M. Krishnananda Herala, A. Sreenivasa Ravi and T.B. Rajashekar
Bibliographic databases on CDROM, although being updated less frequently than their online counterparts, can be used for providing an in‐house SDI (selective dissemination of…
Abstract
Bibliographic databases on CDROM, although being updated less frequently than their online counterparts, can be used for providing an in‐house SDI (selective dissemination of information) service as it can be cheaper than the alternatives available from online database services. In a developing country like India, where setting up CDROM networks for end‐user access is beyond the budgets of most of the libraries/information centres, SDI through CDROM databases is an effective alternative. Even in a networked environment, this type of information filtering and delivery may be preferable, as the end‐users may not have the motivation or time to learn the search software of different CDROM titles. However, most of the popular CDROM search software packages do not support any facility to process SDI profiles automatically. One has to execute each saved search strategy and download the corresponding retrieved records manually. This is quite labour‐intensive and time‐consuming. This paper discusses a method of running an SDI service automatically using a pair of Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) utilities called Stackey and Batutil.
A. Sreenivasa Ravi, A. Hariharan and B. Sadananda RAO
Rich collections of conference proceedings are available in major science and technology (S & T) libraries in India. Unfortunately, no bibliographic tool is available to provide…
Abstract
Rich collections of conference proceedings are available in major science and technology (S & T) libraries in India. Unfortunately, no bibliographic tool is available to provide access to these information sources at national/regional level at present. Recognising this fact, Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre (INSDOC) has set up a project of creating a database and publishing a union catalogue of S & T conference proceedings available within the country. In the first phase, 30 major research and development institutions in the city of Bangalore, South India have been covered and the first volume of the union catalogue was published in 1991. It is printed using a desktop publishing system and the database is available on Unesco's CDS/ISIS mini‐micro version 2.3.
Elaine Robinson and Colin Hewson
Information for regularly‐issued publications held on a database, such as accessions lists, bulletins and directories, can be downloaded with embedded codes used for…
Abstract
Information for regularly‐issued publications held on a database, such as accessions lists, bulletins and directories, can be downloaded with embedded codes used for word‐processing commands, desktop publishing flags or a markup language. In this way the information can be formatted automatically for style and layout to facilitate printing and to enhance the final appearance. This article describes how a series of directories has been produced by the Association of Commonwealth Universities in this way using CAIRS information retrieval software and how the data must be tidied up once it has been exported from CAIRS. CAIRS' index generation facilities are also described.
Shruti J. Raval, Ravi Kant and Ravi Shankar
The purpose of this paper is to examine and introduce comprehensive insights into the field of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) by reviewing the existing literature and identifying the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine and introduce comprehensive insights into the field of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) by reviewing the existing literature and identifying the research gap. The state of LSS research is assessed by critically examining the field, along with a number of dimensions, including time horizon, year, journal and publisher, university, country, author, geographic analysis, research design, research affairs, research methods, tools/techniques used, focus industries, major research area, benefits gained by LSS, critical success factors and barriers of LSS implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a systematic literature review of 190 articles containing the word LSS in their title, which are published in a well-known database, such as Elsevier ScienceDirect, Taylor and Francis, Emerald Full Text, Springer Link, Wiley InterScience and Inderscience from January 2000 to September 2016.
Findings
This analysis reveals 15 significant dimensions to identify the state of LSS research. Authors find a noticeable rise in the attention of LSS research in the available literature. Major findings show that, the empirical research holds greater credibility. Statistics prove that the case study method scores the highest among all the research methods used in the discipline. The largest number of studies have investigated research issues related to implementation and process of LSS. The LSS uses a wide range of tools/techniques/methodologies: the choice of tools is situation-specific. Manufacturing and health-care sectors have been the focus of LSS research, but LSS has also been adopted by other types of industries. The organizations following LSS have improved bottom-line results, improved company profitability and growth and enhanced customer satisfaction. In general the research is more interpretive in nature; there is still a lack of standard in the LSS implementation framework.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to reviewing those articles which contain the word LSS appeared in the title.
Originality/value
This study will help understand the current state of research on LSS, various trends in the field, its applicability and future prospects of investigation in the field.
