Convergence or National Specificity? Testing the CI Maturity Model across Multiple Countries

This study empirically tests the Continuous Improvement (CI) maturity model across multiple countries. The analysis is based on data from the 2nd International CINet Survey, limited to the situation in Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Despite some differences in Continuous Improvement maturity level between countries, findings lend support to the convergence argument. Regardless of national specificity, Continuous Improvement behaviour patterns emerge in a similar fashion, and furthermore, correspond to improved operational performance if adopted. In addition, findings show that other contextual variables such as company size and type of production system are of limited importance. This implies that Continuous Improvement is something that can be implemented and developed successfully if managed properly, irrespective of contextual influences such as those stemming from cultural and industrial factors.     

CI Implementation: An Empirical Test of the CI Maturity Model

There are a number of tools available for organizations wishing to measure and subsequently develop Continuous Improvement (CI). In this article, we review and evaluate a well‐accepted CI development model, namely the CI Maturity Model ( Bessant and Caffyn, 1997 ), against data collected from the 2nd Continuous Improvement Network Survey and a number of empirical cases described in the literature. While the CI Maturity Model suggests that CI maturation ought to be a linear process, the findings in this article suggest that there are feasible alternatives for companies to develop CI capability.     

Bridging the TQ/CI Gap: The Case of Lucas Car Diesel Systems,Sudbury

This paper will focus on the link between organisational and individual learning in the Continuous Improvement (CI) process. It argues that the relationship between Total Quality management programmes and CI is best understood through a close examination of the management processes that capture individual and, hence, Organisation learning in order to ensure that small scale innovations can be sustained on a constant and company-wide basis. Through a longitudinal case study of Lucas Car Diesel Systems, and supported by research carried out by the CIRCA project at the University of Brighton¹, it looks at CI in three stages: before a decision is made to change the organisational structure, the “shock” stage that induces organisational change and the subsequent CI phase. It argues that a long term strategic goal of achieving CI is critical to engendering the necessary cultural changes that, in turn, are essential to creating an improvement based and innovative culture. The Lucas case study demonstrates that creating a pervasive CI ethos is fundamentally a question of managing small scale, sometimes non-pecuniary, innovations. But, as the case shows, it can be done through the effective management of communications and employee involvement.     

Studying continuous improvement from a knowledge perspective

This paper describes a project undertaken at BAE SYSTEMS to study the process of Continuous Improvement (CI) from a knowledge perspective. We used the Knowledge Structure Mapping (KSM) technique to identify ways of managing the underlying knowledge resource in order to share and disseminate best practice and thereby increase the effectiveness of CI on site. A secondary goal was to investigate the potential for applying KSM to other areas of the business. We provide background to the project, a discussion of the approach taken along with initial results and conclusions.     

Continuous Improvement Methodology Applied to United Kingdom Academic Library Websites Via National Survey Results

This article analyzes the possibilities of applying Continuous Improvement principles to the management and maintenance of academic library websites. Current practice is mapped onto Continuous Improvement principles, with evidence distilled from a United Kingdom national survey of academic library web practitioners. The survey data informs a website organizational framework and operational model. The framework describes the setting within which library websites are managed, while the model focuses on library specific aspects to the management and development of their site.     

Human resources management

Human resource management (HRM) demands effective coordination and control over a wide range of activities by management committed to the pursuit of sound human and industrial relations policies. The paper includes a brief comment on the contribution of behavioural and social systems studies, and the practical application of HRM is discussed in broad outline. Finally, a plea is made to the DP manager that whilst carrying the full burden of technological development, he/she should not neglect those other aspects of the management task that contribute to the overall performance of a DP unit.     

Exploring HRM Meta‐Features that Foster Employees' Innovative Work Behaviour in Times of Increasing Work–Life Conflict

Today, employees' innovative work behaviour (IWB) is critical for companies' success. However, employees increasingly experience work–life conflict (WLC) which negatively influences performance at work. Human resource management (HRM) has the potential to foster employees' engagement in innovative activities and to reduce tensions between work and private life simultaneously. Our paper aims to advance understanding under which conditions these relations occur by exploring HRM meta‐features. These are defined as overall characteristics of an HR system helping companies to communicate the content of HR practices in a way that leads to desired interpretations by employees. Using a qualitative, interview study approach, we find that HRM contributes to IWB and diminishes feelings of WLC mainly through the four meta‐features ‘individual orientation’, ‘discretion orientation’, ‘effort orientation’ and ‘expectancy orientation’. We link our findings to extant literature and provide suggestions for managers how these meta‐features can be put into organizational practice.     

