Strategic Complexity and Success - Small Firms Strategies in a Mature Market

his paper develops a typology of strategic options for small firms in the furniture industry and examines the extent to which firms are re-engineering their strategies in response to profit performance. Empirical analysis is based on data from 39 firms with between 10 and 100 employees in the Irish furniture industry. Three main results emerge from the analysis. First, firms in the Irish furniture industry predominantly adopt “simple” business development strategies. Secondly, in terms of profit performance, we find no evidence that simple strategies unambiguously outperform more complex approaches. Instead, the success of both simple and complex business strategies is directly related to the strength of firms’ resource base. Finally, systematic differences were found in firms’ ability or willingness to re-engineer their strategies in the light of their profit performance.

Automotive waste heat recovery: Working fluid selection and related boundary conditions

This paper presents the rational for the selection of fluids for use in a model based study of sub and supercritical Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). The study focuses on multiple vehicle heat sources and the potential of WHR ORC’s for its conversion into useful work. The work presented on fluid selection is generally applicable to any waste heat recovery system, either stationary or mobile and, with careful consideration, is also applicable to single heat sources. The fluid selection process presented reduces the number of potential fluids from over one hundred to a group of under twenty fluids for further refinement in a model based WHR ORC performance study. The selection process uses engineering judgement, legislation and, where applicable, health and safety as fluid selection or de-selection criteria. This paper also investigates and discusses the properties of specific ORC fluids with regard to their impact on the theoretical potential for delivering efficient WHR ORC work output. The paper concludes by looking at potential temperature and pressure WHR ORC limits with regard to fluid properties thereby assisting with the generation of WHR ORC simulation boundary conditions.

Automatic extruder for processing recycled polymers with ultrasound and temperature control system

Melt viscosity is one of the main factors affecting product quality in extrusion processes particularly with regard to recycled polymers. However, due to wide variability in the physical properties of recycled feedstock, it is difficult to maintain the melt viscosity during extrusion of polymer blends and obtain good quality product without generating scrap. This research investigates the application of ultrasound and temperature control in an automatic extruder controller, which has ability to maintain constant melt viscosity from variable recycled polymer feedstock during extrusion processing. An ultrasonic modulation system has been developed and fitted to the extruder prior to the die to convey ultrasonic energy from a high power ultrasonic generator to the polymer melt. Two separate control loops have been developed to run simultaneously in one controller: the first loop controls the ultrasonic energy or temperature to maintain constant die pressure, the second loop is used to control extruder screw speed to maintain constant throughput at the extruder die. Time response and energy consumption of the control methods in real-time experiments are also investigated and reported this paper.

Automatic deployment of interoperable legacy code services

The Grid Execution Management for Legacy Code Architecture (GEMLCA) enables exposing legacy applications as Grid services without re-engineering the code, or even requiring access to the source files. The integration of current GT3 and GT4 based GEMLCA implementations with the P-GRADE Grid portal allows the creation, execution and visualisation of complex Grid workflows composed of legacy and nonlegacy components. However, the deployment of legacy codes and mapping their execution to Grid resources is currently done manually. This paper outlines how GEMLCA can be extended with automatic service deployment, brokering, and information system support. A conceptual architecture for an Automatic Deployment Service (ADS) and for an x-Service Interoperability Layer (XSILA) are introduced explaining how these mechanisms support desired features in future releases of GEMLCA.

