published_or_final_version / Economics / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Berkeley, 1987. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-157).

Angie Leung Mei Yin. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-85). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.iii / Table of Contents --- p.iv / List of Tables --- p.vi / List of Figures --- p.ix / Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2. --- Methodology and Data --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1 --- Measurement Framework --- p.7 / Chapter 2.2 --- β- Convergence --- p.12 / Chapter 2.3 --- σ - Convergence --- p.18 / Chapter 2.4 --- Data Description --- p.19 / Chapter 3. --- Results --- p.20 / Chapter 3.1 --- Convergence Results among Asian Countries --- p.20 / Chapter 3.2 --- Convergence Results Using Average Labor Sharein All Countries --- p.25 / Chapter 3.3 --- Results under σ - Convergence --- p.27 / Chapter 4. --- Determinants for Average Productivity Growth Rate --- p.33 / Chapter 5. --- Conclusion --- p.37 / Tables --- p.38 / Figures --- p.54 / Appendix --- p.76 / References --- p.82

This thesis uses data collected from a sample of thirty-nine Canadian and thirty-nine American manufacturing firms to provide an empirical foundation for the assessment of the performance of Canadian manufacturers through most of the twentieth century. The unbalanced panel of Canadian firms covers the years 1907-1990. The unbalanced panel of American firms covers the years 1902-1990. To quantify the performance of Canadian manufacturers I measure relative technical efficiency by calculating the total factor productivity (T.F.P.) and labour, capital and intermediate input partial factor productivities of the Canadian firms in my sample relative to the American firms. On average I find that the Canadian firms have had lower labour productivity and intermediate input productivities, but superior capital productivity. When measuring the productivity of the entire production process simultaneously there appears to have been no consistent and substantial T.F.P. difference between the Canadian and American firms, on average. To explain the variation in the partial factor productivities between my Canadian and American firms I disaggregate the total variation into differences due to domestically unique input prices, output levels, biased technology and neutral technology. In general the Canadian firms appear to have been responding to lower labour and intermediate input prices and higher capital costs by using the relatively expensive inputs conservatively and the relatively inexpensive inputs liberally. The Canadian firms also appear to have been adapting their technology in response to the unique input market conditions they faced. The evidence that the Canadian firms in my sample were choosing input combinations and technology which reflected the domestic input prices they faced indicates behaviour consistent with competent entrepreneur ship. Additional evidence illustrating the Canadian producers' responsiveness to idiosyncratic and continental changes in their input market conditions reinforces the partial factor productivity evidence: The performance of the Canadian manufacturers' in my sample of firms, with respect to total factor productivity and responsiveness to domestic input market conditions, suggests that on average Canadian manufacturers have traditionally performed at least as well as their American counterparts.

This thesis uses data collected from a sample of thirty-nine Canadian and thirty-nine American manufacturing firms to provide an empirical foundation for the assessment of the performance of Canadian manufacturers through most of the twentieth century. The unbalanced panel of Canadian firms covers the years 1907-1990. The unbalanced panel of American firms covers the years 1902-1990. To quantify the performance of Canadian manufacturers I measure relative technical efficiency by calculating the total factor productivity (T.F.P.) and labour, capital and intermediate input partial factor productivities of the Canadian firms in my sample relative to the American firms. On average I find that the Canadian firms have had lower labour productivity and intermediate input productivities, but superior capital productivity. When measuring the productivity of the entire production process simultaneously there appears to have been no consistent and substantial T.F.P. difference between the Canadian and American firms, on average. To explain the variation in the partial factor productivities between my Canadian and American firms I disaggregate the total variation into differences due to domestically unique input prices, output levels, biased technology and neutral technology. In general the Canadian firms appear to have been responding to lower labour and intermediate input prices and higher capital costs by using the relatively expensive inputs conservatively and the relatively inexpensive inputs liberally. The Canadian firms also appear to have been adapting their technology in response to the unique input market conditions they faced. The evidence that the Canadian firms in my sample were choosing input combinations and technology which reflected the domestic input prices they faced indicates behaviour consistent with competent entrepreneur ship. Additional evidence illustrating the Canadian producers' responsiveness to idiosyncratic and continental changes in their input market conditions reinforces the partial factor productivity evidence: The performance of the Canadian manufacturers' in my sample of firms, with respect to total factor productivity and responsiveness to domestic input market conditions, suggests that on average Canadian manufacturers have traditionally performed at least as well as their American counterparts. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

