Managing at the Speed of Light: Improving Mission-Support Performance

The House and Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittees requested this study to help DOE's three major mission-support organizations improve their operations to better meet the current and future needs of the department. The passage of the Recovery Act only increased the importance of having DOE's mission-support offices working in the most effective, efficient, and timely manner as possible. While following rules and regulations is essential, the foremost task of the mission-support offices is to support the department's mission, i.e., the programs that DOE is implementing, whether in Washington D.C. or in the field. As a result, the Panel offered specific recommendations to strengthen the mission-focus and improve the management of each of the following support functions based on five "management mandates":- Strategic Vision- Leadership- Mission and Customer Service Orientation- Tactical Implementation- Agility/AdaptabilityKey FindingsThe Panel made several recommendations in each of the functional areas examined and some overarching recommendations for the corporate management of the mission-support offices that they believed would result in significant improvements to DOE's mission-support operations. The Panel believed that adopting these recommendations will not only make DOE a better functioning organization, but that most of them are essential if DOE is to put its very large allocation of Recovery Act funding to its intended uses as quickly as possible

The Influence of Trust in Traditional Contracting: Investigating the "Lived Experience" of Stakeholders

The traditional procurement approach is ever-present within the construction industry. With fundamental design principles founded on definitive risk allocation, this transactional based approach fails to acknowledge or foster the cooperative relationships considered to be vital to the success of any project. Contractual design encourages stakeholders to defend their own individual interest to the likely detriment of project objectives. These failings are not disputed, however, given that trust is a fundamental requirement for human interaction the influence of trust is potentially important in terms of stakeholder relationships and ultimate project success. Trust is therefore examined within this context. A conceptual framework of trust is presented and subsequently used to code and analyse detailed, semi-structured interviews with multiple stakeholders from different projects. Using a phenomenological investigation of trust via the lived experiences of multiple practitioners, issues pertaining to the formation and maintenance of trust within traditionally procured construction projects are examined. Trust was found to be integral to the lived experiences of practitioners, with both good and bad relationships evident within the constructs of traditional procurement mechanisms. In this regard, individual personalities were considered significant, along with appropriate risk identification and management. Communication, particularly of an informal nature, was also highlighted. A greater emphasis on project team selection during the initial stages of a project would therefore be beneficial, as would careful consideration of the allocation of risk. Contract design would also be enhanced through prescriptive protocols for developing and maintaining trust, along with mandated mechanisms for informal communication, particularly when responding to negative events. A greater understanding regarding the consequences of lost trust and the intricacies of trust repair would also be of value. 

Inter-firm Relationships and Performance Factors in the Australian Beef Supply Chain: Implications for the Stakeholders

Recent study by Meat & Livestock Australia revealed that cost competitiveness and market development issues in supply chain are the major factors for a long term decline of the Australian Beef industry. This study, based on the explanation of transaction cost theory argues that competitive performance of an industry depends on improving cost efficiency across the whole of supply chain, the underlying value chain, and the relationship among the stakeholders in the industry. With a main objective to investigate the underlying factors of developing competent inter-firm relationship that influence the supply chain performance and competitiveness, this study presents details of a survey carried out and tests the hypothesis that inter-organizational relationships in supply chain and its antecedents have impact on the performance of Australian beef industry and thus have impact on the competitiveness of the industry. Data were collected through a telephone survey of 315 firms in the beef industry from the states of Western Australia and Queensland. The sample respondents were categorized as input suppliers, beef-cattle producers, processors, retailers/exporters, and wholesalers. The data were analysed using the partial least square based structural equation modelling. PLS analysis reveals that ‘Transaction Climate’ is the strongest determinants of developing a competent relationship, while negotiation power, presence of industry competitors, and the degree of vertical coordination significantly influence the relationship strength. Findings also demonstrate that relationship strength is the most prevalent source of performance and competitiveness, while SC performance highly positively influences the Competitiveness of beef industry. Thus this study identifies significant antecedents and consequences of Supply Chain Performance in Australian beef industry, which are strategic and extremely important information for beef producers, processors, retailers, and other stakeholders for appropriate planning and benchmarking.Beef Supply Chain, Agribusiness Management, Supply Chain Management, Agribusiness,

