Pub Date : 1994-10-17DOI: 10.1109/IEMC.1994.379908
S.C. Kitsopoulos
The R&D division of a major high-tech firm was dramatically "reengineered" in order to adapt to a changed environment and intensified global competition. The number of hierarchical levels was reduced, two-way communication was enhanced and all employees were empowered to develop their own initiative instead of awaiting orders from above. The transition from the old "imperial" approach to the management of technical people to the modern "participative" way was successfully accomplished over a period of three years. It was coupled with the parallel transition from the strongly technology-focussed corporate culture to a more customer-oriented one.<>
{"title":"Employee empowerment in the high-tech R&D environment: a case study of successful \"reengineering\"","authors":"S.C. Kitsopoulos","doi":"10.1109/IEMC.1994.379908","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMC.1994.379908","url":null,"abstract":"The R&D division of a major high-tech firm was dramatically \"reengineered\" in order to adapt to a changed environment and intensified global competition. The number of hierarchical levels was reduced, two-way communication was enhanced and all employees were empowered to develop their own initiative instead of awaiting orders from above. The transition from the old \"imperial\" approach to the management of technical people to the modern \"participative\" way was successfully accomplished over a period of three years. It was coupled with the parallel transition from the strongly technology-focussed corporate culture to a more customer-oriented one.<<ETX>>","PeriodicalId":200747,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference - IEMC '94","volume":"58 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1994-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131530177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1994-10-17DOI: 10.1109/IEMC.1994.379953
B. Simpson
In order to become and remain competitive, organizations across America are moving away from traditional hierarchical management toward a network of small work teams. Recent surveys suggest that as many as 80% of American businesses now have one or more work teams in place. Such teams, dedicated to the continuous improvement of their piece of the business, have the potential of becoming the primary unit of performance in these new corporate systems. Many self-directed, problem solving and cross-functional teams are producing dramatic results in quality, productivity and speed. Far too many, however, are failing to realize their potential. Some never seem to get off the ground while others plateau or even drop off in performance after a promising start. For many organizations, keeping the momentum going is even more of a challenge than getting them started in the first place. Based on the author's experience in training and developing high performance teams, this paper identifies the three major factors that contribute to team performance. Additionally, it describes fifteen characteristics that must be addressed in order for work teams to reach their performance potential. Using these characteristics as a checklist can be helpful when establishing new work teams. But they may be even more useful when attempting to determine why existing work teams have leveled off or even decreased in performance.<>
{"title":"Moving work teams to the next level","authors":"B. Simpson","doi":"10.1109/IEMC.1994.379953","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMC.1994.379953","url":null,"abstract":"In order to become and remain competitive, organizations across America are moving away from traditional hierarchical management toward a network of small work teams. Recent surveys suggest that as many as 80% of American businesses now have one or more work teams in place. Such teams, dedicated to the continuous improvement of their piece of the business, have the potential of becoming the primary unit of performance in these new corporate systems. Many self-directed, problem solving and cross-functional teams are producing dramatic results in quality, productivity and speed. Far too many, however, are failing to realize their potential. Some never seem to get off the ground while others plateau or even drop off in performance after a promising start. For many organizations, keeping the momentum going is even more of a challenge than getting them started in the first place. Based on the author's experience in training and developing high performance teams, this paper identifies the three major factors that contribute to team performance. Additionally, it describes fifteen characteristics that must be addressed in order for work teams to reach their performance potential. Using these characteristics as a checklist can be helpful when establishing new work teams. But they may be even more useful when attempting to determine why existing work teams have leveled off or even decreased in performance.<<ETX>>","PeriodicalId":200747,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference - IEMC '94","volume":"58 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1994-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134447011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1994-10-17DOI: 10.1109/IEMC.1994.379959
S. Kitsopoulos
The ability to innovate is one of the main factors that distinguish successfully led enterprises from mediocre ones. Innovation depends on the application of individual and team creativity to the task at hand. Creativity in the team depends on open communication as well as understanding of ourselves and our diversity. We present fresh insights into the essence of interpersonal communication, borrowing partly from sociobiology, a field that is not familiar to many managers. We discuss people diversity in a way that cuts through the traditional barriers of culture, race, ethnicity, language etc., based on the Myers-Briggs (Jungian) psychological typology. The influence of type on communication and teamwork is pervasive but not well understood. We then look at creativity as a process and reveal the intimate connections between this process on one hand and communication and diversity on the other. An important ingredient of effective leadership is understanding the process of creativity and learning how to overcome or by pass obstacles in its way. Embracing of these insights by the managers of technology-based enterprises leads to a more effective and satisfying teamwork and, ultimately, to better bottom-line results for the company.<>
