La administración es algo más que gerencia

Este artículo tiene como propósito presentar una concepción de administración que va más allá de la noción moderna en la que se considera como profesión justificada sólo en el marco de lo práctico y lo útil, negando sus posibilidades especulativas y filosóficas, así como su avance científico de manera autónoma y original. El influjo de este imaginario determinó para la administración serios vacíos epistémicos y éticos, que condujeron al surgimiento de un debate que actualmente ha llevado a repensar los sistemas de generación de saber y de procesos pedagógicos y andragógicos. La polémica ha permitido comprender que tal pragmatismo disciplinar debe ser reformulado, mediante la incorporación de la dirección y el pensamiento estratégico, como la base y el soporte de la disciplina.

El Outsourcing en la dinámica de sistemas hacia mercados extranjeros

Este trabajo recopila literatura académica relevante sobre estrategias de entrada y metodologías para la toma de decisión sobre la contratación de servicios de Outsourcing para el caso de empresas que planean expandirse hacia mercados extranjeros. La manera en que una empresa planifica su entrada a un mercado extranjero, y realiza la consideración y evaluación de información relevante y el diseño de la estrategia, determina el éxito o no de la misma. De otro lado, las metodologías consideradas se concentran en el nivel estratégico de la pirámide organizacional. Se parte de métodos simples para llegar a aquellos basados en la Teoría de Decisión Multicriterio, tanto individuales como híbridos. Finalmente, se presenta la Dinámica de Sistemas como herramienta valiosa en el proceso, por cuanto puede combinarse con métodos multicriterio.

Knowledge and information evaluation practice: an exploratory study in a construction firm

There are a number of challenges associated with managing knowledge and information in construction organizations delivering major capital assets. These include the ever-increasing volumes of information, losing people because of retirement or competitors, the continuously changing nature of information, lack of methods on eliciting useful knowledge, development of new information technologies and changes in management and innovation practices. Existing tools and methodologies for valuing intangible assets in fields such as engineering, project management and financial, accounting, do not address fully the issues associated with the valuation of information and knowledge. Information is rarely recorded in a way that a document can be valued, when either produced or subsequently retrieved and re-used. In addition there is a wealth of tacit personal knowledge which, if codified into documentary information, may prove to be very valuable to operators of the finished asset or future designers. This paper addresses the problem of information overload and identifies the differences between data, information and knowledge. An exploratory study was conducted with a leading construction consultant examining three perspectives (business, project management and document management) by structured interviews and specifically how to value information in practical terms. Major challenges in information management are identified. An through-life Information Evaluation methodology (IEM) is presented to reduce information overload and to make the information more valuable in the future.

Knowledge effect on firm performance in manufacturing and service firms

This thesis seeks to examine the difference between manufacturing and service firms with respect to the effects of knowledge on performance, and the influence of market turbulence in this relationship. Empirical data, resulting from a survey, was collected from more than 1,206 firms, involving several sectors. Two samples were analyzed, one with 334 manufacturing and other with 509 service firms. The findings indicate no significant difference in the importance of knowledge on performance between these sectors in the absence of market turbulence: knowledge development (KD) has a stronger effect than culture of competitiveness (CC) on firm performance. However, under market turbulence, manufacturers differ from service providers. The positive effect of KD is enhanced, while the positive effect of CC remains the same for manufacturing firms. On the other hand, the positive effect of KD is diminished, while the positive effect of CC is enhanced for service firms. This supports the argument concerning differences in the nature of manufacturing and service industries. From a managerial point of view, results confirm the importance of knowledge, irrespective of firm sector or market turbulence. However, while industrial firms should center efforts on KD, service firms must find a balance where knowledge development (e.g. norms, processes, routines) does not impair their culture of competitiveness (e.g. learning, innovation, action). The thesis contributes to existing literature by proposing that: (1) the positive effect of knowledge on performance is confirmed; (2) under turbulent markets manufacturing and service firms have different responses concerning the influence of knowledge on performance; (3) a multidimensional performance construct based on cost, profitability, and growth is an interesting way to evaluate firm sustained competitive advantage, rather than one-dimensional constructs; (4) the CC x KD interaction, found relevant for supply chains in previous studies, is not supported for firms; (5) differences in unit of analysis, e.g. from supply chains to firms, result in different effects of KD and CC on firm performance; (6) existing scales can be improved with the addition of more diverse indicators, capturing a wider range of concepts (e.g. information transfer measurement); and (7) results from previous studies are supported for Brazilian firms, contributing for theory generalization.

