1,720,955 research outputs found
The Efficacy of Lean Manufacturing on Organisational Performance. A Case Study of Zimbabwean Beverages Manufacturing Companies
Full text linkThe impact of Lean Manufacturing (LM) on organisational performance is an ongoing discussion globally. Zimbabwean companies have implemented LM tools for operational performance across various industries. The Beverage industry has also been identified to be focusing on initiatives such as developing products that are less expensive, sell better and faster for it to remain competitive and reclaiming market shares, sales revenue and profitable in today\u27s global market. The primary goal of this study was to determine the efficacy and viability of lean manufacturing processes at Zimbabwean Beverages production plants. The study used a qualitative research methodology, which yielded in-depth, detailed and rich data from human viewpoints and experiences resulting in a realistic understanding that was interpreted using the participants\u27 social and cultural context. A total of thirty participants were purposeful selected based on their knowledge of the phenomenon under investigation. Physical face-to-face interviews, Ms team interviews, and focus groups responded to semi-structured interviews in data collection. Document analysis was used to collect data. The study found out that Zimbabwean Companies have not fully adopted lean manufacturing because of scepticism from management on the cost involved and the fear of losing jobs by the shop floor workers. The study however unearthed that manufacturing companies would benefit from lean manufacturing principles performance. Overwhelming evidence availed was that by implementing lean tools such as JIT methods, the organizations would be able to cut waste, reduce inventory holding costs and develop supplier relationships. TPM and VSM were found to have the potential to improve productivity and quality. The study recommends that suitable training programs should be designed to provide management with knowledge and skills to apply the positive traits to incorporate the lean concept into the organizations. and through buyin from shop floor workforce increase company performance.
Green Branding Influence on Consumer Purchase Intentions on Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) in Zimbabwe
No full textThe increasing information exposure to consumers on products they consume has of late created mixed purchasing decisions and they are continuously advocating for healthier diets and sustainable business practices to the environment. On the other hand, the quest by organisations to satisfy consumer green product needs has unavoidably led to the development of the green branding concept. The main thrust of the study was to determine green branding’s influence on consumer buying intentions of green consumer Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) in Zimbabwe. This is based on the rising influx of green brands on store shelves creating a research gap to validate the authenticity of greenness of these brands using customer purchase intentions. The study was informed by Aaker’s brand equity model. A Descriptive research design was used to test whether green branding has an influence on consumer purchase intentions. Questionnaires were used for data collection. A 5-point Likert-scale with structured questions was used and the instrument reliability scale was 0.788. A sample size of 200 respondents were selected from the entire population and analysis was done using SPSS statistical software. Findings from the study showed that green branding has an influence on consumer purchase intentions of FMCGs in Zimbabwe. This was concluded by various t-tests calculations that were above 2 at 5% level of significance. The highest Alpha value was 0.882 with t-value of 4.289 that was significant at 5%. The study recommended that the major tool for firms to sustainable generate revenue is continuous investment on green brands, delivering their green promises and avoiding green washing
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Social Marketing in Promoting Pro-environmental Behaviour in Not-for Profit Organisations: A Case Study of Conventional Churches in Zimbabwe
Full text linkEnvironmental awareness has become an interesting area of study for organisations since they all strive to contribute to the attainment of sustainable development goals. Social marketing is one of the key strategies that is being harnessed by organisations to promote sustainable consumption and encourage environmental conscious behaviour. This study focused on how conventional churches in Zimbabwe leveraged on social marketing to enhance pro environmental behaviour among their congregates. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and an exploratory research design in data collection through focus group discussions and interviews. As the world becomes more aware of consumerism on the environment, organisations were increasingly focusing on sustainability through promoting pro environmental behaviours among consumers. The findings showed that not–for-profit organisations like churches were aware of environmental issues and the leaders were also promoting the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviour. It was also found that the leaders were using different communication channels to share information related to environmental issues. However, some study participants indicated that the church had nothing to do with the natural environment. It was recommended that the churches needed to partner with other organisations and stakeholders for effective use of social marketing to promote sustainable behaviour.
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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