The impact of supply chain performance measurement systems on dynamic behaviour in supply chains

The amplification of demand variation up a supply chain widely termed ‘the Bullwhip Effect’ is disruptive, costly and something that supply chain management generally seeks to minimise. Originally attributed to poor system design; deficiencies in policies, organisation structure and delays in material and information flow all lead to sub-optimal reorder point calculation. It has since been attributed to exogenous random factors such as: uncertainties in demand, supply and distribution lead time but these causes are not exclusive as academic and operational studies since have shown that orders and/or inventories can exhibit significant variability even if customer demand and lead time are deterministic. This increase in the range of possible causes of dynamic behaviour indicates that our understanding of the phenomenon is far from complete. One possible, yet previously unexplored, factor that may influence dynamic behaviour in supply chains is the application and operation of supply chain performance measures. Organisations monitoring and responding to their adopted key performance metrics will make operational changes and this action may influence the level of dynamics within the supply chain, possibly degrading the performance of the very system they were intended to measure. In order to explore this a plausible abstraction of the operational responses to the Supply Chain Council’s SCOR® (Supply Chain Operations Reference) model was incorporated into a classic Beer Game distribution representation, using the dynamic discrete event simulation software Simul8. During the simulation the five SCOR Supply Chain Performance Attributes: Reliability, Responsiveness, Flexibility, Cost and Utilisation were continuously monitored and compared to established targets. Operational adjustments to the; reorder point, transportation modes and production capacity (where appropriate) for three independent supply chain roles were made and the degree of dynamic behaviour in the Supply Chain measured, using the ratio of the standard deviation of upstream demand relative to the standard deviation of the downstream demand. Factors employed to build the detailed model include: variable retail demand, order transmission, transportation delays, production delays, capacity constraints demand multipliers and demand averaging periods. Five dimensions of supply chain performance were monitored independently in three autonomous supply chain roles and operational settings adjusted accordingly. Uniqueness of this research stems from the application of the five SCOR performance attributes with modelled operational responses in a dynamic discrete event simulation model. This project makes its primary contribution to knowledge by measuring the impact, on supply chain dynamics, of applying a representative performance measurement system.

The impact of national cultures and interpersonal factors on managerial communication

This study was undertaken for two primary purposes. The first was to discover whether or not two of the four cultural dimensions depicted by Hof-stede (1980), namely Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance, could be repeated using samples from seven organizations operating in three distinct cultural settings. The second was to assess the degree to which these dimensions affect superior-subordinate communication across the culturally-different groups. Also, the impact of the three interpersonal factors: Trust in Superior, Upward Influence and Mobility Aspirations was investigated cross-culturally. Participants were 291 managers from seven organizations; four Sudanese, two white British and an organization in Britain run by a group of British citizens of Pakistani extraction. It was hypothesized that the Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance of the three groups would replicate Hof-stede's. Specific implications of these dimensions for organizational communication and in particular for superior-subordinate communication were also hypothesized. Multiple regression analyses were performed with items of the two cultural dimensions and the three interpersonal factors (each in turn) forming the independent variables, while the organizational communication aspects formed the dependent variables. T-tests between means were also used to compare and contrast issues such as directionality of information flow across organizations operating in these settings. Work-related values of each of the three cultural groups provided support for Hofstede's model. However, only tentative support was given to the hypothesized relationships between the cultural dimensions and organizational communication. Similarly, weak associations were found between the three interpersonal factors and superior-subordinate communication behaviour. Some practical and theoretical implications are offered. An evaluation of the study and recommendation for further research are also given.

Industrial new product planning:a study of the sources of new product ideas and the development of new product proposals in the UK computer industry

This thesis presents a study of the sources of new product ideas and the development of new product proposals in an organisation in the UK Computer Industry. The thesis extends the work of von Hippel by showing how the phenomenon which he describes as "the Customer Active Paradigm for new product idea generation" can be observed to operate in this Industry. Furthermore, this thesis contrasts his Customer Active Paradigm with the more usually encountered Manufacturer Active Paradigm. In a second area, the thesis draws a number of conclusions relating to methods of market research, confirming existing observations and demonstrating the suitability of flexible interview strategies in certain circumstances. The thesis goes on to demonstrate the importance of free information flow within the organisation, making it more likely that sought and unsought opportunities can be exploited. It is shown that formal information flows and documents are a necessary but not sufficient means of influencing the formation of the organisation's dominant ideas on new product areas. The findings also link the work of Tushman and Katz on the role of "Gatekeepers" with the work of von Hippel by showing that the role of gatekeeper is particularly appropriate and useful to an organisation changing from Customer Active to Manufacturer Active methods of idea generation. Finally, the thesis provides conclusions relating to the exploitation of specific new product opportunities facing the sponsoring organisation.

