Sanjay Choudhari and Amit Tindwani
This study aims to assist the project manager in minimising the material logistics cost of road project by planning the optimal movement of aggregate across three stages of supply…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assist the project manager in minimising the material logistics cost of road project by planning the optimal movement of aggregate across three stages of supply chain: sourcing, processing and distribution.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper conceptualises the raw material consumption in a road project as a logistics network distribution problem. A linear programming (LP) formulation is constructed with appropriate decision variables by integrating the three stages of material movement. The series of LP scenarios are solved using an LP solver to decide the optimal movement of the aggregate to be consumed in different layers of road segments.
Findings
The results obtained from the model show that planning material logistics of an entire road project using optimisation provides substantial saving in logistics costs than using common sense. Further, the magnitude of cost saving improves as the complexity of the model increases in term of enormous feasible options.
Practical implications
The model shown in this paper may serve as a basis for planning the logistics of raw materials consumed in the road projects. The small improvement in material flows by optimising supply chain shows sensible cost benefit to the project manager and hence control and monitor the overall cost and activities of the project. The output of the model is also expected to help the project team as an input in the decision-making processes such as appropriate material sourcing contract, capacity assessment of material processing facility and transportation planning.
Originality/value
While the optimisation models are widely used and popular among the many industrial applications, this research shows distinct application of such a model in managing the logistics of the road construction project.
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Sanjay Choudhari and Hasmukh Gajjar
The purpose of this paper is to present the simulation model for manpower planning in electrical maintenance service facility and evaluates different scenarios to improve resource…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the simulation model for manpower planning in electrical maintenance service facility and evaluates different scenarios to improve resource utilization while meeting the desired service level.
Design/methodology/approach
The process systematically maps entire system of electrical fault rectification, identifies probability distributions of demand of electrical maintenance requests and its process times using historical data. The simulation software Arena was used to model the entire system and various possible improvements were evaluated to assess performance of maintenance service facility.
Findings
The simulation results obtained for the proposed changes in the system indicated the potential improvement in resource utilization while meeting the average waiting time expectations of customers.
Practical implications
The proposed simulation model can help maintenance people to decide the optimum number of resources to meet the agreed performance level that is expected by various stakeholders.
Originality/value
The paper considers the computer simulation in modeling complex real-life system for understanding the resource requirement of electrical fault maintenance facility to improve resource utilization while meeting the desired service level.
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Sushanth Bavirisetti and Mithilesh Kumar Sahu
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance of the gas turbine cycle integrated with solid oxide fuel cell technology. In the present work, intermediate temperature…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance of the gas turbine cycle integrated with solid oxide fuel cell technology. In the present work, intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell has been considered, as it is economical, can attain an activation temperature in a quick time, and also have a longer life compared to a high-temperature solid oxide fuel cell, which helps in the commercialization and can generate two ways of electricity as a hybrid configuration.
Design/methodology/approach
The conceptualized cycle has been analyzed with the help of computer code developed in MATLAB with the help of governing equations. In this work, the focus is on the performance investigation of a Gas turbine intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell hybrid cycle. The work also analyzes the performance behavior of the proposed cycle with various design and operating parameters.
Findings
It is found that the power generation efficiency of the IT-SOFC-GT hybrid system reaches up to 60% (LHV) for specific design and operating conditions. The cycle calculations of an IT-SOFC-GT hybrid system and its conceptual design have been presented in this work.
Originality/value
The unique feature of this work is that IT-SOFC has been adopted for integration instead of HT-SOFC, and this work also provides the performance behavior of the hybrid system with varying design and operating parameters, which is the novelty of this work. This work has significant scientific merit, as the cost involved for the commercialization of IT-SOFC is comparatively lower than HT-SOFC and provides a good option to energy manufacturers for generating clean energy at a low cost.
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Sanjay C. Choudhari, Gajendra K. Adil and Usha Ananthakumar
The purpose of this paper is to understand the configuration of a job production system with reference to manufacturing decision areas. The aim is to identify the process specific…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the configuration of a job production system with reference to manufacturing decision areas. The aim is to identify the process specific decisions for job shop and the non‐process specific decisions that are influenced by other contextual factors.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study research approach is used in the present paper to investigate the decisions of five manufacturing companies that satisfy the characteristics of job production system. Data are collected from case company's products, order winners and choices made in manufacturing decision areas. The paper uses within case and cross‐case analysis to identify various patterns in the data, with a view to meeting the required research objectives.
Findings
The present paper identifies a number of decisions specific to job shop. Further, many non‐process specific decisions are seen to be influenced by competitive priorities (order winner), strategic orientation of manufacturing (stages in H‐W model), top management and size of the company. After the study of the case companies, it is also observed that the companies employing a job production system may have high product complexity.
Practical implications
The findings derived from this research would facilitate practitioners in understanding both process specific and non‐process specific decisions for the job production system. The observation that the job shops can also use progressive practices, the same as other shops, to gain competitive advantage in the market could be very useful for practicing managers.
Originality/value
This exploratory research contributes to the existing theory in manufacturing decision areas for job production systems.
