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The purpose of this study is to present a discussion on the most commonly accepted benchmarking norms in the USA, the lessons learned from benchmarking experiences and see how they are translated to benchmarking projects by French managers.

A survey questionnaire is developed, based on the ten‐step Xerox benchmarking process, to identify the perceived and/or experienced benchmarking best practices amongst French managers. Large, medium and small companies are surveyed and managers who have participated in or are in the middle of a benchmarking project contributed to the information in developing the conclusions about the perceived best practices, steps and pitfalls for a benchmarking project in French companies.

The survey result showed uniformity amongst French managers from large companies and their opinion on what is important in bringing a benchmarking project to a successful conclusion. There was however lack of uniformity of opinion when it came to what is important in the benchmarking process amongst French managers from companies of different size.

Caution should be exercised when interpreting these findings since the paper only used data from an exploratory survey of French managers from companies of varying sizes. The limitation of the study is that the conclusions are applicable to French managers only. In order to compare them one would need survey data, using the same questionnaire from managers in other countries.

Indeed, the authors' findings provide a persuasive argument for what French managers consider important in a benchmarking project. It provides valuable insights into the lessons learned from the years of benchmarking experiences and how these experiences have been translated across cultures.

Based on the French experience with the benchmarking process, the critical success factors for benchmarking were identified. Importance of each step in the benchmarking process varies amongst companies, critical issues are company and industry specific. In order to compete successfully in today's global marketplace, the French managers recognize the importance of benchmarking, although their perceptions of the important steps in the process vary depending on company size.

This paper focuses on six change management issues that address quality management practices in the service sector, difficulty in taking a holistic approach to total quality management (TQM) implementation in the service environment, and the challenges of delivering organizational reform through TQM.

The study employs a quasi‐qualitative case study methodology. Twenty service companies from health care, insurance, consulting, and banking and financial services were studied over a period of two years to assess their change management practices for implementing TQM.

The findings point to a less than total implementation of TQM in the studied companies. Among other issues, unrealistic expectations of employee commitment, absence of process focus, lack of organization around information flow, holes in education and training, and failure to create a continuous improvement culture contributed significantly towards failure. More successful companies focused on avoiding these potholes with strong leadership that emphasized strategic and tactical planning.

Based on one successful company, the study provides a guideline for successful TQM implementation in a service setting. However, with only one successful company, it would be difficult to generalize to other companies unless future research investigates other successful companies in similar industries, similar economic environment, and market conditions.

The value of the paper lies in the lessons learned that when real and actual approaches to change management follow academic models and techniques of change management, the ability to develop and implement organization‐wide change progresses more smoothly.

Much of the research literature in job shop scheduling deals with pure job shop environments. However, currently most processes involve a hybrid of both the job shop and a flow shop with a combination of flexible and conventional machine tools. Presents a study of such a job shop under varying conditions and performance criteria. Argues that for scheduling in this environment, certain combinations of scheduling rules should be utilized under different arrival rates and for different job types. A simulation model is developed using a hypothetical hybrid job shop to study the performance of rule combinations with variations in arrival rates and processing times. The performance criteria used are flowtime as a measure of work‐in‐process inventory, tardiness for JIT, and throughput for completed items inventory. It was found that rule combination performance varied with the performance criteria. Furthermore, it was found that the combinations were sensitive to arrival rates and processing times. Concludes, from the insights gained in the study, that the rule combination to be implemented should depend on the performance objective and the arrival rate/processing time condition of the hybrid job shop.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the approaches towards implementation of business process reengineering (BPR), and to provide some evidence as to which approach offers a greater chance of success.

A hospital case analysis is used to study where both top‐down/participative BPR and enterprise resource planning (ERP)‐driven BPR were used to reengineer its processes.

With an ERP‐driven BPR, it is easier to define the scope of the project, design of the process changes, mapping of the new system in the software, and to obtain a realistic preview of the outcomes.

ERP‐driven approach to BPR implementation used in this hospital represented a holistic rather than a piecemeal approach to an organization‐wide change effort. There is always a tendency for the motivation and support for such change efforts to dissipate. Research is needed on how to sustain the momentum for such change endeavors.

With ERP‐driven BPR it is easier for management to offer a realistic preview of the expected outcomes, possible changes in the design and scope of the project, and to guard against unrealistic worker expectations. However, the ERP‐driven change approach requires close cooperation and mutual protocols between all the principal stakeholders, i.e. the executive suite, ERP system vendor, business process and support teams, and IT department.

The paper offers a rare insight into a company where both approaches to BPR implementation were tried and provides evidence in support of ERP‐driven BPR.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the use of a product‐oriented layout and a work‐cell strategy in order to maximise efficiency. These two categories of layout strategies are discussed separately, and are then used collectively in an analysis of the company. The aim is to understand how improvements on layout design could positively impact the future efficiency of the case study company.

