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1 – 5 of 5Mohamed Saad Bajjou and Anas Chafi
Lean construction (LC) consists of very effective techniques; however, its implementation varies considerably from one industry to another. Although numerous lean initiatives do…
Abstract
Purpose
Lean construction (LC) consists of very effective techniques; however, its implementation varies considerably from one industry to another. Although numerous lean initiatives do exist in the construction industry, the research topic related to LC implementation is still unexplored due to the scarcity of validated assessment frameworks. This study aims to provide the first attempt in developing a structural model for successful LC implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study developed a Lean construction model (LCM) by critically reviewing seven previous LC frameworks from different countries, defining 18 subprinciples grouped into 6 major principles and formulating testable hypotheses. The questionnaire was pre-tested with 12 construction management experts and revised by 4 specialized academics. A pilot study with 20 construction units enhanced content reliability. Data from 307 Moroccan construction companies were collected to develop a measurement model. SPSS V. 26 was used for Exploratory Factor Analysis, followed by confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS version 23. Finally, a structural equation model statistically assessed each construct's contribution to the success of LC implementation.
Findings
This work led to the development of an original LCM based on valid and reliable LC constructs, consisting of 18 measurement items grouped into 6 LC principles: Process Transparency, People involvement, Waste elimination, Planning and Continuous improvement, Client Focus and Material/information flow and pull. According to the structural model, LC implementation success is positively influenced by Planning and Scheduling/continuous improvement (β = 0.930), followed by Elimination of waste (β = 0.896). Process transparency ranks third (β = 0.858). The study demonstrates that all these factors are mutually complementary, highlighting a positive relationship between LC implementation success and the holistic application of all LC principles.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to develop a statistically proven model of LC based on structural equation modelling analysis, which is promising for stimulating construction practitioners and researchers for more empirical studies in different countries to obtain a more accurate reflection of LC implementation. Moreover, the paper proposes recommendations to help policymakers, academics and practitioners anticipate the key success drivers for more successful LC implementation.
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This paper aims to explore how environmental employment can promote desistance among criminalised children. Research demonstrates that being immersed in and interacting with the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how environmental employment can promote desistance among criminalised children. Research demonstrates that being immersed in and interacting with the natural environment has a positive impact upon well-being and behaviour, including reduced aggressive and violent behaviours. However, how exposure to the natural environment might promote desistance amongst children with persistent criminal involvement is unclear.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines, through semi-structured interviews and participant observations, the experiences of n = 23 criminalised children aged 16–18 employed in outdoor work at a UK social enterprise.
Findings
The findings demonstrate how working in the natural environment can provide a safe space for children, where they can build positive relationships, learn valuable skills and reconnect with the world outside of the high-pressure, conflict-driven spaces in which they typically occupy.
Originality/value
This research highlights the relevance of the setting in which child rehabilitation takes place and the potential role of natural environments in providing places and opportunities which support pro-social identity development and desistance for children.
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Nathalie Clavijo, Ludivine Perray-Redslob and Emmanouela Mandalaki
This paper aims to examine how an alternative accounting system developed by a marginalised group of women enables them to counter oppressive systems built at the intersections of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how an alternative accounting system developed by a marginalised group of women enables them to counter oppressive systems built at the intersections of gender, class and race.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw on diary notes taken over a period of 13 years in France and Senegal in the context of the first author's family interactions with a community of ten Black immigrant women. The paper relies on Black feminist perspectives, namely, Lorde's work on difference and survival to illuminate how this community of women uses the creative power of its “self-defined differences” to build its own accounting system – a tontine – and work towards its emancipation.
Findings
The authors find that to fight oppressive marginalising structures, the women develop a tontine, an autonomous, self-managed, women-made banking system providing them with cash and working on the basis of trust. This alternative accounting scheme endeavours to fulfil their “situated needs”: to build a home of their own in Senegal. The authors conceptualise the tontine as a “situated accounting” scheme built on the women's own terms, on the basis of sisterhood and opacity. This accounting system enables the women to work towards their “situated emancipation”, alleviating the burden of their marginalisation.