On‐the‐job Innovation: The Impact of Job Design and Human Resource Management through Production Ownership

A growing number of practitioners and academics endorse that the ability of organizations to foster, develop and use the innovative potential of their employees contributes to organizational success. Yet empirical investigation of individual innovation processes is lacking. In this research we address the question of whether both more flexibility in an employees’ job design and commitment‐oriented HRM activities promote individual innovative work behaviour. Findings suggest that a multifunctional job design and the perceived HRM system promote employee involvement in innovative activities through increased feelings of ownership for work‐related issues and problems.     

Microelectronic chip cooling: an experimental assessment of a liquid-passing heat sink,a microchannel heat rejection module,and a microchannel-based recirculating-liquid cooling system

Results of heat transfer testing of heat absorption modules (HAM), heat rejection modules (HRM), and a recirculating-liquid cooling system are reported. Low-profile, Cu-based, microchannel heat exchangers (MHEs) were fabricated and used as the HAM as well as components for assembly of a microchannel HRM. Detailed experimental assessment of two different liquid-passing HRMs and a microchannel-based recirculating-liquid cooling system was carried out, and benchmarked against all-solid devices of the same geometric dimensions. Incorporating microchannel liquid flow through each fin, the device-level heat transfer performance of the microchannel HRM was improved by up to ~50%. Detailed testing of a microchannel-based recirculating-liquid cooling system indicate that low-profile Cu MHEs are highly effective in heat flux removal while having a small area/volume footprint, and that enhancing the HRM performance is critical to boosting the overall performance of such recirculating-liquid cooling systems.     

Managing People to Promote Innovation

There is growing evidence available to suggest that Human Resource Management (HRM) practice is an important predictor of organizational performance. Drawing upon organizational learning perspectives, we argue that HRM systems also have the potential to promote organizational innovation. We present longitudinal data from thirty‐five UK manufacturing organizations to suggest that effective HRM systems – incorporating sophisticated approaches to recruitment and selection, induction, appraisal and training – predict organizational innovation in products and production technology. We further show that organizational innovation is enhanced where there is a supportive learning climate, and inhibited (for innovation in production processes) where there is a link between appraisal and remuneration.     

Workers and Their Willingness to Learn: Will ICT‐Implementation Strategies and HRM Practices Contribute to Innovation?

The article deals with the relationship between the willingness of workers to acquire ICT‐competences), the ICT‐implementation strategy (to ‘automate’ or ‘to informate’) pursuit by organizations and the HRM practices used by them. Based on a simple conceptual model, we tested three hypotheses: the more extended the use HRM practices in organizations, the more often workers will work in a work setting based on an informated ICT implementation strategy; an informated ICT implementation strategy will lead to a higher willingness of employees to acquire ICT‐related competences; the effect of an informated ICT‐strategy on the willingness to acquire ICT‐related competences will be higher than that of the HRM‐practices. To test these hypotheses, we used a survey of 733 Dutch employees working with ICT devices. Our analysis gives some partial support to the first two hypotheses, but the third is rejected by the data: ICT‐implementation strategies and some HRM‐practices have an independent effect on the willingness to acquire ICT‐compentences.     

Dialogue‐Based Evaluation as a Creative Climate Indicator: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry

This paper examines how different forms of performance evaluation relate to aspects of the creative climate in a major pharmaceutical company. The study was based on a large employee‐attitude survey that was distributed to all company employees. The study analyses survey results from 5,333 employees at five R&D sites. The results indicate that management's evaluation of employees (either dialogue‐based or control‐based) relates to the type of motivation (intrinsic or extrinsic) that drives employees, to their style of thinking (value‐focused thinking) and on their attitudes to organizational creativity. The paper then discusses implications of these findings for HRM.     

基于网格索引的数据流子空间概率轮廓查询

在数据流子空间上的连续概率轮廓查询(CPSQS)基础上,提出一种基于网格索引结构的概率轮廓查询算法。采用适合于子空间轮廓计算的网格索引结构,将数据空间划分成若干个格,利用格间的支配关系,减少对象之间的比较次数。同时挖掘全空间与子空间上格的概率上下界关系,设计有效的剪枝策略提高CPSQS算法的性能。理论分析和实验结果表 明,该算法能满足实际应用中用户的个性化查询要求,降低查询响应时间。     

Direct Employee Involvement Quality (DEIQ)

This paper focuses on one aspect of human resource management (HRM) that is important for innovative employee behaviour: direct employee involvement quality (DEIQ). However, research has also shown that employee involvement is often in serious need of improvement. This paper presents evidence from three manufacturing companies in the Netherlands. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with low‐ and medium‐educated blue‐collar workers, top managers (HRM, production and R&D) and direct supervisors. Using a qualitative approach, we were able to acquire insight into the ‘black‐box’ of well‐known pre‐conditions and contribute by identifying additional dimensions. The research supports various pre‐conditions critical for successful DEIQ including the critical role of the HR function and adequate preparation of direct supervisors. Furthermore, an under‐explored issue is highlighted: the employment relationship.     

