Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

The Effectiveness Of Virtual R&D Teams In Smes: Experiences Of Malaysian Smes, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those involved with research and development (R&D) programs and employed virtual teams to create the greatest competitive advantage from limited labor are increasing. Global and localized virtual R&D teams are believed to have a high potential for SMEs growth. Due to the fast growing complexity of the new product, coupled with new emerging opportunities of virtual teams, a collaborative approach is believed to be the future trend. This research explores the effectiveness of virtuality in SMEs virtual R&D teams. An online questionnaire emailed to Malaysian manufacturing SMEs and 74 usable questionnaires …

Virtual R&D Teams: A Potential Growth Of Education-Industry Collaboration, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

In this paper, we present our more than two years research experiences on virtual R&D teams in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and draws conclusions, giving special attention to the structure of virtual teams required to support education-industry collaboration. We report the relevant results of an online survey study. The online questionnaire was emailed by using a simple random sampling method to 947 manufacturing SMEs. The findings of this study show that SMEs in Malaysia and Iran are willing to use virtual teams for collaboration and the platform for industry-education collaboration is ready and distance between team members or differences …

Closing The Gap Between The Industry And Higher Education Institutions- Case Examples From East African Region, Deogratias Harorimana Mr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

Much complained about is the quality of graduates Universities put on the labour market. Less talked about however is why knowledge institutions seems to be bad knowledge managers. In this presentation I argue that DIRECT collaborative relationship between Industry,Governments and Higher Education Institutions is a per-requisite.Good relationship is key to building such a successful knowledge transfer strategies between Industries and Educational and Research Institutions. This paper explores what makes a good Knowledge Transfer Partnership Strategy and highlights some key lessons for businesses, Universities and Government bodies. This paper was a Key note presentation to the Annual International Conference on Building …

Six Sigma Process Simplified-Explained Through Spc And Control Limits, Raman Attri

Raman K. Attri

No abstract provided.

Rwanda National Customer Satisfaction Survey: Results And Conclusions, Deogratias Harorimana

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

It can be said that development practice requires more than financial and manpower inputs. Rwanda, in 1994 suffered a Genocide. The Society,collectively and under the leadership of His Excellence Paul Kagame the current elected President of Rwanda came together and designed strategies that would propel Rwanda to a Middle-Income, Private Sector Led Economy by the Year 2020.

In 2009, a client seating in one of the Hotels in a Suburb of Remera, in Kigali City, complained about poor service delivery he was experiencing from the waitress staff.Using his Blackberry message, the client forwarded an email to some of the RDB …

Benefits And Pitfalls Of Virtual R&D Teams: An Empirical Study, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

In this paper, advantages and drawbacks of virtual teams in research and development (R&D) are studied. With the globalization of commercial practices and advances in information and communication technologies, increasing numbers of enterprises are establishing cross-functional, geographically distributed virtual teams. Virtual teams in R&D are designed to access external resources and knowledge to maximize the competitive advantage from limited labor and resources. A survey has been conducted on 210 Malaysian and Iranian manufacturing companies, aimed to investigate the characteristics of R&D collaborations and extract the main advantages/disadvantages’ factors of virtual teams. These factors can be a guide line for R&D …

Manifest Greatness The Final Original Version By Emmanuel Mario B Santos Aka Marc Guerrero, Emmanuel Mario B. Santos Aka Marc Guerrero

Emmanuel Mario B Santos aka Marc Guerrero

MANIFEST GREATNESS vf24jan2010 WE COME TOGETHER THERE OUGHT TO BE NO POOR WE TAKE CHARGE.

Enterprise Development Policies And Capacity-Building In Science, Technology And Innovation (Sti)-Response To The Issue Note, Deogratias Harorimana

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

Enterprise Development, Investment and Business Climate are all important for economic growth. But what policies, strategies are needed to make economic growth a reality. The author has followed one of the World's fastest reformer and emerging nation in the Heart of Africa-Rwanda. The paper shares lessons and practical aspects related to building an entrepreneurial population, and building a government which is a facilitator of business climate

Rfid-Enabled Inventory Control Optimization: A Proof Of Concept In A Small-To-Medium Retailer, H. Dane, Katina Michael, S. F. Wamba

Dr Samuel Fosso Wamba

This study examines the impact of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology on the inventory control practices of a small-to-medium retailer using a proof of concept (PoC) approach. The exploratory study was conducted using a single case study of a hardware retailer stocking 5000 product lines provided by 110 active suppliers. To analyze the present mode of operation, procedural documents, semi-structured interviews and a participant observation was conducted. The basis for the proof of concept was a future mode of operation using a quasi-experimental design. Results indicate that in a small-to-medium retail environment, RFID technology could act as a loss prevention mechanism, …

