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Article
Publication date: 20 April 2018

Jean Harvey and Monique Aubry

The purpose of this paper is to explore commonalities and differences between projects and processes, and between project management (PjM) and process management (PcM), with a…

1529

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore commonalities and differences between projects and processes, and between project management (PjM) and process management (PcM), with a view to challenge this dichotomic typology, clarify the gray areas in between and propose better ways to classify and manage different endeavors.

Design/methodology/approach

The research compares different tools and techniques used in both fields, explores the respective literatures and uses various examples to bring out similarities and differences.

Findings

The current paradigms engender a number of organizational endeavors, which are actually complex processes being managed as projects, using the PjM body of knowledge. Because each instantiation takes a somewhat different form, it is treated as a one-of-a-kind undertaking; whereby many of the opportunities for learning and continuous improvement associated with PcM are lost. A reframing and typology is proposed to clarify the central notions involved.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed model has not been tested empirically and the authors could not agree on all aspects of the paper, though existing differences are more about degrees, nuances and wording than about the basic findings of the paper.

Practical implications

The research makes the case that two research and practice communities that are evolving independently have much to gain by adopting a unified model and integrating their respective bodies of knowledge. Practitioners would thus access resources that are better adapted to the management challenges they are facing and gain a sustainable source of strategic advantage.

Originality/value

The paper challenges long-established paradigms between two distinct research streams. A new typology and classification criteria are proposed.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 38 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2017

Julia A. Wolfson, Stephanie Bostic, Jacob Lahne, Caitlin Morgan, Shauna C. Henley, Jean Harvey and Amy Trubek

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of – and need for – an expanded understanding of cooking (skills and knowledge) to inform research on the connection…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of – and need for – an expanded understanding of cooking (skills and knowledge) to inform research on the connection between cooking and health.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes a concept of “food agency” and contrasts it with how cooking is commonly conceived in food and nutrition literature. A food agency-based pedagogy and proposals for using it are also introduced.

Findings

Cooking is a complex process that may be crucial for making a difference in the contemporary problems of diet-related chronic diseases. There are two interlinked problems with present research on cooking. First, cooking has yet to be adequately conceptualized for the design and evaluation of effective public health and nutrition interventions. The context within which food-related decisions and actions occur has been neglected. Instead, the major focus has been on discrete mechanical tasks. In particular, recipes are relied upon despite no clear evidence that recipes move people from knowledge to action. Second, given the incomplete theorization and definition of this vital everyday practice, intervention designs tend to rely on assumptions over theory. This creates certain forms of tautological reasoning when claims are made about how behavior changes. A comprehensive theory of food agency provides a nuanced understanding of daily food practices and clarifies how to teach cooking skills that are generalizable throughout varied life contexts.

Originality/value

This commentary is of value to academics studying cooking-related behavior and public health practitioners implementing and evaluating cooking interventions.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 119 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2022

Michele Rigolizzo, Zhu Zhu and Jean-François Harvey

This study aims to empirically examine the relationship between the leader characteristic of humility and the informal learning of team members. It also evaluates the role of…

1002

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to empirically examine the relationship between the leader characteristic of humility and the informal learning of team members. It also evaluates the role of leader authenticity in mediating that relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected on 518 salespeople reporting to 66 managers in a time-lagged study of a financial services firm. Generalized structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data and test a multi-hierarchical mediation model.

Findings

Leader humility has a significant positive direct and indirect effect on individual informal learning in team contexts, and leader authenticity partially mediates this relationship.

Research limitations/implications

This study advances research on how leaders can help transform learning from a risky endeavor to a daily practice. It shows the impact of the leadership characteristic of humility and explains how humble behaviors provide a model for individual learning in team contexts. It also reveals that leader authenticity is a key mechanism through which leader humility comes to influence employees’ informal learning within work teams.

Originality/value

This study provides empirical support for the importance of leader humility in engendering the trust required for employees to engage in everyday workplace learning. It integrates social information processing theory with social learning theory to show that humble leaders provide critical information about the value, cost and methods of individual informal learning in team contexts. Leader humility increases employees’ beliefs that they can and do learn from working in teams because employees perceive the humble leader’s behaviors as representing the leader’s true intentions.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 34 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1991

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/02652329110144460. When citing the…

201

Abstract

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/02652329110144460. When citing the article, please cite: Jean Harvey, Pierre Filiatrault, (1991), “Service Delivery Processes: New Technology and Design”, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 9 Iss: 1, pp. 25 - 31.

