Lean Thinking: Theory, Application and Dissemination

This book was written and compiled by the University of Huddersfield to share the learnings and experiences of seven years of Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded projects with the National Health Service (NHS). The focus of these projects was the implementation of Lean thinking and optimising strategic decision making processes. Each of these projects led to major local improvements and this book explains how they were achieved and compiles the lessons learnt. The book is split into three chapters; Lean Thinking Theory, Lean Thinking Applied and Lean Thinking Dissemination

Digital maturity variables and their impact on the enterprise architecture layers

This study examines the variables of digital maturity of companies. The framework for enterprise architectures Archimate 3.0 is used to compare the variables. The variables are assigned to the six layers of architecture: Strategy, Business Environment, Applications, Technology, Physical and Implementation and Migration. On the basis of a literature overview, 15 “digital maturity models” with a total of 147 variables are analyzed. The databases Scopus, EBSCO – Business Source Premier and ProQuest are used for this purpose

Strategic management of family planning programs

Program management has received insufficient attention among family planning leaders, possibly because of medical or demographic background of many leaders, a focus on other program priorities (such as sheer survival), the pressure to expand programs rapidly, and limited donor interest in the subject. As programs grow in complexity, the problems resulting from weak management systems become more obvious, and organizations are compelled to introduce rational systems. The more successful family planning programs have paid close attention to key aspects of management and have striven to continually improve their systems. According to the principles of strategic management, there is no single"best"solution to the various problems organizations face. Each organization must work out a response appropriate to a given situation. But managers should know more about possible options and their effectiveness in other settings. In family planning, a dearth of research on options - compounded by the fact that many programs do not collect basic information about program inputs and outputs - makes it difficult to analyze which programs work and why. Logistics management is the Achilles heel of family planning programs. Many programs experience depleted supplies of contraceptives in demand and oversupplies of others. Lack of contraceptives not only leads to pregnancies but erodes client trust in the service provider and undermines staff morale. Measures to improve logistics management are readily accessible. What is lacking is a commitment from high-level managers to introduce the needed changes. Staff development also merits more attention from managers, as high-caliber staff can make a big difference in program performance. Managers do not always have flexibility about staff recruitment, promotion, and retention, but they should strive for as much leverage as possible. Little research has been done on the impact of training, so managers should assess the relative effectiveness and costs of different approaches. The key factor seems to the relevance to the training content to the individual's job responsibilities.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,ICT Policyand Strategies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Enterprise Development&Reform,Community Development and Empowerment

The evaluation of E-business related technologies in the Railway Industry

For the purposes of this paper, e-business is defined as: "the performance, automisation and organisation of transactions, or chains of them, and the gathering and publishing of data, electronically over a communication protocol" Little research has been conducted either into how e-business technology can be successfully evaluated, or into the associated costs and benefits specifically related to the transportation and railway industries. Based upon a review of the current literature and a series of interviews held with railway operators, track managers and transportation customers from the Australian Fortune 100, the paper puts forward a framework for the evaluation of e-business investments within the railway industry. The research reported here is aimed at developing a flexible interface that enables the decision maker to assess and evaluate a wide variety of complex interacting variables. The proposed approach uses a variety of evaluation methods, as opposed to searching for a single "best" approach. Additionally, an attempt is being made to include the complex interaction between the implementation of the new technology and the changing organisational setting. A model is proposed using fuzzy logic to handle incomplete and uncertain knowledge; as well as to combine criteria within a conceptual model from which "real-worth" evaluations can be performed. This model provides a systematic approach to guide the decision maker in the deployment of e-business and emerging technologies in the industry. After discussing the main findings from a literature review on the use of evaluation frameworks in IT related projects, the paper deals with the proposed framework in detail. The use of empirical data, which was obtained transportation customers to help define the main framework factors, is also discussed. Finally, the paper summarises the main implications for rail freight of customers’s perceptions and stated needs in the e-business domain

