Relation of project managers' personality and project performance: an approach based on value stream mapping

Purpose: This work investigates the influence of project managers’ personality on the success of a project in a Multinational Corporation. The methodology proposed for analyzing the project managers’ personality is based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Design/methodology/approach: Forty projects carried out in 2012 by multinational corporation, concerning new product development (NPD), have been analyzed, comparing the profile of project managers with results obtained in terms of traditional performance indexes (time delay and over-budget of projects) and performance indexes usually used in “Lean Production” sector (waste time and type of “wastes”). A detailed analysis of the most important “wastes” during the project development is carried out using the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) technique. Findings and Originality/value: Relying on the Myers–Briggs personality instrument, results show that extroverted managers (as opposed to introverted managers) carry out projects that show lower delay and lower waste time. Introverted managers often make “Over-processing” and “Defect” types of waste. Moreover, lower delay and over-budget have been shown by perceiving managers. Research limitations: Regarding the limitations of this work it is necessary to highlight that we collected data from project managers in a retrospective way. While we believe that several aspects of our data collection effort helped enhance the accuracy of the results, future research could conduct real-time case study research to get more detailed insights into the proposed relationships and avoid retrospective bias. Moreover we focused on a single respondent, the project manager. This helped us ensure that their interpretations played an important role in product development. But, we cannot examined the opinion of team members that could be different from project managers opinion regarding some questions. Originality/value: This research provides insight useful to develop proactive approaches to prevent project failures, including the creation of more effective messages and methods to help companies to make the best choices during managers´ hiring. Moreover this research would allow organizations to better match the short-term organizational needs with appropriate personality types.Peer Reviewe

Myyntisihteerien perehdytyssuunnitelma Case: Huoneistokeskus Oy

Tämän toiminnallisen opinnäytetyön aiheena oli perehdytyssuunnitelman kehittäminen Huoneistokeskus Oy:n myyntisihteereille. Opinnäytetyön toimeksiantaja oli Huoneistokeskus Oy, joka on kiinteistönvälitys- ja arviointipalveluita tarjoava suomalainen yritys. Perehdytyssuunnitelman kohderyhmä oli Huoneistokeskus Oy:n uudet myyntisihteerit ja sen käyttäjät olivat heitä perehdyttävät myyntisihteerit. Myyntisihteerien perehdytykselle ei aikaisemmin ollut suunnitelmaa, mistä johtuen perehdytys oli puutteellista, sen lopputulos vaihteli ja sisältö jäi kokonaan perehdyttäjän vastuulle. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli toteuttaa sekä käyttäjiä että kohderyhmää palveleva perehdyttämissuunnitelma ja selvittää millainen sen tulisi olla. Työn tavoitteena oli yhtenäistää myyntisihteereiden perehdyttämistä ja saamaan sen laatu samanlaiseksi jokaisen uuden myyntisihteerin perehdytysprosessissa. Opinnäytetyön teoreettinen viitekehys koostui monipuolisesti perehdyttämiseen liittyvästä kirjallisuudesta, jossa pääpaino oli kuitenkin Työturvallisuuskeskuksen julkaisuilla. Teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä keskitytään aluksi perehdyttämiseen yleisesti, minkä jälkeen siirrytään perehdyttämistä koskevaan lainsäädäntöön, jonka huomioiminen on välttämätöntä onnistuneen perehdytyssuunnitelman kannalta. Tämän jälkeen perustellaan perehdyttämisen merkitys, ja lopuksi keskitytään perehdyttämisen suunnitteluun, johon koko perehdytyssuunnitelma pohjautui. Seuraavaksi kuvattiin perehdytysprosessi, koska perehdytyssuunnitelma rakentui sen mukaan. Lisäksi tutkimusmenetelmiin ja niiden analysointiin liittyvä teoria esiteltiin erikseen niitä koskevissa luvuissa. Tutkimusmenetelminä käytettiin teemahaastattelua ja benchmarkingia. Teemahaastatteluissa haastateltiin kahta perehdytyssuunnitelman käyttäjää sekä kahta sen kohderyhmän edustajaa. Haastattelujen tarkoituksena oli selvittää millainen perehdytyssuunnitelma palvelisi käyttäjiä ja kohderyhmää parhaiten sekä kartoittaa nykyisen perehdytysprosessin kulku benchmarkingia varten. Lisäksi benchmarkingia varten toteutettiin ryhmähaastattelu kahdelle Huoneistokeskus Oy:n myyntineuvottelijalle. Benchmarkingin tarkoituksena oli hyödyntää yrityksestä valmiiksi löytyvää myyntineuvottelijoiden perehdytyssuunnitelmaa. Tutkimusmenetelmien sekä teoreettisen viitekehyksen avulla kehitettiin perehdytyssuunnitelma, jonka kuka tahansa Huoneistokeskus Oy:n perehdyttävistä myyntisihteereistä tai myyntijohtajista saa käyttöönsä yrityksen Intranetistä. Perehdytyssuunnitelmaa tullaan hyödyntämään jokaisen uuden myyntisihteerin perehdyttämisessä ja sitä tullaan päivittämään tarpeen mukaan.The objective of this thesis was to develop an induction program for the sales secretaries of Huoneistokeskus Oy. This study was commissioned by Huoneistokeskus Oy that provides real estate and home assessment services. The target group was the sales secretaries of the company. The lack of an induction program for the target group caused defective orientation with varying results. In addition, the responsibility of the induction was entirely delegated to the experienced sales secretaries. The purpose of this study was to create an induction program that serves both the users and target group. The other purpose was to standardize the induction process and to ensure standard quality in the induction process of every new sales secretary. The theoretical section of the thesis was based on a variety of induction-related literature. The focus of the literature was on the publications of the Centre of Occupational Safety. Firstly, the theoretical section focuses generally in induction. Secondly, the focus shifts to legislation. The legislation of the subject has to be observed for the purpose of creating a functional induction program. Next, the theoretical section argues the need of induction. Arguments are followed by a section of planning that is the base for the induction program. Finally, the progress of the induction process has been described, since the whole induction program bases on it. The empirical section includes theory about the research methods that were theme interview and benchmarking. Two users of the induction program and two spokesmen representing the target group were theme interviewed. One objective of the interviews was to discover what type of induction program would serve its users and the target group best. The other objective was to clarify the current induction process of the sales secretaries for benchmarking. In addition, one theme interview was conducted as a group interview with two sales negotiators, for the purpose of benchmarking. The objective of the benchmarking was the utilization of the current induction program of the sales negotiators of Huoneistokeskus Oy. By exploiting the theoretical section and research methods, an executable induction program was drawn up as a result. This program is found and regularly updated on the company intranet. It will be used by all inductive sales secretaries and sales directors in the induction of new sales secretaries of Huoneistokeskus Oy

