A study of the use of business improvement initiatives: the association with company size and level of national development

This paper investigates the awareness, use and effectiveness of improvement initiatives in organisations of different sizes and in different countries. In particular, comparisons are made between large firms and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), between organisations in the developing and developed worlds and between organisations in China and India and the rest of the developing world. A questionnaire survey of 453 organisations across 44 countries was conducted with the findings indicating that there are significant differences in comparability of tools. For some tools there are no significant differences between developed and developing countries as well as between large organisations and small organisations. For other tools, there are significant differences with organisations in developing countries, in general, more aware and more likely to use business improvement initiatives when compared to organisations in developed countries. Similarly, organisations in China and India have a higher awareness of and are more likely to adopt improvement initiatives when compared to the rest of the developing world. Finally, larger firms are more aware and more likely to use improvement initiatives when compared to SMEs.     

Strategic performance measurement in a healthcare organisation: A multiple criteria approach based on balanced scorecard

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) methodology focuses on major critical issues of modern business organisations: the effective measurement of corporate performance and the evaluation of the successful implementation of corporate strategy. Despite the increased adoption of the BSC methodology by numerous business organisations during the last decade, limited case studies concern non-profit organisations (e.g. public sector, educational institutions, healthcare organisations, etc.). The main aim of this study is to present the development of a performance measurement system for public health care organisations, in the context of BSC methodology. The proposed approach considers the distinguished characteristics of the aforementioned sector (e.g. lack of competition, social character of organisations, etc.). The proposed measurement system contains the most important financial performance indicators, as well as non-financial performance indicators that are able to examine the quality of the provided services, the satisfaction of internal and external customers, the self-improvement system of the organisation and the ability of the organisation to adapt and change. These indicators play the role of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), in the context of BSC methodology. The presented analysis is based on a MCDA approach, where the UTASTAR method is used in order to aggregate the marginal performance of KPIs. This approach is able to take into account the preferences of the management of the organisation regarding the achievement of the defined strategic objectives. The main results of the proposed approach refer to the evaluation of the overall scores for each one of the main dimensions of the BSC methodology (i.e. financial, customer, internal business process, and innovation-learning). These results are able to help the organisation to evaluate and revise its strategy, and generally to adopt modern management approaches in every day practise.     

Leadership and change in the Tasmanian environment movement

Semi-structured interviews with key environmentalists conducted in 2002 suggest strategic decision makers, organisational spokespeople and Green politicians are key leaders of the Tasmanian environmental movement, although charismatic leadership persists following movement routinisation. Routinisation is associated with the rise of non-protest environmental movement organisations addressing mainstream issues such as soil erosion, while protest oriented organisations champion the protection of old growth forests. Disproportionate federal government funding of non-protest organisations underpins tensions between movement leaders. An environmental council representing the diverse interests of the groups and organisations comprising the movement mitigates tensions and strengthens leader integration. Entrenched leaders from the ‘baby boom’ generation hinder the rise of younger leaders. Leader mentoring schemes adopted by movement organisations offer a potential solution to leadership succession in a mature social movement.     

A contingency view on the impact of supplier development on design and conformance quality performance

This study extends contingency theory’s account of organisational size and culture by exploring the relationship between supplier development and internal quality performance. Drawing on supplier development research, the study aims to examine the moderating impact of organisational size and culture on the relationship between supplier development and design and conformance quality dimensions. Using survey data of 518 UK manufacturing organisations, we found that larger organisations with greater access to resources and a strong supply chain orientation culture tend to place the most weight on supplier development programmes which in turn yield higher internal quality performance. These findings contribute to ‘Operations Management Practice Contingency Research (OM PCR)’ and will raise awareness among operations managers of their future sourcing decisions.     

How Mayors Perceive the Influence of Social Media on the Policy Cycle

Public Organization Review - Information technology clearly influences the decision-making behaviour of individuals, groups, and organisations. In particular, social media and Web 2.0 technologies...     

Shattering the Myth of Costless Price Changes

Despite its centrality to the topic, very little attention has been paid to the topic of price changes. Indeed, for the most part, organisations operate under the myth of costless price changes. This article broadens the definition of the costs of changing price and then presents strategic recommendations for improving the way in which prices are changed within organisations.     

