Business Commons^™

Informing Implementers Of Lean Strategy In Process Industries - The Central Role Of Schedulers, Peter Caputi, Tim Coltman, Irit Alony

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Lean strategy has been recognized for its benefits to discrete manufacturing industries world-wide. However, implementing Lean strategy in process industries has proven difficult. In an at-tempt to address this problem, this paper identifies scheduler’s decisions as crucial to the success-ful execution of Lean strategy. The paper examines existing descriptions of schedulers and their roles, in search of their potential impact on this execution. Using a case study from the Austra-lian steel industry, empirical evidence shows that schedulers are critical to the success of Lean strategy. Two paths of impact are suggested: (1) schedulers’ role as negotiators and facilitators of business …

Determination Of Consumer Context In An Online Transaction Process For A High Risk Purchase, Robert G. Grant, Rodney J. Clarke, Elias Kyriazis

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper showcases/discusses a method of analyzing consumer website behavior that enables real-time purchase context identification. Such analysis will enable online vendors to serve content that is relevant to the consumer’s needs, addressing the apparent utility deficit that websites have for complex product transactions. The use of communication theory is a key component of a value co-creation process that leverages the data derived from website interactivity by analyzing the meaning of consumer activity on a website. Such an approach offers insights into the effect of information accessed by consumers in real time, enabling a responsive system for serving information in …

Csr Reporting: A Process For Supply Chain Legitimation, Graham D. Bowrey, Michael D. Clements, Bonnie Amelia Dean

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose – This conceptual paper aims to explore the legitimating process of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting in relation to supply chain management. The paper introduces a framework for the holistic evaluation of entire supply chain CSR reporting including the use of social audits.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a review of CSR reporting literature and the role of CSR reporting as a legitimation tool of organisations that operate in distinct supply chains. The theoretical lens of three perspectives of legitimation; structural-functionalist; social constructionist; and hegemonic, are used to assess the drivers behind organisations in a supply chain …

The Turmoil In The Markets For Mis And Ais - A Labor Process Study, Fahrettin Okcabol, George M. Mickhail, Aida Sy, Tony Tinker

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

With growing flux in MIS and AIS employment, there is increasing number of questions about the impact and direction of this technology. As far back as 1993, economic surveys consistently showed that the 1993 U.S. economic recovery was the first where white collar employment failed to bounce back (Cooper and Madigan, 1993A; Ehrear, 1993; Farrell et. al., 1993; Mandel and Farrell, 1993.) In the U.S, between March 1991 and April 1993, production jobs rose by 823,000, but white collar payrolls--managerial and administrative positions--fell by 290,000. Even after two years of expansion, non-farm jobs were still below their pre-recession level (Cooper …

People And Process: Making Sense Of Change Management, Patrick M. Dawson

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper is about the ways that we seek to manage, steer, resist and make sense of change. It views change as a fluid process that may take unexpected turns. In clarifying what we mean by change and challenging linear stage models, a more dynamic perspective is advocated. A short case study is used to highlight the political aspects of change and to raise critical awareness of some of the key issues that can arise. The paper concludes with some practical guidelines arguing that it is the processual nature of change that makes it both a difficult yet fascinating area …

Lean And The Analysis Of Continuous Process Industry Supply Chains, Matthew P.J Pepper, Trevor A. Spedding

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The lean approach is a well established philosophy in the manufacturing industry. Due to increasingly competitive global markets, the scope of application for this way of thinking is widening, and continually evolving to become suitable for application into new areas - the continous process industry being a key example.

Q-Methodology For The Active Process Of Knowledge Management, Joseph A. Meloche, Helen M. Hasan, Michelle Mok

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Knowledge Managament for the provision of Health Information Services is a developing field and one that is usefully informed by applied research. The current study is conducted with Intensive Care Unit (ICU) professionals to capture and distil their views in regard to a developing a Web-Based Information Service. This service is provided by a central coordination and monitoring unit for intensive care units across NSW, Australia. The study is part of a larger research initiative that is being done to advance the provision of health information in ICU's across the state. Given the complex and dynamic context of ICUs, there …

Process Flow Mapping Of Consumers In A High Involvement Service Purchase Process: An Exploratory Study, Robert G. Grant, Elias Kyriazis

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports on an exploratory study undertaken to deal with the intricacy of consumer behaviour in a buying process for a complex high involvement service bundle spanning both offline and online channels. A key finding is that consumers switch repeatedly between online and offline channels and between different types of information source to satisfy their search needs. This offers a challenge for communications management if organisations wish to add customer value by minimising their customer time and effort search costs. Prior online channel research has not acknowledged off-line information complementarity for complex high involvement search. Travel agents and principal …

Critical Factors For Successful Six-Sigma Implementation: An Analytical Hierarchy Process (Ahp) Based, Tritos Laosirihongthong, Khammee Saykhun, Shams Rahman

