Search results

Process mapping is used to articulate the activities and procedures of business entities in a graphical way as pictorial images readily convey considerable information. The objective of this research is to provide evidence and a methodology to assist organizations in evaluating the early stages of their process mapping efforts.

A review of literature identifies key characteristics of transparency (process visibility) related to process mapping. Quizzes and surveys are used to study the impact of process mapping on transparency in an employee training session.

The paper finds that process mapping increases transparency between 5 percent and 27 percent for the applications discussed in this paper.

The research presumes that better understanding and recall of the company's business processes equates to higher transparency. This research study is limited to one field test, organization, and process mapping methodology. These limitations should be considered when extrapolating the results to other organizations.

The methodology outlined in this paper provides a way to measure the impact that formalizing (mapping) an organization's business processes and then using these maps to communicate the organization's business processes has on an individual employee's understanding and recall of those business processes. This methodology may help other organizations evaluate the early stages of their process mapping efforts.

A measurable definition of transparency is developed. A field study provides evidence that process mapping increases transparency and a methodology is shared for others to study the impacts of their process mapping efforts.

A whole‐systems approach, which seeks to optimize an entire system for multiple benefits, not isolated components for single benefits, is essential to engineering design for radically improved sustainability performance. Based on real‐world applications of whole‐systems design, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is developing educational case studies to help engineers expand their whole‐systems thinking. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of these case studies in multiple sections of a first‐year engineering course.

The comprehension of whole‐systems principles by 165 first‐year engineering students at Clemson University was evaluated through surveys and open‐ended questionnaires, before and after introducing the educational case studies.

The pilot study results show that introducing the case studies improves students' consideration of several essential whole‐systems design concepts. The case studies were particularly effective in strengthening student consideration of the clean sheet approach, integrative design, design for multiple benefits, optimization of the entire system, and the possibility of drastic efficiency increases with current technology.

This study was conducted at a single institution and with a fairly homogeneous group of students. These factors should be considered when interpreting the implications of the findings for other groups.

This preliminary research shows that case study examples like these can help increase consideration of the whole‐systems design approach that leads to improved sustainability performance.

Despite substantial advances in technologies enhancing the energy efficiency of buildings, they remain the largest consumers of energy in the USA compared with other sectors. In addition, the current rating systems for sustainable buildings do not reflect all potential energy savings during the design, construction, and occupancy of the built environment. The purpose of this paper is to examine the application of multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) as a framework for quantifying energy decisions made during the design phase of a building construction project.

The MAUT method was applied to a case study, and the results were compared with subjective results from the decision makers. Analysis of the results suggested that MAUT is a decision analysis tool that could aid decision makers in communicating their decision criteria and expectations.

Findings from this research suggest that using an analysis method provides the decision makers with a systematic way to include their concerns and preferences and specific requirements of the project along with the criteria for sustainable energy and the built environment at the same time. Using a multi-criteria, decision-making method provides the decision makers with quantitative information, which facilitates the comparison of alternatives. MAUT enabled the various stakeholders of the project to collaborate on the inputs of the problems and allowed the decision makers to communicate their priorities and expectations more effectively.

The findings indicated that MAUT provides stakeholders with a quantitative and holistic approach to decision making in which they can track changes in parameters during the process. The implementation of MAUT as a decision analysis tool in designing construction projects ultimately could lead to better decision making for sustainable building designs.

Research investigating turnover intention among frontline employees in the Indian retail industry is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to explore factors affecting withdrawal cognitions among front-end retail employees in India.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the factors responsible for developing turnover intentions among the front-end employees. Data were analyzed using the ground theory approach.

Qualitative investigation revealed nine factors (abusive supervision, favoritism, perceived job image, insufficient pay, work exhaustion, perceived unethical climate, organization culture shock, staff shortage and job dissatisfaction) are responsible for developing turnover intention among front-end employees in the Indian retail industry.

The study uncovers antecedents of turnover intention among front-end employees in the relatively neglected Indian retail sector through a qualitative technique. Theoretical contributions, managerial implications, limitations and direction for future research are discussed.