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Innovative Always (IA) is a small manufacturing unit which has implemented Standard Costing. It has five departments which are headed by five partners. For cost control monthly budgets are prepared. At the end of each month, actual are compared with budgets and variances are calculated. Performance of the five partners alongwith their respective departments have to be evaluated with the help of detailed variance analysis. The case also throws up some conceptual issues like Normal Output, Interdependence of Variances and Recalculation of certain variances for assigning clear cut responsibilities to concerned departments. A comprehensive case on Budgeting and Standard Costing, it showcases the importance of Flexible Budget and Variance Analysis for cost control and performance evaluation.

Spark Publishing and Printing House is a comprehensive case on relevant costs analysis for short run alternative choice decisions. It stresses the importance of future differential cash flow analysis and highlights the irrelevance of past and non differential costs for managerial decisions. SPPH is a reputed publishing and printing house. It has two departments: Publishing and Printing and Distribution. SPPH has received a proposal from Fine Printing Press to take up its printing and distribution work for initial period of one year. The managerial decision involved is whether to outsource or to maintain status quo. Relevant cost analysis is to be used to determine which alternative is cost effective.

Frankies For You is a comprehensive case on standard costing. It stresses the importance of adopting cost control tools like budgeting by small organizations. FFY is a small food joint started by Mr. Raj Singh. After the first month of operation, he finds that though sales volume has increased compared to the budget, the actual profit has fallen. Detailed variance analysis has to be used to find the cause for this anomaly, to evaluate the performance of the staff and to assign responsibilities. The case also refers to Activity Based Pricing, an important contemporary costing principle.

The purpose of this paper is to examine and introduce comprehensive insights into the field of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) by reviewing the existing literature and identifying the research gap. The state of LSS research is assessed by critically examining the field, along with a number of dimensions, including time horizon, year, journal and publisher, university, country, author, geographic analysis, research design, research affairs, research methods, tools/techniques used, focus industries, major research area, benefits gained by LSS, critical success factors and barriers of LSS implementation.

This paper is based on a systematic literature review of 190 articles containing the word LSS in their title, which are published in a well-known database, such as Elsevier ScienceDirect, Taylor and Francis, Emerald Full Text, Springer Link, Wiley InterScience and Inderscience from January 2000 to September 2016.

This analysis reveals 15 significant dimensions to identify the state of LSS research. Authors find a noticeable rise in the attention of LSS research in the available literature. Major findings show that, the empirical research holds greater credibility. Statistics prove that the case study method scores the highest among all the research methods used in the discipline. The largest number of studies have investigated research issues related to implementation and process of LSS. The LSS uses a wide range of tools/techniques/methodologies: the choice of tools is situation-specific. Manufacturing and health-care sectors have been the focus of LSS research, but LSS has also been adopted by other types of industries. The organizations following LSS have improved bottom-line results, improved company profitability and growth and enhanced customer satisfaction. In general the research is more interpretive in nature; there is still a lack of standard in the LSS implementation framework.

This study is limited to reviewing those articles which contain the word LSS appeared in the title.

This study will help understand the current state of research on LSS, various trends in the field, its applicability and future prospects of investigation in the field.

This study aims to highlight the system-wide potential relationships between forms of human bias, selected Lean tools and types of waste in a manufacturing process.

A longitudinal single-site ethnographic case study using digital processing to make a material receiving process Lean was adopted. An inherent knowledge process with internal stakeholders in a stimulated situation alongside process requirements was performed to achieve quality data collection. The results of the narrative analysis and process observation, combined with a literature review identified widely used Lean tools, wastes and biases that produced a model for the relationships.

The study established the relationships between bias, Lean tools and wastes which enabled 97.6% error reduction, improved on-time accounting and eliminated three working hours per day. These savings resulted in seven employees being redeployed to new areas with delivery time for products reduced by seven days.

The single site case study with a supporting literature survey underpinning the model would benefit from testing the model in application to different industries and locations.

Application of the model can identify potential relationships between a group of human biases, 25 Lean tools and 10 types of wastes in Lean manufacturing processes that support decision makers and line managers in productivity improvement. The model can be used to identify potential relationships between forms of human biases, Lean tools and types of wastes in Lean manufacturing processes and take suitable remedial actions. The influence of biases and the model could be used as a basis to counter implementation barriers and reduce system-wide wastes.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that connects the cognitive perspectives of Lean business processes with waste production and human biases. As part of the process, a relationship model is derived.

In the rapidly changing market and environment, companies need to employ highly competitive human resources for sustaining a competitive advantage. Human resource management (HRM) practices have a significant impact on firm performance. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key HRM factors from a survey of 41 Indo‐Japanese and 35 Indian firms operating in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) (India) in the automobile sector that affect the productivity and overall performance of firms.

This study is largely based on secondary data combined with an analysis of primary data. It includes primary data collection and the usage of quantitative research tools. A comparative analysis of the Indian and Indo‐Japanese firms operating in Delhi and the NCR has also been made. Factor analysis has been undertaken to examine the various HRM factors that affect the productivity of a firm.

A factor analysis of nine items revealed four underlying dimensions in the instrument. In the case of Indo‐Japanese firms, the factors concerned are: talent planning and engagement; talent motivation; in‐service training; and assessment of training needs. For Indian firms, the factors concerned are: talent acquisition and engagement; talent motivation and need assessment; talent planning; and talent training.

A hybrid model has been developed that combines the relatively important HR variables on the basis of the results of the survey of Indo‐Japanese and Indian firms.

Hitherto, no study has been undertaken to compare the HRM factors of Indian and Indo‐Japanese firms and to subsequently develop a hybrid model. This model blends the features of both types of firms.

My goal is to describe my life in marketing over more than 36 years and to help readers better understand (from my personal perspective) the history of marketing. I also aim to lift the curtain on some aspects of service within the marketing community.

This paper is an autobiographical sketch. It describes some key moments in my career, as well as describing how my most cited articles came to be written. It emphasizes the contextual factors at work in different periods, so readers can better understand how and why my research evolved in certain ways. I aim to convey the nature and variety of career experiences that were (and are) open to marketing academics. I discuss my experiences at the Journal of Marketing and the Marketing Science Institute.

Marketing changed rapidly between 1974 and 2017. Although change can be uncomfortable, I urge marketers to seek exposure to new ideas and practices; they are essential to learning and growth. Unexpected opportunities will come along and an alert individual can learn much from them. My time in industry was a learning experience for me. There are many kinds of interesting and successful careers.

The marketing field advances, not by the work of a single individual, but from the accumulated work of the entire marketing community. Everyone has a role to play. I encourage each individual to look for ways to contribute. I offer thoughts on how to build a research career based on my own experience.

My thoughts may shed some light on the experiences of a woman academic and the globalization of marketing academia between 1974 and 2017.

My hope is that this paper contributes to a better understanding of the history of marketing, when it is considered together with other articles on this topic. It may also be useful to people who are embarking upon a career, as well as those seeking to understand the work of earlier marketing scholars.