Purpose - This paper aims to investigate the definition of Lean Production and the methods and goals associated with the concept as well as how it differs from other popular management concepts. Methodology/Approach - The paper is based on a review of the contemporary literature on Lean Production, both journal articles and books. Findings - It is shown in the paper that there is no consensus on a definition of Lean Production between the examined authors. The authors also seem to have different opinions on which characteristics that should be associated with the concept. Overall it can be concluded that Lean Production is not clearly defined in the reviewed literature. This divergence can cause some confusion on a theoretical level, but is probably more problematic on a practical level when organizations aim to implement the concept. This paper argues that it is important for an organization to acknowledge the different variations, and to raise the awareness of the input in the implementation process. It is further argued that the organization should not accept any random variant of Lean, but make active choices and adapt the concept to suit the organization-s needs. Through this process of adaptation, the organization will be able to increase the odds of performing a predictable and successful implementation. Originality/Value - This paper provides a critical perspective on the discourse surrounding Lean Production, and gives an input to the discussion of the implementation of management models. Keywords - Lean Production, Definition, Construct Validity, Total Quality Management Paper type - Conceptual paper

https://www.ep.liu.se/ecp/033/025/ecp0803325.pdf

Defining Lean Production : Some conceptual and practical issues

We propose that the variety a brand offers can influence brand quality perceptions, and consequently, affect brand choice, even when the available option set is held constant. Specifically, brands that offer greater variety of compatible (i.e., focused and internally consistent) options are expected to be perceived as having greater commitment and expertise in the category, which, in turn, enhances their perceived quality and purchase likelihood. The results of six studies support this proposition and demonstrate that (a) brands offering increased compatible variety were perceived as having higher quality; (b) this effect was mediated by product variety's impact on perceived expertise-commitment; (c) the higher perceived quality led to a higher choice share of brands offering greater product variety, even amongst options identical options offered by multiple brands; and (d) product variety also impacted post-experience perceptions of taste.

The Influence of Product Variety on Brand Perception and Choice

Globalization policies are encouraging manufacturing companies to produce environment-friendly products that offer a sustainable competitive advantage. Currently, product recovery and zero-waste supply chains have caught the attention of manufacturers and professionals. Reverse logistics (RL) is considered as the most significant part of supply chain management in developed countries; unfortunately, its implementation in developing countries is in the initial stages due to certain barriers. This study aims to identify and verify the barriers to implementation of reverse logistics using a two-stage methodology: the Delphi Method and Structural Equation Modeling. A comprehensive literature review was considered to identify a primary set of barriers. Using the Delphi Method, a team of experts screened out barriers after performing three iterations. A survey-based questionnaire was then sent out to supply chain and logistics employees in the manufacturing industry and relevant government authorities. Five hundred and forty-seven useful responses were analyzed in the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) & AMOS 21 softwares using Structural Equation Modeling to verify barriers, and ranked according to their severity. The most critical barriers with respect to each category are: high cost of reverse logistics adoption (finance and economics), lack of skilled professionals (knowledge and experience), lack of government supportive policies (law and regulation), poor organizational culture (management), lack of human resources (infrastructure and technology), lack of environmental law awareness (environment), lack of community pressure (market) and company policies (reverse logistics in policy). Overall, the top five barriers found in this study include lack of initial capital, lack of skilled professional in RL, companies’ policies against RL, lack of new technologies and information systems, and lack of community pressure. Knowledge about barriers to reverse logistics allows manufacturing companies to prepare a priority list of actions for better implementation of the reverse logistics system.

Critical Barriers to Implementation of Reverse Logistics in the Manufacturing Industry: A Case Study of a Developing Country

This article examines the definitional problematics associated with the many typologies of tourism focusing on tourism, ecotourism and community-based tourism. The wide range of typologies currentl...

Tourism, community-based tourism and ecotourism: a definitional problematic

Academic and corporate interest on manufacturing flexibility has risen sharply in recent years and a number of papers have been published in this area. This paper aims to explore this field further by: first, offering a systematic review of over 100 research papers published in various academic journals from 1987 to March 2013 in terms of country, journal, methodology, application areas and issue coverage, second, suggesting and exploring the developing trends in the literature and providing some future research directions. Some of the important observations found in this paper are: (a) lack of adequate research on the relationship between manufacturing flexibility and other variables such as environmental uncertainties, business strategies, organizational attributes, innovation and product types (b) several other dimensions of performance, such as innovation performance, environmental performance and social performance have been ignored while measuring impact of manufacturing flexibility on performance (c) further attention required on issues like measurement of overall manufacturing flexibility level of an organization (d) domination of manufacturing flexibility research in developed countries. This review is useful for both practitioners and academicians, as it outlines major lines of research in the manufacturing flexibility field.

