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1 – 10 of over 10000Timothy W. Aurand, Carol DeMoranville and Geoffrey L. Gordon
Well‐documented corporate demands for crossfunctionally competent employees have instigated a wide variety of efforts by the educational community to integrate business curricula…
Abstract
Well‐documented corporate demands for crossfunctionally competent employees have instigated a wide variety of efforts by the educational community to integrate business curricula. Many colleges and universities struggle to functionally integrate business programs that historically have been delivered by well‐defined, and often well‐siloed, disciplines. Drawing from the numerous published and unpublished case studies of cross‐functional integration attempts, this study develops a framework of critical issues to consider when developing an integrated program. The framework develops five major categories of issues (strategic, leadership, administrative, faculty, and student) to help universities identify typical program decisions and potential roadblocks that may inhibit the development of a successful program.
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Siying Wang, Haiqing Hu and Zhiguang Zhang
This study analyzes in-depth how knowledge-intensive small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can achieve higher new product development (NPD) process performance in the epidemic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes in-depth how knowledge-intensive small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can achieve higher new product development (NPD) process performance in the epidemic era and examine the internal development mechanism of knowledge-intensive SMEs in the process of continuous digital transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
This issue is tested with partial least squares on data collected via a survey conducted from November 2021 to February 2022. The sample comprises 487 knowledge-intensive SMEs operating in China.
Findings
The results indicate that one form of cross-functional ambidexterity, market development strategy (MDS), plays an important role in process performance from an inside-out financial perspective and an outside-in customer perspective. Simultaneously, product innovation efficiency (PIE) mediates the relationship between MDS and the above results. Big data analytics capabilities (BDACs) positively regulate the relationship between MDS and PIE.
Research limitations/implications
The authors do not consider other contingency factors. Future research should introduce influential factors such as leadership and competitive intensity to further distinguish the effects of MDS on NPD process performance.
Practical implications
The study findings offer suggestions to help knowledge-intensive SME managers better manage their NPD process by making better use of their limited resources in developing countries such as China.
Originality/value
This study is one of only a few to adopt a process-oriented perspective to specifically examine how one form of cross-functional ambidexterity, MDS, impacts knowledge-intensive SME process performance in the epidemic era. This study also extends the theoretical framework of cross-functional ambidexterity to BDAC research.
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Discusses how Unisys Ltd in the UK and other leading companies arefinding that performance measuring and improving key business processesform a vital part of a company‐wide…
Abstract
Discusses how Unisys Ltd in the UK and other leading companies are finding that performance measuring and improving key business processes form a vital part of a company‐wide improvement strategy. Using examples from Unisys, shows how cross‐functional methods of process improvement are being deployed to this end. Discusses the key business processes, breaking these down further into delivery and support processes. Looks at how to exploit the challenges and opportunities to be found in the 1990s and how to structure measuring, improving, planning and controlling the key business processes as part of a company‐wide strategy.
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Barry J. Witcher and Vinh Sum Chau
The paper seeks to combine the uses of the balanced scorecard and hoshin kanri as integrative dynamic capabilities for the entire strategic management process. It aims to posit a…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to combine the uses of the balanced scorecard and hoshin kanri as integrative dynamic capabilities for the entire strategic management process. It aims to posit a model for the combination of these long‐ and short‐term organisational activities as a framework for a senior level to manage a firm's strategic fit as an integrated organisation‐wide system that links top management goals to daily management.
Design/methodology/approach
The resource‐based view of strategy is explored for its relevance to how a combined balanced scorecard and hoshin kanri approach serves as a high‐order dynamic capability. Examples are given from Canon, Toyota and Nissan, of how core capabilities are managed to show how strategy is executed cross‐functionally across a firm's functional hierarchy.
Findings
The study finds that strategic management of the organisation should consider the long‐term strategy as well as the short‐term capability. Important to this are core capabilities and core competences, cross‐functional management, and top executive audits, which, when managed properly, explicate a new view of strategic fit, as a form of nested hierarchies of dynamic capabilities.
