Angélica Muffato Reis, Elisa Verna, Lino Costa, Sérgio Dinis Sousa and Maurizio Galetto
This study bridges the gap in quality control strategies for high-volume production by balancing the cost and effectiveness of inspection strategies. Using the cost of quality…
Abstract
Purpose
This study bridges the gap in quality control strategies for high-volume production by balancing the cost and effectiveness of inspection strategies. Using the cost of quality (CoQ) to manage cost and external failures (EF) to gauge effectiveness, this research introduces an innovative inspection strategy chart that serves as a decision-making tool for optimizing inspection processes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a scenario-based framework designed to support strategic decision-making in inspection processes by integrating empirical data analysis with inspection strategy charts. This approach allows for a dynamic assessment and visualization of the relationship between CoQ and EF, facilitating more informed decision-making in quality management. Notably, it contrasts the traditional models with a novel approach that more accurately captures the uncertainty and correlation among key quality indicators, showcasing its potential for more refined decision-making in quality management.
Findings
Application of the framework illustrates its effectiveness in offering a nuanced understanding of the cost implications and effectiveness of various quality control strategies. This facilitates enhanced strategic decision-making, optimizing inspection processes and reducing external failures in high-volume production settings.
Research limitations/implications
The study focuses on a single industry case study, limiting the generalizability of findings across different high-volume production contexts. Future research could explore the framework’s applicability in other sectors and refine the model based on additional empirical data.
Originality/value
The research introduces a versatile framework that navigates the unique challenges of high-volume manufacturing environments. Diverging from models optimized for low-volume settings, this approach provides a valuable tool for adapting inspection strategies to complex production demands, marking a significant contribution to quality management and control literature.
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Lino Costa and Rui Vilar
The purpose of this paper is to review the state of the art of laser powder deposition (LPD), a solid freeform fabrication technique capable of fabricating fully dense functional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the state of the art of laser powder deposition (LPD), a solid freeform fabrication technique capable of fabricating fully dense functional items from a wide range of common engineering materials, such as aluminum alloys, steels, titanium alloys, nickel superalloys and refractory materials.
Design/methodology/approach
The main R&D efforts and the major issues related to LPD are revisited.
Findings
During recent years, a worldwide series of R&D efforts have been undertaken to develop and explore the capabilities of LPD and to tap into the possible cost and time savings and many potential applications that this technology offers.
Originality/value
These R&D efforts have produced a wealth of knowledge, the main points of which are highlighted herein.
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Lino Costa, Deepak Rajput, Kathleen Lansford, Wenqiang Yue, Alexander Terekhov and William Hofmeister
The purpose of this paper is to develop a simple, easy to implement powder delivery strategy for solid freeform fabrication (SFF) processing.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a simple, easy to implement powder delivery strategy for solid freeform fabrication (SFF) processing.
Design/methodology/approach
A specially designed “tower nozzle” located at the center of the processing area dispenses the feedstock powders continuously and uniformly onto the processing area, where powders accumulate progressively as a flat powder bed. During the dispensing, powders are selectively consolidated by melting and solidification using a laser beam which was scanned in a predefined pattern using a galvo‐mirror scan head.
Findings
Experiments performed with AISI H13 steel show that the tower nozzle powder delivery strategy is suitable for SFF processing.
Practical implications
Both powder delivery and laser consolidation are performed simultaneously and without interruption with simple apparatus. No powder delivery scrapers or rollers are used.
Originality/value
The main characteristics of a prototype tower nozzle and the typical processing conditions used to form thin wall AISI H13 steel shapes are presented.
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Maria Martins, Cristina Santos, Lino Costa and Anselmo Frizera
The purpose of this paper is to propose a gait analysis technique that aims to identify differences and similarities in gait performance between three different assistive devices…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a gait analysis technique that aims to identify differences and similarities in gait performance between three different assistive devices (ADs).
