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To compete in the global market, organisations have to ensure that their production is synchronised with their other business activities. To achieve this, companies deploy a variety of solutions known as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). These systems provide the bridge between control and business systems and are used by a variety of people across many business functions. Typical users range from production and maintenance personnel to engineers, finance and management. Sectors within the manufacturing industry have their own definitions of MES and these are based on their functional requirements and by the offerings of vendors in that sector. Thus, people differ in their understanding and definition of MES. To ensure common understanding of what functionalities or modules constitute MES, the Manufacturing Execution Systems Association (MESA) has defined MES to cover the following eleven areas: Resource Allocation and Status Operations/Detail Scheduling Dispatching Production Units Document Control Data Collection/Acquisition Labour Management Quality Management Process Management Maintenance Management Product Tracking and Genealogy Performance Analysis On examining the Manufacturing Execution Systems literature, it was realised that functionalities and definitions exist but a standard approach and implementation methodology is lacking. Thus, a framework was developed based on a literature study as well as from experience within the MES environment. To ensure that the framework meets the needs of organisations, two questionnaires were developed and sent to people from various functions within large South African companies (and across divisions). The results of the empirical study showed that for large organisations, i.e. organisations with over 200 employees and an annual turnover in excess of R 40 million, some form of manufacturing execution systems were used in all the companies surveyed. The most common functionality deployed was Data Collection1Acquisition and the payback on these systems was greater than two years. The respondents highlighted that MES governance and an overall company wide strategy for MES implementation was non-existent or not enforced across the group of companies. The respondents also indicated that the implementation was time consuming and that the projects usually exceeded the allocated budget and/or were late. The respondents were not unanimous on who was accountable for MES within the organisation and a quarter felt that this was unclear within the organisation. When asked about the process that was followed in the selection of a vendor and solution, the majority felt that the process was not well defined. However, respondents noted that change management is used on all major projects and the outcome is generally successful. All the companies outsource either some or all of their IT services and the relationship with the vendor seems successful, as the rating received for MES support was very good. The benefits of implementing Manufacturing Execution Systems are also being realised by those companies that responded to the questionnaires. The overall impression is that over 75% of the respondents feel positive about the benefits and state that the benefits are realised. The only major shortcoming is that information is not being shared across business units and sites as half of the respondents felt that this was not happening in their companies. The proposed MES Engagement and Implementation Framework that was tested with the empirical study was subsequently updated. The framework suggests that all MES implementations should begin with a review of the business and ICT strategy as these would assist when defining the business requirements and the criteria for the selection of the technology, vendor, and solution The business requirements should be ascertained and a realistic business case should be developed. The project team should re-confirm the requirements once a vendor is selected, and, with the necessary change management, implement a portion of the solution as a pilot project. Once successful, then only should the entire solution be rolled out. Another parallel process should consider the outsourcing for the support phase. The entire process of implementing MES is cyclical as new requirements, additional functionality, and benefits tracking results in new projects. In conclusion adopting this framework would result in better implementation and ensure that the benefits are realised for all MES projects and that the solution is adequately supported after implementation. A model for the implementation has also been proposed and it should be developed and tested further to guide MES implementation. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The shift in mindset of decision makers, from maintenance being a “necessary evil” and “cost centre” to a “profit contributor” in manufacturing companies has driven outsourced maintenance suppliers to employ value-centric approaches in order to design more effective maintenance programs. A value assessment for maintenance outsourcing must facilitate the trade-off between cost-centric and value-centric approaches to enable the maintenance service providers to design more effective maintenance organizations. This assessment should also help the customers in a well informed decision making in outsourcing their maintenance function in order to add value to their businesses. Therefore the aim of this research is to develop a decision making framework for maintenance outsourcing based on the assessed customer-value of outsourced maintenance services. Cont/d.

