Curtis P. McLaughlin, Ronald T. Pannesi and Narindar Kathuria
The manager who moves from manufacturing to services or theprofessor who wishes to research and teach service operations mustrecognise the key differences for developing an…
Abstract
The manager who moves from manufacturing to services or the professor who wishes to research and teach service operations must recognise the key differences for developing an appropriate operations management strategy in a service business. For this process to be successful, the operations manager must participate assertively in the strategy debate. In manufacturing it is important that the functional strategy supports the corporate strategy in the marketplace and is co‐ordinated with other functional strategies. There is sufficient buffering between the manufacturing system and the customer that functional strategies can be developed within corporate strategies and then be co‐ordinated. In services, however, there are many issues where co‐ordination is not an adequate response. Virtually all strategic issues involving customer contact and front‐office operations must be the result of joint decision making involving marketing, operations, finance, and human resources. What little buffering there is occurs between the front office and the back room. This interface then becomes the locus for interfunctional co‐ordination on strategic issues. Consequently, planning for the front‐office operation differs in many ways from the manufacturing strategy development, while the back‐room strategy differs little from the manufacturing strategy model. This article outlines and contrasts the processes for both manufacturing and services, paralleling the models of Wheelwright and Hayes and Hill. The observed process differences have major implications for both teaching and research in service operations. The new and interesting issues are predominantly interfunctional and, given the intellectual backgrounds of the various functional areas, interdisciplinary.
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Highlights that one service industry in the USA ‐ health care ‐ has accepted high inherent rates of variation into its process designs. Notes that, increasingly, health care…
Abstract
Highlights that one service industry in the USA ‐ health care ‐ has accepted high inherent rates of variation into its process designs. Notes that, increasingly, health care industry leaders recognize that elimination of unnecessary variation is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for producing quality professional services at reasonable costs. Using the innovation model of Boynton et al. (1993), identifies continuous improvement, rather than mass production, as the key step in the rationalization of what has been a craft industry and the ultimate objective of delivering health care in a mass customization mode. Claims, however, that it is not sufficient, because high levels of inherent variation will continue to exist and must be managed, even in the best of all possible worlds. Reviews the health care experience (in the context of that model) to suggest how service operations managers and researchers should conceptualize variation, and then discusses what that conceptualization of variation implies about how operations management should treat variation in its modelling and decision making.
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Curtis P. McLaughlin and James A. Fitzsimmons
International trade in services is growing rapidly despite many barriers to trade. Consumer services are being established world wide and increasingly business services are…
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International trade in services is growing rapidly despite many barriers to trade. Consumer services are being established world wide and increasingly business services are becoming globalized in much the same way that manufacturing is outsourcing overseas. The manager of a service organization can no longer ignore international competition in services, especially the globalization of back‐room operations. Service managers need a framework in which to develop a global service strategy. Addresses two questions which managers face when developing a global service strategy: what are the factors that we can use to classify services in terms of their potential for moving globally; and how do these factors translate into strategies for the globalization of specific services? The most common dimensions for classifying service operations include consumer involvement and customization, complexity of inputs and outputs, and labour intensity. Examines five generic strategies: multi‐country expansion; importing customers; following your customers; service unbundling; and beating the clock.
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Shitao Yang, Curtis P. McLaughlin, Robert W. Vaughan and John J. Aluise
Uses a professional services setting to study the concept offactory focus. The rapid growth in the US of ambulatory surgery centres(surgicentres) provides an evolving illustration…
Abstract
Uses a professional services setting to study the concept of factory focus. The rapid growth in the US of ambulatory surgery centres (surgicentres) provides an evolving illustration of focused factories in services. Because of the pressures of cost containment, most hospitals have segmented their surgical market, but have adapted their operations in a variety of ways. Some keep the inpatient and outpatient survery integrated in the same facility, while others choose a plant‐with‐a‐plant or a separate facility. Information concerning costs, organizational structure, achievement of the advantages and disadvantages of differentiation from inpatient surgery, service times, waiting times, customer services offered, and future plans were provided by 54 hospital‐owned ambulatory surgery centres. Despite a variety of structural arrangements, the responses were effectively classified by whether or not they shared operating rooms with inpatient surgery. Those who shared operating rooms reported significantly less achievement of the advantages and avoidance of the disadvantages of outpatient surgery. The shared facilities also reported longer waiting times, less patient contact and higher average facility charges, despite no significant differences in length of procedure nor volume of the seven most frequent procedures. Among the centre directors is the OR group, and 53 per cent favoured separation of the two surgical settings. All the directors with separated facilities favoured continued separation. The reasons given to justify integration emphasized economies of scale and safety, while those given for separation were customer‐service‐oriented.
