As world transport has grown in complexity, so has public pressure for safe flight. The scheduled airline industry has a consistently good safety record. Unfortunately, the business jet industry has not kept pace with the airline safety statistics and lags far behind. During safety surveys and reports over the past 5 years there has been increasing comment and concern over the perceived safety standards of business jets operations compared with normal scheduled airline services. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has reported that based on flight hours flown, the fatal accident rate for smaller jet aircraft below 15 tonnes was twice that for large passenger aircraft (CAA 2006a). The CAA also identified that the majority of the accidents occur during the approach and landing phase of the flight. There is however, a lack of research concerning business jet operations. Due to the unique and varied style of operations, business jet flights have many factors that differentiate it from normal scheduled airline operations. Business jet accidents have been reported but they have not been further investigated for any overall causes. The study described in this thesis, a Grounded Theory analysis of accident data was conducted to develop a model of the factors that contributed to the accidents. The model that was developed demonstrated that Pilot skills, Command and Crew Resource management are the key central elements, with the ground organisations such as engineering and ground operations personnel as a contributory influence. As piloting skills were determined as a key factor in the accident statistics and the accident model, a simulator trial was also conducted to assess the manual flying skill levels of business jet pilots. The trial was both a challenging manual flying task and a profile that is included as part of the Pilot Skill test prior to the issue of a commercial pilot’s licence. The simulator trial confirmed that although all the pilots were correctly tested and certified commercial pilots, a significant proportion did not fly an accurate airspeed on approach within the CAA examination tolerances. The simulator trial data and the grounded theory model found that there are concerns for the piloting skills of business jet pilots in their ability to fly an accurate airspeed on approach. The results from this investigation yield findings concerning the piloting skill and accuracy of the business jet pilots that had not previously been identified. The results also emphasise the need to include adequate testing and supervision during business jet operations. It is recommended that further research be conducted to evaluate actual piloting skill and accuracy during the licence skill test.

O aumento da concorrência impulsionou o surgimento de inovações tecnológicas, o que possibilitou, principalmente na área de tecnologia de informação, a forma de especialização flexível do trabalho que permite diversificar mercadorias para nichos de mercado cada vez mais específicos. Com a intenção de aumentar a estabilidade das empresas frente a esse ambiente turbulento, a formação de redes de empresas viabiliza adaptações rápidas às inovações tecnológicas e o aumento de economia de escala. O estabelecimento de redes de empresas ocorre em organizações de todo o porte e podem trazer vantagens como: elevar o poder de competitividade, criando relações mais confiantes entre seus fornecedores e clientes; dividir riscos e custos, somando os investimentos iniciais menores; e maior transferência de informação e tecnologia. A rede de cooperação é formada por empresas que se relacionam, porém são independentes; aumenta a flexibilidade, mas necessita de competências essenciais. A rede tem algumas características que diferem quanto à centralização, formalização, direção e inter-relação. A literatura existente sobre a formalização da rede de empresas ainda é bastante difusa. O estudo do ambiente operacional ou de redes de empresas é efetivado através de uma caracterização morfológica e tipológica da rede que auxilia no processo de formação e gerência de redes de empresas. / The increase of the competition mainly stimulated the sprouting of technological innovations, what it made possible, in the area of information technology, the form of flexible specialization of the work, that allows to diversify goods more and more for market niches specific. With the intention of increasing the stability of the companies front to this turbulent environment the formation of networks of companies it makes possible fast adaptations to the technological innovations and the increase of scale economy. The establishment of networks of companies occurs in organizations of whole the load, appear larger advantages, such as: to raise the competitiveness power, creating more confident relationships with your suppliers and customers; to divide risks and costs, adding the lesser initial investments the union and most transference of information and technology. The cooperation network is formed by companies that relate, however they are independent; it increases flexibility, but it needs essential competences. The network has some characteristics that differ with relationship to the centralization, formalization and direction. The existent literature on the formalization of the network of companies still is sufficiently diffuse. The study of the operational environment or network environment is executed through a morphologic and topologic characterization of the net, that aid in the building and management process of network firms.

