Operations strategies, whether prompted by competitive or regulatory forces, can greatly impact firm performance. While operations strategies cover a wide spectrum of issues - supply chain management, technology choice, capacity allocation, etc. - this dissertation focuses on two such issues, namely, sustainability and product development. The thesis comprises three essays. The first essay (Chapter 2) examines a regulatory aspect of sustainability strategy, product take-back, a form of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). With a stylized model, we analyze the trade-offs between assigning full responsibility for product recovery to a single echelon in a multi-echelon supply chain versus sharing responsibility between echelons. We demonstrate how the sharing of EPR program costs between the echelons can move the supply chain closer to the coordinated profit benchmark. The second essay (Chapter 3) examines a voluntary aspect of sustainability from an empirical perspective. We investigate the impact from various types of corporate environmental initiatives and environmental awards and certifications on the market value of the firm. We find that the market is selective in reacting to environmental performance, with certain types of initiatives and awards even valued negatively. The third essay (Chapter 4) is an empirical examination of the shareholder value effects that result from the restructuring of firms' product development activities. We find that, on average, the stock market reacts positively to product development restructuring, and that the reaction is dependent on the firm's prior financial performance, restructuring objective, R&D expenditures, and size.

Socialtjänsten är en verksamhet som i studier framträder som särskilt problematisk vad gäller den psykosociala arbetsmiljön, arbetsrelaterad ohälsa och personalomsättning. Mot bakgrund av socialtjänstens verksamhetsstyrning, vilken är omfattande och komplex, ställs frågan hur kommunen ser på möjligheterna att verka för en god psykosocial arbetsmiljö. I denna fallstudie har 12 nyckelaktörer med någon form av personalansvar gentemot socialsekreterarna från en och samma socialförvaltning intervjuats. Intervjuerna analyserades genom innehållsanalys med latent fokus. Resultaten visar att den bild som framträtt i forskning kring socialsekreterarnas arbetsvillkor inte nått full legitimitet på organisatorisk nivå. Resultaten visar även att det arbete som bedrivs för att stärka den psykosociala arbetsmiljön sker genom primära interventioner vars fokus riktar sig mot organisationen samt interaktionen mellan individ och organisation. Vidare antyder resultaten att kunskapen gällande verksamhetsstyrningens relation till psykosocial arbetsmiljö är i behov av utveckling. Studien tyder på att det behövs mer forskning kring sambandet mellan socialtjänstens verksamhetsstyrning och socialsekreterarnas psykosociala arbetsmiljö liksom att dialogförhållandet mellan kommuner och den statliga överbyggnaden behöver undersökas närmare. / The social services is an area that studies suggest are notably problematic when exploring the psychosocial work environment, work-related illnesses and employee turnover. In light of the complex and comprehensive operational strategy of the social services questions might be raised over the ability of municipalities to achieve a suitable, and functional, psychosocial work environment. In producing this paper, twelve key employees have been interviewed from the same social service centre. The methodology for analysis of interviews has been through ‘content analysis’ with a latent focus. There are several conclusions to be drawn. Results show that the recommendations from previous studies on improving the working conditions of social service workers have, to date, not been given their full legitimacy on an organisational level. Corrective interventions have primarily been directed both towards the organisation and the interaction between the organisation and the individual. Analysis also indicates that the understanding of the relationship between the operational strategy and the psychosocial work environment still needs to be developed. Finally, this paper shows that further research on the relationship between the operational strategy in the social services and the psychosocial work environment is still required, including research on the dialogue between the municipalities and the governmental superstructure. / <p>Uppsatsen har under AFA Försäkrings FoU-dag i Stockholm 10 november 2015 tilldelats AFA Försäkrings och Prevents stipendium “Utmärkt arbetsmiljöuppsats”. Se länken nedan för mer information:</p><p>https://www.afaforsakring.se/nyhetsrum/pressmeddelanden/2015/11/student-vid-malardalens-hogskola-tilldelas-stipendium-for-uppsats-om-socialsekreterares-arbetsmiljo/</p><p></p>

