bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Operating review meetings enhance teamwork
Authors: Fletcher Douglas S. , Taplin Ian M. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractWith today's emphasis on crossfunctional teams, natural work groups, and continuous improvement task forces, companies must learn to formally plan and review the activities of these emerging horizontal organizations. The traditional command‐and‐control structures had their teams, but they were vertical. Employees belonged to the sales team or the internal audit team, and the boss was responsible for managing the team. Now, with the growing evolution of networking across departmental boundaries, team meeting skills are vital to the success of the teams and their organizations. This article outlines the self‐discipline required for teams when they've been granted decision‐making authority.
Expanding the customer care fraontier
Authors: Wilhelm Wayne R. , Rossello Bill 
Published: July 2007

AbstractCustomer service has long been recognized as a critical indicator of organizational health. By examining the best practices of organizations that have earned a reputation for outstanding customer service, managers can learn the secrets of customer retention and ensure the long‐term success of their firms. This article details the winning techniques used by three leading companies that participated in a study of customer care best practices, thus pointing the way to success in a competitive environment.
A balanced set of measures points the way to customer satisfaction at prudential
Authors: Kohnke Luane 
Published: July 2007

AbstractCompanies have long realized that they cannot improve what they cannot measure. To obtain valuable customer input on company policies and practices. Prudential Insurance Company has established a new business measurement philosophy founded on a balanced set of measures. This article explains how Prudential's Voice of the Customer team consults with business managers to make good on the company's commitment to put customer needs and expectations at the forefront of all business decisions.
Service: Manufacturing's new frontier
Authors: Rosen L. Drew 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThere is a revolution taking place in the U.S. economy, a service revolution. Today, the service sector accounts for more than 70 percent of the gross national product and 75 percent of all jobs. This monumental change affects service firms as well as manufacturers. As manufacturing becomes more automated, streamlining operations and outsourcing basic operations, the service component of a typical manufacturer is growing rapidly. An estimated 30 to 70 percent of value added in a typical manufacturer can be attributed to services.Many manufacturers are beginning to address this change by formulating their operating strategies to put service and service operations into the forefront of their strategic plans. Trade associations and professional organizations like the National Association of Purchasing Management and APICS—The Educational Society for Resource Management also are shifting their orientation beyond their traditional manufacturing focus and expanding their educational offerings to meet new service components within—and beyond—the manufacturing field.
Avoiding morning‐after syndrome: Transforming your organization without regrets
Authors: Andrews Dorine C. , Stalick Susan 
Published: July 2007

AbstractImplementing organizational transformation begins with the idea, not the solution. This article presents a model for organizational transformation that allows managers to design transformation solutions that address all aspects of organizational change‐from work processes and technology through culture and individual beliefs. It also details an implementation approach that creates a culture for change that mitigates the problems of resistance and creates a dynamic internal momentum toward the future.
Evolving to the ultimate level of performance through supply chain management
Authors: Poirier Charles C. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractSupply chain management is a hot business topic that has delivered very mixed results. To date, the degree of progress has been limited, by the view that all savings should be kept internal to the organization. As firms continue to pursue supply chain improvement and develop internal excellence, they often overlook the opportunity to use selective partnering with suppliers and customers to develop what is really needed—a network of delivery that brings the demanded products and services to the ultimate consumer in a seamless manner. This article describes a four‐level evolutionary process that can bring a firm the highest potential returns from supply chain management.
The state of results‐driuen customer seruice quality in Gouernment
Authors: Milakovich Michael E. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractPersistent demands for increased government productivity have prompted the establishment of federal standards for customer service. In theory, these standards can be used to evaluate the quality, reliability, and timeliness of services provided by such federal agencies as the U.S. Postal Service, Social Security Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Without political accountability and independent oversight of individual agency implementation strategies, however, the achievement of these wellintended standards may be limited by bureaucratic resistance, lack of supervision, excessive bureaucratic discretion, and the need for regulatory compliance. This article discusses recent federal government actions aimed at promoting customer service quality and changing internal agency procedures to ensure accountability for results.
Pilot error: Are you setting your organization on a crash course?
Authors: Kane Michael E. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractMost companies have undergone and survived a major management initiative over the past decade, only to be swamped by another fad that demands they rush full speed in the opposite direction. Although their intent is to improve business performance through quality, productivity, and service enhancements, the vast majority of management initiatives never attain their goals. The reasons for failure have little to do with top management strategy or with the effort expended among the rank and file. Businesses struggle in attaining desired results because they do not deploy the strategy of top management through the rank and file of the organization. This article describes the shortcomings of the traditional methods employed by companies to attack their day‐to‐day operating problems, and suggests a more progressive means of attaining competitive gains in productivity and quality.
Strategic and environmental management in the corporate value chain at shaw industries
Authors: Rondinelli Dennis A. , Berry Michael A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractIn an effort to strategically structure its supply and customer linkages to gain a competitive edge in its industry, Shaw Industries, the world's largest manufacturer of tufted carpets and floor coverings, realized the benefit of integrating proactive environmental management practices into its value chain. This article examines the competitive challenges facing Shaw Industries, describes its strategy for integrating its value chain, assesses its experience in combining environmental management with value‐chain leadership, and explores various lessons for other companies that are competing globally in mature industries.
Ten strategies to enhance supplier management
Authors: Tyndall Gene , Gopal Christopher , Partsch Wolfgang , Kamauff John 
Published: July 2007

