Showing papers in "Management : Journal of Contemporary Management Issues in 2005"

Tqm critical success factors for construction firms

Abstract: The construction industry has lagged behind other industries in implementing reform through total quality management. It has not followed the manufacturing industry in the implementation of TQM. The success of the total quality management (TQM) philosophy in manufacturing and other industries is forcing construction organizations to adopt TQM. This paper first outlines the imperatives of quality and its initiatives in the construction industry and then analyzes the critical success factors (CSFs) of the fourteen most prominent total quality management (TQM) frameworks. Based on the comprehensive analysis and examination of existing TQM frameworks and literature, the paper proposes the 10 critical success factors (CSFs) of TQM for construction industry. Finally, it describes the CSFs from the construction industry perspective. 1. INTRODUCTION The construction industry of any country is the backbone of its infrastructure and economy. Though it is a major contributor to the economy of any country, it faces the problems of high fragmentation, instability, low productivity, poor quality and lack of standards. Abd. Majid and McCaffer (1998) further established that most countries are dealing with the same common problems despite the differences in their economies. Due to the above mentioned quality problems, construction clients are not satisfied with the performance achieved on many of their projects (Kometa & Olomolaiye 1997). Kometa & Olomolaiye (1997) state that despite many efforts, apart from time and cost overruns, unsatisfied clients and other difficulties continue to plague the industry. Thus the reputation of the construction industry is ill suited for meeting the competitive challenges of today's fast changing market (Torbica & Stroh 1999), where the competitive edge is with those who manage their resources most effectively and offer a timely response to the demands of the market. Today, quality management has become one of the important forces leading to organizational growth and a company's success in national and international markets. The role of quality in construction has also been espoused by Belle (2000) and Burati et al. (1992). In order to emphasize the role of quality various aspects of quality tools and techniques have been also described in previous studies (Belle 2000, Metri 2004). Recently, efforts made to improve quality in construction are widely reflected in the relevant literature (Arditi and Gunayadin 1998, Rosenfed et al 1992, Mallon & Mulligan 1993, Kiwus & Williams 2001, Federley & Chase 1993). Many companies are frustrated in their effort to improve quality through TQM because these companies have exclusively focused on financial measures instead of quality measures (Torbica & Stroh 1999). Other studies, in the recent past also observed the failure of TQM. These failures are due to the too much- too soon effort without proper foundation and focus (Culp et al. 1993). Construction firms, therefore, need to understand the TQM CSFs for the successful implementation of TQM. Therefore, there is a pressing need to establish TQM CSFs for construction firms. This paper examines the TQM frameworks developed by scholars and businesses and develops the TQM CSFs for construction firms. 2. SELECTION AND ANALYSIS OF TQM FRAMEWORKS An extensive literature survey has been carried out to select TQM frameworks for this study. The relevant literature has revealed that different countries have adopted similar TQM frameworks in the form of quality awards with a different title. Today, there are more than a hundred quality awards existing in different countries. However, all these quality awards are basically derived from three basic and prestigious awards: the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), the European Quality Award (EQA) and the Deming Prize. This study, therefore, includes only these three basic awards as TQM frameworks along with other frameworks developed by scholars. …

Strategies and programs for managing stress in work settings

Abstract: In the paper the author first defines the term stress as well as presents the economic consequences of stress Then she describes the factors within the work environment and the factors without the work environment that may cause stress In particular, she examines the individual differences that influence our inclination to stressors and also how to manage them efficiently Besides,the strategies and programs developed in organizations as an assistance to their employees for easier stress control are discussed widely as well

