A Model for Make-or-Buy Decisions in Engineering Design Services Sector: A Case Study from Turkey

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (04) ◽  
pp. 1850038
Author(s):  
Z. Aytan Ediz ◽  
M. Atilla Öner ◽  
Y. Can Erdem ◽  
Nesimi Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Cluster Membership ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
Engineering Company

Make-or-buy decision is an important factor affecting the profitability of the firms in all sectors. The goal of this study is to propose a model for firms in engineering design services sector for make-or-buy decisions. A survey was conducted to determine the importance percentages given in an engineering company in make-or-buy decisions and a model was developed. The results of the case study show intriguing clusters of company personnel. As the lack of consensus among company managers and personnel may inhibit the successful implementation of the developed strategy, we use K-Means Clustering to determine the different perspectives of different groups of employees (managers, senior engineers, junior engineers, technical and administrative support personnel) which may contribute to the understanding of social dynamics of decision making within the company. 4-cluster and 5-cluster analysis results indicate the need for further study on the dynamics of cluster membership.

Mechanical Handling Engineers—A Case for Engineering Management with Style

1988 ◽  
Vol 202 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-175
Author(s):  
T W Batley
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineer ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Profit Sharing ◽  
Engineering Management ◽  
Engineering Company ◽  
Mechanical Handling

This case study concerns a mechanical engineer who has strong views on business management. He purchased a small engineering company in Dunedin, New Zealand, and put into practice his managerial philosophies of worker participation in decision-making and profit-sharing. The paper reviews the progress of the company during its first three years and then discusses the options for its future development.

Consideration-Constrained Engineering Design for Strategic Insights

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minhua Long ◽  
Michael Erickson ◽  
Erin F. MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Consumer Behavior ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Design Framework ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Clean Diesel ◽  
Product Planning ◽  
Conjunctive Rule

Consumer behavior can be modeled using a decision-making process termed “consideration” in which consumers form requirements, “consideration rules,” in order to narrow their options for further evaluation. One type of consideration rule is the conjunctive rule, where a consumer makes a list of requirements and a product must meet all of the requirements in order to be considered for purchase, such as “the vehicle must get 25 miles per gallon or more”; “it must be priced at $22,000 or less”; and “it must be a standard-sized sedan.” This paper offers a design framework for linking these consideration rules with design. We demonstrate the use of our framework with a case study, namely the Volkswagen (VW) “clean diesel” scandal, which investigates the design strategies used in response to the scandal by capturing considerations within the marketing product planning subproblem and assuring engineering feasibility within the engineering design subproblem.

How management control systems enable and constrain integrated thinking

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Dimes ◽  
Charl de Villiers
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Trust

Purpose This paper aims to examine how management control systems (MCS) can enable and constrain the successful adoption of integrated thinking in an organisation. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a case study approach, involving in-depth interviews and documentary evidence. Findings The case study organisation perceived trust to be critical to the successful adoption of integrated thinking, and informal social controls with strong endorsement from senior management frequently substituted for more formal technical controls in helping to develop a trust-based organisational culture. These cultural changes improved collaboration and brought economic benefits by encouraging outcome-based decision-making rather than capital-based decision-making, thereby enabling employees to identify and address poorly performing projects earlier. However, established performance measurement systems geared towards reporting and rewarding accounting profits created tension, constraining the potential benefits of integrated thinking by reinforcing business unit protectionism. Practical implications Integrated thinking can be seen as a form of management with the potential to improve organisational outcomes. An improved understanding of factors that might enable or constrain integrated thinking could facilitate its spread. Originality/value Despite several calls for research on the practical implementation of integrated thinking, this has not been studied extensively. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the firsts to contribute to a better understanding of the role of MCS in the successful implementation of integrated thinking in an organisation. The study also contributes to the MCS literature.

Piping Engineering Design Management Scenario in a Top Oil and Gas Company

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debarun Dutta
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Design Management ◽  
Descriptive Case Study ◽  
Management Scenario ◽  
Engineering Company ◽  
Product Engineering ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive ◽  
Management Approaches

Piping Engineering Design Management consists of two sides — the Design Product Engineering Side & the Design Process Side. Previous researches in this field have found out many issues or aspects on the Product Side that need to be taken care of in order to build an effective piping engineering design management model. Now although there have been some researches on the Product Side, however, no evidence of research on the Process Side of Piping Engineering Design Management has been found. But since effective management of engineering design is critical to the competitive advantage of any engineering company, I am researching in this arena. During the course of my research, I have carried out a qualitative descriptive case study in a very large oil & gas company’s piping engineering design department. The collected data reveals the existing piping engineering design management approaches & practices that are being used in that company. This paper directly showcases this in-vogue piping engineering design management scenario in a raw form for present &/or future researchers of this field.

scholarly journals A translational case study of empowerment into practice: A realist evaluation of a member-led dementia empowerment service

Dementia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1974-1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey McConnell ◽  
Paul Best ◽  
Tristan Sturm ◽  
Mabel Stevenson ◽  
Michael Donnelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Group Members

