How innovation and R&D happen in the upstream oil & gas industry : insights from a global survey

Few would disagree that the upstream oil & gas industry has become more technology-intensive over the years. But how does innovation happen in the industry? Specifically, what ideas and inputs flow from which parts of the sector׳s value network, and where do these inputs go? And how do firms and organizations from different countries contribute differently to this process? This paper puts forward the results of a survey designed to shed light on these questions. Carried out in collaboration with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the survey was sent to 469 executives and senior managers who played a significant role with regard to R&D and/or technology deployment in their respective business units. A total of 199 responses were received from a broad range of organizations and countries around the world. Several interesting themes and trends emerge from the results, including: (1) service companies tend to file considerably more patents per innovation than other types of organization; (2) over 63% of the deployed innovations reported in the survey originated in service companies; (3) neither universities nor government-led research organizations were considered to be valuable sources of new information and knowledge in the industry׳s R&D initiatives, and; (4) despite the increasing degree of globalization in the marketplace, the USA still plays an extremely dominant role in the industry׳s overall R&D and technology deployment activities. By providing a detailed and objective snapshot of how innovation happens in the upstream oil & gas sector, this paper provides a valuable foundation for future investigations and discussions aimed at improving how R&D and technology deployment are managed within the industry. The methodology did result in a coverage bias within the survey, however, and the limitations arising from this are explored.

Swimming against the tide? Australian labour regulation and the fissured workplace

In The Fissured Workplace, David Weil dissects the ways in which ostensibly ‘large’ American businesses have come to shed direct employees and instead source their labour needs through a ‘complicated network of smaller business units’. As he notes, this has increased the profitability of these ‘lead’ businesses, at the expense of those who (ultimately) work for them: Wage setting and supervision shift from core businesses to a myriad of organizations, each operating under the rigorous standards of lead businesses but facing fierce competitive pressures. Although lead businesses set demanding goals and standards, and often detailed work practice requirements for subsidiary companies, the actual liability, oversight, and supervision of the workforce become the problem of one or more other organizations. And by replacing a direct employment relationship with a fissured workplace, employment itself becomes more precarious, with risk shifted onto smaller employers and individual workers, who are often cast in the role of independent businesses in their own right.

Avaliação e optimização operacional: estudo do terminal de contentores de Alcântara

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica - Ramo Manutenção e Produção

Vila Galé hotels' internationalization to Cape Verde

The intent of this paper is to assess the most suitable internationalization strategy for Vila Galé Hotels into the Cape Verdean market (namely into Sal Island), under an investment on a 5-star resort with an all-inclusive system. First, the company’s historic moves onto opening new business units, its corporate strategy triangle and its brand communication channels were studied. Afterwards, the macroeconomics, the hotel industry and other relevant trends of the country at stake were analysed in order to understand the best positioning for Vila Galé in the market as well as the most fitting plan for the project. Finally, it was shown that building a 5-star resort is the most appropriate mode of entry into this market. Keywords:

Estudio del sector BPO en Colombia servicios BPO outsourcing & offshoring

Durante la última década hemos presenciado una revolución tecnológica que nos ha llevado a interconectarnos globalmente, desde las redes sociales como mecanismo de unión entre las personas hasta los servicios mercerizados prestados a través de la web que cada día van logrando un tejido empresarial mas informado y en contacto, en donde la información es en tiempo real y de gran ayuda para la toma de decisiones diarias. En el siguiente texto podremos observar de forma más detenida y detallada la forma en que se están generando unidades de negocio estratégicas que surgen a medida que la conectividad comienza a ser prioridad en muchas organizaciones, en donde buscan generar ventajas competitivas por medio de la tercerización de procesos, lo que ha llevado que Colombia quiera ser pionera en dicha materia. Pero para lograr consolidar un aparato productivo que incursione en el mundo digital y preparar la fuerza laboral para que pueda prestar dichos servicios tercer izados el gobierno ha ubicado los puntos críticos en donde se deben focalizar los recursos y los esfuerzos, de esta forma este texto busca aclarar y generar nuevas ideas en torno a la tercerización de los servicios, pasando por los modelos de negocios en la tercerización, los medios y la realidad actual de Colombia en este mercado.

