Responsabilidad Social Empresarial en Cerro Matoso en el año 2014

El propósito del presente artículo es describir la operación del comité de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial en la compañía Cerro Matoso S.A en el departamento de Córdoba, Colombia. Para lograr dicho propósito se definieron indicadores agrupados en cuatro variables como lo son: Evolución del área, Plataforma Estratégica, División del trabajo y Coordinación del trabajo. Por medio de este trabajo se pretende identificar aprendizajes claves en la creación, diseño y ejecución de modelos de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial en las empresas. Los resultados muestran que la compañía no tiene un área especifica de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial sino que articula todas sus iniciativas y proyectos de manera transversal a través de toda la organización por medio de un comité que involucra todas las áreas de la compañía y la Fundación San Isidro. Todos los proyectos de Cerro Matoso S.A están enmarcados dentro de los estándares establecidos por BHP Billiton.

Gestão da Mudança na Implementação de Sistemas de Informação em Organizações de Saúde

O sector da saúde a nível nacional e internacional atravessa uma fase de digitalização de processos. As organizações de saúde têm por isso sido confrontadas com a realização de projectos de sistemas de informação. Sendo a sua área de actuação sensível, é essencial diminuir o impacto da mudança provocada pela implementação de sistemas de informação para a saúde, maximizando a eficiência dos sistemas de informação e minimizando o impacto negativo na prestação de cuidados de saúde. Um dos principais problemas de um processo de mudança é o impacto nos profissionais, que exercem resistência, podendo inviabilizar o projecto de sistemas de informação. Neste âmbito, surge a gestão da mudança, que pretende suportar a mudança organizacional. Tendo em conta a importância dos sistemas de informação para a actividade das organizações de saúde, pretende-se estudar o comportamento dos profissionais e da organização durante o processo, ou seja, as características dos processos da gestão de mudança em projectos de sistemas de informação de saúde. A metodologia de investigação utilizada seguiu um método qualitativo interpretativo com base num estudo de caso. A instituição escolhida foi o Centro Hospitalar de S. Francisco, Leiria. Procurou-se ainda uma confrontação dos principais resultados obtidos através da realização de um inquérito alargado a profissionais de outras organizações de saúde. Com os resultados obtidos espera-se poder auxiliar as organizações na definição de estratégias para maximizar a aceitação dos sistemas de informação e minimizar a resistência dos profissionais. Os resultados do estudo indiciam já uma tendência das organizações de saúde na aplicação de estratégias para minimizar o impacto dos processos de mudança nos projectos de sistemas de informação.

Construction subcontracts: for what we are about to receive

This paper is from a study on specialist and trade contracting in the construction industry. The research was commissioned by CIRIA and undertaken by the University of Reading in conjunction with Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners Ltd. The purpose of the work was to provide guidance for effective and equitable practice in the management of projects where much of the work is executed, and possibly designed, by specialist and trade contractors (STCs). As part of this study, a preliminary investigation into the nature and origins of specialist contracting was undertaken, in conjunction with a survey of the problems confronting STCs. This paper presents that phase of the project.

Distributed intelligent management of active networks

This paper focuses on improving computer network management by the adoption of artificial intelligence techniques. A logical inference system has being devised to enable automated isolation, diagnosis, and even repair of network problems, thus enhancing the reliability, performance, and security of networks. We propose a distributed multi-agent architecture for network management, where a logical reasoner acts as an external managing entity capable of directing, coordinating, and stimulating actions in an active management architecture. The active networks technology represents the lower level layer which makes possible the deployment of code which implement teleo-reactive agents, distributed across the whole network. We adopt the Situation Calculus to define a network model and the Reactive Golog language to implement the logical reasoner. An active network management architecture is used by the reasoner to inject and execute operational tasks in the network. The integrated system collects the advantages coming from logical reasoning and network programmability, and provides a powerful system capable of performing high-level management tasks in order to deal with network fault.

From projects into operations: lessons for data handover

Data from civil engineering projects can inform the operation of built infrastructure. This paper captures lessons for such data handover, from projects into operations, through interviews with leading clients and their supply chain. Clients are found to value receiving accurate and complete data. They recognise opportunities to use high quality information in decision-making about capital and operational expenditure; as well as in ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Providing this value to clients is a motivation for information management in projects. However, data handover is difficult as key people leave before project completion; and different data formats and structures are used in project delivery and operations. Lessons learnt from leading practice include defining data requirements at the outset, getting operations teams involved early, shaping the evolution of interoperable systems and standards, developing handover processes to check data rather than documentation, and fostering skills to use and update project data in operations

Integrated clinical pathway management for medical quality improvement-based on a semiotically inspired systems architecture

Clinical pathway is an approach to standardise care processes to support the implementations of clinical guidelines and protocols. It is designed to support the management of treatment processes including clinical and non-clinical activities, resources and also financial aspects. It provides detailed guidance for each stage in the management of a patient with the aim of improving the continuity and coordination of care across different disciplines and sectors. However, in the practical treatment process, the lack of knowledge sharing and information accuracy of paper-based clinical pathways burden health-care staff with a large amount of paper work. This will often result in medical errors, inefficient treatment process and thus poor quality medical services. This paper first presents a theoretical underpinning and a co-design research methodology for integrated pathway management by drawing input from organisational semiotics. An approach to integrated clinical pathway management is then proposed, which aims to embed pathway knowledge into treatment processes and existing hospital information systems. The capability of this approach has been demonstrated through the case study in one of the largest hospitals in China. The outcome reveals that medical quality can be improved significantly by the classified clinical pathway knowledge and seamless integration with hospital information systems.

