Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Key Performance Indicators (KPI:er)'

Il seguente elaborato è la diretta conseguenza di un periodo di stage, pari a cinque mesi, svolto presso l’azienda INTERTABA S.p.A., a Zola Predosa (BO). Il Dipartimento presso cui è stato svolto il tirocinio è l’Engineering. In particolare è stata compiuta un’analisi dei KPIs presenti e sono state proposte delle azioni migliorative. Il lavoro si è sviluppato in tre fasi. Nella prima fase è stata fatta un’analisi dei KPIs attuali per ciascuna funzione appartenente all’Engineering: Engineering Support, Project Engineering, Plant & Utilities Maintenance, Technical Warehouse e General Services. Nella seconda fase sono state descritte, per ciascuna funzione, alcune proposte migliorative per i KPIs presenti. Infine, per alcune funzioni, sono state proposte alcune iniziative in merito all’implementazione di nuovi KPIs.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) play a vital role for organizations to measure project performance. The core objective of Key Performance Indicators is that not only organizations but also customers want their projects to be completed within the stipulated time and budget while maintaining the quality standards. Performance measurement is foundation for continual improvement. Subsequently, as a regular rule, benchmarking is the next step to improve contractors’ efficiency and effectiveness of products and processes. Camp (1989) introduced benchmarking concepts and defines it as “the continuous process of measuring products, industry leaders.” It is a problem to measure the performance of large projects such as construction and communication projects using predefined KPIs. Objective of this research is to find a framework to improve project performance through benchmarking of key performance indicators, to identify the suitable KPI prevailing in the construction industry of Kuwait and develop and calculate the KPIs to assess the performance of the construction projects and making recommendations to improve project performances of construction industry. For this study two Kuwaiti construction companies are selected i.e. Company AA and Company BB. Performance of their financial and non-financial data is analyzed. Primary data is collected through questionnaires and in performance of Company BB. Data also revealed that Company BB’s are having cost and time overrun. Organizations like Company BB have to investigate reasons of cost and time delays causing dissatisfaction. Decision of material selection and delivery time should be carefully taken. Organizations should improve its employment policies from selection to compensation, working conditions, motivations and availability of health and safety facilities; as satisfied customers can satisfy customers. Subsequently, Company BB management performance needs immense improvement at all levels and in all processes. Consideration of design quality indicators (DQI) as per requirement of stakeholders and bio-diversity impacts, it is impossible to satisfy the internal or external stakeholders of construction projects. This thesis contributes useful and new knowledge to the Kuwaiti construction industry. This study reveals the importance of significant KPIs needed for the growth of medium construction organizations through benchmarking the bigger organizations. The ultimate goal of this study is to highlight the importance of KPIs to access success of medium construction organizations. Although it is believed KPIs could be used for benchmarking of bigger size organizations.

The study examines the level of quantity and quality of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) reporting for a sample of FTSE 350 UK listed companies over the period (2006-2010). Furthermore, it identifies the determinants of KPIs reporting and investigates its impact upon firm value. Based upon the guidance of the best practice recommended by the Accounting Standard Board (2006), the study develops a measure of disclosure quality by considering the main qualitative attributes of information which, arguably, makes KPIs information more useful to stakeholders. The distinction between disclosure quantity and quality in the study enables the researcher to get greater insights into the drivers and implications of KPIs reporting quantity and quality. The study finds a variation between UK firms in the number of KPIs disclosed with a notable low level of reporting quality, especially for non-financial KPIs. It also finds that corporate governance mechanisms play an important role in improving KPIs reporting. In particular, it shows that directors’ compensations affect the quantity and quality of KPIs disclosure. Furthermore, the study provides evidence that quantity and quality of KPIs disclosure are not derived by the same factors, and both have different impacts on firm value. Whereas, the study finds a negative association between the numbers of KPIs disclosed and firm value, a non-significant relationship is reported between KPIs reporting quality and firm valuation. Overall, this study provides evidence that disclosure quantity is not a good proxy for disclosure quality.

The construction and real estate industry are project-oriented where companies success depends on individual projects performance. To determine the efficiency of operations, performance can be measured through key performance indicators (KPIs), which are metrics used to analyze, measure and compare a company’s performance. Project-oriented businesses face challenges implementing successful projects and the industry is affected by cost and time overruns, lack of quality and unmet customer requirements, which can be linked to inefficient project management and inadequate follow-up. Furthermore, companies in the industry find it difficult to identify suitable KPIs that best show changes in performance and result as well as KPIs that are linked to strategic business goals and projects. The purpose of the study was to investigate how KPIs are used in the construction and real estate industry and how management of KPIs can be developed to carry out successful projects. In order to fulfill the purpose, a case study was conducted. Initially, a literature study was performed to gain knowledge of the problem area. The data collection was qualitative where a document analysis, observations, interviews and a focus group were conducted. This resulted in an understanding of the case study company´s project operations and KPIs. The study´s method of analysis consisted of a thematic analysis and comparative study. The result indicates the importance of a long-term perspective where successful projects involve work from an early stage, which includes resource allocation and project processes where subsequent project management must include efficient communication and sharing of knowledge as well as collaboration among departments and participants. During the project process there should be an exchange of experience and knowledge in order to avoid that mistakes are repeated and to enable organizational learning. The analysis showed that there are opportunities within the case company to improve a number of factors and the current follow-up of KPIs as well as how the business’s KPIs relate to strategic business goals and success factors. There is a link between success factors, KPIs and challenges within the industry. An understanding of success factors is important in order to design KPIs that align with strategic company goals and individual projects. The result may be of interest to other project-oriented businesses and industries where increased understanding can result in efficient processes and increased motivation regarding the project process and follow up, which can result in successful projects.

In todays connected society, with rapidly advancing technology, there is an interest in offering technical services in our day to day life. Since these services are used to handle sensitive information and money, there are demands for increased information security. Sometimes errors occur in these systems that risk the security for both parties. These systems should be secured to maintain secure operations even though vulnerabilities occur. Outpost24 is one company that specializes in vulnerability management. By using their scanning tool OUTSCAN™, Outpost24 can identify vulnerabilities in network components, such as firewalls, switches, printers, devices, servers, workstations and other computer systems. These results are then stored in a database. Within this study, the authors will work together with Outpost24 towards this data. The goal is to define a process for generation of vulnerability reports for the company. The process will perform a statistical analysis of the data and present the findings. To solve the task a report was created, during which the process was documented. The work began with a background study into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), in which the most common security KPIs were identified from similar works. A tool was also developed to help with the analysis. This resulted in a statistical analysis using Outpost24’s dataset. By presenting the data formatted by the KPIs, trends could be identified. This showed an overall trend of increasing vulnerabilities and the necessity for organizations to spend resources towards security. The KPIs offer other possibilities, such as creating a baseline for security evaluation using data from one year. In the future, one could use the KPIs to compare how the security situation has changed.

