The Potential of Integrated Urban Deposit Modelling as a Cultural Heritage Planning Tool

Researchers investigating human settlements from an archaeological perspective have long recognized that the urban landscape provides a particular set of challenges and demands. Building on the formative Arup study [Ove Arup and Partners (1991) York Development and Archaeology Study (London: English Heritage)], urban deposit modelling as a heritage planning tool has been developed for some time; however, its use has not become widespread. There are however recent intellectual and technical developments that enhance integrated deposit modelling and reveal potential as a curatorial tool for the management of the historic environment. These relate to three key developments: the improvement and enhancement of 3D modelling and visualization techniques, conceptual changes around categories such as ‘made ground’ and the formation of research agendas for the urban historic environment. This paper will explore an example of the difficulties inherent in combining differently scaled datasets whilst also outlining the potential and the significance of urban deposit modelling in, often deeply stratified, historic northern European cities.     

Models for supply chain reengineering

The goal of this paper is to provide a first step in the development of a coherent set of modelling methods for supply chain reengineering. This paper shows that different fields of attention in supply chain management should be approached with different modelling methods. Three modelling methods are presented: the event process chain (EPC) method; the activity chain model (ACM) method; and the GRAI grid method (adjusted for supply chains). EPC modelling focuses on time relationships between primary processes/functions, and is customer oriented. ACM modelling focuses on functions/processes and information flows. GRAI focuses on decision structures and information flows. The three methods are described, and an application of the methods to a case study company is presented. This paper concludes with a comparison of the methods and a discussion of their applicability.     

Exploring the Effects of Cultural Variables in the Implementation of Behavior-Based Safety in Two Organizations

Abstract

The present case study examines how culture can influence behavior-based safety in different organizational settings and how behavior-based safety can impact different organizational cultures. Behavior-based safety processes implemented in two culturally diverse work settings are described. Specifically, despite identical implementation plans, similarities and differences in the actual implementation of the two behavior-based safety processes are presented with an emphasis on the effects of employee-driven decisions. Data on both implementations and outcome measures are provided. The results are discussed with respect to the potential impact of specific cultural variables.     

Quality management and performance: a comparison between the UK and Turkey

Purpose: The aim of this article is to detail the correlation between quality management, specifically its tools and critical success factors, and performance in terms of primary operational and secondary organisational performances.

Design/methodology/approach: Survey data from the UK and Turkey were analysed using exploratory factor analyses, structural equation modelling and regression analysis.

Findings: The results show that quality management has a significant and positive impact on both primary and secondary performances; that Turkish and UK attitudes to quality management are similar; and that quality management is widely practised in manufacturing and service industries but has more statistical emphasis in the manufacturing sector. The main challenge for making quality management practice more effective lies in an appropriate balanced use of the different sorts of the tools and critical success factors.

Originality/value: This study takes a novel approach by: (i) exploring the relationship between primary operational and secondary organisational performances, (ii) using service and manufacturing data and (iii) making a cross-country comparison between the UK (a developed economy) and Turkey (a developing economy).

Limitations: Detailed contrast provided between only two countries.     

Returnable transport packaging in developing countries: drivers,barriers and business performance

Abstract

This study, drawing on natural resource-based view, identifies drivers, barriers and the potential benefits of returnable transport packaging (RTP) – that is, the repeated use of packaging items – and conceptualises RTP as a technology and resource that supports organisational competitiveness. Specifically, it investigates the impact of RTP adoption on business performance, the effects of drivers, barriers and size of organisations. The data collection took place in Nigeria and South Africa. The findings suggest that RTP has a significant positive impact on business performance. Whilst prior studies seem to suggest that shrinkage and attrition are the major problems identified with the usage of RTP, our findings indicate that there are several other barriers affecting RTP adoption and the resultant performance advantage. The results also show that there is an increasing move towards adoption of RTP but some organisations are faced with financial constraints, especially the small and medium size enterprises. In addition, the results show that RTP is largely a ‘sustainability facing’ initiative with adopters motivated primarily by potential environmental, economic, social and operational benefits of adoption.     