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Leena Busaibe, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Syed Zamberi Ahmad and Sanjaya S. Gaur
This study aims to examine the effect of gender perspectives in organizational leadership and culture on organizational innovations within the oil and gas industry in the United…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effect of gender perspectives in organizational leadership and culture on organizational innovations within the oil and gas industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Design/methodology/approach
The study examined research in the area of organizational innovation and proposed a framework to help practitioners to create an environment that promotes and strengthens innovation thinking at an institutional level.
Findings
Based on the literature, a framework of organizational innovation was developed with gender as a control factor. It shows the mediating effect of employee performance management on the independent variables, organizational leadership and culture.
Research limitations/implications
The oil and gas industry in the UAE should be a suitable environment for organizational innovation. Gender differences justify further investigation, especially the implications for female leaders, such as promotion and career advancement.
Practical implications
The results of this study will provide practical insights to executives, strategy-makers and practitioners and enable them to increase innovation among individuals and teams.
Originality/value
This study provides a comprehensive framework to assist practitioners and academics to understand the correlation of organizational innovation in the oil and gas industry.
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Sanjay Kumar Singh, Rabindra Kumar Pradhan, Nrusingh Prasad Panigrahy and Lalatendu Kesari Jena
How psychological variables especially self-efficacy plays significant role to attain workplace well-being is yet to be explained. The extant literature calls for further research…
Abstract
Purpose
How psychological variables especially self-efficacy plays significant role to attain workplace well-being is yet to be explained. The extant literature calls for further research works in the field of sustainability practices to bridge the gap between self-efficacy and workplace well-being. The purpose of this paper is to extend the literature of workplace well-being while scientifically examining the moderating role of sustainability practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The study collected data from 527 full-time executives of Indian public and private manufacturing industries. The authors performed moderated regression analysis through a series of hierarchical models to test the hypotheses of the study.
Findings
The result indicates positive relationship between self-efficacy and workplace well-being. Furthermore, the result suggests that the relationship between self-efficacy and workplace well-being was stronger among executives with high level of sustainability practices and vice versa.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional sample of executives employed in Indian manufacturing organizations limits the generalizability of the findings.
Practical implications
HR functionaries and senior management may benefit by closely examining their sustainability practices along with their employees perceived ability to address workplace well-being.
Originality/value
The study contributes to extend the literature on self-efficacy and workplace well-being. This research work is one of the first few studies to examine the moderating effect of sustainability practices.
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The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (the PMLA/the Act) was enacted in India in 2002. Since then, Indian courts have had to deal with two interconnected issues owing to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (the PMLA/the Act) was enacted in India in 2002. Since then, Indian courts have had to deal with two interconnected issues owing to the nature of the offence of money laundering (ML) as conceived in the Act itself. The first issue relates to the independence of the offence of ML from the conviction of the underlying offence; and the second is the manner in which the PMLA operates – whether it does so retrospectively or prospectively. The purpose of this paper is to delve into these questions as there is no definitive and binding answer provided for by the courts. It aims to provide normative answers to the above-mentioned questions to enable better functioning of the Act.
Design/methodology/approach
This research paper examines international conventions relating to ML, reports by inter-governmental bodies, the statutory language of the Act and judgements rendered by courts.
Findings
The paper goes on to conclude that for fulfilling the purpose of the Act, the offence of ML must be considered separate from the conviction of the predicate offence. As a result, it also concludes that the Act must apply in instances where the predicate offence was committed prior to its inclusion in the Act’s Schedule if the act of ML occurs after such inclusion.
Originality/value
There does not exist any scholarly literature addressing the judiciary’s interpretation of the Act regarding the said two issues in a systematic fashion. Added to this is the fact that there exist uncertainty and ambiguity because of conflicting judgements. By analyzing international instruments, the phraseology of the Act and contradictory case-law, this paper attempts to find definitive solutions to the said two questions in a purposive manner.
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Naveed R. Khan, Muhammad Rahies Khan, Wasim Ahmad and Rana Muhammad Sohail Jafar
The environmental performance of organizations has come under public policy limelight since the phenomenal increase of natural resource degradation and industrial waste. Thus…
Abstract
The environmental performance of organizations has come under public policy limelight since the phenomenal increase of natural resource degradation and industrial waste. Thus, green concepts have been put forward, but the implementation of green practices faces many barriers and challenges. These barriers require attention as organizational practices are negatively affecting the environment leading to global warming and climate change. Therefore, this chapter systematically identifies four internal barriers including inadequate management commitment and support, insufficient technology competence and infrastructure, financial constraints, the uncertainty of economic benefits, and eight sub barriers within an organization concerning green concepts implementation. Moreover, this chapter also identifies four external barriers including lack of stakeholder's interest, inadequate environmental administrative support, scarce academic research, and lack of green collaborative practices, and eight sub barriers outside an organizational context concerning green concept implementation. The barriers in this research were identified by reviewing the existing literature on the topic. This chapter advances the green literature by identifying multiple barriers and challenges to the successful implementation of green concepts in organizations. This is of significance as if these barriers are tackled strategically, it would reduce environmental degradation problems and help make financial gains. Moreover, this research can help managers understand the key barriers to green concept implementation and provide guidance to them when attempting to implement green practices in their organizations. This research would also motivate researchers to extend further investigation on how to overcome such barriers and find out strategies to mitigate the barriers to green concept implementation to effectively address environmental issues.