Details

Logistics Information Management, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-6053

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1990

Jean Harvey

Little attention has been given in the literature to operatingdecisions in professional service organisations. A better understandingof the power relationships within a…

Abstract

Little attention has been given in the literature to operating decisions in professional service organisations. A better understanding of the power relationships within a professional service organisation provides insight into the way these decisions are made. A model is proposed which categorises professional service organisations according to the relative power of the major stakeholders: professionals within the organisation; clients; and top management. The major factors which affect each of these are discussed.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1989

Jean Harvey

The opportunities, constraints and limitations of transferring anoperations management approach to public professional services areillustrated through a detailed analysis of two…

Abstract

The opportunities, constraints and limitations of transferring an operations management approach to public professional services are illustrated through a detailed analysis of two alternate designs for a social service process: a flow shop and a continuous intervention process. Trade‐offs between cost, quality and timeliness of output and between desirable process characteristics are highlighted through a quantitative example. Professional service organisations are democratic organisations staffed by highly competent and autonomous individuals. Process management is different in such an environment. Understanding the linkages between process design and process management is particularly important in professional service organisations, both for process designers, to ensure that they design manageable processes, and for process managers, so that they are aware of all the possibilities and limitations of the process.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1992

Jean Harvey

Focuses on the problems associated with the dynamic harmonizationof the actions of two or more complex and different human serviceagencies, in such a way that service packages are…

Abstract

Focuses on the problems associated with the dynamic harmonization of the actions of two or more complex and different human service agencies, in such a way that service packages are regularly reviewed in order to meet the changing needs of the client. Co‐ordinating the interventions of practitioners from different professions, employed by different organizations and working on the same cases, poses great challenges to operations managers. Elements of solutions currently being tested include the definition of a detailed delivery process common to all providers of human services to a given category of clients, the personalization of contact points between professionals (i.e. the human‐service equivalent of just‐in‐time in manufacturing) and the use of individualized service plans.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1991

Jean Harvey and Pierre Filiatrault

The search for service quality and the division of work betweenfront office employees and backroom workers as the core of servicedesign are examined. Discussion centres on whether…

Abstract

The search for service quality and the division of work between front office employees and backroom workers as the core of service design are examined. Discussion centres on whether the server′s task should encompass more backroom work to avoid duplication and delay or be more limited to reduce turnaround time. Alternative service delivery designs are explored and the impact of technology examined. It is concluded that the task at hand is not merely to select the best design but a technological migration path allowing the bank to maintain or improve its competitive position in what has been described as “bare‐knuckle banking”.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1997

Jean Harvey, Louis A. Lefebvre and Elizabeth Lefebvre

In common with most service companies, banks today are faced with a myriad demands on their delivery processes made by an increasingly fragmented market. Management theorists and…

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Abstract

In common with most service companies, banks today are faced with a myriad demands on their delivery processes made by an increasingly fragmented market. Management theorists and consultants prescribe up‐to‐date technology and service personnel generalists as progenitors of the flexibility required by companies seeking to deliver quality of service. However companies gear up their systems to deal with variable market demands and expectations, penalties of time, finance and quality are inevitable. So, how flexible need a service company be, and what degree of variability need it countenance as acceptable from its customers in today’s marketplace? Can service companies approach such questions in ways similar to those taken in the past by manufacturing companies? Indeed, does “flexibility” mean the same in services as it does in manufacturing? Does it involve the same challenges and, if not, is a radically different model required in order to delineate the concept and challenges of flexibility in services? Attempts to answer such questions conceptually and in terms of information technology’s role in enhancing flexibility of service delivery. Proposes a model by which to integrate the most relevant elements in the service and manufacturing literature, and applies this model to explore four service‐specific dimensions of flexible delivery.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 May 2012

Jean‐François Harvey

The purpose of this paper is to provide the systematic analysis of an innovative, intergenerational knowledge transfer strategy in a knowledge‐intensive organization.

5331

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide the systematic analysis of an innovative, intergenerational knowledge transfer strategy in a knowledge‐intensive organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study method was adopted to study the intergenerational knowledge transfer activities. A triangulated approach was employed in respect of the data collection, which included non‐participatory observation, focus groups, documentary analysis, and semi‐structured interviews. A pattern analysis of data account was undertaken.

Findings

Two models for intergenerational knowledge transfer are presented: the source‐recipient model and the model of mutual exchange. This research also shows how a context conducive to knowledge transfer was developed, and concludes that this context allowed both explicit and tacit knowledge to be transferred.

Research limitations/implications

Often ignored or underestimated this study highlights the need for motivation, inspiration, and empowerment in knowledge transfer. The main limitation of this study is the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

The two models for intergenerational knowledge transfer provide a rubric against which both old and new intergenerational knowledge transfer initiatives can be assessed to determine whether they are capable of encouraging the transfer of both explicit and tacit knowledge.

Originality/value

There is little empirical work on the design and implementation of strategies for managing organizational memory. The integrated models and empirical results of this study can serve as guides in that process.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

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