Although academic interest in TQM increased substantially in the last decade, still the gap in the literature is hardly surprising given that research and theory in TQM implementation are still at a very early stage in the West. To-date, there are only a handful of empirical researches reported in the literature that have attempted to identify what constitute as constructs of TQM that can be manipulated to effectively implement TQM. All but very few are studies done in developed economies. Moreover, knowledge of TQM in developing economies is almost totally lacking. Against this backdrop, this researcha ddressesth e identified gaps in the literature on TQM. Thus this thesis focuses on the effective implementation of total quality management in Palestine, a developing economy, through an empirical investigation of critical quality factors. The research methodology involves combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify the key quality factors cited in the literature and considered by consultants and experts as essential to successful TQM implementation. The research design also included: Lan empirical investigation to assessth e level of TQM awarenessa nd understandingi n the Palestinian context, 2. determining which key quality factors are critical to successful implementation using a survey questionnaire, 3. determining what tactics and techniques are used in addressing and implementing these critical quality factors by Palestinian organisations, using semi-structured interviews, 4. determining the prerequisites of effective TQM implementation in the pre-launch stage using in depth interviews. By complementing and integrating the findings, an implementation framework was constructed with the support of the knowledge acquired from the literature review. A simple and practical step by step with implementation guidelines framework aiming at assisting Palestinian organisations in planning on effective implementation of TQM was constructed. The research findings indicate that top management commitment and involvement, employee commitment and involvement, managing by customer-driven system and processes and continuous performance improvement, are essential to effective implementation of TQM. This implies that Palestinian organisations recognise and implement the same critical quality factors found in Western countries. The proposed framework is built around four major constructs that relate to top management commitment, employee commitment, customer-driven system and processes, and continuous improvement. It emphasises an implementation approach of top-down deployment and bottom-up participation focussing on businessp rocessesth at add value to customers atisfaction. In conclusion, this empirical research revealed that TQM could be implemented in the developing economies (such as Palestine) as Palestinian organisations subscribe to the same quality factors as those found in the developed economies.

An increasing number of manufacturing firms are developing new business models to improve sustainability in the face of growing environmental and social challenges. Product-service systems (PSS) are regarded as promising sustainable business models with significant potential to synergise economic, environmental and social value, together termed ‘sustainable value’. This research investigates ways in which manufacturing firms can identify opportunities for sustainable value creation in PSS business models. The research aims to make theoretical and practical contributions to the fields of sustainable business models, sustainable PSS and sustainable value. The research adopts a qualitative theory building approach, in which theory can be transformed into practice. It involves eight case studies and one focus group formed of manufacturers who provide PSS solutions. A practical-research tool, the Sustainable Value Analysis Tool, is developed to collect data and to provide business support. The key research findings and contributions to theory and practice are: · The research proposes a new PSS classification system based on the ownership of products and changes in ownership. This classification distinguishes the potential for sustainability of each PSS type more clearly than existing PSS classifications. · The research introduces a new concept, value uncaptured, and identifies four forms of this. The introduction of this concept provides a novel perspective of studying value exchange in business models. · The research identifies 26 sources of value uncaptured throughout the product life cycle. These can be used to help industrial practitioners to identify value uncaptured in a structured way. · The research proposed that the act of turning value uncaptured into value opportunities is an effective approach for improving sustainable value creation in business models. This has been empirically demonstrated. · The research proposes a model to understand how and where value uncaptured can be turned into value opportunities. This model comprises two mechanisms, two directions, and fourteen key tactics. The model improves theoretical understanding of the sustainable value creation system and can be applied in practice to help companies search for value opportunities in a systematic and strategic way. · The challenges of turning value opportunities into value are identified. The findings have been used to develop a framework for sustainable value creation in PSS business models. The proposed tool has been validated and used in workshops for purposes including research, consultancy, business education and university education. This research thus makes contributions to both academic knowledge and industrial practice.