Corporate governance in european transition economies: emerging models

Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the debate of corporate governance models in European transition economies. The paper consists of four parts. In the introduction, after giving a historic overview of the corporate governance evolution, different understandings of the corporate governance function are presented and the contemporary corporate governance issues are described. The second part deals with governance systems in the (mainly domestically) privatised former state-owned companies in Central European transitional countries, with the main types of companies' ownership structures, relationships between governance and management functions and deficiencies in existing governance systems. The third part is dedicated to the analysis of factors that determine the efficient relationship between the corporate governance and management functions in Central European transitional economies. It deals with the issue of why the German (Continental European) governance model is usually the preferred choice and why the chosen models underperform. In the conclusion, the author offers his suggestions of how the Central European transition countries should improve their corporate governance in the future. 1. INTRODUCTION The corporate governance issue has been gaining importance in the developed market economies as well as in the transition economies. Basic reasons for such a trend are the same, but socio-economic environments are different and therefore, the analytical issues seem to have quite different weights in different groups of countries. Enterprises appeared in the history of mankind as small economic units governed by individual owners. Their effectiveness and efficiency depended on rational behaviour, i.e. rational decision-making and decision implementation. Economic efficiency forced enterprises to grow and to become of such sizes that an individual owner was not able to govern an individual enterprise by himself anymore. The decision-making process became too complex for him. Owners were forced to employ professional executives called managers to assist in managing their enterprises (Rozman, 100). The previous unified governance function has been divided into two organisational functions: governance, making mostly decisions for protecting owners' interests; and management, coordinating business activities and managing relationships in a most efficient way with the purpose to attain objectives and goals set by governance. Professionals who took over the management function became agents of the enterprise's owner. This development opened the possibility that managers would not act in the best interest of the owner - a well-known agent problem as we interpret it nowadays. The issue of how much autonomy managers should have has appeared. Further development required that an enterprise engaged more capital than an individual owner was able to invest, which produced joining of the capital owned by more owners. The governance function was no longer carried out by a sole individual but rather by more owners. Enterprises became partnerships in this way and then later corporations with a dispersed ownership. This development contributed to an evolution of a corporate governance function that ceased to be a simple relationship between an enterprise's owner and his managers. It became a complex set of relationships between owners on the one hand and a set of relationships of owners towards corporate managers on the other. The stated relationships can be established in many ways; therefore, many corporate governing models are, at least theoretically, possible. Historically, two main types of relationships within the corporate governance function and between the governance function and the management function have been developed. They are known as Anglo-American and German (Continental European) models. Each of these two (conceptual) models solves somehow differently the problem of socio-economic power allocation, the problem of the efficiency of decision-making, and finally the problem of governance and management function conceptualisation. …

Relationship marketing and its impact on the competitive structure: the case of croatia

Abstract: In this study we redifined the concept of relationship marketing, equated it to the Chinese cultural framework of quanxi and attempted to test its association to the competitive structure in Croatia. A sample of 105 senior executives completed questionnaires designed to measure the key variables. The data was analyzed using partial least squares and the central hyphothesis of a negative association with competitive structure was not supported. The relationship was significant and in the opposite direction to that postulated.

Business process change using aris: the case study of a croatian insurance company

Abstract: Growth in Business Process Change (BPC) consulting services has led to a proliferation of business process modelling tools for conducting BPC projects. This paper explores the relationship between information technology and BPC and provides a summary of business process modelling tools features, placing them within an empirically derived framework. Furthermore, it examines the case study of a Croatian insurance company, analysing and discussing its practical experience in using the ARIS business process modelling tool. 1. INTRODUCTION Business process reengineering, as an approach to performance improvement, was established in 1990 (Hammer, 1990; Davenport and Short, 1990). The term "reengineering" first appeared in the information technology (IT) field and then transformed from this initial IT focus into a broader change process. Where last decade's reengineering meant "starting from scratch", business process change could be considered as a new approach to business process innovation and management, which builds on and transforms what already exists. IT can be more than a useful tool in business process change. Business process modelling experts usually rely on tools especially developed to support business process modelling and redesign. The role of professional business process modelling tools can be categorised into two phases: before the change is conducted and after the change is completed. Business process modelling tools are used to develop the model of current business processes ("as-is" modelling), as well as for the design of a new business blueprint using "to-be" process models. During the implementation and after the change is completed, business process modelling tools help to create a digital feedback loop, enabling the evaluation of the reengineered processes and ongoing results of the project. The increasing popularity of business process change projects results in a rapid growing number of modelling tools. Harmon's (2003) survey found out well over 100 business process modelling tools on the dynamic software market at the moment. This diversification reflects the variety of ways that companies are approaching business process change. This paper is structured as follows. First, the study objectives are introduced. Next, the overview of business process change is discussed (Section 2), exploring the role of IT and ERP in business process change projects (Section 3). The features of integrated business process modelling tools are analysed in detail using the example of the ARIS software tool (Section 4). Section 5 examines the case study of business process change projects in a Croatian insurance company. According to the experiences from the case study, the advantages and disadvantages of integrated business process modelling tools are discussed in Section 6. Finally, the last section outlines the conclusions and discusses some directions for further research. 2. THE OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS PROCESS CHANGE The emphasis on business process change has gone through a number of phases in the last 15 years. First, there was Total Quality Management, which refers to programs and initiatives to emphasise incremental improvement in work processes and outputs over an open-ended period of time (Davenport and Beers, 1995). Since the early 1990s, BPR has become one of the most popular topics in organisational management, creating new ways of doing business (Tumay, 1995). Since improving business performance was not achieved by automating existing business activities, many leading organisations have conducted BPR in order to gain a competitive advantage. The first wave of BPR was focused on the radical change of internal business processes. Furthermore, it was particularly suggested that TQM should be integrated with BPR (Al-Mashari and Zairi, 1999). The second wave of BPR began in 1996 when the Internet and World Wide Web phenomenon took off and provided an IT infrastructure that enabled electronic business and new forms of Web-based business processes (El Sawy, 2001). …

