Management Services

Chairman's Column

From Recession to Recovery: Tangible Transformation in Organisational Performance

People are going through difficult times and many organizational leaders appear unaware of how much change will have to be implemented in order to rebuild their organizations. Although this is a challenge for many of their financial institutions, there are also huge challenges waiting for senior management teams in the public and third sector where, some would suggest, the challenge is much greater. This paper outlines key areas that they believe are central to driving change, so that organiz...

Impact of Performance Measurement and Management Systems

The second part on the Impact of Performance Measurement and Management Systems is presented. The external effects of performance management systems (PMS) -- really, downstream impacts -- are reflected in customers' satisfaction, company reputation, plus regulators' and local councils' satisfaction. The researchers' analysis shows that PMS improved EDF Energy customers' perception. Despite some other researchers' findings, their research shows that it is extremely difficult to isolate the fin...

Is Higher Productivity Possible in the Caribbean?

The title of this article asks a simple question: 'is higher productivity possible in the Caribbean?' Most simple questions require other questions to be answered or assumptions made explicit before they can be answered. The basic question above has a very simple answer: 'yes'. Higher productivity is always possible. The concept of productivity is most easily explained by the simple ratio of output: Input, or output: resources consumed. Higher productivity is achieved by raising output withou...

It's the Right Time for Time Standards

Readers of this Journal will understand the classic reasons for time standards -- manning, planning, costing, targeting and all kinds of performance measures -- and therefore welcome the now regular increase in their stature and credibility. As a provider of productivity specialists to all sectors, Scott-Grant quote a few recent examples to illustrate that the need for sophistication in the application of time data is becoming highly significant. Meaningful time standards are the backbone of ...

Lean in the Supply Chain Friend or Foe?

The ever increasing demands of customers, coupled with pressures from competitors, and at the same time a decreasing resource base, has seen organizations seeking strategies to increase customer satisfaction, improve responsiveness and reduce costs. As a consequence, organizations in many different sectors have now seized the lean management approach as a technique to underpin operations activities. Since one of the cornerstones of lean is the aim to improve speed and service responsiveness t...

Memory Lane

Recollection of Working Days was the title of a talk given by Robert Fletcher to an appreciative audience of the Probus Group and invited IMS members on July 22. Fletcher had many amusing anecdotes about wildlife getting into their bungalow, such as snakes, lizards and monkeys. He joined Oldham College of Technology as senior lecturer at the Bolton Institute of Higher Education. Fletcher retired in 1985, but has remained active in Institute affairs. In 2007 he was made an honorary fellow of t...

Regional News

Under Pressure

In today's contemporary and growing economies, competition for market share is immense. Profit generated versus time is arguably a fundamental economic driving force for businesses looking to capitalize and monopolize the potential market share. This has evidently led to volatile markets in which the firms' products and services and their life cycles must constantly adapt in order to maintain profits. As such, decisions must be made in order to achieve strategic goals ahead of competitors. Wh...

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