Offshoring

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 379-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio De Felice ◽  
Antonella Petrillo ◽  
Alessandro Silvestri
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Production Line ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Glass Production ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness

Purpose – Nowadays, especially after the recent financial downturn, companies are looking for much more efficient and creative business processes management. They need to place better solutions on the market in less time and with lower costs. Companies are achieving these goals of efficiency always more by using the offshoring strategy. It commonly describes a company’s relocation of a business process from one country to another, typically manufacturing processes towards low-cost countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – BRICS area). The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodological approach based on project management tools that supports the decision-making process in order to help companies in optimizing the re-engineering production processes and improve management costs. The framework provided in this paper is grounded on available literature and from the authors’ personal experiences in managing several projects. Design/methodology/approach – This paper seeks to propose a Project Management Process Reengineering performance model (PMPR) for managing projects of reengineering of processes and applies it in a real case study concerning the relocation of an automotive glass production line. Findings – The model proposed in this paper should serve as a valuable tool to facilitate a successful BPR design in the project management and intends to assist companies as they operate projects of transferring and optimizing production lines. Originality/value – This paper proposes a PMPR model with a methodological approach which integrates efficiency and effectiveness estimators applicable to company needs. Thus, the aim of the paper is to develop a methodology and technical approach for the redesign and realization of a production line in consequence of its relocation.

Building excellence through the Agile Reengineering Performance Model (ARPM)

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella Petrillo ◽  
Gianpaolo Di Bona ◽  
Antonio Forcina ◽  
Alessandro Silvestri
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Process Reengineering ◽  
Production Lines ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Agile Approach ◽  
The Right

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to build a theoretic and practical framework, based on agile project management, to support the decision-making process in order to help companies in optimizing the reengineering production processes and improve management costs. Design/methodology/approach This paper seeks to propose an agile Reengineering Performance Model (ARPM) for managing projects of reengineering of processes and applies it in a real case study concerning a water bottling plant. Findings The proposed model should serve as a valuable tool to facilitate a successful business process reengineering design in the project management and intends to assist companies as they operate projects of transferring and optimizing production lines. Thanks to the use of ARPM tools, it is easy to modify the evolution of the project, with the possibility of extending or enhancing the application if necessary. Research limitations/implications The main limits of the ARPM model are: it requires close collaboration among team; it is rather intense for developers; and it is necessary flexibility to change course as needed and to ensure delivery of the right product. Practical implications The main implications of the authors’ work for research and business are to propose a structured methodological approach, rigorous but simple, suitable to implement in any companies. Originality/value The novelty of the approach is to apply the agile approach not for software development but in a manufacturing company.

scholarly journals A BPM-based framework for the impact assessment of blockchain to the midstream LNG supply chain

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios V. Lyridis ◽  
Georgios O. Andreadis ◽  
Christos Papaleonidas ◽  
Violetta Tsiampa
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Sensitive Information ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Shipping Company ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe current study addresses how blockchain can deal with the challenges that the midstream liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain poses combined from a management standpoint. Such challenges are: the volume of transactions, communication hurdles and the lack of contemporary management tools. The paper proposes a comprehensive framework to assess the impact of blockchain implementation in the midstream LNG supply chain in order to tackle those barriers.Design/methodology/approachThe basis of the research is the business process modelling (BPM), through which entities, roles, tasks, resources and transactions can be modelled and simulated. The modelling of the midstream LNG supply chain, via BPM, is based on guidelines of the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGGTO) and common industry business models. A quantitative analysis is employed to support the motivation and the potential impact of blockchain implementation. The methodology is used to identify (1) inefficiencies related to large volume of transactions between stakeholders and (2) critical areas of an LNG shipping company, where blockchain can be implemented.FindingsProcess repeatability, numerous shared documentation forms, excessive paperwork and communication imbroglios are mapped from the modelling section. Up to 327 processes are repeated during a typical vessel voyage, and up to 122 shared documentation forms are exchanged. Excessive paperwork and communication imbroglios are tracked through, which correspond to 25 severe errors as detected. By implementing the methodology, stakeholders can quantify the possible impact of blockchain on the operational performance of each stakeholder's operations separately and the supply chain as a whole in terms of real-time monitoring, transparency and paperwork reduction, time and cost savings.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has certain limitations deriving from its conceptual nature. The business processes' modelling is based on standard procedures described in the guidelines by SIGGTO and may need further adjustment for specific use cases. A structured case study has not been realisable as corporate data for an LNG shipping company regarding processes and other commercial sensitive information are required.Practical implicationsPotential practitioners may exploit the proposed framework as a low cost and seamless tool to evaluate how blockchain could disrupt their operations. Thus, the blockchain implementation's improvements or weaknesses can be pinpointed, and enabling the interested stakeholder of the LNG supply chain with specific feedback, it can guide them towards informed decisions on their operations.Originality/valueThe research has a novel approach as it combines the creation of practical management framework, with a comprehensive visualization of the midstream LNG supply chain. Thus, the reader can identify in which parts of the midstream LNG supply chain can blockchain be implemented, and what impact it could have in terms of supply chain operations.

