Advances In Management

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Advances In Management






Vol. 4(7) July 2011

Research Articles:
Innovations: Principles and Strategies

Veland Ramadani and Shqipe Gerguri

Competition between companies differentiates a lot now a days compared to many years before. They compete in "nicety" that are so small but so important. Companies are trying to achieve competitive advantage in order to help them obtain a better and a stable position in the marketplace. The best way for companies to achieve a competitive advantage is through innovation. This paper addresses the meaning of innovation what does innovation present, types of innovation specifically discussing the right way of usage. In order for companies to get as many innovations as possible it is necessary for them to be familiar with the process of innovation and its principles which innovation was found on. There are several types of innovation or ways in which companies can achieve innovation in a level of whole organization. This paper discusses the ways how that can be achieved, starting from their products and services, ways of selling, supply etc.

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Brand Convalescing Strategies after Consumer Product Recall

Desai Prana

Developing a brand strategy can be one of the most difficult steps in the marketing plan process. It is often the element that causes most businesses the biggest challenge, but it is a vital step in creating the company identity. Each of the four major stages of recalls is directly affected by if not controlled through computer applications: 1) Recall investigation; 2) Recall purchaser identification; 3) Recall planning; and 4) Recall communication. We will conclude this survey of computerization in recalls with a consideration of the dazzling array of cyber-recall information sources. Initially, it is important to realize the essential similarity between recall campaigns and public relations campaigns. Both involve planned, purposive action, primarily through mass media communication, to attain strategic objectives involving audience attitudes and/or behaviors. In fact, a basic rule of recalls is the necessity of using public relations from the onset of a recall situation. Both types of campaigns have quantified and time-framed objectives and both implement persuasive communication to create attitudinal or behavioral compliance with campaign objectives. The mass media are essential to both, although the cyber-revolution has also affected public relations in general.

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Case Study:
Understanding how Formal and Informal Communication affect Purchasing, Manufacturing and Logistics Integration

Furlan Andrea, Camuffo Arnaldo and Pietro Romano

 

Many theoretical contributions and lots of empirical evidence suggest that there are benefits to be gained from integrating purchasing, manufacturing and logistics. Though organizational and operations management scholars recognize that communication is a key antecedent of internal integration, little field research has been conducted on how companies actually create internal integration by leveraging on formal and informal communication over time. Based on a case study of a leading company in the Italian mineral water and soft drink industry, this paper seeks to fill this gap as it provides a model explaining how the interaction among formal and informal communication mechanisms can facilitate or hinder internal integration. The research provides a better understanding of the complex net of interactions among formal, informal communication and integration that managers can use as a guidance to properly address improvement initiatives.

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Improving Hospital Performance through Organizational Culture

Chow Chee W.1, Haddad Kamal M. and Wingender John Richard Jr.

In the current environment of shifting demographics, escalating costs and regulatory activism, hospitals increasingly need to harness the power of their employees’ effort, knowledge and talents. A key determinant of their ability to do so is their organizational culture, which is derived from their vision and mission, as well as systems and practices.

This study reports survey findings from managers at fifteen hospitals which show significant differences between higher and lower performing hospitals on eight dimensions of organizational culture. As compared to their lower performing counterparts, the higher performing hospitals exhibit higher levels of integration, vitality, clarity of purpose and performance orientation. They also have different practices in the areas of human resource development, management style, decision making and compensation. These findings suggest potential directions for hospitals to improve their organizational cultures through changes in their systems and practices.

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Critical Factors of Service Failure and Corresponding Recovery System

Krishna Anupam, Dangayach G.S. and Jain Rakesh

The paper aims to give insights into customers’ perceptions and response regarding service failure and recovery. It focuses on understanding of specific recovery strategy to be allocated for the particular loss (service failure). The paper is empirical and involves data from 150 respondents from India. The sampling unit is employees of health care, banking and personal care service sector. The data collection instrument is a structured, non-disguised questionnaire. The study found results common conclusive reasons for service failure (losses) in the service sector industries. It also sheds light on the behavioral aspects of customers’ perception towards these failures and their responses to the same. It further looked into the priority recovery strategy employed by service sectors. The study has important managerial implications as it facilitates the understanding the customer ranking on various losses occurred by the failure. Provider can understand how customers perceive and react to them. Hence priority and relative importance of recovery can be identified.

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Scheduling the Warehouse unloading Bays Traffic Flow

Miltiadis Boboulos

Simulation testing for current unloading bay situation confirms a large vehicle number queuing in on the public road to the warehouse. The main queuing explanations proved to be the adopted strategy for servicing queuing vehicles and the insufficient capacity of the unloading bays in handling lorries. This paper aims to develop solution scenarios for the multiple picking agents in a warehouse that take into account distance and loading queue delay minimization. The paper uses simulation techniques to solve the scheduling problem in a more large-scale sense. The paper addresses a practical scheduling problem with a complexity degree, introducing a priority order in handling queuing vehicles, operation mechanization, vehicle routing and bay capacity design.

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Impact of Disinvestment on Corporate Performance

Garg Rakesh

The philosophy of disinvestment in public enterprises is based on strong logical foundations. The new economic policy and economic reforms in India have given rise to significant focus for disinvestment. It was in the year 1988-99, when Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee made a statement in parliament about disinvestment – “Disinvestment/ Privatization is the only Panacea for ills of loss making public sector undertakings.” And soon the response from the opposition was “you can’t sell the family silver to meet your daily expenditure”. The Indian approach towards disinvestment seems to have gone totally wrong ever since the reforms process was initiated in the early 90’s. The country now has lost the opportunity and its way as the pace of the entire process is very slow and lethargic in nature. This paper focuses the impact of disinvestment on the profitability, liquidity, sales efficiency and solvency position of the selected PSUs and also suggests some measures for the pre-requirement of a better disinvestment programme.

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