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Management News is South-Western's service to provide summaries of the latest management news stories. Review the brief summaries and, for stories of interest, select the full summary. |
| MANAGING MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE OPERATIONS | |
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When daily life in the ER at a rural Georgia hospital became slow, unmanageable, and, inefficient, administrators found an answer, of all places, in the auto industry—specifically, the lean manufacturing philosophies of Toyota. How can such operations procedures in industry transfer to the handling and care of patients in an ER ward? |
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Hoffman Enclosures Inc. was in trouble in the late 1990s. Productivity was down, and the company faced layoffs and the threat of business moving overseas. A new business strategy called lean manufacturing helped it to turn its business around and improve productivity. (Updated January 2008) |
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Inventory management and efficient workflow are vitally important in lean manufacturing environments. The Kanban system is a visual method that can help keep a facility organized and running on schedule. (Updated June 2007) |
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Coca-Cola is about to reach a truce in a fight with its bottlers. The compromise could allow for some deliveries to big-box warehouses, rather than the current method of direct store delivery exclusively by local bottler franchises. (Updated April 2007) |
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A popular definition of ISO 9000 reads “document what you do and do what you document.” However, David Hoyle, author of “ISO 9000 Quality Systems Handbook, 5th Edition” says there is more to this program than that definition would suggest. He recommends emphasizing a process approach that puts stakeholders first. (Updated October 2006) |
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David McQuillens’ “immersion experience” is helping executives at Credit Suisse to experience their bank branches as real customers. The end result is making the banks better and more truly customer-focused. (Updated September 2006) |
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Process management programs like Six Sigma, TQM, and ISO 9000 have gained popularity in manufacturing and have helped to bring about improvements and efficiencies. However, new research shows that while the programs might be effective in some parts of the plants, they need to be relaxed or abandoned in areas where innovation is important. (Updated March 2006) |
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As the skilled workforce becomes more diverse, manufacturers are adding more training, flexibility, and advancement opportunities to their benefit plans. The "employee-for-life" model is gone, and outsourcing is having a great impact on plant relations. Companies are seeing the benefit of rehiring retired and other former employees on a part-time basis as the need arises.
(Updated May 2005) |
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Nestlé SA and Proctor and Gamble are using information gathered from calls to their toll free number to supplement focus group marketing and to gain insight from consumers who use their products and have strong opinions about them. The information gained is influencing their product decisions. (Updated November 2004) |
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In Ontario, Canada, The Beer Store sells 91% of beer consumed in the province. The company utilizes a closed-loop, environment-friendly bottle-return system that results in almost all of the bottles sold being recycled. Its inventory management system handles seasonal spikes in demand so that it can have fresh product chilled and on the shelf all the time. (Updated April 2004) |
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The apparel and textile industry has not defined what "sweatshop free" means, so companies have begun using the term "transparent production." They want to make it clear to the consumer where the clothing is made, and how, and they are using the union label as their key strategy. (Updated January 2004) |
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Rising productivity in the U.S. is generating economic growth, but few jobs. As more companies use technology to make workers more efficient, jobs can be done more quickly by fewer people. Even so, few would argue that increased productivity is a bad thing. (Updated December 2003) |
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A distributor of fasteners and related mechanical and electrical-assembly components used a self-analysis process taken from the Malcom Baldrige Award program to improve its performance. (Updated September 2003) |
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Total quality management is a way to improve a company's performance from the bottom up. A Florida company realized substantial gains after implementing a TQM initiative. (Updated June 2003) |
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Historically, an economic recovery was marked by the return of a steady stream of big purchase orders from businesses. Businesses are changing their ordering patterns; placing last-minute orders has become more standard. Manufacturers are being forced to change the way they do business as a result. (Updated August 2002) |
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Employees with managers who set the right service tone are more likely to have a customer service mentality. This article shows the relationship between a manager's attitudes and performance and his/her employees'. (Updated October 2002) |
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