Supplier management by distributing orders among new and existing suppliers: the methodology and its application to a fast fashion company

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Betul Acar Alagoz ◽  
Murat Caner Testik ◽  
Derya Dinler
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Moving Average ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Supplier Management ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
A Company ◽  
Over Time

PurposeThis study aims to create a reliable, collaborative and sustainable business environment with suppliers of a company for providing high-quality and low-cost products on time. A supplier management system that sustains existing suppliers by sharing work based on systematic performance evaluation while developing the supplier base with potential suppliers is proposed.Design/methodology/approachBuilt on quantitative approaches, supplier management functions are integrated in the designed system. A quantitative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis is adapted for evaluating potential suppliers. A multi-objective integer linear programming (ILP) model is developed for the distribution of orders among selected potential and existing suppliers. A performance evaluation scheme based on an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) is proposed to evaluate and monitor suppliers' performance over time.FindingsProposed system develops a supplier base by methodically selecting and approving new suppliers, and a sustainable relationship with both new and existing suppliers is established based on performance over time. Decisions on retaining or removing suppliers from the base are objectively made by quantitative evaluations. Orders are fairly distributed among suppliers under the constraints imposed by the management. Dependence on a certain set of suppliers and its associated risks are reduced while agility in offering goods is enabled.Originality/valueBusiness processes for selecting new suppliers, distributing orders among all suppliers, evaluating and monitoring performance over time are quantitatively integrated to add value in operational decision-making. The proposed system is original in the holistic approach for managing and sustaining multiple suppliers of a company based on performance.

WASPAS based MULTIMOORA method under IVIF environment for the selection of hub location

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 1233-1256
Author(s):  
Nezir Aydin ◽  
Sukran Seker
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Airline Industry ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Hub Location ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Product Assessment ◽  
The City

PurposeLow cost carriers (LCCs) have become one of the most significantly growing parts of the airline servicing market. This new player has redesigned the whole airline industry, which was previously led by the national/international full-service airline companies. Considering such advancements, the hub locations of LCCs became an important issue than ever before. Within this concept, a guiding framework is developed for an LCC company, which is in search of a new hub airport location within Turkey to satisfy the demand and attract new passengers.Design/methodology/approachAn interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy (IVIF) sets based weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) and multi-objective optimization by ratio analysis (MULTIMOORA) methods are developed for decision-making processes.FindingsFive airport locations are evaluated using the developed method. Results showed that in determining hub locations for LCCs, potential number of passengers of the city, airport quality and the number of hotels within the city are obtained as the three most important criteria among 12 evaluation criteria. The best location for the LCC company is determined as Antalya Airport.Research limitations/implicationsTo apply the proposed method to a different set of alternatives, data gathered on comparing location of alternatives from experts should be updated.Originality/valueProposed hybrid framework is presented as the first time in the literature as a decision-making tool. In order to validate framework's applicability, efficiency and effectiveness, a comparison and a sensitivity analysis are conducted at the end of the study.

scholarly journals An empirical study of long-term personal project information management

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 495-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klen Copic Pucihar ◽  
Matjaž Kljun ◽  
John Mariani ◽  
Alan John Dix
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Knowledge Workers ◽  
Information Space ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Project

