Browsing by Author "Ryan, Tom B"

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    A world class manufacturing model for South Africa
    (1996) Muregerera, Herbert; Ryan, Tom B
    The objective of this thesis is to develop a South African model for a world class manufacturing organisation. To achieve this a Cape Town based organisation, Omnigraphics, was analysed and used in the formulation of the concepts necessary for achieving the objective. The first three chapters form the major section of this thesis; they describe the development of the framework for managerial inquiry and learning. The development of the framework outlines three levels crucial for understanding and effectively managing organisations. These levels are: the philosophical level, the methodology level, and the implementation or action level. The philosophical level looks at the fundamental assumptions about the world or, rather, how people make sense of the world. Organisational cultural changes, for example, take place at the philosophical level of consideration. Charles Sanders Peirce's philosophy of fixing belief was appropriately chosen as the philosophy that best suits the managerial inquiry requirements of today. All methodologies derive from some philosophy and all actions are based on some corresponding methodology. The methodology of this thesis is based on the Scientific Method as described, separately, by Revans and Peirce. The development of the methodology analyses four methods of fixing belief and finally settles for the method of science as the most suitable because of its self verification characteristics. The method of science, as described by Revans and Peirce, is weighed against the learning cycles of Handy and Kolb, as well as Ryan's framework. From the synthesis of these works emerged a framework for managerial inquiry and learning. The framework was used to inquire into the operational situation of Omnigraphics in view of it being considered for world class manufacturing status. The tools of Soft Systems Methodologies and Multiple Perspectives methods, as incorporated in the framework developed, were used to objectively inquiring into the organisation. The issues of concern that arose were those of cultural change conflict, production processes inconsistencies and quality-related problems, lack of definite strategy and/ or vision, and communication across and within the hierarchical levels. The dominant single concern, though, was the 'we-they' split between the workers and management. These issues were explored in selected literature appropriate for the conditions that are currently prevailing at Omnigraphics. The chapter on organisational culture outlined the behavioural aspects of an organisation and how "the way we do things around here" can be changed. Within the organisational culture are embedded the beliefs and assumptions that define the learning systems which characterise the organisation. The people in the organisation shape the culture in the way they interact in their day-to-day activities at work. Thus, the 'we-they' situation was seen as a culture that needed change because it prohibits effective learning and, therefore, stifles continuous improvement necessary for world class manufacturing. The Work Systems Framework (WSF), as described by Luc Hoebeke (1994), was found to be suitable for the world class manufacturing concerns discussed. The WSF was built around the aspects of statistical process control, quality function deployment and benchmarking. These aspects were carefully selected and incorporated, and described in their nature as enhancing organisational change through learning. The organisational learning processes are described as taking place at two levels: within the organisation and within the environment that the organisation serves. The information strengths of cybernetics are used to describe the learning environment. The 'new' process-based structure is shown to be adaptive by virtue of its learning-driven nature which facilitates world class manufacturing. Learning is demonstrated as taking place at all levels of the organisation. This led in the analysis of worker empowerment as facilitating learning at the lowest level of the organisation. Coupled with this is the new concept of Workplace forums as illustrated in the new South African Labour Relations Bill of 1995. The concepts of these Workplace forums are tied in with those of worker empowerment as a revolt against Taylorism. Various real organisational cases were used to test the validity of the WSF model developed. The results of these tests confirmed the validity of the concepts outlined. Of notable significance are the intertwined relationships existing amongst the concepts of organisational learning, cultural change and sustainable competitive advantage. The organisational culture describes the behavioural aspects of the organisation as well as those of its people as determined by experiences acquired over time. The work that brought about this thesis was confined to the operational processes that define a successful world class organisation. Aspects of organisational structure were not considered. Finer psychological aspects of worker motivation, team building and job satisfaction were outside the scope of the thesis.
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    The development of a forecasting method for mining house capital projects
    (1982) Michalakis, George; Jervis, W; Ryan, Tom B
    A broad description of a project is a single, non-repetitive enterprise which is undertaken to achieve planned results within a time limit and a cost budget. This description could equally well apply to fixing a punctured tyre, expanding an existing mine, the design of a computer system or the building of the pyramids. Modern civilisation is largely based on the successful completion of projects. It is surprising therefore, that it is only in the very recent future, since the 1950's say, that the effective management of projects has been considered worthy of academic attention. Today project management in in the process of becoming a management science in its own right. This need for the effective management of projects is further evidenced by the emergence in large organisations of departments whose function it is to control projects. Typically, a project control department would, in addition to other functions, be required to report to management regularly on the health of a project - is the project on schedule and on budget? If it is not, management clearly needs to be given an indication of where the project is heading. A number of techniques are in common use which claim to 'forecast' the final cost and completion date of a project. These techniques include the S-curve in its many forms and Critical Path Networking, amongst others. On close analysis however, it soon becomes apparent that although these techniques offer a wealth of useful information regarding the present state of the project, and give a qualitative idea of the direction the project is heading in, they do not give any quantitative indication of the final cost and completion date of a project. In other words these techniques are control methods rather than forecasting methods. Most forecasting tends, in fact, to be done by an expert judgemental process which is highly subjective. iii It was felt therefore that there was a need for the development of an objective forecasting method. An informal Industrial Opinion Survey was conducted which confirmed this belief. On the basis of this it was decided to attempt to develop an objective forecasting method and to determine whether it was more useful, reliable and accurate than existing subjective forecasts. An exhaustive Literature Survey was then carried out in an attempt to find past work in the field. It was found that most techniques in use were control techniques as described above, with the exception of the Resource Appraisement Model developed by Dr P.P. Pekar. This model (with three variations), provides a means of recalculating the complete project plan in terms of cost at each report period in the light of reported expenditures. However, the model assumes the same time phasing as the original project plan. In other words, it assumes that the project will end on schedule. This assumption limits considerably the practical use of the model. As a result, the Resource Appraisement Model was refined and modified somewhat to include the forecasting of time as well as cost. This was done by relating the two parameters independently to percent physical completion. The resulting model, known as the Generalised Resource Appraisement Model (GRAM), was then tested using a computer program and a case study project. The results of this evaluation were then compared to the forecasts which had been produced by the existing subjective method for the case study project. On the basis of this evaluation it was concluded that the GRAM was more accurate but as reliable as the existing method in forecasting final project cost. It was also found that the model was much quicker in informing management of general project trends (i.e. over or under budgeting). iv It was found however, that the model was too sensitive to large periodical fluctuations in expenditure which were not necessarily true reflections of changes in trend. There is reason to believe that this characteristic may be overcome with relatively minor refinements to the model. The objectives of the thesis were therefore attained adequately. Inevitably however there remains a great deal of work to be done before the technique could be used with confidence. Future work is indicated in taking the model less sensitive to large random fluctuations, and making the model a more flexible management tool by allowing the 'what if' type of investigation.
