Text in English / The goal of this research was to investigate the relationship between security risk management and business continuity management and to determine how these two methodologies are applied within United Nations Funds and Programmes. These United Nations (UN) agencies have been established to deliver humanitarian aid, economic and social development and reconstruction activities. The locations where these services are required are typically where security risks are also most prevalent. The staff of the UN, the International Red Cross and other humanitarian and development organisations have traditionally been treated as neutral parties and have not been targeted by belligerent groups. This study revealed that there has been an annual increase in security incidents against aid workers and employees of UN organisations. The changing security landscape worldwide and the increasing demand for aid and development services in especially fragile and post-conflict environments, require organisations working in these areas to maintain a high level of resilience. Their resilience can be strengthened by applying robust security risk and business continuity management methodologies. The study included an examination of the global risk environment as it pertains to UN agencies, as well as key risk management concepts such as risk management, operational risk management, security risk management, business continuity management and organisational resilience. For the purposes of this study, security risk management is defined as the systematic approach to assessing and acting on security risks, while ensuring the safety and security of the organisation's personnel and facilities and ensuring that organisational objectives are achieved. Business continuity is a management process that identifies potential threats to an organisation, it assesses the impact to business operations − should the threats materialise − and it furthermore assists in the development of strategies to continue operations in the event of a disruption. In addition to looking at these concepts individually, the relationship between security risk management and business continuity management was also reviewed. The specific objectives set out to achieve the goal of the study were the following:  Explore the perceptions of UN agencies about the link between security risk management and business continuity management.  Analyse the extent of integration between security risk management and business continuity management processes and oversight.  Make recommendations as to how security risk management and business continuity management can operate in an integrated manner with the goal of increasing the overall resilience of UN agencies. To answer the research questions a qualitative research approach was adopted. This enabled the researcher to collect data through interviewing participants and analysing their feedback. The research focused on UN Funds and Programmes as a sub-set of agencies within the UN family of organisations. Each one of these agencies has a specific mandate, such as providing assistance to refugees, promoting food security, poverty reduction, improving reproductive health and family planning services. They also operate in fragile states as well as in emergency and humanitarian crises situations where the security risks are often higher than in normal developing countries. Eight out of 12 UN Funds and Programmes agreed to participate in the study, including: United Nations Children's Fund; United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East; Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; World Food Programme; United Nations Development Programme; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; United Nations Human Settlements Programme; and UN Women. Data were collected through conducting semi-structured telephone interviews with the security manager and/or business continuity manager serving in the headquarters of each participating organisation. Findings from the study indicated that security risk management within the UN system has evolved and that security has matured from a purely protective and defensive posture to following a risk management approach. The strength of the UN Security Management System lies in its Security Risk Management Model, which enables a thorough assessment of security risks and the implementation of commensurate mitigating security measures. In contrast to security risk management, the study revealed that business continuity as a management process is a fairly new initiative and has not yet been comprehensively adopted by all UN agencies. When combined, security risk management and business continuity management ensure the safety of staff, maximise the defence of the agencies’ reputation, minimise the impact of events on the agencies as well as their beneficiaries, protect the organisation’s assets, and very importantly, demonstrate effective governance. This can only be done through establishing an organisational risk management model by positioning security risk management and business continuity management within the UN agency’s organisational structure so that they can effectively work together and at the same time allow access to senior management. Good practices and apparent gaps were identified in how these two methodologies are implemented and five specific recommendations were made. The research confirmed the need for both security risk management and business continuity management and the role each function plays to enhance an organisation’s resilience. It also highlighted that while they are two separate management functions, both need to be implemented within a larger risk management framework and need to be closely aligned in order to be effective. The five recommendations are:  Incorporate security risk management and business continuity management functions and responsibilities into the larger agency-wide risk management governance framework.  Expand the scope of business continuity in those UN agencies where it currently sits in the domain of information technology or has not yet been comprehensively implemented across the organisation.  Establish a comprehensive crisis management framework spanning across the whole organisation from their headquarters to country offices.  Develop the capacity to gather risk data across their agency and aggregate the data to view the full spectrum of risks, including security risks and business continuity risks in a holistic manner.  Integrate security risk management and business continuity management processes to enhance their effectiveness. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field of risk management by gathering relevant information from participating UN Funds and Programmes, comparing the information with other academic sources and drawing conclusions to answer the research questions. While it is expected that each organisation will have its own view on how to implement security risk management and business continuity management, the findings and recommendations as a result of the study present a series of practical recommendations on how the two functions can operate in an integrated manner in order to increase the overall resilience of these UN agencies. Other non-UN organisations working in similar high risk environments could also benefit from the outcomes of the study, as it would allow them to compare their own approaches to security risk management and business continuity management with the information presented in this study. / Security Risk Management / M. Tech. (Security Management)