Involving people with dementia in decision-making is widely accepted as a means of empowering them to lead more independent lives and have more meaningful roles in shaping their care. However, there is a need to conduct rigorous evaluations of empowerment-driven services and policies in order to develop a deeper understanding about how to optimise successful implementation. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of Dementia Northern Ireland, an organisation initiated and led by people with dementia. We used a realist evaluation approach that comprised interviews with 15 people with dementia, three staff and two board members, ethnographic observations, along with documentary analysis to identify ‘what works, for whom, under what circumstances’. The analysis used realist logic to build up context-mechanism-outcome configurations. The Dementia Northern Ireland service model of empowerment revolved around the formation and maintenance of social groups of people with dementia. Facilitators, recruited and selected by people with dementia, supported six groups, consisting of one to four members with mild to moderate cognitive impairment. Facilitators helped expand empowerment groups, facilitate decision-making, awareness raising and consultation opportunities with group members. The ‘Empowerment Groups’ appeared to lead to the development of a shared social identity and a sense of collective strength as indicated by interview and observational data demonstrating an activist mentality among group members to challenge the stigma surrounding dementia. Group members also reported improved quality of life. Widespread implementation of the empowerment model has the potential to lead to reduced stigma and greater social inclusion, increased involvement of people with dementia as active co-producers of policy and service development, better services and support. This case study of Dementia Northern Ireland illustrates that there are boundaries and challenges to empowerment in terms of requiring additional support from staff without dementia. However, despite these challenges, empowerment-driven organisations can and should be committed to involving members in lead roles and key decision-making.

scholarly journals Challenge for Planning by Using Cluster Methodology: The Case Study of the Algarve Region

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1536 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bienvenido-Huertas ◽  
Fátima Farinha ◽  
Miguel José Oliveira ◽  
Elisa M. J. Silva ◽  
Rui Lança
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Sustainability Indicators ◽  
Analysis Approach ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Indicator Approach

This study analyses the most appropriate methodology to make similarity classifications among the cities of the Algarve (Portugal) according to 105 sustainability indicators monitored with the Observatory of Sustainability of the Algarve Region for Tourism (OBSERVE). The methodology used to establish the similarities was the cluster analysis with 4 different approaches which reduced the dimensions of the data set: total approach, pillar approach, subject area approach, and indicator approach. By combining the approaches, a total of 620 different cluster analyses were performed. The results reflected that the data analysis approaches with less dimensions were those that performed the best groups among cities. In this sense, the approaches with a high number of indicators (e.g., the total or the pillar approach) were characterised by misclassifying cities in more than 30% of the indicators. Thus, the most acceptable cluster analysis approach was that with a low number of indicators. Through this approach, it was possible to make correct groups of the sustainability level of the cities of the Algarve. These results provided an appropriate methodology for the decision-making regarding the sustainability of a region and could be extrapolated to other regions to assess sustainability or environmental indicators.

A CONSULTATION GUIDE FOR ASSESSING THE APPLICABILITY OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES:A CASE STUDY

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 577-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Polus ◽  
Lisa Pfadenhauer ◽  
Louise Brereton ◽  
Wojciech Leppert ◽  
Philip Wahlster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Panel Discussion ◽  
Complex Interventions ◽  
Health Technology ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Home Based

Objectives:The translation of research findings into policy and practice is crucially dependent on the applicability of such findings in a given decision-making context. We explored in a case study whether a generic consultation guide to assess the applicability of a health technology could be rapidly deployed and deliver useful insights.Methods:A consultation guide based on the context and implementation for complex interventions (CICI) framework was developed and piloted to assess the applicability of reinforced home-based palliative care in three European countries. Individual consultations in England and Germany and a panel discussion in Poland were completed.Results:Various barriers may hinder successful implementation of reinforced home-based palliative care in the three countries. Whilst the experts across all countries emphasized the lack of funding along with organization and structure as major barriers, information varied by country for many of the other identified barriers and facilitators. Participants in the pilot study provided positive feedback in terms of understanding the topic and purpose of the consultation, and both individual and panel consultations could be easily implemented.Conclusions:In this case study, the consultation guide presented a pragmatic, ready-to-use tool to assess the applicability of a health technology. As shown here, it can be used in a generic manner without discrete empirical information on the technology in question or, ideally, makes use of specific information collected as part of a HTA. Further studies are needed to validate this guide and apply it to other types of health technologies and more diverse decision-making contexts.

A Case Study in Challenging Engineering Requirements

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth R. Crouch ◽  
Gregory M. Mocko
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Concept Selection ◽  
A Value ◽  
Value Model

Requirements are an essential element to engineering design as they are used to focus idea generation during conceptual design, provide criteria for decision making during concept selection, and verify the chosen concept fulfills product needs. Because they are essential to the entire design process, emphasis must be placed on ensuring that they are correct. This research focuses on a value-based methodology useful for challenging and validating established requirements. A case study was conducted on an industry-sponsored project to use this value-based process on the requirements that constrain the design of an automotive seat. A human anthropomorphic model, comfort value model, occupant safety model, and a model of an automotive seat are integrated to establish an H-point travel window to maximize the safety and comfort of an automotive seating structure. This case study shows that this approach provides evidence to establish requirements based on value to the human rather than legacy seating requirements.

scholarly journals Organization of the integrated control of the implementation of sophisticated construction projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 251 ◽  
pp. 05012
Author(s):  
Dmitriy Leybman ◽  
Sergey Sborshchikov ◽  
Elizaveta Kochenkova
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Integrated Control ◽  
Control Circuit ◽  
Organizational Control ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Engineering Company ◽  
Management Work ◽  
Design And Construction

A successful implementation of the investment programs and projects is mainly determined by an effective organizational control circuit. This is the circuit, which includes a construction organizer (external engineering company), carrying out a set of management work, based on timely and reasonable decision-making at the design and construction stages.

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