Manufacturing Service Industries Research Articles

Mediating role of over-commitment in the relationship between effort, reward and burnout

Objective: To explore the mediating role of over-commitment in the relationship between occupational stressors and job burnout, and to offer more specificevidence-based information in exploring the work related health effects of over-commitment. Methods: A total of 1994 samples from electronic manufacturing service industry were collected in Guangdong province based on self-rated questionnaire after written consent from June to July, 2015. The Effort-Reward Imbalance questionnaire and Maslach Burnout Invertory-General Survey were used for the measurement of occupational stress and job burnout. And hierarchical regression and Bootstrap test were conducted for data analysis. Results: High effort (0.28, 0.24-0.33) and low reward (-0.37, -0.42--0.33) were significantly associated with high over-commitment when gender, age and position had been controlled. Standardizedregression coefficient of effort to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment were 0.63 (95%CI: 0.54-0.71) 、0.18 (95%CI: 0.10-0.26) 、0.32 (95%CI: 0.21-0.43) , P<0.05; and standardized regression coefficient of reward to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment were-0.60 (95%CI: -0.68--0.52) 、-0.93 (95%CI: -1.01--0.86) 、-0.46 (95%CI: -0.35--0.58) , P<0.05. Bootstrap test indicated the mediation of over-commitment were statistically significant, and mediating effect ranges from 0.093 to 0.218 (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Over-commitment can mediate the relationship between occupational stressors (job effort and reward) and burnout, and the effect varies from different workingconditions.

A Comparative Study on the Influencing Factors of the Value Added of Cultural Manufacturing and Cultural Service in China

At present, there are few literatures on the comparative study of cultural manufacturing and cultural services in China. In this paper, the first selection of 45 cultural manufacturing sub-categories in 2013 and 75 cultural services sub-scale enterprises above the cross-sectional data for multiple linear regression studies, comparative cultural manufacturing and cultural services in the total value added and per capita Value - labor productivity aspects of the impact of similarities and differences. The empirical results show that the influence factors of cultural manufacturing and cultural service are somewhat similar, but some are not quite the same. Such as labor factors in the number and wage levels have a greater impact on the cultural manufacturing and cultural services industry; In addition, the fixed assets for the value of cultural manufacturing and labor productivity are very significant, but the fixed assets for culture The impact of the service sector is relatively small, and even the impact on the labor productivity of cultural services can be negligible.

Spatial Analysis of Warehouses and Distribution Centers in Southern California

This paper analyzes the concentration of warehouses and distribution centers (W&amp;DCs) in five counties in Southern California between 1998 and 2014, and it explores spatial relationships between W&amp;DCs and other industry sectors through centrographic and econometric modeling techniques. Furthermore, the authors estimate factors that explain the concentration of W&amp;DCs in the area. The analyses used aggregate establishment, employment, and other socioeconomic data for different industries, complemented with transportation-related variables. The results confirm the existence of logistics sprawl, although the analyses indicate that this trend did not continue to increase after 2007. Additional results follow: ( a) W&amp;DCs showed a lower spatial correlation compared with other industries, ( b) the locations of the weighted geometric center shifted slightly differently for the W&amp;DC industry and within its subindustries, ( c) concentration levels for some subindustries were much lower than for the aggregated W&amp;DC industry, and ( d) the number of W&amp;DCs could be explained by the number of establishments in the manufacturing and transportation service industries, proximity to highways and intermodal facilities, the number of W&amp;DCs and accommodation and food services in neighboring zip codes, population, the number of adults using public transit, and per capita income.

Evaluating and forecasting performance using past data of an industry: An analysis of electronic manufacturing services industry

Evaluating and forecasting performance using past data of an industry: An analysis of electronic manufacturing services industry

Using the Job Burden-Capital Model of Occupational Stress to Predict Depression and Well-Being among Electronic Manufacturing Service Employees in China.

