Search results

1 – 10 of over 219000
Article
Publication date: 1 March 2006

Federal agencies are relying increasingly on contractors to perform their missions. With hundreds of billions of tax dollars spent each year on goods and services, it is essential…

Abstract

Federal agencies are relying increasingly on contractors to perform their missions. With hundreds of billions of tax dollars spent each year on goods and services, it is essential that federal acquisition be handled in an efficient, effective, and accountable manner. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however--as well as other accountability organizations, inspectors general, and the agencies themselves--continue to identify systemic weaknesses in key areas of acquisition. In fact, the acquisition function at several agencies has been on GAO's high-risk list, which identifies areas in the federal government with greater vulnerability to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. In January 2005, we added interagency contracting to this list. Far too often, the result of poor acquisitions has been an inability to obtain quality goods and services on time and at a fair price. We can no longer afford such outcomes. Given current fiscal demands and the fiscal challenges we are likely to face in the 21st century, the federal government must improve its ability to acquire goods and services in a cost-effective manner. GAO developed this framework to enable high-level, qualitative assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of the acquisition function at federal agencies. Such assessments can help senior agency executives identify areas needing greater management attention, and enable accountability organizations (including GAO) to identify areas requiring more focused follow-up work. The framework consists of four interrelated cornerstones that our work has shown are essential to an efficient, effective, and accountable acquisition process: (1) organizational alignment and leadership, (2) policies and processes, (3) human capital, and (4) knowledge and information management. The framework supports an integrated evaluation approach, but each of these cornerstones can stand alone so users of this framework may tailor evaluations to an agency's specific needs.

Details

Journal of Public Procurement, vol. 6 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1535-0118

Book part
Publication date: 8 April 2005

Fredrik von Corswant

This paper deals with the organizing of interactive product development. Developing products in interaction between firms may provide benefits in terms of specialization…

Abstract

This paper deals with the organizing of interactive product development. Developing products in interaction between firms may provide benefits in terms of specialization, increased innovation, and possibilities to perform development activities in parallel. However, the differentiation of product development among a number of firms also implies that various dependencies need to be dealt with across firm boundaries. How dependencies may be dealt with across firms is related to how product development is organized. The purpose of the paper is to explore dependencies and how interactive product development may be organized with regard to these dependencies.

The analytical framework is based on the industrial network approach, and deals with the development of products in terms of adaptation and combination of heterogeneous resources. There are dependencies between resources, that is, they are embedded, implying that no resource can be developed in isolation. The characteristics of and dependencies related to four main categories of resources (products, production facilities, business units and business relationships) provide a basis for analyzing the organizing of interactive product development.

Three in-depth case studies are used to explore the organizing of interactive product development with regard to dependencies. The first two cases are based on the development of the electrical system and the seats for Volvo’s large car platform (P2), performed in interaction with Delphi and Lear respectively. The third case is based on the interaction between Scania and Dayco/DFC Tech for the development of various pipes and hoses for a new truck model.

The analysis is focused on what different dependencies the firms considered and dealt with, and how product development was organized with regard to these dependencies. It is concluded that there is a complex and dynamic pattern of dependencies that reaches far beyond the developed product as well as beyond individual business units. To deal with these dependencies, development may be organized in teams where several business units are represented. This enables interaction between different business units’ resource collections, which is important for resource adaptation as well as for innovation. The delimiting and relating functions of the team boundary are elaborated upon and it is argued that also teams may be regarded as actors. It is also concluded that a modular product structure may entail a modular organization with regard to the teams, though, interaction between business units and teams is needed. A strong connection between the technical structure and the organizational structure is identified and it is concluded that policies regarding the technical structure (e.g. concerning “carry-over”) cannot be separated from the management of the organizational structure (e.g. the supplier structure). The organizing of product development is in itself a complex and dynamic task that needs to be subject to interaction between business units.

Details

Managing Product Innovation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-311-2

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2009

Anna Moses and Pär Åhlström

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of functional involvement in the cross‐functional make or buy decision process.

4232

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of functional involvement in the cross‐functional make or buy decision process.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on literature within the areas of cross‐functional make or buy decision processes as well as cross‐functional process research in general. The empirical part of the paper is a longitudinal and in‐depth case study, where the data are collected using interviews, documentation and observations. The data are analyzed using chronological patterns.

Findings

Findings indicate a changing pattern between close collaborative integration during decision‐making phases and more interaction‐focused integration during data‐gathering phases. The benefits of this integration pattern mainly lay in the effective use of resources combined with increased decision quality.

Research limitations/implications

The results are based on a large manufacturing company that produces complex products. It can be suggested that the scene researched by the authors may be common for companies in the same environment. However, it is a limited sample and future research would benefit from investigating different environments to establish whether the results are context‐specific or not.