Managers today are faced with a bewildering choice of Management Standards that are being promoted to improve personal and organisational performance by a wide range of Standards-setting bodies. Standards-based management is a well-researched field, but all the research concentrates on individual Standards such as ISO 9000 and 14000 without identifying the influences of other Management Standards. This research seeks to extend the debate about Standards-based management and to encourage other researchers to consider it as both an entity and a phenomenon and to note its divergence from other management theories. A taxonomy of Management Standards is presented to enable the principal Standards to be categorised and a definition of a Management Standard is proposed to enable the distillation of the considerable body of literature into more manageable proportions. A chronology of Management Standards development is tabled and compared with the evolution of Quality Management and Total Quality Management (TQM) and the possible future development of Management Standards is examined. The literature research confirmed that Standards-based management approaches had increased very significantly, despite a lack of empirical research to show that this method of management yielded uniform improvements. It identified a trend for integrating Management Standards and creating a “super” Management Standard that would incorporate all the functions of management within an organisation. The Scottish Quality Management System (SQMS) is an integrated Management Standard that incorporates many of the key functions of management within an audited Management Standards framework that its architects claim is based on the principles of TQM. While originally developed for the Scottish training provider network in 1993, it has spread internationally and is currently in use by circa 600 organisations in several countries. It is the only example of a Management Standard of this kind, and despite its longevity, extensive coverage and significant public investment, it has not attracted any previous research interest. The SQMS project was ambitious, seeking to impose a major new Standard on a diverse and predominately unsophisticated population of organisations within a tight time frame. The field research surveyed the entire SQMS registered organisation population using a questionnaire that was based upon the principles of ISO 9004: 1994 and some preliminary research. The questionnaire was designed to examine attitudes and motivation, as well as gauging the effectiveness of the SQMS Standard as determined by an analysis of the improvements that could be directly associated with its implementation. The survey achieved over 70% response rate and the resulting data set was comprehensive and the analysis robust. An additional element of the research compared the results of the questionnaire response analysis with the perceptions of the SQMS Auditors who had audited a majority of the respondent organisations. The field research showed that the SQMS population was very experienced and had been working with SQMS for well over three years. This is a period that the literature research indicated was the minimum time required for the benefits of quality improvement initiatives to become measurable. In the absence of any clear published objectives for the implementation of SQMS, a number of likely objectives were postulated and these objectives were measured against the results of the research. The results of the research suggest an attitude of compliance, rather than improvement as the underlying mind-set of the SQMS organisations and an absence of quality improvement planning or measurement of key performance indicators. This attitude was no different among organisations that had also adopted ISO 9000 and IiP. SQMS accreditation had not shown to provide any marketing or promotional benefit in the same way as ISO 9000 and it had not led to increased market share or profitability. Few of the possible benefits of applying a Standard of this nature had been realised by the majority of organisations and there was little evidence of tangible organisational improvement. The Standard could not be deemed to have met its proposed objectives and a comparison with an accepted model of TQM did not find sufficient compatibility to designate SQMS as a tool for TQM implementation. The interviews with SQMS Auditors identified major discrepancies between their perceptions and the views of the organisations that they audited. The admission by over half of the respondent organisations that they produced evidence purely to satisfy audits raised questions about the effectiveness of the Standard and its audits and the competence of auditors to audit “super” Standards. The novelty of the research is examined and suggestions for future research proposed.

The intention of the programme was to evaluate Product Development (PD) strategies within the automotive industry and to identify areas in which improvements could be made in PD project performance that would also provide a business opportunity for the author's employer RLE International (RLE). The research is principally concerned with the automotive industry but also has broader applications within similar industries. The research was undertaken via three projects. Project 1 involved a study of the structure, drivers and trends within the automotive industry. The aim was to assess the implications for PD in the automotive industry and identify significant issues where opportunities for improvement existed. The outcome was a portrayal of an industry under extreme competitive pressure and waiting for something to change but without a clear future state. What was apparent was that the competitive pressures, and thus the need to deliver more products without significantly increased resources, were not going to abate in the near future. PD has to 'deliver more with less' but a definition of success and its associated measures in terms of the PD process is difficult to frame. Therefore, the aim of project 2 focused on performance measurement of the PD process by assessing four internationally diverse development projects carried out by the author's employer with four discrete customers. The projects were all different in their content and were carried out in different countries, i.e. USA, Germany, India and Sweden. Whilst customer specific and cultural aspects of the projects differed, the significant issue identified via the research was common across all the projects. Traditional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of cost, time and scope were used but failed to predict issues in project delivery. The key finding was that if project information did not flow as originally planned then resources were wasted resulting in time and cost over-runs. Project 3 researched alternative solutions to the issue of monitoring information flow and proposes a specific method of indicating the likelihood of success in a project by identifying new PD measurement techniques to be used within the automotive PD process. This new measurement criterion of information flow provides a predictive tool that significantly enhances the project control process. The predictive method of information flow tracking developed is new to the automotive PD profession. It was trialled on an existing project and was shown to identify specific issues with the Work-in-Progress (WIP) not found by traditional project management methods. The resulting indication of issues enabled the organisation's management to have a substantially different insight and understanding of project performance at a given point in time and therefore enabled immediate changes in resource allocation to improve project performance. The implementation of these changes as a result of the adoption of information flow monitoring resulted in significantly improved project KPI performance. The contribution of this new PD management method has the potential to significantly impact the competitiveness of any company involved in the design and development process. Its benefits include improved understanding of project performance indicators, powerful predictive attributes resulting in better utilisation of company resources and reductions in both project costs and lead times.