Way for reducing drug supply chain cost for a hospital district: a case study

Purpose: This work aims at providing insights to optimise healthcare logistic of the drug management, in order to deal with the healthcare expenditure cut. In this paper the effects of different drug supply chain configurations, on the resulting average stock, service level and Bullwhip effect, of the studied supply chain, is quantitatively assessed. Design/methodology/approach: A case study of an Italian district has been studied, taking into account three echelons: suppliers, central stock, and hospitals. A model of the various supply chain configurations has been created with the use of the simulation. Specifically, 24 supply chain configurations have been examined, stemming from the combination of several supply chain design parameters, namely: transshipment policies (Emergency Lateral Transshipment or Total Inventory Equalization); re-order and inventory management policies (Economic Order Quantity or Economic Order Interval); required service levels (90% or 95%); the number of available vans (one or two). For each configuration, hospital average stock, service level and a “Bullwhip effect” analysis are computed. To know which input variables are statistically significant, a DoE (Design of Experiments) analysis has been executed. Findings: The output of this paper provides useful insights and suggestions to optimize the healthcare logistic and drug supply chain. According to the developed DoE analysis, it can be stated that the introduction of transshipment policies provides important improvement in terms of service and stock levels. To reduce the Bullwhip effect, which results in a service level decreasing, and in a managing stock costs increasing, it is worth to adopt an EOQ re-order policy. Practical implications: This research gives practical recommendations to the studied system, in order to reduce costs and maintain a very satisfactory service level. Originality/value: This paper fulfils an identified need to study which combination of transshipment policies, re-order/inventory management policies and required service levels, can be the best one to reduce costs and maintain a very satisfactory service level, in the specific logistic system.Peer Reviewe

Spontaneous volunteerism in disasters, managerial inputs and policy implications from Italian case studies

The landscape of the emergency response system is rapidly changing, due also to an increasing frequency of natural and man-made disasters. Nowadays, the involvement of citizens into the whole emergency management is inevitable and indispensable, from preparedness to recovery operations. Drawing on international disaster management literature, this research analyzes and compares the management of spontaneous volunteers during six emergency events that recently occurred in Italy. The research's aims are to present current tendencies of the Italian emergency volunteerism, to provide operational recommendations for organizations that may be in charge of managing unaffiliated volunteers and to propose some hints for a reform process of the Italian Civil Protection System towards a recognition of the spontaneous volunteerism in emergency. Starting from the research's findings, the study underlines the latest trends in the field of emergency operations, at a local and international level, and their policy implications, within the Italian context

