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A method for balancing a single‐model assembly line is described which incorporates various constraining features such as fixed position, positive and negative zoning, multiple parallel stations, etc. It can easily be extended for multiple manning of stations. First a priority list of the elements is formed. For each element, its elemental time is added to those of its total number of successors. The list is then rearranged in non‐increasing order. The method has been tested by solving a large number of randomly generated problems. A computer program has been developed for the generalised method.

This paper aims to examine the implementation of a workspace strategy within Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council. It identifies the efficiencies that were achieved through the increase in office workspace numbers, as well as the associated advantages of locating more people within the Civic Centre. Equally, this study examines the users’ perspective.

A survey was carried out in 2013, with Property and Design Services as a sample Council Department, to identify employees’ level of satisfaction with the implementation of the strategy. A paper-based questionnaire was handed to all participants. The primary comparison was their experience before and after changes to the workplace.

The results show that government targets for office space utilisation have been exceeded, thus supporting more efficient property asset management. The research has also established that the employees are generally satisfied with their new workspace.

The issues are whether the reduced space per person can be mitigated by the design, and whether efficiency gains can be introduced without adversely affecting the users’ perception of their workplace.

The findings can guide future trends within the Council, as well as informing the implementation of similar workspace strategies in other organisations.

The originality of the study lies in a workspace strategy where the responses of users were taken seriously. Despite some concerns about distractions and lack of privacy, the employees responded that their overall satisfaction, and perceived productivity were unaffected by the strategy and reduced space per person.

Considers the personal needs of workers to be taken into consideration when the physical work environment is changed. Argues that most office environments are detrimental to productivity because they ignore the requirements of those who work in them. Surmizes that office layout can be improved by considering changes to office furniture, lighting and noise control.

A current facilities management discourse seeks to discover how the built environment promotes or retards organisational change. However, whether or not significant change arises at all is yet to be definitively established. Hence, a contribution to the school of thought in this direction is considered important. This research investigated organisational performance relative to innovative work settings. The aim of the study was to determine whether organisational performance and, hence, change are indeed brought about by innovative work settings. A sample of 102 work settings was studied, and several null hypotheses on innovative work settings and organisational performance were tested using the Kruskal‐Wallis H test. Although subtle shifts were observed in the aspects of organisational performance that seem predicated on innovative work settings, to some extent the proposition that the physical properties and design of the workplace can influence organisational performance was validated.

Discusses musculoskeletal stress as a result of sedentary work, which has been and still is a problem in workplaces. Simple, quick exercises may be a low‐cost solution to this problem. Provides an account of an investigation, the aim of which was to determine employees′ preference about and the status of such exercise programmes in local businesses. A questionnaire was administered to 203 employees engaged in sedentary work in 21 south‐east Louisiana businesses. The results show that many office, managerial and technical employees suffer musculoskeletal discomfort and pain and that they are interested in relieving this discomfort by participating in an exercise programme. Very few of their companies, however, provide formal exercise programmes. Regarding establishing an exercise programme, respondents indicated preference for exercises targeted on specific parts of the body and do not desire to be prompted by computer software.

The purpose of this paper is to bridge a gap in the call centre literature by considering how individual employees perceive their level of voice over workplace decisions. The inclusion of direct voice mechanisms is noteworthy as these are forms that have received much less attention vis-à-vis indirect voice.

A mixed-method approach was utilized comprising focus groups and questionnaires from over 350 respondents in nine call centres in Australia.

The most pervasive type of employee voice found across all call centres was through direct channels. The team leader was viewed as especially important in terms of employees asserting that they have some influence over workplace issues. There was evidence that the greater the number of voice mechanisms available the higher the perception of autonomy and influence over work tasks, pace of work and quality standards.

Greater consideration is needed in the voice literature at how employees perceive different mechanisms and how institutionalized and legitimate these are within organizations. There appeared to be minimal positive feedback on how union's influenced the workplace, even in unionized environments. We call for further research on how union representation and direct voice channels work together and the impact on key individual and organizational outcomes.

Employees may view the provision of multiple voice channels more favourable than any particular mechanism. The role of the team leader appears especially crucial in positive perceptions of employee voice.

Call centre environments may be changing for the better and effective team leader/employee relationships appear to be at the heart of these changes. The paper demonstrates that direct voice mechanisms dominate the case study sites and that employee perceptions of “being heard” are as important as the actual voice mechanisms.

Police organizations' main goal is providing the security of the neighborhoods for citizens. This paper aims to investigate how efficiently the police stations in the city of Ankara work. It also seeks to determine how the efficiency of police organizations can be measured by using data envelopment analysis (DEA).

The study uses DEA to measure the efficiency of police stations in the city of Ankara in Turkey. DEA measures the relative efficiency of decision‐making units (DMUs) based on their inputs and outputs.

The results showed that ten of 19 police stations in Ankara were efficient. In other words, 52.6 percent of police stations were found to be efficient.

All police stations in Ankara could not be included in the study. Since DEA analysis the relative efficiency of DMUs, including all police stations in Ankara, may have given a broader perspective for police managers.

Inefficient police stations in this study should either reduce the number of incidents that occurred in the precinct or solve those crimes and increase the number of solved incidents. Preventing crimes may be achieved by employing community policing strategies, thus, police managers should focus on adopting community policing strategies.

The results of the DEA analysis can be used to help police stations in Ankara to be more efficient. Furthermore, applying DEA may be a new approach to measuring the efficiency of police services.

Job‐shop operations, the emerging norm of industry, require reform of the management methods employed to achieve cost control and efficiency. Maximisation of capacity utilisation, the standard of efficiency for more than a century, does not work in the job shop. Queueless work flow and the flexible labour policies that support it offer potential for reform which can substantially enhance customer service and quality. Simulation of work flow and capacity to identify bottlenecks along with scheduling of set‐ups on a leadtime basis are potentially important supporting methodologies.

MORE than a decade ago we were assured by the then head of Imperial Chemicals Industries that the man who knows where he is going is the one who is most likely to arrive. We might venture to add as a footnote that such a man's journey will be easier, his destination more certain, if he first clears away the assorted debris that encumbers his route.