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The purpose of this paper is to provide a perspective of computer‐aided material and process selection (MPS) software tools for product development purpose and present a practical approach for manufacturers and other decision makers involved in MPS.

A multi‐criteria deductive approach for MPS is applied to a case study by taking into account the technical performances and environmental constraints. A resource‐based cost modeling is also deployed to examine the implication of selected material and process on overall product cost.

The paper demonstrates the capabilities and shortcoming of existing computerized MPS software tools in assisting product managers and designers for handling the growing volume of material/process data.

Applying computer‐aided MPS approach to complex shape products with multiple features is not a straightforward task and requires further development in existing MPS software tools.

Computer‐aided MPS systems can assist decision makers in solving many material/process selection problems by following a systematic process.

Given today's rapid technological changes, it is important for decision makers to understand the capabilities of computer‐aided MPS software tools in handling a growing volume of data. Very limited research has been done to explore the capabilities and limitations of existing material/process selectors. It is the first in the literature that demonstrates the application of multi‐criteria deductive approach in MPS using a software tool.

This paper introduces and examines the implementation of the World Bank's electronic procurement initiative for the selection of consultants, which is expected to foster consistency of practice worldwide, increase transparency and competition, and minimize processing time and effort. Following the description of functionalities and benefits of the system, this paper discusses the challenges encountered and lessons learned during the implementation process in terms of critical success factors (CSF).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the use of sophisticated talent selection processes such as gamification and training and development interventions designed to ensure that candidates can successfully navigate the talent assessment process. Gamification is the application of game elements to non-game activities through the adoption of gaming tools, and little is known about how candidates (“talent”) struggle to learn about the structural mechanics of gamification as they engage with the hidden rules of talent selection, such as goals, rules, “levelling up”, feedback and engagement in competitive – collaborative activities. The term “talent development gamification” is coined and used as an analytical tool to consider how young talent are supported by development interventions in their inter-subjectivity as they learn how to survive and win in talent selection games.

Studying hidden dynamics in development processes inherent in gamified talent selection is challenging, so a cult work of fiction, “Ender’s Game”, is examined to address the questions: “How do candidates in talent selection programmes learn to make sense of the structural mechanics of gamification”, “How does this make the hidden rules of talent selection explicit to them?” and “What does this mean for talent development?”

Talent development in selection gamification processes is illustrated through nuanced theoretical accounts of how a multiplicity of shifting and competing developmental learning opportunities are played out as a form of “double-consciousness” by potential organizational talent for them to “win the selection game”.

Using novels as an aid to understanding management and the organization of work is ontologically and epistemologically problematic. But analysing novels which are “good reads” also has educational value and can produce new knowledge from its analysis. In exploring how “Characters are made to live dangerously, to face predicaments that, as readers, we experience as vicarious pleasure. We imagine, for example, how a particular character may react or, more importantly, what we would do in similar circumstances” (Knights and Willmott, 1999, p. 5). This future-oriented fictional narrative is both illustrative and provides an analogy to illuminate current organisational development challenges.

The term “talent development gamification in selection processes” is coined to allow analysis and provide lessons for talent development practice in a little studied area. Our case study analysis identifies a number of areas for consideration by talent management/talent development specialists involved in developing talent assessment centres incorporating gamification. These include the importance of understanding and taking account of rites of passage through the assessment centre, in particular the role of liminal space, what talent development interventions might be of benefit and the necessity of appreciating and managing talent in developing the skill of double consciousness in game simulations.

The purpose of this paper is to present result obtained from a developed technology selection framework and provide a detailed insight into the risk calculations and their implications in manufacturing technology selection process.

The results illustrated in the paper are the outcome of an action research study that was conducted in an aerospace company.

The paper highlights the role of risk calculations in manufacturing technology selection process by elaborating the contribution of risk associated with manufacturing technology alternatives in the shape of opportunities and threats in different decision‐making environments.

The research quantifies the risk associated with different available manufacturing technology alternatives. This quantification of risk crystallises the process of technology selection decision making and supports an industrial manager in achieving objective and comprehensive decisions regarding selection of a manufacturing technology.

The paper explains the process of risk calculation in manufacturing technology selection by dividing the decision‐making environment into manufacturing and supply chain environment. The evaluation of a manufacturing technology considering supply chain opportunities and threats provides a broader perspective to the technology evaluation process. The inclusion of supply chain dimension in technology selection process facilitates an organisation to select a manufacturing technology not only according to its own requirements, but also according to the interest of its constituent supply chain.

This paper aims to identify the partner selection criteria employed both by franchisors and franchisees in master franchise agreements and evaluate how different selection criteria interact within the selection process and influence the decisions taken.

A single embedded case study of an international hotel firm was the focus of the enquiry. Interviews and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques.

The findings reveal that the establishment of franchise partnership involves a mutual and careful evaluation between franchisors and franchisees to assess whether their partnership criteria are compatible. The partner selection approach determines the extent of importance attached to different task‐ and partner‐related selection criteria. In addition, the study identifies the role that different selection criteria play at different stages of the process.

The findings are based on a single case study in the international hotel industry and therefore may not be generalisable to other firms or industry sectors. Moreover, the study comprised master franchise agreements, and this contextual variable may impact on the findings determined.

This paper illuminates the challenges both international franchisors and franchisees face in selecting their partners and proposes that both franchisors and franchisees should employ clearly defined selection criteria, utilise a defined selection process and choose their selection approach carefully in recruiting partners.

This paper cross‐fertilises the strategic alliance and franchise literature to evaluate the interplay of partner selection criteria, process, selection approach and international franchise recruitment. The findings contribute to the understanding of a largely neglected area, franchise partner selection and recruitment, by taking a holistic approach and incorporating the views of both franchisors and franchisees.

The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology in which alternate Six Sigma projects are prioritized and selected using appropriate multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods in healthcare organizations. This study addresses a particular gap in implementing a systematic methodology for Six Sigma project prioritization and selection in the healthcare industry.

This study develops a methodology in which alternate Six Sigma projects are prioritized and selected using a modified Kemeny median indicator rank accordance (KEMIRA-M), an MCDM method based on a case study in healthcare organizations. The case study was hypothetically developed in the healthcare industry and presented to demonstrate the proposed framework’s applicability and validity for future decision-makers who will take place in Six Sigma project selection processes.

The study reveals that the Six Sigma project prioritized by KEMIRA-M assign the highest ranks to patient satisfaction, revenue enhancement and sigma level benefit criteria, while resource utilization and process cycle time receive the lowest rank.

The methodology developed in this paper proposes an MCDM-based approach for practitioners to prioritize and select Six Sigma projects in the healthcare industry. The findings regarding patient satisfaction and revenue enhancement mesh with the current trends that dominate and regulate the industry. KEMIRA-M provides flexibility for Six Sigma project selection and uses multiple criteria in two-criteria groups, simultaneously. In this study, a more objective KEMIRA-M method was suggested by implementing two different ranking-based weighting approaches.

This is the first study that implements KEMIRA-M in Six Sigma project prioritization and selection process in the healthcare industry. To overcome previous KEMIRA-M shortcomings, two ranking based weighting approaches were proposed to form a weighting procedure of KEMIRA-M. As the first implementation of the KEMIRA-M weighting procedure, the criteria weighting procedure of the KEMIRA-M method was developed using two different weighting methods based on ranking. The study provides decision-makers with a methodology that considers both benefit and cost type criteria for alternates and gives importance to experts’ rankings related to criteria and the performance values of alternates for criteria.