An investigation into manufacturing technology sourcing practices

This paper investigates the decisions that companies make when choosing the source of their manufacturing technology. It builds on previous research that has identified differences between the practices of US and Japanese manufacturing companies. A structured study of manufacturing technology sourcing practices at 14 US-based manufacturing companies is described. This research has confirmed that there is a trend in the companies studied to acquire manufacturing technology from sources external to their organisations. However, no formal processes are used to form these policies. When a rationale for this behaviour was sought, companies gave a series of reasons concerned with business focus, efficiency of technology acquisition, and the extent, defence and support of manufacturing capabilities.

About Massachusetts Colleges Online June 2006 Sharing Best Practices Conference

This paper summarizes trends and issues in online learning in the United States of America as reflected in the presentations of the Massachusetts Colleges Online “Sharing Best Practices in E-Learning” Conference held on June 13-14, 2006.

Best practices in exemplary service delivery: A multiple case study of service quality

The purpose of this study was to explain how exemplary service providers in luxury hotels provide consistently excellent service. Using a case study framework, the study investigated the service provider's strategies and concepts of service delivery, the importance and implementation of organizational and individual controls, and the role of training and learning. The study identified barriers to service provision and characteristics of the exemplary individuals that affect their ability to deliver luxury service. This study sought to better understand how exemplary service providers learn, think about, and do their work. The sample population of three Five-Diamond-Award winning resorts was selected for their potential for learning about the phenomenon of interest. The results demonstrate that exemplary service providers possess individual characteristics that are enhanced by the organizations for which they work. Exemplary service providers are often exemplary communicators who are emotionally generous and genuinely enjoy helping and serving others. Exemplary service organizations treat their employees as they treat their customers, as suggested by the Service-Profit Chain (Heskett, Sasser & Schlesinger, 1997). Further, they have systems and standards to guarantee satisfactory service experiences for every guest. They also encourage their service providers to personalize their service delivery and to seek opportunities to delight their guests, using a combination of controls, traditions and cultural values. Several customer service theories are discussed in relationship to whether they were or were not supported by the data. The study concluded that the delivery of exemplary service is a complex phenomenon that requires successful interactions between guests, service providers and the organization. A Model of Exemplary Service Delivery is presented and discussed that demonstrates the components of service quality as shown in the data. The model can be used by practitioners seeking to create, enhance, or evaluate their service quality, and by researchers seeking insights into the complex concepts in service quality research. Implications for future research are discussed.

An investigation of the strategies used by organizations participating in the welfare-to-work network program and correlation of the strategies with the retention data to determine best practices for job retention among former welfare recipients

This ex post facto study (N = 209) examined the relationships between employer job strategies and job retention among organizations participating in Florida welfare-to-work network programs and associated the strategies with job retention data to determine best practices. ^ An internet-based self-report survey battery was administered to a heterogeneous sampling of organizations participating in the Florida welfare-to-work network program. Hypotheses were tested through correlational and hierarchical regression analytic procedures. The partial correlation results linked each of the job retention strategies to job retention. Wages, benefits, training and supervision, communication, job growth, work/life balance, fairness and respect were all significantly related to job retention. Hierarchical regression results indicated that the training and supervision variable was the best predictor of job retention in the regression equation. ^ The size of the organization was also a significant predictor of job retention. Large organizations reported higher job retention rates than small organizations. There was no statistical difference between the types of organizations (profit-making and non-profit) and job retention. The standardized betas ranged from to .26 to .41 in the regression equation. Twenty percent of the variance in job retention was explained by the combination of demographic and job retention strategy predictors, supporting the theoretical, empirical, and practical relevance of understanding the association between employer job strategies and job retention outcomes. Implications for adult education and human resource development theory, research, and practice are highlighted as possible strategic leverage points for creating conditions that facilitate the development of job strategies as a means for improving former welfare workers’ job retention.^

CAUTI prevention bundles: improving best practices within Western Health for continued success