Building cultural intelligence: insights from project management job advertisements

This paper examines how organisations that conduct worldwide recruitment of project management professionals can derive insight from the cultural preferences stated within project management job advertisements. Drawing on project management practitioner job advertisements placed by 2040 organisations across seven countries and seven industries, we employ Hofstede’s national cultural framework to categorise cultural preferences which the organisations persistently replicate in their specifications of desired candidate project management practitioner competency. To map global trends and national variations, data analysis is undertaking and utilising exploratory data analysis, Poisson regression and negative binomial regression are used. The paper finds that specific national cultural dimensions – ‘Collectivism’, ‘Uncertainty Avoidance’ and, to a lesser extent, ‘Power Distance’ – are the most salient cultural denominators for advertised project management positions, while this is not the case with ‘Masculinity’ and ‘Individualism’. The findings raise issues about which organisations should seek to become more culturally intelligent, and which relate to the adaptiveness of the cultural preferences that they articulate through their job advertisements, both to project tasks and to cultural contexts for projects.     

Some trends in corporate modelling

This paper reviews the evidence of a number of surveys and case studies of corporate modelling in the U.K. Some general conclusions as to trends are drawn. Thus corporate models will display increasing modularity; will be more likely to include probabilistic elements; will more often incorporate physical flows; and will be generally linked to a greater number of other models in organisations. Micros are making a substantial impact as tools for running decision support systems both of the corporate model and the ad hoc model variety. Forecasting techniques are still greatly underutilised in many organisations. Although most corporate models are currently of the deterministic financial simulation type, the influence of management education will help the adoption of more advanced models by more numerate senior managers and accountants. Indeed there is already evidence that this is happening in some organisations.     

Modelling the impact of performance management practices on firm performance: interaction with human resource management practices

The paper draws on resource orchestration theory to investigate whether and how performance management (PM) practices interact with human resource management (HRM) practices in organisations as well as how this interaction affects firm performance. The proposed theoretical model was tested through a survey of 192 UK firms using Partial Least Squares approach for structural equations modelling. The findings show that the effect of PM practices on firm performance is better explained when the interaction between these practices and other organisational practices is considered. In particular, we examine the extent to which the interaction between PM practices and commitment-based HRM practices affects performance. We find that when HRM practices and PM practices are misaligned, their effect on performance can be negative. This is the first paper in the PM literature that establishes the relationship between PM and HRM practices in organisations and demonstrates the effect of this relationship on firm performance.     

Key strategic issues for public corporations

The public sector organisations play a dominant role in the economies of many countries and they are particularly important in developing economies. However, management in such organisations face special problems in corporate planning. In particular, they have as yet no clear-cut definition of their social and economic objectives, no accepted way of pricing so as to deal with ‘social overheads’ and no valid way of measuring performance in industries where low profitability is to be expected.     

Nurturing life-science knowledge discovery: managing multi-organisation networks

Advancement of knowledge is the seed of the innovation process. As innovations have become more complex, organisations are driven by an increased need to collaborate in order to combine specialist capabilities to meet emerging market needs. The life sciences are one sector where collaborative innovation is highly evident. This article examines the phenomenon of knowledge-generating networks within the life sciences. The study explores the drivers of collaborative endeavours and investigates how knowledge networks linking the capabilities of public research centres and commercially focused pharmaceutical organisations can be managed to deliver the required synergistic benefits for partnering organisations. Three case studies of functioning university–industry knowledge networks are analysed and a model reflecting their network's life-cycle phases is presented. The discussion identifies the specific challenge posed at each of the network's development stages, together with the management process required to secure sustainable knowledge creation and effective transfer of this knowledge into innovation-generating R&D.     

Support for diversity practices in Norway: Depends on who you are and whom you have met

An increasingly diverse workforce is a reality for today's organisations in Norway, and a variety of human resource practices are being introduced in order to manage this diversity effectively. However, little is known about what leads to the successful implementation of these diversity practices. Thus, we need to find out more about what affects the willingness to implement that is held by those responsible for the process. In this study we examine how contact with minority groups, values, orientation, and individual differences relate to their perceptions and support for diversity practices. In a survey conducted with 385 Norwegian individuals employed in different organisations and business sectors across the country, we observed a relationship between positive contact experiences with individuals from immigrant backgrounds, diversity values, other-orientation, age, and gender on the extent to which the respondents were willing to support a diversity practice. Theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

The role of QMS in the relationship between innovation climate and performance

The emergence of new global competitors, the convergence of high-technology industries and the increasing speed and cost of technological development promises an increasingly uncertain environment for organisations, making adaptation to changes in the environment a central theme in the study of the organisation for both organisation theory and strategic management. This study thus seeks principally to verify that, while innovation and quality management (QM) alone do not possess the qualities required to provide organisations with sustainable competitive advantages, the bundle of innovation and QM together with other resources and competencies will allow organisations to obtain a competitive advantage and adapt to their environment. The results show that the factors determining innovation – such as resistance to change, cohesion and workload pressures – have repercussions for the firms’ capacity to adapt to their environmentand that a QM context facilitates this adaptation. Finally, we can conclude that a climate of support for innovation is positively related to the organisation’s performance.     

