Lean manufacturing is a term that we have been hearing very often in many sectors and areas. Lean started as a manufacturing system and philosophy that was first developed by Toyota using key production principles that were introduced by Henry Ford. After successful implementations and great results in quality, cost and service levels, lean is now considered as a business system or as a culture. Lean principles and tools are widely used in every step of an entire process, from customer service to supply chain management. Although there are a lot of success stories about lean implementations, many companies are also struggling to adapt their culture towards the implementation of lean principles. In this thesis, standardization of lean manufacturing is studied and an analysis is provided to discuss if standardization would help eliminate the major obstacles that hinder successful lean implementation. Potential benefits and disadvantages of having standards for lean enterprises are analyzed. As a part of the research a survey was conducted to get feedback from lean professionals about standardization. The survey results suggest that there is an overall support for lean standardization. However, there are both positive and negative views about the potential benefits and disadvantages of using lean standards as an implementation guide. A case study is also provided to measure the benefits of lean and to understand how lean standards may help companies implement lean principles. Based on a simulation model that was develop to verify the benefits, a 15 % reduction in inventory carrying cost and a 5% reduction in total queue time was predicted.

Det finns ett flertal studier som beskriver och diskuterar olika aspekter av standardiserade arbetsmetoder och personbedömning i arbetslivet. Till vår kännedom finns dock ingen studie som belyser möjliga effekter av den nyligen lanserade bedömningsstandarden ISO 10667 i förhållande till rekrytering och urval, vilket var ambitionen med denna studie. En ökad förståelse för hur standardiserade bedömningstjänster i arbetslivet kan påverka och motivera organisationer är viktigt ur så väl ett teoretiskt som ett praktiskt perspektiv. På en teoretisk nivå kan forskningsresultat bidra till den allmänna förståelsen om fenomenet standardisering, och på en praktisk nivå hjälpa företagare att bedöma och utvärdera standardens betydelse för den enskilda verksamheten. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka och förklara hur standardiserade bedömningstjänster i arbetslivet kan påverka risken för felrekrytering, diskriminering och subjektiva bedömningar vid rekrytering och urval. För att uppfylla syftet genomfördes kvalitativa intervjuer med representanter från två företag som medverkar i nätverket för ISO 10667 samt representanter från två rekryteringsbolag som i dagsläget står utanför nätverket. Resultatet av denna studie visar att ISO 10667 i viss mån kan minska risken för felrekrytering, diskriminering och subjektiva bedömningar vid rekrytering och urval. Vi fann även att en strävan efter ökad status och legitimitet är ett viktigt incitament för tillämpning av bedömningsstandarder. / There are several studies that describe and discuss various aspects of standardized approaches and personality assessment in the workplace. To our knowledge, there is no study that illustrates the possible effects of the recently released assessment standard ISO 10667 in relation to recruitment and selection, which was the aim of this study. A better understanding of how standardized assessment services in the workplace can influence and motivate organizations is important from a theoretical as well as a practical perspective. At a theoretical level, the research result may contribute to the overall understanding of the phenomenon of standardization, and at a practical level, help business owners to assess and evaluate the standard's impact on the particular business. The purpose of this study was to examine and explain how standardized assessment services in the workplace may influence the risk of failed recruitment, discrimination and subjective assessments in recruitment and selection. To fulfill this purpose, qualitative interviews were conducted with representatives from two companies involved in the network of ISO 10667 as well as representatives from two recruitment companies that are not involved in the network. The results of this study show that ISO 10667, to some extent can reduce the risk of failed recruitment, discrimination and subjective assessments in the process of recruitment and selection. We also found that a desire for greater status and legitimacy is an important incentive for the application of assessment standards.

Title: Standardization - Implementation of Process Standardization in aDecentralized OrganisationBackground and problem: Developing mutual operations increase efficiency and facilitate management control, which is important for unit comparison in decentralized organisations. Many organisations worldwide choose to standardize their processes because of these advantages. But standardization is not without problems since it brings negative effects that need to be considered.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the units within the company in order to identify differences and important factors when considering standardization. The study also intends to contribute to the knowledge concerning standardization by identifying essential factors for a successful implementation, based on how the company operates at present. This intends to result in recommendations for the company to use when standardizing their processes regarding POC.Methodology: This study consists of a qualitative case study on a company, which is in the process of implementing standardization. Interviews were performed in three of the company’s Swedish offices.Conclusion: The study shows that standardization will bring several benefits for the company and the recommendations are to proceed with the implementation process. The company must however take action in order to make the implementation possible. By introducing a mutual template for models, document best-in-class procedures and adopt them, set procedures for storing essential documents, and increase the knowledge and understanding for other units’ procedures and needs.

