Group technology: amalgamation with design of organisational structures

Group technology has been studied extensively from an ‘industrial engineering’ perspective (layout, scheduling, workflow, etc.), but less often from an organisational design viewpoint. To study this implication of group technology, the approach of applied systems theory for the design of organisational structures was used as framework for analysis in three empirical cases. To increase the reliability of findings from the analysis of these three empirical cases, five more cases were drawn from archival search. Cluster analysis and product flow analysis were the methods used for forming groups of machines and employees in manufacturing cells, whereas the coding of parts was not employed to this end. Furthermore, the results indicate that the implementation of group technology generally meets shifts in performance requirements caused by competitive pressures, particularly flexibility and responsiveness, albeit the companies considered group technology only when under pressure of ‘poor’ business performance. However, group technology is not always a solution to challenges that companies experience; one empirical case shows that defunctionalisation and scheduling with virtual groups was more beneficial. Nevertheless, when the introduction of group technology is feasible, it also allows firms to consider delegating responsibility for production planning and scheduling to lower levels in the hierarchy and semi-autonomous groups as an alternative to ‘complex’ software applications (a socio-technical approach). Whereas the current study sheds light on the relationship between group technology and design of organisational structures, further research is necessary into the design of these structures and their relationship to group technology

Industrial networks of the future:a critical commentary on research and practice

Academia has followed the interest by companies in establishing industrial networks by studying aspects such as social interaction and contractual relationships. But what patterns underlie the emergence of industrial networks and what support should research provide for practitioners? Firstly, it seems that manufacturing is becoming a commodity rather than a unique capability, which accounts especially for low-technology approaches in downstream parts of the network, for example in assembly operations. Secondly, the increased tendency to specialize forces other parts of industrial networks to introduce advanced manufacturing technologies for niche markets. Thirdly, the capital market for investments in capacity and the trade in manufacturing as a commodity dominates resource allocation to a larger extent. Fourthly, there will be a continuous move toward more loosely connected entities forming manufacturing networks. More traditional concepts, like keiretsu and chaibol networks, do not sufficiently support this transition. Research should address these fundamental challenges to prepare for the industrial networks of 2020 and beyond

Lean product development: nothing new under the sun?

The concept of lean product development has attracted the attention of many scholars since its inception in the 1990s derived from practices at Toyota Motor Company. Key to this approach to new product development (NPD) are a few methods derived from lean production as well as longer established practices such as concurrent engineering. This makes one wonder whether lean product development is a new practice, a new method or an encapsulation of already existing methods at the time; this quest for the roots and tenets of lean product development, also in comparison with other methods for NPD, is the focus of this paper. This journey takes this propositional paper not only to the roots of lean product development and the context of its era of conception, but also to what this concept adds to other extant methods for NPD. In particular, this comparison draws out that other methods are trying to achieve the same objectives: the creation of products and services with value to the customer, the reduction of time-to-market and the efficient use of resources. This inference implies that managers of new product (and service) development can choose from a wider pallet of methods and approaches to enhance the performance of R&D and to connect better to manufacturing (including supply chains). Inevitably, this has implications for research on (lean) product and service development; hence, this paper sets out a research agenda based on the deliberations and gaps that have been uncovered in the discourse

Theory Informing Decision-Making on Outsourcing: A Review of Four ‘Five- Year’ Snapshots Spanning 47 Years

This study investigates how researchers use theory for decision-making on outsourcing through a longitudinal systematic literature review covering four five-year intervals spanning 1965–2011. Each of the 249 retrieved papers has been categorised based on theory used, nature of literature review, research method, type of industry investigated, organisational functions, performance criteria and level of decision making. Notwithstanding a surge in academic writings on outsourcing, our analysis of the four periods shows that few papers contribute to theory or provide further insight into outsourcing. The focus of most papers tends to be on the practitioner’s perspective with decision making shifting from mainly financial–economic and operational considerations to strategic, long-term and multidimensional criteria that are not necessarily linked to a particular theoretical stance. The findings also imply that a full account of theories, their application as well as systematic testing in the context of outsourcing decision making, is still needed for advancing such knowledge. However, the evidence also suggests that methods for decision making do not vary much between domains and functions, although there are some exceptions, such as R&D, logistics and public sector functions. This study also identifies a framework for future research into decision-making on outsourcing

Practices for strategic capacity management in Malaysian manufacturing firms

While the notion of manufacturing capabilities is a long-standing notion in research on operations management, its actual implementation and management has been hardly researched. Five case studies in Malaysia offered the opportunity to examine the practice of manufacturing managers with regard to strategic capability management. The data collection and analysis was structured by using the notion of Strategic Capacity Management. Whereas traditionally literature has demonstrated the beneficial impact of an appropriate manufacturing strategy on the business strategy and performance, the study highlights the difficulty of managers to set the strategy, let alone implementing it. This is partly caused by the immense pressure of customers in these dominantly Make-To-Order environments for SMEs. Current concepts for manufacturing capabilities have insufficiently accounted this phenomenon and an outline of a research agenda is presented

