Performance measurement and management in a collaborative network

This study concerns performance measurement and management in a collaborative network. Collaboration between companies has been increased in recent years due to the turbulent operating environment. The literature shows that there is a need for more comprehensive research on performance measurement in networks and the use of measurement information in their management. This study examines the development process and uses of a performance measurement system supporting performance management in a collaborative network. There are two main research questions: how to design a performance measurement system for a collaborative network and how to manage performance in a collaborative network. The work can be characterised as a qualitative single case study. The empirical data was collected in a Finnish collaborative network, which consists of a leading company and a reseller network. The work is based on five research articles applying various research methods. The research questions are examined at the network level and at the single network partner level. The study contributes to the earlier literature by producing new and deeper understanding of network-level performance measurement and management. A three-step process model is presented to support the performance measurement system design process. The process model has been tested in another collaborative network. The study also examines the factors affecting the process of designing the measurement system. The results show that a participatory development style, network culture, and outside facilitators have a positive effect on the design process. The study increases understanding of how to manage performance in a collaborative network and what kind of uses of performance information can be identified in a collaborative network. The results show that the performance measurement system is an applicable tool to manage the performance of a network. The results reveal that trust and openness increased during the utilisation of the performance measurement system, and operations became more transparent. The study also presents a management model that evaluates the maturity of performance management in a collaborative network. The model is a practical tool that helps to analyse the current stage of the performance management of a collaborative network and to develop it further.

Internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises and impact of institutions on international entrepreneurship in emerging economies: the case of Russia

The doctoral study presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the institutional environment on the internationalization-based growth strategic choices of small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies. In responding to the calls for more research on institutions and international entrepreneurship, this dissertation extends the linkages between the two to the context of emerging economies. The study presents a comprehensive analysis of institutional challenges and their impact on the internationalization of SMEs in emerging economies, particularly in Russia. The research contributes to the adoption of the institution-based view in international entrepreneurship. The dissertation is presented through five research papers. Based on primary and secondary data, the study categorizes the possible sources of institutional influences on internationalization and empirically tests their impact by applying a method triangulation research design. The result of the conducted research is a proposed theoretical model of the institutional impact on the internationalization of SMEs in emerging economies. The model is specifically focused on the growth stage of the entrepreneurial process and considers only its internationalization facet. The research identifies and provides empirical support for the existence of a positive influence of a transparent and supportive regulatory environment, an institutionalized pool of general business knowledge, and collectivistic value orientation on the proclivity of SMEs to internationalize. A level of appreciation of entrepreneurial initiatives in home country and a greater positive institutional gap provide a positive impact on the international performance of SMEs. The research provides contextualized knowledge of the institutional impact on the internationalization of SMEs in Russia. The obtained results present theoretical value in terms of showing how the environmental conditions effect the entrepreneurial internationalization-based growth in emerging economies, providing the methodological insights into the measurement of the institutional effects, and empirically contextualizing the linkage between institutions and internationalization in the Russian business environment. The research also provides value for the business and policy making stakeholders by identifying ways of utilizing the conditions in the external institutional environment.

Enseigner l'interculturel dans le supérieur: quels discours et approches d'un concept ambigu à l'heure de l'internationalisation? Le cas de la Finlande

