bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The influence of work‐cells and facility layout on the manufacturing efficiency
Authors: Aghazadeh Seyed‐Mahmoud , Hafeznezami Saeedreza , Najjar Lotfollah , Huq Ziaul 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the use of a product‐oriented layout and a work‐cell strategy in order to maximise efficiency. These two categories of layout strategies are discussed separately, and are then used collectively in an analysis of the company. The aim is to understand how improvements on layout design could positively impact the future efficiency of the case study company.Design/methodology/approachA model was developed and measured using 26 weeks of data between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010 during layout transformations at the case study company based in upstate New York. The model compared variables such as the distance traveled to retrieve parts, average daily output of engines, labour cost per unit produced, and the amount of time the engine remains in each cell; the aim of which is to increase the efficiency of the facility.FindingsThe findings indicate that there is a strong correlation between the variables improved at both the cell‐structures and the product‐structures of the facility and the overall efficiency of the manufacturing facility itself. The results also show that an overall higher efficiency allows for the facility to handle much larger workloads and also drives down both short‐run and long‐run costs. The outcomes also allow for a suggestive redesign of the facility in order to further maximise efficiency. However, it was found that the amount of time a product remains in each cell on the assembly line does not have an effect on the overall output of diesel engines.Research limitations/implicationsVarious studies have been conducted focusing on the “facility layout problem,” yet thorough analyses of the redesigning of layout in regards to efficiency are not as available. Instead, an understanding of the topic was derived through sources focusing on the specificities of manufacturing layout.Originality/valueThis paper describes layout efficiency through redesigns and layout using work‐cells in a product‐oriented environment. This study would be useful to manufacturers having low variability in their product and having the ability to use work‐cell layout within their facility.
Leadership that promotes organizational learning: both sides of the coin
Authors: Jogulu Uma 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how leadership has the capacity to both positively influence learning processes and negatively inhibit organizational learning.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper that brings together an analysis of leadership and organizational learning literature. The argument is centered on transformational leadership and the responsibility for creating an organizational learning culture.FindingsThere is a conventional belief that leaders have solitary control and influence when it comes to setting up organizational learning processes. However, a top‐down approach to facilitate and implement learning in organizations is not always an effective method because learning should be a collaborative practice. Thus, to rely fully on leaders to initiate and sustain the learning processes can be counter‐productive.Practical implicationsGood and effective leadership is the key to organizational learning. Learning is the only sustainable method of achieving competitive advantage for contemporary organizations because of rapidly changing environmental forces. Corporations with aspirations for long‐term survival must facilitate, through their leadership, “the impulse to learn” amongst their members.Originality/valueKnowledge is lacking in the area where leadership is linked to learning. Such knowledge is important because leaders play a central role in the learning framework and leaders also offer the required guidance for organizations to integrate and sustain learning processes through policy and practice.
Who cares wins: owning the learning transition
Authors: Cord Bonnie , Sykes Chris , Clements Michael 
Published: July 2011

PurposeHigher education is seeking ways to close the perceived gap between employer's expectations of graduates and the current preparation these graduates receive. Experiential learning programs offer students one such opportunity to develop professionally and acquire generic workplace skills. This transition however, from the classroom to the workplace, can be a challenging process for students, and is the focus of this paper.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses the importance of programs and their supervisors integrating “caring” into work placements. Several stages of the transition process are discussed before seven principles of a successful student transition are outlined.FindingsThis paper demonstrates how a beyond duty of care approach can be adopted in experiential learning programs through seven key principles.Practical implicationsIt is anticipated that prioritizing a transition that enlarges the notion of student “care” and adoption of the seven key principles will narrow the perceived gap between employers and higher education's expectations of graduates.Originality/valueWhile experiential learning programs involve three stakeholders, the literature has not yet recognised the importance of each of these roles in the students' progressional development in the workplace. This paper outlines these roles and identifies seven ways the approach can be incorportaed into the pratices of an expereintial learning program.
