Leslie K. Duclos

JIT in services: a review of current practices and future directions for research

Maintains that, although service industries would benefit from research concerning the implementation of just‐in‐time (JIT) techniques, most research has focused on JIT only in manufacturing firms. A review of applied journals and articles, however, revealed JIT concepts migrating to non‐manufacturing environments. These articles describe JIT techniques successfully moving from the factory floor to other environments and suggest a potentially rich research opportunity. Summarizes these articles using Benson′s guidelines for applying JIT in service. Illustrates various JIT applications within each of the JIT categories.

The impact of marketing initiatives on the supply chain

Effective supply chain management requires sharing information between nodes of the chain. In consumer chains, this demand communication often results in a bullwhip effect as demand information becomes distorted back through the chain. Building on the work of Towill et al. and Towill and McCullen, this study evaluates the impact of consumer promotions and wholesale trade deals on the performance of a supply chain. Marketing actions alone are shown to have a significant impact on supply chains.

Curricular Implications of Virtual World Technology: A Review of Business Applications.

As business organizations grow increasingly virtual, traditional principles of organizational communication require examination and modification. This article considers the curricular implications of the growing business uses of virtual world technology through three different lenses—students as employee-users, students as strategic designers and decision makers, and students as theorists. The instructor’s approach to communication principles relevant to persistent virtual worlds should be grounded in current and anticipated business applications. Emerging business practice provides guidance regarding the communication principles and skills that might be required of students entering careers in a contemporary business world of networked, digitized, and virtually enhanced communication.

TQM Stresses MIS: The Ache of Continuous Change

As an operating philosophy, TQM has crossed departmental and disciplinary boundaries as a way to increase productivity and improve quality. Information Systems Managers, particularly those supporting legacy systems, face substantial challenges in an organization implementing TQM. A principle philosophy of TQM is that of conÐ tinuous improvement resulting in a continuous stream of change requests for the IS department. IS managers must understand this as a source of the increase in change reÐ quests and seek ways to successfully manage them. In the short run, one method is active participation on the qualÐ ity teams suggesting such changes. The long run, however, requires a proactive stance by the IS department that inÐ cludes implementation of the TQM philosophy throughout its own ranks. Otherwise, the IS department will continue to be stressed by an avalanche of change requests and viewed as a roadblock to successful TQM implementation.

Teaching Business Ethics with Computer-based Multimedia? A Cautionary Analysis

Still shots, videos, music, and movie clips can be helpful in bringing some excitement to the study of business ethics. For several years, Professor McAdams has been using The Great Gatsby as a “text” for discussing American commercial values. That discussion serves as an introduction to a larger examination of contemporary business ethics. Recently, Professor Duclos and her students converted that socratic exploration of Gatsbys contemporary relevance to a PC-based, multimedia “show” employing the efficient and manageable PowerPoint software presentation package. Computer-based multimedia added “flavor” to the presentation, but developing this lengthy lesson required hundreds of hours, substantial hardware/software and a high tolerance for frustration.

Developing Communication Management Skills Integrated Assessment and Reflection in an Experiential Learning Context

The value of experiential learning is widely acknowledged, especially for the development of communication skills, but students are not always aware of their own learning. While we can observe students practicing targeted skills during the experiential activity, the experience can also color their explicit understanding of those skills. Transfer of applied knowledge to managerial contexts requires an explicit grasp of the skills as appropriate solutions to the problems they encounter within the experiential team. This article reports the adaptation of assessment processes to encourage the reflection steps necessary for developing the desired managerial perspective on team communication.