We consider Just-in-Time (JIT) to be an overall organizational phenomenon. Accordingly, we developed and tested a model that includes both JIT practices and the infrastructure practices hypothesized to provide an environment in which JIT practices perform more effectively. Canonical correlation...

This paper proposes a relationship between manufacturing strategy and organizational culture, based on an examination of the research literature. Survey data were collected from 822 respondents in 41 plants in the transportation, electronics, and machinery industries in the U.S. These plants...

The problem of the relevance of the analytical products of management science for the manager whose decision making is largely intuitive is discussed. A definition of intuitive behavior is proposed based on the willingness of the manager to use a particular verbalization of his decision process...

Several well known purchasing policies or "buying strategies" are studied by-means of simple mathematical models. The basic properties of these policies are demonstrated under the assumption that future market prices are viewed as random variables. An optimal policy for forward buying is...

The problem of teaching or developing creative modeling ability is considered in the light of three basic hypotheses concerning the processes of enrichment (elaboration of very simple models), association (analogy with previously developed structures), and alternating attention to different...

The logical structure of diversification as a management policy is discussed through the use of simple examples. For a decision maker who maximizes expectation in the face of uncertain prospects, the kinds of utility functions which lead to the use of diversification are explored. It is shown...

This study investigates two mechanisms of knowledge creation--one that is method driven and the other that is psychologically driven. Results show that the two mechanisms have different effects on the learning behaviors and knowledge created in Six Sigma projects. The method mechanism directly...

This survey discusses applications and research of the Management Sciences in institutions of higher education. It includes four specific areas: (1) Planning, Programming and Budgeting Systems, (2) Management Information Systems, (3) Resource Allocation Models, and (4) Mathematical Models. In...

While the quality literature abounds with prescriptions for how quality should be managed, no one has proposed an organization-theory explanation for how quality is managed in organizations. This paper proposes a system-structural model of quality management that relates organizational quality...