Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Business Research Methodology'

El objetivo principal de la investigación emprendida en la presente tesis doctoral es elaborar una técnica de construcción de un indicador económico compuesto o un conjunto de dichos indicadores que, correspondiendo al concepto teorético del ciclo económico (comercial), permitirán detectar y predecir los puntos de giro del ciclo económico.
Como el punto de partida hemos escogido la definición del ciclo económico propuesta por Burns y Mitchell (1946). Según nuestra opinión, el analisis dinámico factorial es el método idóneo para captar los puntos de giro del ciclo económico en el sentido de Burns y Mitchell. Por un lado, tiene en cuenta los movimientos comunes de varias series macroeconómicas que bajan y suben simultaneamente durante las fases de recesiones y expansiones, respectivamente. Por otro lado, refleja las asimetrías que existen entre las dos fases cíclicas, como, por ejemplo, las tasas de crecimiento y la volatilidad distintas durante las recesiones y expansiones. Ambos rasgos estan subrayados por Burns y Mitchell como características definitivas del ciclo económico.
El análisis dinámico factorial en su estado actual exige sin duda ciertas modificaciones y algunas extensiones para obtener las estimaciones insesgadas y consistentes de los indicadores económicos compuestos y para utilizar la información disponible de la mejor manera posible.
Nuestra investigación está dirigida, en primer lugar, hacia los economistas prácticos que han optado por utilizar el análisis dinámico factorial para la construcción del indicador del ciclo económico tanto a nivél regional como nacional.
La tesis esta compuesta por cinco capítulos donde el primer y el último capítulos son, respectivamente, la introducción y la conclusión. En ellos se exponen los objetivos del estudio y los resultados alcanzados en el curso de la investigación.
En el capítulo dos describimos varios metodos de análisis de las fluctuaciones económicas que han sido propuestos durante los últimos 20 años. Por un lado, consideramos los modelos con la dinámica nolineal, concretamente el cambio de regímenes o el Markov switching. Por otro lado, examinamos los modelos lineales del análisis dinámico factorial. Al final del capítulo analizamos el modelo del factor común latente con la dinámica nolineal (con cambios de regímenes) que está construido como una combinación de estos dos metodos principales.
En el capítulo tres introducimos un modelo general dinámico multifactorial con la dinámica lineal y nolineal. Este modelo permite captar la dimensión intertemporal (indicador avanzado versus indicador coincidente) de los factores comunes inobservables. Se examinan dos modelos dinámicos alternativos con un factor común inobservable avanzado y un factor común inobservable coincidente. En el primer modelo el factor común coincidente esta influido por el factor común avanzado a través del mecanismo de causalidad de Granger. Mientras que en el segundo modelo los dos factores estan relacionados via la matríz de las probabilidades de transición. Debido a que el factor avanzado contiene información sobre los cambios futuros de las fases cíclicas, ambos modelos permiten hacer predicciones de los puntos de giro del ciclo económico.
En el capítulo cuatro elaboramos las técnicas sumplementarias necesarias para resolver algunos problemas de datos que son bastante frecuentes en la actividad de un economista empírico. Los dos problemas más importantes son los cambios estructurales y la falta de observaciones, particularmente cuando los datos que estan disponibles con distintas frecuencias (por ejemplo: los datos mensuales y trimestrales). Estos problemas quiebran la continuidad de la serie temporal y reducen el número de observaciones válidas para el análisis estadístico. Se demuestra que estos problemas se resuelven modificando el modelo de análisis dinámico factorial, con lo que se obtienen estimaciones más eficientes de los parametros del modelo.
The main objective of our research undertaken in this thesis is to elaborate a technique of constructing a composite economic indicator or a set of such indicators which would correspond to the theoretical concept of business cycle and reflect a phenomenon which may be interpreted as the cyclical dynamics of the economy.
As a point of departure we have chosen the definition of business cycle proposed by Burns and Mitchell (1946). We believe that the most appropriate method to capture the Burns and Mitchell's cycle would be the dynamic factor analysis.
The dynamic factor analysis in its current state requires undoubtedly some refinements and extensions to obtain unbiased and consistent estimates of the composite economic indicators and to use the available information in the best possible way.
Our research is mostly oriented towards the practitioners who have opted for using the dynamic factor approach in the construction of the business cycle indicator both at the regional and national levels.
The thesis is comprised of five chapters where the first and the last chapters are the introduction and conclusion delineating the objectives of the study and summarizing the results achieved during research.
Chapter two describes various approaches to the analysis of economic fluctuations proposed during the last 20 years. On the one hand, it concentrates on models with nonlinear, namely Markov-switching, dynamics, on the other hand, it is concerned with dynamic factor models. Finally, it shows the combined techniques which unify these two principal approaches, thus, modeling common latent factor with regime-switching dynamics.
In chapter three we introduce a general multifactor dynamic model with linear and regime-switching dynamics. This model allows capturing the intertemporal (leading versus coincident) dimension of the latent common factors. Two alternative multifactor dynamic models with a leading and a coincident unobserved common factors are examined: a model where the common coincident factor is Granger-caused by the common leading factor and a model where the leading relationship is translated into a set of specific restrictions imposed on the transition probabilities matrix.
Chapter four concentrates on the supplementary devices which allow to overcome some data problems which are very frequent in the practitioner's life. Among the most prominent are the structural breaks and missing observations. It is shown that some of these troubles can be coped with by modifying the dynamic common factors models, which leads to more efficient estimates of the parameters of the models.

The findings of a research project, conducted at Sheffield City Polytechnic between 1987 and 1992, are presented. The research was aimed at describing the work and methodology of operational research practitioners in the UK, and at promoting effectiveness in OR practice. In-depth interviews were conducted with a small sample of OR practitioners, most of whom are employed as internal consultants. Interview findings were juxtaposed with the results of extensive literature study. Comparisons are made between contemporary OR practice and portrayals of OR in literature, and also with other types of consultancy within the management sciences. The development of a simple but powerful framework, for underpinning description of OR practice, is described. In this thesis, operational research is portrayed as grounded in relationships with clients who are continually engaging in executive decision making. Problems are experienced as clients attempt to formulate theories about their environment, and proposals for action. OR practitioners aim to contribute insight to problem-handling processes. This is done principally by the provision of information, plus implications for action. OR practitoners also contribute information technology, and aim to enhance clients' intellectual processes by passing on problem-handling skills. Various types of technology are used as instruments in this process. OR practitioners utilise a 'structured approach' to situations. Extensive use is made of descriptive models; technology is also used for computation and to aid communication with clients. In the long term, OR work involves analysis of clients' problems, data management, development and maintenance of appropriate technology, and promotion of continuing consulting relationships. The development of professional effectiveness in operational research is considered. A module within a postgraduate OR course was developed in order to engage OR consultants and students in critical reflection upon their practice and methodology.

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a methodological approach for conducting a Business Case Analysis (BCA) for the Advanced Technology Ordnance Surveillance (ATOS) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD). This study compares the cost savings over time of having an ATOS infrastructure in place at Navy Munitions Management locations compared to the base case of "as-is" inventory management. ATOS is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based automated system that provides a capability to collect environmental data in near real-time and supports munitions management tasks on stored munitions pallets. This type of data has never before being available and is critical for making more precise decisions about the shelf life and operational performance of individual munitions throughout their service life. ATOS is not meant to be a replacement for the status quo processes of Ordnance Management (OM). Instead, ATOS is meant to enhance many of the current processes and add additional capabilities and dimensions to OM. A Business Case Analysis for a notional site, using exemplar data sets indicates that with an initial investment of 1.3 million dollars, a Net Present Value (NPV) of 5.3 million dollars can be obtained over a 10-year period. The payback period is less than one year, and the Return on Investment is 214 %, or almost 11 % annual, compounded ROI.