Purpose – Personal projects are any kind of projects whose management is left to an individual untrained in project management and is greatly influenced by this individual’s personal touch. This includes the majority of knowledge workers who daily manage information relating to several personal projects. The authors have conducted an in-depth qualitative investigation on information management of such projects and the tacit knowledge behind its processes that cannot be found in the organisational structures of current personal information management (PIM) tools (file managers, e-mail clients, web browsers). The purpose of this paper is to reveal and understand project information management practices in details and provide guidelines for personal project management tools. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews similar to that in several other PIM exploratory studies were carried out focusing on project fragmentation, information overlap and project context recreation. In addition, the authors enhanced interviews with sketching approach not yet used to study PIM. Sketches were used for articulating things that were not easily expressed through words, they represented a time stamp of a project context in the projects’ lifetime, uncovered additional tacit knowledge behind project information management not mentioned during the interviews, and were also used to find what they have in common which might be used in prototype designing. Findings – The paper presents first personal project definition based on the conceptualisations derived from the study. The study revealed that the extensive information fragmentation in the file hierarchy (due to different organisational needs and ease of information access) poses a significant challenge to context recreation besides cross-tool fragmentation so far described in the literature. The study also reveals the division of project information into core and support and emphasises the importance of support information in relation to project goals. Other findings uncover the division of input/output information, project overlaps through information reuse, storytelling and visualising information relations, which could help with user modelling and enhancing project context recreation. Research limitations/implications – On of the limitations is the group of participants that cannot represent the ideally generalised knowledge worker as there are many different kinds of knowledge workers and they all have different information needs besides different management practices. However, participants of variety of different backgrounds were observed and the authors converged observations into points of project information management similarities across the spectrum of different professions. Nevertheless, its observations and conceptualisations should be repeatable. For one, some of the issues that emerged during this work have been to different extents discussed in other studies. Practical implications – The empirical findings are used to create guidelines for designing personal project information management tools: support the selective focus on information with the division into core and supportive information; visualise changes in project information space to support narratives for context recreation; overcome fragmentation in the file system with selective unification; visualising project’s information relationship to better understand the complexity of project information space; and support navigating in project information space on two axes: time and between projects (overlaps through information). Originality/value – The study presents a longitudinal insight into personal project information management. As such it provides a first formal definition of personal project from the information point of view. The method used in the study presented uses a new approach – sketching in which participants externalised and visualised personal information and projects they discussed. The insights derived from the study form design implications for personal project management tools for knowledge workers.

scholarly journals Foresight evaluation: lessons from project management

foresight ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina A. Makarova ◽  
Anna Sokolova
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Project Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Evaluation Procedures

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify ways for improvement of the foresight evaluation framework on the basis of analysis and systematisation of accumulated experience in the field of project management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a detailed literature review devoted to an evaluation of foresight and traditional projects. The approaches to project evaluation in the field of project management were investigated, and the main steps of traditional project evaluation process were determined. The most commonly applied steps of foresight evaluation were identified by the analysis of recent foresight evaluation projects. The comparison of evaluation frameworks for foresight projects and traditional projects allows to provide recommendations for foresight evaluation framework improvement. Findings – The paper identifies several lessons for foresight evaluation from project management. The elements which can enrich foresight evaluation framework are the following: the development of an evaluation model; the extensive use of quantitative methods; the elaboration of evaluation scales; the inclusion of economic indicators into evaluation; and the provision of more openness and transparency for evaluation results. Originality/value – Given the importance of foresight evaluation procedures and the lack of a commonly applied methodological approach, the value of this paper consists in identifying a foresight evaluation framework and enriching it with elements of project management.

eLearning within the Community of Practice for sustainable development

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 312-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ihor Katernyak ◽  
Viktoriya Loboda ◽  
Maryana Kulya
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Management Tools

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the use of two knowledge management tools – eLearning and Community of Practice (CoP) – promotes the culture of managing by projects in public organizations toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents three learning strategies for organizing eLearning in CoP, tailored e-course curriculum in Project Management for Local Development within the “4A” model (attention, actualization, attraction, action), with focus on learners’ feelings and emotions used for designing the eLearning process. Findings Every fourth learner was in the state of flow during the e-course, 70 percent of learners felt the state of arousal at certain moment of learning, and about 65 percent felt in control of knowledge they could apply. Practical implications This study bridges the gap between theory and practice by demonstrating synergistic effect of two knowledge management tools (e-learning and CoP) and proves the selection of learning strategies. Social implications Every year, about 1,000 public sector representatives and community leaders join the virtual CoP to study expertise, improve own practice, find new ideas and promote the culture of managing by projects for sustainable development. Originality/value The presented case shows eLearning implementation in the context of CoP, e-course curriculum “Project Management for Local Development,” and learning strategies aimed at constructing knowledge in competitive learning environment, applying new knowledge in practice in experiential learning environment and supporting affective and social learners’ behavior. The presented mental states are used as criteria for monitoring the learners’ emotional involvement in the e-course in different roles.