Design/methodology/approach
Two feature reduction techniques, linear principal component analysis (PCA) and nonlinear kernel-PCA (KPCA), are expanded to provide a comparison of the spatio-temporal, symmetrical indexes and postural control parameters among the three different ADs. Then, a multiclass support vector machine (MSVM) with different approaches is designed to evaluate the potential of PCA and KPCA to extract relevant gait features that can differentiate between ADs.
Findings
Results demonstrated that symmetrical indexes and postural control parameters are better suited to provide useful information about the different gait patterns that total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients present when walking with different ADs. The combination of KPCA and MSVM with discriminant functions (MSVM DF) resulted in a noticeably improved performance. Such combination demonstrated that, with symmetric indexes and postural control parameters, it is possible to extract with high-accuracy nonlinear gait features for automatic classification of gait patterns with ADs.
Originality/value
The information obtained with the proposed technique could be used to identify benefits and limitations of ADs on the rehabilitation process and to evaluate the benefit of their use in TKA patients.
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Asad Abbas, Hussein Haruna, Anil Yasin Ar and Danica Radovanović
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) gained attention, particularly SDG 4 which focuses on quality education. Tecnologico de Monterrey, popularly…
Abstract
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) gained attention, particularly SDG 4 which focuses on quality education. Tecnologico de Monterrey, popularly known as TEC, is one of the few elite private universities in Mexico that took significant steps to enhance the quality of education amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, in view of students’ career plans. In this empirical research, an online survey was employed to investigate the mediating role of peers’ feedback on team-based learning (TBL) and career planning skills among university students. The study included 86 students from bachelor’s and master’s programmes. IBM SPSS version 26 and PROCESS Macro v 3.5 were used for the quantitative data analysis. The results confirm that peers’ feedback partially mediates the relationship between TBL and the career planning skills of students. This study provides recommendations to university authorities to develop educational policies in-line with SDG 4, thoroughly revise course curricula of the degree programmes offered, and include online learning activities for solving problems in the current world scenario.
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Gabriela Molina Frisancho, Ricardo Rocha de Azevedo, Angélica Arroyo Morales and Patricia Siqueira Varela
This research analyzes accountants’ perception of the normative legitimacy of accounting reforms in local governments across Latin America.
Abstract
Purpose
This research analyzes accountants’ perception of the normative legitimacy of accounting reforms in local governments across Latin America.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 accountants from seven Latin American countries. This qualitative, inductive and interpretive study employs a comparative thematic analysis.
Findings
The results show that accountants in the analyzed Latin American countries have different perceptions about convergence to IPSAS and accounting standards legitimacy, which may affect IPSAS implementation and application in the countries.
Originality/value
The research focuses on the accountant’s perception as one of the agents of change in accounting reform. It offers an in-depth analysis of the IPSAS adoption process and highlights factors to consider in the development of the accounting reform.
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Izabela Simon Rampasso, Sidney L.M. Mello, Rubens Walker, Victor G. Simão, Robson Araújo, Juliana Chagas, Osvaldo Luiz Gonçalves Quelhas and Rosley Anholon
The objective of this study is to identify research gaps related to skills required for Industry 4.0, considering research in the context of Brazilian undergraduate courses. In…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to identify research gaps related to skills required for Industry 4.0, considering research in the context of Brazilian undergraduate courses. In this sense, the question of this study was established: What are the educational gaps related to skills required in Industry 4.0 context, considering considering research in the previously mentioned?
Design/methodology/approach
To answer this question, the ten top work-related skills required for professionals in Industry 4.0 published by the World Economic Forum were used to perform a systematic literature review. From this review, 100 articles were found in the searched databases. From them, 18 were within the research scope.
Findings
Through an analysis of their content, it was possible to verify that, from the 10 skills analyzed, only six were identified in the articles. That is, no research was found for: people management, service orientation, negotiation, and cognitive flexibility. Additionally, there are undergraduate courses that are not considered in current researches and should be analyzed.
Originality/value
The gaps pointed out in this study are relevant to guide future analyzes of the Brazilian educational model and may provide insights for research in other countries.
