Role of Kaizens to Improve Productivity: A Case Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 592-594 ◽  
pp. 2689-2693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ganesh S. Jadhav ◽  
Vahid M. Jamadar ◽  
Pradeep S. Gunavant ◽  
Sameer Sheshrao Gajghate

Continuous improvement is a vital component of an effective performance management system. Simply measuring performance will not result in system improvements. Getting improvement in any service requires an educational strategy for linking performance measurement to the implementation of the specific system improvements. The aim of the paper is to identify the effectiveness and implementation of the kaizen programme in an electronics manufacturing company. Customers focus on product quality, delivery time and cost. Because of this a company should introduce a quality system to improve and increase both quality and productivity continuously. Kaizen is a methodology that aims to increase the availability of the existing equipment hence reducing the need for further capital investment. This paper identifies role of maintenance in reducing production cost and increasing plant profit with the implementation of kaizen. Use of the Timed-PDCA concept makes it possible to pursue productivity improvement in the current works including nurturing motivations to workers concurrently by arranging kaizen theme.

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon M. Semakula-Katende ◽  
Erik D. Schmikl ◽  
Theuns Gert Pelser

Orientation: Focus was on the role of reward and attitudes as major determinants in enhancing the effectiveness of performance appraisal systems. Research purpose: To develop a structural model from the qualitative and quantitative findings from which to address the identified gaps in order to improve the effectiveness of appraisals. Motivation for the study: The attention that role players tended to give to the rewarding of employees during the appraisal process made it appear as the only important determinant of an appraisal’s success. In appraisals in many public institutions, reward has been given unnecessary prominence over other drivers, such as management and development. That led most key role players (leaders, managers and employees) to perceive the current employee performance management and development system (EPMDS) to be purely for monetary (salary increments and cash bonuses) and non-monetary (promotion) purposes, which, in turn, compromised its effectiveness. Research design, approach and method: Structural equation modelling (SEM) was utilised as a statistical technique for testing and estimating causal relations using a combination of statistical data and qualitative causal assumptions. This allowed both confirmatory and exploratory modelling to be undertaken, which is suited to both theory testing and theory development. A triangulation of quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interview) study was conducted. A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed to nine government hospitals in the Free State province, namely Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli, Dihlabeng, and Boitumelo regional hospitals, as well as Elizabeth Ross, Thebe, Phekolong, Mpumelelo, Reitz and Ficksburg district hospitals. There was a high response rate of 96 per cent, a total of 287 completed questionnaires. Respondents ranged from top executives, middle management, line management, to employees of all categories. Main findings: Reward and attitudes were found to the unintended outcomes of an effective performance appraisal. Practical/managerial implications: Remunerative rewards should be part of a holistic appraisal approach and not simply a one-sided approach. Contribution/value-add: This article addressed the void or the wrong perception regarding the role of reward and attitudes in appraisals, and established that they were outcomes, and not determinants, of appraisal effectiveness.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 495-510
Author(s):  
Alberto Sardi ◽  
Enrico Sorano ◽  
Alberto Ferraris ◽  
Patrizia Garengo

Purpose The literature highlights the relevance of performance measurement and management system in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to face the current competitive environment. However, a number of studies investigate how performance measurement and management system is effective for evolving and how contingency factors could influence this change. Newer experiences are sporadic and rarely investigated by researchers and practitioners. The purpose of this study is to identify the feasible evolutionary path of performance measurement and management system in leading SMEs to respond to current business challenges. Furthermore, it aims to contribute to the understanding of the role of key contingency factors influencing this evolution. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal case study, based on retrospective and real-time investigations, is performed to investigate the primary evolutions of the performance measurement and management system and its key determinants. Findings The findings highlight two evolution paths, increasing the maturity of performance measurement. The first path highlights a strong command and control of performance management; the second path shows a democratic and participative of performance management. Moreover, management information system, organizational culture and management style are highlighted as key contingency factors in the change of performance management. Originality/value The authors contribute to knowledge in performance measurement field, showing how the efforts for developing performance measurement and management system in a leading SME could determine two different evolutionary paths. Furthermore, the paper describes the increasing role of organizational culture, management style and management information system in performance management evolution, as well as the relevance of online chats and social media in performance management activities.


