In an increasingly uncertain marketplace manufacturing organisations are striving to find new ways to meet customer requirements for competitively priced, customised products…
Abstract
In an increasingly uncertain marketplace manufacturing organisations are striving to find new ways to meet customer requirements for competitively priced, customised products, delivered in shorter lead times. It is argued that to meet these demands there is a need to integrate the design, development and production functions within a concurrent engineering (CE) environment. The literature reports many cases of failed CE projects. One of the main reasons for this failure is believed to be a lack of formal methodologies to assist organisations with the processes required to move from sequential to concurrent product development phases. This paper describes the Cougar methodology which has been developed specifically to address this issue. The paper initially outlines briefly the progression of ideas within organisational theory from classical to contemporary strategy. It then considers the development and application of the Cougar methodology. Finally, a case study is described detailing the success of the concept within a leading UK engineering company with observations and proposals for further organisational analysis.
Details
Keywords
Analysis of organizational decline has become central to the study of economy and society. Further advances in this area may fail however, because two major literatures on the…
Abstract
Analysis of organizational decline has become central to the study of economy and society. Further advances in this area may fail however, because two major literatures on the topic remain disintegrated and because both lack a sophisticated account of how social structure and interdependencies among organizations affect decline. This paper develops a perspective which tries to overcome these problems. The perspective explains decline through an understanding of how social ties and resource dependencies among firms affect market structure and the resulting behavior of firms within it. Evidence is furnished that supports the assumptions of the perspective and provides a basis for specifying propositions about the effect of network structure on organizational survival. I conclude by discussing the perspective’s implications for organizational theory and economic sociology.
Details
Keywords
As I have reflected upon the last thirty years, since it was precisely thirty years ago that I started as a student at Stanford, I have wondered if there is an overall theme to…
Abstract
As I have reflected upon the last thirty years, since it was precisely thirty years ago that I started as a student at Stanford, I have wondered if there is an overall theme to how my professional career has unfolded and the role Stanford played in it. I believe Albert Bandura's (1982) paper, The Psychology of Chance Encounters and Life Paths, provides a good descriptive framework to work with. I am persuaded that at various points of time as I stood at the proverbial fork in the road, due to one chance factor or another, my decision was tipped one way. This is not to suggest that my career has been a sequence of random events; quite the contrary. While the specific fortuitous events occurred largely outside my control, my responses to them were quite systematic; some fortuitous events had lasting influence, and some even changed my life trajectory. But, what I am struck by, ex post, is that in 1973, as I was just finishing my undergraduate education in India, the ex ante probability of my ending up some years later as a professor at an Ivy League university was essentially zero. Yet, this did eventually happen.
Intelligent software agents offer the potential to unleash the power of the Internet to optimise the process of supplier sourcing. Aims to promote an awareness in the…
Abstract
Intelligent software agents offer the potential to unleash the power of the Internet to optimise the process of supplier sourcing. Aims to promote an awareness in the buyer/supplier community of the potential for using intelligent software agents over the Internet for this purpose. The traditional relationship between suppliers and buyers is contrasted with that of Internet‐based trading. This comparison confirms that trust is a critical component in the traditional relationship and that an understanding of the nature of trust is necessary in revealing where and how agent technology will have maximum benefit for both buyers and suppliers. It is shown that the technology that can enable this form of sourcing is already well established, and a range of conceptual agents are described. Finally, identifies the benefits that will accrue to organisations that adopt agent technology as part of their supplier‐sourcing portfolio, and recommendations for further work are made.
Details
Keywords
Analysis of organizational decline has become central to the study of economy and society. Further advances in this area may fail however, because two major literatures on the…
Abstract
Analysis of organizational decline has become central to the study of economy and society. Further advances in this area may fail however, because two major literatures on the topic remain disintegrated and because both lack a sophisticated account of how social structure and interdependencies among organizations affect decline. This paper develops a perspective which tries to overcome these problems. The perspective explains decline through an understanding of how social ties and resource dependencies among firms affect market structure and the resulting behavior of firms within it. Evidence is furnished that supports the assumptions of the perspective and provides a basis for specifying propositions about the effect of network structure on organizational survival. I conclude by discussing the perspective's implications for organizational theory and economic sociology.