Thesis (Master of Military Studies)-Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 2008. / Title from title page of PDF document (viewed on: Jan 8, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Submitted by Camila Lee Park (camilapark@gmail.com) on 2016-01-06T10:12:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 CLP - Dissertation - Jan2016 .vfinal - protocolo2.pdf: 4019122 bytes, checksum: a23a6655e7cef0c0d568b8d58485d8b8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2016-01-06T10:12:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 CLP - Dissertation - Jan2016 .vfinal - protocolo2.pdf: 4019122 bytes, checksum: a23a6655e7cef0c0d568b8d58485d8b8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-06T10:15:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CLP - Dissertation - Jan2016 .vfinal - protocolo2.pdf: 4019122 bytes, checksum: a23a6655e7cef0c0d568b8d58485d8b8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-02 / Through the assessment of the fourth round of the High Performance Manufacturing (HPM) project and the introduction of Hofstede’s Cultural Classification, the present work aims to deepen the comprehension of the impact of National Cultures on firms’ Operations Strategy. The ANOVA comparisons of four Operations Strategy elements in countries with different industrialization and development backgrounds (e.g. Germany, China, Brazil and South Korea) suggest that while Integrating Leadership and Implementation of Manufacturing Strategy are affected by the cultural levels of Power Distance, Individualism vs. Collectivism and Uncertainty Avoidance, the other two elements of Operations Strategy, Functional Integration and Formal Manufacturing Strategy, show effects of the degree of Individualism vs. Collectivism and Long-Term Orientation. The results of the study are expected to offer new perspectives on the planning and implementation of strategic and operations management for both practitioners and academics. More specifically, the analysis of cross-cultural influence over operations strategy may contribute to a better understanding of how cooperative behavior may lead firms to generate higher rents through the strengths and weaknesses of their relations, particularly in terms of global supply chains. / Pela análise da quarta rodada do projeto High Performance Manufacturing (HPM) e com a introdução da Classificação Cultural de Hofstede, o presente trabalho objetiva aprofundar a compreensão do impacto de Culturas Nacioais nas Estratégias de Operações das empresas. As comparações de ANOVA de quatro elementos de Estratégia de Operações em países com diferentes passados de industrialização e desenvolvimento (e.g. Alemanha, China, Brasil e Coréia do Sul) sugerem que enquanto Liderança Integrativa e Implementação de Estratégia de Produção são afetadas por níveis culturais de Distância de Poder, Individualismo vs. Coletivismo e Aversão à Incerteza, os outros dois elementos de Estratégia de Operações, Integração Funcional e Estratégia Formal de Produção, mostram efeitos do grau de Individualismo vs. Coletivismo e Orientação de Longo-Prazo. Espera-se que os resultados do estudo ofereçam novas perspectivas no planejamento e na implementação da gestão estratégica e de operações tanto para práticos quanto para acadêmicos. Mais especificamente, a análise da influência multi-cultural na estratégia de operações pode contribuir para um melhor entendimento de como o comportamento cooperativo pode levar organizações a gerar maiores rendas através de forças e fraquezas de suas relações, particularmente em termos de cadeias de suprimentos globais.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:52:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6536.pdf: 5744234 bytes, checksum: 3254e778ef288a6a42f50e87dc293065 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-26 / One of the key factors for a successful resale of gas has, besides the relevant issues to any type of business it is maintaining a strategy aligned operations in which the Company Distributor maintains trade relations. Besides helping in the success of business strategies Distributor, resale becomes an agent of accomplishment and execution of the sale, despite its absolutely independent management. The goal of any organization, regardless of what it proposes to accomplish is to survive. But to enable such condition is very critical to have clearly defined what your positioning, as well as necessary for its operation presents a position to deliver the requirements sought by their customers attributes. In other words, this means that for an organization to be successful, it must, among other factors, the establishment of a goal to be achieved, the identification and understanding of the characteristics of competitors, differential required for operation and development of capabilities and new differential. This work aimed to study how dealers three gas companies, in northeastern Brazil, faithful to the same distributor develop their strategies and operations which the results obtained by them. To achieve this goal, first a literature able to support the development of a theoretical framework in order to develop a thorough knowledge of the subject studied and to establish a conceptual framework focused on field research, which was composed of studies was conducted case of exploratory and qualitative performed in each of the companies analyzed. After the description of the individual case studies, a cross was made of the results obtained, which were compared to identify similar characteristics and differences between companies. It was found that among the retailers studied, those with the highest level of integration with the distributor have trained to generate the expected results for its owners operating their