Business level strategy and performance: the moderating effects of environment and structure

Purpose – This study aims to examine the moderating effects of external environment and organisational structure in the relationship between business-level strategy and organisational performance. Design/methodology/approach – The focus of the study is on manufacturing firms in the UK belonging to the electrical and mechanical engineering sectors, and respondents were CEOs. Both objective and subjective measures were used to assess performance. Non-response bias was assessed statistically and appropriate measures taken to minimise the impact of common method variance (CMV). Findings – The results indicate that environmental dynamism and hostility act as moderators in the relationship between business-level strategy and relative competitive performance. In low-hostility environments a cost-leadership strategy and in high-hostility environments a differentiation strategy lead to better performance compared with competitors. In highly dynamic environments a cost-leadership strategy and in low dynamism environments a differentiation strategy are more helpful in improving financial performance. Organisational structure moderates the relationship of both the strategic types with ROS. However, in the case of ROA, the moderating effect of structure was found only in its relationship with cost-leadership strategy. A mechanistic structure is helpful in improving the financial performance of organisations adopting either a cost-leadership or a differentiation strategy. Originality/value – Unlike many other empirical studies, the study makes an important contribution to the literature by examining the moderating effects of both environment and structure on the relationship between business-level strategy and performance in a detailed manner, using moderated regression analysis.

Generic strategies and performance: evidence from manufacturing firms

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between business-level strategy and organisational performance and to test the applicability of Porter's generic strategies in explaining differences in the performance of organisations. Design/methodology/approach – The study was focussed on manufacturing firms in the UK belonging to the electrical and mechanical engineering sectors. Data were collected through a postal survey using the survey instrument from 124 organisations and the respondents were all at CEO level. Both objective and subjective measures were used to assess performance. Non-response bias was assessed statistically and it was not found to be a major problem affecting this study. Appropriate measures were taken to ensure that common method variance (CMV) does not affect the results of this study. Statistical tests indicated that CMV problem does not affect the results of this study. Findings – The results of this study indicate that firms adopting one of the strategies, namely cost-leadership or differentiation, perform better than “stuck-in-the-middle” firms which do not have a dominant strategic orientation. The integrated strategy group has lower performance compared with cost-leaders and differentiators in terms of financial performance measures. This provides support for Porter's view that combination strategies are unlikely to be effective in organisations. However, the cost-leadership and differentiation strategies were not strongly correlated with the financial performance measures indicating the limitations of Porter's generic strategies in explaining performance heterogeneity in organisations. Originality/value – This study makes an important contribution to the literature by identifying some of the gaps in the literature through a systematic literature review and addressing those gaps.

Situation assessment through multi-modal sensing of dynamic environments to support cognitive robot control

Awareness of emerging situations in a dynamic operational environment of a robotic assistive device is an essential capability of such a cognitive system, based on its effective and efficient assessment of the prevailing situation. This allows the system to interact with the environment in a sensible (semi)autonomous / pro-active manner without the need for frequent interventions from a supervisor. In this paper, we report a novel generic Situation Assessment Architecture for robotic systems directly assisting humans as developed in the CORBYS project. This paper presents the overall architecture for situation assessment and its application in proof-of-concept Demonstrators as developed and validated within the CORBYS project. These include a robotic human follower and a mobile gait rehabilitation robotic system. We present an overview of the structure and functionality of the Situation Assessment Architecture for robotic systems with results and observations as collected from initial validation on the two CORBYS Demonstrators.

Study on the application of cool paintings for the passive cooling of existing buildings in Mediterranean climates

Building roofs play a very important role in the energy balance of buildings, especially in summer, when they are hit by a rather high solar irradiance. Depending on the type of finishing layer, roofs can absorb a great amount of heat and reach quite high temperatures on their outermost surface, which determines significant room overheating. However, the use of highly reflective cool materials can help to maintain low outer surface temperatures; this practice may improve indoor thermal comfort and reduce the cooling energy need during the hot season.This technology is currently well known and widely used in the USA, while receiving increasing attention in Europe. In order to investigate the effectiveness of cool roofs as a passive strategy for passive cooling in moderately hot climates, this paper presents the numerical results of a case study based on the dynamic thermal analysis of an existing office building in Catania (southern Italy, Mediterranean area). The results show how the application of a cool paint on the roof can enhance the thermal comfort of the occupants by reducing the operative temperatures of the rooms and to reduce the overall energy needs of the building for space heating and cooling.

