A contingency theory perspective on the risk management control system within Birmingham City Council

In recent years the topic of risk management has moved up the agenda of both government and industry, and private sector initiatives to improve risk and internal control systems have been mirrored by similar promptings for change in the public sector. Both regulators and practitioners now view risk management as an integral part of the process of corporate governance, and an aid to the achievement of strategic objectives. The paper uses case study material on the risk management control system at Birmingham City Council to extend existing theory by developing a contingency theory for the public sector. The case demonstrates that whilst the structure of the control system fits a generic model, the operational details indicate that controls are contingent upon three core variables—central government policies, information and communication technology and organisational size. All three contingent variables are suitable for testing the theory across the broader public sector arena.

Making sense of microposts (#MSM2013) concept extraction challenge

Microposts are small fragments of social media content that have been published using a lightweight paradigm (e.g. Tweets, Facebook likes, foursquare check-ins). Microposts have been used for a variety of applications (e.g., sentiment analysis, opinion mining, trend analysis), by gleaning useful information, often using third-party concept extraction tools. There has been very large uptake of such tools in the last few years, along with the creation and adoption of new methods for concept extraction. However, the evaluation of such efforts has been largely consigned to document corpora (e.g. news articles), questioning the suitability of concept extraction tools and methods for Micropost data. This report describes the Making Sense of Microposts Workshop (#MSM2013) Concept Extraction Challenge, hosted in conjunction with the 2013 World Wide Web conference (WWW'13). The Challenge dataset comprised a manually annotated training corpus of Microposts and an unlabelled test corpus. Participants were set the task of engineering a concept extraction system for a defined set of concepts. Out of a total of 22 complete submissions 13 were accepted for presentation at the workshop; the submissions covered methods ranging from sequence mining algorithms for attribute extraction to part-of-speech tagging for Micropost cleaning and rule-based and discriminative models for token classification. In this report we describe the evaluation process and explain the performance of different approaches in different contexts.

An incentivized auction based group-selling approach for demand response management in V2G systems

Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) system with efficient Demand Response Management (DRM) is critical to solve the problem of supplying electricity by utilizing surplus electricity available at EVs. An incentivilized DRM approach is studied to reduce the system cost and maintain the system stability. EVs are motivated with dynamic pricing determined by the group-selling based auction. In the proposed approach, a number of aggregators sit on the first level auction responsible to communicate with a group of EVs. EVs as bidders consider Quality of Energy (QoE) requirements and report interests and decisions on the bidding process coordinated by the associated aggregator. Auction winners are determined based on the bidding prices and the amount of electricity sold by the EV bidders. We investigate the impact of the proposed mechanism on the system performance with maximum feedback power constraints of aggregators. The designed mechanism is proven to have essential economic properties. Simulation results indicate the proposed mechanism can reduce the system cost and offer EVs significant incentives to participate in the V2G DRM operation.

A study of inputs and their influence on technological innovative activity

Technological innovation has been widely studied: however surprisingly little is known about the experience of managing the process. Most reports tend to be generalistic and/or prescriptive whereas it is argued that multiple sources of variation in the process limit the value of these. A description of the innovation process is given together with a presentation of what is knovrn from existing studies. Gaps identified in this area suggest that a variety of organisational influences are important and an attempt is made to identify some of these at individual, group and organisational level. A simple system model of the innovation management process is developed. Further investigation of the influence of these factors was made possible through an extended on-site case study. Methodology for this based upon participant observation coupled wth a wide and flexible range of techniques is described. Evidence is presented about many aspects of the innovation process from a number of different levels and perspectives: the attempt is to demonstrate the extent to which variation due to contingent influences takes place. It is argued that problems identified all relate to the issue of integration. This theme is also developed from an analytical viewoint and it is suggested that organisational response to increases in complexity in the external environment will be to match them with internal complexity. Differentiation of this kind will require extensive and flexible integration, especially in those inherently uncertain areas associated with innovation. Whilst traditionally a function of management, it is argued that integration needs have increased to the point where a new specialism is required. The concept of integration specialist is developed from this analysis and attempts at simple integrative change during the research are described. Finally a strategy for integration - or rather for building in integrative capability - ln the organisation studied is described.