This research thesis analyzes the characteristics of communication work in a call centre, by examining the communication work at a Swedish call centre which is outsourced to Latvia. The thesis studies the ways in which communication with the customers is organized, carried out and assigned meaning. Theoretically, the thesis draws on both critical and management-oriented perspectives of work. The empirical investigation combines participant observations at the call centre with individual interviews, mainly conducted with operators and management staff. The communication work is analyzed both as labour and as communicative activity. The concept of labour focuses upon the relation between employer and employee. Therefore, the analysis is placed within the framework of a capitalistic production system, through a survey of the economic and the organisational working conditions. The communicative activity deals with how the telephone conversations with the customers are enacted. In that part of the analyses, the working routines and the meaning making practices are illuminated. As examined in the current research, the communication work is indeed constructed in an alienated manner, through high levels of standardization, immobility, and estrangement from both customers and the customers’ culture. Nonetheless, merely being employed has meant significant economic security for the operators of the Latvian call centre. The operators are incumbents of a society affected by deep economic crises with high unemployment rates. In relation to their broader society, the employees have found meaning within their immediate social situation. This may explain why they endure the monotonous work with few opportunities for development.

IS outsourcing, especially large-scale IS outsourcing, is a comparatively recent and rapidly growing IS phenomenon, but it is also an inherently risky activity. In an IS outsourcing arrangement, the outsourcing vendor accepts responsibility for IS resources and functions formerly controlled directly by the firm. This research examines IS outsourcing from two perspectives. (1) From an IS perspective, it examines the risk perceptions of IS managers of fourteen Fortune-500 firms who had recently conducted an outsourcing evaluation. (2) From a financial perspective, it examines the theoretical relationship of IS outsourcing with financial performance, and investigates the empirical effects of IS outsourcing on the firm's market value and market risk. This research views IS outsourcing as an independent variable whose effects on the firm may be measured as changes in security returns, changes in asset risk, changes in capital structure, and long-term changes in profitability. To accomplish this, it characterizes IS outsourcing as a sale-and-leaseback transaction.

Informational technology outsourcing has been increasing in popularity over the last decades. It became a trend to transfer IT related processes and activities to an external provider, often located not only in a different country, but on a different continent. Outsourcing IT porcesses to an external provider is an appealing prospect, since the firm can transfer the resources from IT to more important processes. Moreover, since provider can be chosen from virtually anywhere in the world, there is a valid chance of significant IT costs reduction. All those benefits, however, are far from guaranteed. This thesis briefly describes the theory of IT ousourcing, presents current trends in outsourcing of information technologies, lists the common dangers by the decision making process concerning IT outsourcing, presents particular examples of large IT outsourcing contracts and finally introduces analysis of various aspects of IT outsourcing decisions and their results followed by econometric analysis, which examines possible patterns between the particular decisions and their results.

By using the data on Indian firms on the BSE 500 Index during the period 2005-2006, we find that family ownership affects group affiliated firms more positively than standalone firms. Group affiliated firms underperform initially as compared to standalone firms but after certain threshold of family ownership their performance becomes better than standalone firms. Within diversified Indian Business Group, family ownership affects highly diversified affiliates positively. Effect of family excess vote holdings and involvement of family management is found to be insignificant. We also find that block holders affect firm value negatively. Our results are in contrast with the existing literature of diversification and family ownership on developed market especially, US and UK. Some of our results are consistent with those of Khanna and Palepu (2000). This paper supports most of the findings of Khanna and Palepu based on more complete and reliable data set. In addition, it shows that the superior performance of highly diversified groups is related to greater family ownership. In the second essay, we examined the issues related to market reaction on IT outsourcing announcement and firm characteristics which induce firms to outsource. We find that IT outsourcing has a strong positive effect on stock prices of announcing firms, especially for longer event windows. We also find that the higher the pre-announcement inefficiency of a firm (as evidenced by lower asset turnover ratios, higher operating cost to sales, and higher cost of good sales to sales), the greater the positive price reaction to the outsourcing announcements. We also find that firms with higher information asymmetry problems (firms in the service industry) elicit a higher positive market reaction at the time of outsource announcement. Finally, firms that are likely to outsource are cost inefficient, and/or are cash needy.

This work deals with performance management in specific cases. Problem of performance management is being discussed in three different independent parts, in outsourcing, in time of the economic recession and when a new team is established within a company. The aim is to show the lack of processes established in large companies which apply in situations mentioned above. The analysis of the individual components, processes and systems was done using question forms, individual interviews and group sessions with employees of a concrete international company. Conclusions of this work are summarized in chapters according to the topics. The goal is to make recommendations which could be applied in all international companies and their environments. This work introduces new knowledge in the field of performance management in situations in which we cannot rely on the universally agreed procedures.