Practical implications

Five phases are found in the make or buy decision process where resources are used differently. Also, different functions have different roles during these phases in order not to drain resources.

Originality/value

The paper helps clarify how functions integrate and use resources during different phases of the make or buy decision process and the cross‐functional benefits and effects. A conceptual model is developed that explains the effect of functional involvement during different types of integration.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 29 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 October 2020

Viktoria Sundquist and Lisa Melander

This paper aims to investigate how various organizational interfaces between firms, units and functions, and the interplay between them, are developed and mobilized in product…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how various organizational interfaces between firms, units and functions, and the interplay between them, are developed and mobilized in product development processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical framework is based on the industrial network approach, including interactive resource development and the concept of organizational interfaces. A single case study is conducted at a world-leading industrial tool manufacturer, illustrating how resources are combined over time, crossing boundaries of firms, units and functions in the development of a hand-held digitalized tool for quality assurance in the production of cars. Data have been collected through semi-structured interviews, with additional data in the form of project reports, internal documents and practices for external collaboration.

Findings

In addition to inter-organizational interfaces, the study identifies a typology of scouting, embarking and integration interfaces at unit level (geographically spread units of one multinational corporation) and interpretation and reciprocal interfaces at function level. The conclusions show that these interfaces affect the outcome of three aspects of the product development process: product characteristics and functionality features, system integration and organizational network extent. Existing interfaces serve as a platform for developing interaction further and provide the interfaces with new content, thus moving between different types of interfaces. Product development processes also involve new interfaces where there was no previous interaction between the parties.

Research limitations/implications

This research has implications for the interplay between interfaces in cases involving multiple external and internal actors in resource combining efforts.

Practical implications

External interactions between firms influence and impact internal activities and resources. Managers need to be aware of the complex interdependencies between external and internal interfaces and resources. Managing organizational interfaces is about both exploiting established interfaces and developing new ones. Consequently, existing interfaces may be activated differently to align with new interaction purposes, which, in turn, requires efforts to combine resources according to the new conditions.

Originality/value

Previous research contains a typology of organizational interfaces between customers and suppliers. The study expands on this research by identifying internal interfaces between units and functions.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 36 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 July 2019

Haichen Zhou, Dejun Zheng, Yongming Li and Junwei Shen

To further provide some insight into mobile library (m-library) applications (apps) user needs and help libraries or app providers improve the service quality, the purpose of this…

Abstract

Purpose

To further provide some insight into mobile library (m-library) applications (apps) user needs and help libraries or app providers improve the service quality, the purpose of this paper is to explore all the types of user improvement needs and to discover which need is the most important based on user results.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from more than 27,000 m-library app users from 16 provinces and autonomous regions in China. Text analysis using latent Dirichlet allocation and Word2Vec was carried out by text preprocessing. Furthermore, a visual presentation was conducted through pyLDAvis and word cloud. Finally, combined with expert opinions, the results were summarized to find the different types of needs.

Findings

There are three different types of needs for improvement: needs of function, needs of technology and needs of experience. These types can be further divided into six subtypes: richness of function, feasibility of function, easiness of technology, stableness of technology, optimization of experience and customization of experience. Besides the richness of function, the feasibility of function has received the most attention from users.

Originality/value

Most studies on m-library user needs have only focused on a method of quantitative research based on questionnaire surveys. This study, however, is the first to apply text mining methods for large-scale user opinion texts, which place more focus on user needs and inspire libraries and app providers to further improve their services.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 37 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2019

Reimara Valk

The purpose of this paper is to explore the transformation of the Global Mobility (GM) function within global organisations from a tactical/transactional into a strategic function

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the transformation of the Global Mobility (GM) function within global organisations from a tactical/transactional into a strategic function to add value to the business and international assignees.

Design/methodology/approach

The method of research is an exploratory, qualitative study using an interpretivist paradigm. In total, 37 GM specialists working and living across Europe, America and Australasia were interviewed.

Findings

Administrative burden, organisational culture and structure, lack of alignment with the business and talent management and the lack of capabilities of the GM function and GM specialists inhibit the transformation from a tactical/transactional GM function into a Strategic GM (SGM) function.

Research limitations/implications

Although this study included a variety of stakeholders of the GM function, it did not include line managers and senior executives. Therefore, future research should capture the views on the GM function of middle and top management of global organisations to provide a more comprehensive view on SGM.

Practical implications

The designed “Global Mobility Specialists Competencies” model presents the competencies GM specialists and functions need to develop to be able to fulfil the role of a business partner and to create a GM function that is agile, flexible and responsive to create sustainable value for the organisation.

Originality/value

This paper identified the characteristics of the roles of the GM function and GM specialists unravelling how these influence the transformation of the GM function into a strategic function.