AbstractPurchased goods and services represent between 50 and 70 percent of a manufacturing company's value potential. Even in service industries, more than half of all services are purchased from other organizations. In other words, the majority of what a typical company is is defined by the components, materials, and services it acquires from outside sources. Conversely, vertical integration is becoming less and less credible, serving only to clutter many organizations with noncore competencies and decrease flexibility in terms of cost structure and adaptability in the marketplace. With more and more parts, materials. goods, and services purchased outside the organization, companies are altering the tenor of their supplier relationships. In this excerpt from Supercharging Supply Chains, the authors explain how organizations can improve strategic sourcing and supplier management by buying smarter.
Optimizing investments in information technology
Authors: Albrecht Michael , Cortada James W. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractOrganizations around the world spend over $I trillion each year on information technology. Best practices approaches to managing this huge expense invariable involve the crucial issue of when to bring in or get rid of computers and supporting technology—that is, how to manage change. As this article points out, managers who want to productively exploit technology must first try to understand the critical patterns of behavior that have governed technological changes through the century.
Harnessing the power of visual strategic deployment
Authors: Colletti Joe 
Published: July 2007

AbstractOrganizations can power up their strategic plan deployment process by using management and planning tools that make the details of their plans visible. This visibility facilitates vertical integration, as well as horizontal, cross‐functional alignment. Organizations can define, refine, and communicate their strategic efforts as the visible plans are cascaded down through each management level. In addition, the same formats can be used in the plan review/audit process. For a modest investment of time and effort in making strategic plans visible, organizations can reap the significant benefits of increased ownership, alignment, and focus.
Putting concurrency in concurrent product design teams
Authors: Carroll Bob 
Published: July 2007

AbstractTo ensure that concurrent engineering design teams are truly concurrent and are designing producible products, Motorola's Space and Systems Technology Group (SSTG) has created a formal design methodology called Five Phases of Design. The methodology requires input from all the members of the design team at each of the five phases of the design to ensure that producibility issues are addressed during each phase. To augment this process, a high‐performance concurrent product design team model was developed and successfully tried on a concurrent design team at SSTG. This article describes the five phases of the design and the team model.
Focusing on uisible management at a USPS distribution center
Authors: Hacker Marla E. , Akinyele Akinyinka 
Published: July 2007

