The narrative of this text follows ten years of a major initiative by Pirelli General - the creation and operation of an automated "factory of the future". Topics and themes developed and analyzed include: strategy formulation; "strategy and structure"; human resource management and industrial relations; site location; technological innovation; introducing total quality control management and a culture of continuous improvement; theories of leadership; and managing strategic change.
`Not only does this book offer a great deal of insight into evaluating early childhood services, it also provides a focal point for those interested in establishing goals, objectives and evaluation criteria for their own early childhood programmes' - Early Years `Quality' has become a priority issue for all concerned with early childhood care and education services. Starting from the premise that `quality' is a relative and dynamic concept based on values and beliefs, Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services examines how the definitions of quality are established and who is involved in their establishment. The book advocates that the process should involve a range of stakeholder groups, including children, parents, staff, care providers, researchers, employers and the community. A key issue that emerges is the need for new and creative approaches to the development of an inclusionary process in the definitions and attainment of quality care.
Executives are beginning to recognize the potential of the call center as a significant revenue generator, perhaps one of the surest investments they can make in enhancing and creating customer value and bottom-line profits. Return on investments made in customer accessibility is seldom less than 100% in the first year, and frequently even more if ......
The narrative of this text follows ten years of a major initiative by Pirelli General - the creation and operation of an automated "factory of the future". Topics and themes developed and analyzed include: strategy formulation; "strategy and structure"; human resource management and industrial relations; site location; technological innovation; introducing total quality control management and a culture of continuous improvement; theories of leadership; and managing strategic change.
Organizational and Human Resource Management Dimensions
Over the past decade, many companies have adopted new strategies for manufacturing, which have taken their competitiveness on to new planes. A whole array of initiatives, such as FMS, JIT, TQM, CIM, and MRP II, have been introduced. This book deals with the far-reaching significance of these new approaches - collectively labelled "new wave manufacturing". Considerable research evidence as well as practitioners' own experiences make one crucial point time and time again. The organizational as well as the human resource management aspects of these new strategies are critical to their success or failure. The underlying theme which is tackled in this book, therefore, is to what extent do these new operational strategies require a matching set of organizational and HR strategies? By looking at the issues through the joint eyes of production and behavioural analysts, this book provides an unique introduction to the new developments in manufacturing as well as providing an up-to-date assessment of the organizational and H R dimensions to these methods. New Wave Manufacturing Strategies has a vision which goes beyond the "new technology"/advanced manufacturing technology discussions. The chapters have been written in a clear, accessible manner by leading experts from Europe, the USA and Australia as well as from the UK.
