The leading academic authorities contributing to this book have been involved in major studies carried out for international organisations, individual governments, and national trades' union organisations; in Vulnerable Workers they consider the growth of job insecurity, the prevalence of flexible or temporary work, and the emergence of precarious forms of self-employment. They look at the new market economies of post-communist Eastern Europe and China, where economic development may occur at the expense of workers' lives and health; 'misclassification' by employers of workers as 'contractors', denying them access to rights; and the plight of migrant, transient and 'invisible' workers. The impact of supply chain business strategies on the most vulnerable workers; and on the complex relationships between levels of job security and the presence of different kinds of risks are similarly assessed. The contributors also propose responses to the challenges they highlight. The role of employee representatives is examined, together with the potential to enhance worker capability through organisational change. New legislative approaches, and changes to traditional compensation and social security systems are considered. Academics and researchers, policy makers, regulators, trades unionists and occupational health professionals - and wise employers - will all find a use for this book.

Will higher pay provide an incentive for better work? Can productivity be increased by changing the way workers are compensated? In response to the urgent need to improve productivity performance in American industry, leading economists examine alternative compensation schemes to assess their efficiency in raising productivity.

Over the years a number of suggestions have been made for improving labor productivity by changing the manner in which laborers are compensated for their efforts. The ideas presented and analyzed in this volume have all been put into practice, in modified form or on a small scale, in the United States or elsewhere. Some are new; others quite old.

David I. Levine and Laura D'Andrea Tyson consider the effects of employee participation in decisionmaking on firm performance, and Martin L. Weitzman and Douglas L. Kruse discuss the implications of profit sharing and related forms of pay for group performance. Michael A. Conte and Jan Svejnar analyze employee stock ownership plans in the United States and other forms of worker ownership in Europe; Masanore Hashimoto uses a transaction-cost perspective to assess Japanese employment and wage systems. Daniel J. B. Mitchell, David Lewin, and Edward E. Lawler III give an overall analysis of traditional and alternative pay systems, their history, development, and curent use, and recommend further experimentation with alternative compensation plans to ensure more adaptability on the part of U.S. firms. Blinder provides an overview of the findings and conclusions.

The project has become fundamental to international development and humanitarian practice, playing a key role in defining objectives, funding streams and ultimately determining what success looks like. This book provides a much needed overview of the project in international development practice, guiding the reader through the latest theoretical debates, and exploring the core tools and stages of planning and design. The book starts with an overview of the role of the project through development history, before taking the reader through the stages of a standard project management cycle. Each chapter introduces the stage, the most common tools used to support that phase of planning, and the critical debates that exist around it, with examples to illustrate discussion from around the world and a range of development fields. The book explores the challenges to working effectively in contemporary aid conetxts, including the role of politics and the pressures wrought by the demands to demonstrate quantified results. Throughout, the book argues for the need to see the project as a form of governmentality that arranges resources and people in time and space, and which extends neoliberal forms of managerial control in the sector. Ending with suggestions for innovation, this book is perfect for anyone looking for an accessible and engaging guide to the international development project, whether student, researcher or practitioner.

Pulling aside the curtain of 'Big Data' buzz, this book introduces C-suite and other non-technical senior leaders to the essentials of obtaining and maintaining accurate, reliable data, especially for decision-making purposes. Bad data begets bad decisions, and an understanding of data fundamentals - how data is generated, organized, stored, evaluated, and maintained - has never been more important when solving problems such as the pandemic-related supply chain crisis. This book addresses the data-related challenges that businesses face, answering questions such as: What are the characteristics of high-quality data? How do you get from bad data to good data? What procedures and practices ensure high-quality data? How do you know whether your data supports the decisions you need to make? This clear and valuable resource will appeal to C-suite executives and top-line managers across industries, as well as business analysts at all career stages and data analytics students.

Beginning in the mid-2010s, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has seen remarkable changes in information technology which have blurred the boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. Industry 4.0 has enabled so-called "smart factories" in which computer systems equipped with machine learning algorithms can learn and control robotics with minimal need for human input. While smart technology has enabled many manufacturing businesses to increase efficiency and cut costs, many others are still struggling with implementing it. This book aims to help students, practitioners and industry leaders to become change agents and take their first steps on the path of transformation. Smart Business and Digital Transformation addresses the challenge of becoming "smart" from three different perspectives: smart factory, smart industry, and smart environment. Covering technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), mobility, 5G, Big Data analytics, the book shows how enterprises can take advantage of them and ultimately beat the competition. The book considers the importance of operational processes, business models, and organizational culture. The contributing authors and editors, based at Corvinus University, present a multi-dimensional picture of industry 4.0 which is both diverse in its voices and unified in its vision. Smart Business and Digital Transformation meets the growing demand for a textbook that not only presents the latest concepts and theories but is also practical for planning, managing, and implementing digital transformation in practice. The chapters include case studies to demonstrate the practical applications, and each chapter ends with review and discussion questions to develop students' skills and competencies. Students of business and digital transformation on advanced undergraduate and MBA courses will find it an indispensable guide to a vibrant and challenging topic.

