Sustained growth in small enterprises: a process management approach

This thesis illustrates that given the necessary resource and a structured Business Growth Framework, Small and Medium Enterprises can lay the foundation for sustained growth. The author investigated the essence of Small and Medium Enterprises, conducted a literature review in SME growth, and asserted the importance of the application of structure to business processes in achieving sustainable business growth. The author introduced the SME business process structure deficit, assessed its implications on business growth, and elaborated that the business process structure deficit can be addressed through the methodical application of six internationally accepted UK initiatives already available in the SME domain. The thesis establishes the characteristics of Business Growth for SMEs, leading to the development of a Business Growth Framework, based upon a defined set of business processes. This framework supports business growth. The framework provides diagnostic assessment of business process performance, process specific improvements embracing better practice through the innovative application of, for example DTI publications, and internal Benchmarking linking, if desired, to the UK Benchmarking Index. The resulting Business Growth Framework, along with the Business Growth Framework Implementation Methodology have evolved during this research and are the key tools for sustained business growth developed by the author and discussed in this thesis. The benefits of close integration of financial and manufacturing systems, like ERP, with Business Processes is discussed. The author demonstrated that Business Growth could successfully occur amongst Small and Medium Enterprises if approached through a structured methodology. Intentionally no new and complex business models have been proposed. The research showed that there is sufficient literature available in this area already

Principles in Patterns (PiP) : Project Evaluation Synthesis

Evaluation activity found the technology-supported approach to curriculum design and approval developed by PiP to demonstrate high levels of user acceptance, promote improvements to the quality of curriculum designs, render more transparent and efficient aspects of the curriculum approval and quality monitoring process, demonstrate process efficacy and resolve a number of chronic information management difficulties which pervaded the previous state. The creation of a central repository of curriculum designs as the basis for their management as "knowledge assets", thus facilitating re-use and sharing of designs and exposure of tacit curriculum design practice, was also found to be highly advantageous. However, further process improvements remain possible and evidence of system resistance was found in some stakeholder groups. Recommendations arising from the findings and conclusions include the need to improve data collection surrounding the curriculum approval process so that the process and human impact of C-CAP can be monitored and observed. Strategies for improving C-CAP acceptance among the "late majority", the need for C-CAP best practice guidance, and suggested protocols on the knowledge management of curriculum designs are proposed. Opportunities for further process improvements in institutional curriculum approval, including a re-engineering of post-faculty approval processes, are also recommended

Sydney Opera House – FM exemplar project

The Sydney Opera House Facilities Management Exemplar Project (SOH FM Exemplar Project) aims to develop innovative research on facility management (FM) with the focus on asset maintenance. The project utilises the Sydney Opera House (SOH), one of most unique buildings in Australia, to research and create innovative FM strategies and models that will have a direct beneficial role for the Australian facilities management industry as well as the economy as a whole. The procurement, benchmarking and digitisation are crucial in improving the performance of FM. The procurement develops strategic plan and deployment framework enabling products, services, etc. meet objectives of performance, economic, environment, etc. Benchmarking is a technology used to compare practice and assess performance against the competitors recognised as industry leaders who achieve most successful activities in the field. Digitisation develops digitized FM modelling that facilitates the integration and automation of facility management. The project carries out the research on all the three areas as well as the relationship between them. It aims to develop an integrated approach for the improvement of FM performance

Developing a current capability design for a manufacture framework in the aerospace industry

During progressive product design and development in the aerospace industry, a lack of effective communication between the sequential functions of design, manufacturing and assembly causes delays and setbacks whereby production capabilities are unable to realise design intent in high-complexity product models. There is a need to formalise the progressive design and release of an engineering model to production functions during New Product Introduction (NPI) via defining key stages of definition maturity and information requirements through a structured process. This research develops a framework to facilitate optimal Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) based on current manufacturing capabilities within the aerospace industry, promoting effective knowledge management at all stages of design definition. The framework was developed through the accomplishment of a series of objectives: (1) Investigate optimal DfMA principles and process capability analysis through a comprehensive literature review, (2) capture the current practice of progressive drawing release in the aerospace and automotive sectors, (3) create a route map of the release process built around the optimal critical path, (4) define roles and procedures to follow at each stage and (5) validate the proposed process framework through expert opinion. These objectives were achieved through the adoption of a four-stage qualitative methodology. The framework promotes the understanding and identification of the major stages, activities, responsibilities and information requirements throughout a structured design release process where quantified manufacturing capability data is incorporated within early design definition activities. Adherence to the process route-map ensures that no engineering model is released that cannot be realised by manufacturing and assembly functions. This facilitates the efficient organisation of information on an optimal concurrent engineering platform, leading to a reduction in product development leadtimes and re-work through informed design.SAS Prize winne

Exploring the relationship between cost of quality and quality management in the South African manufacturing industry

Abstract: In the highly demanding business environment of today, companies are looking for affordable and sustainable methods of meeting customer demands, while improving business performance. The South African manufacturing industry is not excluded from the challenging business environment of today. Over the past years the South African manufacturing sectors have experienced the challenges relating to economic trends, globalisation and political influences. The government has tried to save the industry through the implementation of trade laws and policies. However, despite the support from Government the success of the manufacturing company in the 21st century is dependent on the quality management systems and partnerships. This research derived the concept of quality management and cost of quality from the literature. The study further explores the relationship between quality management factors and cost of quality categories. Over and above identification of the relationship between quality management factors and cost of quality categories; the research investigated the ability of quality management factors to predict the cost of quality categories. The research also aimed at investigating the quality management maturity of the South African manufacturing industry and benchmark the result with international companies. The quality management factors used in the current research include customer focus, leadership, process management, employee focus and business result focus. The cost of quality categories included conformance cost, failure cost and hidden cost. ..D.Phil. (Engineering Management

