This paper demonstrates how a content analysis method may be used to help understand the requirements and needs in a designer. This is an attempt to explore and rationalizes the methodological concerns regarding content analysis. The findings are highlighted in a thematic way to convey how designers can face the escalating challenges to develop the proper skills, awareness and confidence. These are requirements of being a true designer with the influence of a firm‟s vision and mission. This study is relevant to design practice in terms of its potentials of assisting designers in balancing their design and management skills in the market turbulence of today.
Knowledge sharing innovation_and_firm_performance_evidence_from_turkeyMesut DOĞAN
The aim of this study is to determine relationship between knowledge sharing, innovation and firm performance. In the current study, a survey was conducted on a total of 150 high-tech companies operating in Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya. In the analysis results, it is seen that innovation speed and quality affect both the operational and financial performance of firms. In other words, as innovation speed and quality increase, so does the operational and financial performance of firms. Another important finding obtained in the current study is that explicit knowledge sharing, and tacit knowledge sharing have a positive effect on firm performance. A high level of innovation encompasses new products, processes or applications in most company activities. As a result, innovation can create a competitive advantage by creating synergy in the activities of companies and encourage creativity. Keywords: Innovation Speed and Quality, Explicit and Tacit Knowledge Sharing, Firm Performance
JEL Classification: L25, O31, O33
Success Factors of Open Innovation - A Literature ReviewWaqas Tariq
This paper reviews the research on the open innovation process in order to identify critical success factors. The study consists of a systematic review of 29 referred empirical articles on the open innovation process. The studies reviewed highlight different success factors for the open innovation process. These factors are grouped into nine themes: 1) relational aspects, 2) the people involved in the process, 3) governance, 4) facilitators, 5) provision of resources, 6) strategy, 7) process management, 8) leadership and 9) culture. Based upon the findings, the study proposes a number of future research directions that may stimulate more intensive investigation of this field.
Article # 7 The Design Management series Epilogue and a story from real life Brigitte Borja de Mozota
Thank you for your joyful support in these 7 Design Management series . Join us in the conversation to co -design the concluding article . Have a good read . Steinar & Brigitte
Knowledge sharing innovation_and_firm_performance_evidence_from_turkeyMesut DOĞAN
The aim of this study is to determine relationship between knowledge sharing, innovation and firm performance. In the current study, a survey was conducted on a total of 150 high-tech companies operating in Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya. In the analysis results, it is seen that innovation speed and quality affect both the operational and financial performance of firms. In other words, as innovation speed and quality increase, so does the operational and financial performance of firms. Another important finding obtained in the current study is that explicit knowledge sharing, and tacit knowledge sharing have a positive effect on firm performance. A high level of innovation encompasses new products, processes or applications in most company activities. As a result, innovation can create a competitive advantage by creating synergy in the activities of companies and encourage creativity. Keywords: Innovation Speed and Quality, Explicit and Tacit Knowledge Sharing, Firm Performance
JEL Classification: L25, O31, O33
Success Factors of Open Innovation - A Literature ReviewWaqas Tariq
This paper reviews the research on the open innovation process in order to identify critical success factors. The study consists of a systematic review of 29 referred empirical articles on the open innovation process. The studies reviewed highlight different success factors for the open innovation process. These factors are grouped into nine themes: 1) relational aspects, 2) the people involved in the process, 3) governance, 4) facilitators, 5) provision of resources, 6) strategy, 7) process management, 8) leadership and 9) culture. Based upon the findings, the study proposes a number of future research directions that may stimulate more intensive investigation of this field.
Article # 7 The Design Management series Epilogue and a story from real life Brigitte Borja de Mozota
Thank you for your joyful support in these 7 Design Management series . Join us in the conversation to co -design the concluding article . Have a good read . Steinar & Brigitte
A BENCHMARK MODEL FOR INTERNAL ASSESSMENT OF INDUSTRY USING FUZZY TOPSIS APPR...ijmech
Internal assessment is one of the most important factor of an industry, needs appropriate improvement
planning between the departments with development of Benchmark model among them. The proposed study
applies Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution to rank different alternatives.
The preliminary results indicate that the proposed model is capable of determining appropriate
competition between departments which are Human Resource, Finance, Production, Quality Assurance. To
remove the subjectivity, the linguistic data about the attributes is converted into a crisp score by using
fuzzy numbers and then the different alternatives are evaluated based on attributes by TOPSIS approach to
find the best alternative according to the industry’s requirement. Thus the endeavor has been made by the
authors to give a simple model for the evaluation of internal assessment of an industry
An Empirical Investigation of the Intuitiveness of Process Landscape DesignsGregor Polančič
Process landscapes define the scope and relationships between an organization’s business processes and are therefore essential for their management. However, in contrast to business process diagrams, where nowadays BPMN prevails, process landscape diagrams lack standardization, which results in numerous process landscape designs. Accordingly, our goal was to investigate how intuitive are current landscape designs to users with low expertise, as well as users having expertise in BPMN and landscape modeling. A total of 302 subjects participated in the research showing that previous expertise impacts the interpretation of land-scape elements and designs whereas, in the case of having contextual infor-mation, subjects responded more consistently. The results also show that the basic relationships between processes are intuitive to users, also in the case when only proximity between shapes is facilitated. Our findings may imply future de-signs of languages for process landscapes. They also may be useful for those who actually model process landscape diagrams and search for suitable notations.
Effective Marketing Science Applications: Insights from the ISMS-MSI Practice...Felipe Affonso
From 2003 to 2012, the ISMS-MSI Practice Prize/Award competition has documented 25 impactful projects,
with associated papers appearing in Marketing Science. This article reviews these papers and projects, examines
their influence on the relevant organizations, and provides a perspective on the diffusion and impact of
marketing science models within the organizations. We base our analysis on three sources of data—the articles,
authors’ responses to a survey, and in-depth interviews with the authors. We draw some conclusions about
how marketing science models can create more impact without losing academic rigor while maintaining strong
relevance to practice.
We find that the application and diffusion of marketing science models are not restricted to the well-known
choice models, conjoint analysis, mapping, and promotional analysis—there are very effective applications across
a wide range of managerial problems using an array of marketing science techniques. There is no one successful
approach, and although some factors are correlated with impactful marketing science models, there are a number
of pathways by which a project can add value to its client organization. Simpler, easier-to-use models that
offer robust and improved results can have a stronger impact than academically sophisticated models can. Organizational
buy-in is critical and can be achieved through recognizing high-level champions, holding in-house
presentations and dialogues, doing pilot assignments, involving multidepartment personnel, and speaking the
same language as the influential executives. And we find that intermediaries often, but not always, play a key
role in the transportability and diffusion of models across organizations.
Although these applications are impressive and reflect profitable academic–practitioner partnerships, changes
in the knowledge base and reward systems for academics, intermediaries, and practitioners are required for
marketing science approaches to realize their potential impact on a much larger scale than the highly selective
sample that we have been able to analyze.
Research Through Industrial Design Industrial Design In The Context Of An A...Gavin Melles
The creative arts and industries, including design, are currently legitimating to higher
education and funding bodies how project work, documentation of research process and critical
reflection is the appropriate mix for scholarship in these fields. Central to industrial design is the
role of making and products in the design research process although this emphasis may not be
shared by the fields with which industrial design works. Cooperative Research Centers (CRCs) are
contexts where science, design and industry collaborate offering unique opportunities to examine
interdisciplinary similarity and difference and an environment for design research to prove to
government and higher education the legitimacy and quality of its work. Drawing on evidence
from two recent doctoral projects in CRC industry/university collaboration for Wood Innovation
this paper analyses the design, science encounter and its consequences for knowledge production
in the project text. The authors further argue that only a balance of prototype, process and
reflection can help establish the academic and disciplinary status of design, itself a precondition
for convincing the institutional skeptics of the current and future legitimacy and value of the creative fields.
