Steve New

Green Purchasing and Supply Policies: do they improve companies' environmental performance?

Asks how does green purchasing change the environmental performance of the firms in a supply chain/network and what is the influence of supply chain and industry structure on that performance? Do such changes contribute to companies’ overall environmental performance and to sustainability? Discusses these, and related questions, by exploring the activities of the UK hardware retailer, B&Q, as an example of green purchasing and supply in action.

Purchasing and environmental management: interactions, policies and opportunities

The mechanisms are examined by which environmentally informed business practices and technologies may diffuse through industry as a result of the ‘greening’ of purchasing and supply. The efforts of official bodies in the UK to raise environmental awareness among industrial purchasers are reviewed. It is then argued that the supply chain model is an important way of interpreting the industrial landscape from a green perspective and that it is in some ways a more hopeful and positive starting point for achieving industrial transformation. The results of an analysis of some UK companies practices in using their purchasing policies to ‘green’ their supply chains are presented and opportunities for further research indicated.

Kaizen in Japan: an empirical study

This paper reports the study of kaizen as practised in a selection of Japanese companies. After discussing the general understanding of kaizen and proposing a clear definition, the paper describes the methodology of the study, and presents findings from the research, taking Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) as a base model and comparing this with the data from other companies. The development of kaizen activity in NSC is presented together with a description of the current nature of kaizen, which is compared with other firms in the steel and automotive industries to assess uniformity. The paper concludes that kaizen evolves uniquely within each organisation, following changes to the organisations business environment. Detailed implementations vary considerably between organisations, but all rely on kaizen to achieve targets as an integral element in the operations management system. This yields insights into kaizens sustainability, and points to its vulnerability to external economic conditions.

Greening Organizations Purchasing, Consumption, and Innovation

The use of consumer pressure in greening the economy has long been advocated by environmentalists. This article takes the view that the traditional image of the consumer as the primary agent of environmental change is inadequate. Efforts to green the economy require an understanding of corporations and public organizations as consumers as well as an understanding of individuals as consumers. The article sets out the arguments for treating all organizations as consumers and as a dominant but underemphasized force in greening the economy. It then considers organizational consumption in the context of supply chains, with respect to the issue of agency within the organization and with respect to the transmissions of market signals for innovation. The discussion makes clear the importance of considering the interorganizational context and ways in which this context both constrains and enables green purchasing initiatives. Reference is made to examples from a range of organizations.The use of consumer pressure in greening the economy has long been advocated by environmentalists. This article takes the view that the traditional image of the consumer as the primary agent of environmental change is inadequate. Efforts to green the economy require an understanding of corporations and public organizations as consumers as well as an understanding of individuals as consumers. The article sets out the arguments for treating all organizations as consumers and as a dominant but underemphasized force in greening the economy. It then considers organizational consumption in the context of supply chains, with respect to the issue of agency within the organization and with respect to the transmissions of market signals for innovation. The discussion makes clear the importance of considering the interorganizational context and ways in which this context both constrains and enables green purchasing initiatives. Reference is made to examples from a range of organizations.

Compliance and use of the World Health Organization checklist in U.K. operating theatres.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist is reported to reduce surgical morbidity and mortality, and is mandatory in the UK National Health Service. Hospital audit data show high compliance rates, but direct observation suggests that actual performance may be suboptimal.

Celebrating the enigma: the continuing puzzle of the Toyota Production System

This introduction to the special issue celebrates the 30th anniversary of the publication of Sugimori et al. (Sugimori, Y., Kusunoki, K., Cho, F. and Uchikawa, S., Toyota production system and Kanban system: materialisation of just-in-time and respect-for-human system. Int. J. Prod. Res., 1977, 15(6), 553–564), the first extensive description of the Toyota Production System (TPS) to be published in English. After some initial discussion of the TPS, this article reviews three important issues regarding the context of the original paper: the Wests growing interest in Japanese manufacturing; the preoccupation with information technology as the future of production; and, concerns with job design and motivation. The Sugimori paper is then analysed in these terms, focusing on the technical and human elements of the TPS. The article closes with an introduction to the other papers in the special issue.

Oxford NOTECHS II: a modified theatre team non-technical skills scoring system.

Background We previously developed and validated the Oxford NOTECHS rating system for evaluating the non-technical skills of an entire operating theatre team. Experience with the scale identified the need for greater discrimination between levels of performance within the normal range. We report here the development of a modified scale (Oxford NOTECHS II) to facilitate this. The new measure uses an eight-point instead of a four point scale to measure each dimension of non-technical skills, and begins with a default rating of 6 for each element. We evaluated this new scale in 297 operations at five NHS sites in four surgical specialities. Measures of theatre process reliability (glitch count) and compliance with the WHO surgical safety checklist were scored contemporaneously, and relationships with NOTECHS II scores explored. Results Mean team Oxford NOTECHS II scores was 73.39 (range 37–92). The means for surgical, anaesthetic and nursing sub-teams were 24.61 (IQR 23, 27); 24.22 (IQR 23, 26) and 24.55 (IQR 23, 26). Oxford NOTECHS II showed good inter-rater reliability between human factors and clinical observers in each of the four domains. Teams with high WHO compliance had higher mean Oxford NOTECHS II scores (74.5) than those with low compliance (71.1) (p = 0.010). We observed only a weak correlation between Oxford NOTECHS II scores and glitch count; r = −0.26 (95% CI −0.36 to −0.15). Oxford NOTECHS II scores did not vary significantly between 5 different hospital sites, but a significant difference was seen between specialities (p = 0.001). Conclusions Oxford NOTECHS II provides good discrimination between teams while retaining reliability and correlation with other measures of teamwork performance, and is not confounded by technical performance. It is therefore suitable for combined use with a technical performance scale to provide a global description of operating theatre team performance.

A critical appraisal of aspects of the lean chain approach

This paper critically appraises the supply chain concept, analysing the implications of the idea from the perspective of both individual firms and society and the economy at large. The discussion is centered around three hypotheses which concern markets, consumption, and industrial infrastructure. The paper concludes with some tentative suggestions for research and policy, and a proposition to extend the scope and responsibility of research in supply chain management.

Information Systems Management: Opportunities and Risks

Introduction: The Need for Balance - Understanding Information Systems - Strategy and Tactics - The Organisation of the Information System Function - Integrity of Information Systems - Information Technology and Information Systems - Databases and the Management of Information - Data Communications and Network Services - Office Information Systems - Information Systems Development - Evaluation, Monitoring and Control - Managing Function and Phenomena.

An analysis of private versus public sector responses to the environmental challenges of the supply chain.

This paper examines differences and similarities between private and public sectors regarding green supply: the incorporation of environmental considerations into procurement and supply chain relationships. While there are considerable differences between the sectors, there are two key areas of similarity. Firstly, responses in both sectors are heavily influenced by organisational structure and patterns of decision-making and information flow. Secondly, the success of green supply initiatives appears to be heavily dependent on organisation’s ability to align activity with dominant corporate objectives.