A integração é um dos fatores determinantes da eficiência e da eficácia do processo de desenvolvimento de produtos. Neste trabalho, considera-se que um processo de negócio é integrado quando as pessoas, atividades e áreas funcionais mantêm uma relação simbiótica, que preserva as orientações individuais dos grupos especializados e que é resultante da divisão de atividades e da existência de esforços para obter unidade de ações e compatibilidade de resultados. Estes esforços são caracterizados por quatro elementos: troca de informações, coordenação, atitude colaborativa e compatibilidade. Porém, a integração só ocorre quando é empreendida ação gerencial para obtê-la. O presente trabalho apresenta a gestão de informações como esta ação gerencial, desdobrando-a em três componentes: gestão das atividades e do fluxo de informações, gestão de conflitos de decisões e gestão de memória. A partir deste contexto, propõe-se um modelo conceitual que sintetiza como, em projetos de agregação de novas funcionalidades ou customização de produtos, cada componente da gestão de informações contribui para concretizar cada elemento da integração. Para falseamento deste modelo, apresenta-se um estudo de caso isolado, realizado na unidade brasileira de um fabricante global de equipamentos elétricos. Conclui-se que os três componentes da gestão de informações contribuem para a realização da coordenação, da atitude colaborativa e da compatibilidade, e que a troca de informações é suportada apenas pela gestão das atividades e do fluxo de informações e pela gestão da memória. Conclui-se também que o modelo de processo deve ser descrito no formato de um projeto-modelo de configuração modular, que permite combinar as atividades de acordo com o tipo de produto/projeto a ser executado, e que o planejamento do projeto deve corresponder à escolha das atividades, recursos e procedimentos, dentre aqueles previstos no projeto-modelo, que serão executados e utilizados no projeto em questão. / Integration of the product development process is one of the factors determining the efficiency and effectiveness of such a process, of great importance for those companies for which product development is a factor of competitiveness. Integration is defined as the symbiotic interrelation of the entities involved in this business process. It: preserves individual orientations of the specialized groups and results from the division of activities and the existence of efforts to obtain unit of actions/compatibilities of results. These efforts are characterized by four elements: information sharing, coordination, collaboration and compatibility. However, integration only happens when managerial action is undertaken. The present work presents information management as such a managerial action, unfolding it in three components: management of activities and flow of information, management of conflicts and management of memory. Starting from this context, it proposes a conceptual model for projects of aggregation of new functionalities or customization of products that synthesizes as each component of information management contributes to render each element of integration. For verification of this model, it presents a unique case study, accomplished in the Brazilian unit of a global manufacturer of electric equipments. It concludes that the three components of information management contribute to the accomplishment of coordination, attitude of collaboration and compatibility. It also concludes that sharing of information is only supported by the management of activities and flow of information and management of memory. Its also concludes that the process model should be described in the format of a project-model of modular configuration, which allows combining the activities in agreement with the product/project type to be executed, and that planning of a project should correspond to the choice of the activities, resources and procedures, among those foreseen in the project-model, that will be executed and used in the particular project.