The purpose of this exploratory research was to explore the effect of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on State Owned Enterprises’ performance in South Africa. The aim of the study was to establish the impact that KPIs have on state owned enterprises, how they are currently measured and the causes of success or failure of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on State Owned Companies.Fifteen respondents participated in this qualitative study. The survey method used was a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. The respondents were all Senior Executives including Chief Executive Officers, General Managers, Board Members and Senior Management employed by State Owned Enterprises reporting to the Department of Public Enterprises, Department of Transport and Department of Water Affairs. The research instrument that was used was a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
unrestricted

Safety is the main concern of the aviation industry. All Air Navigation Service Providers must have a Safety Management System (SMS) which states how safety is handled, promoted and prioritized. By developing Key Performance indicators (KPIs), it is possible to quantify the effectiveness of a SMS, discover potential flaws and improvement measures. This thesis identifies principles behind the SMS, the development of KPIs and suggest potential KPIs for the Swedish air navigation service provider LFVs’ SMS. A literature study was performed and organisation specific documents were analysed to develop potential KPIs within the areas timely compliance with international obligations, competency and adoption and sharing of best practices based on an EASA questionnaire. This work presents a set of 27 performance indicators and recommends 6 as potential KPIs for the three areas together. The KPIs are developed specifically for LFV but could be applicable for other organisations with similar SMS structure and processes. They should be analysed within the organisation and, potentially, have thresholds set before implementation.

This diploma thesis deals with the problem of automatic alerting on Microsoft SQL Server 2008 platform. Thesis was elaborated with Clever Decision s.r.o. company which significantly contributed to thesis assignment. Main goal of this thesis is to provide a solution concept for absence of alerting for multidimensional data in Microsoft's product. Alerting is aimed at critical business data -- Key performance indicators - KPIs. KPIs are used to deliver enhanced business performance through Corporate Performance Management concept. These indicators need to be watched frequently. Considering that alerting solution is convenient for watching the data. Solution concept is based on market research of Business Intelligence (BI) platforms which dominates the market. Platforms are examined for their alerting capabilities. Next goal is to provide overall insight to KPI management -- creating, managing, analyzing and monitoring of KPIs. Thesis is divided into three sections. First part creates theoretical background for solution creation and describes the field of KPI management. Second part consists of market research using selected criteria. Third part is aimed at providing the solution concept through web application fixing the absence of alerting on Microsoft SQL Server 2008 platform. This thesis is primarily intended for Clever Decision company but also for various BI experts dealing with alerting problems on BI platforms. Thesis serves also as a theoretical summary of KPI management which is commonly evaded by available technical literature.

Title: Key Performance Indicators - Refine, adjust or remove Level: Final assignment for bachelor's degree in business administration. Author: Isabelle Nilsson and Maria Bäckström  Supervisor: Niklas Bomark Date: Autumn - 20  Aim: The aim of this study is to seek understanding of how the change process of KPIs works and whether information asymmetry and conflicts of interest can arise in the interaction between managers and group leaders in process. Method: The study is based on a qualitative research design and an interpretive hermeneutic research methodology. The empirics are collected through semi-structured interviews with managers and group leaders in a fintech company. A total of 4 managers and 5 team leaders have contributed to the content of the empirics. Secondary data have been collected from previous scientific research. The analysis is structured according to themes that have been compiled based on our research questions as well as collected data from previous research and empirics. Result & Contribution of the thesis: We have come to the conclusion that the process of changing KPIs goes through four different phases; 1. Problems are identified, 2. Measures are taken, 3. Delegation and 4. Evaluation. In connection with this, we have seen that conflicts of interest and/or information asymmetry can arise between managers and group leaders, which should be taken into account in the change process. The study has also found that conflicts of interest may in themselves cause a need to change KPIs. Suggestion for future research: - A longitudinal study could contribute to a deeper understanding of the changing process, by looking at the phenomenon for a longer time and doing repeated analyzes to detect any deviations or patterns. - The possibilities of the study could be broadened by not only measuring the end goal but also the ongoing process in sales, and for example look at factors such as customer satisfaction, returning customers or customer recommendations and references.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify and develop relevant keyperformance indicators within the warehouse operations in amanufacturing company, and how they can be used for control. Research question: In a manufacturing company, which are the most important KPIs forcontrolling and monitoring the warehouse operations, and how can thoseKPIs be developed?Methodology: This master thesis is based on a case study at a pharmaceutical companynamed Fresenius Kabi. A qualitative approach has been used whereprimary data was collected through 10 structured & semi structuredinterviews and through observations in the warehouses to understand thecurrent state. Secondary data was used in form of academic papers to seewhat previous research had to say about KPIs and operation & processmanagement. Internal documents were also used as a secondary source. Findings: Two key performance indicators have been developed, productivity andcost efficiency. A template has been designed to produce the KPIs. Thisstudy contributes to the understanding of how to develop KPIs that fits amanufacturing company´s warehouse operations and a recommendation onhow you could develop a system for producing the data.

This study was developed during the Swedish spring semester of 2013 for the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration of the now graduates Rafael Moser and Thor-Björn Käck. The students, authors of this research, were selected by ABB Sweden for a research internship on the field of Employer Branding (EB). Employer Branding (EB) is an increasingly popular practice within multinationals. It is applied to develop in the minds of current and potential employees, brand associations related to the organization as an employer. The research problem identified by the authors relates to the lack of reliable measurement of the employer branding process. Therefore, this study consisted of creating a set of indicators or measures of the process’ performance. To do so, the authors relied on theoretical support as well as consistent feedback from Joakim Forsberg, employer branding manager at ABB Sweden. A conceptual model of the employer branding process was developed and internal measures, or Key Performance Indicators (KPI), were placed in the context of the three stage model. The KPI’s were proposed as a solution for the lack of internal measurement of the EB process, and were developed based on the objectives of each stage of the process as well as in Human Resources and Marketing theory. Once the model was developed to the point where internal measures could be incorporated into the EB process, an empirical study was executed and respondents were asked to scrutinize the applicability of the proposed solution in current business environment as well as the applicability of certain KPI’s. Among different findings, results from the empirical study point to a variety of issues that currently inhibit the development of employer branding and consequently its measurement i.e. lack of managerial autonomy, poor integration and communication among departments, misguided resource allocation within EB, etc. Nevertheless, as the experts and professionals interviewed in this research point out, solving the problem discussed in this research with the solution proposed is considered to be the future of employer branding.

This thesis is concerned with a discussion of advantages, disadvantages and potencial areas of usage of the Economic Value Added (EVA) as a measure of value based management. The coherency of EVA with key performance indicators as a tool of effective management is also analysed. Mentioned are also several alternative concepts. This thesis further analyses practical application of key performance indicators in mobile telecommunication company T-Mobile and evaluates the implemented concept of EVA as a central component of value based management.