L‘interculturel est un concept souvent partagé mais rarement défini dans la recherche alors que ses compréhensions, interprétations et applications sont variées, ce qui mène à des malentendus et des positionnements épistémologiques et méthodologiques ambigus. En parallèle, de nombreuses critiques et propositions de réorientations de la notion voient le jour. Nous entendons faire le point sur la notion et son intégration potentielle dans l‘enseignement de la communication interculturelle (ECI). Notre étude se base sur l‘analyse de six groupes focalisés d‘enseignants (-chercheurs) impliqués dans l‘enseignement de l‘interculturel du niveau supérieur en Finlande, pays du nord de l‘Europe. Nous avons recours aux paradigmes postmodernes et aux sciences du langage (analyse du discours inspirée d‘auteurs français, et plus particulièrement de l‘école française de la deuxième génération (les théories de l‘énonciation (Kerbrat-Orecchioni, 2002 ; Marnette, 2005) et une approche du dialogisme inspirée par Bakhtine (1977))). Ces méthodes permettent de mettre en avant la complexité identitaire en posant l‘hétérogénéité du discours comme principe, c‘est-à-dire qu‘elles considèrent que tout discours inclut la « voix » de l‘autre. Repérer la présence de ces voix dans les discours des enseignants/chercheurs nous a permis de démontrer comment celles-ci participaient à la construction de leur identité pendant l‘interaction. Nous avons pu observer comment les relations entre ces interactions verbales donnaient lieu à des instabilités (contradictions, omissions), dont l‘étude nous a aidée à déduire leur(s) façon(s) de concevoir l‘interculturel. Les discours analysés révèlent a) que la définition de l‘interculturel est partagée sans être perçue de la même manière et b) que les différentes représentations du concept peuvent varier dans le discours d‘un même enseignant, mettant en évidences des contradictions qui posent problème s‘il s‘agit de communiquer un savoir-être aux apprenants. Nous nous sommes efforcée de trouver la place d‘un interculturel renouvelé parmi ces discours et de dissocier l‘image de l‘éducation interculturelle qui est promue en Finlande de ce qui est proposé en réalité : les changements actuels semblent avoir un minimum d‘impact sur la façon dont les enseignants traitent l‘interculturel. Nous nous demandons alors comment l‘Etat finlandais peut promouvoir un enseignement interculturel cohérent sans proposer aux enseignants/chercheurs une formation qui leur permettrait de reconnaitre les diverses diversités impliquées par l‘interculturel. Mots clés : Communication interculturelle, diversité, culture, enseignement supérieur finlandais.

Wind Turbine Direct-Drive Permanent-Magnet Generator with Direct Liquid Cooling for Mass Reduction

Today’s electrical machine technology allows increasing the wind turbine output power by an order of magnitude from the technology that existed only ten years ago. However, it is sometimes argued that high-power direct-drive wind turbine generators will prove to be of limited practical importance because of their relatively large size and weight. The limited space for the generator in a wind turbine application together with the growing use of wind energy pose a challenge for the design engineers who are trying to increase torque without making the generator larger. When it comes to high torque density, the limiting factor in every electrical machine is heat, and if the electrical machine parts exceed their maximum allowable continuous operating temperature, even for a short time, they can suffer permanent damage. Therefore, highly efficient thermal design or cooling methods is needed. One of the promising solutions to enhance heat transfer performances of high-power, low-speed electrical machines is the direct cooling of the windings. This doctoral dissertation proposes a rotor-surface-magnet synchronous generator with a fractional slot nonoverlapping stator winding made of hollow conductors, through which liquid coolant can be passed directly during the application of current in order to increase the convective heat transfer capabilities and reduce the generator mass. This doctoral dissertation focuses on the electromagnetic design of a liquid-cooled direct-drive permanent-magnet synchronous generator (LC DD-PMSG) for a directdrive wind turbine application. The analytical calculation of the magnetic field distribution is carried out with the ambition of fast and accurate predicting of the main dimensions of the machine and especially the thickness of the permanent magnets; the generator electromagnetic parameters as well as the design optimization. The focus is on the generator design with a fractional slot non-overlapping winding placed into open stator slots. This is an a priori selection to guarantee easy manufacturing of the LC winding. A thermal analysis of the LC DD-PMSG based on a lumped parameter thermal model takes place with the ambition of evaluating the generator thermal performance. The thermal model was adapted to take into account the uneven copper loss distribution resulting from the skin effect as well as the effect of temperature on the copper winding resistance and the thermophysical properties of the coolant. The developed lumpedparameter thermal model and the analytical calculation of the magnetic field distribution can both be integrated with the presented algorithm to optimize an LC DD-PMSG design. Based on an instrumented small prototype with liquid-cooled tooth-coils, the following targets have been achieved: experimental determination of the performance of the direct liquid cooling of the stator winding and validating the temperatures predicted by an analytical thermal model; proving the feasibility of manufacturing the liquid-cooled tooth-coil winding; moreover, demonstration of the objectives of the project to potential customers.

