Estrategias para la mejora de la reputación organizacional de Ecosistec S.A.S

Al interior de la empresa ECOSISTEC S.A.S. existe un problema que está erosionando la rentabilidad y está comprometiendo la perdurabilidad de esta empresa, con el planteamiento de este proyecto aplicado se podrá resolver el problema de reputación que tiene a la empresa en un estado crítico y que ha limitado considerablemente su desempeño a través de los últimos años. A través de un análisis externo e interno, y de la aplicación de diferentes metodologías al interior de esta empresa se espera poder conocer la situación actual de la misma y del mercado colombiano, lo que a la final permitirá encontrar una solución óptima que mejore el estado actual de esta organización mejorando la cuota de mercado y la imagen que tienen los potenciales clientes de ECOSISTEC S.A.S.

Product Dimension of Forests and Bounded Treewidth Graphs

The product dimension of a graph G is defined as the minimum natural number l such that G is an induced subgraph of a direct product of l complete graphs. In this paper we study the product dimension of forests, bounded treewidth graphs and k-degenerate graphs. We show that every forest on n vertices has product dimension at most 1.441 log n + 3. This improves the best known upper bound of 3 log n for the same due to Poljak and Pultr. The technique used in arriving at the above bound is extended and combined with a well-known result on the existence of orthogonal Latin squares to show that every graph on n vertices with treewidth at most t has product dimension at most (t + 2) (log n + 1). We also show that every k-degenerate graph on n vertices has product dimension at most inverted right perpendicular5.545 k log ninverted left perpendicular + 1. This improves the upper bound of 32 k log n for the same by Eaton and Rodl.

Adoption of ISO9001 through supply chain in Vietnam : impacts of FDI and product-related environmental regulation

The objective of the present study is to examine the determinants of ISO 9001 certification, focusing on the effect of Product-related Environmental Regulations on Chemicals (PRERCs) and FDI using the answers to several questions in our Vietnam survey conducted from December 2011 to January 2012. Our findings suggest that PRERCs may help with the improvement in quality control of Vietnamese firms. If Vietnamese manufacturing firms with ISO 9001 certification are more likely to adopt ISO 14001, as well as firms in developed countries, our results indicate that the European chemical regulations may assist in the reduction of various environmental impacts in Vietnam. In addition, we found that FDI promotes the adoption of ISO 9001. If FDI firms in Vietnam certify ISO 14001 after the adoption of ISO 9001, as in the case of Malaysia and the developed economies, FDI firms may also be able to improve environmental performance as a result of ISO 14001.

Audit pricing and product differentiation in small private firms : evidence from Thailand

Purpose – There is limited evidence on how differences in economic environments affect the demand for and supply of auditing. Research on audit pricing has mainly focused on large client markets in developed economies; in contrast, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the small client segment in the emerging economy of Thailand which offers a choice between auditors of two different qualities. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a random stratified sample of small clients in Thailand qualifying for audit exemption. The final sample consists of 1,950 firm-year observations for 2002-2006. Findings – The authors find evidence of product differentiation in the small client market, suggesting that small firms view certified public accountants as superior and pay a premium for their services. The authors also find that audit fees have a positive significant association with leverage, metropolitan location and client size. Audit risk and audit opinion are not, however, significantly associated with audit fees. Furthermore, the authors find no evidence that clients whose financial year ends in the auditors’ busy period pay significantly higher audit fees, and auditors engage in low-balling on initial engagements to attract audit clients. Research limitations/implications – The research shows the importance of exploring actual decisions regarding audit practice and audit pricing in different institutional and organizational settings. Originality/value – The paper extends the literature from developed economies and large/listed market setting to the emerging economy and small client market setting. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first paper to examine audit pricing in the small client market in an emerging economy.

The hardness of approximating the boxicity, cubicity and threshold dimension of a graph

A k-dimensional box is the Cartesian product R-1 X R-2 X ... X R-k where each R-i is a closed interval on the real line. The boxicity of a graph G, denoted as box(G), is the minimum integer k such that G can be represented as the intersection graph of a collection of k-dimensional boxes. A unit cube in k-dimensional space or a k-cube is defined as the Cartesian product R-1 X R-2 X ... X R-k where each R-i is a closed interval oil the real line of the form a(i), a(i) + 1]. The cubicity of G, denoted as cub(G), is the minimum integer k such that G can be represented as the intersection graph of a collection of k-cubes. The threshold dimension of a graph G(V, E) is the smallest integer k such that E can be covered by k threshold spanning subgraphs of G. In this paper we will show that there exists no polynomial-time algorithm for approximating the threshold dimension of a graph on n vertices with a factor of O(n(0.5-epsilon)) for any epsilon > 0 unless NP = ZPP. From this result we will show that there exists no polynomial-time algorithm for approximating the boxicity and the cubicity of a graph on n vertices with factor O(n(0.5-epsilon)) for any epsilon > 0 unless NP = ZPP. In fact all these hardness results hold even for a highly structured class of graphs, namely the split graphs. We will also show that it is NP-complete to determine whether a given split graph has boxicity at most 3. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Boxicity and Poset Dimension