Fire and rescue operational effectiveness: the effect of alternative crewing patterns

Abstract

Decreasing demand and reduced budgets are driving changes to traditional crewing methods in the UK Fire and Rescue Service. Using an integration of two years' operational data within a novel framework, this paper assesses the impact of alternative crewing on operational effectiveness in one UK FRS. Changes in crewing patterns were implemented without substantial impact on overall operational effectiveness, but there may be a risk to wider operational resilience. The Overall Effectiveness of Fire Operations (OEFO) assessment tool can inform FRS decision making in an authentic way allowing stakeholder confidence in the outcomes, whilst being timely and not too complex or costly to evaluate. The OEFO approach is an important contribution to practice through its ability to assess public services at a time of challenging reform and demonstrates alterations can be made to crewing patterns to better match demand provided there is consideration of the potential wider impact.     

Emotional labour,collectivism and strain: a comparison of Turkish and U.S. service employees

ABSTRACT

Global growth in service employment highlights the need to understand how cross-cultural differences impact emotional labour processes for service employees. The current study investigates these differences by examining the impact of national and individual level collectivistic values on emotional labour strategies and employee strain (emotional strain, turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and organisational commitment). Cross-sectional data was collected from U.S. (n?=?191) and Turkish (n?=?249) customer service employees. Results indicate that collectivism impacts the process model of emotional labour via direct and interaction effects. Collectivism was associated with higher emotional labour engagement and lower employee strains. Surface acting was uncorrelated with Turkish employees’ strain, though moderated regression analyses revealed interaction effects associated with national and individual level collectivism. These results suggest that collectivistic values may serve as a buffer against harmful effects associated with surface acting. This study is the first to directly compare emotional labour processes in U.S. and Turkish service employees and expand the process model of emotional labour to include collectivism. The theoretical implications of this expanded model are discussed, along with future research directions and practical applications of these findings.     

Quantifying costs of forecast errors: A case study of the warehouse environment

Our study evaluates the impact of forecast errors on organizational cost by simulating a labor-intensive warehouse environment using realistic cost data from a case study. Unlike past studies that measure forecast error in terms of forecast standard deviation, our study also considers the impact of forecast bias, and the complex interaction between these variables. Two cases of organizational cost curves are considered, with differing and asymmetric structures. Results find forecast bias to have a considerably greater impact on organizational cost than forecast standard deviation. Particularly damaging is a high bias in the presence of high forecast standard deviation. Although biasing the forecast in the least costly direction is shown to yield lower costs, sensitivity analysis shows that increasing bias beyond the optimum point rapidly increases costs. ‘Overshooting’ the optimal amount of bias appears to be more damaging than not biasing the forecast at all. Given that managers often deliberately bias their forecasts, this finding underscores the importance of having a good understanding of organizational cost structures before arbitrarily introducing bias. This finding also suggests that managers should exercise caution when introducing bias, particularly for forecasts that inherently have large errors. These findings have important implications for organizational decision making beyond the simulated warehouse, as high forecast errors are endemic to many labor-intensive organizations.     

Open collaborative innovation and digital platforms

Abstract

This study uses contract theory to analyse the relationship between open collaborative innovation strategies and digital platforms. We argue that a collaborative mechanism and governance of the platform affect how operations are run and impact firm ambidexterity. We also explain how the twofold revealing strategy, both selective and free occurs via the platform and how governance positively impacts the coordination mechanism. A case study analysis on TIM OPEN draws a ground-breaking framework for future investigations. The analysis suggests that the combination of digital platform and collaborative innovation can facilitate the creative process and be a driver of operational synergies. Results confirm that the adoption of digital platforms for collaborative innovations reduces transaction costs.     

Product architecture,global operations networks,and operational performance: an exploratory study

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationships between product architectures and global operations networks and their impact on operational performance, based on survey data from 82 Swedish manufacturers. We find that modular and integral product architectures are associated with different characteristics of the global operations network, and that global operations network designs are characterised by three dimensions: network, plant and supply chain. The key aspects are network structure (configuration as well as coordination), plant focus (scale or scope) and the locus of supply chain capabilities (internal or external).     