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The purpose of this study is to identify critical factors for successful Six-Sigma implementation by using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. Twenty-one experts, consisting of three-project champions and eighteen-black belts from five multinational companies (Singapore, Japan, and USA) locating in Thailand, were interviewed. The study has gone through four phases, including: (1) determining critical factors and performance measures in Six-Sigma implementation; (2) structuring the problem and building the AHP model; (3) collecting data from expert interviews; and (4) determining the normalized priority weights of individual factors and sub-factors. Expert Choice software was used to compute the normalized and unique …

An Investigation Into Student Approaches To Learning At A Multicultural University Using The Revised Study Process Questionnaire, L. Smith

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper is an exploratory study into student approaches to learning at a multicultural university. It is particularly relevant to higher education today, which is taking on a more global perspective, especially in the developing world where this university is situated. The instrument used to measure student approaches to learning is the revised Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) and the results are analysed using factor analysis. The SPQ was revised in 2001 to take into account the changing nature of students in higher education, with emphasis on students from diverse cultural backgrounds, and was therefore considered appropriate for this study. The …

Consumer Preferences For Online And Offline Resources In The Process Of Buying A High Involvement Service Bundle: A Qualitative Exploration, Robert G. Grant

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Adding online resources to a promotional mix adds a new level of complexity to marketing communications. The challenge for marketers is to retain a focus on value delivery which requires understanding both main effects and interactions between communication and promotional methods. This paper reports a qualitative study preceding a non-discrete choice experiment simulation to research information source effects at different stages of the buying process for different service types.

Source Of Value Online For Recreational Travellers: Customer Information Needs In The Buying Process And Internet Capability, Robert Grant

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The information needs of buyers of high involvement recreational travel products are potentially a source of customer value in their decision making process. The internet's ability to provide large amounts of information in real time with high levels of customer convenience are compounded by the ability to deliver information from multiple sources. In theory then, the internet seems able to largely replace the value delivered by retail travel intermediaries in the physical world. This critical review suggests however that the physical world intermediaries and online information sources are more likely to be complementary rather than competitive resources for shoppers for …

The Role Of Trust In The Marketing And R&D Interface During The Npd Process: A General Framework, Elias Kyriazis, Janette K. Rowland

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

A gap exists in our understanding of the role that "trust" plays within organisations that produce new products. Recent organisational research suggests that trust plays a more significant role in modern organisational structures than previously thought. Trust encourages efficient information sharing, it limits defensive behaviours, encourages citizenship behaviours, it leads to co-operation and teamwork, and encourages collaboration. The NPD literature has traditionally focused on "integration methods" which promote information sharing and interaction amongst participants. Trust has been viewed as a "by product" of these approaches. A framework is proposed which highlights the important role that management play in creating an …

The Politics Of Human Resource Management In Implementing Process Innovation, Michael Zanko, Richard Badham, Maren Schubert

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper analyses a longitudinal case study of organizational and human resource management (HRM) dimensions in the implementation of an approach to product development (concurrent engineering (CE)) in a multinational firm engaged in defence electronics. Most aspects of managing product development in CE are linked to people management. Yet in this case, other than project team structure, prescriptive HRM dimensions of CE received little attention in the implementation process. This failure to address the 'formal' prescribed HRM issues is explained by a multilayer analysis of the play of power and political lobbying among 'stakeholders' over time: the HRM function, key …

Government Business Process Analysis With Activity Theory, Peter A. J Larkin

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Activity Theory tells us that a motivated person or group performs an activity directed at an object in order to transform the object into desired outcomes to fulfil a need. It also tells us that instruments and the community mediate human activity. The New South Wales state parliament in Australia performs the activity of creating Acts and those Acts prescribe within them the objects of the Act and the desired outcomes. To achieve the desired outcomes, the Act will establish or constitute the necessary instruments. This paper describes an application of Yrjo Engestrom's Activity Theory model, or structure of human …

A Grounded Theory Of The Leadership Process In A Large Government Bureaucracy, George K. Kriflik, R. Jones

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper presents a theory of the leadership process within the particular substantive setting of a large government bureaucracy. The study organisation (labelled AGRO) possesses a dominant engineering culture and has a history characterised by non- tumultuous change. The research methodology of orthodox grounded theory was employed. The main concern of the participants was found to be a desire to close the gap between their current work reality and that level they perceived themselves to be capable of achieving. This was resolved through the basic social process of Minimising Attainment Deficit. Leadership aspects of charisma and vision where not evident …

Internationalisation Process: Revisiting The Uppsala Model In The Asian Context, J Rajendren Pandian, Ah Ba Sim

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The Uppsala model of the intemationalisation process in terms of gradual incremental steps had been widely adopted in empirical research, particularly in the context of western multinational firms. We revisited this model in the context of Asian multinational firms. Examining case studies of Asian MNEs from Taiwan and Singapore in the textile and electronics industries, we found variations in the process postulated by the Uppsala model, and seek to explain them in terms of proactive actions and absorptive capacity perspective. Future research and limitations are also indicated.