The recent performance of Cape Gate Sharon does not measure up to expectations. This is, to a significant extent, due to the fact that there is no effective measurement and follow-up of performance. The implementation of an effective KPI- based, performance evaluation system, within a balanced scorecard structure, should lead to material performance enhancement in Cape Gate Sharon. This, however, requires significant investment in both capital, as well as management involvement. As a pilot study, it is therefore beneficial to focus initially on the before-and-after-effects of the implementation of the KPI-based performance management within Cape Gate Sharon Wire Mills division. The primary objective of this research is to determine the effectiveness of Key Performance Indicators in the product factories of Cape Gate. The specific supportive objectives of this research are the following. • To determine if effective KPI’s are measured • To determine if the implementation of KPI’s have been done successfully • To determine what the effect of specific KPI measurement in Cape Gate is. The literature study identifies what performance measurement and management is, as well as an in-depth study into key performance indicators. A simple, logical and repeatable closed loop model within a framework is suggested for the implementation of a KPI system. For the purpose of this mini-dissertation, the research is carried out through a process of a document analysis and a data analysis. Available reports are used to determine the current performance measurement system, to determine if effective KPI’s were chosen and to determine if the implementation was done successfully. Descriptive statistics were then used to analyse actual production data in order to determine the effect that KPI’s have on production. The results of each supporting objective were used to determine the effectiveness of key performance indicators in the product factories of Cape Gate. It is concluded that an effective set of KPI’s were chosen for Cape Gate product factories, with the exception of absenteeism. The closed-loop model was implemented successfully and all the required steps were taken. The effect of KPI’s was apparent on production, utilisation and downtimes. There is insufficient evidence that an improvement was made on absenteeism and the scrap percentage. This can be contributed to infrequent and delayed measurement of the two KPI’s, and the fact that absenteeism is not part of level 2 of the KPI framework.
Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

Mestrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial
O presente relatório descreve um projeto que teve como principal objetivo a redução do valor de um Key Performance Indicator (KPI) que avalia e compara o desempenho de linhas de montagem na indústria automóvel. Nesse sentido, recorreu-se ao Lean Thinking e a algumas das suas ferramentas para eliminar desperdícios e melhorar a forma como as atividades de valor acrescentado são feitas, com especial foco nos abastecimentos logísticos das linhas montagem. A recolha de dados que permitiu identificar processos sem valor acrescentado foi uma etapa crucial para o desenvolvimento da estratégia de melhoria a implementar, que culminou com a eliminação das grandes embalagens nas linhas e a automatização do abastecimento das linhas com a utilização de Automated Guided Vehicles. As alterações propostas pelo projeto resultaram em melhorias que se encontram devidamente demonstradas e fundamentadas, tendo acabado por ter um impacto direto positivo no KPI.
This report explains the development of a project that had, as its main goal, the reduction of the value of a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) that is used to evaluate and compare the performance of assembly lines in the automotive industry. In this context, Lean Thinking and some of its tools were used to eliminate waste and improve the way value added tasks are done, with a special focus on the assembly lines logistics supply system. Data collection, in order to identify non-value added processes, was a crucial step for the development of the improvement strategies that were implemented and that, ultimately, led to the withdrawal from the assembly lines of large packages and to the automation of supply to the assembly lines through the use of Automated Guided Vehicles. The changes proposed by this project resulted in improvements that are duly demonstrated and justified, and had a direct positive impact on the KPI.

Idag redovisar många företag nyckeltal i deras årsredovisning för att tillgodose årsredovisningslagens krav på rättvisande bild. I Sverige tillhör 97 procent av dessa företag småföretag, som inte är undantaget för kravet när de är aktiebolag. Därför syftar denna studie att undersöka skapandet och användandet av nyckeltal i småföretag för att ta reda på vilka nyckeltal de använder, hur och varför de använder dem nyckeltalen, och deras tankar om detta verktyg. En kvalitativ metod med deduktiv tillvägagångssätt har använts i denna studie. Empirin samlades från ägarna av fem småföretag som befinner sig i Västra Götaland i Sverige genom en semi-strukturerad intervju. Företagen som har undersökts är aktiebolag med max 49 anställda. Olika källor har använts för att få mer information om företagen och årsredovisning. Resultatet visar att småföretagare använder nyckeltal. De använder nyckeltal som redan finns i deras årsredovisning. Trots kunskapsbristen om detta verktyg bland småföretagare, finns det företag som har skapat egna nyckeltal, dvs. direkta nyckeltal, och använder dem regelbundet i verksamheten. Det visar också att inte alla småföretag använder nyckeltal som underlag för mål och strategier eller för att implementera en strategi. Det är för att de kan generera en strategi även utan att använda detta verktyg men ändå lyckas med målet. Som de säger, finns det andra framgångsfaktorer. Kunskap spelar inte så stor roll hos småföretagare då det finns redovisningskonsulter som hjälper dem med att ha koll på deras ekonomi och därmed få kontroll på finansiella situationer. För att göra resultatet generaliserbart, kan man göra en utökad studie med fler företag och intervjuer, eller att komplettera denna studie med en kvantitativ metod. Det kan också vara en fördel att intervjua småföretag med deras redovisningsbyrå för att få båda perspektiv om ämnet då inte alla småföretagare har kunskaper om ämnet. Uppsatsen är skriven på svenska.
To comply with the requirement of the accounting on fair reporting, many companies today are including financial key ratios and/or key performance indicators on their annual reports. In Sweden, 97 percent of these businesses are small companies. These companies as long as they are incorporated are not an exemption. Therefore, this research paper aims to explore the creation and use of financial key ratios and/or key performance indicators in small incorporated companies to find out what financial key ratios and/or performance indicators they are using, how and why they are using them, and what they think of this tool. In this study, a qualitative method with a deductive approach has been used. The empiricism was gathered from the owners of five small companies located in Västra Götaland of Sweden through a semi-structured interview. All participating companies are incorporated with maximum of 49 workers. Other resources have also been used to get more information about the companies and their financial reports. The result shows that all participating companies are using financial key ratios and/or key performance indicators. They are using financial key ratios and/or key performance indicators that they have in their financial reports. Despite the lack of knowledge about this tool among small business owners, some companies have created their own key performance indicators and use them on a regular basis. It even shows that not all small companies are using financial key ratios and/or key performance indicators as a fundament for goals and strategies or to implement a strategy. This is because; small businesses can generate a strategy even without using this tool and still succeed with their goals. As they said, there are other factors that they consider have contributed to their success. In terms of knowledge, it really doesn’t matter that much because there are accounting firms that are helping business owners in managing their economy and gaining control on their financial situations. For the result to be generalized, it is recommended to make an extended study of more companies and interviews, or complete this study with a quantitative method. It may also be an advantage to interview small companies with their accounting firms to get both perspectives on the subject since not all small business owners have knowledge about the subject. This research paper is written in Swedish.

The field of humanitarian logistics and supply chain management is increasingly the subject of research. Even though there has been some research in the field in the past, the necessity for more research related to the measurement of the effectiveness of humanitarian supply chains is required. Humanitarian supply chain management deals not only with natural disasters but also with man-made disasters. Thus, different types of disasters create different challenges for humanitarian aid. Moreover, the different stages of the disasters require different courses of action. The lack of extended research in the field of humanitarian supply chain and logistics, the increase of the impact of disasters as well as the differences between the commercial and the humanitarian supply chains, make it clear that the sector should find ways to improve its efficiency. Tools and metrics can be used to measure and improve the efficiency of the supply chains. According to literature there are no sophisticated measures of effectiveness for humanitarian logi stics and supply chains. The purpose of this thesis is to identify the main challenges in humanitarian supply chains and what is the role of performance measurements in humanitarian operations. Moreover, the thesis aims to identify an appropriate model for measuring and thus, enhancing performance in the humanitarian supply chains. The research strategy chosen for this study is a holistic multiple case study. The empirical data is collected through interviews. For this research in total 3 organisations’ representatives and 2 volunteers were interviewed. The collected data have been analysed by combining theories and previous studies in the literature. The main findings from analysing the empirical data revealed that, depending on the disaster phase, humanitarian organisations face different challenges in their supply chains. By implementing appropriate performance measurements, the humanitarian organisations can limit the impact of the challenges in the supply chain operations, gain more relevant and precise information regarding the humanitarian operations, and enhance supply chain coordination among different stakeholders. As an outcome, by implementing appropriate performance measurement systems, the humanitarian organisations can overcome some of these challenges in their supply chains, and therefore enhance the overall supply chain performance.