Product development process (PDP) architecture holds the key to the management of New Product Development (NPD). A lot of care is exercised in managing the NPD to reduce risk and uncertainties. There exists potential scope for improvement both in initial planning as well as execution of the NPD program by studying the PDP architecture. This research work seeks to taps this potential and presents an analytical tool to aid the NPD Managers. In this research work Design Structure Matrices (DSM) are used to represent the PDP architecture. The Work Transformation Matrix (WTM) is a kind of DSM and it was introduced for the analysis of concurrent task structures. However a generalized task structure has not been studied analytically in the literature. In order to study a generalized task structure we add two new matrix types to the WTM set to represent the task network interconnections and the task interdependence. First we study the pure sequential task iteration structure for NPD and show that it has lower engineering effort (cost and time) than the concurrent task iteration structure previously discussed in literature. Next we study the generalized task iteration structure and derive the expressions for total work and cost vectors. This is a major research contribution since only simulation based methods are currently available for studying generalized task iteration structures. The optimization of sequencing interdependent tasks is a well known NP hard problem in NPD literature. For small sized task sets, exhaustive enumeration of all possible sequencing and their corresponding time or cost vectors can be computed to determine the optimal sequence. However for large sized task networks, only heuristic methods are deployed. Using the closed form expression for cost and time vectors for a pure sequential task iteration structure derived earlier in this research work, we attempt to devise a method to optimally sequence the design tasks. We develop new matrix combining both the node and link weightages of task network. Using the time vector relationship between sequential and concurrent task structures, it is shown that the optimal task sequence corresponds to the reordering of this combined matrix whose “Dominance index” (sum above the diagonal) is minimum. Finally, we use some of the standard test cases from the PDP literature to demonstrate our research findings.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / This study focuses on a critical analysis of sustainability of Local Economic Development (LED) projects in Mutale Municipality in Limpopo Province of South Africa. It furthermore investigates the extent to which the projects sustain project members. Based on an extensive review of the literature, the study explains an understanding of the emerging trends and challenges in sustainability of LED projects nationally and internationally. A mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods is used. The data were collected by means of unstructured interviews and questionnaires from purposively sampled project members and local economic development officers who came from randomly selected projects. The study demonstrates that while there are some benefits derived by LED project members, to a large extent, the projects are not sustainable. LED is not prioritized in terms of resource allocation by the Municipality. In addition, inadequacies of members‘ capacity in leadership and management also retard sustainability. It is therefore recommended that the Municipality has to prioritise LED in terms of resource allocation and building capacity of beneficiaries in management and other business-related competencies.

This diploma deals with development strategy of company. Subject of analysis is one of the world’s biggest car rental company, it’s Czech part to be more specific. This thesis analyses company according to analytics methods taught during the study, most important is The Strategic analysis. Results of the analysis part reveals a weak spot – absence of utility vehicles, which are offered by company’s foreign offices also by local competitors. Method of minimal costs was used for developing and presenting one specific solution to eliminate the weak spot.

The Master´s thesis deals with specifics of personal leadership or management in companies with advanced technologies, called high-tech. Using questionnaire investigation in addition to structured interview is analyzed situation in personal area in the high-tech company . Theoretical part defines high-tech sector, describes activities and purpose of personal unit and modern conception of development of human resources. Below is entertained about influence of corporate culture on the strategy of human ressource development. Furthermore there are mentioned elements of leadership including theory of generation and diversity management. Practical part involves analytical and recommendation part, including variants

This diploma thesis deals with the topic of career in teaching, which has many specific characteristics compared to the classical concept of career. The thesis focuses on the group of kindergarten teachers who stand at the beginning of the education system as important influencers on the life-long educational journey of each of us. The aim of the thesis is to analyse the view of the kindergarten teacher career by teachers and principals and to look for support from the school management level. The theoretical part deals with three basic areas, which are professional development, professional career and career system. The first chapter shows the connection between the professional development of teachers and their career, it also focuses on its individual components, especially continual education of teachers. The second chapter is devoted to the career itself and compares the theoretical background of the career with its specifics in the teaching career. It looks at the teaching profession in terms of its attractiveness and individual stages of the teachers' career. The third chapter reflects the need for a career system, characterizes its benefits and presents the current state of its setting in the Czech Republic and abroad. The research part uses a questionnaire survey to find out how teachers...

