Application of hybrid framework to facilitate lean six sigma implementation: a manufacturing company case experience

This study aims to propose a hybrid framework for lean six sigma (LSS) based on the prioritisation of barriers and solution approaches, to facilitate hassles free applications for handling the challenges of wastes reduction and quality improvement. The study identifies 27 LSS barriers and 22 solution approaches through literature review and utilises feedback from industry experts. For framework, study uses fuzzy AHP-PROMETHEE to prioritise LSS barriers and solution approaches. Incorporating fuzzy sets in analytical hierarchy process (AHP) ensures the optimality of barrier weights. Whereas, preference ranking organisation method for enrichment of evaluations (PROMETHEE) helps in pairwise comparisons of solution approaches with respect to each LSS barrier, facilitating fair judgements. This research guides regarding the development of framework and checks its suitability and robustness through case application of an Indian manufacturing organisation. Authors expect that researchers and practitioners will find study useful for LSS and multi criteria decision making(MCDM) domains.     

Ethnic identity politics in Nepal: liberation from,or restoration of,elite interest?

The ethnic issue has dominated Nepal’s political landscapes since the birth of the Republic of Nepal in 2007. For decades, Nepal witnessed a series of peasant rebellions against the state and landed aristocrats. Ethnic peasants were at the forefront, demanding autonomy, dignity, and an end to state violence. Since the 1980s, however, the ‘ethnic question’ has become a development issue and the developmental idea of indigeneity has consolidated both ethnic elites and peasants. Recently, identity politics has become a dominant ideological force, rapidly unraveling the course of radical political developments in the country. Interestingly, this political movement emerged in a particular historical conjuncture where Nepali politics has been extensively shaped by the recent Maoist revolution and a long history of international development. This paper explores various aspects of ethnic peasantry and argues that the notions of indigeneity and identity politics have reinforced elite domination by depoliticizing ethnic peasant politics in Nepal.     

Causes of Neonatal Deaths among Tribal Women in Gujarat,India

Mortality among neonates has long been largely neglected by research in all developing nations of world including India. This study aims to identify the primary and secondary causes of neonatal deaths among the tribes of Gujarat by retrospectively analyzing 106 neonatal deaths that occurred during the year 2008 and 2009. The socio-economic, biological and traditional newborn care practices impacting newborn survival were also studied. Case studies including in-depth interviews of 33 women who had experienced neonatal deaths in period of 2008 and 2009 have also been conducted. The results show that the main causes of neonatal deaths in the study area were birth asphyxia, prematurity, aspiration, infection and congenital anomalies, irrespective of place of delivery. Absence of trained and skilled personnel for newborn resuscitation was the main cause of perinatal birth asphyxia related deaths. Around 36% mothers had a history of infant deaths. Low birth weight is one of the important causes of neonatal deaths among mothers who had a history of child loss. Cyclicality of neonatal deaths continued among clustered families with social factors initiating the cycle. Qualified trained birth attendants practicing essential newborn care are necessary during home deliveries.     

A family of admissible minimax estimators of the mean of a multivariate,normal distribution

Let X has a p-dimensional normal distribution with mean vector θ and identity covariance matrix I. In a compound decision problem consisting of squared-error estimation of θ, Strawderman (1971) placed a Beta (α, 1) prior distribution on a normal class of priors to produce a family of Bayes minimax estimators. We propose an incomplete Gamma(α, β) prior distribution on the same normal class of priors to produce a larger family of Bayes minimax estimators. We present the results of a Monte Carlo study to demonstrate the reduced risk of our estimators in comparison with the Strawderman estimators when θ is away from the zero vector.     

Impact of competitive conditions on supplier evaluation: a construction supply chain case study

This research proposes a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework and demonstrates the impact of competitive conditions on supplier evaluation process for construction supply chains. The paper focuses on the supply chain of a large-scale housing project in order to illustrate the role of competitive capability and suppliers’ profile and its influence on supplier evaluation based on prevailing supply/market conditions. Various scenarios are investigated to demonstrate the impact of competition on supplier evaluation. The contribution of the study lies in highlighting the impact of supply/market conditions on MCDM decisions causing supplier evaluation ‘imbalance’ and MCDM usage. It is expected that the study will be useful for project management, construction, supply chain management, sourcing professionals. The findings of the study are generalisable to projects-based situations such as petroleum refinery and ship building where bill of materials typically consists of thousands of items and a large number of suppliers are involved.     