AB Smådelar är ett företag som tar hållbarhet på allvar. Man har nyligenpresenterat sin första hållbarhetsredovisning och vill inför framtiden förbättra sig ytterligare avseende logistiken mot underleverantörerna. Då det finns ett fokus på hållbarhet vill AB Smådelar inte att de logistiska förbättringarna ska påverka Triple bottom line negativt, varför en modell har konstruerats för att kunna testa förbättringsförslagens inverkan före implementering.Studien är kvalitativ med abduktiv ansats och har utgångspunkt i semistrukturerade intervjuer. Syftet är att göra en nulägesanalys för att hitta förbättringsområden och föreslå åtgärder som kan effektivisera logistiken med samtidig positiv effekt på både ekonomisk, miljömässigoch social hållbarhet. Syftet är också att ta fram en enkel matrismodell för att strukturera och testa de planerade logistiska förändringarnas effekt över hela Triple bottom line.Utifrån nulägesbeskrivningen har grundläggande strategi för logistiskt arbete avhandlats, liksom Paretos princip, totalkostnadsmodellen, komplexiteter och balanced scorecard. Detta inom ramen för den ekonomiska hållbarheten. Vidare har även den sociala och miljömässiga hållbarheten avhandlats för att skapa en komplett bild över hela Triple bottom line.Resultatet av mina undersökningar visar att AB Smådelar har fördel av attbörja räkna på de totala logistikkostnaderna. De bör också inleda strategiska förändringar med inventering av leverantörer, kunder och produkter. Detta ska leda till effektivare lagerstyrning och planering av transporterna mellan AB Smådelar och underleverantörerna, vilket ska följas upp med nyckeltal, gärna i ett balanced scorecard där de drivande processerna mäts och inte bara utfallen. Det kommer även att leda till ett förbättrat resultat över triple bottom line.
AB Smådelar is a company with a strong focus on sustainability andrecently they presented their first sustainability report. The company now wishes to further improve their logistics without jeopardizing the Triple Bottom Line results.The study is qualitative and based on semi structured interviews. The purpose is to do a current state analysis to visualize improvement areas and to propose actions to get a more effective supply chain. A second purpose is to create an easy to use model to evaluate the planned logistical improvements for the effects on the Triple Bottom Line.Based on the current state analysis of the company different fundamentaltheories have been discussed as for example the Pareto principle, the total cost model, complexities and the balanced scorecard this within the frame of economical sustainability. In order to create a complete picture of thetriple bottom line also the social and environmental sustainability have been discussed.The conclusion of this study shows that AB Smådelar should start calculating their total logistics costs. Another action that is proposed is classification of suppliers, customers and products. Based on the classification improvements in inventory control and transports can be calculated, and be measured by Key Performance Indicators (KPI), preferably with the context of the balanced scorecard philosophy wherefocus is on the underlying process. This will eventually lead to an overall improvement of AB Smådelars Triple bottom line.

Controllare le attività produttive e i processi aziendali è un elemento di vitale importanza strategica. La possibilità di monitorare e studiare l’efficienza dello stabilimento è un valore aggiunto che consente non solo di identificare eventuali “colli di bottiglia” e correggerli, ma di supportare con estrema coerenza il Management Team nel processo di decision making. A partire dall’approvvigionamento dei materiali fino ad arrivare allo studio dei prodotti finiti, l’intera supply chain ricopre un ruolo fondamentale in questo progetto, con l’obiettivo di identificare attività e valori standard di produzione soprattutto in termini di costi diretti. La ridefinizione del processo per il controllo dei costi e la creazione di un modello per la determinazione delle varianze tra costi standard e consuntivi rappresentano il filo conduttore di questo lavoro. Attraverso la definizione di standard, viene posto l’obiettivo di determinare e analizzare gli scostamenti che si creano rispetto a tale valore target. L’innovatività di tale progetto si colloca nel riuscire a conciliare il mondo Finance con il mondo della produzione, con lo scopo di provare a giustificare una possibile correlazione tra i costi diretti e l’efficienza produttiva.

The balanced scorecard (BSC) is an accepted methodology for putting strategy into action. The BSC provides a comprehensive performance measurement for an organization with respect to both financial and non-financial perspectives, including the triple bottom line of planet, people, and profit. Through various implementations to companies, organizations, and sectors, balanced scorecards have been used widely both for strategic purposes, as well as for more tactical focus for auditing current performance. BSC implementation is particularly adequate when integrated with the operational processes of the organization. The integration between the strategic plan and the financial and operational plans proceed via the business process model that covers the operational processes associated with the objectives of the organization in the strategy map. In this way, BSC is a tool for real-time monitoring of performance as well as providing the crucial linkage to the organization’s strategy that enables the proper implementation of the organization’s strategy. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been widely applied for measuring the efficiency of a specific decision-making unit (DMU) against a projected point on an efficiency frontier. DEA is therefore particularly suitable for measuring the organizational efficiency based on the BSC indicators, which are defined as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). In the commercial fisheries sector, sustainable strategy of fisheries organizations can be gained by running the current operations more effectively, and by integrating processes enabling adaptation to change. The efficiency frontier of the DEA model can be used to calculate the efficiency of fisheries operations. The proposed research is undertaken as part of the Canadian Fisheries Research Network (CFRN) to investigate the application of BSC and DEA for defining commercial fisheries performance evaluation variables with respect to the objectives of environmental sustainability, economic viability, and social and cultural stability in compliance with, and in the absence of, performance monitoring alleged in the Fisheries and Oceans, Canada Integrated Fisheries Management Plans (IFMP). The combination of BSC-DEA methodologies is developed in this research as a required performance monitoring system suitable for IFMPs for analyzing the relative efficiency of commercial fisheries case studies across Canada towards incorporating best sustainable practices in the industry.

