The impact of quality practices and employee empowerment in the performance of hospital units

Healthcare is a unique services environment with increasing demand for services coupled with widely diverse patient needs. In addition, hospitals are under increased pressure to provide quality care yet simultaneously decrease associated costs. This study examines how the use of quality practices and employee empowerment impact hospital unit outcomes. Specifically, the sociotechnical theory is used to explain the relationship of quality practices and employee empowerment in respiratory care services. Utilising data from 101 different hospital units, survey responses from managers and physicians within the same hospital units are used to test the impact on quality and cost of care performance metrics via path modelling. The results show the social side of improvement programs, i.e. employee empowerment, may be a critical component to true quality improvement in hospital units. Furthermore, while respiratory care managers feel that employee empowerment reduces costs of patient care, physicians felt that there was no impact on costs. The implications of these findings and differing perspectives are discussed.     

A framework for the integration of Green and Lean Six Sigma for superior sustainability performance

Evidence suggests that Lean, Six Sigma and Green approaches make a positive contribution to the economic, social and environmental (i.e. sustainability) performance of organisations. However, evidence also suggests that organisations have found their integration and implementation challenging. The purpose of this research is therefore to present a framework that methodically guides companies through a five stages and sixteen steps process to effectively integrate and implement the Green, Lean and Six Sigma approaches to improve their sustainability performance. To achieve this, a critical review of the existing literature in the subject area was conducted to build a research gap, and subsequently develop the methodological framework proposed. The paper presents the results from the application of the proposed framework in four organisations with different sizes and operating in a diverse range of industries. The results showed that the integration of Lean Six Sigma and Green helped the organisations to averagely reduce their resources consumption from 20 to 40% and minimise the cost of energy and mass streams by 7–12%. The application of the framework should be gradual, the companies should assess their weaknesses and strengths, set priorities, and identify goals for successful implementation. This paper is one of the very first researches that presents a framework to integrate Green and Lean Six Sigma at a factory level, and hence offers the potential to be expanded to multiple factories or even supply chains.     

Industry 4.0 integration with socio-technical systems theory: A systematic review and proposed theoretical model

Industry 4.0 promises the fourth industrial revolution by integration of cyber and physical worlds through technology. Industry 4.0 implementation will result in human interaction with technical system in a specialised manner. Therefore, Industry 4.0 will also be a socio (human related) and technical (nonhuman related) system in pursuit of a common goal. The purpose of this study is to suggest a mechanism to include Socio-Technical Systems Theory perspective while designing architecture for integration while implementing Industry 4.0. Building on the previous literatures on Socio-Technical Systems Theory and Industry 4.0, the article proposes bringing the two approaches together and presents a framework for integration mechanism. Successful implementation of Industry 4.0 warrants vertical, horizontal and end-to-end integration. This study suggests a design mechanism for three types of integration mechanism in Industry 4.0 by considering the socio-technical systems impact on people, infrastructure, technology, processes, culture and goals. Further, the integration is also suggested for analysis on the impact of stakeholders, economic situation and regulatory frameworks around which the operating organizations are operating. This is the first paper to propose the consideration of Socio-Technical Systems theory while designing the horizontal, vertical and end-to-end integration for sustainable implementation of Industry 4.0.     

The impact of supply base complexity on disruptions and performance: the moderating effects of slack and visibility

In the face of increasing supply base complexity, organisations have to develop new ways to manage or mitigate risk. This paper investigates the impact of four dimensions of complexity on the frequency of disruptions and plant performance. We apply insights from organisational information processing theory to understand how organisations can mitigate against the impact of more frequent disruptions. We test the moderating effects of slack resources as a means to absorb the effects of disruptions and supply visibility as a means to improve the ability to handle disruptions. The model is tested with data from 264 supply chain management professionals. Our findings broadly support the original hypotheses and suggest that supply base complexity can increase the frequency of disruptions and reduce plant performance but that slack resources and visibility can help to mitigate the effects. The study offers valuable insights into the management of supply base complexity.     