Crisis communication and social media : the changing environment for natural disaster response

Over the past two years there have been several large-scale disasters (Haitian earthquake, Australian floods, UK riots, and the Japanese earthquake) that have seen wide use of social media for disaster response, often in innovative ways. This paper provides an analysis of the ways in which social media has been used in public-to-public communication and public-to-government organisation communication. It discusses four ways in which disaster response has been changed by social media: 1. Social media appears to be displacing the traditional media as a means of communication with the public during a crisis. In particular social media influences the way traditional media communication is received and distributed. 2. We propose that user-generated content may provide a new source of information for emergency management agencies during a disaster, but there is uncertainty with regards to the reliability and usefulness of this information. 3. There are also indications that social media provides a means for the public to self-organise in ways that were not previously possible. However, the type and usefulness of self-organisation sometimes works against efforts to mitigate the outcome of the disaster. 4. Social media seems to influence information flow during a disaster. In the past most information flowed in a single direction from government organisation to public, but social media negates this model. The public can diffuse information with ease, but also expect interaction with Government Organisations rather than a simple one-way information flow. These changes have implications for the way government organisations communicate with the public during a disaster. The predominant model for explaining this form of communication, the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC), was developed in 2005 before social media achieved widespread popularity. We will present a modified form of the CERC model that integrates social media into the disaster communication cycle, and addresses the ways in which social media has changed communication between the public and government organisations during disasters.

Crisis communication and social media:the changing environment for natural disaster response

Over the past two years there have been several large-scale disasters (Haitian earthquake, Australian floods, UK riots, and the Japanese earthquake) that have seen wide use of social media for disaster response, often in innovative ways. This paper provides an analysis of the ways in which social media has been used in public-to-public communication and public-to-government organisation communication. It discusses four ways in which disaster response has been changed by social media: 1. Social media appears to be displacing the traditional media as a means of communication with the public during a crisis. In particular social media influences the way traditional media communication is received and distributed. 2. We propose that user-generated content may provide a new source of information for emergency management agencies during a disaster, but there is uncertainty with regards to the reliability and usefulness of this information. 3. There are also indications that social media provides a means for the public to self-organise in ways that were not previously possible. However, the type and usefulness of self-organisation sometimes works against efforts to mitigate the outcome of the disaster. 4. Social media seems to influence information flow during a disaster. In the past most information flowed in a single direction from government organisation to public, but social media negates this model. The public can diffuse information with ease, but also expect interaction with Government Organisations rather than a simple one-way information flow. These changes have implications for the way government organisations communicate with the public during a disaster. The predominant model for explaining this form of communication, the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC), was developed in 2005 before social media achieved widespread popularity. We will present a modified form of the CERC model that integrates social media into the disaster communication cycle, and addresses the ways in which social media has changed communication between the public and government organisations during disasters.

Hierarchical approach to project planning:the case of a petroleum pipeline construction

Projects exposed to an uncertain environment must be adapted to deal with the effective integration of various planning elements and the optimization of project parameters. Time, cost, and quality are the prime objectives of a project that need to be optimized to fulfill the owner's goal. In an uncertain environment, there exist many other conflicting objectives that may also need to be optimized. These objectives are characterized by varying degrees of conflict. Moreover, an uncertain environment also causes several changes in the project plan throughout its life, demanding that the project plan be totally flexible. Goal programming (GP), a multiple criteria decision making technique, offers a good solution for this project planning problem. There the planning problem is considered from the owner's perspective, which leads to classifying the project up to the activity level. GP is applied separately at each level, and the formulated models are integrated through information flow. The flexibility and adaptability of the models lies in the ease of updating the model parameters at the required level through changing priorities and/or constraints and transmitting the information to other levels. The hierarchical model automatically provides integration among various element of planning. The proposed methodology is applied in this paper to plan a petroleum pipeline construction project, and its effectiveness is demonstrated.

