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1 – 10 of over 1000Gayle C. Avery and Harald Bergsteiner
This BMW case aims to show how many of the company's practices that accord with principles espoused in the authors' sustainable leadership model contributed to its recovery after…
Abstract
Purpose
This BMW case aims to show how many of the company's practices that accord with principles espoused in the authors' sustainable leadership model contributed to its recovery after the global financial crisis (GFC).
Design/methodology/approach
This case illustrates how BMW institutes the 23 honeybee leadership principles and practices described in the authors' 2011 article “Sustainable leadership: practices for enhancing business resilience and performance” in Strategy & Leadership.
Findings
The examples provide a glimpse into the honeybee practices that enabled one firm to emerge successfully from the GFC. Regarding the five performance outcomes on the sustainable leadership pyramid, BMW clearly exceeded expectations in 2010 on financial returns and shareholder value.
Practical implications
Clearly BMW provides long‐term value for all its stakeholders – suppliers, shareholders, employees and customers – as is expected of a sustainable enterprise. BMW's business model, innovative approach to problem‐solving and adherence to sustainable leadership practices underpin a capacity to survive crises such as the GFC.
Originality/value
This is a rare case study of corporate‐wide sustainability practices and principles in operation. Informed by the examples of best practices at BMW, managers at other companies can envision how honeybee management might be implemented at their firm.
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Javeed Ahamed Golandaj and Karabasappa Gadigeppa Kallihal
Enormous amount of biomedical wastes (BMW) produced everyday across the world. Management of BMW depends on adherence to protocol. BMW management at generation point, definitely…
Abstract
Purpose
Enormous amount of biomedical wastes (BMW) produced everyday across the world. Management of BMW depends on adherence to protocol. BMW management at generation point, definitely, depends upon the awareness, attitudes and practises of health-care staff, the purpose of this study will assess the awareness, attitude and practise regarding different aspects of BMW.
Design/methodology/approach
An observational with appropriate checklists, and a cross-sectional study, involving questionnaires, was conducted during 7-24 January 2016. The existing system of BMW management, funds, resources, etc., knowledge, attitude and practises about BMW were assessed amongst 273 health-care workers in selected public health-care institutes of Karnataka.
Findings
Of 273 study participants, majority (54%) of them have not received any training pertaining to BMW. The results showed a poor level of knowledge and awareness of BMW management amongst health-care personnel. Merely, 43% of the participants correctly knew the categorization of BMW and its disposal in proper colour-coded bins/bags. Awareness is very poor amongst the lower age group, male participants, lab-technicians/pharmacists and supporting staff. Doctors were good at theoretical knowledge such as rules, legislation and public-health importance of BMW management than the practical aspects such as categorization and colour-coding. Further, the attitude of health-care staff is favourable about BMW. Immunization for hepatitis-B was very poor amongst waste handlers (43%).
Originality/value
As the awareness and practise regarding BMW management were poor across different health-care staff there is a need to conduct periodic training and regular monitoring with special focus on the proper use of personal protective equipment. Further, precautionary immunization should be provided, especially waste handlers and sanitary workers.
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Prasanna Kumar Kukkamalla, Andrea Bikfalvi and Anna Arbussa
The car no longer serves simply as a means of transport but is at the core of a new concept of mobility. Car manufacturers are seizing opportunities to change the traditional…
Abstract
Purpose
The car no longer serves simply as a means of transport but is at the core of a new concept of mobility. Car manufacturers are seizing opportunities to change the traditional business model of the auto business. Innovation in this business model has become vital to survival in today’s dynamic market conditions. This paper aims to find out what factors motivate and drive business model change and what the resulting business model innovation is.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study is based on a single case, namely, BMW as an illustrative example of an advanced, highly innovative customer-centric service business model (BM). The study adopts a document analysis method to reveal the firm’s BMI process.
Findings
First, the study presents a conceptual framework for business model change with the factors –motivators and drivers – that impact on the process of change. BMW’s BMI and its impacting factors are discussed based on this model. The McKinsey 7 s Model framework, the elements of which are strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills is used as an analytical tool to discuss new business model implementation. The study highlights the BM configuration of a traditional car manufacturer, the car as a product and the new car as a service concept.
Originality/value
This study reveals the BMI of BMW’s digital services and its key motivators and drivers. BMW mostly innovates in three key dimensions of the Business model. These are value creation, value delivery and value capture. Most of the elements in these dimensions are innovated.
