Alberto G. Canen

Facility layout overview: towards competitive advantage

Facility layout is a classical industrial/production engineering problem. Good layout will help any company to improve its business performance. Presents a general overview of the facility layout problem and includes information about approaches to the solution of the problem. Discusses the role of the computer; and the contribution of facility layout to an organization’s competitive advantage. Describes experiences of organizations with facility layout.

Looking at multiculturalism in international logistics: an experiment in a higher education institution

This article is an experiment carried out in a Brazilian higher education institution. It focusses on the participants’ perceptions and assumptions concerning multiculturalism before and after the exposure to a multicultural seminar, held during an international logistics module. It deals with the theoretical approach to logistics and multiculturalism, and its relevance in the contemporary world. It discusses the data gathered. It argues that a multicultural approach should be developed in organisations, pointing out that the handling of cultural differences seems to be one of the most relevant factors in the success or in the failure of companies in a globalised setting. It also contends that the university is a privileged arena for the development of this approach. Points are raised for a multicultural approach to logistics and management education.

Innovation management education for multicultural organisations: challenges and a role for logistics

This paper aims to discuss ways for fostering innovation management and innovation in management education sensitive to cultural diversity. It explores strands in the literature concerning cross‐cultural awareness and undertakes a case study, carried out in a multicultural organisation, aimed at pinpointing challenges faced by managers working in such environments. Argues that logistics could help understanding, sensitising and taking into account cultural diversity in management education. Also claims that cultural plurality is an asset, rather than a constraint. The article concludes by suggesting possible ways ahead in the development of culturally sensitive managers in an increasingly globalised but also highly multicultural world.

Multicultural leadership: The costs of its absence in organizational conflict management

Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of organizational conflict management from a multicultural perspective in the context of higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach – Besides a theoretical discussion about multiculturalism and leadership, a case study based extensively, but not exclusively, on oral history has been undertaken within a unit of a HEI in Brazil. The case study, which illustrates the cost when multicultural leadership is absent, is based on a combination of first‐hand information and facts reconstruction. Findings – The research discussed in this paper showed that the system of constructing “otherness” and isolating it can actually be characterized as workplace bullying condoned by extremely mono‐cultural leaders. An alternative scenario with more multiculturally competent leaders is discussed, providing possible tools and avenues for organizational conflict management. Practical implications – HEIs should be viewed as multicultural organizations, not only for the purpose of developing multicultural curricula but also for reviewing the impact of institutional practices and leadership on the organizational climate. Leaders should be ethically and multiculturally accountable for ensuring an institutional identity that is open to cultural plurality and to the challenge of the institutionalization of differences. Originality/value – This paper goes beyond multicultural issues restricted to individual and group identities and incorporates institutional cultural climate and the role of multicultural leaders in organizational conflict management in the context of HEIs, hitherto not much discussed, which may open up new debates in the area.

Multicultural competence and trust: a new road for logistics management?

The present paper aims to discuss the concept of competence from a multicultural perspective, for organisational success. It argues that models that view competence as a sum of competencies for management development within organisations could benefit from a multicultural perspective that put those competencies within the context of cultural sensitivity and understanding, so as to promote a trustworthy organisational environment crucial for any institutional change for competitive edge. It analyses theoretical approaches to the concept of competence in organisations, focusing particularly on those that take into account multicultural concerns and the need for building trust within organisational environments. It then addresses the meanings of competence as understood by executives acting in some organizations in Brazil, depicting emphases and silences in those discourses, as well as implications for logistics and management decision in a multicultural perspective.

Logistics and cultural diversity: hand in hand for organisational success

Provides a rationale for looking at logistics and cultural diversity from a global “intercultural” perspective, and proposes this view as a potential tool for sensitizing logistics managers to cross‐ concerns. Concludes that any firm which embraces this concept by understanding cultural differences and going beyond cultural boundaries will reap increased organizational performance.

Time‐based competition and multiculturalism

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that time‐based competition (TBC) strategies aligned to logistics and to multicultural awareness can help organisations respond appropriately and more quickly to the different needs and expectations of customers located around the globe. In a globalised market, where organisations are located in many different countries, establishing competitive advantages that result in sustainable leadership has become a goal to be reached.Design/methodology/approach – TBC was studied in furniture companies in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Brazil by conducting case studies. The research presented here is part of a larger study that focuses on TBC strategies and multiculturalism in the furniture industry.Findings – Data were collected from various furniture companies located in countries targeted in this study in order to gauge the extent to which TBC in a multicultural and logistic‐oriented approach has been taken on board, and how important it seems to be perceived in natio...

Localização de escolas públicas: síntese de algumas linhas de experiências no Brasil

This paper reports a methodology for locating public elementary schools in urban settings. The proposed methodology is divided in two complementary parts: the evaluation of the current location and a relocation proposal. In addition to the methodological review the paper outlines five studies made in Brazilian cities or large areas, which are: Nova Iguacu, Nilopolis, Niteroi, Ilha do Governador and Fortaleza. The study emphasizes the methodological evolution from paper maps up to geocoded maps using softwares of the GIS family (Geographic Information System) such as ArcView and GeoRedes. The study also evaluates the managerial importance of each one of the five studies.

Identificando as melhores práticas operacionais através da associação Benchmarking-Dea: o caso das refinarias de petróleo

This work studies the implementation of an Operational Research method named Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in a stage of a benchmarking process, in order to identify and evaluate the operational best practices of a representative model of productive units system and, through these analysis, to suggest an action plan to reach the maximum efficiency. The Benchmarking-DEA association behaviour is observed in a case study applied in a set of refineries of a multinational petroleum company.

Personalities, cultures and software modeling: Questions, scenarios and research directions

Several evolutions in software engineering (SE) relate to the development of a reliable communication process among the project stakeholders. The models resulting from these improvements are the key instruments of communication in SE. There are studies that relate several problems in SE to user-engineers interactions during the modeling process. In addition to the usual challenges related to the technological issues of software modeling, new problems have appeared due to the presence of a multinational workforce. Specifically, people with distinct cultural identities must work together and, independently from their personal values and beliefs, they must develop common objectives. Consequently, this paper argues that the personality and cultural identity of project team members might be unconsciously affecting the SE process in a much greater way than is currently believed. Moreover, a research framework for investigating the influence of individual identities in the modelling techniques can present new perspectives for improving SE outcomes.