paper shows that service sector organizations operate with different degrees of virtuality that lead to different challenges and consequently require different management techniques.
Performance measurement patterns in service companies
Authors: Lääts Kertu , Haldma Toomas , Moeller Klaus 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of the usage of performance measurement (PM) methods and indicators, and this usage's influencing factors in service companies.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on the contingency theory framework and focuses on PM patterns. The sector, company size, and market environment dynamics, which are these patterns' primary determinants, are analysed. The study uses empirical survey data gathered from the 61 largest companies in Estonia. The study has a dynamic focus, explaining the changes in PM practices as in 2004 and 2007.FindingsThe research shows the increasing use of more balanced PM tools combining financial and non‐financial, market‐related and internal process dimensions. Nevertheless, the findings demonstrate that the companies predominantly used traditional cost accounting and reporting methods, as well as financial indicators for their PM. The findings highlight the similarities and differences between the PM patterns in service companies and manufacturing companies.Research limitations/implicationsThe general limitations of survey‐based research have to be considered. The findings on the PM indicators and methods explain the usage's intensity, but not the effects of this usage on the performance. The study also analyses only a limited number of drivers that influence PM practices.Originality/valueThe research findings have two main implications. First, the paper contributes to the scarce knowledge about PM practices in service companies. Second, the paper considers the changes in PM patterns, concentrating on the dynamics of PM practices.
Innovation in destination marketing
Authors: Kuusik Andres , Tiru Margus , Ahas Rein , Varblane Urmas 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how technological innovation serves as an enabling factor to innovation in tourism management. The motivation of this paper is related to the question of how to innovate destination marketing as a tool to manage long‐term customer relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use mobile positioning‐based research methods to measure visitors' behaviour. This provides new data for the detection and measurement of destination loyalty that could be used as valuable input to improve destination marketing strategy and develop new services.FindingsThe use of mobile positioning helps to improve the quality of data about tourism flows in Estonia. The authors were able to observe and measure the duration, timing, density, seasonality and dynamics of visitations. Further, it allowed also to distinguish repeat visitors. The rich dataset provided by passive mobile positioning (PMP) allowed the implementation of the proposed, more detailed, classification of segments of repeat visitors and the identification of not loyal, somewhat loyal, loyal, very loyal, functionally loyal and forced to be loyal visitors. This analysis made it possible to reveal transit, long‐term, one‐day and other specific visitors among repeat visitors.Originality/valueThe theoretical novelty of the paper consists in the creation of the innovation model of the destination marketing of the country and providing the new approach of segmentation of repeat visitors. Empirical novelty is the use of PMP in studying repeat visitations for destination marketing. The paper offers new ways for governments to shape service policies and allows tourism industry firms to offer new services.
Challenges and barriers to services for immigrant seniors in Canada: “you are among others but you feel alone”
Authors: Stewart Miriam , Shizha Edward , Makwarimba Edward , Spitzer Denise , Khalema Ernest N. , Nsaliwa Christina D. 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThis paper seeks to explore varied interrelated challenges and barriers experienced by immigrant seniors.Design/methodology/approachSenior immigrants representing diverse ethnicities (Chinese, Afro Caribbean, Former Yugoslavian, Spanish) described their challenges, support needs, and barriers to service access. Service providers and policy makers from organizations serving immigrant seniors were interviewed to elicit their views on barriers to access and appropriateness of services for immigrant seniors. Qualitative methods were employed to enhance understanding of meanings, perceptions, beliefs, values, and behaviors of immigrant seniors, and investigate sensitive issues experienced by vulnerable groups. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic content analysis.FindingsSeniors reported financial and language difficulties, health problems, discrimination, family conflicts, and social isolation. Although most immigrant seniors appreciated the standard of living in Canada and the services provided to seniors, most believed that support received was inadequate. Seniors encountered systemic (e.g. government policies), institutional (e.g. culturally inappropriate programs), and personal (e.g. transportation, language problems) barriers to accessing social and health services. Service providers and policy makers faced high costs of programs, inadequate financial and human resources, inadequate information about needs of immigrant seniors, inadequate geographical coverage, and lack of inter‐sectoral collaboration.Practical implicationsThe challenges experienced by immigrant seniors have implications for programs and policies and can inform the development of culturally sensitive and appropriate services.Social implicationsThe barriers encountered by service providers in assisting immigrant seniors point to the importance of inter‐sectoral coordination, cultural sensitivity training, and expansion of service providers' mandates.Originality/valueThis study revealed numerous unmet needs for successful acculturation of immigrant and refugee seniors in Canada. It also reveals that the most cogent and sustainable approach to close this chasm of support deficits, unattended challenges, and complex stressors is to implement a model that simultaneously addresses the three levels and use a multisectoral approach.