The three primary objectives of this project were: (1) to identify and codify a framework for best practices in developing a simulation; (2) to construct a prototype or test simulation based on these best practices, and (3) to create a methodology to assess pedagogical efficacy and economic fidelity.

While the current body of knowledge is rich in describing the virtues and pitfalls of computer simulation technology that has existed for close to 60 years, the literature nonetheless lacks a codified set of best practices for developers and objective assessment methods to judge a simulation quality for both the pedagogical effectiveness and economic fidelity. This study addresses both issues and offers a solution that is unique and effective. A General Framework for Effective Simulation Development that is derivative, and an extension of existing research in the business simulation domain. A simulation prototype, SimWrite!, has been developed that is consistent with the 12 elements identified in this framework. Each stage of the development of this test simulation is explicitly tied to the best practices that emerged from the literature. A second assessment tool, The Economic Theory Input-Output Matrix, is presented to enable a user to measure the economic fidelity of a simulation. This tool is based on microeconomic theory that is taught at business schools throughout the globe. Both assessment tools will be applied to the test simulation in a manner that will enable the user to replicate this research with other simulations they are interested in. The products of this dissertation are intended to aid current and future developers make better simulations and faculty users of simulations to better select simulations that will help them to achieve the goal of all involved in teaching business: To produce greater learning for students.

The purpose of this three-essay dissertation was to expand knowledge and theory regarding soft systems methodologies (SSMs) and data visualization approaches in business, engineering, and other social sciences. The first essay depicts a bibliometric analysis study of the historic impacts of SSM from 1980-2018 on business, engineering, and other social sciences fields. This study found 285 articles that described or employed SSM for research and included outcomes such as top SSM authors, author citation impacts, common dissemination outlets, time-bound distribution of publications, and other relevant findings. This study provided a picture of who, what, why, when, and where SSM has had the greatest impact on academic thought and practice. The second essay presents research on the academic impact of Systemigrams, an associated data visualization approach, finding examples of conceptual or research development that employed Systemigrams to depict complex problem situations. Recommendations for improvement of designing these data visualizations to increase their field use resulted from this study. The final essay leverages a selection of the articles as use cases to produce a grounded theory study to identify phenomena that arose from the use of SSM for operations and firm strategy research. This study identified two broad themes including (i) scope, structure, and process challenges and (ii) performance and evaluation limitations. These themes were explained by six patterns that emerged from the publications. Each produced change recommendations for SSM process, practice, and reporting to support its continued viability and adoption in business and operations research.

This study was motivated by the researcher's, as well as his superior's, concern that a fundamental area of business, information technology investment and evaluation, continues to be problematic for many organisations. The lack of an integrated and methodical approach to the problem, as well as the fragmented research done to date on the effective measurement of IT-business-value, amplified the need for this study. The main objective of this study was to propose a new, more comprehensive model of the dimensions constituting IT-business-value, as well as related measures. The resultant ITIEM model dimensions were designed into a practical and holistic ITIEM methodology, intended to aid practice with: * Demonstrating how IT investments can enable measurable IT business-value * Determining which IT investments will yield the most IT-business-value for the organisation; and * Ensuring that IT investments and business initiatives support each The study has also endeavoured to contribute to the growth of knowledge by raising new problems, mapping out a program for future research on ITIEM, and putting 1 "Dimensions" refers to "groupings" of IT-business-value measures. forward a benefits framework that is verifiable by empirical observation, with the use of both case studies as well as action research. The study design includes: 1) A literature survey to identify the dimensions of IT-business-value, to identify the measures of IT-business-value, and to identify a candidate starting ITIEM methodology that is most comprehensive, addressing the most relevant measures of IT-business-value. This information is used to produce a draft case study protocol. 2) A single, exploratory pilot case study of a South African bank and a resultant revised case study protocol. 3) A cross-case analysis of a multiple case study of five South African banks (including the pilot) yielding a draft ITIEM model. 4) A cross-case analysis of three Australian banks, further enhancing the draft ITIEM model; and a cross-country comparison of the South African and Australian banks. The multiple case studies within South Africa and within Australia represent literal replications, while the cross-country comparison represents theoretical replication. 5) The existing ITIEM methodology selected in (1) is revised to reflect the draft ITIEM model and a new hybrid ITIEM methodology is proposed. 6) This hybrid ITIEM methodology is implemented and revised with action research resulting in the final ITIEM methodology and final ITIEM model.

This study was motivated by the researcher's, as well as his superior's, concern that a fundamental area of business, information technology investment and evaluation, continues to be problematic for many organisations. The lack of an integrated and methodical approach to the problem, as well as the fragmented research done to date on the effective measurement of IT-business-value, amplified the need for this study. The main objective of this study was to propose a new, more comprehensive model of the dimensions constituting IT-business-value, as well as related measures. The resultant ITIEM model dimensions were designed into a practical and holistic ITIEM methodology, intended to aid practice with: * Demonstrating how IT investments can enable measurable IT business-value * Determining which IT investments will yield the most IT-business-value for the organisation; and * Ensuring that IT investments and business initiatives support each The study has also endeavoured to contribute to the growth of knowledge by raising new problems, mapping out a program for future research on ITIEM, and putting 1 "Dimensions" refers to "groupings" of IT-business-value measures. forward a benefits framework that is verifiable by empirical observation, with the use of both case studies as well as action research. The study design includes: 1) A literature survey to identify the dimensions of IT-business-value, to identify the measures of IT-business-value, and to identify a candidate starting ITIEM methodology that is most comprehensive, addressing the most relevant measures of IT-business-value. This information is used to produce a draft case study protocol. 2) A single, exploratory pilot case study of a South African bank and a resultant revised case study protocol. 3) A cross-case analysis of a multiple case study of five South African banks (including the pilot) yielding a draft ITIEM model. 4) A cross-case analysis of three Australian banks, further enhancing the draft ITIEM model; and a cross-country comparison of the South African and Australian banks. The multiple case studies within South Africa and within Australia represent literal replications, while the cross-country comparison represents theoretical replication. 5) The existing ITIEM methodology selected in (1) is revised to reflect the draft ITIEM model and a new hybrid ITIEM methodology is proposed. 6) This hybrid ITIEM methodology is implemented and revised with action research resulting in the final ITIEM methodology and final ITIEM model.