Boosting sustainability and financial performance: the role of supply chain controversies

In recent years, numerous scandals concerning working conditions in Asia have threatened the reputation of large companies like Wal-Mart and Inditex. Since such scandals call attention to activities harmful to sustainable development, it is very important to study the relationships between concerns for sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), sustainability, and organisations’ market value. The added value of our study is, first, to explore SSCM controversies as drivers of or pressures for adopting and applying sustainability practices; and, second, to contribute to the recent but growing literature that analyses the channels through which SSCM and sustainability practices influence the firm’s value. We introduce sustainability environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices as a mediator between SSCM controversies and market value to examine whether SSCM controversies with firms’ stakeholders lead to improvements in the ESG dimensions of organisational sustainability. We also examine the relationships between the ESG dimensions and market value, measured as Tobin’s Q ratio. The results confirm both the positive relationships of SSCM controversies to the ESG dimensions two years later and a positive relationship of the dimension of governance to Tobin’s Q. We also confirm a negative and significant relationship of the social dimension to Tobin’s Q, and a non-significant relationship of the environmental dimension to Tobin’s Q.     

A test of Rasmussen's risk management framework in the food safety domain: BSE in the UK

In 1986, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was identified in the UK. Millions of BSE-infected cows were slaughtered and over 150 people contracted variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, an inevitably fatal human form of BSE. Tragic incidents such as this provide valuable opportunities to understand and improve the safety of complex socio-technical systems. By studying accidents, knowledge can be gained that can improve system safety. The purpose of this article is to test the usefulness of Rasmussen's risk management framework for explaining how and why accidents occur in the food production domain. This was accomplished by using the framework to retrospectively investigate how and why BSE was transmitted through the human and animal food supply in the UK from 1986 to 1996. More specifically, an AcciMap and Conflict Map were constructed to represent contributing factors of the epidemic according to the structure of Rasmussen's framework. These factors were used to test the seven predictions made by the framework. All seven predictions were supported by the evidence, indicating that Rasmussen's risk management framework shows promise as a theoretically driven explanation of how and why accidents happen in complex socio-technical systems, particularly in the food production domain.     

The impact of the customer order decoupling point on type and level of supply chain integration

Literature suggests that more supply chain (SC) integration increases of SC performance. However, recent research shows that contextual factors affect the effectiveness of SC integration efforts. Specifically, the location of the customer order decoupling point (CODP) might be such a factor, but there is limited empirical evidence. This study explores the impact of the location of the CODP on SC integration. It empirically investigates upstream, internal and downstream SC integration efforts in twelve metal parts producing Dutch companies to offer a comprehensive view of the effects of the location of the CODP on SC integration. Our results show a clear relationship between SC integration and the location of the CODP. Specifically, make-to-order (MTO), assemble-to-order (ATO) and make-to-stock (MTS) companies show relatively high levels in upstream, internal and downstream SC integration, respectively. Moreover, MTO companies mainly share forecast information and engage in joint R&D with their suppliers, ATO companies focus on internal SC integration using information systems and planning, while MTS companies interact with their customers intensively to exchange forecast information. Our study adds to the insight on the application of SC integration in different situations and offers initial evidence for the effects of the location of the CODP on SC integration.     

The effects of integrated supply management practices and environmental management practices on relative competitive quality advantage

Superior quality continues to be central to a manufacturing company's success, and firms are constantly striving for quality advantage over their competition. It is therefore crucial for companies to ensure the sound practice of quality management principles. However, companies must also seek additional avenues to enhance the relative competitive quality advantage of their product offerings. In this context, we examine the role of integrated supply management practices (SMP) and environmental management practices (EMP) as drivers of actual and perceived quality. We suggest that these groups of practices, in addition to quality management practices, are crucial in an increasingly transparent, competitive and global business environment. As such, SMP can be leveraged with suppliers providing expertise, capabilities and high quality inputs for the final product, resulting in higher actual quality, but also via the suppliers’ more intangible reputation, generating higher perceived quality. Similarly, EMP can result in process improvements impacting actual quality, but can also create a favourable image of the company among customers, enhancing the perceived quality of the firm's products. Overall, we suggest SMP and EMP as key strategic drivers aiding in the further differentiation of firms. Our hypotheses are grounded in the resource-based view of the firm, and are tested with survey data collected from 434 manufacturing plants.     

