In order to contribute to the research for solving the challenge of implementing business sustainability, this study aims to explore the relation between an important aspect of organizational structure; centralization, and an important aspect of sustainability management; setting sustainability objectives. This has been done, in particular, by studying the distribution of decisions related to economic, environmental and social sustainability objectives between different organizational levels in multi-plant manufacturing networks. The research is fundamentally exploratory and has been conducted as a multiple case study, with nine participating case organizations. Data has been used from the nine case organizations, based on semi-structured interviews. Five different decision-making approaches for sustainability have been found; all decisions are centralized and decided at the corporate headquarters, all decisions are aggregated and decided at the central headquarters but adapted and transformed when distributed to lower organizational levels, all decisions are integrated and decided at both the central headquarters and at lower organizational levels, all decisions are decided at an intermediate organizational level, and all decisions are local and decided at the plant level. The findings also show that there is no consistent way of deciding upon sustainability issues, where some case organizations seem to regard sustainability as a global concern, while others regard it as a more local concern. In general, the economic sustainability dimension is regarded as more of a global concern, while the environmental dimension is more of a local concern, and the social dimension more of an integrated concern, where some related issues are decided more centralized while others are decided more local. The findings of this study can act as guidance for managers when implementing or improving their sustainability strategies. The findings also provide empirical data for the academic with the possibility to expand and evaluate the research in the future. / För att bidra till att hitta en lösning till utmaningen med att implementera affärsmässig hållbarhet iorganisationer, syftar den här studien till att undersöka relationen mellan en viktig aspekt av organisationsstruktur: centralisering, och en viktig aspekt av hållbarhetsstrategi: sätta mål. Detta har gjorts genom att kartlägga fördelningen av beslut relaterade till de tre dimensionerna av hållbarhet; ekonomisk, miljö och social, mellan olika organisationsnivåer. Studien är i grunden utforskande och har genomförts som en multipel fallstudie, med nio deltagande fallstudieorganisationer. Det datamaterial som har använts baseras på semistrukturerade intervjuer. Fem olika beslutsstrukturer har hittats: alla beslut är centraliserade och fattas på huvudkontoret, alla beslut är aggregerade och fattas på huvudkontoret men anpassas till respektive lokal nivå, alla beslut är integrerade där vissa fattas på centralnivå medan andra fattas på lokalnivå, alla beslut fattas på en mellannivå i organisationen och alla beslut är lokala och fattas på fabriksnivå. I tillägg till detta, har vi hittat att vissa av organisationerna behandlar hållbarhet som en mer global angelägenhet, medan andra som  en mer lokal angelägenhet. Generellt anses den ekonomiska dimensionen som en mer global angelägenhet, medan den miljömässiga dimensionen betraktas mer som en lokal angelägenhet. Den sociala hållbarhetsdimensionen verkar vara en integrerad angelägenhet, där vissa beslut är  mer globala, medan andra är mer lokala. Studiens resultat ämnar fungera som en guide till företag när de implementerar eller förbättrar sitt hållbarhetsarbete. Resultatet utgör också viktig empirisk data som kan användas i framtida, utvecklande forskning.

For manufacturing firms to succeed in the global marketplace it is important that they have an efficient supply chain that is well adapted to the characteristics of the products. This thesis explore the companies' challenge to adapt its supply chain to the characteristics of  heir products. A case study has been conducted on a global manufacturing company's distribution network. The company, which is in focus of the study, has conducted extensive effort with standardization and centralization of the distribution network to improve the performance indicators. Consequently, the study focuses on examining how the factors, standardization and centralization, impact the performance indicators in the distribution network. The empirical results show that the company's distribution network is designed to operate efficiently for Make-To-Stock (MTS)  products.  Nonetheless,  the  network  does  not  work as efficiently for Make-To-Order (MTO) products. These products are forced through a  series of non-value activities. The lack of flexibility in the network leads to manually bypasses, which increases both the workload and risk. Therefore, the performance  indicators are improved  by  a  more  flexible  design  adapted  to  the  product  characteristics and customer needs. The study identifies four barriers preventing the company to adapt its distribution network to a more flexible design An excessive focus on economies of scale Imbalance between central and regional capabilities in the organization Rigid processes and lack of software support Complexity in transfer pricing and revenue sharing between entities Finally, the study contributes with suggested actions aimed to increase the flexibility of the company's distribution network.

The purpose of this study was to observe the manner in which a certain small rural elementary school was affected by being consolidated with several other small rural schools to form a consolidated unit f,or a given school district. This study was focused upon three areas. First, the study had particular regard for the comparison of reading achievement for a certain group of students both before and after consolidation. Secondly, there was a comparison of the attendance of the students before and after consolidation. Lastly, the opinion of the parents of these students was surveyed to determine their feelings regarding the consolidation. The study revealed the following: The data showed, first of all, that there was significant change in the area of reading achievement. Thus, it appeared that consolidation had brought some improvement in the area of reading achievement. In the second area of pupil attendance a slight improvement was noted. This may have been, perhaps, the result of the transportation system which implemented the consolidation. Thirdly, concerning the opinions of parents in relation to their consolidated school, the survey produced information which indicated that the parents of the school were happy with the consolidation. / M.S.

