On identity reformation and local transition: a case from Poland

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand the process of successful introduction of total quality management (TQM) in Poland and the way in which it impacted on identity of Polish managers. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a combination of ethnographic research and repertory grid interviews. Findings – The process of TQM introduction and implementation is examined through the application of translation as a model incorporating cultural and socio-economical dimensions in addition to individual and organizational levels that shaped the development of TQM in Poland. It then draws on the idea of fantasy as theorized in Lacanian psychoanalysis in order to incorporate the unconscious element of translation process which is missing from Latour’s theorization and which forms an important aspect of adoption of new technology and the emergence of a new post-transition generation of managers in Poland. The paper argues that a complex combination of contextual factors, amongst them the notion of fantasy shaped the process of translation of TQM to Poland, the identity formation of Polish managers and to the emergence of a new post-transition generation of managers in Poland. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature on the post-command transition by illustrating this process through the fantasy of total quality management explored in a specific socio-cultural and geographical context and by combining the idea of Latour’s translation with Lacanian fantasy.

Implementação de CRM em indústria petroquímica de 2ª geração e análise do nível de satisfação do cliente resultante

A competitividade das empresas apresenta forte ligação com a qualidade do relacionamento com o cliente. Para competir em tempo real é preciso dotar a empresa de meios que permitam conhecer e relacionar-se de forma cada vez mais eficiente com os clientes. O uso intensivo da tecnologia é fator que contribui para que o relacionamento com o cliente se torne mais efetivo. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) faz uso da tecnologia de informação com o objetivo de desenvolver e gerenciar relações entre empresas e seus clientes, de forma individualizada e mutuamente benéfica. O presente trabalho refere-se à implementação de um sistema CRM, abrangendo as etapas de seleção da solução de CRM, definição do organograma, cronograma e metodologia de trabalho, redesenho dos processos de atendimento ao cliente e configuração do software. Também é objeto deste trabalho a verificação do nível de satisfação do cliente resultante. O estudo foi desenvolvido junto a uma empresa do setor petroquímico, caso pioneiro de implantação de CRM no país, considerando o segmento de mercado em análise. O texto discute a relação existente entre um sistema de CRM e a satisfação do cliente, apresentando os resultados de uma pesquisa de satisfação aplicada aos clientes da empresa em estudo.

Is what you say what you do? Analyzing and comparing the effect of buyer-supplier relationship in the Brazilian and Chinese supplier selection criteria

Choosing properly and efficiently a supplier has been challenging practitioners and academics since 1960’s. Since then, countless studies had been performed and relevant changes in the business scenario were considered such as global sourcing, quality-orientation, just-in-time practices. It is almost consensus that quality should be the selection driver, however, some polemical findings questioned this general agreement. Therefore, one of the objectives of the study was to identify the supplier selection criteria and bring this discussion back again. Moreover, Dickson (1966) suggested existing business relationship as selection criterion, then it was reviewed the importance of business relationship for the company and noted a set of potential negative effects that could rise from it. By considering these side effects of relationship, this research aimed to investigate how the relationship could influence the supplier selection and how its harmful effects could affect the selection process. The impact of this phenomenon was investigated cross-nationally. The research strategy adopted was a controlled experiment via vignette combined with discrete choice analysis. The data collections were performed in China and Brazil. By examining the results, it could be drawn five major findings. First, when purchasers were asked to declare their supplier selection priorities, quality was stated as the most important independently of country and relationship. This result was consistent with diverse studies since 60’s. However, when purchasers were exposed to a multi-criteria trade-off situation, their actual selection priorities deviate from what they had declared. In the actual decision-making without influence of buyer-supplier relationship, Brazilian purchasers focused on price and Chinese buyers prioritized delivery then price. This observation reinforced some controversial prior studies of Verma & Pullman (1998) and Hirakubo & Kublin (1998). Second, through the introduction of the buyer-supplier relationship (operationalized via relational capital) in the supplier selection process, this research extended the existing studies and found that Brazilian buyers still focused on price. The relationship became just another criterion for supplier selection such as quality and delivery. However, from the Chinese sample, the results suggested that quality was totally discarded and the decision was majorly made through price and relationship. The third finding suggested that relational capital could legitimate the quality and sustainability of the supplier and replaces these selection criteria and made the decisional task less complex. Additionally, with the relational capital, the decision-makings were associated to few biases such as availability cognition, commitment, confirmatory and perceived biases. By analyzing the purchasers’ behavior, relational capital inducted buyers of both countries to relax in their purchasing requirements (quality, delivery and sustainability) leading to potential negative effects. In the Brazilian sample, the phenomenon of willing to pay a higher price for a lower quality offer demonstrated to be a potential counterproductive and suboptimal decision. Finally, the last finding was associated to the cultural effect on the buyers’ decisions. From the outcome, it is possible to observe that if a purchaser’s cultural background is more relation-oriented, the more he will tend to use relational capital as a decision heuristic, thus, the purchaser will be more susceptible to the potential relationship’s side effects