While books on the medical applications of x-ray imaging exist, there is not one currently available that focuses on industrial applications. Full of color images that show clear spectrometry and rich with applications, X-Ray Imaging fills the need for a comprehensive work on modern industrial x-ray imaging. It reviews the fundamental science of x-ray imaging and addresses equipment and system configuration. Useful to a broad range of radiation imaging practitioners, the book looks at the rapid development and deployment of digital x-ray imaging system.

For a long time, quality has been one of industry's main preoccupations. It remains so today. There is some foundation for the statement that there is a 'quality crisis' in Europe, the methods traditionally used in our industries being unable to meet today's demands. Consequently it is essential to look for new directions in which to progress, taking account of the methods for achieving quality that have been developed in recent years. These methods impact on all parts of the industrial enterprise - marketing, manufacturing, research and development, after-sales services. All staff, administrative or technical, are involved. The present book describes the tools that can help anyone who is concerned with the concept of 'total quality'; it will also be a valuable educational aid for students reading for degrees or other qualifications in engineering. P. Lyonnet I General questions and concepts 1 INTRODUCTION: HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE TOTAL QUALITY? This book is concerned with the various techniques and methods of analysis that can be used to ensure total quality in a project. In this first chapter we show the costs that result from not achieving quality, so as to make clear how important a quality-assurance service is to any enterprise. We stress also the involvement of marketing, particularly in laying down specifications for reliability.

Unique selling point: * Based on years of personal leadership and mentoring experience Core audience: * Emergency workers and business leaders are the primary market. Place in the market: * Will help people to navigate personal leadership issues in the post-COVID world

Innovative technologies provide opportunities for making manufacturing and logistics operations cleaner and more resource-efficient. New technologies focus on lifecycle engineering and lifecycle management. This book will be valuable to both academics and practitioners who wish to deepen their knowledge of technology management. The book will cover technical, organizational, financial and social issues connected to the implementation of more sustainable technologies.

In recent years, purchasing performance measurement have steadily gained in importance in theory and practice. Yet, in many cases, the focus still remains on cost items, especially savings. Moreover, reported performance ratios in purchasing are frequently called into question in terms of their amount and efficacy. Most of the time, there is no tie-in at all with staff compensations. To meet these and other challenges, this book presents a holistic approach for purchasing performance measurement and the incentive systems associated with it. The following topics are dealt with in detail: * Purchasing performance measurement on the level of commodity groups and the procurement organization * Supplier evaluation and performance measurement on the level of the buyer-supplier relationship * Comprehensive systems for purchasing performance measurement, such as the procurement value added and the purchasing balanced scorecard * Performance-oriented incentive systems and bonus payments for buyers, procurement organizations and suppliers Readers are thus provided with comprehensive guidelines for the implementation and realization of sustained performance measurement and incentivization in purchasing.

Data envelopment analysis develops a set of nonparametric and semiparametric techniques for measuring economic efficiency among firms and nonprofit organizations. Over the past decade this technique has found most widespread applications in public sector organizations. However these applications have been mostly static. This monograph extends this static framework of efficiency analysis in several new directions. These include but are not limited to the following: (1) a dynamic view of the production and cost frontier, where capital inputs are treated differently from the current inputs, (2) a direct role of the technological progress and regress, which is so often stressed in total factor productivity discussion in modem growth theory in economics, (3) stochastic efficiency in a dynamic setting, where reliability improvement competes with technical efficiency, (4) flexible manufacturing systems, where flexibility of the production process and the economies of scope play an important role in efficiency analysis and (5) the role of economic factors such as externalities and input interdependences. Efficiency is viewed here in the framework of a general systems theory model. Such a view is intended to broaden the scope of applications of this promising new technique of data envelopment analysis. The monograph stresses the various applied aspects of the dynamic theory, so that it can be empirically implemented in different situations. As far as possible abstract mathematical treatments are avoided and emphasis placed on the statistical examples and empirical illustrations.

