Operations Management’s Dual Upbringing: Impact on Key Theories (Published)
Intrigued by academic’s views on operations management which they claim is an applied subject with very little theory, and its dual upbringing in both Industrial Engineering and the Social Sciences; this paper embarks on a reflection to uncover the impact of dual upbringing on key theories in operations management. The reflection reveals pair of core drivers on each theory, including location and profitability, flow and productivity, performance and competitivity, waste elimination and productivity, skills and competitivity, design and performance. The literature review of identified pairs of core drivers points to an attribute of polarity in operations management. Longitudinal data from the Manufacturing Circle of South Africa is used to carry out statistical analysis – principally correlation and regression. It is observed that, practically, operations managers instead of “either/or” choice they take “both/end” approach when facing with polarity; nonetheless, the literature has highlighted the likelihood of manufacturing firms engaging in “either/or” approach based on impact of competition and the contexts where a specific behaviour could be required or might prevail. An interesting theoretical implication of the theory of polarity is that operations management involves a feedback mechanism from Industrial Engineering to Social Sciences. In view of the competition faced in business environment, the rapidly evolving business environments, and the slowly evolving internal resources of manufacturing firms, competitive foresight is identified as the missing link. The practical implication of competitive foresight is that basic elements of anticipatory and systemic thinking need to be incorporated in the developmental programs of operations managers to prevail over the current dominating responsive routines approach.
Keywords: Manufacturing, Performance, Process management
Corporate Governance and Capital Structure of Listed Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria (Published)
The study examines the impact of corporate governance on capital structure of the quoted manufacturing firms in Nigeria. This study used secondary data methodology to obtained annual report and sample of 28 out of 68 listed manufacturing firms on the Nigeria stock exchange over a period of ten years 2013-2022. The findings revealed significant and positive relationship between corporate governance and financial leverage of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Specifically, the board size coefficient is positive and statistically significant at the 0.01 level and shows a significant positive relationship between board size and financial leverage. The results further indicate a significantly positive relationship between CEO duality and leverage. The coefficient of dual in the model is positive (coef=0.402) and is significant (t=2.640) at the 0.01 level. However, board composition revealed a negative but significant relationship with financial leverage of the listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. It is recommended that management of manufacturing companies in Nigeria should always display creativity that will ensure good corporate governance so as to significantly drive down the gearing level of their companies.
Keywords: Capital Structure, Corporate Governance, Firms, Manufacturing, Nigeria