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This study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the supply chain (SC) operations of importing used vehicles into New Zealand and how such SCs affect business practices and performance.

The study uses an exploratory qualitative semi-structured interview approach to interview the different stakeholders involved in the global used vehicle SC.

The research identifies the overall network structure of the used import vehicle SC from Japan to New Zealand and characterises key aspects of its operations and network connections. This paper finds that Japanese buying agents have integrated increasing numbers of services to provide a trouble-free trading platform, which has created a direct-import model for used vehicle companies in New Zealand.

The findings and recommendations are useful in designing and managing the used vehicle SC for all stakeholders and effective real-time management of uncertain factors.

The paper primarily analyses SC operations by researching the cooperation and coordination between SC components and networks, based on providing the flow of used vehicles from Japan to New Zealand. It constitutes a pioneering practice-perspective research paper in this domain.

Strategic Management and Organization Theory and Design.

Advanced undergraduate and MBA students taking courses in Strategic Management and Organization Theory and Design.

By the end of 2011, five years short of its centennial anniversary, UMW Holdings was one of the biggest corporations in Malaysia, registering revenues of RM13.5 billion (US$4.5 billion), and net profit after tax of RMI billion (US$0.33 billion). By that time, it had 110 subsidiaries, operating in four core businesses of automotive assembly and distribution of Toyota lines of products, automotive components and lubricants original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and replacement equipment manufacturing (REM), heavy equipment, and oil and gas drilling service. In September 2011, the company had targeted its Toyota automotive business to contribute to 50 percent of its revenues, while the other 50 percent would come from its other three businesses, by the year 2015. However, as of the first quarter of 2012, Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir, the Group CEO and his management team realized that, at 72 percent, the automotive business was still the main contributor to the Group's revenues. As the company's Toyota assembly operation was limited exclusively to the Malaysian market, plus in the face of greater competition within the automotive industries, the company needed to set strategies to achieve its 50:50 plan. The case stimulates discussion on strategy formulation of a mature corporation, involved in diversified business portfolio.

Understanding the process of industry analysis, as well as the formulation and implementation of business-level and corporate strategies, enables case analysts to extend the concepts to many business situations.

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There are three purposes in this paper: to verify the importance of bi-directional fluid-structure interaction algorithm for centrifugal impeller designs; to study the relationship between the flow inside the impeller and the vibration of the blade; study the influence of material properties on flow field and vibration of centrifugal blades.

First, a bi-directional fluid-structure coupling finite element numerical model of the supersonic semi-open centrifugal impeller is established based on the Workbench platform. Then, the calculation results of impeller polytropic efficiency and stage total pressure ratio are compared with the experimental results from the available literature. Finally, the flow field and vibrational characteristics of 17-4PH (PHB), aluminum alloy (AAL) and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFP) blades are compared under different operating conditions.

The results show that the flow fields performance and blade vibration influence each other. The flow fields performance and vibration resistance of CFP blades are higher than those of 17-4PH (PHB) and aluminum alloy (AAL) blades. At the design speed, compared with the PHB blades and AAL blades, the CFP blades deformation is reduced by 34.5% and 9%, the stress is reduced by 69.6% and 20% and the impeller pressure ratio is increased by 0.8% and 0.14%, respectively.

The importance of fluid-structure interaction to the aerodynamic and structural design of centrifugal impeller is revealed, and the superiority over composite materials in the application of centrifugal impeller is verified.

The paper presents design details and applications of the recently developed 3‐D laser radar from Z+F. It presents models which have been constructed using the data from “inspection of tunnel tubes”, modelling of a “car body welding cell” and a “car body gripper” in the automotive industry as well as a “chemical process plant”. The laser radar was developed for use in industrial environments. Its twin design aims are measurement performance and robustness. The laser radar can be used with a range of mechanical beam deflection units to meet the needs of specific applications.

Facing intense global competition and pressure from public authorities, several universities in Europe have engaged in merger and concentration processes. Drawing on two in-depth case studies, this paper considers university mergers as an opportunity to explore the processes involved in the creation of a new organizational structure. In line with recent scholarly calls to revisit the notion of organizational design, we combine insights from three different research streams to address the functional, political, and institutional dynamics that shaped the organizational architecture of the merged universities. Two main results are presented and discussed. First, although these mergers were initiated largely in response to the diffusion of new global institutional scripts, these scripts had little influence on organizational design: deeply institutionalized local scripts prevailed over global mimetic pressures. Second, while these institutional scripts provided many of the basic building blocks of the new universities, in both cases their design was also heavily shaped by time pressures and power games. While a few powerful actors used the merger as an opportunity to promote their own reform agenda, some of the key features of the two merged universities stemmed from choices by exclusion, whose primary aim was the avoidance of conflicts.