A brief introduction to Design Science for Information Systems by Paul Johannesson at KTH/Stockholm University. The presentation builds on the work by Alan Hevner and others.
This paper explains a model for analyzing and measuring the propagation of order amplifications (i.e. bullwhip effect) for a single-product supply network topology considering exogenous uncertainty and linear and time-invariant inventory management policies for network entities. The stream of orders placed by each entity of the network is characterized assuming customer demand is ergodic. In fact, we propose an exact formula in order to measure the bullwhip effect in the addressed supply network topology considering the system in Markovian chain framework and presenting a matrix of network member relationships and relevant order sequences. The formula turns out using a mathematical method called frequency domain analysis. The major contribution of this paper is analyzing the bullwhip effect considering exogenous uncertainty in supply networks and using the Fourier transform in order to simplify the relevant calculations. We present a number of numerical examples to assess the analytical results accuracy in quantifying the bullwhip effect.
A BENCHMARK MODEL FOR INTERNAL ASSESSMENT OF INDUSTRY USING FUZZY TOPSIS APPR...ijmech
Internal assessment is one of the most important factor of an industry, needs appropriate improvement
planning between the departments with development of Benchmark model among them. The proposed study
applies Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution to rank different alternatives.
The preliminary results indicate that the proposed model is capable of determining appropriate
competition between departments which are Human Resource, Finance, Production, Quality Assurance. To
remove the subjectivity, the linguistic data about the attributes is converted into a crisp score by using
fuzzy numbers and then the different alternatives are evaluated based on attributes by TOPSIS approach to
find the best alternative according to the industry’s requirement. Thus the endeavor has been made by the
authors to give a simple model for the evaluation of internal assessment of an industry
An Empirical Investigation of the Intuitiveness of Process Landscape DesignsGregor Polančič
Process landscapes define the scope and relationships between an organization’s business processes and are therefore essential for their management. However, in contrast to business process diagrams, where nowadays BPMN prevails, process landscape diagrams lack standardization, which results in numerous process landscape designs. Accordingly, our goal was to investigate how intuitive are current landscape designs to users with low expertise, as well as users having expertise in BPMN and landscape modeling. A total of 302 subjects participated in the research showing that previous expertise impacts the interpretation of land-scape elements and designs whereas, in the case of having contextual infor-mation, subjects responded more consistently. The results also show that the basic relationships between processes are intuitive to users, also in the case when only proximity between shapes is facilitated. Our findings may imply future de-signs of languages for process landscapes. They also may be useful for those who actually model process landscape diagrams and search for suitable notations.
Effective Marketing Science Applications: Insights from the ISMS-MSI Practice...Felipe Affonso
From 2003 to 2012, the ISMS-MSI Practice Prize/Award competition has documented 25 impactful projects,
with associated papers appearing in Marketing Science. This article reviews these papers and projects, examines
their influence on the relevant organizations, and provides a perspective on the diffusion and impact of
marketing science models within the organizations. We base our analysis on three sources of data—the articles,
authors’ responses to a survey, and in-depth interviews with the authors. We draw some conclusions about
how marketing science models can create more impact without losing academic rigor while maintaining strong
relevance to practice.
We find that the application and diffusion of marketing science models are not restricted to the well-known
choice models, conjoint analysis, mapping, and promotional analysis—there are very effective applications across
a wide range of managerial problems using an array of marketing science techniques. There is no one successful
approach, and although some factors are correlated with impactful marketing science models, there are a number
of pathways by which a project can add value to its client organization. Simpler, easier-to-use models that
offer robust and improved results can have a stronger impact than academically sophisticated models can. Organizational
buy-in is critical and can be achieved through recognizing high-level champions, holding in-house
presentations and dialogues, doing pilot assignments, involving multidepartment personnel, and speaking the
same language as the influential executives. And we find that intermediaries often, but not always, play a key
role in the transportability and diffusion of models across organizations.
Although these applications are impressive and reflect profitable academic–practitioner partnerships, changes
in the knowledge base and reward systems for academics, intermediaries, and practitioners are required for
marketing science approaches to realize their potential impact on a much larger scale than the highly selective
sample that we have been able to analyze.
Research Through Industrial Design Industrial Design In The Context Of An A...Gavin Melles
The creative arts and industries, including design, are currently legitimating to higher
education and funding bodies how project work, documentation of research process and critical
reflection is the appropriate mix for scholarship in these fields. Central to industrial design is the
role of making and products in the design research process although this emphasis may not be
shared by the fields with which industrial design works. Cooperative Research Centers (CRCs) are
contexts where science, design and industry collaborate offering unique opportunities to examine
interdisciplinary similarity and difference and an environment for design research to prove to
government and higher education the legitimacy and quality of its work. Drawing on evidence
from two recent doctoral projects in CRC industry/university collaboration for Wood Innovation
this paper analyses the design, science encounter and its consequences for knowledge production
in the project text. The authors further argue that only a balance of prototype, process and
reflection can help establish the academic and disciplinary status of design, itself a precondition
for convincing the institutional skeptics of the current and future legitimacy and value of the creative fields.
A brief introduction to Design Science for Information Systems by Paul Johannesson at KTH/Stockholm University. The presentation builds on the work by Alan Hevner and others.
This paper explains a model for analyzing and measuring the propagation of order amplifications (i.e. bullwhip effect) for a single-product supply network topology considering exogenous uncertainty and linear and time-invariant inventory management policies for network entities. The stream of orders placed by each entity of the network is characterized assuming customer demand is ergodic. In fact, we propose an exact formula in order to measure the bullwhip effect in the addressed supply network topology considering the system in Markovian chain framework and presenting a matrix of network member relationships and relevant order sequences. The formula turns out using a mathematical method called frequency domain analysis. The major contribution of this paper is analyzing the bullwhip effect considering exogenous uncertainty in supply networks and using the Fourier transform in order to simplify the relevant calculations. We present a number of numerical examples to assess the analytical results accuracy in quantifying the bullwhip effect.
02 2013-présentation formation ossature bois sur trois ans 2010-11-12-13 -FORMABAT31
Destinée pour des personnes en insertions j’ai formé avec la participation de NEOPOLIS ( VALENCE)
9 à 11 personnes de 18 à 54 déjà employés dans des structures d’insertion de Rhône Alpes
Pour la fabrication de maisons ossatures bois.
Ils ont passés 2 Certificats de Compétence Professionnel sur 4 nécessaires pour avoir la totalité du titre professionnel avec NEOPOLIS
Preparing or your presentation ....
Before your presentation ...
During your presentation ....
What should you do?
#AcademyOfKnowledge
https://sites.google.com/academyofknowledge.org/commskills/effective-communication/presentations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIgmKLaJdB8
The purpose of this paper is assess the level of brand performance among the furniture manufacturing firms in Malaysia where the background of firms were examined in determining the influence of demographics on their brand performance. The brand performance framework by Wong and Merrilees (2008) was adapted to measure the brand performance of the furniture manufacturing firms in Malaysia. 550 questionnaires were sent out to CEOs or the marketing team of the furniture firms. This study found that there is a high level of functional innovation, followed by meaning and aesthetic innovation. However, typological innovation mean score is slightly below the theoretical average. Ultimately, furniture manufacturing firms have fairly high brand performance, brand distinctiveness and brand barriers, but fairly low brand orientation, which can be considered positive results. Large furniture firms are reported to have better brand performance than small and medium furniture firms. The findings discussed are parallel to the emerging importance of increasing brand performance among furniture manufacturing firms in Malaysia.
