This paper is the executive summary for the research project 'Re-Engineering the New Product Introduction Process.' The project is made up of a number of portfolio submissions describing differing areas of the research. The key reason for the research was to identify a way in which a case study company could radically improve its time to market for new products by improving the process followed. An action research methodology was employed and project team used to aid the development and validation of the process and supporting tools. The result of the work was a proceduralised process for the introduction of new products, Coupled with detailed supporting tools and techniques. This paper summarises the details of the new process and describes the supporting projects. The levels of validation and implementation for all tile projects are also described as these were at differing levels of implementation within the case study organisation.

This report summarizes the contents in Submissions 1-4 and divides them into 7 chapters. These are introduction, literature review, methodology, the system dynamics model, the balanced scorecard, multiple regression models, and forecasting models. As this report mainly focuses on the assessment of manufacturing competitiveness in China, findings on the balanced scorecard for manufacturing competitiveness and various key econometric models are discussed in greater detail. On the other hand, the system dynamics model providing support to the development of the balanced scorecard is presented in brief in this report; please refer to Submission 4 for further details if necessary. Furthermore, this report highlights the main innovation and originality of this study. A two-stage analysis methodology as a novel and original approach to examine the formulation of manufacturing strategy is discussed. The value and significance of this study, in terms of the literature, the manufacturing industry, and the author’s company - TTI, are also explained. A concluding chapter is given in the end.

This thesis is a study of contemporary labour relations in Cyprus and is based on seven case studies: three from the hotel, two from the banking and two from the construction industries. The case studies involved particular medium and large size firms and focused on specific workplaces but some generalisations and projections are also made concerning broader tendencies in the corresponding sectors. Labour relations are approached holistically, examining both the context and the content of labour power utilisation as well as its broader impact and significance on society as a whole. The thesis focuses on employment practices and work organisation but also includes within its analytic frame, the institutional and political factors involved, management and trade unionism. The workplace is approached as a site of power relations whereby social identities and divisions occur and authority is both established and contested. Thus labour and trade union organisation is examined at the workplace level and analysed from the workers' perspective, taking into account the experience of hierarchies and resistance, and the experience of cooperation and conflict. The study is located in a nationally specific context, situating the contemporary state of labour relations in Cyprus in the historical course of development and local particular conditions of the island. The colonial legacy, the ethnic conflict and the division of the country and the rapidity of modernisation have impacted substantially on both the industrial relations and the class structure of the society. On the other hand, international forces, trends and phenomena in the era of globalisation such as flexibility in and the deregulation of the labour market, increased capital and labour flows, neo-liberal discourses and trade union decline constitute the broader coordinates of the labour process. These facts and schemata are both examined in the light of empirical data from Cyprus and used to explore and explain issues of contemporary labour organisation and class composition. Theoretically and politically the thesis is situated within a general Marxian framework that is informed both by the conflict school of industrial relations and the tradition of class composition studies. Workers' resistance and class conflict, the means through which class is being composed, is seen not only as a political by-product of the labour process but ontologically at its centre and conceptually at its heart. Thus the thesis also includes references to and can be used in broader discussions in and of the Left and concludes with a characterisation of the challenges and the prospects of the labour and trade union movement in Cyprus.

This thesis explores how boundaries can be changed during a merger. Change literature has generally assumed boundaries are an unproblematic aspect of organisation life; readily definable and easily changed. Evidence from the emerging field of boundary theory suggest otherwise with boundaries seen as socially constructed, complex and ever-shifting. The thesis adopts an action-orientated methodology, drawing from three sources of theory building; existing theory, fieldwork and from practice. Defining boundaries as any difference between groups, the thesis categorises boundaries as physical, behavioural and cognitive and uncovers specific tensions that are unique to each boundary category and which require specific management interventions to resolve. Developing these insights, the action research study, a five-year process of merging two hospitals, explored how boundaries changed in practice, showing how boundary salience was influenced by two sets of interrelated strategies. One set drove integration and the other set drove separation. The thesis concludes with five theoretical insights into boundary change. Principal among these is the insight that boundary change can only come about when the boundary tensions are reduced and when the strategies supporting integration are dominant. The thesis contributes to the theoretical understanding of boundaries and M&A integration but also to the practising manager by providing a framework for the analysis of boundaries and the determination of actions that reduce tensions and create the appropriate environment for effective boundary change.