Computational design with flexible backbone sampling for protein remodeling and scaffolding of complex binding sites

Dissertation presented to obtain the Doutoramento (Ph.D.) degree in Biochemistry at the Instituto de Tecnologia Qu mica e Biol ogica da Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Impacts de la réforme du réseau québécois de la santé et des services sociaux (2003) sur la représentation qu’ont les gestionnaires de leur travail

Cette thèse porte sur le travail des gestionnaires d’établissements de santé et de services sociaux québécois suite à la réforme de ce secteur mise en œuvre à partir de 2003 par le ministre de l’époque, Philippe Couillard. Le projet de réingénierie de l’État dans lequel s’inscrit cette réforme se fonde sur une certaine représentation des organisations publiques découlant du Nouveau Management Public (NMP). Concrètement la réforme a profondément modifié le contexte dans lequel œuvre le personnel d’encadrement des établissements de ce secteur. En effet, celle-ci a entraîné une modification majeure des structures des établissements composant le système de santé et de services sociaux québécois, des règles encadrant les relations du travail dans ces établissements, des conditions d’exercice du travail du personnel d’encadrement, ainsi que des responsabilités qui leur sont dévolues. Dans ce contexte, l’objectif de cette recherche était de saisir les impacts de cette réforme sur la nature du travail des gestionnaires œuvrant dans les centres de santé et de services sociaux (CSSS). Privilégiant une approche microsociologique et adoptant une posture épistémologique compréhensive, nous nous sommes intéressés aux représentations qu’ont les gestionnaires de leur travail. C’est donc dire que nous avons cherché à comprendre comment les gestionnaires définissent leur travail en terme du rôle qu’ils jouent dans l’organisation. Sur le plan méthodologique, nous avons fait le choix de procéder à une étude de cas multiples. Nous avons sélectionné deux CSSS et y avons réalisé quarante-neuf entrevues semi-dirigées auprès de gestionnaires provenant de tous les secteurs et de tous les niveaux hiérarchiques. De manière à accéder aux représentations qu’ont les gestionnaires de leur travail, deux idéaux types représentant deux conceptions opposées du travail de gestion ont été créés. Ces idéaux types nous ont permis de constater que nous assistons actuellement à une homogénéisation de la représentation qu’ont les gestionnaires de leur travail. Ainsi, suite à la réforme Couillard, les gestionnaires d’établissements de santé et de services sociaux sont de plus en plus nombreux à adhérer à une représentation managériale de leur rôle. Surtout, cette thèse montre comment se réalise cette évolution. Il appert que la structure des CSSS entraîne des conditions d’exercice qui favorisent une certaine représentation du travail de gestion et font obstacle à une autre. Qui plus est, cette nouvelle structure et les conditions d’exercice qui en découlent ont bousculé les rapports de pouvoir au sein même de la catégorie des gestionnaires. Ce faisant, certains sous-groupes voient leur représentation valorisée et sont en mesure d’imposer celle-ci à leurs collègues. Si certains gestionnaires émettent des doutes quant à ces changements, il appert que très peu d’entre eux ont les moyens d’y résister.

ARMA modeling of time series based on rational approximation of spectral density function

This study is concerned with Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA) models of time series. ARMA models form a subclass of the class of general linear models which represents stationary time series, a phenomenon encountered most often in practice by engineers, scientists and economists. It is always desirable to employ models which use parameters parsimoniously. Parsimony will be achieved by ARMA models because it has only finite number of parameters. Even though the discussion is primarily concerned with stationary time series, later we will take up the case of homogeneous non stationary time series which can be transformed to stationary time series. Time series models, obtained with the help of the present and past data is used for forecasting future values. Physical science as well as social science take benefits of forecasting models. The role of forecasting cuts across all fields of management-—finance, marketing, production, business economics, as also in signal process, communication engineering, chemical processes, electronics etc. This high applicability of time series is the motivation to this study.

Semantic network analysis of ontologies

A key argument for modeling knowledge in ontologies is the easy re-use and re-engineering of the knowledge. However, beside consistency checking, current ontology engineering tools provide only basic functionalities for analyzing ontologies. Since ontologies can be considered as (labeled, directed) graphs, graph analysis techniques are a suitable answer for this need. Graph analysis has been performed by sociologists for over 60 years, and resulted in the vivid research area of Social Network Analysis (SNA). While social network structures in general currently receive high attention in the Semantic Web community, there are only very few SNA applications up to now, and virtually none for analyzing the structure of ontologies. We illustrate in this paper the benefits of applying SNA to ontologies and the Semantic Web, and discuss which research topics arise on the edge between the two areas. In particular, we discuss how different notions of centrality describe the core content and structure of an ontology. From the rather simple notion of degree centrality over betweenness centrality to the more complex eigenvector centrality based on Hermitian matrices, we illustrate the insights these measures provide on two ontologies, which are different in purpose, scope, and size.

