Mixed methodology to analyze the relationship between maturity of environmental management and the adoption of green supply chain management in Brazil

The aim of this research is to verify the relationship between the maturity levels of environmental management and the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices by electro-electronic companies in Brazil. In this work a two-phase research was conducted, with one quantitative and the other qualitative. The quantitative phase aimed to test whether a relationship between the maturity levels of environmental management and GSCM exists, while the qualitative phase tried to detail the characteristics of this relationship. The quantitative phase was conducted through a survey with 100 Brazilian electro-electronic companies and the collected data were processed using Structural Equation Modeling. For the qualitative phase, a multiple case study was conducted with three companies located in Brazil. The results indicate that: (1) The main hypothesis was confirmed and considered statistically valid, indicating that, indeed, the maturity level of environmental management influences the adoption of GSCM practices; (2) a coevolution tends to occur between the environmental maturity and the GSCM practices; that is, the more developed is the company's environmental management, more complex GSCM practices are adopted; and (3) the GSCM internal practices tend to present a greater relative adoption than the external practices; these external practices of GSCM tend to be adopted when the company is inserted in a higher environmental stage and/or operates under a scenario of stronger normative environmental pressure. By the way, this is the first research mixing survey and case studies on GSCM in Brazil. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Brazilian soccer players and no-players adolescents: effect of the maturity status on the physical capacity components performance

The aim of this study was to compare the speed and the agility between Brazilian soccer players and non-players, regarding maturity status in adolescents 11-15 years old. Forty and two soccer players (age – 159.30±17.28 months old; weight – 48.45±9.96 kg; height – 1.53±0.10 m) and 45 non-players (age – 162.62±24.92 months old; weight – 48.30±8.35 kg; height – 1.54±0.12 m) participated of this study. Participants were classified by maturity status. On 2 different days with 1 week of differences between the assessments the participants were evaluated the agility, by Shuttle Run test, and the speed, by 30 m maximum speed test. The results showed that the maturity status was an influential factor in the performance with better results for individuals in a more advanced stage. The soccer practice does not seem to interfere in the performance of the physical capacity components analyzed, only effective when different maturity levels are involved in the analysis. It is also possible that late maturing boys selectively drop-out of soccer as age and sport specialization increase.

In the eye of the storm: exploring the introduction of environmental issues in the production function in Brazilian companies

This article aims to analyse the introduction of environmental issues in the context of the production function, which has been referred to as the organisational area to lead corporate environmental management. With that purpose, the theoretical references for corporate environmental management and the necessary alterations in production function have been organised to include environmental aspects, especially in terms of product and process development, quality management, and logistics. Considering that this research field still lacks empirical evidence for Brazilian companies, four case studies were conducted using companies located in the country. The environmental management maturity level of those companies tends to follow the rate with which the environmental issue is introduced in production sub-areas, especially in the product development process. However, in most cases we found that the companies had difficulties in structuring the insertion of the environmental dimension in logistics. The final notes point out the distance observed between what is recommended by international literature and the reality of Brazilian companies in the challenge of making the production function environmentally friendly.

Nível de maturidade e comparação dos PDPs de produtos automotivos

O desenvolvimento de novos produtos, que atendam às necessidades do mercado consumidor, é atividade estratégica para sustentabilidade das organizações. O objetivo deste artigo é comparar e avaliar o nível de maturidade desses processos em duas montadoras de veículos instaladas na região Sul Fluminense do País. São discutidas algumas características dos processos, expõe-se o modelo de avaliação, baseado nos critérios do CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration), e são apresentados os resultados de pesquisa que investigou o nível de maturidade junto a 47 representantes das empresas estudadas. Como resultado, foi possível identificar lacunas na estruturação dos PDP's, com diversas práticas e ferramentas usadas de forma isolada e não integradas, havendo campo suficiente - no entendimento dos próprios executivos - para serem aprimorados e refinados, o que permitiria torná-los mais completos, abrangentes e potentes para alavancar os resultados de mercado e financeiros das próprias organizações.

Integrando técnicas e procedimentos de gestão de operações: uma aplicação em um banco comercial Brasileiro de grande porte

Na conjuntura atual, eliminação de custos, satisfação dos clientes e aumento da produtividade é algo, no mínimo, desejável para as organizações. Exatamente neste viés, a presente pesquisa aborda a utilização de técnicas e filosofias amplamente abordadas e difundidas em gestão de operações; porém, em vez de usá-las isoladamente, propõe-se sua utilização conjunta. Neste contexto, integram-se o Mapeamento de Processos, a Gestão da Capacidade, a Teoria das Restrições (TOC) e o Empowerment. Por meio de entrevistas junto aos funcionários, da coleta de dados e da observação direta do processo produtivo, foi possível mapear os processos, definir as capacidades, identificar os gargalos, levantar o nível de maturidade dos funcionários e propor soluções por meio da aplicação do Empowerment. Como resultado, contatou-se a possibilidade de melhoria no sistema de concessão de créditos da empresa pesquisada (Banco), possibilitando um aumento da produtividade em 27,78% e uma redução de custos da ordem de 4,5 milhões de reais.