Infrastructure systems around the world face immediate crises and smoldering long-term challenges. Consequently, system owners and managers must balance the need to repair and replace the aging and deteriorating systems already in place against the need for transformative investments in deep decarbonization, climate adaptation, and transportation that will enable long-term competitiveness. Complicating these decisions are deep uncertainties, finite resources, and competing objectives. These challenges motivate the integration of “hard” investments in physical infrastructure with “soft” instruments like insurance, land use policy, and ecosystem restoration that can improve service, shrink costs, scale up or down as future needs require, and reduce vulnerability to population loss and economic contraction. A critical advantage of soft instruments is that they enable planners to adjust, expand, or reduce them at regular intervals, unlike hard instruments which are difficult to modify once in place. As a result, soft instruments can be precisely tailored to meet near-term needs and conditions, including projections of the quasi-oscillatory, regime-like climate processes that dominate seasonal to decadal hydro-climate variability, thereby reducing the need to guess the needs and hazards of the distant future. The objective of this dissertation is to demonstrate how potentially predictable modes of structured climate variability can inform the design of soft instruments and the formulation of adaptive infrastructure system plans. Using climate information for sequential adaptation requires developing credible projections of climate variables at relevant time scales. PartI considers the drivers of river floods in large river basins, which is used throughout this dissertation as an example of a high-impact hydroclimate extreme. First, chapter 2 opens by exploring the strengths and limitations of existing methodologies, and by developing a statistical-dynamical causal chain framework within which to consider flood risk on interannual to secular time scales. Next, chapter 3 describes the physical mechanisms responsible for heavy rainfall (90th percentile exceedance)and flooding in the Lower Paraguay River Basin (LPRB), focusing on a November-February(NDJF) 2015-16 flood event that displaced over 170 000 people. This chapter shows that: 1. persistent large-scale conditions over the South American continent during NDJF 2015-16 strengthened the South American Low-Level Jet (SALLJ), bringing warm air and moisture to South East South America (SESA), and steered the jet towards the LPRB, leading to repeated heavy rainfall events and large-scale flooding; 2. while the observed El Niño event contributed to a stronger SALLJ, the Madden-JulienOscillation (MJO) and Atlantic ocean steered the jet over the LPRB; and 3. while numerical sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) and seasonal models projected an elevated risk of flooding consistent with the observed El Niño event, they had limited skill at lead times greater than two weeks, suggesting that improved representation of MJO and Atlantic teleconnections could improve regional forecast skill. Finally, chapter 4 shows how mechanistic understanding of the physical causal chain that leads to a particular hazard of interest – in this case heavy rainfall over a large area in the Ohio River Basin (ORB) – can inform future risks. Taking the GFDL coupled model, version 3 (CM3) as a representative general circulation model (GCM), this chapter shows that 1. the GCM simulates too many regional extreme precipitation (REP) events but under-simulates the occurrence of back to back REP days; 2. REP days show consistent large-scale climate anomalies leading up to the event; 3. indices describing these large-scale anomalies are well simulated by the GCM; and 4. a statistical model describing this causal chain and exploiting simulated large-scale in-dices from the GCM can be used to inform the future occurrence of REP days. Even the best climate projections must confront epistemic uncertainties. Part II of this dissertation explores how intrinsically flawed projections should inform sequential adaptation.First, chapter5reviews approaches for planning under uncertainty, considering the role of classical decision theory, optimization, probability, and non probabilistic approaches. Next, chapter 6 considers how different physical mechanisms impart predictability at different timescales and the implications of secular, low-frequency cyclical, and high-frequency cyclical variability for selection between instruments with long and short planning periods. In particular, this chapter builds from three assertions regarding the nature of climate risk: 1. different climate risk mitigation instruments have different project lifespans; 2. climate risk varies on many scales; and 3. the processes which dominate this risk over the planning period depend on the planning period itself. Defining M as the nominal design life of a structural or financial instrument and N as the length of the observational record (a proxy for total informational uncertainty), chapter 7 presents a series of stylized computational experiments to probe the implications of these premises. Key findings are that: 1. quasi-periodic and secular climate signals, with different identifiability and predictability, control future uncertainty and risk; 2. adaptation strategies need to consider how uncertainties in risk projections influence the success of decision pathways; and 3. stylized experiments reveal how bias and variance of climate risk projections influencerisk mitigation over a finite planning period. Chapter 7 elaborates these findings through a didactic case study of levee heightening in the Netherlands. Integrating a conceptual model of low-frequency variability with credible projections of sea level rise, chapter 7 uses dynamic programming to co-optimize hard (levee increase) and soft (insurance) instruments. Key findings are that 1. large but distant and uncertain changes (e.g., sea level rise) do not necessarily motivate immediate investment in structural risk protection; 2. soft adaptation strategies are robust to different model structures and assumptions while hard instruments perform poorly under conditions for which they were not de-signed; and 3. increasing the hypothetical predictability of near-term climate extremes significantly lowers long-term adaptation costs. Finally, part III seeks to unpack the conceptual experiments of parts I and II to inform policy and future research. Chapter 8 describes how constructive narratives about climate change can discourage climate fatalism. Instead, chapter 8 emphasizes that while climate change is and will be a critical stressor of infrastructure systems, individuals, communities, and regions have agency and can mitigate its consequences. Finally, chapter9concludes by discussing the key findings of this dissertation and exploring how future work on decision under uncertainty, technology, and earth systems science can aid the design and management of effective infrastructure services.

