Building strategic agility through user-driven innovation: the case of the Finnish public service sector

This paper investigates how to build strategic agility through the lens of user-driven innovation. Drawing on survey data collected in the public service sector in Finland, our study suggests that the strategic rigidity of public service organisations, assessed according to their strategic sensitivity, resource fluidity and leadership unity, can hamper their effective adoption of the user-driven innovation approach to build strategic agility. We propose a 4C model of building strategic agility through user-driven innovation, addressing the need of taking actions in four areas: commitment, competences, communications and climate. Our research highlights that actions in the four dimensions, which are closely interlinked and reinforce each other, should involve actors at different levels both internally and externally.     

Modelling on service capability maturity and resource configuration for public warehouse product service systems

The concept of service was quick to arise and has taken the world by storm in the past decade. It has gradually redefined the way warehouses are operated and has nurtured the emergence of a new kind of warehouse, namely the public warehouse (PW). Against this backdrop, a warehouse product service system (wPSS) based on the PW is established in this paper. Furthermore, in order to evaluate the service capability and optimise the resource configuration of a PW, a wPSS service capability maturity model (wPSS–SCMM) based on the analytical target cascading (ATC) algorithm is put forward. Firstly, the generation of wPSS service capability is clarified and the framework of wPSS–SCMM is proposed. After disassembling the wPSS service capability into a tree structure, its four main sub-capabilities, namely storage service capability, transportation service capability, cost control capability and time control capability, are modelled and quantised, respectively. Then the results of the four sub-capabilities are adopted in the ATC algorithm to search for the maximal service capability maturity and the optimal resource configuration solution. Finally, a numerical example of a PW with eight customers in an industrial park is analysed to demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of the proposed new approach. This research is expected to provide guidance for both investors who want to build a PW and managers who want to continuously improve an existing one.     

Service capability procurement decision in logistics service supply chain: a research under demand updating and quality guarantee

Though existing researches have already studied on service quality guarantee and demand updating in a supply chain respectively, there is little attention paid to integrated research on service quality guarantee problem with demand updating. This paper aims to investigate the impacts of demand uncertainty revelation and quality guarantee change cost (GCC) on the optimal decisions of logistics service integrator (LSI) and functional logistics service provider (FLSP) in a logistics service supply chain. At the beginning of the first period, the FLSP first guarantees an initial quality level and the LSI procures service capacity from the FLSP based on the demand prediction. Then the demand information is updated after the first-period demand being satisfied, and the LSI and the FLSP make their optimal decisions based on the renewed demand in the next period. Before the second period, uncertainty complete revelation/uncertainty incomplete revelation (UCR/UIR) and GCC/no guarantee change cost (NGCC) may take place, which will affect the decisions the LSI and the FLSP make. Consequently, four situations are considered: (1) UCR and GCC; (2) UIR and GCC; (3) UCR and NGCC; and (4) UIR and NGCC. In each situation, we derive the optimal decisions of the FLSP and the LSI, and a comparison between the first- and second-period decisions in each situation is conducted. Several managerial insights are concluded, and the most important one is that the LSI is supposed to reduce the procurement quantity and the FLSP is supposed to promise a higher quality defect rate in the case of UIR and NGCC. Furthermore, in case of UIR and GCC, we specify a critical condition in which the LSI and the FLSP insist on the initial decisions of the first period. At last, we conducted numerical analysis and gave a practical example of China Yuantong Express Company to support our conclusions.     

Quality decision of the logistics service supply chain with service quality guarantee

In the logistics service supply chain (LSSC), quality supervision and coordination is an important approach that can ensure the effective operation of LSSC and obtain more customers. This paper aims to study the quality decisions of the functional logistics service provider (FLSP) and the logistics service integrator (LSI) when a service quality defect guarantee is promised by the FLSP. Assuming that customer demand is a function of the quality defect guarantee of the FLSP, the optimal quality decisions of the LSI and FLSP are presented under three typical game modes: Nash game, Stackelberg game, and centralised decision. Numerical analysis is conducted to show how the quality parameters of the customer affect the optimal quality decision-making behaviour of the LSI and FLSP. The research results indicate that, under all three game modes, the optimal quality defect guarantee of the FLSP increases as the customer punishment increases, and decreases as the elasticity of the customer demand for the quality defect guarantee increases. In addition, under all three game modes, the optimal quality supervision effort of the LSI is an increasing function of both customer punishment and elasticity of the customer demand for the quality defect guarantee.     