Infection Control in design and construction work

Objective: To clarify how infection control requirements are represented, communicated, and understood in work interactions through the medical facility construction project life cycle. To assist project participants with effective infection control management by highlighting the nature of such requirements and presenting recommendations to aid practice. Background: A 4-year study regarding client requirement representation and use on National Health Service construction projects in the United Kingdom provided empirical evidence of infection control requirement communication and understanding through design and construction work interactions. Methods: An analysis of construction project resources (e.g., infection control regulations and room data sheets) was combined with semi-structured interviews with hospital client employees and design and construction professionals to provide valuable insights into the management of infection control issues. Results: Infection control requirements are representationally indistinct but also omnipresent through all phases of the construction project life cycle: Failure to recognize their nature, relevance, and significance can result in delays, stoppages, and redesign work. Construction project resources (e.g., regulatory guidance and room data sheets) can mask or obscure the meaning of infection control issues. Conclusions: A preemptive identification of issues combined with knowledge sharing activities among project stakeholders can enable infection control requirements to be properly understood and addressed. Such initiatives should also reference existing infection control regulatory guidance and advice.

Community projects: an experimental analysis of a fair implementation process

We define and experimentally test a public provision mechanism that meets three basic ethical requirements and allows community members to influence, via monetary bids, which of several projects is implemented. For each project, participants are assigned personal values, which can be positive or negative. We provide either public or private information about personal values. This produces two distinct public provision games, which are experimentally implemented and analyzed for various projects. In spite of the complex experimental task, participants do not rely on bidding their own personal values as an obvious simple heuristic whose general acceptance would result in fair and efficient outcomes. Rather, they rely on strategic underbidding. Although underbidding is affected by projects’ characteristics, the provision mechanism mostly leads to the implementation of the most efficient project.

Earnings management in firms seeking to be acquired

Empirical evidence regarding accrual-based earnings management around mergers and acquisitions has been setting-specific as far as target firms are concerned. This might be due to the fact that target firms cannot always anticipate an acquisition proposal, and thus lack the motive and the time necessary to manage their earnings in order to facilitate or impede the deal. In this paper, we provide clear evidence of downward earnings management by a sample of target firms that have both time and motive to engage in such actions. These are firms that publicly announce their intention to be acquired. Publicly ‘seeking a buyer’ represents a rather unusual corporate event, and we find that these firms engage in downward earnings management in the years surrounding the ‘announcement year’. To some extent, this result is explained by overrepresentation of low performance and growth among these firms, and it can be interpreted under alternative explanations. Furthermore, we show that such downward earnings management negatively affects the probability for a ‘seeking buyer’ firm to secure an acquisition within a reasonable amount of time, a possible indication of efficient diligence by prospective buyers having a preference for firms ‘seeking buyer’ with no informationally obscure earnings.

Identificação da estrutura de escritório de gerenciamento de projetos adequada a partir da avaliação do nível de maturidade em Gerenciamento de Projetos: Um Estudo sobre a Área de Tecnologia da Informação da Petrobras

Changing has been addressed by projects and it had happened in a fast and disarrenged way. In consequence of the increasing on demand for projects, to get better success rate is essential manage projects adequately. The creation of an organitional structure intended to concentrate the development of process and methodologies is a great initiative to spread the projects management concepts. The purpose of this work is to apply a model to analyse the maturity level on project management of the Petrobras IT Department and indicate an Project Management Office adequated to the level found, that could be improved with the increase of the maturity level.

A influência do líder de projetos na transmissão da cultura em uma organização em rede

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal analisar a forma como os líderes de uma organização que alavanca suas atividades com uma estrutura em rede, transmitem a cultura da empresa central junto às empresas periféricas. Pretende-se investigar também se os líderes mudaram o seu papel em função da mudança da arquitetura organizacional no período considerado por alguns autores como pós-moderno. Como o tema cultura é amplo e complexo, optou-se por enfocar aspectos como a transmissão da missão e objetivos organizacionais, além do estilo de gestão predominante e sua influência no gerenciamento de projetos entre os protagonistas dessas diferentes organizações. Utilizou-se, para tanto, uma base teórico-empírica que buscou definir o conceito de cultura através do estudo do universo simbólico; a questão da liderança e sua relação com estruturas e fontes de poder e controle nas organizações; cultura e liderança no contexto brasileiro; e, por último, o conceito de organizações em rede, explorando também os aspectos de gestão, poder e controle esperado nesse tipo de arquitetura organizacional. Esta pesquisa constitui-se num estudo de caso realizado em uma instituição sem fins lucrativos, que desenvolve projetos sociais com foco em educação. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório, descritivo e explicativo. O método utilizado para a presente pesquisa foi o método qualitativo. Muitos estudos sobre cultura organizacional privilegiam o enfoque qualitativo de pesquisa, uma vez que um grande número de observações não é passível de quantificação. Utilizou-se a técnica de observação participante e de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, além da análise documental, o que possibilitou uma investigação que envolveu a combinação de descrição com interpretação do conteúdo trazido pelos respondentes em relação aos fenômenos observados. Os dados obtidos e a análise realizada frente à fundamentação teórica, indicam que o líder em uma organização em rede transmite a cultura organizacional com o mesmo discurso dominante das organizações com estruturas tradicionais. Acredita-se que este trabalho despertará interesse da comunidade acadêmica, uma vez que os aspectos culturais são normalmente pesquisados dentro da organização e aqui se ressalta a importância de se analisar o contexto no qual a organização está inserida e o papel que o líder assume na gestão das atividades realizadas por terceiros. Estaria o gestor brasileiro disposto a abrir mão do poder e controle que a posição hierárquica lhe confere para trabalhar em uma relação de igualdade com representantes de outras organizações?