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Curtis P. McLaughlin and Sydney Coffey
The wide variety of productivity measurement methods available foruse in services is reviewed. The diversity of the service industries hasmeant that each field has developed its…
Abstract
The wide variety of productivity measurement methods available for use in services is reviewed. The diversity of the service industries has meant that each field has developed its own productivity measures which have often not been widely disseminated due to the lack of a common professional literature. The available measurement approaches are outlined, including those from the health sector where there has been a sizeable effort at productivity research. A classification scheme is presented to assist in the description and selection of available service productivity measures. The classification scheme is based on (1) complexity of inputs and outputs, (2) degree of customisation, and (3) level of aggregation. The measures of services productivity reviewed are presented in terms of this classification. An approach is suggested for the manager to follow in selecting productivity measures according to this classification and other considerations. While some attributes of services make productivity measurement difficult, it is argued that it is not as problematic as some would think and that a number of approaches are available, especially for the comparison of service units which tend to be far more numerous and homogeneous than factories.
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The greening of the supply chain initiative, as implemented by world‐class ISO 14001 certified companies, has already demonstrated how much it contributes towards greening the…
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The greening of the supply chain initiative, as implemented by world‐class ISO 14001 certified companies, has already demonstrated how much it contributes towards greening the industry of the region they operate in. The SMEs have been involved in such a green supply chain only to the extent of their participation as suppliers, distributors and in other capacities as business partners complementing the world‐class companies. All the same, in many regions, the environmental initiatives taken by the SMEs do conform to the different phases of the green supply chain. This study investigates if in the Philippine context this postulate is indeed true, and with the help of an empirical survey, establishes that the SME population in the Philippines do indeed carry out different phases of the green supply chain, though in a heterogeneous manner. This would be indeed expected given the heterogeneity in size and nature of business for SMEs in this region.
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Chin How (Norman) Goh, Michael D. Short, Nanthi S. Bolan and Christopher P. Saint
Biosolids, the residual solids from wastewater treatment operations and once considered a waste product by the industry, are now becoming increasingly recognised as a…
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Biosolids, the residual solids from wastewater treatment operations and once considered a waste product by the industry, are now becoming increasingly recognised as a multifunctional resource with growing opportunities for marketable use. This shift in attitude towards biosolids management is spurred on by increasing volatility in energy, fertilizer and commodity markets as well as moves by the global community towards mitigating global warming and the effects of climate change. This chapter will provide an overview of current global biosolids practices (paired with a number of Australian examples) as well as discuss potential future uses of biosolids. Additionally, present and future risks and opportunities of biosolids use are highlighted, including potential policy implications.
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Expanding on Harris and Sinclair (2014, p. 5) claim that “the writing of a play is an act of inquiry”, this paper aims to consider the joyful entanglements, messiness and…
Abstract
Purpose
Expanding on Harris and Sinclair (2014, p. 5) claim that “the writing of a play is an act of inquiry”, this paper aims to consider the joyful entanglements, messiness and friction-led use of creative methods within the context of a PhD in education studies.
Design/methodology/approach
Amplifying the voices of both doctoral student and supervisor, the authors explain how the construction of a dramatic script informed the crafting of an alternative format thesis within which “the play’s the thing” (Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2). In responding to the influence of creativity in the lives of both the student and the supervisor, the paper uses creative and reflective writing as a method of inquiry to explore how practice and procedure are navigated in relation to non-standard theses submissions.
Findings
The authors find that academic expectancy continues to influence the structure, form and presentation of the PhD thesis and argue that enduring tensions surrounding the reverence of “tradition” impact the application and nature of creativity.
Originality/value
The piece aims to examine the multiple challenges faced but, importantly, highlights how the creative partnership between supervisor and student has forged changes in contemporary doctoral education in the awarding institution and the implications for future practice within doctoral education more broadly.
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Anupam Kumar, David E. Cantor, Curtis M. Grimm and Christian Hofer
The purpose of this paper is to build and test theory regarding how rivalry in environmental management (EM) affects a focal firm’s environmental image and financial performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to build and test theory regarding how rivalry in environmental management (EM) affects a focal firm’s environmental image and financial performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The theory is tested with an original panel data set of 2,776 focal-rival dyad pairs. Measures of environmental signals are developed from content analysis of corporate sustainability reports. Environmental performance data are drawn from the Newsweek US 500 Green Rankings database. Financial performance data are drawn from COMPUSTAT.
Findings
The main findings are that focal firm signals have a positive and significant impact on both focal firm environmental image and financial performance. Rival firm signals have a negative effect on focal firm environmental image. Surprisingly, rival firm signals have a positive impact on focal firm financial performance.
Practical implications
This paper can serve as a testament to the value of monitoring rival firm strategies and signaling to counter the impact of rival signals in the environmental domain. Environmental practices can be a source of competitive advantage for firms, and failure to compete in this space can place the firm at a competitive disadvantage.
Originality/value
This study makes several contributions to the EM literature. Leveraging competitive dynamics and the institutional viewpoints, this study builds theory with regard to how signals of competitive EM activity among a focal firm and its rivals affect environmental image and financial performance.