This dissertation evaluates and elevates the perception of the strategic use of design for airlines, especially a Silent Design airline like Saudia Airlines. Saudia Airlines is an international airline located in the Gulf region in the Middle East. In comparison to some other Gulf state airlines, Saudia Airlines benefits from its large geographical coverage, and is considered to be one of the richest and longest established carriers in the industry. However, the rapid growth during the past few years of other Gulf carriers (e.g. Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways) highlights the necessity for improvements to be made by Saudia Airlines so that it can sustain its position in the global market. These three mega Gulf airlines have shown major developments in their strategic use of design in delivering innovative and differentiated design touch points in their customer journeys. The purpose of this research is to ‘create a design management conceptual framework (DMCF) to assist Saudia Airlines in evaluating and elevating the perception of the strategic value of design.’ To date, airlines adopting a Silent Design approach have rarely been addressed in empirical studies. To achieve this, secondary research investigated several topics, mainly the perception of the strategic use of design, the operational use of design and how design was managed based on design management evolution. Furthermore, design outcomes are presented after implementing the strategic use of design, to deliver innovative and differentiated results. Moreover, the case studies of several companies are presented that use design at a strategic level, especially in the airline industry. The primary research investigated key stakeholders’ views (customers, design experts and Saudia Airlines’ employees and design consultants). The findings from these investigations, and emergent key themes and sub-themes created the prototypes that led to the formulation of the DMCF, which is the main contribution of this study. The DMCF was developed and tested with experts in the field. The proposed framework is considered a significant starting point for airlines that want to evaluate and elevate their perception of the strategic use of design. The DMCF addresses the significant results of this study and key points are made, as follows: 1) Four key dimensions are identified: a) organisational mind-set, b) structure and design capabilities, c) design process and communication, and d) customer experience, which could evaluate and elevate the strategic use of design. 2) The Silent Design culture is identified as pertaining to Saudia Airlines in this study. This culture emphasises the moderate ambition of the strategic use of design by using it at an operational level. It also includes an ill-defined structure for managing design and a lack of design capabilities. In addition, it has an unclear design process and ad hoc cross-departmental collaboration. The overall result is that the Silent Design organisations’ customer experiences are characterised by undifferentiated products and services. 3) The Strategic Design culture is identified and addresses the airlines that make good use of design. This culture emphasises the strong ambition of the strategic use of design by using it at a strategic level. It also includes a systematic and clear structure for managing design. It has a clear design process and clear cross-departmental collaboration. The overall result is that Strategic Design organisations maintain their position as innovators and differentiators within the airline industry. 4) Some recommendations are made that target how to bridge the gap between these two cultures, including appointing a design leader within a Silent Design culture airline. This would elevate the airlines’ perceptions of the strategic use of design.

Many different approaches have been proposed with the aim of facilitating sound and successful information management (IM) and knowledge management (KM) practices within business contexts. These approaches seek to identify organizational factors (e.g. culture or information technology practices) or to suggest management processes (e.g. human resources management) required to establish environments conducive to IM and KM. Most of these approaches, often presented as frameworks (as they are referred to in this study) for organizational IM or KM, are exemplified by the following features.Firstly, they have emerged as unrelated notions, with little reference to each other or to foundational studies in the area. Secondly these frameworks are not based on any theoretical foundation. Thirdly, these frameworks have tended to focus on either information or knowledge management activities but not both, even though organizational IM and KM exist in a complementary and co-dependent relationship. The usefulness of these frameworks is made problematic by muddled use of the terms 'information', 'knowledge', 'IM' and 'KM', which are often transposed or used synonymously. The situation is further complicated by the inherent complexity of the organizational environments into which practitioners attempt to introduce information and knowledge management (IKM) initiatives. Early outputs of this research are explanations of how the terminology above is used in this study and a literature review that describes current IM and KM frameworks by analyzing their components. The literature review identifies current challenges in the research domain, including the need for sound foundation (referent model) on which future IKM frameworks can be based. A suitable referent model is proposed by integrating single and double feedback loops (from systems theory) with two concepts from the IM literature: IM processes and the domains of IM activity. Then, an interpretive multi-methodological research (MMR) approach is pursued consisting of three sequential phases: action research, transition and case study. The first phase, a 3-cycle action research project accompanied by a longitudinal descriptive case study and an embedded literature analysis, was conducted over a 31 month period. The key research outcome of the action research phase was a set of candidate enablers Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) in Business Contexts for organizational IKM, while the organizational deliverables included policies, strategies, process improvement and new information systems. The information gathered in phase one was rich and deep. However, in keeping with the goal of the research to produce a practical, useful IKM framework, the researcher sought a broader view from the IKM community. To achieve this practitioner view, a second research phase was designed to bridge the gap between the detailed examinations of IKM initiatives within one organizational environment, to the examination of IKM initiatives within other organizations. Therefore phase two - a transition phase - consisted of a series of surveys and interviews with IKM practitioners that explored their perceptions of organizational IKM activities and environments. The data collected in phase two supported the findings from phase one and informed the development of the case protocols for the third - case study - phase. In the third phase, six IKM projects in three organizations were studied. Documentary and interview data were examined to understand the relationships between IKM projects, the candidate enablers identified earlier in phases one and two, and other organizational factors implicated in IKM initiatives. When analyzed, the findings from the third phase converged with the data collected in the previous two phases, and provided a rich, deep and broad collection of material. The study culminates by synthesizing the data collected in the three research phases to (1) confirm a suitable referent model on which IKM frameworks can be based and (2) develop an integrated, multidimensional IKM framework that assimilates the referent model. The referent model, which is based on previous calls for IKM frameworks to have a sound theoretical foundation, incorporates two established concepts from the IKM literature: (a) the operational, analytical and strategic domains of IKM activity and (b) double and single loop feedback loops of systems thinking applied to IKM processes. The practical and flexible IKM framework, which assimilates these concepts, has three dimensions. These dimensions are (i) domains of IKM activity and feedback loops (ii) organizational enablers (iii) project context. It is envisaged that this framework be used by practitioners to identify and manage areas of the business environment that require attention to ensure success of IKM projects or initiatives.

Many different approaches have been proposed with the aim of facilitating sound and successful information management (IM) and knowledge management (KM) practices within business contexts. These approaches seek to identify organizational factors (e.g. culture or information technology practices) or to suggest management processes (e.g. human resources management) required to establish environments conducive to IM and KM. Most of these approaches, often presented as frameworks (as they are referred to in this study) for organizational IM or KM, are exemplified by the following features.Firstly, they have emerged as unrelated notions, with little reference to each other or to foundational studies in the area. Secondly these frameworks are not based on any theoretical foundation. Thirdly, these frameworks have tended to focus on either information or knowledge management activities but not both, even though organizational IM and KM exist in a complementary and co-dependent relationship. The usefulness of these frameworks is made problematic by muddled use of the terms 'information', 'knowledge', 'IM' and 'KM', which are often transposed or used synonymously. The situation is further complicated by the inherent complexity of the organizational environments into which practitioners attempt to introduce information and knowledge management (IKM) initiatives. Early outputs of this research are explanations of how the terminology above is used in this study and a literature review that describes current IM and KM frameworks by analyzing their components. The literature review identifies current challenges in the research domain, including the need for sound foundation (referent model) on which future IKM frameworks can be based. A suitable referent model is proposed by integrating single and double feedback loops (from systems theory) with two concepts from the IM literature: IM processes and the domains of IM activity. Then, an interpretive multi-methodological research (MMR) approach is pursued consisting of three sequential phases: action research, transition and case study. The first phase, a 3-cycle action research project accompanied by a longitudinal descriptive case study and an embedded literature analysis, was conducted over a 31 month period. The key research outcome of the action research phase was a set of candidate enablers Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) in Business Contexts for organizational IKM, while the organizational deliverables included policies, strategies, process improvement and new information systems. The information gathered in phase one was rich and deep. However, in keeping with the goal of the research to produce a practical, useful IKM framework, the researcher sought a broader view from the IKM community. To achieve this practitioner view, a second research phase was designed to bridge the gap between the detailed examinations of IKM initiatives within one organizational environment, to the examination of IKM initiatives within other organizations. Therefore phase two - a transition phase - consisted of a series of surveys and interviews with IKM practitioners that explored their perceptions of organizational IKM activities and environments. The data collected in phase two supported the findings from phase one and informed the development of the case protocols for the third - case study - phase. In the third phase, six IKM projects in three organizations were studied. Documentary and interview data were examined to understand the relationships between IKM projects, the candidate enablers identified earlier in phases one and two, and other organizational factors implicated in IKM initiatives. When analyzed, the findings from the third phase converged with the data collected in the previous two phases, and provided a rich, deep and broad collection of material. The study culminates by synthesizing the data collected in the three research phases to (1) confirm a suitable referent model on which IKM frameworks can be based and (2) develop an integrated, multidimensional IKM framework that assimilates the referent model. The referent model, which is based on previous calls for IKM frameworks to have a sound theoretical foundation, incorporates two established concepts from the IKM literature: (a) the operational, analytical and strategic domains of IKM activity and (b) double and single loop feedback loops of systems thinking applied to IKM processes. The practical and flexible IKM framework, which assimilates these concepts, has three dimensions. These dimensions are (i) domains of IKM activity and feedback loops (ii) organizational enablers (iii) project context. It is envisaged that this framework be used by practitioners to identify and manage areas of the business environment that require attention to ensure success of IKM projects or initiatives.