Entrepreneurship and Epistemology: The Philosophical Underpinnings of the Study of Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Abstract

Two approaches to studying opportunities have emerged in the entrepreneurship literature. This paper shows that the first of these approaches—which focuses on how alert entrepreneurs discover objective opportunities formed by exogenous shocks in an existing market—adopts a critical realist perspective. The second approach—which focuses on opportunities that are endogenously enacted by the actions of entrepreneurs themselves and do not have an existence independent of those human actions—adopts an evolutionary realist perspective. Differences between these epistemological assumptions have an important impact on opportunity research in the field of entrepreneurship, and thus are likely to have an important impact on the evolution of research, practice, and teaching in the field of entrepreneurship as a whole.     

Context matters: how internal and external factors impact servitization

Abstract

The study investigates how internal and external context factors impact a manufacturer’s servitization process (i.e. the strategic transformation from competing through products towards competing through services). A theoretical framework was developed that integrates a multi-stage conceptualisation of servitization with a focus on the wide range of internal and external context factors that support or oppose the transformation. The study draws on the collective experiences of 25 senior executives from 17 servitizing small- and medium-sized manufacturers, using a focus group-based enquiry method. The findings recognise servitization as a multi-stage transformation process with each stage being exposed to different context factors. The findings identify a wide range of context factors and show how their specific impact varies depending on the manufacturer’s servitization stage. Several theoretical and practical implications are provided.     

Effects of intellectual capital and university knowledge in indigenous innovation: evidence from Indian SMEs

Abstract

Intellectual capital and collaboration with universities are vital knowledge management practices for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to innovate and improve the effectiveness of their operations. This study investigates empirically the impacts of intellectual capital and university knowledge on indigenous innovation and how business and institutional environments affect the relationships. The research model is tested using moderated regression analysis and data collected from 150 SMEs in India. The results show that intellectual capital and university knowledge improve indigenous innovation, both individually and interactively. The effect of intellectual capital in indigenous innovation is amplified by dysfunctional competition whereas the effect of university knowledge in indigenous innovation is attenuated by environmental uncertainty. In addition, we find that indigenous innovation is positively associated with business performance. The impact of indigenous innovation on business performance is enhanced by dysfunctional competition but reduced by environmental uncertainty.     

Evaluating the impact of lean practices on environmental performance: evidences from five manufacturing companies

Abstract

Previous evidence suggests that lean practices help organizations to enhance environmental performance. However, the impact of lean practices on the environment is still unclear. This study, therefore, aims to analyse the relationship between lean and environmental performance in two main stages: first, a review of the relevant literature was developed, followed by a multiple case study analysis conducted in five manufacturing companies. Onsite data were collected from the firms during a 5 years’ time span of research and developing semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that the environmental performance of the companies analysed is generally enhanced in the long-term after the implementation of lean. Moreover, the results suggest that the environmental performance of the firms investigated is mainly improved by using JIT and TQM practices in a lean transformation context. The research findings provide further results remarking the possible negative impact of Kanban deliveries, 5S and TPM on various environmental performance indicators.     

Evaluation of safety stock methods in multilevel material requirements planning (MRP) systems

This paper evaluates alternative methods of establishing the safety stock level taking into consideration of historical measures of forecasting accuracy and the needs for master production scheduling and material requirement planning under a rolling time horizon. A computer model is used to simulate the forecasting, master production scheduling and material planning activities in a company that produces to stock and the production activities are managed by multilevel MRP systems. The simulation output is analysed to evaluate the impact of safety stock methods on MRP system performance. The result of the study shows that using safety stock can help to reduce total cost, schedule instability and improve service level in the MRP systems. Guidelines are developed to help managers select methods to determine safety stock in MRP system operations.     

Identifying design criteria for urban system ‘last-mile’ solutions – a multi-stakeholder perspective

Abstract

This study presents a novel approach to design and evaluate ‘last-mile’ solutions – encompassing the social and economic perspectives of key stakeholders. While urban system initiatives have been implemented in practice, theoretical gaps remain at the operational design level. A theoretical framework is developed, based on design criteria identified from a critical synthesis of supply chain and operations management literature, and ‘operationalised’ using an in-depth case study demonstrating implementation of a Consumer Choice Portal-Package Consolidation Centre solution, within a densely populated urban geography. Findings suggest that there is a need to re-define the role of institutional actors beyond that of the traditional governance task, to one of being able to facilitate performance outcomes. Similarly, industrial efficiency dimensions need to be reorientated to include consumer participation, social considerations and multi-stakeholder service outcomes. Finally, implications for operations theory and practising managers in city logistics are highlighted, with suggested directions for future research.     

