Operations Management Curricula: Literature Review and Analysis

A review and analysis of studies on the interface between Operations Management (OM) academicians and industry practitioners indicate the existence of a persistent gap between what is being taught and what is relevant to practitioners in their daily jobs. The majority of practitioner studies have been directed at upper management levels, yet academia typically educates students for entry level or management trainee (undergraduate) and mid-management (MBA) positions. A recurring finding was that academicians prefer to teach quantitative techniques while practitioners favor qualitative concepts. The OM curricula literature shows some disagreements between academicians concerning subject matter, and a wide variety of teaching opinions. This paper provides an extensive analytical review of OM curricula literature along with their respective authors’ conclusions. From this analysis we suggest a customer-focused business plan to close the gap between industry and academia. This plan can be modified to account for faculty teaching and research interests, local industry requirements and institution specific factors such as class sizes and resources

B2C Mass Customization in the Classroom

The purpose of this article is to describe an internet-based mass customization assignment in Operations Management/Supply Chain Management classes where students utilize the Web site of a company that offers a customized product. Students evaluate the user interface, judge the value proposition of the product they demonstrate, and discuss issues of product design, process design and scheduling, inventory management, Supply Chain Management, marketing, and competitors. The students learn about mass customization from both the producer\u27s perspective and the consumer\u27s perspective. Through their own research and the class presentations students are able to develop a better understanding of the implementation requirements and challenges of mass customization. The assignment is highly interactive and has been successfully used in Operations Management and Supply Chain Management courses at under-graduate and graduate levels and at multiple universities. In addition, practitioners interested in implementing a mass customization process can use the assignment as a brainstorming or benchmarking exercise

Empirical Evidence of RFID Impacts on Supply Chain Performance

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the actual benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID) on supply chain performance through the empirical evidence. Design/methodology/approach - The research reviews and classifies the existing quantitative empirical evidence of RFID on supply chain performance. The evidence is classified by process (operational or managerial) and for each process by effect (automational, informational, and transformational). Findings - The empirical evidence shows that the major effects from the implementation of RFID are automational effects on operational processes followed by informational effects on managerial processes. The RFID implementation has not reached transformational level on either operational or managerial processes. RFID has an automational effect on operational processes through inventory control and efficiency improvements. An informational effect for managerial processes is observed for improved decision quality, production control and the effectiveness of retail sales and promotions coordination. In addition, a three-stage model is proposed to explain the effects of RFID on the supply chain. Research limitations/implications - Limitations of this research include the use of secondary sources and the lack of consistency in performance measure definitions. Future research could focus on detailed case studies that investigate cross-functional applications across the organization and the supply chain. Practical implications - For managers, the empirical evidence presented can help them identify implementation areas where RFID can have the greatest impact. The data can be used to build the business case for RFID and therefore better estimate ROI and the payback period. Originality/value - This research fills a void in the literature by providing practitioners and researchers with a better understanding of the quantitative benefits of RFID in the supply chain

Study of Bacterial and Fungal profile in Bronchoalveolar Lavage from Chronic Respiratory Diseases patients attending a tertiary care centre in Thanjavur and Molecular characterisation for the commonest organism isolated

OBJECTIVE: Chronic respiratory diseases are a major public health problem in India as well as worldwide. Pulmonary infections are attributed as the most cause of exacerbations in this group of diseases. Broncho alveolar lavage as a diagnostic technique has improved the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosing pulmonary infections. Institutional antibiogram plays as vital tool for antimicrobial resistance detection and monitoring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospectively BAL fluid for Chronic respiratory diseases cases was analyzed for bacterial and fungal isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done for bacterial isolates. Molecular characterization was done for the commonest isolated organism. RESULTS: From 100 BAL samples processed for culture of bacterial and fungal, 35 samples showed positive growth. Out of which 25 were bacterial isolates and 10 were fungal isolates. Kelbsiella pneumoniae 20% was the commonest bacterial pathogen. Candida albicans 14% was the commonest fungus isolated. High antimicrobial resistant was noted in Acinetobacter baumanii. Gram negative bacterias exhibited more antimicrobial resistance than Gram positive organisms. 100% sensitivity was observed to lineolid and vancomycin. Pulmonary infections was more prevalent in COPD among chronic respiratory diseases. CONCLUSION: Bronchoalveolar lavage an invasive quantitative diagnostic procedures as has increased the sensitivity and specificity of pulmonary infection diagnosis. Gram negative bacterias are emerging as primary pathogens and exhibits high antibiotic resistance. Every health set up needs an updated antibiogram based on bacterial patterns and antibiotic resistant pattern for the judicious use of antibiotics

