Journal of System Management
Volume:6 Issue: 2, Summer 2020

This study explores the use of influence strategies and social mechanisms by the manufacturer to achieve supplier flexibility. Major components of marketing research of previous studies related to influence strategies and measures flexibility in the supply chain context are used. This empirical study utilized 300 survey samples from senior management at Small Medium Enterprises (SME)s. Results show that using influence strategies has positive effects on supplier mix flexibility. Furthermore, the effects of trust on shared vision is positive on manufacturer flexibility.

The current strategies of increasing work-life quality are being given special attention by both public and private organizations. These quality strategies have arisen because of the highly competitive environment. Also, a safe and healthy work environment that provides the opportunities for employees to enhance their loyalty, affiliation and love towards their work and organization is required in order to achieve the current and future aspirations of the organization. Accordingly, this study aims to explore the direct relationship between the variables: the strategy of work-life quality, strategic agility and sustainable competitive advantage, to identify their indirect relationships with their own dimensions. In order to achieve this, a questionnaire was distributed to both heads of companies and their deputies in large and medium Yemeni manufacturing companies, using a random sampling technique to reach 227 companies out of 554 by distributing 454 questionnaires for the selected population. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient and exploratory statistics were carried out to identify the quality of measurements used to examine the proposed theoretical method using SEM. The results of the study are that there is a direct relationship between the variables. Additionally, there is an indirect relationship between the independent variable (strategy of work-life quality) and the dependent variable (sustainable competitive advantage) using strategic agility as a mediator in Yemeni large and medium manufacturing companies. These findings ensure the validity of the proposed theoretical model. In addition, it fills the knowledge gap regarding this issue and the findings highlight the competitive challenges that Yemeni companies must be aware of.

The Internet is changing the transaction pattern of B2B markets. One of the major concerns of IT knowledge-based companies is how to take advantage of B2B online markets. These companies believe that the only possible strategy for entering these markets is to launch independent websites, and they are usually reluctant to enter these markets due to the requirements such as financial resources and skilled human resources. The literature showed that there were different strategies for entering these markets. This study aimed to identify the factors influencing the selection of B2B online market entry strategies in IT knowledge-based companies but given the complexity of choosing the right strategy, it is a complex and unstructured issue, with various stakeholders, both internal and external, involved. Therefore, due to this complexity and the strong role of the human factor in it, the methodology of soft systems methodology has been used. The results showed that the factors contributing to the selection of B2B online market entry strategies in IT knowledge-based companies included entry time, external beneficiaries' characteristics and needs, corporate resources, corporate control strategy, corporate IT capabilities, external beneficiaries' IT knowledge and motivation, and product.

Usually, in real-world engineering problems, there are different types of uncertainties about the studied variables, which can be due to the specific variables under investigation or interaction between them. Fuzzy cognitive maps, which addresses the cause-effect relation between variables, is one of the most common models for better understanding of the problems, especially when the quantitative data are not available or the nature of the problem is qualitative. One of the significant issues of automatic construction of fuzzy cognitive maps is that it does not consider the experts' uncertainties because of their cognitive attitudes such as age, experience, etc., which affects the quality and validity of modeling of the complex problems. Therefore, in this paper, a Z-Cognitive maps approach is proposed based on the distance-based automatic construction approach and Z-numbers to capture uncertainty and ambiguity of experts' opinions on the variables and causality relationships. The suggested approach can act as decision support for cognitive maps problems considering the experts' cognitive information, which is tested by a numerical example.

Insurance companies are among the service organizations, which maintain close relationships with their clients by providing insurance services. Clients are the most important resource for service companies. And profitability of insurance companies undoubtedly hinges on clear analysis of client satisfaction and improved productivity of service providers. An important factor of client satisfaction with insurance services in insurance companies is short policy issuance lead time. Insurance companies have rarely paid enough attention to this problem; therefore, this paper aims to provide a strategy for improving policy issuance lead time by simulating the existing system and observing simulation results. After a software model was developed, the discrete-event simulation (DES) results were analyzed. Then model validation tests were conducted. After a valid simulated model was developed, it was decided to design system improvement scenarios. According to the results, policy issuance lead time decreased by changing each of these parameters: the number of operators issuing insurance policies, client referral time to a specialist, specialized test response time, and insurance representative referral time to a policy issuance center. As a result, the service process improved, and productivity increased. This indicates the effectiveness of the DES technique and expansion of operations research methods in the service industry.