Background: Persons in acute care settings who have indwelling urethral catheters are at higher risk of acquiring a urinary tract infection (UTI). Other complications related to prolonged indwelling urinary catheters include decreased mobility, damage to the meatus and/or urethra, increase use of antibiotics, increased length of stay, and pain. UTIs in acute care settings account for 30 to 40% of all health care associated infections (HAIs). Of these, 80% are catheter associated UTIs (CAUTIs). Purpose: To utilized the CDC (2009) bundle approach for CAUTI prevention and create a program which supports a multimodal method to improving urinary catheter use, maintenance, and removal, including a continuing competency program where role expansion is anticipated. Methods: A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted. Physicians were consulted through a power point presentation followed by a letter explaining the project, a questionnaire, and two selections of relevant literature. Nursing staff and allied health professionals from the target units of 3A and 3B medicine attended one of two lunch and learns. They were presented the project via a power point presentation and the same questionnaire as distributed to physicians. Results: Five e-learning modules, a revised policy, and clinical pathway have been developed to support staff with best practice knowledge transfer. Conclusion: Behaviour changes need to be approached with a framework, extensive consultation, and education. Sustainability of any practice change cannot occur without having completed the background work to ensure staff have access to tools to support the change.

Community owned solutions: identifying local best practices for social-ecological sustainability

Policies and actions that come from higher scale structures, such as international bodies and national governments, are not always compatible with the realities and perspectives of smaller scale units including indigenous communities. Yet, it is at this local social-ecological scale that mechanisms and solutions for dealing with unpredictability and change can be increasingly seen emerging from across the world. Although there is a large body of knowledge specifying the conditions necessary to promote local governance of natural resources, there is a parallel need to develop practical methods for operationalizing the evaluation of local social-ecological systems. In this paper, we report on a systemic, participatory, and visual approach for engaging local communities in an exploration of their own social-ecological system. Working with indigenous communities of the North Rupununi, Guyana, this involved using participatory video and photography within a system viability framework to enable local participants to analyze their own situation by defining indicators of successful strategies that were meaningful to them. Participatory multicriteria analysis was then used to arrive at a short list of best practice strategies. We present six best practices and show how they are intimately linked through the themes of indigenous knowledge, local governance and values, and partnerships and networks. We highlight how developing shared narratives of community owned solutions can help communities to plan governance and management of land and resource systems, while reinforcing sustainable practices by discussing and showcasing them within communities, and by engendering a sense of pride in local solutions.

Protocol to design techniques for implementing software development best practices

Software engineering best practices allow significantly improving the software development. However, the implementation of best practices requires skilled professionals, financial investment and technical support to facilitate implementation and achieve the respective improvement. In this paper we proposes a protocol to design techniques to implement best practices of software engineering. The protocol includes the identification and selection of process to improve, the study of standards and models, identification of best practices associated with the process and the possible implementation techniques. In addition, technical design activities are defined in order to create or adapt the techniques of implementing best practices for software development.

Searching for best practices to build an inclusive intervention. The international project ENABLIN+ aproach

The project ENABLIN+ is an international partnership for the period of 01/01/2014 to 31/12/2016. It's addressed to the needs of children and youth with complex and intense support needs (CISN), their caregivers and supporters. It wants to develop a system of interdisciplinary in-service training, where professionals and parents of various professional backgrounds learn together, with the aim of improving inclusion, promoting de-institutionalization and enhancing quality of life of the children with CISN, at various age levels. ENABLIN+ promotes an inclusive intervention, not only in social life, but also in education. In this context, this work aims to present and discuss the concept of “best practices” in inclusive intervention based in real world cases. To study that subject we prepare a seminar, where 12 cases of “best practices” in inclusive intervention was presented.

Repertory of best practices to mitigate the effects of climate change and expand the resilience of the Built Environment.

The way we live has revealed a lot about the choices made in the last decades. These choices are mostly based on a predatory socioeconomic structure, based on the pillars of anthropocentrism and inconsistent with the principles of global sustainability. This structure based on fossil fuels degrades the environment and directly and indirectly impacts the biomes. According to The International Energy Agency (2020), the sector was responsible for more than a third of global energy consumption and 40% of total GHG emissions into the atmosphere (directly and indirectly). This thesis presents the main effects of climate change observed in the built environment and at the urban territorial scale, through a review of the state of the art of the subject in the last decade (2010-2021). The thesis breaks down the projectual process seeking to identify how the architect and urban planner can mitigate the effects of climate change, adapting existing structures or in projects, and also promoting the expansion of the resilience of these building systems.

Avaliação da maturidade da business intelligence nas organizações

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Estatística e Gestão de Informação