Leadership and management research in Africa:a synthesis and suggestions for future research

Although we are aware of some positive cases of leadership and management emerging on the African continent, very little empirical or theoretical work has addressed leadership and management in Africa. This raises a challenge for African nations in that ultimately a country's economic performance is contingent on the effectiveness of its leadership and management practices that serve to unlock the potential of its workforce to effectively implement the strategic goals of organizations. Against the backdrop of an increasingly knowledge-dependent global marketplace, the centrality of leadership and effective management systems as drivers of individual and organization performance has never been more critical. This special section brings together a compendium of papers that advances the science of leadership and management within the African context. Our principle goal was to examine what is unique, what generalizes, and what does not generalize from the West and East to Africa, as well as within different regions of Africa and then offer ideas to guide future research and practice. The papers in this section provide a broad and indeed innovative approach to studying leadership and management in Africa by including historical, philosophical, economic, and socio-political perspectives, as part of the analyses of leadership and management in the African context. Our editorial provides an integration of this work and a launching point for some audacious goals for future leadership and management science and practice in Africa and beyond. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Quality Assurance in Extreme Programming

Our previous research about possible quality improvements in Extreme Programming (XP) led us to a conclusion that XP supports many good engineering practices but there is still place for refinements. Our proposal was to add dedicated Quality Assurance (QA) measures, which should be sufficiently effective and at the same time simpler enough in the context of XP. This paper intends to analyze the possibilities for an effective way for applying approved quality assurance practices to XP. The last should not affect negatively to the process and in the meantime must lead to better quality assurance. We aim to make changes to XP that even if would slow down a bit the development process, will make it more suitable for widest range of projects including large and very large projects as well as life critical and highly reliable systems.

Cognitive Approach in Castings’ Quality Control

Every year production volume of castings grows, especially grows production volume of non-ferrous metals, thanks to aluminium. As a result, requirements to castings quality also increase. Foundry men from all over the world put all their efforts to manage the problem of casting defects. In this article the authors present an approach based on the use of cognitive models that help to visualize inner cause-and-effect relations leading to casting defects in the foundry process. The cognitive models mentioned comprise a diverse network of factors and their relations, which together thoroughly describe all the details of the foundry process and their influence on the appearance of castings’ defects and other aspects.. Moreover, the article contains an example of a simple die casting model and results of simulation. Implementation of the proposed method will help foundry men reveal the mechanism and the main reasons of casting defects formation.

Decision-making in product quality based on failure knowledge

Decision-making in product quality is an indispensable stage in product development, in order to reduce product development risk. Based on the identification of the deficiencies of quality function deployment (QFD) and failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), a novel decision-making method is presented that draws upon a knowledge network of failure scenarios. An ontological expression of failure scenarios is presented together with a framework of failure knowledge network (FKN). According to the roles of quality characteristics (QCs) in failure processing, QCs are set into three categories namely perceptible QCs, restrictive QCs, and controllable QCs, which present the monitor targets, control targets and improvement targets respectively for quality management. A mathematical model and algorithms based on the analytic network process (ANP) is introduced for calculating the priority of QCs with respect to different development scenarios. A case study is provided according to the proposed decision-making procedure based on FKN. This methodology is applied in the propeller design process to solve the problem of prioritising QCs. This paper provides a practical approach for decision-making in product quality. Copyright © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Incorporating Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) practices into the planning context:the conceptual case for lot-scale developments

In recent decades, a number of sustainable strategies and polices have been created to protect and preserve our water environments from the impacts of growing communities. The Australian approach, Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), defined as the integration of urban planning and design with the urban water cycle management, has made considerable advances on design guidelines since 2000. WSUD stormwater management systems (e.g. wetlands, bioretentions, porous pavement etc), also known as Best Management Practices (BMPs) or Low Impact Development (LID), are slowly gaining popularity across Australia, the USA and Europe. There have also been significant improvements in how to model the performance of the WSUD technologies (e.g. MUSIC software). However, the implementation issues of these WSUD practices are mainly related to ongoing institutional capacity. Some of the key problems are associated with a limited awareness of urban planners and designers; in general, they have very little knowledge of these systems and their benefits to the urban environments. At the same time, hydrological engineers should have a better understanding of building codes and master plans. The land use regulations are equally as important as the physical site conditions for determining opportunities and constraints for implementing WSUD techniques. There is a need for procedures that can make a better linkage between urban planners and WSUD engineering practices. Thus, this paper aims to present the development of a general framework for incorporating WSUD technologies into the site planning process. The study was applied to lot-scale in the Melbourne region, Australia. Results show the potential space available for fitting WSUD elements, according to building requirements and different types of housing densities. © 2011 WIT Press.

