Cross-functional Perspective Research Articles

Does Cross-Functional Pedagogy of Teaching a Course Help in Management Education?

This research study aims to examine the effectiveness of delivering a supply chain management course to students from a cross-functional perspective. The study analyses the positive teaching-learning outcomes that came out with the teaching of this course to the working professionals through online mode at an institution from a cross-functional perspective. The research question is whether teaching the supply chain management course from a cross-functional perspective resulted in better student performance in terms of Bloom's taxonomy. This study finds that the positive effect of this experiment is statistically significant on the treatment set. The study also proposes a few examples of cross-functional classroom teaching and linkages between different courses that need to be brought to the attention of the students. The study also sheds light on different tools of cross-functional teaching and how the management faculty can develop the art of delivering lectures from a cross-functional perspective, and the caution that they need to exercise while adopting this pedagogy style.

Learning from design-prototyping interaction for engineering innovation from a cross-functional perspective

PurposeNovel engineering designs are usually infeasible for manufacturing or fail to meet the required performance. The dissimilar functionalities and mindsets between design and manufacturing pose challenges, as well as opportunities for innovation projects. This paper aims to report the innovation process that prototyped a novel engineering design of a haptic device in an engineering research lab. The innovation process went through several design generations. Interaction between design and manufacturing drove the innovation toward both better and worse directions between generations.Design/methodology/approachUsing the case research method, the steps of theoretical proposition development, case selection, data collection, data analysis and theory modification were followed. By interviewing the key persons, the characteristics, issues and recommendations for improvement of the innovation process were identified.FindingsIt was found that technical issues were not the hurdles in the innovation process. Instead, managing the inter-organizational mechanism proved critical to its eventual success. The educational gap between the design and manufacturing groups gave rise to communicational and perceptional distance, while the gap in terms of work experience between the two groups enlarged that distance.Research limitations/implicationsThe research results may be limited to cases with similar organizational and technological contexts.Practical implicationsWithin an organization, the design and the manufacturing divisions are separated by a functional gap. The functional gap should be managed with multiple views, namely, technical, personal and organizational perspectives. The identified innovation process could help bridge such a gap and facilitate innovative engineering designs in research institutes.Originality/valueThe effectiveness of the innovation process was, thus, found to be determined by the positive or negative reinforcement of these two gaps between the design and manufacturing of the research institute.

Framework for managing the operations and maintenance of wind farms

The operations and maintenance of a wind farm constitutes a considerable source of expenditures therefore a holistic framework is herein presented aiming at optimising their management. The principles upon which the framework was developed belongs to the asset management discipline oriented towards the wind energy sector. Besides, it is understood from a cross functional perspective which also embraces information management and business aspects. The framework comprehends different modules conceived with the following purposes: (i) creation of an integral and comprehensive failure database, (ii) modelling of the wind turbines’ reliability taking into account their operational context and (iii) defining of maintenance strategy within a life-cycle perspective. The practical aspects of the framework are demonstrated through a case study based on real-field data from the sector. Furthermore, the present research sets the foundation to consider all the proposed algorithms, processes and techniques within a Product-Service System approach, which entails important benefits for the OEMs an for the operators.

Cross-cultural Frictions in Information System Management: Research Perspectives on ERP Implementation Misfits in Thailand

Today, enterprise systems (ERP) are considered as ones of most impacting IT on business and decision processes because of their cross-functional perspective and readiness to change. As a consequence, a lack of “organisational fit” is observed as the main failure cause of ERP implementation. A lot of acts of resistance are observed as being task oriented and related to the non-appropriateness of IT that users have to cope with. Existing literature provides practical knowledge about conflict types and conflict management styles related to process and task misalignment between ERP and corporation needs. However, few researches were made about cultural misfits. Indeed, when an organisation is composed of several sub-cultures, the use of ERP can be problematic because mandating one epistemological position through the software design is based on “best practices”. Subsidiaries of multinational corporations have their own subculture varying in their national cultural content. Value conflicts may arise from inconsistency between cultural principles of users or groups of users and the perceived underlying strategic objectives assigned to IT implementation. Expending the classical Schein triadic model with the concept of “cultural friction”, this paper provides a critical analysis of cultural dimension misalignment between ERP standard processes and Thai managerial culture. Key theoretic discussed dimensions are Ego orientation (“Kreng Jai”) and, Social orientation (“Bunkhun”). The article concludes that failing projects are more about the way ERP ought to be implemented than about the system itself.

Logistics social responsibility: Standard adoption and practices in Italian companies

This paper deals with Logistics Social Responsibility (LSR), i.e. the socially responsible management of the supply chain under a cross-functional perspective. In particular, the goal of the paper is to develop a taxonomy of the LSR practices adopted by firms. The taxonomy is built based on a literature review and an empirical analysis. In particular, the empirical analysis deals with the analysis of the non-financial reports (i.e. social, environmental, sustainability report, environmental statement, and/or SA8000 report) published by a sample of Italian companies. The taxonomy involves 47 different LSR practices classified based on five areas, namely Purchasing Social Responsibility, Sustainable Transportation, Sustainable Packaging, Sustainable Warehousing, and Reverse Logistics. The practices are further investigated to assess which and to what extent they are adopted by different categories of companies. To this aim, we use an ad hoc-defined metric, the Adoption Index, and carry out a cross-analysis. By providing an encompassing view of all the LSR issues and practices, our paper represents an initial attempt to fill a gap in the literature on LSR.