Green teams: Understanding their roles in the environmental management of companies located in Brazil

Green teams are frequently considered in the state-of-the-art literature as an essential factor for companies aiming to implement and improve environmental management approaches and practices. However, most of the available literature on green teams is conceptual and theoretical by nature. Therefore, the main purpose of this article is to evaluate the main characteristics of green teams in Brazilian companies and to analyse the relationships between green teams and the maturity level of environmental management in those companies. Based on a conceptual background on corporate environmental management and green teams, a research was done in two complementary phases: a survey of 94 companies with ISO 14001 certification; and a multiple case study of four industrial companies. Survey results suggest that 82% of the studied companies have cross-functional green teams, i.e. involving various companies' departments; and 65% have functional green teams, i.e. individual department teams. The results of the case study suggest that the use of green teams is an instrument to the greening of companies with ISO 14001 in Brazil. The company with the most proactive and advanced environmental management is the same company which uses green teams more intensely. Green teams are especially necessary for implementing more technical environmental management practices, e.g. Life Cycle Assessment. Since this is one of the first studies analysing green teams, the results presented can be useful for companies and public policies aiming to implementation of environmental initiatives. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Avaliação do nível de maturidade de empresas automotivas

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Mecânica - FEG

Esverdeando a manufatura: dos fundamentos conceituais ao estudo de múltiplos casos

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the integration of environmental issues in the context of manufacturing function/production (or operations), which is considered the organizational area that should lead corporate environmental management. We present a background on the greening of the manufacturing area, especially in terms of product development, process, quality management and logistics. Four case studies of Brazilian companies are presented as part of the study, and it is found that the maturity level of these companies' environmental management tends to follow the degree to which the environment has been inserted into subareas of production, especially in the process of product development. However, difficulties encountered in greening a company's logistics activities are also recognized in most cases. It is concluded that companies can overcome this challenge by adopting new concepts of green supply chain management. The notes highlight the observed distance between arguments in the international literature and the reality of Brazilian companies on the greening of manufacturing aspects.

Diagnóstico do nível de maturidade do processo de desenvolvimento de produtos: um estudo de caso em empresa calçadista

The process of product development (PPD) is a strategic factor in which companies seek to identify consumer needs. The relationship of the practices adopted, tools, techniques, among others, can determinate the maturity level of the company in this process. The purpose of this paper is to understand and diagnose the level of maturity of the PDP in footwear segment industry. For the case study, a company inserted into one of the largest poles of women’s footwear in Brazil, located in Jaú, São Paulo State, was researched. The diagnosis is based on the maturity levels of the unified model, reference in the process of product development, proposed by Rozenfeld et al. (2006). The application of the model assisted to diagnose the current maturity level of the company in this process, providing useful information to achieve higher levels of maturity in the PDP.

Influence of glycemic control on fetal lung maturity in gestations affected by diabetes or mild hyperglycemia

Objective. To evaluate the influence of glycemic control on fetal lung maturity in pregnancies affected by diabetes or mild hyperglycemia. Design. Cross-sectional study. Setting. Level III maternity center. Population. A total of 187 pregnant women were submitted to routine amniocentesis for the assessment of fetal lung maturity up to 72 hours before delivery. Methods. Fetal lung maturity thresholds were: Clements-positive at a dilution of 0.5; OD(650) nm >= 0.15; and lamellar body count (LBC) >= 32,000/mu l. The relation of test results with adequate (<= 6.7 mmol/l) or poor (> 6.7 mmol/l) glycemic mean (GM) at term and at preterm was evaluated. Main outcome measure. Delay in fetal lung maturity when glycemic control was poor. Results. Glycemic control was adequate in 146 (78.1%) women. Clements maturity rates were higher at term (91.9%) than at preterm (64.7%) when GM <= 6.7 mmol/l (p < 0.001), but not when control was inadequate. LBC median was higher at term (99.0; 62.0-154.0) than at preterm (66.5; 40.5-108.25) (p = 0.009) when GM <= 6.7 mmol/l, while GM > 6.7 mmol/l did not lead to any difference between these rates at term or preterm. When glycemic control was adequate, OD(650) nm medians at term and at preterm were similar. However, when GM > 6.7 mmol/l, OD(650) nm median at term (0.29; 0.22-0.40) was higher than that observed at preterm (0.15; 0.12-0.18) (p < 0.001). Conclusions. Our results suggest that in term pregnancies routine amniocentesis for the assessment of fetal lung maturity should be abandoned. In preterm pregnancies, or when glycemic control is inadequate it is recommended.

Evaluation of maturity levels in the management of product development: case studies in the capital goods industry

In recent approaches to the management of product development process (PDP), maturity levels have attracted the attention of practitioners and researchers. The CMMI model contributes to evaluate the maturity levels and improvement of the product development process management. This paper, based on CMMI model, analyzes the practices adopted in two companies of the capital goods industry, which develop and manufacture equipment upon request. It was observed that on account of market conditioning factors and different practices adapted to PDP management, these companies are at different maturity levels. One company is at the initial level of maturity while the other at the most advanced one. It was also noted that the application of CMMI model can provide improvement to PDP management, as well as present guidelines to achieve higher maturity levels, adequate to companies' needs.