Combined quality function deployment and logical framework analysis to improve quality of emergency care in Malta

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated patient-focused analytical framework to improve quality of care in accident and emergency (A&E) unit of a Maltese hospital. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a case study approach. First, a thorough literature review has been undertaken to study the various methods of healthcare quality management. Second, a healthcare quality management framework is developed using combined quality function deployment (QFD) and logical framework approach (LFA). Third, the proposed framework is applied to a Maltese hospital to demonstrate its effectiveness. The proposed framework has six steps, commencing with identifying patients’ requirements and concluding with implementing improvement projects. All the steps have been undertaken with the involvement of the concerned stakeholders in the A&E unit of the hospital. Findings – The major and related problems being faced by the hospital under study were overcrowding at A&E and shortage of beds, respectively. The combined framework ensures better A&E services and patient flow. QFD identifies and analyses the issues and challenges of A&E and LFA helps develop project plans for healthcare quality improvement. The important outcomes of implementing the proposed quality improvement programme are fewer hospital admissions, faster patient flow, expert triage and shorter waiting times at the A&E unit. Increased emergency consultant cover and faster first significant medical encounter were required to start addressing the problems effectively. Overall, the combined QFD and LFA method is effective to address quality of care in A&E unit. Practical/implications – The proposed framework can be easily integrated within any healthcare unit, as well as within entire healthcare systems, due to its flexible and user-friendly approach. It could be part of Six Sigma and other quality initiatives. Originality/value – Although QFD has been extensively deployed in healthcare setup to improve quality of care, very little has been researched on combining QFD and LFA in order to identify issues, prioritise them, derive improvement measures and implement improvement projects. Additionally, there is no research on QFD application in A&E. This paper bridges these gaps. Moreover, very little has been written on the Maltese health care system. Therefore, this study contributes demonstration of quality of emergency care in Malta.

Pyroligneous acid:a farmer’s flexible friend?

This article is a review of the findings of key studies into the potential benefits of pyroligneous acid, arising from charcoal production, to the agricultural industry. Through a review of bioassay studies conducted on known plant and human pathogens (e.g., Agrobacterium tumefacien and Xanthomonas campestris) and arthropods, and germination studies on selected crops, the article highlights a number of potential benefits of smoke recovery in the production of charcoal. In addition, the article calls for further research into the impact, if any, of its long-term use on environmental receptors/humans and for the development of a methodology to guarantee consistency in product composition, quality, and efficacy. In doing so, it is hoped that its widespread use as part of sustainable management practices adopted in the agricultural industry will be secured.

Understanding and improving the manufacturing and changeover process in Saudi Arabian business - a multiple case study approach

The importance of the changeover process in the manufacturing industry is becoming widely recognised. Changeover is a complete process of changing between the manufacture of one product to manufacture of an alternative product until specified production and quality rates are reached. The initiatives to improve changeover exist in industry, as better changeover process typically contribute to improved quality performance. A high-quality and reliable changeover process can be achieved through implementation of continuous or radical improvements. This research examines the changeover process of Saudi Arabian manufacturing firms because Saudi Arabia’s government is focused on the expansion of GDP and increasing the number of export manufacturing firms. Furthermore, it is encouraging foreign manufacturing firms to invest within Saudi Arabia. These initiatives, therefore, require that Saudi manufacturing businesses develop the changeover practice in order to compete in the market and achieve the government’s objectives. Therefore, the aim of this research is to discover the current status of changeover process implementation in Saudi Arabian manufacturing businesses. To achieve this aim, the main objective of this research is to develop a conceptual model to understand and examine the effectiveness of the changeover process within Saudi Arabian manufacturing firms, facilitating identification of those activities that affect the reliability and high-quality of the process. In order to provide a comprehensive understanding of this area, this research first explores the concept of quality management and its relationship to firm performance and the performance of manufacturing changeover. An extensive body of literature was reviewed on the subject of lean manufacturing and changeover practice. A research conceptual model was identified based on this review, and focus was on providing high-quality and reliable manufacturing changeover processes during set-up in a dynamic environment. Exploratory research was conducted in sample Saudi manufacturing firms to understand the features of the changeover process within the manufacturing sector, and as a basis for modifying the proposed conceptual model. Qualitative research was employed in the study with semi-structured interviews, direct observations and documentation in order to understand the real situation such as actual daily practice and current status of changeover process in the field. The research instrument, the Changeover Effectiveness Assessment Tool (CEAT) was developed to evaluate changeover practices. A pilot study was conducted by examining the CEAT, proposed for the main research. Consequently, the conceptual model was modified and CEAT was improved in response to the pilot study findings. Case studies have been conducted within eight Saudi manufacturing businesses. These case studies assessed the implementation of manufacturing changeover practice in the lighting and medical products sectors. These two sectors were selected based on their operation strategy which was batch production as well as the fact that they fulfilled the research sampling strategy. The outcomes of the research improved the conceptual model, ultimately to facilitate the firms’ adoption and rapid implementation of a high-quality and reliability changeover during the set-up process. The main finding of this research is that Quality’s factors were considering the lowest levels comparing to the other factors which are People, Process and Infrastructure. This research contributes to enable Saudi businesses to implement the changeover process by adopting the conceptual model. In addition, the guidelines for facilitating implementation were provided in this thesis. Therefore, this research provides insight to enable the Saudi manufacturing industry to be more responsive to rapidly changing customer demands.

