One of the difficulties in developing a coherent operationalstrategy is to know how the various elements of a manufacturing systeminteract and to assess the relevant importance of…
Abstract
One of the difficulties in developing a coherent operational strategy is to know how the various elements of a manufacturing system interact and to assess the relevant importance of each. Looks at the manufacturing systems and how complex they are. A measure which calculates the systems′ complexity and the contribution from each operational source has been developed. It thus provides a tool that can assist in a strategy development exercise by quantifying the problem areas on a common basis. The approach has been used at three manufacturing sites. The resulting analysis allowed the local management, in each case, to identify the key areas of weakness, in both the short and medium term. As such it gave each of them a possible starting‐point from which to formulate an operational strategy.
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Sander de Leeuw, Ruud Grotenhuis and Ad R. van Goor
The purpose of this paper is to discuss complexity assessment in supply chains, to describe a methodology for measuring supply chain complexity in distributive trade and to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss complexity assessment in supply chains, to describe a methodology for measuring supply chain complexity in distributive trade and to illustrate the measurement of supply chain complexity and mechanisms to cope with supply chain complexity in distributive trade.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses literature on measuring supply chain complexity and uses five case studies among wholesale companies to illustrate a methodology to measure supply chain complexity and to discuss strategies to cope with supply chain complexity.
Findings
The study confirms the multifaceted nature of supply chain complexity. The paper identifies eight drivers of supply chain complexity and uses these to illustrate the measurement of supply chain complexity in a wholesale environment. The paper identifies six strategies used by wholesalers for coping with supply chain complexity and identifies interrelations between supply chain complexity drivers and these strategies.
Research limitations/implications
The research is based on case studies in wholesale companies; future research may include survey research, including other sectors to analyze industry differences but may also focus on other parts of the supply chain.
Practical implications
The study provides insights into how to identify and measure complexity in a supply chain and what can be done to manage supply chain complexity.
Originality/value
The measurement approach is new to supply chain management and is based on multiple drivers of supply chain complexity. The research is focused on wholesalers, which is a segment that has received limited academic attention in supply chain research to date.
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Enayon Sunday Taiwo, Farzad Zaerpour, Mozart B.C. Menezes and Zhankun Sun
Overcrowding continues to afflict emergency departments (EDs), and its attendant consequences are becoming increasingly severe. The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic is further…
Abstract
Purpose
Overcrowding continues to afflict emergency departments (EDs), and its attendant consequences are becoming increasingly severe. The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic is further escalating the situation worldwide. One of the most critical questions is how to adequately quantify what constitutes overcrowding and determine implications for operations management in improving service efficiency. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose the time and class complexity measures for ED service systems, taking into account important patient-level and system characteristics. Using an extensive data set from a Canadian ED, the authors investigate the performance of complexity-based measures in predicting service delays.
Findings
The authors find that the complexity measure is potentially more important than some well-known crowding metrics. In particular, EDs can improve service efficiency by managing the level of complexity within a desirable interval. Furthermore, complexity exposes how the interplay between demand-side behavioral changes and supply-side responses affects operational performance. Moreover, the results suggest that arrival patterns—the number of patients of each class arriving per time and times between events (arrivals and service completions)—increase the risk of service delays more than the demand volume.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to provide an extensive investigation into the application of the complexity-based measure for ED crowding. The study demonstrates potential values to be gained in ED service systems if complexity measure is incorporated into their operations management decisions.
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Pushpesh Pant, Shantanu Dutta and S.P. Sarmah
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a large-sample empirical examination of how intangible supply chain complexity impacts firm performance in light of a firm's organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a large-sample empirical examination of how intangible supply chain complexity impacts firm performance in light of a firm's organizational structure.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses panel data from 2,580 Indian manufacturing firms and constructs empirical proxy for intangible supply chain complexity, i.e. CHQ distance from major cities. The proposed conceptual model is grounded in the dynamic capability view (DCV) and social network theory (SNT). Multivariate regression analyses are performed to investigate the effect of intangible complexity on firm performance.
Findings
Results show that intangible supply chain complexity, as proxied by “CHQ distance from major cities”, negatively affects firm performance and a firm's organizational structure plays an important role in conceiving CHQ locational strategies. Firms with interconnected supply chain and social network (e.g. business group firms) have a higher propensity to locate their CHQs farther away from major cities, and business group firms that have more distantly located CHQs experience better financial performance compared to independent firms (with less network resources).
Originality/value
In light of the supply chain literature and relevant theories, the study conceptualizes intangible supply chain complexity as “CHQ distance from major cities” and deepens our understanding of the relationship between intangible complexity and firm performance in light of organizational structure. Further, it develops an objective understanding of intangible supply chain complexity by relying on secondary panel data.
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Martha Crowley, Julianne Payne and Earl Kennedy
Labor process research has documented a shift in the nature of control – from techniques that aim to limit worker discretion to consent-oriented controls that are believed to…
Abstract
Labor process research has documented a shift in the nature of control – from techniques that aim to limit worker discretion to consent-oriented controls that are believed to generate greater effort by increasing intrinsic rewards or bonding employees to managers and/or the firm. Over the past several decades, however, growing pressure to increase profits has prompted firms to adopt cost-cutting strategies that have eroded job security, relationships with management and commitment to organizational goals. This study investigates how a changing labor process and rising job insecurity shape workers’ orientations toward work, managers and the firm, and in turn influence workplace behavior. Analyses of content-coded data on 212 work groups confirms that discretion-limiting controls (supervision, technology and rules) are associated with more negative orientations and/or reductions in effort (with variations across distinct forms of control), while investment in workers’ human capital (but not involvement of workers in decision-making) has the reverse effect – generating more positive orientations toward work, managers and the firm, and (in turn) promoting discretionary work effort and limiting covert effort restriction. Implications of insecurity are more complex. Both layoffs and temporary employment reduce commitment to the organization, but layoffs generate conflict with management without reducing effort, whereas temporary employment limits effort without producing conflict. We illuminate underlying processes with evidence from the qualitative case studies.
