Contextual factors: assessing their influence on flow or resource efficiency orientations in healthcare lean projects

The outcomes of lean projects have been mixed, with some being successful while many others have not. An explanation for this is a paradox that can develop depending on the focus of the project. Ironically, in projects where the focus is on maximizing the efficiency of a resource (‘resource efficiency’), this focus might lead to worsening of the resource’s efficiency, thereby generating an ‘efficiency paradox’. This paradox does not usually arise in projects where the focus is on the subject of interest being processed through the system in the most efficient manner (‘flow efficiency’). The aim of this paper is to investigate the factors that give rise to either form of efficiency. We conducted a detailed study of eight lean projects in two large hospitals. In doing so, we advance the theory of lean service operations by identifying four key contextual factors that drive the orientation of a project to resource or flow efficiency. These are: service variety, interdependency, capital resource intensity, and service uniqueness. We propose a conceptual framework and four propositions that integrate the contextual factors to determine the dominant focus in lean projects. Through this, recommendations are made as to how the efficiency paradox can be avoided.     

Ant colony optimization for disaster relief operations

This paper presents a meta-heuristic of ant colony optimization (ACO) for solving the logistics problem arising in disaster relief activities. The logistics planning involves dispatching commodities to distribution centers in the affected areas and evacuating the wounded people to medical centers. The proposed method decomposes the original emergency logistics problem into two phases of decision making, i.e., the vehicle route construction, and the multi-commodity dispatch. The sub-problems are solved in an iterative manner. The first phase builds stochastic vehicle paths under the guidance of pheromone trails while a network flow based solver is developed in the second phase for the assignment between different types of vehicle flows and commodities. The performance of the algorithm is tested on a number of randomly generated networks and the results indicate that this algorithm performs well in terms of solution quality and run time.     

Analysing the stakes of stakeholders in research and development project management: a systems approach

Research and development (R&D) project management involves managing multiple stakeholders with conflicting stakes. This article proposes a systems approach to capture such conflicting stakes of multiple stakeholders in controversial R&D projects. The approach is illustrated using a New Zealand case study related to the use of 1080 chemical for pest management. Initially, the problem situation was structured systemically by analysing the behaviour of the main variables and by conducting a stakeholder analysis. Further, a participative systems model related to the problem situation was developed using a group model‐building process. The analysis of the model revealed a set of feedback loops operating in the system identified as constituting and responsible for the complexity of the problem situation relating to 1080 use. In conclusion, the paper highlights some strategies suggested by the stakeholders to manage conflict.     

The Tax Exemption to Subchapter S Banks: Who Gets the Benefit?

The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 allows U.S. banks to adopt the Subchapter S status. We investigate if the Subchapter S banks use tax benefits for the intended purposes of “protecting jobs,” “creating opportunities” and “increasing take home pay of workers.” We find that the tax benefits: (a) are not used in expenses related to protection of jobs, (b) do not lead to greater employment opportunities within the Subchapter S banks, and (c) do not benefit the employees in the form of increased salaries and benefits. Our results indicate that bank owners are sole beneficiaries of the tax exemption benefits.     

A framework for offshoring marketing processes in business-to-business marketing relationships

Outsourcing has been a prominent aspect of business strategies in the last three decades. Outsourcing of manufacturing processes is now complemented with outsourcing of various marketing process as well. More importantly, outsourcing to foreign locations — offshoring — has increased for marketing processes in recent years. In this context, the present paper develops a model that identifies the types of marketing interactions and processes that can be offshored in business-to-business markets. We suggest that the decision to offshore marketing processes and interactions depend upon the interaction process that is preferred and the importance of interaction process itself. Marketing interactions that are not critically important and/or those that can be performed through technology can be easily offshored. However, other marketing processes need to be examined in depth before being offshored. Implications for research and practice in the area of offshoring, as well as in the broader area of outsourcing, are also highlighted.     

Designing management control in hybrid organizations: The role of path creation and morphogenesis

Path-creating change in organizational form is proposed as an important element in achieving management control in hybrid organizations. Using case examples from large-scale projects in the architectural, engineering, and construction industry, as well as from joint ventures in the oil and gas industry, we highlight the role of mindfully synthesizing new organizational forms in the design of management control systems. A series of paradoxes is disclosed, in which attempts to achieve control through mimetic adoption of established management control techniques lead to reduced control. On the other hand, path-creating deviations from institutionalized practices, resulted in improved project and venture performance. It has been argued that the design of inter-organizational management control systems seeks to enable organizations to compete for resources and efficiency, and also to obtain institutional legitimacy. Institutional theory proposes that isomorphism permits organizations to obtain that legitimacy and explains their design. In this paper, we propose that path creation and morphogenesis, which deviates from isomorphism, is an additional consideration in explaining management control system design.     

Understanding Retail Managers’ Role in the Sales of Products and Services

This research investigates the influence of retail chain-level activities (e.g., district supervisor directives and policies) and store manager behaviors on the sale of physical products versus services. Using data gathered within a U.S.-based retail automotive parts chain, the authors discover that to sell services, especially in competitive environments, store managers should focus on sales planning and transformative leadership behaviors, which accentuate both the long-term planning horizon and the effects of managerial actions. In less competitive environments though, a more transactional approach (e.g., selling orientation) can be effective for selling services. Alternatively, to sell products, store managers’ selling effort appears to be the most important driver of success, and a transformative leadership approach may be detrimental when the retailer faces a high level of direct competition. In total, the findings suggest that corporate chain activities, such as the level and clarity of store managers’ goals and supervisor monitoring, influence store manager behaviors, which in turn affect the sale of physical products and services.     

The impact of the product to service shift in industrial markets and the evolution of the sales organization

Marketing is undergoing a paradigmatic shift that involves a change in focus from the exchange of goods, which are usually manufactured output, to providing a service, which is fundamental to economic exchange (Vargo & Lusch 2004).Evidenced by three decades of marketing transformation in B2B (business-to-business) sales organizations, this paper examines the evolution of sales organizations as a result of the shift from product- to service-focused commerce. This paper also identifies areas of future research and practice in marketing. Findings suggest that the traditional product-focused sales organization will evolve in two directions. First, enhanced use of technology will reduce some traditional sales functions and even face-to-face contact. Second, customers who are important to marketers will experience improvements in the level of customer contact—leading to growth in customer-focused sales organizations and an increase in global account management teams. Changes in sales organizations will also lead to changes in the selection, training, and recruitment of salespeople as well as their roles.Direction for future research and managerial implications are highlighted throughout the paper as are changes likely to occur in sales organizations.     

Bayesian inference and prediction in the single server Markovian queue

The use of stochastic models and performance measures for the analysis of real life queuing scenarios are based on the fundamental premise that parameters values are known. This is a rarity since more often than not, parameters are usually unknown and require to be estimated. This paper presents techniques for the same from Bayesian perspective. The queue we intend to deal with is the M/M/1 queuing model. Several closed form expressions on posterior inference and prediction are presented which can be readily implemented using standard spreadsheet tools. Previous work in this direction resulted in non-existence of posterior moments. A way out is suggested. Interval estimates and tests of hypothesis on performance measures are also presented.