Background: This study aimed to identify the association between occupational stress and depression-well-being by proposing a comprehensive and flexible job burden-capital model with its corresponding hypotheses. Methods: For this research, 1618 valid samples were gathered from the electronic manufacturing service industry in Hunan Province, China; self-rated questionnaires were administered to participants for data collection after obtaining their written consent. The proposed model was fitted and tested through structural equation model analysis. Results: Single-factor correlation analysis results indicated that coefficients between all items and dimensions had statistical significance. The final model demonstrated satisfactory global goodness of fit (CMIN/DF = 5.37, AGFI = 0.915, NNFI = 0.945, IFI = 0.952, RMSEA = 0.052). Both the measurement and structural models showed acceptable path loadings. Job burden and capital were directly associated with depression and well-being or indirectly related to them through personality. Multi-group structural equation model analyses indicated general applicability of the proposed model to basic features of such a population. Gender, marriage and education led to differences in the relation between occupational stress and health outcomes. Conclusions: The job burden-capital model of occupational stress-depression and well-being was found to be more systematic and comprehensive than previous models.

An analysis of manufacturing-service industry co-evolution: A spiral growth model

In recent years, investment in manufacturing has been rapidly growing again. This 2nd renaissance of manufacturing became even more evident when we consider the rapid growth of startups with new technologies, which integrate hardware and software, leading to the new manufacturing trend. Looking at the history of human civilization, we can easily sight both the changes in-and the integration of-manufacturing and service sectors, which represent the material and relational aspects of the society, respectively. While many researches on the growth of manufacturing and service industry often focus on various aspects of manufacturing and service integration including servitization of manufacturing and vice versa, there is a common belief that the spiral growth of manufacturing and service has to be preceded by the integration. Based on the previous researches, this research suggests a spiral growth model of manufacturing and service industry as a research framework on further industry development directions, and suggests future direction of further researches.

‘They are stealing my island’: Residents’ opinions on foreign investment in the residential tourism industry in Tamarin, Mauritius

The small nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, once a poor sugar plantation island, has successfully diversified and expanded its economy since independence, by attracting foreign investment in manufacturing and modern service industries. Tourism is a major part of the ‘Mauritian Miracle’; in recent years residential tourism—attracting wealthy foreigners to take up semi‐permanent residence—has become a growth industry transforming coastal areas like Tamarin. Based on in‐depth interviews among 17 residents of Tamarin, this paper looks at how local people perceive the changes residential tourism is causing in the local area. It appears that while the majority is positive about economic changes like more jobs and income opportunities, and to some extent about improvements in infrastructure and services, there are growing misgivings about some of the social impacts. Notably, the increasing scarcity of land and rising house prices are making it impossible for growing numbers of local people to afford a place to live, resulting in growing squatter settlements in the area. Such growing social disparities challenge the Mauritian development model and may undermine its stability. These undesirable effects call for careful management of tourism development, incorporation of sustainability standards and attention to the position of major stakeholder groups, such as local residents.

An analysis of vendor innovation capability in the contract electronics manufacturing industry

Limited academic research has been given to analysing the innovation capabilities of vendors in outsourcing contracts. This paper seeks to address this gap in the literature by enhancing our understanding of how the innovation capability of vendors is deployed to win, run and renew outsourcing contracts with their customers. Employing the resource-based view as a theoretical basis and undertaking in-depth case study analysis of three vendors in the electronic manufacturing services industry, the research shows that to achieve the outsourcing objectives of winning, running and renewing the contract, vendors can use different configurations of the competitive priorities of cost, quality, delivery and flexibility. The research aggregates the capabilities that influence the innovative capability of a vendor into the innovation-related capabilities (IRCs) of design, new product introduction and manufacturing. Three strategies are identified for vendors on how to deploy these IRCs, and a number of propositions are developed to indicate the suitability of the three deployment strategies for different operational contexts.

