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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 1 April 2000

Linda Glover

While there has been much conjecture as to the implications of TQM for shopfloor workers, there have been relatively few studies that have investigated shopfloor responses to TQM…

Abstract

While there has been much conjecture as to the implications of TQM for shopfloor workers, there have been relatively few studies that have investigated shopfloor responses to TQM via in‐depth interviews. Focuses on shopfloor workers who might have been expected to conform to the “solidaristic” stereotype in terms of their orientation to work, because they had traditionally used the group as a source of power against the employer. The expectation was that they would resist any involvement in TQM. The initial response was positive and the paper seeks to explore this finding. It suggests that shopfloor orientations to work within the male‐dominated, well‐paid, unionised manufacturing sector may have moved from an emphasis on collective conflict towards “collective instrumentalism”, which encompasses a shift away from overt conflict, towards uneasy patterns of co‐operation.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 22 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1991

T.A.J. Nicholson

The study of manufacturing strategy has now become established. Butwhat about the shopfloor where it is supposed to be implemented? Howwell is this understood? This article…

Abstract

The study of manufacturing strategy has now become established. But what about the shopfloor where it is supposed to be implemented? How well is this understood? This article follows through the strategy logic and then creates a complementary model for understanding the working of the shopfloor dynamics. The inter‐relationships between strategy and the shopfloor are then explained through these joint models and the outcome of four strategic changes examined through these. The implications for management are stated.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 1 June 1998

Lloyd Harris

Marketing theorists and practitioners have for many years extolled the need for and the value of developing a concept which has become known as a “market orientation”. Indeed…

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Abstract

Marketing theorists and practitioners have for many years extolled the need for and the value of developing a concept which has become known as a “market orientation”. Indeed, since the early 1950s a variety of researchers have argued that a market orientation is frequently associated with high levels of performance. However, despite the widespread acceptance of the merits of a market orientation, researchers have found comparatively low levels of adoption within British industry. The relatively limited extent of market orientation development is possibly explained through the findings of a number of studies which conclude that a wide range of organizational barriers impede market orientation. However, this paper argues that extant research into the barriers to market orientation is frequently restricted by the explicit concentration on management‐level barriers to the detriment of shopfloor‐derived impediments. Hence, via the exploratory case study of two retailing organizations, a typology of the barriers to market orientation development at the shopfloor level is presented. Implications for theorists and practitioners are identified and an action plan discussed.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 1996

Paul P.M. Stoop and Vincent C.S. Wiers

Successful implementations of scheduling techniques in practice are scarce. Not only do daily disturbances lead to a gap between theory and practice, but also the extent to which…

3870

Abstract

Successful implementations of scheduling techniques in practice are scarce. Not only do daily disturbances lead to a gap between theory and practice, but also the extent to which a scheduling technique can adequately model the processes on the shopfloor, and the extent to which the optimization goal of a technique matches the organizational goal are not great enough. Further, the schedulers’ actions may play an important role in the fulfilment of the generated schedules. The organizational structure with its different responsibilities and conflicting goals may also result in the poor performance of scheduling techniques. Besides these, there is the problem of measuring the quality of a schedule. Discusses the causes for these gaps and illustrates the solutions to improve scheduling by way of a case study.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 16 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1996

David Woodcock

Discusses the link between various forms of shopfloor worker competences and the ability of manufacturing plants to compete on different forms of market attractiveness. Shows how…

692

Abstract

Discusses the link between various forms of shopfloor worker competences and the ability of manufacturing plants to compete on different forms of market attractiveness. Shows how movement along a four‐level model of competence, ranging from operator proficiency to high levels of problem‐solving ability, affects a firm’s ability to support improvements in different dimensions of competitiveness. Enables firms to consider their worker competence strategies in terms of their specific competitiveness rather than in some general form of abstraction.