The impact of the post-1993 economic reforms on Chinese state-owned enterprises:evidence from the electronics industry

Since 1979, China has embarked on a series of economic reform programmes, leading its socialist economy away from a Soviet planning model towards a much greater reliance on the market. In the course of the last twenty years, the Chinese economy has enjoyed a phenomenally high economic growth rate. However, earlier research suggests that Chinese state-owned enterprises remain a financial 'black hole' for the Chinese economy, in spite of various enterprise reform measures. This thesis tries to assess the impact of the reforms after 1993, especially the so-called Modern Enterprise System, on the behaviour and management practices of state firms. The central research question is whether the new rounds of economic reform have changed state firms into commercial entities operating according to market signals, as intended. In order to explore this question, an institutional approach is employed. More specifically, the thesis examines how the behaviour and management practices of state enterprises have changed with changes in the institutional environmental resulting from the introduction of new reform measures and especially the MES. The main evidence used in this research comes from the Chinese electronics industry (CEI). Non-state firms, namely collectives and joint ventures, are involved in the study to provide a benchmark against which changes in the behaviour of state firms in the mid and late 1990s are compared. A comparative statistical analysis shows that state-owned firms, both traditional and corporatised ones, still lag behind collectives and joint ventures in terms of both labour and total factor productivity. The further empirical work of this research consists of a questionnaire survey and case studies that are based on interviews with senior managers of 17 firms in the CEI. The findings of these analyses suggest that there has been little fundamental change in the behaviour pattern of state firms in the 1990s, despite the introduction of the Modern Enterprise System, and that the economic reforms after 1993 so far seem to have failed to transform the state firms into commercial entities operating according to market signals.

Computer simulation of form-roll design

Changes in modern structural design have created a demand for products which are light but possess high strength. The objective is a reduction in fuel consumption and weight of materials to satisfy both economic and environmental criteria. Cold roll forming has the potential to fulfil this requirement. The bending process is controlled by the shape of the profile machined on the periphery of the rolls. A CNC lathe can machine complicated profiles to a high standard of precision, but the expertise of a numerical control programmer is required. A computer program was developed during this project, using the expert system concept, to calculate tool paths and consequently to expedite the procurement of the machine control tapes whilst removing the need for a skilled programmer. Codifying the expertise of a human and the encapsulation of knowledge within a computer memory, destroys the dependency on highly trained people whose services can be costly, inconsistent and unreliable. A successful cold roll forming operation, where the product is geometrically correct and free from visual defects, is not easy to attain. The geometry of the sheet after travelling through the rolling mill depends on the residual strains generated by the elastic-plastic deformation. Accurate evaluation of the residual strains can provide the basis for predicting the geometry of the section. A study of geometric and material non-linearity, yield criteria, material hardening and stress-strain relationships was undertaken in this research project. The finite element method was chosen to provide a mathematical model of the bending process and, to ensure an efficient manipulation of the large stiffness matrices, the frontal solution was applied. A series of experimental investigations provided data to compare with corresponding values obtained from the theoretical modelling. A computer simulation, capable of predicting that a design will be satisfactory prior to the manufacture of the rolls, would allow effort to be concentrated into devising an optimum design where costs are minimised.

The investigation of crime:the myths and the reality

Initially the study focussed on the factors affecting the ability of the police to solve crimes. An analysts of over twenty thousand police deployments revealed the proportion of time spent investigating crime contrasted to its perceived importance and the time spent on other activities. The fictional portrayal of skills believed important in successful crime investigation were identified and compared to the professional training and 'taught skills’ given to police and detectives. Police practitioners and middle management provided views on the skills needed to solve crimes. The relative importance of the forensic science role. fingerprint examination and interrogation skills were contrasted with changes in police methods resulting from the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and its effect on confessions. The study revealed that existing police systems for investigating crime excluding specifically cases of murder and other serious offences, were unsystematic, uncoordinated, unsupervised and unproductive in using police resources. The study examined relevant and contemporary research in the United States and United Kingdom and with organisational support introduced an experimental system of data capture and initial investigation with features of case screening and management. Preliminary results indicated increases in the collection of essential information and more effective use of investigative resources. In the managerial framework within which this study has been conducted, research has been undertaken in the knowledge elicitation area as a basis for an expert system of crime investigation and the potential organisational benefits of utilising the Lap computer in the first stages of data gathering and investigation. The conclusions demonstrate the need for a totally integrated system of criminal investigation with emphasis on an organisational rather than individual response. In some areas the evidence produced is sufficient to warrant replication, in others additional research is needed to further explore other concepts and proposed systems pioneered by this study.

Developing a model for consumer product safety evaluation

Safety enforcement practitioners within Europe and marketers, designers or manufacturers of consumer products need to determine compliance with the legal test of "reasonable safety" for consumer goods, to reduce the "risks" of injury to the minimum. To enable freedom of movement of products, a method for safety appraisal is required for use as an "expert" system of hazard analysis by non-experts in safety testing of consumer goods for implementation consistently throughout Europe. Safety testing approaches and the concept of risk assessment and hazard analysis are reviewed in developing a model for appraising consumer product safety which seeks to integrate the human factors contribution of risk assessment, hazard perception, and information processing. The model develops a system of hazard identification, hazard analysis and risk assessment which can be applied to a wide range of consumer products through use of a series of systematic checklists and matrices and applies alternative numerical and graphical methods for calculating a final product safety risk assessment score. It is then applied in its pilot form by selected "volunteer" Trading Standards Departments to a sample of consumer products. A series of questionnaires is used to select participating Trading Standards Departments, to explore the contribution of potential subjective influences, to establish views regarding the usability and reliability of the model and any preferences for the risk assessment scoring system used. The outcome of the two stage hazard analysis and risk assessment process is considered to determine consistency in results of hazard analysis, final decisions regarding the safety of the sample product and to determine any correlation in the decisions made using the model and alternative scoring methods of risk assessment. The research also identifies a number of opportunities for future work, and indicates a number of areas where further work has already begun.