A study visit to a vitual company

To integrate study visits to different workplaces in higher education implies important benefits for the course quality. The study visit gives the students a better understanding for the real situations they will meet in working life. However for practical and economical reasons is that not always possible. The purpose of this project is to create a virtual company that shall replace the real one for study visits. The goal is to create a realistic picture and that intended use of it can come as close as possible to a real study visit. It is also important to facilitate linking theory and practice. The virtual company is built up by pictures, videos and text. All material is made available on a web page and when entering the students will meet a layout of the company. From that position is it possible to walk around and look at videos from different workstations. Besides that can they also listen to interviews with managers and representatives of staff as well as reading reports concerning productivity and the work environment. The focus of the study visit is work sciences, therefore the material also include some visualized information about work hazards. On the web page there are also a number of tasks for the students to carry out. Until the autumn 2011, 132 students at Dalarna University have visited and produced reports from the virtual company. They were studying in programs for mechanical engineering, production technicians and human resource management. An evaluation among some ten students showed that the study visit to the virtual company is flexible in time and effective, but that students wish to have even more detailed information about the company. Experiences from four years of use in a number of classes show that the concept is worth further development. Furthermore with production of new material the concept is likely to be applicable for other purposes.

Improvement of Routine Test Process of High Voltage Power Capacitors

The capacitor test process at ABB Capacitors in Ludvika must be improved to meet future demands for high voltage products. To find a solution to how to improve the test process, an investigation was performed to establish which parts of the process are used and how they operate. Several parts which can improves the process were identified. One of them was selected to be improved in correlation with the subject, mechanical engineering. Four concepts were generated and decision matrixes were used to systematically select the best concept. By improving the process several benefits has been added to the process. More units are able to be tested and lead time is reduced. As the lead time is reduced the cost for each unit is reduced, workers will work less hours for the same amount of tested units, future work to further improve the process is also identified. The selected concept was concept 1, the sway stop concept. This concept is used to reduce the sway of the capacitors as they have entered the test facility, the box. By improving this part of the test process a time saving of 20 seconds per unit can be achieved, equivalent to 7% time reduction. This can be compared to an additional 1400 units each year.

An approach to evaluate product verifications

Companies implement a module product assortment as a part of their strategy to, among others, shorten lead-times, increase the product quality and to create more product variants with fever parts. However, the increased number of variants becomes a challenging task for the personnel responsible for the product verifications. By implementing verifications at module level, so called MPV (Module Property Verification) several advantages ensue. The advantages is not only a decrease in cost of verifications, but also a decrease in repair times, occupied space, storages with spare parts, and repair tools. Further, MPV also give an increased product quality due to an increased understanding of which defects that may occur. As an approach to implement MPV, this paper discusses defects and verification processes based on a study at a Swedish company. It also describes a matrix which is used to map relations between company specific cost drivers and so called verification factors. The matrix may indicate cost drivers which have a large impact on the total cost of product verifications.

Final report on heat pump developments in WP 4 - MacSheep Deliverable 4.4 : MacSheep -New Materials and Control for a next generation of compact combined Solar and heat pump systems with boosted energetic and exergetic performance

FP7- MacSheep

The establishment mode choise of German multinational enterprises in Brazil: a comparative approach

We examine the drivers behind the establishment mode choice of German multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the sectors of Automotive, Chemicals and Mechanical Engineering in Brazil for the years 1993-2013 using a novel sample of primary data obtained directly from German MNEs. Based on prevalent theories found in the literature, we test the most common hypotheses on our sample. Firms with high R&D activities and firms with prior market knowledge in Brazil in from of previous sales offices are more likely to enter Brazil by a Greenfield investment. We also show that it is the specific private ownership of the German so-called hidden champions that drive those specific SMEs to enter Brazil by Greenfield, a sneaking suspicion that has been made before. Finally, we show that the establishment mode choice between Brazil and the USA only deviates to a low extent, with German MNEs preferring to enter Brazil by Greenfield and the USA by M&A. Thereby, we provide valuable insights for future research in this field.

Development of an active orthosis prototype for lower limbs

ARAUJO, Márcio V. ; ALSINA, Pablo J. ; MEDEIROS, Adelardo A. D. ; PEREIRA, Jonathan P.P. ; DOMINGOS, Elber C. ; ARAÚJO, Fábio M.U. ; SILVA, Jáder S. . Development of an Active Orthosis Prototype for Lower Limbs. In: INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, 20., 2009, Gramado, RS. Proceedings… Gramado, RS: [s. n.], 2009

Application of multivariable control using artificial neural networks in a debutanizer distillation column

LOPES, Jose Soares Batista et al. Application of multivariable control using artificial neural networks in a debutanizer distillation column.In: INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - COBEM, 19, 5-9 nov. 2007, Brasilia. Anais... Brasilia, 2007

Metodologia de análise e diagnóstico de fratura em um componente automotivo sujeito a cargas cíclicas alternadas