The social responsibility of international business scholars
Authors: Peng Mike W. , Li Sun Sunny , Blevins Dane P. 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe paper aims to argue that the social responsibility of international business (IB) scholars is to seek truth, disseminate learning, and make a difference on issues crucial to the global economy.Design/methodology/approachInstead of making philosophical and abstract arguments on the importance of the social responsibility of IB scholars, this article focuses on a leading debate of the times: how to view the rise of China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI)? The article argues that the so‐called “China threat” brought by such OFDI, as it is often portrayed by the (Western) media, is a myth that cannot be substantiated by evidence‐based scholarly analysis.FindingsAt present, China's OFDI stock represents a mere 1.21 percent of global OFDI stock. It would be absurd to believe that such a tiny sum can “buy up the world”. Based on findings, three hypotheses on what is behind the myth about China's OFDI are offered.Practical implicationsAlthough some IB (and management) scholarships have been criticized for their alleged lack of relevance to practitioners and policymakers, this paper disagrees. IB scholars need to engage with issues of grave importance not only to the IB field but also to the wider world, such as China's OFDI.Social implicationsThe article ends with a series of suggestions on how IB scholars, driven by social responsibility, can shed light on, clear the air, and steer the course of public perception, by drawing on time‐honored, evidence‐based scholarly tradition.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first article in the literature on IB scholars' social responsibility.
The role of firm‐specific advantages in UK export initiation
Authors: Beleska‐Spasova Elena , Glaister Keith W. 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe aim of this study is to identify potentially significant differences in perception of export motives based on the variations in the firm‐specific advantages (FSAs) and the firm's export strategy. It proposes that Rugman's (1981) (FSA/country‐specific advantage (CSA)) framework provides a sound theoretical base for integrating findings from different studies.Design/methodology/approachA set of export motives are identified as key initiation stimuli and their significance is tested on an original data set of 356 British exporters. The factor analysis produced four conceptually meaningful groups of motives. Propositions were developed to test the discriminating effect of the firm‐specific resources and capabilities on export stimulation and the potential variations in critical export motivators when executing different export strategies.FindingsFindings endorse the study's main propositions: internal proactive motives are the most significant export initiation factors; distinct firm‐specific resources and capabilities play a significant differentiating role in the firm's perception of specific export stimuli; and the spread and scope of the firm's export strategy was found to have significant impact on the firm's sensitivity to specific export stimuli.Research limitations/implicationsThe study's findings contribute to the body of knowledge of export initiation motives by: endorsing the FSA/CSA matrix as an integrative approach in studying export stimuli; producing novel empirical evidence of the differentiating effect of particular FSAs on export stimulation; and investigating the potential variations in critical export motives according to the number and distance of export markets entered and the number of export market entry modes adopted. The nature and characteristics of the sample present limitations.Originality/valueThe study provides a guideline that may help sporadic and non‐exporters to develop a strategy to migrate their activities from a passive response to unsolicited orders and customer followership to an active pursuit of international opportunities.
Resources and performance of international joint ventures: the moderating role of absorptive capacity
Authors: Kim Changsu , Zhan Wu , Krishna Erramilli M. 
Published: July 2011

PurposeDrawing on the resource‐based view and organizational learning theory, this study aims to examine the effect of resources and capabilities on international joint venture (IJV) performance.Design/methodology/approachDeparting from the extant research which largely assumes a bipartite relationship, the present study views an IJV as representing a tripartite relationship involving the IJV, its foreign parent and its local parent. Accordingly, it examines the effect of resources contributed by both foreign and local parents on IJV performance. It also examines how the IJV's absorptive capacity moderates the relationship between resource acquisition and performance.FindingsResults from a survey of 102 IJVs in China provide general support for the argument that performance of IJVs seems to be driven by the complementary resources of partner firms in combination with absorptive capacity of IJV.Originality/valueThe findings from this study are useful for researchers interested in performance of iIJVs.
