bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Optimisation of performance management for housing services
Authors: Lam Terence Y.M. 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how performance management control should be optimised for housing management services, through two different organisational contexts in the social housing sector.Design/methodology/approachCase study methodology was used to examine the performance management control of one typical local authority in England where housing management services are run by a non‐profit‐making Arm's Length Management Organisation, and of another major housing organisation, the Hong Kong Housing Authority, where the services are contracted out to profit‐making consultants.FindingsIn a non‐profit‐making organisational context, housing management services should be measured by performance indicators related to the strategic objective of providing efficient and effective services. Benchmarking should be conducted to supplement performance control. In a profit‐making organisational context, market competition should also be introduced so that more tendering opportunities are given to the best performers to optimise the performance of service providers.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this research are based on two cases representing the social housing sectors in England and Hong Kong. The research forms a conceptual baseline on which further research can be built to find out effective control to optimise the performance of property management services in many other housing and facilities management organisations.Practical implicationsPerformance management of housing management services can be optimised by benchmarking and market competition.Originality/valueThis study contributes to performance management of housing management services by conducting empirical confirmatory testing of the validity of performance management theory.
Reaping benefits from diversity
Authors: Broughton Andrea , Strebler Marie 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of diversity management initiatives using three good practice examples from employers operating in the manufacturing, IT and charity sectors in the UK.Design methodology/approachUsing IBM, Jaguar Land Rover and Scope as case studies, the paper follows the introduction and maintenance of diversity policies based on internal research and market developments.FindingsCorporations without well thought‐out diversity policies tend to miss out on recruiting top talent as well as running the risk of a backlash among job seekers. Making diversity part of corporate culture requires buy‐in from senior management all the way through the organization and must be reflected in all facets of business dealings.Originality/valueThe paper presents the key drivers behind these initiatives, how they have been implemented and what measures are used to assess impact, and highlights what other organizations can learn from this.
Equipping leaders for the 21st century
Authors: Encombe Jock 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that leaders who want to succeed in the 21st century need to develop a unique portfolio of attitudes, behaviors and skills to enable them to work at the highest level and drive performance and profitability within their people and their organization, ultimately contributing to the sustainability of their operating environment. Leaders of the future will need to make a positive impact on their organizations and the wider world.Design/methodology/approachThis article aims to investigate the nature of this contribution and to stimulate discussion on how to build leadership capability for success in the 21st century.FindingsMeaning is the central component of creating the leadership mindset and skillset required for success in the 21st century and is the key factor that leaders need to address to engage their people and stakeholders. This article draws on the experiences of Costa Coffee, which has already begun to develop a 21st century outlook and is beginning to reap the rewards of creating meaning and engagement throughout the organization.Originality/valueThe paper presents a series of issues and questions for leaders with 21st century ambition to consider and discusses how they can benchmark their current 21st century leadership capability.
Supporting lone parents: experiential training techniques in distance education
Authors: Papadakis Spyros , Fragoulis Iosif , Phillips Niki 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to study the possibility of delivering experiential training techniques through distance learning, targeted to lone parents and to present the early implementation findings. It also aims to present the potential benefits of participative techniques when combined with new technologies used in distance training programs targeting single families.Design/methodology/approachTechniques such as direct discourse combined with questions and answers may be implemented in a virtual environment of consultative support. Trainees, from their job or home, log on to a site of consultative virtual structure, using their personal computer and the internet. Technology allows them to chat with one or more participants, through text, sound and even video.FindingsResearch findings showed that trainees responded positively to the proposed training tool. They creatively exploit participative techniques during their distance training.Practical implicationsLone parents are often limited in their availability to participate in face‐to‐face training programs and have fewer chances of lifelong learning in a classroom form. They are often confronted with transport difficulties and time restraints. Thus, distance learning with the use of new technologies may provide development solutions for this group of citizens.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information on participative techniques during distance training for lone parents.
A framework for team coaching: using self‐discrepancy theory
Authors: Rezania Davar 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for project managers and team coaches to help them coach their team.Design/methodology/approachA team is provided with a measurement of actual experience of teamwork juxtaposed with its ideal experience of teamwork.FindingsThe paper finds that self‐discrepancy theory helps us explain that this triggers self‐directed learning in the team.Research limitations/implicationsA more comprehensive picture of team learning that takes into account non‐measurable dimensions of interaction might be of value in a framework for team coaching.Practical implicationsUsing such a framework, a team leader can help team members to develop both their individual and team skills. This would create far more knowledgeable and skilled individuals who can contribute to an organization within their sphere of influence.Originality/valueThis paper extends current methods of coaching and offers practical help to team coaches.
Building design innovation
Authors: Murphy M.E. , Perera R.S. , Heaney S.G. 
