Sustainable development strategies for product provision and manufacturing approaches

Manufacturing firms are under many pressures both financially and competitive which focus attention on the performance of their manufacturing processes. In this paper the opportunities for improving the environmental impact of products within the constraints of existing manufacturing infrastructure are examined. Approaches which support sustainability in two aspects are proposed, firstly, the provision of products to the users in ways which extend the product life and secondly, manufacturing approaches which reduce resource usage. The provision and manufacture of products in ways that are truly sustainable are inhibited by three issues: firstly, decisions are predominantly made solely from the perspective of the “vendor” (and do not consider the wider perspective); secondly, that generally the scope of business planning is still rooted in production/manufacturing costs (and not consumption costs) and thirdly, the current performance measures (e.g. KPIs) mainly focus on profitability. The rationale for this conference paper is the argument that there is a need to raise the awareness during the earliest stages of business planning that there may be alternative approaches which are more sustainable. The concepts presented here will underpin further research into performance measures which encompass sustainability and resulting business planning implications

Complexity in the Context of Information Systems Project Management

Complexity is an inherent attribute of any project. The purpose of defining and documenting complexity is to enable a project team to foresee resulting challenges in a timely manner, and take steps to alleviate them.The main contribution of this article is to present a systematic view of complexity in project management by identifying its key attributes and classifying complexity by these attributes. A “complexity taxonomy” is developed and discussed within three levels: the product, the project and the external environment.Complexity types are described through simple real-life examples. Then a framework (tool) is developed for applying the notion of complexity as an early warning tool.The article is intended for researchers in complexity, project management, information systems, technology solutions and business management, and also for information specialists, project managers, program managers, financial staff and technology directors

Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate: Developing Technology to Protect America

In response to a congressional mandate and in consultation with Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the National Academy conducted a review of S&T's effectiveness and efficiency in addressing homeland security needs. This review included a particular focus that identified any unnecessary duplication of effort, and opportunity costs arising from an emphasis on homeland security-related research. Under the direction of the National Academy Panel, the study team reviewed a wide variety of documents related to S&T and homeland security-related research in general. The team also conducted interviews with more than 200 individuals, including S&T officials and staff, officials from other DHS component agencies, other federal agencies engaged in homeland security-related research, and experts from outside government in science policy, homeland security-related research and other scientific fields.Key FindingsThe results of this effort indicated that S&T faces a significant challenge in marshaling the resources of multiple federal agencies to work together to develop a homeland security-related strategic plan for all agencies. Yet the importance of this role should not be underestimated. The very process of working across agencies to develop and align the federal homeland security research enterprise around a forward-focused plan is critical to ensuring that future efforts support a common vision and goals, and that the metrics by which to measure national progress, and make changes as needed, are in place

Global supply chains of high value low volume products

Imperial Users onl

The 4s web-marketing mix model

This paper reviews the criticism on the 4Ps Marketing Mix framework, the most popular tool of traditional marketing management, and categorizes the main objections of using the model as the foundation of physical marketing. It argues that applying the traditional approach, based on the 4Ps paradigm, is also a poor choice in the case of virtual marketing and identifies two main limitations of the framework in online environments: the drastically diminished role of the Ps and the lack of any strategic elements in the model. Next to identifying the critical factors of the Web marketing, the paper argues that the basis for successful E-Commerce is the full integration of the virtual activities into the company’s physical strategy, marketing plan and organisational processes. The four S elements of the Web-Marketing Mix framework present a sound and functional conceptual basis for designing, developing and commercialising Business-to-Consumer online projects. The model was originally developed for educational purposes and has been tested and refined by means of field projects; two of them are presented as case studies in the paper.\ud \u

Suppliers' opportunity enactment through the development of valuable capabilities

Available online: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/840/1/Johnsen_output_3.pdfInternational audienceThe purpose of this paper is to describe the development and application of a theoretical framework to examine the connections between different types of suppliers, their capabilities and opportunities in customer relationships, and the illustration of these connections through the findings from empirical case studies of small and medium-sized suppliers in the metal industry in Denmark. Multiple case studies involving 17 small and medium-sized suppliers within the Danish metal industry were undertaken. By focusing on the development of capabilities that are "valuable" to customers in specific types of supply, small and medium-sized suppliers may improve their responses to opportunities in their customer relationships. Further investigation is needed on the longer-term impacts of valuable capabilities on opportunity enactment by suppliers, and the examination of key issues arising from these findings across different industries and countries. Small and medium-sized suppliers, their customers and government agencies involved with suppliers should advocate and actively support the development of valuable capabilities to enhance the effectiveness of suppliers' relationship and network strategies and their potential to seize opportunities. This study highlights that different types of suppliers require different types of current and future valuable capabilities to seize opportunities and sustain current customers or develop new customer relationships