Effects of a Pre-Molt Calcium and Low-Energy Molt Program on Laying Hen Behavior During and Post-Molt

The objectives of this study were to compare the behavior of the laying hen kept in a cage system when offered a pre-molt calcium treatment and low-energy molt diets versus a traditional feed-withdrawal during induced molt. A total of 144 Hy-Line W-36 laying hens (85 wk of age), weighing 1.7 ± 0.2 kg, were used. Laying hens were housed 3 per cage (30.5 cm wide × 40.6 cm deep × 44.5 cm high), providing 413 cm 2 per hen. Six treatments were compared in a 2 × 3 factorial design with 2 Ca (coarse and fine) pre-molt treatments and 3 molt diets: feed withdrawal (FW), soybean hulls (SH), and wheat middlings (WM). The Ca pre-molt treatment was defined as the period when the hens received either a combination of fine (0.14 mm in diameter) and coarse (2.27 mm in diameter) CaCO3 or an all-fine CaCO3 mixed into a commercial diet for 1 wk. Both diets were formulated to contain 4.6% Ca, such that only the particle size of the CaCO3 differed between the 2 treatments. Hens had free access to feed and water and had a 24-h photoperiod. The 3 molt diets were applied (FW, SH, or WM) for a total of 28 d. The hens assigned to the FW diet were deprived of feed for 7 d with free access to water followed by 21 d of skip-a-day feeding restricted to 60 g of feed/hen per feeding day. The hens fed the WM and SH molt diets were given free access to feed and water during the entire 28 d molt period. Lighting was reduced to 8 h for the first 3 wk and was then increased to 12 h at the start of the last week of molt. Behavior was recorded by camera once before molt, twice during molt, and twice post-molt for 2 h in the morning and 2 h at night. The acquisition of 2 postures and 5 behaviors were obtained by 2 experienced observers who viewed the recordings using 24 h mode onto the Observer software using a 1 min scan sampling technique. Postures and behaviors were not different among treatments during the baseline period. The Ca pre-molt treatment had no carryover effect during or post-molt. The hens assigned to the FW molt diet spent more time in active postures and feeding and drinking behaviors during molt compared to hens fed the other 2 molt diets. Post-molt, all hens, regardless of molt diet, spent the same amount of time in each of these behaviors. The hens assigned to the FW molt diet spent more time preening during molt compared to post-molt, whereas the hens fed the WM and SH molt diets did not differ between the 2 periods (Table 1). In conclusion, these low-energy molt diets did not adversely affect the postures and behaviors of the laying hen and are therefore acceptable dietary alternatives to FW for inducing molt

Effects of a Pre-Molt Calcium and Low-Energy Molt Program on Laying Hen Production Before, During and Post-Molt

The objectives of this study were to compare the production of laying hens when offered a Ca pre-molt treatment and low-energy molt diets versus a traditional feed-withdrawal (FW) before, during, and after an induced molt. A total of 792 Hy-Line W-36 laying hens (85 wk of age, 1.7 ± 0.2 kg), housed 3 per cage, (413 cm 2 /hen) were used. Six treatments were compared in a 2 × 3 factorial design with 2 Ca (coarse and fine) pre-molt treatments and 3 molt diets: FW, soybean hulls (SH), and wheat middlings (WM). The Ca pre-molt treatment was defined as the period when the hens received either a combination of fine (0.14 mm in diameter) and coarse (2.27 mm in diameter) CaCO3 or an all-fine CaCO3 mixed into a commercial diet for 1 wk. Both diets were formulated to contain 4.6% Ca, such that only the particle size of the CaCO3 differed between the 2 treatments. Hens had free access to feed and water and had a 24-h photoperiod. The 3 molt diets were applied for a total of 28 d. The hens assigned to the FW molt diet were deprived of feed for 7 d with free access to water followed by 21 d of skip-a-day feeding restricted to 60 g of feed/hen per feeding day. The hens fed the WM and SH molt diets were provided free access to feed and water during the entire 28 d molt period. Lighting was reduced to 8 h for the first 3 wk and was then increased to 12 h at the start of the last week of molt. During the 22 wk post-molt, hens were fed a laying hen diet and lighting was increased by 1 h each week to 16 h. The fine-Ca pre-molt treatment was more effective than the coarse-Ca pre-molt treatment at decreasing egg production during molt and increasing egg production after molt regardless of which molt diet was fed (P \u3c 0.05). The FW molt diet resulted in the most complete molt with a greater decrease in egg production during molt (P \u3c 0.05). The SH molt diet compared to the WM molt diet was more effective at inducing molt with lower egg production and ovary and oviduct weights during molt (P \u3c 0.05), however, the WM molt diet resulted in the highest egg production and body weight post-molt compared to the other 2 molt diets (P \u3c 0.05). In conclusion, a fine-Ca pre-molt treatment and a low-energy molt diet containing WM or SH can be useful alternatives to a FW molt

Analysis of paleomagnetic data: a tribute to Hans Zijderveld. Introduction

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43920/1/11288_2004_Article_147505.pd