Limited liability and non-responsiveness in moral hazard and adverse selection problems

This work analyses the optimal menu of contracts offered by a risk neutral principal to a risk averse agent under moral hazard, adverse selection and limited liability. There are two output levels, whose probability of occurrence are given by agent’s private information choice of effort. The agent’s cost of effort is also private information. First, we show that without assumptions on the cost function, it is not possible to guarantee that the optimal contract menu is simple, when the agent is strictly risk averse. Then, we provide sufficient conditions over the cost function under which it is optimal to offer a single contract, independently of agent’s risk aversion. Our full-pooling cases are caused by non-responsiveness, which is induced by the high cost of enforcing higher effort levels. Also, we show that limited liability generates non-responsiveness.

Applying DEMO to model and automate a process in a workflow system: a case study in a city hall

Organizations are Complex systems. A conceptual model of the enterprise is needed that is: coherent the distinguished aspect models constitute a logical and truly integral comprehensive all relevant issues are covered consistent the aspect models are free from contradictions or irregularities concise no superfluous matters are contained in it essential it shows only the essence of the enterprise, i.e., the model abstracts from all realization and implementation issues. The world is in great need for transparency about the operation of all the systems we daily work with, ranging from the domestic appliances to the big societal institutions. In this context the field of enterprise ontology has emerged with the aim to create models that help to understand the essence of the construction and operation of complete systems; more specifically, of enterprises. Enterprise ontology arises in the way to look through the distracting and confusing appearance of an enterprise right into its deep kernel. This, from the perspective of the system designer gives him the tools needed to design a successful system in a way that’s reflects the desires and needs of the workers of the enterprise. This project’s context is the use of DEMO (Design and Engineering Methodology for Organizations) for (re)designing or (re)engineering of an enterprise, namely a process of the construction department of a city hall, the lack of a well-founded theory about the construction and operation of this processes that was the motivation behind this work. The purpose of studying applying the DEMO theory and method was to optimize the process, automating it as much as possible, while reducing paper and time spent between tasks and provide a better service to the citizens.

Are the preference and selection patterns of hermit crabs for gastropod shells species- or site-specific?

Experimental analyses of hermit crabs and their preferences for shells are essential to understand the intrinsic relationship of the crabs' dependence on shells, and may be useful to explain their shell use pattern in nature. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of crab species and site on the pattern of shell use, selection, and preference in the south-western Atlantic hermit crabs Pagurus brevidactylus and Pagurus criniticornis, comparing sympatric and allopatric populations. Differently from the traditional approach to evaluate shell preference by simply determining the shell selection pattern (i.e., the number of shells of each type selected), preference was defined (according to [Liszka, D., Underwood, AJ., 1990. An experimental design to determine preferences for gastropod shells by a hermit-crab. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 137(1), 47-62]) by the comparison of the number of crabs changing for a particular shell type when three options were given (Cerithium atratum, Morula nodulosa, and Tegula viridula) with the number of crabs changing for this same type when only this type was offered. The effect of crab species was tested at Cabelo Gordo Beach, where P. brevidacrylus was found occupying shells of C. atratum, M. nodulosa, and T viridula in similar frequencies, whereas P. criniticornis occupied predominantly shells of C atratum. In laboratory experiments the selection patterns of the two hermit-crab species for these three gastropods were different, with P criniticornis selecting mainly shells of C atratum, and R brevidactylus selecting more shells of M. nodulosa. The shell preference was also dependent on crab species, with P. criniticornis showing a clear preference for shells of C atratum, whereas P. brevidactylus did not show a preference for any of the tested shells. The effect of site was tested for the two species comparing data from Cabelo Gordo to Preta (P brevidactylus) and Araca beaches (P. criniticornis). The pattern of shell use, selection, and preference was demonstrated to be dependent on site only for P. brevidactylus. The results also showed that the shell use pattern of P criniticornis can be explained by its preference at both sites, whereas for P. brevidactylus it occurred only at Cabelo Gordo, where the absence of preference was correlated with the similar use of the three gastropod species studied. Finally, the results showed that the shell selection pattern cannot be considered as a measure of shell preference, since it overestimates crab selectivity. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Selection strategies for dairy buffaloes: economic and genetic consequences

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fuzzy Logic and Geostatistical Techniques for Spatialization of Soil Texture in Region with Rough Terrains

From the geotechnical standpoint, it is interesting to analyse the soil texture in regions with rough terrain due to its relation with the infiltration and runoff processes and, consequently, the effect on erosion processes. The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology that provides the soil texture spatialization by using Fuzzy logic and Geostatistic. The results were correlated with maps drawn specifically for the study area. The knowledge of the spatialization of soil properties, such as the texture, can be an important tool for land use planning in order to reduce the potential soil losses during rain seasons. (c) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Spatial Statistics 2011