Cost and quality of service analysis of production systems based on the cumulative downtime

The paper presents a method for the analysis and design of industrial production systems based on a joint assessment of the cost and the quality of service. The operation of a production system is seen as the accomplishment of a sequence of missions, each one corresponding to the cost-effective production and delivery of a specified quantity of products within a specified time frame. The paper shows that the probability of successfully accomplishing a mission is a non-linear function of the cumulative production downtime and that this time cannot be obtained using conventional Markov based techniques. The paper also introduces an analytical model and a procedure that allows the density function of the downtime to be obtained and shows how, using these tools, the production costs and the quality of service may be assessed and related to the internal design of the shop floor. The method seems to be particularly valuable in the analysis of production systems integrated in just-in-time supply chains, in which the reliability of the deliveries is an outstanding requirement.     

基于灰色系统理论的城市公共交通服务质量评估

以灰色理论为基础,通过灰色关联度分析设计关联矩阵,提出了一个分析城市公共交通服务质量的灰关联评估模型,该模型选取了线网密度等6个因素构成的集合作为评估指标集,并由此构成评估系列集。在构建模型的基础上,以我国北方某市2002年的资料为例进行了实际检验,结果表明,应用灰色关联分析方法,可以有效确定影响服务质量的因素对服务质量所产生影响的重要程度,从而为服务企业提供控制服务质量的决策依据,更有效地避免服务失误的发生。     

Cloud manufacturing service composition and optimal selection with sustainability considerations: a multi-objective integer bi-level multi-follower programming approach

The process of service composition and optimal selection (SCOS) is an important issue in cloud manufacturing (CMfg). However, the current studies on CMfg and SCOS have generally focused on optimising the allocation of resources against quality of service (QoS), in terms of e.g. cost, quality, and time. They have seldom taken the perspective of sustainability into discussion, although sustainability is indispensable in the CMfg environment. Addressing this gap, we aim to (1) propose a comprehensive method to assess the sustainability of cloud manufacturing (SoM) in terms of the economic, environmental, and social aspects; (2) establish a multi-objective integer bi-level multi-follower programming (MOIBMFP) model to simultaneously maximise SoM and QoS from the perspectives of both platform operator and multiple service demanders; and (3) design a hybrid particle swarm optimisation algorithm to solve the proposed MOIBMFP model. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is more feasible and effective than the typical multi-objective particle swarm optimisation algorithm when solving the proposed model. In other words, the proposed model and algorithm suggest better alternatives to meet the needs of the platform operator and service demanders in the CMfg environment.     

一定服务质量下供应链下游售后服务可获性研究

研究了在服务调度时,网点处于三种状态,讨论了与通常网络可靠性建模的不同点,采用三态系统来表达网点特定服务事件的概率。建立了多队列服务调度模型,按照M/M/m/m/FCFS服务模式讨论网点服务概率。按照事件发生的条件概率,求得了在小于T时间内,在该调度模式下服务可获性公式,讨论了改进途径。     

Linking quality citizenship to process design: a quality management perspective

As organisations emphasise their role in society, there is a need to determine the effect of socially responsible practices on organisational processes and firm performance. Although the effect of corporate social responsibility on firm performance has been addressed from different perspectives, little is known about the influence of corporate social responsibility on organisational processes and internal operations of firms. The paper aims to make a link between corporate social responsibility, quality management practices and quality outcomes through emphasising quality citizenship as one of the practices associated with quality management. This paper provides a new perspective on the link between quality citizenship and product/process design within the quality management framework. The stakeholder theory of the firm is used to explain the formation and development of new management practices within a firm. Data were collected from managers in the petroleum industry to examine the role of quality citizenship on design and development of organisational processes. The results show that quality citizenship has a significant effect on employee involvement and an indirect effect on process design. Quality citizenship enables firms to obtain a much broader perspective on product/process design and facilitates design and development of products, services and processes that meet the needs of a broader set of customers – the stakeholders.     

