20,166 research outputs found
Product customisation: an empirical study of competitive advantage and repeat business
Empirical evidence is presented from 24 UK based manufacturing companies, all offering a degree of product customisation, with most having a significant Engineer-to-order (ETO) element. The majority of the companies are SMEâs, with the associated limited managerial resources. The evidence addresses the issues of competitive advantage, including a detailed investigation of the strategic importance of repeat business. It contrasts its results with those generally found in the literature and concludes that there are significant differences in the order winners/ qualifiers. In particular, the evidence suggests that customisation is an order qualifier rather than an order winner; as it is increasingly unlikely that competitors will only offer a more standard product. Thus alternative order winners are needed and often price becomes the most significant factor, rather than being a mere order qualifier. Four different types of repeat business are then identified and the strategic importance of repeat business is discussed. It is indicated that for some ETO companies, repeat business is perceived to be an important method to reduce costs and achieve business stability. However, a number of the other companies studied saw repeat business as infeasible and hence need to find other ways to reduce costs and improve company performance measures, such as lead times. Future research to extend this work into a longitudinal study is proposed. Issues to explore are how the importance of repeat business has changed, and how the companies have evolved in terms of the degree of customisation offered versus that offered by their competitors
Managing UIC Medical Center Policies Using DSpace
The University of Illinois at Chicagoâs University Archives found that using the DSpace institutional repository software is an effective, if not elegant, solution for the submission, search, and retrieval of a set of vital university records. This case study discusses the process of using the institutional repository to manage the University of Illinois Medical Centerâs electronic policies and procedures documents
Primary Sources in Kâ12 Education: Opportunities for Archives
Recent developments in the field of Kâ12 (kindergarten through twelfth grade) education have made archival resources essential tools for many teachers. Inquiry-based learning, document-based questions, and high stakes standardized testing have converged to make primary resources an important teaching tool in elementary and secondary education. Teaching and testing Kâ12 students require analysis of primary documents, so that archival records take their place alongside the test tube and the textbook in many American classrooms. These trends represent an opportunity for archives to expand their patron base, establish contacts in the community, contribute to the vitality of public education in their communities, and cultivate the next generation of archivesâ users, donors, and supporters. This paper encourages archivists to consider Kâ12 students and their teachers when planning programs, digital products, and services
Formation and large-scale patterns of filament channels and filaments
2015ASSL..415..355MThe properties and large-scale patterns of filament channels and filaments are considered. Initially, the global formation locations of filament channels and filaments are discussed, along with their hemispheric pattern. Next, observations of the formation of filament channels and filaments are described where two opposing views are considered. Finally, the wide range of models that have been constructed to consider the formation of filament channels and filaments over long time-scales are described, along with the origin of the hemispheric pattern of filaments
Fair Shares for All? The development of needs based governmental funding in education, health and housing
Furthering equity as an achievable public policy objective is based on the ability to assess needs accurately, and distribute resources accordingly. This paper plots the development of the formulae governing resouce allocation in education, health and social housing, and charts their course as a tool with which governments attempted to achieve various objectives. The paper begins by suggesting that allocation systems can be explained through a form of public choice theory. It then charts the development of needs-based resource allocation from its origin in the nineteenth century, through the pre- and post Second World War period, and into the major flowering of needs-based formulae since 1970 - when resources were constrained and attempts were made to push allocation even further down and apply the formulae to smaller units. The conclusion looks at equity, public choice and technical ability as over-riding features governing the development of resource allocation within the English state sector.Resource allocation, funding formulae, geographical equity
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