The purpose of this paper is assess the level of brand performance among the furniture manufacturing firms in
Malaysia where the background of firms were examined in determining the influence of demographics on their
brand performance. The brand performance framework by Wong and Merrilees (2008) was adapted to measure the
brand performance of the furniture manufacturing firms in Malaysia. 550 questionnaires were sent out to CEOs or
the marketing team of the furniture firms. This study found that there is a high level of functional innovation,
followed by meaning and aesthetic innovation. However, typological innovation mean score is slightly below the
theoretical average. Ultimately, furniture manufacturing firms have fairly high brand performance, brand
distinctiveness and brand barriers, but fairly low brand orientation, which can be considered positive results. Large
furniture firms are reported to have better brand performance than small and medium furniture firms. The findings
discussed are parallel to the emerging importance of increasing brand performance among furniture manufacturing
firms in Malaysia.
Innovation organizational learning driven business modelC.C. Dr. Tan
Unique innovation and organizational learning approach to business model. Also provided simple quantitative and qualitative analysis approaches that become the fundamental innovation and creation process model for business performance.
The Effectiveness of Virtual R&D Teams in SMEs: Experiences of Malaysian SMEsNader Ale Ebrahim
The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those involved with research and development (R&D) programs and employed virtual teams to create the greatest competitive advantage from limited labor are increasing. Global and localized virtual R&D teams are believed to have high potential for the growth of SMEs. Due to the fast-growing complexity of new products coupled with new emerging opportunities of virtual teams, a collaborative approach is believed to be the future trend. This research explores the effectiveness of virtuality in SMEs’ virtual R&D teams. Online questionnaires were emailed to Malaysian manufacturing SMEs and 74 usable questionnaires were received, representing a 20.8 percent return rate. In order to avoid biases which may result from pre-suggested answers, a series of open-ended questions were retrieved from the experts. This study was focused on analyzing an open-ended question, whereby four main themes were extracted from the experts’ recommendations regarding the effectiveness of virtual teams for the growth and performance of SMEs. The findings of this study would be useful to product design managers of SMEs in order to realize the key advantages and significance of virtual R&D teams during the new product development (NPD) process. This in turn, leads to increased effectiveness in new product development's procedure.
The application of design thinking methodology on research practices a mind m...Joana Cerejo
The difficult task of innovation is a key facet of Research & Development institutions. Innovation is also closely related with processes oriented to achieve solutions in design. We propose to research new emerging design methods and provide an overview of design thinking tools that can be applied in an early stage of the R&D research process in order to produce meaningful results. This research presents a set of experimental guidelines and an analysis method for the application of these tools. The establishment of coherent guidelines for the design thinking process is a very complex task, due to its interdisciplinary requirements, that convey many diverse mindsets. The main focus of this study is creating an analysis toolkit that enables non-specialist and specialist users to perform high-quality design production.
Linking Design, Marketing, and Innovation: Managing the Connection for Compet...Waqas Tariq
Marketing should closely coordinate with product innovation. Not only will an effective connection of the marketing activity and design trigger product innovation in enterprises, it is a key factor to the product success in the market place. In practice, how to process product design so as to reach the goal of marketing during the innovation procedure? In the past, enterprises did have some concrete actions but empirical studies regarding the correlation model between marketing strategy and design strategy or even between marketing strategy and innovation are rarely seen. In the study, the author first synthesized viewpoints from literature on marketing strategy, product innovation strategy, and design strategy. Then managers at marketing divisions and R&D departments of the Taiwanese consumer electronic industry were interviewed. The fitness of theoretical models and the observed data was then verified by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). From the 265 effective questionnaires, a proper fitness was found for the correlation theoretical model of marketing strategy, product innovation strategy, and design strategy, and the observed data. In enterprises, marketing strategy will influence design strategy, and at the same time, the marketing strategy will also influence design strategy through innovation strategy. Among these three variables, innovation strategy serves as an independent variable and intervene variable to design strategy.
The Diffusion And Implementation of InnovationCSCJournals
In their efforts to try and meet the requirements of the ‘new economy’, corporations would be helped with a conceptual framework in which their innovative business models are combined with new perceptions of knowledge creation, the diffusion and implementation of innovations and change management. To come up with adequate problem analyses and (business) solutions for the complex issues they address, corporations need not only technological knowledge, but also have to gain insight into how technologies relate to the values of people, and how they can be implemented successfully. Action research set up in the form of reciprocal Human Resource Management projects is particularly designed to create solutions and implement strategies that cover this whole spectrum. In a corporate effort of academic researchers and experts in the field, technological and practical knowledge and skills are integrated in a mutual learning and knowledge creation process aimed at the implementation of innovative solutions. With that, it provides an answer to the call for a new knowledge and innovation paradigm that serves to support the ‘new economy’.
ICEM 2012 -The Application of Design Thinking Methodology on Research PracticesJoana Cerejo
The difficult task of innovation is a key facet of Research & Development (R&D) institutions. Innovation is also closely related with processes oriented to achieve solutions in design. By addressing this topic, we propose to research new emerging design methods and provide an overview of design thinking tools that can be applied in an early stage of the R&D research process in order to produce meaningful results. This research presents a set of experimental guidelines and an analysis method for the application of these tools.
CREATING AND SHARING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH A CORPORATE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE: TH...Julio Figueroa
Paper published in PACIS2012
There have been various claims that enterprise social networking sites (ESN) might improve business effectiveness and performance. Nevertheless, many of the initiatives supported by ESNs have failed. This paper argues that divergent perceptions about ESNs across the different levels of the organization may explain failures in ESNs’ design and implementation. Using an extended version of the Technological Frames of Reference framework (Orlikowski & Gash, 1994), this paper reports on a study that analyzed employee’s perceptions about an ESN within a software engineering firm. It was found that significant divergent perceptions in the organization led to a social order that discouraged employees to create and share knowledge through the ESN. This paper highlights the importance of aligning top management perceptions about the ESN with its actual scope. It also highlights the relevance of aligning perceptions about the ESN across the different levels of the organization. This paper proposes extending the original Technological Frames of Reference framework in order to better understand people’s perceptions about technologies that support knowledge management systems. It also proposes an explanatory model for understanding how people’s perceptions about a corporate social networking site impact on its usage.
Bridging the ‘missing middle’: a design based approach to scalingdebbieholley1
Holley, D., Peffer, G. Santos, P., and Cook, J. (2014). Bridging the ‘missing middle’: a design based approach to scaling. Presented to the ALT-Conference, September 2014
A paper contributing to EU learning layers project,:Scaling up Technologies for Informal Learning in SME Clusters
A 9.9 million EU Framework Project (2012-2016)
Abstract
Taking innovation from concept through to scalable delivery is complex, contested and an under-theorised process. In this paper we outline approaches to scaling that have influenced in our work in the EU Learning Layers Integrating Project, a consortium consisting of 17 institutions from 7 different countries. The two industries identified for the initial work are the Health sector in the UK, and the Construction sector in Germany. The focus of the EU project is scaling informal learning in the workplace through the use of technologies; the focus of our paper, the ‘Help Seeking’ tool, an online tool developed by co-design with GP Practice staff in the North of England. Drawing upon three Scaling taxonomies to underpin our work, we map the complex and interrelated strands influencing scaling of the ‘Help-Seeking’ tool, and go on to suggest that the typical measure of scaling success ‘by number’ needs a more nuanced analysis. Furthermore, we will propose that the emerging framework enables the orchestration of team discourse about theory, the production of artefacts as tools for design discourse, the identification of scalable systemic pain points, and is thus throwing light on the ‘missing middle’ (where key scaling factors reside between top down strategy and bottom up initiatives).
At present, the existing literature shows that the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams for new product development are still ambiguous. To address this problem, a research design was developed, which includes detailed literature review, preliminary model and field survey. From literature review, the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams are identified and these factors are modified using a field survey. The relationship between knowledge workers (people), process and technology in virtual teams is explored in this study. The results of the study suggest that technology and process are tightly correlated and need to be considered early in virtual teams. The use of software as a service, web solution, report generator and tracking system should be incorporated for effectiveness virtual teams.