Using simulation to assess the service reliability of a train maintenance depot

This paper describes the construction of a discrete‐event simulation model of a proposed train maintenance depot for an underground transportation facility in the UK. The company who were bidding to operate the depot had traditionally been involved in manufacture and so had no experience of either operating such a facility or meeting the type of performance indicators specified in the service‐level agreement. The simulation proved successful in providing a greater understanding of the operation of the depot and the effect of various strategies for meeting demand. It also proved to be an excellent communication tool during the bid process in helping to show capability to the client in meeting proposed service level targets over time and thus prove service reliability. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

摇摆结构及自复位结构研究综述

城市桥梁是经济和社会发展的重要基础设施,特别是重要桥梁以及由其构成的网络在灾难发生后如何快速恢复,对社会安定和地区发展十分重要。近年来抗震韧性倍受关注,如何考虑结构可恢复性并将韧性纳入桥梁系统抗震性能综合评估和优化,还存在很多问题尚待研究。该文定量分析桥梁震后恢复过程、剩余功能和修复时间与韧性指标间的联系,建立城市桥梁系统性能评估方法。由桥梁不同损伤状态计算不同恢复过程的剩余功能、修复时间、可恢复性和震后经济损失;对震后恢复过程的功能函数模型给出建议,量化不同震后恢复策略的影响;将韧性纳入城市桥梁系统抗震性能框架中,提出城市桥梁系统震后可恢复性评估框架,对风险高低不同采用不同的修复过程;对震后经济损失、可恢复性和震前修/改造成本采用多目标优化算法NSGA-II求解震前提升韧性优化策略,用于抗震加固措施的选取。通过案例给出了方法流程,也为城市桥梁系统地震韧性提升提供了新思路。     

总额预付背景下公立医院医疗服务质量与效率的形成机制研究——基于扎根理论分析

为了探讨总额预付背景下公立医院医疗服务质量与效率的形成机制,分析医疗服务质量和效率变化,对已实施总额预付的医疗机构中70名专家运用半结构式访谈提纲开展一对一访谈,并将收集到的访谈资料进行分析,经开放式编码、主轴性编码和选择性编码,按前提条件、行动策略和医疗服务结果的故事线构建总额预付背景下公立医院医疗服务质量和效率的形成机制。从宏观、中观和微观层面揭示了其内在作用机制,外部的总额预付制度通过影响医院的资源投入或精细化管理手段,包括费用控制、住院日控制、成本控制和质量控制策略直接影响医疗服务行为,也通过影响医务人员工作积极性间接影响医疗服务行为,从而得到不同的医疗服务质量和效率。这一结果为医保部门完善支付方式改革提供政策建议,也为进一步提高医院医疗服务质量和效率提供了参考依据。     

Equine road user safety: public attitudes, understandings and beliefs from a qualitative study in the United Kingdom

Horse riders represent a significant group of vulnerable road user and are involved in a number of accidents and near misses on the road. Despite this horse riders have received little attention both in terms of academic research and transport policy. Based on literature on vulnerable road user safety, including attitudes to road user safety and behaviour of drivers and their relationship with cyclists and motorcyclists, this paper examines the attitudes and reported behaviour of drivers and horse riders. A total of 46 participants took part in six focus groups divided into four groups of drivers with little or no horse riding experience and two groups of frequent horse riders. Each group investigated five key topic areas stemming from the literature review on vulnerable road users including hazard perception, risk perception, emotion, attitudes to sharing the road and empathy. It was found that drivers and horse riders are not always aware of the same hazards in the road and that this may lead drivers to under-estimate the risk when encountering horses. Drivers often had good intentions to overtake horses safely, but were unaware of how vulnerable passing very wide and slow made them feel until they had begun the manoeuvre and hence quickly reduced such feelings either by speeding up or cutting in too soon. However, other than this, drivers had good skills when encountering horses. But these skills could be impeded by frustration when encountering a slow moving horse which was further compounded by a feeling, mainly by younger drivers, that horse riding was for leisure and as such should not get in the way of necessary work journeys. There is a need for drivers to be more aware of the potential hazards a horse rider faces on the road and these could be achieved through inducing empathy amongst drivers for horse riders, creating nudges for drivers in the environment and better education for drivers.     

