Internationalization of professional service firms: the case of a brazilian engineering consultancy company

A importância do tema da internacionalização é crescente, tanto para empresas quanto para seus administradores. É praticamente impossível permanecer alheio à globalização e às suas conseqüências; mesmo que uma empresa opte por permanecer em seu mercado local, pode ser necessário considerar os efeitos de concorrentes baseados no exterior. Hoje, além de grandes corporações, pequenas e medias empresas também tem se internacionalizado. Empresas prestadoras de serviços profissionais, como consultoria de engenharia, não são exceção, e alguns fatores contribuem para o interesse em estudar este setor específico. Em primeiro lugar, deve-se considerar a sua importância para a sociedade, especialmente os países em desenvolvimento, os quais frequentemente sofrem com a carência de investimentos em infra-estrutura. Além disso, existe também a possibilidade de estabelecer analogias entre este e outros serviços de consultoria, como os de advogados, contadores e administradores. Finalmente, contribui para o interesse o fato de que o ativo principal destas empresas é o conhecimento, o qual tem se tornado cada vez mais um aspecto chave para o desempenho e lucratividade das empresas. O objetivo deste estudo é explorar o processo de internacionalização de empresas brasileiras de consultoria de engenharia, identificando os maiores obstáculos, dificuldades e fontes de desvantagem enfrentados por estas empresas na sua internacionalização. Paralelamente, foram realizados esforços para identificar vantagens competitivas que pudessem compensar estas dificuldades. A fim de atingir este objetivo, foi realizado um estudo de caso, focado em uma companhia com uma dúzia de projetos internacionais. Este procedimento permitiu constatações interessantes; espera-se que as informações obtidas e as recomendações decorrentes possam contribuir para iniciativas futuras de internacionalização de pequenas e médias empresas de serviços profissionais.

Microcomputers for civil engineering consultancy in developing countries

The civil engineering industry generally regards new methods and technology with a high amount of scepticism, preferring to use traditional and trusted methods. During the 1980s competition for civil engineering consultancy work in the world has become fierce. Halcrow recognised the need to maintain and improve their competitive edge over other consultants. The use of new technology in the form of microcomputers was seen to be one method to maintain and improve their repuation in the world. This thesis examines the role of microcomputers in civil engineering consultancy with particular reference to overseas projects. The involvement of civil engineers with computers, both past and present, has been investigated and a survey of the use of microcomputers by consultancies was carried out, the results are presented and analysed. A resume of the state-of-the-art of microcomputer technology was made. Various case studies were carried out in order to examine the feasibility of using microcomputers on overseas projects. One case study involved the examination of two projects in Bangladesh and is used to illustrate the requirements and problems encountered in such situations. Two programming applications were undertaken, a dynamic programming model of a single site reservoir and the simulation of the Bangladesh gas grid system. A cost-benefit analysis of a water resources project using microcomputers in the Aguan Valley, Honduras was carried out. Although the initial cost of microcomputers is often small, the overall costs can prove to be very high and are likely to exceed the costs of traditional computer methods. A planned approach for the use of microcomputers is essential in order to reap the expected benefits and recommendations for the implementation of such an approach are presented.

Project owner’s and outside engineering consultant’s role in power plant implementation projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of co-operation between a project owner and an outside engineering consultant in combined heat and power plant implementation projects. Moreover, as another focal subject of the study was to familiarize the purchasing behavior of the energy producer and how an outside engineering consultant participated into different stages of the purchasing process. The study was carried out as a multiple case study including altogether six Finnish power plant implementation projects that had been taken into commercial use during 1995 – 2015. By adjusting the findings of empirical interview data and comparing those to the theoretical framework concerning, among others, Finnish energy production, engineering consulting businesses, delivery methods of construction project and finally the purchasing process, it can be concluded that especially in the power plant implementation projects in the past have a great influence to decisions made during the project. The role of the main engineering consultant is to act as an assistant, who helps to achieve the project goals successfully rather than an advisor who only knows how the project should be conducted. At least in these five project cases this was the case, meaning that the final decision power always remaining with project owner.

Developmentof engineering projects supported by BIM technology: internship report

Building Information Modeling (BIM) concept is able to reshape each AEC project and the industry in general, offering a comprehensive collaboration process over a model of structure with regularly actualized and synchronized information. This report presents an overview of BIM with focus on its core concepts, applications in the project life cycle and benefits for project stakeholders through four case studies carried out during the internship in the engineering office NEWTON - Engineering Consultancy Company. The aim of the four cases studies was to cover multidisciplinary and varied projects. The first case study highlights the engineering project’s workflow and presents a comparison of traditional procedures and BIM concepts applied on the rehabilitation of an existing building. In the second and third case study, attention is focused on the goals achieved, particularly by structural engineer, due to the implementation of the mentioned technology on a full-lifecycle BIM project of a small residence and a complex project of residential building in Porto and on its architectural integration. In addition, through the fourth case study, the spatial coordination of Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) systems at a large-scale hotel project has been analyzed and accomplished, highlighting merits of BIM at this project stage. Through a reduction of the space used for facilities and infrastructures and the ability to identify conflicts and to nullify the related costs, its advantage for a complex building was proved.