Application of Carbon Nanotubes in Rotating Electrical Machines

Demand for increased energy efficiency has put an immense need for novel energy efficient systems. Electrical machines are considered as a much matured technology. Further improvement in this technology needs of finding new material to incorporate in electrical machines. Progress of carbon nanotubes research over the latest decade can open a new horizon in this aspect. Commonly known as ‘magic material’, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have promising material properties that can change considerably the course of electrical machine design. It is believed that winding material based on carbon nanotubes create the biggest hope for a giant leap of modern technology and energy efficient systems. Though carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have shown amazing properties theoretically and practically during the latest 20 years, to the best knowledge of the author, no research has been carried out to find the future possibilities of utilizing carbon nanotubes as conductors in rotating electrical machines. In this thesis, the possibilities of utilizing carbon nanotubes in electrical machines have been studied. The design changes of electrical machine upon using carbon nanotubes instead of copper have been discussed vividly. A roadmap for this carbon nanotube winding machine has been discussed from synthesis, manufacturing and operational points of view.

Centralized IT management using SCCM in a large multinational company

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager is a systems management product for managing large groups of computers and/or mobile devices. It provides operating system deployment, software distribution, patch management, hardware & software inventory, remote control and many other features for the managed clients. This thesis focuses on researching whether this product is suitable for large, international organization with no previous, centralized solution for managing all such networked devices and detecting areas, where the system can be altered to achieve a more optimal management product from the company’s perspective. The results showed that the system is suitable for such organization if properly configured and clear and transparent line of communication between key IT personnel exists.

Oppivan organisaation edellytysten selvittäminen Mikkelin puhelin Oyj:ssä

Yritysten kilpailukyky ei perustu nykypäivän pelkästään aineellisiin resursseihin. Yritysten on pyrittävä luomaan kyvykkyyksiä, joilla yritys pystyy sopeutumaan nopeasti muuttuviin olosuhteisiin toimintaympäristössään. Aineettoman pääoman, kuten rakenne-, suhde- ja ihmispääoman kehittäminen mahdollistaa edellä mainittujen kyvykkyyksien luomisen ja hallitsemisen organisaatiossa. Pääoman kehittäminen sekä hallinta vaativat organisaatiolta kulttuurisia ominaisuuksia, jotka mahdollistavat jatkuvan oppimisen ja toiminnan parantamisen. Tässä työssä on pyritty selvittämään, mitä nämä oppivan organisaation edellytykset ovat ja miten niiden nykytilaa voidaan mitata. Työn teoreettisen viitekehyksen avulla muodostettiin teemoittain kysymyksiä, joilla organisaation tilaa suhteessa oppivan organisaation tavoitteisiin pystytään tuomaan läpinäkyväksi. Kyselyn tuloksista huomattiin, että tällä mittaristolla saatiin esiin monia oppivan organisaation toimintaan vaikuttavia elementtejä ja niiden vaatimia kehityskohteita.

Teollisuusvaihdetehtaan sisälogistiikkajärjestelmän suunnittelu ja toteutus

Diplomityön tavoitteena on suunnitella ja toteuttaa tehokas sisälogistinen ratkaisu. Työssä tutkitaan varastonhallintaa ja materiaalivirtojen ohjausta sekä näihin kuuluvia prosesseja. Myös toimintaa pyritään tehostamaan. Työssä käytetään konstruktiivista tutkimusotetta, jossa olevassa olevaa ongelmaa lähdetään ratkaisemaan teorian avulla, jonka jälkeen kehitetään ratkaisumalli. Työn aineistona on käytetty aiheeseen liittyvää kirjallisuutta, tieteellisiä artikkeleita, kohdeyrityksen tietokantoja sekä työntekijöiden kanssa käytyjä keskusteluja. Diplomityön seurauksena yrityksellä on käytössään nykyaikainen ja tehokas sisälogistinen järjestelmä, sekä toiminta on yrityksen tahtotilan mukaisesti läpinäkyvämpää. Varastoon sitoutuva pääoma pienenee sekä materiaalin käsittely tehostuu huomattavasti. Varastotoimintojen odotetaan tehostuvan yli 40 % nykyiseen verrattuna.