[pt] As organizações se deparam com uma necessidade cada vez maior de mudar e evoluir, mas para isso elas precisam tomar as decisões corretas. Para essa tomada de decisão, as empresas estão adotando os recursos disponibilizados pela Tecnologia da Informação (TI) como parte fundamental para apoiar suas decisões. Um componente de TI essencial para aprimorar o processo de tomada de decisão é o data warehouse. Para cumprir bem o seu papel, o data warehouse deve ser bem definido. Embora existam diversas abordagens que buscam melhorar a tarefa de identificação dos requisitos para data warehouses, poucas exploram as contribuições da Engenharia de Processos de Negócios (EPN) no processo de definição dos requisitos. Esta dissertação estuda um meio de aprimorar a tarefa de elicitação de requisitos para data warehouses, utilizando indicadores de desempenho aliados aos processos de negócio. Para isso é sugerido um conjunto de heurísticas que visam, a partir dos indicadores de desempenho, orientar a descoberta dos requisitos de data warehouse. A aplicação das heurísticas propostas é feita em um caso, facilitando a compreensão da abordagem sugerida nesse trabalho. / [en] Organizations need to change and evolve, but for that it is necessary to make the right decisions. For this decision, companies are using Information Technology (IT) as a fundamental part to support their decisions. An essential IT component to improve the process of decision making is the data warehouse. In order to fulfill its role well, the data warehouse must be well defined. There are various approaches that try to improve the task of identifying data warehouses requirements, but few explore the contributions of Business Processes Engineering (BPE) in the process of requirements gathering. This dissertation studies how to improve data warehouses requirements elicitation using performance indicators allied to business processes. For this it is suggested a set of heuristics designed to guide performance measures identification and data warehouse requirements discovery. The heuristics are applied in a case to facilitate understanding of suggested approach in this work.

Apesar de amplamente abordada em diversas publicações (artigos, revistas, livros etc.), a estruturação do trabalho de elaboração de um plano estratégico de TI constitui-se em um desafio para as organizações, em especial para aquelas em que a cultura do planejamento estratégico é incipiente. A produção de um material consolidado, que sirva de referência para orientar a superação desse desafio e promover o conhecimento sobre as questões a considerar para a geração de valor para o negócio, motivou a realização do presente trabalho. / TCCP (MBA em Governança e Melhores Práticas da TI ) - Instituto INFNET, Escola Superior da Tecnologia da Informação, Rio de Janeiro, 2011. / Bibliografia: p. 85

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology. / The paradigm shift from administrative to strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) has, arguably, necessitated the need for a more objective and quantitative HRM that shows how HRM interlinks with strategic organisational outcomes. Consequently, HR metrics, measurements and analytics can be tools, which can give HRM a status and position that is similar to other functional departments in organisations that provide numerical data. The purpose of this study was to explore HRM factors that are critical to determine strategic HR metrics. The purpose arose owing to documented scholarship, which argues that the current regime of HR metrics has no appeal to top management; is composed of too many metrics that are confusing; is suitable for traditional HRM; and does not give HRM a strategic status. The objective of the study was, therefore, to provide HR factors that link with strategic or organisational level outcomes and based on these factors, determine a metric that HR practitioners and top management can adopt as standard. The literature review had to be merged in a systems theory framework to develop the conceptual framework to start a grounded theory methodology. Within this methodology both secondary and primary data was collected and analysed. As part of its summary, the literature review included a meta study of prominent research on the HRM-firm performance relationship. The mini meta-analysis involved 27 studies whose mean coefficient of determination was calculated to show the strength of the variability in firm performance for which HRM accounted. This analysis revealed that HRM, on average, accounted for 31% of the variability in firm performance in the models that were used to investigate the relationship. An analysis was conducted of documents as part of a content analysis to collect secondary data, while questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The key finding was that the strategic HR factors are the HRM outcomes, namely employee engagement, commitment, satisfaction and embeddedness, while the HR metric that connects the HR factors and strategic outcomes is given as p=kH+c, where p is organisational performance, H are the HR factors, k is a constant of proportionality, and c is basic employee performance. It was also found that employee engagement had the most impact on organisational performance, relative to the other HR factors. As a result, the key recommendation made in this study is that organisations should use employee commitment, engagement, satisfaction and embeddedness to boost performance with special attention on employee engagement. The metric p=kH+c can be used to measure the level at which HR factors boost performance.