Emission trading applications in the European Union and the case of Turkey as an emerging market
Authors: Yüksel Mermod Aslı , Dömbekci Berna 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze emission trading applications in the European Union (EU) and to benefit from its experiences; also to discuss different types of energy financing mechanisms for Turkey, an emerging market which faces a fast growth of energy demand.Design/methodology/approachThe Kyoto Protocol and its market‐based flexible mechanisms to reduce emissions worldwide are explained. The logic and development phases of an emission trading scheme (ETS) started in 2005 in the EU are given in response to this protocol's targets. With lessons learned from the ETS, the position of Turkey in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and its strategy to find solutions for a low carbon economy are underlined, as it can be assumed to be a reference point for other emerging markets.FindingsThis ETS became the main vehicle for EU member states to enforce themselves, to be in line with their Kyoto's emission reduction targets via some mechanisms and it has the potential to be leader in the formation of a global emission trading program. It made possible the transfer of technology and experience to emerging countries. Turkey should be aware and well prepared, for the post‐Kyoto period, to benefit from similar mechanisms to finance its energy investments.Practical implicationsThe paper is a useful source of information for ETS.Social implicationsThis paper gives information on emission reduction mechanisms used worldwide by countries which aim to be a low carbon economy.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils a resource need for the structure of ETS and the position of Turkey as an emerging market with Kyoto's Protocol.
A framework for equitable apportionment of emission reduction commitments to mitigate global warming
Authors: Vazhayil Joy P. , Sharma Vinod K. , Balasubramanian R. 
Published: September 2011

PurposeIn the context of the negotiations for apportionment of emission reduction post‐Kyoto regime, issues of equity and fairness have emerged. The purpose of this paper is to generate a model for equitable emission reduction apportionment.Design/methodology/approachThe mathematical model has been designed utilizing mitigation capacity (based on gross domestic product (GDP)) and cumulative excess emissions as the criteria for apportionment. Quantitative results have been arrived at, using cumulative γ and parabolic mitigation emission reduction trajectories to demonstrate the impact on stakeholders.FindingsThe apportionment outcomes are independent of the specific trajectory fine‐tuned in the feasibility region. Since the apportionment takes into account entitlements and the mitigation capacity, Africa and India have negligible reduction targets in tune with the development goals in these economies. Substantial reduction commitments would fall on the USA and the EU countries. China gets a moderate target due to higher emissions and GDP.Research limitations/implicationsThe approach is in consonance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibility enunciated in the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. The method can easily incorporate emissions trading. The issue of population as a driving factor of emissions has been partially accounted for by considering the entire national GDP as an emission reduction responsibility factor, without considering population based GDP entitlements.Originality/valueThe generalized framework can be extended to situations involving responsibility apportionment in public policies dealing with externalities. The framework is original and will be useful to policymakers and other stakeholders dealing with climate change, as well as researchers looking at externalities of a global or national dimension.
Environmental/economic dispatch considering emission benefit factor in the emission trading environment
Authors: Wen Buying , Bai Zhongbin , Wen Fushuan 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe efficiency of the emission trading system (ETS) may help to control the total emission amount. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the generating cost issue in environmental/economic power dispatch, under the premise that the ETS has already been established.Design/methodology/approachThe emission benefit and price level factors are introduced for transforming the bi‐objective optimization problem with the fuel cost and emission cost minimization into a single objective. In the developed mathematical model, both the total emission amount from all units and the permitted emission amount from each generating unit are taken into account. The successive linear programming method is employed to solve the optimization problem.FindingsSimulation results of the IEEE 30‐bus test system show that a proper trading mechanism of emission permits is very important for generation companies to control the total emission amount and to reduce the overall generation cost.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is needed to find out the impact on the generating cost caused by trading price fluctuation and the coping strategies.Originality/valueThe results can help to meet the requirements of current generating optimal dispatch.