The   purpose   of   this   pilot   study   was   to   identify   and   evaluate   different   business   cases   for   Epiroc’s  Parts   &   Services   Division   (PSD)   regarding   the   use   of   additive   manufacturing   (AM),   also   known   as  3D   printing,   for   their   spare   parts   within   the   mining   industry.    This   study   presents   an   approach   for  how   spare   parts   promising   for   AM   can   be   identified   and   shows   the   difficulties   with   AM.   The   study  follows   the   design   research   methodology   (DRM)   standard   for   research   within   product   and   process  development.   Through   interviews   and   literature   searches,   a   "top-down"   approach   was   applied.   A  developed   cost-benefit   model   accompanied   this   approach   and   was   used   to   identify   and   evaluate  potential   spare   parts   for   AM   from   Epiroc’s   current   spare   parts   portfolio.   The   results   were   evaluated  as   promising   for   several   of   the   spare   parts   in   terms   of   reduced   manufacturing,   procurement,   tool  cost,   and   lead   time   reduction,   which   results   in   increased   uptime   for   the   customer.   With   reduced   lead  times,   the   availability   increases   for   the   customer,   who   may   increase   Epiroc’s   sales   and   aftermarket  revenues   in   the   long   run.   There   is   also   great   potential   for   reducing   the   costs   for   warehousing,   where  spare   parts   of   low   demand   can   have   their   stocks   reduced   or   eliminated   by   securing   supply   through  on-demand   manufacturing.   Although   many   exciting   business   cases   have   been   identified   and  evaluated,   it   has   been   acknowledged   that   CNC-machining   in   many   cases   is   the   cheaper   alternative.  Despite   this,   it   is   worth   investing   in   AM   from   a   strategic   point   of   view   as   it   is   seen   as   a   tool   for   the  future.   Before   it   can   be   adopted   and   implemented,   Epiroc   should   do   test   trials   with   companies  offering   AM   services.   These   can   be   used   to   update   and   tune   the   cost-benefit   model   accordingly   to  increase   its   reliability   and   validity.   The   model   could   also   be   developed   further   to   incorporate   AM’s  additional   benefits,   such   as   weight   and   material   reduction   through   design   for   additive  manufacturing   (DfAM).
Syftet   med   denna   förstudie   var   att   identifiera   och   utvärdera   olika   affärsmöjligheter   för   Epirocs   Parts  &   Services-division   (PSD)   gällande   användningen   av   additiv   tillverkning   (AM),   även   känd   som  3D-printning,   för   deras   reservdelar   inom   gruvindustrin.   Denna   studie   presenterar   ett  tillvägagångssätt   för   hur   reservdelar   passande   för   AM   kan   identifieras   och   visar   på   svårigheterna  med   AM.   Studien   följer   "design   research   methodology"   (DRM),   vilket   kan   översättas   till  designforsknings-metodologin,   som   är   vanligt   förekommande   vid   forskning   inom   produkt-   och  processutveckling.   Genom   intervjuer   och   litteratursökningar   tillämpades   en   "top-down"-metod.  Detta   åtföljdes   av   en   utvecklad   kostnadsnyttomodell   som   tillsammans   användes   för   att   identifiera  och   utvärdera   potentiella   reservdelar   för   AM   från   Epirocs   nuvarande   reservdelsportfölj.   Resultaten  utvärderades   som   lovande   för   flertalet   av   reservdelarna   vad   gäller   reducerad   kostnad   för  tillverkning,   inköp,   verktyg   och   minskad   ledtid,   vilket   resulterar   i   ökad   drifttid   för   kunden.   Med  minskade   ledtider   ökar   tillgängligheten   för   kunden,   som   kan   öka   Epirocs   försäljning   och  eftermarknadsintäkter   på   lång   sikt.   Det   finns   också   en   stor   potential   i   att   minska   kostnaderna   för  lagerhållning,   där   reservdelar   med   låg   efterfrågan   kan   få   sina   lager   att   reduceras   eller   elimineras  genom   att   säkra   utbudet   genom   tillverkning   vid   behov.   Även   om   många   intressanta  affärsmöjligheter   har   identifierats   och   utvärderats   har   det   uppmärksammats   att   CNC-bearbetning   i  många   fall   kan   vara   det   billigare   alternativet.   Trots   detta   är   det   värt   att   investera   i   AM   ur   en  strategisk   synvinkel   eftersom   det   ses   som   ett   verktyg   för   framtiden.   Innan   AM   kan   anammas   och  implementeras   bör   Epiroc   göra   testförsök   med   företag   som   erbjuder   AM-tjänster.   Dessa   kan  användas   för   att   uppdatera   och   justera   kostnadsnyttomodellen   i   enlighet   med   detta   för   att   öka   dess  validitet   och   reliabilitet.   Modellen   kan   också   utvecklas   vidare   för   att   införliva   AM:s   ytterligare  fördelar,   såsom   vikt-   och   materialreduktion   genom   design   för   additiv   tillverkning   (DfAM).

