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This chapter presents a model that helps Information systems (IS) and project managers assess and ultimately narrow the gaps between customer needs and project outcomes. In many IS organizations, the primary measure of project success lies in meeting some combination of project specifications, a project deadline, and a project budget. To ensure success, IS and project managers should link project planning to control actions that relate customer goals to end results. IS and project managers must envision and apply a model that translates customer requirements into a specific sequence of management actions. The project team understands the importance of remote sales and marketing access to the data base as a desired feature in the order management system. The order management system, the project team is unable to execute what is an adequate plan because it lacks expertise in database design or the requisite hardware cannot be supplied in a timely manner by the customer or a vendor.

Problem Statement: Considerable effort has been devoted over the years by many organizations to adopt quality management practices, but few studies have assessed critical factors that affect quality practices in healthcare organizations. The problem addressed in this study was to assess the critical factors influencing the quality management practices in a single important industry (i.e., healthcare). Approach: A survey instrument was adapted from business quality literature and was sent to all hospitals in a large US Southeastern state. Valid responses were received from 147 of 189 hospitals yielding a 75.6% response rate. Factor analysis using principal component analysis with an orthogonal rotation was performed to assess 58 survey items designed to measure ten dimensions of hospital quality management practices. Results: Eight factors were shown to have a statistically significant effect on quality management practices and were classified into two groups: (1) four strategic factors (role of management leadership, role of the physician, customer focus, training resources investment) and (2) four operational factors (role of quality department, quality data/reporting, process management/training and employee relations). The results of this study showed that a valid and reliable instrument was developed and used to assess quality management practices in hospitals throughout a large US state. Conclusion: The implications of this study provided an understanding that management of quality required both a focus on longer-term strategic leadership, as well as day-to-day operational management. It was recommended that healthcare researchers and practitioners focus on the critical factors identified and employ this survey instrument to manage and better understand the nature of hospital quality management practices across wider geographical regions and over longer time periods. Furthermore, this study extended the scope of existing quality management literature to the healthcare industry throughout an entire state and contributed to theory about the nature of quality management practices.

With the use of questionnaire data from owners, presidents, CEOs, and chairmen of boards and a logistic regression approach, we analyzed the manufacturing strategies of 64 new-venture firms in the computer and communications equipment manufacturing industries. We found statistically significant differences in manufacturing posture as a function of whether the new venture was corporate-sponsored or independent (i.e., new venture origin). The findings suggest that independent firms attack the market with superior product quality with the use of technology in the public domain. They offer a narrow range of products directed to a few large customers and do not make developing new products a primary issue. In contrast, corporate-sponsored tirms are less concerned with superior product quality but emphasize patented technology and new product development. They provide a broader range of products and service smaller customer orders.

The importance of reducing product lotsizes in converting traditional job shops into just‐in‐time (JIT) type manufacturing systems has been addressed in the literature. This paper presents a lotsize reduction model for closed stochastic production systems. The model is formulated based on an M/G/c queuing lotsize model. Product lotsize choice is related to all major components of job flow time: waiting time in queue, batch processing time, batch moving time, and finished goods warehousing time. The research is motivated by the fact that an optimal lotsize solution that minimizes only average job waiting time in the shop may not be optimal when the effects of job batch processing time, batch moving time, and batch warehousing time are also considered. There is no general closed form solution to the model due to the complexity of its nonlinear formulation. Based on the unique properties of the model, heuristic solution procedures are developed. The research demonstrates opportunities for shop managers to significantly reduce product lotsizes while minimizing total operating cost.

There is a substantial body of work in the literature linking quality management training to firm performance. Many of the conclusions and prescriptions are based on anecdotal evidence. In this pap...

Traditionally, job shop research has only considered constraints related to machine and labour availability. With the advent of flexible manufacturing systems and just-in-time manufacturing, practitioners have recognized the importance of auxiliary resources (e.g. tooling) in production activity control and shop scheduling. In recent years, it has been recognized that theory and practice based on labour-constrained job shops cannot be generalized to auxiliary resource-constrained job shops. This paper presents a study of scheduling in the dynamic job shop under auxiliary resource constraints. Local and lookahead dispatching and resource assignment rules, and a global Contingency Based Scheduling (CBS) approach are developed and evaluated in a dynamic job shop constrained by auxiliary resources. Several traditional measures of performance are employed, including root mean square of tardiness, average system time and percentage of auxiliary resource changes. As shop utilization increases, the study reveals that the CBS algorithm is the only scheduling mechanism that consistently provides high performance on all three measures.

Effective project management involves not only meeting schedules, budgets, and specifications, but also the strategic issue of whether project outcomes meet customer needs. The extent to which they do not is most often the result of one or more performance gaps in project planning and execution. This article presents a model that helps IS managers assess and narrow these gaps and foster a continuous cycle of improvement typical of learning organizations.