Using online textual data,principal component analysis and artificial neural networks to study business and innovation practices in technology-driven firms

In this paper we introduce a method that combines principal component analysis, correlation analysis, K-means clustering and self organizing maps for the quantitative semantic analysis of textual data focusing on the relationship between firms’ co-creation activities, the perception of their innovation and the articulation of the attributes of their product-enabled services. Principal component analysis was used to identify the components of firms’ value co-creation activities and service value attributes; correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between the degree of involvement in specific co-creation activities, the online articulation of firms’ service value attributes and the perception of their innovativeness. K-means and self organizing map (SOM) are used to cluster firms with regards to their involvement in co-creation and new service development, and, additionally, as complementary tools for studying the relationship between co-creation and new service development.The results show that, first, there is a statistically significant relationship between firms’ degree of involvement in co-creation activities and the degree of articulation of their service value attributes; second, the relationship should be considered within the context of firms’ innovation activities; third, OS Software-driven firms are the best example in terms of co-creation and new product-enabled service development, i.e. the collaborative principles built in their customer participation platforms should be adopted by other (non-software) firms interested in enhancing their innovation capacity through involvement in co-creation and new product-enabled service development.     

Innovation and HRM: Towards an Integrated Framework

This paper explores the connection between innovation (management) and human resource management. Much has been written about the both concepts separately, but there is no integrated conceptual framework available for the combination of the two. Our goal here is to develop such a framework. We do this in a number of steps, starting with a presentation of the existing approaches and models with respect to innovation (management) and HRM. This is followed by a search for the linkage between the two traditions, as a starting point for an integrated model and an in‐depth case study regarding the link between innovation and HRM, in order to further develop our model. We conclude with the presentation of our model and with suggestions for further research.     

Measuring and Enabling Learning Behaviour in Product Innovation Processes

It is generally acknowledged that innovation is one of the most important predictors of firm success or failure. Successful innovation processes require creating new organizational capabilities to handle the external pressure for new products and processes (fast, good and at low costs), and the internal pressure for increased efficiency and effectiveness. Under these circumstances ‘learning’ is an important issue and the increased interest for topics such as knowledge management, organizational learning and continuous improvement illustrates its relevance. Within the CIMA (Continuous Improvement in Global Product Innovation Management) research project (CIMA‐ESPRIT 26056) a methodology has been developed to help companies to stimulate learning behaviour of individuals and teams in product innovation processes. By studying learning behaviour in 140 product innovation projects in 70 companies in six countries, a seemingly valid and reliable scale for measuring learning behaviour has been developed. In addition, managerial activities and decisions that are predictive for improving learning behaviour have been identified.     

Modeling the Relationship Between EDI Implementation and Firm Performance Improvement With Neural Networks

This paper examines a number of electronic data interchange (EDI) usage and implementation factors and their role in improving a firm's efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. Unlike other studies in the literature that use exclusively linear models, we apply nonlinear neural networks to model the relationship between performance improvement and a set of predictor variables of EDI usage and supply chain coordination activities. A variable selection method is employed to identify key factors to predict a firm's operational excellence due to EDI implementation. In addition, a bootstrap resampling scheme is used to evaluate the robustness of the results.     

Adapting technology: effect of high-involvement HRM and organisational trust

This study is designed to empirically test a model of high-involvement human resource management (HIHRM), organisational trust, and technology adaptation grounded on social exchange theory in the context of the private banking sector. The proposed model intends to add to the understanding of the effect of HIHRM on technology adaptation via the mediating influence of organisational trust. Frontline employees were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. Results from partial least square-structural equation modelling suggest that there is a significant influence of HIHRM on technology adaptation. Organisational trust further mediates the relationship. Thus, this paper finds an answer to the ‘black box’ of human resource management (HRM) practices, explaining how HIHRM influences employees’ attitudes towards technology adaptation. The study can help management have a better understanding of the importance of employee involvement-oriented HRM in introducing and implementing a new technology through the integration of trust processes in the organisation.     

How does Internet information seeking help academic performance? – The moderating and mediating roles of academic self-efficacy

Although researchers tend to agree that Internet is a good source for learning and research, little empirical data has substantiated this claim by specifically linking time and effort spent on the Internet for school related information seeking to academic performances. This research investigates the relationship between vocational high school students’ information seeking activities on the Internet, academic self-efficacy, and academic performance. We propose that academic self-efficacy both mediates and moderates the relationship between Internet information seeking and academic performance. Using survey data from 295 vocational high school students in Taiwan, we found that the positive effect of Internet information seeking to students’ academic performance is mediated through academic self-efficacy. Academic self-efficacy, at the same time, moderates the relationship between Internet information seeking to academic performance such that students’ with low academic self-efficacy benefit more from Internet information seeking in regard to their academic performance. We discussed the implications of our findings and provided future directions for research.