Comparative study of push and pull systems considering quality performance in a cell-based job shop environment

Simulation experiments were used to investigate the influences of quality performance on the performance difference between push and pull systems in a cell-based job shop environment. Quality performance was represented by two factors, i.e. mean magnitude of step shifts (MMSS) and mean frequency of step shifts (MFSS). Shop performance was based on the average and standard deviation of flow time. Results show that push systems are superior to pull systems, regardless of quality performance and set-up time reduction (STR) effected by cellular manufacturing. Therefore, to justify the adoption of pull systems, their potentials beyond material flow control (e.g. in promoting continuous improvement) need to be realized. In addition, the larger the STR, the more effective the quality performance improvement. With a large STR (of 80%), reduction of MMSS or (and) MFSS can improve the average (standard deviation) of flow time. In particular, reduction of MFSS tends to be more effective for a pull system with a larger STR. Accordingly, for a pull system in a cell-based job shop environment, substantial set-up time reduction is critical not only for efficient process operations, but also for effective quality performance improvement.     

A comparison of deterministic and statistical sampling techniques for quality analysis of integrated circuits

There has been a great amount of publicity about Taguchi methods which employ deterministic sampling techniques for robust design. Also given wide exposition in the literature is tolerance design which achieves similar objectives but employs random sampling techniques. The question arises as to which approach—random or deterministic—is more suitable for robust design of integrated circuits. Robust design is a two-step process and quality analysis—the first step—involves the estimation of ‘quality factors’, which measure the effect of noise on the quality of system performance. This paper concentrates on the quality analysis of integrated circuits. A comparison is made between the deterministic sampling technique based on Taguchi's orthogonal arrays and the random sampling technique based on the Monte Carlo method, the objective being to determine which of the two gives more reliable (i.e. more consistent) estimates of quality factors. Results obtained indicated that the Monte Carlo method gave estimates of quality which were at least 40 per cent more consistent than orthogonal arrays. The accuracy of prediction of quality by Taguchi's orthogonal arrays is strongly affected by the choice of parameter quantization levels—a disadvantage—since there is a very large number (theoretically infinite) of choices of quantization levels for each parameter of an integrated circuit. The cost of the Monte Carlo method is independent of the dimensionality (number of designable parameters), being governed only by the confidence levels required for quality factors, whereas the size of orthogonal array required for a given problem is partly dependent on the number of circuit parameters. Two integrated circuits—a 7-parameter CMOS voltage reference and a 20-parameter bipolar operational amplifier—were employed in the investigation. Quality factors of interest included performance variability, acceptability (relative to customer specifications) and deviation from target.     

The impact of total quality management on supply chain management and firm's supply performance

This research investigates the relationships among total quality management practices (TQMP), supply chain management practices (SCMP) and firm's supply performance (FSP) in the automotive industry in Thailand. The measurement instruments for SCMP, TQMP and FSP were developed based on an extensive literature review and verified by experts, pilot test and various statistical techniques to ensure reliability and validity in structural equation modeling constructs. The hypothesized model was tested through a path analysis. Qualitative case studies of two large first-tier automotive suppliers were conducted to obtain more in-depth information. We found that the set of SCMP, TQMP and FSP measures are reliable and valid for Thailand's automotive industry. TQMP not only has a significant direct positive impact on SCMP and on FSP but also a significant indirect positive impact on FSP through SCMP.     

