Efficiency Of Internal Processes Research Articles

Mitigate cross-market competition caused by the risk of uncertainty and improve firm performance through business intelligence

In the face of various risks and uncertainties including political instability, technological advancements, and natural disasters, businesses involved in cross-market activities are encountering a more competitive environment. This study investigates the relationship between competitive intensity, business intelligence, internal process efficiency, and the performance of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in China. By incorporating the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework and Dynamic Capabilities Theory, a research model is developed to demonstrate that competitive intensity improves firms’ performance through the utilization of business intelligence capabilities and internal process efficiency. Through the use of a structural equation model, data collected from 15 industrial parks in Henan province, China, involving 429 participants, was analyzed. The findings show a positive correlation between competitive intensity and business intelligence sensing capability (both internal and external). The impact of business intelligence sensing capability on the performance of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises is shown to be mediated through internal process efficiency. Our study reveals the mediating roles of business intelligence capability and internal process efficiency in improving organizational performance among Chinese small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. This research not only fills gaps in business intelligence research from a management perspective but also contributes to the literature on the interactions among competitive intensity, business intelligence, internal processes, and organizational performance. It also sheds light on the relationship between competitive intensity and organizational performance, offering insights for companies involved in cross-market activities. By highlighting the importance of business intelligence capabilities in adapting to environmental influences, this study offers practical guidance for enterprise digital transformation efforts.

ФОРСАЙТ-ТЕХНОЛОГИИ В АРХИТЕКТУРЕ ЖИЗНЕННОГО ЦИКЛА

In the article, the authors consider issues related to the introduction of foresight technologies through the integration of digital capabilities and corporate architecture, where information and communication platforms are not only a technological tool to improve the efficiency of internal processes, but are part of value creation to increase competitive advantage. The article highlights the strategic shifts covering big data sharing with cost minimization, increased personalized customer focus and value relationships between suppliers, buyers and employees in the process of digital foresight transformation. It is noted that foresight technologies should be consistent with the educational strategy, and their effective use should be built into the institutional environment of society. The essence of the restructuring of business processes in ecosystems based on radical evolutionary changes in the economic system as a whole is revealed. The authors give examples of the implementation of foresight technologies in some industries, the advantages and disadvantages identified in the course of the study. The existence of a life cycle between strategic forecasting and knowledge management for realizing positive results aimed at commercialization and scaling is summarized.

Managerial perspectives on strategies for advancing environmental considerations in the mining industry

Pressure on the mining industry to address environmental and social challenges is growing at the same time as society's and stakeholders’ expectations have increased. In order to understand why and how the mining industry is addressing the environmental challenges they are facing; this research is focused on studying the drivers to advance environmental considerations and the overall strategic environmental approach the mining industry in Finland is currently taking. This study is based on a questionnaire administrated to senior mine managers in Finland to capture their view of the matter. Based on the findings, legislation and societal expectations are the most significant external drivers, while mine management's own contribution is very important to advancing environmental considerations. Results show that perceived added value in addressing environmental considerations is gaining social license to operate, and further value derives from gaining operational benefits by improving internal process efficiency. This research shows some global trends which are largely missing in mining companies’ agendas in Finland, namely mitigation of climate change and contribution to the circular economy. Overall, this paper covers policy and managerial implications of addressing environmental considerations of the mining industry.

Creating highly reliable health care organisations through reverse exchanges

PurposeThis paper aims to explore patient to care provider reverse exchanges to improve the care processes and service supply chain using an online feedback platform. This paper demonstrates how a better understanding of timely and unsolicited feedback (“voice of the patient as a customer”) stimulates local interventions to improve service delivery and enact the essential characteristics of highly reliable organisations (HRO).Design/methodology/approachA realist approach involving an exploratory hospital case study using user feedback from an IT patient feedback platform. The methodology included interviews, secondary data and access to thousands of patient feedback narratives.FindingsThe findings show that a systems approach to the supply chain, using real-time feedback to enact process improvement is beneficial and a fruitful source of innovation for professional services staff. The setting of the improvement focusses on a true “voice of the customer” rather than attempting to improve arbitrarily internal process efficiency has major benefits for staff and their engagement with the right interventions to support higher performance.Practical implicationsThe findings show major positive benefits for the adaptation and constant reflection of staff on the service provided to patients. The approach provides a means of reflecting as to whether the current supply chain and service provision are fit for purpose, as well as reliable, efficient and of value to the consumer.Originality/valueThis study is one of a few that adopt the consumer orientation needed to fully exploit the concepts of patient-centric improvement by including dynamic feedback in the supply chain and systems approach to care.