{"title":"Leadership connections: communication, diversity and creativity","authors":"S. Kitsopoulos","doi":"10.1109/IEMC.1994.379959","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMC.1994.379959","url":null,"abstract":"The ability to innovate is one of the main factors that distinguish successfully led enterprises from mediocre ones. Innovation depends on the application of individual and team creativity to the task at hand. Creativity in the team depends on open communication as well as understanding of ourselves and our diversity. We present fresh insights into the essence of interpersonal communication, borrowing partly from sociobiology, a field that is not familiar to many managers. We discuss people diversity in a way that cuts through the traditional barriers of culture, race, ethnicity, language etc., based on the Myers-Briggs (Jungian) psychological typology. The influence of type on communication and teamwork is pervasive but not well understood. We then look at creativity as a process and reveal the intimate connections between this process on one hand and communication and diversity on the other. An important ingredient of effective leadership is understanding the process of creativity and learning how to overcome or by pass obstacles in its way. Embracing of these insights by the managers of technology-based enterprises leads to a more effective and satisfying teamwork and, ultimately, to better bottom-line results for the company.<<ETX>>","PeriodicalId":200747,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference - IEMC '94","volume":"91 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1994-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128327498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1994-10-17DOI: 10.1109/IEMC.1994.379899
C. Chakraborty
General public concern about the strength of American manufacturing has lead to a consensus on the importance of the role of high-technology. With a time series data set on inputs and output of the high-technology sector for the period 1967-1982, this paper identifies the special features of this sector in terms of: (1) the sources of its output growth; (2) the substitution possibilities among its resource inputs; and (3) the nature and bias of its technical change. Output growth and its decomposed sources were studied by exploiting a conventional growth equation. The decomposition of the growth equation indicated that real growth in high-technology production took place during the business cycle 1973-1979 and that material and capital explained most of the output growth for the overall study period; the contributions of labor and total factor productivity were negligible. Substitution possibilities and technical change bias were studied by estimating a dual translog cost function that models high-technology production. The cost function was modeled with stocks of R&D as an index of technical change and included four inputs of capital, production workers, nonproduction workers and materials respectively.<>
{"title":"Sources of growth, input structure and technical progress in American high-technology: a business cycle analysis","authors":"C. Chakraborty","doi":"10.1109/IEMC.1994.379899","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMC.1994.379899","url":null,"abstract":"General public concern about the strength of American manufacturing has lead to a consensus on the importance of the role of high-technology. With a time series data set on inputs and output of the high-technology sector for the period 1967-1982, this paper identifies the special features of this sector in terms of: (1) the sources of its output growth; (2) the substitution possibilities among its resource inputs; and (3) the nature and bias of its technical change. Output growth and its decomposed sources were studied by exploiting a conventional growth equation. The decomposition of the growth equation indicated that real growth in high-technology production took place during the business cycle 1973-1979 and that material and capital explained most of the output growth for the overall study period; the contributions of labor and total factor productivity were negligible. Substitution possibilities and technical change bias were studied by estimating a dual translog cost function that models high-technology production. The cost function was modeled with stocks of R&D as an index of technical change and included four inputs of capital, production workers, nonproduction workers and materials respectively.<<ETX>>","PeriodicalId":200747,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference - IEMC '94","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1994-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132804379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1994-10-17DOI: 10.1109/IEMC.1994.379929
S. Pandya
The standard for the exchange of product model data (STEP) is an effort geared towards facilitating the computer-readable exchange of the total information used to define an industrial product. STEP is being released as a set of inter-related parts. Application protocols, the 200-series parts, describe the use of integrated resources satisfying the scope and information requirements for a specific application context. A proposal exists to develop an application protocol for the casting industry. This proposal is currently in abeyance and the effort required to complete it should be enormous. This paper attempts to make an analysis of the expected effort by studying a casting process. The steps required to develop a prototype information model that will capture all product data about one costing process are attempted. The problems related to product data representation and exchange are introduced with an overview of STEP. The casting industry is briefly addressed. The proposed approach in independent development of an application protocol is thoroughly analyzed, including development of a DBMS using NIAM methodology, an interface language to link DBMS to different computer systems via a neutral file exchange format, and EXPRESS. Problems and contributions of the approach are discussed.<>