Propuesta de computación en la nube para los libreros del sector de San Victorino en Bogotá para el año 2012 estudio de caso

El trabajo de grado titulado “Propuesta de Computación en la Nube para los Libreros del Sector de San Victorino en Bogotá para el Año 2012. Estudio de Caso”, tiene como objetivo elaborar una propuesta de computación en la nube que sea aplicable a uno de los sectores más dinámicos del centro de Bogotá como es el de los libreros de San Victorino; Este trabajo busca la apropiación de las herramientas que proporcionan las nuevas tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones en la disciplina de la administración de empresas, como un nuevo escenario de competitividad ajustado a las nuevas condiciones de las organizaciones. La computación en la nube como nueva herramienta tecnológica, permite que diversos usuarios - empresas accedan a la información consolidada, la cual puede ser aportada por ellos mismos, para brindar a los clientes un servicio más eficiente y eficaz, con bajos costos y generando innumerables ventajas que aportan a la competitividad de cada una de las unidades de negocio, las cuales se consolidan como una única organización o clúster. En este sentido se determinó, cómo el sector de San Victorino, en particular el de los libreros, comparten una serie de características y metas similares, que permiten su implantación con los beneficios que se señalan en este trabajo de grado, permitiendo el acceso a información general de productos editoriales e inventarios y la ubicación exacta del librero que lo posee.

Hermanos Rausch: Innovación y Calidad

El caso Hermanos Rausch es una investigación de trabajo de grado de pregrado de la Facultad de Administración de la Universidad del Rosario que pretende identificar las teorías sobre estrategia que se vean reflejadas en cada una de las unidades de negocio dentro de la marca “Hermanos Rausch”, la cual ha tenido a lo largo de sus años a los dos hermanos como cocineros profesionales, administradores y dueños de restaurantes. El proyecto presta especial atención a las decisiones estratégicas en las etapas de innovación, crecimiento, posicionamiento, expansión y renovación. Haciendo especial énfasis en el restaurante Criterión, el cual es la clave del éxito y reconocimiento alcanzado.

Emergent discourses of construction competitiveness: localized learning and embeddedness

Research is described that sought to understand how senior managers within regional contracting firms conceptualize and enact competitiveness. Existing formal discourses of construction competitiveness include the discourse of 'best practice' and the various theories of competitiveness as routinely mobilized within the academic literature. Such discourses consistently underplay the influence of contextual factors in shaping how competitiveness is enacted. An alternative discourse of competitiveness is outlined based on the concepts of localized learning and embeddedness. Two case studies of regional construction firms provide new insights into the emergent discourses of construction competitiveness. The empirical findings resonate strongly with the concepts of localized learning and embeddedness. The case studies illustrate the importance of de-centralized structures which enable multiple business units to become embedded within localized markets. A significant degree of autonomy is essential to facilitate localized entrepreneurial behaviour. In essence, sustained competitiveness was found to depend upon the extent to which de-centralized business units enact ongoing processes of localized learning. Once local business units have become embedded within localized markets the essential challenge is how to encourage continued entrepreneurial behaviour while maintaining a degree of centralized control and coordination. Of key importance is the recognition that the capabilities that make companies competitive transcend organizational boundaries such that they become situated within complex networks of relational ties.

Enacting competitiveness: an empirical investigation

The paper draws from three case studies of regional construction firms operating in the UK. The case studies provide new insights into the ways in which such firms strive to remain competitive. Empirical data was derived from multiple interactions with senior personnel from with each firm. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, informal interactions, archival research, and workshops. The initial research question was informed by existing resource-based theories of competitiveness and an extensive review of constructionspecific literature. However, subsequent emergent empirical findings progressively pointed towards the need to mobilise alternative theoretical models that emphasise localised learning and embeddedness. The findings point towards the importance of de-centralised structures that enable multiple business units to become embedded within localised markets. A significant degree of autonomy is essential to facilitate entrepreneurial behaviour. In essence, sustained competitiveness was found to rest on the way de-centralised business units enact ongoing processes of localised learning. Once local business units have become embedded within localised markets, the essential challenge is how to encourage continued entrepreneurial behaviour while maintaining some degree of centralised control and coordination. This presents a number of tensions and challenges which play out differently across each of the three case studies.