Az ellátási lánc tudatos folyamat- és kockázatmenedzsmentjének hatás a teljesítményre

Az ellátási lánc menedzsmentje jól ismert és régóta tanulmányozott területe a menedzsment tudománynak. Jelen tanulmány célja, hogy egy olyan modell létezését igazolja, amely szerint egy ellátási láncban az információ menedzsmentje, az anyagi áramlások koordinációja és költségek és a teljesítmény kontrollja elengedhetetlen a teljes lánc magas szintű teljesítményéhez, és ezt a kockázatmenedzsment eszközök alkalmazásával tovább lehet növelni. Az ellátási lánc menedzsment eszközök támogatják a partnerek közötti információ megosztást (pl. EDI), az anyagi áramlások kisimítását (pl. folyamatos feltöltés, cross-docking). A költség és teljesítmény menedzsment eszközök alkalmazásának célja pedig hogy feltárják, hogy a költségek és hasznok miként oszlanak meg, merülnek fel az egyes ellátási lánc szereplők között. Ezeket az eszközöket akár vállalati, akár ellátási lánc szinten alkalmazzák, a végső cél a teljes ellátási lánc teljesítményének a növelése. Az ellátási lánc teljesítményét úgy határozzuk meg, mint az érték, amely a végső vevő számára keletkezett valamint a profit, amit az ellátási lánc partnerek realizáltak. Habár a vállalatok és az ellátási láncok különféle eszközöket alkalmazhatnak, hogy menedzseljék különböző folyamataikat, az a mód, ahogy szembenéznek a felmerülő kockázatokkal – fakadjanak akár a rendszerből magából, vagy a környezetből - és kezelik azokat, alapvető hatással bír a végső teljesítményre, így a versenyképességre is. A bemutatott kutatási modellel azt a kapcsolatot szeretnénk igazolni, amely feltevéseink szerint az ellátási láncban alkalmazott, a különféle alapfolyamatok menedzsmentjére valamint a kockázat menedzsmentjére használt eszközök és a realizált teljesítmény között van. _______ Supply chain management is a well-known and intensely studied field of management science. Our aim is to construct and test a model which summarises that besides the tools adapted to manage information flow, materials flow and costs and performance in supply chains to achieve high overall performance, managing risks is also inevitable. Supply chain management tools are to improve the efficiency of information sharing between supply chain participants (e.g. EDI) and to smooth materials flow carried out by the parties in collaboration (e.g. continuous replenishment, cross-docking). Cost management and performance assessment tools aim to explore the costs and profit realised by the cooperating companies as well as the entire supply chain. All the tools adapted either at a company or on supply chain level, strive to enhance the overall performance of the supply chain. The performance of a supply chain can be assessed by the value created for the end consumer and by the profit the partners realise. However, companies and supply chains adopt tools to manage the different flows, the way they face and handle risks coming either from the system or from the surrounding environment have a key influence on the performance achieved and consequently on competitiveness, too. When constructing the research model we try to find and verify the linkage between the tools supply chains use for coordination and for managing risks and the performance achieved.

Community college adjunct policies and practices: Incumbents' perspectives and congruence with learning organization tenets

The primary research question was: What is the nature and degree of alignment between the tenets of learning organizations and the policies and practices of a community college concerning adjunct instructors? I investigated the employment experiences of 8 adjunct instructors at a large community college in the Southeastern U.S. to (a) describe and explain the perspectives of the adjuncts, (b) describe and explain my own adjunct employment experience at the same college, (c) determine how the adjunct policies and practices collectively encountered were congruent with or at variance with the tenets of learning organizations, and (d) to use this framework to support recommendations that may help the college achieve more favorable alignment with these tenets. ^ Data on perceived adjunct policies and practices were reduced into 11 categories and, using matrices, were compared with 5 major categories of learning organization tenets. The 5 categories of tenets were: (a) inputs, (b) information flow/communication, (c) employee inclusion/value, (d) teamwork, and (e) facilitation of change. The 11 categories of the college's policies and practices were (a) becoming an adjunct, (b) full-time employment aspirations, (c) salary, (d) benefits, (e) job security and predictability, (f) job satisfaction, (g) respect, (h) support services, (i) professional development, (j) institutional inclusion, and (k) future role of adjuncts. The reflective journal component relied on a 5-year (1995–2000) personal and professional journal maintained by me during employment with the same college as the participants. ^ Findings indicate that the college's adjunct policies and practices were most incongruent with 25 of the 70 learning organization tenets. These incongruencies spanned the 5 categories, although most occurred in the Employee/Inclusion/Value category. Adjunct instructors wanted inclusion, respect, value, trust, and empowerment in decision making processes that affect adjunct policies and practices of the college, but did not perceive this to be a part of the present situation. ^