function. In addition, issues such as defining strategic priorities, better level of service, investments and consistent development of decision areas become more favorable than that which does not share the same degree of integration. / Um dos fatores fundamentais para que uma revenda de gás tenha sucesso, além das questões pertinentes a qualquer tipo de negócio, é ela manter uma estratégia de operações alinhada à Companhia Distribuidora na qual mantem relações comerciais. Além de auxiliar no êxito das estratégias de negócio da Distribuidora, a revenda se torna um agente de realização e execução da venda, apesar de ter sua gestão absolutamente independente. O objetivo de qualquer organização, independente daquilo que se proponha realizar, é sobreviver. Porém, para que possa garantir essa condição, é fundamental ter muito claramente definido qual seu posicionamento, assim como os atributos necessários para que sua operação apresente condições de entregar os requisitos buscados por seus clientes. Em outras palavras, isso quer dizer que, para que uma organização seja bem sucedida é necessário, entre outros fatores, do estabelecimento de um objetivo a ser alcançado, da identificação e da compreensão das características dos concorrentes, dos diferenciais necessários para a operação e do desenvolvimento de capacitações e novos diferenciais. Este trabalho propôs-se a estudar o modo como três empresas revendedoras de gás, da região Nordeste do Brasil, fiéis ao mesmo distribuidor desenvolvem suas estratégias de operações e quais os resultados obtidos por meio delas. Para alcançar esse objetivo, primeiramente foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica capaz de fundamentar a elaboração de um referencial teórico, com o intuito de desenvolver um conhecimento aprofundado sobre o tema estudado e de estabelecer uma estrutura conceitual voltada à pesquisa de campo, a qual foi composta por estudos de caso de caráter exploratório e qualitativo realizados em cada uma das empresas analisadas. Após a descrição dos estudos de caso individuais, foi feito um cruzamento dos resultados obtidos, os quais foram comparados a fim de identificar características similares e diferenças entre as empresas. Constatou-se que, entre as revendas estudadas, aquelas com o maior nível de integração com a distribuidora apresentam sua função operação capacitadas para gerar os resultados esperados por seus proprietários. Além disso, questões como definição das prioridades estratégicas, melhor nível de prestação de serviço, investimentos e desenvolvimento consistente de áreas de decisão se tornam mais favoráveis do que àquela que não compartilha do mesmo grau de integração.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:52:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 869.pdf: 1727649 bytes, checksum: b95834e18fed6283154a61f1d9b51e4a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-12-15 / This research concentrates in the analysis of the strategic consensus in operations, having as starting point the perceptions of the competitive priorities of managers, middle managers and technical managers. These professionals work in marketing, sales, product development and manufacturing areas. The word consensus is defined as the similar understanding of these managers regarding the importance and the performance of the strategic priorities. The case study method was adopted due to the necessity of examining the operations strategy in the intra-plant basis, through the perceptions in different functional areas of one same company. It aimed to understand the deficiencies of such strategy through a meticulous investigation in one of the establishments of a corporation that is world widely known in the writing, painting and cosmetics businesses. The use of the Importance-Performance matrix of Slack (1993) as an analytical instrument, and the development of a methodology that will interrelate the perceptions with the functions and the hierarchical levels, allowed this work to contribute to the business unity researched through the divergences noticed in the priorities order, through the inconsistent perceptions on the disaggregated priorities, through the relative dispersions of the perceptions between functions and levels; ultimately, through the understanding of how the operations strategy is interpreted in the company. The practical relevance is presented by the inferences that considerably influence the perception of the competitive priorities, and which can improve the practice in other companies, making them aware of the importance of the strategic consensus in the operations: the organizational protection that contributes to determine the interaction/intermediation ratio; the accessibility of information, especially those relating to competitors, the non-communicating of objectives, the inability to operationalize the strategy through the disaggregated priorities management and the products manufacturing policies make-to-stock, make-to-order, assembled-to-order, etc. Ultimately, besides the utilized methodology and the assessment of the consensus extended to middle management and to technical management, the research also contributes to the knowledge of the operations strategy area, proposing the systematization of the integration of activities that will promote