Modeling Remaining Useful Life Dynamics in Reliability Engineering applies traditional reliability engineering methods to Prognostics and Health Management (PHM), looking at Remaining Useful Life (RUL) and predictive maintenance to enable engineers to effectively and safely predict machinery lifespan. One of the key tools used in defining and implementing predictive maintenance policies is the RUL indicator. However, it is essential to account for the uncertainty inherent to the RUL, as otherwise predictive maintenance strategies can be incorrect. This can cause high costs, or alternatively, ineffective predictions. Methods used to estimate RUL are very numerous and diverse, and broadly speaking, fall into three categories: model-based, data-driven, or hybrid, which uses both. The book starts by building on established theory, and applying cutting edge research to it, such as artificial intelligence models and deep learning. It looks at traditional reliability engineering methods through their relation to Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) requirements and presents the concept of RUL loss rate. Following on from this, the book presents a general method for defining a nonlinear transformation enabling the MRL to become a linear function. It also touches on topics such as Weibull distribution, gamma distribution and degradation, along with time-to-failure distributions. Features: Provides both practical and theoretical background of RUL Describes how the uncertainty of RUL can be related to RUL loss rate Provides new insights into time-to-failure distributions Offers tools for predictive maintenance_ The book will be of interest to engineers and researchers in reliability engineering, Prognostics and Health Management and industry management.

Analysis of Manufacturing Enterprises presents a unified and systematic treatment of manufacturing enterprises. These enterprises are networks of companies working in partnership. Such networks are a common occurrence in auto, grocery, apparel, computer and other industries; and competition is among enterprises rather than between individual companies. Thus, for these enterprises (global or local) to succeed, there is a need for systematically designing the enterprise-wide value delivery processes such as the order-to-delivery process, supply chain process, and new product development process. This calls for developing systematic analysis methodologies for evaluating the performance of value delivering processes. Analysis of Manufacturing Enterprises fills this vital need. The first part of the book focuses on foundations of manufacturing enterprises: the generic value delivery process, their performance measures and redesign to meet specifications on lead time and defect levels. The second part provides a clear and comprehensive discussion on new product development, order to delivery, and supply chain processes, which are core processes of a manufacturing enterprise. Analysis of Manufacturing Enterprises is an excellent resource for researchers and professionals in the field of manufacturing engineering.

In this book leading experts from all over the world, including George Box, Noriaki Kano, Yoshio Kondo, John Oakland and James Harrington, analyse and document various aspects of Total Quality Management. Contributions range from discussions of the principles, strategy, culture, leadership, education and benchmarking to world class experience and achieving excellence both in the manufacturing and service industries. With over 100 contributions this book is an invaluable resource for the total quality management journey. It will be of special interest to educationalists, academics, senior managers and directors, and quality practitioners from both the public and private sectors.

Global production and purchasing operations create a platform for entry into new markets. However, it takes considerable effort to plan and implement a sustainable globalization strategy; this book will help in that task. The wealth of experience and analysis featured in this book is the result of an extensive survey among leading manufacturing companies as well as countless discussions with executives who have personally wrestled with the issues of "going global." The book treats the whole range of management challenges. In breadth and depth, the insights it offers surpass what a manager or most individual companies could acquire on their own.

"Portfolio Decision Analysis: Improved Methods for Resource Allocation" provides an extensive, up-to-date coverage of decision analytic methods which help firms and public organizations allocate resources to 'lumpy' investment opportunities while explicitly recognizing relevant financial and non-financial evaluation criteria and the presence of alternative investment opportunities. In particular, it discusses the evolution of these methods, presents new methodological advances and illustrates their use across several application domains.

The book offers a many-faceted treatment of portfolio decision analysis (PDA). Among other things, it (i) synthesizes the state-of-play in PDA, (ii) describes novel methodologies, (iii) fosters the deployment of these methodologies, and (iv) contributes to the strengthening of research on PDA. Portfolio problems are widely regarded as the single most important application context of decision analysis, and, with its extensive and unique coverage of these problems, this book is a much-needed addition to the literature. The book also presents innovative treatments of new methodological approaches and their uses in applications.

The intended audience consists of practitioners and researchers who wish to gain a good understanding of portfolio decision analysis and insights into how PDA methods can be leveraged in different application contexts. The book can also be employed in courses at the post-graduate level.

