Lessons from the ‘made in Switzerland’ study: What makes a world-class manufacturer?

Many executives are currently striving to develop world-class manufacturing operations to ensure that they remain competitive in increasingly global markets. To do this, they are adopting a range of practices, from organisational changes such as empowerment and teamwork to the use of techniques such as pull production. Their goal is to substantially improve performance: faster cycle times, reduced manufacturing costs and greater customer satisfaction.The question of how far companies have moved towards world-class manufacturing is at the heart of the ‘Made in Switzerland’ project, a major benchmarking study of Swiss manufacturing practice and performance. The study was carried out in 1995 by IMD faculty and researchers working with consultants from IBM Switzerland. It is part of the internationally-based ‘Made in Europe’ project comprising similar studies in the UK, Germany, The Netherlands and Finland.The central hypothesis of the studies is that the adoption of best practice leads to high performance. The objective is to establish a benchmarking database for participating manufacturers around the world. The studies, which are highly structured, examine six areas of manufacturing practice and performance in detail and assess the relationship between them at individual plants. The areas covered in the study are quality, organisation and culture, concurrent engineering, logistics, lean production and manufacturing systems.Plants in each country are grouped according to their position on the practice and performance indices and then studied in order to pinpoint the issues and challenges facing the manufacturers within that group. Less than three per cent of the 800 plants currently on the ‘Made in Europe’ database are considered ‘world-class’. Yet for manufacturers striving to reach this level of performance, this small minority can provide some valuable insights for the way ahead.This article discusses many of the issues raised by the analysis described above, with particular reference to the ‘Made in Switzerland’ study. In the first section, it looks at the key lessons arising from the Swiss study and what insights these can provide for manufacturers, not only in the Swiss market, but across Europe. In the second section, it looks at how the study can be used for benchmarking and provides manufacturers with some general recommendations to help them focus their improvements and move closer to becoming world-class.     

Three faces of cruelty: Towards a comparative sociology of violence

Conclusion In our contemporary society, ferocious cruelty is no longer structurally induced; it is no longer part of the dominant ceremonial order, although we still find individual cases. In this sense, modern society appears more humane. But at the same time, the dangers of callousness increase; and the technological efficiency of modern instruments of destruction makes its consequencess all the more appalling while it hides them from view. Between these opposing trends, ascetic cruelty has had its ups and downs, cresting during periods of mobilized conflict.There is no evolutionary trend towards kindness and happiness. Ferociousness once increased, then declined; callousness and asceticism now oppose each other as defenders and challengers of the status quo. And the institutionalized asceticism of a victorious revolutionary movement easily amalgamates with the callousness of an established bureaucratic regime.The demons can be exorcised, but only by seeing them for what they are. Those who claim that the demons can be exorcised only by action in the world, not by theorizing about them, seem to be possessed by demons of their own, especially the demon of asceticism; one senses here the communal hostility of the ascetic to the individual luxury of intellectual contemplation. And here is the danger. Those who deny everything for the self deny it as well for others; our altruism, taken too exclusively, is an infinite regress, passing a bucket from hand to hand that never reaches the fire. When we act, we call out the demons to meet us. Be careful: they are ourselves.     

Substance use and vulnerability to sexual and physical aggression: a longitudinal study of young adults

Using data from 2,170 individuals who participated in Waves 8 (age 23) and 9 (age 29) of a multiyear panel study, this study examined whether alcohol and marijuana use in young adulthood increase one's risk for experiencing subsequent sexual or physical assault victimization, whether victims' own violent behavior or involvement in the sale of drugs explain any effects of substance use on victimization, and whether these associations differ by gender. Controlling for prior victimization, we found that marijuana use, but not alcohol use, predicted women's and men's subsequent sexual victimization and men's subsequent physical assault victimization, and that heavy alcohol use, but not marijuana use, predicted women's subsequent physical assault victimization. Whereas the links from marijuana use to victimization were explained by users' own violent behavior, the link from alcohol use to women's physical assault victimization was not.     

