bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A simulation‐expert‐system‐based approach for machine sizing of production systems
Authors: Masmoudi Wassim , Chtourou Hédi , Maalej Aref Y. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to focus on the solution of the resource sizing problem for production systems (PSs), defined as the specification of the number of each type of resources to be used in a production process for a given time period.Design/methodology/approachThe resource sizing problem is tackled by a simulation‐expert‐system‐based approach, coupling an expert system (ES) with a simulation tool. Hence, a number of “simulation – ES optimization” cycles are realized until obtaining non‐improvable levels of performance. The main performance measures considered in this work are related to the manufacturing orders due dates (DD).FindingsThrough the approach proposed in this work, it is possible to size machines in order to optimize DD related performance measures for a PS belonging to a specific application domain. PSs of this domain are characterized by a functional layout and feature no labor constraints. In addition, machines belonging to a same department are considered to be identical.Originality/valueThe developed approach allows studying the machine sizing problem realistically, through the use of stochastic simulation. Also, by coupling an ES to the simulation tool, it avoids the try and error aspect characterizing most simulation‐based approaches. It hence features a well‐structured reasoning mechanism for the search of the best solution.
Manufacturing cells efficiency evaluation using data envelopment analysis
Authors: Sofianopoulou Stella 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present an application of cellular manufacturing techniques and the evaluation of alternative production scenarios.Design/methodology/approachAdvanced techniques were implemented in the production process of a company and then the efficiency of the effected changes on its operation were evaluated. Group technology was adopted as the (re)organization tool of its production. Indices concerning the performance of the system were identified using “real world” production results and statistical data. The operational characteristics of 12 alternative production scenarios were evaluated using the cellular manufacturing approach. The behavior of the manufacturing system as a whole, for each one of the different scenarios, was investigated using the discrete events simulation technique for a period of two years. Finally, data envelopment analysis was employed to evaluate the efficiency of each scenario.FindingsResults indicated that more than one of these scenarios could be efficient, while significant improvements can be achieved without actually changing the basic production parameters.Practical implicationsThe proposed procedure was implemented in a company from the cosmetics industry.Originality/valueThe paper presents a successful application of cellular manufacturing techniques together with the evaluation of alternative production scenarios.
Workflow balancing in parallel machine scheduling with precedence constraints using genetic algorithm
Authors: Rajakumar S. , Arunachalam V.P. , Selladurai V. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeTo propose a methodology based on genetic algorithm (GA) to solve the parallel machine scheduling problems with precedence constraints.Design/methodology/approachWorkflow balancing helps to remove bottlenecks present in a shop floor yielding faster movements of components or jobs. Multiple machines are used in parallel for processing the jobs to meet the demand. In parallel machine scheduling with precedence constraints, there are m machines to which n jobs are assigned using suitable scheduling algorithms. Workflow of a machine is the sum of processing time of all jobs assigned. All the preceding jobs are allocated first to satisfy the constraints. GA is developed to solve parallel machine scheduling problems with precedence constraints based on the objective of workflow balancing. The GA was coded on IBM/PC compatible system in the C++ language for simulation to a standard manufacturing environment.FindingsThe relative percentage of imbalance (RPI) in workloads among the parallel machines is used to evaluate the performance of the GA developed. The proposed GA produces lesser RPI values against the RANDOM heuristic algorithm for a wider range of jobs and machines.Research limitations/implicationsThe performance of GA can be compared with the performance of other meta‐heuristic algorithms to find out the robustness of the results obtained by this research.Practical implicationsThe proposed GA also gives better solution for a case study of assembly scheduling.Originality/valueThe allocation of assembly operations to the operators is modeled into a parallel machine scheduling problem with precedence constraints using the objective of minimizing the workflow among the operators.