{"title":"Development of a STEP based information model for a casting process","authors":"S. Pandya","doi":"10.1109/IEMC.1994.379929","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMC.1994.379929","url":null,"abstract":"The standard for the exchange of product model data (STEP) is an effort geared towards facilitating the computer-readable exchange of the total information used to define an industrial product. STEP is being released as a set of inter-related parts. Application protocols, the 200-series parts, describe the use of integrated resources satisfying the scope and information requirements for a specific application context. A proposal exists to develop an application protocol for the casting industry. This proposal is currently in abeyance and the effort required to complete it should be enormous. This paper attempts to make an analysis of the expected effort by studying a casting process. The steps required to develop a prototype information model that will capture all product data about one costing process are attempted. The problems related to product data representation and exchange are introduced with an overview of STEP. The casting industry is briefly addressed. The proposed approach in independent development of an application protocol is thoroughly analyzed, including development of a DBMS using NIAM methodology, an interface language to link DBMS to different computer systems via a neutral file exchange format, and EXPRESS. Problems and contributions of the approach are discussed.<<ETX>>","PeriodicalId":200747,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference - IEMC '94","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1994-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115817807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1994-10-17DOI: 10.1109/IEMC.1994.379931
T. Mezher, R. Sayegh
Managers use decision analysis to structure their decision making process. Decision making is the heart of information processing. People are not optimal decision makers, they are prone to make errors. These errors can lead to serious consequences. Managers can use computer critics to avoid these errors. Critics are intelligent software packages that monitor decision analysis process and counsel decision makers on their reason, judgment and decision making. In this paper, the authors discuss the sources of errors in decision making. In addition, they introduce the critiquing technology and its effectiveness in reducing human errors in decision analysis. Finally, they show an example of using computer critics to reduce human errors in probability assessment.<>
{"title":"The role of computer critics in eliminating human errors in decision analysis","authors":"T. Mezher, R. Sayegh","doi":"10.1109/IEMC.1994.379931","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMC.1994.379931","url":null,"abstract":"Managers use decision analysis to structure their decision making process. Decision making is the heart of information processing. People are not optimal decision makers, they are prone to make errors. These errors can lead to serious consequences. Managers can use computer critics to avoid these errors. Critics are intelligent software packages that monitor decision analysis process and counsel decision makers on their reason, judgment and decision making. In this paper, the authors discuss the sources of errors in decision making. In addition, they introduce the critiquing technology and its effectiveness in reducing human errors in decision analysis. Finally, they show an example of using computer critics to reduce human errors in probability assessment.<<ETX>>","PeriodicalId":200747,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference - IEMC '94","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1994-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125047404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1994-10-17DOI: 10.1109/IEMC.1994.379927
T. Daim, D.Z. Milasevic
The most powerful way to manage a continuous improvement project still remains invisible to a great deal of companies involved in continuous quality improvement initiatives. It takes more than accepted basics of management by fact, teamwork, and problem solving skills to consistently deliver extraordinary continuous improvement projects. It also takes managing these projects by project management which, when properly implemented, renders that invisible but most powerful way to concert the continuous improvement music. This study investigates the continuous quality improvement practices of organizations regarding their project management experiences.<>
{"title":"Utilizing project management in continuous improvement projects","authors":"T. Daim, D.Z. Milasevic","doi":"10.1109/IEMC.1994.379927","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMC.1994.379927","url":null,"abstract":"The most powerful way to manage a continuous improvement project still remains invisible to a great deal of companies involved in continuous quality improvement initiatives. It takes more than accepted basics of management by fact, teamwork, and problem solving skills to consistently deliver extraordinary continuous improvement projects. It also takes managing these projects by project management which, when properly implemented, renders that invisible but most powerful way to concert the continuous improvement music. This study investigates the continuous quality improvement practices of organizations regarding their project management experiences.<<ETX>>","PeriodicalId":200747,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference - IEMC '94","volume":"07 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1994-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129000537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1994-10-17DOI: 10.1109/IEMC.1994.379930