The earliest law of the adulteration of food imposed divisions among the local authorities of the day in functions and enforcements; most of the urban and rural sanitary…
Abstract
The earliest law of the adulteration of food imposed divisions among the local authorities of the day in functions and enforcements; most of the urban and rural sanitary authorities possessed no power under the law. Provisions dealing with unfit food — diseased, unsound, unwholesome or unfit for human food — were not in the first sale of food and drugs measure and there duties were wholly discharged by all local authorities. Rural sanitary authorities were excluded from food and drugs law and boroughs and urban authorities severly restricted. Enforcement in the rural areas was by the county council, although local officers were empowered to take samples of food and submit them for analysis to the public analyst. Power to appoint the public analyst for the area was the main criterion of a “food and drugs authority”. The Minister had power to direct an authority with a population of less than 40,000 but more than 20,000 to enforce the law of adulteration.
Susan Carson, Lesley Hawkes, Kari Gislason and Samuel Martin
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of tests for the development of literary trails for domestic visitors and tourists in Brisbane, Queensland, and to situate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of tests for the development of literary trails for domestic visitors and tourists in Brisbane, Queensland, and to situate these findings in the context of recent state government policy changes in relation to culture, community engagement and the environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Broadly cultural studies: the article analyses changes in international and national cultural tourism and Queensland‐based issues before presenting the research findings.
Findings
A gap in tourist and cultural development models exists for the implementation of a network of sustainable literary trails in Brisbane – this model can be extended to regions around the state to meet the demands of the new tourist.
Research limitations/implications
The paper highlights Queensland weather and Australian distance, which will require a regional approach that networks with transport and community hubs.
Practical implications
The research has produced new software for the use of self‐guided walks; the locations for two specific area trails; and the involvement of the State Library of Queensland as a “hub” for the trails. Substantial support exists for further development in advanced locative media and gaming.
Social implications
The research demonstrates the importance of developing a sense of place that relates to culture, literary history and community for tourists, as well as the potential for community engagement.
Originality/value
Currently no paper‐based or new media literary trail exists in Brisbane. The proliferation of online delivered, self‐guided trails in other parts of the world reflects a demand for this type of cultural and environmental experience.
Details
Keywords
Facilities management is becoming a key issue in many organizations as change is, as Charles Handy et al. have recognized, the only way forward. Companies which remain…
Abstract
Facilities management is becoming a key issue in many organizations as change is, as Charles Handy et al. have recognized, the only way forward. Companies which remain stagnant eventually fall behind their competitors or have change enforced on them. The latter is obviously undesirable for many reasons owing to hastily planned measures which have probably not been properly thought through. This will have an obvious knock‐on effect to staff with potentially enormous strategic problems. Change is something we all have to get used to in order to progress and develop, and it is against this backdrop that the right type of facilities are needed to enhance the smooth transition of the change process. People normally associate change with an organization which is shrinking or off‐loading unwanted space and facilities which are no longer any use. This would probably be quite undesirable owing to the recession‐hit 1990s in which companies either have gone into liquidation or have made radical changes to meet the demands of the modern industrial era. But successful organizations also make radical cuts in staffing and facilities. Barclays Bank, for example, cut 2,000 branch jobs in the UK during 1994 while it increased its profits by 181 per cent to £1.86bn. This controversial strategy of cutting back on staffing levels and making better use of facilities while continuing to make huge profits is quite obviously a contentious one, as many organizations are looking for “smarter” ways of working. This entails examining alternative working practices to maximize the use of current facilities.
This chapter combines insights from organizational theory and the entrepreneurship literature to inform a process-based conception of organizational founding. In contrast to…
Abstract
This chapter combines insights from organizational theory and the entrepreneurship literature to inform a process-based conception of organizational founding. In contrast to previous discrete-event approaches, the conception argues that founding be viewed as a series of potential entrepreneurial activities – including initiation, resource mobilization, legal establishment, social organization, and operational startup. Drawing on an original data set of 591 entrepreneurs, the study examines the effect of structural, strategic, and environmental contingencies on the relative rates with which different founding activities are pursued. Results demonstrate that social context has a fairly pervasive impact on the occurrence and sequencing of founding processes, with one possible exception being the timing of legal establishment.