Dependência e monopólio no comércio internacional de sementes transgênicas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Cadeia de valor da saúde: um modelo para o sistema de saúde brasileiro

Este artigo apresenta um modelo de cadeia de valor da saúde que representa, de maneira esquemática, o sistema de saúde do Brasil. O modelo proposto tem como intuito apresentar uma adequação à realidade brasileira, bem como abrangência e flexibilidade para utilização em atividades acadêmicas e análises do setor de saúde do Brasil. O modelo coloca ênfase em três componentes: principais atividades dessa cadeia, agrupadas em elos verticais e horizontais; missão de cada um desses elos; e principais fluxos da cadeia. A cadeia proposta é formada por seis elos verticais e três horizontais, perfazendo um total de nove: desenvolvimento de conhecimento em saúde; fornecimento de produtos e tecnologias; serviços de saúde; intermediação financeira; financiamento da saúde; consumo de saúde; regulação; distribuição de produtos de saúde; e serviços de apoio e complementares. A análise da cadeia proposta pode ser realizada por meio de quatro fluxos: inovação e conhecimento; produtos e serviços; financeiro; e de informação.

Tracing the Origins of Athlete Development Models in Sport: a Citation Path Analysis

Reviews of the sport psychology literature have identified a number of models of athlete development in sport (Alfermann & Stambulova, 2007; Durand-Bush &Salmela, 2001). However, minimal research has investigated the origins of knowledge from which each model was developed. The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the influential texts responsible for providing the basis of athlete development models in sport. A citation path analysis of the sport psychology literature was used to generate a knowledge development path of seven athlete development models in sport. The analysis identified influential texts and authors in the conceptualization of athlete development. The popula-tion of 229 texts (articles, books, book chapters) was selected in two phases. Phase1 texts were articles citing seven articles depicting models of athlete development(n  75). Phase 2 included texts cited three or more times by Phase 1 articles (n  154). The analysis revealed how the scholarship of Benjamin Bloom (1985) has been integrated into the field of sport psychology, and how two articles appearing in 1993 and 2003 helped shape present conceptualizations of athlete development

KFTKGA: Knowledge Flow Tracer and Growth Analyzer for Community Learning

The advances in building learning technology now have to emphasize on the aspect of the individual learning besides the popular focus on the technology per se. Unlike the common research where a great deal has been on finding ways to build, manage, classify, categorize and search knowledge on the server, there is an interest in our work to look at the knowledge development at the individual’s learning. We build the technology that resides behind the knowledge sharing platform where learning and sharing activities of an individual take place. The system that we built, KFTGA (Knowledge Flow Tracer and Growth Analyzer), demonstrates the capability of identifying the topics and subjects that an individual is engaged with during the knowledge sharing session and measuring the knowledge growth of the individual learning on a specific subject on a given time space.

Fostering the development of identity and intimacy during late adolescence

This dissertation tested the effectiveness of a psychosocial intervention, the Personal Development in the Context of Relationships (PDCR) program. The aim of the PDCR seeks to foster the development (or enhancement) of a sense of identity and intimacy among adolescents who participate in the program. The PDCR is a psychosocial group intervention which utilizes interpersonal relationship issues as a context to foster personal development in identity formation and facilitate the development of an individual's capacity for intimacy. The PDCR uses intervention strategies which include skills and knowledge development, experiential group exercises, and exploration for insight. Participants consisted of 110 late adolescents. A mixed-subjects design (pre-post-follow up) was used to assess the effectiveness, efficacy and utility of the PDCR on the experimental condition relative to a content/social contact control group and a time control condition. Identity exploration and identity commitment were measured by the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ). Total intimacy and identity role satisfaction were measured by the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (EPSI). Relationship quality and closeness were measured by the Relationship Quality Scale (RQS) and the Relationship Closeness Inventory (RCI) in an effort to assess whether any potential impact on interpersonal relationships occurs. Mixed MANOVAs were used to analyze the data with results yielding significant values for increased total identity exploration from pre to post test and decreases in total identity commitment from pre to post to follow-up test in the experimental group relative to the control conditions on the EIPQ. Further results indicated increases in total intimacy from pre to post to follow-up test in the experimental group relative to the control conditions on the EPSI. No clear trends emerged from pre to post to follow-up test for the Relationship measures. Results are discussed in terms of both practical and theoretical implications. ^

Building better relationships workshop: An intervention fostering identity formation and interpersonal development in middle adolescents