Similar to Understanding requirements for designers (20)
This paper reveals the result of 322 distance learners’ perception towards e-learning program
conducted by UiTM. Generally the respondents rated above average for all aspects of distance
learning program irrespective of gender, program of studies, income and occupation. Students’
gender also did not show any difference in their perception. Similarly, semester of studies too, did
not indicate any significant difference except their perception towards lecturer. However
students’ semester of studies showed significant difference towards lecturer, module and
physical. Gender, income and semester of studies did not show any relationship to students’
perception towards all aspects of distance learning program. However students’ program of
studies showed significant relationship towards their perceptions of the program. Students’ CGPA
showed negative relationship with all aspects of distance learning program.
The purpose of this study is to report the results of a research designed to identify issues that confront firms in
adopting green manufacturing practices. The study is quantitative in nature, using a survey with open-ended
questions and subjected to content analysis to categorize the status of firms adopting green manufacturing practices
in the Malaysian furniture industry. Responses to an open-ended question concerning steps towards green products
indicate that a small percentage of firms embark in pursuing towards creating green products. However,
generalisability needs to be indicated through replication of findings. This study provides an original insight into the
status of firms adopting green manufacturing practices as well as offering guidance for managers in pursuing green
manufacturing practices
Globally, logistics is an important economic activity valued at about USD 320 billion a year and growing at an annual rate
of 3 to 10 percent. Malaysia has recognized the industry as the main key towards enhancing Malaysia’s progress on
becoming a globally competitive fully developed nation (IMP3 2006‐2020, 2006). It was predicted that the logistics industry
would grow at 8.6% during the plan period (2006 – 2020) and contribute 12.1% to GDP by 2020. Therefore, the
development of the human capital or human resource for the logistics industry in Malaysia becomes important in confirming
the nation’s competitiveness. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to produce a feasible framework of human resource
development for the logistics industry in Malaysia.
Globally, the halal products market has a huge potential for expansion. There are currently
about 2 billion Muslim consumers and the estimated that total expenditure by this group on
logistics operations is between five to ten percent of the total income. Therefore, logistics
companies all over the world are keen to exploit opportunities which arise from the massive
potential of halal industries. As a fast expanding business, the halal industry is now
estimated at about USD 2.1 trillion. The attention and demand for halal certified services and
products continues to rise throughout the world because halal is not only for religious
obligations but there is also a rising demand from non-Muslims. Halal is not only concerned
about religious requirements such as the right way to slaughter animals and prepare food.
Halal products also attract non-Muslim consumers as it also focuses on where the resources
and materials of the product come from. Hence, traceability and integrity of the product are
part and parcel of a product being labeled halal.
Globally, logistics is an important economic
activity valued at about USD 320 billion a year and growing at
an annual rate of 3 to 10 percent. Malaysia has recognized the
industry as the main key towards enhancing Malaysia’s progress
on becoming a globally competitive fully developed nation. It
was predicted that the logistics industry would grow at 8.6%
during the year 2006 – 2020 plan period and contribute 12.1% to
Growth Domestic Product (GDP) by 2020. Therefore, the
development of the human capital or human resource for the
logistics industry in Malaysia becomes important in confirming
the nation’s competitiveness. Accordingly, the aim of this study
is to produce a feasible framework of human-resource
development for the logistics industry in Malaysia.
This paper articulates the function of Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) in developing the Health
Tourism Industry. Focus was given in identifying the challenges faced by MHTC, understanding the
competitiveness of the industry and proposing a suitable value chain framework for the industry. Total of 12
organizations have been identified, which were including private and public organizations. Conclusions of
findings have been derived and few recommendations made at the end of this article.
Keywords: Health tourism, medical tourism, competitive, leisure services and value chain
This study qualitatively examines managing talent in two leading companies in Malaysia.
The objectives of the study are to understand the practice of talent management , to examine the
definition of talent management, to identify the approaches of talent management applied by the
companies, to determine the differences of talent management approaches, to identify the problems
in managing talent in the companies and lastly to identify the effectiveness of the talent
management practiced by these companies. In depth interview with the relevant personnels were
being conducted and transcribed verbatim.Constant comparative analysis technique of data analysis
was employed in analysing the data. The study found that all the companies have started embarking
on talent management programs due to the internal and external business pressure. However, each
company was discovered to have different philosophy and approach in managing, developing and
retaining their talent. This paper also discusses the challenges faced by companies in managing their
talent and also some suggestions for improvement.
As a fast expanding business, the Halal industry is
now estimated at USD 2.1 trillion. The attention and demand
for Halal certified services and products continues to rise
throughout the world because Halal is not only for religious
obligations, but there is also a rising demand from nonMuslims.
Halal is not only concerned about religious
requirements such as the right way to slaughter animals and
prepare food. Halal products also attract non-Muslim
consumers as it also focuses on where the resources and
materials of the product come from. Hence, traceability and
integrity of the product are part and parcel of a product
being labelled Halal. Halal practices do not come to an end
when the product has been manufactured as a product could
easily lose its Halalness if it gets contaminated during the
transportation and storage prior to retailing. Hence, training
industry professional is crucial as the lack of professionalism
in the transport and logistics process in the supply chain may
cast doubts on the Halal status of a product. This study
focuses on the level of training that professionals in the third
party logistics industry have on Halal standards and what
must be done to bridge the gap in training. The current
research relies heavily on disclosed and published materials
such as logistics firms annual reports, journals, newspapers
and business magazines articles, published reports produced
by consultants, special studies and reports commissioned by
the Malaysian Government for an analysis of the current
state of industry.
This paper reports about an instrument which has been developed by the Commonwealth of Learning Media Centre
for Asia (CEMCA) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia (MOHE). This instrument aims to be a standard
quality framework which can be used by multimedia users in evaluating the quality of the e-learning materials.
Basically, the instrument is constructed to evaluate two sections, which are the learning material development process
and the finished learning material product. However, this paper merely discusses the second section.
This study aims to examine the influences of brand orientation and brand distinctiveness on brand
performance. Proportionate stratified random sampling was used to collect data of 550 furniture
manufacturing firms. It was found that brand orientation of the furniture manufacturing firms have
positive and significant relationships with brand distinctiveness and brand performance. This indicates
the more oriented their brand are, the more distinctive and better performance are their brands. Brand
distinctiveness was revealed as a mediator between brand orientation and brand performance. Hence,
this study provides important findings through the integration of these variables towards brand
performance within the furniture firms in Malaysia
The paper examines the relationships among brand distinctiveness, design innovation and brand performance of furniture
manufacturers and the mediating effect of design innovation between brand distinctiveness and brand performance.
Questionnaires were distributed to more than 500 manufacturers and 204 questionnaires were analyzed. A 49-item questionnaire
which consists of brand distinctiveness, design innovation and brand performance were carried out to investigate the relations
among these variables. Statistical evidence was found to confirm only functional innovation as one of the dimensions of design
innovation that fully mediates the relationship between brand distinctiveness and brand performance. The paper researches the
role of innovation-in a twofold perspective: innovation in product design innovation on brand performance, and as a mediator
between brand distinctiveness and brand performance.
The study develops and empirically tests a model of the
effects of brand strategy and design innovation on brand performance
in furniture manufacturing firms. Questionnaires were sent to 500
furniture SMEs operating in Malaysia and 204 effective responses
were returned. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to validate the
constructs. Research hypotheses are tested using structural equation
modeling. The proposed model fits the data well. The results show
brand orientation, brand distinctiveness and functional innovation
have direct effects on brand performance. Finally, implication and
recommendations of these findings are discussed. The paper
encapsulates the role of each dimensions of brand strategy and
product design innovation to determine a stronger brand performance
in the furniture manufacturing firms.