The competitiveness of the trade generated by the higher availability of products with lower quality and cost promoted a new reality of industrial production with small clearances. Track deviations at the production are not discarded, uncertainties can statistically occur. The world consumer and the Brazilian one are supported by the consumer protection code, in lawsuits against the products poor quality. An automobile is composed of various systems and thousands of constituent parts, increasing the likelihood of failure. The dynamic and security systems are critical in relation to the consequences of possible failures. The investigation of the failure gives us the possibility of learning and contributing to various improvements. Our main purpose in this work is to develop a systematic, specific methodology by investigating the root cause of the flaw occurred on an axle end of the front suspension of an automobile, and to perform comparative data analyses between the fractured part and the project information. Our research was based on a flaw generated in an automotive suspension system involved in a mechanical judicial cause, resulting in property and personal damages. In the investigations concerning the analysis of mechanical flaws, knowledge on materials engineering plays a crucial role in the process, since it enables applying techniques for characterizing materials, relating the technical attributes required from a respective part with its structure of manufacturing material, thus providing a greater scientific contribution to the work. The specific methodology developed follows its own flowchart. In the early phase, the data in the records and information on the involved ones were collected. The following laboratory analyses were performed: macrography of the fracture, micrography with SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) of the initial and final fracture, phase analysis with optical microscopy, Brinell hardness and Vickers microhardness analyses, quantitative and qualitative chemical analysis, by using X-ray fluorescence and optical spectroscopy for carbon analysis, qualitative study on the state of tension was done. Field data were also collected. In the analyses data of the values resulting from the fractured stock parts and the design values were compared. After the investigation, one concluded that: the developed methodology systematized the investigation and enabled crossing data, thus minimizing diagnostic error probability, the morphology of the fracture indicates failure by the fatigue mechanism in a geometrically propitious location, a tension hub, the part was subjected to low tensions by the sectional area of the final fracture, the manufacturing material of the fractured part has low ductility, the component fractured in an earlier moment than the one recommended by the manufacturer, the percentages of C, Si, Mn and Cr of the fractured part present values which differ from the design ones, the hardness value of the superior limit of the fractured part is higher than that of the design, and there is no manufacturing uniformity between stock and fractured part. The work will contribute to optimizing the guidance of the actions in a mechanical engineering judicial expertise

Otimização de sistema de bombeamento com energia eólica: sistema de bombeamento de São Gabriel/BA

After the Protocol of Kyoto and of the ECHO 92 - Rio de Janeiro, the attentions of the world focus to the preservation of the environment and of the maintainable use of the natural resources. People were looking for preserving environment for the future generations. Ever since, solutions are looked for the supply of energy in its more acquaintances forms and the substitution of the use of fossil fuels for the such alternative forms as: Photovoltaics, solar heat systems for water, wind , bio-diesel, etc. and in this context the Company of Engineering of the State of Bahia - Cerb changed a diesel pumping system by an wind one, It´s the first community system of this nature in Bahia. Facing problems with the model, a Cerb involved the academic segment of the Federal Center of Technological Education of Bahia Cefetba looking for a solution. This work intends to demonstrate the possibilities of optimization of the pumping communit system that supply water to approximately 50 people in the place of Romão, municipal district of São Gabriel-Ba. Technical reports were published in AGRENERGD2004-Unicamp SP and Scientific Magazine ETC,Cefetba, 2005. A simulation of the increase of energy is presented for heights of 15 and 20m, considering the eletromecanical balance from the pumping energy to the wind turbine. From the accomplished bibliographical revision, we emphasized the mechanical aspects of the engineering once in UFRN, those studies concentrate on the Department of Mechanical Engineering while, in others eletroelectronic are more emphasized. Finally, documents that we judged important were enclosed for the perfect understanding of this work

Comparação entre os métodos de aplicação de fluido de corte convencional e otimizado na retificação plana de cerâmicas

Com o grande crescimento tecnológico e a necessidade de melhoria, um dos materiais que ganhou uma grande gama na área da engenharia mecânica é a cerâmica, pois possui vantagens físico-químicas e propriedades mecânicas significativas sobre o aço. Entretanto, sua usinagem é um processo difícil e delicado, que requer ainda uma grande atenção em relação ao seu estudo. Assim, o processo de retificação é um dos métodos que tem apresentado bons resultados, porém um grande problema acerca de tal processo é o uso excessivo de fluidos de corte, o que se tornou uma preocupação mundial, já que os fluidos apresentam graves problemas socioambientais, além disso, o fluido de corte é responsável por uma grande parte do custo final do processo, provocando, desse modo, um grande interesse em pesquisas referentes a métodos alternativos de forma a reduzir o consumo e melhorar as características do fluido de corte utilizado. Este trabalho visa comparar duas técnicas de lubri-refrigeração, o método convencional e a Lubrificação Otimizada. O uso do método otimizado é uma alternativa à diminuição do volume de fluido utilizado, já que este tem como princípio a aplicação de uma menor quantidade de fluido de corte com uma alta velocidade, localmente aplicada, ou seja, com essa redução benefícios ambientais e socioeconômicas são obtidos. A análise do trabalho será feita a partir da avaliação das variáveis de saída do processo de retificação plana tais como o comportamento rugosidade e desgaste do rebolo, já que por elas é possível avaliar o processo em relação a qualidade da peça versus custo. Com essas analises, pretende-se avaliar se a técnica otimizada é viável a substituição da refrigeração convencional na retificação plana de cerâmicas.