Describes virtual manufacturing software which lets production engineers create life‐like, full‐action mock‐ups of automated production systems on computer workstations and then analyse and debug them before investing in costly capital equipment. Virtual manufacturing software that is compatible with CAD permits the design of manufacturing processes around three‐dimensional CAD production models. Explains that many prominent automotive companies are now using this software and gives examples. Concludes that by using virtual manufacturing as their product design tools, companies can now integrate product design, manufacturing system design and production stages, with all participants working with a single, current database.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the policies and practices of internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia, and to specifically explore how Sustainable Development Goals are translated into policies and practices.

This paper takes a chronological and historical approach to examine policies and practices on internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia. This includes identifying patterns, trends and shifts on internationalisation at the system and institutional levels.

At the system level, Malaysia has transformed from a sending to receiving country, from being an aid recipient to an equal partner, and from a host to a provider. At the institutional level, internationalisation transforms from a fad to a norm, and from having unilateral collaboration to setting up multinational collaborations with international partners. Equally important, the paper discusses the role of internationalisation to address the global Sustainable Development Goals, and identify policy gaps at the national level and the de facto practices of Sustainable Development Goals at the institutional level.

This paper charts the changes of internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia, and importantly, shows gaps to incorporate the global Sustainable Development Goals and to relate this global agenda to the internationalisation of higher education.

Pipeline robots are often used in pipeline non-destructive testing. Given the need for long-range in-pipe inspections, this study aims to develop a wireless in-pipe inspection robot for image acquisition.

In this paper, an in-pipe robot with a new mechanical system is proposed. This system combines a three-arm load-bearing structure with spring sleeves and a half-umbrella diametric change structure, which can ensure the stability of the camera when acquiring images while maintaining the robot’s flexibility. In addition, data were transmitted wirelessly via a system that uses a 433 MHz ultra-high frequency and wireless local-area network–based image transmission system. Software and practical tests were conducted to verify the robot’s design. A preliminary examination of the robot’s cruising range was also conducted.

The feasibility of the robot was demonstrated using CATIA V5 and MSC ADAMS software. The simulation results showed that the centre of mass of the robot remained in a stable position and that it could function in a simulated pipeline network. In the practical test, the prototype functioned stably, correctly executed remote instructions and transmitted in near real-time its location, battery voltage and the captured images. Additionally, the tests demonstrated that the robot could successfully pass through the bends in a 200-mm-wide pipe at any angle between 0° and 90°. In actual wireless network conditions, the electrical system functioned for 44.7 consecutive minutes.

A wheeled wireless robot adopts a new mechanical system. For inspections of plastic pipelines, the robot can adapt to pipes with diameters of 150–210 mm and has the potential for practical applications.

Focusing on the telecom manufacturing industry in China as a case, this paper contends that the existing literature needs to be expanded. Product cycle theory could be applied to explain multinational corporations’ strategies of importing and localizing their products in developing countries in order to take advantage of lower labor costs and to break barriers to the local markets. However, rapid technology changes have limited the power of traditional product cycle theory while favoring the “dynamic adding‐and‐dropping” product cycle. Meanwhile, the success of “Wintelism” and the maturity of cross‐national production networks in the global market have significant impacts on developing countries’ indigenous industries. Indigenous manufacturers start to take advantage of their strength in the distribution and production value‐chain and to outsource their weaknesses to Western corporations. This model of “reversed cross‐national production networks” represents a feasible industrialization path with great potential to enable indigenous manufacturers to emerge as competitors in advanced Western markets as well as less developed markets.

One of the difficulties in electromagnetic modelling has been the lack of standard CAD data to enable direct import of data into analysis software. Many solid modelling standards have been proposed over the years, but due to the many separate interests involved and differing geometrical requirements, a definitive standard has been elusive. Recently the ACIS based SAT format has gained favour and can be produced by many proprietary CAD drawing packages. This paper exemplifies a modern electromagnetic analysis tool that is able to directly import SAT format data.