A model was developed and measured using 26 weeks of data between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010 during layout transformations at the case study company based in upstate New York. The model compared variables such as the distance traveled to retrieve parts, average daily output of engines, labour cost per unit produced, and the amount of time the engine remains in each cell; the aim of which is to increase the efficiency of the facility.

The findings indicate that there is a strong correlation between the variables improved at both the cell‐structures and the product‐structures of the facility and the overall efficiency of the manufacturing facility itself. The results also show that an overall higher efficiency allows for the facility to handle much larger workloads and also drives down both short‐run and long‐run costs. The outcomes also allow for a suggestive redesign of the facility in order to further maximise efficiency. However, it was found that the amount of time a product remains in each cell on the assembly line does not have an effect on the overall output of diesel engines.

Various studies have been conducted focusing on the “facility layout problem,” yet thorough analyses of the redesigning of layout in regards to efficiency are not as available. Instead, an understanding of the topic was derived through sources focusing on the specificities of manufacturing layout.

This paper describes layout efficiency through redesigns and layout using work‐cells in a product‐oriented environment. This study would be useful to manufacturers having low variability in their product and having the ability to use work‐cell layout within their facility.

Offers the view that TQM concepts apply equally to manufacturing and service industries and examines assertions through a survey of selected manufacturing and service companies involved in TQM implementation. To test the hypothesis a framework of 19 TQM dimensions is developed and, based on this framework, the studied companies are evaluated. It is shown that under varied environmental conditions the TQM tools and procedures may vary but the underlying concepts apply equally to both manufacturing and service companies. The differences in the studied dimensions between manufacturing and service companies signify slow dissemination of TQM knowledge among the service companies. Service operations are generally not sure whether the tested procedures in manufacturing companies will work equally well for them. As a result, commitment for a fully fledged TQM has been lacking in the service industries.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of climate change on economic development in Bangladesh. More specifically, the research aims to figure out the influence of climate change on gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate related to different sectors such as agriculture, forest, water, health and infrastructure. It also attempts to explore the effect of climate change on the coastal economy of Bangladesh.

A set of statistical and econometric techniques, including descriptive and correlation analysis and time series regression model, was applied to address the objective of the research. Sector-wise time series economic data were collected from the World Bank for the period between 1971 and 2013. Climate data were received from the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council online database for the period between 1948 and 2013.

The results from the statistical analysis show that climate variables such as temperature and rainfall have changed between 1948 and 2013 in the context of Bangladesh. The econometric regression analysis demonstrates that an increase by 1°C of annual mean temperature leads to a decrease in the GDP growth rate by 0.44 per cent on average, which is statistically significant at the 5 per cent level. On the other hand, the estimated coefficients of agriculture, industry, services, urbanization and export are positively associated with GDP growth rate, and these are statistically significant at the 1 per cent level. Sector-wise correlation analysis provides statistical evidence that climate change is negatively associated with various sectors, such as agriculture, forest, human health and arable land. In contrast, it has a positive relation to water access and electricity consumption. Analysis of coastal regions shows that climate change negatively affects the local economic sectors of the coastal zone of the country.

Although this study has received significant insight from the world-renowned research publication “The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review”, there is a dearth of research on the economic impact of climate change in the context of Bangladesh. The findings of the paper provide deep insight into and comprehensive views of policy makers on the impact of climate change on economic growth and various sectors in Bangladesh.

Outlines the massive loan default problems faced by the Bangladesh banking industry and discusses the importance of consistent and adequate public policy in reducing them. Critically reviews the government’s industrial, fiscal, monetary and tariff policies since independence in 1971, referring to relevant research; and relates them to the loan repayment performance of industrial borrowers. Castigates its excessive bureaucratic controls, lack of co‐ordination or consistency and over‐supply of credit; and its failure to recognize entrepreneurs’ general lack of experience. Puts at least part of the blame for industrial loan defaults down to “flawed” policies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences of consumer perceptions of labelled information and sensory attributes on consumers’ intention to buy fresh milk.

An experiment was conducted on 117 consumers in a lab at a university. After closely inspecting the labels’ information and tasting two types of milk, participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire, using the direct interview method. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were applied to analyse the data.

The results show that products’ labelled information and the sensory perceptions increase the buying intention of both ultra-high temperature treated fresh milk (UFM) and pasteurised fresh milk (PFM). The sensory perceptions of PFM can mediate the relationship between products’ labels and consumer buying intentions, but this relationship is not true for UFM. According to our results, nutritional facts and taking responsibility for one’s health are the keys to fresh milk commercialisation in terms of higher relative weights and commonness.

Although the sensory aspects of milk have been rigorously evaluated in the food science literature, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, few studies have focussed on the sensory perceptions of fresh milk incorporating process categories (UFM and PFM) and their mediating effect between labelled information and buying intention in the social sciences. The study is pioneering in that it investigates the perceptions of sensory attributes affecting consumer purchasing decisions for fresh milk in an emerging market.