2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari Neilimo ◽  
Hannu Kuusela ◽  
Elina Närvänen ◽  
Hannu Saarijärvi

Purpose – The vision should ignite and facilitate strategic change as well as help a company to transform and reinvent itself in the face of competition. Too often executives use vision as a mere slogan without real relevance. The purpose of this study is to show how the vision guides strategic change. Design/methodology/approach – A case study from a successful multi-format, multi-industry service business is used to illustrate the role of vision in strategic change management. Findings – The article illustrates how the vision was used in practice in guiding the strategic transformation process of the case organization. The study presents four focal tasks of the vision and concludes with five practical guidelines for executives. Originality/value – The article highlights the role of vision as an important tool for managing strategic change.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Watson ◽  
Christina F. Rusnock ◽  
John M. Colombi ◽  
Michael E. Miller

The human user is important to consider during system design. However, common system design models, such as the system modeling language, typically represent human users and operators as external actors, rather than as internal to the system. This research presents a method for integrating human considerations into system models through human-centered design. A specific system is selected to serve as the case study for demonstrating the methodology. The sample system is analyzed to identify the task and information flow. Then, both system- and human-centered diagrams are separately created to represent different viewpoints of the system. These diagrams are compared and analyzed, and new diagrams are created that incorporate both system and human considerations into one concordant representation of the system model. These new views allow systems engineers and human factors engineers to effectively communicate the role of the user during early system design trades.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 215-234
Author(s):  
Ingrid Vasilica Istrate ◽  
Sabina Macovei ◽  
Monica Bucur

Abstract Sport represents the joy of living, to succeed, to self-exceed! Whereas the Romanian sport is at a crossroads, regarding the fewer and fewer number of children who want to practice a sport, as well as the economic situation in which it is situated, the goal of reviving the entire sports activity and to bring it to the top where Romania stayed many years in the past becomes a must. In this sense, there must be found solutions and proper strategies that lead to its revival. This issue requires a systemic approach capable to reestablish “the pyramid of sport performance” on functional principles. The present thesis is a way of organizing sports activities at club’s level, wards, groups, based on the performance pyramid, in order to achieve a high performance management, which is part of the sports reform, ranging from all of its forms, such as: human resources, financial, material, taking into account modern mechanisms (for attraction and use of resources considering the means which are available and necessary).


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Bracci ◽  
Giorgia Gobbo ◽  
Luca Papi

PurposeThis paper investigates the role of boundary objects and boundary work in the integration of risk management (RM) and performance management (PM) systems. In particular, the paper combines theoretical insights with an empirical focus to examine how shared contexts are created through the boundary work performed by key actors across knowledge boundaries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper develops an exploratory qualitative case study from a local government context. The methodology is based on document analysis and semi-structured interviews.FindingsBoundary objects can act as knowledge integration mechanisms, allowing key actors to understand the meanings and uses of RM and PM practices. The paper shows how collaborative versus competitive boundary work exerted by key actors can explain the creation of shared contexts leading to integration between RM and PM.Originality/valueThe results contribute to the debate about the integration of RM with other managerial systems. Differently from previous research, the integration theme is addressed in the present work by looking specifically to the integration between RM and PM. In doing so, the role of both boundary objects and the boundary work performed by relevant actors to demarcate their legitimacy and autonomy over preferred practices is portrayed.


Author(s):  
Gary W. Paul ◽  
David M. Berry

Orientation: Focus was placed on the important role of executive management in creating a post-merged organisational culture conducive to effective performance management.Research purpose: To develop a theoretical model from the insights gleaned from the literature study, interviews with senior human resource (HR) practitioners at participating institutions and the empirical study. Based on the empirical findings, this model was refined and resulted in the eight-step integrated post-merged organisational culture creation model.Motivation for the study: The negligible attention given to the design of mechanisms supportive of post-merged organisational culture creation emphasised the need for this study. The high percentage of merger failures attributable to ineffective post-merged organisational culture integration further contributed.Research design, approach and method: A quantitative study was conducted at three merged South African higher education institutions, namely Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Durban University of Technology. Respondents occupied the following functional categories: executive management, senior and line management, HR practitioners and non-HR or non-management.Main findings: Respondents perceived the role of executive management to be the most important step of the theoretical model which formed the basis for the empirical survey questionnaire. This step, which obtained the highest summated mean score in all three institutions and across all functional categories, was depicted as Step 5 of the model.Practical/managerial implications: The refined eight-step integrated post-merged organisational culture creation model will significantly enhance the creation of a post-merged organisational culture conducive to effective performance management.Contribution/value-add: This study addressed the void regarding a model to guide the creation of a post-merged organisational culture conducive to effective performance management in higher education institutions as well as merged corporate organisations.


2016 ◽  
pp. 501-518
Author(s):  
Atieh Dokhanchi ◽  
Eslam Nazemi

Despite the importance and the strategic role of Business Intelligence (BI) in organizations and its key impact on successfully executing corporate strategies, in most cases, strategic planning and performance management projects are done independently from BI projects, therefore a holistic and an integrated framework has been proposed in this paper for aligning Business Intelligence initiatives with corporate strategies. This framework as an interdisciplinary work borrows the approach of the Enterprise Architecture frameworks and its structured logical thinking about the organization and was refined through gathering and analyzing expert's opinions. This paper also uses a case study in one bank with the aim of clarifying the application of the proposed framework.


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