Military ethics serve as a normative code of behaviour for the armed forces of a state, acting as a mechanism of definition and control within the force, between the force and its client, and between the force, its adversaries and the wider public. They have two, intrinsically linked, functions: a preventative function, which defines the moral and legal parameters of conduct, and a constructive function, which creates and maintains an effective and controllable force. Preceded by the code of chivalry, they were largely a creation of the era of conventional interstate warfare that was waged across the European continent from the Treaty of Westphalia through to the desolate end of the Second World War; yet, the operations upon which armed forces, and in particular, the New Zealand Army are deployed have changed, dramatically. Wars no longer, current operations are generally justified on moral principles and involve a multinational, joint and interagency deployment sent to intervene in an irregular, intrastate conflict occurring in an underdeveloped region and conducted under the intense glare of the media. This disjuncture between the changing nature of operations and the context in which military ethics were formulated provides the fundamental question for the thesis: if the milieu in which military ethics developed has changed significantly, what is their current utility? Using the New Zealand Army as the frame of reference, first the contemporary operational environment and then the specific operational environment in Timor-Leste were examined to assess the current utility of military ethics. It was found that the preventative function has an increasing utility because it ensures conduct is within expected norms in an era where the perception of the adversary, the local populace and the domestic and international audience is key to operational success. Despite the reduction in conflict intensity, the constructive function has a remaining utility through its mediation and amelioration of the stressors engendered by the growing complexity of the operational environment. The retention of utility for the constructive function appears to have been facilitated by an adaptation of the warrior ethos, from a narrow traditional outlook to a broad and comprehensive modern interpretation.

O aumento da concorrência impulsionou o surgimento de inovações tecnológicas, o que possibilitou, principalmente na área de tecnologia de informação, a forma de especialização flexível do trabalho que permite diversificar mercadorias para nichos de mercado cada vez mais específicos. Com a intenção de aumentar a estabilidade das empresas frente a esse ambiente turbulento, a formação de redes de empresas viabiliza adaptações rápidas às inovações tecnológicas e o aumento de economia de escala. O estabelecimento de redes de empresas ocorre em organizações de todo o porte e podem trazer vantagens como: elevar o poder de competitividade, criando relações mais confiantes entre seus fornecedores e clientes; dividir riscos e custos, somando os investimentos iniciais menores; e maior transferência de informação e tecnologia. A rede de cooperação é formada por empresas que se relacionam, porém são independentes; aumenta a flexibilidade, mas necessita de competências essenciais. A rede tem algumas características que diferem quanto à centralização, formalização, direção e inter-relação. A literatura existente sobre a formalização da rede de empresas ainda é bastante difusa. O estudo do ambiente operacional ou de redes de empresas é efetivado através de uma caracterização morfológica e tipológica da rede que auxilia no processo de formação e gerência de redes de empresas. / The increase of the competition mainly stimulated the sprouting of technological innovations, what it made possible, in the area of information technology, the form of flexible specialization of the work, that allows to diversify goods more and more for market niches specific. With the intention of increasing the stability of the companies front to this turbulent environment the formation of networks of companies it makes possible fast adaptations to the technological innovations and the increase of scale economy. The establishment of networks of companies occurs in organizations of whole the load, appear larger advantages, such as: to raise the competitiveness power, creating more confident relationships with your suppliers and customers; to divide risks and costs, adding the lesser initial investments the union and most transference of information and technology. The cooperation network is formed by companies that relate, however they are independent; it increases flexibility, but it needs essential competences. The network has some characteristics that differ with relationship to the centralization, formalization and direction. The existent literature on the formalization of the network of companies still is sufficiently diffuse. The study of the operational environment or network environment is executed through a morphologic and topologic characterization of the net, that aid in the building and management process of network firms.