The threshold effect of high‐level human capital investment on China's urban‐rural income gap
Authors: Jiang Yitao , Shi Xiaojun , Zhang Shunming , Ji Jingjing 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shed light on the effect of high‐level human capital investment, using tertiary education as the proxy, on the urban‐rural income gap in China.Design/methodology/approachUsing a panel dataset covering 28 provinces of China over the period from 1988 to 2007, this paper employs Hansen's method and two‐step GMM‐SYS estimator to estimate the threshold regression model and the dynamic fixed‐effect panel model, respectively.FindingsThe urban‐rural income gap is found to be related to high‐level human capital investment in an inverted U‐shaped pattern with respect to economic development level. The estimated threshold turning point is around 20,000 RMB GDP per capita. This estimate is sufficiently robust to model specifications and variants of the dependent variable.Social implicationsThe authors forecast that high‐level human capital investment could play a role in bridging the urban‐rural income gap at the national level by 2014, when China's GDP per capita assumes an annual growth rate of 7.5 percent.Originality/valueThis, it is believed, is the first research to find an inverted U‐shaped pattern for high‐level human capital investment and urban‐rural income gap nexus in China.
Technical efficiency of food processing in China: the case of flour and rice processing
Authors: Fu Wen‐Ge , Sun Sizhong , Zhou Zhang‐Yue 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the technical efficiency of wheat and paddy rice processing in China. Understanding the level of technical efficiency of food processing helps to decide whether efforts are warranted to improve this efficiency. Studies on China's technical efficiency of flour and rice processing are scarce. This paper fills this gap.Design/methodology/approachWith a unique set of firm‐level survey data collected by China's State Statistical Bureau, this study adopts a stochastic frontier model to investigate the technical efficiency of flour and rice processing.FindingsThe technical efficiency for both flour and rice processing is low in China, being only about 50 per cent. On average, rice processing firms have slightly higher technical efficiency than flour processing firms. It is also found that a significant proportion of firms experienced negative growth of technical efficiency during the time period of investigation.Originality/valueEach year, some 300 million tonnes of wheat and paddy rice are processed in China. Any small improvement in technical efficiency is translated into huge economic gains. Further, a tiny improvement in flour or rice output rate is equivalent to an enormous increase in food supply, contributing to China's food security. The paper confirms the need and potential to raise technical efficiency in China for wheat and paddy rice processing.
Urban‐rural interaction in China: historic scenario and assessment
Authors: Li Yuheng 
Published: September 2011

PurposeUrban‐rural interaction in China has evolved over time and presented features in different periods since 1949. The aim of this paper is to measure urban‐rural interaction in China in a 50‐year period from 1958 to 2007, and to see if it bears resemblance to the historical evolution.Design/methodology/approachThe paper historically reviews urban‐rural interaction in four periods after 1949. Then, it uses principal component analysis (PCA) and assesses this interaction in the study period.FindingsThe quantification of urban‐rural interaction bears resemblances to its historical evolution. Reform and opening‐up as well as the rural‐favored policies contribute a lot to the increase of urban‐rural interaction.Originality/valueThe paper systematically reviews the evolution of urban‐rural interaction in China, and analyzes the features of this interaction in different periods since 1949. It introduces PCA and measures urban‐rural interaction.
The dynamic relationship between agricultural futures and agriculture index in China
Authors: Wang Yu‐Shan , Lin Chung‐Gee , Shih Shih‐Chieh 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the long‐term and short‐term asymmetric effects of the price transmission relationships between agricultural futures and the agriculture index in China.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts a threshold autoregressive (TAR) model and momentum‐TAR (M‐TAR) model that test the prices of futures and spots in the special trading system.FindingsThe paper indicates that during different stages of the economic cycle, agricultural futures and the agriculture index exhibit different correlations. During the initial stages of economic upturns and downturns, the addition of futures of agricultural products helps to diversify risk. In contrast, during the late stages of economic upturns and downturns, such additions do not really help to diversify risk. Soybean meal futures and the agriculture index are more strongly correlated with each other. If investors use soybean meal futures to predict the trends in the agriculture index, they will obtain more accurate conclusions.Practical implicationsThe soybean futures have leading effects in a single range and a lower correlation with the agriculture index. This paper provides a point of reference for investors devising investment strategies and for the Chinese Government in its execution of macro‐control policies. It provides a clear review about the estimation methods. It also provides information about China's soybean, soy meal industry.Originality/valueThe paper contains updated information about China's soybean and soybean meal trading. It uses new estimation methods (TAR, M‐TAR) to examine the co‐integration between soybean, soybean meal and the agricultural index.