Research limitations/implications
This paper gives visibility to vulnerable women's agentic capacities through accounting. As no single story captures the nuances and complexities of accounting, further exploration is encouraged.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the counter-accounting literature that engages with vulnerable, “othered” populations, shedding light on the counter-practices of accounting within a community of ten Black precarious women. In so doing, this study problematises these counter-practices as intersectional and built on “survival skills”. The paper further outlines the emancipatory potential of alternative systems of accounting. It ends with some reflections on doing research through activist curiosity and the need to rethink academic research and knowledge in opposition to dominant epistemic standards of knowledge creation.
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Since conducting agile strategies provides sustainable passenger satisfaction and revenue by replacing applied policies with more profitable ones rapidly, the focus of this study…
Abstract
Purpose
Since conducting agile strategies provides sustainable passenger satisfaction and revenue by replacing applied policies with more profitable ones rapidly, the focus of this study is to evaluate agile attributes for managing low-cost carriers (LCCs) operations by means of resources and competences based on dynamic capabilities built on resource-based view (RBV) theory and to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in a volatile and dynamic air transport environment. LCCs in Turkey are also evaluated in this study since the competition among LCCs is high to gain market share and they can adapt quickly to all kinds of circumstances.
Design/methodology/approach
Two well-known Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods (MCDM) named as the Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (MABAC) methods by employing Picture fuzzy sets (PiFS) are employed to determine weight of agile attributes and superiority of LCCs based on agile attributes in the market, respectively. To check the consistency and robustness of the results for the proposed approach, comparative and sensitivity analysis are performed at the end of the study.
Findings
While the ranking orders of agile attributes are Strategic Responsiveness (AG1), Financial Management (AG4), Quality (AG2), Digital integration (AG3) and Reliability (AG5), respectively, LCC2 is selected as the best agile airline company in Turkey with respect to agile attributes. SWARA and MABAC method based on PiFS is appropriate and effective method to evaluate agile attributes that has important reference value for the airline companies in aviation industry.
Practical implications
The findings of this study will support managers in the airline industry to conduct airline operations more flexibly and effectively to take sustainable competitive advantage in unexpected and dynamic environment.
Originality/value
To the author' best knowledge, this study is the first developed to identify the attributes necessary to increase agility in LCCs. Thus, as a systematic tool, a framework is developed for the implementation of agile attributes to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the airline industry and presented a roadmap for airline managers to deal with crises and challenging situations by satisfying customer and increasing competitiveness.
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Heriberta Heriberta, Nurdiana Gaus, Muhammad Azwar Paramma and Nursita Utami
Personal branding is a strategic tool of marketing and communication to define success in organisations. While it constitutes a conscious attempt to commodify self and audit self…
Abstract
Purpose
Personal branding is a strategic tool of marketing and communication to define success in organisations. While it constitutes a conscious attempt to commodify self and audit self, it must be intentionally managed to obtain its optimum results. This study aims to illustrate how personal branding may also pose unintentional and unconscious strategic tool for women academics in academia to help them get wider visibility and increase their chances of getting into leadership positions.
Design/methodology/approach
We employed a case study approach and convenience sampling to select our unit of analysis. Three universities in both public and private universities in the eastern regions of Indonesia were purposefully selected, and interviews were held with 30 female leaders occupying and occupied middle and lower leadership hierarchies.
Findings
Our research shows that, despite their unintentional, unplanned and poorly designed personal branding, women have been able to advance to their current leadership positions by building their own rooms for practising their own preferred leadership values to get them visible and heard. This way is performed through a gendered networking, previous leadership experience and bureaucratic requirements. The consequence of such a practice may limit the range of visibility to getting noticed as worthy individuals for senior leadership roles. This might be one reason why women are scarcely found in senior leadership positions.
Originality/value
We propose that natural strategies of constructing, narrating and marketing or communicating personal branding in academia through authentic actions can also be helpful for the success of women to get to leadership roles in a smaller and ambient environment.
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