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Strategic alliances are an important feature of the aerospace industry and many studies have sought to evaluate their performance. Most have taken a policy perspective exploring…
Abstract
Strategic alliances are an important feature of the aerospace industry and many studies have sought to evaluate their performance. Most have taken a policy perspective exploring the economic and political benefits claimed for collaboration of this type. The perspective is a reflection of the political origins of many aerospace alliances. This study seeks to evaluate, from a managerial perspective, one of the newer alliances established on a strictly commercial basis. It focuses on BMW Rolls‐Royce GmbH, one of a small number of truly European alliances. The study concludes that, although Rolls‐Royce bought out its German partner after a decade of operation, the alliance was a success. The two engines developed by the alliance over this period were a technical success, overall sales were well on target and the alliance was about to break even. In addition, the study concludes that the alliance formed a key element in Rolls‐Royce’s successful strategy to extend its product portfolio, a strategy that elevated the company to second place in the global aero engine market.
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Describes how BMW is investing in new body‐in‐white capital equipment to make a new version of the Mini due out in 2007.
Abstract
Purpose
Describes how BMW is investing in new body‐in‐white capital equipment to make a new version of the Mini due out in 2007.
Design/methodology/approach
Describes the major production line technologies that are under close scrutiny to manufacture the body shell of the next generation Mini car at BMW Group's Oxford plant in the UK. Technologies to be implemented include a further 160 KUKA robots (most of which will be used for spot welding) and a new generation of control software.
Findings
BMW managers and engineers have decided to expand the present body‐in‐white facility at Oxford by a further 15,000m2. At the same time they are planning to move some of the present manufacture to the company's plant at Swindon, Wiltshire. This includes various cells to manufacture closures, including doors, tailgate and bonnet assemblies. Already the Cabriolet tailgate assembly has been moved to Swindon. At the same time, engineers plan to introduce a new control standard, product line 2 (PL2), which is already the standard used throughout BMW's manufacturing organization.
Research limitations/implications
Engineers BMW's oxford plant have been upgrading the present r50 control standard into a hybrid version that will be known as R50.1. This work is due to be complete by the end of this year. The new standard, PL2, will be introduced into the new facilities so there will in effect be two standards running in parallel in the works. At the same time the there will be a switch to Siemens S7 software, which will be faster and offer much increased processing power. Following development and work arising out of previous experience, BMW engineers have opted for KUKA KRC2 robots.
Practical implications
The practical implications of the new facilities will allow BMW engineers greater flexibility. Although it has not yet been made public, it is likely the company will introduce a special framing unit that will allow manufacturing engineers to produce more than one version of the mini on the body‐in‐white line.
Originality/value
The work being done at Oxford for the 2007 Mini will incorporate technology and know‐how already developed within the BMW Group to manufacture the 1‐Series and the 3‐Series cars.
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Jogendra Jangre, Abdul Zubar Hameed, Medha Srivastava, Kanika Prasad and Dharmendra Patel
Hospital activities restore health and save lives; yet they produce infectious waste that might harm people and the environment if not handled carefully. The sudden increase in…
Abstract
Purpose
Hospital activities restore health and save lives; yet they produce infectious waste that might harm people and the environment if not handled carefully. The sudden increase in bio-medical waste (BMW) generation was caused due to the outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the beginning of year 2020. There is a huge potential of businesses from BMW generated in the developing economies. The document destruction process would prove to be beneficial in determining the strategies and policies for the business from BMW. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate the factors that influence the business prospects from BMW in developing economies.
Design/methodology/approach
The study focuses on identifying 18 factors based on an extensive literature review, questionnaire, theoretical foundations and interviews with experts in the context of developing economies. These factors are categorized into four groups namely “Culture, education and microeconomics”, “Infrastructure, social provision, and technology”, “Policy and institution” and “Integrated waste management system”. Consequently, these factors are prioritized to assist the decision-maker in comprehending the most critical aspects of accomplishing the best business practices. A framework based on the Best–Worst Method (BWM) is applied to evaluate and determine the significance of each identified factor.
Findings
The major contribution of this paper is to identify key factors that are responsible for successful implementation of the business practices from the generated BMW. The study also explains their nature, significance and inter-relationship among them using BWM. Current study applied a distinctive modeling approach to examine the contextual relationship among the key factors and to rank them as per their importance. The findings of the study suggest that “Setup for collection and segregation is the best alternative for business from BMW produced”.
Originality/value
The paper also presents strategies, which can be adopted as a guiding step by the decision-makers to formulate policies for the effective business practice from BMW. This research is expected to stimulate future applications of the BWM to facilitate long-term decision-making.