Adoption of green supply chain management practices and their impact on performance: an exploratory study of Indian manufacturing firms

Research on green supply chain management (GSCM) or sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has attracted increased attention in recent years. Although GSCM/SSCM has been studied for developed and developing countries, there has been little information about the adoption of GSCM/SSCM practices in India. This article presents one of the earliest surveys on GSCM practices in Indian manufacturing firms. The items for the survey were developed based on the extant literature and feedback from corporates. Some of the major findings of the survey are as follows. We found that the state of adoption of GSCM practices by Indian firms was still in its infancy, the awareness of environmental sustainability was quite low among consumers, and the regulatory framework was also lacking in terms of promoting environmental sustainability. Results of data analysis showed that supplier collaboration for environmental sustainability had a positive impact on environmentally sustainable product design and logistics, which in turn was positively related to competitiveness and economic performance of the firm. We compared the results with the observations made by other researchers for developed and developing countries and provided managerial implications for the government and manufacturers as to what steps need to be taken to generate awareness towards environmental sustainability and facilitate the adoption of GSCM practices among Indian firms to a greater extent. We conclude the paper by indicating directions for future research on GSCM/SSCM.     

The effects of digital inclusion and ICT access on the quality of life: A global perspective

The role of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) on the quality of life (QoL) has garnered much research interest recently given the pervasiveness of ICTs in our daily lives. However, whilst the evidence on the effects of ICTs in improving QoL at the individual country level is mixed, the evidence at the global level has not also been fully understood. Besides, the evidence on the linkages between ICTs, digital inclusion, and QoL has been underexplored in information systems research. Even though existing empirical research has largely provided specific results using single country data, there remains a gap in our understanding of the dual effects of digital inclusion and ICT access on QoL and the mediating role of ICT usage at the global level. This study seeks to address these by relying on secondary data from 121 countries for 2018 and structuration theory as a theoretical lens. The results from our PLS-SEM analysis show that digital inclusion and ICT access significantly influence QoL at the global level. Furthermore, our results show support for the mediating effects of ICT usage on the linkages between digital inclusion and QoL. The findings from this study provide key insights that explain how QoL may be enhanced through ICTs.     

A multi-attribute multi-item negotiation mechanism of supply chain networks between buyers and sellers

This article focuses on the multi-attribute multi-item negotiation between multiple manufacturer agents (MAs) and multiple material supplier agents (MSAs). A coalition formation-based negotiation protocol is proposed. The MSAs are allowed to establish coalitions when the orders of the MAs exceed their abilities. Three attributes (price, quantity and lead time) of the items are considered during the negotiation. Both the MAs and the MSAs can give concessions among the attributes in tradeoff relationships according to their own preferences. The non-cooperative game is introduced to find the equilibria of the negotiations. The final allocation scheme is determined to maximise the total profit of the supply chain networks based on the equilibria. Simulations are provided to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed protocol.     

A strategic framework for the design and implementation of remanufacturing operations in reverse logistics

Reverse logistics (RL) is a systematic process that manages the flow of products/parts from the point of consumption back to the point of manufacturing for possible recycling, remanufacturing, or disposal. Although the concept of RL is well-known in logistics and supply chain management, the available holistic literature and theory of RL are scarce. This paper surveys current RL literature and identifies the present state of theory in RL by formulating the propositions for strategic factors. The approach used is grounded theory development. The strategic factors are in turn delineated and evaluated in terms of specific sub-factors associated with each factor by the use of interview protocol and within the context of an in-depth analysis of two companies in different industries that are engaged in remanufacturing/recycling operations within RL systems. The analysis of these case studies, using the grounded theory approach, resulted in insights regarding their RL practices. Based on these insights and strategic factors and sub-factors, a framework for effective design and implementation of remanufacturing/recycling operations in RL is provided. This framework allows for the determination of the viability of returned products/parts in the RL system. The findings outline how our RL theory is enhanced and how our understanding of RL practices with respect to remanufacturing/recycling operations is improved. In conclusion, managerial implications and future research directions are presented.     

