Digital Equipment is increasing its competitive edge by focusing its quality investment at the design stage. Its goal is to produce products that are less costly, on‐time and…
Abstract
Digital Equipment is increasing its competitive edge by focusing its quality investment at the design stage. Its goal is to produce products that are less costly, on‐time and, more importantly, geared towards the customers' needs.
Operational improvement is being overtaken by the ability to bringsuperior, cheaper products on to the market in amazingly short periodsof time. EDS and the Design Council joined…
Abstract
Operational improvement is being overtaken by the ability to bring superior, cheaper products on to the market in amazingly short periods of time. EDS and the Design Council joined forces to initiate the UK Benchmarking Survey examining how well UK manufacturing companies are performing in bringing new products to the market. Questionnaires, sent out in 1992 to a range of discrete manufacturing companies in the UK, sought opinions from the board room down to the planning offices. Surveys included questions on time predictability, cast predictability and engineering changes. Results show a small group of companies are capable of competing on the top level, while many other companies have potential but lack the ability to convert investment into results.
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Keith Nichols and Derek Flanagan
Combines some of the challenges which the authors have experiencedin applying quality function deployment (QFD) to different applicationsin achieving better, cheaper, faster…
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Combines some of the challenges which the authors have experienced in applying quality function deployment (QFD) to different applications in achieving better, cheaper, faster products to market. Highlights the issues, conflicts, decision points and the ways forward in achieving results. Shares experiences with the reader.
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Iceland Frozen Foods currently has 170 freezer centres and is growing at around 30 new outlets every year. The company uses an IBM System 38. All the stores now have portable data…
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Iceland Frozen Foods currently has 170 freezer centres and is growing at around 30 new outlets every year. The company uses an IBM System 38. All the stores now have portable data capture terminals allowing a bar‐coded recording system and two‐thirds of the stores have EPoS. Scanning has been on test in three stores.
For generations, Britain has had a household delivery of fresh milk; from the days before the Great War when it was delivered by a horse‐drawn milk float, with the roundsman often…
Abstract
For generations, Britain has had a household delivery of fresh milk; from the days before the Great War when it was delivered by a horse‐drawn milk float, with the roundsman often bringing the housewife to the door with his cries of “Milk‐O!”. The float had a churn and milk was delivered in a small can, served out by a dipper. This was the start of the distributive trade, organised between the Wars, from which the present industry has emerged. The trade gave universal acceptance to the glass bottle, returnable for household delivery, only the method of sealing has changed. There have been many demands for its abandonment in favour of the carton, of which recent years has seen a rise in its use in the increasing sales of milk by supermarkets and stores. Despite the problems with returnable vessels, the glass bottle has a number of advantages. The milk, including the cream line, is clearly visible, and short measure is most unlikely, which is a growing problem with carton‐filled milk. The number of prosecutions for short measure with cartons must be causing concern to trading standards departments. There is nothing to indicate the offence until the carton is opened.
Abdifatah Ahmed Haji and Mutalib Anifowose
This paper aims to examine the role of the audit committee function as an internal assurance provider in the emerging integrated reporting (IR) practice. In particular, the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the role of the audit committee function as an internal assurance provider in the emerging integrated reporting (IR) practice. In particular, the authors examine the role of the overall effectiveness, as well as specific aspects, of the audit committee function in IR practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examine the integrated reports of 246 firm-year observations of large South African companies over a three-year period (2011-2013), following the introduction of an “apply or explain” IR requirement and an embedded “combined assurance” model in South Africa. Drawing from conflicting theoretical perspectives of economics-based (e.g. agency theory) and socio-political theories (e.g. legitimacy theory), the authors develop competing hypotheses to predict the role of the overall, as well as specific aspects, of the audit committee function in IR practice.
Findings
Consistent with the predictions of economics-related theories, the authors find that the overall effectiveness of the audit committee function has a strong positive association with the extent and quality of IR practice. In particular, audit committee authority and meetings are shown to have a significant positive impact on IR practice. However, as implied by socio-political theories, the authors do not find a significant association between key aspects of the audit committee function such as audit committee independence and financial expertise and IR practice.
Practical implications
This study informs local and international regulatory authorities, as well as the business community, about the potential significance of internal assurance mechanisms such as the audit committee function in the emerging IR practice. Given the practical challenges associated with independent external assurance provisions, the findings of this study suggest that internal assurance mechanisms – such as the audit committee function – can be genuine and cost-effective alternative assurance mechanisms in enhancing the credibility and reliability of non-financial reporting practices, particularly the emerging IR practice. The results also inform academic researchers to take cognisance from the expanding roles and responsibilities of audit committees and conduct in-depth investigation on “how” the audit committee function is handling the increasing responsibilities.
Originality/value
The study provides initial empirical account towards the role of the audit committee function in the emerging IR practice. The study is novel because it shows the significance of internal assurance mechanisms in wider organisational reporting practice.
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Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda of the Aeronautical Research Council, Reports and Technical Notes of the United States National…
Abstract
Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda of the Aeronautical Research Council, Reports and Technical Notes of the United States National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and publications of other similar Research Bodies as issued