The importance of being local? Learning among Taiwan's enterprise solutions providers
Authors: Yeh Chun‐Tsai , Miozzo Marcela , Vurdubakis Theo 
Published: June 2006

PurposeSeeks to explore how perceptions of an ERP system‐requirement misfit in Taiwan have been construed as business opportuni4ties by domestic vendors in their response to competitive pressures from international vendors.Design/methodology/approachQualitative data were collected through interviews with three leading foreign ERP vendors, four leading domestic ERP vendors, the ERP trade association and a number of consultants in Taiwan to explore the perceptions of Taiwanese enterprise system providers and the business and design strategies through which such perceptions were enacted.FindingsIn comparison with leading Western ERP providers, the software technologies, resources and global market experience of Taiwan's domestic ERP vendors are weaker. Nevertheless, the analysis of the interviews and associated documentation shows that there are four areas in which domestic ERP vendors perceive themselves as having a competitive advantage over foreign vendors. The four areas are: the ability to meet special requirements, the ability to support the flexibility and speed of domestic small and medium‐sized firms, the benefits of direct implementation, and the ability to learn from their engagement with local customers.Originality/valueWhile the literature on learning and innovation on East Asian manufacturing firms has stressed the important role of incremental improvement on borrowed technology, the role of government and the strategy and structure of domestic firms, there has been little research on the sources of competitive advantage of East Asian firms in sectors with services components. This paper contributes to one's understanding of the development of technological capabilities by East Asian firms in services.
ERP integration in a healthcare environment: a case study
Authors: Stefanou Constantinos J. , Revanoglou Andreas 
Published: June 2006

PurposeAims at providing a classification of the ERP integration concept in a healthcare organization and at presenting a real world example of process integration using SAP R/3.Design/methodology/approachResearch is based on a case study involving in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with key stakeholders and action research conducted in the hospital during the ERP implementation period.FindingsFindings suggest that an apparently simple software implementation of an ordering process can have a considerable impact on stakeholders in a complex environment operating ERP software. Organizational change issues, implementation and integration issues of SAP R/3 with other non‐SAP systems and SCM considerations are discussed.Originality/valueAnalyzes enterprise integration concept specifically in a healthcare environment and describes a real world process integration solution (missing from the literature) achieved by using SAP R/3 software.
Factors that affect the design and implementation of team‐based performance measurement systems
Authors: Mendibil Kepa , MacBryde Jillian 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the factors that enable and/or constrain the design and implementation of team‐based performance measurement systems.Design/methodology/approachThis research study departed from an industrially‐led project. The research strategies used (i.e. case studies, industrial workshops and action research) are suited to the applied and empirical nature of the study. The paper reviews the existing literature on team performance measurement. It then presents the findings based on a exploratory phase and a theory refinement phase.FindingsThe results of this study suggest that there are eleven factors affecting the design and implementation of TPMS. It also suggests that these factors are inter‐related with each other. As a result, the impact of one factor can reduce and even eliminate the impact of other factors.Research limitations/implicationsThere are two main limitations of this research. Firstly, carrying out more than one longitudinal study would increase the validity of the findings. Secondly, evidence was mainly gathered from companies from the manufacturing sector.Practical implicationsThese findings provide senior managers, human resource specialists and team leaders with the foundations to create the right conditions to design and implement TPMS.Originality/valueThe main contribution this paper makes is that it highlights the factors affecting the design and implementation of measurement system in the context of teams. This research identifies three factors (i.e. team maturity, focus and content of appraisal and reward systems, business process view) that are specific to TPMS design and that have not been fully addressed by previous research.
In search of the common wealth: a service‐profit chain for the public sector
Authors: Davis Paul J. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeTo provide public sector organizations with a development map to achieve employee and customer satisfaction and to align organizational processes for goal achievement.Design/methodology/approachThe paper re‐works the highly influential and widely validated service‐profit chain and presents an analogous model, which reflects the essential differences of public sector organizations.FindingsIt was found that there is a direct link between the achievement of the organizational goal and the organization's ethics and values. This indicates that goal achievement reinforces the legitimacy of the values and ethics as the basis for organizational success.Practical implicationsPresents a practical model and explains, with examples, how an organization might implement this model. Identifies how public organizations can measure their customer value variables.Originality/valueDespite the popularity of the service‐profit chain there has been no model for the public sector. This has been identified as a need in the literature. Therefore, this paper presents a long overdue and much needed public sector model. The model has great value for all levels of governmental bureaucracy irrespective of core business or global location.
Real or hyper‐real?