An integrated lean and green approach for improving sustainability performance: a case study of a packaging manufacturing SME in the U.K.

Abstract

Competitive landscape, informed consumers and stringent regulations have forced many manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to focus on operational efficiency along with sustainability issues in recent years. While many manufacturing organisations have been taking lean initiatives for the past few years for operational excellence, an impulsive rush to adopt lean without a strategic deployment vision has led to scattered implementation of lean tools and projects without desired success. Many researchers and practitioners prescribe value stream mapping as a foundation for lean transformation initiatives; however, little empirical work is available on the symbiosis of lean and green paradigms to reap maximum benefits. This research, through a systematic methodology and a novel tool called Green Integrated Value Stream Mapping (GIVSM), integrates both paradigms in a case study on a U.K. packaging-manufacturing SME. Applying the GIVSM demonstrates that simultaneous deployment of lean and green paradigms have synergistic effect for improving both operational efficiency and environmental performance. In addition, continuous improvement framework with sustainable procurement is proposed to overcome the lean-green misalignments. This study also provides a guiding reference for practitioners to undertake similar improvement projects and identifies opportunities to expand this academic research on integrated lean-green approach into other industry sectors.     

Supplier integration,operational capability and firm performance: an investigation in an emerging economy environment

Abstract

The literature on supplier integration’s (SI) impact on firm performance is intertwined with mixed findings in terms of definitional differences, study context, specific integration components, and the types of relationships examined. This study contributes to the supplier integration and firm performance (SI-FP) literature by investigating how and when supplier integration influences firm performance. Drawing on the relational view, the resource-based view, and the Dynamics Capability theories, we suggest that improvements in firm performance from the supplier integration perspective are dependent on gains in operational capabilities. We test this dependency with survey data from firms in Ghana, a developing economy. The results show positive significant relationships between supplier integration and competitive operational capabilities and between supplier integration and firm performance. Our results highlight the importance for managers in developing economies and elsewhere to improve their firms’ operational capabilities and competitiveness by investing in supplier integration. We also discuss implications of these findings for research.     

Evaluation of an intervention programme based on empowerment for eldercare nursing staff

Abstract

This study evaluated the impact of an intervention programme at individual, worksite, and organizational level, for eldercare nursing staff at 12 eldercare units. The project aimed at empowering auxiliary nurses and nursing assistants, thus promoting good working conditions, health and well-being of eldercare staff, and improving their evaluation of the quality of nursing care. Questionnaire responses from the nursing staff (n=200) before and after an 18-month intervention programme evaluated the effects using ANOVA, repeated measures for the statistical analyses. Although the improvements were limited, the intervention seemed to impact on work conditions and on the perceived quality of nursing rather than on the health and well-being of staff. Work at nursing homes or at home-care was shown to modify the outcome due to different needs and priorities for work unit improvements. Staff turnover and multiple reorganizations are discussed as inhibiting factors for performance as well as for the evaluation of workplace interventions. The sharing of power between occupational groups or organizational levels must be carefully considered. The study emphasizes the importance of involving the middle management in early project planning and decisions.     

Is there an optimum number of night shifts? Relationship between sleep,health and well-being

Abstract

By concentrating on the impact of a specific shift-system feature on the well-being of those concerned, rather than on the impact of the shift system as a whole, one might be able to offer more meaningful suggestions as to what constitutes a better form of shift system. The present study focused on the impact of the number of consecutive night shifts worked on the health and well-being of two groups of nurses (permanent night and rotating shift). All nurses completed a copy of the Standard Shiftwork Index, which is a set of questionnaires designed for comparing the effects of different types of shift system on large groups of workers. It includes measurements of psychological ill-health, physical ill-health, chronic fatigue, social and domestic disruption, attitudes towards shiftwork, sleep quality and sleep habits. Results showed clearly the impact of the number of consecutive nights worked on health and well-being, not directly, but indirectly through the impact on sleep duration and sleep quality. Sleep duration was shown to increase with more consecutive nights worked. This in turn was found to predict sleep quality, which in turn was found to be the stronger direct predictor of psychological and physical ill-health: i.e. better health was associated with longer and better quality sleeps. Explanations in terms of circadian adaptation are discussed.