The domestic construction project contracts have made a great development to large-scale lump sum turnkey project, which includes engineering, procurement and construction. The turnkey contractors are responsible for the interface integration among various projects to reduce the delays caused by poor interface coordination, and to shorten the project schedule, moreover to ensure project quality. However, there are huge discrepancies between lump sum turnkey construction projects and general construction projects. Lump sum turnkey projects require a wider field of engineering project management covering the project planning and project control of engineering design, procurement and site construction. So, it is important to do further research in this area. The main purpose of this study is to develop a complete project management framework for large-scale lump sum turnkey projects from the standpoint of a project owner. A real case of the LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) receiving terminal project at Taichung Harbor was used to verify the feasibility of the proposed framework. This study is based on literature review, interview and case study of a large-scale lump sum turnkey project. The engineering project management system of a large-scale construction contractor was studied. The interviewees included top management personnel, information system personnel, and project management system users of the best practice company. The results of this study serve as guidelines of large-scale lump sum turnkey construction project management for project owners. It¡¦s also beneficial for small and median sized contractors to learn from best practice experiences.

Business Agility could be the means to survive in a competitive environment of continuous andunanticipated change and to respond quickly to rapidly changing, fragmenting global markets that are catered by competitors. To leverage the potential benefits of Business Agility, many companies use Information Technology as a major force for augmenting their agility. The topic of increasing Business Agility through Information Technology has been pervasively studied in research papers. And in the context of this thesis, we will investigate research papers in order to develop an evaluation model for facilitating making informed decisions regarding agile Information Systems in computational Grid environments. The Information Systems in this thesis will focus on license management systems, which is an intricate but coherently integrated blend of many different modules compiled as a technical solution that enables software license management. We will use our evaluation model to compare license management frameworks, easily grasped as a draft for a license management system, for Grid environments and also underpin it with a case study on an in-use license management system in order to strengthen its business applicability. The research was conducted as a qualitative comparison and a case study, combining both research papers and a real business context in order to fulfill the goals and purposes of this thesis. The results of the analysis implies that most of the license management frameworks for Grid environments lacks various details needed for making a feasible implementation in a certain business context, whilst those that have been trialed in a real business situation fulfilled almost every aspect of our evaluation model. The conclusion drawn is that our evaluation model is a seemingly good start for making informed decisions when choosing or designing an agile license management system for Grid environments

Due to the high complexity and various values essence, environmental issues need comprehensive and complete observation and analysis tools to find the resolving way. Current environmental management framework cannot provide comprehensive and whole picture of the environment issues because of research area and limited experiences on the cross field integration. This research integrated 3 environment-related frameworks ¡V Integrated Environmental Management framework (EM), Institution Analysis and Development framework (IAD), and Public Affair Management framework (PAM) - into a new integrated framework and use Kuokuang petrochemical plant event as the first case for theoretical identification. 3 original frameworks were analyzed, compared, recombined, and integrated into ¡§New Environmental Management framework (NEM)¡¨ which has the functions of describing the whole picture, building overall idea, underling problems textures and revealing key points of environment issues and supposed to be a new possible option for observing and analyzing environment issues. According to NEM framework, Kuokuang petrochemical plant event was analyzed step by step, such as data interpreting, problems textures filtering and key points revealing. The 4 most important key points affect the development and results of the Kuokuang petrochemical plant event were: development and changing of civil society, limitation and breakthrough of government institutions, conflict and reconciling of the values judgment, and impact and influence of internet.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / There has been a call from society for both the provision of a quality education and for a quality “student” who can contribute to the economy and citizenry of South Africa. It therefore makes sense for any educational structure to develop and adopt, strategies and systems in order to meet these new calls, and to provide technologically relevant education that will meet the demands of modern society. This has led to a renewed need for consistency, conformity and quality within higher education. Concerns about students’ capabilities have been raised, and have led to questions about the accountability of higher education institutions. A quality management system framework may ensure that these higher education structures are able to deliver a quality education to their external and internal customers. This research investigated the current quality management systems used in dental assisting both locally and world-wide, and then developed a quality management system framework to suit South African conditions. An action research study, using data gathered from a purposive census sample, and data obtained by means of a mixed-method approach, was conducted in two phases. A preliminary study (Part A) was conducted amongst the four South African dental assisting education programme providers and deficiencies in the quality management systems of these programmes were identified. The preliminary work (Part B) in this study consisted of a comparative analysis of the quality management systems of a convenience sample of dental assisting education providers in twenty countries. Both good practices and deficiencies in practices were identified. A further review of the literature identified possible solutions to improve the quality of the dental assisting education programmes, and was used as the foundation for the development of the Dental Assisting Higher Education – Quality Management Framework (DAHE-QMF). The results of the preliminary study - the comparative analysis and the literature review - revealed that the development and implementation of a quality management system framework for dental assisting in South Africa could lead to an improvement of the standards of training, and thus the competence of the student. The framework will be presented to the four programme leaders at the four Universities of Technology that offer dental assisting education for their consideration of partial/total adaptation of the framework.