Parenting a child with chronic illness as they transition into adulthood:a systematic review and thematic synthesis of parents’ experiences

Objective - To understand how parents view and experience their role as their child with a long-term physical health condition transitions to adulthood and adult healthcare services. Methods - Five databases were systematically searched for qualitative articles examining parents’ views and experiences of their child’s healthcare transition. Papers were quality assessed and thematically synthesised. Results - Thirty-two papers from six countries, spanning a 17-year period were included. Long-term conditions were diverse. Findings indicated that parents view their child’s progression toward self-care as an incremental process which they seek to facilitate through up-skilling them in self-management practices. Parental perceptions of their child’s readiness, wellness, competence and long-term condition impacted on the child’ progression to healthcare autonomy. A lack of transitional healthcare and differences between paediatric and adult services served as barriers to effective transition. Parents were required to adjust their role, responsibilities and behaviour to support their child’s growing independence. Conclusion - Parents can be key facilitators of their child’s healthcare transition, supporting them to become experts in their own condition and care. To do so, they require clarification on their role and support from service providers. Practice Implications - Interventions are needed which address the transitional care needs of parents as well as young people.

Vezetéstörténeti paradigmák fejlődése Japánban (About the Origins of Japanese Management)

A tanulmány a japán vállalatvezetés kialakulásával, történelmi és társadalmi gyökereivel, valamint intézményesülésének vizsgálatával foglalkozik. Első részében a szerző áttekinti, milyen főbb földrajzi és történelmi tényezők, körülmények játszottak szerepet a japán vezetési gyakorlat formálódásában. Ezt követően egy meghatározott történelmi idősíkon követi nyomon az amerikai menedzsmenttörténet egyes korszakainak megfelelő japán változásokat, vállalatvezetési reakciókat – kezdve a klasszikus menedzsment tanaitól (taylorizmus, racionalizálás...) egészen a mai kor globális versenye által támasztott követelményekig. Rámutat arra, mikor és miért késtek fontos váltások Japánban a vállalatvezetésben élenjáró Amerikához képest, majd értékeli ennek elméleti és gyakorlati jelentőségét. Szándéka szerint ez a történelmi áttekintés képez alapot napjaink Japánnal kapcsolatos gazdasági-társadalmi eseményeinek, reformjainak értékeléséhez is. ____ This paper describes the development, the roots and the process of institutionalization of corporate management in Japan. In the first half the author will look at what major geographical factors and cultural characteristics could play a role in shaping the Japanese management practices. Then, along a historical time line, he scrolls through the Japanese reactions given to each of the major American historical eras: from the classical management (Taylorism, rationalization...) up to the challenges of today’s global competition. It is pointed out where paradigm shifts were delayed compared to the US, and while providing potential reasons, the author evaluates the significance of the differences. This historical comparison ought to provide a basis and scope of understanding for today’s events and ongoing reforms in Japan.