The aim of this study was to further knowledge development concerning the formation of a sense of identity and intimacy. This study drew on the growing recognition by many researchers in the psychosocial development field of the need to target interventions at the interface of the development of identity and intimacy. The specific aim of the study was to address the question of whether it would be possible to develop intervention procedures for fostering identity and intimacy exploration and development. Using both qualitative and quantitative measurements, the results appeared to clearly support an affirmative answer to this question. A total of sixty-three middle adolescent students from an urban, public high school participated in this study. Twenty-nine participants in the treatment group and 34 participants in the comparison group were pre- and post tested on measures of identity and intimacy. Participants in this study consisted of multiethnic, urban youth that presented themselves for relationship counseling. Repeated measures analysis of variance's (RMANOVA's), used to evaluate the impact of the intervention on the quantitative measures of identity and intimacy exploration, clearly supported the efficacy of the intervention. In addition, the findings also provided tentative support for the view that the increase in exploration that results from entering a period of active exploration is associated with a “loosening” of commitment. Finally, the findings of this study also contributed to the empirical knowledge-base about procedures for intervening with respect to the process of intimacy development. More specifically, both the qualitative and quantitative findings of this study began to shed some light on the potential impact of exploration for interpersonal insight as that as a process for fostering intimacy development. ^

The significant role of third-party logistics (3pl) operators as fosterers of organizational performance in colombian companies

La eliminación de barreras entre países es una consecuencia que llega con la globalización y con los acuerdos de TLC firmados en los últimos años. Esto implica un crecimiento significativo del comercio exterior, lo cual se ve reflejado en un aumento de la complejidad de la cadena de suministro de las empresas. Debido a lo anterior, se hace necesaria la búsqueda de alternativas para obtener altos niveles de productividad y competitividad dentro de las empresas en Colombia, ya que el entorno se ha vuelto cada vez más complejo, saturado de competencia no sólo nacional, sino también internacional. Para mantenerse en una posición competitiva favorable, las compañías deben enfocarse en las actividades que le agregan valor a su negocio, por lo cual una de las alternativas que se están adoptando hoy en día es la tercerización de funciones logísticas a empresas especializadas en el manejo de estos servicios. Tales empresas son los Proveedores de servicios logísticos (LSP), quienes actúan como agentes externos a la organización al gestionar, controlar y proporcionar actividades logísticas en nombre de un contratante. Las actividades realizadas pueden incluir todas o parte de las actividades logísticas, pero como mínimo la gestión y ejecución del transporte y almacenamiento deben estar incluidos (Berglund, 2000). El propósito del documento es analizar el papel de los Operadores Logísticos de Tercer nivel (3PL) como promotores del desempeño organizacional en las empresas colombianas, con el fin de informar a las MIPYMES acerca de los beneficios que se obtienen al trabajar con LSP como un medio para mejorar la posición competitiva del país.

La construcción de sentido (‘sensemaking’) de un entorno estratégico turbulento por parte de los altos directivos: un estudio en una multinacional automotriz

Este artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación realizada al interior de dos contextos. Por un lado, el teórico, en el marco de uno de los discursos más relevantes en los campos de la estrategia organizacional, de la managerial and organizational cognition (MOC) y, en general, de los estudios organizacionales (organization studies): la construcción de sentido (sensemaking). Por el otro, el empírico, en una de las grandes compañías multinacionales del sector automotriz con presencia global. Esta corporación enfrenta una permanente tensión entre lo que dicta la casa matriz, en relación con el cumplimiento de metas y estándares específicos, considerando el mundo entero, y los retos que, teniendo en cuenta lo regional y lo local, experimentan los altos directivos encargados de hacer prosperar la empresa en estos lugares. La aproximación implementada fue cualitativa. Esto en atención a la naturaleza de la problemática abordada y la tradición del campo. Los resultados permiten ampliar el actual nivel de comprensión acerca de los procesos de sensemaking de los altos directivos al enfrentar un entorno estratégico turbulento.

Improving the management of building life cycle : a data mining approach

The construction industry has adapted information technology in its processes in terms of computer aided design and drafting, construction documentation and maintenance. The data generated within the construction industry has become increasingly overwhelming. Data mining is a sophisticated data search capability that uses classification algorithms to discover patterns and correlations within a large volume of data. This paper presents the selection and application of data mining techniques on maintenance data of buildings. The results of applying such techniques and potential benefits of utilising their results to identify useful patterns of knowledge and correlations to support decision making of improving the management of building life cycle are presented and discussed.