Lean software management case study: Timberline Inc.

This paper is believed to be the first documented account of a full adoption of lean by a software company. Lean techniques were devised by Toyota and other manufacturers over the last 50 years. The techniques are termed lean because they require less resource to produce more product and exceptional quality. Lean ideas have also been successful in service industries and product development. Applying lean to software has been advocated for over 10 years. Timberline, Inc started their lean initiative in Spring 2001 and this paper records their journey, results and lessons learned up to Fall 2003. This case study demonstrates that lean thinking can work successfully for software developers. It also indicates that the extensive lean literature is a valuable source of new ideas for software engineering.

The use of cues for attention in ancient Greek art: aspects that influence concentration in the work of art and its elements

The goal of this study is to identify cues for the cognitive process of attention in ancient Greek art, aiming to find confirmation of its possible use by ancient Greek audiences and artists. Evidence of cues that trigger attention’s psychological dispositions was searched through content analysis of image reproductions of ancient Greek sculpture and fine vase painting from the archaic to the Hellenistic period - ca. 7th -1st cent. BC. Through this analysis, it was possible to observe the presence of cues that trigger orientation to the work of art (i.e. amplification, contrast, emotional salience, simplification, symmetry), of a cue that triggers a disseminate attention to the parts of the work (i.e. distribution of elements) and of cues that activate selective attention to specific elements in the work of art (i.e. contrast of elements, salient color, central positioning of elements, composition regarding the flow of elements and significant objects). Results support the universality of those dispositions, probably connected with basic competencies that are hard-wired in the nervous system and in the cognitive processes.

Developing a model of innovation implementation for UK SMEs: A path analysis and explanatory case analysis

Continuous large-scale changes in technology and the globalization of markets have resulted in the need for many SMEs to use innovation as a means of seeking competitive advantage where innovation includes both technological and organizational perspectives (Tapscott, 2009). However, there is a paucity of systematic and empirical research relating to the implementation of innovation management in the context of SMEs. The aim of this article is to redress this imbalance via an empirical study created to develop and test a model of innovation implementation in SMEs. This study uses Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to test the plausibility of an innovation model, developed from earlier studies, as the basis of a questionnaire survey of 395 SMEs in the UK. The resultant model and construct relationship results are further probed using an explanatory multiple case analysis to explore ‘how’ and ‘why’ type questions within the model and construct relationships. The findings show that the
effects of leadership, people and culture on innovation implementation are mediated by business improvement activities relating to Total Quality Management/Continuous Improvement (TQM/CI) and product and process developments. It is concluded that SMEs have an opportunity to leverage existing quality and process improvement activities to move beyond continuous
improvement outcomes towards effective innovation implementation. The article concludes by suggesting areas suitable for further research.

Help or hindrance? Supplier involvement and causal ambiguity within inter-organisational NPD teams

Suppliers are increasingly involved in buyer firms’ interorganizational new product development (NPD) teams. Yet the transfer of knowledge within this context may be subject to varying degrees of causal ambiguity, potentially limiting the effect of supplier involvement on performance. We develop a theoretical model exploring the effect of supplier involvement practices on the level of causal ambiguity within interorganizational NPD teams, and the subsequent impact on competitor imitation, new product advantage, and project performance. Our model also serves as a test of the paradox that causal ambiguity both inhibits imitation by competitors, but also adversely affects organisational outcomes. Results from an empirical study of 119 R&D intensive manufacturing firms in the United Kingdom largely support these hypotheses. Results from structural equation modeling show that supplier involvement orientation and long-term commitment lower causal ambiguity within interorganizational NPD teams. In turn, this lower causal ambiguity generates a new product advantage and increases project performance for the buyer firm, but has no significant effect on competitor imitation. Instead, competitor imitation is delayed by the extent to which the firm develops a new product advantage within the market. These results shed light on the causal ambiguity paradox showing that lower causal ambiguity during interorganizational new product development increases both product and project performance, but without reducing barriers to imitation. Product development managers are encouraged to utilize supplier involvement practices to minimise ambiguity in the NPD project, and to target their supplier involvement efforts on solving causally ambiguous technological problems to sustain a competitive advantage.

GERMAN WORKS COUNCILS AND THE ANATOMY OF WAGES

Using matched employer-employee data from the German LIAB for 2001, the authors found that German works councils are in general associated with higher earnings, even after accounting for establishment- and worker heterogeneity. Works Council wage premia exceed those of collective bargaining and are higher, in fact, where both institutions are present in the workplace. The authors also found evidence indicating that works councils benefit women relative to men and appear to favor foreign, east-German, and service-sector workers as well. Separate evidence from quantile regressions suggests that the conjunction of works council presence and collective bargaining is important to the narrowing process. In smaller plants even the presence of a works council markup depends on the coexistence of the works council entity With the machinery of collective bargaining.

