Operations management – from Taylor to Toyota – and Beyond?

This paper sets out to review past and current research in operations management, and to explore current and future issues facing the area. It reviews the history of the area, and the patterns of research content and type. It reviews the evolution of lean production connecting the work of Taylor to its development at Toyota, and uses this to propose three key elements of operations management in the 1990s, namely, the core, interfaces and convergence. Current issues relating to research in operations management are explored and it is argued that there is a need for aggressive research agendas. Finally, possible future agendas for the area are explored.     

How are companies planning now?—a survey

This article reports on the changes that have taken place in the long-range planning practices of several U.S. and Canadian firms over the last 5 years. In October 1974, the long-range practices of approximately 400 firms were reported in Long Range Planning. A follow-up survey of these same firms was recently completed. The percentage of responding companies that prepare some type of written long-range plan has not changed; however, there have been some changes in the extent and content of these plans. The mix of objectives, use of external factors, plans for growth, and methods for controlling the plan have all changed slightly between 1974 and 1979.     

An examination of common coping strategies used to combat driver fatigue

Driver fatigue is recognized as an important highway safety risk. Many organizations have published recommendations for coping with driver fatigue. The authors explored the effectiveness of 10 common coping strategies, using a case-controlled design to examine the use of coping strategies among a random sample of college students (N = 301). The students were questioned about their use of coping strategies for driver fatigue and their record of having experienced a dozing-related incident. Odds ratios were calculated and 4 strategies--taking a walk, drinking caffeinated beverages, stopping for a nap, and chewing ice--were found to predict an incident. Three other strategies, snacking, rolling the window down, and talking with a passenger, were found to be protective.     

The American Community Survey in counties with “seasonal” populations

The U.S. Census Bureau designed the American Community Survey (ACS) to provide annual estimates of social and economic characteristics for states, counties, municipalities, census tracts, and block groups. Because of its April 1 reference date, in northern nonmetropolitan counties with substantial seasonal population fluctuations the decennial census provides a statistical representation of the demographic and social characteristics of the population at a time when the population is close to its annual minimum. The year-round monthly ACS sample survey has the potential to provide local communities with an unprecedented understanding of the average population characteristics over the course of a year. In the future, the ACS even has the potential for providing social and economic characteristics of the population by season. This paper examines four ACS pilot data collection counties, Oneida and Vilas Counties in northern Wisconsin, and Lake and Flathead Counties in northwest Montana. We hypothesize that the ACS will reflect a resident population over the course of the year that is different from the traditional April 1 decennial census population. While the ACS holds much promise, our research uncovered some sampling problems that are not yet fully resolved. In addition, our analysis was not able to examine ACS estimates for minor civil divisions (MCDs), which are functioning governmental units in many states. The fact that these MCDs often have very small populations, together with the fact that estimated standard errors at the much larger census tract level in these counties are disconcertingly large, raises (currently unanswerable) questions concerning the eventual statistical quality of ACS estimates for small MCDs. Consequently, the adequacy of the ACS as a replacement for the census long form may depend on the ability of the Census Bureau to effectively address the concerns presented in this analysis.     

Undocumented Mexican immigrants and the earnings of other workers in the United States

This article examines the effects of undocumented Mexican immigrants on the earnings of other workers in geographical labor markets in the Southwest. The number of undocumented Mexicans included in the 1980 census in southwestern SMSAs is estimated. We then estimate the parameters of three specifications of a generalized Leontief production function with various demographic groups as substitutable factors. The statistically significant effects of undocumented Mexicans on the earnings of other groups are positive, but of slight magnitude. Legal immigrants' effects on native white earnings, however, are small and negative. The results are consistent with the possibility that undocumented Mexican immigrants' jobs complement those of other workers. The implications for public policy concerns about the effects of illegal Mexican immigration are discussed.     

Subjective Well-being in a Multicultural Urban Population: Structural, and Multivariate Analyses of the Ontario Health Survey Well-being Scale

The validity of a scale, from the OntarioHealth Survey, measuring the subjective senseof well-being, for a large multiculturalpopulation in Metropolitan Toronto, is examinedthrough principal components analysis withoblique rotation. Four factors are extracted. Factor 1, is a stress and strain factor, andconsists of health worries, feeling exhaustedand worn out, and feeling tense. Factor 2,interpreted as a sense of control, consists ofno health worries, and ability to handlefeelings. Factor 3, interpreted as positiveaffect, consists of having an interesting life,feeling cheerful and light-hearted, feelingloved, feeling relaxed and full of vitality. Factor 4 is interpreted as a despondency factorconsists of feeling lonely, having a boringlife, inability to control feelings and feelinglow. The statistic of multiple discriminantanalysis between the variables, sex, age, andethnic groupings, as independent discriminatingvariables and the four factor scores asdependent variables, is calculated. Theresults show that the observed mean variance inthe well-being factor scores cannot beexplained by the respondents being eitherfemale or male, or being a certain age or bybelonging to specific cultural groupings. These results are discussed in relation toother studies on the dimensions of subjectivewell-being.     

The Liberalization of Cannabis Possession Laws and Birth Outcomes: A State-Level Fixed Effects Analysis, 2003–2019

Population Research and Policy Review - As states liberalize their cannabis laws, cannabis use has become more widespread among adults across the United States, including pregnant women. As a...     

On generalizations of the classical method of confounding to asymmetric factorial experiments

A Kronecker product structure is identified for a particular class of asymmetric factorial designs in blocks, including the classes of designs generated by several of the generalizations of the classical method in the literature. The Kronecker product structure is utilized to establish orthogonal factorial structure for the class of designs and to identify a Principle of Generalized Interaction.     

INCLUDING ENGINEERING IN OPERATIONS STRATEGY

Today's markets are characterized by time and product quality-based competition. Companies must compete through their ability to manage the whole cycle of product realization and delivery, from the initial concept through to delivery and support at the customer. They must do this through managing an integrated company, not a set of separate functions. This paper addresses the issue of how companies should develop operations strategies for engineering and manufacturing combined. It uses field research into 15 engineering companies to develop the concept of the manufacturing system mission, and proposes strategic choices for manufacturing, engineering and linked functions.