Design of a test method to simulate the stresses encountered by packaging during sea transport

The aim of this research was to design a specific testing method to simulate the mechanical hazards encountered in sea transport regardless of sea routes and sea conditions and to put it into practice with specially designed devices. The Laboratoire National d'Essais (LNE) has carried out this research in cooperation with the French Ship-Building Research Institute. Eight sea routes of major commercial importance have been chosen and among them five zones in which heavy swells are likely to occur. The behaviour of four types of ships (representative of the present merchant fleet) submitted to various sea conditions has been calculated by computer. Moreover, the stacking conditions on board have been observed directly by the LNE. The analysis of parameters which describe the movement of the ship and affect the packagings are, respectively, rolling, pitching and slamming. Consequently, the forces applied to packagings at the bottom of a stack are a vertical compression force and a horizontal force applied by the moving stacked packagings. A special testing device has been designed applying simultaneously to a packaging both a stacking load and a dynamic horizontal force to this load. The test parameters have been adjusted through experimental ranges of tests on box-pallets, the behaviour of which were well known in field trials.     

A hybrid approach combining modified artificial bee colony and cuckoo search algorithms for multi-objective cloud manufacturing service composition

This paper proposes a multi-objective hybrid artificial bee colony (MOHABC) algorithm for service composition and optimal selection (SCOS) in cloud manufacturing, in which both the quality of service and the energy consumption are considered from the perspectives of economy and environment that are two pillars of sustainable manufacturing. The MOHABC uses the concept of Pareto dominance to direct the searching of a bee swarm, and maintains non-dominated solution found in an external archive. In order to achieve good distribution of solutions along the Pareto front, cuckoo search with Levy flight is introduced in the employed bee search to maintain diversity of population. Furthermore, to ensure the balance of exploitation and exploration capabilities for MOHABC, the comprehensive learning strategy is designed in the onlooker search so that every bee learns from the external archive elite, itself and other onlookers. Experiments are carried out to verify the effect of the improvement strategies and parameters’ impacts on the proposed algorithm and comparative study of the MOHABC with typical multi-objective algorithms for SCOS problems are addressed. The results show that the proposed approach obtains very promising solutions that significantly surpass the other considered algorithms.     

Improving the quality of environmental impacts assessment reports: effectiveness of alternatives analysis and public involvement in JICA supported projects

Abstract

This study examined the key factors for improving the quality of environmental impact assessment reports through statistical tests and path analysis. The Lee-Colley review package was used to review the quality of the samples of 120 reports prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency dating from 2001 to 2012. The result of the study showed that alternatives analysis and public involvement could be key factors for improving the quality of reports. When the number of public involvement stages went up, the number of evaluation criteria for alternatives analysis showed an increasing trend and the quality of the reports improved. Finally, the study pointed out the effectiveness of alternatives analysis with a wide range of evaluation criteria and public involvement for improving the quality of reports. Further research is needed to explore alternatives analysis and public involvement in more depth as well as to improve the effectiveness of their linkage via more case studies.     

Comparative analysis of public participation in the EIA process for Thai overseas investment projects: Krabi coal terminal,Hongsa coal power plant,and Dawei special economic zone

While Thai overseas investment projects (TOIPs) have become a key form of development in the region, their environmental impact assessment (EIA) quality has been criticized. This research sought to analyze the differences in EIA practices in terms of public participation (PP) in two TOIPs – the Hongsa coal-fired power plant (Lao PDR) and the Dawei special economic zone (Myanmar) – versus a national-level project, the Krabi coal terminal. For Laos and Myanmar, which did not previously require PP, the Thai consultants did not apply the Thai PP framework, leading to poor public participation index (PPI) scores = 0.02, indicating a negligible PP process. However, the consultant on the Krabi coal terminal claimed to abide by the Thai regulations, yet the PPI scores claimed = 0.81 (substantive rationale), were quite different from those indicated by the affected villagers = 0.39 (instrumental rationale). These villagers’ concerns resulted in conflict between the affected villagers and project owners. Our findings have revealed the true necessity of PP regulation and systems to monitor consultant performance to ensure sustainability of TOIPs in neighboring countries.