The steps towards successful reengineering in slovenian companies

Abstract: The authors have been researching the theory and practice of BPR (business process reengineering) since early nineties. In the paper, their own definition of the steps toward a successful BPR is briefed and applied as a background of the author's benchmarking of management concepts of ISO 9000, TQM, BPR, and 20 Keys. These are the most influential management concepts in Slovenian organisations, as a case of the countries that are now new members of European Union. BPR was found supported most of all. The presented management concepts are compared on the basis of clearly defined criteria, such as targets, initiative, IT role, customer role, degree of BPR, role of implementation and management, HRM, and rate of project implementation. Results may allow for a wider application of BPR concept offered here anew in different countries as business environments in a similar stage of economic development. 1. INTRODUCTION The period we live in differs significantly from that of 10 or even 20 years ago. Today, companies are searching for responses to their customers' increasingly demanding wishes. The competition in the world market has grown and Slovenian companies can no longer hide from it in any way. Not only is the competition great today, it is also diverse. In their search for market niches, competitors have changed the characteristics of almost all markets. Currently, specific partial markets determine their own measures of competitiveness. In some markets competition is based on prices, in others the measure is choice, quality or post-sales services, etc. The better companies force the worse companies out because the lowest price, the best quality or the best service offered by any of the companies soon become the standard for all the competitors. Obstacles to trading are being diminished; meaning that no Slovenian company is safe from foreign competition any longer. In contemporary markets, it is thus sufficient for a single company to elevate the competitive level for all the companies around the world. If a company is no longer in the position to rival with the best competitors, it is bound to be forced off the market soon. In the business world of today, change has become a rule. The business environment is changing faster than ever before. Globalisation, development of technology, demographic changes, shortening life-cycle of products, companies and entire industries are the factors which are causing and further fuelling such an environment. A characteristic of today's business environment is that there is no more permanency and predictability of markets, demand, product life cycle, development of technology and the nature of competition, etc. (Ursic, Nikl, 2004). Constant innovation regarding the organisational system is one of the most important elements in ensuring the continuing existence and development of a company because it has great influence on the company's competitiveness, efficiency, success and social responsibility. To withstand global competition, an efficient organisation is needed from which all that is unnecessary and does not contribute to the final goal of operations should be eliminated. The final goal is essentially a product or service of good quality, at low cost, and with prompt and timely supply. This means that companies should only perform those activities that are essential to achieve the final goals or are significant to the final value of the product or service. It is the customer who determines the final value of the product or service nowadays. Hence, the customer has become much more demanding due to increased competition in the market and a wider range of choice. This paper presents some basic conclusions of our field and desk research work which has been done in the last years. 2. COMPARING REENGINEERING WITH OTHER INFLUENTIAL MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS An overall evaluation of successfulness has not yet been made for most of the widely adopted management methods in the Slovenian economy, where strategic management, benchmarking, TQM, BPR, ISO 9000 and the 20 Keys Method are prevalent (Pivka, Ursic, 1999; Pivka, Ursic, 2001). …