Gamification in engineering education: A pedagogical perspective

The implementation of game structure components into genuine circumstances not ordinarily connected with games is what is usually labelled as Gamification. Born in the economical world in order to change customers’ behaviour and making the products more appealing, Gamification is rapidly growing in the realm of instruction. Both areas overlap in many respects (motivation, assessing and certifying levels, feedback, practice…) and this made the transfer from one field to the other easier. In engineering studies, which is the context of this research, Gamification is quite a spread out pedagogical model. Nevertheless, Gamification depends on many variables and failure is not an unusual aspect of this methodological implementation. Sometimes considered a tautological autonomous didactic strategy, it is applied with little awareness of its pedagogical implications. Specific aim of this paper is to highlight the existing correlation between gamified features and the correspondent pedagogical evidencebased research or theories in order to prospect new scenarios for teaching processes in higher education

Humanitarian logistics and supply chain standards. Literature review and view from practice

Purpose: The paper is focused on standards in humanitarian logistics and supply chain. Standards, implemented between organisations, allow improving the interoperability of humanitarian operations. The paper aims (1) to review a state-of-the-art approach to the topic by the academic community, (2) to evaluate the current use of standards among humanitarian organisations and (3) to investigate the perceived need for further and specific standards. Design/methodology/approach:To achieve the aims, the literature was reviewed; then a survey on 227 professionals from the humanitarian logistics sector was conducted. Findings: Based on 227 responses, it is possible to conclude that most surveyed professionals recognise the need for and the importance of standardisation in humanitarian logistics, especially in areas such as procurement, distribution, medical logistics and logistics planning, which were perceived as critical areas that require standardisation. Research limitations/implications: Practitioners and scholars were targeted via social media, through mailing lists and via communication from the practitioner organisation – the Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA). While it provided good access to different groups of respondents, the response rate is not possible to calculate. Practical implications: The findings confirm the high importance of standardisation, indicating areas and functions that should be standardised first. Standardisation may improve cooperation between different humanitarian actors, allowing better service provision for beneficiaries. Thus there are also potential negative impacts, i.e. impact on localisation, which should be overcome. Social implications: Results do not have a direct social impact; however, they stimulate research and work among practitioners on standardisation, which in turn could improve cooperation between humanitarian actors, thereby enabling a better humanitarian response in emergencies. Originality/value: The majority of papers on standardisation use a qualitative approach. This paper applies a survey among a large network of humanitarian practitioners, capturing their view on the topic and perception of the need for standardisation. The work is descriptive; however, it could be used as a base for further studies related to humanitarian standards.peerReviewe

Short food supply chain between micro/small farms and restaurants: An exploratory study in the Marche region

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the strength and weakness connected to the implementation of a local food logistics services, designed to facilitate and enable the use of local food among restaurants. Design/methodology/approach A total of 60 restaurateurs located in a small Italian city and 100 owners of micro and small-sized farms, located within a 30 km radius from the city, have been interviewed. The collected data have been analysed through descriptive analysis and Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests for differences between gender, production type and business size. Findings The results agree with existing literature: poor communication and an unstructured logistics limit the interaction among actors. However, significant for the purpose, the data show that producers are interested in expanding their market and restaurateurs are interested in a broader supply of local products, and they both open to a logistics service that improves the supply of local food. Research limitations/implications The following exploratory study is based on a sample of farmers and restaurants in a specific area so the results could not be generalised in a national/international context. Practical implications The logistics service objective is the promotion of a sustainable territory development in support of the social economy values. Originality/value The study investigates this issue focussing on a practical solution of local food distribution system among restaurants. The logistics service tends to solve the logistics criticalities maintaining the principles of the short food supply chain

A revised FMEA application to the quality control management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a cost-effective, time-saving and easy-to-use failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) system applied on the quality control of supplied products. The traditional FMEA has been modified and adapted to fit the quality control features and requirements. The paper introduces a new and revised FMEA approach, where the “failure concept” has been modified with “defect concept.” Design/methodology/approach – The typical FMEA parameters have been modified, and a non-linear scale has been introduced to better evaluate the FMEA parameters. In addition, two weight functions have been introduced in the risk priority number (RPN) calculus in order to consider different critical situations previously ignored and the RPN is assigned to several similar products in order to reduce the problem of complexity. Findings – A complete procedure is provided in order to assist managers in deciding on the critical suppliers, the creation of homogeneous families overcome the complexity of single product code approach, in RPN definition the relative importance of factors is evaluated. Originality/value – This different approach facilitates the quality control managers acting as a structured and “friendly” decision support system: the quality control manager can easily evaluate the critical situations and simulate different scenarios of corrective actions in order to choose the best one. This FMEA technique is a dynamic tool and the performed process is an iterative one. The method has been applied in a small medium enterprise producing hydro massage bathtub, shower, spas and that commercializes bathroom furniture. The firm application has been carried out involving a cross-functional and multidisciplinary team