consensus in managing the competitive priorities, since that is a challenge to the whole hierarchy of strategies, being of main importance to attain a sustainable success in its implementation. The following steps are suggested: the contextualization of a reality, the exploration of perceptions of such reality; the suppositions that orientates investigations; the search for reliable information; the birth of new perceptions; the discussion of the trade-offs; the negotiating of an explicit collective consensus, and the checking of this consensus among the social actors. / Esta pesquisa centra-se na análise do consenso estratégico nas operações a partir das percepções de gerentes, médios gerentes e gerentes técnicos das áreas de marketing, vendas, desenvolvimento de produtos e manufatura sobre as prioridades competitivas. O termo consenso é definido como entendimento similar desses gerentes em relação à importância e à performance dessas prioridades estratégicas. Adotou-se o método de estudo de caso devido à necessidade de se examinar a estratégia de operações na base intraplanta através das percepções de diferentes áreas funcionais de uma mesma companhia. Objetivou entender as deficiências de tal estratégia por meio de investigação minuciosa de uma das organizações de um grupo empresarial que atua mundialmente nos segmentos de escrita, pintura e cosmético. O uso da matriz importância/desempenho de Slack (1993) como instrumento analítico e o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia que inter-relaciona as percepções com as funções e os níveis hierárquicos permitiram a contribuição deste trabalho para a unidade de negócios pesquisada pelas divergências constatadas nas ordens das prioridades, pelas inconsistências das percepções sobre as prioridades desagregadas, pelas dispersões das percepções entre funções e níveis, enfim, pelo entendimento de como a estratégia de operações é interpretada na organização. A relevância prática é apresentada pelas inferências que influenciam consideravelmente as percepções sobre as prioridades competitivas e que podem melhorar a prática de outras empresas, e sensibilizá-las para a importância do consenso estratégico nas operações: a proteção organizacional que contribui na determinação da razão interação/intermediação, a acessibilidade das informações, especialmente em relação ao concorrente, a falta de comunicação dos objetivos, a inabilidade de se trabalhar a estratégia através da gestão das prioridades desagregadas e a política de fabricação dos produtos make-to-stock, make-to-order, assembled-to-order etc. Por fim, além da metodologia utilizada e da avaliação de consenso estendida à média gerência e a gerência técnica, a pesquisa também contribui para o conhecimento na área de estratégia de operações propondo a sistematização da integração de atividades que promovam consenso quanto à gestão das prioridades competitivas uma vez que isso é desafio para toda a hierarquia das estratégias e fundamental para se obter sucesso sustentável na implementação. Os seguintes passos são sugeridos: a contextualização de uma realidade, a exploração das percepções dessa realidade, as suposições que orientam investigações, a busca de informações confiáveis, o nascimento de novas percepções, a discussão dos trade-offs, a negociação de um consenso coletivo explícito e a verificação desse consenso entre os atores.

O Brasil é pioneiro, e ainda ostenta um dos poucos casos de sucesso, na substituição em larga escala de combustíveis fósseis por derivados de biomassa: o uso do etanol como combustível automotivo. Entretanto, a trajetória desse biocombustível vem experimentando não poucos reveses nos últimos anos, fato que lança dúvidas sobre a maturidade da empreitada no país. Os méritos do Brasil na substituição de combustíveis fósseis são inquestionáveis, mas não deveriam eclipsar as lições dos fracassos observados na história recente. Esta pesquisa enfoca os reveses ocorridos com o suprimento de etanol carburante entre 2005 e 2013, pela perspectiva da Gestão Estratégica de Operações, para elucidar porque ocorreram, e explorar que possível papel poderia ter esse ramo da Administração na prevenção de fenômenos semelhantes. A pesquisa foi estruturada como um estudo de caso que se utiliza da estratégia de estudos processuais formais para extrair conclusões a partir de dados exclusivamente de fontes documentais. A aplicação da perspectiva teórica aos dados levantados permitiu concluir que a ocorrência dos reveses está relacionada às atitudes dos envolvidos com o suprimento de etanol carburante -- setor sucroenergético, distribuidores de combustíveis e até o setor público --, que demonstraram, em seus atos, pouco compromisso com a eficácia do suprimento, quando avaliada por critérios de competitividade do produto no mercado que serve. E que a condução estratégica da evolução das capacidades e recursos do suprimento para fazer face às necessidades do mercado foi precária. Os resultados da pesquisa fortalecem a hipótese de que o amadurecimento do suprimento de biocombustíveis passa pela extensão de gestão de operações de caráter estratégico a mais aspectos dele, e em vários níveis. E abre linhas de exploração acadêmica do conhecimento da Gestão Estratégica de Operações à coordenação de atores sociais para garantir o suprimento