A tudásérték meghatározása minőségügyi szempontból, hálózatelemzési módszerekkel (The knowledge value in terms of quality with network analysis methods)

A minőségügy egyik kulcsfeladata, hogy azonosítsa az értékteremtés szempontjából kritikus tényezőket, meghatározza ezek értékét, valamint intézkedjen negatív hatásuk megelőzése és csökkentése érdekében. Az értékteremtés sok esetben folyamatokon keresztül történik, amelyek tevékenységekből, elvégzendő feladatokból állnak. Ezekhez megfelelő munkatársak kellenek, akiknek az egyik legfontosabb jellemzője az általuk birtokolt tudás. Mindezek alapján a feladat-tudás-erőforrás kapcsolatrendszer ismerete és kezelése minőségügyi feladat is. A komplex rendszerek elemzésével foglalkozó hálózatkutatás eszközt biztosíthat ehhez, ezért indokolt a minőségügyi területen történő alkalmazhatóságának vizsgálata. Az alkalmazási lehetőségek rendszerezése érdekében a szerzők kategorizálták a minőségügyi hálózatokat az élek (kapcsolatok) és a csúcsok (hálózati pontok) típusai alapján. Ezt követően definiálták a multimodális (több különböző csúcstípusból álló) tudáshálózatot, amely a feladatokból, az erőforrásokból, a tudáselemekből és a közöttük lévő kapcsolatokból épül fel. A hálózat segítségével kategóriákba sorolták a tudáselemeket, valamint a fokszámok alapján meghatározták értéküket. A multimodális hálózatból képzett tudáselem-hálózatban megadták az összefüggő csoportok jelentését, majd megfogalmaztak egy összefüggést a tudáselem-elvesztés kockázatának meghatározására. _______ The aims of quality management are to identify those factors that have significant influence on value production, qualify or quantify them, and make preventive and corrective actions in order to reduce their negative effects. The core elements of value production are processes and tasks, along with workforce having the necessary knowledge to work. For that reason the task-resource-knowledge structure is pertinent to quality management. Network science provides methods to analyze complex systems; therefore it seems reasonable to study the use of tools of network analysis in association with quality management issues. First of all the authors categorized quality networks according to the types of nodes (vertices) and links (edges or arcs). Focusing on knowledge management, they defined the multimodal knowledge network, consisting of tasks, resources, knowledge items and their interconnections. Based on their degree, network nodes can be categorized and their value can be quantified. Derived from the multimodal network knowledge-item network is to be created, where the meaning of cohesive subgroups is defined. Eventually they proposed a formula for determining the risk of knowledge loss.

Stratégiai paradigmaváltás szervezeti verseny(képesség) és az Operations management központi szerepe (Central role of strategic paradigm change, corporate competitiveness and operations management)

Az elmúlt két évtized folyamán a menedzserek megtanultak a megújult szabályok szerint játszani. Tudatosították, hogy a vállalatuk eredményes navigálásához folyamatosan figyelniük és adaptálniuk kell a legújabb módszereket, elméleteket. Jelen tanulmányával a szerző ezt a folyamatot kívánja segíteni, valamint arra az alapvető kérdésre keresi a választ, hogy érdemes-e a rendkívül gyorsan változó világban hosszabb távú célok meghatározásával foglalkozni, és ha igen, akkor mire összpontosítsák a vállalatok erőfeszítéseiket. Milyen részletezettséggel, milyen módon határozzák meg az elképzeléseiket úgy, hogy közben megőrizzék a vállalat flexibilitását, a változások idején nélkülözhetetlen agilitást. A szerző arra vállalkozik, hogy feltárja a stratégiai paradigmaváltás fejlődését, a termelési stratégia, az operations management központi meghatározó szereppé válását, valamint áttekintse a termelési és szolgáltatási rendszervezetés (OM) elveinek, eszközeinek, módszereinek fejlődését, kölcsönhatását, összefüggéseit. _______ Change of paradigm has taken place in strategic planning. Fight for position turned into a fight of movement. Companies strive to achieve individual, not copyable organizational performance, as well as to realize their business strategies by means of value generating, proactive approach. Operative management now placed in the focus of production strategy is becoming the compass, the driving force of leadership. The management of production and service systems has grown into independent scientific disciplines. It yielded such principles, tools and methods which are present as world-renowned blueprints (scientific tools) in the field of maintaining and developing corporate performance. In the present study the author specifies and discusses the tools of operative management as criteria of value generation aiming at quality and cost efficiency. He analyses the backto- back character, interrelationship of quality, TQM (Total Quality Management), TPS (Toyota Production System) and JIT (Just in Time). He examines the effects thereof on corporate performance where significant and strong relationship can be demonstrated in case there is an ability to plan and develop new products. The current new OM (Operations Management) techniques increasingly rely upon the quality of human resources, the permanent improvement of procedures as well as focusing on tight cooperation with suppliers/customers. Supply chain management, core competence management, service management now represent a “new generation” of the OM methods, processes, serving at the same time as basis and starting point for expectable future techniques as well.