Stress: the perceptions of social work lectures in Britain

Summary Stress has been a focus of attention for several years amongvarious professional groups, including social work. However,only limited attention has been given to stress experiencedby academics and even less to social work lecturers. This paperexamines job satisfaction, felt pressure and stress amongstsocial work lecturers in the United Kingdom. It looks at demands,supports and constraints, psychological well-being, the impactof the department and the institution, and changes that mightalleviate stress. The results obtained are compared, where possible,with studies of social workers and, in particular, academicsin general. A 60-item postal questionnaire was sent to all social work lecturersin the United Kingdom; 322 responses were received. Respondentsenjoyed undertaking a wide variety of tasks and apparently receivedvarying amounts of support from their managers. The social worklecturers experienced high levels of job satisfaction and stressscores were similar to those of the general United Kingdom population.But a significant proportion - one quarter - of social worklecturers were suffering from borderline levels of anxiety anddepression. Overall, social work lecturers' responses were morefavourable than the responses of other academics and socialworkers. In common with other research on stress, this studysuggests that pressure and stress should not be seen primarilyas individual problems, but as a product of interactions atteam, department and institutional levels, and at the home/workinterface.     

Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and the Hyperlinked Library

Discussions surrounding the concepts of Web 2.0/Library 2.0 are increasing among the library community. This column outlines key principles behind Web 2.0 and provides a brief explanation of social tools, such as blogs, RSS feeds, podcasting, and wikis. The author also provides specific uses and applications of these tools within the library environment to illustrate the Library 2.0 concept. An open framework for library communication or hyperlinked library can result if Library 2.0 philosophies are fully utilized.     

Ethnic Group Differences in Adolescents' Responses to AIDS

Adolescents of Anglo-Celtic, Greek, Italian and Chinese descent attending a wide range of post-secondary institutions in Victoria (mean age = 18 years) were asked about their sexual behaviours, knowledge about AIDS, and social responses to the threat of AIDS. There was evidence of relatively high levels of sexual activity, with some members of all groups engaging in risky sexual behaviour. Anglo-Australians were more sexually active and informed about AIDS, with more equality between the sexes in these respects than the other groups. There was a distinction made between behaviours regarded as safe with regular and casual partners, but the meaning attributed to regular partnership differed. Greek- and Italian-Australian young men endorsed monogamy for their regular partners but not necessarily for themselves, and Anglo-Australians accepted a relationship of shorter duration as regular. Greater knowledge was not related to safer sexual behaviour, but discussion about a regular partner's previous sexual history correlated with more risky sexual behaviour. Overall, risk levels were not high but the casual-regular partner distinction, together with the greater use of relatively unrealistic strategies for dealing with AIDS in association with risky behaviour in the non-Anglo groups, gives cause for concern.     

A Passion for Gambling: A Generation-Specific Conceptual Analysis and Review of Gambling Among Older Adults in Canada

The proliferation of gambling opportunities in Canada, coupled with an aging population, has led to an increased prevalence of gambling among older adults. Encouraged by this trend, gambling industries have modified their activities to attract and market to this group. Yet, older adults are not a homogeneous group. The life experiences, values, and attitudes shared by generations make a cohort-specific analysis of gambling among older adults a worthwhile pursuit. Drawing from the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al. in J Pers Soc Psychol 85(4):756–767, 2003), we discuss the role of passion in shaping gambling behaviours, and the implications of a harmonious or obsessive passion on the benefits and risks to two distinct generations of older adults. Based on their generational attributes, we posit that members of the Silent Generation (those born between 1925 and 1942) stand to gain more from the benefits of recreational gambling, but also stand lose more from problem gambling, than their children’s generation, the Baby Boomers (those born between 1942 and 1964). Preventative strategies to assist problem gambling seniors, along with recommendations for further research, are discussed.