Smart Manufacturing Support to Product Platforms in Industrialized House Building

Swedish house building companies currently face many challenges in terms of fluctuating market demand, need for flexible product offering, non-uniform governmental regulations, high costs, and long lead times. These challenges affect both internal and external efficiency of companies. Product platforms have been used for more than a decade in this industry to improve both internal and external efficiency. However, the industry is still criticized for its inefficient and costly process. Smart manufacturing has emerged as means to improve the efficiency of internal processes and the question is if and how smart manufacturing can complement and support product platforms in industrialized house building. The aim of this study is to explore the potential of smart manufacturing to complement and support product platforms in theory and practice in the context of industrialized house building. A literature review and a multiple case study were chosen to fulfill the study objective. In total fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted in two timber house building companies. The data was analyzed within and across cases using four platform assets for categorization: components, processes, knowledge and relationships. The results show that the smart manufacturing technologies are in both theory and practice mainly supporting the process platform asset through developing vertical and horizontal IT systems integration, definition and digitalization of flexible building systems, and transferring explicit drafting and engineering knowledge into parametric modelling tools.

An exploratory study of the results of the implementation of EFQM in private Spanish firms

PurposeThe implementation of business excellence models is becoming a key competitive priority for companies, but the type of results they obtain by implementing such models and the importance of such results remain open issues. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the results obtained by companies that implement the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model, with a focus on their importance and nature.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study was conducted in 68 Spanish firms that were immersed in the process of implementing EFQM. The methodology consists of a descriptive analysis and factor analysis in order to determine which groups of results are the most important. Finally, clusters of firms are analyzed to establish their profile in relation to these groups, using cluster analysis.FindingsThis study shows that the main results of the implementation of EFQM are an improvement in the external image of the company and an increased efficiency of internal processes. In addition, the results can be grouped into internal results, human resources results and economic results, with the first group being the most important. Finally, the results show that there are three groups of firms, categorized according to their results orientation: highly results-oriented, moderately results-oriented and minimally results-oriented.Practical implicationsCompanies are in a better position to anticipate and solve the problems that may arise during the implementation process if they understand the results of the implementation of EFQM, along with the motivations for and barriers to the implementation. Also, this research shows that the bodies promoting and motivating quality should make a special effort to emphasize the importance of non-financial results in companies that implement EFQM.Originality/valueThis paper extends the knowledge in the field of business excellence models by developing an instrument to measure implementation results from the perspective of quality managers who were specifically appointed to lead the implementation of the EFQM excellence model in companies.

Improving Special Operations Forces Measurements of Effectiveness in Security Cooperation

The U.S. Government recently adapted U.S. policy, code, and joint doctrine to provide greater authorities to the Department of Defense to conduct Security Cooperation (SC). U.S. policy and law now requires increased transparency into the effects of these activities towards the achievement of U.S. national security objectives. In response to these changes, U.S. Special Operations Command should implement changes in education and training to improve the capacity of Special Operations Forces (SOF) to assess and plan for SC activities and to monitor and evaluate the results of these activities. SOF can enable greater fidelity through learning to develop objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). SOF can then link SMART objectives to planned “Theory of Change”-driven operational approaches and systematic assessment, monitoring, and evaluation methods to learn and adjust current and future SC activities to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of internal processes and activities, measure progress along SC lines of effort under execution, and better account for the return on investment reaped from their Security Cooperation lines of effort.

Are factors affecting RFID adoption different between public and private organisations?

While radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is becoming widely used in supply chains for several public and private applications in Korea, the widespread diffusion of RFID across various industries is yet to be expected. This study suggests two objectives for RFID research: (1) To show that factors (technological, organisational, and environmental factors) affecting RFID adoption are different between public and private organisations in Korea. (2) To apply a balanced score approach (BSC) to assess the organisational performance after RFID adoption and show differences in the performance of RFID adoption between public and private organisations. Technological complexity, security, and size are the most important factors for public RFID adopters, while technological compatibility, adoption cost, and competitive pressure are the most important determinants for RFID adoption in private organisations. It turns out that RFID adoption positively influences the organisational performance in aspects of learning and growth, internal process, and customers rather than financial performance. Furthermore, the emphasis on the four measures of BSC is different between public and private organisations, as the RFID adoption by public organisations is more significantly linked to financial performance than private organisations. In contrast, private organisations are more likely to produce learning and growth, internal process efficiency, and customer performance than public organisations.

