Farhad Shafti

Managerial processes: business process that sustain performance

Purpose – It is argued that whilst operational and support processes deliver performance presently, it is the managerial processes that sustain performance over time. The purpose of this research paper is to better understand what these managerial processes are and how they influence organisational performance.Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical background is reviewed covering literature on the subject of business process management, resourced‐based view (RBV), dynamic capabilities and managerial processes. A research framework leads to qualitative case study‐based research design. Data are collected from 37 organisations across Europe, classified according to their performance.Findings – Findings suggest that the five managerial processes and their constituent managerial activities, identified through the empirical research, influence performance of organisations as an interconnected managerial system rather than as individual processes and activities. Also, the execution and maturity of this m...

An Empirical Approach to Service Classification for Productivity Management Studies

This paper presents key results of a research project on the application of service dimensions and classifications, to study differences between productivity management challenges across 12 important service sectors in the UK. The research methodology was mainly empirical in nature: unlike other research in this area, appropriate service dimensions and consequent classification models were introduced only after analysing the relationship between a number of candidate dimensions and aspects of productivity management. Among the dimensions studied, Front/Back Value Added, Personnel Judgement and Product/Process Focus turned out to be suitable indicators for a range of aspects relating to productivity management in services.

Managerial Processes - An Operations Management Perspective Towards Dynamic Capabilities

Motivated by the view that the managerial processes underpin the dynamic capabilities of the firm, this article seeks to review the current state of knowledge on managerial processes and propose a research agenda towards a better understanding of managerial processes. A systematic approach to the literature review covering business process and strategic management fields concludes that managerial processes are critical for sustaining and developing competitive advantage, but our understanding as to what they are, their contents and how they function is limited. A definition for managerial processes is proposed and the context within which managerial processes function is identified. An empirically based research agenda, comprising research questions, is outlined that would serve to enhance our understanding of the managerial processes that underpin dynamic capabilities.

Synchronicity and alignment of productivity: the real value from Service Science?

The ability of services to pervade all aspects of productivity creates the need for an interdisciplinary framework of service to be developed. It is, however, critical that any proposed service framework is jointly developed between the service purveyor and the stakeholders involved. An expected outcome from a focus on productivity in the Service Science arena is that a much closer relationship between the purveyor of a service and the customer is initiated and fostered. This requires a clear focus on the requirements of the customer and the various ways in which the service can be conveyed. This is not too far removed from what is required in other areas such as product specification that should also be carefully crafted from the needs of the customer. The research utilises two case studies to highlight the impact of Service Science as a co-producer of service productivity. We find from the case studies that human factors play an extremely important role in improving service productivity.

Service operation classification for risk management

We propose an empirical service-operation risk-classification model to provide managerial insights to service providers in terms of risk management. The model is developed through an investigation of the dependencies between the characteristics of service operations in consumer services and the broad classes of provider risk to which they are exposed. A survey of professional managers has been conducted in which respondents were asked to assess 30 service operations across six service dimensions and five factors representing provider risk. The data have been analyzed using statistical methods, in particular Bayesian network analysis and hierarchical clustering. The results indicate relationships between service operations, service dimensions, and risk factors. Due to the limited sample size, our findings should be regarded as preliminary. The proposed model should help determine the most relevant types of service risks based on the specific characteristics of the service provided and therefore help to develop risk mitigation strategies.