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Article
Publication date: 22 May 2023

Rebecca Gilligan, Rachel Moran and Olivia McDermott

This study aims to utilise Six Sigma in an Irish-based red meat processor to reduce process variability and improve yields.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to utilise Six Sigma in an Irish-based red meat processor to reduce process variability and improve yields.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a case study within an Irish meat processor where the structured Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control (DMAIC) methodology was utilised along with statistical analysis to highlight areas of the meat boning process to improve.

Findings

The project led to using Six Sigma to identify and measure areas of process variation. This resulted in eliminating over-trimming of meat cuts, improving process capabilities, increasing revenue and reducing meat wastage. In addition, key performance indicators and control charts, meat-cutting templates and smart cutting lasers were implemented.

Research limitations/implications

The study is one of Irish meat processors' first Six Sigma applications. The wider food and meat processing industries can leverage the learnings to understand, measure and minimise variation to enhance revenue.

Practical implications

Organisations can use this study to understand the benefits of adopting Six Sigma, particularly in the food industry and how measuring process variation can affect quality.

Originality/value

This is the first practical case study on Six sigma deployment in an Irish meat processor, and the study can be used to benchmark how Six Sigma tools can aid in understanding variation, thus benefiting key performance metrics.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 35 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 1 December 2022

Agnès Vandevelde-Rougale and Patricia Guerrero Morales

This chapter looks at the discursive dimension of the working environment in research and higher education organizations; more specifically at neoliberal managerial discourse and…

Abstract

This chapter looks at the discursive dimension of the working environment in research and higher education organizations; more specifically at neoliberal managerial discourse and at how it participates in shaping the way researchers, teachers and support staff perceive themselves and their experiences. It is based on a multiple case study and combines an intersectional and a socio-clinical approach. The empirical data is constituted by in-depth interviews with women conducted in Ireland and Chile, and includes some observations made in France. A thematic analysis of individual narratives of self-ascribed experiences of being bullied enables to look behind the veil drawn by managerial discourse, thus providing insights into power vectors and power domains contributing to workplace violence. It also shows that workplace bullying may reinforce identification to undervalued social categories. This contribution argues that neoliberal managerial discourse, by encouraging social representations of “neutral” individuals at work, or else celebrating their “diversity,” conceals power relations rooting on different social categories. This process influences one’s perception of one’s experience and its verbalization. At the same time, feeling assigned to one or more of undervalued social category can raise the perception of being bullied or discriminated against. While research has shown that only a minority of incidents of bullying and discrimination are reported within organizations, this contribution suggests that acknowledging the multiplicity and superposition of categories and their influence in shaping power relations could help secure a more collective and caring approach, and thus foster a safer work culture and atmosphere in research organizations.

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 July 2021

Rebecca Otten, Máille Faughnan, Megan Flattley and Samantha Fleurinor

Social innovation education aims to equip students with the skills and mindsets to pursue sustainable and just solutions to complex challenges, yet many programs fail to address…

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Abstract

Purpose

Social innovation education aims to equip students with the skills and mindsets to pursue sustainable and just solutions to complex challenges, yet many programs fail to address the power dynamics underlying unjust social structures. This paper aims to examine a social innovation course that integrates equity, diversity and inclusion principles through critical service-learning.

Design/methodology/approach

Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews of 25 students and 5 key informants in a qualitative, single case design to understand multiple perspectives on significant factors in transformative learning. Document review and auto-ethnographic insights provide additional case background.

Findings

Students identified the service experience as unique and high impact. Significant factors included the atypical service structure, the EDI framework, and the partner organization as an exemplar in the field. Students displayed a spectrum of learning, from recall and comprehension to critical evaluation, new worldviews, and behavior change.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this qualitative study pertain to one partnership but are generalizable to theories. These findings are plausibly transferable to other experiential social innovation courses embedded in elite, private, predominately white research universities.

Originality/value

This empirical case examines a unique pedagogical and curricular innovation. By seeking to understand factors and outcomes of experiential learning, this study contributes to the literature on social innovation education and critical service-learning. The analysis produced novel insights for faculty and institutions aiming to integrate equity, diversity, and inclusion goals into social innovation programs.

Access

Only Open Access

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