Inter-firm collaborations and supply chain coordination: review of key elements and case study

Considering the effects of globalisation, the increase of production and energy costs, and the introduction of advanced technologies, companies need to change their way of doing business if they want to stay competitive. One way of doing this is to establish collaborations with suppliers, distributors and retailers, in order to exchange products efficiently and create value for customers. Nevertheless, the structure of the collaboration must be designed carefully and some coordination mechanisms must be implemented to support this way of doing business. In this article, we first analyse: why companies work together, how they should build their partnership, and which strategies they can implement to facilitate coordination of supply chain activities. We then report a case study of collaboration in the forest industry that shows the benefits of implementing coordination mechanisms as well as the necessity of using incentives to better share these benefits.     

Application of load-oriented manufacturing control in industry

This paper deals with multi-stage lotsizing models for imperfect production processes. The effect of imperfect quality on lotsizing decisions and effect ofinspection errorsare taken into consideration in the proposed models. Numerical examples are presented for illustration purposes. The developed models are very helpful for justifying quality assurance and quality improvement efforts.     

Business process re-engineering the supply chain

Common foundations which underlie thinking in the supply chain management (SCM), Business process re-engineering (BPR) and business process improvement (BPI) philosophies are highlighted. The view that BPR is a new concept is argued against by highlighting die work performed in other fields, namely SCM from the systems perspective. It is argued that those who have already implemented the SCM philosophy will have already travelled the same path as BPR and indeed re-engineered their own processes. Once businesses have integrated their supply chain the greatest benefits will have already been achieved, however system dynamics analysis does show significant on-cost differences dependent on the redesign strategy implemented. A generic structured model for SCM is enhanced through this comparison with BPR with the following characteristics being added; do not be afraid to be radical with respect to internal integration and continually search for step change improvement ideas which can be strategically phased in to positively impact the marketplace.     

Shop floor control system for tool rooms

A shop floor control system (SFCS), which is the most important component of any production control system, ff has a direct e ect on the productivity of a tool room. The SFCS presented in this paper aims at streamlining various tool room activities, such as process planning, operations scheduling, loading, progress monitoring, and performance monitoring. The system discussed in this paper is characterized by simplicity and is user friendly. Basic information, consisting of three types of information (order details, process details, and part details), is input through interactive dialogue sessions. On-line updating of the process information is carried out, again through interactive dialogue sessions. The basic input to the system along with the on-line updating enables a number of useful and important reports and documents to be generated ff by the system for e ective control of the shop floor. The reports generated include operations scheduling, process sheet, part list, ffi job card, load pending report, e ciency report, etc. This SFCS is developed for a medium sized tool room in an automotive company and its successful implemention reduced paperwork and improved resource management and has resulted in productivity. It can be said that this system offers a first venture into computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) for a tool room.     

The Relationship between Adult Students' Instructional Technology Competency and Self-Directed Learning Ability in an Online Course

The main purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between adult students' self-directed learning (SDL) ability and instructional technology (IT) competency in an online course. The study also investigated motivation and learning strategies that the students used to learn IT. The research involved surveying 198 continuing education professionals who took online courses at a large Midwest state university. The results indicate a statistically significant positive correlation between SDL ability and IT competency in students with above average SDL ability. The results also indicate that motivation is an important factor for learning technology in an online course regardless of the students' SDL ability. Additionally, the results show that students with higher level of SDL ability are likely to exhibit higher level of self-efficacy for learning and performance, and higher level of effort regulation.     

Developing a factor model of coal miners’ attributions on risk-taking at work

This paper details a survey of coal miners’ views on the bases for risk-taking. While literature exists on the subject of risk-taking in mines, comparatively few studies have sought to elicit the views of mine personnel themselves. An 83-item questionnaire, grounded upon insights from an earlier qualitative study, was developed and distributed to a sample of mine personnel (N=932). Results were analysed by means of principal components, factor analysis, an iterative refinement of the data set resulting in the development of a three-factor model that was considered to reflect potentially important dispositional influences on risk-taking amongst operational staff in mines. Derived constructs, identified as time pressure, management commitment and confidence in ability to control risk, were found to possess moderate to high levels of internal consistency (α statistic) and high face validity. Findings are discussed with reference to insights from both cognitive risk research and more recent work within the safety culture/climate framework.     

Sources of occupational stress: An examination of British prison officers

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify the major sources of occupational stress experienced by British prison officers and to examine their effects on overall job stress and job satisfaction. Eighty-one officers from HM Prison, Maidstone, took part in a questionnaire study, and three main findings emerged. First, lack of stiff and resources were ranked as the most likely sources of stress, and areas of the prison where confrontations with inmates were most likely to occur were ranked as the most stressful locations. Second, officers who reported the highest levels of job stress overall had the lowest job satisfaction and the greatest wish for more emphasis on control and security of inmates. Third, when the sources of stress were factor-analysed and used to predict overall job stress and job satisfaction, using multiple regression, the sìngle most important predictor of job stress was found to be the factor labelled 'confrontations with inmates' and, for dissatisfaction with the job, it was 'poor morale and resentments'. The paper discusses the theoretical implications of the findings.     

Evaluation of the Service Review Model With Performance Scorecards

The current study combined a management technique termed “Service Review” with performance scorecards to enhance staff and consumer behavior in a human service setting consisting of 11 supervisors and 56 front-line staff working with 9 adult consumers with challenging behaviors. Results of our intervention showed that service review and scorecards produced significant staff behavior changes that were maintained over time. Positive consumer outcomes were also correlated with staff performance changes. The behavioral package of training, clinical consultation, service review, biweekly manager meetings, scorecards, and public posting has the potential to reduce the need for monetary staff incentives.     

Knowledge transfer of the Western concept of quality

This paper addresses one of the issues in contemporary globalization theory: the extent to which there is 'one best way' in which business can be conducted and organizations managed. It uses Czarniawska's 'travels of ideas' model as an organizing framework to present and understand how the concept of 'quality', so important in contemporary approaches to manufacturing and services, and their management, travelled to, and impinged on, a newly opened vehicle assembly plant in Poland. The extent to which new meanings were mutually created in the process of translation is discussed, using ethnographic reporting and analysis techniques commonly used in diffusion research. Parallels between the process of translation as an idea becomes embedded into a new cultural location and the processes which contemporary research has identified as important to organizational learning are briefly discussed in conclusion.