Search results

This paper aims to examine the role of rational culture in the relationship between lean manufacturing practices and operational productivity in the machinery and equipment industry.

This study uses a cross-sectional quantitative approach to conduct the research. Using an online survey questionnaire, 118 responses were collected. SPSS was used to assess validity, reliability and hypothesis testing of the study variables. Hierarchical regression analysis was employed to investigate the moderating effects of rational culture.

The study results reveal that quick setup and quality control were significantly related to operational productivity. Rational culture was a significant quasi-moderator.

This study highlights the importance of quick setup and quality control for machinery and equipment firms to gain higher operational productivity. Rational culture could be used to drive the firms toward greater achievements in this regard.

The use of rational culture as a quasi-moderator in the relationship between lean manufacturing practices and operational productivity is unprecedented. This study offers new findings by introducing the role of rational culture to enhance the effects of lean manufacturing practices on operational productivity.

A quantitative theoretical model is proposed to measure how productivity performance can be affected by strategic decisions related to specific competitive priorities.

This study proposes the Primary Transformation Model (PTM) and an equation to measure cause-and-effect relationships between productivity and competitive priorities.

The interdependence between productivity and competitive priorities was studied using the PTM and the proposed model indicates that strategies that improve external performance also impact internal productivity. It was also observed that the compatibility between competitive priorities depends on the initial manufacturing conditions and the implementation method adopted.

The proposed model is theoretical and, as such, is an abstraction of reality and does not consider all possible aspects. It consists of a novel approach that still requires further empirical testing. The PTM provides insights about the trade-offs between productivity and strategic objectives, as well, contributes to the ongoing research on manufacturing strategy and can be further developed in future studies.

The main practical implication is to allow companies to relate their strategic decisions to their productivity performance.

This research also contributes to societal issues by enabling firms to better align strategic objectives and operations, which ultimately allows offering products more suited to the needs of customers, thus making better use of the required resources and favoring economic growth.

The model proposed allows objective assessment of actions aiming at operational efficiency and effectiveness, in addition to providing insights into cause-and-effect relationships between productivity and competitive priorities. The model can also be used in empirical investigations on manufacturing strategy.

This study aims to explore the interrelationships among human-related lean practices, lean production shop floors, process quality, inventory management, operational productivity and business productivity.

This study used a cross-sectional survey approach, and quantitative data were collected from 324 Indian auto-component manufacturing firms. Confirmatory factor analysis was used, followed by structural equation modelling techniques for the conceptual model, which incorporated a complete set of 11 hypotheses.

The results confirmed that human-related lean practices trigger lean production shop floors and improve process quality. Furthermore, the study revealed the positive impact of a lean production shop floor on process quality and inventory management and the positive impact of process quality on both operational and business productivity. Finally, inventory management is of the utmost importance in achieving better operational and business productivity, and operational productivity positively leads to business productivity.

The findings of this study can benefit auto-component manufacturing firms by elucidating the complex relationships between human-related lean practices, lean production shop floors, process quality, inventory management, operational productivity and business productivity. Better knowledge of these relationships will enable firms to enhance efficiency levels, reduce costs and resource wastage and improve their overall performance. This study provides a good understanding of the interplay between lean and quality factors and their influence on inventory management and business performance.

It is surprising that little empirical research has been conducted in the area of service productivity given its impact on organisational costs. In order to try to encourage such research, this paper provides a structure for analysing productivity in service organisations by distinguishing between operational and customer productivity. The paper also clarifies the meaning of “productivity” and differentiates it from efficiency and utilisation. The authors identify some of the problems in measuring productivity, especially in a service setting, and then use a few examples to illustrate the sometimes counterintuitive relationship between operational and customer productivity.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the synergy between strategic resources and operational tool orchestration for organization development.

The article has a progressive empirical multiple-level research design. With a cross-sectional analysis, this investigation confirms the organization development can be related to strategic resources and a complex interplay of factors. Along with this method, our study enables rich empirical conceptualization and helps with extending theory.

The results indicate that in operational tool orchestration, the higher the synergy in the factors of production, the greater the strategic development, competitive positioning and sustainability of the organization. In sum, according to these results, the synergy between operational tool orchestration and the factors of productivity could have a significant effect on organizational objectives achievement.