Authors: Sliwa Martyna , Grandy Gina 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to take a reflexive look at the cultural experiences of a group of overseas students studying at a business school in the North East of England. The paper uses Baudrillard's work on simulacra and simulation to challenge notions of second culture contact.Design/methodology/approachUsing primary (i.e. interviews with 14 students and four staff) and secondary sources the paper investigates second culture contact truths associated with English higher education for a group of overseas students. To capture the richness of individual cultural experiences for these students and staff a qualitative approach in gathering empirical data is adopted.FindingsFirst, it seems the mainstream literature that posits cultures as definable, distinct and measurable entities that can be acquired does not capture the complexity of cultural experiences as revealed by the individuals involved in this study. Second, the findings surface questions about the validity of what educators and students take for granted or perceive as “real” in regards to what it means to “be an English student” and the processes of “becoming an English student”. Third, the findings raise provocative questions about the process, content and context of curriculum to those responsible for developing and marketing international programmes.Practical implicationsEducation as an international business means strategists, marketers and educators alike need to look closer at the way international programmes are developed, marketed and delivered both for viability and ethical reasons.Originality/valueEngagement with Baudrillard's work on simulacra and simulation is a playful attempt to see higher education as third‐order simulacra. As an alternative lens in challenging second culture contact it offers interesting and novel insights.
Comprador management?
Authors: Gantman Ernesto R. , Parker Martin 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the production of management knowledge in Argentina.Design/methodology/approachBased on a qualitative research strategy that draws on one of the authors' participant observation in the field of Argentine management education, selected data from Argentine universities, and a bibliometric study of local and foreign management journals.FindingsSuggests that local academics are mainly engaged in the production of practitioner‐oriented management knowledge that is highly influenced by US popular market managerialism. Analyses the causes of the low level of production of indigenous academic knowledge, concluding that it can be explained by three related factors: the lack of financial resources to pursue independent scholarly research; the academic elite's lack of independence relative to the consulting elite; and the resulting patterns of cultural and social capital of Argentine management scholars. Concludes that that this situation might not be unique to Argentina, and that the hegemonic position of popular management discourse in developing countries is useful for those interest groups who benefit from managerialism.Originality/valueContributes to the largely neglected study of the processes of creation diffusion and consumption of management knowledge in developing countries
Postcard from South America: experiencing organisation at the end of the world
Authors: Miguel Imas J. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe paper aims to present a very personal view of some of the socio‐economic problems and challenges faced by workers, managers and organisations in South America. It also aims to stimulate further dialogue, research and exchange of ideas with South American academics that are exploring alternative ways of representing organisation (studies) on the Continent.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a personal narrative account of the author's experience of doing research in South America and the conversations he had with different individuals about working, managing and organising in this part of the globe.FindingsThe author's experience here shows more than ever the need to enhance our understanding of what others around the world are experiencing in order to inform better our theories and to appreciate the consequences of our business practices. Especially, it gives an idea of the effects economic globalisation is having in the region and how it is affecting local communities.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is not about research per se but a researcher's journey and, as such, is a very personal and rich account of what was experienced in the field, i.e. South America.Originality/valueThe paper conveys some provocative thoughts upon which to generate more debate on global business practices and its consequences in the “periphery” of the world. Equally, it reveals the need for a more continuous dialogue among academics in both hemispheres to tackle some of these pressing environmental, economic and social problems that affect us all.
The valuation effects of long‐term changes in capital structure
Authors: Carpentier Cécile 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThis paper aims to test the irrelevance proposition whereby changes in capital structure do not affect firm value.Design/methodology/approachThe long‐run effect of changes in capital structure on firm value is examined, using a sample of 243 French firms over the period 1987‐1996.FindingsThe null hypothesis cannot be rejected. No evidence is found to support a significant relationship between the changes in debt ratios and the changes in value. To assess the strength of this finding, control for reversion towards the target debt level induced by the static trade‐off theory is introduced. Similar results were obtained.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first to analyze the long‐term relationship between financial structure changes and value, and to propose a direct test for the irrelevance proposition.