D. Jacobs, W. Hedgepeth
The information age changes how US Army decision makers predict future trends. The Army is responding with innovative technology to help it's planners to understand the complexities of its decisions, and their impacts, as the Army embraces a post Cold War world view. Using neural network technologies is one way to attack this social technical challenge. Several neural networks were developed to predict the outcome of combat battles. The networks were trained with combat battles from a historical database.<>
{"title":"The application of backpropagation neural networks to predict the results of combat","authors":"D. Jacobs, W. Hedgepeth","doi":"10.1109/IEMC.1994.379930","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMC.1994.379930","url":null,"abstract":"The information age changes how US Army decision makers predict future trends. The Army is responding with innovative technology to help it's planners to understand the complexities of its decisions, and their impacts, as the Army embraces a post Cold War world view. Using neural network technologies is one way to attack this social technical challenge. Several neural networks were developed to predict the outcome of combat battles. The networks were trained with combat battles from a historical database.<<ETX>>","PeriodicalId":200747,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference - IEMC '94","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1994-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129432038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1994-10-17DOI: 10.1109/IEMC.1994.379900
C. Keating, T. Robinson, B. Clemson
The authors explain a process they have enacted several times for facilitating so called "organizational learning". They show how the process is based on the authors' current understanding of the concept referred to as organizational learning. Finally, they advocate future participatory action research whereby organizational learning theory is tested and modified through the design, enactment, and observation of further processes; these processes, in turn, should be designed based upon current understandings of organizational learning.<>
{"title":"A process for organizational learning","authors":"C. Keating, T. Robinson, B. Clemson","doi":"10.1109/IEMC.1994.379900","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMC.1994.379900","url":null,"abstract":"The authors explain a process they have enacted several times for facilitating so called \"organizational learning\". They show how the process is based on the authors' current understanding of the concept referred to as organizational learning. Finally, they advocate future participatory action research whereby organizational learning theory is tested and modified through the design, enactment, and observation of further processes; these processes, in turn, should be designed based upon current understandings of organizational learning.<<ETX>>","PeriodicalId":200747,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference - IEMC '94","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1994-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115576131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.1109/IEMC.1994.379907
S.C. Kitsopoulos
A physical illness has triggered a mid-life crisis in the chief executive of a mid-size high-tech company-an electrical engineer by training. This personal problem had a deleterious effect on his job performance. Fortunately he had the capacity to heal himself and the perspicacity to seek the support of a knowledgeable coach to help him along. After a brief but intensive intervention, his well being and professional success were restored. The coaching process, based on psychodynamic principles, included empathic listening, encouraging the expression of feelings and dream interpretation. Members of the technical professions are as vulnerable to such problems as anyone but less likely to reveal them, especially if they are high-strung executives in the 40 to 50 year age bracket. The executive in question supported the publication of this report in order to encourage colleagues with similar needs to seek competent help. The case is presented under effective disguise.<>
{"title":"From mentoring to executive coaching-a psychological case study","authors":"S.C. Kitsopoulos","doi":"10.1109/IEMC.1994.379907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMC.1994.379907","url":null,"abstract":"A physical illness has triggered a mid-life crisis in the chief executive of a mid-size high-tech company-an electrical engineer by training. This personal problem had a deleterious effect on his job performance. Fortunately he had the capacity to heal himself and the perspicacity to seek the support of a knowledgeable coach to help him along. After a brief but intensive intervention, his well being and professional success were restored. The coaching process, based on psychodynamic principles, included empathic listening, encouraging the expression of feelings and dream interpretation. Members of the technical professions are as vulnerable to such problems as anyone but less likely to reveal them, especially if they are high-strung executives in the 40 to 50 year age bracket. The executive in question supported the publication of this report in order to encourage colleagues with similar needs to seek competent help. The case is presented under effective disguise.<<ETX>>","PeriodicalId":200747,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference - IEMC '94","volume":"58 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133034619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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