Seafood export as a relationship-oriented supply network : evidence from Norwegian seafood exporters

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of relationships and networking in the international flow of seafood products through export processes and practices using empirical case examples. Design/methodology/approach: This paper provides an insight into seafood export through 10 case studies of seafood exporters from Norway and a freight forwarder working with most of these companies. Findings: The international seafood business is characterised by coordination, interactions and exchange such that economic and social interactions among network members transcend national boundaries into international/global markets. Findings reveal how studied seafood exports are in line with the learning-based Uppsala internationalisation model, embedded in international buyer-seller relationship structures and networks, which is also a particularity of this food-producing industry. To secure long-term business in distant markets, small and medium-sized (SME) seafood exporters have shifted the focus from transactional approaches to relationships and networking as a means of improving export performance. This paper suggests how logistics and marketing have become closely and strategically interconnected, and so marketing strategies depend on logistics strategies and the two cannot be separated in a typical global seafood supply network. Practical implications: Purposeful collaborative interaction between exporter and importer helps in risk mitigation. Increased interactions in distant markets by SMEs can also be achieved using social media networking. Originality/value: This paper offers an insight into the global seafood supply network using empirical case examples from Norway, an important seafood producing country.acceptedVersio

A TxQoS-aware business transaction framework

In this thesis, we propose a transaction framework to provide comprehensive and flexible transaction support for contract-driven, service-oriented business processes. The research follows the research method outlined below. Initially, a thorough investigation on current state of affairs was made. Afterwards, we carried out a case study, which we utilized to identify the problems that are likely to occur during the execution of business processes. As the result of the solution design, the concepts, scenarios, life cycles, reference architectures, and mechanisms were proposed to address the problems. The design took place on the conceptual level, while the coding/programming and implementation is out of the scope of this thesis. The business-oriented solution design allows for transaction qualities to be specified and guaranteed by a contractual approach named as TxQoS (Transactional Quality of Service). The technology-oriented design enables flexible composition of ATCs (Abstract Transaction Constructs) as a transaction schema to support the execution of complex processes. As the last step of research, we validated the feasibility of our design by a utility study conducted in a large telecom project, which has complex processes that are service-oriented and contract-driven. Finally, we discussed the contributions and limitations of the research. The main contribution of the thesis is the BTF (Business Transaction Framework) that addresses process execution reliability. The TxQoS approach enables the specification of transaction qualities in terms of FIAT (Fluency, Interference, Alternation, Transparency) properties. This businessfriendly approach allows the providers and users to agree on transaction qualities before process execution time. The building blocks of the proposed framework, ATCs, are reusable and configurable templates, and are abstracted and generalized from existing transaction models. The various transaction requirements of sub-processes and process chunks can be represented by corresponding ATCs, which allow for a flexible composition. Integrated, the TxQoS and ATC approaches work together to form a TxQoS-aware business transaction framework

Risk Perception and Coping Strategies among Direct Support Professionals in the Age of COVID-19.

The spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe and its associated morbidity and mortality has impacted and challenged society in many ways, which resulted in adapting to a new way of life. One underrecognized and unaddressed area is the mental health of essential employees providing services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Direct support professionals (DSPs) serve an important function in the daily supervision and care of clients with IDD. It is not clear, however, how these essential workers perceived their own risk of contracting COVID-19 while working during this pandemic. Our research presents results of a national survey of 478 DSPs that focused on perceptions of risk and ways of coping with COVID-19. Using an online survey, we examined DSPs’ perception of risk and on the emotional and problem-solving strategies they used to cope with the global crisis. We found that DSPs engaged in higher problem-focused strategies rather than emotion-focused strategies in coping with the virus. As such, we show that it is critical for IDD provider organizations to assess DSPs’ needs to provide coping supports during the age of COVID

Transforming the UK public procurement from transactional/relational practice to strategic commercial management