Актуальность исследования развития производственной системы зависит от конкретного контекста, в котором развивается производственное предприятие, в настоящее время к числу таких условий можно отнести значительную технологическую перестройку производственных процессов, связанных с внедрением цифровых технологий и смену производственной культуры, соответствующей подобным изменениям. В целом развитие производственных систем является важной темой в различных отраслях и секторах, поскольку она может оказать существенное влияние на эффективность, производительность и конкурентоспособность. В данном исследовании рассматриваются актуальные вопросы по управлению культурой и цифровыми компетенциями при развитии производственного предприятия и предлагается методический подход к управлению развитием производственной системы, принимающий во внимание социальные факторы внутренней среды металлургического предприятия. Цель исследования – развитие методических основ управления развитием металлургического предприятия на основе формирования и развития производственной культуры и цифровых компетенций персонала. / The relevance of the study of the development of the production system depends on the specific context in which the manufacturing enterprise develops, at present, such conditions include a significant technological restructuring of production processes associated with the introduction of digital technologies and a change in the production culture corresponding to such changes. In general, the development of production systems is an important topic in various industries and sectors, as it can have a significant impact on efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. This study discusses topical issues of managing culture and digital competencies in the development of a manufacturing enterprise and proposes a methodological approach to managing the development of a production system that takes into account the social factors of the internal environment of a metallurgical enterprise. The purpose of the study is to develop the methodological foundations for managing the development of a metallurgical enterprise based on the formation and development of a production culture and digital competencies of personnel.

High levels of water stress and increased demand for potable water generated via desalination pose significant challenges for sustainable waste brine management in arid regions. Electrochemical techniques, like brine electrolysis, offer an approach for treating brine, preventing environmentally harmful disposal, and facilitating the recycling of valuable ions found in brine. As the large concentration of ions can precipitate and degrade conventional electrolyzer components, membraneless electrolyzers, which lack membranes, can be an alternative for direct brine electrolysis. The absence of membranes enables operation in the presence of impurities and a wide range of pH environments. However, membraneless electrolyzers suffer from a trade-off between current density and current utilization that stems from undesired back-reactions that arise from the crossover of gaseous and aqueous products between the anode and cathode. In this dissertation work, a combination of in situ high-speed video, colorimetric pH imaging, modeling, and electroanalytical methods were used to evaluate how the performance of a porous flow-through cathode is affected by operating current density, electrolyte flow rate, and choice of catalyst placement on a porous support. It was found that catalyst placement is a key knob to control the location of product generation and thereby minimize product crossover and maximize pH differential. Placing the catalyst on the outer surface of the cathode resulted in an average increase of 51% in current utilization, a metric for measuring crossover, compared to the opposite configuration. This finding is explained by the ability of the porous electrode support to serve as a barrier to suppress crossover for the outward-facing catalyst configuration. In addition, the outward-facing catalyst configuration leads to more stable operation while incurring minor increases (90-170 mV) in overpotentials. For both catalyst configurations, it was also shown that the Damköhler number (𝐷𝑎) is a practical descriptor for predicting operating conditions that maximize the concentration of OH⁻ in the cathode effluent stream. Furthermore, this dissertation evaluated the performance of a platinized cathode within a membraneless electrolyzer in the presence of Mg²⁺ impurities. In a 3-hour stability test at 50 mA cm⁻² during brine electrolysis, electrolytes with Mg²+ concentration below 5 mM showed a negligible influence