Vol. 3 No. 6 June, 2018

EFFECT OF LEAN MANUFACTURING PRACTICES ON OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN MOMBASA COUNTY, KENYA

ijsac — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 07:24:41 +0000

EFFECT OF LEAN MANUFACTURING PRACTICES ON OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN MOMBASA COUNTY, KENYA ijsac Sat, 06/09/2018 - 13:24

ABSTRACT

Manufacturing firms operating in the presents' rapidly changing and highly competitive market have been pressured to improve all aspects of operational performance; quality, flexibility and customer response time as well as reduce costs of manufacturing. They have retorted by adopting a set of practices that is fast becoming the dominant paradigm in manufacturing - lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing involves continuous elimination of waste from the value chain of manufacturers thus enhancing customer value through continuous improvement of operational performance of the manufacturers. This research sought to determine the effect of lean manufacturing practices on the operational performance of manufacturing firms in Mombasa County. The study was guided by to three objectives: To determine the extent to which manufacturing firms in Mombasa County have adopted lean manufacturing practices; To establish the effect of lean manufacturing practices on operational performance of manufacturing firms in Mombasa County and finally the challenges faced by firms when implementing lean manufacturing. The data analyzed was gathered using a semi-structured questionnaire targeting operations managers of manufacturing firms in Mombasa. The results were presented using tables, pie charts and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression models. The findings indicated that most manufacturing firms in Mombasa practiced lean manufacturing. It was also clear that lean manufacturing firms had seen an improvement in their operational performance. The effect of lean manufacturing practices on the operational performance of manufacturing firms was tested against four operational performance metrics; quality, flexibility, speed and cost). The outcomes showed that lean manufacturing practices; just-in-time, continuous improvement/kaizen, value stream mapping and total productive maintenance; are positively related to operational performance while automation is negatively related to operational performance. The study also established that the most experienced challenge in adopting lean manufacturing was high costs of implementation and the least was lack of top management support. The study recommends more awareness of the importance of lean manufacturing practices in manufacturing firms and support from the top management as critical tool for takeoff. Most of all, the researcher urges manufacturing firms to implement lean manufacturing practices and create a culture that accommodates them since they have excellent systems and structures that can productively support it. If lean manufacturing practices are consistently implemented the operational performance of the manufacturing firms can significantly improve and this will enable manufacturing firms to survive the harsh business environment. The study also recommends that for lean manufacturing to be successful it should to be practiced within the entire supply chain.

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3.5.01.pdf

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Vol. 3 No. 6 June, 2018

Author

Fatma K. Said & Stephen Odock, PhD

Mobile Money and Empowering the Lesser off Segments in Society: Mobile Accumulating Savings and Credit Association (M-ASCA) Model in Kenya

ijsac — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 07:22:49 +0000

Mobile Money and Empowering the Lesser off Segments in Society: Mobile Accumulating Savings and Credit Association (M-ASCA) Model in Kenya ijsac Sat, 06/09/2018 - 13:22

Abstract

The Kenyan informal sector is characterized by an ecosystem of self made informal savings and credit groups as well as informal money lenders that target the unbanked and marginalized populations for credit at exorbitant interest rates. Huge sums of money are intermediated through the informal models on an annual basis. However, these models have several challenges. In addition, majority of those in the groups are vulnerable groups that have no assets to enable them get affordable credit from banks. The unemployment rate in Kenya is also very high meaning that the immediate option is self employment and consequently startup capital. The demand for affordable credit and the need for a convenient savings channel calls for innovative models that nurture a saving culture as well as a sustainable social support system. M-ASCA (mobile accumulating savings and credit association application) is a new end to end mobile phone-based platform which allows anyone anywhere in the country to register on phone, save, borrow, guarantee and request to be guaranteed, repay loans and exit. Members accumulate savings from their virtual wallet little by little and borrow up to three times or more of their savings depending on group rules at affordable interest leveraging on their friends and relatives as guarantors from anywhere in the country. The platform also allows groups to manage common accounts with ease.

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3.5.02.pdf

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Vol. 3 No. 6 June, 2018

Author

Dr. Martina Mulwa

Choice of Place of Delivery during Pregnancy in Kenya: A Case of Kitui West Sub- County

ijsac — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 07:21:18 +0000

Choice of Place of Delivery during Pregnancy in Kenya: A Case of Kitui West Sub- County ijsac Sat, 06/09/2018 - 13:21

Abstract

The objective of the study was to explore factors determining choice of place of delivering the baby in Kitui West Sub County. The population of women within childbearing age (15 – 49 years) according to 2009 census was 1230 in Kitui West Sub County (KNBS et al.; 2009). The study design was mainly qualitative in nature. To collect data from pregnant women and postnatal mothers, semi structured interview guide was used while unstructured interview guide was used to gather data from focus group discussion. One hundred and eight seven pregnant women were interviewed before and after delivery to establish where they delivered and the reasons for their choice. Data was transcribed and emerging themes and patterns were identified, coded and categorized according to themes. This research revealed that choice of place of delivery was mainly influenced by; husbands, previous safe deliveries, confidence in the traditional birth attendant, complications during childbirth, previous complications during childbirth, mothers in law, awareness of complications that could occur during childbirth and mothers of unmarried pregnant women. Majority of the respondents appeared to have scanty information about childbirth complications which seemed not to have influenced them to choose to deliver in a health facility. Health Belief Model by Becker and Maiman (1977) postulates that unless an individual perceives severity of a medical condition the likelihood of taking action is minimal. There was a challenge of reaching pregnant women who did not attend antenatal clinic. What seems to hinder pregnant women from gaining profound information regarding childbirth needs to be explored.