The thesis is about the shift of UK public sector procurement from the current transactional and tactical procurement processes into a strategic commercial management function in order to create and retain value. Strategic Commercial Management being the adoption of the most appropriate and relevant procurement approach in determining supply chain management relationships i.e. transactional, relational or a combination of both approaches. This is informed by the influences that the structure and configuration of supply chain management has on value creation and retention. The study addresses two primary research issues. The structure and organisation of public sector procurement groups determines their ability to manage highly complex public sector procurement requirements and the type of procurement approach adopted is likely to determine their ability to deliver greater value. The methodology is based on cases of three UK Government Departments (Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs). In which quantitative analysis (multiple linear regression modelling) was used to determine the effect of procurement approaches on value creation and retention and qualitative analysis used in the identification and analysis of the critical success factors. The study concludes that a shift towards the procurement of standard services based on output or outcomes provides the optimum strategic commercial management. That the adoption of a combination of transactional and relational procurement approach provides the most effective basis for increasing the delivery of value and ensuring that it is not eroded. This thesis provides a framework for value creation and retention for practitioners. It also provides the basis for leveraging adopted procurement approaches and develops a number of critical success factors for implementation. The thesis offers up a theoretical model with specific predictions by predicting the effect that transactional, relational or the combination of both approaches has on value creati

Supplier management with a contract in project purchasing : A case study for Hitachi Energy in Finland

The management of suppliers and supplier relationships is vitally important for the procurement organization in terms of managing and knowing the market and suppliers. Maintained and close supplier relationships develop business for all parties and enable new innovations to emerge in the market. However, maintaining supplier relations and strategic monitoring is a resource-consuming activity, so communicating closely with all available suppliers is impossible when the number of suppliers in the supply base is large. The suppliers are also different in terms of their purchase volumes and in terms of targeting the company's consumption. Purchase orders to the supplier can be one-off or alternatively weekly, if not even daily. Likewise, annual expenses can vary from tens of euros to several hundred thousand euros. To use limited resources as efficiently as possible to increase the value of the supply chain, it is necessary to create a tool for reviewing and classifying suppliers to assess the needs of the supplier relationship. In addition, identifying supplier types and concluding contracts with appropriate suppliers reduces risk in the supply chain. However, the first step in the research was to identify the suppliers used by the case company and segment them into categories. Some of the supplier types could be identified without various criteria. However, the majority of material and service suppliers must be evaluated using the evaluation table presented in the study. The objectives of the study were to map the advantages and disadvantages of framework agreements and commercial terms negotiated with suppliers in the purchasing organization of the company under investigation. The number of suppliers used in the company was considerably large annually, so in order to use resources efficiently, the second objective of the study was to identify and segment suppliers based on the selected criteria. Finally, a model was to be designed for segmented suppliers to identify to which supplier a contract should be negotiated with, depending on whether it is useful for the purchasing organization. In this case, action research has been used as a method which combines qualitative information collected and learned in the organization, as well as quantitative data from the company's enterprise resource planning system. The research produces for the company a new model for the selection of contracted suppliers to answer the research gap. The diversity of suppliers and changes in supplier relationships have effects on both strategic and operation-al purchasing activities. The effects of the case study on the procurement function have been included regarding supplier relationships and the organization's purchasing activities. As a result of the development of the procurement function and supply chain management tools, possible follow-up studies in the future are discussed at the end of this study.Toimittajasuhteiden hallinta on ensiarvoisen tärkeää hankintaorganisaatiolle markkinoiden ja toimittajien hallinnan ja tuntemisen kannalta. Ylläpidetyt ja tiiviit toimittajasuhteet kehittää liiketoimintaa kaikille osapuolille ja mahdollistaa uusien innovaatioiden synnyn. Toimittajasuhteiden ylläpito ja strateginen tarkkailu on kuitenkin resursseja kuluttavaa toimintaa, joten kaikkien käytettävissä olevien toimittajien kanssa kommunikointi tiiviisti on mahdotonta. Toimittajat ovat eroavaisia myös ostomääriltään ja yrityksen kulutuksen kohdistamisen kannalta. Ostotilaukset toimittajaa kohtaan voivat olla kertaluontoisia tai vaihtoehtoisesti viikottaisia jollei jopa päivittäisiä. Samoin vuosittaiset kulut voivat vaihdella kymmenistä euroista useisiin satoihin tuhansiin euroihin. Rajallisten resurssien käyttäminen mahdollisimman tehokkaasti toimitusketjun arvon lisäämiseksi on tarpeellista luoda työkalu toimittajien tarkastelemiseksi ja luokitteluun toimittajasuhteen tarpeiden arvioimiseksi. Lisäksi toimittajatyyppien tunnistaminen ja sopimusten solmiminen asianmukaisetn toimittajien kanssa vähentää riskiä toimitusketjussa. Ensimmäiseksi tutkimuksessa täytyi kuitenkin tunnistaa kohdeyrityksen käyttämät toimittajat ja segmentoida ne luokkiin. Osa toimittajatyypeistä oli tunnistettavissa ilman erinäisiä kriteerejä, suurin osa materiaali- ja palvelutoimittajista pitää kuitenkin arvioida tutkimuksessa esitellyllä arviointitaulukolla. Tutkimuksen tavoitteina oli kartoittaa toimittajien kanssa neuvoteltavien raamisopimimusten ja kaupallisten ehtojen edut ja haitat tutkittavan yrityksen osto-organisaatiossa. Käytettyjen toimittajien määrä yrityksessä oli huomattavan suuri vuosittaisesti joten resurssien käyttämiseksi tehokkaasti tutkimuksen toisen tavoitteena oli identifioida ja segmentoida toimittajat valittujen kriteereiden perusteella. Segmentoituja toimittajia varten luotiin lopuksi malli jonka mukaan toimittajan kanssa tulisi luoda sopimus, riippuen onko se hyödyllinen osto-organisaatiolle. Tapauksessa on käytetty menetelmänä toimintatutkimusta joka yhdistää organisaatiossa kerättyä ja opittua laadullista tietoa, sekä määrällistä dataa yhtiön toiminnanohjausjärjestelmästä. Tutkimus tuottaa yhtiölle mallin sopimuksellisten toimittajien valintaan, jollaista ei ole ollut vielä käytössä. Toimittajien eroavaisuudella ja toimittajasuhteiden muutoksilla on vaikutuksia sekä strategiseen että operatiiviseen ostotoimintaan. Tutkimuksen vaikutukset ostotoimintaan on sisällytetty sekä toimittajasuhteissa että organisaation hankintatoimessa. Ostotoiminnan ja järjestelmän kehittymisen seurauksena tulevaisuudessa mahdolliset jatkotutkimukset ovat käsiteltynä tämän tutkimuksen lopussa