Data and Predictive Analytics Use for Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the social process of Big Data and predictive analytics (BDPA) use for logistics and supply chain management (LSCM), focusing on interactions among technology, human behavior and organizational context that occur at the technology’s post-adoption phases in retail supply chain (RSC) organizations. Design/methodology/approach The authors follow a grounded theory approach for theory building based on interviews with senior managers of 15 organizations positioned across multiple echelons in the RSC. Findings Findings reveal how user involvement shapes BDPA to fit organizational structures and how changes made to the technology retroactively affect its design and institutional properties. Findings also reveal previously unreported aspects of BDPA use for LSCM. These include the presence of temporal and spatial discontinuities in the technology use across RSC organizations. Practical implications This study unveils that it is impossible to design a BDPA technology ready for immediate use. The emergent process framework shows that institutional and social factors require BDPA use specific to the organization, as the technology comes to reflect the properties of the organization and the wider social environment for which its designers originally intended. BDPA is, thus, not easily transferrable among collaborating RSC organizations and requires managerial attention to the institutional context within which its usage takes place. Originality/value The literature describes why organizations will use BDPA but fails to provide adequate insight into how BDPA use occurs. The authors address the “how” and bring a social perspective into a technology-centric area

Impacts for m-Internet applications and perspectives in agriculture

Mobile communication and the mobile Internet can provide important opportunities, economic advantages for enterprises end organisations and support their more efficient operating as they can use it anytime and anywhere. We can make their wide spread usage, innovation effect and advantages economical way if we consider the effect system of technologies and services. The technological, social and economical complex effect system puts pressure on spreading of business applications. The types of applicable equipment are increasing. There can be found four player groups according to social aspects: manufacturers, enterprises, customers and workers. The Internet technology and the Internet network have become essential communication tools in business processes recently. Using the Internet by means of mobile appliances increases the possibilities. If we study the business process the expenses, advantages, disadvantages can be seen well. Nowadays these applications are more and more successful in the following areas such as in agriculture, in different parts of food industry, in extension services, precision agriculture, logistics

Improving energy efficiency in logistics systems: On the road to environmental sustainability

Logistics are essential to efficiently managing the flow of materials and products between various nodes that operate in multiple systems. In that process, the activities of moving and storing materials and products, especially through road freight transport, consume significant energy resources and emit greenhouse gases that harm the environment. To develop logistics systems in an environmentally sustainable way, a holistic approach to logistics remains necessary. In response, this thesis seeks to expand current understandings of how environmentally sustainable development can be facilitated by improving the energy efficiency of logistics systems.The thesis draws from a series of five studies in order to critically examine road freight transport before expanding focus to logistics at the point of consumption and, in turn, to post-consumption flow of household waste. First, as a basis for the research, logistics system levels suitable for improving energy efficiency are identified, and the flow of goods towards the point of consumption is investigated, especially in terms of underutilised capacity and means of mitigation. Second, the fulfilment of logistics in the last mile before consumption is analysed, particularly concerning the end consumer’s role, by pinpointing the characteristics of energy efficiency that various fulfilment options afford. Third, the transformation of logistics service providers into environmentally sustainable actors is evaluated, along with their maturity in those roles. Fourth, focussing on the post-consumption flow of household waste, the logistics of waste collection are assessed. Therein, the household is viewed as a co-producer of the waste collection service that can increase the value of waste as a resource and boost energy efficiency during waste collection. Fifth and last, by using modularity as a concept and service blueprinting as a tool for improving energy efficiency, the design of logistics services is analysed by disassembling services for waste collection into their various components and modules.In sum, the thesis compiles five papers based on three semi-structured interview studies and two case studies. Multiple qualitative methods were applied in conjunction with data collection via site visits, brainstorming sessions and a focus group as well as secondary data collection addressing the flow of goods to the point of consumption and in the post-consumption flow of household waste. By mapping current industrial activities performed by multiple actors in different logistics systems, the thesis proposes opportunities for improving energy efficiency in logistics systems and for contributing to environmentally sustainable development. Viewed from a systems perspective, logistics systems are examined as operating in steady interaction with their environments, and service logic is applied to understand the provider and customer ends of logistics services and their interaction

Web Auctions in Europe

This paper argues that a better understanding of the business model of web auctions can be reached if we adopt a broader view and provide empirical research from different sites. In this paper the business model of web auctions is refined into four dimensions. These are auction model, motives, exchange processes, and stakeholders. One of the objects of this research is to redefine the blurry concept of the business model by analyzing one business model, the web auction model. We show in this research the complexity and diversity of factors contributing to the success of the web auction model. By generalizing the results to the level of business model we also show how complex and diverse business models can be. Motivated by the lack of empirically grounded justification for the mixed business results of web auctions, this paper adopts a qualitative approach that includes telephone interviews with web auctions developed in different European countries.exchange processes;stakeholders;Web auctions