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    An inquiry based intervention methodology for business management problems
    (1999) Mwaluko, George S; Ryan, Tom B
    In this thesis different reasons for the failure of intervention efforts are explored. These reasons, which are at the level of theory, methodology and method, show that in the field of management intervention, there is a problem arising from conflicting opinions. For instance, at the level of theory, though writers agree that intervention efforts fail because they are based on theories that are inadequate, they differ on what an adequate theory is. Reasons given at the level of methodology and method also differ. For example, some attribute the failure of intervention efforts to their inability to deal with organizational processes, or organizational design. Yet, others blame the inability of intervention efforts to deal with organizational culture, or organizational politics, for their failure. A furthermore problem stems from the existence of different intervention methodologies. This presents organizations with the dilemma of not knowing which of these methodologies should be adopted. The main objective of this thesis therefore, is to conduct further research aimed at addressing this problem.
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    Investigation of the failure of statistical process control in manufacturing industries in South Africa : case study - Atlantis Diesel Engines
    (1998) Anash, Rockson Boamah; Ryan, Tom B
    This work strives to give an insight into why Statistical Process Control (SPC), a quality management tool, is not yielding desired results in some manufacturing industries such as Atlantis Diesel Engines in the Western Cape. Statistical Process Control is an improvement technique that, when properly used, can improve both the quality and the productivity levels which may subsequently improve the competitiveness of a company. SPC achieves this by highlighting when a process is out of control. This happens at the source and a very early stage. The advantage of this is that in the case of manufacturing, rejects are limited and in some cases prevented depending on the relationship between process capability and specifications. The aim of SPC is to reduce variability of characteristics of a product. Wetherill and Brown (1991) revealed that many organisations regulated the quality of their products with SPC during the Second World War. This gives an idea of how long SPC has been in existence. The widespread use of SPC nearly came to an end in the 1960s. The reason for the abandonment of SPC by leading manufacturing industries in most parts of the world was not clear but the belief was that at that time industries were prospering, with little or no competition. However, in the late 1970s, the Japanese industries took the market by storm by the use of quality management techniques and tools, which were introduced by quality gurus such as Deming, Juran, Crosby and many others. This gave the incentive for organisations that wanted to be world class players in their respective sectors to reconsider exhaustively the use of SPC and its tools. In South Africa, predominantly in the Western Cape, SPC has been reintroduced in many companies over the past eight years. The introduction of SPC in most of the industries has not been a smooth transition as it was based on the misconception that if enough of the "right" improvement activities were carried out, then actual performance improvement would improve. There have been many factors hindering the successful implementation of SPC in manufacturing industries such as ADE. This research aims to identify these factors.
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    A systemic rationale for integrated logistics/materials management : a case study of Romago engineering
    (2001) Magotsi, Moses Robert; Ryan, Tom B
    This thesis argues that this slow adoption has partially been due to an under conceptualisation of the theoretical rationale for such an adoption. Using a case study Romago Engineering, a company that was experiencing material supply problems, the thesis develops a theoretica foundation for such management through a conceptualisation of the firm as a system, whose behaviour and characteristics are a result of the interactions of its various sub-systems.
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    The use and application of Stafford Beer's 'Viable System Model' as a diagnostic tool
    (1999) Smart, Michael Charles; Ryan, Tom B
    This research project is about one of the many tools available to the manager to evaluate an organisation, Stafford Beer's Viable System Model. The model as derived in his book 'The Heart of Enterprise', is reviewed in depth as part of the research. The model is then used to diagnose two organisations, a network marketing organisation, a growing and successful enterprise, and an engineering jobbing shop, an enterprise struggling to survive. It is shown how the successful enterprise conforms to the Viable System Model and the struggling one does not. The network marketing company is further examined to identify elements that contribute to its success and it is shown that these elements do not exist in the engineering jobbing shop. A proposal is then put forward on how to reorganise the engineering jobbing shop and implement the elements of success identified in the network marketing organisation. The research concludes by acknowledging that while it is beyond the scope of this research to categorically conclude that an enterprise must conform to the Viable System Model to be viable, the two specific companies researched here do suggest this. This is in agreement with Stafford Beer's contention that for an organisation to be viable it must at the very least conform to the Viable System Model. It is further concluded that the research demonstrates the usefulness of the Viable System Model in the evaluation of an organisation.