Abstract : Since at least the 1980's, a growing number of companies have set up an ethics or a compliance program within their organization. However, in the field of study of business management, there is a paucity of research studies concerning these management systems. This observation warranted the present investigation of one company's compliance program. Compliance programs are set up so that individuals working within an organization observe the laws and regulations which pertain to their work. This study used a constructivist grounded theory methodology to examine the process by which a specific compliance program, that of Siemens Canada Limited, was implemented throughout its organization. In conformity with this methodology, instead of proceeding with the investigation in accordance to a particular theoretical framework, the study established a number of theoretical constructs used strictly as reference points. The study's research question was stated as: what are the characteristics of the process by which Siemens' compliance program integrated itself into the existing organizational structure and gained employee acceptance? Data consisted of documents produced by the company and of interviews done with twenty-four managers working for Siemens Canada Limited. The researcher used QSR-Nvivo computer assisted software to code transcripts and to help with analyzing interviews and documents. Triangulation was done by using a number of analysis techniques and by constantly comparing findings with extant theory. A descriptive model of the implementation process grounded in the experience of participants and in the contents of the documents emerged from the data. The process was called "Remolding"; remolding being the core category having emerged. This main process consisted of two sub-processes identified as "embedding" and "appraising." The investigation was able to provide a detailed account of the appraising process. It identified that employees appraised the compliance program according to three facets: the impact of the program on the employee's daily activities, the relationship employees have with the local compliance organization, and the relationship employees have with the corporate ethics identity. The study suggests that a company who is entertaining the idea of implementing a compliance program should consider all three facets. In particular, it suggests that any company interested in designing and implementing a compliance program should pay particular attention to its corporate ethics identity. This is because employee's acceptance of the program is influenced by their comparison of the company's ethics identity to their local ethics identity. Implications of the study suggest that personnel responsible for the development and organizational support of a compliance program should understand the appraisal process by which employees build their relationship with the program. The originality of this study is that it points emphatically that companies must pay special attention in developing a corporate ethics identify which is coherent, well documented and well explained.
Résumé : La présente recherche porte sur les systèmes de gestion connus sous l’appellation de « programme de conformité » et « programme d’éthique ». Plus particulièrement, elle étudie le processus par lequel un programme de conformité a été mis en place au sein d’une entreprise multinationale allemande œuvrant au Canada : Siemens Canada Limitée. Elle propose un modèle qui décrit le processus par lequel cette compagnie a implanté un programme de conformité au sein de son organisation. Dans le cadre de cette étude, un programme de conformité est conçu comme étant un système de gestion. Il s’agit donc d’un ensemble de processus, mis en place par une organisation, qui sont reliés ensemble et qui fonctionnent afin d’atteindre un même but. Dans le cas des programmes de conformité, ce but comporte deux volets : a) voir à ce que les individus travaillant au sein d’une organisation respectent les lois et règlements relatifs à leur travail, et b) énoncer un ensemble de normes d’ordre éthique et voir à ce qu’elles soient bien comprises au sein de l’organisation afin qu’elles puissent servir de guide lors de prises de décisions concernant des sujets possédant un enjeu d’ordre éthique. L’historique des programmes de conformité remonte, selon Head (1997), à la fin des années 1940. Initialement, les programmes tenaient surtout compte des lois antitrust et se développaient à mesure que de nouvelles dispositions légales étaient adoptées par les gouvernements. Toutefois, ils ont pris des caractéristiques plus contemporaines à partir des années 1980 suite à deux événements. Le premier était la mise en place d’un programme développé par un groupe réunissant de trente-deux entreprises réunies sous l’appellation de « Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct » (DII). La justification de ce regroupement était de promouvoir un programme servant à convaincre le législateur qu’il était inopportun d’adopter de nouvelles réglementations puisque les compagnies avaient pris les mesures nécessaires afin d’assurer la conformité de leurs agissements avec les lois. La deuxième était l’introduction des « U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines » ; un ensemble de règles constituant une procédure uniforme servant à déterminer la peine à imposer aux organisations reconnues coupables d’un crime. Ces règles ont, en quelque sorte, incité les entreprises à adopter des programmes de conformité. Quant aux programmes d’éthique, leur historique remonte, selon Rasberry (2000) également aux deux mêmes développements mentionnés précédemment. Le premier département d’éthique au sein d’une entreprise aurait été mis sur pied vers 1985 par des compagnies du groupe DII. Les individus travaillant au sein de ces départements étaient désignés comme des « consultants en éthique ». La prolifération de ces départements a amené ces individus à fonder, en 1992, l’association connue à l’époque sous le nom de « Ethics Officer Association. » Les études portant sur les programmes de conformité ou les programmes d’éthique sont rares. Les quelques articles sur le sujet décrivent très peu leur fonctionnement ou comment ils ont réalisé leur mis en œuvre. Cette situation de disette documentaire s’explique par la réticence des compagnies à accueillir une étude de leur programme. Elles ne se sont pas à l’aise avec l’idée qu’un agent externe, sur qui elles n’ont aucun contrôle, effectue un examen de leurs opérations, surtout celles ayant un contenu délicat. Une exception à cette tendance générale est la compagnie Siemens qui a accepté de participer à la présente étude portant sur son programme de conformité. Le projet de recherche initialement proposé par le chercheur à Siemens visait à évaluer l’efficacité de leur programme de conformité. Toutefois, après examen de documents fournis par la compagnie, il s’est avéré qu’elle avait déjà effectuée une telle démarcher. Répéter cet exercice n’aurait servi qu’à infirmer ou corroborer les données qu’elle avait déjà en main. Au cours de discussions subséquentes avec le gestionnaire responsable de la conformité, ce dernier indiqua que la compagnie ne rencontrait aucun problème de gestion avec son programme. Sans problème managérial apparent, il indiqua qu’il serait tout de même intéressé à ce que le chercheur lui trouve quelque chose, une caractéristique ou une information, que la compagnie ignore à propos de son programme de conformité. Cet état de fait fut le point de départ de la présente recherche. Dans un premier temps, le chercheur proposa à la compagnie que la recherche porte sur le développement du programme de conformité. Toutefois, en cours de l’étude, le chercheur a dû modifier sa question de recherche en sa forme définitive et qui s’énonce comme suit : quelles sont les caractéristiques du processus par lequel le programme de conformité développé par Siemens a été intégré dans la structure organisationnelle existante et a gagné l’acceptation des employés ? Pour répondre à cette question, la présente étude a été menée selon une orientation constructiviste, utilisant la méthodologie de la théorisation enracinée. Elle a examiné le processus par lequel un programme de conformité spécifique, celui de Siemens Canada Limitée, a été mis en œuvre à travers l’ensemble de son organisation. En conformité avec les préceptes de cette méthodologie, elle ne fut pas menée en concordance avec un cadre théorique précis. Elle a plutôt procédé en tenant compte de certains construits théoriques qui ressortaient de la littérature dans le domaine de l’éthique et de l’éthique des affaires. Ces construits ont été utilisés strictement en tant que points de référence et non pas en tant que cadre théorique. Les données colligées au cours de l’étude provenaient de documents produits par l’entreprise et aussi des entrevues réalisées avec vingt-quatre gestionnaires travaillant pour Siemens Canada Limitée. Le chercheur a utilisé le logiciel QSR-Nvivo afin d’effectuer le codage des documents examinés ainsi que les transcriptions des entrevues. Le logiciel a également servi lors de l’analyse de l’ensemble des données. Quant à la triangulation, celle-ci a été effectuée en recourant à un certain nombre de techniques d’analyse et en comparant les découvertes (terme utilisé ici à la place de « résultats » afin de conserver le caractère qualitatif de l’étude) avec la théorie existante contenue dans la littérature académique. La description du processus de mise en œuvre du programme de conformité fournie par le chercheur ne provient pas d’un modèle préconçu provenant de la littérature traitant soit de l’éthique des affaires, soit des programmes de conformité. Le vocabulaire utilisé pour décrire le processus correspond soit à des mots utilisés par les individus participant à l’étude, ou des mots choisis par le chercheur qu’il estimait pouvaient résumer les idées exprimées par les participants. Ainsi, le modèle descriptif et le vocabulaire utilisé pour l’expliquer émergent de l’analyse des données. Le modèle descriptif du processus de mise en œuvre du programme de conformité émerge de l’expérience des participants et du contenu des informations trouvées dans les documents. Le vocable utilisé pour désigner ce processus est celui de « remoulage » et représente la catégorie de base qui a émergé des données. Ce processus principal est composé de deux sous processus : le premier désigné comme étant de l'« embedding » (incrustation) et le second désigné comme « appraisal » (appréciation). Le processus de remoulage intègre un nouvel élément structurel, le programme de conformité, dans la structure organisationnelle déjà existante. Toutefois, la particularité de ce processus est de parvenir à transformer la fibre constitutive de la structure organisationnelle sans modifier la structure en tant que telle. En quelque sorte, le « moule » initial est préservé, mais en le « remoulant », avec l'apport du programme de conformité, la compagnie se transforme. Étant donné qu'il s'agit d'un remoulage par le biais d'un programme de conformité, le résultat de tout cet effort doit se manifester, d'une part, par l'adoption, par les employés, de l'identité éthique promue par la compagnie et, d'autre part, par leur utilisation efficiente et constante des outils et des procédures rattachés au programme. Ce résultat à deux volets est atteint à la condition que les deux sous processus, soit ceux d'« embedding » et d'« appraising », parviennent à persuader les individus à être favorablement disposé à agir de façon concordante. Dans le cas de Siemens Canada Limitée, le processus de remoulage implique trois groupes distincts d'acteurs : le personnel corporatif mondial situé en Allemagne, le personnel canadien rattaché spécifiquement à la fonction de la conformité et, finalement, les employés à qui le programme a été présenté et qui doivent suivre les nouvelles procédures. Le personnel corporatif mondial et le personnel canadien à la conformité sont les maîtres du sous-processus d'« embedding ». Le groupe corporatif mondial est impliqué au développement du programme, à sa transmission aux entités régionales, et à la surveillance de son déploiement. Toutefois, les données recueillies au cours de cette étude ne permettent pas de fournir une description plus détaillée de leur travail. Le groupe du personnel canadien à la conformité devait voir à la diffusion du programme à l'échelle du Canada. Il devait fournir une formation aux employés et fournir une rétroaction au niveau corporatif quant aux résultats. Dans leur cas également, les données ne permettent pas une description plus détaillée de leur travail. Le troisième groupe d'acteurs, les employés, est principalement impliqué dans le sous-processus d'« appraising ». Ce groupe est composé de gestionnaires et de personnel non managérial qui ont reçu la formation sur la conformité et a eu à appliquer les nouvelles procédures. La présente étude fournit une description détaillée du sous-processus « appraising ». Elle indique que les employés développent une appréciation du programme de conformité en considérant trois facettes. La première est en lien avec l'impact des changements apportés par le programme sur le quotidien vécu par les employés. À ce niveau, les employés apprécient le programme de conformité selon qu'il facilite leur travail ou qu'il le rend plus fastidieux. La deuxième facette est en lien avec la relation établie entre employés et le personnel rattaché à la conformité. À cet égard, les employés apprécient le programme de conformité selon le degré de collaboration et de confiance établi avec le personnel de conformité. La troisième facette identifiée est en lien avec l'identité éthique corporative. L'étude a identifié qu'une des composantes du programme de conformité est l'identité éthique corporative. Celle-ci est contenue et transmise par divers outils : tels que le code d'éthique, la déclaration de la mission de l'entreprise, la déclaration de la vision de l'entreprise, et autres. Or, les employés développent également une appréciation de cette identité éthique corporative par rapport à un référent particulier : l'identité éthique locale. L'étude indique que cette appréciation se fait selon deux ensembles de qualités. Le modèle décrit dans cette étude suggère qu'une société qui envisagerait de mettre en œuvre son propre programme de conformité devrait tenir compte des trois facettes du sous-processus « appraising ». L'étude suggère notamment que toute entreprise qui songe à développer un programme de conformité doit avoir un souci particulier quant à l'identité éthique de l'entreprise. Ceci est attribuable au fait que l'employé va s'identifier au programme de conformité et va l'accepter pourvu qu'il juge que l'identité éthique de l'entreprise et l'identité éthique locale s'accordent. Les découvertes de la présente étude devraient intéresser tout le personnel chargé de l'élaboration et le soutien organisationnel d'un programme de conformité. Ce personnel doit comprendre qu'une mise en œuvre réussie d'un programme de conformité n'est pas seulement conditionnelle à une bonne planification et à une bonne exécution. Elle est aussi dépendante des trois facettes contenues dans le sous-processus « appraising », tout particulièrement l'identité éthique corporative.