From Automatic Identification And Data Capture (Aidc) To “Smart Business Process”: Preparing For A Pilot Integrating Rfid, S. F. Wamba, E. Lefebvre, Y. Bendavid, L.. A. Lefebvre

Dr Samuel Fosso Wamba

This paper examines the underlying logic behind the rules configured in a RFID middleware to support “smart business processes” in one retail supply chain. Through a detailed investigation of the underlying business processes, we will demonstrate how businesses rules can be defined, configured and refined in a RFID middleware. The results confirm that RFID technology is not a “Plug and Play” solution. RFID middleware configuration will require a high level of customization. Finally, this study allows the improvement of our understanding of the real potential of RFID technology in the supply chain context.

Survey Report On Training And Spending On Customer Care Services, Deogratias Harorimana Sr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

In a bid to promote and develop good customer care service in various sectors of Rwandan economy, a survey was conducted to assess progress and trends on customer service capacity building. Although shortcomings are there, there have been efforts and registered trends across the country on service delivery front. Investment in Capacity Building IS happening in certain sectors but this is unevenly distributed. In 2008 companies had started recognizing the significance of good service and cultivate a good working environment and training. From 2009, there was a decline in investment in capacity building in front office and key service delivery …

The Preliminary Insight Of Internal-External Npd Practices Integration And Product Development Time In Geographically Distributed Environment, Amlus Ibrahim, Geraldy Dadriyansyah, T Ramayah

Geraldy Dadriyansyah

Global competitiveness is one of the most important issues in manufacturing industry nowadays. Almost every company in this business industry is affected by it and they are looking for new ways to remain aligned and competitive. In recent years, the long term success of some manufacturing firms and organizations has been enhanced by their ability to bring new products onto the market at regular and shorter intervals. In order to achieve that, effective new product development requires a good integration and collaboration between internal and external participants. Moreover, in current circumstances, issues on how to effectively integrate NPD constituents in …

Virtual Integration As A Predictor For Product Innovation: A Preliminary Insight, Geraldy Dadriyansyah, Amlus Ibrahim

Geraldy Dadriyansyah

The intense competition in manufacturing industry has forced manufacturing firms to switch their product development approach from traditional to concurrent engineering in order to stay competitive in term of product differentiation and innovation. In order to support concurrent engineering practice, both internal and external participants contributing to product development should be located into close proximity; therefore physical integration of team becomes the key enabler of concurrent engineering. However, as the paradigm has been shifted from adopting “centralized integrated product development”, physical integration is no longer efficient and should be replaced by virtual integration. This conceptual paper intends to explore ways …

Virtual Integration As An Approach To Engender Product Innovation And Accelerate Product Development Time: A Literature Analysis, Geraldy Dadriyansyah, Amlus Ibrahim, Mohamad Ghozali Hassan

Geraldy Dadriyansyah

Global competitiveness has forced manufacturing firm, as an internal constituents, to work closer with their suppliers and customers in order to produce highly innovative product in shorter time interval. However as the business trends in manufacturing industry have evolved, centralized integration has become obsolete and no longer be efficient. Concurrent engineering methodology allows manufacturing firms to adopt a new collaboration approach called virtual integration. With the aid of computer-mediated communication, virtual integration is believed to be a promising solution to NPD collaboration issues. Therefore, this conceptual paper is aimed to seek for a new approach to engender product innovation which …

Value Networks For Developing Mobile Innovations: The Case Of Apple Iphone, Mutaz M. Al-Debei

Dr. Mutaz M. Al-Debei

This paper intuitively utilizes a methodical approach (i.e. VNM Model) to analyze the success of Apple iPhone mobile innovation from a value network perspective. The paper demonstrates, through the case of iPhone, how a powerful and well- designed value network is a critical enabler of innovations in the mobile telecommunications industry. Retrospectively, the paper also discusses key value drivers of successful value networks.