Presently, no information could be obtained on the learning styles of distance learners as it has not
been studied before. A study was carried out to identify the learning styles of distance learners at the
Institute of Education Development, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. Felder’s Learning Styles
Index (LSI) was used in the study. Results of the study were used to make comparison and correlation
analyses between learning styles and academic achievement, programme of studies, gender and
income. One hundred and sixty two students responded to the online questionnaire. The study showed
that 35.5% students preferred visual learning style followed by 29.6% sensory, 14.2% active, 0%
verbal and 2.5% intuitive. The male students were found dominant in visual learning style as
compared to the females who were sensory dominant. The students who were majors in banking
tended towards sensory style as compared to finance and business studies students who were inclined
towards visual style. While the mass communication and public administration students dominated in
visual and sensory styles. The higher income students preferred more visual style as compared to the
middle income who were dominant in both visual and sensory. The higher achievers were found to be
better disposed towards visual as compared to low achievers who were sensory dominant in style. The
learning styles were not significantly different between genders, programme of studies and semesters.
It was also found that there was no significant relationship between learning styles and academic
achievement. This paper discusses in detail the implications of the various learning styles on students
of distance mode of education.
A country with many successful entrepreneurs is
considered as most successful country in terms
of economy.
Because the entrepreneurs play a vital role in the
economic development of a country such as
generate employment, increase production,
increase innovation, and so on.
But do we understand the meaning of
entrepreneurship. In this session we will learn
about the theory and concepts of
entrepreneurship
Islam in the Netherlands had created condemnation by the international community. Several muslim organizaation and political parties including Malaysia, have organized boycotts against Dutch products. This paper analyses the Fitna Movie controversy and the boycott of Dutch products in Malaysia
This research paper aims to discuss the brand strategy in small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the context of
the Malaysian furniture industry. In addition, it also discusses their approach for improvement and their strengths to
navigate their competitiveness in the furniture market. This paper explores the Malaysian furniture companies in
their market competitiveness. There is a manufacturing competitiveness among the Malaysian furniture companies
in their OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) approach with a slow development to ODM (Original Design
Manufacturing) and OBM (Original Brand Manufacturing) approach. The paper outlines views of the Malaysian
furniture companies which differ in areas of marketing, product characteristics and management strategies. Drawing
upon these open-ended questions, this paper will examine from a corporate perspective the scope of their brand
strategy, their strength as exporting companies and their improvement in being furniture giants. In conclusion, it will
be argued that in spite of their approaches in their brand strategy, companies should really examine the real
definition of design and the best proactive approach that can be taken in the future. The major limitation of this
research is that it is based on open-ended questions. It is suggested that a quantitative survey be carried out to
enhance the generalisability of the model in the future. This paper makes original contributions in that it uses openended
questions to establish their relationships between themes and discusses way to strengthen their business
strategies in the coming future.
The globalization of the economy has created great competitiveness in the furniture market. This industry
gives out an impressive growth for the past nine years as it contributes from 2.6 billion in 1997 to 6.3
billion in 2009 (MIFF, 2010). However in 2012, Malaysia still has to endure the fierce competition with
low cost producers of China and Vietnam. The decline of raw materials and the rise of costs have forced
companies to venture into branding and design. Not to be left behind, more companies have transformed
from OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) to ODM (Original Design Manufacturing). Malaysia is
in fact between China and the Italian in terms of quality of products. Such a phenomenon has created a
concern of whether the current manufacturers have been equipped with the right innovation and
originality to reach world-class producers. Little attention has been given to examine their readiness of
design innovation in the context of the furniture industry besides looking at the effectiveness of brand
strategy and positioning. This study attempts to address this gap in the literature. There have been a few
academic literatures on design innovation in the context of brand strategy and positioning and therefore
this study aims to provide ample perspectives on both variables of brand strategy and positioning which
considered being jointly in contrast to in isolation in the recent studies. Thus, this study will investigate
whether the relationships between those variables are correlated and whether they contribute to adverse
effects in aspects of brand performance. Micro-sized companies are not included in this survey but rather
on small, medium and large-sized companies. Thus, it would benefit the government by really allocating
the proper fund to the right channels where needs arise and to keep track other issues to prevent derailing.
In reality, design innovation and branding need to be concentrated as competency towards achieving
Original Brand Manufacturing (OBM) or Original Design Manufacturing (ODM).
The objective of this theoretical paper is to look at the insight of Malaysia
Contact Centre Industry and to highlight Malaysia’s competitive edge from the
perspective of Porter’s Diamond Competitive Model. The Porter’s Diamond Model
will attempt to investigate how Malaysia can be sustainable and competitive in sharing the
global contact centre as well as the BPO market.
This study aims to examine the influences of brand orientation and brand distinctiveness on brand
performance. Proportionate stratified random sampling was used to collect data of 550 furniture
manufacturing firms. It was found that brand orientation of the furniture manufacturing firms have
positive and significant relationships with brand distinctiveness and brand performance. This indicates
the more oriented their brand are, the more distinctive and better performance are their brands. Brand
distinctiveness was revealed as a mediator between brand orientation and brand performance. Hence,
this study provides important findings through the integration of these variables towards brand
performance within the furniture firms in Malaysia.
This study examined the learning styles of multi-ethnic students’ in four
selected universities in Klang Valley in terms of gender, program of studies and
iv
academic achievement levels. Using a modified Honey and Mumford learning
Style Questionnaire, 291 valid responses from two public and private
universities were subjected to further quantitative analyses of the study.
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey throu...dylandmeas
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey through Full Sail University. Below, you’ll find a collection of my work showcasing my skills and expertise in digital marketing, event planning, and media production.
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Presented at The Global HR Summit, 6th June 2024
In this keynote, Luan Wise will provide invaluable insights to elevate your employer brand on social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. You'll learn how compelling content can authentically showcase your company culture, values, and employee experiences to support your talent acquisition and retention objectives. Additionally, you'll understand the power of employee advocacy to amplify reach and engagement – helping to position your organization as an employer of choice in today's competitive talent landscape.
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Event Report - SAP Sapphire 2024 Orlando - lots of innovation and old challengesHolger Mueller
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Adani SEBI investigation revealed that the latter had sought information from five foreign jurisdictions concerning the holdings of the firm’s foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in relation to the alleged violations of the MPS Regulations. Nevertheless, the economic interest of the twelve FPIs based in tax haven jurisdictions still needs to be determined. The Adani Group firms classed these FPIs as public shareholders. According to Hindenburg, FPIs were used to get around regulatory standards.
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is buzzing with discussions after Google confirmed that around 2,500 leaked internal documents related to its Search feature are indeed authentic. The revelation has sparked significant concerns within the SEO community. The leaked documents were initially reported by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, igniting widespread analysis and discourse. For More Info:- https://news.arihantwebtech.com/search-disrupted-googles-leaked-documents-rock-the-seo-world/
Personal Brand Statement:
As an Army veteran dedicated to lifelong learning, I bring a disciplined, strategic mindset to my pursuits. I am constantly expanding my knowledge to innovate and lead effectively. My journey is driven by a commitment to excellence, and to make a meaningful impact in the world.
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In this webinar, we won't focus on the research methods for discovering user-needs. We will focus on synthesis of the needs we discover, communication and alignment tools, and how we operationalize addressing those needs.
Industry expert Scott Sehlhorst will:
• Introduce a taxonomy for user goals with real world examples
• Present the Onion Diagram, a tool for contextualizing task-level goals
• Illustrate how customer journey maps capture activity-level and task-level goals
• Demonstrate the best approach to selection and prioritization of user-goals to address
• Highlight the crucial benchmarks, observable changes, in ensuring fulfillment of customer needs
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Understanding requirements for designers
1. ISSN 2348 – 0319 International Journal of Innovative and Applied Research (2014), Volume 2, Issue (6): 134- 143
134
Journal home page: http://www.journalijiar.com INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
OF INNOVATIVE AND
APPLIED RESEARCH
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Understanding Requirements for Designers
PuteriFadzlineTamyez, Norzanah Mat Nor, Syed Jamal AbdulNasir Syed Mohamad
ArshadAyub Graduate Business School, UniversitiTeknologi MARA, Shah Alam, 40450, Malaysia.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Abstract:
This paper demonstrates how a content analysis method may be used to help understand the requirements and needs
in a designer. This is an attempt to explore and rationalizes the methodological concerns regarding content analysis.
