Using Lean Six Sigma to improve mobile order fulfilment process in a telecom service sector

This study proposes and follows a specific and systematic framework for implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology in a telecom company in order to improve customer satisfaction by minimizing the company’s response time to customer requirements. The goal of this study was achieved by utilizing several LSS tools under five phases of the DMAIC methodology. Unlike previous studies in the telecom sector that used only qualitative method, in this study, both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized to draw meaningful conclusions. As a result of the implementation of the LSS methodology, the average order fulfilment lead time for sales orders (SO) and value-added service (VAS) orders was reduced from 10.3 to 5.9 days and from 1.5 to 0.5 days, respectively. The reduction in lead time resulted in an increase in the sigma level for SO and VAS orders from 0.44 to 1.26 and from 0.73 to 2.66, respectively. These improvements were expected to lead to a financial benefit in savings of over $600,000 per year in operational costs, enhancements to customer experience and an increase in revenue generating opportunities. Moreover, this article enriches the existing literature on the application of LSS concept in the service industry, and helps the company to speed up the response to customer requirements.     

The Feminist “Quarantine” on Hijab: A Study of Its Two Mutually Exclusive Sets of Meanings

The discourse on feminism is sharply polarized between those who regard hijab as essentially debilitating and those who see it as an enabling tool for dignity, self-worth and freedom. This article will discuss both the negative and positive associations of hijab and point out ways it is used by Muslim women for liberatory ends. It will go against the grain of a common argument that hijab equates seclusion and constraints on women’s participation in public life hence it is inherently oppressive. I will argue that hijab can potentially be used for diametrically opposite purposes. While acknowledging the fact that the Islamic dress code for women can be misused by patriarchal power systems as well as by women themselves, I will put forth arguments against dismissive and uncritical criticism of hijab.     

Revisiting Fiat Regime’s Attainability of Shari’ah Objectives and Possible Futuristic Alternatives

Maqasid of Shari'ah is a millennium old theory on the higher objectives of Islamic divine law. As the discipline of Islamic economics and finance grew in politico-economic importance in the past three decades, a cathartic trend has emerged among Muslim experts to realign economic and financial practices with not merely the minimum legal requirements of religion but also the wisdom and crucial objectives of Shari'ah. An expositive example of this is the monetary economics debate of a Shari'ah consonant currency. Though vast majority of religious clerics have approbated fiat and paper currencies in strict legal terms since the 1980s, a revisionist movement since the mid-1990s seeks to counter it—some going as far as indorsing reversion to gold and silver coinage of medieval Islamic epoch of affluence. Unlike orthodox fiqhi (strict jurisprudentialism) approach that involves legalese with little leeway, Maqasid approach concerns itself with the spirit of the law. This paper operates in the exciting laboratory of Maqasidic framework to appraise the multitudinous role of fiat currency in protecting economic, political, and social public interests, prevention of harm, promotion of egalitarianism, and attainment of ultimate utopic vision of theological and spiritual demands in Shari'ah. The paper contributes, theoretically, by introducing several moral-philosophical arguments against fiat’s compatibility with Shari'ah, and, practically, by prognosticating the future course of discourse in light of advancements in technological innovations—including nascent crypto-currencies.     

‘Rachel's not here’: Constructed dialogue in gossip

Sociolinguistic research has demonstrated that gossip is a co‐constructed phenomenon, which allows participants to establish solidarity and build alignments with each other, while evaluating an absent party. Gossip can also serve important social functions, such as helping to establish and reconfirm group norms and values. The present study provides a detailed analysis of an extended gossip episode that occurred within an institutional context: a study group interaction at a U.S. university. Our analysis shows how, in gossip, constructed dialogue both prompts and legitimizes pejorative evaluations towards an absent third party, and is actually the pivot around which group members negotiate values and norms in the process of arriving at a shared moral stance. Our analysis also demonstrates that alignment in gossip interactions is tenuous and must be continuously renewed.     

A general inverse sampling scheme and its application to adaptive cluster sampling

Not having a variance estimator is a seriously weak point of a sampling design from a practical perspective. This paper provides unbiased variance estimators for several sampling designs based on inverse sampling, both with and without an adaptive component. It proposes a new design, which is called the general inverse sampling design, that avoids sampling an infeasibly large number of units. The paper provide estimators for this design as well as its adaptive modification. A simple artificial example is used to demonstrate the computations. The adaptive and non‐adaptive designs are compared using simulations based on real data sets. The results indicate that, for appropriate populations, the adaptive version can have a substantial variance reduction compared with the non‐adaptive version. Also, adaptive general inverse sampling with a limitation on the initial sample size has a greater variance reduction than without the limitation.     

Citizens’ Initiatives for Crisis Management and the Use of Social Media: An Analysis of COVID-19 Crisis in Bangladesh

Public Organization Review - This study analyses different social media-based citizens’ initiatives taken during the COVID-19 crisis in Bangladesh. By applying netnography on various Facebook...     

On comparing,classifying and clustering several dependent regression models

Classifying several regression models fitted on a dataset is one of the most problems in data analysis. In other words, scientists are interested in comparing several regression models that can be used for a dataset. In this paper, an approach will be used to compare and classify several dependent regression models. Then the performance of the proposed method is investigated using simulation study and real example.     

Influential factors and performance of logistics outsourcing practices: an evidence of malaysian companies

Despite the growing trend of logistics outsourcing, there are very limited sources of literature on logistics outsourcing, especially in determining the relationship between factors influencing outsourcing and the extent of logistics outsourcing practices. In this study, we tap into the field of strategic management to help clarify the mechanisms underlying the links between factors influencing, logistics outsourcing practices and outsourcing performance. A model based on the resource based view illustrates the hypothetical connections among these variables. The data gathered from the survey were analysed using SmartPLS software. A response rate of 21 % out of the 486 firms selected was achieved and fixed as the empirical data for this study. The results of this study provide support that superior performance is correlated to the resources of the firm. The analysis shows that lack of human and physical asset capabilities, as well as transaction uncertainty influence the extent of different logistics outsourcing practices. The four logistics outsourcing practices under study were found to have a positive relationship with logistics outsourcing performance, particularly strategic focus. This study shows that although theoretically firms aim at cost reduction by employing a logistics outsourcing strategy but not proven in this study because the financial benefit was only positively contributed by one of the four logistics outsourcing practices under study. Besides that, the results from this study also support that most firms outsource their non-core activities of the logistics practices to respond to the transaction uncertainty that their business experiences.     

Women’s Tertiary Education Masks the Gender Wage Gap in Turkey

This paper investigates the gender wage gap for full-time formal sector employees, disaggregated by education level. The gap between the labor force participation rate of women with tertiary education and those with lower levels of education is substantial. There is no such gap for men. Hence, existing gender wage gap studies for Turkey, where we observe lopsided labor force participation rates by education levels, compare two very different populations. We disaggregate the whole sample by education level to create more homogenous sub-groups. For Turkey, without disaggregation, the gender wage gap was 13% in 2011, and women are significantly over-qualified relative to men on observed characteristics. Once we disaggregate the sample by education level, we show that the gender wage gap is 24% for less educated women and 9% for women with tertiary education in full-time formal employment. Observed characteristics only explain 1 % of this gap in absolute terms. We further disaggregate the data by public and private employment. The gender gap is higher in the private sector. However, women with tertiary education in the public sector are significantly better qualified compared to men, and consequently the adjusted gender wage gap is higher for women with tertiary education in the public sector. Our estimates also indicate a rise in the gender wage gap between 2004 and 2011.