Over the past several years, a number of survey, classification, and review articles have focused on scheduling research in machine [only] constrained job shops. Barring the work of Treleven (1989), there is no reported research that presents a detailed review of the issues related to scheduling and sequencing in job shops with multiple resource constraints. In his article, Treleven reviewed the research in job shops constrained by machines and labour. Job shops are not only constrained by machines and labour, but by auxiliary resources (in the form of tooling, etc.) as well. This paper extends the work of Treleven by reviewing the literature on scheduling in job shops constrained by more than one resource and comparing the scheduling research in auxiliary resource-constrained job shops with that of labour-constrained job shops. In addition, this article raises some issues for future scheduling research in multiple resource-constrained job shops.

This paper reports the results of a study of total quality management (TQM) adoption practices in family-owned manufacturing firms. Family-owned firms were found more often than other firms to be total “non adopters” of TQM. The study clearly demonstrates that highest family owned firm performance levels are associated with a more holistic and complete TQM adoption pattern.

Cell formation design in cellular manufacturing systems (CMS) has been the focus of recent manufacturing research literature. A great amount of research has been published addressing either technical issues (e.g. part‐machine grouping algorithms) or operational issues (e.g. planning and scheduling in the CMS). Research addressing strategic issues in cell formation design has been minimal. Addresses strategic considerations in cell formation design, specifically, the linkage and relationships between specific cell design issues and the firm′s competitive advantage in the marketplace. It is demonstrated that cell formation design decisions must be addressed in alignment with the firm′s strategic plan and manufacturing competitive priorities.

The relationship between setup time reduction and performance improvement in the stochastic closed manufacturing cell is addressed. The improved cell performance is linked with the potential competitive advantage of the firm in the marketplace. An M/G/1 queueing model of a ‘closed manufacturing cell’ (i.e., the cell produces to stock rather than to order) is formulated. Decreasing marginal improvements in cell flow time are shown to result from job setup time reductions. Additionally, marginal reductions in optimal product batch sizes and flow time variance are also shown to diminish as job setup time decreases. Suggestions are provided for allocating limited capital among heterogeneous products for setup time reduction purposes. For given product mix, optimal allocation of setup time reduction investment is shown to be dependent on key product and production parameters.

This paper describes a case assignment (calendaring) algorithm for a multi-judge appellate court system. In the algorithm, cases of unequal work content are selected for assignment to one of m panels (or clusters) from a set of N available cases. Each panel of cases is heard by a team of three judges. Each appellate case has an estimated work load and a priority ranking based on the type of appeal and filing date with the court. The algorithm balances both the total work load and the number of cases assigned to each panel while insuring that the highest priority cases are assigned to those available. The assignment problem is normally capacity constrained in that not all of the N cases can be assigned to one of the m panels on the monthly calendar. The algorithm is based on a neighborhood search and bounding principle that continually improves upon an initial feasible solution. Empirical results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the algorithm.

This research addresses performance issues for Just-In-Time types of “manufacturing cells”. Prior research ignores the pragmatic reality that the formation of manufacturing cells does not always totally eliminate stochastic job arrivals and setup requirements between successive jobs. These issues are addressed in this research through an analysis of the queueing consequences of product mix decisions. Specifically, this research is focused on the linkage between competitive advantage, traditional cell performance measures, and product mix selections. A “closed” shop is considered (i.e., a manufacturing cell that produces to stock rather than to order). Managerial insights are derived for product mix selection. Performance of a manufacturing cell in terms of mean and variance of job flow time is shown to improve with increasing product homogeneity (i.e., reduced variability among setup time requirements and unit processing time requirements). Optimal product batch sizes are also shown to decrease with increasing product homogeneity. Finally, the relationships between product mix characteristics and cell performance measures are related to the shop's competitive advantage.

This research involves the development and evaluation of a part flow control model for a type of flexible manufacturing system (FMS) called a dedicated flexible flow line (FFL). In the FFL, all part types flow along the same path between successive machine groups. The specific objective of the part flow control model for the FFL is to minimize makespan for a given set of parts produced in a FFL near-term schedule, given fixed available buffer constraints. The control model developed in this research involved the repeated, real-time execution of a mathematical programming algorithm. The algorithm attempts to release the right mix of parts at the tight time to keep the FFL operating smoothly. The focus of the approach is directed toward managing WIP buffers for each machine group queue. The algorithm specifically incorporates stochastic disturbance factors such as machine failures. Through a limited number of simulation experiments, performance of the control model is shown to be superior to other parts releasing and control methods reported in the literature.

