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Can JIT be successfully implemented within service organizations? ... There is a consensus that economic growth, a higher disposable income and technological advances have contributed to the rapid growth of service enterprises (Porter, M. ...
Just-in-time (JIT) concepts, which started in manufacture, have spread to all functions of a business and to all industrial organisations. So far, JIT has been referred to as an operations strategy for the business. ... It is inevitable that modifications have to be made to some of the JIT principles when applied within the construction industry where very different conditions apply (Low, S. ... With a JIT system in place, materials can be delivered to site just before use- preferably on the actual day of use (Lim, L. ...
The question to be asked is whether JIT can be successfully implemented within service organizations. ...
Literature Review
For the reason that the service organisation and JIT are two key issues of this article, the different literatures of them two are organised in the following two aspects. There is hardly any literature to link between the service organisation and JIT within organisation studies.
In our view, whether JIT can be successfully implemented within service organizations is decided by whether the advantages of JIT system can fit the characters of service organizations. In this article, we wish to highlight this information: the improvement of business performance and the compatibility of JIT to service organizations.
Literature of service organisation
Before addressing this central question, the article first indicates the definition of service organisation. ... C (1991) defined service organisations as work units with a production process in which there is direct interaction between clients or customers and providers of the services, in which the out put intangible, almost impossible to store, and has a considerable degree of variability.
There are several key characters of service organisations different from non-service organisations. Firstly, in the service organisations, the service production process depends on the clients or customers more significant than the industrial production process. The active participation of the clients in the service production process provides a great deal of uncertain factors about input.
Secondly, production and consumption of a service take place simultaneously, unlike the time-lag between production and consumption of a tangible good or product. As a result, in producing a service direct contact takes place between a client and an employee.
Thirdly, a good is an object, a thing; a service is a ¡°deed¡±, a ¡°performance¡±, a supplied effort (Berry, L. ... In comparison with a tangible good/product a service is intangible. One can not possess a service, one can only experience it subjectively, ¡°The reality of a service varies according to the mind of the beholder¡± (Shostack, G. ...
According to these key characters, someone who buys or receives a service is less autonomous in using the organisational output than someone who buys or gets a product. The reason is that the client plays an active role in accomplishing the service, at least more so in creating a product. ... C¡¯s words (1991) describing, all organisational units with production processes which cannot be directly considered as exploring the soil (agriculture, mining) or as producing tangible products (industry) are defined by us as service organisations or (work) units.
The scientific literature on differences between service and other kinds of organisations is concentrated on variables which are crucial to the non-service organisational unit. ... Furthermore, the role of the client in the service industry is potentially active in that he or she can be used as a partial ¡°employee¡± of the organisation.
JIT Philosophy
JIT is about doing the simple things well, and gradually doing them better. ... JIT has proved to work well in the manufacturing sector. ... Under the JIT concept, waste is defined as anything that does not add value to the final product. ... The JIT concept therefore calls for zero inventory or buffer stocks. ... Thus, getting things done the ¡°right first time¡± is another doctrine of the JIT concept. ... Management is the driving force and executive power for a JIT implementation. Management commitment and effort are necessary to ensure that disciplined and correct operations are carried out in accordance with the JIT concept, and that the workforce is motivated and appropriately skilled. JIT is a continuous improvement methodology and should be regarded as a means to an end and not an end in itself. ... Rejection of materials due to poor quality disrupts production workflow and schedules, countering any savings and productivity gains from JIT. Hence, the JIT concept also encompasses the TQC concept to ensure a smooth, just-in-time execution of work processes. ... JIT production assumes an uninterrupted work process. ... With materials flowing on a JIT basis, coordination with suppliers is of utmost importance in order to ensure that the right materials are delivered at the right time. ... JIT therefore emphasizes the need to reduce the pool of suppliers and even to work towards a single supply source. ...
In Harrison A¡¯s (1992) opinion, there are three key reasons which has made JIT different from other approaches to improved business performance. ... It is the combined effect of applying these techniques which makes JIT such a formidable competitive weapon. ...
l Everyone participates: JIT is a ¡°total¡± system, which means that all company members work towards improvement goals. ... It is not a war fought by operations personnel on their own
l Continuous improvement: The JIT task is never completed because the goal of perfection can never be reached. ... So JIT has been described as a ¡°journey with no end¡±. ... (1989) proposes that an organisation asks itself five key questions before starting on the JIT journey. These questions are really aimed at forging the link between JIT and the company strategy, and are also as the standards to appraise whether JIT can be successful implemented in service organisations. If no such link can be found, then transitory JIT may be a fail system to service organisations. ... Will JIT improve service business performance?
Hill (1985) emphasizes the need to link a company¡¯s manufacturing strategy with product or service performance in the market place and hence to the overall company strategy. If service firms decide not to use the JIT route, then they must convince themselves that their chosen routs are better in the full knowledge of what it will be up against. If they do decide to adopt the JIT route, then JIT deliverables need to be considered in terms of their impact in the market place. ... How suitable is JIT for service business environment?
JIT is original in manufacturing industry, however, it is not to say that JIT is being effective only in high-volume, stable manufacturing situations. The Lucas terms ¡°runners-repeaters-strangers¡± can also be applied to service industry environments. Runners and repeaters are prime candidates for applying JIT concepts of flow, further, the challenge is to move more parts and subassemblies out of the grip of more complex control systems into the pull scheduling arena by service and process simplification. ... Should JIT, new process technology, or both are invested? ... Moreover, the focus of JIT on people building helps to prepare better trained operators of new technology who know how to apply continuous process improvement.
Approximate Word count = 5964
Approximate Pages = 23.9
(250 words per page double spaced)
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