Published: August 2008

PurposeA perceptible gap has been observed in the literature concerning the adoption of product innovations into construction projects by designers (architects and engineers). This is seen specifically in the scant investigation into this group as a relevant source of construction innovation. It is also seen in the failure of current literature to reflect this group's interpretation of innovation linkages. The result is a gap in knowledge and a difficulty in correlating construction innovation models to the work of designers. The purpose of this paper is to seek to address this gap by identifying and classifying recent examples of innovation using an accepted construction innovation model.Design/methodology/approachThe primary objective was to expand this accepted construction innovation model's interpretation of innovation linkages and identify those linkages that directly relate to the work of designers and address aspects of building form rather than merely aspects of cost and process efficiencies.FindingsThe results revealed that the interpretation of building linkages by designers were much more diverse than those as perceived by the manufacturers and suppliers of the products. New linkages included aspects of building orientation, facade design, services integration, floor layouts, lighting design, fire safety and sustainability. In some cases, the designer's interpretation of the product's linkages had substantial implications for the marketing strategy of the products, and even the potential to change the classification grouping of the innovation.Originality/valueThis paper forms part of a wider piece of research into the management of innovation for construction professionals. The timely research is necessary to motivate design professionals in the adoption of new product innovations into their building designs.
On using the Gaussian and hyperbolic distributions to improve quality in construction
Authors: Tam Vivian W.Y. , Le Khoa N. 
Published: August 2008

PurposeVarious method have been used by organisations in the construction industry to improve quality, employing mainly two major techniques: management techniques such as quality control, quality assurance, total quality management; and statistical techniques such as cost of quality, customer satisfaction and the six sigma principle. The purpose of this paper is to show that it is possible to employ the six sigma principle in the field of construction management provided that sufficient information on a particular population is obtained.Design/methodology/approachStatistical properties of the hyperbolic distribution are given and quality factors such as population in range, number of defects, yield percentage and defects per million opportunities are estimated. Graphical illustrations of the hyperbolic and Gaussian distributions are also given. From that, detailed comparisons of these two distributions are numerically obtained. The impacts of these quality factors are briefly discussed to give a rough guidance to organisations in the construction industry on how to lower cost and to improve project quality by prevention. A case study on a construction project is given in which it is shown that the hyperbolic distribution is better suited to the cost data than the Gaussian distribution. Cost and quality data of all projects in the company are collected over a period of eight years. Each project may consist of a number of phases, typically spanning about three months. Each phase can be considered as a member of the project population. Quality factors of this population are estimated using the six sigma principle.FindingsThe paper finds that by using a suitable distribution, it is possible to improve quality factors such as population in range, yield percentage and number of defects per million opportunities.Originality/valueThis paper is of value in assessing the suitability of the hyperbolic and Gaussian distributions in modelling the population and showing that hyperbolic distribution can be more effectively used to model the cost data than the Gaussian distribution.
Job satisfaction of South Africa quantity surveyors
Authors: Bowen Paul , Cattell Keith , Michell Kathy , Edwards Peter 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe main objective of this paper is to report the findings of a comparative study examining levels of job satisfaction of employees and employers in the quantity surveying profession in South Africa. Factors that have an impact on job satisfaction are explored. In addition, issues relating to gender at work and harassment and discrimination in the workplace are examined.Design/methodology/approachData were obtained via a web‐based, national questionnaire survey of the registered quantity surveyors. A response rate of 10 per cent was achieved. Of the 146 respondents, 43 per cent are salaried employees whilst 57 per cent are employers. Likert scales were used to measure respondent perceptions regarding factors influencing their job satisfaction, and to explore gender‐related issues at work and perceived instances of harassment and discrimination in the workplace.FindingsContrary to the published literature, employers and employees do not differ significantly in levels of job satisfaction, although twice as many employers than employees claim to “love it”. Employers report a greater presence at work of motivating factors than do employees, namely; salary; promotion prospects; personal satisfaction; recognition, autonomy, team participation, and social interaction. Gender and race issues at work are a problem, with more employers than employees claiming instances of racial harassment and discrimination at work. Employees report significantly more instances of discrimination on the basis of gender than employers.Originality/valueLittle is known about the job satisfaction of design team professionals, particularly quantity surveyors. The results provide valuable insight into the job satisfaction experienced by employers and employees in quantity surveying practices.
Women helping women: outcomes of a South African pilot project
Authors: Verwey Ingrid 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThis paper reviews how women help women in the South African Women in Construction (SAWIC) organization to effectively participate in projects. In a pilot project partnering with industry stakeholders, the Development Bank of Southern Africa as incubator of SAWIC, further explored what support women contractors required to succeed, tested mentoring and coaching as part of enterprise development.Design/methodology/approachRelevant literature were studied and analysed, testing the views and measure of success of women contractors against existing models. A survey instrument was developed to test the constructs empirically.FindingsThe empirical testing of success as a construct indicated that women overwhelmingly view mentoring and coaching as key capacity building and growth strategies towards successful women‐owned construction enterprises, underpinned by preliminary indications of the almost complete pilot study.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation to the study is that it is based on preliminary findings and limited scope of the civil project.Practical implicationsGiven the excellent results of the Cronbach α and factor analysis, the instrument developed proved to be reliable and valid and could be used for similar studies.Originality/valueKnowledge sharing of lessons learnt in the joint initiative between government, the building industry, development finance institutions and women associations towards addressing critical skills shortages and gender equity.
