D.K. Banwet

Conceptualizing total quality management in higher education

In keeping with the socio‐economic and cultural transformation that has placed newer demands on the educational system, in terms of greater responsibility and accountability and increased expectations by stakeholders, the system has been pressurized to shift its focus from one in quantitative expansion to one with emphasis on quality. Such shifts and changes are being witnessed not only in the developed countries, but also in the developing countries of the world. The education system, and more so the higher education system in particular, in an attempt to react to the demands and ever increasing pressures from its stakeholders, finds itself in a market‐oriented environment, with internal and external customers; wherein, “delighting the customer”, is the rule for survival in the long run. “Delighting the customer”, is the core message of total quality management (TQM) and, hence, there is a need to identify and apply the relevant concepts of TQM to each and every aspect of academic life; that is, to the t...

A Delphi-AHP-TOPSIS based benchmarking framework for performance improvement of a cold chain

This paper aims to develop a benchmarking framework that evaluates the cold chain performance of a company, reveals its strengths and weaknesses and finally identifies and prioritizes potential alternatives for continuous improvement. A Delphi-AHP-TOPSIS based methodology has divided the whole benchmarking into three stages. The first stage is Delphi method, where identification, synthesis and prioritization of key performance factors and sub-factors are done and a novel consistent measurement scale is developed. The second stage is Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) based cold chain performance evaluation of a selected company against its competitors, so as to observe cold chain performance of individual factors and sub-factors, as well as overall performance index. And, the third stage is Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) based assessment of possible alternatives for the continuous improvement of the companys cold chain performance. Finally a demonstration of proposed methodology in a retail industry is presented for better understanding. The proposed framework can assist managers to comprehend the present strengths and weaknesses of their cold. They can identify good practices from the market leader and can benchmark them for improving weaknesses keeping in view the current operational conditions and strategies of the company. This framework also facilitates the decision makers to better understand the complex relationships of the relevant cold chain performance factors in decision-making.

A mixed-integer non-linear program to model dynamic supplier selection problem

In a highly competitive scenario, suppliers play a vital role in making a business organization successful. Business of any organization is continuous process and therefore the supplier selection is also dynamic in nature. This is quite natural as the organizations demand; suppliers capacity, quality level, lead time, unit part cost and fixed transportation cost of supplier varies with time. Therefore, supplier identified for one period may not necessarily be same for the next period to supply the same set of parts. Hence, the supplier selection problem is highly dynamic in real practice. In this paper, a mixed-integer non-linear program (MINLP) is developed to address the dynamic supplier selection problem (DSSP). To validate the proposed MINLP data are generated randomly. A numerical illustration is also provided to demonstrate the proposed MINLP using LINGO.

Indian cold chain: modeling the inhibitors

Purpose – The cold chain has become an integral part of the supply chain of perishable items. Recent studies have shown a critical absence of a strong and dependable cold chain in developing economies. The purpose of this paper is to set out to identify and inter‐relate the inhibitors that significantly influence the efficiency of a cold chain in developing economies like India.Design/methodology/approach – The synthesis and prioritization of inhibitors are done on the basis of an extensive literature review as well as consultation with academicians and industrial professionals. Using semi‐structured interviews and Fuzzy Interpretive Structure Modeling (FISM) approach, the research presents a hierarchy‐based model.Findings – The end result is a model that establishes the relationships among the identified inhibitors with their respective dominance. The research shows that there exists a group of inhibitors having a high driving power and low dependence with strategic importance and requiring maximum atten...

Quantification of risk mitigation environment of supply chains using graph theory and matrix methods

Today supply chains leverage their partners competencies and in the process also inherit the risks associated with various links of a supply chain. Although it is impossible to completely eliminate various risks, an environment can be created which helps to effectively mitigate risk. The most difficult part of Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) is an understanding of the variables related to risk mitigation and their relative interdependencies. This paper presents a conceptual framework which models various variables associated with risk mitigation environment along with their interdependencies. Using graph theory and matrix methods, the Risk Mitigation Environment (RME) is quantified and presented in the form of a single numerical index. The proposed model is quite versatile from the point of view that it provides an opportunity to integrate new variables which could impact the overall supply chain risk mitigation environment along with the potential to benchmark supply chains on risk mitigation dimension.

Enhancing quality in education: application of quality function deployment – an industry perspective

Education is a service industry. It needs to adopt the techniques of other industries in measuring the quality of its services and the satisfaction of its customers. This paper reports on a study of educational institutes in India in terms of how well they meet the needs of local industrial customers. It involves the use of quality function deployment, and a range of statistical techniques, to design and analyze a questionnaire which results in a clear demonstration of a lack of satisfaction. The analysis also identifies those factors which should be specifically addressed to improve quality and customer satisfaction.

Evaluation of supply chain collaboration: a case of apparel retail industry in India

Purpose – This paper seeks to propose a methodology to measure the extent of collaboration between apparel retailers and manufacturers in the apparel retail industry in India.Design/methodology/approach – The proposed model for measuring collaboration considers variables like top management commitment, information sharing, trust among supply chain partners, long‐term relationships and risk and reward sharing. Level of collaboration is measured using graph theory.Findings – The survey results confirmed the validity of the proposed collaboration index for measuring collaboration. The findings also show that the collaboration index is positively associated with operational performance.Research limitations/implications – Future research could consider larger sample sizes and cover other industrial sectors.Practical implications – Supply chain partners will be able to measure the extent of their collaboration and seek improvement in their performance. This approach helps to compare organizations in terms of th...

Supply chain risk management in SMEs: analysing the barriers

The purpose of this paper is to identify barriers to risk management in supply chains of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and to understand their mutual relationships. Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) was applied to present a hierarchy-based model and the contextual relationships among these barriers. The research shows that there exists a group of barriers that have high driving power and low dependence and are of strategic importance. The proposed model provides a useful tool for SME supply chain managers to focus on those variables that are most important for effective risk management in supply chains.

An approach to measure supply chain agility

The transformation of a supply chain into a truly agile entity requires an understanding of various attributes related to agility and their relative interdependencies. This paper aims to quantify supply chain agility on the bases of agility attributes and sub-attributes. Using the graph theoretic approach, interdependencies at system and sub-system levels were visualised along with their contribution to the overall supply chain agility. The proposed model was evaluated for two supply chains from the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector. The framework developed in this paper can help in quantifying and analysing the dynamics between different variables and sub-variables of an agile supply chain. Future research can improve upon the suggested method by using data from other supply chains.

Customer requirement constructs: the premise for TQM in education

Amidst the tremendous pressures faced by educational institutions, both from internal as well as from external forces, the higher educational institutions in India, as elsewhere in the world, have begun to understand and accept the significance of customer‐centered philosophies, with the answer to such pressures being in “delighting the customer”, which is the rule for survival in the long run. “Delighting the customer”, is one of the core elements of total quality management (TQM), which emphasizes the service relationship between an organization/institution and its customers. A number of success stories about incorporating TQM principles in the educational setting have been reported. In TQM, the focus is on the customer. Ultimately, the objective of TQM is to build an institution that produces products or performs services, which fulfill customer requirements, and thereby delights them. Such customer requirements thus, form the very premise for TQM. So it is important not only to identify the numerous and varied customers of the educational system, but also to identify their requirements and satisfy them. The importance/degree assigned to such requirements or their constructs may vary across customer groups and also amongst the institutions themselves. The paper presents the results of an empirical study conducted on select higher educational institutions to assess the importance/degree assigned to the various customer requirement constructs across the various internal and external customer groups. Starting with a theoretical background, an empirical study is presented with analysis and results.