According to W. Edwards Deming, American companies require nothing less than a transformation of management style and of governmental relations with industry. In Out of the Crisis, originally published in 1982, Deming offers a theory of management based on his famous 14 Points for Management. Management's failure to plan for the future, he claims, brings about loss of market, which brings about loss of jobs. Management must be judged not only by the quarterly dividend, but by innovative plans to stay in business, protect investment, ensure future dividends, and provide more jobs through improved product and service. In simple, direct language, he explains the principles of management transformation and how to apply them.

Out of the Crisis

Analytic hierarchy process : An overview of applications

What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

This article is an attempt to survey the vast literature on flexibility in manufacturing that has accumulated over the last 10 to 20 years. The survey begins with a brief review of the classical literature on flexibility in economics and organization theory, which provides a background for manufacturing flexibility. Several kinds of flexibilities in manufacturing are then defined carefully along with their purposes, the means to obtain them, and some suggested measurements and valuations. Then we examine the interrelationships among the several flexibilities. Various empirical studies and analytical/optimization models dealing with these flexibilities are reported and discussed. The article concludes with suggestions for some possible future research directions.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm?abstractid=1080305

Flexibility in Manufacturing: A Survey

Social scientists often estimate models from correlational data, where the independent variable has not been exogenously manipulated; they also make implicit or explicit causal claims based on these models. When can these claims be made? We answer this question by first discussing design and estimation conditions under which model estimates can be interpreted, using the randomized experiment as the gold standard. We show how endogeneity – which includes omitted variables, omitted selection, simultaneity, common-method variance, and measurement error – renders estimates causally uninterpretable. Second, we present methods that allow researchers to test causal claims in situations where randomization is not possible or when causal interpretation could be confounded; these methods include fixed-effects panel, sample selection, instrumental variable, regression discontinuity, and difference-in-differences models. Third, we take stock of the methodological rigor with which causal claims are being made in a social sciences discipline by reviewing a representative sample of 110 articles on leadership published in the previous 10 years in top-tier journals. Our key finding is that researchers fail to address at least 66% and up to 90% of design and estimation conditions that make causal claims invalid. We conclude by offering 10 suggestions on how to improve non-experimental research.

On making causal claims : A review and recommendations

Introduction to manufacturing cells: design, implementation and analysis

An essential element of e-commerce customer relationship management (eCCRM) systems is the analytical subsystem, or model base for analyzing customer-related data. We present a neural network-based application for this data mining function for effective customer relationship management. We first list the various objectives of CRM, the essential elements and the requisite e-business architectures. Then we propose, and illustrate the application of Fuzzy ART neural network for customer grouping and buying pattern recognition, based on customer’s purchasing history. Step-by-step procedures for implementing the algorithm, and contextual framework for real-world CRM system are presented.

Customer Relationship Management Systems: The Application of Fuzzy ART Neural Network

PurposeThe study presents a conceptual model of a firm's supply chain agility (FSCA) as a formative construct formed by sensing and responding capabilities. Both construct validity and predictive validity of the model are tested by investigating nuanced effects of FSCA on business performance. The study aims to empirically validate the sensing-responding theoretical framework of Overby et al. (2006) and extend the emergent stream on sensing-responding frameworks for supply chain agility.Design/methodology/approachSurvey research is employed. Data are analysed using partial least squares technique and mediation tests by Hayes PROCESS macro.FindingsFSCA is established as a revised construct formed by the distinct capabilities of sensing and responding. The efficacy of utilizing FSCA as a formative 2nd order construct was established. In addition, FSCA is shown to affect business performance through mediations of cost efficiency and customer effectiveness, establishing its predictive validity.Originality/valueThis study contributes significantly to the literature on supply chain agility in terms of both theory and practice for cultivating supply chain agility. Drawing on resource-based view and resource-advantage theories, as reformulation of supply chain agility as a formative construct of sensing and responding capabilities, this research opens up new lines of inquiry on agility.

The performance effects of supply chain agility with sensing and responding as formative capabilities

This paper develops a model management system structure to support the design and evaluation of flexible automation systems. A modeling language suitable for one of the important, but ill-structured phases in the evaluation process is selected and used to represent a mathematical programming formulation. The experience gained is then used to propose a meta-language approach for integrating different model types required when evaluating flexible automation investments.

Evaluation of flexible automation investments: a model management perspective

Supply chain risk management has emerged as an important issue in recent years, given more dynamic and turbulent business environments. This study investigates the impact of strategic sourcing, e-business technologies and supply chain integration on supply chain risk mitigation. Based on the theoretical background of dynamic capabilities, it also examines the role of business environment and characteristics. A structured survey methodology is used, collecting 152 responses from purchasing and supply management executives from US manufacturing industry. The results empirically confirm that strategic sourcing, e- business technologies and supply chain integration have a negative relationship with supply chain risk. The study also shows that if business environments are dynamic and competitive, more emphasis is found on implementing these three supply chain practices. It is also shown that business environments have a moderating effect on the relationships of strategic sourcing, e-business technologies and supply chain integration, with supply chain risk.

Nallan C. Suresh

Papers

Introduction to manufacturing cells: design, implementation and analysis

Customer Relationship Management Systems: The Application of Fuzzy ART Neural Network

The performance effects of supply chain agility with sensing and responding as formative capabilities

Evaluation of flexible automation investments: a model management perspective

Impact of Strategic Sourcing, E-Business Technologies & Integration on Supply Chain Risk Mitigation