Integrated production machines and systems – beyond lean manufacturing
Authors: Pham D.T. , Pham P.T.N. , Thomas A. 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a “Fit” manufacturing paradigm for industry so that manufacturing companies can become economically sustainable and can operate effectively in a global competitive market. The proposed Fit paradigm is aimed at providing a new manufacturing management perspective to both academics and industrialists.Design/methodology/approachThe Fit paradigm is developed and proposed as a new manufacturing management strategy towards creating economically sustainable manufacturing organisations. Fit is a theoretical development using the principles of existing manufacturing paradigms along with new and innovative management concepts to create a sustainable approach to manufacturing.FindingsManufacturing strategies such as lean and agility allow companies to deliver bottom‐line savings in production terms although their effectiveness depends upon the volume and demand profile of their products. The trend towards mass customisation requires companies to provide personalised products and services at mass production prices. This now places a further burden on companies and therefore a holistic manufacturing framework must be developed in order to ensure that the factory of the future is able to meet this new demand. This paper proposes a fit manufacturing paradigm which integrates the manufacturing efficiencies achieved through lean and agility with the need to break into new markets through effective marketing and product innovation strategies to achieve long term economic sustainability. The small scale application of the approach in a case company shows that the initial results to be positive when measured against a fit index which is developed within this paper.Originality/valueThe development of a fit paradigm aimed at tackling directly the issues of economic sustainability is proposed and is considered by the authors as one of a kind. Fit will also provide a framework for the implementation of sustainable manufacturing operations within organisations.
Automating knowledge acquisition for constraint‐based product configuration
Authors: Huang Youliang , Liu Haifeng , Keong Ng Wee , Lu Wenfeng , Song Bin , Li Xiang 
Published: August 2008

PurposeProduct configuration is considered as one of the most successful applications of knowledge‐based approaches in the past decade. Knowledge‐based configurations can be classified into three different approaches, namely, rule‐based, model‐based and case‐based approaches. Past research has mainly focused on the development of reasoning techniques for mapping requirements to configurations. Despite the success of certain conventional approaches, the acquisition of configuration knowledge is usually done manually. This paper aims to explore fundamental issues in product configuration system, and propose a novel approach based on data mining techniques to automatically discover configuration knowledge in constraint‐based configurations.Design/methodology/approachGiven a set of product data comprising product requirements specification and configuration information, the paper adopted an association rule mining algorithm to discover useful patterns between requirement specification and product components, as well as the correlation among product components. A configuration was developed which takes XML‐based requirement specification as input and bases on a constraint knowledge base to produce product configuration as output consisting of a list of selected components and the structure and topology of the product. Three modules are developed, namely product data modelling, configuration knowledge generation and product configuration generation module. The proposed approach is implemented in the configuration knowledge generation module. The configuration generation module realizes a resolution of constraint satisfaction problem to generate the output configuration.FindingsThe significance and effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated by its incorporation in our configuration system prototype. A case study was conducted and experimental results show that the approach is promising in finding constraints with given sufficient data.Originality/valueNovel knowledge generation approach is proposed to assist constraint generation for Constraint‐based product configuration system.
Building competitive enterprises through supply chain management
Authors: Hassini Elkafi 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce a special issue that looks at how enterprises could build competitive advantage through supply chain management.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides an overview of competitiveness within a supply chain framework, introduces the issue papers and summarizes their major features.FindingsNowadays competition is increasingly between supply chains rather than individual companies. Thus, one would expect supply chain management to be a key in maintaining enterprises competitiveness. Through conceptual models and empirical studies this special issue's papers demonstrate how designing and operating efficient supply chains, through the effective use of information technology, can provide enterprises with a competitive advantage.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper implies that enterprises can associate with a supply chain and develop a mechanism to fairly share surpluses. The papers in the special issue offer insight in to how an enterprise can position itself within a supply chain and how risks and profits can be shared equitably.Practical implicationsThe paper introduces articles that report on practical implementation issues of supply chain principles.Originality/valueThe paper suggests a unified framework for the special issue papers.
Organizational culture and supply chain strategy: a framework for effective information flows
Authors: Jungbae Roh James , Hong Paul , Park Youngsoo 
Published: August 2008

PurposeCritical information flows in the supply chain reflect the patterns of organizational culture and supply chain strategy (SCS). This paper aims to links organizational culture and SCS using competing values and an uncertainty framework.Design/methodology/approachAnchored at literature review on organizational culture and SCS, this paper presents a typology with four patterns of organizational culture with four types of corresponding SCS.FindingsThis paper presents diverse requirements for effective design of supply chain in that for each pattern of organizational culture, corresponding SCS is identified: efficient for hierarchical, risk‐hedging for group, responsive for rational, and agile for developmental culture.Research limitations/implicationsThe exploratory nature of this study requires empirical research validation. Firms may use this research framework in design and evaluation of their supply chain management structure according to their organization's cultural elements and requirements.Practical implicationsUsing this integrative framework business executives may better manage the informational infrastructures that reflect the rich dynamics between their particular organizational cultural traits and supply chain behavioral practices.Originality/valueThis paper expands the concept of organizational culture in the extended supply chain network context and identifies information strategy profiles.