The findings are highlighted in a thematic way to convey how designers can face the escalating challenges to
develop the proper skills, awareness and confidence. These are requirements of being a true designer with the
influence of a firm‟s vision and mission. This study is relevant to design practice in terms of its potentials of
assisting designers in balancing their design and management skills in the market turbulence of today.
Key Words:Design, Management skills, Content analysis, Designer
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Introduction
According to Communities (2009), there are many designers that have a limited amount of experiences, skills and
knowledge in the developments of design. Shortage of qualified designers is one of the challenges faced by furniture
manufacturers to pursue towards the ODM (Original Design Manufacturing) category. The traditional view of the
definition of designers are looked upon as product designers to pursue in creating stylish products and only involved
in the end-product of the process as stated by Norman (2004) and through the semantic dimension (Dell‟era &
Verganti, 2009). However, more designers are involved with the design process as opposed to the end-product of
this process (Brown, 2008; Norman, 2004). Every marketing office would tend to agree to designers that the product
must be simple to manufacture, original, innovative and cheap (Filippetti, 2008). Designers play the central role in
the manufacturing and innovation process, and therefore design innovation must be well integrated and
synchronized (Wrigley & Bucolo, 2011).
However, designers are no longer considered as the only key person in designing the product but by assimilation of
various stakeholders; users, firms, communication media, cultural centres, universities and many more as
emphasized by (Dell'Era, Marchesi, & Verganti, 2008). The interaction in the design process signifies that a
designer needs to take account on all these elements in order to embark on design innovation (Filippetti, 2006).
There are at least three areas of interaction in the first conceptual phase which are marketing, product managing and
research and development. The consistency of the final results to the original idea must always be evaluated by the
designer and the model is further passed to the engineering and production process once the model is approved
(Filippetti, 2008). A rich interaction is involved in design innovation where it involves a cross-disciplinary process
facilitated by the designer to bring together expertise from various disciplines which include management,
engineering, and marketing (Communities, 2009). According to Filippetti (2006), lack of coordination with the
production will occur if the product fails in the conceptual phase even though it looked promising in the early stages.
Therefore, this mutual relationship needs to be nurtured although it takes a large amount of time.
There is a vast amount of literature on the relationship between designers and firm managers (Ravasi & Lojacono,
2005; Ravasi, Marcotti, & Stigliani, 2008; Von Stamm, 1998; Walker, 1990). However, there is a common
misunderstanding between designers and managersdue to a lack of awareness of the potential commercial returns of
investment in design and how they view projects as one-off investments rather than part of a long-term journey
(Maciver, 2011). Managers are not familiar and well-equipped with visual information, fuzzy problems, and
subjective assessments as they are trained on analytical studies in business schools as opposed to designers who
prefer to experiment, think laterally and apply visual literacy (Almendra, 2004; Davide Ravasi, 2008; Mozota,
2006b; Stamm, 2004).
2. ISSN 2348 – 0319 International Journal of Innovative and Applied Research (2014), Volume 2, Issue (6): 134- 143
135
Designers have limited knowledge on management concepts and of management as science (Mozota, 2006a) . She
added on the significance in their communication skills which include the capacity to learn, to dialogue, to make
synthesis and to generate a vision (Mozota, 2003). Unfortunately this interaction in Malaysia is purely based on
creativity, but not the overall relationship. Communities (2009) also revealed that most designers view themselves
from the artistic value as opposed to business, innovation and artistic elements. This describes the perception of
business people as they understand design as a noun, and designers accepts design execution as a verb (Maciver,
2011).
Therefore, it is important that designers ensure ideas presented as understandable they are for the engineers and
managers to acknowledge based on the latter‟s logical thinking. Furthermore, designers should educate themselves
on different technological terminologies applied by engineers and managers to ensure better communication among
them (Anssary, 2006). However, one can become a designer if one educates oneself to design in a higher level
(Lawson, 2006). Design thinking is the only design method which applies this approach. In this situation, design
innovation can be evaluated by non-designers (Matthews & Wrigley, 2011). Design has become so important to be
left only to the designers (Brown, 2008). However, Nevertheless, some business people have already become
designers as a valuable asset to face unpredictable daily phases (Martin, 2004).
1 Purpose
By using 2013 furniture firms interviews from the Malaysian furniture industry, this study aims to demonstrate a
qualitative content analysis to help understand the designers‟ experience and to explore how designers perceive
issues that challenge them to develop the right skills for future success.
2 Methodology
Benefits can be gained from open-ended questions where responses could assist to explore a number of issues
(Moser & Kalton, 1987). Thus, it is interesting to point out several quotes in these responses from self-administered
questionnaires and therefore it is likely to use open-ended questions to make a better statistical statement (McColl et
al., 2001).Open-ended questions act as a safety guard and enable more exploration that may not be covered by close-
ended questions, apart from identifying new issues (O'Cathain & Thomas, 2004). Content analysis method is the
most suitable approach for this exploration (Patton, 1988). It is also considered a systematic approach that enables
words of text to be concentrated into smaller categories (Holsti, 1969; Krippendorff, 1980). Precisely, content
analysis as described by Patton (1988) as a process that identifies, codes, and categorizes the primary patterns that
can be found in the data. Besides that, this approach is appropriate in focusing on groups, institutions, or social
organizations (Weber, 1990). Therefore, this study focuses on counting the frequencies on the most-used keywords
(Zipf, 1949). The categories are built on the frequencies of codes which emerged from furniture firms‟ open-ended
comments.
3 Data Collection and Analyses
Secondary data were also applied in this study. The efficiency and practicality of secondary data could sustain and
covers identified and unidentified literature on the particular topic (Novak, 1996). However, defining the objective
of research and research design is important before embarking on secondary data (McCaston, 1998). Thus, this
research aims to explore the issues on the requirements of designers in the furniture industry particularly among
Malaysian SMEs. Content analysis determines a clearer understanding and meaning of the data received from
respondents (Bogdan & Biklen, 1982) and this coding begins by conceptualizing the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
Organizing and categorizing labels are the next step in coding in order to decrease the number of concepts involved.
Predetermined concepts will emerged base on similar meanings and characteristics (Weber, 1990).
4 Findings and Discussion
The furniture industry in Malaysia examined in this study is the small, medium, and large sized firms with
approximately 1155 firms representing all the states in the country. The composition has 93.5 percent Chinese, with
the highest percentage of respondents in a range of 40 to 49 years old among managers and owners. Their
experiences are 21 to 30 years in the industry working in companies of more than 20 years. The majority of these
respondents are among the medium sized firms in a range of 101 to 250 employees and large sized firms as minority
in this study.
Table 1 illustrates that the overall total number of valid complete respondents on the questionnaire survey in 2012,
which is 269 samples. Of this 49 managers provided responses to the open-ended question “What is your
requirement for designers?” Some comments contain more than one code.
3. ISSN 2348 – 0319 International Journal of Innovative and Applied Research (2014), Volume 2, Issue (6): 134- 143
136
Table 2 suggests codes categorized to explore the common elements concerning requirements for designers. Four
themes are developed out of the codes. Groups 1 to 4 deal with manufacturing knowledge, followed by market-
oriented, interest in furniture, as well as creativity and innovativeness.
The section below discusses themes that emerged from this study that are considered important elements required
for a designer particularly in the furniture industry. The most important criteria in a designer are creativity and
innovativeness, followed by manufacturing knowledge, being market-oriented and one‟s interest in furniture.
