Six sigma, absorptive capacity and organisational learning orientation

"This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Production Research, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00207543.2010.543175."The importance of the Six Sigma methodology in industry is growing constantly. However, there are few empirical studies that analyze the advantages of this methodology and its positive effects on organizational performance. The purpose of this paper is to extend understanding of the success of Six Sigma quality management initiatives by investigating the effects of Six Sigma teamwork and process management on absorptive capacity. It also seeks to understand the relation between absorptive capacity and organizational learning as two sources of sustainable competitive advantage. The information used comes from a larger study, the data for which were collected from a random sample of 237 European firms. Of these 237 organizations, 58 are Six Sigma organizations. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. The main findings show that Six Sigma teamwork and process management positively affect the development of absorptive capacity. A positive and significant relationship is also observed between absorptive capacity and organizational learning orientation. The findings of this study justify Six Sigma implementation in firms. This study provides us with an in-depth understanding of some structural elements that characterize the Six Sigma methodology, enabling us to provide an explanation for its success

The Emergence of Shell Valuable Exchange in the New Guinea Highlands

Shell valuable exchange in the New Guinea Highlands has been a key interest in anthropology, providing insight into economics, aesthetics, and social stratification amongst banded communities. This paper describes how shell exchange at ethnographic present reflects deeper historical processes. We trace the origins and subsequent changes in shell use from the terminal Pleistocene to the Late Holocene at the site of Kiowa in Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea. Zooarchaeological and technological analyses of Kiowa’s shell artifacts indicates riverine mussel was procured locally from the terminal Pleistocene (9,500–10,000 years ago) and featured as a minor component in the diet into the recent precolonial period. In contrast, evidence for marine shell valuables only appears in the Late Holocene in the form of Trochus armbands and Tegillarca granosa and Polymesoda cf. erosa multifunctional tools. This challenges ideas that associate the gradual dispersal of marine shell into the highlands with the spread of agriculture around the Wahgi Valley at the start of the Holocene, and supports punctuated pulses of coastal contact. In doing so, we formulate a testable model for the development of shell exchange into the highlands, with implications for the emergence of stratification and the conduits between the interior and coast