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:25:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mariangela Figueira Mello Martins.pdf: 827197 bytes, checksum: 088a20dd9f3221f70d13f7e60775deac (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-03 / The task environment, defined as the most immediate and relevant environment for companies, has been an issue of extended research on the management theory, especially by strategy disciplines, owing to its determining influence on the companies´ strategic option and performance. Previous research have concluded that the option for diversification depends on environmental conditions. Simultaneously, the increasing diversity and interaction among different markets stimulates firms towards diversification owing to get advantage from different and more valuable products for diverse niches. That context suggests the existence of a relationship between environment and diversification strategy, and companies‟ financial performance as well. Though, the vast literature on the impacts of diversification and the performance determining factors remains inconclusive. The project owed to add new knowledge to the issue by assessing the relationship between the constructs diversification, financial performance and task environment, taking part of the international discussion on the environment and its influence over organizations. It analyzed the hypothesis that the environmental dimensions munificence, complexity and dynamism have a moderating influence on the relationship between diversification and the performance dimensions growth and profitability. Factorial analysis and multiple regressions statistics were applied on the North-American manufacturing industry. Using data from U.S. Bureau of Census regarding the 2002-2007 period, the factorial model was elaborated at the sector activity level to generate the factors related to the task environmental sub-dimensions, according to the measuring model elaborated by Dess and Beard (1984). It related to the amount of 169 valid sectors with available data from the total 272 sectors with 5 digit NAICS code. Those factors were entered in a multiple regression model that matched the environmental dimensions of those 169 manufacturing sectors to the diversification level and financial performance of 994 companies belonging to them. The companies‟ data were acquired from Compustat data base. The results confirmed the existence of a linear relationship between growth, diversification and the environmental dimensions complexity and munificence. Even though, despite the regression model statistical significance, those variables can explain very little, that highlights the opportunity for new research in finding additional knowledge to comprehend the diversification effects over firms. The hypothesis of the moderating influence by the operational environment on the performance-diversification relationship was not confirmed. The project has contributed to the strategic management by highlighting to the managers the importance of assessing the environmental conditions as part of the strategy making process, regarding its influence over performance. It also made a methodological contribution by confirming the operational environment dimensions proposed by Dess and Beard (1985) for the construct. / O ambiente operacional, definido como o ambiente mais imediato e relevante para a empresa, tem sido tema de ampla pesquisa na teoria de administração, em especial na área de estratégia, devido à sua importância determinante na escolha estratégica e no desempenho das empresas. Resultados de estudos anteriores indicam que a opção estratégica pela diversificação dependente das condições ambientais. Em paralelo, o aumento da diversidade e da interação entre os mercados incentiva as firmas à diversificação a fim de obter vantagem por meio de produtos diferentes e de maior valor para públicos diversos. Tal contexto indica que existe relação entre o ambiente e a estratégia de diversificação, além de sua relação com o desempenho das organizações. No entanto, a literatura acerca da relação entre diversificação e determinantes do desempenho financeiro ainda é inconclusiva. O presente trabalho se propôs a agregar conhecimento ao tema, por meio da análise da relação entre os construtos diversificação, desempenho financeiro e ambiente operacional, inserindo-se na discussão internacional sobre o ambiente e sua influência sobre as organizações. Assim, foram examinadas as hipóteses de que as dimensões ambientais munificência, complexidade e dinamismo exercem influência moderadora sobre a relação entre