4.1 Creativity and Innovation
Half of the participants (48 percent) reported that designers must obtain creative abilities not only to explore
potential customers‟ needs, but also to develop revolutionary new products.
This result is similar to Verganti‟s opinion (2010) cited in (McCullagh, 2010) who stated that:
“Designers have become less visionary. They have spent the last 10 years getting close to consumers and
trying to become businessmen, and have lost their visions.”
The Malaysian Furniture Promotion Council (MFPC) plays an outstanding role in emphasizing the industry on
design excellence. This has created a network with international furniture designers in sharing their valuable
experiences through seminars and workshops (Council, 2013) . Apart from that, design competitions are also held
annually in the Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) in collaboration with MIFF SdnBhd and EFE Expo
SdnBhd to instill original creativity and innovation among young designers. Furthermore, winning designers are
sponsored by MFPC and MATRADE in furniture fairs such as I Saloni, Milan, Italy.
Therefore it is a challenge for design managers to instill visions in designs (McCullagh, 2010). This is supported by
Yen and Wei (2009) which describes these criteria as a combination of what is coined as visionary capabilities.
Mozota (2003) describes these designer‟s abilities deeper in the perspective of sense of colour (tactile), imagination,
sense of detail, sense of material, and quality of visualization. The role of designers are very different before and
after the internet era, where designers have accessed to information in seconds (Lynn, 2013). Therefore, talent and
skills need to be consistently nurtured and motivated among designers (McCullagh, 2010).
Creativity and innovative ability as well as designer‟s relationship to the client‟s firm constitutes the aspects of a
designer‟s knowledge. Both levels of creativity and familiarity give impact to a designer‟s person. Designers who
have a combination of low levels of creativity and high level of familiarity will not provide any form of innovative
ideas and instead would choose to secure him/herself to prominent firms. Whereas, low levels of creativity and
familiarity indicates inexperienced designers who not only have limited knowledge of the client, but also lack
potential to be creative. Alternatively, high levels of creativity coupled with low level of familiarity would create a
“random walk experiment” which means innovative solutions even though it might not suit the requirement of the
firm‟s mission. High creativity and familiarity ultimately creates an innovative designer that will fit with the strategy
of a company (Jevnaker, 1998).
Although it is important that designers reinvent themselves as designing furniture, it involves beyond aesthetics,
touch and feel. There are not many Malaysian products that are inspired by cultural elements. It is discovered that
more work needs to be done to reinvent Malaysian design (Gomes & Shian, 2012). Designing furniture is in fact an
iterative approach where they start by prototyping, getting response, revisiting the problem, and evolving solutions
(Martin, 2004). The unrestricted current production systems will enhance these capabilities apart from focusing
solutions beyond style and new user experience (Yen & Wei, 2009). Table 3 discusses the advantages, criticalities
and solutions of designers.
However it is argued that design is too important to be left to designers (Neumeier, 2005). Design in the early days
is isolated from the management. Now business is realizing that design is a skill or strategy and a way of options to
solutions that have never been seen. Today business and design need to work each other in a common language.
Rejection of ideas, lack of recognition and excessive exercising of freedom is common in the design process. As a
result, relationship between designers and managers are very important to ensure the success of the firm and project
progress.
As stated by Phillip Yap (2013) cited in (Lynn, 2013);
“In order to make a product successful, you need integration – cross-disciplinary collaboration in design,
content and technology. Design in itself is weak; you need to work with other disciplines in order to be
successful.”
Nevertheless, Verganti (2009) argued and revealed that it does not purely depend on designers, but the
manufacturers need to have an extraordinary capacity to indulge, explore and synthesize new design languages
which are purely not customer-driven. Not only that, they need to play a key role in developing rich network of
interactions with users, suppliers, other firms, training institutes and involving talented designers all over the world
4. ISSN 2348 – 0319 International Journal of Innovative and Applied Research (2014), Volume 2, Issue (6): 134- 143
137
in brokering languages and proposing new meanings. The Italian design companies have never looked to the market
in the conservative way as they always find new ideas and talented designers from all over the world. That is the
main reason young and unknown foreigners come to Italy introducing their dreams to the Italian manufacturers
without fear.
4.2 Manufacturing knowledge
About one-third of the participants (28 percent) were of the view that tacit knowledge is essential in product
innovation such as coordination, capabilities, and design presentation skills. These are factors necessary to execute a
smooth operation of innovation (Yen & Wei, 2009). According to Filippetti (2006), design is considered
meaningless without having the capacity to be manufactured. This indicates that manufacturing knowledge has to be
taken into account among designers in carrying out design innovation.The types of knowledge involved by designers
are the normative sphere (how the product should be) and the positive sphere (how the project will be). Most
designers are only involved in the normative sphere, both in concept and prototyping (Filippetti, 2008).
Manufacturing knowledge that need to be acquired from a designer are modeling technologies, material finishing,
mechanical design, and supply chain (Yen & Wei, 2009). This knowledge is critical for designers as they are able to
sense the major problems they might face on technical constraints during a production process (Anssary, 2006)
Even though computer-aided design is imperative for furniture manufacturing (Communities, 2009), most of the
designers involved in the furniture industry do not relate with the technicality of the product as expressed by
Participant No.20. Participant No.44 also agreed with Participant No. 20 and strongly stated that manufacturing
capability is crucial in a designer. This was his stand. “When a student make any design of chair, make sure the
design must be practical to structure. Structure of a chair is important.” Participant No. 12 also firmly believes that:
“concept furniture is to sell image of a company but must face reality to design that can be sold is the key.”
These statements indicate that designers need more experience and knowledge in terms of manufacturing and
production, in order to introduce design in their innovation process. Hence, the potential of design will be fully
exploited (Communities, 2009). In fact a Resource Centre will be provided by MFPC to provide computer-aided
technology (CAD) to ensure SMEs to fully utilize this software for their manufacturing process (Council, 2013).
This will produce more freedom for designers to create quality product designs (Anssary, 2006). Apart from that,
more challenges are faced by designers in instilling sustainable materials in their designs. MIFF Furniture Design
Competition is held annually during the Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) to attract more aspiring and
established Malaysian designers to not only incorporate Malaysian identity through the elements of culture,
ergonomics and functionality, but also for sustainability (Omar, 2013). This demands a higher level of knowledge of
manufacturing among Malaysian designers.
However a study by (Anssary, 2006) indicates that over 42 percent of designers have the reluctance to bear technical
processes in their minds as it will hamper their creativity in the design process, as opposed to only 4 percent of
designers who believe that deeper knowledge of manufacturing knowledge will greatly enhance their creation of
new design ideas. Most marketers prefer external to internal designers for their broad experiences across the field of
application, sectors, and industrial. There are various ways on how manufacturers hire designers. Some
manufacturers decide to contract designers who are reputable and have established their own brands. This will
guarantee a higher potential to succeed and further solidify the company‟s brand (Lindahl, 2009).
The ability to easily grasp industrial skills is an advantage for a firm that hires in-house designers (Bougrain &
Haudeville, 2002). More so other manufacturers will take young, fresh designers to focus more on publicity, peer-
appreciation and brand building instead of pursuing for financial success (Lindahl, 2009). This situation has been
affirmed by other scholars (Kristensen & Lojacono, 2002; Von Stamm, 1998). These researchers also focused on the
issue of choosing between in-house designers and outsourced designers.
There have been firms that prefer to recruit new designers regularly, while others prefer long-term relationships with
designers. Several designers employed particular contracts from other countries as this broadens the innovation
capability in a company (Dell'Era & Verganti, 2010). It is a fresh and aggressive way to compete in the market by
distinguishing the reason people buy products (Verganti, 2010). Most designers in Italy are foreigners who are able
to combine and integrate the local and global contexts of brokering of knowledge (Dell 'Era, 2010). A successful
designer is largely dependent on one‟s most contacts with the rest of the firm and one‟s ability to integrate with the
respective departments in a firm (Communities, 2009).