Performance Measurement is necessary in order to support the implementation of a Continuous Improvement approach within a company. Performance Measurement has been a subject of increasing interest for researchers and practitioners. The questions addressed in the literature especially evolved from “what” to measure to “how” to measure. The present thesis follows this evolution by exploring how companies can successfully implement Performance Measurement. The thesis follows a parallel research design including a literature review and a case study. From one side, a literature review aims at explaining the main theories behind Performance Measurement, such as the concept of Performance Measurement System, as well as giving some recommendation for its implementation. On the other side, an empirical case study, conducted in a construction industry company, presents a practical implementation of Performance Measurement including some of the indicators dashboards built in several factories and departments of the company. The results of this case study are also supported by several interviews conducted at different steps of the implementation with the different actors involved. Then a theoretical verification is conducted by comparing the theory from the literature review with the empirical results from the case study. It especially allows to verify some recommendations as well as to identify a few gaps. The results of this study can be seen as a set of verified recommendations in order to successfully implement Performance Measurement within a company. These recommendations come from the comparison between theory and practice and they are divided in three main parts: the Key Performance Indicators identification, the Performance Measurement System design, and the practical implementation of Performance Measurement. Regarding this last part, five key success factors (e.g. perceived benefits of performance measurement, top management commitment) and five barriers (e.g. time and effort required, human behaviour) have been verified. Moreover, some Performance Measurement issues are discussed, such as the reduction of the complexity, the potential gaps between local approaches and global consistency, as well as the concept of organisational learning. Finally, the thesis identifies three kinds of trade-offs (e.g. accuracy of the data and cost of collection) that need to be considered when implementing Performance Measurement.

Detta arbete inom prestationsmätning av effektiv logistik är utfört på Scanias produktionsenhet MB i Oskarshamn. Denna produktionsenhet tillverkar hytterna till Scanias lastbilar på europamarknaden, från plåtrulle till färdigmålad hyttkaross. Produktionsenheten MB består av en pressverkstad, en karossverkstad och ett måleri.

Uppgiften i detta arbete är att utveckla ett antal mätetal för prestationsmätning av MB:s internlogistik, och utifrån dessa ge förslag på förbättringsmöjligheter i verksamheten.

Uppgiften löses genom att använda Bourne och Neelys metoder för utveckling av mätetal, så som en framgångskarta för den kritiska framgångsfaktorn effektiv logistik och utformandet av ett definitionsblad, vilket explicit definierar varje mätetal. Detta tillsammans med Parmenters definitioner angående mätetal och arbetssätt vad det gäller prestationsmätning, avser att spegla moderna tillvägagångssätt för prestationsmätning och för implementering av dessa i ett företag.

De mätetal som rekommenderas för implementering i MB:s logistiska verksamhet är trucktimmar per hytt, leveranspålitlighet, lageryta, energianvändning per hytt för transporter och materialhanteringskostnad per hytt. Flera förbättringsförslag rekommenderas också vad det gäller den förbättringspotential som finns vid införandet av en gemensam materialhanteringsfunktion på MB. Vidare ges också förslag på system- och rutinförändringar som kan genomföras för att ge mer tillförlitlig information för prestationsmätning och skapa mer effektiv logistik.

This master thesis within performance measurement of logistic efficiency is carried out at the Scania production unit MB in the city of Oskarshamn. This production unit manufactures the cab body to heavy trucks for the European market, from metal coil to painted cab body. The production unit consists of one press shop, one body shop and one paint shop.

The mission of the thesis is to develop a few Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for performance measurement of MB’s logistics and with these KPIs as a base, point out potential improvements at the production unit.

The task was fulfilled through the use of Bourne and Neely’s methods for developing KPIs, such as a success map based on the critical success factor, efficient logistics combined with their record sheet for developing and defining each KPI. This together with Parameter’s definition regarding KPIs and guidelines for performance measurement should present a modern approach of how to implement performance measurement in a company.

The KPIs which is recommended for implementation in MB’s logistic operations is forklift hours per cab, delivery reliability, storage area, energy consumption by transports per cab and material handling costs per cab. Several improvements are suggested when it comes to the benefits of a common material handling organization which serves all MB operations. Also suggestions are made regarding the information system and routine changes which aim to give more reliable information for performance measurements and as a mean to create more efficient logistics.

This diploma thesis focuses on Managerial Accounting and its tools and techniques. The main part of it would serve to review whether theoretical principles of Managerial Accounting are efficiently implemented and whether Key Performance Indicators are properly set to fulfil their essential functions to measure, motivate and manage achievement of performance goals. It further investigates Responsibility Accounting, Performance Management and how they influence and impact the reward system and the motivation of employees. This thesis would provide a general overview related to modern techniques such as Management Control Systems, which are nowadays popularly used to coordinate development of human resources, their motivation, assessment and other factors influencing performance. The practical part of this thesis includes analysis of the remuneration system in concrete company, namely Philip Morris ČR a.s. The last chapter also summarizes strengths and weaknesses of the current system and suggests improvements to influence performance and employees motivation more positively and how to prosper from the application of Managerial Accounting tools.

Organizations use Business Intelligence (BI) systems to monitor how well they are meeting their goals and objectives. Yet, very often BI systems do not include clear models of the organization’s goals or of how to measure whether they are satisfied or not. Several researchers now attempt to integrate goal models into BI systems, but there are still major challenges related to how to get access to the BI data to populate the part of the goal model (often indicators) used to assess goal satisfaction. This thesis explores a new approach to integrate BI systems with goal models. In particular, it explores the integration of IBM Cognos Business Intelligence, a leading BI tool, with an Eclipse-based goal modeling tool named jUCMNav. jUCMNav is an open source graphical editor for the User Requirements Notation (URN), which includes the Use Case Map notation for scenarios and processes and the Goal-oriented Requirement Language for business objectives. URN was recently extended with the concept of Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to enable performance assessment and monitoring of business processes. In jUCMNav, KPIs are currently calculated or modified manually. The new integration proposed in this thesis maps these KPIs to report elements that are generated automatically by Cognos based on the model defined in jUCMNav at runtime, with minimum effort. We are using IBM Cognos Mashup Service, which includes web services that enable the retrieval of report elements at the most granular level. This transformation provides managers and analysts with useful goal-oriented and process-oriented monitoring views fed by just-in-time BI information. This new solution also automates retrieving data from Cognos servers, which helps reducing the high costs usually caused by the amount of manual work required otherwise. The novel approach presented in this thesis avoids manual report generation and minimizes any contract with respect to the location of manually created reports, hence leading to better usability and performance. The approach and its tool support are illustrated with an ongoing example, validated with a case study, and verified through testing.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att öka förståelsen för vilka yttre faktorer som är av betydelse för personalengagemang och hur dessa är av betydelse för personalengagemang enligt mellanchefer på medelstora till stora organisationer. Metod: Metodvalet för studien utgår från ett kvalitativt, socialkonstruktionistiska perspektiv med tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med mellanchefer på medelstora till stora organisationer. Det empiriska materialet har analyserats utifrån fyra olika teman för att sedan ställa de empiriska utfallen mot tidigare forskning för att på så vis öka förståelsen för vilka yttre faktorer som påverkar personalens grundläggande mänskliga behov som i sin tur är av betydelse för personalengagemang.  Bidrag: Personalengagemang är resultatet av en kedjereaktion i tre steg. Där yttre faktorer behöver tillfredsställa personalens grundläggande mänskliga behov som i sin tur är av betydelse för olika inre sinnestillstånd hos personalen.Det teoretiska bidraget lyfter fram att personalens grundläggande mänskliga behov samt de tre yttre faktorerna återhämtning, ledarskap och kommunikation är av betydelse för personalengagemang. Studien kom även fram till att ytterligare två yttre faktorer, tillit och frihet under eget ansvar, kan vara av betydelse för personalengagemang. Det praktiska bidraget består i att förse beslutsfattare inom organisationer med praktiska teorier för att bättre förstå och arbeta med personalengagemang.  Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vi rekommenderar att framtida forskning utför validerande tester om de tre yttre faktorerna återhämtning, ledarskap och kommunikation utgör träffsäkra och pålitliga faktorer som är av betydelse för personalengagemang. Vi anser att det vore av intresse att vidare undersöka om de två yttre faktorerna tillit och frihet under eget ansvar har någon inverkan i att bibehålla fullt personalengagemang och om det kan finnas ett samband mellan dem och behovet av självförverkligande från Maslows (1943) behovstrappa.
Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of which factors that are of importance for employee engagement and how they are of importance for employee engagement according to middle managers in medium-sized to large organizations.  Method: The choice of method for this thesis is based on a qualitative, social-constructive perspective based on ten semi-structured interviews with middle managers in medium-sized to large organizations. The empirical material has been analyzed on the basis of four different themes, where the empirical outcomes were compared to previous research in order to increase understanding of which external factors affect employee’s Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to then affect employee engagement. Contributions: Employee engagement seems to be the result of a three-step chain reaction. Where external factors need to satisfy the basic human needs of the employees, which in turn is of importance for different inner state of mind within the employees. The theoretical contribution emphasizes that employee’s basic human needs as well as the three external factors of recovery, leadership and communication are of importance for employee engagement. The study also concluded that two additional external factors, trust and freedom under one's own responsibility, may be of importance for employee engagement. The practical contribution consists in providing decision-makers within organizations with practical theories to better understand and work with employee engagement. Suggestions for future research: We recommend future researchers to conduct validating tests to affirm if the three external factors recovery, leadership and communication constitute accurate and reliable performance indicators of employee engagement. We believe it to be of interest to further investigate whether the two external factors trust and freedom to act under one’s own supervision have any correlation with maintaining a full level of employee engagement, and whether there exists a causality between them and the need of self-realization from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