Digitization has been a growing phenomenon in today's society where organizations, individuals and society at large are affected by it. In pace with the emerging use of digitization,a realization of the relevance of cyber security in the public sector has increased, but not to a sufficient extent. Cyber security is about processes used to protect personal information and important data in organizations. Cyber security also includes knowledge of cyberattacks, where actors attack an organization's data most often for financial reasons. Cyber attacks have affected the public sector in several countries. The study focuses on known cyber attacks around the world that are related to public actors in healthcare, transport and electricity supply,among others. The study's analysis compares implemented measures after the incidents based on a cyber risk assessment framework. The survey shows that increased investments, new and clear work routines, training for employees and continuous testing of computer systems are important measures for the prevention of cyber attacks. The mentioned main actions that are common between the studied actors are supported by the theoretical frame of reference. This is because frameworks linked to cyber attacks also point out that investments, clear work routines and monitoring of systems contribute to protection against cyber attacks. / Digitalisering har varit ett växande fenomen i dagens samhälle där organisationer, individer och samhället i stort påverkas av det. Med takt av den framväxande användningen av digitalisering, har en realisering av cybersäkerhetens relevans inom den offentliga sektorn ökat, men inte i tillräcklig stor omfattning. Cybersäkerhet handlar om processer som används för att skydda personlig information och viktiga data i organisationer. Cybersäkerhet omfattar också kunskap om cyberattacker, där aktörer angriper en organisations data oftast för ekonomiska skäl. Cyberattacker har påverkat den offentliga sektorn i flera länder. Studien fokuserar på kända cyberangrepp runt om i världen som är relaterade till offentliga aktörer inom bland annat sjukvård, transport och elförsörjning. Studiens analys jämför genomförda åtgärder efter incidenterna utifrån ett ramverk om cyberriskbedömning. Undersökningen visar att ökade investeringar, nya och tydliga arbetsrutiner, utbildning till medarbetare ochkontinuerliga testningar av datasystem är viktiga åtgärder för förebyggande av cyberattacker.De nämnda huvudsakliga åtgärderna som är gemensamma mellan de studerade aktörerna stödjas av den teoretiska referensramen. Detta eftersom ramverk kopplade till cyberattacker påpekar också att investeringar, tydliga arbetsrutiner och övervakning av system, bidrar till skydd mot cyberattacker.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Customers procure solutions and services to streamline and improve their business functions. For services to be viable to a customer, it is required that the service provide more value to their business than the actual cost of procuring the service. This report aims to understand what the value is that the customers place in the services they require. From this understanding, a framework is produced that drives value in delivering site-based support services. The framework is built on four objectives that will deliver value to the customer. The objectives of a service are as follows: to be customer focused, to have effective resource management, to be proactive in nature and to be sustainable over the life of the service. The framework also defines a set of processes that conforms to, and drives the stated objectives. Although there are many such frameworks in existence, their focus is general in nature. This report will focus specifically on the delivery of site-based support services for automation solutions in a manufacturing industry. Site-based support services are expensive in nature because the solution provider provides dedicated and knowledge specific resources to customers. For this reason, the value expected by a customer is much higher than other forms of support services. This problem is investigated and a framework is produced through research of established Service Management frameworks. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kliente bekom oplossings en dienste om hul besigheidsfunksies te stroomlyn en te verbeter. Vir dienste om aantreklik vir 'n klient te wees, word dit vereis dat die voorsiende diens meer waarde tot hul besigheid toevoeg as wat die koste van die diens is. Hierdie verslag mik om te verstaan wat die waarde is wat kliente heg aan die dienste wat hulle vereis. 'n Raamwerk word gebou wat waarde toevoeg in op-perseel gelewerde dienste. Die raamwerk is gegrond op vier doelwitte wat vir kliente waarde lewer. Die doelwitte van 'n diens is om gefokus op die klient te wees, om hulpbronne effektief te kan hanteer, om proaktief van natuur te wees en om ondersteunbaar oor die lewe van die dienste wees. Die raamwerk beskryf 'n stel prosesse wat by diens doelwitte pas en die doelwitte dryf. Alhoewel daar baie ooreenstemmende raamwerke in bestaan is, is die fokus van die bestaande raamwerke algemeen van natuur. Hierdie verslag ondersoek spesifiek die lewering van op-perseel diens ondersteuning vir geoutomatiseerde oplossings in 'n vervaardigings nywerheid. Op-perseel gelewerde ondersteuningsdienste is duur van natuur omdat die diensverskaffer kliente voorsien van toegewyde, kennisryke hulpbronne. Om hierdie rede, vereis die klient meer waarde van op-perseel gelewerde dienste, as van ander diens forums. Deur navorsing van bekende diens besturings raamwerke is 'n nuwe raamwerk gebou wat fokus op die lewering van op-perseel dienste.

