Modularity in building mass customization capability: The mediating effects of customization knowledge utilization and business process improvement

This study investigates the relationships among product/process modularity, organizational learning practices, and mass customization (MC) capability. Drawing on organizational learning theory, we propose that organizational learning practices help to embed the knowledge gained from modular design practices into organizational processes, enhancing MC capability. We empirically test the mediating effects of two organizational learning practices—customization knowledge utilization and business process improvement—on the relationship between product/process modularity and MC capability, using data collected from Chinese manufacturers. We find strong support for the mediating role of organizational learning practices in the relationship between modularity and MC capability. Our findings have implications for management strategies and point to directions for further research in this area.     

Approaches to mass customization: configurations and empirical validation

Mass customization is a paradox-breaking manufacturing reality that combines the unique products of craft manufacturing with the cost-efficient manufacturing methods of mass production. Although this phenomenon is known to exist in practice, academic research has not adequately investigated this new form of competition. In this research, we develop a configurational model for classifying mass customizers based on customer involvement in design and product modularity. We validate this typology through an empirical analysis and classification of 126 mass customizers. We also explore manufacturing systems and performance implications of the various mass customization configurations.     

Effects of standardization and innovation on mass customization: An empirical investigation

Mass customization (MC) refers to the capability to produce customized goods for a mass market. Innovation can enhance the flexibility and responsiveness of a company, and standardization enables the company to achieve economies of scale and scope, both of which are necessary for developing MC capability. A conceptual model is proposed to explore the relationships among innovation, standardization, MC capability, and delivery speed. Hypotheses are tested using survey data from 204 manufacturing companies in China. The results show that standardization positively influences innovation. Innovation and standardization positively affect MC capability and are complementary in developing MC capability. Innovation significantly enhances delivery speed. However, the direct effect of standardization on delivery speed is nonsignificant. In addition, innovation and standardization indirectly affect delivery speed through MC capability. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the individual and interactive effects of standardization and innovation in developing MC capability and their joint influence on delivery speed. The results will help managers understand the roles of standardization and innovation in improving organizational capability and performance.     

Linking improved knowledge management to operational and organizational performance

This research empirically examines the importance of knowledge management processes to operational and overall organizational performance (OPERF). Specifically, results indicate that a shared interpretation of knowledge among operational personnel mediates how knowledge is disseminated and used to design and implement a unified operational response to that knowledge. Further, results collected in a logistics operations (LO) context support a strong positive relationship between this knowledge management process and operational and organizational performance. Importantly, psychometric measures for organizational performance collected from managerial respondents were strongly correlated with secondary financial data for participating firms obtained from Compustat, thus supporting a link about operational performance and hard organizational performance data.     

An empirical study on the correlation between knowledge management capability and competitiveness in Taiwan’s industries

There have been dramatic changes in business enterprise management since Internet technology has been widely applied. Worldwide network users can share all kinds of knowledge through the Internet. Knowledge has currently become a main part of manufacturing resources and a prerequisite for success in the production environment. Competitiveness and the resulting rewards can be obtained by taking advantage of knowledge management (KM) and intensive learning. This empirical study validates the relationship between knowledge management capability and competitiveness in Taiwan’s industries. This research shows the impact of knowledge management capability on competitiveness. A hypothesis test and theoretical model are proposed in this study.     

Learning power in the workplace: the effective lifelong learning inventory and its reliability and validity and implications for learning and development

An organisation's ability to learn, to harness collective intelligence and to translate that learning rapidly into action in response to environmental challenges is the ultimate competitive advantage in the constantly changing context of the information age. It is an indicator of the organisations' resilience and adaptability in the face of uncertainty and change. Improving an organisation's capacity to learn will only have the desired impact on performance if it improves employee engagement at the same time. In this paper, we introduce the concept of learning power into the context of the workplace, drawing on what has been learned from its application in education and recent studies in the corporate and community sector in the UK and beyond. The seven dimensions of learning power were identified by Deakin Crick, Broadfoot and Claxton (2004, Assessment in Education Principles Policy and Practice, 11, 247–272) in the development of the effective lifelong learning inventory (ELLI), an assessment tool designed to enable learners to become aware of their own learning power and to turn diagnosis into strategies for improvement. We present the psychometric properties and the validity and reliability statistics of ELLI as the Learning Power assessment tool for learners in the world of work and community, based on an adult workplace population of over 5000. Finally, we explore the implications of these ideas and practices for learning in corporate organisations.     

Linking capacities of high‐quality relationships to team learning and performance in service organizations

This study examines the impact of intrateam and external high‐quality relationships (HQRs) on learning processes and performance. Data collected from 178 teams in the service sector indicate that (a) intrateam HQRs (i.e., between team members and between team members and their manager) are related to psychological safety, which in turn facilitates learning processes; (b) external HQRs are associated directly with team learning; and (c) team learning is positively associated with enhanced team performance. The findings highlight the importance of both internal and external HQRs to facilitate learning and enhance performance in service organizations. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Service learning and integrated,collaborative project management

This article describes the development of an undergraduate course on project management that incorporates experiential learning and service learning as the primary course learning methodology to instill in students the Project Management Institute's nine Knowledge Areas. The discussed instructional method is a dynamic and participative pedagogy. The project management course content is traditionally structured around system needs and analysis identification, functional requirements analysis, project timelines, network analysis, and project progress metrics. Introduction of service‐learning projects and experiential learning pedagogies provides a pragmatic approach for applying project management concepts. This article compares and contrasts the first three offerings of this course and provides lessons learned that may be helpful to others wishing to embrace project management realism in their course work. The purpose of this article is to encourage a hands‐on method for learning the nine Knowledge Areas in the undergraduate classroom.     