diversificação e as dimensões crescimento e lucratividade do desempenho das firmas. Foram utilizados modelos de análise fatorial e de regressão múltipla aplicados sobre a indústria de manufatura norte-americana. Utilizando-se de bases de dados do U.S. Bureau of Census, referentes ao período de 2002 a 2007, a análise fatorial foi realizada no nível do setor de atividade empresarial para cálculo dos escores fatoriais correspondentes às dimensões ambientais, conforme o modelo de mensuração originalmente proposto por Dess e Beard (1984). Foi considerado um conjunto de 169 setores válidos e com dados disponíveis do total de 272 setores com código NAICS de 5 dígitos. Os escores fatoriais foram aplicados em um modelo de regressão múltipla que relacionou as características das dimensões ambientais dos 169 setores manufatureiros com o grau de diversificação e o desempenho financeiro de 994 empresas pertencentes aos mesmos. Os dados das empresas foram obtidos na base de dados Compustat. Os resultados confirmaram a existência de relação linear entre o crescimento, a diversificação e as variáveis ambientais complexidade e munificência. Contudo, apesar do modelo de regressão ser estatisticamente significante, a explicação proporcionada pelas variáveis é muito pequena, deixando clara a oportunidade para que novos estudos busquem ampliar a compreensão do efeito da diversificação nas firmas. Por sua vez, a hipótese de influência de moderação do ambiente operacional na relação entre desempenho e diversificação não foi confirmada. O trabalho contribui para a gestão estratégica, ao apontar a importância de que os gestores avaliem as condições ambientais no processo de escolha estratégica, diante de sua influência sobre o desempenho. O trabalho também teve sua contribuição metodológica ao confirmar as dimensões ambientais propostas por Dess e Beard (1984) para o construto ambiente operacional.

Sammandrag Studien omfattar ämnesområdena operativ miljö i instabila stater, tillsammans med militär operativ och taktisk logistik. Eftersom den operativa miljön och också syftet med det militära maktmedlet i viktiga avseenden är särskiljande vid stabiliseringsoperationer, i jämförelse med reguljär krigföring, innebär detta att även anpassningsbehoven för logistiken förändras. Syftet med studien är att beskriva och analysera hur logistik kan utformas vid stabiliseringsoperationer, för att därefter teoretiskt bidra till en logistik som är anpassad för de generiska dragen i denna typ av operativ miljö. Empirin till studien är framtagen från västerländska operativa och taktiska stabiliseringsdoktriner och teorin är hämtad från Moshe Kress Operational Logistics. Analysen genomförs med ett logistiksystems operationaliserade kriterier, och redovisar de framträdande anpassningsbehoven för varje skede i operationen. Resultatet visar att det framträdande behovet är att säkerställa kontinuitet i flödet, vilket förutsätter operativ flexibilitet. Undantaget är Secure-skedet där tillgänglighet, som i sin tur förutsätter överlevnadsförmåga, är det framträdande för att optimera logistiksystemet. En viktig slutsats är att Hold-skedet sannolikt innebär störst behov av anpassning och kapacitet i ett operativt logistiksystem, sett till operationen som helhet. Nyckelord: Stabiliseringsoperation, operativ miljö, logistik, Comprehensive Approach Antal ord: 17967 (18192) / Adaption to the operational environment - a study of logistics in Stabilisation   Abstract The study covers topics operational environment in fragile states, along with military operational and tactical logistics. Since the operating environment and therefore the purpose of the military instrument in important respects are distinctive in Stabilisation, in comparison with regular warfare, this means adaptation needs for the logistics. The purpose of this study is to analyze and develop the logistics can be designed for Stabilisation, in order to contribute to the logistics adapted to the generic features of the operational environment. The empirical data for the study was developed by Western operational and tactical doctrines of stabilisation and the theory is taken from Moshe Kress Operational Logistics. The analysis carried out by a logistics system's operation formalized criteria, and presents the salient adaptation needs for each phase of the operation. The generic need for adjustment proved to ensure the continuity that requires operational flexibility. The exception is the Secure where attainability, which in turn requires the ability of survivability, is the dominant criterion for optimizing the logistics system. A key finding of this study is that the Hold is likely to generate the greatest need for adaptation and capacity in an operational logistics system, in terms of operation as a whole. Keywords: Stabilisation, Counterinsurgency, Comprehensive Approach, Operational Environment, Logistics