This research is based on real issues that have been recognised within the global organisation, Rolls-Royce. The first aim concerned an issue that many companies face, the difficulty that employees face in locating the knowledge and information they require, especially in larger organisations. The developed solution of an Information Map proved to be a success in providing people within the Submarines business with the location of' Configuration Management information. The concept of the Information Map is one that can be adopted by any business as the stages in the tools development have been well documented within Chapters Four, Five and Six. Analysis of the success of the Information Map led to the derivation of 10 lessons learned. These were then verified in a second case study of an intranet development. The second aim of the research was to create a Knowledge Management framework that could be adapted by companies looking to invest in Knowledge Management and provide them with a guide to use. This framework was built from the lessons learned from the Information Map and from other best practice derived from available literature and within Rolls-Royce. The work conducted within the Support business tries to fill in gaps in current research by offering companies a new approach to Knowledge Management, which was based upon the way that industries work today. The creation of the Knowledge Management framework simplifies the work conducted and offers practitioners an easy, high-level approach to the adoption of Knowledge Management by grouping the process into ten steps. This is presented in a fashion that is easy to follow and ultimately offers a guide to make the best use of the resources and budget available to Knowledge Management practitioners. Overall the research addresses the 'real' issues faced by Knowledge Management practitioners. The main contributions to the Knowledge Management domain are the Information Map, action research approach, implementation of Knowledge Management tools for the users needs and a Framework as a guide for industry.

Next Generation Networks (NGNs) aim to provide a unified network infrastructure to offer multimedia data and telecommunication services through IP convergence. NGNs utilize multiple broadband, QoS-enabled transport technologies, creating a converged packet-switched network infrastructure, where service-related functions are separated from the transport functions. This requires significant changes in the way how networks are managed to handle the complexity and heterogeneity of NGNs. This thesis proposes a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) based management framework that integrates heterogeneous management systems in a loose coupling manner. The key benefit of the proposed management architecture is the reduction of the complexity through service and data integration. A network management middleware layer that merges low level management functionality with higher level management operations to resolve the problem of heterogeneity was proposed. A prototype was implemented using Web Services and a testbed was developed using trouble ticket systems as the management application to demonstrate the functionality of the proposed framework. Test results show the correcting functioning of the system. It also concludes that the proposed framework fulfils the principles behind the SOA philosophy.

Effective management of information about client requirements in construction projects lifecycle can contribute to high construction productivity; within budget and schedule, and improve the quality of built facilities and service delivery. Traditionally, requirements management has been focused at the early stages of the construction lifecycle process where elicited client requirements information is used as the basis for design. Management of client requirements does not extend to the later phases. Client requirements often evolve and change dramatically over a facility's life. Changing client requirements is one of the principal factors that contribute to delays and budget overruns of construction projects. This results in claims, disputes and client dissatisfaction. The problems of current requirements management process also include: lack of integrated and collaborative working with requirements; lack of integrated requirements information flow between the various heterogeneous systems used in the lifecycle processes, and between the multiple stakeholders; inefficient and ineffective coordination of changes within the lifecycle processes; manual checking of dependencies between changing requirements to facilitate assessment of cost and time impact of changes. The aim of the research is to specify a better approach to requirements information management to help construction organisations reduce operational cost and time in product development and service delivery; whilst increasing performance and productivity, and realising high quality of built facilities. In order to achieve the aim and the formulated objectives, firstly, a detailed review of literature on related work was conducted. Secondly, the research designed, developed and conducted three case studies to investigate the state-of-the-art of managing client requirements information. A combination of multiple data collection methods was applied which included observations, interviews, focus group and questionnaires. Following this, the data was analysed and problems were identified; the necessity for a lifecycle approach to managing the requirements information emerged. (Continues...).

To deal with the increasing information overload and with the structured and unstructured data complexity, many organizations have implemented enterprise content management (ECM) systems. Published research on ECM so far is very limited and reports on ECM implementations have been scarce until recently (Tyrväinen et al. 2006). However, the little available ECM literature shows that many organizations using ECM focus on operational benefits while strategic decision-making benefits are rarely considered. Moreover, the strategic capabilities such as decision making capabilities of ECM are not fully investigated in the current literature. In addition, the literature lacks a strategic management framework (SMF) that links strategies, business objectives, and performance management although there are several published studies that discuss ECM strategy. A strategic management framework would seem essential to effectively manage ECM strategy formulation, implementation, and performance evaluation (Kaplan and Norton 1996; Ittner and Larcker 1997). The absence of an appropriate strategic management framework keeps organizations from effective strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation, which affects the organizational capabilities overall. Therefore, the objective of this dissertation is to determine the decision support capabilities of ECM, and specify how ECM strategies can be formulated, implemented, and evaluated in order to fully utilize the ECM strategic capabilities. Structural equation modeling as well as design science approaches will be adopted to achieve the dissertation objectives.