Thesis (MTech (Business Information Systems))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / The global business environment has for a number of years been changing progressively faster and as a result, organisations are concentrating on becoming more agile to survive the contemporary business environment. The educational institutions are un-spared from the fast, progressive change. This change is making it difficult for educational institutions to cope with the competitive environment, thereby affecting business agility and the implementation of Business Process Management (BPM). This study seeks to explore what factors are affecting the agility and implementation of Business Process Management at a Further Education and Training (FET) college. The researcher of this dissertation’s view of the world or ontology is that of subjectivism. The research design utilises an interpretivist approach with a qualitative paradigm orientation. Additionally, the study adopts an inductive approach or argument which upholds that true statements, one after the other, can lead to a probable accurate conclusion or theory. This research uses a case study where data is gathered from key management staff and IT experts at the FET College (FETC), using semi-structured questionnaires by means of interviews. An overview of the findings indicates a lack of resources, lack of conduciveness to the teaching and learning environment, lack of collaboration, outdated curriculum, and resistance to change as factors impeding the FETC’s ability to respond to the competitive environment and implementation of Business Process Management. The lack of capabilities, incorrect risk management, culture of change as well as non-alignment of business processes (BPs) with the vision of the FETC, are factors preventing the College from being more agile and creating value for its clients. Furthermore, there is a high misuse of the registration and bursary processes by students. To conclude, the FETC needs to find alternative means besides the main source—government—to source resources. The FETC needs to be more agile and flexible in order to retain clients and remain sustainable in the industry. Furthermore, the FETC needs to improve on its business processes (BPs) and physical security. It is recommended that the FETC manages the correct risks in order to change and remain competitive in the industry. The FET environment necessitates interconnected registration and bursary processes to optimise the use of resources. The registration processes need to be re-engineered in order to facilitate early registration. Security needs to be improved and effective strategic management put in place.

Thesis (MTech (Business Information Systems))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / The thesis aimed at exploring the role Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems play in an organization’s continuous auditing practices. Continuous auditing encourages innovation and improves the practice of traditional auditing through the use of automation and computerisation. Auditing specialists and researchers have begun to adopt a technology driven process as an approach to back up real time assurance. The rationale of the study is drawn from previous research where the findings argue that organizations employ the use of ERP systems because it enables seamless access to information and automation, which makes monitoring of controls easier. The study used Structuration Theory (ST) as the underpinning theory and drew on the concept of duality of technology (i.e., Enactment of Technology-in-Practice) as a lens to comprehend and deduced the social phenomenon of continuous auditing using ERP system. This research study investigated this social phenomenon and how it had influenced performance auditing of an organization. The study applied interpretivism as a research paradigm and as such adopted a qualitative approach where semi-structured interviews were used to tease out the research objectives and questions. The outcome of the research validated a conceptual framework which has led to a proposed general framework for practicing continuous auditing using ERP system. All interviews data collected and accurately captured with informed consent were subject to the approval of the selected organization. This was not to violate the organization’s privacy and confidentiality policies. It did not reveal any information that could potentially adversely affect the reputation of the organization or reveal private information to its competitors.

The theme of this work is to present quality standards in a chosen company, which is producing and selling non-alcoholic drinks. The following practical part has two tasks to solve. First, to prepare documentation of HACCP plan for implementation a new product, second to try to remove defect in comparison with BRC standard. Defects are : 1. missing specification forms for private labels 2. missing measuring form of customers satisfaction