Application and evaluation of packaging postponement strategy to boost supply chain responsiveness: a case study

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how packaging postponement can be effectively leveraged in a dynamically changing diverse retail market where responsiveness is key. The study also guides about the empirical evaluation of how packaging postponement affects the performance in the sanitary pads supply chain by considering operating measures. The focal company belongs to the Indian Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector, hygiene products category. It examines the measures that are critical to a responsive supply chain and presents a comparative analysis of selected measures before and after implementation. The findings illustrate that the packaging postponement not only improves competitive advantage but also significantly contributes to improving product proliferation and supply chain responsiveness. The study provides understanding of drivers and obstacles for packaging postponement strategy with operational insights about ‘how-to’ implement. Most of modelling-based research studies justify the adoption of postponement through savings in inventory only and underplay on other operating measures. While justifying, studies emphasise ‘form’/manufacturing aspects and underestimate the packaging aspects of postponement. This paper addresses these gap areas by systematically highlighting prerequisites and demonstrates the benefits of adopting a packaging strategy to handle variety and responsiveness in an emerging economy.     

Naturalization as a strategy for improving soil physical characteristics in a forested urban park

Ensuring good soil quality is essential to promoting plant growth in urban parks and building ecological resilience into a cityscape. Periodically used to restore a degraded urban ecosystem, parkland naturalization is a management approach designed to facilitate the return of an area to a natural state by largely discontinuing maintenance activities and restricting public access. This study investigates the potential for parkland naturalization to improve soil quality in a forested portion of Kew Gardens Park, Toronto, Canada by comparing soil physical properties in three six-year-old naturalization enclosures with those found in adjacent managed parkland. Soil texture, compaction, bulk density, and surface water infiltration rate were measured at 104 sample sites, while ordinary kriging was used to interpolate two-dimensional prediction surfaces representative of soil properties. Sand and loamy sand were the dominant soil texture classes found across the study site. Highly compacted soil (>2,000 kPa) and soil with a bulk density >1.8 Mg/m³ (values sufficiently elevated to restrict tree root growth and respiration and impair soil water infiltration) were spatially correlated with high pedestrian traffic areas and corridors used by festival and park maintenance vehicles. In contrast, compaction and bulk density measurements in the naturalized areas were at or below thresholds known to impair root function ([`(X)] {{\overline{X}}} at 10 and 30 cm depth: 849 and 1,311 kPa, 1.15 and 1.51 Mg/m<sup>3</sup>, respectively). Similarly, water infiltration rates were rapid ( [`(X)] = 470mm/hr ) \left( {{{\overline{X}}} = {47}0{\hbox{mm}}/{\hbox{hr}}} \right) within the naturalization enclosures but retarded to the point of surface pooling in parkland subjected to regular public use. In the absence of quantitative baseline data, our use of spatial analysis demonstrates that parkland naturalization is a good management practice for restoration of soil physical characteristics. While our results show improvements to soil properties in a relatively short period of time, variability in the soil response rate to parkland naturalization will be dependent upon disturbance history as well as on soil and climate type.     

外包趋势不可逆 奥巴马的政治限制影响甚微

自从奥巴马接任美国总统以来，严重依赖美国的印度外包产业一度感到胆战心惊：首先，奥巴马大幅减少了允许外国工人在美国本土就业的H-1b工作签证；接着奥巴马又在2月24日的国会讲话中宣布“终止美国公司外包业务的减税优惠”。     

Adolescent Marriage in Nepal: A Subregional Level Analysis

This study aims to identify the distribution of marriages among adolescents, aged 10 to 19 years, throughout Nepal. Data were obtained from the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were used to identify the main determinants of adolescent marriages (AMs). Of a total 11,967 weighted samples, 9.3% of adolescents (95% CI, 8–10%) were found to have been married; a significantly higher percentage of these were female. The variability of AMs varied among the regions of Nepal, with a higher percentage occurring in the Western Mountain, Mid-Western Hill, and Central Terai areas. AMs were also more likely to have occurred among poorer households. The findings show a substantial differences of AMs in different geographic areas and demographic levels in Nepal.