Due to the global competitive environment in the mobile app market, traditional problem-solving methods in examining the problem of accepting stores offering these digital products have ignored the important role of human factors and therefore this weakness necessitates research on relevant policies by governing bodies from another perspective based on a soft systems thinking approach. This problem has structural complexities, and many stakeholders have different views on it. Therefore, using the methodological approach of soft systems can be a solution for this purpose. This research was applied, exploratory, and qualitative, and the statistical population consisted of 10 experts in the telecom industry, whose selection was made by purposeful judgment. Data collection tools were conducted in in-depth semi-structured interviews. The research findings lead to a conceptual and structured model for improving change, learning and helping to improve macro policies in this area.

One of the main concerns of scholars is the observance of intellectual property rights in the production of knowledge content. Data and knowledge derived from the results of research need to be produced based on ethical issues in order to provide context for solving problems through innovation, scientific accuracy and relevance on the basis of ethical principles. In this research, the intelligent knowledge audit model was designed for Islamic Azad University. The present research is applied and in the first stage due to the recognition of the dimensions of the model, is exploratory, in the second phase, the comparative study of the selected models, and in the third stage is analytical. The data gathering tool were a researcher-made questionnaire and interview. In the present research, a questionnaire was distributed through a sample of 205 professors and PhD candidates in the field of information technology management. The questionnaire was analyzed using structural equation modeling, and the conformity between the independent variables and the dependent variable was presented. In the following, a comparative study of the selected models was performed and after analyzing the interviews with the experts, the final model was designed. As a result, the use of structural and semantic analysis methods in sequence can lead to the prevention of repetitive content. This is heavily needed in order to achieve a systematic ethical responsibility.

This study explored the relationship between organizational culture, total quality management (TQM), and performance in auto parts manufacturing companies in Isfahan, Iran. The study was a correlational survey following applied purposes. The statistical population included all members in such sections as management, quality control, sales, research and development, and human resources of 21 auto parts manufacturers found in Isfahan, Iran. A total number of 95 questionnaires were distributed, and based on the Morgan table, 76 individuals were selected as the participants in this research. The questionnaire consisted of 66 questions measuring the research variables although it did not record demographic information. To investigate the hypotheses of the research, inferential statistics procedures were processed in Smart-PLS software. The results of data analysis revealed that the culture dominating these industrial units was characterized by “adhocracy culture” and “clan culture”, as a result of which the companies prioritized flexibility over control. Among the TQM dimensions, “activity focus” showed the highest degree of development, whereas “customer focus” was the least developed factor. Furthermore, the results obtained from the structural equation model demonstrated that TQM mediated the relationship between organizational culture and performance, while TQM had a significant relationship with performance, and the overall power of organizational culture left a positive effect on performance.

The present research aims to design strategic management model in technical and vocational training. The research has qualitative design and for data analysis and classification, thematic Analysis Method (Thematic Network) was applied. The statistical population of the study consisted of experts of the Iran Technical and Vocational Training Organization. The number of 13 participants were selected by purposive method based on experience and expertise criteria. For data collection, the structured and semi-structured interview were used. The data collection process was performed using theoretical saturation technique until it reached the iteration and saturation stage. For data validation, triangulation method was used. Content validity index (CVI) and Content Validity Ratio (CVR) were used to decision making and assess the consensus of experts and to evaluate the reliability, Holstein coefficient was considered. At the end of the thematic analysis process, the conceptual model of research was designed based on the themes extracted and the theoretical foundations of the research. Results showed that number of eight inclusive themes, including strategic goals, external environment analysis, internal environment analysis, strategic analysis, educational goals, technical and vocational training plans, implementation of technical and professional training and evaluation plans, as well as 33 organizing themes and 160 basic themes were recognized for the strategic management model in technical and vocational training. According to results, this model can provide promisingly a suitable framework for strategic management execution in skill training.

The purpose of this study is to present a model of human resource architecture in Iranian Customs. This research is in the category of exploratory mixed research. In the qualitative phase, the statistical population was academic experts in HR, managers and assistants in the field of Customs of Southern Iran. Purposeful sampling was continued until theoretical saturation. The sample size was 19 individuals. Semi-structured individual and in-person interviews were conducted. Based on the opinions following the implementation of the texts related to HR architectures, themes and coding, describing the basic elements, characteristics, system, achievements, advanced performance activities, and maintenance activities of HR were extracted. In the quantitative phase, the statistical population of this study consisted of all staff Customs of Southern Iran Who Were used based on theoretical foundations of structural equations minimum sample size of 210 stratified by random sampling based on Morgan Table. To collect the data, a researcher-made questionnaire of HR architecture (2019) was used. The content validity of the questionnaire was assessed by experts according to a predefined format and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha 0.971. The following results were obtained to analyze the research findings using structural equations by LISREL software.All the relationships between HR architecture and Dimensions are very strong, because all standard coefficients are completely obtained by No. 1 Finally, it can be said that the strongest relationship between theDimensions and variables of HR architecture is the relationship between the achievement Dimension and HR architecture .