The influence of a firm's basic characteristics on the relevance of the sources and forms of competitive advantage in slovenian firms

Abstract: The process of competition among firms can be described as a causal-consecutive sequence "sources of competitive advantage ® forms of competitive advantage ® performance". The scientific literature usually discusses four basic schools about the sources of competitive advantage of a firm, namely the industrial organization school, the resource-based school, the capability-based school, and the knowledge-based school. Although the competitive advantage can take many different forms they can all be roughly classified into only two groups, i.e. the price advantage and the differentiation advantage. In our empirical research (based on a sample of 225 Slovenian firms) we examine how sources and forms of competitive advantage differ among different groups of firms where these groups are defined according to the firms' basic characteristics such as sector, size, age, type and nationality of ownership, and sales markets. It can be concluded that these characteristics mostly have little influence on the sources and forms of competitive advantage, although some statistically significant differences, especially with regard to a firms' size, type of ownership, and sales markets, do exist. 1. INTRODUCTION In order to build the competitive advantage of a firm, certain sources of competitive advantage must exist. Once a firm possesses such sources and knows how to transfer them into at least one of the forms of competitive advantage, it can reasonably expect to be successful. The scientific literature usually discusses four basic schools concerning the sources of competitive advantage, i.e. the industrial organization school, the resource-based school, the capability-based school and the knowledge-based school, and two fundamental forms of competitive advantage, i.e. lower price (costs) and differentiation. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of a firm's basic characteristics such as sector appurtenance, size, age, type and nationality of ownership and sales markets on the relevance of the sources and forms of competitive advantage. Our objectives can be defined on a theoretical as well as a pragmatic level. The theoretical objective focuses on potential contribution to the existing strategic management theory by discovering the bases for competing in different groups of firms in the Slovenian (post)transitional business environment. On the other hand, our pragmatic objective is to assist general managers in (post)transitional firms in their strategic decision making by offering them additional insights into the relationship between a firm's size, age, ownership, etc. on the one hand and the sources and forms of competitive advantage on the other. To be able to reach the above mentioned objectives we have first carefully studied the relevant scientific literature, including the findings of the similar empirical studies. By applying the description, analysis, deduction, elimination and synthesis (as well as some other) scientific methods we have developed the theoretical basis needed for empirical investigation. The empirical material (for 225 Slovenian firms1) collected by a questionnaire as the main research instrument has been enlarged by other relevant data accessible in public databases. Beside the introductory and concluding part, the research report in this paper consists of three main parts. After briefly reviewing the relevant theory on the sources and forms of competitive advantage, the methodological approach is explained in greater detail. Following this, the empirical findings and discussion (i.e. comparing the empirical evidence with some theoretical findings) are presented. 2. SOURCES AND FORMS OF A FIRM'S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE 2.1. Four schools of thought on the sources of a firm's competitive advantage Within the industrial organization school there are at least two different views of the origin of a firm's competitive advantage. On one side, there are advocates (for example Mason, 1939; Bain, 1956) of the so-called classical industrial organization school who claim that a firm can neither influence industry conditions nor its own performance (Lado, Boyd, Wright, 1992; Gadhoum, 1998). …