Let G be a simple, undirected, finite graph with vertex set V(G) and edge set E(C). A k-dimensional box is a Cartesian product of closed intervals a(1), b(1)] x a(2), b(2)] x ... x a(k), b(k)]. The boxicity of G, box(G) is the minimum integer k such that G can be represented as the intersection graph of k-dimensional boxes, i.e. each vertex is mapped to a k-dimensional box and two vertices are adjacent in G if and only if their corresponding boxes intersect. Let P = (S, P) be a poset where S is the ground set and P is a reflexive, anti-symmetric and transitive binary relation on S. The dimension of P, dim(P) is the minimum integer l such that P can be expressed as the intersection of t total orders. Let G(P) be the underlying comparability graph of P. It is a well-known fact that posets with the same underlying comparability graph have the same dimension. The first result of this paper links the dimension of a poset to the boxicity of its underlying comparability graph. In particular, we show that for any poset P, box(G(P))/(chi(G(P)) - 1) <= dim(P) <= 2box(G(P)), where chi(G(P)) is the chromatic number of G(P) and chi(G(P)) not equal 1. The second result of the paper relates the boxicity of a graph G with a natural partial order associated with its extended double cover, denoted as G(c). Let P-c be the natural height-2 poset associated with G(c) by making A the set of minimal elements and B the set of maximal elements. We show that box(G)/2 <= dim(P-c) <= 2box(G) + 4. These results have some immediate and significant consequences. The upper bound dim(P) <= 2box(G(P)) allows us to derive hitherto unknown upper bounds for poset dimension. In the other direction, using the already known bounds for partial order dimension we get the following: (I) The boxicity of any graph with maximum degree Delta is O(Delta log(2) Delta) which is an improvement over the best known upper bound of Delta(2) + 2. (2) There exist graphs with boxicity Omega(Delta log Delta). This disproves a conjecture that the boxicity of a graph is O(Delta). (3) There exists no polynomial-time algorithm to approximate the boxicity of a bipartite graph on n vertices with a factor of O(n(0.5-epsilon)) for any epsilon > 0, unless NP=ZPP.

Boxicity and Poset Dimension

Let G be a simple, undirected, finite graph with vertex set V (G) and edge set E(G). A k-dimensional box is a Cartesian product of closed intervals [a(1), b(1)] x [a(2), b(2)] x ... x [a(k), b(k)]. The boxicity of G, box(G), is the minimum integer k such that G can be represented as the intersection graph of k-dimensional boxes; i.e., each vertex is mapped to a k-dimensional box and two vertices are adjacent in G if and only if their corresponding boxes intersect. Let P = (S, P) be a poset, where S is the ground set and P is a reflexive, antisymmetric and transitive binary relation on S. The dimension of P, dim(P), is the minimum integer t such that P can be expressed as the intersection of t total orders. Let G(P) be the underlying comparability graph of P; i.e., S is the vertex set and two vertices are adjacent if and only if they are comparable in P. It is a well-known fact that posets with the same underlying comparability graph have the same dimension. The first result of this paper links the dimension of a poset to the boxicity of its underlying comparability graph. In particular, we show that for any poset P, box(G(P))/(chi(G(P)) - 1) <= dim(P) <= 2box(G(P)), where chi(G(P)) is the chromatic number of G(P) and chi(G(P)) not equal 1. It immediately follows that if P is a height-2 poset, then box(G(P)) <= dim(P) <= 2box(G(P)) since the underlying comparability graph of a height-2 poset is a bipartite graph. The second result of the paper relates the boxicity of a graph G with a natural partial order associated with the extended double cover of G, denoted as G(c): Note that G(c) is a bipartite graph with partite sets A and B which are copies of V (G) such that, corresponding to every u is an element of V (G), there are two vertices u(A) is an element of A and u(B) is an element of B and {u(A), v(B)} is an edge in G(c) if and only if either u = v or u is adjacent to v in G. Let P(c) be the natural height-2 poset associated with G(c) by making A the set of minimal elements and B the set of maximal elements. We show that box(G)/2 <= dim(P(c)) <= 2box(G) + 4. These results have some immediate and significant consequences. The upper bound dim(P) <= 2box(G(P)) allows us to derive hitherto unknown upper bounds for poset dimension such as dim(P) = 2 tree width (G(P)) + 4, since boxicity of any graph is known to be at most its tree width + 2. In the other direction, using the already known bounds for partial order dimension we get the following: (1) The boxicity of any graph with maximum degree Delta is O(Delta log(2) Delta), which is an improvement over the best-known upper bound of Delta(2) + 2. (2) There exist graphs with boxicity Omega(Delta log Delta). This disproves a conjecture that the boxicity of a graph is O(Delta). (3) There exists no polynomial-time algorithm to approximate the boxicity of a bipartite graph on n vertices with a factor of O(n(0.5-is an element of)) for any is an element of > 0 unless NP = ZPP.