This article discusses one particular issue of Swahili standardization. which is, in Kiswahili Sanifu, the correct concordial agreement to be applied to the lexeme -ingine (‘other’)? Should it be treated like an adjective, as ‘classical’ works in Swahili grammar claim as well as current educational books do? How can efforts in favour of standardization comply with the appearance of different variants of concordial agreement?

Supply chain management plays an important role in contemporary enterprises and its operations include materials procurement, manufacturing, logistics, sales and service. Good supply chain management relies on information technologies that facilitate the sharing of process and production-related information. Hence, information technology plays a key role in supply chain management. In order for information sharing to be effective, standardizationand integration are important. The purpose of this study is to examine how standardization and integration of information technologies in a supply chain may affect its performance. Four dimensions of information technology standardization and integration are defined: business process, data, technology infrastructure, and application system. We also include supply chain capability as a mediating variable. This study used questionnaire to collection date, and used SmartPLS and SPSS to analyze data. The results indicate that: (1) IT standardization has significant influences on supply chain capability, but IT integration does not; (2) supply chain capability has significant positive impacts on supply chain performance; and (3) IT standardization and IT integration do not have direct influences on supply chain performance.

The Research of Constructing School-based Curriculum Evaluation in the basis of ISO9001 : 2000 -- An Example of Kaohsiung Min-Chyuan Elementary School kuo¡A Chin-chan Abstract With the development of school-based curriculum, school-based curriculum evaluation viewed as part of school-based curriculum grows as well. ¡§Evaluation¡¨ contributes to quality control, Education value determination, administration accomplishment promotion ,and teacher .Specialization to perform the characteristics of school and create the value of school education. As a result, selection of the school-based curriculum evaluation model should be emphasized. The purpose of this research is to initiate ISO 9001:2000 quality control system constructing ISO 9001:2000 school-based curriculum evaluation model in order to effectively promote school-based curriculum quality, teacher profession, and administration accomplishment. Then, discovering the problem of each educational scene objectively to solve problem by internal criticism and external criticism. Furthermore, to prove the effectiveness and approval of ISO 9001:2000 school-based curriculum evaluation construction via international identification is expecting. First of all, this research adopt document analysis methodology to discuss not only the spirit and connotation of ISO 9001:2000 but also the difficulty and model of each kind of school-based curriculum evaluation for constructing the school¡Xbased curriculum evaluation structure. Secondly, to establish the ISO 9001:2000 organization in school curriculum development commit as the quality control system to process the implement at Kaohsiung Min-Chyuan Elementary School. Moreover, to edit one quality manual, seventeen procedure books and list as research implements to start the system, proceed school-based curriculum evaluation, and apply ¡§International identification¡¨ to complete this research. The conclusion of this research are as followings¡G 1. By the procedure: school-based curriculum evaluation concept composition¡÷establish ISO 9001:2000 organization in curriculum development commit¡÷adopt the spirit of PDCA¡÷build ISO 9001:2000 quality management system¡÷edit quality manual, procedure books, and lists¡÷system implement, will create the quality management system of ISO 9001:2000 school-based curriculum evaluation. 2. ISO 9001:2000 can inspect the quality problem of school-based curriculum and achieve the education goal effectively. 3. ISO 9001:2000 quality management system can promote teacher profession, and administration accomplishment. 4. Via ISO external criticism can find out the problem of each educational scene and solve problems totally. 5. Implying ISO 9001:2000 to construct school-based curriculum is effective. According to the result of this research, the four suggestions are made to provide resource of further research and implement for schools, administration, ISO institute. Keywords ¡Gschool-based curriculum development school-based curriculum evaluation International Organization for Standardization 9001¡G2000

