The Network Company in Catalonia : ICT, Productivity, Competitiveness, Salaries and Performance in Catalonia's Companies. Research report (synthesis document)

Resum en anglès del projecte de recerca L'empresa xarxa a Catalunya. TIC, productivitat, competitivitat, salaris i beneficis a l'empresa catalana té com a objectiu principal constatar que la consolidació d'un nou model estratègic, organitzatiu i d'activitat empresarial, vinculat amb la inversió i l'ús de les TIC (o empresa xarxa), modifica substancialment els patrons de comportament dels resultats empresarials, en especial la productivitat, la competitivitat, les retribucions dels treballadors i el benefici. La contrastació empírica de les hipòtesis de treball l'hem feta per mitjà de les dades d'una enquesta a una mostra representativa de 2.038 empreses catalanes. Amb la perspectiva de l'impacte de la inversió i l'ús de les TIC no s'aprecia una relació directa entre els processos d'innovació digital i els resultats de l'activitat de l'empresa catalana. En aquest sentit, hem hagut de segmentar el teixit productiu català per a buscar les organitzacions en què el procés de coinnovació tecnològica digital i organitzativa és més present i en què la intensitat de l'ús del coneixement és un recurs molt freqüent per a poder copsar impactes rellevants en els principals resultats empresarials. Això és així perquè l'economia catalana, avui, presenta una estructura productiva dual.

Contribution to Asterisk Open Source Project

With this final master thesis we are going to contribute to the Asterisk open source project. Asterisk is an open source project that started with the main objective of develop an IP telephony platform, completely based on Software (so not hardware dependent) and under an open license like GPL. This project was started on 1999 by the software engineer Mark Spencer at Digium. The main motivation of that open source project was that the telecommunications sector is lack of open solutions, and most of the available solutions are based on proprietary standards, which are close and not compatible between them. Behind the Asterisk project there is a company, Digum, which is the project leading since the project was originated in its laboratories. This company has some of its employees fully dedicated to contribute to the Asterisk project, and also provide the whole infrastructure required by the open source project. But the business of Digium isn't based on licensing of products due to the open source nature of Asterisk, but it's based on offering services around Asteriskand designing and selling some hardware components to be used with Asterisk. The Asterisk project has grown up a lot since its birth, offering in its latest versions advanced functionalities for managing calls and compatibility with some hardware that previously was exclusive of proprietary solutions. Due to that, Asterisk is becoming a serious alternative to all these proprietaries solutions because it has reached a level of maturity that makes it very stable. In addition, as it is open source, it can be fully customized to a givenrequirement, which could be impossible with the proprietaries solutions. Due to the bigness that is reaching the project, every day there are more companies which develop value added software for telephony platforms, that are seriously evaluating the option of make their software fully compatible withAsterisk platforms. All these factors make Asterisk being a consolidated project but in constant evolution, trying to offer all those functionalities offered by proprietaries solutions. This final master thesis will be divided mainly in two blocks totally complementaries. In the first block we will analyze Asterisk as an open source project and Asterisk as a telephony platform (PBX). As a result of this analysis we will generate a document, written in English because it is Asterisk project's official language, which could be used by future contributors as an starting point on joining Asterisk. On the second block we will proceed with a development contribution to the Asterisk project. We will have several options in the form that we do the contribution, such as solving bugs, developing new functionalities or start an Asterisk satellite project. The type of contribution will depend on the needs of the project on that moment.

Herramienta de gestión integral de e-Business

El objetivo del proyecto es llevar a cabo el desarrollo de una herramienta que permita a las pequeñas y medianas empresas informatizar su gestión para acercarlas al e-business.

Pitfalls to Avoid when Measuring Institutions: Is 'Doing Business' Damaging Business?

Over recent years, both governments and international aid organizations have been devoting large amounts of resources to "simplifying" the procedures for setting up and formalizing firms. Many of these actions have focused on reducing the initial costs of setting up the firm, disregarding the more important role of business registers as a source of reliable information for judges, government departments and, above all, other firms. This reliable information is essential for reducing transaction costs in future dealings with all sorts of economic agents, both public and private. The priorities of reform policies should therefore be thoroughly reviewed, stressing the value of the legal institutions rather than trivializing them as is often the case.

The effect of university culture and stakeholders' perceptions on university-business linking activities

The present work discusses the effects of university culture and structure on university-business relations, focusing on knowledge transfer activities. It puts forward the thesis that when links between university and business are introduced into the university system as a turn-key proposition rather than as developmental process, the prevailing university culture and structure will exert resistance against change and will oppose the creation of appropriate structures to promote them, with deleterious effects for the university.