A software tool that generates symbolic model verifier (SMV) input language from a predicate transition net

The purpose of this research was to apply model checking by using a symbolic model checker on Predicate Transition Nets (PrT Nets). A PrT Net is a formal model of information flow which allows system properties to be modeled and analyzed. The aim of this thesis was to use the modeling and analysis power of PrT nets to provide a mechanism for the system model to be verified. Symbolic Model Verifier (SMV) was the model checker chosen in this thesis, and in order to verify the PrT net model of a system, it was translated to SMV input language. A software tool was implemented which translates the PrT Net into SMV language, hence enabling the process of model checking. The system includes two parts: the PrT net editor where the representation of a system can be edited, and the translator which converts the PrT net into an SMV program.

AS INOVAÇÕES TECNOLÓGICAS E OS INTERMEDIÁRIOS DA PRODUÇÃO E DO ACESSO À INFORMAÇÃO JORNALÍSTICA

O jornalismo é um dos principais meios de oferta de temas para a discussão e formação da opinião pública, porém depende de um sistema técnico para ser transmitido. Durante mais de cem anos as informações produzidas pela imprensa foram emitidas, armazenadas, transmitidas e recebidas pelos chamados veículos de comunicação de massa que utilizam a rede centralizada cujas características estão na escassez material, produção em série e massificação. Esse sistema separa no tempo e no espaço emissores e receptores criando uma relação desigual de força em que as grandes empresas controlaram o fluxo informativo, definindo quais fatos seriam veiculados como notícia. Em 1995, a internet cuja informação circula sob a tecnologia da rede distribuída, foi apropriada pela sociedade, alterando a forma de produção, armazenamento e transmissão de informação. A tecnologia despertou a esperança de que esta ferramenta poderia proporcionar uma comunicação mais dialógica e democrática. Mas aos poucos pode-se perceber novas empresas se apropriando da tecnologia da rede distribuída sob a qual circula a internet, gerando um novo controle do fluxo informativo. Realizou-se nessa pesquisa um levantamento bibliográfico para estabelecer uma reflexão crítica dos diferentes intermediários entre fato e a notícia tanto da rede centralizada como na rede distribuída, objetivando despertar uma discussão que possa oferecer novas ideias para políticas, bem como alternativas para uma comunicação mais democrática e mais libertária.

Brain oscillations and connectivity in autism spectrum disorders (ASD):new approaches to methodology, measurement and modelling

Although atypical social behaviour remains a key characterisation of ASD, the presence ofsensory and perceptual abnormalities has been given a more central role in recentclassification changes. An understanding of the origins of such aberrations could thus prove afruitful focus for ASD research. Early neurocognitive models of ASD suggested that thestudy of high frequency activity in the brain as a measure of cortical connectivity mightprovide the key to understanding the neural correlates of sensory and perceptual deviations inASD. As our review shows, the findings from subsequent research have been inconsistent,with a lack of agreement about the nature of any high frequency disturbances in ASD brains.Based on the application of new techniques using more sophisticated measures of brainsynchronisation, direction of information flow, and invoking the coupling between high andlow frequency bands, we propose a framework which could reconcile apparently conflictingfindings in this area and would be consistent both with emerging neurocognitive models ofautism and with the heterogeneity of the condition.

Imágenes recalcitrantes: el caso de la proclamación de Juan Carlos I como rey de España (22 de noviembre de 1975)

En el flujo informativo, algunas imágenes, que calificamos aquí de “recalcitrantes” se resisten a perecer y sobreviven a su contexto de producción. El presente estudio analiza cómo una de ellas, la secuencia televisiva de la proclamación de Juan Carlos como sucesor de Francisco Franco a la jefatura del estado, el 22 de noviembre de 1975, ha sobrevivido, metamorfoseándose hasta hoy en día, de pantallas en pantallas, a través de una muestra representativa de algunas de sus reelaboraciones más significativas.