An integrative approach to assess environmental and economic sustainability in multi-tier supply chains

Abstract

Multi-tier supply chain sustainability is paramount to achieve corporate sustainability, due to the significant impacts from organisations beyond the focal firm boundaries and its direct suppliers. However, including environmental considerations within the dominant profit-centric logic of supply chain related decisions is prone to generate sustainability tensions. This work aims to support organisations address tensions between sustainability dimensions by adopting an integrative approach for sustainable supply chain management performance assessment thanks to an innovative eco-intensity based performance assessment method, which achieves a balanced consideration of environmental and economic performance in a weak sustainability perspective. The method, using primary data sourced from actual practice and featuring an indirect multi-tier approach with decentralised responsibilities across organisations, is applied to a case study of a machinery supply chain. The proposed integrative approach can support addressing sustainability tensions in the area of sustainable supply chain management, facilitate sustainable supplier evaluation and identify supply chain hotspots for operational improvement.     

Peak performing organisations

The literature on organisational performance is riddled with measurement problems that cannot easily be solved. In contrast we argue that elite theory in terms of performance can be more easily measured by the win record of sports organisations. Accordingly, this article argues that certain organisational peak practices are key to understanding how peak performance is sustained. Through data collected from the top ten sports organisations in the world we introduce the embryonic theory of Peak Performing Organisations (PPO). Sustained PPO practices offer more robust outcomes than the genre of High Performing Organisations.     

High value manufacturing (HVM) in the UK: case studies and focus group insights

This paper studies the internal mechanisms that allow organisations to become high value manufacturing (HVM). Using a qualitative methodology, three UK manufacturing companies formed in-depth case studies with semi-structured interviews, observations and historical data. The HVM value matrix of Martinez and co-workers is used to categorise each organisation’s value proposition. Wider benchmarking of the three organisations was carried out against a focus group with an additional seven manufacturing organisations. Thus, data from 10 manufacturing organisations are included in this research. The cases follow the ‘customer intimacy’ HVM discipline. The business processes supporting these value propositions were identified. Interestingly, each organisation’s desired value proposition differs from their current one. ‘Technological integrators’ predominantly rely on new product development (NPD) and Strategy processes, whereas ‘Socialisors’ rely predominantly on Strategy and Customer Relationship processes. Companies can use the findings to better understand their current HVM value proposition and, where necessary, plan their transition to a future desired HVM value proposition.     

Implementing lean sigma in an Indian rotary switches manufacturing organisation

The manufacturing organisations have been witnessing a transformation in the manufacturing paradigm. Lean sigma and six sigma are the two business process improvement strategies widely employed by organisations to enhance their manufacturing performance. To achieve dramatic result in cost, quality and time, best strategies need to be applied to enhance the process performance. Lean sigma and six sigma are two powerful and effective strategies, enabling the organisation to overcome their weakness and for retaining their improvement. Lean sigma combines the variability reduction tools and techniques drawn from six sigma with the waste and non-value added elimination tools and techniques from lean manufacturing to achieve savings in the organisations. This study uses an integrated lean sigma framework to reduce the defects occurring in the final product, thereby contributing savings to the organisation. The proposed framework integrates lean tools within six sigma methodology to enhance the bottom-line results and to win customer loyalty. The implementation of the proposed framework shows dramatic improvement in key metrics and substantial financial savings to be generated by the organisation.     

Communication and its constraints on the structure of organisations

Control of organisations is one of the principal concerns of management. Day to day control is frequently mainly achieved by oral or verbal communication. It is suggested that loss or distortion of information during its passage through a chain of command can impose a major constraint on the effectiveness of an organisation. An experiment was devised in order to determine the information loss and distortion likely to occur when verbal information is passed through a series of people. It was found necessary to develop a method of coding and classifying verbal and written information before the data could be analysed. Some 21 different types of verbal information ‘bit’ were eventually isolated. It was found that there were some unexpected effects in the information loss process, and that distortions could frequently take place which created an exactly opposite effect to that required. It was also noted that critical loss levels existed, and that the believed ability to act on the information was related to this level. The results are described in the paper and losses and distortions are quantified so that the reliability of the human command system can be evaluated. The losses are then related to the deduced and observed limitations of the size and structure organisations.