This thesis began with an interest in apartment housing typology. I am familiar with this typology, yet it remains mysterious. The topic was never touched on in five years of architectural education or the time spent working in firms. I felt the need to study this typology. It is through the repetition of working with the realization that the hand and mind are one; I understand what I am working toward and the hand informs the mind of what it is doing. The notion of centralization, transparency, spatial ambiguity, symmetry, dematerialization, are used as a method to organize space and architectural elements. Spatial orders and conditions are examined through the use of idealized color. This work is the result of a year long study of the above architectural vocabulary. It is my hope that through this study, I can begin to establish a point of view. This thesis is a cross section of a thought. / Master of Architecture

The study population consisted of 41 institutions from 9 categories which were military, public or private hospital, public or private school, governmental agency, public-operated service industry, public-operated manufacturing industry, privately operated financial service industry, privately operated service industry, privately operated high tech manufacturing industry and privately operated traditional manufacturing industry. The survey started on December 21st2007 and continued until January 11th 2008.We totally sent out 2,133 questionnaires, returned 1,940 questionnaires, the returns-ratio reached 91.0%, eliminated invalid questionnaires were 50, the effective questionnaires were 1,890,effective questionnaires returns-ratio was 88.6%. Data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, exploring factor analysis and level linear model. The major results of this study are as following: 1.Machiavellianism of organizational members has a significant effect on perceptions of organizational politics. 2.Positive affect of organizational members has a significant effect on perceptions of organizational politics. 3.Negative affect of organizational members has a significant effect on perceptions of organizational politics. 4.The degree of centralization has a significant effect on perceptions of organizational politics. 5.The degree of formalization has no effect on perceptions of organizational politics. 6.Organizational hierarchical Level has no effect on perceptions of organizational politics. 7.Organization size has no effect on perceptions of organizational politics. 8.The degree of centralization has no moderate effect on the relationship between machiavellianism and perceptions of organizational politics. 9.The degree of formalization has no moderate effect on the relationship between machiavellianism and perceptions of organizational politics. 10.Organizational hierarchical Level has no moderate effect on the relationship between machiavellianism and perceptions of organizational politics. 11.Organization size has no moderate effect on the relationship between machiavellianism and perceptions of organizational politics. 12.The degree of centralization has no moderate effect on the relationship between positive affect of organizational members and perceptions of organizational politics. 13.The degree of formalization has no moderate effect on the relationship between negative affect of organizational members and perceptions of organizational politics. 14.Organization size has no moderate effect on the relationship between positive affect of organizational members and perceptions of organizational politics. 15.Organizational hierarchical Level has no moderate effect on the relationship between positive affect of organizational members and perceptions of organizational politics. 16.The degree of centralization has moderate effect on the relationship between positive affect of organizational members and perceptions of organizational politics. 17.The degree of formalization has no moderate effect on the relationship between positive affect of organizational members and perceptions of organizational politics. 18.Organization size has no moderate effect on the relationship between positive affect of organizational members and perceptions of organizational politics. 19.Organizational hierarchical Level has no moderate effect on the relationship between positive affect of organizational members and perceptions of organizational politics.

Although many studies have been carried out regarding the acquisition of Spanish as a second language, very few have focused on the acquisition of Spanish vowels. Studies that have compared the L2 production of Spanish vowels in learners who have spent an extensive time living abroad versus at home learners are scarce at best. The present study hopes to add to the literature by comparing the L2 pronunciation of the Spanish /a/ in these two groups using an acoustic analysis with the aid of speech-signal processing software and the inclusion of a native group for comparison. In addition, it hopes to provide insight into how these groups vary in their pronunciation of the Spanish /a/ in different tasks. Three tasks were administered—an oral interview, the reading of a short story, and the reading of a word list—whose range varied by less formal to more formal, respectively. The tokens were analyzed using Praat to find the F1 and F2 value at the midpoint of each. The results indicate that those who lived in a Spanish-speaking country for an extensive period of time (RM) demonstrated a significant difference (p<0.05) between their production of the Spanish stressed /á/ and the unstressed /a/ in the oral interview and short story tasks, but did not show a significant difference in the more formal word list task. The at-home (AH) group, who had spent no more than three weeks in a Spanish-speaking country, displayed a significant difference (p<0.05) between the two tokens in all three tasks. It was found that the RM group displayed a significant difference (p<0.05) in F2 values between it and the native speaker (NS) group in one of the tasks, indicating that language transfer was present in both its stressed and unstressed tokens of the Spanish /a/. Interestingly, the native Spanish-speaking group also displayed a significant difference (p<0.05) between its production of the stressed /á/ and the unstressed /a/ in the short story task.