Fujaba Days 2011

Fujaba is an Open Source UML CASE tool project started at the software engineering group of Paderborn University in 1997. In 2002 Fujaba has been redesigned and became the Fujaba Tool Suite with a plug-in architecture allowing developers to add functionality easily while retaining full control over their contributions. Multiple Application Domains Fujaba followed the model-driven development philosophy right from its beginning in 1997. At the early days, Fujaba had a special focus on code generation from UML diagrams resulting in a visual programming language with a special emphasis on object structure manipulating rules. Today, at least six rather independent tool versions are under development in Paderborn, Kassel, and Darmstadt for supporting (1) reengineering, (2) embedded real-time systems, (3) education, (4) specification of distributed control systems, (5) integration with the ECLIPSE platform, and (6) MOF-based integration of system (re-) engineering tools. International Community According to our knowledge, quite a number of research groups have also chosen Fujaba as a platform for UML and MDA related research activities. In addition, quite a number of Fujaba users send requests for more functionality and extensions. Therefore, the 8th International Fujaba Days aimed at bringing together Fujaba develop- ers and Fujaba users from all over the world to present their ideas and projects and to discuss them with each other and with the Fujaba core development team.

Do dot coms add value : a preliminary study of the market capitalisation of Australian and Indian telecoms and banking sectors

E-Business is increasingly reshaping the way businesses operate across the globe. Globally, businesses in the banking and telecoms sectors have been re-engineering their value chains by adopting e-Business presence by means of dot com launches. The second half of the 1990s, however, saw both the rise and subsequent collapse of dot com entities as a major focus of investment interest, with consequent speculation over the viability of this corporate vehicle. The perceived increase in market capitalisation by means of these ventures during the boom period is now not so certain. In this paper, we report the results of a preliminary study which investigated the impact of dot com launches on market capitalisation within the banking and telecoms sectors of Australia and India.

Productivity and the knowledge worker

The industrial age of Taylor and Ford transformed the landscape of office buildings. Office spaces were very uniform and highly supervised. People were units of production. Their work activities were routine. Work study, or "time and motion" studies measured outputs.

The current "information age" way of working, combined with major demographic shifts in the workforce (Gen-Xers, career-shifting Baby Boomers and a greater number of women and minority ethnic groups in the workforce), requires major changes in how to support service industry productivity. The motivations of knowledge workers are very different from those of the industrial age worker. Commitment to the organisation has gone as a result of business re-engineering processes that increased productivity but at the expense of job security. Workers are more likely to be "goal-focussed" rather than "prevention focussed" (Meyer et al 2004 2 ) meaning that instead of doing only what is necessary to retain their job, workers actively seek more meaningful work that matches their personal value systems. They even want to have fun at work!

What contribution can the workplace make to support this work and increase productivity? Surveys have indicated that workers spend more than 75% of their time in their own office space with more than half of that time spent in concentrated work. Concentrated work requires quiet with few distractions, yet workers report that distractions are probably the biggest problem hampering their productivity. What are the current workplace solutions to office space usage? Probably the worst option for distractions is frequently used – open-plan offices, which are a more cost-effective use of space, but at the potential expense of productivity. Visioning architects such as Duffy (1999)3 advocate quiet spaces ("dens") where workers can decamp to carry out their concentrated work. But is this workspace as efficient for the worker – who may have to transport materials back and forth?

Workers know what they need to support their productivity best. On the rare occasions when the staff have been given the opportunity to configure their work-settings, high productivity increases result. Besides noise, environmental quality is perceived as a key factor influencing productivity. Stuffy workplaces generate lethargy. Greater worker satisfaction with their workplace is reported when they have more individual control over the environment.

