Search results

Research has shown that one of the reasons lean transformations fail is inadequate lean knowledge of supervisors. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development of a lean training program for front-line manufacturing supervisors to provide them with the knowledge needed to engage their teams in daily continuous improvement.

A literature review was conducted on best practices in training design for positive transfer. Action research using qualitative methodologies was used to develop and pilot a new lean leadership training program for supervisors at one site within a case study company. The pilot was evaluated and continuously improved for future waves of training, consistent with action research, lean philosophies and training best practices.

Employee engagement has dramatically increased since the training class began and the number of lean improvements implemented in Operations at the case study company has increased 160 per cent. Manufacturing lead-time has also been reduced by more than 30 per cent. Because of the positive results from the training, it has been expanded at the pilot site and spread to other sites within the case study company.

As with any case study, one must take care when attempting to generalize findings beyond the case being examined. However, the pilot training program was successfully extended to several sites across different business segments of the case study company, increasing the likelihood that similar results may apply in other cases.

The case provides empirical evidence of the development of an effective training program to mature the lean capability of supervisors. Other companies seeking to provide training to develop front-line lean leaders can benefit from the lessons learned from the case study.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the motivations and dynamics of Polish small business owners who are living and working in the United Kingdom several years after Poland’s enlargement to the European Union.

The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 39 Polish migrants, residing in the Cardiff area, in 2008 and 2011. During the 2008 data collection period, 20 interviews were completed, and during the 2011 data collection period, 19 interviews were completed.

The findings highlight that migrants become entrepreneurs for a variety of reasons, blurring the lines between cultural and economic entrepreneurship as well as between necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship. The findings also highlight the changing motivations of the ethnic entrepreneurs over time, particularly when the demand for their product is unsustainable.

The generalisabilty of the research is limited because of the small sample size. In addition, the lack of Polish language skills of the interviewer may have influenced the sampling of the Polish community.

The findings from this article will have an impact on the wider ethnic entrepreneurship literature, migration-based policy and the cultural integration of migrants in the long-term.

This article contributes to the wider literature on ethnic entrepreneurship through considering the migrants’ motivations throughout their entire entrepreneurial period and how these motivations may evolve over time.

The purpose of this research is to identify key interrelated components of successful, sustained lean transformation. When implemented successfully, lean not only allows for cost reduction while improving quality but it can also position a company to achieve tremendous growth. However, although many companies are attempting to implement lean, only an estimated 2-3 per cent are achieving the desired level of success.

A thorough literature review was conducted and the findings indicated six key constructs that can act as enablers or inhibitors to implementing and sustaining lean. A theoretical framework was developed that integrates these constructs and develops research propositions for each. A multiple-case study analysis was used to test the framework on four companies that have achieved successful lean transformations to validate the model.

Sixteen propositions were supported in all four of the case studies and one proposition was supported in three of the four case studies.

This research proposed and tested a model lean transformation on cases drawn from the very small number of companies in the USA that have achieved successful, sustained lean improvement. The case studies represented a broad variety of manufacturing industries, increasing the likelihood of the research being able to be broadly generalized and applied. The model provides a set of related tangible actions that organizations planning to undertake a lean transformation can focus on to help insure successful implementation and sustainment.

The purpose of this ontologically qualitative research study was to (a) explore student narratives regarding their educational experiences in at-home internationalization programs; (b) provide an in-depth narrative analysis of student learning challenges and achievements; and (c) add valuable research-based knowledge of student-described experiences for use by program administrators.

Participants were selected with a form of four-stage non-proportional stratified sampling. 29 participants were interviewed using a basic demographic questionnaire and an episodic interview protocol. Data were analyzed in QSR NVivo software through open, axial, and selective coding stages under the framework of grounded theory.

The findings focus on student-identified links between the challenges they encountered and their achievements. In addition, student performance level and gender were associated with the challenges and achievements reported by students. In understanding the results, the student-learning concepts found in the learned optimism, growth mindset, grit and expectancy theory approaches provide potentially fruitful insights.

