Mapas mentais: uma proposta de metodologia de design para a sustentabilidade

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

O design e a consciência da sustentabilidade integral: o projeto Tamar na Vila Regência, ES

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Jogos e brincadeiras na cultura escolar: uma perspectiva complexa e sistêmica da prática musical em escola de São Paulo

Pós-graduação em Música - IA

Industry-specific effect of CSR initiatives: hotels and airlines

Purpose – This study aims to examine the relationships between a firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and its performance and risk. The authors hypothesize that industry-level effects are highly determinant of the sign and magnitude of these relationships to establish a ranking of industries to identify the position of the most prominent tourism-related industries: hotels and airlines. Based on the cybernetic model of decision making and the heuristics thereof, shareholders base their investment decisions derived from CSR announcements on the idea that the industries behave differently; their fixed costs being a relevant factor. Design/methodology/approach – The authors estimate the industry-specific effects of CSR initiatives on firms' performance and risk using a sample of 583 announcements from the Spanish Stock Market. Findings – The results show that while CSR announcements have a positive effect on performance when the authors do not account for industry-specific factors, once the authors incorporate these factors into the analysis, the authors find that firm performance and risk vary quite substantially as a function of the industry to which the firm belongs. Interestingly, while the hotel industry presents an average behavior (standing at 9th position in returns, 15th in terms of risk, and 8th according to the ratio returns/volatility), the airline industry presents the worst situation of all industries: last in performance and last in risk. Practical implications – The results help managers assess their decisions and allocate CSR resources optimally. Originality/value – This article is the first attempt to empirically test and comprehensively detect the different relationships between CSR and firm performance across industries.

Integrating science and management through collaborative learning and better information management

Achieving more sustainable land and water use depends on high-quality information and its improved use. In other words, better linkages are needed between science and management. Since many stakeholders with different relationships to the natural resources are inevitably involved, we suggest that collaborative learning environments and improved information management are prerequisites for integrating science and management. Case studies that deal with resource management issues are presented that illustrate the creation of collaborative learning environments through systems analyses with communities, and an integration of scientific and experiential knowledge of components of the system. This new knowledge needs to be captured and made accessible through innovative information management systems designed collaboratively with users, in forms which fit the users' 'mental models' of how their systems work. A model for linking science and resource management more effectively is suggested. This model entails systems thinking in a collaborative learning environment, and processes to help convergence of views and value systems, and make scientists and different kinds of managers aware of their interdependence. Adaptive management provides a mechanism for applying and refining scientists' and managers' knowledge. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

Business process orientated holonic (PrOH) modeling

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how the application of systems thinking to designing, managing and improving business processes has resulted in a new and unique holonic-based process modeling methodology know as process orientated holonic modeling. Design/methodology/approach: The paper describes key systems thinking axioms that are built upon in an overview of the methodology; the techniques are described using an example taken from a large organization designing and manufacturing capital goods equipment operating within a complex and dynamic environment. These were produced in an 18 month project, using an action research approach, to improve quality and process efficiency. Findings: The findings of this research show that this new methodology can support process depiction and improvement in industrial sectors which are characterized by environments of high variety and low volume (e.g. projects; such as the design and manufacture of a radar system or a hybrid production process) which do not provide repetitive learning opportunities. In such circumstances, the methodology has not only been able to deliver holonic-based process diagrams but also been able to transfer strategic vision from top management to middle and operational levels without being reductionistic. Originality/value: This paper will be of interest to organizational analysts looking at large complex projects whom require a methodology that does not confine them to thinking reductionistically in "task-breakdown" based approaches. The novel ideas in this paper have great impact on the way analysts should perceive organizational processes. Future research is applying the methodology in similar environments in other industries. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Building a holarchy using business process-oriented holonic (PrOH) modeling

The application of systems thinking to designing, managing, and improving business processes has developed a new "holonic-based" process modeling methodology. The theoretical background and the methodology are described using examples taken from a large organization designing and manufacturing capital goods equipment operating within a complex and dynamic environment. A key point of differentiation attributed to this methodology is that it allows a set of models to be produced without taking a task breakdown approach but instead uses systems thinking and a construct known as the "holon" to build process descriptions as a system of systems (i.e., a holarchy). The process-oriented holonic modeling methodology has been used for total quality management and business process engineering exercises in different industrial sectors and builds models that connect the strategic vision of a company to its operational processes. Exercises have been conducted in response to environmental pressures to make operations align with strategic thinking as well as becoming increasingly agile and efficient. This unique methodology is best applied in environments of high complexity, low volume, and high variety, where repeated learning opportunities are few and far between (e.g., large development projects). © 2007 IEEE.

Information management for viable organisations

The recent global „credit crunch? has brought sharply into focus the need for better understanding of what it takes for organisations to survive. This research seeks to help organisations maintain their „viability? – the ability to maintain a separate existence and survive on their own. Whilst there are a multitude of factors that contribute to organisational viability, information can be viewed as the lifeblood of organisations. This research increases our understanding of how organisations can manage information effectively to help maintain their viability. The viable systems model (VSM) is an established modelling technique that enables the detailed analysis of organisational activity to examine how the structure and functions performed in an organisation contribute to its „viability?. The VSM has been widely applied, in small/large companies, industries and governments. However, whilst the VSM concentrates on the structure and functions necessary for an organisation to be viable, it pays much less attention to information deployment in organisations. Indeed, the VSM is criticised in the literature for being unable to provide much help with detailed information and communication structures and new theories are called for to explore the way people interact and what information they need in the VSM. This research analyses qualitative data collected from four case studies to contribute to our understanding of the role that information plays in organisational viability, making three key contributions to the academic literature. In the information management literature, this research provides new insight into the roles that specific information plays in organisations. In the systems thinking literature, this research extends our understanding of the VSM and builds on its powerful diagnostic capability to provide further criteria to aid in the diagnosis of viable organisations. In the information systems literature, this research develops a framework that can be used to help organisations design more effective information systems.

Greening operations: an investigation of environmental decision making

This PhD thesis belongs to three main knowledge domains: operations management, environmental management, and decision making. Having the automotive industry as the key sector, the investigation was undertaken aiming at deepening the understanding of environmental decision making processes in the operations function. The central research question for this thesis is ?Why and how do manufacturing companies take environmental decisions? This PhD research project used a case study research strategy supplemented by secondary data analysis and the testing and evaluation of a proposed systems thinking model for environmental decision making. Interviews and focus groups were the main methods for data collection. The findings of the thesis show that companies that want to be in the environmental leadership will need to take environmental decisions beyond manufacturing processes. Because the benefits (including financial gain) of non-manufacturing activities are not clear yet the decisions related to product design, supply chain and facilities are fully embedded with complexity, subjectivism, and intrinsic risk. Nevertheless, this is the challenge environmental leaders will face - they may enter in a paradoxical state of their decisions – where although the risk of going greener is high, the risk of not doing it is even higher.