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>In fashion industry, customer demand is constantly changing. One of the main reasons is due to the time of delicate fashion awareness among the consumers, which has come into larger variety and frequent assortment changes. The changing trends in fashion industry allow researchers to get into the postponement strategy as a customized operation in order to focus on quality and flexibility. In today’s fashion market the key for success is to keep an eye on and react to the customer demand. H&M is Europe’s second largest fashion retailer in terms of sales and our work will reflect on H&M supply chain particularly. We try to figure out business strategies such as mass customization and standardization, which H&M is using in their entire supplier chain and in his different processes. Keeping this view in mind, we design our research question, which is about mass customization and standardization and we try to relate these business strategies to the postponement. We try to find out the structure and implementation of these strategies in H&M supply chain with the help of our respondent answers in our proposed questionnaire.</p><p>For this purpose, an electronic interview with the H&M senior merchandiser in Pakistan liaison office was carried out. The questionnaire contains different questions related to postponement strategy, customization, and standardization and other processes which are used in the supply chain of any fashion industry. The questionnaire consists of 22 major questions. Our research is purely qualitative. We include both types of the data; namely secondary and primary. Secondary data was collected from earlier studies of the literature and related theories of postponement, customization, and standardization and certain areas of fashion retailing, whereas primary data was collected through the electronic interview with Mr. Syed Naqeeb who is working in H&M liaison office as a senior merchandiser in Pakistan.</p><p>After receiving the questionnaire, we have tried to highlight our research questions with the help of our proposed Frame of Reference in Chapter 2. The Frame of Reference consists of theories which will help the reader to get the clear picture of fashion retailing and the related theories.</p><p>In the Analysis section, we talk about the activities of H&M and its background followed by its business concept. We define H&M SCM model and draw a figure of H&M complementarities, which we developed by the help of electronic interview. In the Conclusion part, we come to the point that customization and postponement affect fashion retailing by choosing raw material, components, and apparel accessories plus logistic management. The other aspect of our research area is standardization. After the analysis we come to know that Standardization and postponement are also used together in the supply chain of H&M, in raw material, cotton and yarn, dying, packaging and in the care instruction of labels (washing instructions).</p>

The level of increased central government that we have experienced during the last decades in school, for the purpose of increasing equality and to adapt the Swedish school to a certain international standard, clearly shows that increased control scarcely leads to improvement. The aim of this paper is to examine whether teachers believe that national tests contribute to equivalent assessment and increased goal attainment. Furthermore the teachers’ attitude towards and work with national tests is described. The paper is written from a school improvement perspective, where good examples from current research on what creates increased quality in school meaning increased goal attainment and equivalent assessment are related to research on school effectiveness and increased testing in schools. The study builds upon a quantitative survey among teachers in upper primary - and secondary school in a medium-sized municipality in Sweden. The result shows that the teachers have a somewhat more positive than negative attitude towards national tests, as a whole. The teachers use the tests in their instruction and they are a part of their planning. The advantages mentioned are the possibilities of showing off good examples, making the curriculum concrete, prepare the students for the test and get guidelines and support in assessment and grading. The teachers in the survey don’t consider the tests giving a full image of the abilities of a student nor do they consider the tests themselves relevant for the student’s learning. The result also shows a certain variation in the attitude of the teachers. Teachers, who have worked the longest period of time, more than 20 years, are those with the best attitude towards the test and their ability to contribute to increased goal attainment and equivalent assessment. Teachers who have worked the shortest period of time are the most skeptical to the positive effects of the tests. The teachers generally consider the tests contributing to equivalent assessment to some degree, but have the least positive stance toward the ability of the tests leading to improved quality meaning increased learning and goal attainment.