The findings of this research have instructive implications for program administrators regarding how student challenges can be strategically chosen and shaped to generate specific, positive student achievements.

In 2015, one university student in KC – a small town in regional Australia – unknowingly launched a resistance movement and national debate on modern wage theft. We apply labour process theory to analyse accounting's role in this case.

We study multiple instances of wage theft in one Australian town. This case site reveals how wage theft can emerge in a developed economy with well-established legal and institutional constraints. We use Thompson's “core” labour process theory to analyse accounting's role via two interrelated dialectics: (1) structure and agency and, (2) control and resistance.

Accounting was “weaponised” by both sides of the controversy: as a tool of employer control and as a vehicle for student resistance. Digital technologies enabled employee resistance to form unconsciously and organically. Proponents mobilised informally, with information and accounting the ammunition.

Wage theft affects industrialised as well as developing economies, especially “precarious” workers. We show how accounting can conceal exploitation, but also how – with the right support – accounting can help vulnerable workers enforce their rights and entitlements.

The paper uncovers novel dynamics of exploitation and resistance at work under contemporary economic and technological conditions. Labour process theory can provide a more dialectical perspective on accounting's role in these dynamics, including the emancipatory potential of informal and opportunistic counter-accounts.

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight some of the critical multiteam system (MTS) issues that are faced in healthcare by utilizing case studies that illustrate the transition of a patient through the healthcare system and suggest a possible approach to studying these issues.

The approach taken by the authors is a case study approach, which is used to illustrate the transition of a patient through several venues in a healthcare system. This approach elucidates the MTS nature of healthcare. Moreover, a methodological explanation, social network analysis (SNA), for exploring the description and analysis of MTSs in healthcare is provided.

The case study approach provides concrete examples of the complex relationship between providers caring for a single patient. The case study describes the range of shared practice in healthcare, from collaborative care within each setting to the less obvious interdependence between teams across settings. This interdependence is necessary to deliver complex care but is also a source of potential errors during care. SNA is one tool to quantify these relationships, link them to outcomes, and establish areas for future research and quality improvement efforts.

This chapter offers a unique holistic view of the transition of a patient through a healthcare system and the interdependency of care necessary to deliver care. The authors show a methodology for assessing MTSs with a discussion of utilizing SNA. This foundation may offer promise to better understand care delivery and shape programs that can lead to improvement in care.

The purpose of this paper is to explore ways teachers undergoing induction via the Career Advancement and Development of Recruits and Experienced (CADRE) Teachers Project felt empowered and supported in their well-being through mentoring and coaching.

Surveys about CADRE Project impact were e-mailed to 675 current and former participants. Out of 438 surveys returned, researchers used homogeneous sampling to identify 341 teacher respondents. Researchers used qualitative thematic analysis to determine ways teachers felt supported.

Coaching and mentoring supported CADRE Project participants’ well-being through empowerment (theme). Sub-themes included: growth, collaboration, networking, improvement and resources.

Possibilities for future research include exploring the role of mentors/coaches, tracking teachers’ leadership roles and investigating the link between induction and teacher retention in more detail.

Opportunities for growth and collaboration are cornerstones of first-year teacher support. These support systems can lead to a sense of belonging, develop a mindset for continuous improvement and create long-term networking opportunities. The support teachers need to empower them and maintain their well-being changes with each first-year teacher phase.

Few studies exist on induction programs with the longevity of the CADRE Project. The high survey response rate with overwhelmingly positive responses suggests that CADRE is unique in its support of beginning teachers’ well-being through the first-year teacher phases, specifically due to the combination of mentoring and coaching beginning teachers receive.

This study combines multiple national datasets on leadership educator demographics, education, positions, and experiences, in order to answer the question: Who teaches leadership? Comparing leadership educators across both curricular and co-curricular contexts allows a snapshot of the diverse perspectives of leadership educators and informs a set of critical questions and challenges for the field. Questions about the preparation and socialization of leadership educators, the development of pathways for faculty from traditionally underserved backgrounds, and the multiple roles and identities of leadership educators merit further investigation.