I en hårdnande marknad för tillverkande industrier krävs det att förbättringar och effektiviseringar av produktionen hela tiden prioriteras, det gäller även Scanias växellådstillverkning. I takt med att antalet växellådsvarianter ökar, ökar utmaningarna kopplat till styrning och planering av produktion. Denna studie syftar till att ta fram ett förslag på det bästa sättet att styra produktionsflödet genom testningen av växellådor i de testriggar som finns samt att ge ett förslag på hur uppföljningen av produktionen ska gå till. Syftet mynnade ut i en teoretisk och en praktisk frågeställning. Den teoretiska frågeställningen behandlar sekvenseringen, vilka mätetal som ska användas i produktionen och hur de ska presenteras samt om takttid eller cykeltid ska användas som styrningsmetod vid testriggarna. Den praktiska formuleringen behandlade de praktiska hinder som uppstår vid de existerande systemen på grund av de nya förslagen. Studien avgränsade sig från implementering av förslagen. För att uppfylla syftet och besvara frågeställningarna skapades två simuleringsprogram i Python som undersökte sekvenseringen och jämförde takttid och cykeltid som styrningsmetod för testriggarna. Verklig data från produktionen användes för att kunna simulera skillnaderna mellan styrningsförslagen på ett tillförlitligt sätt. I testriggarna utförs arbetet av maskin och operatör parallellt med varandra. Simuleringsprogrammen fokuserade främst på maskinarbetet, därför utfördes kompletterande tidsstudier över operatörsarbetet vid testriggarna. För att få ytterligare perspektiv gjordes dessutom två benchmark i form av besök vid motortillverkningen och bearbetningen av pinjonger och kronhjul på Scania i Södertälje. Studien visade att cykeltidsstyrning är att föredra framför takttidsstyrning vid testriggarna. Vid en övergång från takttidsstyrning till cykeltidsstyrning kommer kapaciteten att förbättras och stopptidsmätningarna bli mer tillförlitliga. De fördelar som annars finns vid en takttidsstyrning fungerar inte vid testriggarna på grund av hur de är utformade. Den stora variationen i cykeltider vid testriggarna medför stora problem vid en takttidsstyrning. Från operatörstidmätningen framgick att det går att förbättra arbetet med standardiserat arbetssätt. Simuleringsprogrammet för sekvenseringen visade att en förbättrad sekvens inte ger något i nuläget, men att det kan komma att förändras framöver. Nya mätetal definierades, både i den dagliga produktionen och för vidare analys i ett IT-system. Framförallt utvecklades mätetal för stopptid som även visar vad för typ av stopptid som uppkommer.

Tendo por base o estágio de 5 meses efetuado num grupo empresarial do setor veterinário (Grupo OneVet), o presente trabalho aborda algumas das problemáticas da área de controlo de gestão que têm originado maior discussão recente. Por um lado, discute-se de que forma os controlos de resultados (Merchant e Van der Stede, 2017) são integrados e o porquê de desempenharem um papel central na configuração dos sistemas de controlo de gestão das organizações. Mais especificamente, debate-se a temática da utilização de indicadores-chave de desempenho (KPI – key performance indicators) como mecanismos de motivação e alinhamento organizacional e de suporte ao processo de tomada de decisão. Tendo por base a realidade vivenciada em contexto de estágio, a tese incide também sobre o papel da função de controlo de gestão (“controller”) no enquadramento organizacional, comparando-se as suas funções mais “tradicionais” com uma visão mais “moderna”, tendo por base os desenvolvimentos tecnológicos mais recentes, designadamente, os sistemas de business intelligence (BI). O âmbito principal do estágio foi a criação de um conjunto de indicadores de gestão, recorrendo a uma ferramenta de business intelligence (Power BI), que pudessem ser chave para a gestão da empresa. A metodologia utilizada nesta pesquisa foi o estudo de caso, com recolha de dados realizada através do acesso a documentação interna da empresa, entrevistas a membros da gestão e a observação como participante.
Based on a 5-month internship in a business group of the veterinary sector (OneVet Group), this paper addresses some of the issues in the area of management control that have been the subject of most recent discussion. On the one hand, it discusses how results control (Merchant and Van der Stede, 2017) are integrated and why they play a central role in the configuration of management control systems in organizations. More specifically, it is discussed the use of key performance indicators (KPI) as mechanisms of motivation and organizational alignment and to support the decision-making process. Based on the reality experienced in the internship context, the thesis also focuses on the role of the management control function ("controller") in the organizational framework, comparing its more "traditional" functions with a more "modern" vision, based on the most recent technological developments, namely, business intelligence (BI) systems. The main scope of the internship was the creation of a set of management indicators, using a business intelligence tool (Power BI), which could be key to the management of the company. The methodology used in this research was the case study, with data collection carried out through access to internal company documentation, interviews with members of management and participant observation.