E-Logistics: Informatization of Slovenian Transport Logistics Cluster

Abstract: In search of higher competitiveness, organizations are in search of innovative business models in order to foster economic benefits. In Slovenia, several clusters are being formed, including the Slovenian Transport Logistics Cluster (STLC) as one of the most important cluster. Currently, STLC is in the stage of dynamic growth, demanding business model formation and adequate informatization. The main goal of the paper is to present the informatization of STLC, bridging the gap between Supply Chain Management (SCM) and E-Logistics. The informatization of STLC is presented through several phases. The first phase is business modeling of existing business processes of organizations (AS-IS model). The results of the first phase give us an in-depth view of STLC that is used for future business model setup. Next, TO-BE processes are created, which are to be implemented and supported through informatization. The result of the informatization project is shown as homogenic and transparent business activity between cluster members. The purposes of STLC informatization are business model creation, standardization of business processes, cost cutting, improved business performance, operational times decrease, asset management, and shipment tracing, which are the basics of economic competitiveness. 1. INTRODUCTION Increased competitiveness in all industrial sectors, sharpened by globalization and the fall of global supply, is forcing companies towards the optimization of their business processes and new ways of mergers or partnerships with direct results in decreased business costs. With these strategic alliances, new management strategies are formed as Clusters, Supply Chain Management (SCM), E-logistics, etc. Some authors are making references that logistics are "worth" 10% to 12% of the GDP (Sahay, 2003). According to AMR research (Challenger, 2001), E-logistics have a potential of lowering costs by 10%. On the basis of these two references, we can conclude that E-logistics can save our money for as much as 1.2% of the GDP. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the last few years, in high effective companies as Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Digital Equipment Corporation, Xerox, Dell and Benetton Group, top management is favorable to the Supply Chain and, therefore, E-logistics (Romano, 2003). There is a collection of literature indicating the importance of clusters and networks not only between firms but also along the value chain and across industries. The networks inherent in these clusters are integral for knowledge generation and diffusion, technology transfer, sharing risks and costs, allowing firms to access new markets and opportunities and, finally, building comparative advantage in the global market. Porter (Porter, 1990) defines clusters as geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions. He proposed a model that provides conditions that have to be met for a firm to be internationally competitive and successful. This model focuses on four primary conditions that he arranged in a diamond-shaped diagram: factor conditions, demand conditions, structures of firms and rivalry, and related and supporting industries. The "Related and Supporting Industries" feature of the diamond denotes the importance of clustering in developing international competitive advantage. It incorporates two features of a healthy cluster: the presence of vertical support through internationally competitive supplier industries, which ensure cost-effective and speedy deliveries; and the presence of horizontal support in internationally competitive related industries to co-ordinate and share activities with and to stimulate local competition. In the article, informatization of STLC will be presented through Project Modeling, Analyzing and Renovation, and Standardization and Informatization of business processes of the Slovenian Transport Logistics Cluster, which is performed by the Business Informatics Institute at the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. …

Interactive Scheduling System

Abstract: This paper deals with the discussion on the use of simulation techniques for work order scheduling on the factory floor level of production and contains a description of the program electronic planning board with simulation elements for Finite Capacity Scheduling. The ability to implement simulation effectively for factory scheduling is dependent upon the availability of shop floor data and the response time for the evaluation process. 1. INTRODUCTION Shop floor scheduling is an important task in managing production systems. Complex decisions must be made which impact on global objectives such as meeting delivery due dates and minimizing the inventory of cost. Attempting to consider all of the variables, which determine the effectiveness of a particular schedule is highly interrelated and has not been possible in most manufacturing operations. In the case of manufacturing cost increases, there are major productivity improvements to be achieved by making the production scheduling for the process more effective. The quality of a production schedule involves many, sometimes conflicting, objectives. While maximizing throughput is certainly an important consideration, an ideal schedule will also have the following characteristics: * Delivery due dates are met. * Inventory costs are maintained at acceptable levels. * Equipment, personnel and other limited resources are well utilized and have balanced workloads. * Adaptations can be made quickly in the event of an unexpected change (equipment failure, raw material shortage, etc.). Production planning and scheduling play a key role in helping management achieve its goals in this ever changing and competitive environment. The primary objectives of production planning and scheduling in modern manufacturing environment are as follows: * Producing what has been planned and promised on time. * Minimizing the work in process. * Minimizing the inventory of finished goods. * Maximizing the utilization of capital assets and other resources. * Increasing throughput by reducing time constraints. * Minimizing the cost of production. 2. SCHEDULING TECHNIQUES It is difficult to optimise a schedule over all these characteristics in practice. From most production schedules one is chosen for emphasis depending on current production objectives. Generally, a trade off must be made to reach a balance among the objectives. In practice, production scheduling is done in many ways. The most common methods of scheduling are purely manual techniques. In the most straightforward form, the department foreman, or the machine operator, selects the job to run next from those jobs waiting in front of the machine. The criteria used in these circumstances often reflect the evaluation measures and may not reflect the overall business objectives. Job status control boards also use visual layout schedules. A more analytical approach to scheduling is sequencing by dispatching rules. This method uses rules, which prioritise the jobs waiting for processing. The effectiveness of the schedule may vary widely depending on the particular rule selected, the type of production facility, and the mix of jobs to be produced. It is difficult to predict the performance of dispatching rules by traditional methods. They are also limited in scope as to what they consider and are often hard to implement on the shop floor. Managers have historically disliked having to wait a long time for analysis. With the computing capabilities and graphics constructs that are now available, managers can not only get a quick response to the analysis of work order scheduling or work order release, but can also receive the information in an easily understandable form. Major advances in databases technologies have been made and the computer is now a common sight on the shop floor. These improvements make the access and manipulation of data for factory control a real possibility. …