We need to seriously question the "one-size-fits-all" office building with cellular layouts. Workers need to be involved in the design and fit-out. They need personal control over their environment and an organisation that can support their individual aspirations and values. A number of interventions that could generate significant improvements in knowledge work productivity are proposed.

E-government: a possible solution to the problems of the agricultural input market in Bangladesh?

Although e-government offers unique opportunities for streamlining good governance, there remains considerable skepticism about its applicability in developing countries due to their lack of required level of infrastructural, technological, legal and human development. This paper argues that developing countries can introduce e-government practices by re-engineering their existing infrastructure rather than waiting for massive investments and perfect technological advancements. Using Bangladesh- a developing country- as an exemplar, this paper assesses the applicability and prospects of e-government practices in dealing with the problems in the agricultural input sector which is predominantly associated with poor, marginalised and semi-illiterate farmers. The utilization of the Bangladesh case study has important implications for examining and highlighting the probable introduction of e-government practices in developing countries.

Construction management : new directions

This book brings together, in a single volume, the main management concepts relevant to the construction industry, providing an objective account of the concepts and showing how they interrelate: value management, buildability, benchmarking, total quality management, partnering and alliancing, supply chain management (new for this edition), and re-engineering." "In addition to a new chapter on supply chain management, a new section on strategic alliancing has been added. Text and references have been updated throughout

Construction management : new directions

This book brings together, in a single volume, the main management concepts relevant to the construction industry, providing an objective account of the concepts and showing how they interrelate: value management, buildability, benchmarking, total quality management, partnering and alliancing, supply chain management (new for this edition), and re-engineering." "In addition to a new chapter on supply chain management, a new section on strategic alliancing has been added. Text and references have been updated throughout.

Modeling data processing activity to assess the internal control function

This thesis describes research that was conducted into the potential of modeling the activities of the Data Processing Department as an aid to the computer auditor. A methodology is composed to aid in the evaluation of the Internal Controls, particularly the General Controls relative to computer processing. Consisting of three major components, the methodology enables the auditor to model the presumed activities of the Data Processing Department against the actual activities, as recorded on the Operating System Log. The first component of the methodology is the construction and loading of a model of the presumed activities of the Data Processing Department from its verbal, scheduled, and reported activities. The second component is the generation of a description of the actual activities of the Data Processing Department from the information recorded on the Operating System Log. This is effected by reducing the Operating System Log to the format described by the Standard Audit File concept. Finally, the third component in the methodology is the modeling process itself. This is in fact a new analysis technique proposed for use by the EDP auditor. The modeling process is composed of software that compares the model developed and loaded in the first component, with the description of actual activity as collated by the second component. Results from this comparison are then reviewed by the auditor, who determines if they adequately depict the situation, or whether the models description as specified in the first component requires to be altered, and the modeling process re-initiated. In conducting the research, information and data from a production installation was used. Use of the ‘real-world’ input proved both the feasibility of developing a model of the reported activities of the Data Processing Department, and the adequacy of the operating system log as a source of information to report the departments actual activities. Additionally, it enabled the involvement and comment of practicing auditors. The research involved analysis of the effect of EDP on the audit process, structure of the EDP audit process, data reduction, data structures, model formalization, and model processing software. Additionally, the Standard Audit File concept was verified through its use by practising auditors, and expanded by the development of an indexed data structure, which enabled its analysis to be conducted interactively. Results from the trial implementation of the research software and methodology at a production installation confirmed the research hypothesis that the activities of the Data Processing Department could be modelled, and that there are substantial benefits from the EDP auditor in analysing this process. The research in fact provides a new source of information, and develops a new analysis technique for the EDP auditor. It demonstrates the utilization of computer technology to monitor itself for the audit function, and reasserts auditor independence by providing access to technical detail describing the processing activities of the computer.