Em Portugal, como na generalidade dos países, o setor dos transportes tem um peso importante na economia, facto que acrescenta interesse aos projetos nesta área, mas também adiciona complexidade. O estado da arte no domínio dos provedores de serviços logísticos, assim como nos transportes, aponta inúmeros desafios e novos paradigmas de gestão, evidenciando a oportunidade das Tecnologias e Sistemas de Informação e o seu impacto nas decisões e na eficácia das medidas de controlo operacional. Seguindo o propósito de contribuir para o planeamento operacional dos serviços de transporte, este projeto propõe a identificação, seleção e definição de indicadores chave de desempenho e respetiva utilização como ferramentas de decisão. De modo a agilizar a aferição e o controlo operacional, desenvolveu-se um dashboard adaptado à realidade do setor e, em especial, à empresa em estudo, a Pelichos, com base numa profunda revisão da literatura. Da conciliação entre o trabalho de pesquisa e as práticas logísticas da Pelichos, foram desenvolvidos novos indicadores chave de desempenho, posteriormente validados pela organização. O modelo de dados permitiu definir os detalhes da recolha de dados, sendo sujeitos a tratamento e estruturados, segundo um modelo analítico com diversas tabelas de dimensão e de factos. A implementação da solução foi auxiliada pela ferramenta Power BI da Microsoft, que suportou a construção do dashboard. Este projeto proporcionou à Pelichos uma análise consolidada dos dados operacionais que nunca tinha sido possível, e ainda estabelecer relações entre os dados. Os resultados alcançados atestam o potencial da plataforma nos vários contextos testados.

O aumento significativo da quantidade de dados criados globalmente está a tornar primordial o investimento e enfoque por parte das empresas na análise e gestão de dados e à sua transformação em informação relevante. O e-commerce representa o que muitas empresas consideram já o mais importante canal de vendas e aquele para o qual canalizam mais investimento, não só pelo seu franco crescimento, mas também por eliminar a barreira física e geográfica do modelo de negócio tradicional. Um negócio de base digital produz diariamente um volume de dados expressivo que, quando eficazmente analisado, pode ser convertido num ativo para as organizações e numa fonte de informação valiosa para a gestão de um negócio. O presente relatório tem como principal objetivo apresentar os mais importantes indicadores-chave de desempenho para o controlo e apoio à tomada de decisão num negócio de comércio eletrónico com especial enfoque na área do retalho. O estudo fornece conhecimentos aprofundados sobre Business Analytics numa vertente da avaliação do desempenho de um negócio e-commerce, abordando temas como sistemas de informação, dados e informação, bem como indicadores de desempenho. A investigação levada a cabo neste trabalho tem por base um estágio realizado na Sonae MC que permitiu o contacto e interação com a realidade do comércio eletrónico de retalho e da análise de indicadores-chave de desempenho. Este relatório conclui que a utilização de KPI e de processos de extração de informação com base em dados é fulcral e uma fonte inigualável de vantagem competitiva para as organizações.
The significant increase in the amount of data created globally is making critical for companies the investment and focus on the analysis and management of data, as well as its transformation into relevant information. For many organisations, e-commerce already represents the most important sales channel, for which most of the investment is being channeled to, not only because of its fast growing rate but also because it eliminates de physical and geographic barriers that the traditional business models face. A digital-based business produces, on a daily basis, an expressive volume of data which, when effectively analysed, can be converted into an asset for organizations and in a valuable source of information for running a business. The main objective of this work is to present the most relevant Key Performance Indicators for controling and decision-making in an e-commerce business with a focus on retail. The study provides in-depth knowledge on Business Analytics as part of the evaluation of the performance of an e-commerce business, specifically addressing topics such as Information Systems, data and information, as well as performance indicators. The research carried out in this work is based on an internship held at Sonae MC that allowed the contact and interaction with the reality of the e-commerce business of the company and with the analysis of KPI. This work concludes that the use of KPI and data-driven information extraction processes are fundamental and an unrivaled source of competitive advantage for organizations.

O envelhecimento da população, nos dias de hoje, é uma preocupação constante na sociedade em que as carências económicas são, também e cada vez mais, uma realidade. Neste contexto, as instituições do terceiro sector e, em particular, as Instituições Particulares de Solidariedade Social (IPSS) desempenham um papel muito importante nomeadamente pela sua proximidade com as famílias. As dificuldades de gestão de recursos nestas organizações são motivadas, em boa parte, pela redução de apoios do Estado e pela constante necessidade de garantir e manter um serviço de excelência aos utentes. No contexto das IPSS, a revisão da literatura evidencia a importância de criar valor para o gestor, através de ferramentas de monitorização de indicadores, que permitam uma gestão adequada a essa realidade. Assim, atentos a estas evidências e ao facto deste projeto se inserir no domínio das organizações do terceiro, em particular, na Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Constância, definiu-se como principal objetivo implementar um Dashboard suportado em métricas e indicadores de desempenho (Key Performance Indicators, KPIs), adequados à realidade dessa IPSS. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho pretende integrar todos os dados relevantes e atualmente disponíveis em diversas plataformas - nomeadamente ainda em papel - num único interface de apoio à tomada de decisão, com o objetivo de contribuir para a sustentabilidade económica da organização.

Sistema de Classificação JEL: L69 – Industrial Studies: Manufacturing, Other; M40- Accounting and Auditing: General; M41- Accounting
A partir dos anos 90 começaram a aparecer os sistemas de medição de performance, sendo o Balanced Scorecard proposto por Kaplan e Norton em 1992 a referência para as práticas empresariais dos dias de hoje. O BSC tem sido considerado uma ferramenta essencial para a monitorização dos indicadores de gestão e tomada de decisão, sobretudo em relação aos indicadores não financeiros. Este projeto teve como objetivo principal a elaboração de uma proposta de Balanced Scorecard para o segmento das rolhas das empresas portuguesas do setor da cortiça. Para tal, iniciámos o estudo de caso com a identificação dos fatores críticos de sucesso, da missão, da visão e dos objetivos das empresas do setor. No decorrer do desenvolvimento do trabalho algumas questões foram respondidas, tais como, quais os indicadores chave de desempenho do sector usados pelas empresas do sector nos seus sistemas de medição da performance, que problemas existem nesses sistemas de avaliação e de que forma podem estes ser melhorados. Foi adotada uma metodologia qualitativa e o método do estudo de caso, sendo que os dados foram recolhidos por meio de análise documental e entrevistas. Numa fase posterior, foram analisados os casos individuais das empresas estudadas. O principal contributo prático deste projeto foi a concetualização de um Balanced Scorecard para o segmento das rolhas das empresas portuguesas do setor da cortiça.
From the years 90 began to appear the performance measurement systems, being the Balanced Scorecard proposed by Kaplan and Norton in 1992 the reference to business practices of today. Most companies consider the BSC is an essential tool for the monitoring of management indicators and decision making, especially in relation to non-financial indicators. The main goal of this project was the development of a proposal of BSC model for the segment of the corks of Portuguese Companies in the Cork industry , for such were identified the critical factors success in the sector, and was established the mission, the vision and the goals of the companies in the industry. During the devolvement of the project some questions were answered, such as which key performance indicators (KPI´s) are used by the companies of the sector in their performance measurement systems, what problems exist in these measurement systems and how can these be improved. It was adopted a qualitative methodology and the method of a case study, and the data was collected through the analysis of documents and interviews. At a later stage were analyzed the individual cases of the studied companies. The main practical contribution of this project was the conceptualization of a BSC model for the segment of the corks of Portuguese Companies in the Cork Industry.