This research addresses the interdependent nature of manufacturing and marketing decisions in new venture firms. Based on an empirical study of new venture firms in the communications and computer equipment manufacturing industry, the research first shows that the perception of key aspects of the environment, entry barriers, and hostility does not differ between successful and unsuccessful new venture firms. Such a finding suggests that new venture success is based on much more than an accurate perception of the environment. In contrast, differences in performances are more likely to be attributable to the manner in which the firms constitute and implement their strategies, given their perceptions of the environment. The research also reveals no underlying difference in manufacturing and marketing breadth between successful and unsuccessful new venture firms. The research thus, does not support the proposition that successful new ventures must be limited in scope to a narrow product range, a small market segment, a narrow geographic market, and a limited number of distribution channels. A successful firm in this industry may strategically “focus” on alternative competitive advantages such as customization, delivery speed, product development and innovation. Such a concept of focus is not based on the notion of a narrow product mix for a particular market niche, but on a coherent set of tasks based on market requirements. This research illustrates the importance of the interaction between manufacturing and marketing decisions in predicting new venture firm success. However, the study also suggests that consistency among manufacturing decisions alone may be insufficient to predict firm success. Likewise, consistency among marketing decisions alone is insufficient to predict firm success. As a result, any study that purports to predict new venture firm success based only on an analysis of manufacturing decisions is suspect. The interaction of manufacturing and marketing decisions is only moderately successful in predicting firm success, indicating that the manufacturing and marketing interface is important, but still doesn't provide a complete picture of firm synergy. A more complete model for predicting firm success should likely incorporate other strategic, interdependent relationships with manufacturing and marketing decisions (i.e., the firm's human resource management strategy, financial strategy, R and D posture, etc).

This research addresses the need for empirical research to describe the interrelation among manufacturing decisions and business strategies that affect performance. This research identifies four va...

This research addresses new venture firm performance as a function of consistency between manufacturing and business unit strategy. The empirical study involved 217 new venture firms in the communications and computer equipment manufacturing industries. The results of the study indicate that successful firms exhibit a “consistency” between manufacturing and price-driven business unit strategy. This same consistency was not observed between manufacturing and quality-driven business unit strategy. The research suggests that successful new venture managers are able to correctly relate key manufacturing decisions to business unit strategy. Interestingly, the results of this study tend to indicate that both successful and unsuccessful firms have essentially the same perception of the industry. However, unsuccessful firms lack the ability to match key manufacturing decisions and business unit strategy.

This research addresses key elements in the manufacturing strategy of 64 new venture firms in the computer and communications industries. More specifically, the research is focused on manufacturing strategy differences between new ventures initiated by existing firms and new ventures initiated by entrepreneurs. Questionnaire and personal interview data were analyzed via a discriminant analysis approach. The research reveals that significant differences in manufacturing posture do exist as a function of new venture origin, i.e. there is a statistically significant difference between corporate sponsored and independent new venture firms in terms of key manufacturing strategy variables.

This paper presents an optimal scheduling algorithm for minimizing set-up costs in the parallel processing shop while meeting workload balancing restrictions.

We consider the problem of sequencing a set of changeover dependent jobs in a parallel processor shop subject to a workload restriction where the objective is to achieve minimum total changeover cost. A heuristic algorithm, developed previously to treat the vehicle delivery model, is used on the problem. Suitable computational experience with the algorithm is provided the results of which would support its application to problems of realistic size.

An algorithmic procedure is devised for loading and releasing work to a job shop environment. The objective of the procedure is the control and balance of workloads in the shop. The importance of s...

A common problem in manpower planning is the scheduling of employees to meet a fluctuating labor requirement. The problem has often been treated in the past by considering shift allocation and employee scheduling independently. In this paper we report on two heuristic procedures, one which uses the two-phase approach, and one which deals directly with the employee scheduling problem.

An overwhelming majority of business travelers are now members of “frequent flier” programs operated by the airline industry. This article addresses relevant ethical issues, particularly employee perceptions of ethical issues, in such programs. A structured questionnaire technique, supported by personal interviews, was used to gather insights into frequent flier practices and attitudes. A fundamental conclusion of the research is that (1) significant ethical dilemmas are posed by frequent flier programs, (2) employees and employers generally choose to ignore these ethical dilemmas, and (3) employee perception of the ethical issues in frequent flier programs is not significantly influenced by employee attributes such as education level, salary, organizational position, age or sex. Recommendations are offered to reduce the inherent ethical dilemmas in frequent flier programs.

Directed at the legal, engineering, and management aspects of product safety. A historical development of the law of products liability is traced through statutory and case law. In addition, the importance of governmental agencies in regulating product safety is explained. A pragmatic systems approach for enhancing product safety is offered as an aid to the manufacturing engineer.

A flow-controlled dispatching methodology is developed for balancing workload assignments in an industrial job shop manufacturing environment. Indices are derived for measuring the workload balance over a horizon of scheduling periods. A general simulation model is used to compare the flow-controlled dispatching methodology with standard dispatching rules. The flow-controlled methods are shown to yield significant improvements in the workload balance index as compared with any of the standard dispatching rules tested.