Using a simulation model for capacity management

A simulation model has been constructed of a valve manufacturing plant with the aim of assessing capacity requirements in response to a forecast increase in demand. The plant provides a weekly cycle of valves of varying types, based on a yearly production plan. Production control is provided by a just-in-time type system to minimise inventory. The simulation model investigates the effect on production lead time of a range of valve sequences into the plant. The study required the collection of information from a variety of sources, and a model that reflected the true capabilities of the production system. The simulation results convinced management that substantial changes were needed in order to meet demand. The case highlights the use of simulation in enabling a manager to quantify operational scenarios and thus provide a rational basis on which to take decisions on meeting performance criteria.

The contradictions and complementarities of combining ERP systems with enterprise 2.0 supported informal systems

The chapter discusses both the complementary factors and contradictions of adopting ERP based systems with enterprise 2.0. ERP is characterized as achieving efficient business performance by enabling a standardized business process design, but at a cost of flexibility in operations. It is claimed that enterprise 2.0 can support flexible business process management and so incorporate informal and less structured interactions. A traditional view however is that efficiency and flexibility objectives are incompatible as they are different business objectives which are pursued separately in different organizational environments. Thus an ERP system with a primary objective of improving efficiency and an enterprise 2.0 system with a primary aim of improving flexibility may represent a contradiction and lead to a high risk of failure if adopted simultaneously. This chapter will use case study analysis to investigate the use of a combination of ERP and enterprise 2.0 in a single enterprise with the aim of improving both efficiency and flexibility in operations. The chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the combination of ERP with enterprise 2.0 based on social-technical information systems management theory. The chapter also provides a summary of the benefits of the combination of ERP systems and enterprise 2.0 and how they could contribute to the development of a new generation of business management that combines both formal and informal mechanisms. For example, the multiple-sites or informal communities of an enterprise could collaborate efficiently with a common platform with a certain level of standardization but also have the flexibility in order to provide an agile reaction to internal and external events.

Cultural value systems of East European countries:a gender based analysis

This study examines the cultural value systems of employees working in major industrial and commercial centers of six ex-communist Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) and the former Soviet Republics (FSR). The study throws light on how human resources are managed in these countries and has key messages for overseas operators who are already doing business or planning to start on in these countries.

Numerical modelling of advanced modulation formats and WDM transmission

This thesis presents a theoretical investigation of the application of advanced modelling formats in high-speed fibre lightwave systems. The first part of this work focuses on numerical optimisation of dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) system design. We employ advanced spectral domain filtering techniques and carrier pulse reshaping. We then apply these optimisation methods to investigate spectral and temporal domain characteristics of advanced modulation formats in fibre optic telecommunication systems. Next we investigate numerical methods used in detecting and measuring the system performance of advanced modulation formats. We then numerically study the combination of return-to-zero differential phase-shift keying (RZ-DPSK) with advanced photonic devices. Finally we analyse the dispersion management of Nx40 Gbit/s RZ-DPSK transmission applied to a commercial terrestrial lightwave system.

Mach bands and multiscale models of spatial vision:the role of first, second, and third derivative operators in encoding bars and edges

Ernst Mach observed that light or dark bands could be seen at abrupt changes of luminance gradient in the absence of peaks or troughs in luminance. Many models of feature detection share the idea that bars, lines, and Mach bands are found at peaks and troughs in the output of even-symmetric spatial filters. Our experiments assessed the appearance of Mach bands (position and width) and the probability of seeing them on a novel set of generalized Gaussian edges. Mach band probability was mainly determined by the shape of the luminance profile and increased with the sharpness of its corners, controlled by a single parameter (n). Doubling or halving the size of the images had no significant effect. Variations in contrast (20%-80%) and duration (50-300 ms) had relatively minor effects. These results rule out the idea that Mach bands depend simply on the amplitude of the second derivative, but a multiscale model, based on Gaussian-smoothed first- and second-derivative filtering, can account accurately for the probability and perceived spatial layout of the bands. A key idea is that Mach band visibility depends on the ratio of second- to first-derivative responses at peaks in the second-derivative scale-space map. This ratio is approximately scale-invariant and increases with the sharpness of the corners of the luminance ramp, as observed. The edges of Mach bands pose a surprisingly difficult challenge for models of edge detection, but a nonlinear third-derivative operation is shown to predict the locations of Mach band edges strikingly well. Mach bands thus shed new light on the role of multiscale filtering systems in feature coding. © 2012 ARVO.