Safety Culture Behaviour in Electronics Manufacturing Sector (EMS) in Malaysia: The Case of Flextronics

Abstract The prevention of work-related injury and illness is of crucial importance to employees, industry and society as a whole. Corporate safety culture is now generally accepted as having a strong influence over workplace accidents and injuries. After implementation of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in the organization, there have been an improvement in term of safety in the workplace. However, there are still some cases of accident being reported even after the organizations’ management provided training, introducing stricter rules and regulation regarding safety, and provides proper equipment to employee. Hence, the study is carried out in order to examine the effect of employees’ attitude and subjective norm toward safety culture behaviour in organization. The study was conducted in manufacturing service industry in Malaysia, and data collection was done at Flextronics Penang Sdn Bhd, a company in the northern part of Malaysia. Data were collected through 196 survey questionnaires distributed to operators (90 respondents), technician (52 respondents) and engineer (27 respondents) in Flextronics Penang Sdn Bhd. The results showed that safety culture behaviour is significantly influenced by employee's attitude and subjective norm. Based on the findings, several recommendations are being put forward in order to improve the safety culture behaviour among employees in the organization. For future research in the same area, it is being recommended to include management commitment, leadership, safety education, and training under scrutiny in order to understand its relationship with safety culture behaviour among employees.

Skill Gaps and Employability: Higher Education in India

As India grows into a knowledge economy increasing the use of technology in manufacturing and service industries, the emerging gaps at the level of tertiary education are seen as a major constraint. In this article we address the growing mismatch between skills/education and jobs/occupations. We define types of skill mismatch in the labour market, nature of tertiary education, and occupation and industry, and classify high technology and knowledge-intensive industry (KII). To understand skill gaps we analyse where persons with tertiary education are employed and whether recent years have seen a significant change in the absorption of workers with higher education (HE) in different industry and occupation groups. An analysis of skill gaps in graduate intensity of occupations and high technology manufacturing and knowledge-intensive service (KIS) industry provides a policy perspective and inputs to explore ways to address skill mismatch relating to HE. We conclude that policy that encourages non-graduate technical and non-technical diploma/certificate holders into the lower graduate-intensity occupations would help to close the skill gap and reduce the pressure on graduate HE.

Development of an Efficient Steel Beam Section for Modular Construction Based on Six-Sigma

This study presents a systematic approach for the development of an efficient steel beam section for modular construction based on Six-Sigma. Although the Six-Sigma is frequently implemented in manufacturing and other service industries, it is a relatively new concept in the area of building design and construction. As a first step in this approach, market studies and surveys are conducted to obtain the opinions of potential customers. Then the opinions of customers are converted into quality characteristics for the steel beam using the quality function deployment methodology. A steel hollow flanged channel is chosen as the main modular beam shape, and the design concept is derived and developed by applying the Pugh matrix methodology. A pilot test was performed to validate the effectiveness of the developed beam section. The results indicated that the developed channel beam section showed excellent performance and retained high accuracy in fabrication, thus resulting in a significant reduction of steel consumption.

Laccase oxidation and removal of toxicants released during combustion processes

This study reports for the first time the ability of laccases adsorbed on cellulose acetate to eliminate toxicants released during combustion processes. Laccases directly oxidized and eliminated more than 40% w/v of 14 mM of 1,4-dihydroxybenzene (hydroquinone); 2-methyl-1,4-benzenediol (methylhydroquinone); 1,4-dihydroxy-2,3,5-trimethylbenzene (trimethylhydroquinone); 3-methylphenol (m-cresol); 4-methylphenol (p-cresol); 2-methylphenol (o-cresol); 1,3-benzenediol (resorcinol); 1,2-dihydroxybenzene (catechol); 3,4-dihydroxytoluene (4-methylcatechol) and 2-naphthylamine. Further, laccase oxidized 2-naphthylamine, hydroquinone, catechol, methylhydroquinone and methylcatechol were also able to in turn mediate the elimination of >90% w/v of toxicants which are per-se non-laccase substrates such as 3-aminobiphenyl; 4-aminobiphenyl; benz[a]anthracene; 3-(1-nitrosopyrrolidin-2-yl) pyridine (NNN); formaldehyde; 4-(methyl-nitrosamino-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK); 2-butenal (crotonaldehyde); nitric oxide and vinyl cyanide (acrylonitrile). These studies demonstrate the potential of laccase immobilized on solid supports to remove many structurally different toxicants released during combustion processes. This system has great potential application for in situ removal of toxicants in the manufacturing, food processing and food service industries.