Variations in the mainstreaming of sustainability: a case study approach

The construction sector has a major role to play in delivering the transition to a low carbon economy and in contributing to sustainable development; however, integrating sustainability into everyday business remains a major challenge for the sector. This research explores the experience of three large construction and engineering consultancy firms in mainstreaming sustainability. The aim of the paper is to identify and explain variations in firm level strategies for mainstreaming sustainability. The three cases vary in the way in which sustainability is ramed – as a problem of risk, business opportunity or culture – and in its location within the firm. The research postulates that the mainstreaming of sustainability is not the uniform linear process often articulated in theories of strategic change and management, but varies with the dominant organisational culture and history of each firm. he paper concludes with a reflection on the implications of this analysis for management theories and for firm level strategies.

La disrupción: el punto de partida de la resiliencia o del fracaso empresarial (reflexiones desde la ingeniería)

La perdurabilidad empresarial ha sido un tema recurrente en la literatura sobre dirección de empresas. A pesar de los avances, la liquidación de las empresas aumenta permanentemente. Buscando alternativas de mejora se estudia el caso de dos empresas cuadragenarias dedicadas a prestar servicios de consultoría en ingeniería eléctrica y civil que, en condiciones de crisis, implementaron acciones que les permitieron, no sólo mantenerse en el mercado sino también fortalecer su estructura financiera. Los resultados demostraron que un enfoque equilibrado caracterizado por la toma oportuna de decisiones y la definición e implementación de estrategias de negocio efectivas constituyen herramientas óptimas para asegurar un mayor grado de resiliencia empresarial.

Ecosystem Engineering Effects On Species Diversity Across Ecosystems: A Meta-analysis.

Ecosystem engineering is increasingly recognized as a relevant ecological driver of diversity and community composition. Although engineering impacts on the biota can vary from negative to positive, and from trivial to enormous, patterns and causes of variation in the magnitude of engineering effects across ecosystems and engineer types remain largely unknown. To elucidate the above patterns, we conducted a meta-analysis of 122 studies which explored effects of animal ecosystem engineers on species richness of other organisms in the community. The analysis revealed that the overall effect of ecosystem engineers on diversity is positive and corresponds to a 25% increase in species richness, indicating that ecosystem engineering is a facilitative process globally. Engineering effects were stronger in the tropics than at higher latitudes, likely because new or modified habitats provided by engineers in the tropics may help minimize competition and predation pressures on resident species. Within aquatic environments, engineering impacts were stronger in marine ecosystems (rocky shores) than in streams. In terrestrial ecosystems, engineers displayed stronger positive effects in arid environments (e.g. deserts). Ecosystem engineers that create new habitats or microhabitats had stronger effects than those that modify habitats or cause bioturbation. Invertebrate engineers and those with lower engineering persistence (<1 year) affected species richness more than vertebrate engineers which persisted for >1 year. Invertebrate species richness was particularly responsive to engineering impacts. This study is the first attempt to build an integrative framework of engineering effects on species diversity; it highlights the importance of considering latitude, habitat, engineering functional group, taxon and persistence of their effects in future theoretical and empirical studies.

O valor do diploma nas práticas de recrutamento de grandes empresas

Studies show that higher level diplomas make access to well-paid jobs easier and are an important source of prestige and social honor in Brazil. However, a broad literature today indicates a reduction of the importance of the diploma in hiring processes and argues that having a diploma becomes less and less sufficient for getting a job. This article examines the processes of selection of recently graduated engineers by eight large companies in the region of Campinas. Based on interviews with the main actors of the selection processes and on observation of the initial steps of a selection carried out by a consultancy company hired by one of the companies, the study shows that the weight of a diploma from a prestigious university is still the most important variable for the hiring decision, as it defines not only whether it will be possible to get the job or not, but also the access to vacancies that lead to better paid and more prestigious managerial positions. Finally, it discusses theoretical implications as well as what these results suggest in terms of public policies.

Using the ultrasound and instrumented indentation techniques to measure the elastic modulus of engineering materials

Currently, the acoustic and nanoindentation techniques are two of the most used techniques for material elastic modulus measurement. In this article fundamental principles and limitations of both techniques are shown and discussed. Last advances in nanoindentation technique are also reviewed. An experimental study in ceramic, metallic, composite and single crystals was also done. Results shown that ultrasonic technique is capable to provide results in agreement with those reported in literature. However, ultrasonic technique does not allow measuring the elastic modulus of some small samples and single crystals. On the other hand, the nanoindentation technique estimates the elastic modulus values in reasonable agreement with those measured by acoustic methods, particularly in amorphous materials, while in some policristaline materials some deviation from expected values was obtained.

