Search results

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/02656719510089920. When citing the article, please cite: Glenn Pitman, Jaideep Motwani, Ashok Kumar, Chun-Hung Cheng, (1995), “QFD application in an educational setting: a pilot field study”, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 12 Iss: 6, pp. 63 - 72.

The home page design of a digital news website is a key factor in determining its attractiveness to readers. This study aims to propose an approach to manage the frequent adjustment of the dynamic layout of the news content on the website home page in a real-time environment to increase its attractiveness to readers.

This paper shows that this news website layout design problem can be modeled as an optimization problem based on the information of news contents that change within a multiple-period planning horizon similar to the dynamic facility layout problem. A hybrid genetic algorithm-based approach integrated with local search heuristic methods is also proposed to improve the solution.

This paper finds that the DPLP model is effective in modeling the changing layout of a digital news website. The problem can solved in a timely manner using the proposed hybrid genetic algorithm.

This paper was based on hypothetical data and on the assumption of equal section size. Actual data would help fine-tune the application of the dynamic facility layout model. As well the algorithm could be enhanced for unequal size sections.

The model should help online newspapers apply sophisticated algorithms to optimize the layout of news websites dynamically in a timely manner.

News websites are increasingly the desired medium to consume news. So it has an important role in educating society. Thus optimizing and improving the process will help in this regard.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one to apply the DPLP model to the digital newspaper website dynamic design problem.

Cellular manufacturing is a layout approach to increase productivity in manufacturing. The basic concept of cellular manufacturing is to exploit the similarity between parts and manufacturing processes. Parts similar in design and manufacture are grouped into families. Then machines are identified to process part families. In the literature, the problem is studied using two approaches: standard and generalized formulations. Compares the effectiveness of cluster analysis techniques for both formulations.

Proposes a two‐stage procedure to design a group technology system. Formulates a 0‐1 quadratic programming model to allocate machines to machine cells and a criterion to form corresponding part families for group technology. The majority of current approaches assume only one copy of a machine type for allocation. This model allows for more than one copy of a machine type. While many approaches use a general integer programming package to solve the group technology problem, proposes a two‐stage procedure based on A* algorithm. Computational experience of the proposed algorithm is also reported.

The purpose of this research paper is to discuss cellular manufacturing is discussed under conditions of changing product demand. Traditional cell formation procedures ignore any changes in demand over time from product redesign and other factors. However given that in today's business environment, product life cycles are short, a framework is proposed that creates a multi‐period cellular layout plan including cell redesign where appropriate.

The framework is illustrated using a two‐stage procedure based on the generalized machine assignment problem and dynamic programming. This framework is conceptually compared to virtual cell manufacturing, which is useful when there is uncertainty in demand rather than anticipated changes in demand. A case study is used to explain how the concept would work in practice.

One major characteristic of the proposed method is that it is flexible enough to incorporate existing cell formation procedures. It is shown through an example problem that the proposed two‐stage method is better than undergoing ad hoc layout changes or ignoring the demand changes when shifting or cell rearrangement costs exist. It also sheds some insight into cellular manufacturing under dynamic conditions.

This paper should be useful to both researchers and practitioners who deal with demand changes in cellular manufacturing.

Presents an object‐oriented system for scheduling in a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) with the purpose of demonstrating how the control aspects of such a system can be enhanced by using metalevel planning. Represents the objects and metaknowledge of the system using an object‐oriented approach. The resulting system gives a clear, complete and comprehensive picture of the FMS environment, as well as a modular, flexible and interactive control mechanism to generate and maintain detailed FMS production schedules.

Technical specifications may not in themselves guarantee that a customer’s requirements will be consistently met, if there happen to be any deficiencies in the specifications or in the organizational system designed to produce the product or service. It was in this context that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) started its work on quality standardization. Offers an overview of the key concepts underlying the quality management and quality assurance standards that have come to be known as the “ISO 9000 series”. Presents the main themes of the ISO 9000 literature followed by a case study of a large manufacturing organization that has recently achieved the ISO 9000 certification. Explains the eight‐step process used by the company to achieve its registration. Although the certification process was lengthy and the documentation extensive, ISO can help the company gain substantial operational and financial benefits.

Illustrates how quality function deployment (QFD) can be used to measure customer satisfaction in educational institutions. Specifically, utilizes QFD in evaluating the MBA programme at Grand Valley State University. The inputs for the QFDs were obtained through several brainstorming sessions of MBA students, faculty members, administrators, and business people. The preliminary results of the pilot field test show that QFD is a very useful tool in ascertaining customer desires, prioritizing them, and directing organizational resources towards customer satisfaction.

Gender difference exists in the perception of the patient safety culture in healthcare organizations. A case from a medical center in Taiwan is presented to examine how different genders perceive the patient safety culture in practice from 2014 to 2017.

A longitudinal study using the data from 2014 to 2017 is conducted quantitatively. Mann–Whitney U test and one-way analysis of variance are employed for analyses.

The results showed that female nurses had significantly higher emotional exhaustion than male nurses in 2015 and 2016 indicating male nurses had better fatigue recovery than their female counterparts. In addition, male nurses felt a higher degree of fatigue in 2016 and 2017 than those in 2015 statistically. In contrast, female nurses felt more stressful in 2016 and 2017 than those in 2014 statistically. Female nurses had higher emotional exhaustion in 2016 and 2017 than those in 2014 and 2015 statistically.

To sum up, female nurses were more stressful than before, and their recovery was also relatively poor particularly in 2016 and 2017. There is a need to reduce the degree of fatigue for female nurses in this medical center through employee assistance programs, mindfulness-based stress reduction programs, building up female nurses' positive currency and setting up their appreciative inquiry. In contrast to female nurses, male nurses recovered better from fatigue. This might encourage hospital management to deploy male nurses more effectively in this medical center.

The results enable the hospital management to know there is a gender difference in this case hospital. More attention on female nurses is required.

This study aims to extract determinants of customers' choice of dining-related services (CDS) to understand their attitudes and habits for dining-related services. Moreover, it classifies restaurant customers into several clusters based on their CDS factors and further analyzes the differences in the preferences and habits for dining-related services among various clusters.

This study extracts the CDS factors using principal component analysis and identifies construct validity of the CDS factors through the results of confirmatory factor analysis. Then, it divides the restaurant customers in Taipei City into different clusters through cluster analysis to explore the habits and preferences for dining-related services in each cluster.

The study results show that the extracted six CDS factors, including service commitment, dietary preferences, design styles, additional value, delicate information collection, and dining environments. Dietary preferences, service commitment and additional value factor are the most important CDS factors for restaurant customers in Taipei City. This study divides 1,029 restaurant customers in Taipei City into three clusters based on the CDS factors through cluster analysis. The differences in the preferences and habits for dining services among three clusters have been discussed in the context in detail. Finally, this study develops eight service strategies and determines the order of execution of the eight service strategies for each cluster of customers.

The findings will help restaurant operators segment the market, target market customers, carry out service positioning and develop marketing strategies to respond to the highly competitive restaurant market and achieve sustainable restaurant operations.