When Performance Fails to Meet Expectations: Managers' Objectives for Outsourcing

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Young ◽  
Johanna Macneil

Managers may implement outsourcing for one or more of a range of reasons: to improve strategic focus, to achieve numerical or functional flexibility, to reduce costs or risk, to change their own roles, to change organisational culture or workplace power structure, and to intensify work effort. However, often there are associated costs, either unanticipated or unquantified. This paper provides evidence from two food processing companies to address the following questions: (1) Why do managers pursue outsourcing? and (2) Have managers anticipated and quantified the potential costs as well as the benefits of outsourcing? We conclude that while it seems clear that managers do begin with clear objectives for outsourcing and anticipate that benefits will flow, sometimes these objectives are not met, unexpected costs are incurred, or objectives change as new information is available or situations change. In other cases managers have been unable to objectively substantiate the outsourcing decision.

Author(s):  
Paul Hursthouse ◽  
Darl Kolb

The establishment of new plants in Greenfield sires is a strategic organisational initiative providing the opportunity to develop alternative systems of staff values and beliefs which may be more appropriate for capitalising on external product marker opportunities. This paper explores whether an alternative organisational culture can be established at a Greenfield sire within a New Zealand food processing plant. This case organisation utilised the provisions of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 to establish alternative employment conditions in the Greenfield site to those of its Brownfield sire. A comparative analysis was made utilising quantitative organisational culture data from Human Synergistic's Organisation Culture Inventory. The data reveals the similarities and differences between the Greenfield and Brownfield sires and provides the basis for discussion of whether culture can be managed through the mechanism of a Greenfield site. Critical elements in creating a desired culture are identified.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory F. Funston ◽  
Philip J. Currie

Until recently, caenagnathids were a family of oviraptorosaurs represented only by fragmentary material. As such, caenagnathid biology has never been studied in depth. A well-preserved mandible provides new information on the anatomy and dietary habits of Chirostenotes. The mandible is edentulous, has a completely fused symphysis, with sharp occlusal margins and complex lingual surfaces. Finite element analysis shows that the lingual ridges are reinforced. This suggests that they had a function in food processing. These and other features suggest adaptations for an efficient shearing mechanism, and the overall morphology is poorly adapted for durophagous behaviour. Comparisons with three groups with convergently similar mandibles, especially dicynodonts, indicate caenagnathids were capable of handling an herbivorous diet. Here, an omnivorous diet is proposed for Chirostenotes, including folivory and small prey.


Author(s):  
J. Y. Koo ◽  
G. Thomas

High resolution electron microscopy has been shown to give new information on defects(1) and phase transformations in solids (2,3). In a continuing program of lattice fringe imaging of alloys, we have applied this technique to the martensitic transformation in steels in order to characterize the atomic environments near twin, lath and αmartensite boundaries. This paper describes current progress in this program.Figures A and B show lattice image and conventional bright field image of the same area of a duplex Fe/2Si/0.1C steel described elsewhere(4). The microstructure consists of internally twinned martensite (M) embedded in a ferrite matrix (F). Use of the 2-beam tilted illumination technique incorporating a twin reflection produced {110} fringes across the microtwins.


Author(s):  
L. Andrew Staehelin

Freeze-etched membranes usually appear as relatively smooth surfaces covered with numerous small particles and a few small holes (Fig. 1). In 1966 Branton (1“) suggested that these surfaces represent split inner mem¬brane faces and not true external membrane surfaces. His theory has now gained wide acceptance partly due to new information obtained from double replicas of freeze-cleaved specimens (2,3) and from freeze-etch experi¬ments with surface labeled membranes (4). While theses studies have fur¬ther substantiated the basic idea of membrane splitting and have shown clearly which membrane faces are complementary to each other, they have left the question open, why the replicated membrane faces usually exhibit con¬siderably fewer holes than particles. According to Branton's theory the number of holes should on the average equal the number of particles. The absence of these holes can be explained in either of two ways: a) it is possible that no holes are formed during the cleaving process e.g. due to plastic deformation (5); b) holes may arise during the cleaving process but remain undetected because of inadequate replication and microscope techniques.