Aujourd’hui, avec la mondialisation et la concurrence internationale effrénées, les chaînes logistiques globales (CLG) sont conçues à l’échelle planétaire, les places portuaires deviennent entre autre, des sites d’implantation idéale, permettant ainsi la valorisation des marchandises, grâce à la performance de son maillon portuaire. Depuis l’élaboration d’un partenariat commercial en 2000, entre le maillon portuaire de Djibouti (MPD) et le groupe international portuaire Dubaï Port World (DPW), entre 2002 et 2012, le trafic conteneurisé s’est accru de près de 700 %. De plus, depuis l’ouverture de Djibouti Free Zone (DFZ) en 2004, gérée totalement par une filiale du groupe DPW, près de 150 entreprises sont venues s’y implanter, dont plus de la moitié sont des entreprises étrangères. Partant de ce double constat, notre problématique de recherche s’attache à comprendre la contribution du MPD, à la performance de la CLG. Dans une phase de recherche empirique, qui nous a permis d’identifier les dimensions et les axes caractérisant la performance logistique du MPD, nous déployons un modèle descriptif et synthétique de la performance portuaire. / With globalization and international competition sprees, the Supply Chain (SC) are designed on a global scale, the port spaces, thus allowing ideal implementation sites, thanks to the performance of its link port. Since the development of a strategic partnership between the link port of Djibouti (LPD) and the international group port Dubai Port World (DPW) in 2000, the containerized traffic increased of almost 700 %, between 2002 and 2012. With in addition, with the opening of Djibouti Free Zone (DFZ) in 2004, managed entirely by a subsidiary of the group DPW, nearly 150 businesses have implemented there warehouses in DFZ, with more than half of whom are foreign companies. Starting from this dual observation, our research has been focused on understanding the contribution of the LPD, to the performance of the SC. In a phase of empirical research, which has allowed us to identify dimensions and axes characterizing the logistics performance of the LPD, we deploy a descriptive and synthetic model of the port performance.

Face à une concurrence féroce par suite de la modélisation économique, les entreprises doivent bien gérer leurs chaînes logistiques afin de réduire leurs coûts d’exploitation tout en améliorant leurs services au client. Un enjeu majeur de cette gestion et la gestion efficace des stocks multi-échelons. Dans cette thèse, nous étudions des systèmes de stocks multi-échelons avec des coûts de passation de commande à chaque stock. En raison de l’existence des coûts de passation de commande, l’optimisation d’un tel système devient très compliquée. Récemment, l’approche de service garanti (GSA) a été utilisée pour déterminer les stocks de sécurité pour les systèmes de stocks multi-échelons, mais sans coûts fixes de passation de commande. Nous généralisons la GSA pour optimiser la politique de stockage (R, Q) d’un système de stocks multi-échelons avec la demande suivant un processus de Poisson et coûts fixes de passation de commande à chaque stock. Nous considérons trois types de systèmes de stocks multi-échelons, et pour chaque type, nous d'abord établissons un modèle mathématique pour le problème d’optimisation. Ensuite, le modèle est résolu par une procédure itérative fondée sur deux algorithmes de programmation dynamique (DP). Un algorithme DP est utilisé pour résoudre le sous-problème de détermination de quantités de commande et l'autre est utilisé pour résoudre le sous-problème de détermination de points de recommande du modèle. Les résultats numériques démontrent l'efficacité des algorithmes et de la procédure / With the increasing complexity of supply chains led by economic globalization, integrated supply chain management has become an important strategy utilized by the firms to reduce the overall cost while meeting the customer service. This change has made academic researchers and industrial practitioners pay more and more attention to multi-echelon inventory management over the last two decades. In this thesis, we study multi-echelon inventory systems with fixed order costs at each stock. Because of the existence of fixed order costs, the optimization of such system becomes very complicated. Recently, Guaranteed Service Approach (GSA) was used to set safety stock for multi-echelon inventory systems, but without fixed order costs. We extend the GSA to optimize (R, Q) inventory policies for multi-echelon inventory systems with Poisson demand and fixed order costs. Our objective is to find optimal (R, Q) policy for such a system so that its total cost is minimized while achieving a service level to customer. Three types of multi-echelon inventory systems, serial systems, assembly systems and two-level distribution systems are considered. For each type, we first establish a mathematical model for the optimization problem. Then, the model is solved by an iterative procedure based on two dynamic programming (DP) algorithms. One DP algorithm is used to solve the order size decision subproblem and the other is used to solve the reorder point decision subproblem of the model. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the algorithms and the procedure