Linking learning with governance in networks and clusters: key issues for analysis and policy

In this paper we analyse the relationship between governance and learning in clusters and networks. In particular, we see these two key elements as interdependent, suggesting that, under particular circumstances, such interdependence may drive clusters and networks towards a dynamic development trajectory. A pure ‘governance perspective’ makes the development of any locality dependent on the system of powers which exists within the locality or across the global value chain. In parallel, a pure ‘competence-based approach’ focuses mainly on the capabilities of actors to learn and undertake activities. In contrast, we open the prospects for an interdependent relation that may change the actual competences of actors as well as the governance settings and dynamics in networks and clusters. When supported by public policies, the learning process may have the potential to modify the governance environment. Simultaneously, the learning process is intrinsically influenced by economic power, which may seriously affect the development prospects of clusters and networks. This is why an intertwined consideration of both aspects is necessary to promote specific approaches to learning and to design appropriate policies. In this paper we offer two preliminary case studies to clarify some of these dynamics: the first taken from the computers cluster in Costa Rica and the second from an Italian bio-pharmaceutical firm and its production network. The first case study refers to the software cluster that was created from scratch in Costa Rica thanks to an enlightened government policy in coordination with new local enterprises and an important foreign direct investor; while the second reflects on the ability of an individual company to create a network of relationships with large transnational companies in order to acquire new competences without falling into a subordinate position with respect to its larger partners.     

The Indian perspective of strategic HR roles and organizational learning capability

This study focuses on the empirical analysis of strategic HR roles and organizational learning capability. Line and HR firm performance is further analysed. The sample size consisted of 640 managers in India. Standardized questionnaires were used as tools for the managers' perception of the two variables and their link to data collection. Statistical results indicate that correlation coefficients were mostly significant and positive for the variables and sub-variables of strategic HR roles and organizational learning capability. Discriminant functional analysis reflected that line and HR managers differed significantly in their perception of both variables. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that both the variables of strategic HR roles and organizational learning capability predict firm performance.     

Heuristics,learning and the business angel investment decision-making process

ABSTRACT

This paper extends the literature on the investment decision-making of business angels.

Using insights from the emerging body of research on entrepreneurial learning processes, particularly the use of heuristics and the nature of learning from meagre experience, we explore whether angels learn from experience, how they learn and what they learn. These issues are addressed using verbal protocol analysis, a methodology for examining decision-making in real time, with three groups of business angels with differing levels of investment experience, and with follow-up debriefing interviews with these angels. This reveals some differences in the speed of decision making and the emphasis given to various investment criteria. There is some evidence for the use of heuristics in the decision making process, and for the critical role played by vicarious learning from the experience of others. Learning in the individual angel decision making process is a social as well as an individual phenomenon.     

Why HR policies fail to support workplace learning: the complexities of policy implementation in healthcare

An appropriate human resource policy infrastructure to support workplace learning has been advocated both within the literature on workplace learning and in official British Government guidance for healthcare organizations. Yet minimal empirical evidence exists to support the view that HR policies are able to promote greater use of workplace learning methods within organizations. This proposition was tested through collecting both quantitative and qualitative data from staff in British hospices. The findings demonstrated the limited effects of HR policies in this respect and five key factors were identified that appeared to influence HR policy implementation in this instance. These findings have wider significance for our understanding of the complex interrelationships that potentially exist between HR policies, their outcomes and the mediating factors associated with policy implementation.     

Object detection based on visual memory: a feature learning and feature imagination process

ABSTRACT

Visual memory plays an important role for the human’s visual system to detect objects. The features of an object stored in the visual memory have much lower dimensions than the features contained within an image. We simulate the visual memory as a feature learning and feature imagination (FLFI) process to build an object detection algorithm. The method is constructed by a bottom-up feature learning and a top-down feature imagination. The proposed object detection method is tested using publicly available benchmark data sets, and the result indicates that it is fast and more robust.     

The communion bridge to Six Sigma and process capability indices

Six Sigma has already become an efficient improvement technique adopted by a great number of enterprises. Numbers of Sigma has become a tool of measuring process capability in some enterprises. But some of enterprises still use process capability indices (PCIs) to measure the process capability. So numbers of Sigma and PCIs both can be used to measure the process capability. The paper will research the relationship between PCIs and numbers of Sigma. In bilateral specifications, the paper will research the relationship between the PCIs which are C_p, C_pk, C_pm and C_pmk, S_pk and numbers of Sigma. In unilateral specifications, the paper will research the relationship between the PCIs which are C_pu and C_pl and numbers of Sigma. If supplier and buyer use different tools to measure the process capability, then the communion bridge to Six Sigma and PCIs can decrease the communicate noise.     