Third party logistics (TPL), the procurement of an integrated set of logistics services in a long-term relationship between a shipper (goods owner) and a service provider, is today a viable option for how companies carry out their logistics activities. Very little has been written on implementation or change issues in a TPL setting; these issues are identified as important, but not elaborated. There is however reason to believe that implementation of TPL arrangements, or rather establishment thereof, involves a complex change process involving substantial change for a wide range of actors in both the shipper’s and the provider’s organisation. When comparing literature that deals with the TPL establishment process with a stream of research that is concerned with logistics change, it comes to light that there is a discrepancy between the theoretical and methodological foundations of the former works, and what is written in these pieces regarding the process. It is concluded that recommendations for how to manage the establishment process are given without being founded in a theory of process, or research designs capable of studying process. The theoretical underpinnings of TPL literature are founded in a view of change as a matter of conducting rational analysis and conceiving the strategically wisest decisions for the logistics system as a whole. Implementation is viewed as an unproblematic exercise of issuing directives to affected actors, asserting that all actors are rational, therefore rationally conceived decisions will be accepted and implemented accordingly. Therefore the overarching purpose of this research is: To explore the change process of third party logistics establishment To fulfil this purpose the two streams of research mentioned above are combined. A meta-model of process consisting of the three interrelated dimensions content, context, and process forms the starting point for the study of process, but this is not sufficient for a study of change; a theory of change which is capable of capturing the mechanisms of the change process as it unfolds is also needed. Therefore the theory of change of the second stream of research mentioned above is adopted. The theory of change encompasses three models of change, which are archetypical representations of the mechanisms underlying change processes according to different assumptions of what change is and how change comes about. These models are denoted the linear, the processual, and the circular. One important aspect of this theory of change is that the approach to change should be aligned with the extent oflearning requirements on the actors who are affected by or involved in the change. An actors perspective is therefore called for, and adopted in this thesis. This thesis is the first step of a wider research effort concerned with studying the process of establishing TPL. Therefore, of the three dimensions of change, the contentdimension is excluded from study in this thesis. Governed by the meta-model of process, two research objectives are formulated: To explore the context within which the TPL establishment process unfolds and describe the contextual dependence of this process &amp; To describe the change process of TPL establishment in terms of the linear, processual, and circular models of change The empirical investigation applied is a single-case retrospective study, in which the case is the establishment process between a Swedish company and an international TPL service provider. A total of fifteen actors have been interviewed; ten on the shipper side of the dyad, five on the provider side. Although the TPL establishment process is an interorganisational process, this thesis focuses on the intraorganisational process of the shipper, why the empirical material from the other side of the dyad is not used in this thesis, The interorganisational aspect, as well as the intraorganisational side within the provider’s organisation are nevertheless important, and will be included in future research. The interviews were carried out in an unstructured manner, in which the interviewees were asked to retell the story from their own perspectives. Actors from varying positions, who were involved in the process, are included in the study; in the total sample all groups who were most affected or involved are represented. The interviews rendered ten stories of the studied process. These stories were then analysed by means of a pattern-matching logic, in order to seek out the important contextual dependencies of the process, and to explore the mechanisms of the change process, as it evolved in context. After having conducted this first step of the ongoing research effort, four main conclusions can be drawn: - The TPL establishment process is context dependent. - Not only rational mechanisms are at play in the process. - It is important to acknowledge actors, not only systems. - It is important to acknowledge the process, not only the decision. / <p>ISRN/Report code: LiU-TEK-LIC-2003:27</p>