“Digital Diagnostics and Communication (DDC) system” Redesigning the Emergency Ambulance

During the development of a new treatment space for the UK emergency ambulance participatory observations with front-line clinicians revealed the need for an integrated patient monitoring, communication and navigation system. The research identified the different information touch-points and requirements through modes of use analysis, day-in-the-life study and simulation workshops with clinicians. Emergency scenario and role-play with paramedics identified 5 distinct ambulance modes of use. Information flow diagrams were created and checked by paramedics and digital User Interface (UI) wireframes were developed and evaluated by clinicians during clinical evaluations. Feedback from clinicians defined UI design specification further leading to a final design proposal. This research was a further development from the 2007 EPSRC funded “Smart Pods” project. The resulting interactive prototype was co-designed in collaboration with ambulance crews and provides a vision of what could be achieved by integrating well-proven IT technologies and protocols into a package relevant in the emergency medicine field. The system has been reviewed by over 40 ambulance crews and is part of a newly co-designed ambulance treatment space.

Relações interorganizacionais e eficiência coletiva: um estudo de caso no arranjo produtivo local de confecções do Agreste de Pernambuco

This work is a study in the Local Productive Arrangement of confections from Agreste of Pernambuco, as a relevant sector in economic and social aspect. This research has as central aim to understand how the inter-organizational relations influence the collective efficiency of arrangement. The theoretical framework employed highlights the approaches that deal with the benefits of business agglomeration for the develop­ment of firms and regions. It has discussed the approach of small and medium enter­ prises and industrial districts (SCHMITZ, 1997), which introduce the concept of col­ lective efficiency, explaining that only those externalities explained by Marshall (1996) are not sufficient to explain the competitive advantage of enterprises, expand­ing the idea that organizations achieve competitive advantage not acting alone. To examine the influences of relations in the collective efficiency, it has been taken as analytical perspective theory of social networks (GRANOVETTER, 1973, 1985; BURT, 1992; UZZI, 1997) because it has believe that this approach provides subsi­ dies for a structural analysis of social relationships in face the behavior of human ac­tion. By examining the organizations in a social network, you should understand the reason of this establishment of the relationship, their benefits, and as the information flow takes place and density of links between the actors (Powell; SMITH-DOERR, 1994). As for the methods, this study is characterized as a case study, in according to the purposed objectives, in addition to qualitative method. Also, due to recovering of the historical milestones of the arrangement, it is used a sectional approach with longitudinal perspective (VIEIRA, 2004). The primary and secondary data were used in order to understand the evolutionary process of the sector and their inter-actors re­ lationships in the arrangement for the promotion of development, for both, was used the contend and documentary analysis technique, respectively (DELLAGNELO ; SIL­VA, 2005). The approach of social networks has permitted understand that social re­lationships may extend the collective efficiency of the arrangement, and therefore need to develop policies that encourage the legalization of informal companies in ar­rangement, by showing up themselves representative. Thus, the relations estab­ lished in LPA of confections from Agreste of Pernambuco need for more effective mechanisms to broaden the collective efficiency. Therefore, this way as take place has directly benefited only a group of companies that are linked in some way the sup­portive institutions. So we can conclude that the inter-actor relations have limited the collective efficiency of LPA, being stimulated by the institutions in support only to groups of entrepreneurs, even those that produce external relations for all clustered companies

Redes interorganizacionais e inovação: o caso do pólo joalheiro de Belém

This work is a case study based on Belém Jewelry Pole, whose main issue is to understand how the social network (which the Pole is inserted) influences on innovation process on this area. The main objective is to analyze how interorganizational networks impacted/impact on the potential for innovation, creating both limits and opportunities for the companies development. The adopted method analyzed the historical jewelry industry trajectory since the beginning of mineral extraction in the city of Itaituba (in the Pará State) until nowadays. Primary and secondary data were used allowing the view of the dynamics of the network during transformation periods of the main involved actors in the process. The prospect of embeddedness structural as analysis technique allowed verifying the quality of interactors ties, as well as the visualization of their structures. During the jewelry industry trajectory was verified a change in the quality of social relations, modifying the information flow, trust and associations of various links in the production chain. Both direct and indirect ties facilitated the access to remote networks entering new information related to new products, processes and market aspects. This interaction has led to raising the innovation potential causing a qualitative and quantitative improvement in competitiveness of organizations. Some embedded ties allowed the formation of partnerships bringing various economic earnings for those involved in the relationship. Thus, it is understood how aspects related to the position, architecture and quality of ties in a wide social network influenced on the innovation process and eventual jewelry industry trajectory