Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 160-171). Also available on the Internet.

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Uma abordagem premente que está transformando os negócios é o desenvolvimento sustentável, apoiado no tripé econômico, ambiental e social. Nesse contexto, emergem novas regras na competitividade entre empresas, movidas principalmente pelas mudanças nos padrões de comportamento do consumidor e exigindo a adaptação empresarial quanto aos paradigmas contemporâneos de gestão. O tema sustentabilidade apresenta-se como uma estratégia empresarial competitiva, porém, conceitualmente é debatido e controverso entre as diversas correntes de pesquisadores, especialistas e empresários. Uma outra indagação que se faz é quanto ao entendimento dos colaboradores e gestores em relação à concepção da sustentabilidade, e se os objetivos organizacionais estão alinhados para esse propósito. Com o intuito de investigar esses diferentes aspectos, a presente dissertação traz um estudo empírico e teórico sobre sustentabilidade empresarial, cuja proposta foi identificar as percepções sobre empreendimento sustentável na opinião de gestores e colaboradores de quatro relevantes empresas de diferentes segmentos da Região Sudoeste do Paraná. Quanto ao aspecto metodológico tratou-se de uma pesquisa quanti-qualitativa, onde se fez o uso de método estatístico não paramétrico para analisar a associação entre as respostas dos diversos colaboradores. Além disso, foram realizadas entrevistas com os gestores para confrontar e comparar as suas opiniões com as respostas dos colaboradores. O resultado global do estudo demonstrou que, de um modo geral, os indivíduos expressam um saber limitado sobre sustentabilidade, predispondo uma preocupação maior para os aspectos econômicos e financeiros, que para os atributos sociais e ambientais. Contudo, foi possível identificar várias ações tanto sociais, quanto ambientais que já vem sendo desenvolvidas nas empresas pesquisadas. Percebeu-se também com a pesquisa, que a maior compreensão de sustentabilidade empresarial encontra-se nos níveis de direção e gerenciais das empresas, e que muitas vezes essa política não é repassada de forma clara para todos os colaboradores. / Sustainable development, a pressing approach, has changed businesses meaningfully and is based on economic, environmental and social bottom lines. Upon this context, new rules on business competition come up, supported especially by the changes in the standards of consumers’ behavior; demanding the company to adjust to new management paradigms. Sustainability is regarded as strategy for business competition however; the concept seems to be still controversial among researchers, experts and businesspeople. It is also in point of discussion how much managers and employees understand the idea of sustainability and whether companies are overlooking this goal or not. The present dissertation aims to analyze these aspects through an empirical and theoretical study. Its purpose, in a nutshell, is to identify managers’ and employees’ knowledge about corporate sustainability, in four major companies, from both industrial and commercial segments, in Southwest Paraná. The method adopted is quantitative and qualitative; nonparametric statistics were used to compare the answer of all interviewed employees. Managers have also been interviewed and their answers confronted the employees’. The general outcome of the study showed that most individuals in this context have a limited knowledge about the concept of sustainability, worrying more about its financial impacts than the environmental ones. Nevertheless, it was possible to identify diverse actions, social and environment-related, which have been put into practice by the companies. The research determined that the idea of sustainability is clearer among managers, mostly because it is not usually brought to employees and other individuals involved.