Nach der vorliegenden Untersuchung zum Outsourcing medizinischer Daten aus strafrechtlicher Sicht kann folgendes Gesamtergebnis festgehalten werden. Beim Outsourcing medizinischer Daten sind regelmäßig personenbezogene Informationen betroffen. Personenbezogene Information umfasst als Oberbegriff „Geheimnisse“ i.S.v. § 203 StGB sowie personenbezogene Daten im Sinne des Datenschutzrechts. Bei der Bestimmung des Personenbezuges ist es trotz der grundsätzlichen Parallelgeltung von Datenschutzrecht und § 203 StGB zulässig, auf Grundsätze aus dem Datenschutzrecht zurückzugreifen. Für den Outsourcer medizinischer Daten droht eine Strafbarkeit nach § 203 StGB, wenn private IT-Dienstleistungsunternehmen vom schweigepflichtigen Outsourcer zur Erledigung von Aufgaben herangezogen werden und in Kontakt mit den Geheimnissen geraten. Daneben kann sich eine Strafbarkeit im Wege der Teilnahme an einer nach § 203 StGB strafbaren Geheimnisverletzung ergeben. Bei Sachverhalten mit Auslandsbezug kann es dabei zu einer Anwendung deutschen Strafrechts kommen, wenn die Teilnahmehandlung im Inland sich auf ein im Ausland erfolgendes Outsourcing bezieht oder die Teilnahmehandlung im Ausland sich auf ein im Inland erfolgendes Outsourcing bezieht. Bei § 85a SGB X und § 44 BDSG können sich ausländische Outsourcingpartner auch als Mittäter strafbar machen, da es sich bei diesen Delikten nicht um Sonderdelikte handelt. Allerdings lässt sich durch eine entsprechende Gestaltung des Outsourcingvorhabens im Einzelfall, unabhängig davon, ob ein Schweigepflichtiger nach § 203 Abs. 1 oder Abs. 2 StGB betroffen ist, eine Strafbarkeit vermeiden. Ansatz ist dabei die Tatbestandsebene des § 203 StGB, nämlich das Merkmal „Geheimnis“ sowie das Merkmal „Offenbaren“. So kann einerseits durch eine wirksame Verschlüsselung ein „Geheimnis“ i.S.v. § 203 StGB entfallen. Andererseits besteht die Möglichkeit, Mitarbeiter des privaten externen Dienstleistungsunternehmens als Gehilfen in den Kreis der zum Wissen Berufenen zu integrieren. Hierzu muss der Dritte an die Funktion des Schweigepflichtigen so angebunden werden, dass aus objektiv-normativer Sicht von einer tatbestandlichen Verantwortungseinheit gesprochen werden kann. Auf der Ebene der Rechtswidrigkeit lässt sich der Gefahr einer Strafbarkeit nach § 203 StGB durch eine Einwilligung begegnen. Außerhalb des Rechtfertigungsgrundes der Einwilligung bestehen für das Outsourcing von medizinischen Daten regelmäßig keine strafrechtlichen Erlaubnissätze. Allenfalls in unvorhergesehenen Ausnahmesituationen ist eine Rechtfertigung nach § 34 StGB denkbar. Für den Regelfall des Outsourcings ist § 34 StGB nicht als Rechtfertigungsgrund tauglich. Neben einer Strafbarkeit nach § 203 StGB kommt beim Outsourcing medizinischer Daten eine Strafbarkeit nach § 44 BDSG bzw. nach entsprechenden Vorschriften der Landesdatenschutzgesetze sowie eine Strafbarkeit nach § 85a SGB X in Betracht. Die Gefahr einer Strafbarkeit kann ausgeschlossen werden, wenn das Outsourcing datenschutzrechtlich bzw. sozialrechtlich zulässig ist. Neben der Möglichkeit einer Einwilligung, die nur ausdrücklich erfolgen kann, ist die Zulässigkeit eines Outsourcings medizinischer Daten über eine Ausgestaltung als Auftragsdatenverarbeitung erreichbar. Vorschriften zur Auftragsdatenverarbeitung existieren sowohl im Datenschutzrecht als auch im Sozialrecht. Diese Vorschriften ermöglichen, sofern nicht spezielle Vorschriften des sektorspezifischen Datenschutzrechts wie beispielsweise Art. 27 Bayerisches Krankenhausgesetz entgegenstehen, in bestimmten Grenzen ein Outsourcing medizinischer Daten unter Beteiligung privater IT-Dienstleistungsunternehmen. Die Normen der Auftragsdatenverarbeitung ermöglichen nicht eine selbständige und eigenverantwortliche Aufgabenerfüllung durch den Outsourcingnehmer im Sinne einer Funktionsübertragung. Vielmehr muss der Outsourcer nach einer Gesamtbetrachtung das Gesamtgeschehen erkennbar beherrschen und steuern. Die Aufgabe darf nicht durch den Auftraggeber insgesamt aus den Händen gegeben werden. Andere Vorschriften, die eine Funktionsübertragung beim Outsourcing medizinischer Daten ermöglichen würden, bestehen nicht. Die straflose Möglichkeit des Outsourcings medizinischer Daten hängt von der Gestaltung im Einzelfall ab. Dies kann unter dem Aspekt der Rechtssicherheit