Civil service reform trends in public personnel management: Experiences from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas

This study has explored the potential for implementing a merit-based public personnel system in The Bahamas, a former British colony in The Commonwealth Caribbean. Specifically, the study evaluated the use of merit-based public personnel management practices in areas of recruitment, selection, promotion, training and employee development and performance evaluation. Driving forces and barriers which impact merit system successes and failures as well as strategies for institutionalizing merit system practices are identified. Finally the study attempted to apply the developmental model created by Klingner (1996) to describe the stage of public personnel management in The Bahamas. The data for the study was collected through in-depth interviews with expert observers. ^

Human impacts on pig frog (Rana grylio) populations in south Florida wetlands: Harvest, water management and mercury contamination

This study investigated how harvest and water management affected the ecology of the Pig Frog, Rana grylio. It also examined how mercury levels in leg muscle tissue vary spatially across the Everglades. Rana grylio is an intermediate link in the Everglades food web. Although common, this inconspicuous species can be affected by three forms of anthropogenic disturbance: harvest, water management and mercury contamination. This frog is harvested both commercially and recreationally for its legs, is aquatic and thus may be susceptible to water management practices, and can transfer mercury throughout the Everglades food web. ^ This two-year study took place in three major regions: Everglades National Park (ENP), Water Conservation Areas 3A (A), and Water Conservation Area 3B (B). The study categorized the three sites by their relative harvest level and hydroperiod. During the spring of 2001, areas of the Everglades dried completely. On a regional and local scale Pig Frog abundance was highest in Site A, the longest hydroperiod, heavily harvested site, followed by ENP and B. More frogs were found along survey transects and in capture-recapture plots before the dry-down than after the dry-down in Sites ENP and B. Individual growth patterns were similar across all sites, suggesting differences in body size may be due to selective harvest. Frogs from Site A, the flooded and harvested site, had no differences in survival rates between adults and juveniles. Site B populations shifted from a juvenile to adult dominated population after the dry-down. Dry-downs appeared to affect survival rates more than harvest. ^ Total mercury in frog leg tissue was highest in protected areas of Everglades National Park with a maximum concentration of 2.3 mg/kg wet mass where harvesting is prohibited. Similar spatial patterns in mercury levels were found among pig frogs and other wildlife throughout parts of the Everglades. Pig Frogs may be transferring substantial levels of mercury to other wildlife species in ENP. ^ In summary, although it was found that abundance and survival were reduced by dry-down, lack of adult size classes in Site A, suggest harvest also plays a role in regulating population structure. ^

Framework for enterprise systems engineering

This research aimed at developing a research framework for the emerging field of enterprise systems engineering (ESE). The framework consists of an ESE definition, an ESE classification scheme, and an ESE process. This study views an enterprise as a system that creates value for its customers. Thus, developing the framework made use of system theory and IDEF methodologies. This study defined ESE as an engineering discipline that develops and applies systems theory and engineering techniques to specification, analysis, design, and implementation of an enterprise for its life cycle. The proposed ESE classification scheme breaks down an enterprise system into four elements. They are work, resources, decision, and information. Each enterprise element is specified with four system facets: strategy, competency, capacity, and structure. Each element-facet combination is subject to the engineering process of specification, analysis, design, and implementation, to achieve its pre-specified performance with respect to cost, time, quality, and benefit to the enterprise. This framework is intended for identifying research voids in the ESE discipline. It also helps to apply engineering and systems tools to this emerging field. It harnesses the relationships among various enterprise aspects and bridges the gap between engineering and management practices in an enterprise. The proposed ESE process is generic. It consists of a hierarchy of engineering activities presented in an IDEF0 model. Each activity is defined with its input, output, constraints, and mechanisms. The output of an ESE effort can be a partial or whole enterprise system design for its physical, managerial, and/or informational layers. The proposed ESE process is applicable to a new enterprise system design or an engineering change in an existing system. The long-term goal of this study aims at development of a scientific foundation for ESE research and development.