29 research outputs found
Strategies for agility: an evolutionary and configurational approach
No full textConfigurational theory can significantly enhance understanding of organisational strategy and diversity. Despite this, there have been limited efforts to examine the value and utility of configurational research as a method for realising manufacturing strategies. This paper introduces a strategic management framework based on configurational theory and an evolutionary classification method (cladistics). Focusing on agile manufacturing concepts, the framework provides a system for collecting and organising information on manufacturing routines and capabilities. This facilitates the processes of strategic analysis, strategic choice and strategic information
The evolution of drug discovery strategies
No full textThe modem pharmaceutical organisation is driven by the need to discover, develop and market innovative pharmaceutical products. Key to this mission is the process of drug discovery that involves allocating vast resources to (i) identify appropriate target diseases, (ii) discover and confirm appropriate solutions, (iii) clinically develop and legally approve the solution, for (iv) manufacture and supply of the product.
Historically the drug discovery process was led by curiosity and pure research, but today it is akin to a factory system that conducts mass volume, applied and market focused research This change in focus has also been companied by numerous advancements in science, technology and market expectations As will be shown and verified in this thesis, there is relatively little in the way of existing literature and studies that focus on drug discovery strategies, and what does exist is fragmented across a number of disciplines including technology management, chemistry, automation, marketing, knowledge management and strategy.
With this background, the aim of this thesis is to make a contribution that includes understanding and defining the concept of drug discovery as a strategy, and exploring how such strategies change through time. Within management and organisational literature, there is a body of knowledge that seeks to understand how and why organisations develop different strategies and organisational forms. This thesis adopts this evolutionary and classification paradigm to examine, define and classify the different strategies that exist to discover drugs In particular, four requirements of evolution (existence in populations, the process of variation, the process of heredity, and the process of selection) are identified and translated into a strategic management and drug discovery context to create four testable hypotheses. These are:
1. There are similar drug discovery strategies employed by different organisations to form populations whose (the population’s) size follows a concave pattern of growth and decline.
2. Within a drug discovery population, there are strategies that differ to each other in terms of their characteristics and their fitness.
3. Those characteristics of drug discovery strategies credited with successful drug discovery performance are likely to appear in future strategic configurations, while those characteristics that are not, are likely to be absent.
4 With a change in the environmental conditions those drug discovery strategies that remain, are the ones whose strategic characteristics are favoured by the environment.
To address these hypotheses a business historical study is conducted using data that investigates how the pharmaceutical industry has evolved in terms of technology, knowledge, human capital and the surrounding environment. The result is an evolutionary classification that has been constructed using the cladistic method. This classification provides a system of information, evidence and assumptions that is the basis for testing the four hypotheses. The classification also provides a framework that integrates and presents the key contributions to knowledge made by this thesis:
These include:
• The creation of a definition for drug discovery strategy
• The identification of the factors that influence the change of drug discovery strategies
The creation of an evolutionary classification that identifies and arranges different types of drug discovery strategy, and reveals the characteristics of the fittest. The validation of evolution as a process for understanding change in drug discovery strategies
The evolution of drug discovery strategies
No full textEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
Intra-operative assessment of toric intra-ocular lens implantation
No full textWe report a new procedure for intra-operative toric intra-ocular lens (IOL) axis assessment in order to achieve optimal implantation. IOL implantation procedure was directly recorded. An assessor estimated the angle formed by the marked 0-180 axis and the toric IOL axis after implantation with the use of the appropriate software. If IOL implantation was assessed to be inaccurate, the surgeon was advised to correct IOL positioning by rotating the IOL clockwise. The assessment procedure was repeated until accurate IOL positioning was achieved
Supply Chain Integration Configurations: Process Structure and Product Newness
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the configurations of supply chain integration.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors use qualitative data from manufacturers shortlisted for the UK’s Manufacturing Excellence awards over three years. Detailed processes and policies of 68 manufacturers are analysed.
Findings – Process structure and product newness require different supply chain configurations, which change as products mature. Supply chain integration is dynamic, and the extent of collaboration between suppliers and customers will be different at different moments in time. The authors define and discuss four key supply chain configurations: customised; ramp-up; recurring; coordinated.
Research limitations/implications – Future studies on supply chain integration should be controlled for the variation in the configurations. A limitation is the use of data which were derived for an award. The paper explains how the authors have mitigated the associated risks.
Practical implications – The configuration of integration will change as the manufacturing plant becomes more familiar with a product. Additionally, different suppliers may provide better support at different stages of a product’s lifecycle. To yield better performance, supply chain integration would need to take different forms. Efforts to integrate with suppliers should not be avoided as, when certain conditions are met, integration can lead to improved performance.
Originality/value – The authors have identified manufacturers’ main process structures and products’ newness as two strategic characteristics that differentiate integration approaches with customers and suppliers, and defined four integration configurations. To the authors’ knowledge this is the first study to argue that these also define the configuration of supply chain integration
Drivers and Barriers of Lean Implementation in the Greek Manufacturing Sector
No full textLean manufacturing has evolved from a set of tools and techniques to become a management philosophy. It can be used to reduce waste and improve the efficiency of companies. Many companies worldwide have implemented lean management and achieved great improvements. The present paper focuses on the lean manufacturing implementation within the Greek manufacturing sector. The purpose is to determine the extent to which the main principles of lean manufacturing are understood and adopted in Greek manufacturing sector companies. Also this paper aims to assess the importance of the driving factors and barriers towards implementing lean manufacturing in the Greek environment. A structured questionnaire was developed and circulated to a large number of Greek manufacturing companies. Based on the literature review and questionnaire findings, the degree of implementing lean manufacturing in Greece is assessed and discussed against literature review findings
Understanding the link between IS capabilities and cost performance in services: The mediating role of supplier integration
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the link between information systems (IS) capabilities, supplier integration, and cost performance in the service context. Specifically, it empirically investigates how supplier integration meditates the relationship between three dimensions of IS capabilities and cost performance in service firms. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 156 UK service firms was conducted and the data analyzed to determine the role of supplier integration in mediating the effects of IS capabilities on firms’ cost performance. The research model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM), and the neural network model was used to rank the relative influence of significant predictors obtained from SEM. Findings – The results confirmed that supplier integration fully mediates the effects of IT for supply chain activities and flexible IT infrastructure on cost performance, and partially mediates the effect of operations manager’s IT knowledge on cost performance. The results showed that operations manager’s IT knowledge is the strongest predictor of supplier integration. Originality – This study takes a step towards quelling concerns about the business value of IS, contributing to the development and validation of the measurement of IS capabilities in the service supply chain context. Additionally, it adds to the emerging body of literature linking supplier integration to operational performance of service firms
