Managing Manufacturing Operations in the U.K.

This paper describes some of the major findings relating to the management of manufacturing operations which have emerged from survey work originally carried out in conjunction with the British Institute of Management. More detailed follow-up studies are also outlined relating to delivery performance and a particular industrial sector: capital electronics goods. The paper summarises the main results of the original survey based on replies from manufacturing managers in 186 plants (representing 158 companies), relating to the characteristics of the companies surveyed, the personal and career details of the responding managers, the nature of the manufacturing operations carried out in the 186 plants, particularly with regard to customer delivery performance and manufacturing lead times, use of computers and sophisticated techniques in manufacturing, and the control systems used in the initiation of production orders. Finally, calling on data from later studies, an attempt is made to focus attention on the key issues in manufacturing management as they relate to U.K. industrial performance.     

Rethinking the management of flexibility—a study in the aerospace defence industry

The concept of flexibility as a managed performance measure is explored through case research in the aerospace defence industry in the UK and the US. Evidence shows that flexibility is regarded as important but is not explicitly managed and practitioners recognise further opportunities in this field. The nine types of flexibility demanded in this industry are characterised under four groups and prioritised. The priorities depend on the dominant role of the organisation in the extended enterprise, and there are influences based on the difference in market structure between the UK and the US. However, the ability to handle different generations of technology, and the ability to adopt a variety of project roles, are currently the foremost issues. In order to manage these flexibility types more effectively, a business process for flexibility management is proposed together with work on a flexibility–cost model.     

Developments in undergraduate education for operational research in the U.K. since 1965

Until quite recently most courses in Operational Research at Universities in the U.K. have been at postgraduate or post experience level. Entrance requirements have frequently been a degree or equivalent professional qualification, and for some of the more well established and popular courses, industrial experience in addition. An often used argument is that the inter-disciplinary origins and nature of Operational Reseach require those entering the profession to have basic training in some discipline, most commonly reflected in the possession of a degree or professional qualification. Frequently this is a scientific or quantitative subject. Engineering, Mathematics, Economics are common examples.In recent years, however, there has been an increasing trend within Universities to mount undergraduate courses involving substantial portions of material which is taught under the title of Operational Research. This paper looks at this trend in more detail, and the courses themselves are analysed. Some of the reasons for these developments are discussed, their effects on the OR Profession and the Education Sector outlined, and future trends suggested.     

Developing a visioning methodology: Visioning Choices for the future of operational research

This paper describes the development of a participative visioning methodology, Visioning Choices, which is placed within the family of problem structuring methods, due to a range of characteristics and attributes that are discussed. The Visioning Choices methodology was developed in an action research paradigm, and consists of a number of stages. The case study presented describes an application of the methodology to the issue of the future of operational research (OR). More than 200 individuals participated in workshops to outline a desirable future for OR. Earlier work has shown that while the majority of organizations claim to have visions, and that visions are perceived to have an important role in contributing to organizational success, visions are usually developed using informal small group processes, rather than existing formal visioning methodologies. The paper uses coherence and correspondence arguments to reflect on the methodology described, and possible future developments to address issues such facilitation style and participant numbers.     

Models for Water Resource Planning for the U.K. Canal Network

Britain's canals are being used more and more for recreational activities, and in particular pleasure cruising. The British Waterways Board are responsible for licensing boat operators, and in issuing licences the Board has to consider the likely effect on water resources, which are now becoming stretched. There are three basic questions: what level of traffic will be generated if licences are granted; how much water will be needed to sustain this level of traffic; how much water is available, now and in the future? This paper will describe models which have been developed to help answer these questions.     

O.R. and U.K. natural gas depletion strategy

This paper describes two models using operational research techniques to explore alternative strategies for the depletion of U.K. natural gas reserves. The first is a linear programming formulation of the problem of matching annual supply and demand for gas over the indefinite future. The second evaluates the financial implications of the matches produced by the first. The key variables which affect results from the model are discussed as are some of the ways in which results are used. These results have an influence on decisions ranging from detailed peak shaving policy to considerations of national fuel policy and the balance of energy supplies in the U.K. in the longer term.     

An extended enterprise planning methodology for the discrete manufacturing industry

Extended factories consisting of geographically dispersed independent production facilities are already a reality in the global economy. Production facilities concentrate on core technologies and create partner networks for the manufacturing of their products, a trend initially visible in semiconductor manufacturing but quickly spreading to other industries. A methodology, more flexible and efficient than the traditional time-bucket-based techniques and dynamic dispatching heuristics, to plan the Extended Semiconductor Enterprise and schedule work at the different production entities is presented in this paper. The generic approach also opens opportunities for applications in other discrete manufacturing industries. The methodology uses stepwise search procedures to improve plans and make-or-buy decision processes to solve resource constraints. Focus of the paper is principally on resource scheduling and less on logistics and distribution topics.     