The impact of investment in education on economic development: Spain in comparative perspective (1860-2000)

Throughout the 19th century and until the mid-20th century, in terms of long-terminvestment in human capital and, above all, in education, Spain lagged far behind theinternational standards and, more specifically, the levels attained by its neighbours inEurope. In 1900, only 55% of the population could read; in 1950, the figure was 93%.This no doubt contributed to a pattern of slower economic growth in which thephysical strength required for agricultural work, measured here through height, had alarger impact than education on economic growth. It was not until the 1970s, with thearrival of democracy, that the Spanish education system was modernized and theinfluence of education on economic growth increased.

Influence activity and the organization of research and development

The organizational design of research and development conditions theincentives of the researchers of the research project. In particular,the organizational form determines the allocation of effort of theresearcher between time spent on research and time spent lobbying management. Researchers prefer to spend their time on research. However,the researchers only get utility from performing research if theproject is approved for its full duration. Spending time lobbyingmanagement for the continuation of the researcher s project increasesthe probability that the management observes a favorable signal aboutthe project. Organizing a research joint venture increases theflexibility of the organizational form with respect to the continuationdecision. For low correlation between the signals of the partners aboutthe expected profitability of the project, we find that the organizationof a research joint venture reduces influence activity by the researchersand increases expected profits of the partners. For high correlationbetween the signals, internal research projects lower influence activityby the researchers. We try to relate the correlation of the partnerssignals to the characteristics of basic research versus more appliedresearch projects, and find that the model is consistent with theobservation that research joint ventures seem involved in more basicresearch projects compared to internal R&D departments, whichconcentrate on more applied research.

The Spanish motor industry in the first third of the 20th Century: A lost opportunity

The Spanish automobile industry had a late start. Although the country proved capable of short production runs of high-quality vehicles during the first third of the century it never managed to build up its own industry, unlike Great Britain, France, or Italy. What then, were the critical shortcomings that prevented the establishment of large Spanish motor manufacturers? Put another way, why did all of the companies set up during the first half-century fail to survive? This paper attempts to shed some light on these questions, employing a wide-ranging analysis of both internal and external factors affecting the industry. A feeble internal market, lack of resources and production factors are usually adduced as reasons, as are Spain's general economic backwardness and the role played by the public authorities. However, this paper mainly focuses on the internal factors concerning company strategy and organisation. A comparison with the Italian case helps put the traditional arguments in proper perspective and highlights those covering business strategies. Finally, we argue that a broad range of factors needs to be analysed to fully understand why Spain failed to establish a motor industry.

Pitfalls to avoid when measuring institutions: Is "Doing Business" damaging business?

Over recent years, both governments and international aid organizations have been devoting large amounts of resources to simplifying the procedures for setting up and formalizing firms. Many of these actions have focused on reducing the initial costs of setting up the firm, disregarding the more important role of business registers as a source of reliable information for judges, government departments and, above all, other firms. This reliable information is essential for reducing transaction costs in future dealings with all sorts of economic agents, both public and private. The priorities of reform policies should therefore be thoroughly reviewed, stressing the value of the legal institutions rather than trivializing them as is often the case.

Implantació del sistema SAP Business One en una empresa del sector de l'automòbil

L'objectiu del desenvolupament d'aquest Treball de Final de Carrera és la introducció d'un sistema ERP en una empresa fictícia del sector auxiliar de l'automoció, la qual anomenarem NBJ Automotive.