Radio Frequency Identification Technology: Applications, Technical Challenges and Strategies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss the technology behind RFID systems, identify the applications of RFID in various industries, and discuss the technical challenges of RFID implementation and the corresponding strategies to overcome those challenges. Design/methodology/approach - Comprehensive literature review and integration of the findings from literature. Findings - Technical challenges of RFID implementation include tag cost, standards, tag and reader selection, data management, systems integration and security. The corresponding solution is suggested for each challenge. Research limitations/implications - A survey type research is needed to validate the results. Practical implications - This research offers useful technical guidance for companies which plan to implement RFID and we expect it to provide the motivation for much future research in this area. Originality/value - As the infancy of RFID applications, few researches have existed to address the technical issues of RFID implementation. Our research filled this gap

Dynamic Voltage Scaling Aware Delay Fault Testing

The application of Dynamic Voltage Scaling (DVS) to reduce energy consumption may have a detrimental impact on the quality of manufacturing tests employed to detect permanent faults. This paper analyses the influence of different voltage/frequency settings on fault detection within a DVS application. In particular, the effect of supply voltage on different types of delay faults is considered. This paper presents a study of these problems with simulation results. We have demonstrated that the test application time increases as we reduce the test voltage. We have also shown that for newer technologies we do not have to go to very low voltage levels for delay fault testing. We conclude that it is necessary to test at more than one operating voltage and that the lowest operating voltage does not necessarily give the best fault cover

Mesoporosity, thermochemical and probabilistic failure analysis of fired locally sourced kaolinitic clay

A dense and mesoporous ceramic from locally sourced Nigerian clay under fracture-strength test were produced and the reliability analysis of the fractured strength was conducted using a three-parameter Weibull probability distribution. The samples were prepared by addition of starch (0–20wt%), pressed at 60 MPa and fired at 1300 °C. The as-received Nigerian clay, dense and porous ceramic were characterized using XRD, XRF, TGA/DTA, PSD, multi-point BET and FESEM. The fracture strength of the samples (33 each) was determined using a three-point bending test. The fracture strength data were analyzed using three-parameter Weibull probability distribution. From the characterization results, a mullite ceramic formed at a sintering temperature of 1300 °C. The threshold strength for the three-parameter Weibull provides the strength below which the dense and the porous ceramic will not fail. The Weibull moduli of the ceramics at different starch compositions show that failure modes in these materials are not identical. The Weibull modulus increases with increase in percentage starch from 0% to 15%. However, the value decreases with 20% starch addition. Reliability analysis provides a detailed interpretation and assessment of the fracture strength of the porous ceramics

Understanding the cost of change Function: A basis for using an effective small step change strategy

This paper develops the cost of change function under the Continuous Improvement (CI) paradigm advocated by quality gurus such as Deming, Taguchi, and Shingo. CI is considered to be focusing on "frame bending" or minor changes while Organizational Change (OC) is considered to be focusing on "frame breaking " or major changes. The cost of change function is modified to be a discrete function incorporating a "monitoring" cost component and a "doing" cost element, which leads to a better understanding of the multiple tradeoffs: a) between the number of smaller steps to be taken to achieve the desired or planned change and the total cost of change, and b) between the total cost of change and the time needed to achieve the desired change. It is proposed to seek validation of the modified cost of change function by interviewing senior management personnel, who have project management and/or change management experience, such as managing six-sigma projects