The contribution of supply and demand shifts to earnings inequality in urban China

This paper examines the degree to which supply and demand shift across skill groups contributed to the earnings inequality increase in urban China from 1988 to 2002. Product demand shift contributed to an equalizing of earnings distribution in urban China from 1988 to 1995 by increasing the relative product for the low educated. However, it contributed to enlarging inequality from 1995 to 2002 by increasing the relative demand for the highly educated. Relative demand was continuously higher for workers in the coastal region and contributed to a raising of interregional inequality. Supply shift contributed essentially nothing or contributed only slightly to a reduction in inequality. Remaining factors, the largest disequalizer, may contain skill-biased technological and institutional changes, and unobserved supply shift effects due to increasing numbers of migrant workers.

Design, modeling and construction of a novel ablative fast pyrolysis reactor and product collection system

The objective of this work was to design, construct and commission a new ablative pyrolysis reactor and a high efficiency product collection system. The reactor was to have a nominal throughput of 10 kg/11r of dry biomass and be inherently scalable up to an industrial scale application of 10 tones/hr. The whole process consists of a bladed ablative pyrolysis reactor, two high efficiency cyclones for char removal and a disk and doughnut quench column combined with a wet walled electrostatic precipitator, which is directly mounted on top, for liquids collection. In order to aid design and scale-up calculations, detailed mathematical modelling was undertaken of the reaction system enabling sizes, efficiencies and operating conditions to be determined. Specifically, a modular approach was taken due to the iterative nature of some of the design methodologies, with the output from one module being the input to the next. Separate modules were developed for the determination of the biomass ablation rate, specification of the reactor capacity, cyclone design, quench column design and electrostatic precipitator design. These models enabled a rigorous design protocol to be developed capable of specifying the required reactor and product collection system size for specified biomass throughputs, operating conditions and collection efficiencies. The reactor proved capable of generating an ablation rate of 0.63 mm/s for pine wood at a temperature of 525 'DC with a relative velocity between the heated surface and reacting biomass particle of 12.1 m/s. The reactor achieved a maximum throughput of 2.3 kg/hr, which was the maximum the biomass feeder could supply. The reactor is capable of being operated at a far higher throughput but this would require a new feeder and drive motor to be purchased. Modelling showed that the reactor is capable of achieving a reactor throughput of approximately 30 kg/hr. This is an area that should be considered for the future as the reactor is currently operating well below its theoretical maximum. Calculations show that the current product collection system could operate efficiently up to a maximum feed rate of 10 kg/Fir, provided the inert gas supply was adjusted accordingly to keep the vapour residence time in the electrostatic precipitator above one second. Operation above 10 kg/hr would require some modifications to the product collection system. Eight experimental runs were documented and considered successful, more were attempted but due to equipment failure had to be abandoned. This does not detract from the fact that the reactor and product collection system design was extremely efficient. The maximum total liquid yield was 64.9 % liquid yields on a dry wood fed basis. It is considered that the liquid yield would have been higher had there been sufficient development time to overcome certain operational difficulties and if longer operating runs had been attempted to offset product losses occurring due to the difficulties in collecting all available product from a large scale collection unit. The liquids collection system was highly efficient and modeling determined a liquid collection efficiency of above 99% on a mass basis. This was validated due to the fact that a dry ice/acetone condenser and a cotton wool filter downstream of the collection unit enabled mass measurements of the amount of condensable product exiting the product collection unit. This showed that the collection efficiency was in excess of 99% on a mass basis.