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Rahsidi Sabri Muda, Ainul Bahiah Mohd Khidzir and Mohamad Faiq Md Amin
Dams are constructed for many purposes such as for power generation, irrigation, water supply and flood control. However, dams can also impose risks to the public, and the…
Abstract
Dams are constructed for many purposes such as for power generation, irrigation, water supply and flood control. However, dams can also impose risks to the public, and the situation could be disastrous if dam failure occurred. The study area, Bertam Valley, is located downstream of hydroelectric dam known as Sultan Abu Bakar Dam, Cameron Highlands. The key objectives of the study are to determine the potential risk area at downstream and to assess the flooding impact on damage to buildings and infrastructures due to dam break event. ArcGIS application and output from two-dimensional flood modelling have been used as an integrated approach to analyse the impact due to dam break flood, by creating flood severity grid analysis. The result obtained shows that the estimated inundated area is about 0.28 km2, and almost 197 buildings are potentially affected. Results from this study show that in the event of dam break, the huge volume of impounding water will pound to the downstream areas, threatening the populations, and environment along its path. The finding is useful to assist the local authorities and emergency responders in formulating an emergency procedure to save the people during an emergency.
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Christina L. Scott, Siri Wilder and Justine Bennett
Purpose – Despite the rising number of unmarried and/or divorced parents, negative stereotypes of single parents are still prevalent. The current study aims to explore attitudes…
Abstract
Purpose – Despite the rising number of unmarried and/or divorced parents, negative stereotypes of single parents are still prevalent. The current study aims to explore attitudes toward single mothers (choice vs circumstance) and personal willingness to become single parents in the future.
Design/Methodology/Approach – The current study used a 10-item Likert scale inventory to assess 230 female respondents’ attitudes toward fictitious single mothers; five open-ended questions explored advantages/challenges faced by each mother, and a single-item Likert scale assessed willingness to become a single mother by choice.
Findings – Although young adults (18–25 years) reported more positivity toward single mothers compared to adults (26–79 years), both groups were unwilling to become single mothers by choice. Qualitative findings suggested participants identified more advantages associated with being a single mother by choice (as compared to by circumstance).
Research Limitations/Implications – The majority of the sample consisted of “young adults” (undergraduates) ages 18–25, while the “adult” sample combined multiple generations ages 26–79, resulting in an unbalanced age distribution between groups.
Originality/Value – Few studies have acknowledged the existence of single mothers by choice; the current research provided supporting evidence that attitudes toward single mothers are increasingly more positive among Millennials despite unwillingness to become a single mother by choice in the future.
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An interview was conducted with the general manager and semi-structured interviews with Likert scale to the main clients, collaborators and suppliers to establish the key…
Abstract
Research methodology
An interview was conducted with the general manager and semi-structured interviews with Likert scale to the main clients, collaborators and suppliers to establish the key competencies of the firm. Secondary information was collected through the organization’s historical and strategic documents.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the case study, students will be able to learn international marketing, innovation, strategic management, international business strategy; analyze the brand equity construct through the associative neural network model for decision-making; determine the internationalization strategy using the dual pressures model and sources of competitive advantage for international marketing management; and propose the innovation of a product by applying creativity techniques or innovation models to enter international markets.
Case overview/synopsis
Café Galavis is a family business leader in the production and commercialization of roasted and ground coffee for 103 years in Colombia. The new chief executive officer recovered the financial stability during his management during the period from 2015 to 2019, implementing internationalization processes. However, the sanitary crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in Colombia, generated an economic recession, which led to a decrease in coffee consumption. How to innovate in the development of a product or service in times of pandemic? What internationalization strategy implement? These are the challenges that the new management and its collaborators will confront.
Complexity academic level
The teaching case is aimed at students of postgraduate academic programs in areas Management or MBA. In the modules of Marketing the case allows the orientation of the concepts of brand equity or branding. Likewise, in the modules of International Management, the definition of the internationalization strategy through the analysis of dual pressures and sources of competitive advantage. Finally, in the modules of Innovation different methodologies or techniques for innovation can be applied such as: SCAMPER, Design thinking or the Stage Gate Model.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CSS 5: International Business