Linking Business Analytics to Decision Making Effectiveness: A Path Model Analysis

While business analytics is being increasingly used to gain data-driven insights to support decision making, little research exists regarding the mechanism through which business analytics can be used to improve decision-making effectiveness (DME) at the organizational level. Drawing on the information processing view and contingency theory, this paper develops a research model linking business analytics to organizational DME. The research model is tested using structural equation modeling based on 740 responses collected from U.K. businesses. The key findings demonstrate that business analytics, through the mediation of a data-driven environment, positively influences information processing capability, which in turn has a positive effect on DME. The findings also demonstrate that the paths from business analytics to DME have no statistical differences between large and medium companies, but some differences between manufacturing and professional service industries. Our findings contribute to the business analytics literature by providing useful insights into business analytics applications and the facilitation of data-driven decision making. They also contribute to managers’ knowledge and understanding by demonstrating how business analytics should be implemented to improve DME.

Development and validation of a measurement instrument for assessing quality management practices in hospitals: an exploratory study

To face the profound changes from both inside and outside, health-care sectors have begun to implement effective quality management (QM) practices following manufacturing and other service industries. However, there is relatively little literature on the development of reliable and valid measurement instruments to assess the implementation of QM practices in hospitals. Based on the high-class QM practices of manufacturing and other service industries, the paper extends the previous empirical research to the health-care sectors and creates a nine-construct measurement instrument. For validation purposes, a cross-sectional survey involving 204 quality managers and directors of large public hospitals was carried out between April and October 2013 in China. We explore the reliability, detailed item analysis and validity of the instrument by applying psychometric methods. Empirical results support the claim that the instrument developed in this study is reliable and valid. It could be an aid for hospitals to assess their QM status and identify the most important areas for quality improvement.

Modeling and analyzing of an enterprise relationship network in the context of social manufacturing

Under the circumstance of servitization in industry, the increasing service demands of manufacturing processes promote more service-oriented collaborations. Many small and medium enterprises start to provide professional manufacturing services for the product manufacturers, but the disorganization of these distributed enterprises has obstructed the collaboration decision making and led them to inferior positions when bargaining with the core product manufacturers. In this article, a new networked manufacturing mode called social manufacturing is proposed to solve this problem. Its concept and implementary architecture are discussed. Furthermore, a social manufacturing-oriented enterprise relationship network is built to well organize plenty of distributed enterprises. The topology model of the proposed social manufacturing-oriented enterprise relationship network is discussed, and an improved clustering algorithm is proposed to implement the clustering of enterprises based on the enterprise similarity, which would aggregate enterprises into horizontal manufacturing communities for improving their bargaining power, collaborating efficiently and analyzing the manufacturing service industry from a macro view. The core product manufacturers negotiate to select proper enterprises from different horizontal manufacturing communities to form an e-production chain where all the enterprises collaborate to complete the product manufacturing tasks with higher efficiency and minor cost. Moreover, the topological and physical characteristics of social manufacturing-oriented enterprise relationship network are discussed to analyze the enterprise collaborations from a micro view. Finally, an exemplary case is studied to verify the proposed model. It is expected that our work would be beneficial to the research of enterprise organizing and socialized manufacturing resources configuration under social manufacturing environment.

A study of the strategic alliance for EMS industry: the application of a hybrid DEA and GM (1, 1) approach.

Choosing a partner is a critical factor for success in international strategic alliances, although criteria for partner selection vary between developed and transitional markets. This study aims to develop effective methods to assist enterprise to measure the firms' operation efficiency, find out the candidate priority under several different inputs and outputs, and forecast the values of those variables in the future. The methodologies are constructed by the concepts of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and grey model (GM). Realistic data in four consecutive years (2009–2012) a total of 20 companies of the Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) industry that went public are completely collected. This paper tries to help target company—DMU1—to find the right alliance partners. By our proposed approach, the results show the priority in the recent years. The research study is hopefully of interest to managers who are in manufacturing industry in general and EMS enterprises in particular.

