Capitalism and Freedom

The purpose of this paper is to provide lean and six sigma professionals and researchers of tomorrow with Ten Commandments of Lean Six Sigma (LSS).,The Ten Commandments of LSS are based on several years’ experience of four authors who act as researchers, LSS Master Black Belts, consultants, practitioners and trainers on various topics of Lean, Six Sigma and general quality management and continuous improvement.,The Ten Commandments in our opinion include: alignment of LSS initiative with organisational strategy, LSS project selection and prioritisation, selection of top talent for the project execution, leadership for LSS, effective training and design of appropriate curriculum for different LSS roles, development of reward and recognition system, LSS sustainability, Linking LSS with Organisational Learning and Innovation, Linking LSS with Environmental Management System Standards and finally LSS and Big Data.,The key features outlined in this paper are based on the practitioners of LSS. The authors of this article are planning to pursue a global study to critically evaluate these commandments by various practitioners of LSS.,The senior managers and executives of various businesses can use these commandments of LSS as a guide to achieve and sustain competitive advantage.

Ten commandments of Lean Six Sigma: a practitioners’ perspective

Indradhanush is a health mission, launched by the Government of India in 2014 to ensure that all children up to two years of age and pregnant women are completely immunized with all available vaccines. In this study, a novel framework is presented that demonstrates how the universal immunization program (UIP) India can utilize the key performance indicators (KPIs) of its vaccine supply chain (VSC) towards the goal of sustainable development (SD) of Mission Indradhanush. Based on the expert's opinions and an in-depth review of the literature, 57 performance indicators of VSC and 52 sustainability practices criteria (SPC) were identified. Using the balanced scorecard (BSC), the performance indicators were assessed in four dimensions: learning and growth, internal process, customer, and finance; whereas SPC were evaluated in three dimensions: economic, environmental and social. Further, from the field survey in 3 states of India, 248 valid questionnaires were collected, which were used to conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of the analysis revealed that the learning and growth and internal process KPIs of VSC have a positive and significant effect on the success of Mission Indradhanush sustainable development. In addition, results also revealed that the internal process mediates the relationship of learning and growth and sustainable performance and is the main dimension of VSC to strive towards sustainability. The findings of the present study will be beneficial to the policy-makers for measuring, monitoring, and improving the performance of immunization programs so as to build up the sustainability in Mission Indradhanush.

Evaluating the effect of key performance indicators of vaccine supply chain on sustainable development of mission indradhanush: A structural equation modeling approach

The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential determinants of sustainable consumption behavior. This study describes lifestyle of health and sustainability (LOHAS) tendency and the effects of such lifestyles on the behavioral intentions for sustainable consumption in sharing economy.,This research adapts LOHAS tendency, consumer attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and consumers' behavioral intention for sustainable consumption scale in Indian context to describe the sustainable consumption behavior by extending the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Data of 627 individuals collected through a questionnaire, after the scales validation process and thereafter a structural equation analysis has been performed.,The findings confirm the extended TPB, wherein LOHAS tendency has emerged as an antecedent to consumer attitudes for taking part in sustainable consumption. Results highlight that consumer attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are significant determining factors of consumers' sustainable consumption behavior.,This study has examined the sustainable consumption behavior by considering the lifestyle tendency. A few other limitations are also discussed.,Consumer behavior in sharing economy is surely one of the emerging research areas; there is dearth of research to understand Indian consumers' sustainable consumption, particularly from lifestyle perspective. This research establishes relationship between LOHAS tendency and sustainable consumption, which may serve as a contributor to sharing economy in terms of LOHAS consumer's lifestyle and their sustainable consumption behavior.

Understanding the impact of lifestyle on sustainable consumption behavior: a sharing economy perspective

Globalization in supply chain networks is urging manufacturing companies for the production of sustainable products with re-engineering technologies that offer competitive advantage in current market. However, the increasing sustainable illumes are influencing reverse logistics (RL) systems to analyze their impacts on economy, environment and society. Recently, China’s $62bn investment under the egis of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which comprises a number of infrastructure and energy projects is developing Pakistan as a part of “One Belt One Road” initiative. Accordingly, a substantial number of economical, ecological and social exercises will occur in closest future. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of sustainable practices, i.e., environmental, economic and social sustainability on RL recovery options.,Sustainable concepts including environmental, economic and social and RL recovery options are extracted through extensive literature review. A number of researchers used a variety of methodologies for achieving their research objectives. However, the authors will be using a combination of VIsekriterijumska optimizacija i KOmpromisno Resenje (VIKOR) and grey relational analysis (GRA) technique under fuzzy environment in the case of CPEC.,Results show that waste management, impact on bio-diversity and economic growth are the most significant factors in designing sustainable RL recovery options. Moreover, remanufacture and reuse rank top among RL recovery options due their significant economic and environmental effects, whereas recycle and resell position last due to their high cost and cutting edge modern technologies.,Finally based on this model, it is possible for authorities to design a sustainable RL strategy for efficient operations in case of CPEC projects and other developing countries as well.,Negligible work has been done regarding sustainable modeling in RL strategies using a combination of VIKOR and GRA techniques subjected to fuzzy environment in the case of CPEC from perspective of developing country, i.e., Pakistan.