Details

Integrated Manufacturing Systems, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-6061

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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2002

Diana Rosemary Sharpe

This paper presents an in‐depth analysis of processes of “team” working within a shopfloor manufacturing setting. Drawing on ethnographic case studies, the paper examines how…

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Abstract

This paper presents an in‐depth analysis of processes of “team” working within a shopfloor manufacturing setting. Drawing on ethnographic case studies, the paper examines how human resource management (HRM) practices shaped and influenced the outcomes of “team” work, and addresses the influence of context in examining how and why team‐based systems took on their own particular characteristics and processes with both intended and unintended consequences on the shopfloors studied. The paper argues that an interplay of contextual factors (important factors include company history and worker orientation), HRM strategies and features of the socio‐technical system (including technology, work organisation and control, and social dimensions of the managerial control system in the teams) influenced team processes and outcomes. This analysis builds on Mueller’s work on contextual factors by recognising the influence of traditional modes of managerial control, management style and company culture.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2016

Marek Korczynski

This chapter examines the underpinnings of collective resistance in a nonunion factory. I begin by acknowledging the important contribution made by Randy Hodson and others who…

Abstract

This chapter examines the underpinnings of collective resistance in a nonunion factory. I begin by acknowledging the important contribution made by Randy Hodson and others who have uncovered key material structural underpinnings of collective resistance in workplaces. Such an approach, however, leaves large unanswered questions about collective agency. I argue that a focus upon the potential links between lived culture and collective resistance can bring us closer to an understanding of collective agency. To this end, I present key findings of an ethnographic study of culture and resistance at window-blinds factory. I outline the informal collective resistance enacted by the workers in the factory and offer an analysis of the structural factors underpinning the considerable resistance at this factory. The second half of the chapter is dedicated to outlining the everyday Stayin’ Alive culture on the shopfloor and to analyzing the dotted lines that led from this culture to the collective resistance.

Details

A Gedenkschrift to Randy Hodson: Working with Dignity
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-727-1

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Harm‐Jan Steenhuis and Erik J. de Bruijn

Operations managers need to consider where to manufacture, or outsource, their manufacturing activities. A factor in location choice is productivity differences at different…

1656

Abstract

Purpose

Operations managers need to consider where to manufacture, or outsource, their manufacturing activities. A factor in location choice is productivity differences at different locations. This study aims to focus on determining productivity at the shopfloor level since this is the place where the differences in productivity ultimately affect the international competition position.

Design/methodology/approach

Causes for international differences in productivity for an essentially equal production technology, with an essentially equal level of shopfloor skills are determined from case analysis.

Findings

It was found that working conditions, degree of centralization, the national attitude towards time, and the motivation of the workforce influence productivity.

Practical implications

Productivity is dependent on factors that are connected with the external environment. Consequently, companies can not assume that productivity levels will be the same when moving to another country.

Originality/value

The paper illustrates factors, some outside of the company's control, that affect productivity and therefore the cost of international production.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1995

Corinne M. Karuppan

The introduction of technology on the shop‐floor has often beendepicted as a stressful experience for workers. Adopts aquasi‐experimental approach to determine whether the…

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Abstract

The introduction of technology on the shop‐floor has often been depicted as a stressful experience for workers. Adopts a quasi‐experimental approach to determine whether the automated shopfloor remains a stressful environment when considerable time for technological changes to settle has elapsed. Automation does not seem to create additionalstress. However, computer numerical control (CNC) machine/robot operators and conventional machine operators face different sources of stress. CNC machine/robot operators are more affected by quantitative overload and psychological demands, whereas conventional machine employees are more subject to inadequate support and role ambiguity. Both groups exercised relatively low levels of control over their jobs. Provides suggestions to make the automated shopfloor a better workplace.

Details

Benchmarking for Quality Management & Technology, vol. 2 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1351-3036

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 1996

Peter Fairbrother

The question of health and safety at work is a central issue for trade unions. In Britain it is an area of concern where there were important legislative initiatives in the 1970s…

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Abstract

The question of health and safety at work is a central issue for trade unions. In Britain it is an area of concern where there were important legislative initiatives in the 1970s and 1980s, although surprisingly this has received relatively little attention in the debates about trade unionism. This neglect results in an aspect of union activity about which little is known. Explores through a detailed longitudinal study of a middle‐range engineering firm, from the late 1970s into the 1990s, the ways in which trade unions organize and act on health and safety questions. Argues that it is almost “routine” that workers face dangers and hazards at work, a central feature of the work and employment experience of most workers. However, this is often difficult to deal with as individual issues, or as matters which are subject to collective consideration. On the one hand, workers often appear to accept the dangers and hazards they face. On the other hand, managements are preoccupied with questions relating to production and finance, rather than the day‐to‐day problems faced by workers. This tension suggests that the future wellbeing of workers in unionized workplaces lies not so much with legislative provisions and rights at work, but in education and the organizing ability of workplace unions, raising and addressing what often seem like individualistic problems in collective ways.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

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