Genetic parameter estimates and response to selection for weight and testicular traits in Nelore cattle

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Study of a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell: Energetic analysis and sankey diagram

In this paper a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system is analyzed. This system applies a combined cycle utilizing gas turbine associated to a SOFC for rational decentralized energy production. Initially the relative concepts about the fuel cell are presented, followed by some chemical and technical informations such as the change of Gibbs free energy in isothermal fuel oxidation (or combustion) directly into electricity. This represents a very high fraction of the lower heating value (LHV) of a hydrocarbon fuel. In the next step a methodology for the study of SOFC associated with a gas turbine system is developed, considering the electricity and steam production for a hospital, as regard to the Brazilian conditions. This methodology is applied to energetic analysis. Natural gas is considered as a fuel. In conclusion, it is shown by a Sankey Diagram that the hybrid SOFC system may be an excellent opportunity to strengthen the decentralized energy production in Brazil. It is necessary to consider that the cogeneration in this version also is a sensible alternative from the technical point of view, demanding special methods of design, equipment selection and mainly of the contractual deals associated to electricity and fuel supply.

Strong selection against hybrids at a hybrid zone in the Ensatina ring species complex and its evolutionary implications

The analysis of interactions between lineages at varying levels of genetic divergence can provide insights into the process of speciation through the accumulation of incompatible mutations. Ring species, and especially the Ensatina eschscholtzii system exemplify this approach. The plethodontid salamanders E. eschscholtzii xanthoptica and E. eschscholtzii platensis hybridize in the central Sierran foothills of California. We compared the genetic structure across two transects (southern and northern Calaveras Co.), one of which was resampled over 20 years, and examined diagnostic molecular markers (eight allozyme loci and mitochondrial DNA) and a diagnostic quantitative trait (color pattern). Key results across all studies were: (1) cline centers for all markers were coincident and the zones were narrow, with width estimates of 730 m to 2000 m; (2) cline centers at the northern Calaveras transect were coincident between 1981 and 2001, demonstrating repeatability over five generations; (3) there were very few if any putative F1s, but a relatively high number of backcrossed individuals in the central portion of transects: and (4) we found substantial linkage disequilibrium in all three studies and strong heterozygote deficit both in northern Calaveras, in 2001, and southern Calaveras. Both linkage disequilibrium and heterozygote deficit showed maximum values near the center of the zones. Using estimates of cline width and dispersal, we infer strong selection against hybrids. This is sufficient to promote accumulation of differences at loci that are neutral or under divergent selection, but would still allow for introgression of adaptive alleles. The evidence for strong but incomplete isolation across this centrally located contact is consistent with theory suggesting a gradual increase in postzygotic incompatibility between allopatric populations subject to divergent selection and reinforces the value of Ensatina as a system for the study of divergence and speciation at multiple stages. © 2005 The Society for the Study of Evolution. All rights reserved.

Compendium of practices on the implementation of ICT questions in households and businesses surveys in Latin America and the Caribbean 2010

Includes bibliography

Proposal on indicators for follow-up to the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

O projeto político pedagógico e a educação física escolar no processo de construção coletiva

Pós-graduação em Ciências da Motricidade - IBRC

Four year multitrophic food web: source food web description, methodology accuracy and species diversity

Food webs have been used in order to understand the trophic relationship among organisms within an ecosystem, however the extension by which sampling efficiency could affect food web responses remain poorly understood. Still, there is a lack of long-term sampling data for many insect groups, mainly related to the interactions between herbivores and their host plants. In the first chapter, I describe a source food web based on the Senegalia tenuifolia plant by identifying the associated insect species and the interactions among them and with this host plant. Furthermore, I check for the data robustness from each trophic level and propose a cost-efficiently methodology. The results from this chapter show that the collected dataset and the methodology presented are a good tool for sample most insect richness of a source food web. In total the food web comprises 27 species belonging to four trophic levels. In the second chapter, I demonstrate the temporal variation in the species richness and abundance from each trophic level, as well as the relationship among distinct trophic levels. Moreover, I investigate the diversity patterns of the second and third trophic level by assessing the contribution of alfa and beta-diversity components along the years. This chapter shows that in our system the parasitoid abundance is regulated by the herbivore abundances. Besides, the species richness and abundances of the trophic levels vary temporally. It also shows that alfa-diversity was the diversity component that most contribute to the herbivore species diversity (2nd trophic level), while the contribution of alfa- and beta-diversity changed along the years for parasitoid diversity (3rd level). Overall, this dissertation describes a source food web and bring insights into some food web challenges related to the sampling effort to gather enough species from all trophic levels. It also discuss the relation among communities associated with distinct trophic levels and their temporal variation and diversity patterns. Finally, this dissertation contributes for the world food web database and in understanding the interactions among its trophic levels and each trophic level pattern along time and space