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- September 2014 (Revised February 2017)
- Case
Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling
By: Ethan Bernstein, Saravanan Kesavan, Bradley Staats and Luke Hassall
With 24,000 staff and over 300 stores, Belk Inc. sought to replace its entirely manual labor scheduling system with an automated software solution from Reflexis. Belk hoped the upgrade would simplify scheduling, reduce time employees spent in non-customer-facing roles,... View Details
Keywords: Retail; Scheduling; Local Autonomy; Automation; Metrics; Organizational Change; Human Resource Management; Process Improvement; Performance Measurement; Transparency; Southern United States; Retailing; Department Stores; System Outsourced Services; Employee Relationship Management; Selection and Staffing; Change Management; Governance Controls; Resource Allocation; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Applications and Software; Family Business; Retail Industry; Technology Industry; United States
Bernstein, Ethan, Saravanan Kesavan, Bradley Staats, and Luke Hassall. "Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling." Harvard Business School Case 415-023, September 2014. (Revised February 2017.)
- September 2017 (Revised March 2023)
- Background Note
Production Processes
By: Willy Shih and Michael W. Toffel
This note describes four broad categories of process architectures and then examines the nature of task assignment that typically would be found in a factory organized along the lines of each process type. It then delves more deeply into work flow policies, materials... View Details
Keywords: Production Management; Production Planning; Production Scheduling; Process Analysis; Process Maps; Processing Times; Process Improvement; Production; Management; Product; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry
Shih, Willy, and Michael W. Toffel. "Production Processes." Harvard Business School Background Note 618-023, September 2017. (Revised March 2023.)
- March 1986 (Revised March 1991)
- Supplement
Inland Steel Co. Product Policy (F): Quality Scheduling
By: Benson P. Shapiro and Lawrence B. Levine
Shapiro, Benson P., and Lawrence B. Levine. "Inland Steel Co. Product Policy (F): Quality Scheduling." Harvard Business School Supplement 587-139, March 1986. (Revised March 1991.)
- 2018
- Working Paper
How Scheduling Can Bias Quality Assessment: Evidence from Food Safety Inspections
By: Maria Ibanez and Michael W. Toffel
Many production processes are subject to inspection to ensure they meet quality, safety, and environmental standards imposed by companies and regulators. Inspection accuracy is critical to inspections being a useful input to assessing risks, allocating quality... View Details
Keywords: Assessment; Bias; Inspection; Scheduling; Econometric Analysis; Empirical Research; Regulation; Health; Food; Safety; Quality; Performance Consistency; Performance Evaluation; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry
Ibanez, Maria, and Michael W. Toffel. "How Scheduling Can Bias Quality Assessment: Evidence from Food Safety Inspections." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-090, April 2017. (Revised October 2018. Formerly titled "Assessing the Quality of Quality Assessment: The Role of Scheduling". Featured in Forbes, Food Safety Magazine, and Food Safety News.)
- 12 Apr 2017
- Research & Ideas
Why Productivity Suffers When Employees Are Allowed to Schedule Their Own Tasks
effects of deviations on productivity in their settings,” the researchers write. “Although an initial task sequence assignment might not be optimal, allowing front-line workers to take an active role in View Details
- August 2017 (Revised March 2020)
- Case
Flex Hungary: Launching Production (A)
By: Willy Shih
This case examines design choices in the construction of flow lines. Flow lines are a popular way of arranging production because they are simple and inherently efficient. Equipment or workstations are arranged according to the sequence of steps in which a product is... View Details
Keywords: Manufacturing; Line-balancing; Flow Line; Conveyor-paced Line; Consumer Goods; Consumer Products; Production Management; Production Planning; Production Scheduling; Operations; Production; Management; Supply Chain; Design; Analysis; Goods and Commodities; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; European Union
Shih, Willy. "Flex Hungary: Launching Production (A)." Harvard Business School Case 618-002, August 2017. (Revised March 2020.)
- 01 Dec 1994
- Conference Presentation
Design and Scheduling of Apparel Manufacturing Systems with Both Slow and Quick Production Lines
By: J. H. Hammond, Z. B. Tang and F. H. Abernathy
- June 2010
- Case
FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Afarin Bellisario
Demand for folding and stackable chairs and tables at FoldRite Furniture Co. is unexpectedly strong. The company spent the previous two years improving manufacturing quality and efficiency, dropping poor-performing product lines, developing new products that are... View Details
Keywords: Manufacturing; Production Capacity; Production Scheduling; Risk Management; Growth Management; Production; Logistics; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Europe
Wheelwright, Steven C., and Afarin Bellisario. "FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand." Harvard Business School Brief Case 104-555, June 2010.