Cette thèse considère le problème consistant à intégrer les décisions de routage et stockage lors de la conception de la chaîne logistique. Le but est de sélectionner des dépôts parmi un ensemble de candidats pour desservir un ensemble de détaillants à l’aide d’une flotte de véhicules de capacité permettant visiter plus d’un détaillant par route. On cherche à déterminer la localisation de ces dépôts et les tournées des véhicules afin de maintenir leurs niveaux optimaux de stocks. La demande chez les détaillants est connue à l’avance. Des applications dans les domaines de la logistique humanitaire et militaire sont envisageables. Pour résoudre le problème, deux matheuristiques sont proposées. Dans la première partie, une méthode coopérative qui combine des méthodes exactes pour le problème de conception de la chaîne logistique et des méthodes heuristiques de routage est présentée. Dans la deuxième partie, une méthode de décomposition utilisant une réformulation de Dantzig-Wolf sur les variables de routage est proposée. L’algorithme intègre les concepts de génération de colonnes, relaxation lagrangienne et recherche locale. Les résultats montrent la capacité des algorithmes à trouver des solutions de bonne qualité et nous estimons de façon empirique l’impact de considérer un modèle intégré au lieu d’utiliser une méthode d’optimisation séquentielle. De plus, les résultats des méthodes présentées sur des sous-problèmes sont aussi étudiés. Ces sont: le problème de localisation-routage, le problème de tournées avec gestion de stocks, et le problème de plus court chemin généralisé / The problem of designing a supply chain including simultaneously routing and inventory management decisions is studied in this thesis. The objective is to select a subset of depots to open, the inventory policies for a 2-echelon system, and the set of routes to perform distribution from the upper echelon to the next using a homogeneous fleet of vehicles over a finite planning horizon. Demand is considered to be known. Applications are found in humanitarian logistics and military logistics. To solve the problem, two matheuristic procedures are developed. On the first part a cooperative algorithm combining exact methods for the supply chain design problem and routing heuristics is presented. On the second part, a partition is proposed using a Dantzig-Wolf reformulation on the routing variables. An hybridization between column generation, Lagrangian relaxation and local search is proposed in this part, put together as a heuristic method. Furthermore, results demonstrate the capability of the algorithms to compute high quality solutions and empirically estimate the improvement in the cost function of the proposed model when compared to a sequential optimization approach. Furthermore, results of the proposed methodologies on benchmark instances for subproblems are studied as well. Those are the capacitated location-routing problem, the inventory-routing problem, and the generalized elementary shortest path problem