Framework for measuring performance of the sales and operations planning process

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for measuring the S&OP process performance. Design/methodology/approach The method used is a multiple case study of five companies from different industries based on data from 12 structured interviews. Findings The main result is a framework to measure the S&OP process. It includes concrete suggestions for organizations when developing measures to increase effectiveness and efficiency of the process. It will also help organizations to standardize measures and to enhance organizational transparency. Our results include measures for every step of the process as well as for the outcome of the process. The authors highlight the importance of cross-functional measures along with measures that focus on how to conduct the process. The framework is founded on a set of criteria on appropriate measures such as comprehensiveness, internal process efficiency, horizontal and vertical integration, internal comparability, and usefulness. The study contributes to performance measurement literature and the S&OP literature. Research limitations/ implications Validation of the framework is desirable in similar as well as other contexts. Implementation challenges should also be investigated. Practical implications The framework provides guidelines in order to measure, analyze and improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of the process. Originality/values This is the first framework for measuring the S&OP process that includes detailed measures for each step of the process, for the outcome of the process as well as how to conduct the process itself.

The Assessment of Accredited Faculties Performance at Assiut University by Using Balanced Scorecard (BSC)

The current study aimed at recognizing the concept and aims of performance evaluation besides to shedding light on balanced Scorecard as it is considered one of the modern models in performance assessment and evaluation. The study aimed at assessing the performance of accredited faculties at Assiut University by using this scorecard. The researcher used the descriptive method as it suits the study nature. The study sample consisted of 20% percentage of the original society of the study from staff members and with 5% percentage of the original society of study from students.it was selected in a random way. The current study came down to some important results related to the theoretical framework and the field study:(1)the balance scorecard is considered one of the modern tools and the most effective tool in measuring and assessing the balanced performance because it gathers among the financial and non-financial tools, besides to that, it gathers the quantitative and specific values in addition to the external and internal factors on the short and long term.(2)the performance related to the internal process efficiency came at a medium degree at all the performance was weak, while the performance was medium at the total of the sample size. The researcher ended his study with setting some important recommendations to implement this technique in an effective way.

A technology adoption and implementation process in an independent hotel chain

Successful technological initiatives in the hospitality industry are a product of a well-planned and executed innovation adoption process. This qualitative study investigated the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled locking technology in an independent hospitality company as a mechanism for service innovation and improved internal process efficiency. Findings from the research generated themes significantly impacting the knowledge and persuasion stages of the diffusion of innovations (DOI) adoption process. Results produced theoretical implications which suggest the dual nature of adoption process in the service industries, as well as practical recommendations for the implementation of new technologies in the hospitality industry.

Organizational culture and green management: innovative way ahead in hotel industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify perspective and feasible combinations of the existing revenue-driven methods with still more pervasive features of knowledge-based management and green management in hotel industry. The authors believe that the key path to success is in even closer, that is, daily personal orientation on customers, specifically on their satisfaction in both functional and emotional dimensions. Design/methodology/approach A research prototype of competitiveness modelling framework can be fully implemented in accordance with the methodology, proposed by Mitroff and Kilmann (1978). The key output of our conceptual modelling stage was causal loop diagram, showing relations among internal variables and determining overall dynamics of analyzed problem. In the implementation phase, the authors adopted system dynamics (SD) paradigm, which composes system behaviour from parametrically adjustable temporal accumulation of levels of internal resources. These resources (stocks) can be both quantitative (money, employees, services) and qualitative (trust, motivation, quality). After parameterization and validation, SD models are used for the analysis of real-world situations. Findings With the resultant interactive SD model, the authors designed and tested several scenarios, comparing the purely revenue-oriented hotel management with its customers-oriented and organizational knowledge-supported enhancement. The authors’ experiments showed that the proposed extension can contribute to the overall performance up to 15 per cent. According to the experimental findings, the primary reasons for the improvement are higher ratio of regularly returning customers and improved efficiency of internal processes as a result of continuous organizational learning. Originality/value So far, hotel managers use mainly simple analytic and planning tools, which cannot cover the practical complexity of surrounding market and internal processes. In comparison with purely revenue-based principles, advanced managerial practices, considering also qualitative and human-related matters, require additional viewpoints. The authors enhanced the hospitality domain with the introduction of dynamic hypotheses – feasible explanations of temporal behaviour of complex structures.