This research combines the in-depth study of technical rationality and social practices with broader institutional influences that support or subvert the course of technology-led change in organizations. It contends that technology is socially shaped within the institutional and technical boundaries and that the choices made by individuals embedded in power relations shape the course of technological adoption in organizations. Two in-depth qualitative case studies are used to explore the sociotechnical processes of continuity and change.

In this thesis I argue that rural industry is a critical element in the development of poor African countries, and that its virtue has been recognised by a growing number of interventions in recent years. Particular benefits of rural industrialisation are the support of agriculture, improved availability of consumer items and repair services within the rural community, the generation of rural income and a contribution to the development of the national technology base. However, in spite of the attention this sector has received, there has so far been little evidence of rural industry thriving. The general failure of rural industry to develop indicates that either it is inherently unviable in a modern context or that the interventions concerned with it have been recurrently faulty. I contend that, while the degree to which rural industry may thrive depends upon the level of formal industrial activity in the country, it is essentially viable but that where interventions have taken place they have usually been inappropriate. The bulk of this thesis therefore examines what interventions would be appropriate to encourage this sector. I show that two conditions are essential. Firstly that interventions must take as their point of departure the existing context and practice of rural artisans, for example, training should take place within their normal working environment, depending only upon the resources to which they normally have access or to which they gain access by means of the training. Secondly that the target group for any intervention must have a significant degree of control over it. Innovation is argued to be a key determinant of sustainability. The significance of confidence and its contribution to innovation are established, identifying the crucial nature of innovation itself within the artisanal context. Rural manufacturing industry is unlikely to thrive unless conditioning and circumstances encourage artisanal practitioners to innovate. I examine the factors that encourage or inhibit innovation, particularly attitudes towards existing practices and the perceptions of external agents. As well as examining in depth specific factors such as innovation and the control of interventions, the thesis reviews all the resources required by rural industry in order to thrive and demonstrates the importance of a balance between them. However it is argued that skill development is the field in which external agencies can most usefully assist informal sector, rural industry and that the results of interventions must be capable of autonomous propagation if they are to have any significance.

In organisational theory, there is increased concern over how a particular context affects the operations of firms, especially in multinational organizations. As these firms operate in different contexts, there is growing interest in learning how social institutions from these contexts may influence the operations of these firms. MNC subsidiaries, principally, have attracted the attention of academics because they move in different spaces that are interrelated (e.g. country of origin, industry and country of operations), which may have different institutional settings. The implementation of control mechanisms in MNC subsidiaries represents an organizational area that is significantly influenced by these forces. This thesis develops a theoretical framework to explain the presence of control devices in MNC subsidiaries. The framework encompasses different levels of analysis: country of origin, country of operations, industry and the organization itself. The aim is to explain the presence of control mechanism in MNC subsidiaries by examining features that might affect the implementation of these devices. The framework places particular emphasis on two areas. First, understanding the effect of institutions based in the country of origin on the implementation of control mechanisms in MNCs. And second, appreciating the effect of institutions in the country of operations on the implementation of these devices in subsidiaries.

International technical assistance today supports pro-poor intervention managed and implemented by a number of organisations working in partnership together located in several countries. They may include funding organisations, governments, non-governmental organisations and community groups. This thesis explores the meaning of aid sector partnership and some of the ways in which they work to support community development in Africa. The study is of the ways in which partners interact and learn from each other, the contextual issues that influence the process and the implication of this for what is achieved. Believed to be the first of its kind, the study compares two bilaterally funded projects implemented by Ghanaian NGO counterparts. The British Department for International Development (DFID) financed an adult literacy project in the North, while Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) supported a maternal and child health care project in the East of Ghana. The study examines the quality of relations between partners in the two projects and then the ways in which these are informed by incidental learning experiences. A fieldwork was conducted in Ghana, UK and Japan. Data are largely narrative derived from in-depth interviews with more than 100 informants. Critical incident analysis is employed as the main interpretative strategy. The thesis conceptualises instances of inter-organisational learning (TOL) in terms of theories of principals and agents, prisoners' dilemmas and women's place in community development. It shows (i) that IOL can be used to maintain and modify relations of control and dominance in partnership hierarchies, and (ii) that IOL serves as a by-product of horizontal relationships and be increased or reduced in the competition between partners for resources and identity. The influential role of individuals, beyond the boundaries of organisations is stressed through social networks and trust-based relations, as are instances of resistance to learning as a consequences of personal conflict. However, structural constraints in the aid system, as demonstrated by asymmetric access to resources, expertise, knowledge, status and networks, ultimately determine the quality of funding management schemes and an environment that stimulates mutual individual learning, which is advantageous circumstances may lead to organisational learning and inter-organisational learning.