Hiilinanojohteiden makroskooppinen johtavuus

Hiilinanojohteet ovat sähkönjohteita, joiden valmistuksessa on käytetty hiilinanoputkia, eli yhden atomikerroksen paksuisesta hiiliatomiverkosta koostuvia rakenteita. Hiilinanoputket ovat viime vuosina keränneet suurta mielenkiintoa erinomaisten fysikaalisten ominaisuuksiensa ansiosta. Tämän työn tavoitteena on selvittää, voitaisiinko hiilinanojohteiden sähkönjohtavuus saada riittävälle tasolle, jotta niillä saatettaisiin korvata nykyisiä kuparista valmistettuja johteita. Vaikka kuparilla on erinomainen johtavuus, sen käytöllä on omat heikkoutensa, kuten korkea hinta, virran ahtautuminen, suuri tiheys ja heikko mekaaninen kestävyys. Hiilinanojohteet voisivat olla yksi osa-alue kehitettäessä uusia energiatehokkaita ja ympäristöystävällisiä laitteita nyky-yhteiskunnan tarpeisiin. Työn tulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että nykyisten hiilinanojohteiden sähkönjohtavuus on yhä liian pieni laajamittaiseen käyttöön. Johtavuus on kuitenkin lisääntynyt jatkuvasti viime vuosina. Kehitystyön avulla hiilimateriaalin potentiaalia saadaan hyödynnettyä koko ajan enemmän, ja ajan myötä hiilijohteista voi tulla varteenotettava kilpailija perinteisille johdemateriaaleille. Hiilinanojohteet tulevat luultavasti aluksi yleistymään käyttökohteissa, joissa niiden muut ominaisuudet täydentävät hyvin sähkönjohtavuutta.

Permanent magnet synchronous generator design solution for large directdrive wind turbines: Thermal behavior of the LC DD-PMSG

Wind is one of the most compelling forms of indirect solar energy. Available now, the conversion of wind power into electricity is and will continue to be an important element of energy self-sufficiency planning. This paper is one in a series intended to report on the development of a new type of generator for wind energy; a compact, high-power, direct-drive permanent magnet synchronous generator (DD-PMSG) that uses direct liquid cooling (LC) of the stator windings to manage Joule heating losses. The main param-eters of the subject LC DD-PMSG are 8 MW, 3.3 kV, and 11 Hz. The stator winding is cooled directly by deionized water, which flows through the continuous hollow conductor of each stator tooth-coil winding. The design of the machine is to a large degree subordinate to the use of these solid-copper tooth-coils. Both steady-state and timedependent temperature distributions for LC DD-PMSG were examined with calculations based on a lumpedparameter thermal model, which makes it possible to account for uneven heat loss distribution in the stator conductors and the conductor cooling system. Transient calculations reveal the copper winding temperature distribution for an example duty cycle during variable-speed wind turbine operation. The cooling performance of the liquid cooled tooth-coil design was predicted via finite element analysis. An instrumented cooling loop featuring a pair of LC tooth-coils embedded in a lamination stack was built and laboratory tested to verify the analytical model. Predicted and measured results were in agreement, confirming the predicted satisfactory operation of the LC DD-PMSG cooling technology approach as a whole.