Organizational Impact of the Introduction of a New Portable Syringe Pump for Iloprost Therapy in Italian Hospital Settings

Purpose: The study aims at assessing the organizational and economic impact related to the use of a new portable syringe pump (Pompa Infonde®, Italfarmaco S.p.A., Cinisello Balsamo, Italy) at a hospital level. Methodology: Based on the HTA approach, the analysis assessed the organizational and economic impact of the new device at hospital level, using the traditional methods of Iloprost infusion as comparator. After a pilot evaluation, the organizational impact was assessed within 24 Italian hospitals. Structured interviews were conducted with clinicians and nurses. According to the Hospital-Based HTA approach, a questionnaire assessed the impact on human resources, training activities, internal meetings, spaces needed, facilities, clinical practice implications. Using Activity Based Costing approach, the economic evaluation was performed within the pilot center “Ospedale Civile” of Legnano, Italy. Findings: The new device leads to a positive managerial impact, with a substantial reduction of time to monitor patients by nurses. This resulted in a better management of human resources and in a reduction in nursing cost. Although a mild negative impact on training time for personnel, the structured interviews allowed the identification of three main areas of positive impact: (i) efficiency of internal processes, (ii) clinical pathways, (iii) synergies between wards. Originality: The organizational impact of Pompa Infonde®, showed that it is an efficient alternative to traditional methods, with benefits in the management of patients administered with Iloprost.

Assessing Energy Efficiency of High Pressure Regenerative Feedwater Heaters in a Heating Unit of a Cogeneration Plant

Broadly understood technological progress, growth of the world's population and striving of individual countries for economic growth cause increased demand for energy. That energy is mainly obtained conventionally, from mineral fuels [16]. Limited fuel resources and high demand for fuels, which accompanies the increased demand for energy, result in continuous growth of fuel prices and, what it involves, the price of energy [6,16]. Another effect of the increased production of energy results is also the increased emission of combustion products which are harmful for the natural environment, mainly CO2 and NOx [6,9,10,]. Because of the above-mentioned factors, the importance of the assessment of energy efficiency, at the stage of energy production, distribution and end use as well as the problem of environmental protection gain more and more importance [4,5,15]. The idea of energy efficiency lies not only in energy conservation but also in finding ways for the present activities of producers and consumers to require reduced demand for primary energy expressed in tonnes of oil equivalent [3,7,13,14,17,19,21]. Energy companies must therefore respect a number of legal regulations concerning energy efficiency and environmental protection [3,4,5,15]. An energy company such as a cogeneration plant may achieve an improvement of energy efficiency mainly as a result of energy cogeneration itself but also as a result of improving the efficiency of internal processes (energy transformations) in the producing unit (in this case heating unit). Ensuring the maximum possible energy efficiency of the internal processes within the heating unit requires performing constant assessment of the entire unit and its components [7,11,12,13]. Even though energy cogeneration has been in use for a long time now [7,12,21], the problem of conducting a running energy efficiency assessment of the components of the heating unit still remains open [12].

Do the Causal Effects of Internal Collaboration and External Collaboration Improve Performance in Supply Chains?

There are three aims of this research. One is to verify the mutual effects between internal collaboration and external collaboration, another is to prove performance improvement among different levels of supply chain collaboration, and the third is to analyze gaps between the two viewpoints. The population is Korean FDI firms in China and 208 data are used in the analysis. The data are treated with various methods: exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, SEM, cluster analysis, ANOVA, MANOVA and post hoc analysis. The results are as follows. First, external collaboration and internal collaboration have positive effects on each other, which have a positive effect on performance. This means that efficiency of internal processes is the cause of promoting connection with external processes and information generated from the market is the basis of a variance of internal processes, followed by high performance. Second, service performance improvement is more definite than cost performance improvement among different levels of supply chain collaboration. Firms can achieve more definite results in service performance when they perform supply chain collaboration. Third, this research verifies both the viewpoint of directions of supply chain collaboration and the strategic choice viewpoint of supply chain collaboration to better understand supply chain collaboration. Both viewpoints approach supply chain collaboration from different viewpoints but they do explain the methods for performance improvement.

Do the Causal Effects of Internal Collaboration and External Collaboration Improve Performance in Supply Chains?