Quality awards are formal award programs that have been established to recognize organizations (or sub-units thereof) for achieving excellence in quality and productivity. The criteria of these awards require a systematic and comprehensive program that is mature either from time or results. These awards are issued on a regular, typically annual, basis. The administrators of the awards can range from individual companies to state governments to the federal government. Recipients of these awards can be organizations or sub-units of organizations. Further, the recipients could involve specific projects and programs. The recipients are ultimately defined by the specific award process. This thesis describes the quality award program in the State of Virginia. Overall, this thesis is a formative evaluation of the U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award for Virginia. This research reviews the processes used in determining winners for this award. Recommendations are made to improve the application evaluation and feedback processes, in particular. The thesis describes the types of key performance indicators that organizations report in their applications. A set of common key performance indicators were collected to form a type of measurement system to assess the “health” of organizations in the State of Virginia. The purpose of this measurement system is to provide benchmarks to other organizations in the state. As a final output, this research compares the key performance indicators reported in applications to two measurement frameworks provided in the literature. / Master of Science

Submitted in fulfilment of the academic requirements for the degree of MTech: Industrial Engineering, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / Process simulation is an effective tool when used to simulate a system where a great deal of data exists for the process. This technique is however limited when it comes to simulating certain non-deterministic parts such as human behaviour and interaction, for which there may not be a great amount of data available. This work creates a unique hybrid model through the combination of process simulation with agent based simulation that simulates the non-deterministic parts of the process, as well as the deterministic parts. An actual industrial system forms the basis for the research, and the hybrid model is used to understand the effects that human deterioration has on the productivity of this system, as well exploring different scenarios that could lead to improved performance.

Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The political changes in South Africa since 1994 and globalisation have brought about a dramatic increase in competition for South African companies. To ensure long-term survival and success, companies have to focus their strategies on continuous improvement and the ability to adapt to continuous change. Lean manufacturing principles were derived from the Toyota Production System (TPS) which was created by Taiichi Ohna, who is widely credited to be the father of Lean manufacturing principles. Lean principles originated in the automotive industry and transformed an industry that previously focused all its improvement efforts on the theory of mass production. Lean principles can be summarised as continuous improvement through focus on the elimination of waste from processes. Lean principles specify that organisations: • Change from using their view to using the view of the customer when evaluating value-creating activities; • Change production plans that focus on mass production to production plans that produce only what customers want now in flow production with small production batches; • Reduce lead times; • Improve quality; and • Achieve the above-mentioned by eliminating waste in all processes. Lean principles are based on the assumption that once waste is removed, the process improves and results in reduced lead time, improved quality, reduced costs and improved customer service. The aim of this research study was to test Lean principles by implementing applicable parts of it in the engine rebuilding section of MultiMech, a division of Golden Arrow Bus Services. The changes that formed part of the implementation included: • Reduced work in progress through improved production planning; • Improved performance of inbound processes through improved communication based on improved production planning; and • Improved productivity due to improved inbound processes and improved performance measuring. The results from the pilot implementation of Lean principles at the engine rebuilding section support the benefits documented in the theory. The major results were: • An increase in the number of engines built for the months June to September, from 54 in 2007 to 88 in 2008 which represents a 63 per cent improvement in productivity; • A decrease in the number of works orders from 58 to 21, which represents a decrease of 63 per cent in work in progress; and • A reduction in stores' lead time from 3.5 days to 1.4 days, which represents an improvement of 60 per cent. The results from the pilot implementation is only an indication of the total potential that will be realised when Lean principles are implanted throughout MultiMech. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die politieke veranderinge in Suid-Afrika sedert 1994 en globalisering het 'n dramatiese verhoging in mededinging vir Suid-Afrikaanse maatskappye tot gevolg gehad. Ten einde langtermyn oorlewing en sukses te verseker, moet maatskappye hul strategiee fokus op aanhoudende verbetering en die vermoe om by konstante verandering aan te pas. 'Spilvrye' vervaardigingsbeginsels ('Lean manufacturing principles') is afgelei van die Toyota produksiestelsel ('Toyota production system') (TPS), wat ontwikkel is deur Taiichi Ohno, wat algemeen beskou word as die vader van spilvrye vervaardigingsbeginsels. Hierdie beginsels het ontstaan in die motorvervaardigingsindustrie en 'n industrie transformeer wat voorheen al sy verbeteringspogings gefokus het op die teorie van massaproduksie. Spilvrye beginsels kan opgesom word as konstante verbetering deur te fokus op die eliminasie van verspilling uit prosesse. Spilvrye beginsels bepaal dat organisasies: • Nie meer vanuit hulle eie perspektief nie, maar vanuit die klient se perspektief waardeskeppende aktiwiteite beoordeel; • Produksieplanne verander wat fokus op massaproduksie tot produksieplanne wat slegs produseer wat kliente nou wil he in 'n vloeiproduksieproses met klein produksievolumes; • Wagperiodes verminder; • Kwaliteit verbeter; en • Bogenoemde bereik deur verspilling in alle prosesse te elimineer. Spilvrye beginsels is gebaseer op die aanname dat sodra verspilling verwyder is, die proses verbeter en verkorte wagperiodes volg, kwaliteit verbeter, kostes verminder en klientediens verbeter. Die doel van hierdie navorsingstudie was om Spilvrye beginsels te toets deur toepaslike gedeeltes daarvan te implementeer in die enjinbou afdeling van MultiMech, 'n divisie van Golden Arrow busdienste. Die veranderinge wat deel uitgemaak het van die implementering sluit in: • Verminderde werk-in-proses deur verbeterde produksiebeplanning; • Verbeterde prestasie van inkomende prosesse deur verbeterde kommunikasie gebaseer op verbeterde produksiebeplanning; en • Verbeterde produktiwiteit as gevolg van verbeterde inkomende prosesse en verbeterde prestasiemeting. Die resultate van die loodsimplemetering van Spilvrye beginsels by die enjinbou afdeling ondersteun die voordele wat in die teorie gedokumenteer is. Die vernaamste resultate sluit in: • 'n Toename in die aantal enjins gebou vir die maande Junie tot September, van 54 in 2007 tot 88 in 2008 wat 'n 63 persent verbetering in produktiwiteit verteenwoordig; • 'n Afname in die aantal werksopdragte vanaf 58 tot 21, wat 'n afname van 63 persent in werk-in-proses verteenwoordig; en • 'n Afname in store se wagperiode van 3.5 dae tot 1.4 dae, wat 'n verbetering van 60 persent verteenwoordig. Die resultate van die loodsimplementering van Spilvrye beginsels is 'n teken van die totale potensiaal wat gerealiseer sal word met die implementering in ander departemente van MultiMech.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This document describes the different possibilities of Low Cost Intelligent Automation (LCIA)and process analysis for companies in the processing industry. These techniques can be used in production and assembly to reach a higher productivity and to maintain the company's competitiveness. Productivity is very important for any company, because it influences the profit. LCIA means using cheap solutions to automate processes in assembly and production. Cheaper machines payoff much faster. This is important, because life cycles are becoming shorter and shorter. With LCIA more manual processes can be automated. This is an advantage especially in countries with high labour costs. Process analysis helps to optimise processes in a company. To reach this goal it is essential to analyse processes systematically. This helps to gather detailed information about manufacturing defects and where they originated from. With these information it is much easier to eliminate the source of error and to reduce the number of defective products. Less errors in a production process lead to higher quality and productivity. The company "Festool GmbH Deutschland" serves as an example for using the described methods. The presented examples for LCIA are simple solutions to automate manual processes in the assembly division. The process of a fully automated machine serves as an example to illustrate the different aspects of a process analysis in this company. The methodologies presented in this document can be used to achieve improvements especially in productivity. Therefore any company coming from a labour intensive industry should think about integrating LCIA and process analysis into their continuous improvement strategy. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie dokument beskryf die verskillende moontlikhede van Lae Koste Intellegente Automasie (LKIA)en die proses analise vir maatskappye in die vervaardiging industrie. Hierdie metodes kan gebruik word in produksie en montering om hoër produktiwiteit te verkry sowel as die maatskapy se mededingendheid te handhaaf. Produktiwiteit is baie belangrik vir enige maatskappy, want dit beïnvloed die winsgewindheid. LKIA beteken die gebruik van goedkoop oplossings om prosesse te automatiseer in montering en produksie. Goedkoper masjiene word vinniger afbetaal. Dit is belangrik, want die lewenssiklus van beide produkte en masjiene word al korter. Met LKIA kan meer handprosesse ge-automatiseer word. Dit is 'n voordeel veral in lande met hoë arbeidskostes. Proses analise help om die prosesse in 'n maatskappy te optimiseer. Om hierdie doel te bereik is dit belangrik om prosesse sistematies te analiseer. Bogenoemde help om gedetaileerde informasie in te samel rondom vervaardigings defekte sowel as die oorsprong daarvan. Met hierdie informasie is dit makliker om die oorsprong van foute uit te skakel en om die getal foutiewe produkte te verminder. Minder foute tydens die vervaardigings proses ly tot 'n hoër kwaliteit en produktiwiteit. Die maatskappy "Festool GmbH Deutschland" dien as 'n voorbeeld vir die gebruik van die beskryfde metodes. Die voorgestelde voorbeelde vir LKIA is eenvoudige oplossings om die handprosesse in die monterings afdeling te outomatiseer. Die proses van 'n ten volle ge-automatiseerde masjien, dien as 'n voorbeeld om die verskillende aspekte van proses analise in hierdie maatskappy te illustreer. Die metodologie wat gebruik is in die dokument, kan gebruik word om verbeteringe veral in produktiwiteit te bewerkstellig. Dus kan enige firma in 'n arbeidsintensiewe industrie gebruik maak van die integrasie van LKIA en proses analise in sy deurlopende verbeterings strategie.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / China Area Studies / Master / Master of Arts