Photon Upconverting Nanophosphors: Unique Reporters for Optical Biosensing

Upconversion photoluminescence is a unique property of mostly certain inorganic materials, which are capable of converting low-energy infrared radiation into a higher-energy emission at visible wavelengths. This anti-Stokes shift enables luminescence detection without autofluorescence, which makes the upconverting materials a highly suitable reporter technology for optical biosensing applications. Furthermore, they exhibit long luminescence lifetime with narrow bandwidths also at the optical window of biomaterials enabling luminescence measurements in challenging sample matrices, such as whole blood. The aim of this thesis was to study the unique properties and the applicability of nano-sized upconverting phosphors (UCNPs) as reporters in biosensing applications. To render the inorganic nanophosphors water-dispersible and biocompatible, they were subjected to a series of surface modifications starting with silica-encapsulation and ending with a bioconjugation step with an analyte-recognizing biomolecule. The paramagnetism of the lanthanide dopants in the nanophosphors was exploited to develop a highly selective separation method for the UCNP-bioconjugates based on the magnetic selectivity of the high gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) system. The applicability of the nano-sized UCNPs as reporters in challenging sample matrices was demonstrated in two homogeneous sensing applications based on upconversion resonance energy transfer (UC-RET). A chemosensor for intracellular pH was developed exploiting UC-RET between the UCNP and a fluorogenic pH-sensitive dye with strongly increasing fluorescence intensity in decreasing pH. The pH-independent emission of the UCNPs at 550 nm was used for referencing. The applicability of the pH-nanosensor for intracellular pH measurement was tested in HeLa cells, and the acidic pH of endosomes could be detected with a confocal fluorescence microscope. Furthermore, a competitive UC-RET-based assay for red blood cell folic acid was developed for the measurement of folate directly from a whole blood sample. The optically transparent window of biomaterials was used in both the excitation and the measurement of the UC-RET sensitized emission of a near-infrared acceptor dye to minimize sample absorption, and the anti-Stokes detection completely eliminated the Stokes-shifted autofluorescence. The upconversion photoluminescence efficiency is known to be dependent on crystallite size, because the increasing surface-to-volume ratio of nano-sized UCNPs renders them more susceptible to quenching effects of the environment than their bulk counterpart. Water is known to efficiently quench the luminescence of lanthanide dopants. In this thesis, the quenching mechanism of water was studied using luminescence decay measurements. Water was found to quench the luminescence of UCNPs by increasing the non-radiative relaxation of the excited state of Yb3+ sensitizer ion, which had a very strong quenching effect on upconversion luminescence intensity.

Suorituskyvyn mittaus ja controller toimintojen kehittäminen Venäjällä toimivassa yhteisyrityksessä

Tässä työssä tutkittiin kahden suomalaisen yrityksen omistamaa yhteisyritystä Venäjällä. Tavoitteena oli kehittää tasapainotettu mittaristo suorituskyvyn mittaukseen johtamisen tueksi. Lisäksi oli tarve parantaa materiaalinhallintaa kehittämällä controllerin työtä helpottava työkalu, sekä kehittää materiaalinhallinnan prosessia läpinäkyvämmäksi ja suoraviivaisemmaksi. Työ koostuu teoreettisesta ja empiirisestä osuudesta. Teoria koostuu raportoinnista, suorituskyvyn mittauksesta ja materiaalinhallinnan seurannasta. Työssä käytettiin laadullisia menetelmiä ja tutkimustyypiksi valikoitui toimintatutkimus. Teoreettinen aineisto on peräisin julkaisuista ja alan kirjallisuudesta. Empiirinen aineisto kerättiin pääosin haastatteluista, benchmarkkauksesta ja dokumenteista. Työn tuloksena saavutettiin päätavoite, eli kehitettiin Excel – pohjaiset työkalut suorituskyvyn mittaukseen ja materiaalinhallinnan seurantaan. Lisäksi kehitettiin kirjallinen ohjeistus näiden työkalujen käyttöön ja materiaalinhallintaprosessien suoraviivaistamiseksi. Diplomityö helpottaa yrityksen johtamista ja kontrollointia sekä sisäisesti että ulkoisesti omistajanäkökulmasta katsottuna. Venäjällä toimivan ulkomaalaisomisteisen yrityksen seuranta on haastavaa, jossa prosessien toimivuus ja läpinäkyvyys ovat olennaisessa roolissa.

Blue and Uv-Emitting Upconversion Nanoparticles: Synthesis and (Bio) Analytical Applications.