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3.5.03.pdf

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Vol. 3 No. 6 June, 2018

Author

Paschalia Kavuli Mbutu, Dr. Wanjiru Gichuhi & Dr. Grace Bosibori Nyamongo

A Comparative Study of Climate Change Institutional Arrangements in Selected Countries

ijsac — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 07:20:04 +0000

A Comparative Study of Climate Change Institutional Arrangements in Selected Countries ijsac Sat, 06/09/2018 - 13:20

ABSTRACT

Institutions are at the heart of societal progress and advancement. Climate change institutions are more complex than other types of institutions because climate change is a cross-cutting issue that is not restricted to a single institution. Climate change requires high levels of coordination and access to resources, both human and financial. This study examines the characteristics of climate change institutional arrangements in five countries. In spite of different conditions existing in these countries, there is a high level of similarity in institutional arrangements. All five countries have a Ministerial level or official level coordinating body on climate change that make important policy decisions that affect climate change. In some countries, the body is chaired by the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister and included other relevant Ministers such as Energy, Trade and Industry and Finance. This underscores the cross-cutting nature of climate change and the need for coordination at the highest level. In all five countries, climate change policies or action plans had been launched and were being implemented. To address climate change, all five countries had either climate policies or climate legislation in place. They had also set up either permanent or ad-hoc technical bodies to help in policy-formulation and implementation. They also had permanent or ad hoc arrangements for stakeholder consultations. Finally, they all had Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems in place. This high level of institutional similarity could be due to institutional isomorphism.

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3.5.04.pdf

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Vol. 3 No. 6 June, 2018

Author

Dr Lian Kok Fei

An Interactive Extensive Reading Program for a Senior High School English Class in Taiwan

ijsac — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 07:18:24 +0000

An Interactive Extensive Reading Program for a Senior High School English Class in Taiwan ijsac Sat, 06/09/2018 - 13:18

ABSTRACT

Extensive reading has been considered the important key to developing language proficiency. Students can acquire vocabulary, word usage and grammatical knowledge naturally from texts while reading. Meanwhile, they will be oriented to the discourse structure of essays, news reports, stories, fictions, to learn global structure of different genres or rhetoric modes. Furthermore, students will be inspired to think over the issues in stories, news happenings and novels and gain independent thinking ability while reading widely and extensively. Therefore, extensive reading is a necessary top-down process for language learners or ESL/EFL learners to develop their language proficiency and independent thinking ability besides the bottom-up process, which focuses more on the word and sentence levels of reading. In this study, modified extensive reading integrated with group scaffolding interactions was applied to a class of eleventh grade students. Then it investigates the impact of the top-down process reading instruction. This interactive extensive reading was modified by the researcher to integrate extensive reading with group scaffolding interactions and discussions, in which students could interact with group members to discuss issues and problems in the storybooks which they were reading together. Thus, students could learn and inspire one another, and develop language proficiency as well as thinking ability. Students completed reading one book in about one month and answered questions on the worksheet. They read four books in the semester. To conduct the study, first, in the beginning of the semester, a background information questionnaire was conducted to collect the background information of the students, such as gender, their English learning habits, the length of their learning English, how much time they spent on studying English and the number of the students passing GEPT, etc. Then, modified interactive extensive reading with group interactions was implemented by using graded readers for 30 minutes or one session for group activities every week. After the practices of extensive reading for one semester, a survey was implemented to investigate the students’ concepts about this interactive extensive reading practice and their changes in attitude and motivation towards English learning. The data collected from the Background Information Questionnaire were presented through tables and graphs. Besides, a descriptive statistical analysis was employed to analyze the quantitative data collected from the Response Questionnaire to obtain mean, standard deviation, etc. The results show that the students responded to the interactive extensive reading program quite positively with a mean of 3.52 in terms of their attitudes toward English learning and 3.43 in terms of basic concepts in learning English. This result indicated that the students benefitted from the program. The paper was finalized with pedagogical implications and suggestions for future studies.

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3.5.05.pdf

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Vol. 3 No. 6 June, 2018

Author

Yueh-miao Chen, Dr./Prof.

Public and Private Hospital Health Care: Service Expectations and Perceptions

ijsac — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 07:16:55 +0000

Public and Private Hospital Health Care: Service Expectations and Perceptions ijsac Sat, 06/09/2018 - 13:16

Abstract

Now a day’s health care is very significant to each and every people because they have to live without any health problem. In case of any disease, hospitals are able to diagnose and give treatment to the patients. This study deals with comparing public and private hospitals health care service. The main focus of the study is service expectations and perceptions of the select hospitals. In these two hospitals, a sample of 400 in-patients is selected to collect the primary data through SERVQUAL model based on convenience sampling. The finding of the study indicates that the perceptions of service in private hospital are higher than the public hospital.

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3.5.06.pdf

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Vol. 3 No. 6 June, 2018

Author

Dr. Gaurav K. Nagh

Poverty in Slovak Families: A Current Social Problem of the Present Time

ijsac — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 07:12:48 +0000

Poverty in Slovak Families: A Current Social Problem of the Present Time ijsac Sat, 06/09/2018 - 13:12

Abstract

The authors in their paper focus on a current social problem of the present time, and that is poverty. Specifically, they point to the possible social connections of the lives of children in poverty, especially threats that relate to school achievements, material conditions and the learning environment; while they place these indicators in connection with the level of well-being. Research was conducted in 5 regions in Slovakia, on quite a representative sample, and the results present the current state of issues in the regions.

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3.5.07.pdf

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Vol. 3 No. 6 June, 2018

Author

PhDr. Samíra Jiromá, PhD. & PhDr. Johan Yartoš, PhD.