Sustainable modeling in reverse logistics strategies using fuzzy MCDM: Case of China Pakistan Economic Corridor

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interdependence among dimensions of sustainability, i.e. economic, social and environmental performance, this study focuses on leading states of the Indian leather Industry.




Design/methodology/approach




This study followed exploratory research where partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modeling has been used. The states have been selected based on judgmental sampling. The study used unit level data for the leading states of Indian leather Industry − namely, Tamil Nadu (TN), West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. The study has used Annual Survey of Industry data from 2007-2008 to 2011-2012. The proposed hypotheses have been tested using WarpPLS 5.0 software.




Findings




The structural equation analysis of unit-wise leather industry data supports a significant bi-directional negative relationship between social performance and economic performance among all the selected states. In contrast, the relationship between economic performance and environmental performance, as expected and supported by many existing theories, has shown a bidirectional positive relationship. However, the relationship between social and environmental performance has shown quite mysterious and mixed trends. TN has depicted significantly negative coefficients, which could be attributed to higher pressure for environmental compliance that might have led to a trade-off between the two to gain cost competitiveness.




Research limitations/implications




Unavailability of data for many critical indicators is the biggest limitation of this study.




Originality/value




The sustainability framework proposed in this work is an original contribution of authors to the existing literature. Moreover, this study on the Indian leather industry fills the gap and resolves the mystery of interconnection among the dimensions of sustainability.

Interdependence among dimensions of sustainability: Evidence from the Indian leather industry

1. Introduction1.1 Sustainability: A tool for multidimensional performance assessmentThe definition of Sustainability was introduced in "Brundtland Report", entitled "Our common future", published by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), a UN body: "Sustainable development is economic growth that meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (WCED, 1987). Recently, the term has been re-defined more comprehensively as, "A normative notion that indicates the way how humans should act towards nature and how they are responsible towards one another and future generations" (Baumgartner and Quaas, 2010).Similarly, Friends of the Earth Scotland described sustainability in terms of a simple principle of harnessing the resources from the earth only what it can provide, while leaving future generations no less than has been taken out. The Thomas Jefferson Sustainability Council defined Sustainability in terms of "responsibility to proceed in a way that will sustain life that will allow our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to live comfortably in a friendly, clean, and healthy world." These definitions stress the need to create social and environmental values not just for the present generation but preserve them for future generations as well.Allen defined Sustainable Development (SD) as, "the development that is likely to achieve lasting satisfaction of human needs and improvement of the quality of life under the condition that ecosystems and/or species are utilized at levels and in ways that allow them to keep renewing themselves." (Allen, 1980). Similarly, according to US National Research Council "Sustainability has been defined as the level of human consumption and activity which can continue into the foreseeable future, so that the systems which provide goods and services to humans persist indefinitely." (NRC, 2011)As per World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) - "Sustainable Development (SD) involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity. Companies aiming for sustainability need to perform not against a single, financial bottom line but against the triple bottom line."Likewise, Hamilton Wentworth Regional Council elaborates SD as, "positive change which does not undermine the environmental or social systems on which we depend. It requires a coordinated approach to plan- ning and policy making that involves public participation. Its success depends on widespread understanding of the critical relationship between people and their environment and the will to make necessary changes." Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) defines SD as "the process of building equitable, productive and participatory structures to increase the economic empowerment of communities and their surrounding regions."Sustainability concept has been applied across a wide range of industries and geographical regions to assess their relative strategies for performance and survival (Fussler & James, 1996; Kloepffer, 2008; Morse & Fraser, 2005; Nourry, 2008; NRC, 2011; Schmidt & Taylor, 2006). However, SD is much more critical for industries with high ecological footprint (Rees & Wackernagel, 1994; Wackernagel & Rees, 1996) in terms of either resource consumption and/or pollution intensiveness.There are many frameworks for Sustainability Assessment (SA). Among them Triple Bottom Line (TBL) (Elkington, 1997) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI, 2002) are prominent. TBL focuses on SD of a company in terms of the economic, social and environmental values it creates or destroys. This requires an inclusion of the needs and requirements of many stakeholders: customers, investors, employees, local communities, public at large, environmentalists and government. Figure 2.1 outlines this point.As industrialization is in its full bloom across major economies of the world, its positive and negative impacts and their tradeoffs have also been catching attention of policymakers and academicians (Fussler & James, 1996; Gupta & Sharma, 1996; Berry & Rondinelli, 1998; Schmidt & Taylor, 2006; Kloepffer, 2008; NRC, 2011; Morse & Fraser, 2005; Nourry, 2008). …

Uday Shanker Racherla

Papers

Interdependence among dimensions of sustainability: Evidence from the Indian leather industry

Effect of ISO 14000 Certification on Sustainability: Evidence from the Indian Leather Industry