Le monde des entreprises a connu par le phénomène du Big Data un bouleversement extraordinaire. Véritable Big Bang technologique, le Big Data a ouvert des perspectives formidables en matière de développement par le biais du traitement et de l’analyse des données qu’il génère. Dans l’absolu, le potentiel que contient le Big Data est un élément majeur en matière de compétitivité mais il apparait cependant aujourd’hui que la maîtrise de ce potentiel est fortement compromise ou freinée par une somme de problématiques liées à l’ampleur du phénomène ; les méthodologies traditionnelles s’essoufflent et se montrent de moins en moins performantes. Cette recherche propose d’apporter une contribution susceptible de faciliter le passage entre une analyse classique et une analyse novatrice en environnement Big Data. En suivant la méthodologie de la Science du Design, nous proposons de créer un artefact, sous forme de guide méthodologique, composé d’un ensemble de solutions de machine learning empruntées aux Data Science, mis à disposition des entreprises pour aider à l’accès, à la compréhension, à l’utilisation et à l’analyse des données massives
.The world of corporations was revolutionized under the impact of the Big Data phenomenon. Truly a technological Big Bang, Big Data opened many doors towards research and development because of the analysis and treatment it requires. Big Data has always been recognized with a highly competitive potential, however today it appears that there is trouble in controlling this potential. The reason is a number of problems arising linked to size of the revolution; traditional methods are starting to be obsolete and are less effective. This research aims at proposing a contribution to making the transition easier between a classical analysis and innovative analysis. Following the methodology of the Science of Design, we propose creating an artifact that takes form in a methodological guide. It will be composed of a set of machine learning solutions that take root in data science. They will be made available to companies to help the access, the comprehension, and the usage of Big Data

碩士
國立成功大學
製造工程研究所
87
Virtual enterprise has been considered as one of the most promising business strategies in the 21 Century owing to its capability to integrate resources from various enterprises to meet the rapid market changes. The implementation of virtual enterprise highly depends on the nature of business processes and involves technologies of management, reengineering and information. Due to the complexity, there is no commonly acceptable methodology for implementing virtual enterprise. Therefore, the goal of virtual enterprise is still far from reached. The objective of this research is to develop a methodology for business process virtualization to facilitate the implementation of virtual enterprise and thus help achieve the goal of virtual enterprise. To obtain the research goal, tasks conducted in this research include business process modeling, virtual enterprise analysis, process virtualization methodology development, system integration planning, and methodology verification. Since the key idea of virtual enterprise is enterprise integration, the proposed methodology includes the phases of process integration and system integration. In the phase of process integration, a process is first configured based on the characteristics of product to develop or to manufacture. The methods of dimensional analysis, matrix analysis and dynamic programming are then used to determine capable partners and build an initial “virtual process”. The initial virtual process is evaluated using PERT method based on the time. In the phase of system integration, a material flow model, a process control configuration, a system configuration, an information flow model, and a relational data model are created for system implementation according to the virtual process model.