Implications of non‐tariff measures on international business operations: a case of India's textiles and clothing firms
Authors: Saini Gordhan K. 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThis paper attempts to examine the implications of non‐tariff measures (NTMs) on firms' international business operations through a survey of India's textiles and clothing exporting firms. The main objectives of the study are to identify and assess the impact of NTMs, and analyze the cost incurred in complying with them.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on the survey which was jointly undertaken with the Market Research Division of Textiles Committee, Mumbai.FindingsThe results reveal that the EU and USA‐based buyers are more restrictive with significantly higher NTM incidences. The technical barriers, product and production process standards, and conformity assessment requirement for technical barriers are the widely used NTM categories. The compliance expenditure may vary according to firm size, and an inverse relation is revealed by this study. The larger and smaller firms demonstrate important differences in compliance due to their varying resource endowments. Further, the regression results suggest that the US and EU markets and firms' product profile/type are an important determinant of compliance cost.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the understanding about the implications of NTMs on Indian firms, and the inferences may be tested in other similar Asian markets. However, a further empirical validation of the issues such as NTMs as promotion and marketing tools is warranted.
Quality management and quality care
Authors: Chavan Meena 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine an operational process through the use of a clinical practice improvement method to implement clinical pathways in the Amber Hospital's (name changed for privacy reasons) cardiology unit. This quality framework has been adopted as a means of preventing adverse events, to ensure quality of care is provided to all patients.Design/methodology/approachA quality assurance case study approach was adopted along with the clinical practice improvement method – a framework that allows continuous quality improvement to be applied in a practical way to clinical processes, in order to improve delivery of care. The clinical practice improvement method is broken into five cycles: project, diagnostic phase, intervention, impact, and sustaining improvement. The paper explains these cycles, demonstrating how each was achieved.FindingsThe clinical practice improvement method at Amber Hospital was found to provide superior performance in the clinical pathway allocation process and improved patient care. Having an appropriate and effective action plan involving clinical pathways helps to prevent service hindrances that may have adverse impact on hospital management processes leading to adverse events. The Amber Hospital case study has not only identified the physical constraints but also the constraints in relation to organization policies and operation procedures.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper highlights the need for organizations to have a “no blame” culture, which acknowledged that errors do and will occur. However, it is also recognized that it is important to have reliable data collection on these errors, in order to reduce the frequency and severity of adverse events. Lack of available data was a severe limitation.Practical implicationsThe practical aim of this project was to improve recommended drug treatment in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome through the implementation of clinical pathways. The author also wanted to measure the utilization rate of these pathways. While there were four pathways implemented, the majority of patients were allocated to pathway 1B. Hence, data were collected on those specific patients.Originality/valueQuality operational framework, using a clinical practice improvement method, demonstrated how clinical pathways for Acute Coronary Syndrome were implemented successfully at the Amber Hospital. The report provides evidence that through conducting a CPI project, quality improvements were made in recommended drug treatment for patients diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome, and to correct pathway allocation.
The quality impact of governance change on board decision making
Authors: Wook Kim Soo 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how a regulation has influenced board structures, board processes, and board decision making and specifically, to explore the structural differences of a board before and after enforcing a regulation. This paper also investigates the change in operational processes of a board and determines which factors can influence the board's decision making.Design/methodology/approachTo expand the scope of board studies, this study used the board minutes which were recorded in a stenographic form. Data from the board minutes provide the following information: date, director name, attendance rate, agenda, and spoken details by outside directors, etc. The minutes are taken from 24 public institutions in Korea.FindingsThe study on governance structure and processes has demonstrated the following outcomes. First, the number of directors has increased since enforcing the regulation. Second, the percentage of outside directors has increased. Third, the number of board meetings has increased. Fourth, the attendance rate in the board meetings showed a constant rate. Fifth, the number of agenda items in both reports and decisions has increased. Sixth, the SPCA unit of outside directors appeared different according to their job. Seventh, the number of decisions with amendments has increased. Eighth, there are several factors that influence board decisions.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to a better understanding of boards' decisions.