The main aim of the research work presented in this thesis, is the development of a novel framework with the capability of assessing the impact of implementing lean manufacturing within small-to-medium sized manufacturing firms (SMEs). By assessing the impact of lean implementation, SMEs can make informed decisions on the viability of lean adoption at the conceptual implementation stage. Companies are also able determine their status in terms of lean manufacturing affordability. Thus, in order to achieve the above-stated aim, the following were the main set research objectives; (1) identifying the key drivers for implementing lean manufacturing within SMEs, (2) investigating the operational activities of SMEs in order to understand their manufacturing issues, (3) exploring the current level of lean manufacturing usage within SMEs so as to categorise users based on their levels of involvement, (4) identifying factors that determine the assessment of lean manufacturing, (5) developing an impact assessment framework for justifying lean manufacturing within SMEs, (6) developing a knowledge based advisory system and (7) validating the impact assessment framework and the developed knowledge based advisory system through real-life case studies, workshops, and expert opinions. A combination of research methodology approaches have been employed in this research study. This comprises literature review, observation of companies' practices and personal interview. The data collection process involved ten SMEs that provided consistent information throughout the research project life. Additionally, visitations to three large size manufacturing firms were also conducted. Hence, the framework and system development process passed through several stages. Firstly, the data were collected from companies who had successfully implemented lean manufacturing within their premise. The second development stage included the analysis and validation of the dataset through company practitioners. An impact assessment framework was thus developed with the aid of regression analysis as a predictive model. However, it was realised that there were few correlations between the dataset generated and analysis. The reasons for this were unclear. ,a knowledge based advisory system was adopted to conceptualise, enhance the robustness of the impact assessment framework and address the problem of the imprecise data in the impact assessment process. Three major factors of impact assessment were considered in the framework and the system development process, namely relative cost of lean implementation, a company lean readiness status and the level of value-added to be achieved (impact/benefits). Three knowledge based advisory sub-systems that consisted of the abovementioned factors were built. Results obtained from them were then fed into the final system. The three sub-systems were validated with the original set of data from companies. This enabled the assignment of a number of input variables whose membership functions aided the definition of the fuzzy expert system language (linguistic variables) used. The final system yielded heuristic rules that enable the postulation of scenarios of lean implementation. Results were sought and tested on a number of firms based within the UK, for the purposes validation. These also included expert opinions both in academic and industrial settings. A major contribution of the developed system is its ability to aid decision-making processes for lean implementation at the early implementation stage. The visualisation facility of the developed system is also useful in enabling potential lean users to make forecasts on the relative cost of lean projects upfront, anticipate lean benefits, and realise one' degree of lean readiness.

New Product Development is vital to the performance of high-tech firms given the rapid change in technology and markets that they face. Drawing on the ambidexterity literature this study focuses on how firms can employ Ambidextrous Market Learning (AML), that is, the use of exploratory and exploitative market learning strategies simultaneously, to develop successful innovative products. Despite the exponential growth of studies focusing on ambidexterity, the literature portrays the ambidexterity concept as a present or absent like phenomena. However, in the current study, AML is conceptualised as a continuum of market knowledge that acts as a key source essential in creating customer value in the form of new products. Whilst research into ambidexterity contains abundant evidence of the positive effects of ambidexterity on firm performance, yet there is little discussion in the literature on the effects of AML on product advantage and the role of product innovativeness. A conceptual model comprising the relationship between AML, product advantage and product innovativeness is developed and empirically tested using 178 UK-based high-tech firms. The findings indicate that AML firms tend to develop products that have high product advantage. The study further focuses on how product innovativeness and product advantage constructs interact to create new product financial performance. Findings also suggest that marketing and technological discontinuity (product innovativeness from the firm s perspective) respectively has a negative and a positive moderating impact on product advantage. In addition, modelling product innovativeness from the customers perspective (customer discontinuity) in the same model sheds new light on the relationship between product advantage, product innovativeness and product performance. By further examining the moderating effects of marketing and technological discontinuity on the link between AML and product advantage, the analyses reveals the different scenarios in which the benefits of AML firms may outweigh its implementation cost.

A challenge in Lean Construction is how to make it applicable when there is a high degree of complexity and uncertainty. In many construction projects there are changing project requirements, unique products and a need for actions that are highly focused on meeting customer/client expectations. Such scenarios require management methods that are characterised by being flexible and able to react to change. The aim of this thesis is to introduce a method that has such characteristics. Project Management, Lean and Agile paradigms are merged through the application of the fission and fusion approach of nuclear physics. This research is facilitated through a sequential explorative method. In the first instance, interviews with 22 practitioners in the fields of construction project management, Lean and Agile have been conducted. Then a quantitative self-administered questionnaire with 213 useful responses has been utilised to validate the transferability of the interview findings. It is concluded that Lean is not ideally suited to dealing with the dynamic nature of construction projects. Agile methods, which were developed to cope with the high levels of uncertainty inherent to IT projects, are more flexible and able to react to change. Hence utilising Agile-based methods might be the key to the successful utilization of Lean in construction. Therefore a management method based on combining Lean and Agile approaches has potential. Such an approach needs creative thinking to develop a solution that is different to that of “Leagile”. Leagile uses Lean and Agile methods in the execution phase sequentially, through using a decoupling point model to separate the two. This thesis introduces a new paradigm in which such a decoupling or separation does not take place. Rather, project management, Lean and Agile have been merged together to develop a new holistic and strategic framework. The paradigm presented in this thesis is termed “AgiLean Project Management”.