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Markus Gerschberger, Ila Manuj and Patrick Freinberger
The purpose of this paper is to understand and measure empirically the objective and perceived dimensions of supplier-induced complexity in supply chains.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand and measure empirically the objective and perceived dimensions of supplier-induced complexity in supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
An equal-weight, complementary mixed-method approach is used to investigate supplier-induced complexity and understand its impact on outcomes. Initial qualitative research and extant literature review allowed the identification of supplier characteristics that add complexity to supply chains and development of four research hypotheses. Subsequently, quantitative analysis was used for testing the hypotheses.
Findings
The results suggest that supplier-induced complexity is related to adverse outcomes, and both perceived and objective dimensions of complexity are valuable in understanding and measuring supplier-induced complexity.
Research limitations/implications
This study employs a mixed-method approach to establish and test relationships among perceived and objective supplier-induced complexity, and their outcomes. The unit of analysis is the first-tier suppliers of one farm equipment manufacturing firm. This limits the generalizability of the results to similar industrial manufacturing firms.
Practical implications
This paper presents an approach to identify suppliers that add the highest levels of complexity to a supply chain and, thus, require closer monitoring. Specific supplier characteristics are identified for individual suppliers. Developing specific complexity-related measures helps better identify critical suppliers compared to traditional approaches (e.g. ABC analysis).
Originality/value
This paper contributes to supply chain management literature by comprehensively exploring supplier-induced complexity, incorporating the often-ignored perceived complexity dimension, and providing a managerially useful framework.
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Artificial‐life techniques – specifically, agent‐based models and evolutionary learning algorithms – provide a potentially powerful new approach to understanding some of the…
Abstract
Artificial‐life techniques – specifically, agent‐based models and evolutionary learning algorithms – provide a potentially powerful new approach to understanding some of the fundamental processes of war. This paper introduces a simple artificial‐like “toy model” of combat called Enhanced ISAAC Neural Simulation Tool (EINSTein). EINSTein is designed to illustrate how certain aspects of land combat can be viewed as self‐organized, emergent phenomena resulting from the dynamical web of interactions among notional combatants. EINSTein's bottom‐up, synthesist approach to the modeling of combat stands in stark contrast to the more traditional top‐down, or reductionist approach taken by conventional military models, and represents a step toward developing a complex systems theoretic toolbox for identifying, exploring, and possibly exploiting self‐organized emergent collective patterns of behavior on the real battlefield. A description of the model is provided, along with examples of emergent agent patterns and behaviors.
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Susan L. Golicic, Daniel J. Flint and Paola Signori
The purpose of this paper is to address how wine businesses build sustainability – the ability to survive and be successful over the long-term – in a complex market environment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address how wine businesses build sustainability – the ability to survive and be successful over the long-term – in a complex market environment.
Design/methodology/approach
To understand how managers in a wine supply chain (i.e. from grower to consumer) are trying to sustain business within a hyper-competitive industry, the authors used a standard grounded theory, constant comparative research method using formal depth interviews along with additional data sources from wine businesses in nine global wine regions in the USA, Australia, Italy and New Zealand.
Findings
A framework emerged from the data to improve business sustainability and counteract the complexity in the wine market by developing resilience through innovating and experimenting, obtaining resources/developing capabilities and relying on supply chain connections.
Research limitations/implications
This conceptual framework contributes to the existing theory on institutional transitions and resilience in business, and extends and broadens it by proposing that resilience is needed to combat entropy in the wine industry for businesses in this industry to survive and thrive.
Practical implications
Managers can learn from and apply the examples mentioned in this study and follow the framework presented to implement the strategies to build resilience to increase their chances of sustainability.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first empirical studies to the authors’ knowledge that identifies the impact of entropy in the wine industry and examines resilience as a means to combat an entropic market and obtain business sustainability.
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Priya Jindal and Lochan Chavan
Government organisations, small and medium-sized businesses, education, and the entertainment industries all use multimedia technology to communicate information and ideas across…
Abstract
Government organisations, small and medium-sized businesses, education, and the entertainment industries all use multimedia technology to communicate information and ideas across digital, print, catalogue, and advertising mediums. Any message delivered by businesses, whether digital or printed graphics, images, text, movies, or animation, is more likely to be accepted by the target audience. The financial sector is no exception. Multimedia technology refers to activities involving computers, software development, and online media distribution. Professionals and experts in computer or software development use multimedia technology to create a variety of mechanisms including product demos, web pages, news sites, and presentations to attract attention or convey any message to a specific audience. Multimedia technology such as multimedia software, transaction processing, electronic payments, voicemail, and networked communication required banks and the financial sector to adopt new practices for delivering banking services and making the financial system more user-friendly for consumers and the financial industry’s operation. Banks and other financial institutions are compelled to innovate as computer technologies advance to maintain competitiveness. Multimedia technology offers lower occupancy costs with a smaller staff and lower transaction processing expenses. New technologies in the financial sector are replacing traditional methods of operation because multimedia technology makes work simpler, faster, and more effective. The industry is trying to switch to a self-service model through technology by providing the same level of convenience at a lower price.