Engineering interactions for quasiperfect transfer of polariton states through nonideal bosonic networks of distinct topologies

We present a scheme for quasiperfect transfer of polariton states from a sender to a spatially separated receiver, both composed of high-quality cavities filled by atomic samples. The sender and the receiver are connected by a nonideal transmission channel -the data bus- modelled by a network of lossy empty cavities. In particular, we analyze the influence of a large class of data-bus topologies on the fidelity and transfer time of the polariton state. Moreover, we also assume dispersive couplings between the polariton fields and the data-bus normal modes in order to achieve a tunneling-like state transfer. Such a tunneling-transfer mechanism, by which the excitation energy of the polariton effectively does not populate the data-bus cavities, is capable of attenuating appreciably the dissipative effects of the data-bus cavities. After deriving a Hamiltonian for the effective coupling between the sender and the receiver, we show that the decay rate of the fidelity is proportional to a cooperativity parameter that weighs the cost of the dissipation rate against the benefit of the effective coupling strength. The increase of the fidelity of the transfer process can be achieved at the expense of longer transfer times. We also show that the dependence of both the fidelity and the transfer time on the network topology is analyzed in detail for distinct regimes of parameters. It follows that the data-bus topology can be explored to control the time of the state-transfer process.

Reverse engineering in many-body quantum physics: Correspondence between many-body systems and effective single-particle equations

The mapping, exact or approximate, of a many-body problem onto an effective single-body problem is one of the most widely used conceptual and computational tools of physics. Here, we propose and investigate the inverse map of effective approximate single-particle equations onto the corresponding many-particle system. This approach allows us to understand which interacting system a given single-particle approximation is actually describing, and how far this is from the original physical many-body system. We illustrate the resulting reverse engineering process by means of the Kohn-Sham equations of density-functional theory. In this application, our procedure sheds light on the nonlocality of the density-potential mapping of density-functional theory, and on the self-interaction error inherent in approximate density functionals.

Decision making in fuzzy environment and multicriteria power engineering problems

This paper presents results of research into the use of the Bellman-Zadeh approach to decision making in a fuzzy environment for solving multicriteria power engineering problems. The application of the approach conforms to the principle of guaranteed result and provides constructive lines in computationally effective obtaining harmonious solutions on the basis of solving associated maxmin problems. The presented results are universally applicable and are already being used to solve diverse classes of power engineering problems. It is illustrated by considering problems of power and energy shortage allocation, power system operation, optimization of network configuration in distribution systems, and energetically effective voltage control in distribution systems. (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An engineering methodology to assess effects of weld strength mismatch on cleavage fracture toughness using the Weibull stress approach

This work describes the development of an engineering approach based upon a toughness scaling methodology incorporating the effects of weld strength mismatch on crack-tip driving forces. The approach adopts a nondimensional Weibull stress, (sigma) over bar (w), as a the near-tip driving force to correlate cleavage fracture across cracked weld configurations with different mismatch conditions even though the loading parameter (measured by J) may vary widely due to mismatch and constraint variations. Application of the procedure to predict the failure strain for an overmatch girth weld made of an API X80 pipeline steel demonstrates the effectiveness of the micromechanics approach. Overall, the results lend strong support to use a Weibull stress based procedure in defect assessments of structural welds.

Signals in Communication Engineering History

This paper is a study of various electric signals, which have been employed throughout the history of communication engineering in its two main landmarks: the telegraph and the telephone. The signals are presented in their time and frequency domain representations. The historical order has been followed in the presentation: wired systems, spark gap wireless, continuous wave (CW) and amplitude modulation (AM), detection by rectification, and frequency modulation (FM). The analysis of these signals is meant to lead into a better understanding of the evolution of communication technology. The material presented in this work could be used to illustrate ""Signals and Systems"" and ""Communication Systems"" courses by taking advantage of its technical as well as historical contents.

A new approach to heart valve tissue engineering: mimicking the heart ventricle with a ventricular assist device in a novel bioreactor

The `biomimetic` approach to tissue engineering usually involves the use of a bioreactor mimicking physiological parameters whilst supplying nutrients to the developing tissue. Here we present a new heart valve bioreactor, having as its centrepiece a ventricular assist device (VAD), which exposes the cell-scaffold constructs to a wider array of mechanical forces. The pump of the VAD has two chambers: a blood and a pneumatic chamber, separated by an elastic membrane. Pulsatile air-pressure is generated by a piston-type actuator and delivered to the pneumatic chamber, ejecting the fluid in the blood chamber. Subsequently, applied vacuum to the pneumatic chamber causes the blood chamber to fill. A mechanical heart valve was placed in the VAD`s inflow position. The tissue engineered (TE) valve was placed in the outflow position. The VAD was coupled in series with a Windkessel compliance chamber, variable throttle and reservoir, connected by silicone tubings. The reservoir sat on an elevated platform, allowing adjustment of ventricular preload between 0 and 11 mmHg. To allow for sterile gaseous exchange between the circuit interior and exterior, a 0.2 mu m filter was placed at the reservoir. Pressure and flow were registered downstream of the TE valve. The circuit was filled with culture medium and fitted in a standard 5% CO(2) incubator set at 37 degrees C. Pressure and flow waveforms were similar to those obtained under physiological conditions for the pulmonary circulation. The `cardiomimetic` approach presented here represents a new perspective to conventional biomimetic approaches in TE, with potential advantages. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.