AbstractEach year, business leaders conduct strategic planning retreats designed to point their organizations toward a successful future. Experienced managers know, however, that significant changes rarely result from these sessions. Frequently, the problem is not that the strategic plan is weak, but that too little attention is given to its implementation. As this case study explains, what happens after a strategic planning session is just as important as what happens during it.
Using TQM to preuent product liability lawsuits
Authors: Abraham Steven E. , Spencer Michael S. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractProduct liability is a legal doctrine that allows a person injured by a defective product to sue anyone in the chain of production. To win the suit, the plaintiff only has to show that the product was “defective” or “unreasonably dangerous.” Given the litigiousness of today's society, product liability lawsuits are common. Therefore, manufacturers and other sellers need to take all possible measures to minimize the possibility of being held liable in a product liability lawsuit. This article discusses how total quality management can be used by manufacturers to minimize, and possibly even eliminate, the risk of being held liable in a product liability lawsuit. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Developing critical new skills in a world of continuous change
Authors: Colella Sally , Cross Rob , Rieley James B. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractKeeping up with internal and external change is a challenge that all organizations face. The only way to succeed in an ever‐evolving environment is to ensure that workers at all levels of the organization have mastered the skills they need to best do their jobs and service the needs of their customers. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Proteomic analysis of N‐glycosylation in mosquito dopachrome conversion enzyme
Authors: Li Junsuo S. , Vavricka Christopher J. , Christensen Bruce M. , Li Jianyong 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA novel dopachrome conversion enzyme (DCE) is present in insects and involved in their melanization pathway. DCE shares no sequence homology with any noninsect species from bacteria to humans. Several DCE sequences have been available, but enzyme structure and catalytic mechanism are unclear. This study concerns DCE PTMs, especially glycosylation. A mosquito DCE was purified and its monosaccharide composition, N‐glycosylation site, and oligosaccharide structures were determined. Results showed that N‐acetyl D‐glucosamine and D‐mannose are the major monosaccharides and L‐fucose, D‐xylose, and D‐arabinose are the minor ones in mosquito DCE. Glycosylation site and oligosaccharide structures were elucidated from MS and MS/MS spectra of trypsin‐digested DCE glycopeptides. A single N‐glycosylation site (Asn285‐Glu‐Thr) was identified in DCE and was proven to be fully glycosylated. Man3GlcNAc2, Man3(Fuc)1–2GlcNAc2, and their truncated structures were the dominant oligosaccharides. In addition, high mannose‐type structures (Man4–7(Fuc)GlcNAc2) were also identified. Removal of DCE N‐oligosaccharides with peptide N‐glycosidase (PNGase F) decreased its activity and thermal stability. However, partial DCE deglycosylation with α‐mannosidase or α‐fucosidase somewhat stimulated its activity and improved its thermal stability. During mass spectrometric analysis of DCE glycopeptides, their CID patterns were highly intriguing, in that some glycopeptides underwent both C‐terminal rearrangement and formation of dimeric structures during CID. Results of this study provide an interesting example in terms of potential complexity of the glycopeptide CID fragmentation pattern.
Sequence similarity‐driven proteomics in organisms with unknown genomes by LC‐MS/MS and automated de novo sequencing
Authors: Waridel Patrice , Frank Ari , Thomas Henrik , Surendranath Vineeth , Sunyaev Shamil , Pevzner Pavel , Shevchenko Andrej 
Published: July 2007

AbstractLC‐MS/MS analysis on a linear ion trap LTQ mass spectrometer, combined with data processing, stringent, and sequence‐similarity database searching tools, was employed in a layered manner to identify proteins in organisms with unsequenced genomes. Highly specific stringent searches (MASCOT) were applied as a first layer screen to identify either known (i.e. present in a database) proteins, or unknown proteins sharing identical peptides with related database sequences. Once the confidently matched spectra were removed, the remainder was filtered against a nonannotated library of background spectra that cleaned up the dataset from spectra of common protein and chemical contaminants. The rectified spectral dataset was further subjected to rapid batch de novo interpretation by PepNovo software, followed by the MS BLAST sequence‐similarity search that used multiple redundant and partially accurate candidate peptide sequences. Importantly, a single dataset was acquired at the uncompromised sensitivity with no need of manual selection of MS/MS spectra for subsequent de novo interpretation. This approach enabled a completely automated identification of novel proteins that were, otherwise, missed by conventional database searches.
Proteomic analysis of human reproductive fluids
Authors: Kolialexi Aggeliki , Mavrou Ariadni , Tsangaris George Th. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractFertilization, fetal development, and delivery depend upon a coordinated series of events in the oocyte, the embryo, and the supporting tissues and fluids. Proteomic techniques which are capable of identifying and characterizing multiple proteins simultaneously have added new dimensions to the field of human reproduction. Application of these high throughput methodologies in pregnancy‐related research has begun to provide a novel perspective on the biochemical pathways involved in pregnancy and its related disorders. Most of the existing research on human reproduction and gestation has focused on follicular fluid (FF) and amniotic fluid (AF). Proteome analysis of FF has yielded significant information relevant to oocyte maturation and quality. Studies performed on the protein content of AF cells and supernatant contributed to the comprehension of the underlying pathophysiology, clinical diagnosis of pregnancy‐related disorders and identification of relevant disease biomarkers. Although proteome technologies in reproduction research are not as yet widely applied, characterization of the proteome of reproductive fluids can be expected to significantly improve maternal healthcare in the future.
Gastrointestinal fluids proteomics
Authors: Tan Sandra , Liang Cynthia R. M. Y. , Yeoh Khay Guan , So Jimmy , Hew Choy Leong , Chung Maxey C. M. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractSeventy million people suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract annually in US, translating to US$85.5 billion in direct healthcare costs. The debilitating effects of these gastrointestinal (GI) diseases can be circumvented with good biomarkers for early detection of these disorders, which will greatly increase the success of curative treatments. GI fluids represent a potential reservoir of biomarkers for early diagnosis of various GI and systemic diseases since these fluids are the most proximal fluid bathing diseased cells. They are anticipated to have proteomes that closely reflect the ensemble of proteins secreted from the respective GI tissues. Most importantly, the disease markers present in GI fluids should be present in higher concentrations than in sera, thus offering greater sensitivity in their detection. However, proteome analysis of GI fluids can be complex mainly due to the dynamic range of protein content and the numerous PTMs of proteins in each specialized GI compartment. This review attempts to discuss the physiology of the various GI fluids, the special technical considerations required for proteome analysis of each fluid, as well as to summarize the current state of knowledge of biomarker discoveries and clinical utility of GI fluids such as salivary, gastric, pancreatic, and biliary secretions.
Inhibition of Ribonuclease A by polyphenols present in green tea
Authors: Ghosh Kalyan S. , Maiti Tushar K. , Debnath Joy , Dasgupta Swagata 
Published: July 2007