This research provides researchers with an empirical base stating that organization development can be related to strategic resources in an operational context. The article also provides a new contribution to the existing literature in management development by confirming the significance of vital resources and functional tool orchestration in organization optimization and will be referenced by other authors in the future.

Business process management is coming into the lexicon through the concepts associated with business process re‐engineering (BPR) and total quality management (TQM). TQM and BPR have been adopted by service organizations. Two questions are considered. What are the implications of this focus on processes for service productivity? In particular, how does the adoption of a process view affect an organization’s perspective on productivity and the way it is managed? Considers the nature of BPR and the development of approaches to business process management, based on the literature; and presents the development of a case study of the Royal Mail.

Despite the great investments in information and communication technologies (ICT), research has not persuasively established corresponding productivity increases, while many studies have also found no significant relationships between productivity and ICT. However, several shortcomings have been identified in past studies, e.g. measurement errors, redistribution of impacts, ICT mismanagement. This study proposes a methodology for assessing the ICT productivity impact that overcomes these shortcomings. The methodology is tested in a dataset of three star hotels in the UK by using data envelopment analysis, a non‐parametric technique. Findings revealed that productivity gains do not accrue from ICT investments per se, but rather from the full exploitation of ICT networking and informalization capabilities. Suggestions regarding the effective and productive configuration and management of ICT applications are provided.

This study aims at examining the effect of total quality management (TQM) practices on the financial performance ISO 9001:2008 certified manufacturing companies in Ethiopia with a mediating role of operational performance.

A cross-sectional survey research was conducted to meet the purpose. Data used for the study were solely primary data and were collected from the top and middle-level managers of different departments and senior experts working under the production/operation and quality management units of the target organizations. Data were obtained from 302 participants working in 73 companies using a self-administered questionnaire. Structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was applied to test the hypotheses positing the structural link between TQM practices, operational performance and financial performance.

The findings show that TQM practices had a significant direct and positive effect on both operational performance and financial performance and that operational performance significantly affects financial performance. The bootstrapping output of the mediation analysis also established that operational performance partially mediates the causal link between TQM practices and financial performance.

The empirical evidence provided by the present study provides helpful insights and guidance to managers to make a good deal of investment in maintaining enhanced performance outcomes under the operations stream that eventually would lead to better financial outcome.

Being one of the first attempts to empirically examine the structural linkages among TQM practices, operational performance and financial performance in Ethiopian manufacturing organizations, this paper provides strategic insights on the importance of implementing TQM practices in a holistic manner for the achievement of better performance outcomes.

Overview All organisations are, in one sense or another, involved in operations; an activity implying transformation or transfer. The major portion of the body of knowledge concerning operations relates to production in manufacturing industry but, increasingly, similar problems are to be found confronting managers in service industry. It is only in the last decade or so that new technology, involving, in particular, the computer, has encouraged an integrated view to be taken of the total business. This has led to greater recognition being given to the strategic potential of the operations function. In order to provide greater insight into operations a number of classifications have been proposed. One of these, which places operations into categories termed factory, job shop, mass service and professional service, is examined. The elements of operations management are introduced under the headings of product, plant, process, procedures and people.

The purpose of this paper is to report on an empirical research study which investigated the factors influencing productivity in hotels in Northern Cyprus.

The empirical data was collected via a structured questionnaire from middle and senior managers of four and five‐star hotels in Northern Cyprus.

According to the research findings staff recruitment, staff training, meeting guest expectations, and service quality are the main productivity factors in hotels; while crises, technology, marketing, and forecasting are ranked relatively low. It emerged from the findings that hotel managers in Northern Cyprus have a narrow view of productivity and follow a more input‐oriented approach to managing productivity.

Based on the research findings and their discussions, this study provides several recommendations for future research in this area.

The research results highlight the importance of training middle and senior managers about the importance of productivity and how they can follow output‐oriented productivity management strategies.

The literature on productivity management in small island hotels is limited. As being one of the first studies on this area, the research findings of this study are particularly valuable for practice and future studies.