Information technology (IT) plays an important role in the daily operation of the modem business organization. The implications for, and influences on organizational structure from the deployment of IT have long been recognized. One of the most important, recent innovations, in the world of information technology, has been the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Because of its wide reach, sophistication and highly integrated nature, it is potentially far more powerful and advanced than any of its predecessors, and thus has the potential to greatly influence organizational practices and design. However, the understanding of the organizational impact of IT in general, and ERP in particular, is rather limited. Due to the shortcomings of past studies, no clear consensus has been reached with respects to the structural impact of IT Moreover, though there 4ave been a large number of studies focusing on the implementation of EPR, very few empirical works have explicitly and systematically explored the influence of ERP on a range of different structural dimensions. This study aims to fill these gaps in the literature, and in so doing, generate a more comprehensive understanding of the organizational impacts of ERP To this end, it adopted a mixed method in order to deliver a more balanced and richer set of conclusions. The outcomes of the quantitative data analysis confirmed the general influences of ERP on a range of different structural dimensions. More specifically, it has been shown that the deployment of ERP can lead to a flatter, more decentralized, more standardized and a more tightly integrated organizational structure. Furthermore, the qualitative data provided meaningful insight into the structural impact of ERP, in Chinese context. In addition,, the various analyses found important associations amongst the corporate strategy, organizational structure, ERP deployment and organizational flexibility constructs, and in so doing, demonstrated that the relationship between ERP deployment and organizational structure is not independent of its organizational context. Indeed, it is shown that the results of this study provide support for the 'configurational' view of organizational strategy and behaviour. Finally, this study's results have been strengthened by modelling the technological artefact using a more balanced set of measures than had been employed in previous studies. Indeed, it was demonstrated that the use of ERP success, rather than the scale of its adoption, to model the independent variable, was a more effective indicator of changes to structural design, and ultimately also to the realization of organizational flexibility.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / MBA Professional Report / The purpose of project is to examine two alternatives among the numerous recommendations to improve United Nations Peacekeeping. The first calls for improved centralization of United Nations Peacekeeping. The second calls for unification of Peacekeeping operations through joint efforts (political, economical, cultural, religious, military, etc.) at the regional level in order to include the parties involved in the conflict and their neighboring states in Africa, America, Asia and Europe. The goal of this project is to identify and understand the debate about the changing role of the United Nations Peacekeeping and to identify ways to more effectively manage operations. / Lieutenant Colonel, Bulgarian Army

Manitoba’s flooding is one of the principal sources of costs associated with flood disasters. Despite the tremendous financial investments in structural mitigation, flood cost, continue to rise. Currently at the national and provincial level, there exists no standardized operational framework and tool for flood risk assessment. The primary role of this research was two-fold. First, Hazus-MH a Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) tool was evaluated as a potential flood-loss estimation model in a Manitoba context. Secondly, to examine the application of a QRA tool in policy, a face-to-face questionnaire was completed with flood experts in municipal and provincial government and with consultants. The study results suggested that Hazus-MH has the potential to be applied as a standard QRA tool in Manitoba. This research found that developing a standard QRA tool in Manitoba, would empower communication between decision-makers, centralize data to support disaster planning, and reduce the cost of recovery. / May 2016

La gouvernance se définit comme étant une organisation sociale élaborée par la société elle-même. Autrement dit, cette notion suppose la reconnaissance de la suprématie de la volonté des membres de chaque société qui peut être civile, commerciale, ou politique qui évolue selon l’intérêt général de chaque société. Elle se présente sous différentes formes, entres autres, la démocratie, la décentralisation ou la centralisation, la solidarité internationale ou nationale, l’État de droit. Cependant, parmi les pays membres de la Commission de l’océan Indien, notamment La France (Réunion et Mayotte), Madagascar, Comores, île Maurice, les ex-colonies anglophones ou francophones ont reconnu juridiquement des organisations sociales héritées de génération en génération comme les traditions (les us et coutumes, les lois divines), et les droits coloniaux. En se basant sur la lutte anti vectorielle, une des mesures de la police administrative, qui est un concept nouveau issu du progrès de la médecine. Le droit comparé des États membres de la Commission de l’océan Indien régissant cette filière, nous permet à élucider si la défaillance de certains États dans ce domaine est-elle liée au conflit entre les traditions et les droits modernes, apports des ex colons ? / Governance is defined as a social organization established by itself society. In other words, the concept means recognition of the willingness supremacy each society member, may be civil, commercial, policy, change according to the general interest. The different forms of governance are democracy, centralization and decentralization, international or national solidarity. However, the member of the Committee on the Indian Ocean State, especially, France, Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, the former French or English colonies recognized legally the social organization inherited from generation to generation as traditions (customs, divine laws), colonial rights. Based on the vector control, one of the administrative police measures, which is a new concept from the advances in medicine science. The comparative law of the member of the Committee on the Indian Ocean State help to elucidate if did the failure of some States relate to the conflict between tradition and modern law?