The whole of university experience: retention, attrition, learning and personal support interventions during undergraduate business studies

The Whole of University Experience (WoUE) project examined factors underpinning attrition in the first, second and third year of a business degree at six Australian universities – Griffith University, Monash University, Murdoch University, University of South Australia, University of Southern Queensland, and University of the Sunshine Coast. A questionnaire completed in 2008, 2009, and 2010 by a total of 7,486 students enabled gathering of data relating to demographics; students’ experience of university; their use and perceptions of the usefulness of student support interventions; open-ended comments about the best and worst aspects of the university experience; and aspects in need of improvement. In each year a small number of students were also interviewed for the purpose of fleshing out the survey data and exploring the interactions between various factors associated with attrition. Overall, the data strongly indicates that factors related to attrition are generally university-specific and reflect both student characteristics and their responses to the specific institutional culture and environment. The only attrition triggers which span most universities and most years of study are ‘lack of a clear reason for being at university’ and ‘the feeling of having insufficient ability to succeed at university’. Correlation analysis relating 70 statements probing students’ experience of university to the strength of their intention to leave before completing a degree revealed notable differentiation in attrition triggers on the basis of year of study. Follow-up analysis in one university indicated further differentiation in the triggers for attrition, semester by semester. It seems that many different factors underpin attrition decisions in any one institution and for any one individual, for whom attrition appears to be the result of the aggregation of diverse factors generally followed by ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’. When responses are grouped by demographic variables some difference in the factors associated with domestic and international student attrition is apparent, but no difference in the factors associated with their sense of satisfaction or belonging is obvious. In the responses of international and domestic students to issues of teaching quality, differences primarily related to expectations regarding teaching staff approachability, availability and helpfulness. For students enrolled part-time or full-time different factors underpin attrition, and attrition triggers also differ on the basis of time spent on campus and average grades. Preliminary analysis suggests that having to take a loan or engage in full-time work to fund studies is a greater attrition risk factor in most universities than is the receipt of Centrelink benefits (which may be seen as a proxy indicator for low socio-economic status). Analysis of responses to questions about the use and usefulness of student support interventions indicates that, in general, when students use personal support interventions these are mostly seen as very useful. However, data also indicate that many, and often the majority of, students have either not used or are not aware of the support services available. Practically, the project has delivered, and will continue to deliver, significant value to the higher education sector. On the basis of evidence from the project, partner universities have begun addressing high-value student retention issues and it is expected that this evidence will continue to influence institutional decision-making for several years beyond the life of the project. Dissemination activities external to partner universities, including publication of five journal articles and numerous workshops or presentations, have assisted staff in other universities to reflect upon issues critical to student retention in both first year and beyond. Further publication outcomes are expected. Critically, as indicated in the independent project evaluation, “the project has directed much needed attention to factors associated with attrition in later years of the student experience (second and third years) … facilitated discussion around frameworks for evidence-based institutional responses that constitute effective interventions … [and] reinforced the need for institutions to collect their own data on the student experience to inform individual institutional responses and interventions”

A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study of Airfield Lighting Maintenance Management Strategy

Asset management programs can keep senior airport managers informed of the performance and life-cycle costs of assets critical to airport operations. With this information, managers can adjust operations and maintenance to minimize costs without sacrificing service quality. However, program implementation is costly and time-consuming. In addition to management and information technology changes, the individual maintenance shops must also develop and incorporate new data collection processes into their everyday workflow. Knowledgeable and experienced maintenance managers must evaluate the data, consider alternatives, and find strategies to reduce costs without negative impact. Unfortunately, such managers are rare for highly specialized assets like airfield lighting systems and often gain most of their experience working at one airport. This research investigated the maintenance strategies most often used for airfield lighting, examined which criteria affected strategy choices, and asked how managers make their selections. The researcher interviewed 23 participants from 15 airports, including facility managers, maintenance engineers, and supervisors. Interview statements were first individually coded in detail and then grouped using focused codes to enable the continuous comparison of each organization’s approach to addressing common problems. Ultimately, the analysis identified eight primary criteria that managers should consider when selecting a maintenance strategy. The process used by U.S. commercial service airports for selecting a maintenance management strategy is modeled as a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) problem. The model includes a problem goal, the criteria affecting the decision, and all the possible alternatives. MCDM models can employ various quantitative decision support systems such as Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), which requires subject matter experts to assign weights to the performance of the multiple alternatives for each of the criteria. However, the research shows that airports consistently use an intuitive decision-making process that relies on the expertise and experience of their maintenance staff. Therefore, this research constructed a theory of airfield lighting maintenance strategy selection modeled as an MCDM problem using an intuitive decision support system. Maintenance managers should consider each of the following criteria when considering their work strategy: access, environment, regulations, budget, design, condition, impetus, and staff. Data analysis also found nine alternative maintenance strategies divided into corrective and preventive types. Corrective maintenance involves action after an asset degradation or failure has occurred. Preventive maintenance is the action taken before problems to prevent degradation and failure. Research shows that maintenance managers consider corrective maintenance to be less costly. However, overuse of corrective maintenance results in higher risks of unexpected asset failure and higher costs over the long-term. In comparison, preventive maintenance may require more daily effort but yields more reliable system performance and lower asset life-cycle costs. In practice, successful maintenance requires using both strategies. Asset management practices require maintenance managers to measure and analyze their system performance, then regularly consider how they might change the maintenance program to minimize operating and maintenance costs without sacrificing performance. This research provides information helpful to maintenance managers with their strategy selection. Future research should investigate developing a quantitative decision-support system that maintenance managers could integrate into the current process and potentially deploy to maintenance organizations wanting supplemental guidance