Gregory P. White

A survey and taxonomy of strategy‐related performance measures for manufacturing

Although the topic of manufacturing performance measurement has recently attracted considerable interest, little has been done to enumerate or classify the measures that exist. Lists 125 different strategy‐related measures that were found through a survey of accounting, manufacturing and managerial literature. Develops a taxonomy which categorizes those measures according to competitive priority (cost, quality, flexibility, delivery reliability, or speed), data source (internal or external), data type (objective or subjective), measure reference (self‐referenced or benchmark), and process orientation (process input or process outcome). Finds that the largest number of measures have been proposed for the competitive priority of flexibility and the fewest for delivery reliability. Most measures have focused only on process outcomes using self‐referenced objective data from internal sources. Based on these results, suggests that companies and academic researchers utilize new or different measures to assess adequately strategy‐related manufacturing performance.

A meta-analysis model of manufacturing capabilities

Abstract Recent research in operations strategy has focused on showing the extent to which manufacturings competence in developing and executing one or more competitive capabilities affects the organizations overall business performance. Several of those efforts have produced models, such as the ‘sand cone’, that suggest an ideal sequence in which manufacturing capabilities should be developed. However, efforts to empirically validate such sequential models, except for one recent study, have been inconclusive. This paper takes a different approach to examining the relationships among competitive capabilities. The existing cross-sectional studies of manufacturing capabilities are integrated to synthesize a proposed model of: (1) the relationships among manufacturing capabilities, and (2) the relationships between those capabilities and business performance. The proposed model is synthesized using data from previous studies, other models and theoretical arguments. Meta-analysis is used to identify aspects of the model that appear better supported by empirical research and those that require further study. The implications of this proposed model with regard to research, practice and future research in operations strategy are discussed.

Using goal programming to improve the calculation of diabetic diets

Abstract In this paper we discuss the use of an interactive linear goal programming approach to assist professional dietitians in the calculation of diabetic diets which consider both client food preferences and recommended dietary allowances. Results are presented which indicate that diets which are more nutritionally complete can be calculated in less time using this approach than through the classical manual methods.

The implementation of management science in higher education administration

Literature surveys during the 1970s found that many more management science models had been developed for higher education administration than had actually been implemented. This paper uses a survey of 146 recent articles to assess the current state of implementation in that area. The percentage of articles reported to have been implemented is presented for each administrative level, from departmental administration up to the federal level. Purposes for which the models were designed and the management science techniques used are also discussed as they relate to the record of successful implementation. The results are both surprising and informative. For example, although the largest number of models have been developed foruse at the presidential or vice presidential level of an institution, the highest percentage of successful implementations have occurred at the departmental administration level. There have been very few implementations at the state or federal levels. While scheduling was the one purpose for which the fewest number of models were developed, those models also had the highest rate of implementation. The most commonly used technique was mathematical programming, but it also had an extremely low percentage of ongoing implementations. The results indicate areas that need further work while also pinpointing areas that have probably been modelled too much.

An Empirical Study of the Posturing-Implementation Gap in Quality Management

Existing studies show that top management commitment to quality is a major factor in determining the success of a companys quality management program. Many of these studies measure the commitment and success of a companys quality management programs using information from the companys own managers. This raises an important research question: Do managers make accurate statements about their commitment to quality and the organizations emphasis on quality? If not, then the conclusions drawn from existing studies that relied on these statements will he inaccurate. The aim of this study is to answer that research question using the textual data in annual reports and external measures of organizational emphasis on quality. Annual reports are a key communication vehicle used by senior managers to articulate important matters of the firm, such as their commitment to qualify and to its stakeholders. In this study, the textual content of 100 randomly selected annual reports of firms listed in Fortunes 1988 list of “Americas Most Admired Corporations” was analyzed to measure their emphasis on quality. This measure was then compared against external measures of each organizations emphasis on qualify. The strong positive relationship between senior managements annual report emphasis on quality and external measures indicates that senior managements assertions about organizational commitment to quality appear accurate.

Perceived importance of the Internet as an information channel for OM professionals

Previous research, conducted before the Internet was widely accessible, has shown that information sources and channels can influence the initiation, adoption, and implementation of innovations. The field of operations management faces a wide variety of innovations, the eventual diffusion of which may depend on changes that are now occurring in information technology. This study uses data collected from two surveys, one conducted postally and one conducted over the Internet, to identify how operations management practitioners, consultants, academics, and students perceive and use information from various sources (books, journals, etc.) and channels (conferences, the Internet, etc.). The results indicate that the Internet is growing in importance as an information channel, with more than 40 percent of all respondents having used information obtained from the Internet during the year preceding our study. Although most respondents view that information as being less important to them professionally than information from other sources and channels, those who use the Internet most frequently have a much higher opinion of the information it provides. Multidimensional preference analysis indicates that the Internet is perceived as being quite different from traditional sources and channels, but because of that difference it currently meets the preferences of only a small subset of individuals.

Using multidimensional scaling to solve traveling salesman and machine scheduling problems

Abstract In this note we show how multidimensional scaling can be used to obtain a roadmap corresponding to any general sequencing problem that may be modeled as a traveling salesman problem. Computational results with five well-known classical problems and five randomly generated test problems indicate that this approach provides good solutions with little computation time. It is also shown that equally good solutions may be produced with either ratio scaled data or rank order data.

An improvement in the Gavish-Shlifer algorithm for a class of transportation scheduling problems

Abstract In [2] Gavish and Shlifer present an algorithm for solving a class of transportation scheduling problems which includes the delivery problem, the school bus problem, and others. Their algorithm is based on the ‘savings method’ of Clarke and Wright. By solving a sequence of assignment problems, upper bounds may be generated for the original problem and the optimal solution determined through a branch and bound procedure. However, for certain problems the CPU time becomes excessive. In this paper we show that the bounds may be improved by solving a related maximum matching problem instead of the assignment problem. The result is that fewer branches need to be investigated. Computational results are presented indicating that considerably less CPU time is needed to solve problems using this approach than with the approach of Gavish and Shlifer.

Just-in-Time Manufacturing

Just-in-Time (JIT) is a philosophy of operation that seeks to utilize all resources in the most efficient manner by eliminating anything that does not contribute value for the customer. In this philosophy, resources include—but are not limited to—equipment, facilities, inventory, time, and human resources. Because of this broad definition of resources, JIT includes many different components. Some of those components emphasize the efficient use of material resources; other components of JIT focus on the efficient use of human resources. In fact, experts don’t even agree completely on the factors that should be included as components of JIT. To make matters worse, some components of JIT are also important components of other techniques, such as Total Quality Management (TQM).