Norin Arshed

Teaching Entrepreneurship to University Students through Experiential Learning: A Case Study

The view that entrepreneurship education should be based on experiential approaches to learning is gaining ground. However, there is both little discussion in the literature on what form experiential education should take and a paucity of examples of experiential approaches to learning. This paper helps to fill these gaps. It provides a case study of an experiential learning assignment that formed an important part of a first-year entrepreneurship course in a Scottish university. It describes how the assignment was designed, what activities were undertaken by students and, using their learning reflections for evidence, identifies the learning outcomes and the effect on entrepreneurial intent, motivations and capabilities. The evidence suggests that the assignment was an effective learning experience for the students, complementing and reinforcing prior classroom learning through application. It facilitated learning about the real world of the entrepreneur, something which would otherwise not have been possible, and had a positive impact on entrepreneurial intentions.

Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in Saudi Arabian organisations: Findings from a survey

Although the popularity of the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology has illustrated many benefits over the years for those organisations who have implemented it, this strategy has received less attention in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to critically assess the current status of LSS implementation in Saudi Arabian organisations.,This research is based on a descriptive survey questionnaire which has been derived from two systematic literature reviews. The survey was distributed to 400 organisations in Saudi Arabia using Qualtrics online software. In total, 146 responses were received where 102 responses were completed and analysed.,The findings of the survey highlighted that the implementation of LSS is still in the early stages in organisations within Saudi Arabia. This was clearly shown by many factors such as years of deploying LSS, LSS infrastructure, level of awareness of LSS, impact of LSS on business functions and so on.,The primary limitation of this study is that data has been collected from an online survey and therefore no deeper insights could have been captured from the survey. This calls for future research to be undertaken by executing semi-structured interviews in selective organisations within Saudi Arabia.,This paper contributes to the current status of LSS in Saudi Arabian organisations. It also gives recommendations to guide the future of LSS in Saudi organisations by comparing LSS literature with best practice.

Critical literature review on maturity models for business process excellence

Maturity models are a useful way for an organisation to assess their processes and the overall maturity levels of the organisation. However, finding the most appropriate maturity model is not an easy task especially for practitioners in industry. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to critically review, compare and contrast the existing maturity models in quality/operations management topics. This paper has reviewed the most common maturity models including but not limited to Bessants continuous improvement capability model, Capability Maturity Model (CMM) and Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) which is the most common model in the literature. The authors have observed a lack of maturity models for process management. Therefore, the future plan for this research is to develop a maturity model for a specific area in process management, which is Lean Six Sigma (LSS), as this is the main area of interest for the authors.

A systematic review of statistical process control implementation in the food manufacturing industry

This paper is a systematic review of the literature on statistical process control (SPC) implementation in the food industry. Using systematic searches across three decades of publications, 41 journal articles were selected for the review. Key findings of the review include motivations: to reduce product defects and to follow the food law and regulations (benefits); barriers: high resistance to change and lack of sufficient statistical knowledge; and (limitations) an absence of statistical thinking and a dearth of SPC implementation guidelines. Further findings highlight the predominance of publications from the USA and the UK within this topic. Future research directions concerning SPC implementation issues as well as a ready reference of the SPC literature in the food manufacturing industry are also discussed.

Critical observations on the statistical process control implementation in the UK food industry: A survey

Purpose Statistical process control (SPC) is widely applied for control and improve processes in manufacturing, but very few studies have reported on the successful application of SPC in the food industry, in particular. The purpose of this paper is to critically assess the status of SPC in the UK food manufacturing industry and to suggest future research avenues. Design/methodology/approach A research project was carried out in the UK food manufacturing sector through questionnaires. The results of the study were analysed using descriptive statistics and statistical tests to be applied in the hypothesis testing. Findings Findings revealed that 45 per cent of the respondents are SPC users and x¯-R and x¯-S charts are the most commonly applied SPC charts in this industry. It was determined that top management commitment is the most critical factor, while lack of SPC training is the most alarming challenge, and lack of awareness of SPC and its benefits are the main reasons for the food companies not implementing SPC. Research limitations/implications The study considered only the food manufacturing companies. Future research could be addressed toward the food service and food supply chain. Practical implications The paper provides information to food companies in the UK on most common practiced and important quality tools, SPC charts and critical success factors in the food industry. Moreover, the most challenging factors of SPC implementation in the food industry are presented. Originality/value This study depicted the current state of SPC practices in the food industry and the process performance in SPC and non-SPC companies is compared.