Orientador: Sergio Robles Reis de Queiroz / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-15T15:10:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Zeitoum_Camila_M.pdf: 1631244 bytes, checksum: c64564b4ac4763df3285c7ba87ea720f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: O objetivo do trabalho é apresentar a evolução das firmas prestadoras de serviços de manufatura por contrato em direção a um leque mais amplo e complexo de etapas da cadeia de valor de produtos eletrônicos. Inicialmente, é feita uma contextualização do fenômeno da subcontratação de atividades. Discutem-se as principais mudanças na forma de organização das grandes corporações verticalmente integradas, principalmente a partir da década de 1970, diante de um acirramento da competição e da volatilidade das demandas. Além do aumento da internacionalização das empresas, a estratégia de subcontratação produtiva surge como uma alternativa ao modelo predominante em diversas indústrias. Em seguida, apresentam-se algumas características do complexo eletrônico, intimamente relacionadas com as motivações para que nesse setor a estratégia de subcontratação seja expandida para além da manufatura. Nesse contexto, inserem-se as fornecedoras EMS (Electronics Manufacturing Services), empresas que emergiram como fabricantes de placas para suprir as necessidades das empresas clientes, - as companhias OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers), também conhecidas como firmas "de marca" - mas que atualmente oferecem um pacote integrado de soluções que vão desde as etapas mais iniciais da cadeia de valor dos produtos eletrônicos, como design e desenvolvimento de produtos, até as etapas posteriores à manufatura, de logística, distribuição e reparos. A partir da abordagem teórica evolucionária, discutem-se elementos que estão por trás da evolução da firma, com base nos conceitos de estratégia, estrutura e competências centrais. Supõe-se que na busca por um processo consistente de desenvolvimento, a firma deve adotar uma estratégia que combine práticas de exploitation e exploration, para alcançar (i) um melhor aproveitamento dos recursos internos, mas sem deixar de promover (ii) a busca por novas tecnologias e conhecimentos. As mudanças na estratégia da firma devem impactar a forma como a empresa está estruturada, resultante de rotinas organizacionais. Em função desse arranjo, a firma desenvolve competências centrais. Reforça-se a importância das capacitações dinâmicas nesse processo, fundamentais para que a firma se adapte a um ambiente de concorrência em constante mutação. O caso da Flextronics ilustra o processo evolutivo de uma das maiores empresas da indústria EMS em direção a serviços mais complexos / Abstract: This study presents the evolution of the contract manufacturers to a broader range of more complex phases of electronics' value chain. The outsourcing phenomena is discussed as one of the changes in the organization of the great vertically integrated corporations in the 1970s, mainly due to a stonger competition and the volatile demands. Besides these companies' internationalization process, the manufacturing outsourcing emerges as an alternative to the predominant model in different industries. Some of the electronics industry's characteristics are pointed out as reasons for the companies to outsource functions beyond manufacturing. In this scenario, we introduce the Electronics Manufacturing Serivices providers, which emerged as board stuffers to respond to the Original Equipment Manufacturers and are now capable of offering an integrated set of solutions from the most inicial phases of the electronics products' value chain - such as product design and development - to the post manufacturing phases - logistics, distruibution and repair services. Based on the evolutionary theory, some of the elements related to the evolution process of the firm are discussed through the concepts of strategy, structure and core compentences. It is assumed that the firm must adopt a strategy that combines exploration and exploitation practices to reach (i) a better use of the internal resources and also (ii) the search for new technologies and knowledge. The changes in the firms' strategies must impact the way through which the company is structured, as a result of organizational routines. Due to this arrangement, the firm develops core competences. The importance of dynamic capabilities is reinforced, as they are pointed out as crucial for the firms to adapt to the changing environment of competition. The case of Flextronics ilustrates the evolution process of one of the greatest firms in the EMS industry towards more complex services / Mestrado / Mestre em Política Científica e Tecnológica