The impact of brand and product placements in electronic games

In an environment where it has become increasingly difficult to attract consumer attention, marketers have begun to explore alternative forms of marketing communication. One such form that has emerged is product placement, which has more recently appeared in electronic games. Given changes in media consumption and the growth of the games industry, it is not surprising that games are being exploited as a medium for promotional content. Other market developments are also facilitating and encouraging their use, in terms of both the insertion of brand messages into video games and the creation of brand-centred environments, labelled ‘advergames’. However, while there is much speculation concerning the beneficial outcomes for marketers, there remains a lack of academic work in this area and little empirical evidence of the actual effects of this form of promotion on game players. Only a handful of studies are evident in the literature, which have explored the influence of game placements on consumers. The majority have studied their effect on brand awareness, largely demonstrating that players can recall placed brands. Further, most research conducted to date has focused on computer and online games, but consoles represent the dominant platform for play (Taub, 2004). Finally, advergames have largely been neglected, particularly those in a console format. Widening the gap in the literature is the fact that insufficient academic attention has been given to product placement as a marketing communication strategy overall, and to games in general. The unique nature of the strategy also makes it difficult to apply existing literature to this context. To address a significant need for information in both the academic and business domains, the current research investigates the effects of brand and product placements in video games and advergames on consumer attitude to the brand and corporate image. It was conducted in two stages. Stage one represents a pilot study. It explored the effects of use simulated and peripheral placements in video games on players’ and observers’ attitudinal responses, and whether these are influenced by involvement with a product category or skill level in the game. The ability of gamers to recall placed brands was also examined. A laboratory experiment was employed with a small sample of sixty adult subjects drawn from an Australian east-coast university, some of who were exposed to a console video game on a television set. The major finding of study one is that placements in a video game have no effect on gamers’ attitudes, but they are recalled. For stage two of the research, a field experiment was conducted with a large, random sample of 350 student respondents to investigate the effects on players of brand and product placements in handheld video games and advergames. The constructs of brand attitude and corporate image were again tested, along with several potential confounds. Consistent with the pilot, the results demonstrate that product placement in electronic games has no effect on players’ brand attitudes or corporate image, even when allowing for their involvement with the product category, skill level in the game, or skill level in relation to the medium. Age and gender also have no impact. However, the more interactive a player perceives the game to be, the higher their attitude to the placed brand and corporate image of the brand manufacturer. In other words, when controlling for perceived interactivity, players experienced more favourable attitudes, but the effect was so weak it probably lacks practical significance. It is suggested that this result can be explained by the existence of excitation transfer, rather than any processing of placed brands. The current research provides strong, empirical evidence that brand and product placements in games do not produce strong attitudinal responses. It appears that the nature of the game medium, game playing experience and product placement impose constraints on gamer motivation, opportunity and ability to process these messages, thereby precluding their impact on attitude to the brand and corporate image. Since this is the first study to investigate the ability of video game and advergame placements to facilitate these deeper consumer responses, further research across different contexts is warranted. Nevertheless, the findings have important theoretical and managerial implications. This investigation makes a number of valuable contributions. First, it is relevant to current marketing practice and presents findings that can help guide promotional strategy decisions. It also presents a comprehensive review of the games industry and associated activities in the marketplace, relevant for marketing practitioners. Theoretically, it contributes new knowledge concerning product placement, including how it should be defined, its classification within the existing communications framework, its dimensions and effects. This is extended to include brand-centred entertainment. The thesis also presents the most comprehensive analysis available in the literature of how placements appear in games. In the consumer behaviour discipline, the research builds on theory concerning attitude formation, through application of MacInnis and Jaworski’s (1989) Integrative Attitude Formation Model. With regards to the games literature, the thesis provides a structured framework for the comparison of games with different media types; it advances understanding of the game medium, its characteristics and the game playing experience; and provides insight into console and handheld games specifically, as well as interactive environments generally. This study is the first to test the effects of interactivity in a game environment, and presents a modified scale that can be used as part of future research. Methodologically, it addresses the limitations of prior research through execution of a field experiment and observation with a large sample, making this the largest study of product placement in games available in the literature. Finally, the current thesis offers comprehensive recommendations that will provide structure and direction for future study in this important field.

How do consumers react to physically larger models? Effects of model body size, weight control beliefs and product type on evaluations and body perceptions

The purpose of this article is to examine how a consumer’s weight control beliefs (WCB), a female advertising model’s body size (slim or large) and product type influence consumer evaluations and consumer body perceptions. The study uses an experiment of 371 consumers. The design of the experiment was a 2 (weight control belief: internal, external) X 2 (model size: larger sized, slim) X 2 (product type: weight controlling, non-weight controlling) between-participants factorial design. Results reveal two key contributions. First, larger sized models result in consumers feeling less pressure from society to be thin, viewing their actual shape as slimmer relative to viewing a slim model and wanting a thinner ideal body shape. Slim models result in the opposite effects. Second this research reveals a boundary condition for the extent to which endorser–product congruency theory can be generalized to endorsers of a larger body size. Results indicate that consumer WCB may be a useful variable to consider when marketers consider the use of larger models in advertising.