"Vinci Cosmetics" Fabricación y comercialización de productos cosméticos

Contexto: La idea principal es la creación de una empresa para la fabricación y comercialización de productos cosméticos de alta gama. A pesar del contexto de crisis económica en el que estamos envueltos estos últimos años y del que no parece que acabamos de salir, el sector de la cosmética está resistiendo la situación de forma envidiable. De la crisis, como dicen los economistas, “se saldrá y se volverá, todo es cíclico” y viendo la fortaleza que éste sector está mostrando unido a la necesidad de que nuestra economía abandone sectores muy deteriorados y sin una previsión positiva de futuro, la cosmética se postula con un futuro prometedor dentro del contexto económico español y europeo. “Vinci Cosmetics” es el nombre inicialmente pensado para que la nueva compañía inicie su andadura. Nombre con tintes latinos de la lejana época del imperio romano como homenaje a la rica herencia histórica de la ciudad del autor del proyecto - Tarragona. La cultura por cuidarse y sentirse bien, muy arraigada en la mentalidad latina y mediterránea, es un factor cultural clave para el desarrollo y futura evolución de esta industria. El slogan de la empresa, “Dieta Mediterránea para tu piel”, clarifica en buena medida la idea a desarrollar y los objetivos pretendidos por la estrategia empresarial. Objetivos: El objetivo esencial del TFC es elaborar un estudio detallado para la creación de una empresa de fabricación y comercialización de productos cosméticos de alta gama que abarque el management y la gestión por procesos de la empresa, la función de marketing, el tipo de operaciones y procesos a realizar, la gestión del factor humano y el presupuesto necesario para cubrir este ambicioso proyecto. En detalle, un completo plan de empresa que marque las directrices de la organización industrial que se pretende crear compuesto a su vez por cinco planes: plan de gerencia, plan de marketing, plan de operaciones, plan de recursos humanos y plan económico – financiero. Procedimientos: El proyecto tiene un alto componente de estudio de mercados y de marketing pero pretende también abarcar el management, los procesos de operación, el factor humano y el aspecto económico y financiero de las inversiones y presupuesto necesario. El estudio inicial centrará su esfuerzo en un análisis del mercado de la península ibérica, y, en función del avance y del progreso esperado por la empresa, la compañía podría extender su campo de acción a Europa aunque no antes de un medio plazo. “Vinci Cosmetics” ha adoptado referenciales de sistemas de gestión integrados en toda la organización. Así tenemos principalmente, por un lado, la norma internacional ISO 9001:2008 y, por otro, el Modelo EFQM de Excelencia en la gestión; ambos plasmados a partir de un enfoque basado en procesos que nos garantiza el control continuo y la gestión excelente. Conclusiones: Tras evaluar la situación actual del mercado de la cosmética, las previsiones futuras de éste y las necesidades que una organización industrial necesita, se puede crear - con plenas garantías de éxito como organización empresarial y desde el punto de vista económico - una empresa de cosméticos de alta gama para cubrir las necesidades de una parte de mercado que lo requiere.

Evaluation of transversal competencies: pilot project in a maths course for first-year business

The aim of this communication is to describe the results of a pilot project for the assessment of the transversal competency "the capacity for learning and responsibility". This competency is centred on the capacity for the analysis, synthesis, overview, and practical application of newly acquired knowledge. It is proposed by the University of Barcelona in its undergraduate degree courses,through multidisciplinary teaching teams. The goal of the pilot project is to evaluate this competency.We worked with a group of students in a first-year Business Degree maths course, during the firstsemester of the 2012/2013 academic year. The development of the project was in two stages: (i)design of a specific task to share with the same students in the following semester when the subjectwould be economic history; and (ii) the elaboration of an evaluation rubric in which we defined thecontent, the aspects to evaluate, the evaluation criteria, and the marking scale. The attainment of theexpectations of quality on the specific task was scored following this rubric, which provided a singlebasis for the precise and fair assessment by the instructor and for the students' own self-evaluation.We conclude by describing the main findings of the experience. There particularly stood out the highscore in the students' self-evaluation given to one aspect of the competency – their capacity forlearning – in stark contrast to their instructor's quite negative evaluation. This means that we have towork both to improve teaching practice and to identify the optimal competency evaluationmethodology.

La actividad productiva de la fábrica de harinas “La Montserrat” (Girona) en el año agrícola de 1903-1904 = The Production Activities at the Company Harinera “La Montserrat” (Girona) over the Agricultural Year 1903-1904

Harinera La Montserrat, S.A, a company involved in the manufacturing and trading of cereals and flour, was founded in Girona in 1898 by José Ensesa y Cía., Sociedad en Comandita. With the objective to determine how the product activity of this business was structured, we have studied in detail the operations that were carried out over the agricultural year 1903-1904. We have focused on three main aspects. Firstly, the purchasing of wheat (origin, transportation, prices); secondly, the production of flour (using internal and external wheat, profits); and thirdly, its distribution (customers, destination). Finally, we have analyzed the profit and loos account for this period in order to find out if this business was profitable

Implantación de una plataforma corporativa de business intelligence

La Universidad UPROMA ha identificado una línea de actuación inicial caracterizada por la implantación de una plataforma de reporting y análisis de la información corporativa.

Centre de negocis : Barcelona Business World

Anàlisi, disseny i implementació de dues aplicacions (una plana web i una intranet), ambdues relacionades amb un centre de negocis anomenat Barcelona Business World.