This research addresses the following questions: how do successful professionals cultivate boundary-spanning relationships to develop professional goods; and what lessons can be drawn from their successes? This study uses grounded theory to interpret qualitative interview data from four expert networkers to help demonstrate how successful people in various industries build relationships — and what characteristics these successful networkers have in common. Using grounded theory, five key themes emerged: uncertainty reduction, ingratiation, reciprocity, mentoring relationships and the importance of follow-up. The study of networks has a well-developed body of surrounding literature; however, the current research does little to address how individual actors successfully build the relationships upon which networks are based. Therefore, this qualitative research into the characteristics shared by successful networkers is a positive contribution to the body of knowledge concerning social network theory — and will serve as a guide for those wishing to expand their personal and business networks.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
會計學研究所
91
Recently, many companies have experienced business problems and financial crisis. Why and how did they happen? Is business risk over expectation? Or management are ignorant the risk in running business? Who should take the responsibility for them and learn the lessons to keep it from happening again? What’s the recognition between enterprises and public accountants? How is an enterprise to review the problems and crisis to have continuous improvement? Public accountant - as an audit expert, what portion responsibility should take for the financial problem and crisis? To keep it from happening again, auditor can play as a role of expert to apply new methodology of auditing－「Risk-Based Audit」to support Enterprise to detect and prevent business risk from happening again and keep financial statements as expected through the auditing mechanism. The main objective of this thesis is to define the key business activities through Business Model analysis of the enterprise. To identify the possible business risks by way of understanding the industry-related information, business process and control the risks at certain level which is acceptable as financial forecast. This thesis takes an IDM company in Semiconductor industry to apply 「Risk-Based Audit」on business activities and risk management. We have some conclusions as below： 1. It helps accountant in an audit to understand the industry and enterprise - To change the audit process flow from single transaction to business risk oriented will help auditor to get more knowledge to evaluate the business result and financial performance. These process flow and methodology will reduce audit risk by anticipate bsuness problems. 2.「Risk-Based Audit」can bring value to enterprise： - The main purpose of applying new auditing methodology is to realize and control the key strategy objectives and business activities through understanding the related business activities, strategy and business process. Therefore auditor will bring more added-value to enterprise if the goal was achieved as expected. 3. The expected auditing quality will be better than traditional auditing methodology by using new auditing model－「Risk-Based Audit」： - Enterprise will not recognize it if accountant take audit using traditional audit way. For it will not bring added-value to enterprise by just sampling some transactions. The employees in enterprise think it was in vain totally. Enterprise will be more willing to support the audit activities if apply「Risk-Based Audit」. It will improve not only the internal control capability of enterprise but also the auditing quality to reach 「Win-Win」situation between Enterprise and Accountant.

Security is a complex issue for organisations, with its management now a fiduciary responsibility as well as a moral one. Organisational security, such as computer security, human security, access control, risk management etc.; is conducted in separate business units creating a silo effect. A cohesive and holistic approach is required to mitigate the risk of security breaches and parts of the business not monitored by any silo. Without a holistic robust structure, the assets of an organisation are at critical risk. Enterprise architecture (EA) is a strong and reliable structure that has been tested and used effectively for designing, building, and managing organisations globally for at least 30 years. Grouping security with EA promises to leverage the benefits of EA in the security domain. Through a review of existing security frameworks this work evaluates the extent to which they employ EA and determines there is a need for developing a comprehensive solution. This research designs, develops, evaluates and demonstrates a security EA framework for organisations regardless of their industry, budgetary constraints or size. The framework is developed from the Zachman framework 2013 Version 3.0 because it is the most complete, most referenced in our frameworks review, and historically the methodology that is chosen by others to base their frameworks on. The results support the need for a holistic security structure and indicate benefits including reduction of security gaps, improved security investment decisions, clear functional responsibilities and a complete security nomenclature and international security standard compliance among others. This research bridges the gap and changes the way we fundamentally view security in an organisation, from individual silo capabilities to a holistic security eco-system with highly interdependent primitive security models.
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Computer Science, 2021

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Since the mid 1990s, thousands of companies around the world have implemented Enterprise Systems (ES), which are considered to be the most important development in the corporate use of information technology. By providing computerized support to business processes spanning both the enterprise and the supply chain, these systems have become an indispensable tool utilized by organizations to accomplish and maintain efficient and effective operational performance. However, there are many cases in which ES implementation has failed in terms of the required time and budget, and more importantly, in terms of functionality and performance. One of the main causes of these failures is the misidentification and improper selection of business processes to be implemented into the ES, which are a crucial element of the system's implementation life cycle. In order to achieve effective implementation, a ‘necessary and sufficient’ set of business processes must be designed and implemented. Implementing an excessive set of business processes is costly; yet implementing an insufficient set is ruinous. The heuristic identification of the set of business processes, based on requirement elicitation, is flawed; there is no guarantee that all the necessary processes have been captured (Type I error), and/or that superfluous processes have been selected for implementation (Type II error). The existing implementation methods do not include a methodology to address this vital issue. This thesis aims to resolve this problem and to provide a methodology that will generate a necessary and sufficient set of business processes in a given organization, based on its specific characteristics, which will be used as a baseline for implementing an ES. A proper definition of the business processes and their associated properties is proposed and detailed. The properties are then used as parameters to generate the complete set of all the possible business processes in the organization; from this set, necessary and sufficient processes are selected. The methodology exposes the fundamental level of business processes, which are then used as a baseline for further phases in the implementation process. The proposed methodology has been tested through the analysis of companies that have implemented ES. In each of these cases, the identification of business processes utilizing the proposed methodology has proven to provide superior results to those obtained through all other implemented practices, producing a better approximation of their existing business processes.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Business.
The discourse on knowledge management (KM) has emerged relatively recently in the field of management. Organisational and strategic theories have been developed which seek to explain the existence, boundaries, structure, management and competitive advantage of organisations based on knowledge. These theories are consistent with one thread from the overall discourse which argues that the management of knowledge within an organisation is an important activity required for maintaining competitive advantage in a hypercompetitive external environment. Despite the extensive interest in this area, there is sti11limited agreement even about some of its fundamental principles. This plurality of perspectives is due to the diversity of disciplines, theories and objectives with which the area is enriched by both academics and practitioners alike. Many independent KM initiatives have also been proposed for managerial use under the KM umbrella. Such activities include meetings, mentoring schemes, training, job rotation, site visits, conferences and exhibitions, and internal and external collaborations. Many of these initiatives are relatively autonomous and independent concepts. Generally these concepts have been first identified in the practitioner literature and it is unclear where they fit within academic frameworks. In particular, the relationship between KM initiatives and important related academic concepts such as knowledge transfer, organisationalleaming, knowledge creation and innovation is not clear. This lack of agreement, clarity and cohesion in the KM discourse naturally suggests the following research problem: What is the relationship between KM initiatives, organisationalleaming, knowledge transfer, knowledge creation innovation? Taking an organisation and strategic management theory perspective, an exploratory framework for understanding and explaining KM is developed within this thesis. Theoretically, this framework draws together perspectives from the resource-based view of the firm, organisational learning and innovation literatures to propose that the two fundamental KM processes are knowledge transfer and creation. Knowledge transfer supports learning and the utilisation of available internal and external knowledge resources within an organisation. Through knowledge transfer and learning, new knowledge can be created and organisational innovation takes place. These two processes are then integrated into Whittington, Pettigrew et al.'s (1999) framework for organisational change. Various disparate KM initiatives are also positioned within the developed framework based on whether they facilitate knowledge transfer by altering organisational boundaries, processes or structures. The essence of the developed framework is represented pictorially by a research model. This research model depicts the framework's key concepts and the relationships between them. It also begins to represent some of the complex dimensionality inherent in the framework. The research model is explored empirically using data from the Business Longitudinal Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Responses from 3014 Australian businesses surveyed yearly from 1994 to 1998 are analysed using chi-squared and logistical regression statistical techniques. This sample consists of 1344 small and 1670 medium businesses across eleven industries. In empirically exploring the research model, some of the dimensionality of the framework is explored. However, the process also provides a confirmatory function by providing empirical support for many of the aspects of the framework. Statistical support was found for all elements of the research model. Odds ratios for the various KM initiatives examined ranged from 1.292 to 3.554. These results confirm the value of these initiatives for facilitating the transfer of knowledge. They also suggest that the dimensionality of these constructs represented in the model should be explored further. Of all the KM initiatives, research and development emerged as the most effective initiative for facilitating knowledge transfer and creation. This finding suggests that research and development should be the very first initiative considered by managers looking to implement a KM program. It also suggests that future research on knowledge transfer and creation should pay particular attention to this particular initiative. The logistical regression analysis demonstrated that changing organisational boundaries, processes and structures all contribute to facilitating knowledge transfer which lead to knowledge creation. These results provided support for the most important contribution of the thesis. This contribution was the development of an integrated and exploratory conceptual framework which can serve as a foundation stone for the field of KM.