Maciver (2011) revealed advantages and disadvantages of hiring in-house designers and external designers as
stipulated in Table 5. However, Ravasi (2008) suggested that having both external and internal designers pose
advantages and disadvantages as it is important to improve the relationship and collaboration between managers and
designers. The company‟s capability to use design strategically is the most critical and not merely depending on the
creative design skills of a designer (Jevnaker, 1998; Kristensen & Lojacono, 2002).
5. ISSN 2348 – 0319 International Journal of Innovative and Applied Research (2014), Volume 2, Issue (6): 134- 143
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It is undeniably challenging for designers today in carrying various roles including in tackling environmental
problems. This is because 75 percent of the environmental problems are determined at the design stage (Diehl &
Brezet, 2004). Producing sustainable product design requires a deep knowledge of furniture manufacturing as it not
only enhances the environmental problem, but also the efficiency and quality of the product (Crul & Diehl, 2006).
4.3 Market-oriented
A total of 14 percent of the respondents said that market-oriented must be a part of the requirements from a designer.
Business and market knowledge is an essential part that needs to be understood by designers (Yen & Wei, 2009).
This notion is agreed by Filippetti (2006) that designers need to have a higher awareness on cost-objective of the
product and the targeted market segment. Apart from that, there are a vast amount of elements that need to be
acquired by designers before embarking on the design journey which involve the catalogue, the distribution system,
the competitors, the reference market, the productive potential and the economic potential.
Most companies indicated that designers must be market-oriented in applying incremental innovation. Therefore, it
is essential for a designer to acquire design knowledge in terms of basic operation and skills, tacit knowledge and
design strategic knowledge (Yen & Wei, 2009). In order to adapt quickly to customer demands, entrepreneurs need
to be market-oriented (Mamat & Ismail, 2011). Production of expected volumes by the firm needs to be foreseen by
the designer to avoid any mistakes on the selection of expensive processes and products. Therefore, the amount of
investment by a firm largely depends on the marketing strategy (Filippetti, 2006).
4.4 Interest in furniture
The remaining 10 percent thought that designers must be interested to furniture. According to Filippetti (2008),
designers must acquire an elective affinity with our philosophy in order to bridge the gap between the firm and the
designer. Therefore, it is a necessity that the relationship between manufacturers and designers must be particularly
close. This is coupled by with long-last collaboration from ten to twenty years to develop trust between them. As a
result, more active involvement in the process of decision making can be carried out among designers to ensure a
richer integration among managers and designers (Valipoor & Ujang, 2011).
Participant No. 79 reiterated that in the present competitive business environment, a designer must be interested in
the culture of the furniture industry. He stressed the importance of this element, “Not afraid to work long hours and
the environment of the production”.
Participant No. 25 had similar view. “They should have the knowledge of basic joinery on woodworking”.
It is important to be interested in furniture in order to gain customers‟ satisfaction through the features of functional
design (Lee, 2010). However, „empathy‟ needs to be instilled in every designer where designers are interested to
understand the user (Desmet, 2008; Martin, 2004). This can be carried out through watching, listening, and relating
to the user. According to Maciver (2011), designers have a multi-tasking role of not only embracing a wide range of
design assignments but also marketing-related tasks. However, this is carried out without any formal training and
purely based on experience and perseverance. Hence, this results to low levels of networking, coordination failures
and weak ability to influence, and market and the power to lobby. Therefore, designers need to have a personal
interest and responsibility in the any firm or consultancy company. Meanwhile, some firms elect designers to
become design managers who carry a much wider scope of management skills. The requirements include design
competency in business words as well as the ability to:
Run a team and manage a budget
Place design in the organization charts and methods
Communicate about design
Develop tools in order to work with marketing on brand
Work with R&D and engineers on innovation management
Set up an “advance design” workshop and forecasting
Hire designers and other experts for design research to write mission statement for their personnel
Perform as leaders
It also includes participation in strategy formulation in order to accompany organizational change (Mozota, 2006b).
According to Dell‟era and Verganti (2009), a successful design-intensive company is dependent on the management
of their designers. However interested the designers are, opportunities for designers to be involved in the design
6. ISSN 2348 – 0319 International Journal of Innovative and Applied Research (2014), Volume 2, Issue (6): 134- 143
139
process are scarce among furniture companies in Malaysia. This is due to the common act of manufacturers to copy
other designs (Valipoor & Ujang, 2011) and putting sales on the highest hierarchy. Consequently, the role of
designers becomes powerless and insubstantial in the Malaysian design society.
5 Conclusion
Lynn (2013) revealed that designers must not only aim high but work from ground up. By thinking big, designers
must not be afraid if they are not able to capture the market without a true identity. According to Gomes and Shian
(2012), not only it is important for manufacturers to accept the designer‟s point of view, but they also should put
high emphasis on promoting the designers‟ brands. Therefore, a synergy of good understanding of technology that is
related to the field, knowledge on aesthetics and an understanding on the customers‟ needs are requirements of a
designer (Lawson, 1990). Gomes and Shian (2012) also added that good and mutual relationship must be developed
between manufacturers and designers by undergoing the process from designing and production to branding and
marketing. The strongest designer is when he or she is able to generate pleasurable and exciting sensations in design
products (Demirbilek & Sener, 2003).
6 Limitations of study and suggestions for future research
Managers of Malaysian furniture industry have revealed rich knowledge and experiences from their activities which
signify the limitation of this study. Precisely, only one industry is involved in gathering the respective data.
Therefore, a multi-industry is encouraged for future research which may provide a diverse set of data, comments and
conclusions.
Additionally, a cross-sectional study has been conducted which draws upon the limitation of this research unlike the
assessment of longitudinal approach. Therefore, a longitudinal approach is suggested for future research to enable a
longer time trajectory which would provide lengthy and multiple comments which could create more comprehensive
data results.
7 Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the help and support of the Malaysian Furniture Promotion Council
(MFPC), Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB) and fellow respondents who participated in this study.
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9 Appendix
Table 1: Overall total number of valid complete respondents
Open-ended comments 2012: What are your requirements for designers?
Respondents 269
Open-ended comments 49
Codes generated 4
Table 2: Common elements on requirements for designers
Ranking Themes Code counts Percentage (%)
1 Manufacturing knowledge 14 28
2 Market-oriented 7 14
3 Interested in furniture 5 10
4 Creativity and Innovation 24 48
Table 3: The advantages, criticalities and solutions of designers
Advantage Criticalities Solutions
Autonomy of the designer and
“openness to the tide of ideas
outside”
Designers are key in transferring
solutions (concepts, technologies,
ideas and languages developed in
other industries)
Designers have also other
competences which can be exploited
by the firm
Close coordination with specific
firm factors (market and production
factors)
Conservation of firm style and
philosophy over time and over
different design consultants
Long term relationships
Deep involvement of the designers
in the firm‟s processes (production,
marketing)
Exclusive contracts
Trust
(Yen & Wei, 2009)
Table 5: Advantages and disadvantages of hiring in-house designers and external designers
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143
Advantages Disadvantages
In-house Cost-effective
Accessible
Easier to coordinate with other in-
house departments
Retention of internal control
Designer develops understanding of
company
Goals and values of designers and
business people are shared
Stagnation – limited in scope for
innovation/new ideas
Lack of specialized expertise
Lack of need for permanent design
division
Internally focused – loses touch
with external developments
External Lack of (internal)
creativity/new ideas
Access to specialist expertise
Relieves work load
Additional staff/skills accessible
Ability to change and explore
other options
Lack of understanding of company
issues
Problems of ready accessibility
Difficulties in coordinating with
internal departments
Confidentiality/privacy issues
Lack of internal vision in assessing
the design work
„Not-invented-here‟ syndrome
Problems with manufacturing
externally designed products
Loss of control
Credibility gap (if design fails to
match company „style‟)
(Maciver, 2011)