Participatory management of an urban world heritage site

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Dormaels
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Approach ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Participatory Management ◽  
General Context ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Local Actors

Purpose – Within the general context of the Historic Urban Landscape approach and the promotion of community involvement in heritage site management, the purpose of this paper is to describe and to understand the case of Old Québec in order to analyse the management tools put in place, so as not only to grasp the issues and challenges, but also to find out how these tools are perceived by the local actors directly involved. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual approach of this study is twofold. On the one hand, the author has adopted a phenomenological perspective of heritage, where heritage is understood as a social construction. On the other hand, because the goal of this study is to understand an initiative produced by local actors, the author chose an empirical approach that fosters first a descriptive and then an interpretive analysis of a phenomenon with potentially complex dynamics. To do so, the author chose to conduct the research by carrying out a case study, by using three methods of data collection: non-participating observation, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Findings – By analysing this case in its context, this research gives a better understanding of this community based initiative of participatory management in the world heritage site of the historic district of Old Québec. It demonstrate how these processes involves issues and challenges, even in a 20 years old inscribed site. It also highlights key elements for this type of initiative that, beyond this case, may be useful to be considered by site managers. Research limitations/implications – As with any case study, this research is highly dependent on the context, and that constitutes the main limitation. Consequently, the findings of this analysis can only be generalized as recommendations. Other case studies should be conducted to better understand the influence of context, and to bring out similarities between various initiatives. Originality/value – More than “best practices”, whose relevance may be questionable for their lack of consideration of the context, this paper aims to provide an example of participatory management and to indicate some key elements that seem to be useful for this kind of initiatives. It also raises important questions on the relevance of such management tools in context less experienced or without previous involvement of local communities. Finally, it proposes a conceptual framework and a methodological approach for the study of such cases.

scholarly journals ANALYTICAL REVIEW OF FLEXIBLE PROJECT MANAGEMENT MODELS IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITALIZATION OF MANAGERIAL PROCESSES

2021 ◽  
pp. 53-63
Author(s):  
S. Y. Ozornin ◽  
◽  
N. G. Terlyga ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Management Models ◽  
Agile Project Management ◽  
Analytical Review ◽  
Traditional Approaches

The enhanced penetration of digital technologies into the business processes of enterprises creates the need to review the existing project management tools and models at the enterprise. Digital transformation has had a significant impact on the product development velocity, openness and accessibility of all company processes, and also increased the value of intermediate interactions between project stakeholders. Such a transition has demonstrated the limitations of traditional managerial approaches and created the need to search for new management tools that meet the digital economy requirements. The author proposes is to consider agile project management models as such tools. The aim of article is to analyze the existing models and methods of agile project management under digitalization of the economy. The hypothesis of article is the assumption that models of agile project management may act as a successful alternative to traditional approaches of project management in the digital economy. To verify the hypothesis such general scientific methods as analysis, synthesis and modeling were used. The paper studies the conceptual framework of digital economy management, concludes that the existing definitions are limited, and proposes an alternative definition. A special attention is given to the digital economy peculiarities, which act as a decision-making criteria on the possibility of using existing models of agile project management. The key point in the article is given to an analytical review of models and methods of agile project management. The paper presents characteristics of each frameworks from the standpoint of a number of criteria, which makes it possible to draw a conclusion about the possibility or limitations using its under new type of economic relations. The results can be used in practice in the process of choosing and implementing a project management model under digitalization of the industry. It is proposed to study the practical experience of applying agile project management models under digitalization of the economy as one of the promising directions for further research.

scholarly journals Exploring the benefits of service productisation: support for business processes

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 85-105
Author(s):  
Janne Harkonen
Keyword(s):  
Service Management ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Characteristics ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Service Offering ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe study aims to explore the benefits of service productisation to provide further understanding on the productisation concept as support for business processes and service management. The concept has been deficiently discussed regardless of the potential significance to the whole formed by service products, business processes, information technology (IT), people and data.Design/methodology/approachIn the study, the exploratory empirical evidence is presented from 16 cases, 4 of which are from companies that are globally well-known.FindingsThe key findings of the paper include an overview of the benefits of service productisation and the relation to service offering, service processes and related resources. The concept links to the management of the whole formed by service products, business processes, IT, people and data. The noted benefits seem to be applicable to productisation of different service types, whilst some service characteristics may affect the specific emphasis.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations involve using secondary data, which, however, makes the cases less biased regarding the aims. Primary data are required to gain further insights into the phenomena and the identified benefits.Practical implicationsThe findings provide support for issues that are commonly discussed by practitioners on a concept that is less studied by the scientific literature. Practitioners can work towards organisational efficiency and effectiveness by understanding the benefits of productisation. Understanding service productisation can support the effective management of business processes and work towards prosperity in the service business.Originality/valueThe study is the first one to analyse the benefits of service productisation by exploring the issue through multiple cases and attempting to identify aspects for further attention by the academic community.

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