An Exploratory Study of Cross-Functional Education in the Undergraduate Marketing Curriculum

In response to calls from both business practitioners and educators, this research explores the extent to which undergraduate marketing education is delivered with a cross-functional perspective. Given that marketing is often recognized as a boundary-spanning role within companies, marketing department chairs were asked to report on cross-functional teaching and learning activities within their departments and schools. While it appears that cross-functional teaching and learning does take place in the marketing classroom, it does not appear to be widespread among marketing departments within undergraduate business programs in the United States, and what is done tends to be accomplished within traditional pedagogical formats. These exploratory results point to several considerations for the implementation of crossfunctional teaching and learning initiatives, as well as provide provocative material for stimulating marketing faculty discussions on the topic.

Editorial

E-government is now a major issue in information systems as witnessed in the ISJ special issue of January 2005 (Carter & Bélanger, 2005; Irani et al., 2005; Mahrer & Krimmer, 2005; Moon & Norris, 2005). The paper of Gary Pan, Shan Pan, Michael Newman and Donal Flynn in this first issue of 2006 adds to the debate. Yet it looks at an issue in this context that has bedevilled information systems projects for many years. It concerns the commitment of the actors when the project seems to be failing and changing direction to a more positive course. Using Lewin’s change theory, the authors look at a case study of electronic government in a local UK metropolitan borough council where the project was out of control originally but was turned around to be a successful project. The commitment transformation framework produced by the authors offers several important implications for researchers and practitioners. Lynette Kvasny and Mark Keil also address an important topic: the digital divide. Their paper examines efforts undertaken by two cities, and thus it is also relevant to the theme of e-government. It compares and contrasts two different publicly funded experiments aimed at enabling communities with low levels of internet access to increase access levels. The experiments were different but led to similar consequences. The research was designed to answer two questions: (1) How have the target populations and service providers reacted to the two initiatives? (2) Why have these initiatives been less successful than expected? It examines these questions using the theoretical lens of Bordieu. The paper provides some useful insights and certainly contradicts the pervasive hype that information technology will bring salvation to every one. The paper of David Arnott presents design science research to describe an investigation into the decision biases and debiasing strategies, and their importance for decision support systems (DSS) development. A taxonomy of 37 cognitive biases that codifies a complex area of psychological research is developed. The core of the project described in the paper involves the construction of a design artefact – an evolutionary DSS development methodology that uses cognitive bias theory as a focusing construct. The feasibility and effectiveness of the development methodology is evaluated in a participatory case study of a strategic DSS project where a managing director is supported in a decision about whether to close a division of a company. The findings indicate that the use of biases as a central theme in developing DSS has positive effects on delivering a system and decision outcomes, and provides positive value to clients. Our final paper, by Redouane El Amrani, Frantz Rowe and Bénédicte Geffroy-Maronnat, tests and analyses the impact of the number of modules, change type, existence of a vision statement and business process re-engineering on the organization’s perception of cross-functionality. The hypotheses were tested by surveying 100 French companies, 55 small and medium-sized enterprises, and 45 large companies, and then conducting a statistical analysis on both the quantitative and the qualitative data collected. The paper concludes that functional coverage (i.e. the scope of the enterprise resource planning modules implemented) and a managerial organizational vision are particularly significant in the emergence of a cross-functional perspective.

Marketing as an engine of business growth: a cross-functional perspective

While the development of rigorous business disciplines has created deep insights, frameworks and powerful tools, this disciplinary focus also creates blinders that limit creativity in developing holistic solutions to business problems. The author discusses neuroscience research that shows how mental models, such as those implicit in specific disciplines, shape and limit insight and action. He notes that in a rapidly changing world, these models are more likely to be out of synch with the environment. As an example of the potential for applying a cross-functional perspective, he examines opportunities to use marketing insights across the organization to drive growth, including creating a market-driven vision and value proposition, using market insights to drive innovation, leveraging technology and marketing to create convergence, and rethinking the customer experience and relationships. To support these shifts in perspective, he identifies several enablers of interdisciplinary approaches, such as models and dashboards, organizational architecture, and integrative processes. Finally, he examines implications for practice, research, and education.

Operational resource accounting

AbstractOperational resource accounting provides a more integrated, cross‐functional perspective on organizational resources than conventional analytical methods. Its tenets include the belief that people are the most important process, product, and purpose; that pricing is a partnership, not a competition; and that internal projects and initiatives are all about renewal of people and processes. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Strategic brand valuation: A cross-functional perspective

The information age has greatly increased the scope and variety of information available to managers, yet organizations often struggle to find the most effective means to use the information. Executives have long used a variety of information sources to help position their products effectively in the marketplace. Increasingly, the source and focus of such information is outside the firm. In companies in which a brand or brand portfolio is the key source of competitive advantage, it is especially crucial to collect and evaluate data to help with brand management. General Mills spends roughly $3 percent of its revenue on marketing and $25 million per year on its Wheaties brand alone. This significant level of expenditure highlights the importance of tailoring the capture and delivery of information to support brand management decisions.

Total Quality Management‐A Cross Functional Perspective

Quality as a Strategy. What Is TQM? The Baldrige Award. Measures of Quality Product and Quality Process: The Traditional Approach. Measures of Quality Product and Quality Process: The Emerging Cost--of--Quality Model. Continuous Improvement: Basic Tools. Continuous Improvement: Statistical Process Control. Continuous Improvement: Some Advanced Tools. Customer Measurement I: Traditional Multi--Attribute Methods. Customer Measurement II: Quality Function Deployment. Initiating TQM: Managing Change. Employee Practices in Total Quality Management Organizations. TQM and the Product Development Process. Reengineering and TQM: The Role of Information Technology. Benchmarking. Landmarks on the TQM Road. Indexes.

Total Quality Management-A Cross Functional Perspective.

Total Quality Management-A Cross Functional Perspective.