Details

Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-8799

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2004

Fábio Luís Ramos da Silva, Katia Lucchesi Cavalca and Franco Giuseppe Dedini

The aim of both value analysis (VA) and quality function deployment (QFD) is to reduce waste by avoiding redesign and providing optimal location of costs in general. To satisfy…

2173

Abstract

The aim of both value analysis (VA) and quality function deployment (QFD) is to reduce waste by avoiding redesign and providing optimal location of costs in general. To satisfy the consumer's most important needs, the VA prioritizes the increase in the cost of the product and not the subsequent price rise. QFD aims at generating clear engineering needs from consumer requirements thus, minimizing the reprojecting cost (“cost” should read “waste”) and changes in the products. The existing common concepts between two design tools, QFD (the project tool) and VA (the product optimization tool) motivated this study. QFD establishes a link among parameters such as the consumer needs, engineering requirements and a comparative analysis of the consumer perception against that of rival companies. The VA prioritizes a rise in the aggregate value (perceived by the consumer) by optimization development and production costs. The proposed methodology is capable of integrating these two tools, integrating costs with product development (“for the consumer”) for a joint analysis. This way it is possible to establish optimum cost values for each engineering requirement. It is also possible to evaluate the cost of each product function. Furthermore, the methodology provides a tool that supports decision making in product development and projects. This work evaluates the integrated use of the QFD and VA tools. Employing a survey that was carried out which intended to reveal the young male consumers’ requirements concerning a sports bicycle.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2016

Yang Zhao, Shengli Deng, Ting Gao and Ruoxin Zhou

This paper aims to investigate the service demand of existing users and potential users for mobile information services provided by university libraries in China. The primary…

1538

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the service demand of existing users and potential users for mobile information services provided by university libraries in China. The primary objective is to explore the impact of user experience on user needs, which is conducted by a comparison between two user groups over their needs from three aspects – service function, service mode and information content.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 353 library users from ten Chinese universities via questionnaires. Based on the user needs model, three dimensions of user needs were established for mobile information services and 26 measurement items were generated through a review of the literature. Furthermore, based on frequency analysis, independent samples t-test and the calculation of need rate, the demand differences in mobile information services between existing and potential users were explored.

Findings

Significant differences existed in the needs for service functions and service modes of mobile information services between existing users and potential users. Existing users cared more about such characteristics as intelligence, personalization and the variety of mobile services. Potential users, in contrast, concerned themselves more with the usability of mobile services and similarity to traditional information services. These two user groups showed little difference in the needs for information content, as they both have strict requirements for specialty, richness in and quality of information resources in mobile network environments.

Originality/value

Previous research on user needs for mobile libraries services has been primarily conducted from the perspectives of existing users. This study, however, compared the needs of existing and potential users based on their previous experiences, which can help libraries to know better what their users need and improve the quality of mobile information services to meet those needs. This can also make existing users more willing to use the services and cultivate the usage habits of potential users at the same time.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1999

RICHARD A. MCLELLAN

A great deal of work has been done by industrial and organisational psychologists to express the utility of validated employee selection systems. Much of this work has focused on…

Abstract

A great deal of work has been done by industrial and organisational psychologists to express the utility of validated employee selection systems. Much of this work has focused on methods for estimating economic utility, to show how many dollars can be gained or saved by implementing a new selection procedure. These methods can be quite useful, yet it is often difficult for the sponsors of selection systems to appreciate the credibility of the resulting dollar value estimates. Many users of selection systems still need to see utility analyses that demonstrate the selection system's value in more tangible behavioural terms that can be anchored in familiar performance metrics or standards of the organisation. This article presents all the information needed to compute theoretical expectancies for improvement of job performance under three well‐known models, eliminating the need to rely on incomplete expectancy tables. The methods described produce highly accurate results for all possible input values, and can be implemented easily using a variety of widely available software tools.

Details

Journal of Human Resource Costing & Accounting, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1401-338X

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

Adebayo Agbejule, María Fernández and Sergio d'Espiney

The objective of the paper is to present a model for the environmental value analysis (EVA) and its usefulness as tool towards environmental improvement analysis. A new concept…

2657

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to present a model for the environmental value analysis (EVA) and its usefulness as tool towards environmental improvement analysis. A new concept called EVA, which focuses on integrating environmental issues with value analysis, is proposed in this paper. The mathematical model of environmental value index (EVI), which is derived from EVA analysis, aims to define the relationship between the importance of the environmental functions and the cost of the functions. The development of EVI provides the basis for generating feasible alternatives, which are performed simultaneously. By determining the EVIs, this approach ensures prioritisation, and thereby predicts a better set of environmental improvement alternatives. Three case studies are used to illustrate the implementation of EVA methodology.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 219000