The Relationship between Organizational Commitment and Transformational and Transactional Leadership Styles in Government Contract Employees

This study sought to determine if a relationship exists between leadership styles and organizational commitment in government contract employees. The psychological contract theory, expectancy theory, and transactional and transformational leadership theories framed the study purpose. The quantitative research method using the Pearson correlational statistical design was used to assess variable relationships. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and the Three-Component Model (TCM) of Commitment were used to collect data from a sample of government contract employees. The results revealed weak but no statistically significant relationship between transformational and transactional leadership styles and organizational commitment. The study also found weak but no significant relationship between lassie-faire leadership and organizational commitment. Although not significant, the weak relationships indicate opportunities to better understand of the expected employee commitment-dependent outcomes resulting from decisions involving transformational, transactional, and laissez faire leaders

Small Satellite Industrial Base Study: Foundational Findings

This report documents findings from a Small Satellite (SmallSat) Industrial Base Study conducted by The Aerospace Corporation between November 2018 and September 2019. The primary objectives of this study were a) to gain a better understanding of the SmallSat communitys technical practices, engineering approaches, requirements flow-downs, and common processes and b) identify insights and recommendations for how the government can further capitalize on the strengths and capabilities of SmallSat offerings. In the context of this study, SmallSats are understood to weigh no more than 500 kg, as described in State of the Art Small Spacecraft Technology, NASA/TP-2018- 220027, December 2018. CubeSats were excluded from this study to avoid overlap and duplication of recently completed work or other studies already under way. The team also touched on differences between traditional space-grade and the emerging mid-grade and other non-space, alternate-grade EEEE (electrical, electronic, electromechanical, electro-optical) piece part categories. Finally, the participants sought to understand the potential effects of increased use of alternate-grade parts on the traditional space-grade industrial base. The study team was keenly aware that there are missions for which non-space grade parts currently are infeasible for the foreseeable future. National security, long-duration and high-reliability missions intolerant of risk are a few examples. The team sought to identify benefits of alternative parts and approaches that can be harnessed by the government to achieve greater efficiencies and capabilities without impacting mission success