Uniquely accessible and concise guide to complexity and management Includes perspectives from the complexity sciences, philosophy and history Includes chapter bringing theories to management practice

During the past decade interest in quality management has greatly increased. One of the central elements of Total Quality Management is Statistical Process Control, more commonly known as SPC. This book describes the pitfalls and traps which businesses encounter when implementing and assuring SPC. Illustrations are given from practical experience in various companies. The following subjects are discussed: implementation of SPC, activity plan for achieving statistically controlled processes, statistical tools, and lastly, consolidation and improvement of the results. Also, an extensive checklist is provided with which a business can determine to what extent it has succeeded in the actual application of SPC. Audience: This volume is written for companies which are going to implement SPC, or which need a new impetus in order to get SPC properly off the ground. It will be of interest in particular to researchers whose work involves statistics and probability, production, operation and manufacturing management, industrial organisation and mathematical and quantitative methods. It will also appeal to specialists in engineering and management, for example in the electronic industry, discrete parts industry, process industry, automotive and aircraft industry and food industry.

Building Total Quality is an essential reference to all those involved in the construction of a total quality organisation

Towards Intelligent Manufacturing Systems This book contains the selected articles from the third International Conference on lriformation Technology for Balanced Automation Systems in Manufacturing. A rapid evolution in a number of areas leading to Intelligent Manufacturing Systems has been observ@d in recent years. Significant efforts are being spent on this research area, namely in terms of international cooperative projects, like the IMS initiative, the USA NIIIP (National Industrial Information Infrastructure Protocols) project, or the European ESPRIT programme, and a growing number of conferences and workshops. The importance of the Information and Communication Technologies in the manufacturing area is weIl established today. The proper combination of these areas with the socio-organizational issues, supported by intelligent tools, is however, more difficult to achieve, and fully justifies the need for the BASYS conference and the publication of the series of books on Balanced Automation SyStems. The first book of this series focused on the topic of "Architectures and Design Methods," was published in 1995. Mahy of the fundamental aspects of manufacturing, and some preliminary results were presented in this book. Among others, the topics included: Modeling and design of FMS, Enterprise modeling and organization, Decision support systems in manufacturing, Anthropocentric systems, CAE/CAD/CAM integration, Scheduling systems, Extended enterprises, Multi agent system architecture, Balanced flexibility, Intelligent supervision systems, Shop-floor control, and Computer aided process planning."

Quality and process improvement are a major concern of business and industry the world over. A good indicator of the increasing interest in quality is the number of quality-related awards that have been instituted in various parts of the world in the past few years. To implement their quality improvement programmes, many organizations require simple guidelines that can be followed in practical terms. This book is designed to be such a guide. The book presents techniques through which quality and process improvement can be achieved in any business, service, or manufacturing organization. Above all, the book shows the steps to improving quality, increasing productivity, reducing product development costs, and meeting the challenges of competition.

Implementing co-operative production networks is a major strategic target of many small- and medium-sized enterprises to secure and foster future competitiveness on the global market. Beginning with the strategic management and going down to the operational product development and operations execution, this book gives a detailed overview of the different key issues of setting up strategic production networks. Management concepts, the required information technology as well as best practices are introduced and discussed by leading researchers from Germany, Switzerland and China. The book aims at supporting managers responsible for setting up global or regional co-operative production networks as well as researchers and students working on this matter.

Handbook of Analytical Quality by Design addresses the steps involved in analytical method development and validation in an effort to avoid quality crises in later stages. The AQbD approach significantly enhances method performance and robustness which are crucial during inter-laboratory studies and also affect the analytical lifecycle of the developed method. Sections cover sample preparation problems and the usefulness of the QbD concept involving Quality Risk Management (QRM), Design of Experiments (DoE) and Multivariate (MVT) Statistical Approaches to solve by optimizing the developed method, along with validation for different techniques like HPLC, UPLC, UFLC, LC-MS and electrophoresis. This will be an ideal resource for graduate students and professionals working in the pharmaceutical industry, analytical chemistry, regulatory agencies, and those in related academic fields.

Lean Six Sigma has evolved progressively over time from quality efforts within an enterprise that are independent, to complex systems changing the concept from a simple network to complex alliance formation among firms. The changes created by these transformations present novel challenges and issues to new and established businesses alike. Lean Six Sigma Approaches in Manufacturing, Services, and Production presents emerging research-based trends in the area of global quality lean six sigma networks and analysis. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach focusing on research, cases, and emerging technologies, this title provides insight and support to researchers, students, executives, managers, and practitioners concerned with the management of quality and efficiency across industries.