und Rechtsklarheit beklagt werden. Wünschenswert ist eine bundeseinheitliche Regelung, die das Outsourcing strafrechtlich regelt. Unter den verschiedenen gesetzgeberischen Möglichkeiten ist eine Neuregelung des § 203 StGB zu favorisieren. / Following the present analysis, from a criminal law perspective, on outsourcing medical data, the following overall result can be recorded. When outsourcing medical data, personal information is routinely affected. Under the umbrella term "secrets”, personal data includes personal information in terms of § 203 of the Criminal Code (StGB) as well as personal data in terms of the data protection act. When defining personal reference it is permitted, in spite of the basic parallel validity of the data protection act and § 203 StGB, to refer to principles from the data protection act. For the outsourcer of medical data, there is a risk of culpability pursuant to § 203 StGB if private IT service companies are enlisted by the outsourcer, who is sworn to secrecy, to fulfil tasks and come in contact with secrets. In addition, culpability can result from participating in a breach of secrecy that is punishable pursuant to § 203 StGB. For facts and circumstances involving a foreign element, this can result in German criminal law being applied if the domestic participation deed refers to outsourcing that is taking place abroad, or if the participation deed abroad refers to outsourcing that is taking place inland. For § 85a Social Act X (SGB X) and § 44 Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), foreign outsourcing partners can also be liable to prosecution as co-perpetrators, as these delicts are not special delicts. However, culpability can be avoided by means of a corresponding configuration of the outsourcing proposal in a given case, regardless of whether a person sworn to secrecy pursuant to § 203 para. 1 or para. 2 StGB is affected. The objective here is the basis of the facts of the case of § 203 StGB, in particular the characteristic "secret" as well as the characteristic "disclosure". Thus, on the one hand, a "secret" in terms of § 203 StGB can be cancelled by effective encryption. On the other hand, there is the option of integrating employees working for the private external service companies into the circle of authorized persons as assistants. For this purpose, the third party must be tied to the function of the person sworn to secrecy such that, from an objective-normative point of view, it can be referred to as a factual responsibility unit. On the level of unlawfulness, the risk of culpability can be met pursuant to § 203 StGB by consent. Outside of the grounds of justification of consent, there are consistently no criminal consent principles for outsourcing medical data. In unforeseen exceptional situations, justification pursuant to § 34 StGB is conceivable, at best. § 34 StGB is not a suitable ground of justification for the typical outsourcing case. Apart from culpability pursuant to § 203 StGB, culpability pursuant to § 44 BDSG resp. pursuant to relevant provisions of the Federal Data Protection Act, as well as culpability pursuant to § 85a SGB X, comes into consideration for outsourcing of medical data. The risk of culpability can be ruled out if outsourcing is permitted by data protection or social legislation. Apart from the possibility of consent which can only be obtained expressly, the admissibility of outsourcing medical data can be achieved by commissioning the data processing. There are regulations on commissioning data processing both in data protection as well as in social legislation. These regulations allow for the outsourcing of medical data up to a certain point, unless they are opposed by specific regulations of the branch-specific data protection law, such as for example Art. 27 of the Bavarian Hospital Law, with the participation of private IT service companies. The norms of commissioned data processing do not allow the outsourcee to independently and autonomously fulfil tasks, in terms of a transfer of functions. Instead, the outsourcer must discernibly be in control of and direct the overall events following an overall inspection. The employer must not let the task slip away completely. There are no other regulations that would facilitate transfer of functions for outsourcing medical data. Outsourcing medical data with impunity depends on the configuration in a given case. This can be criticised in terms of legal security and legal clarity. A uniform federal criminal law regulation that controls outsourcing is desirable. Out of the various legislative options, reorganisation of § 203 StGB should be favoured.