There is often a discrepancy between clinical data, including laboratory tests, and the patients’ experience of being ill. The goal of this work was to search for Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of disease other than the usual numeric data. As research model, we have used Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Those indicators should express the experience of living with the disease and be sensible to medical decisions so that they can be targeted for intervention. In chapter 2, a contextualization of CKD is made, presenting an extensive list of the standard indicators that currently drive physicians’ decisions. A general approach to chronic diseases is presented in chapter 3, highlighting models of interventions. Some existing indicators are also covered. The experimental work is presented in chapter 4. Our hypothesis was based on a conceptual model which postulated that a given Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) would be suitable for daily use in the clinical context provided that it would link predictors (demographic variables, comorbidity indices, estimates of Glomerular Filtration Rate – eGFR - and untoward events of the previous year) to Endpoints (death, dialysis, hospitalizations and emergency episodes) with statistically significant relationships and serve as indicator as surrogate of well-being. We conducted an observational study and recruited 60 patients with CKD to whom several questionnaires of PROM were administered: Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQoL). Follow-up period was 24 months. Lastly, we wanted to know the relevancy of the endpoints to the patients. For that, they were asked to rank six endpoints according to what they think their physician’s priority should be (avoid death, avoid dialysis, avoid worsening of lab tests, prevent further deterioration of medical condition, avoid hospital admissions and avoid emergency episodes). We conclude that: 1) SPPB could predict death, dialysis and hospital admissions. 2) WHODAS could predict death and dialysis. 3) Physical Functioning domain of KDQoL could predict death and hospital admissions. 4) Role Emotional domain of KDQoL could predict death. 5) Energy/Vitality domain of KDQoL could predict hospital admissions. 6) Role Physical domain of KDQoL could predict dialysis. 7) Mental Health domain of KDQoL could predict hospital admissions and emergency episodes. 8) Pain, Social Function and General Health domains of KDQoL, and SWLS were not useful in predicting any of the proposed endpoints. 9) The Cockcroft-Gault (CG) formula to compute eGFR is the only that could predict mortality. 10) All eGFR formulae predicted beginning of dialysis. 11) Only the CG formula could predict the scores of some PROM scales: SPPB, Physical Function domain of KDQoL and WHODAS. 12) Both the Charlson comorbidity scales (1987 and 2011) are useful for the prediction of studied endpoints: the first predicts death and hospital admissions while the second predicted mortality, dialysis, hospitalizations and emergency episodes. 13) The highest priority of patients is that their physician’s main concern should be to “Avoid death” whereas options “Avoid dialysis” and “Avoid worsening of laboratory tests” came next, in a tie. 14) Patients ranked “Avoid hospitalization” and “Avoid emergency episodes” in the last places, after all the others. Finally, 15) Eight possible schemes were drawn from the analysis of the conceptual model. Four of them have shown to have clinical utility. Longitudinal exploration of these PROM is needed in order to reinforce their clear place at office and bedside and in disease management.
Há frequentemente uma discrepância entre os dados clínicos, incluindo análises laboratoriais, e a experiência de se estar doente. O objetivo deste trabalho foi procurar indicadores-chave de desempenho de doença para além dos dados numéricos habituais. Como modelo de investigação, utilizamos a Doença Renal Crónica (DRC). Esses indicadores devem traduzir a experiência de viver com a doença e serem sensíveis às decisões médicas, para que possam ser alvo de intervenção. No capítulo 2, é feita uma contextualização da DRC, apresentando-se uma extensa lista dos indicadores que actualmente orientam as decisões dos médicos. No capítulo 3, faz-se uma abordagem geral das doenças crónicas, destacando modelos de gestão da doença crónica. Alguns indicadores actualmente usados também são referidos. O trabalho experimental é apresentado no capítulo 4. A nossa hipótese baseou-se num modelo conceptual que postulava que uma determinada medida de resultados autorelatados pelos doentes (PROM: Patient Reported Outcome Measures) seria adequada para uso diário em contexto clínico se tivesse uma correlação estatisticamente significativa entre os preditores (variáveis demográficas, índices de comorbilidade, estimativas de Taxa de Filtração Glomerular - TFGe - e eventos adversos do ano anterior) e os resultados (morte, diálise, hospitalizações e idas ao serviço de urgência), servindo assim como indicador de bem-estar. Realizámos um estudo observacional, tendo recrutado 60 doentes renais crónicos que responderam a vários questionários de PROM: “Short Physical Performance Battery” (SPPB), “World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule” (WHODAS), “Satisfaction With Life Scale” (SWLS) e “Kidney Disease Quality of Life” (KDQoL). O período de acompanhamento foi de 24 meses. Finalmente, estudámos a relevância dos resultados para os doentes. Para isso, foi-lhes pedido que classificassem seis desfechos, de acordo com o que acham que deveria ser a prioridade do seu médico (“evitar a morte”, “evitar a diálise”, “evitar o agravamento dos exames laboratoriais”, “evitar a deterioração do seu estado geral”, “evitar internamentos hospitalares” e “evitar idas ao serviço de urgência”). Os resultados permitiram concluir que: 1) O SPPB previu morte, diálise e hospitalizações. 2) O WHODAS previu morte e diálise. 3) O domínio Função Física do KDQoL previu morte e hospitalizações. 4) O domínio Saúde Mental do KDQoL previu morte. 5) O domínio Energia/vitalidade do KDQoL previu hospitalizações. 6) O domínio físico do KDQoL previu diálise. 7) Domínio de Saúde Mental do KDQoL previu hospitalizações e idas ao serviço de urgência. 8) Os domínios Dor, Função Social e Saúde Geral do KDQoL, bem como o SWLS não foram úteis na previsão de nenhum dos resultados propostos. 9) A fórmula de Cockcroft-Gault (CG) para calcular a TFGe é a única que previu a morte. 10) Todas as fórmulas de cálculo da TFGe previram o início da diálise. 11) Apenas a fórmula de CG pôde prever a pontuação de algumas escalas do PROM: SPPB, domínio da Função Física do KDQoL e WHODAS. 12) Ambas as escalas de comorbilidade de Charlson (de 1987 e 2011) são úteis para a predição dos resultados estudados: a primeira prevê mortes e internamentos hospitalares, enquanto a segunda prediz morte, diálise, hospitalizações e idas ao serviço de urgência. 13) A principal prioridade dos doentes é que a principal preocupação do seu médico seja “evitar a morte”, enquanto as opções “evitar diálise” e “evitar o agravamento dos exames laboratoriais” vêm a seguir, empatadas. 14) Os doentes classificaram as opções “evitar hospitalização” e “evitar episódios de urgência” nos últimos lugares, depois de todas as demais. Finalmente, 15) O modelo conceptual proposto permitiu identificar oito possibilidades diferentes de relação entre preditores, PROM e resultados. Quatro deles mostraram ter utilidade clínica. São necessários estudos longitudinais com PROM para reforçar o seu papel no consultório e na enfermaria, e também na gestão da doença.
Programa Doutoral em Ciências e Tecnologias da Saúde