Managing multiple markets: big firms and PFI contracts

The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is frequently portrayed as a vehicle for change for the UK construction sector. Significant change in the working practices of construction companies is predicted as new business models based on whole-life value creation emerge. This paper shifts the focus of discussion from projected ideals and possible developments to the current situation. More specifically, it focuses on the challenges that large firms participating in both PFI and traditional markets face. The analysis focuses on the relations between business units and on day-to-day challenges to greater long-term commitment, through life-service provision and increased integration between construction and service provision. The paper offers insights into the effects of PFI on construction practice and their implications for theorizing on organizational and strategic change. It suggests abandoning a simplistic model of the centralized, homogenous firm and instead capturing the dynamics of decentralized, large firms working in multiple markets on a variety of projects. This would assist in the provision of more realistic and fruitful models of how to realize the PFI vision.

Automated organizational network analysis for enterprise 2.0

Social Networking Sites have recently become a mainstream communications technology for many people around the world. Major IT vendors are releasing social software designed for use in a business/commercial context. These Enterprise 2.0 technologies have impressive collaboration and information sharing functionality, but so far they do not have any organizational network analysis (ONA) features that reveal any patterns of connectivity within business units. This paper shows the impact of organizational network analysis techniques and social networks on organizational performance, we also give an overview on current enterprise social software, and most importantly, we highlight how Enterprise 2.0 can help automate an organizational network analysis.

Analysis of cultural conflict in the development of web-enabled information systems

The advent of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the emergence of Internet commerce have given rise to the web as a medium of information exchange. In recent years, the phenomenon has affected the realm of transaction processing systems, as organizations are moving from designing web pages for marketing purposes, to web-based applications that support business-to-business (WEB) and business-to-consumer (B2C) interactions, integrated with databases and other back-end systems (Isakowitz, Bieber et al., 1998). Furthermore, web-enabled applications are increasingly being used to facilitate transactions even between various business units within a single enterprise. Examples of some of the more popular web-enabled applications in use today include airline reservation systems, internet banking, student enrollment systems in universities, and Human Resource (HR) and payroll systems. The prime motive behind the adoption of web-enabled applications are productivity gains due to reduced processing time, decrease in the usage of paper-based documentation and conventional modes of communication (such as letters, fax, or telephone), and improved quality of services to clients. Indeed, web-based solutions are commonly referred to as customer-centric (Li, 2000), which means that they provide user interfaces that do not necessitate high level of computer proficiency. Thus, organizations implement such systems to streamline routine transactions and gain strategic benefits in the process (Nambisan & Wang, 1999), though the latter are to be expected in the long-term. Notwithstanding the benefits of web technology adoption, the web has ample share of challenges for initiators and developers. Many of these challenges are associated with the unique nature of web-enabled applications. Research in the area of web-enabled information systems has revealed several differences with traditional applications. These differences exist with regards to system development methodology, stakeholder involvement, tasks, and technology (Nazareth, 1998). According to Fraternali (1999), web applications are commonly developed using an evolutionary prototyping approach, whereby the simplified version of the application is deployed as a pilot first, in order to gather user feedback. Thus, web-enabled applications typically undergo continuous refinement and evolution (Ginige, 1998; Nazareth, 1998; Siau, 1998; Standing, 2001). Prototype-based development also leads web-enabled information systems to have much shorter development life cycles, but which, unlike traditional applications, are regrettably developed in a rather adhoc fashion (Carstensen & Vogelsang, 2001). However, the principal difference between the two kinds of applications lies in the broad and diverse group of stakeholders associated with web-based information systems (Gordijn, Akkermans, et al., 2000; Russo, 2000; Earl & Khan, 2001; Carter, 2002; Hasselbring, 2002; Standing, 2002; Stevens & Timbrell, 2002). Stakeholders, or organizational members participating in a common business process (Freeman, 1984), vary in their computer competency, business knowledge, language and culture. This diversity is capable of causing conflict between different stakeholder groups with regards to the establishment of system requirements (Pouloudi & Whitley, 1997; Stevens & Timbrell, 2002). Since, web-based systems transcend organizational, departmental, and even national boundaries, the issue of culture poses a significant challenge to the web systems’ initiators and developers (Miles & Snow, 1992; Kumar & van Dissel, 1996; Pouloudi & Whitley, 1996; Li & Williams, 1999).

Differentiate or die or be 'stuck in the middle' and survive!