Rare-earth based upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) have attracted much attention due to their unique luminescent properties. The ability to convert multiple photons of lower energy to ones with higher energy through an upconversion (UC) process offers a wide range of applications for UCNPs. The emission intensities and wavelengths of UCNPs are important performance characteristics, which determine the appropriate applications. However, insufficient intensities still limit the use of UCNPs; especially the efficient emission of blue and ultraviolet (UV) light via upconversion remains challenging, as these events require three or more near-infrared (NIR) photons. The aim of the study was to enhance the blue and UV upconversion emission intensities of Tm3+ doped NaYF4 nanoparticles and to demonstrate their utility in in vitro diagnostics. As the distance between the sensitizer and the activator significantly affect the energy transfer efficiency, different strategies were explored to change the local symmetry around the doped lanthanides. One important strategy is the intentional co-doping of active (participate in energy transfer) or passive (do not participate in energy transfer) impurities into the host matrix. The roles of doped passive impurities (K+ and Sc3+) in enhancing the blue and UV upconversions, as well as in influencing the intense UV upconversion emission through excess sensitization (active impurity) were studied. Additionally, the effects of both active and passive impurity doping on the morphological and optical performance of UCNPs were investigated. The applicability of UV emitting UCNPs as an internal light source for glucose sensing in a dry chemistry test strip was demonstrated. The measurements were in agreement with the traditional method based on reflectance measurements using an external UV light source. The use of UCNPs in the glucose test strip offers an alternative detection method with advantages such as control signals for minimizing errors and high penetration of the NIR excitation through the blood sample, which gives more freedom for designing the optical setup. In bioimaging, the excitation of the UCNPs in the transparent IR region of the tissue permits measurements, which are free of background fluorescence and have a high signal-to-background ratio. In addition, the narrow emission bandwidth of the UCNPs enables multiplexed detections. An array-in-well immunoassay was developed using two different UC emission colours. The differentiation between different viral infections and the classification of antibody responses were achieved based on both the position and colour of the signal. The study demonstrates the potential of spectral and spatial multiplexing in the imaging based array-in-well assays.

Measurement of social value creation with non-financial measures

This research examines the concept of social entrepreneurship which is a fairly new business model. In the field of business it has become increasingly popular in recent years. The growing awareness of the environment and concrete examples of impact created by social entrepreneurship have encouraged entrepreneurs to address social problems. Society’s failures are tried to redress as a result of business activities. The purpose of doing business is necessarily no longer generating just profits but business is run in order to make a social change with the profit gained from the operations. Successful social entrepreneurship requires a specific nature, constant creativity and strong desire to make a social change. It requires constant balancing between two major objectives: both financial and non-financial issues need to be considered, but not at the expense of another. While aiming at the social purpose, the business needs to be run in highly competitive markets. Therefore, both factors need equally be integrated into an organization as they are complementary, not exclusionary. Business does not exist without society and society cannot go forward without business. Social entrepreneurship, its value creation, measurement tools and reporting practices are under discussion in this research. An extensive theoretical basis is covered and used to support the findings coming out of the researched case enterprises. The most attention is focused on the concept of Social Return on Investment. The case enterprises are analyzed through the SROI process. Social enterprises are mostly small or medium sized. Naturally this sets some limitations in implementing measurement tools. The question of resources requires the most attention and therefore sets the biggest constraints. However, the size of the company does not determine all – the nature of business and the type of social purpose need to be considered always. The mission may be so concrete and transparent that in all cases any kind of measurement would be useless. Implementing measurement tools may be of great benefit – or a huge financial burden. Thus, the very first thing to carefully consider is the possible need of measuring value creation.

Development of 3D super-resolution tomographic STED microscopy and its application to studies on bone resorption

In this doctoral thesis, a tomographic STED microscopy technique for 3D super-resolution imaging was developed and utilized to observebone remodeling processes. To improve upon existing methods, wehave used a tomographic approach using a commercially available stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscope. A certain region of interest (ROI) was observed at two oblique angles: one at a standard inverted configuration from below (bottom view) and another from the side (side view) via a micro-mirror positioned close to the ROI. The two viewing angles were reconstructed into a final tomogram. The technique, named as tomographic STED microscopy, was able to achieve an axial resolution of approximately 70 nm on microtubule structures in a fixed biological specimen. High resolution imaging of osteoclasts (OCs) that are actively resorbing bone was achieved by creating an optically transparent coating on a microscope coverglass that imitates a fractured bone surface. 2D super-resolution STED microscopy on the bone layer showed approximately 60 nm of lateral resolution on a resorption associated organelle allowing these structures to be imaged with super-resolution microscopy for the first time. The developed tomographic STED microscopy technique was further applied to study resorption mechanisms of OCs cultured on the bone coating. The technique revealed actin cytoskeleton with specific structures, comet-tails, some of which were facing upwards and some others were facing downwards. This, in our opinion, indicated that during bone resorption, an involvement of the actin cytoskeleton in vesicular exocytosis and endocytosis is present. The application of tomographic STED microscopy in bone biology demonstrated that 3D super-resolution techniques can provide new insights into biological 3D nano-structures that are beyond the diffraction-limit when the optical constraints of super-resolution imaging are carefully taken into account.