Automated trading systems statistical and machine learning methods and hardware implementation: a survey

Automated trading, which is also known as algorithmic trading, is a method of using a predesigned computer program to submit a large number of trading orders to an exchange. It is substantially a real-time decision-making system which is under the scope of Enterprise Information System (EIS). With the rapid development of telecommunication and computer technology, the mechanisms underlying automated trading systems have become increasingly diversified. Considerable effort has been exerted by both academia and trading firms towards mining potential factors that may generate significantly higher profits. In this paper, we review studies on trading systems built using various methods and empirically evaluate the methods by grouping them into three types: technical analyses, textual analyses and high-frequency trading. Then, we evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each method and assess their future prospects.     

A conceptual framework and classification of capability areas for business process maturity

The article elaborates on business process maturity, which indicates how well an organisation can perform based on its business processes, i.e. on its way of working. This topic is of paramount importance for managers who try to excel in today's competitive world. Hence, business process maturity is an emerging research field. However, no consensus exists on the capability areas (or skills) needed to excel. Moreover, their theoretical foundation and synergies with other fields are frequently neglected. To overcome this gap, our study presents a conceptual framework with six main capability areas and 17 sub areas. It draws on theories regarding the traditional business process lifecycle, which are supplemented by recognised organisation management theories. The comprehensiveness of this framework is validated by mapping 69 business process maturity models (BPMMs) to the identified capability areas, based on content analysis. Nonetheless, as a consensus neither exists among the collected BPMMs, a classification of different maturity types is proposed, based on cluster analysis and discriminant analysis. Consequently, the findings contribute to the grounding of business process literature. Possible future avenues are evaluating existing BPMMs, directing new BPMMs or investigating which combinations of capability areas (i.e. maturity types) contribute more to performance than others.     

项目管理策略在大规模定制汽车产品研发中的应用

我国的汽车产品呈现出总量巨大、需求多样的特点,为了满足更多用户的个性化需求,并且进一步降低制造、销售成本,越来越多的汽车公司开始采用大规模定制技术研发新的汽车产品。项目管理这一先进的管理方法可以有效促进新产品研发项目的实施和完成,但项目经理必须根据项目特点采取合适的项目管理策略。通过对大规模定制汽车产品研发项目特点的分析,基于项目管理知识体系(PMBOKR)指南,提出了面向大规模定制的汽车产品研发项目管理具体策略和方法。     

Open the box: A behavioural perspective on the reshoring decision-making and implementation process

In the realm of manufacturing location decisions, reshoring has increasingly attracted the attention of practitioners, policy makers and scholars. While many articles have analysed the drivers of reshoring decisions, the decision-making and implementation process still lacks empirical analyses. This paper addresses this gap with a grounded theory approach, in particular, through an iterative process going back and forth between the theoretical and empirical worlds. By analysing four cases from the textile-clothing-leather-footwear industry, we demonstrate that the process characteristics are affected by the behavioural features of the decision itself, such as rationality, complexity and anchoring. Our study highlights the relevance of the behavioural approach in reshoring decisions and provides evidence of many challenges that managers should be prepared to face. It further offers advice to policy makers, warning them about the dark side of reshoring and emphasizing their role in supporting companies to take structured rather than intuitive sub-optimal decisions.     

Linking performance drivers in production planning and inventory control to process choice

This study investigates how process choice relates to production planning and inventory control decisions. We empirically examine the validity of deductively derived patterns about these types of decisions. More importantly, we look for normative insights by exploring how production planning and inventory control decisions affect operations performance. Our findings show that production line and continuous flow plants use more of a level production strategy, and carry less raw material and work-in-process inventory. The performance drivers for these plants, through which the operations function excels, are effective utilization of equipment, reduced finished goods inventory, and reduced setup down time. To gain forward demand visibility and batching economies, job and batch shops rely much more on backlogs in their planning process. These plants use more of a production chase strategy and position inventory lower in the bills of materials. Four performance drivers for top-performing job and batch shops are to find ways that better anticipate customers' orders, have a more responsive chase strategy, carry less raw material or purchased inventory, and shorten production planning horizon, partly through less reliance on backlogs. It is intriguing that top-performing plants not only do the expected things, given their choice of process, but also excel in selected dimensions—some of which fit the profile normally associated with a different process choice. To monitor and continuously improve operations, evaluation ‘scorecards’ should pay particular attention to performance drivers, which change depending on the plant's process choice.     

Predictors of organizational commitment in India: strategic HR roles,organizational learning capability and psychological empowerment

Employee commitment continues to be one of the most exciting issues for both practitioners and academicians. Linkages in literature are found for HRM Practices, but there is a lacuna of research linking organizational commitment and strategic HR roles, psychological empowerment as well as organizational learning capability. The current study examines these linkages. Whether these variables predict organizational commitment in Indian managers or not, is also investigated. The sample size of the study comprises of 640 Indian managers. Bivariate and multivariate analysis confirms the hypotheses drawn from the literature. The paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.