“The reality is that traditional (marketing) implementation approaches have failed…” (Dobni et al., 2001, p. 402) Nevertheless recent research still seeks to identify relationships between Porter’s marketing strategies, implementation and performance (Kumar et al. 1997; Teach and Schwartz, 2000). Although each study included the Porter’s strategy types none actually classified business units into ideal differentiators, ideal cost leaders and combination differentiation cost leaders to conduct “implementation-performance process” comparisons.

This study has made a contribution to the study of marketing implementation and marketing performance by separating and comparing strategies such as ideal differentiation, ideal cost leadership, and combination (differentiation/cost leadership) strategies with the “stuck in the middle” marketing strategy type.

A key implementation finding was the importance of paying high salaries to attract the best employees when implementing either a differentiation strategy or a combined (differentiation/ cost leadership) strategy. However for the other six implementation tools, the findings support Kelliher and Perrett (2001, p.421) whose findings “do not indicate a clear relationship between business strategy and the approach to HRM.”

A key performance finding was that differentiation is the best strategy in terms of marketing performance while cost leadership is the worst performing strategy. Both differentiation and the combination strategy (differentiation/cost leadership) outperformed cost leadership.

Recruitment and selection of Vice-Chancellors for Australian universities

This study addresses the gap in our understanding of the processes used to recruit and select Vice-Chancellors for Australian Universities. There are presently 39 recognised Universities in Australia and between them they provide the nation with the academically qualified leaders of the future. As such one would expect that not only would they be the vessels of our knowledge, but also that they would be managed and led in ways that were similar to those in use in the private sector. The changes that have taken place in the higher education system have meant that additional pressures have been placed upon the senior executive of each University. The transition from a binary system to the current unified system, the advent of the global community, increased technology and new management practices have created the need for University management to adopt recognised management and leadership practices. The Federal government has moved to reduce the dependence of the system upon recurrent funding and there has been an increase in managerialism within Universities. One outcome has been the need for the Chief Executive Officer (Vice-Chancellor) to develop additional management and leadership skills in order to cope with the changes occurring and the rate of change. In the United States, the selection criteria used to recruit Vice-Chancellors (or University Presidents) have changed to reflect the desire for candidates to have backgrounds in management and leadership. The role of the Vice-Chancellor is critical to the success of educational institutions that are now being managed as autonomous business units responsible for budget, growth, mergers as well as maintaining academic credibility. A literature review revealed that the work undertaken by David Sloper formed virtually our entire knowledge base of Vice-Chancellors in Australia. Sloper identified democratic and incumbency patterns, social characteristics, the legal basis for the role and what incumbents actually do. Thus we know quite a deal about the role and incumbents. However the same literature review showed that while this data existed, it did not extend to the processes that were used within the Higher Education system, to target, identify and select suitable candidates. Clearly there was also no examination as to the effectiveness of such processes or how they could be improved if necessary. Given the importance of Universities in Australia and their role in Higher Education, this lack of knowledge provided the basis for this study and the systematic review of all available data. The study also identified a paradox in addition to the lack of research on recruitment and selection practices in this unique microcosm. The paradox concerns the fact that many of the successful candidates do not come from a ‘business’ discipline as may be expected for a role considered to be the Chief Executive Officer of the institution. Yet in Australia, previous research indicated that the ‘rules’ for recruiting Vice-Chancellors have changed little and that traditionally candidates have come from the science disciplines (Sloper, 1994). While this in itself does not indicate that incumbents are lacking in fundamental management and leadership knowledge and expertise, an obvious question arises. Why are Australian Vice-Chancellors not drawn from faculties where this expertise resides or why are they not drawn from the business community? In order to further examine the processes in place and to a lesser extent the paradox, all available data was collected regarding the roles of Vice-Chancellors, the paths they have taken to the position as well as selection criteria, position outlines, job adverts and related material. This was thoroughly examined and then a brief questionnaire was forwarded to current incumbents and other involved stakeholders. Interviews were conducted to clarify specific issues and case studies prepared accordingly. Thus this qualitative study thoroughly researches the recruitment and selection practices in use, attempts to determine their effectiveness and addresses the paradox in order to provide a detailed framework that allows these elements to be explained.

Development of an evaluation approach for excellence in the Australian manufacturing industry

An approach to study best practice manufacturing with particular relevance to the Australian context. Sections include the development and analysis of results from a World Class Manufacturing survey, a literature review of best practice manufacturing from Japan/USA/UK, and case studies from its application at two major business units within a large Australian manufacturing company.