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BMW’s training department, known as the Center for Development, has been undergoing a quiet revolution over the past three years. When the center bought a new…
Abstract
BMW’s training department, known as the Center for Development, has been undergoing a quiet revolution over the past three years. When the center bought a new training‐administration system in 1998, there were 90,000 records to be transferred. The system, John Matchett Ltd’s Registrar, has since grown to incorporate many parts of the business. With two BMW subsidiaries also buying the system and adopting the data dictionaries designed by BMW (GB), Registrar is now used by more than 50 people at BMW (GB) and is available on BMW’s InfoNet internet site. In total, more than 196,000 registration records are managed by these systems.
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For many BMW drivers, owning a BMW is about much more than merely owning a form of transport. The BMW name has become a symbol of quality, efficiency and engineering expertise…
Abstract
For many BMW drivers, owning a BMW is about much more than merely owning a form of transport. The BMW name has become a symbol of quality, efficiency and engineering expertise which has inspired a loyal customer base throughout the world. BMW’s long‐standing marketing message has been simply “the ultimate driving machine”.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe how BMW in the UK has put together a production “triangle” that brings together three of its four manufacturing plants in Britain to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe how BMW in the UK has put together a production “triangle” that brings together three of its four manufacturing plants in Britain to produce the latest version of the Mini passenger car.
Design/methodology/approach
Describes the major production line techniques that are used in the manufacture of the body‐in‐white (BIW) structure as well as the functions of painting and final assembly of the vehicle. The BIW techniques include logistics, spot‐welding and adhesives, as well as optical and laser inspection.
Findings
Over the space of the last three or four years, the management of BMW Group has come to realize the importance of integrating three of its four manufacturing units in the UK with purpose of achieving greater utilization of its existing capacity, and improving productivity.
Research limitations/implications
The BMW Group continually assesses all of the functions involved in the manufacture of a motor vehicle, and in this context is working both with its own plants as well as with suppliers of equipment and components to enhance production and quality processes. This includes all of the processes of joining steel and other materials using spot welding and adhesives. There is also much to be gained from the interchange of information between the various plants in the group worldwide with a view to implementing continuous improvement. The benefits achieved from one process in one particular plant are quickly communicated to other facilities, again with the object of improving quality and productivity.
Practical implications
It is likely that arising out of greater plant integration and utilization, the management of BMW Group will be able to further increase the capacity of its Mini production units to be in a position to move to the next stage of expansion, namely to reach a target of 300,000 units a year.
Originality/value
This is the first time in the UK that BMW has integrated three of its production facilities with those of three major component suppliers to produce a finished vehicle. There is a heavy concentration of KUKA robots within the BIW and sub‐assembly manufacturing facilities.
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The paper aims to describe how BMW in the UK has increased the number of industrial robots at Plant Oxford in the UK; this plant is part of a production “triangle” that brings…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to describe how BMW in the UK has increased the number of industrial robots at Plant Oxford in the UK; this plant is part of a production “triangle” that brings together three of its four manufacturing plants in the UK to produce the latest version of the Mini passenger car – the Mini Clubman.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the major production line techniques that are used in the manufacture of the body‐in‐white (BIW) structure as well as the functions of painting and final assembly of the vehicle. The BIW techniques include spot‐welding and ultrasonic weld inspection for parts assembly.
Findings
Over the space of the last three or four years, the management of BMW Group has increased significantly the stature of its UK manufacturing units with the aim of increasing the diversity of models produced, while at the same time achieving greater utilization of its existing capacity, and improving productivity.
Research limitations/implications
The BMW Group continually assesses all of the functions involved in the manufacture of a motor vehicle, and in this context is working both with its own plants and with suppliers of equipment and components to enhance production and quality processes. This includes all of the processes of joining steel and other materials using spot welding and adhesives. There is also much to be gained from the interchange of information between the various plants in the group world‐wide with a view to implementing continuous improvement. The benefits achieved from one process in one particular plant are quickly communicated to other facilities, again with the object of improving quality and productivity. A typical example here is the paint shop.
Practical implications
It is likely that, arising out of greater plant integration and utilization, the management of BMW Group will be able to further increase the capacity of its Mini production units to be in a position to move to the next stage of expansion, namely to reach a target of 300,000 units a year.
Originality/value
BMW continues to rationalise its UK plants in Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall, further integrating these production facilities with those of major component suppliers to produce a finished vehicle. There is a heavy concentration of KUKA robots within the BIW and sub‐assembly manufacturing facilities.
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