Details
Keywords
Shruti J. Raval, Ravi Kant and Ravi Shankar
Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is receiving a tremendous attention as a modern process of streaming to improve the organizational ability and customer satisfaction. A successful LSS…
Abstract
Purpose
Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is receiving a tremendous attention as a modern process of streaming to improve the organizational ability and customer satisfaction. A successful LSS implementation is influenced by various factors and the execution of all the influencing factors simultaneously is a very difficult task for any organization. From the perspective of limitation of resources, this paper aims to present a basic issue in an LSS implementation of clustering complex and impacting factors into groups to achieve them in a stepwise manner. This paper aims to present a fundamental issue of clustering the complex and impacting factors of an LSS implementation into groups to achieve them stepwise.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 40 relevant influencing factors toward an LSS implementation have been identified from the extensive literature review and duly validated with experts’ opinions. Integrated fuzzy set theory and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach are demonstrated to explore the causal relationships among influencing factors of the LSS implementation. An empirical case analysis of an Indian manufacturing organization is carried out to illustrate the utilization of the proposed model.
Findings
The proposed framework effectively finds out the significance of each influencing factor of an LSS implementation and clustered into cause–effect groups. As per the results of the empirical case analysis, ten critical success factors (CSFs) of the LSS implementation are evaluated for the successful LSS implementation. Top management pays more attention to achieve them and implement them in a phase-wise approach under the limitations of accessible resources.
Research limitations/implications
The presented framework provides an effective, precise and systematic decision support tool for recognizing CSFs of the LSS implementation. The organization, decision-makers, industrial practitioners and academic researchers may be able to comprehend the cause–effect relationship of the influencing factors of the LSS implementation. The exploratory nature and the single case study are two major limitations of this analysis. The developed model is heavily dependent on the experts’ opinions; hence, any bias in judgment will influence the final result.
Originality/value
This analysis is the first of its kind of effort, according to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to classify the influencing factors of LSS implementation into the cause–effect cluster. The outcomes of this analysis make the complexity of a problem easier in handling and assisting the decision-making.
Details
Keywords
The literature in the field of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is escalating with frameworks, but, till date, no effort has been made in existing literature to critically reviewing LSS…
Abstract
Purpose
The literature in the field of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is escalating with frameworks, but, till date, no effort has been made in existing literature to critically reviewing LSS frameworks. The aim of this paper is to investigate the literature about Lean, Six Sigma and LSS frameworks and critically reviewing the existing literature over numerous parameters.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on a literature review of Lean, Six Sigma and LSS frameworks. The time span of this analysis is 30 years. The analysis is restricted to searching online databases such as Elsevier Science direct, Taylor and Francis, Emerald, Springer link, Wiley Inter-Science and Inder-Science. A total number of 58 frameworks have been used as sample size for this study. The study focuses on reviewing these 58 frameworks based on measures such as the novelty of frameworks, source of frameworks, framework verification, approach of verification and identification of vital elements/tools/constructs of frameworks and lastly comparative analysis of all these 58 frameworks
Findings
The analysis has identified major discrepancy such as laxity of researcher toward utilizing existing frameworks, lack of participation of practitioners and consultants in the development of LSS frameworks, and the elements/constructs used in structuring the frameworks are highly incoherent. Higher proportions of frameworks are verified through various modes of verification such as survey, case study, simulation, which encourages other researchers for applicability of the frameworks. Case study is found most popular research design method for verification of frameworks. Various frameworks are highly abstract or superficial. Some of the frameworks do not show how each construct/element are related to implementation in the organization. Out of 58 frameworks, the only single framework is highly comprehensive. A coherent framework for LSS is still lacking.
Research limitations/implications
This analysis is limited to peer review articles from Elsevier Science direct, Taylor and Francis, Emerald, Springer link, Wiley Inter-Science and Inder-Science databases and contains the search keywords in title only.
Originality/value
This study is first of its kind attempt, making an effort to the knowledge of the authors to critically review Lean, Six Sigma and LSS frameworks. This analysis will assist to recognize the LSS filed trends and framework applicability.