Cost‐efficiencies, profitability, and strategic behavior: evidence from Japanese commercial banks
Authors: Hensel Nayantara D. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeTo examine whether Japanese commercial banks exhibited economies of scale and economies of density at the time when the mega‐merger wave in Japanese banking began in the late 1990s. Since this merger wave has not yielded efficiencies, this analysis aims to shed light on whether banks, at the start of the wave, had reason to believe that larger banks would be more efficient.Design/methodology/approachUsing a modified version of the translog cost function, the analysis estimates economies of scale and economies of density for Japanese city banks, trust banks, and regional banks. Then, the relationship between size and economies of scale/density and that between profitability and scale/density are explored using regression analysis.FindingsResults suggest that larger banks (as measured by value of assets/loans/ deposits/investments, and number of employees/branches) were more likely to be in the decreasing/constant returns to scale/density region than smaller banks, The finding was statistically significant for all three types of Japanese banks. On average, city banks exhibited diseconomies of scale/density; trust banks exhibited constant returns to scale and increasing returns to density, and regional banks exhibited increasing returns to scale and density. This suggests that unions between city banks and either regional banks or trust banks may have been more likely to yield cost‐efficiencies, and raises questions concerning the efficiency motivations of the mega‐bank mergers. The findings further indicate that banks with higher sales were more likely to have exploited scale/density efficiencies, and that banks with higher net incomes were more likely to be in the increasing returns region.Originality/valueThis paper suggests that the mega‐merger wave in Japan in the late 1990s may not have been motivated by a desire for greater efficiencies through utilization of under‐utilized branch networks. Unlike other studies, this analysis differentiates between economies of scale and economies of density.
Currency risk management: simulating the Canadian dollar
Authors: Carrada‐Bravo Francisco , Hosseini Hassan K. , Fernandez Lorenzo 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to investigate the return associated with a Canadian dollar (C$) investment in the USA under passive, random walk, value at risk, and Sharpe ratio strategies.Design/methodology/approachTo comply with the purpose, this paper used a GARCH model, and used, as basic data, daily C$ exchange rates and weekly US and Canadian interest rates on 90‐day CDs, from January 2 to November 26, 2004.FindingsThe empirical results suggest that currency returns are positively correlated to risk; and that the return provided by the random walk strategy beats the other strategies considered in this paper.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that currency investment is similar to other forms of investment, since it shows a positive relationship between risk and return. It also supports the long‐standing belief that sophisticated strategies do not beat simple‐minded approaches such as a random walk strategy.Originality/valueThis paper uses a utility function to investigate the response of investors to risk and return under different aversion scenarios.
Compensation satisfaction in the Baltics and the USA
Authors: Carraher Shawn M. , Whitney Gibson Jane , Buckley M. Ronald 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThis study aims to examine the extent to which the demographic and work‐related variables of educational level, gender, age, salary level, organizational tenure, and union membership are useful predictors of satisfaction with pay level, benefits, raises, and the structure/administration of a compensation system. These variables have previously been utilized in the prediction of satisfaction with pay levels, but have not been tested as useful predictors of the other three dimensions of compensation satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThis study used multiple regression analyses and samples of 423 employees in the USA with a 63 percent response rate and 519 employees in the Baltics with a 73 percent response rate.FindingsIt was found that not all of the variables are equally useful predictors of each of the four dimensions of compensation satisfaction and that differential prediction is occurring among the four dimensions and across the two world regions. Surprisingly, it was found that in seven of the eight analyses the strongest predictor of satisfaction with the four dimensions of compensation satisfaction is job tenure, while actual compensation level, which was expected to be the strongest predictor, was found to be quite weak.Research limitations/implicationsA major weakness is that all of the data were self‐reported. Ideally the demographic and work‐related variables would have been collected directly from the organization in addition to being collected from employees. A second limitation is that the characteristics of the present sample may limit the generalizability of the results. An inordinate number of the subjects were unionized, female, and married. The major implication is that the paper supports the differential prediction for various dimensions of compensation satisfaction and for the need to explore for additional variables that can account for significant proportions of the variance in these dimensions.Originality/valueThe paper is the first of its kind to examine in a single or cross‐cultural setting the relationship between common demographic and work‐related factors and compensation satisfaction while controlling for organizational level. The literature review traverses the research in the area stretching from the 1940s to 2005 and makes specific suggestions for future research that could advance the field.