Originality/value
The paper is the first exposition of how balanced scorecard and hoshin kanri practices may usefully complement each other in strategic management. It is a useful framework for dynamically managing sustained competitive advantage.
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Tânia R. Belmiro, Paul D. Gardiner, John E.L. Simmons and Antonio F. Rentes
Business process re‐engineering (BPR), a management tool that initially advocated a revolution in the way businesses are driven, now carries the stigma of being a major cause of…
Abstract
Business process re‐engineering (BPR), a management tool that initially advocated a revolution in the way businesses are driven, now carries the stigma of being a major cause of job elimination. This study reveals the depth of involvement of BPR practitioners in what, advocates claim, are the fundamental ingredients of BPR – business processes. The data alert the reader to the different understandings and practices related to business process analysis held by several UK and Brazilian companies. Possible reasons are given, accounting for why some of the companies investigated seemed to lose a BPR focus in favour of more urgent restructuring matters. The authors conclude that companies often lack a basic awareness of the business process concept, and that misconceptions about these issues can lead to unrealised expectations at various levels in the organization.
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O. Homer Erekson, Orie L. Loucks and Charles Aldag
There has been a paradigm shift in business’ approach with respect to environmental responsibility. This change has resulted in a realization that profitability, consumer…
Abstract
There has been a paradigm shift in business’ approach with respect to environmental responsibility. This change has resulted in a realization that profitability, consumer acceptance, and competitiveness can be advanced by pursuing sustainable initiatives in business practice. Sustainable business operations require effective leadership throughout the organization and cross‐functional business processes.
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Presents a background to process understanding which offers potential benefits to the NHS. Considers the various business processes found in health care organizations, noting that…
Abstract
Presents a background to process understanding which offers potential benefits to the NHS. Considers the various business processes found in health care organizations, noting that the management of cross‐functional processes is an area in which improvements can be made. Outlines the kind of problems which can result from mismanagement of such processes and the potential benefits of process improvement.
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Vinh Sum Chau and Barry J. Witcher
The purpose of this paper is to explain how hoshin kanri (policy management) is used as a higher order dynamic capability at Nissan. The paper also seeks to examine the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain how hoshin kanri (policy management) is used as a higher order dynamic capability at Nissan. The paper also seeks to examine the role of top executive audits as part of the FAIR strategy execution process to develop core competences as part of team management.
Design/methodology/approach
The research used semi‐retrospective ethnographic case summaries recorded by an active manager involved in the implementation process of the researched organizational phenomenon. These documented observations were triangulated against internally published company reports and those made public, and any externally published documentation about Nissan.
Findings
The paper finds that the use of a top executive audit (TEA) as a part of hoshin kanri, works as a high‐order dynamic capability according to Teece et al. . Hoshin kanri is premised on a strong reliance on teamwork, and the effectiveness of teams is a major contributory factor to organizational performance. It works well because TEAs are a special form of organizational audit of lower‐level operations against top‐level strategy (i.e. it is a strategic review framework).
Originality/value
How Nissan's business philosophies and methodologies are managed as core capabilities is explored. TEAs, as a key component of hoshin kanri, are examined as a strategic team performance management system.
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To achieve competitive performance in engineeringmanufacturing may require design of anumber of organisational elements. The systemsapproach is essential because…
Abstract
To achieve competitive performance in engineering manufacturing may require design of a number of organisational elements. The systems approach is essential because engineering manufacturing is an integrated set of subsystems. The characteristics of an organisation that are relevant to systems redesign are described. The author then lists eight redesign principles and tools to support a five‐step accepted approach to overall business design. These are fully worked out in a detailed Appendix. One way to tackle necessary change is by adopting a total quality and competitiveness achievement programme, rolling over two to three years of projects in parallel and in series.
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