There are three aims of this research. One is to verify the mutual effects between internal collaboration and external collaboration, another is to prove performance improvement among different levels of supply chain collaboration, and the third is to analyze gaps between the two viewpoints. The population is Korean FDI firms in China and 208 data are used in the analysis. The data are treated with various methods: exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, SEM, cluster analysis, ANOVA, MANOVA and post hoc analysis. The results are as follows. First, external collaboration and internal collaboration have positive effects on each other, which have a positive effect on performance. This means that efficiency of internal processes is the cause of promoting connection with external processes and information generated from the market is the basis of a variance of internal processes, followed by high performance. Second, service performance improvement is more definite than cost performance improvement among different levels of supply chain collaboration. Firms can achieve more definite results in service performance when they perform supply chain collaboration. Third, this research verifies both the viewpoint of directions of supply chain collaboration and the strategic choice viewpoint of supply chain collaboration to better understand supply chain collaboration. Both viewpoints approach supply chain collaboration from different viewpoints but they do explain the methods for performance improvement.

Order-Up-To policies in Information Exchange supply chains

Collaboration in Supply Chains (SC) is concerned with the alignment of the decision making process amongst SC partners. This is crucial in the planning and inventory management area where this alignment is enabled by the exchange of information. Several benefits deriving from such effective collaboration exist, such as: excess inventory elimination, lead times reduction, improved customer service, efficient product development, etc. Operations Management literature proclaims the virtues of collaboration and information sharing but academicians and practitioners have recently identified various gaps that still need further work. More specifically it has been shown that several deleterious phenomena as the bullwhip effect; inventory instability and intermittent orders are not completely eliminated in Information Exchange supply chains. The reason is mainly because companies adopt order policies that are prone to create instability along the SC. In this paper we show how the performance of an Information Exchange SC can be improved by shifting from a myopic periodic review Order-Up-To policy to a periodic review Order-Up-To with feedback gain. To do so, we model the SC structure through difference equations and study the system response in term of internal process efficiency and customer service level.

أثر استخدام نظم الدفع الإلكتروني على أداء البنوك الأردنية : دراسة ميدانية للبنوك المدرجة في سوق عمان للأوراق المالية = The Effect of Using Electronic Payment Systems in the Performance of Jordanian Banks : A Field Study of Commercial Banks That Listed at Amman Stock Exchange

نظم الدفع الإلكتروني | الأداء المالي | كفاءة العمليات الداخلية | الأداء | البنوك | الأردن | Electronic Payment Systems | Financial Performance | Efficiency of Internal Processes | Performance | Banks | Jordan

Organizational Health: Definition and Assessment

The organizational status, in terms of competitiveness, employee morale, and efficiency of internal processes is a primary issue of concern for top management. Determining this status has been an issue of extensive study in various contexts, such as organizational performance, organizational behavior and culture, and, recently, organizational resilience. The research question is whether these contexts are significantly different or, in fact, they describe the same property of an organization, i.e. its inherent ability to perform and react efficiently in a dynamic business environment. A consequent question is whether this organizational property could be uniquely contextualized and used for organizational monitoring and decision-making. This paper's first aim is to define the new term of organizational health, which integrates existing concepts and largely expands the content of the term, as it is currently used in the literature. A second goal is to suggest an assessment method for organizational health that will be able to provide a metric of an organization's capacity to perform and adopt to a dynamic internal and external environment. Literature review is used to: a) identify the great number of parameters involved in the analysis, and b) integrate the various contexts where these parameters are met into the single context of organizational health. Once the definition of the new concept is provided, the appropriate theoretical background of the assessment method is investigated; this method should encompass all critical dimensions and provide a quantitative measure to indicate the specific organizational improvements required per case. The theory of entropy is selected in this context and its appropriateness is presented and justified. Overall, the research proposes a new, innovative and holistic framework for evaluating an organization's status and constitutes the first step of building a new theory with an expected significant effect to the organizational management body of knowledge.

Intermediate Input Markets, ICT and Innovation in Germany: A Firm Level Analysis

This paper studies the impact of the adoption of ICT on the economic performance at the firm level, considering explicitly the interaction of adopting firms within the intermediate input market in Germany. The paper identifies and quantifies the importance of adoption externalities and knowledge spillovers inherent in the introduction of ICT. The results show that the adoption of ICT at the firm level is positively affected by the use of ICT downstream and upstream (i.e. by a firm’s clients and suppliers). Moreover, the use of ICT upstream(i.e. by a firm’s suppliers) negatively affects the extend of IT outsourcing at the firm level, suggesting a substitution effect between inputs provided by suppliers with an intense use of ICT and a firm’s demand for external IT services. The paper also finds that the use of ICT within the intermediate input markets positively affects the efficiency of internal processes by increasing the cost reductions generated by the introduction of process innovations.