Prof. S.H. von Solms

M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The impact of globalisation continues to divide economies around the world into fast and slow moving economies. The former are producing wealth at an exponential rate whilst the latter continue to lag in their wake. The pace of change and challenges of the 21st Century have left business organisations no choice but to attain levels of operational excellence and fitness to compete with their counterparts in a demanding boundaryless global arena. Irrespective of whether they are global or local, organisations ascending to world class have a ‘global mindset’ which means that they see the rest of the world as their benchmark. These organisations know that good is never good enough and that the glory of being ahead in the race is but a fleeting moment in time. The performance gap between South Africa, classified as a ‘slow’ Developing economy and that of ‘fast’ Developed economies continues to widen. Organisations in Developing countries like South Africa have been slow to embrace performance-enhancing Criteria practised in world class organisations, and where they have been embraced, the success rate has not been encouraging. The motivation for the study was to provide relevant guidelines to organisations in developing countries, in particular South Africa, towards the design and implementation of organisation interventions that will find traction and are sustainable to become world class - and in so doing, the variables making up the contextual backdrop which constrain or enhance an organisation’s pursuit of becoming world class would be assessed for relevancy and improved understanding. Furthermore the study would re-direct and re-channel the study of world class Criteria in driving high performance in Developing countries as being unique in need, combination and formulation. Authors on what constitutes this ‘global mindset’, with few exceptions, adopt the view that the world class Criteria that make good organisations great are the same around the world. The problem propositioned and addressed in this study is that what is understood and practised as performance-enhancing world class Criteria, may not apply equally and may not be equally successful in Developed and Developing countries respectively. Restated as a research question, The validity of world class business Criteria across Developed and Developing countries was re-formulated as follows: Firstly, how do world class Criteria which result in high performance in Developed countries differ from those applied in Developing countries? Secondly, what can organisations in Developed countries, in particular South Africa, learn from these differences to embrace best Practices that work and are sustainable for their respective environments? The research objective was to identify world class Criteria that are unique to Developing countries and to add value to organisations in Developing countries to ascend to world class by developing ‘road maps’ for continuous improvement that are valid within Developing country context. The direction of the research process and methodology was determined by the choice of the researcher between a quantitative, qualitative, or a combined qualitative-quantitative approach. Complete and objective data related to the research question within the research domain needed to be collected from individual participants in business organisations across the divide of countries and cultures. Uniformity and control of the data collection method were necessary to minimise the likelihood that different cultures within different business organisations within different country cultures could interpret the survey data differently. A uniform quantitative research approach which presented the same qualified statements in a consistent manner with a consistent response methodology was therefore chosen to ensure that all respondents were likely to understand the survey in the same way. The Proposition tested is that the Criteria for organisations to ascend to world class differ across the divide between Developed and Developing countries. The implications of this Proposition are that whilst there are world class Criteria that are universal across global boundaries, world class organisations in Developing countries, with particular reference to South Africa, have evolved their own set of world class Criteria that are unique to Developing countries. By ignoring the contextual backdrops within which Developed and Developing countries operate, appropriate learning for organisations in Developing countries to ascend to world class competitiveness is constrained. A web-based touchbutton survey questionnaire was designed for instant internet access to assigned and authorized respondents. Organisations considered world class in both Developed and Developing country context were approached to participate in the survey. Participants up to four reporting levels from the president/chief executive officer of the organisation were nominated by an appointed person in a participating organisation responsible for the survey. Email addresses provided by participating organisations were used to log participants on to the survey. Progress was monitored electronically on a daily basis. Since the survey design required that participants complete each part of the survey before proceeding to the next part, the possibility of incomplete data was eliminated. Data capturing took place in real time on a dedicated web site on an MS Office Excel spreadsheet as respondents responded on line. Five surveys completed on paper were fed manually into the data base. All data was therefore complete and ready for analysis at the time of closing the survey for further participation. The biographic data on individual respondents contained the following key features: 41% from 3rd reporting level in their organisations; 65% having more than 3 years’ experience in their organisations; 83% having been with their organisations for more than 3 years and 79.2% having a tertiary qualification. The qualifications and overall experience of the majority of respondents provided for a reasonable assumption that the sample could be relied on to provide well informed and therefore highly valid data. An overall individual response rate of 427 out of a possible 560 respondents was achieved, constituting a percentage response of 76.3%. Developed countries constituted 29% of the responses against 71% from Developing countries whilst organisation response ratio constituted 50 % (20) and 41% (14) respectively. The individual response rate from Developing countries was twice that of Developed countries. The response rate at organisation level presented a more balanced ratio of 59% Developed and 41% Developing country ratio. Organisations and respondents over Developed countries were well spread over several countries. Primary and secondary organisations were closely balanced within Developed and Developing countries respective responses. Countries surveyed were Belgium, France, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland; Italy, Namibia, Netherlands, Portugal, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the USA. An equal number of 11 organisations from Developing and Developed countries respectively qualified for analysis. This amounted to 22 companies surveyed in all. In the exploratory part of the study the difference between Primary and Secondary sector organisations was found to be small and it was decided to abandon this distinction for any further analysis. An Exploratory Factor Analysis identified the relationships between the underlying Factors in their own right, ignoring the prior literature-based theoretical structure of 7 world-class Criteria with their related Practices. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis sought to confirm whether the extent to which the 7 world class Criteria and their related Practices as reported on in the literature review, and built into the survey instrument, actually did exist. Eighty-five point seven per cent of the Practices in the study could be confirmed in the literature reviewed, leaving 14.3% of the Practices unconfirmed. The implications of this finding are that not all world class Practices are applied consistently all the time by all organisations purported to be world class or who are ascending to becoming world class. Three Schools of Thought about the validity of world class Criteria over Developed and Developing countries emerged, each with its own set of implications and results. School of Thought One postulated that One size of world class criteria fits all, irrespective of Developed or Developing country context. However, no evidence could be found to support this ‘absolute’ School of Thought. Consequently this School of Thought had to be rejected. School of Thought Two postulates that Combinations of Criteria and their associated Practices are exclusive to Developed and Developing Countries In support of this postulate, two Exploratory Criteria (Performance and reward driven people and Customer-centric, shared vision driven leadership) and two Confirmatory Criteria (Ongoing stretch and future-driven strategising and An enabling and empowering people philosophy and practice) showed significant differences between Developed and Developing countries. In all instances of difference, the extent of practice in relation to each Criterion favoured Developed country organisations. The implication of this finding is twofold: Firstly, is that the School of Thought propagating that Combinations of Criteria and their associated Practices are exclusive to Developed and Developing Countries had to be accepted. Secondly, is that Developed Country organisations embrace the identified Criteria to a greater extent than their Developing country counterparts. This finding has a further implication in that it provides a notable explanation why organisations in Developed countries on the whole, outperform their counterparts in Developing countries. The practical significance of this implication has been built into a proposed empirically reconstituted world class model with ‘road maps’ for organisations in a Developing country like South Africa . Further to School of Thought Two, Extent of practice by importance revealed that the Practices: Leadership driving continual change; Core capabilities that enable business processes are built through ongoing learning; Innovative ideas born by working close to customers and suppliers are more important to Developing than Developing Countries: The implications of this evidence, and the reasons given, are that at practice level these three Practices are more important in Developing countries more as a matter of necessity and survival in a Developing Country context than groundbreaking forward-forging ways of doing business. / Prof. Theo H. Veldsman