Decision-making in the arts sector is sometimes seen as problematical as many of the 'primary' decisions are made away from the 'primary' creative practice. The criteria for decision-making may be perceived as based on organisational or financial need, rather than creative output or social need. It is my view that the perceptions need testing. To do this I needed a way of understanding how decisions are reached in a variety of different contexts within the arts and cultural sector. Most would concede that decision-making is not a precise science. My quest thus became finding an appropriate research methodology for these explorations. Action research emerged as a useful framework for adding understanding within dynamic situations. This thesis reports on the usefulness of participatory action research as a tool for the exploration of decision-making processes by a range of people working within the arts and cultural sectors. Incremental view research has attracted extensive research in recent years. View maintenance techniques have been developed for the relational model, the temporal model, the object-oriented model, and the semistructured model. However, research into view maintenance in the non relational model is not complete and, in particular, the issue of view maintenance in nested relational databases and in object- relational (OR) databases has not been investigated. this motivates our research in this thesis.
thesis (MBus(Arts,CulturalManagement))--University of South Australia, 2003.

碩士
國立雲林科技大學
工業工程與管理系
106
Products meet the demand in order to attract the consumer market, in the initial stage of product development to collect analysis of market-side feedback problems, inductive analysis of the product potential failure mode and design structure of defects, as the second generation of the design decision criteria for the development of the machine. This study explores the use of analytic hierarchy Process (AHP) and failure mode and Effect analysis (FMEA) to apply these two analytical methods to the case company to develop the next generation of commercial treadmill products, to analyze and collect customer feedback issues and the internal improvement changes in the project over the years, Establish a set of mechanisms to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of design decisions. To improve the product in the early development of design decision-making meetings, various departments have different views of the consideration and perseverance, can not successfully obtain consensus on decision-making, making the conference inefficient and delay the development of progress. By using a design method that can be evaluated, the application of integrated views can not only reduce the reducing the time spent in meetings but also effectively induce the design decision criteria to choose alternative solutions, as a reference for the design of a new generation of product development phase, so that products can be more in line with user expectations. Keywords：Analytic Hierarchy Process、Failure Modes and Effects Analysis、Commercial treadmills

In recent years we have witnessed growing interest in corporate environmental responsibility and the concept of sustainability amongst businesses globally. Regardless of the motivation, be it competitive advantage, social license to operate, share value (socially responsible investing), shareholder pressure, public pressure, employee retention, cutting operational costs, the escalation of corporate accountability, or even altruistic goals, this is a growing trend among business. This field is in its infancy and requires considerable leadership. This paper is a collection of multiple descriptive case studies focusing on how Canadian best in sectors in the mining, oil and gas, telecom, finance, hospitality, and retail industries are integrating corporate environmental responsibility into their corporate strategy. Many areas for further study have been identified.

This study endeavoured to uncover the trust experiences of individuals involved in business alliances between traditional companies (TCs) and historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs) with a view to constructing a model that would facilitate a better understanding of organisational trust within these institutions. The theoretical study proposed a theoretical model of trust in the alliances between TCs and HDIs within an economic empowerment domain. The empirical study employed Q methodology to investigate the trust experiences of the participants. The 25 individuals who participated in the study were selected by means of both non-probability purposive and snowball sampling The participants were presented with the Q sample containing 50 items which they had to sort in accordance with the instruction given. The post-Q sorting interview was conducted to give the participants a chance to expound on their reasoning for the sorting of the Q sample. Data were analysed using Pearson product-moment correlation and factor analysis. Six factors revealed participants’ experiences of trust in the alliances: Factor A (Sincerity trust alliances), Factor B (Values trust alliances), Factor C (Duped trust alliances), Factor D (Vigilant trust alliances), Factor E (Deceitful trust alliances) and Factor F (Inclination to trust alliances). The trust experiences of the six groups were used to theorise about the association between the participants’ trust experiences and their performance on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). In the main, the study found that groups that had pleasant trust experiences with their partner organisations exhibited have high positive affect (PA) and low negative affect (NA). Although exploratory in nature, the study contributed an empirically derived theoretical framework of cognitive and affective trust within business alliances that may be further investigated in future research endeavours. In this was it identified and proposed a modus operandi for closing the trust gap.
Industrial and Organisational Psychology
D. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
There are many advantages of mobile agent such as delegation of tasks, asynchronous processing, adaptable service in interfaces, and code shipping. Mobile agents can be utilized in many areas such as electronic commerce, information retrieval, network management, etc. The main problem with mobile agents is security. The three basic security design goals of a system are confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The goal of this thesis concerns the property of secure purchasing by mobile agents. First present Jalal's anonymous authentication protocol. Next, we construct our single mobile agent protocol based on Jalal's authentication technique. Also, we add some addition cryptography techniques to make the data more secure during its migration. Lastly, we build a multiple mobile agent protocol based on the single mobile agent protocol. Here, the multiple mobile agents are capable to make the decision and purchase the item for user.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
In 2008, grassroots NGOs formed 13 alliances in response to the need for emergency relief and post-disaster recovery after the Sichuan Earthquake that occurred in West China and killed approximately 87,000 people. These alliances served to raise and deliver relief materials, train and supervise volunteers, promote information sharing, and assist victims with mental health and livelihood recovery. However, all alliances were terminated within less than four years. Although plenty of scholarship discusses how corporate alliances evolve or fail, few studies focus on interorganizational collaboration among nonprofits. To explore how NGOs developed collective actions in China’s adverse sociopolitical environment, the author performed three years of observation in four coalitions and interviewed 60 alliance leaders, employees, and volunteers. This paper identifies four types of termination these NGO alliances experienced: three of them failed at their very births, five self-disbanded shortly after the end of emergency aid, three dissolved due to failed institutionalization, and the remaining two evolved into independent organizations. Tracking their life cycles, this study finds four main factors accountable for their terminations: political pressure, funding shortage, short-term orientation, and leadership failure. In particular, the repressive NGO regulation regime and limited funding sources fundamentally restricted all alliances’ capacity and sustainability. Further, the transient nature of disaster relief efforts and the conflict between disaster management and planned work areas contributed to the short-term orientation among alliance members and, thus, led to the closure of some alliances shortly after they provided emergency relief. In addition, though generally exempt from internal rivalry that often undermines inter-firm partnerships, NGO alliances of all types were confronted with leadership challenges—partner misfits concerning resources, strategy, and mission; flawed governing structures, and undesired individual leadership. The four factors interplayed and led to alliance dissolution through different combinations. The paper points out that, in addition to environmental uncertainty, leadership failure has become a major challenge for nonprofit collaborations.