Interpersonal Relations at Work Perceived by Croatian and Worldwide Employees and by Different Age, Gender, Education, Hierarchical and Company Size Groups - Empirical Evidence

Abstract: Workplaces benefit if workers have good relationships. In other words, in years when people are said to be the only true competitive advantage, it is evident that interpersonal relations in organizations and processes of nourishing them have become essential for the organizational success. The purpose of this article was to concisely explain the importance, types and ways of improving interpersonal relations at work, as well as to explore if, and to what extent, interpersonal relations at work are influenced by employees' backgrounds. The demographic characteristics of employees that were expected to influence their perceptions of interpersonal relations were: the country of origin, age, gender, educational level, hierarchical level, and the size of the company for which they work. The correlation analysis showed that the "country of origin" does influence interpersonal relations at work. Precisely, interpersonal relations in Croatia are, according to the respondents' perceptions, not as good as in other countries involved in the study. For example, Croatian employees perceive the working atmosphere around them as significantly less positive in comparison with the respondents from other countries, they are significantly less frequently consulted by their superiors and rarely praised, and their superiors spend significantly less time with them. However, the research revealed that other demographic characteristics are not of significant influence, either on the overall perceptions of interpersonal relations, or on the perceptions of superior - subordinate or peer relations. 1. INTRODUCTION As work becomes more complex and collaborative, companies where people work together best have a competitive edge. Daniel Goleman In the closing years of the 20th century, management has come to accept that people, and not cash, buildings, or equipment, are the critical differentiators of a business enterprise. As we move into the new millennium and find ourselves in a knowledge economy, it is undeniable that people are the profit lever. All the assets of an organization, other than people, are inert. They are passive resources that require human applications to generate value (Fitz-enz, 2000). Moreover, the rules of work are changing. People are being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart they are, or by their training and expertise, but also by how well they handle themselves and each other (Goleman, 1998). In addition to technical skills, the three most highly sought-after skills in new employees are increasingly oral communication, interpersonal abilities and teamwork abilities (Goleman, 1998). A study of what corporations are seeking in the MBAs they hire yields a similar list. The three most desired capabilities are communication skills, interpersonal skills, and initiative (Goleman, 1998). This is where interpersonal relations come to play. Since we can see organizations as networks of connected people and as compositions of relationships, a large portion of work performance is tied to the establishment and maintenance of interpersonal connections. The quality of these connections has a great impact on people's ability to get work accomplished and on the functioning of the organization as a whole (Worline et al. in Lord et al. (eds.), 2002). As EEO Trust Survey (Charted Accountants Journal, 2004) found, 81% of respondents think that they are more productive at work if they have good personal relationships because they feel better. In other words, workplaces benefit if workers have good relationships. However, in reality we frequently cope with the opposite. At work, people regularly deal with people they dislike (Linder, 1994), with difficult people (Accounting Department Management Report, 2003) such as aggressive or conflicting people, or with problem people, for instance overly shy, introvert and non-sociable people. The impact of such people on working efficiency and effectiveness is enormous. …