Este estudo trata de decisões de investimento em capital produtivo no âmbito de empresas algodoeiras, empresas cujo processo produtivo é a preparação do algodão em estado bruto para a indústria têxtil, assim como a limpeza de sementes para a indústria de refinamento de óleo vegetal. Havendo passado por uma crise estrutural em seu ambiente de competição, a cotonicultura brasileira, voltou a se destacar mundialmente na primeira década dos anos 2000 com um produto de alto padrão de qualidade e marcado por elevados níveis de exportação. Entretanto, esse movimento não vem sendo homogêneo em todo o País. Tendo em vista esse fenômeno, este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar e discutir características referentes às decisões de investimento de capital por parte de um grupo não aleatório de gestores de empresas algodoeiras. Partindo-se de uma abordagem qualitativa e exploratória sobre os dados levantados, aplicou-se a análise de conversação, uma forma de análise de conteúdo. Esse método permitiu identificar particularidades de cada unidade investigada, possibilitando a realização de inferências quanto a razões, causas ou comportamentos com base em respostas extraídas de questionários abertos. Os resultados dessa pesquisa apontam para um enfoque gerencial menos voltado à tentativa de assegurar posições futuras para a empresa, e sim para a tentativa de se garantir resultados operacionais satisfatórios no curto prazo. Assim, a gestão das empresas pesquisadas parece estar mais suscetível às incertezas do ambiente em que atuam, já que não há uma visualização mais ampla acerca das possibilidades que investimentos possam trazer à empresa. A ênfase gerencial em dados que tratam do ônus financeiro na decisão de investimento pode explicar em parte o perfil mais adaptativo do planejamento evidenciado na maior parte dessas empresas, isto é, os gastos relativos às operações podem estar regendo o comportamento quanto ao gerenciamento de ativos, estando mais presentes na mente dos gestores do que as possibilidades de ganhos a partir de novos investimentos. Há a presença latente de aspectos comportamentais nas decisões de investimento por parte dos gestores entrevistados. A principal limitação dessa pesquisa é representada pela conveniência na seleção das empresas pesquisadas assim como seu reduzido número, de modo que não se torna possível a generalização dos resultados ao universo investigado. Em futuros trabalhos, recomenda-se abordar variáveis que representam riscos ou incertezas para o empresário ou gestor no setor. Especula-se que, os métodos reconhecidos no âmbito da gestão de riscos podem contribuir positivamente para uma melhor tomada de decisão, abrindo caminho para maior utilização de técnicas mais sofisticadas de orçamento de capital por parte dos gestores. / This thesis investigates capital equipment analysis and investment projects in cotton gins, raw cotton and oil seed processing units. The Brazilian cotton industry passed through a crisis in competitiveness during the 1980s and 1990s, however, more recently, it has regained international reputation with a high quality product reaching high export levels as well. Considering that this movement has been witnessed only in specific regions or states, other than traditional growing areas, this study seeks to identify and discuss capital investment decision characteristics of a chosen group of managers of cotton gins. A qualitative and exploratory approach toward the data was applied with the use of the conversation analysis method, a type of content analysis. This method permitted not only the identification of particularities of each business unit under investigation but also inferences concerning reasons, causes and behaviors based on answers extracted from open questionnaires. The results of this research reveal a managerial focus toward an attempt of guaranteeing satisfactory operational results on the short run instead of purposeful actions aligned with desirable future positions for the businesses. In this way the businesses investigated seem to be more susceptible to environmental uncertainties in which they operate, once there isnt a broader visualization of the possibilities that investments may bring to them. The emphatic managerial consideration of financial burden in the investment decision might explain in part the more adaptive characteristic of the planning task shown in most of the businesses under research. Thus, operational costs may be influencing managerial behavior in capital equipment assessment, being more present in the mind of managers than the possibilities of gain from new investments. There is a strong presence of behavioral aspects in investment decision-making by the managers interviewed. A main limitation of this research has to do with the convenience in the selection of the businesses investigated, as well as the non representative sample of a major universe of cotton gin units. In later works, it may be considered an investigation of the risk and uncertainty variables from managers or entrepreneurs perspective. It is hypothesized that some of the well known methods of risk management might positively contribute to the capital equipment assessment, allowing a more intense use of capital budgeting techniques by managers and entrepreneurs.

M. Ing. / Undoubtedly, forecasting accuracy presents many advantages to a business, but the opposite is also true for forecasting inaccuracy. This paper is intended to outline the effects of forecasting accuracy on business planning while also investigating factors that affect it. The role of the human element in this regard is also discussed in the report. The study is qualitative in nature with an exploratory approach. A survey and focus group interviews / discussions were conducted so as to achieve the aim of the project. The information obtained from these two methods was used to explore the research questions which in turn were designed to identify the impact of forecasting accuracy and factors that affect this accuracy. The findings of the study indicate that the effect of forecasting accuracy is more significant than commonly perceived. The findings also outline the important factors affecting forecasting accuracy. The basis of this argument is that most of the factors that affect forecasting accuracy can be controlled and are centered on people. Therefore, in order for companies to survive, they must begin improving v their forecasting process and paying more attention to the human element of this process.

The fresh hake processing lines at Seavuna fishing company in Mossel Bay are not consistently achieving their volume output standards and this is resulting in higher processing costs and loss of processing opportunities. The company’s senior management are concerned about this trend and require a complete review of the effectiveness of the resources deployed on the lines. This with the view of establishing the causes of poor process volume output. In order to resolve the process inefficiency challenges mentioned, this study used both empirical and time studies to investigate the effectiveness of the company’s resources directly deployed in the processing unit. The study focused on investigating the human factor, machinery and equipment, the environment and the current efficiency standards. Relevant literature in the field of process efficiency improvement was consulted to assist in identifying factors that are known to cause process inefficiencies, and also to establish which improvement techniques would be relevant in correcting the situation. From the Literature reviewed, it was evident that a ‘one size fits all’ solution to resolving inefficiencies is almost non-existent and that a solution that is relevant to the problem is more effective. In addition, a benchmarking exercise was also done to establish how Seavuna’s current volume output standards fair against its major rivals. Once data from both studies were collected, the results were analysed using the some of the basic quality tools. Thereafter, lean manufacturing principles were used to attempt to resolve the current efficiency challenges. The study recommended that the company construct a business strategy and a corresponding organisational culture to direct its continuous improvement interventions. The use of strategic quality planning would go a long way in assisting the company to execute some of the interventions recommended.