Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2014 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 5 Articles
In this paper we investigate the possible \nrelationships among some optimization techniques used \nin Operations Management and the performance of SMEs \nthat operate in the manufacturing sector. A model based \non the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach is \nused to analyse a dataset of small and medium-sized \nItalian enterprises. The model is expressed by a system of \nsimultaneous equations and is solved through regression \nanalysis. Taking advantage of the contributions presented \npreviously, we focus our research on the Italian economy, \nhighlighting the importance of Operations Management \npractices, which are relevant drivers of these firms� \nperformances....
Call centres rely heavily on the self-service\nparadigm through the use of an automated IVR\n(Interactive Voice Response) system. The service\ntime delivered by the IVR is a major component of the\noverall QoS (Quality of Service) delivered by the call\ncentre. We analyse the structure and service times of\nIVR systems through a case study of five call centres in\nthe telecommunications sector. The service trees of the\ncall centres under survey are reconstructed by complete\nexploration and analysed through a set of metrics. The\npresent design of service trees leads to service times\ntypically larger than those spent waiting for a human\nagent and to excessively long announcements, with a\nnegative impact on the overall QoS. Imbalances in the\npopularity of the services offered by the IVR can be\nexploited to reduce remarkably the average service time,\nby properly matching the most popular services with the\nshortest service times....
Family is evaluated as a principal source of human capital. The process of decentralization increases the responsibility of local governance structures to support families with social services. One of the key elements while offering social services is the collaboration between local governance and civil society organizations. The paper aims to explore and evaluate the collaboration of the public sector of social services with the representatives of non-profit organizations. This collaboration is analyzed through the perceptions of representatives of NGOs. Furthermore, it is an objective of this study to explore the strengths and weaknesses points of this collaboration and what they suggest to improve it. The study was done in the northern region of Albania, including her four Districts, in its main cities: Shkod�«r, Lezh�«, Kuk�«s and Peshkopi. A qualitative research method has been used. The instrument used for data gathering is the semi-structured interviews. In this study participated 21 representatives of non-profit organizations that operate in the field study. The findings show that the representatives of NGOs, in most cases, suggest the improvement of collaboration with the local governance. It is necessary to improve and implement the legal framework and it is necessary to increase the financial support of NGOs regarding the social services for families....
As a result of the growth of emergent economies and globalization, the traditional industry models based on competition relying on costs and quality are not sufficient for traditional industry competitiveness. These classical paradigms considered that clustered industries based their competitiveness on technology innovation and the use of cluster internal and external resources. However, from the point of view of global value chains, knowledge management combined with an adequate relationship marketing strategy brings an innovative way of considering sustainability of clustered firms. The objective of this article is presenting a research which will analyze the governance structure of the value chain in the territorial of tile ceramic Spanish cluster, and the past and present roles of the most relevant stakeholders in the value creation system. The research methodology will follow both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The paper will conclude that there is a paradigm change where traditional chain agents are losing their control and leadership in their contribution to the creation of value, and new agents appear with a more stable and relevant contribution and role....
ERP systems are increasingly adopted by SMEs. The ERP system is one of the more complex information systems to implement and its failure rate remains high despite the accumulated experiences. Its implementation indeed requires a large amount of knowledge and technical expertise and skills. Therefore, to facilitate access to the knowledge and expertise that have external partners, SMEs implanting ERP weave social relations (i.e. social conduits) with these external partners. Social conduits allow the transfer knowledge and sharing of expertise. The woven relations represent a social capital for the SMEs and enable them to develop their own technical knowledge, skills and experience (before the withdrawal of external partners). These intangible resources developed represent their human capital. This paper proposes, from the existing literature, a theoretical framework in which are represented the potential factors that can impact on the development of human capital. This paper is a theoretical research which contributes to the literature by showing the existence of an effect (direct and indirect) of social capital on human capital development of SMEs in the implementation ERP project. Regarding practical implications, the framework identified in this research can help the manager of SMEs to increase the likelihood of successful implementation of ERP systems....
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