Build-1: A disaggregate model of the U.S. electric utility industry

We present a linear programming model of the U.S. electric utility industry which explicitly represents each of the nation's 300 electric utilities and the options each has for meeting demand for electric energy. The model has been designed to estimate how the utility industry would respond to changes in policy or energy markets, especially in the present period of slow growth in demand and limited opportunities for expansion. By estimating the use, upgrading, retrofitting, and retirement of individual generating facilities with known geographical coordinates, the model provides the geographically detailed results needed by models of pollutant transport and other regional environmental impacts.     

Export Performance and Export Policy: Evidence from the U.K. Clothing Industry

This paper examines the relationship between a number of export policy measures and the export sales performance of a sample of companies in the U.K. clothing industry. Policy measures are used first in a discriminant analysis of above- and below-average exporters and, second, to explain a multi-dimensional measure of export performance using canonical correlation. The "jack-knife" technique is used to test the stability of these analyses.     

Defence firms facing liberalization: innovation and export in an agent-based model of the defence industry

The paper presents an agent-based simulation model of the European defence industry. The model resembles some of the key characteristics of the defence sector, and studies how firms in this market will respond to the challenges and opportunities provided by a higher degree of openness and liberalization in the future. The simulation analysis points out that European defence firms will progressively become more efficient, less dependent on public procurement and innovation policy support, and more prone to knowledge sharing and inter-firm collaborations. This firm-level dynamics will in the long-run lead to an increase in the industry’s export propensity and a less concentrated export market.     

A decision support methodology to enhance the competitiveness of the Turkish automotive industry

Three levels of competitiveness affect the success of business enterprises in a globally competitive environment: the competitiveness of the company, the competitiveness of the industry in which the company operates and the competitiveness of the country where the business is located. This study analyses the competitiveness of the automotive industry in association with the national competitiveness perspective using a methodology based on Bayesian Causal Networks. First, we structure the competitiveness problem of the automotive industry through a synthesis of expert knowledge in the light of the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness indicators. Second, we model the relationships among the variables identified in the problem structuring stage and analyse these relationships using a Bayesian Causal Network. Third, we develop policy suggestions under various scenarios to enhance the national competitive advantages of the automotive industry. We present an analysis of the Turkish automotive industry as a case study. It is possible to generalise the policy suggestions developed for the case of Turkish automotive industry to the automotive industries in other developing countries where country and industry competitiveness levels are similar to those of Turkey.     

Developing a performance management system using soft systems methodology: A Chinese case study

The economic crisis created major problems for a successful, hi-tech Chinese company – Tonsan. They already had in place a performance management system based around the balanced scorecard which worked successfully in times of growth and high demand. However, with the world downturn they suddenly found that their current system was not able to cope with the demands placed on it. The authors were called in and decided to design a new, strategic performance management system to overhaul all the key business processes. The approach taken to develop the PM system was based around Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), a well established systems-based approach to problem solving and organizational design. The methodology progressed from the development of key strategic objectives (using the BSC and strategy maps), through a structured decomposition of necessary organizational activities, the construction of key performance indicators, the specification of targets, to communication and future planning. It involved significant levels of participation and communication throughout the organization. The results were judged by senior management to have been very successful, and the company has grown significantly.     

An Econometric Approach to Short-Run Analysis of the U.K. Economy, 1955-66

The structural approach to economic forecasting differs from familiar models based on the classical analysis of time series in that it requires the specification and estimation of the inter-relationships that are taken to represent economic structure. The first part of the paper deals briefly and rapidly with some of the problems encountered in specifying and estimating such structural models. The second part deals with the applications of such models and their implications for forecasting and policy analysis. These sections are intended to be fairly allusive and preparatory to the main body of the paper which discusses a specific example of a simple econometric model of the U.K. economy constructed at the London Business School. The model is described in terms of its structural relationships, and the results of some simulation work are presented. The paper concludes with some general evaluation of the approach in the light of the specific illustration discussed.     

On the (U+K)-orbits of certain weighted shifts

D. A. Herrero has defined the (U+K)-orbit of an operatorT acting on an Hilbert space as (U+K)(T)={R ^–1 TR: R invertible of the form unitary plus compact}. In this paper we consider the (U+K)-orbit and the closure thereof for bilateral and unilateral weighted shifts. In particular, we determine which shifts are in the (U+K)-orbits of injective weighted shifts and which shifts are in the closure of the (U+K)-orbit of periodic injective shifts. Also, the closure of the (U+K)-orbit of injective essentially normal shifts is determined.Research supported in part by an NSERC operating grant.     

Changing behaviours in defence acquisition: a game theory approach

Why do so many major defence contracts fail to deliver to the contractually agreed performance, time and cost requirements? This paper identifies the conspiracy of optimism as an important factor in the initiation of many projects. Using a combination of Game Theory and participatory workshops, we formulate a theory on the conspiracy of optimism and test it experimentally. This work forms part of a culture and behaviour change initiative within Defence Acquisition involving the Ministry of Defence and many defence contractors.