741 publications from this institution
This issue of the IEEE Engineering Management Review (EMR) is the last of our 50th volume. Looking back on just more than 50 years of publication of EMR-related topics seems apropos. Given this goal, we begin with a series of papers in this issue that takes us from the past 50 years or so. These topics have resonated in the engineering and technology management community—and will likely continue. Clearly, not all topics can be covered—it would be impossible to do so given the breadth and scope of developments in EMRrelated fields.
China's extraordinary economic growth, industrialization and urbanization coupled with inadequate investment in basic water supply and treatment infrastructures, have resulted in increasing industrial water pollution. However, due to imbalanced development, industrial wastewater emissions present significant regional disparity. Industrial wastewater management disparity requires more in-depth study on both spatial and temporal patterns across different regions for identification of appropriate and effective mitigation policies while considering practical and localized realities. This paper addresses this issue and contributes to new knowledge by analyzing the spatial-temporal characteristics and driving forces of industrial wastewater emission variations in China's 31 provinces during the years 1995–2010. Using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method, the results show that economic factors are the main driving factors of industrial wastewater emission changes in all provinces during the study period. It is also found that technology improvement considerably offsets emission increases. Using these research findings, both general and specific measures for controlling industrial wastewater emissions are offered so that the overall industrial water efficiency can be improved, in China and potentially elsewhere.
Firms face the challenge for ensuring compliance with their corporate sustainability standards (CSS) in their supply chains, i.e. internally, by their suppliers, and also upstream by subsuppliers. Supplier management strategies to ensure compliance with CSS in the supply chain usually focus on suppliers. These strategies fall short when ensuring compliance of sub-suppliers. Firms' sustainable supplier management practices focusing on first-tier suppliers have been studied extensively, while little is known on how firms reach out to sub-suppliers. Firms' challenges include the identification of sub-suppliers, the evaluation of compliance levels, and the execution of corrective action. This study investigates the management of sub-suppliers to ensure sub-suppliers' compliance with CSS of two focal firms in the electronics and retail/food industries using case study research. It focuses on the activities of the focal firm and its perception of sub-suppliers' compliance with its CSS. The findings propose that firms can improve sub-suppliers' compliance with CSS by actively managing sub-suppliers through assessment and collaboration. It was found that (1) public attention on the mediating first-tier supplier, (2) perceived risks of sub-supplier's non-compliance with CSS, and (3) a firm's channel power are antecedents to sub-supplier management. Involving strategic business partners suggests amplifying the positive effect of managing sub-suppliers on sub-suppliers' compliance with CSS. This paper is one of the first studies addressing the management of sub-suppliers from a sustainability perspective. It proposes a framework for understanding sub-supplier management to achieve compliance with sustainability standards, which can also be used for further research and theory development.
This chapter uses a generic framework for deep learning to help evaluate how one such higher education program located at Worcester Polytechnic Institute fits this framework. Data on learning outcomes provides quantitative support from sustainability-related, community-based projects conducted on an international level. The use of such projects dealing with sustainability issues both locally and globally is detailed with potential application to similar programs as part of a sustainability education curriculum. This analysis provides an opportunity to identify and characterize community-based sustainability projects and their contribution to higher order, integrative, and reflective learning. We present lessons learned and directions for further research with their practical implications.
This chapter contends that environmental sustainability is a subject of great contemporary importance, but due to biases associated with traditional project appraisal approaches, projects that have strong environmental issues may be neglected. The chapter then presents a modified version of the pragmatic financial appraisal profile model by including an environmental assessment in the form of the ‘environmental score index.’ An illustrative case study is used to outline the important aspects of this new approach. The chapter concludes that this approach will help to fill a gap in the environmental investment literature, where there is a paucity of comprehensive, structured, and transparent methodologies that can prove acceptable to management decision-makers from a variety of functions and viewpoints.
Purpose
Blockchain – also known as distributed ledger – technology is set to revolutionise data and business process management and transactions. Blockchain adoption, pioneered initially as a financial tec...
The concept of the supply chain has been a relatively recent business topic, especially when compared to the broader history of industry and commerce. Yet, the actual practice of supply chain management has been occurring for many decades, if not centuries. Using the supply chain for competitive advantage can easily be traced to Henry Ford who vertically integrated his vendors and materials supply chains to more effectively and efficiently manage his operations. Thus, competitive advantages of the supply chain were noticed in the early stages of the US's rise to world prominence as an industrial and commercial power.
Cellular Manufacturing (CM) is increasing in importance as a philosophy with broad applicability in manufacturing organisations. In the most recent years, CM has faced criticism by the academic community due to its inferior performance relative to functional layouts (FL). This controversy has led to a lack of consensus among researchers on the appropriate manufacturing environment for CM. Important operational and environmental characteristics that may influence the preference of one system over another include equipment set-up and product processing times, as well as their ratios. Few research efforts have studied the behaviour of CM systems as a function of these parameters. This paper adopts a set of theoretical analytical models to investigate the relative performance of a CM system when compared to an FL manufacturing system. A large domain of values for set-up time and its ratio to processing time per unit, helps identify a "performance mapping" that may be used as a decision making framework by manufacturing managers. The performance criteria incorporated in the study include flow time, work-in-process and utilisation. The study provides insights into the conditions under which CM or FL, or both systems are feasible and also when one strategy outperforms the other. A simple case study from a small manufacturing organisation helps to evaluate the practical dimensions of the models and study results.