on cathode performance. Electrolytes with Mg²⁺ concentration below 1.2 mM at similar operating conditions exhibited improved cathode performance compared to Mg-free brine. All learnings during this study were captured in a mathematical model that predicts the tolerance threshold at which the cathode would cease to operate due to accumulations of Mg(OH)₂ deposits at different current densities and superficial velocities. Overall, these studies demonstrated the potential of membraneless electrolyzers as an emerging technology for treating brine and converting it into high-value products. Finally, applying an oxide overlayer to planar electrodes has been demonstrated to improve their stability, activity, and/or selectivity. This is relevant for direct brine electrolysis, as brine contains many impurities that can compromise the integrity of electrodes and promote undesirable reactions, generating toxic products like chlorine gas. However, given that high-surface electrodes are required for industrial applications, it is necessary to develop a method to encapsulate high-surface-area electrodes. Applying nanoscopic oxide encapsulation layers to high-surface-area electrodes such as nanoparticle-supported porous electrodes is not an easy task. This dissertation work demonstrated that the recently developed condensed layer deposition (CLD) method can be used for depositing nanoscopic (sub-10 nm thick) titanium oxide (TiO₂) overlayers onto high surface area platinized carbon foam electrodes. Characterization of the overlayers by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) showed they are amorphous, while X-ray photoelectron microscopy confirmed that they exhibit TiO₂ stoichiometry. Electrodes were also characterized by hydrogen underpotential deposition (Hupd) and carbon monoxide (CO) stripping, demonstrating that the Pt electrocatalysts remain electrochemically active after encapsulation. Furthermore, copper underpotential deposition (Cuupd) measurements for bare Pt and TiO₂-encapsulated Pt electrocatalysts revealed that the TiO₂ overlayer effectively prevented Cu₂+ from reaching the buried, allowing this method to determine the coverage of the TiOx coating. In summary, this portion of the dissertation demonstrated that CLD is a promising method for applying nanoscopic overlayers on high-surface electrodes.

For more than three decades, the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Reports have studied and benchmarked the many factors underpinning national competitiveness. The quality of higher education and training is considered particularly crucial to ensure national competitiveness. The globalizing economy requires countries to nurture pools of well-educated workers who are able to perform complex tasks and adapt rapidly to their changing environment and the evolving needs of the economy. Vocational and continuous on-the-job training and the constant upgrading of workers’ skills is critical to sustain the economical status of the country. Despite the acknowledgement that education, training and development (ETD) is a key driver for a country's economical sustainability and growth, the contributions that companies make to this effect are a concern. This is ascribed to the difficulties experienced in companies regarding the management of ETD. In this study it is postulated that communication problems are at the heart of the challenges which are experienced in managing ETD. Strategic conversation is proposed as one of the methods to address the communication and performance shortcomings experienced by business and ETD managers. It is argued that if the level of conversations is raised to make them strategic, the potential to optimise results and make an impact at organisational and national level is increased. Hence, the purpose of this study was to propose a Strategic ETD Conversation (SETDC) model to optimise Return on Occupational Training Expectations (ROTE) that would contribute towards the achievement of organisational and national strategic goals. In lieu of the limited empirical research available on the strategic conversation phenomenon in general, the purpose of this study was inter alia to conduct empirical research to explore the essence of strategic ETD conversations in order to propose a model of practical value to ETD managers. Hence, the empirical research was situated in both an explorative paradigm and a pragmatic paradigm with the aim to provide practical solutions and an instrument to successfully engage in strategic ETD conversations which would enhance the quality of ETD and thus contribute to global competitiveness. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)