Through the exporting of a portion of site-based work to fabrication shops, modularization (MOD) can enhance efficiency in the construction industry. The industry, however, applies modularization at only a low level. To reach higher levels of modularization, the EPC industry needs new approaches. Previous studies have identified the current trends in and barriers to the industry's application of modularization. Moreover, in 2013, the Construction Industry Institute's (CII) Research Team 283 identified 21 critical success factors (CSFs) that create an optimum environment for a broader and more effective use of modularization. However, the researcher has identified a need to better understand the relative significance of MOD CSFs and their associations with project performance. Thus, the research was conducted to provide recommendations for better project performance by identifying correlations between the accomplishment of MOD CSFs and project performance and examining actual modular projects' MOD CSF accomplishment. This study identified four statistically significant positive correlations. Those are between the accomplishment of MOD CSFs and: 1) cost performance; 2) schedule performance; 3) Construction performance; and 4) Startup performance. In addition to the correlation analysis, the study also identified the CSFs that appear to contribute the most to 1) "Modular Project Success", 2) Construction success, 3) Startup success, 4) Cost performance, and 5) Schedule performance. To collect information on the actual industrial modular projects, the study surveyed industry experts. By using this study, many industrial project stakeholders from owners to fabricators, designers and EPC contractors, will be able to understand the relationships between MOD CSFs and project performance. Such an understanding should motivate them to achieve better project performance through implementing modularization CSFs. / text

Bakgrund – För kundorderdrivna företag lyfts vikten av att hålla en hög leveransprecision. Avsaknaden av material är något som påverkar leveransprecisionen negativt, genom att förbättra anskaffningsprocessen ökar chanserna till att köpt material inkommer när det efterfrågas. Syfte – Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur leveransprecisionen kan ökas genom att förbättra anskaffningsprocessen hos ett kundorderdrivet företag. För att uppnå syftet kommer följande frågeställningar att besvaras: 1. Vilka brister kan identifieras i en anskaffningsprocess hos ett kundorderdrivet företag? 2. Hur kan bristerna hanteras för att uppnå en ökad leveransprecision? Metod och genomförande – För att uppnå studien syfte och besvara de två frågeställningarna har en fallstudie utförts på ett kundorderdrivet företag. Genom litteraturstudier har ett teoretiskt ramverk skapats för att ge en djup kunskapsgrund inom området. Observationer, intervjuer och dokumentstudier har utförts på fallföretget för att samla in empiri som sedan har analyserats mot den insamlade teorin. Resultat – Studiens resultat bygger på den insamlade empirin och genomförda litteraturstudier. Resultatet visar vilka brister som författarna har identifierat inom en anskaffningsprocess som har en påverkan på leveransprecisionen ut till kunderna. Genom att besvara studiens två frågeställningar visar resultatet att bristande informationsflöde, manuell hantering, brist på rutiner och bristande helhetssyn är samtliga faktorer som har en påverkan på anskaffningsprocessen och i slutändan fallföretagets leveransprecision. Implikationer – De framtagna lösningarna bör implementeras på fallföretaget först efter det att en kartläggning av samtliga processer på fallföretaget har utförts, för att finna gemensamma utmaningar och undvika suboptimeringar. Slutsatser – Enligt författarna hänger många av de identifierade bristerna ihop med avsaknaden av en helhetssyn i anskaffningsprocessen och de ingående aktiviteterna och avdelningar hos fallföretaget. / Background – For customer-order-driven companies it is very important to maintain high delivery dependability. The lack of materials is something that affects delivery dependability negatively and by improving the procurement process the chances increases that the purchased materials are received when requested. Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine how improving the procurement process in a customer-order-driven company can increase delivery dependability. To achieve the purpose, the following questions will be answered:1. Which areas of improvement can be identified in the procurement process at a customer-order-driven company? 2. How can the areas of improvement be handled to achieve increased delivery dependability? Method and implementation – In order to achieve the purpose of the study and answer the two questions a case study has been conducted at a customer-order-driven company. Through literature studies a theoretical framework have been created to provide a deep knowledge base in the field. Observations, interviews and document studies have been conducted at the case company to collect empirical data which then were analysed against the collected theory. Findings – The results of the study are based on the collected empirical data and performed literature studies. The results show which areas of improvement the authors have identified in the procurement process that has an impact on delivery dependability. By answering the study's two questions the result shows that a lack of information flow, manual handling, lack of procedures and lack of holistic view are all factors that have an impact on the procurement process and ultimately the case company's delivery dependability. Implications – The proposed solutions should be implemented at case company only after mapping all processes within the case company, in order to find common challenges and avoid sub-optimization. Conclusion – According to the authors depends many of the identified areas of improvement on the lack of a holistic view of the procurement process and the included activities and departments at the case company.