Environmental management, similar to quality initiatives, is becoming more strategically oriented. With increased natural environmental pressures by organizational stakeholders, such programs as design for the environment, total quality environmental management, life cycle analysis, green supply chain management, and ISO 14000 standards gaining notoriety, the operational and strategic decisions for environmental managers and businesses is becoming more complex. This paper integrates these elements and their attributes into a strategic assessment and decision tool using the analytical network process (ANP) technique first introduced by Saaty.
Performance measurements are central to improving organisational competitiveness. Organisations and researchers have developed and investigated various performance-measurement systems to manage and improve internal and external operations for logistics and supply chains. Yet, formal modelling tools and approaches for organisations to help evaluate the relationships between the performance measures and the desired competitive outcomes are limited, especially in logistics and supply-chain management functions. To help address this gap, we introduce a novel application of neighbourhood rough-set theory for the identification and selection of performance measures related to externally derived desired outcomes on the sourcing function. Our contribution includes introducing an innovative neighbourhood rough-set approach using elements of the Supply-Chain Operations Reference model. The model may aid in determining a core set of external logistics and supply-chain performance measures to internal performance expectations and outcomes. Implications and results interpretation of the methodology, sensitivity analysis, limitations, and future research directions conclude the paper.
No abstract is provided for this article.
No abstract is provided for this article.
No abstract is provided for this article.
Purpose– This paper aims to provide a framework which can assist focal companies in the development of sustainable supply chains. Sustainable development from an industrial perspective has extended beyond organisational boundaries to incorporate a supply chain approach.Design/methodology/approach– The literature related to sustainable supply chain management is reviewed by incorporating concepts from four organisational theories, including the resource-based, institutional, stakeholder and social network perspectives, to illustrate key drivers and enablers of sustainability initiatives in the supply chain. A conceptual multidimensional framework is then developed that can be used for the initial assessment of supply chain sustainability.Findings– Development and assessment of sustainability in supply chains are being increasingly incorporated as part of supply chain management today. This paper presents a multidimensional framework which can serve as a tool for research scholars and supply chain practitioners in identifying and assessing various economic, environmental and social performance indicators.Research limitations/implications– The framework and approach presented are conceptual, and require additional and broader validation. Additional theories, at differing levels, such as individual behaviour theory, should be utilised to further enhance and evaluate the framework. Developing and integrating analytical models for prescriptive and practical supply chain solutions can enhance the applicability of the framework.Practical implications– The framework adopts a multidimensional approach to assessing and designing sustainable supply chains, as it not only incorporates economic and environmental dimensions but also provides a practical approach to quantifying and embedding the social dimension into decision-making. The framework helps industry practitioners in initial exploration of trade-offs among economic, environmental and social performance of supply chains, which, in turn, could assist them in creating a business case for sustainability.Originality/value– The paper is one of few studies that incorporates some of the key aspects of all three dimensions of sustainability in a single overarching framework for supply chains and offers significant theoretical contribution and implications for sustainable supply chain management.
The food industry and its supply chains have significant sustainability implications. Effective supply chain management requires careful consideration of multiple tiers of partners, especially with respect to sustainability issues. Firms increasingly approach their sub-suppliers to drive compliance with social and environmental efforts. A number of complexities make sub- supplier management more difficult than direct supplier management. The literature has not investigated from either a sustainability or standards perspective the critical success factors for firms' sub-supplier management. Using data and information from a one-year field study in two food supply chains, our research identified 14 critical success factors (CSF) that potentially influence the success of the sub-supplier management outcome of sub-suppliers' compliance with corporate sustainability standards (CSS). The identified CSF can be classified into (1) focal firm-related, (2) relationship-related, (3) supply chain partner-related, and (4) context-related CSF. We expand on the theory of critical success factors by expanding the theory to sustainability and sub-supplier management. For each CSF we provide a foundational definition and analyze them with respect to existent literature. CSF's unique importance to sub-supplier management success was highlighted and exemplified by field study insights from practitioners. Respective research avenues are highlighted. [http://www.clarku.edu/departments/marsh/news/WP2012-25.pdf Link]
The concept of sustainability has become increasingly important for organizations and has permeated a number of managerial and organizational decisions. Sustainability, as defined by its 'triple-bottom line' factors of economic, environmental, and social dimensions, is the underlying framework we use to develop and apply a strategic justification tool for project evaluation with sustainability implications. An activity-based management methodological framework is used as a vehicle to frame decisions using corporate sustainability. An illustrative application of this technique demonstrates how an organization could select between two competing reverse logistics providers. This process requires that we introduce issues relevant to three major sustainability factors (and their sub factors) and how they are influenced by a reverse logistics provider decision. The dual contribution of this paper includes investigating the design and development of the strategic sustainability evaluation framework and introducing the relationships of reverse logistics to economic, environmental and social sustainability dimensions.