“Bad Students Go to Vocational Schools!”: Education, Social Reproduction and Migrant Youth in Urban China

AbstractChina’s second-generation rural-to-urban migrant youth, who grew up in their parents’ adopted cities, are still denied urban residential status and suffer from the institutional closure of higher education opportunities. This article explores in ethnographic detail the experiences and subjectivities of migrant youth in Shanghai who since 2008 have been channeled to secondary vocational schools. It highlights the direct involvement of the local state in reproducing a social hierarchy in which migrant youth provide cheap labor for manufacturing and low-skilled service industries. It reveals how contention over the limited choice of majors and career trajectories persists between state intention, market demand and individual aspirations. The time and space provided by vocational schooling enable migrant students to gain urban habitus and form networks across boundaries. Vocational schools have thus become a unique site for studying education and class reproduction in a late-socialist context.

The Effect of E-Supply Chain Management Systems in the North American Electronic Manufacturing Services Industry

The paper examines the effect of E-Supply Chain Management Systems in the North American electronics manufacturing services industry. A causal and descriptive research study was conducted based on a survey applied to thirty six individuals in electronic manufacturing services firms in order to determine the impact of e-supply chain management on their key supply chain operations. Results of the research revealed that e-supply chain management had a positive effect in the electronic manufacturing services industry as these showed that the profits of the firm increased and internal communications were improved due to the implementation of e-supply chain management. The research also showed that e-supply chain management systems have many technical issues such as problems with process automation and transmission of supply chain data, e-procurement effectiveness, integration with existing systems and the monitoring of inventory systems and purchasing process. Several recommendations are made to overcome these challenges including employee training and re-engineering of business processes for better system integration.

Lean practices for quality results: a case illustration.

Increasingly, healthcare providers are implementing lean practices to achieve quality results. Implementing lean healthcare practices is unique compared to manufacturing and other service industries. The purpose of this paper is to present a model that identifies and defines the lean implementation key success factors in healthcare organisations. The model is based on an extant literature review and a case illustration that explores actual lean implementation in a major USA hospital located in a Midwestern city (approximately 300,000 people). An exploratory/descriptive study using observation and follow-up interviews was conducted to identify lean practices in the hospital. Lean practice key drivers include growing elderly populations, rising medical expenses, decreasing insurance coverage and decreasing management support. Effectively implementing lean practices to increase bottom-line results and improve organisational integrity requires sharing goals and processes among healthcare managers and professionals. An illustration explains the model and the study provides a sound foundation for empirical work. Practical implications are included. Lean practices minimise waste and unnecessary hospital stays while simultaneously enhancing customer values and deploying resources in supply systems. Leadership requires clear project targets based on sound front-end planning because initial implementation steps involve uncertainty and ambiguity (i.e. fuzzy front-end planning). Since top management support is crucial for implementing lean practices successfully, a heavyweight manager, who communicates well both with top managers and project team members, is an important success factor when implementing lean practices. Increasingly, green orientation and sustainability initiatives are phrases that replaced lean practices. Effective results; e.g. waste reduction, employee satisfaction and customer values are applicable to bigger competitive challenges arising both in specific organisations and inter-organisational networks. Healthcare managers are adopting business practices that improve efficiency and productivity while ensuring their healthcare mission and guaranteeing that customer values are achieved. Shared understanding about complex goals (e.g. reducing waste and enhancing customer value) at the front-end is crucial for implementing successful lean practices. In particular, this study shows that nursing practices, which are both labour intensive and technology enabled, are good candidates for lean practice.

Does gender diversity moderate the relationship between supply chain management practice and performance in the electronic manufacturing services industry?

This study attempts to examine the moderating effects of gender diversity on the relationship between supply chain management (SCM) practices and supply chain performance in the Malaysian electronic manufacturing services (EMS) industry. The respondents were selected from the four departments: purchasing, planning, logistics and operation of one of the most well-known Malaysian manufacturing company located in Johor state, Malaysia; with the questionnaires being distributed via email. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the above objective. Findings indicate that SCM practices–performance relationship was not moderated by employees’ gender diversity. Theoretical and managerial implications as well as conclusion are also explored.