efetivo de biocombustíveis. / Brazil is a pioneer, and still displays one of the few success stories, in large-scale replacement of fossil fuels with biomass-derived: the use of ethanol as an automotive fuel. However, the trajectory of this biofuel has been experiencing quite a few setbacks in recent years, which casts doubt on the maturity of the enterprise in the country. The merits of Brazil in the replacement of fossil fuels are unquestionable, but should not eclipse the lessons of the failures observed in its recent history. This research focuses on the setbacks that occurred in the supply of fuel ethanol between 2005 and 2013, from the perspective of the Operations Strategy, to elucidate why they occurred, and explore the possible role that branch of Management could have for the prevention of similar phenomena. The research was structured as a case study that uses the strategy of formal process studies to draw conclusions from data from archival sources only. The application of that theoretical perspective to the data collected showed that the occurrence of setbacks is related to the attitudes of those involved with the supply of fuel ethanol -- sugarcane industry, fuel distributors and even the public sector --, which showed, in their actions, little commitment with supply effectiveness, as measured by the criteria of product competitiveness in the market it serves. And that the strategic guiding of the development of supply capabilities and resources to meet the needs of the market was weak. The results of this research strengthen the hypothesis that the maturation of biofuels supply involves the extension of operations management of strategic nature to more aspects of it, and at various levels. And it also opens lines of academic exploration of Operations Strategy findings to help coordinate social actors to ensure the effective supply of biofuels.

The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of performance measures utilised by the maintenance function in todays business organisations. In the process, the increasing variety and significance of these measures are addressed from operational and strategic perspectives. A survey-based research method was utilised to gather the research data. Several statistical procedures were utilised to analyse the data. The findings of this study point to the multifaceted nature of the maintenance measures and measurement. Multiple categories of maintenance measures were identified. These categories varied from the machine-specific, to measures impacting organisational performance. The relative lack of emphasis placed on the environment and strategic facets of maintenance is noted. The findings of this study have direct implications to organisations, which are attempting to measure the effectiveness of their maintenance efforts. The need to align the maintenance performance efforts with the organisational strategic direction is emphasised. In this context, the integration of the maintenance performance information systems with the overall organisational performance management information system might facilitate the needed alignment. This study utilises 120 maintenance measures. As such, it represents a comprehensive view of the maintenance effort.

The aim of this study is to identify the best practices in traditional and electronic banking operations strategy in Jordan as a case study of developing economies over the period 1999 to 2008. During this period numerous changes faced banks in Jordan: new banking law was launched, the banks were directed towards complying with the Basel Accord II, and the banks adopted more e-banking channels. Only the practices of all local banks were investigated due to their superior performance. A number of questionnaires were used to collect the data from different individuals in these banks. Further, annual reports were analysed and websites were reviewed. Two data-analysis approaches were used to identify the key strategies of traditional and electronic banking in Jordan: competitive position analysis and cluster analysis. Analysis revealed eight best practices of traditional banking and four best practices of electronic banking were adopted. Best practices are presented as prediction models. These models combine actions with capabilities and performance. The traditional banking predication models are: branches urban accessibility, branches sites accessibility (percentage of sites covered), branches sites accessibility (number of branches sites covered), account transaction time, new credit product flexibility, account customer waiting time, account transaction cost, loan approval costs, and branches layout quality. The e-banking prediction models are: Internet banking transaction time, telephone banking volume flexibility, ATM suburban accessibility, and ATM sites accessibility. This research revealed that; financial performance achieved by e-banking strategy patterns is significantly lower than traditional banking. Also customers satisfaction, retention, and deposit market of e-banking are significantly lower than traditional banking, which indicates that the best operational practices in Jordan are still more traditional oriented despite the significant direction of banks in Jordan toward adopting e-banking channel.

No description available.