New microsatellite markers for Ulva intestinalis (Chlorophyta) and the transferability of markers across species of Ulvaceae

Macroalgal blooms are a growing environmental problem in eutrophicated coastal ecosystems. Members of the green algal genus Ulva are significant contributors to blooms, which are typically dominated by only one of several co-occurring opportunistic species. Our understanding of bloom dynamics, such as the importance of clonality, is limited because previously used genetic markers such as internal transcribed spacer sequences have shown very little resolution. Microsatellites are the marker of choice for such studies, but to date, only five primer pairs have been developed for a single member of this genus, Ulva intestinalis. We have now developed four new microsatellite markers for U. intestinalis using genome screening and restriction-ligation and tested them on individuals from six populations in the Gulf of Finland, Finland. All new markers exhibited polymorphism in U. intestinalis, with the numbers of alleles ranging from 6 to 10. On the basis of assignment tests, F-ST estimates and analysis of molecular variance, there was genetic differentiation among populations. Where significantly different, expected heterozygosity (HE) was higher than observed heterozygosity (Ho), indicating a trend toward heterozygote deficiency. This may indicate that although Ulva spores can disperse relatively efficiently, asexual reproduction can result in genetic differentiation among populations. We also tested the cross-species amplification of our primers and the five primer pairs reported previously on seven species of Ulva, Ulvaria obscura and Unbraulva olivascens (all members of the Ulvaceae). In each species, from five to nine of the loci produced an amplification product, and one to four alleles were discovered at each locus. These markers therefore have great potential for testing hypotheses about the formation and maintenance of multispecies macroalgal blooms.

Technological regimes, Schumpeterian patterns of innovation and firm-level productivity growth

The article investigates the relationships between technological regimes and firm-level productivity performance, and it explores how such a relationship differs in different Schumpeterian patterns of innovation. The analysis makes use of a rich dataset containing data on innovation and other economic characteristics of a large representative sample of Norwegian firms in manufacturing and service industries for the period 1998–2004. First, we decompose TFP growth into technical progress and efficiency changes by means of data envelopment analysis. We then estimate an empirical model that relates these two productivity components to the characteristics of technological regimes and a set of other firm-specific factors. The results indicate that: (i) TFP growth has mainly been achieved through technical progress, while technical efficiency has on average decreased; (ii) the characteristics of technological regimes are important determinants of firm-level productivity growth, but their impacts on technical progress are different from the effects on efficiency change; (iii) the estimated model works differently in the two Schumpeterian regimes. Technical progress has been more dynamic in Schumpeter Mark II industries, while efficiency change has been more important in Schumpeter Mark I markets.

Potential output in a rapidly developing economy: the case of China and a comparison with the United States and the European Union

The authors use a growth accounting framework to examine growth of the rapidly developing Chinese economy. Their findings support the view that, although feasible in the intermediate term, China's recent pattern of extensive growth is not sustainable in the long run. The authors believe that China will be able to sustain a growth rate of 8 to 9 percent for an extended period if it moves from extensive to intensive growth. They next compare potential growth in China with historical developments in the United States and the European Union. They discuss the differences in production structure and level of development across the three economies that may explain the countries' varied intermediate-term growth prospects. Finally, the authors provide an analysis of "green" gross domestic product and the role of natural resources in China's growth. © 2009, The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The Effect of Risk Sensitivity on Collaborative New Product Development in a Supply Chain

The increasing risks and costs of new product development require firms to collaborate with their supply chain partners in product management. In this paper, a supply chain model is proposed with one risk-neutral supplier and one risk-averse manufacturer. The manufacturer has an opportunity to enhance demand by developing a new product, but both the actual demand for new product and the supplier’s wholesale price are uncertain. The supplier has an incentive to share risks of new product development via an advance commitment to wholesale price for its own profit maximization. The effects of the manufacturer’s risk sensitivity on the players’ optimal strategies are analyzed and the trade-off between innovation incentives and pricing flexibility is investigated from the perspective of the supplier. The results highlight the significant role of risk sensitivity in collaborative new product development, and it is found that the manufacturer’s innovation level and retail price are always decreasing in the risk sensitivity, and the supplier prefers commitment to wholesale price only when the risk sensitivity is below a certain threshold.