Author(s):  
Y. Taniguchi ◽  
E. Nakazawa ◽  
S. Taya

Imaging energy filters can add new information to electron microscopic images with respect to energy-axis, so-called electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI). Recently, many good results have been reported using this imaging technique. ESI also allows high-contrast observation of unstained biological samples, becoming a trend of the field of morphology. We manufactured a new type of energy filter as a trial production. This energy filter consists of two magnets, and we call γ-filter since the trajectory of electrons shows ‘γ’-shape inside the filter. We evaluated the new energyγ-filter TEM with the γ-filter.Figure 1 shows schematic view of the electron optics of the γ-type energy filter. For the determination of the electron-optics of the γ-type energy filter, we used the TRIO (Third Order Ion Optics) program which has been developed for the design of high resolution mass spectrometers. The TRIO takes the extended fringing fields (EFF) into consideration. EFF makes it difficult to design magnetic energy filters with magnetic sector fields.


Author(s):  
Klaus-Ruediger Peters

Only recently it became possible to expand scanning electron microscopy to low vacuum and atmospheric pressure through the introduction of several new technologies. In principle, only the specimen is provided with a controlled gaseous environment while the optical microscope column is kept at high vacuum. In the specimen chamber, the gas can generate new interactions with i) the probe electrons, ii) the specimen surface, and iii) the specimen-specific signal electrons. The results of these interactions yield new information about specimen surfaces not accessible to conventional high vacuum SEM. Several microscope types are available differing from each other by the maximum available gas pressure and the types of signals which can be used for investigation of specimen properties.Electrical non-conductors can be easily imaged despite charge accumulations at and beneath their surface. At high gas pressures between 10-2 and 2 torr, gas molecules are ionized in the electrical field between the specimen surface and the surrounding microscope parts through signal electrons and, to a certain extent, probe electrons. The gas provides a stable ion flux for a surface charge equalization if sufficient gas ions are provided.


Author(s):  
U. Gross ◽  
P. Hagemann

By addition of analytical equipment, scanning transmission accessories and data processing equipment the basic transmission electron microscope (TEM) has evolved into a comprehensive information gathering system. This extension has led to increased complexity of the instrument as compared with the straightforward imaging microscope, since in general new information capacity has required the addition of new control hardware. The increased operational complexity is reflected in a proliferation of knobs and buttons.In the conventional electron microscope design the operating panel of the instrument has distinct control elements to alter optical conditions of the microscope column in different modes. As a consequence a multiplicity of control functions has been inevitable. Examples of this are the three pairs of focus and magnification controls needed for TEM imaging, diffraction patterns, and STEM images.


Author(s):  
G.E. Ice

The increasing availability of synchrotron x-ray sources has stimulated the development of advanced hard x-ray (E≥5 keV) microprobes. With new x-ray optics these microprobes can achieve micron and submicron spatial resolutions. The inherent elemental and crystallographic sensitivity of an x-ray microprobe and its inherently nondestructive and penetrating nature will have important applications to materials science. For example, x-ray fluorescent microanalysis of materials can reveal elemental distributions with greater sensitivity than alternative nondestructive probes. In materials, segregation and nonuniform distributions are the rule rather than the exception. Common interfaces to whichsegregation occurs are surfaces, grain and precipitate boundaries, dislocations, and surfaces formed by defects such as vacancy and interstitial configurations. In addition to chemical information, an x-ray diffraction microprobe can reveal the local structure of a material by detecting its phase, crystallographic orientation and strain.Demonstration experiments have already exploited the penetrating nature of an x-ray microprobe and its inherent elemental sensitivity to provide new information about elemental distributions in novel materials.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-141
Author(s):  
Kenneth D. Locke

Abstract. Person–job (or needs–supplies) discrepancy/fit theories posit that job satisfaction depends on work supplying what employees want and thus expect associations between having supervisory power and job satisfaction to be more positive in individuals who value power and in societies that endorse power values and power distance (e.g., respecting/obeying superiors). Using multilevel modeling on 30,683 European Social Survey respondents from 31 countries revealed that overseeing supervisees was positively associated with job satisfaction, and as hypothesized, this association was stronger among individuals with stronger power values and in nations with greater levels of power values or power distance. The results suggest that workplace power can have a meaningful impact on job satisfaction, especially over time in individuals or societies that esteem power.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document