Developing A Unified Framework Of The Business Model Concept, Mutaz M. Al-Debei, David Avison

Dr. Mutaz M. Al-Debei

Recent rapid advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have highlighted the rising importance of the Business Model (BM) concept in the field of Information Systems (IS). Despite agreement on its importance to an organization’s success, the concept is still fuzzy and vague, and there is little consensus regarding its compositional facets. Identifying the fundamental concepts, modeling principles, practical functions, and reach of the BM relevant to IS and other business concepts is by no means complete. This paper, following a comprehensive review of the literature, principally employs the content analysis method and utilizes a deductive reasoning approach to provide …

Developing A Decision-Making Framework For Web Service Security Profiles: A Design-Science Paradigm, Mutaz M. Al-Debei, Bachar Alrouh, Gheorghita Ghinea

Dr. Mutaz M. Al-Debei

In this paper, we provide a novel analytical hierarchy process decision-making framework for Web service security profiles. This framework aids in solving the dilemma of which Web service security profile is most fitting in a particular situation. This is because the developed framework allows architects and developers to take informed decisions following a systematic and manageable approach. In developing the framework, we followed the design-science research paradigm within which we incorporated a number of laboratory experiments.

Engaging With Citizens Online: Understanding The Role Of Epetitioning In Local Government Democracy, Mutaz M. Al-Debei, Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos

Dr. Mutaz M. Al-Debei

According to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act introduced in 2009, UK local authorities are expected to implement ―a facility for making petitions in electronic form to the authority‖. Motivated by this arrangement, this paper reflects on the findings of a case study investigation conducted with the Royal Borough of Kingston (one of the first local authorities to implement such a service since 2004). Lessons learnt from the case suggest that ePetitions reveal increased potential to enhance local government democracy, but are also shaped by challenging open implementation issues which can highly influence the initiative’s impact. Our conclusions …

The Design And Engineering Of Mobile Data Services:Developing An Ontology Based On Business Model Thinking, Mutaz M. Al-Debei, Guy Fitzgerald

Dr. Mutaz M. Al-Debei

This paper addresses the design and engineering problem related to mobile data services. The aim of the research is to inform and advise mobile service design and engineering by looking at this issue from a rigorous and holistic perspective. To this aim, this paper develops an ontology based on business model thinking. The developed ontology identifies four primary dimensions in designing business models of mobile data services: value proposition, value network, value architecture, and value finance. Within these dimensions, 15 key design concepts are identified along with their interrelationships and rules in the telecommunication service business model domain and unambiguous …

The Design Of Innovative Mobile Artifacts: How To Develop Powerful Value Networks?, Mutaz M. Al-Debei, Guy Fitzgerald

Dr. Mutaz M. Al-Debei

The development of mobile data services and products calls for participation and collaboration amongst many actors with different expertise. However, building powerful value network is challenging and requires a detailed examination of a number of design constructs and their interrelationships. This research provides an intuitive model to help effectively design such networks. The model is illustrated using NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode case. It is argued that the model offers a useful methodical approach for telecoms providers to develop a thriving value network capable of creating significant mobile innovations and benefits.

Rethinking The Business Model Concept With Eparticipation, Mutaz M. Al-Debei, Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos, Guy Fitzgerald, Tony Elliman

Dr. Mutaz M. Al-Debei

Enhancing citizen participation in policy making using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is emerging as a strategic issue for political organisations. ICT-mediated participation, or eParticipation, projects range from the more traditional public sector initiatives, such as petitions and consultations, to attempts at integrating new forms of participatory Web 2.0 media. In this paper, we argue that the potential of ICTs to deliver sustainable eParticipation has not been fully achieved. This is mainly because of the lack of (1) effective coordination at the implementation level, (2) appropriate infrastructure, and (3) effective service design and development. In addressing this gap, we examine …

Ontology-Based Information Extraction For Analyzing It Services, Amit Deokar, Sagnika Sen

Amit Deokar

Service Level Agreements (SLA) for multi-service Information Technology (IT) outsourcing contracts contain vast amounts of textual information. The SLAs provide details about a specific service, Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to measure its performance; as well as process elements, such as activities, events, and resources that are integral in achieving performance goals. However, KPIs and the process elements may be interrelated. The knowledge of such interrelationships is often tacitly present in the SLAs. The aim of our research is to extract this hidden information from IT service contracts and analyze them to empower customers of IT services to make better performance …

Dynamic Pickup And Delivery Problems, Gerardo Berbeglia

Gerardo Berbeglia

No abstract provided.

Roads Or Radar: The Tradeoff Between Investments In Infrastructure And Forecasting When Facing Hurricane Risk, Eric Bickel, Seong Dae Kim

Eric Bickel

When faced with a significant risk, society must decide howmuch to invest in prediction and response. For example, in the face of hurricane risk how much should we invest in better forecasting versus increased evacuation speed? To address this need, we develop a Markov decision processes model to analyze the interaction between the emergency response system and the emergency forecasting system. The model shows the tradeoff between the two investments given a budget limit. In addition, the research indicates that the superiority of the investment changes sharply by the lead time.