Manufacturing Flexibility Research: A Review of Literature and Agenda for Future Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address a research gap relating to the understanding of how one type of manufacturing flexibility – mix flexibility – is achieved during day‐to‐day operations.Design/methodology/approach – Constructs from coordination theory are used in order to understand the way in which physical manufacturing resources are coordinated during daily operations to produce a company's product mix. A multiple case study methodology is used to investigate the applicability of these constructs in the flour milling industry. Subsequently, a conceptual framework is proposed which captures the coordination mechanisms used in the achievement of mix flexibility.Findings – The paper finds that mix flexibility requirements influence how a company achieves mix flexibility. Further, the findings indicate that, at an operational level, mix flexibility is achieved via the use of coordination mechanisms to manage specific dependencies relating to mix flexibility requirements.Research limitations/...

How do companies achieve mix flexibility

Purpose – Mix flexibility is a critical manufacturing flexibility type needed to produce a company's range of products. Oftentimes, multiple products are produced on shared resources which require coordination mechanisms to ensure their effective utilization. This paper aims to explore the applicability of the product wheel concept as a coordination mechanism that can be used to manage shared resources in operational mix flexibility achievement in process industries. Design/methodology/approach – The product wheel concept is a construct from the theory of lean manufacturing adoption in process industries. This construct is applied as a sequencing coordination mechanism, where similar products are grouped together to run consecutively in a production schedule. A single case study is used to illustrate the development and evaluation of a product wheel design. Findings – The results show that the product wheel concept does achieve the aim of grouping similar products in the production schedule, and, as such,...

Product wheels to achieve mix flexibility in process industries

Purpose




For Small Island Developing States (SIDS), achieving export manufacturing competitiveness is a major challenge. This paper aims to provide a framework that can be used to study the export competitiveness for food manufacturers.




Design/methodology/approach




The revealed comparative export advantage (RXA) and the constant market share (CMS) measures are used in a case study set in the Trinidad and Tobago’s food and beverage sector to study export manufacturing competitiveness.




Findings




When using the RXA and CMS measures to assess the current state of export manufacturing competitiveness in SIDS, specific product groupings should be used in the analysis to obtain a more accurate assessment of competitiveness than that provided when using aggregate commodity groups. Furthermore, the export market section of the conceptual framework provides a structured approach towards studying the distribution effect element of the CMS analysis.




Research limitations/implications




Trade data are heavily used, which is subject to a number of well-documented limitations. In addition, there is no mandatory registration for companies operating in the case country, which results in under-reporting of industrial activity, and so limits the use of the framework in studying the exporting companies and the export products. Finally, a single case study limits the generalizability of the findings.




Practical implications




In particular, policymakers responsible for designing interventions for increasing export manufacturing competitiveness can use the framework to consider specific strategies as they relate to the exporting companies, the export products and the export markets.




Originality/value




This paper brings together three basic elements that contribute to export manufacturing competitiveness in the form of the conceptual framework.

Assessing export competitiveness of food manufacturers in SIDS

CARIFORUM countries have identified a number of priority industries and niche sectors that span manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, and other service sectors, which are viewed as having strong potential to contribute to economic growth and development. However, these sectors face a number of challenges to realize their potential, including limited markets, low labor productivity and inadequate skills for market demand, high energy and transportation costs, and high levels of debt. In order to overcome challenges to private sector growth, best practice suggests that analyzing the environment for private sector development and identifying specific barriers to growth are critical steps toward making these sectors more competitive regionally and globally. This project aims to make a contribution in this regard via the use of a value chain methodology. The industry selected for this project was the ecotourism industry, and it was studied in the context of four countries: The Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. The ecotourism value chain was analyzed. Challenges to the development of the ecotourism industry were identified in the selected countries, and a roadmap was proposed.

The Ecotourism Industry in the Caribbean: A Value Chain Analysis

When there are sequence-dependent changeovers on a shared resource in hybrid make-to-stock/make-to-order (MTS/MTO) environments in process industries, coordination mechanisms for mix flexibility op...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23311916.2018.1501866

Mix flexibility optimisation in hybrid make-to-stock / make-to-order environments in process industries

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