Advanced scheduling with genetic algorithms in supply networks
Authors: Ławrynowicz Anna 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to improve efficiency of the traditional scheduling methods and explore a more effective approach to solving the scheduling problem in supply networks with genetic algorithms (GAs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper develops two methods with GAs for detailed production scheduling in supply networks. The first method adopts a GA to job shop scheduling in any node of the supply network. The second method is developed for collective scheduling in an industrial cluster using a modified GA (MGA). The objective is to minimize the total makespan. The proposed method was verified on some experiments.FindingsThe suggested GAs can improve detailed production scheduling in supply networks. The results of the experiments show that the proposed MGA is a very efficient and effective algorithm. The MGA creates the manufacturing schedule for each factory and transport operation schedule very quickly.Research limitations/implicationsFor future research, an expert system will be adopted as an intelligent interface between the MRPII or ERP and the MGA.Originality/valueFrom the mathematical point of view, a supply network is a digraph, which has loops and therefore the proposed GAs take into account loops in supply networks. The MGA enables dividing jobs between factories. This algorithm is based on operation codes, where each chromosome is a set of four‐positions genes. This encoding method includes both manufacture operations and long transport operations.
“Stock‐touting” through spam e‐mails: a data mining case study
Authors: Zaki Mohamed , Theodoulidis Babis , Díaz Solís David 
Published: July 2011

PurposeAlthough the financial markets are regulated by robust systems and rules that control their efficiency and try to protect investors from various manipulation schemes, markets still suffer from frequent attempts to mislead or misinform investors in order to generate illegal profits. The impetus to effectively and systematically address such schemes presents many challenges to academia, industry and relevant authorities. This paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes a case study on fraud detection using data mining techniques that help analysts to identify possible instances of touting based on spam e‐mails. Different data mining techniques such as decision trees, neural networks and linear regression are shown to offer great potential for this emerging domain. The application of these techniques is demonstrated using data from the Pink Sheets market.FindingsResults strongly suggest the cumulative effect of “stock touting” spam e‐mails is key to understanding the patterns of manipulations associated with touting e‐mail campaigns, and that data mining techniques can be used to facilitate fraud investigations of spam e‐mails.Practical implicationsThe approach proposed and the paper's findings could be used retroactively to help the relevant authorities and organisations identify abnormal behaviours in the stock market. It could also be used proactively to warn analysts and stockbrokers of possible cases of market abuse.Originality/valueThis research studies the relationships between the cumulative volume of spam touts and a number of financial indicators using different supervised classification techniques. The paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the market manipulation problem and provide part of a unified framework for the design and analysis of market manipulation systems.
A combined measure for representative information retrieval in enterprise information systems
Authors: Ma Baojun , Wei Qiang , Chen Guoqing 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for describing and evaluating the representativeness of a small set of search results extracted from the original results: this is deemed desirable in information retrieval in enterprise information systems.Design/methodology/approachThe paper proposes a combined measure, namely RFβ, to evaluate the extracted small set in terms of the notions of coverage and redundancy. Data experiments were conducted on three different extraction strategies to evaluate the representativeness, i.e. coverage and redundancy.FindingsBoth from intuitive and experimental perspectives, the proposed coverage measure, redundancy measure and RFβ measure could effectively evaluate the representativeness.Research limitations/implicationsThe search results, e.g. in the form of documents and texts, are modeled using a vector space model and cosine similarity. Semantic models and linguistic models could be further introduced into this research to improve the proposed measures.Practical implicationsWith the rapidly growing need for information retrieval in enterprise information systems, the representativeness of search results become more desirable and important for search engine users. The well‐designed representativeness measures will help them achieve satisfactory results.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper lies in the definition of representativeness of a small set of search results extracted from the original results. This focuses on the two aspects of coverage rate and redundancy rate both from intuitive and experimental perspectives.
A mobile‐based emergency response system for intelligent m‐government services
Authors: Amailef Khaled , Lu Jie 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present an intelligent mobile based emergency response system (MERS) framework, a text information extraction and aggregation algorithm to integrate information from multiple sources in the MERS system, and an ontology‐supported case‐based reasoning system for the MERS system.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explains the components of information extraction and aggregation process, and a CBR‐Ontology approach for the MERS system.FindingsThe result of this study will offer a new opportunity to the interaction between government, citizens, responders, and other non‐government agencies in emergency situations, and therefore improve the services of the government in an emergency situation.Originality/valueThe paper indicates the need for usage of mobile technologies to assist the government to get information and make decisions in responding to disasters anytime and anywhere.