Increasing global competition within industry has forced businesses to respond by reducing costs and product development lead times in order to survive. In the automotive industry, these strategic responses include the specific exploitation of new technologies and mergers with other companies to gain economies of scale. BMW AG purchased Rover Group in 1994 but it wasn't until 1998 that competitive pressure led to the completion of the merger through the creation of a single "Group Function" structure within BMW Group. The BMW Board stated high-level objectives for the process but provided no mechanism to convert them into reality. Similarly, the BMW Group Board initiated a business process "Re-engineering" programme in 1997/8 and stated cost, time and other objectives that would have to be met. The technical and process changes that would help to achieve the business improvements were being largely driven from the bottom of the organisation but there were no frameworks available to guide strategic technology introduction. The principal innovations generated during the course of this research are frameworks for: • Maximising the business benefits from the creation of 'Group Functions' • Internal strategy creation for technology-based business sub-units These two new frameworks have for the first time provided management and staff with the means to develop meaningful strategies and operational action plans from the corporate strategic objectives. The economic and business literature concentrates mainly on whole business strategy and merger activity, neglecting the need for guidance at the sub-corporate level. Although corporate strategy can provide the overall direction of a company, it is the managers that have to drive strategic change within the business. The frameworks were developed by the author based on an in-depth review of the literature and the specific context relating to Rapid Prototyping & Tooling (RP&T) within BMW. The frameworks were validated within the business situation and further enhanced where appropriate. The Group Function framework fills the process gap between the high-level objectives and the need for operational action plans. It provides a straightforward and easy to communicate structure to the process of optimising duplicated business subunits. Use of the framework led to the retention of both RP&T teams and the initiation of beneficial synergistic activities. The framework should be applicable to other similar groups in similar circumstances. The author developed a new strategy creation framework that for the first time combines a range of strategy development approaches from within the literature into a practical framework for sub-corporate strategy development. The framework was matched to the specific context of the RP&T case but could be used in other similar circumstances. The framework was used to successfully develop a new strategy for RP&T in BMW Group and includes new approaches developed by the author that reduce the impact of environmental change and uncertainty. The framework has been described in a stand alone form that can easily be more widely exploited.

The thesis is based on a longitudinal study of the automobile industry in the U.S.A. from its inception around the turn of the century, to the 1950s. Charting the changes in methods of production, organisational structure, demography and skill configurations among the workforce, and institutional and political formations at the workplace, the study focuses upon the meaning of these developments in terms of the control of work and the personnel directly involved in that control - the changing role of foremen in 20th century industry. Using a range of sources including contemporary governmental and industrial surveys, company and trade union records and oral histories, a picture is built up of the way in which methods of production, and the control of that production, are mediated through a series of social, demographic, spatial and ideological factors, in all of which the foreman is a central character. In examining the role of shop floor supervision in shaping workers experience and actual structures of control at the workplace, and showing how the experience of foremen, individually and as a group, in turn are affected by changing patterns of work, the thesis constructs a historical modification to accounts of the labour process which stress a progressive, teleological exodus of control from the shop floor. The study points out for example, that the role of shop-floor supervisor during the inter-war period, largely supposed to have been proscribed and marginalised by technological and bureaucratic developments, remained in fact the focal point of control over hiring, firing, wage levels, production levels and methods of work, in short almost all aspects of the industrial workers' experience of factory life. Having established the boundaries of power and control surrounding the foreman in pre-war mass production, and discussed the meaning of these boundaries in terms of class, ideology and divisions among the workforce, the thesis then examines the origins and effects of unionisation on the role of supervision. Following an account of the restructuring of power and control which comes with the establishment of production workers unions in the industry, the advent of the unionisation of foremen themselves is examined. The Foremen's Association of America (FAA), which saw its genesis and principal area of recruitment in the automobile industry, represented the most serious attempt to organise supervisory workers in the USA this century, and marks a pivotal point in the spread of unionisation, managerial response and state intervention in industrial relations. Building on earlier sections outlining the position of foremen in terms of power and ideology, the thesis proposes a complex, multi-level dynamic behind the formation, growth and decline of the FAA as a corrective to previous accounts which stress the primacy of legislative and institutional explanatory frameworks. Finally the thesis charts the post-war response of management in the industry to the threat of foremen's unionisation, locating ensuing attempts to restructure the role, status and prestige of foremen in terms of the historical impact and progress of competing managerial theory, in particular that of the human relations school.