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

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The contingency effects of environmental uncertainty on the relationship between supply chain integration and operational performance

On the basis of a content analysis, this paper explores the role of sustainable supply chain management as a catalyst of generating valuable inter-organizational resources and thus possible sustained inter-firm competitive advantage through collaboration on environmental and social issues. Drawing on the resource-based view and its extension, the relational view, this paper highlights that partner-focused supply management capabilities evolve to corporate core competences as competition shifts from an inter-firm to an inter-supply-chain level. The ‘collaborative paradigm’ in supply chain management regards strategic collaboration as a crucial source of competitive advantage. Collaboration is even more essential when supply chains aim at ensuring simultaneously economic, environmental and social performance on a product's total life-cycle basis. Inter-firm resources and capabilities emerging from supply-chain-wide collaboration are prone to become sources of sustained inter-firm competitive advantage, since they are socially complex, causally ambiguous and historically grown and hence particularly difficult to imitate by competitors. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Sustainable supply chain management and inter-organizational resources: a literature review

Performance measures and metrics are essential for effectively managing logistics operations, particularly in a competitive global economy. The global economy is featured with global operations, outsourcing and supply chain and e-commerce. The real challenge for managers of this new enterprise environment is to develop suitable performance measures and metrics to make right decisions that would contribute to an improved organizational competitiveness. Now the question is whether traditional performance measures can be used and out of them which ones should be given priority for measuring the performance in a new enterprise environment. Some of the traditional measures and metrics may not be suitable for the new environment wherein many activities are not easily identifiable. Measuring intangibles and nonfinancial performance measures pose the greater challenge in the so-called knowledge economy. Nevertheless, measuring them is so critical for the successful operations of companies in this environment. Con...

Performance measures and metrics in logistics and supply chain management: a review of recent literature (1995–2004) for research and applications

Revolutionizing product development

This paper aims to develop a dynamic process view of outsourcing. In the research, a longitudinal, grounded theory approach was used, with iterative steps of reviewing the current literature and knowledge on outsourcing and, in parallel, empirically examining the processes occurring with three case companies. The case companies, all from the telecommunications industry, outsourced at least three activities, which were examined over the course of 4 years. The research provided a dynamic model of the outsourcing process as well as identifying key drivers and influences on the process.

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The development of an outsourcing process model

This paper aims to contribute to, and link the areas of quality management and business-to-business relationships. To date, there has been limited empirical work at the interface of these areas. Accordingly, this study proposes and tests an integrated model based on both research areas. In doing so, we seek to address the following research question: what is the relationship between quality practices, quality performance and business-to-business relationships? To address this question, we develop a conceptual model, which draws on the contingency approach to research that is common in the strategy literature. We then test model with data collected from suppliers in the electronics sector in the Republic of Ireland. Data analysis of the data indicated considerable support for the conceptual model. We conclude with some reflections of the implications of our findings for both theory and practice.

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A Contingency model of quality management and business-to-business relationships

Examines the complex relationship between listening and training practices and service performance by deconstructing an earlier model of service management developed by the London Business School and Warwick Business School in the UK. This research hypothesizes that the nature of the practice‐performance relationship is far too complex to be represented by a total aggregated index of practice. Hence the composite practice index is decomposed into a listening and a training index. The concept of the “listening” organisation is employed as one facet, and training climate measured by employee training activities is a second facet. These two facets are related to service performance. Reports on empirical research, which investigated the link between listening, and training practices and service performance. The data obtained from a survey of 143 service organisations in the Republic of Ireland show a clear pattern. By taking listening practices, including information technology, as a holistic view of a constellation of information‐related practice type factors, demonstrates that there is a close relationship with service performance. Extensive training activities enhance this relationship.

Service management practice-performance model: a focus on training and listening practices

Introduction The reigning paradigm that dominates the traditional marketing approach has been criticised for being incomplete and manipulative and for not taking into account the interaction and relationship aspect of marketing. Interactions and relationships have not been well explained and have played a limited role in the traditional marketing mix. Accordingly, a new approach has been called for. The old marketing concept is passe and needs to be overhauled and replaced by a new concept capable of capturing the dynamics of the interactions in customer relationships. Relationship marketing has been proffered as the new paradigm of marketing that provides an alternative to the traditional marketing mix theory. However, when the empirical research in this paper was first reported the concept of relationship marketing had not been sufficiently developed in the marketing literature. Instead, the product involvement literature provided the contextual basis in considering spectators as consumers. Accordingly, it is now possible to revisit and reconsider the phenomenon of spectators as consumers in light of the conceptual developments that have taken place in the relationship marketing literature. The first section of this paper traces the evolution in thinking from the traditional marketing mix concept to the new relationship marketing concept. It highlights the criticisms levied at the traditional marketing mix concept for being incomplete and manipulative. The next section describes the relationship marketing concept. The nature of the concept is defined and its characteristics are explicated. The third section focuses its attention on the phenomenon of spectators as consumers. Various insights to spectators as consumers are provided by both sociology and psychology disciplines. The findings of a research study, based on a survey of 493 spectators which attempted to identify the motives for attendance at the All-Ireland semi-finals games in Gaelic Football and Hurling is presented. Conclusions are drawn from these findings particularly with respect to the loyalty of spectators. Finally, given the nature of the consumption process and the complex interplay of motives responsible for actual behaviour of spectators as consumers, the concept of relationship marketing is proposed as a more applicable approach capable of capturing the dynamics of the interaction processes and the subsequent relationships that develop when considering spectators as consumers. From the 4Ps to Relationship Marketing The new marketing concept of "relationship marketing has emerged as a result of deep dissatisfaction with the traditional 'marketing concept' for its inability to absorb new developments in marketing, especially in the services and business to business marketing area. The traditional "marketing concept" developed in a consumer goods context and transferred directly to all aspects of marketing thinking has damaged marketing in the sense that it fails to capture the interaction and relationship aspects of the marketing process. This traditional view of marketing favours an approach which subscribes to the notion of a marketer assembling a mix of variables the 4Ps (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) which are then launched towards a relatively homogeneous group of many potential consumers, who may or may not respond to the offering. Such a view of an active marketer, passive consumers and an atomistic market has restricted understanding of the reality of much of what occurs in markets (Ford, 1990). Attempts have been made to overcome the deficiencies of the 4P's approach by extending the number of Ps. In the service marketing literature, Booms and Bitner (1982) have added three additional Ps people, physical evidence and process. Kotler (1986) has extended the mix to include public relations and politics. Judd (1987) suggests that the addition of one new P, people, is sufficient to capture the dynamics of services marketing. …

A Relationship Marketing Approach to Spectators as Consumers

This paper attempts to understand sport spectators as buyers of a product in traditional marketing terms. Research on spectators and their behaviour patterns has been neglected by marketers, but has been extensively researched by sociologists and psychologists. The findings in this paper are based on a survey of 493 spectators. Information was collected on their attendance record at games and their loyalty to the product.

Seán de Búrca

Papers

The development of an outsourcing process model

A Contingency model of quality management and business-to-business relationships

Service management practice-performance model: a focus on training and listening practices

A Relationship Marketing Approach to Spectators as Consumers

Spectators as Consumers - The Motivating Forces