AbstractWe report the effect of the natural polyphenolic compounds from green tea on the catalytic activity of Ribonuclease A (RNase A). The compounds behave as noncompetitive inhibitors of the protein with inhibition constants ranging from 80–1300 μM. The dissociation constants range from 50–150 μM for the RNase A–polyphenol complexes as determined by ultraviolet (UV) and circular dichroism (CD) studies. We have also investigated the changes in the secondary structure of RNase A on complex formation by CD and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The presence of the gallate moiety has been shown to be important for the inhibition of enzymatic activity. Docking studies for these compounds indicate that the preferred site of binding is the region encompassing residues 34–39 with possible hydrogen bonding with Lys 7 and Arg 10. Finally we have also looked at changes in the accessible surface area of the interacting residues on complex formation for an insight into the residues involved in the interaction. Proteins 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A large data set comparison of protein structures determined by crystallography and NMR: Statistical test for structural differences and the effect of crystal packing
Authors: Andrec Michael , Snyder David A. , Zhou Zhiyong , Young Jasmine , Montelione Gaetano T. , Levy Ronald M. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe existence of a large number of proteins for which both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X‐ray crystallographic coordinates have been deposited into the Protein Data Bank (PDB) makes the statistical comparison of the corresponding crystal and NMR structural models over a large data set possible, and facilitates the study of the effect of the crystal environment and other factors on structure. We present an approach for detecting statistically significant structural differences between crystal and NMR structural models which is based on structural superposition and the analysis of the distributions of atomic positions relative to a mean structure. We apply this to a set of 148 protein structure pairs (crystal vs NMR), and analyze the results in terms of methodological and physical sources of structural difference. For every one of the 148 structure pairs, the backbone root‐mean‐square distance (RMSD) over core atoms of the crystal structure to the mean NMR structure is larger than the average RMSD of the members of the NMR ensemble to the mean, with 76% of the structure pairs having an RMSD of the crystal structure to the mean more than a factor of two larger than the average RMSD of the NMR ensemble. On average, the backbone RMSD over core atoms of crystal structure to the mean NMR is approximately 1 Å. If non‐core atoms are included, this increases to 1.4 Å due to the presence of variability in loops and similar regions of the protein. The observed structural differences are only weakly correlated with the age and quality of the structural model and differences in conditions under which the models were determined. We examine steric clashes when a putative crystalline lattice is constructed using a representative NMR structure, and find that repulsive crystal packing plays a minor role in the observed differences between crystal and NMR structures. The observed structural differences likely have a combination of physical and methodological causes. Stabilizing attractive interactions arising from intermolecular crystal contacts which shift the equilibrium of the crystal structure relative to the NMR structure is a likely physical source which can account for some of the observed differences. Methodological sources of apparent structural difference include insufficient sampling or other issues which could give rise to errors in the estimates of the precision and/or accuracy. Proteins 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.