- 2024
- Working Paper
Human-Computer Interactions in Demand Forecasting and Labor Scheduling Decisions
By: Caleb Kwon, Ananth Raman and Jorge Tamayo
We investigate whether corporate officers should grant managers discretion to override AI-driven demand forecasts and labor scheduling tools. Analyzing five years of administrative data from a large grocery retailer using such an AI tool, encompassing over 500 stores,... View Details
Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Forecasting and Prediction; Working Conditions; Performance Productivity
Kwon, Caleb, Ananth Raman, and Jorge Tamayo. "Human-Computer Interactions in Demand Forecasting and Labor Scheduling Decisions." Working Paper, April 2024.
- June 2010
- Teaching Note
FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand (Brief Case)
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Afarin Bellisario
Teaching Note for 4555. View Details
- June 2010
- Supplement
FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand, Spreadsheet Supplement for Instructors (Brief Case)
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Afarin Bellisario
- June 2010
- Supplement
FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand, Spreadsheet Supplement (Brief Case)
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Afarin Bellisario
- 14 Sep 2016
- Research & Ideas
Web Surfers Have a Schedule and Stick to It
In most markets, products and services compete for the consumer’s money. On the internet, however, the coin of the realm is time, not money—websites and other online services fight for the attention of visitors. So understanding when,... View Details
- 2022
- Working Paper
The Effect of Employee Lateness and Absenteeism on Store Performance
By: Caleb Kwon and Ananth Raman
We empirically analyze the effects of employee lateness and absenteeism on store performance by examining 25.5 million employee shift timecards covering more than 100,000 employees across more than 500 U.S. retail grocery store locations over a four year time period.... View Details
Kwon, Caleb, and Ananth Raman. "The Effect of Employee Lateness and Absenteeism on Store Performance." Working Paper, August 2022.
- 23 Jul 2021
- Blog Post
Trends in Consumer Products
simple and often logical but difficult to predict. Jake Kirsch ‘11, VP Innovation, ABinBev Covid had a massive effect on our business. Fifteen percent of our business is in bars and restaurants and they were effectively closed. Some new View Details
- 23 Jul 2015
- News
Work Schedules: The False Tradeoff Between Fair and Productive
- 09 Aug 2017
- Sharpening Your Skills
Productivity Tips You Probably Haven't Considered Before
transparency can increase productivity. Why Productivity Suffers When Employees Are Allowed to Schedule Their Own Tasks Deviating from an organization’s prescribed task View Details
Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne
- 19 Dec 2012
- Research & Ideas
How to be Extremely Productive
and maintained rewarding relationships with his wife and their two children. “It takes a lot more than organizing your schedule to be productive.” In a widely read Harvard Business Review article (May 2011), Pozen outlined six... View Details
Keywords: by Deborah Blagg
- 2017
- Working Paper
Discretionary Task Ordering: Queue Management in Radiological Services
By: Maria Ibanez, Jonathan R. Clark, Robert S. Huckman and Bradley R. Staats
Work scheduling research typically prescribes task sequences implemented by managers. Yet employees often have discretion to deviate from their prescribed sequence. Using data from 2.4 million radiological diagnoses, we find that doctors prioritize similar tasks... View Details
Keywords: Discretion; Scheduling; Queue; Healthcare; Learning; Experience; Decentralization; Delegation; Behavioral Operations; Operations; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Performance; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Decisions; Time Management; Cost vs Benefits; Health Industry
Ibanez, Maria, Jonathan R. Clark, Robert S. Huckman, and Bradley R. Staats. "Discretionary Task Ordering: Queue Management in Radiological Services." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-051, October 2015. (Revised March 2017.)
- September 2018
- Article
Discretionary Task Ordering: Queue Management in Radiological Services
By: Maria Ibanez, Jonathan R. Clark, Robert S. Huckman and Bradley R. Staats
Work-scheduling research typically prescribes task sequences implemented by managers. Yet employees often have discretion to deviate from their prescribed sequence. Using data from 2.4 million radiological diagnoses, we find that doctors prioritize similar tasks... View Details
Keywords: Discretion; Scheduling; Queue; Healthcare; Learning; Experience; Decentralization; Operations; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Performance; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Decisions; Time Management; Cost vs Benefits; Health Industry
Ibanez, Maria, Jonathan R. Clark, Robert S. Huckman, and Bradley R. Staats. "Discretionary Task Ordering: Queue Management in Radiological Services." Management Science 64, no. 9 (September 2018): 4389–4407. (Working paper available here. Winner of the 2017 Best Paper Competition of the POMS College of Healthcare Operations Management. Featured in Forbes, Quartz, and Inc.)