Business Commons^™

A Simulation-Based Decision Support System To Improve Healthcare Facilities Performance – Elaborated On An Irish Emergency Department, Michael Thorwarth

Doctoral

Emergency departments (EDs) are a crucial access point to the healthcare system in Ireland. High patient demand and limited resources have resulted in long waiting times and long lengths of stay in EDs. Some of this pressure on EDs could be ameliorated by more streamlined hospital processes particularly in managing discharges and managing the volume of work. This research sought to develop a simulation-based Decision Support System (DSS) to enable an accelerated development of a simulation based solution to improve quality and care at Irish hospitals.

In order to investigate causes of bottlenecks and insufficient distribution of resources, a novel …

Comprehending The Evolving Leadership Role Of The Consultant Designer In The New Product Development Process In Mature Product Categories, Fiona Maciver

Doctoral

Seismic shifts in 21st century market conditions – globalisation, immediate digital communications, rapidly developing technologies, an ever more sophisticated, knowledgeable consumer – create a new landscape for organisations seeking to create products of greater value, which better meet evolving needs and desires. While the marketing-led approach, dominant in the past half-century, focused on persuasion, design, with its specialised tools, is suggested to be more adept and flexible than marketing at understanding and providing relevant value for today’s consumer. A literature review argues that, in history, design has endured periods of particular strength followed by decline. This thesis examines the proposition …

Understanding The Outcomes Of Leadership Development - A Contextual Approach, John Golden

Doctoral

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the outcomes of leadership development in the context of a global building materials company. The study utilises a contextual approach to more fully understand the outcomes of leadership development. The value of a contextual approach is highlighted in the literature.

Rationalising Public Service: Scheduling As A Tool Of Management In Rté Television, Ann-Marie Murray

Doctoral

Developments in the media industry, notably the increasing commercialisation of broadcasting and deregulation, have combined to create a television system that is now driven primarily by ratings. Public broadcast organisations must adopt novel strategies to survive and compete in this new environment, where they need to combine public service with popularity. In this context, scheduling has emerged as the central management tool, organising production and controlling budgets, and is now the driving force in television. Located within Weber’s theoretical framework of rationalisation, this study analyses the rise of scheduling as part of a wider organisational response to political and economic …

A Systematic Approach To Design Of Distance Graduate Management Programmes, Pauline Rodriguez

Doctoral

This study describes the systematic creation, application and evaluation of a
comprehensive framework for the design of distance graduate programmes, the goal of which is to inform decision-making for sustainable curricula that suit the growing demand for flexible learning options. A wide range of challenges face educators, and existing models appear to be insufficient to guide such endeavours. Successful distance learning is rooted in the values of the institution and requires a significant amount of organizational support, needs assessment of stakeholders, strategic planning, implementation and evaluation. This first international study of distance masters degree programmes in Tourism and Hospitality Management …

An Empirical Investigation Of Consumer Resistance To Green Product Innovation, Marius Claudy

Doctoral

Responding to the sustainability imperative has emerged as a key challenge and opportunity for businesses. Developing and marketing innovative ―green‖ products in particular can be a vital strategy for businesses to increase productivity, develop new markets, improve corporate image and ultimately attain competitive advantage. But despite consumer sensitisation towards environmental issues, many sustainable products face slow rates of diffusion in mainstream markets as consumers‘ green preferences regularly fail to translate into adoption behaviour. In this thesis we take a consumer resistance perspective to investigate empirically the so-called attitude–behaviour gap in the context of green product innovation. The aim of this …

An Integrated Framework To Assess ‘Leanness’ Performance In Distribution Centres, Amr Mahfouz

Doctoral

The theory behind lean philosophy is to create more value with less. Effective lean management enables organisations to exceed customer expectations while reducing costs. Despite the fact that numerous practices and approaches are used in the process of implementing lean philosophy and reducing waste within supply chain systems, little effort has been directed into assessing the leanness level of distribution and its impact on overall performance. Given the vital role of distribution units within supply chains, this research aims to develop a comprehensive lean assessment framework that integrates a selected set of statistical, analytical, and mathematical techniques in order to …