A full Bayes before-after study accounting for temporal and spatial effects: Evaluating the safety impact of new signal installations

Recently, important advances in road safety statistics have been brought about by methods able to address issues other than the choice of the best error structure for modeling crash data. In particular, accounting for spatial and temporal interdependence, i.e., the notion that the collision occurrence of a site or unit times depend on those of others, has become an important issue that needs further research.Overall, autoregressive models can be used for this purpose as they can specify that the output variable depends on its own previous values and on a stochastic term. Spatial effects have been investigated and applied mostly in the context of developing safety performance functions (SPFs) to relate crash occurrence to highway characteristics. Hence, there is a need for studies that attempt to estimate the effectiveness of safety countermeasures by including the spatial interdependence of road sites within the context of an observational before-after (BA) study. Moreover, the combination of temporal dynamics and spatial effects on crash frequency has not been explored in depth for SPF development.Therefore, the main goal of this research was to carry out a BA study accounting for spatial effects and temporal dynamics in evaluating the effectiveness of a road safety treatment. The countermeasure analyzed was the installation of traffic signals at unsignalized urban/suburban intersections in British Columbia (Canada). The full Bayes approach was selected as the statistical framework to develop the models.The results demonstrated that zone variation was a major component of total crash variability and that spatial effects were alleviated by clustering intersections together. Finally, the methodology used also allowed estimation of the treatment’s effectiveness in the form of crash modification factors and functions with time trends.     

Investigating the role of business processes and knowledge management systems on performance: A multi-case study approach

In the ever-changing and competitive market place, organisations continuously need to improve their competitive advantage. One method to accomplish this is to form collaborative networks. Both knowledge management (KM) and KM systems play a pivotal role in the success of collaborative networks since information sharing and knowledge assets are so critical to the network. There has been a vast amount of research on KM systems but very little is known about how it affects individual and organisational performance. Drawing on the task–technology fit theory, in this study, we explore the fit or alignment between business process (task) and KM systems (technology) and its impact on KM systems utilisation based on multiple case studies. Subsequently, we investigate the impacts of both the task–technology fit and KM systems utilisation on individual and business performance. This paper contributes to the collaborative network/KM literature in several ways. First, it extends the task–technology fit theory to an important context of collaborative network/KM. Second, it replaces task with business process, which has the potential to help explain KM systems’ success on business performance. Third, the paper explores the positive impact of task–technology fit on KM system utilisation and business performance. Fourth and finally, the study provides insight into the future development of KM systems and how to better align them with managerial purposes.     

A study on the critical factors of ISO 9001:2000 and organizational performance of Indian manufacturing firms

This study explores the critical factors of ISO 9001:2000 and investigates the effect of ISO certification on organizational performance, as perceived by the management. In order to gain more insight into the investigation, the study also analyses the relationship between the firm attributes and the critical factors, as well as the relationship between firm attributes and the indicators of organizational performance.     

A study of the performance evaluation of the visual management case-base: development of an integrated model by quantification theory category III and AHP

This paper discusses a performance evaluation model of the visual management (VM) case-base. The research procedure of this paper consists of the following three phases: (1) formulation of the proposed model integrated by Quantification Theory Category III and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP); (2) construction of relational data between VM cases selected from the constructed case-base and typical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), i.e. quality, delivery, cost, etc.; and (3) preliminary experimentation to confirm the utility of the proposed model derived in the first phase based on the relational data derived in the previous phase. Using the experimental results, an evaluation of the constructed case-base performance and each VM case's contribution to each KPI is possible.     

A Hierarchical structure of key performance indicators for operation management and continuous improvement in production systems

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are critical for manufacturing operation management and continuous improvement (CI). In modern manufacturing systems, KPIs are defined as a set of metrics to reflect operation performance, such as efficiency, throughput, availability, from productivity, quality and maintenance perspectives. Through continuous monitoring and measurement of KPIs, meaningful quantification and identification of different aspects of operation activities can be obtained, which enable and direct CI efforts. A set of 34 KPIs has been introduced in ISO 22400. However, the KPIs in a manufacturing system are not independent, and they may have intrinsic mutual relationships. The goal of this paper is to introduce a multi-level structure for identification and analysis of KPIs and their intrinsic relationships in production systems. Specifically, through such a hierarchical structure, we define and layer KPIs into levels of basic KPIs, comprehensive KPIs and their supporting metrics, and use it to investigate the relationships and dependencies between KPIs. Such a study can provide a useful tool for manufacturing engineers and managers to measure and utilize KPIs for CI.