Marla Hacker

A review of lean assessment in organizations: An exploratory study of lean practices by electronics manufacturers

This paper describes the development of a survey instrument to assess the implementation of lean practices within an organization. Results of a literature review, which was used to identify lean manufacturing practices and existing lean assessment tools, are presented. The findings of this review were synthesized to develop an instrument to assess both the number and the level of implementation of a broad range of lean practices in an organization. As part of a larger research project, an exploratory study was completed using the survey. A cross section of electronic manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest was used for the exploratory study. Analysis of the survey results from the exploratory study are summarized in this paper to illustrate how the survey can be used to understand what factors might contribute to the implementation of lean practices. In the exploratory study completed, for example, it was found that while electronic manufacturers have implemented a broad range of lean practices, the level of implementation does vary and may be related to economic, operational, or organizational factors.

The impact of organizational context on work team effectiveness: a study of production team

Teams are an integral part of many manufacturing organizations today. This paper explores the relationships between nine organizational context variables, team processes, and three measures of team effectiveness. The research was conducted within one business unit of a Fortune 50 high-technology company. Twenty-one intact production work teams were the focus of the study. Using path analysis, significant direct relationships between six organizational context factors and three measures of team effectiveness were found. The management processes associated with establishing a clear team purpose that is aligned with organizational goals and the allocation of critical resources were both positively related to team member satisfaction. An organizational culture that supports communication and cooperation between teams and the integration of teams was found to have a significant and positive linear relationship with two different team leader ratings of effectiveness and with team member satisfaction. Organizational systems that provide teams with the necessary information were found to have a significant and positive linear relationship with both team leader ratings of effectiveness and team member satisfaction. Organizational systems that provide teams with the necessary training were found to have a significant and positive linear relationship with team member satisfaction.

Factors in capital decisions involving advanced manufacturing technologies

This paper presents an integrated framework for the selection of attributes used in the evaluation of advanced manufacturing systems. The primary focus in the development of this framework is the modularity of the framework so that it is applicable to a wide range of advanced manufacturing systems with differing process configurations and technologies. Based on data collected from industry and the current body of knowledge, decision attributes were identified and ranked relatively against each other, forming a hierarchy of decision attributes. To simplify the hierarchy, making it more user‐friendly in real‐world applications, each decision attribute was also evaluated relative to the strength of its relationships to other decision attributes. Several decision attributes were found to be highly correlated with others, resulting in a new, single decision attribute. The final decision attribute hierarchy provides managers responsible for making capital decisions involving advanced manufacturing technologies with a framework for their decision making.

Development of a manufacturing flexibility hierarchy through factor and cluster analysis

Purpose – The ability of production organizations to respond quickly to changes in the market with new products requires flexibility. The relationship between manufacturing flexibility and the performance of organizations in new product development is not well characterized. The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a flexibility model focused on new product performance in manufacturing organizations empirically in one industrial sector.Design/methodology/approach – Hypothesized relationships between manufacturing flexibility, new product type, and new product performance are empirically tested using survey data from 273 companies, representing a range of US electronic manufacturers.Findings – Factor and cluster analysis identifies eight distinct flexibility dimensions and a hierarchy among these dimensions. The relationships between the identified flexibility dimensions and new product performance, as tested through correlation analyses, are found to be dependent on the type of new product develop...

Designing a performance measurement system for a high technology virtual engineering team – a case study

Discusses the process and issues involved in developing a performance measurement system for a virtual engineering team working within a high technology environment. This team consists of members from many different sites across the world with a unique role in maintaining standardized manufacturing processes at the lowest possible cost. As a result, they faced many challenges including communication barriers, culture differences, as well as different reporting structures within each individual site. To help address these issues, a performance measurement system was developed to focus the team on the key actions affecting performance instead of the issues getting in the way. A measurement system was developed that linked the team’s objectives to its mission and identified the critical actions associated with each objective.

The impact of top performers on project teams

Management and scholars have been searching for the determinants of project team performance for many years. Individual characteristics and intra‐team processes are most often hypothesized to influence team performance. To date, though, we still do not really understand why some teams perform better than other teams. Studies have provided mixed findings and inconclusive results. The study described in this article continues the search for variables that influence project team performance. The findings provide support for an increasingly, albeit controversial, discussion occurring within human resource circles, concerning the impact of top performers on team performance.

Managing organizational context for engineering team effectiveness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a study investigating the role of organizational context on the effectiveness of engineering work teams.Design/methodology/approach – Previous research was used to operationalize organizational context and work team effectiveness, and a survey was developed to assess both in this research. This study was conducted within two engineering units of a high‐technology company. In total, 16 teams of engineering knowledge workers participated in the study. Correlation and path analysis were used to investigate both direct and mediated relationships between nine organizational context variables and team effectiveness.Findings – Direct relationships between eight organizational context variables and team member satisfaction and between two organizational context variables and team performance were found. Effects of five variables on team member satisfaction were either fully or partially mediated by team processes (TP).Research limitations/implications – This stud...

Alignment at the Top: A Case Study Investigating This Critical Factor in Project Implementation

Abstract: Research examining quality management has focused primarily on manufacturing organizations with specific attention directed toward organizational employees. Many in the field of quality believe that management is key for a successful quality program; yet, the effects of specific leadership styles on quality performance have not been determined. In this study, leadership styles within transformational, transactional, and non-transactional classifications are evaluated relative to the organizations performance based on the criteria from the Baldrige Quality Award. Results indicate that leadership does have an affect on quality, and certain transformational and transactional styles are more effective.

A Study of the Effects of Procedural Structure and Anonymity on Process Improvement Work Groups

AbstractThis article reports on a study investigating the effect of procedural structure on work group interaction and performance. Twelve existing work groups representing six different organizations performed a process improvement exercise. Study results indicate that procedural structure increased equality of participation of work group members by reducing the overall comment level within the groups. Work groups did not perceive any differences in work group processes; however, objective measures indicated a significant change in equality of participation. A model linking work process variables and work group performance was identified. Anonymity was an important factor in evaluating sensitive issues.

Formalizing deployment processes in the US Government

The linkage between strategic planning and daily activities within an organization is often obscure. Perhaps as a consequence, many well‐developed strategic plans fail to be implemented, and required goals and objectives are not attained. Strategy deployment processes link strategic plans with implementation activities. Instead of investing more time and energy in improving planning or implementation processes, an organization should first examine the deployment processes used to link strategic plans with action – “deployment processes” may be the missing link in the strategic management system. This paper studies the application of formal strategy deployment processes within three US federal agencies. The strategic management literature provides the basis for the deployment processes analyzed in this study. Following the analysis of each individual case, an overall assessment of existing supporting and restraining forces that should be considered when working to improve deployment processes is discussed.