A Framework for Positioning the Global Business

This framework offers positioning and revitalizing approaches by which high performing global businesses may strategically meet their global business challenges. These approaches offer ways to capture business competitiveness, and if approached in unison can yield additional benefit to the global business. A more responsive, revitalized global business can emerge – one capable of moving its position in conjunction with business-monitored customer drift or changed customer requirements. Several business or operational solutions, plus business-customer interface approaches, and a final services gateway system offer three challenging ways for the leading-edge global business to revitalize itself, and to competitively re-position itself closer to its customers. By setting very tough goals, the global business can then intelligently link its operational, business-customer interface and customer knowledge capture zones into a finely-tuned, multiple-channel services gateway connectivity system. Built outwardly from the interface this approach continually analyses, aligns, and refocuses the back-end business deliverables, as its best solution to each customer requirement

Working With a Unionized Faculty

Newly appointed supervisors are often concerned when they must oversee the work of employees who are members of a union. This workshop provides some basic information about unions and tips to being a good supervisor or manager in a union environment. The information is appropriate for Chairpersons and Deans

Talking to a DIsgruntled Faculty Member

Talking with disgruntled department members can be frustrating. This presentation discusses how Crucial Conversations training was used to help faculty and staff learn to communication more effectively with supervisors and peers. Selected techniques will be discussed with workshop participants

Logistics – A Pathway Towards ‘Sustainable’ Competitive Advantage for the Multinational Enterprise

The Internet is significantly changing the strategic behaviour of many businesses that operate in the global arena. Today, many multinational enterprises (MNEs) work closely with their logistics providers to enhance their competitive positions. They increasingly outsource their non-strategic business functions, with logistics providers picking up this new source of business. The MNE is moving more towards a ‘front-end’ or customer focused operation, with their key logistics providers aligning themselves as supply chain integrators. Logistics providers may be classified as 1st to 4th party logistics providers. A 4th party logistics provider provides complete supply side solutions for the MNE, plus a degree of demand side service. It becomes an integral part of the MNEs competitive solution set. This paper proposes that integrated, fully activated, demand-supply (FADS) chains provide a mechanism to move beyond 4th party logistics provider (4PLP) solutions. It elucidates the key clusters of skills levels that must be activated by the logistics provider to operate at the 5th party logistics provider (5PLP) FADS level of outsourcing and service. The 5PLP FADS logistics provider brings a vast array of ‘added-value skills’ to the MNE, and a key innovative, flexible and highly agile partnership results, whereby pathways towards ‘sustainable’ competitive advantage may be developed. The 5PLP FADS logistics model is the next step in the progression to total logistics integration

How to Transition from a Traditional to an E-Business Enabled Real Estate Agency

A framework is developed to enable transition from a typical real estate agency towards an e-business enabled business environment, based on an agency configuration located in Townsville, Australia. This transition is modeled according to a number of stages. In the strategic audit stage, a TOWS matrix is suggested which combines Porter’s Five Forces Model of Competition, adapted with a SWOT analysis. The next stage of an e-business case development for this real estate setting differentiates among inside partners, nearside partners, and external partners. Stage three states the composition of the systems analysis team, whereas in stage four the system architecture and infrastructure are specified, including a number of relevant legislative issues. Subsequently, the web interface design-stage is elaborated on, including accessing issues by different user groups. Two extreme examples of customer interfacing are presented to illustrate the need for the interface to be flexible, information gathering, and execution focused. These four stages summarize the transition process real estate agencies may work through to become fully e-business enabled

An e-Enabled Service Value Network for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Across Australia the pharmacy industry is undergoing major reform and re-structuring. Emerging technologies like e-pharmacies, new low cost players, pressures from supermarkets, doctors, consumers and politicians have changed the nature of this industry. Such pressures are causing the industry to unite, to draw all its component players together, and to deliver a new disruptive solution set that will likely radically change the status of competition. A service value network (SVN) framework is discussed as the likely scenario, and its major underlying dimensions are detailed. Such a SVN approach may eventually lead to better strategic alignment, higher industry performance (capabilities and delivery), greater valueadding solutions, increased customer satisfaction, and more competitive pricing

A Multi-Agent Business Intelligence Framework for the Travel Sector

Business Intelligence in the travel sector includes dimensions such as market intelligence, customer relationship management, yield management, employee scheduling, over/ under booking, tour management, and security management. Each of these dimensions is elaborated on and put in an overarching framework to enable better business intelligence management for the travel sector, identifying both internal and external partners in an increasingly complex industry with ongoing customization of product / service offerings, detailed customer segmentation, and data integration requirements. A multi-agent business intelligence framework is used for the customer interface and customization, linked to a corporate business intelligence system displaying the dimensions above

Presenting SEM models: journal and conference considerations

SEM is a versatile statistical technique for research across disciplines. The materials presented in SEM studies offer differing degrees of detail. This creates difficulties in assessing the validity and the applications of such SEM studies. This paper provides a working checklist of SEM required quality indicators. This checklist and five additional fixes are designed to assist SEM researchers and to help the reviewing of SEM studies offered for publication