The use of process simulation methods in support of organisational learning in availability contracting

Traditional business models in the aerospace industry are based on a conventional supplier to customer relationship based on the design, manufacture and subsequent delivery of the physical product. Service provision, from the manufacturer's perspective, is typically limited to the supply of procedural documentation and the provision of spare parts to the end user as the product passes through the latter stages of its intended lifecycle. Challenging economic and political conditions have resulted in end users re-structuring their core business activities, particularly in the defence sector. This has resulted in the need for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to integrate and manage support service activities in partnership with the customer to deliver platform availability. This improves the probability of commercial sustainability for the OEM through shared operational risks while reducing the cost of platform ownership for the customer. The need for OEMs to evolve their design, manufacture and supply strategies by focusing on customer requirements has revealed a need for reconstruction of traditional internal behaviours and design methodologies. Application of organisational learning is now a well recognised principle for innovative companies to achieve long term growth and sustained technical development, and hence, greater market command. It focuses on the process by which the organisation's knowledge and value base changes, leading to improved problem solving ability and capacity for action. From the perspective of availability contracting, knowledge and the processes by which it is generated, used and retained, become primary assets within the learning organisation. This paper will introduce the application of digital methods to asset management by demonstrating how the process of learning can benefit from a digital approach, how product and process design can be integrated within a virtual framework and finally how the approach can be applied in a service context.

The effect of teachers trained in a fundamental movement skills programme on children’s self-perceptions and motor competence

Perceived and actual motor competence are hypothesized to have potential links to children and young people’s physical activity (PA) levels with a potential consequential link to long-term health. In this cross-sectional study, Harter’s (1985, Manual for the Self-perception Profile for Children. Denver, CO: University of Denver) Competency Motivation-based framework was used to explore whether a group of children taught, during curriculum time, by teachers trained in the Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) programme, scored higher on self-perception and on core motor competencies when compared to children whose teachers had not been so trained. One hundred and seventy seven children aged 7–8 years participated in the study. One hundred and seven were taught by FMS-trained teachers (FMS) and the remaining 70 were taught by teachers not trained in the programme (non-FMS). The Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children assessed athletic competence, scholastic competence, global self-worth and social acceptance. Three core components of motor competence (body management, object control and locomotor skills) were assessed via child observation. The FMS group scored higher on all the self-perception domains (p < 0.05). Statistically significant differences were found between the schools on all of the motor tasks (p < 0.05). The relationships between motor performance and self-perception were generally weak and non-significant. Future research in schools and with teachers should explore the FMS programme’s effect on children’s motor competence via a longitudinal approach.

FMRFamide-like peptides in root knot nematodes and their potential role in nematode physiology

FMRFamide-like peptides (FLPs) are a diverse group of neuropeptides that are expressed abundantly in nematodes. They exert potent physiological effects on locomotory, feeding and reproductive musculature and also act as neuromodulators. However, little is known about the specific expression patterns and functions of individual peptides. The current study employed rapid amplification of cDNA ends-polymerase chain reaction (RACE-PCR) to characterize flp genes from infective juveniles of the root knot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita and Meloidogyne minor. The peptides identified from these transcripts are sequelogs of FLPs from the free-living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans; the genes have therefore been designated as Mi-flp-1, Mi-flp-7, Mi-flp-12, Mm-flp-12 and Mi-flp-14. Mi-flp-1 encodes five FLPs with the common C-terminal moiety, NFLRFamide. Mi-flp-7 encodes two copies of APLDRSALVRFamide and APLDRAAMVRFamide and one copy of APFDRSSMVRFamide. Mi-flp-12 and Mm-flp-12 encode the novel peptide KNNKFEFIRFamide (a longer version of RNKFEFIRFamide found in C. elegans). Mi-flp-14 encodes a single copy of KHEYLRFamide (commonly known as AF2 and regarded as the most abundant nematode FLP), and a single copy of the novel peptide KHEFVRFamide. These FLPs share a high degree of conservation between Meloidogyne species and nematodes from other clades, including those of humans and animals, perhaps suggesting a common neurophysiological role which may be exploited by novel drugs. FLP immunoreactivity was observed for the first time in Meloidogyne, in the circumpharyngeal nerve ring, pharyngeal nerves and ventral nerve cord. Additionally, in situ hybridization revealed Mi-flp-12 expression in an RIR-like neuron and Mi-flp-14 expression in SMB-like neurons, respectively. These localizations imply physiological roles for FLP-12 and FLP-14 peptides, including locomotion and sensory perception.