D.Ing. (Engineering Management) / The requirements discipline is at the heart of systems engineering, software engineering and business analysis. When a solution needs to be developed, built or bought that will be useful to the users and that will achieve the intended business goals, the problem needs to be understood before a possible solution can be developed. This process of understanding the problem that needs to be solved and what the solution should achieve is referred to as the requirements process. Requirements are the input to the solution development process. If the requirements are incorrect, the developed solution will not be useful. The purpose of this study was to discover the social behaviour of practitioners that causes the communication breakdowns during the requirements engineering process. Requirements emerge from the social interaction and communication between the requirements practitioner and the various stakeholders. The main problems with the requirements engineering process are communication and coordination breakdowns, as well as the lack of domain knowledge or understanding of the problem. These challenges are all related to the social interaction during the requirements engineering process that impacts the quality of requirements. Researchers have made significant progress in the development of methodologies. Tools and techniques are available for improving the quality of requirements. However, in practice, requirements are still produced with errors which then leads to unsuccessful solutions to problems. The requirements engineering process is executed within a social context. These social elements should be taken into consideration to improve quality. Based on the results collected from real-world practice as well as people’s behaviour in the real world, a complete understanding of the influence on the requirements process was derived. This understanding was used to identify the social elements required during the requirements engineering process. A socio-technical view is provided of the social and the technical activities that should be facilitated by the requirements engineering process. This framework integrates the required communicative activities with the traditional requirements activity. This socio-technical framework for the requirements engineering process was developed based on a survey. The aim of this framework is to overcome the social behaviour that causes communication breakdowns and impacts on the quality of the requirements. The research contributes to the existing requirements knowledge base. The socio-technical framework developed for the requirements process concerns the communication breakdowns continuously highlighted as a contributing factor to poor requirements, by providing the social activities required during the requirements process as guidance. Secondly, the knowledge acquired provides adequate data on requirements practice for future research. Specific focus areas for practitioners and managers on how to improve the requirements engineering process without the adoption of any new tools or methodologies are also included in the results. Additionally, practitioners’ behaviour was determined. By determining these interaction and relationship patterns, communication can be improved and made more effective.

6 pp. / The plant nursery business is complex and requires knowledge about the technical aspects of growing plants and managing a business. This publication is an introduction for those interested in starting their own wholesale nursery business. Different types of production systems - container and field production- are discussed as well as the types of plants typically grown in Southwest nurseries. Starting a business involves many decisions that will culminate in the development of a business plan. Resources for new producers include national, regional, and local trade organizations. A worksheet with questions is included to help future operators consider whether they want to start a new wholesale production nursery. Publication AZ1393 Revised 07/2017. Originally published 2006

In today’s business world, a lot of organizations are investing heavily in Information Technology (IT) in order to develop a competitive edge. According to Loukis, Sapounas and Milionis (2009:85) “firms all over the world make significant investments in IT aiming to increase their efficiency and effectiveness”. According to Cline and Guynes (2001:10), “during the last 30 years, IT has become an increasingly integral part of business operations”. Most of the times, organizations fail to get real value from the investments made in IT. This is mainly due to the fact that organizations fail to realize the value brought about by aligning IT strategy with Business strategy. Hu and Huang (2004:60) state that “each year organizations invest in IT to improve their competitive advantage and ultimately their business performance; however, more often than not, the anticipated benefits of IT investments fail to materialize due to misalignment of or lack of alignment, between the business and IT strategies”. Henderson and Venkatraman (1999:475) emphasize that “alignment is a desired state for organizations investing in IT that is not always achieved, as it often entails a radical change in the way managers consider IT”. It is through the alignment of IT strategy and Business strategy that organizations are able to realize the value brought about by investing in IT. Papp (2001:20)illustrates that “misalignment can cause problems with not only the development and integration of business and IT strategies, but can actually prevent IT from being fully leveraged to its maximum potential within an organization”. An organization that realizes the value of aligning IT strategy and Business strategy is able to develop a competitive advantage over its competitors. According to Daneshvar and Ramesh (2010:1) “each organization is aware of the special effects, benefits and implication of IT in business performance and also its capacity in building sustainable competitive advantages”.