The concept of ‘Industry 4.0’ signalises the rise of innovative manufacturing technologies, including industrial robots. Wider applicability of robotic automation and higher efficiency of production processes shift the profitability analysis of strategic relocation decisions. Despite the technological feasibility, diffusion of technology lowers the profitability threshold for robots. Consequently, competitive labour cost advantages, formerly motivating manufacturing firms to offshore production become less relevant. In fact, robots additionally gain importance in the case of shifted global economic realities, such as stricter environmental regulation on global trade and the convergence of the global wage gap. However, the heterogeneous levels of automation among manufacturing firms have not been taken into account when studying the macroeconomic phenomenon of reshoring. This study adds novelty by offering an agent-based perspective which has allowed insights on how the behaviour of firms, guided by simple economic rules on the micro-level, is dynamically influenced by their complex environment in regard to relocation, decision-making hypotheses. Testing various variables sensitive to initial conditions, increased environmental regulations targeting global trade and upward shifting wage levels in formerly offshore production locations have shown to be driving and inhibiting mechanisms of this socio-technical system. Therefore, the dynamic demonstrates a shift from predominantly cited economic reasoning for relocation strategies towards sustainability aspects, pressingly changing these realities on an environmental and social dimension. The popular debate is driven by increased environmental awareness and the proclaimed fear of robots killing jobs. In view of reshoring shaping the political agenda, interest in the phenomenon has recently been fuelled by the rise of populism and protectionism claiming to “bring jobs back home”.

Le constat actuel concernant les projets de construction ou de rénovation de bâtiments est la persistance d’un niveau substantiel de non qualité des ouvrages qui vient à l’encontre des objectifs de développement durable de la filière. Pour preuve, les conditions d’usage des bâtiments sont dégradées, les coûts de réparation sont significatifs et l’empreinte environnementale du bâti peine à se réduire. Ces observations sont révélatrices de l’imperfection du processus de production des projets de construction. En effet, ce processus de production a pour finalité de mettre en œuvre des procédés constructifs dont l’intégration fournit des fonctions dites d’usage. Chacune de ces fonctions se décline alors en performances dont le niveau effectif, sur l’ensemble du cycle de vie du bâtiment, dépend de la qualité de mise en œuvre. La présente thèse s’est focalisée, premièrement, sur la quantification d’un indicateur de réussite d’un projet de construction. Pour ce faire, une modélisation de la dynamique du processus de production d’un bâtiment a été entreprise, en tenant compte des perturbations auxquelles il est assujetti, afin de quantifier, de manière prospective, l’écart entre le niveau effectif d’une performance et son niveau souhaité au cahier des charges fonctionnelles. Deuxièmement, à l’échelle d’une performance, la modélisation du processus de production a permis de formaliser une fonction de récupération dépendant des ressources allouées à une opération. Ainsi, avec la proposition d’expressions mathématiques décrivant la dégradation puis la récupération d’une performance, l’analyse de ce qui pourrait s’apparenter au processus globale de résilience, à l’échelle d’un bâtiment a été initiée. En guise d’illustration, deux solutions de réalisations de façades ont été analysées. Une analyse de sensibilité de la « satisfaction » du projet est, alors, conduite en fonction de paramètres comme la compétence du constructeur, la complexité des procédés constructifs ou les ressources allouées / It is widely observed that construction and renovation projects suffer poor quality in the case of buildings, for instance. This is a major drawback as it affects the sustaining development goals of the building industry. Often, the subsequent conditions of service do not meet the normative standards; the costs for renovating the buildings are significant high, and the carbon footprint increases. They result in imperfections of the whole process related to construction projects. In fact, the production process is intended integrate architectural elements and structural components by putting them together adequately with the purpose of providing functions defined as «building features». Each of these features is then expressed as performances whose level, spanning the whole life cycle of the building, depends on the quality of its implementation. The present thesis focuses, in a first part, on the quantification of a « satisfaction index » of any construction project. For this purpose, a dynamic production process modeling a building has been developed; it takes into account disturbances in order to predict quantitatively the gap between the effective performance level and the required and targeted level. In a second part, considering a given performance level, the production process modeling aims to develop « recovery functions » depending on the allocated resources. Therefore, hypothetic mathematical expressions are adopted in order to describe the deterioration and the recovery of a performance level. A theoretical approach is also developed; it is adapted by analogy with global resilience process, at the scale of a building scale. For illustrative and comparative purposes, two kinds of constructive methods, for exterior walls (façade) are considered. A sensitivity study of the project’s « satisfaction index» is then performed out according to parameters such as constructor’s know‐how and past experience, constructive process complexity as well as allocated and available resources

This study investigates fluctuations of construction output, and growth of the output in Kenya. Fluctuation and growth of construction activity are matters of concern in construction industries of many countries in the developing as well as in the developed world. The construction industry of Kenya is therefore an exemplifying case for this phenomenon. Construction activity in Kenya fluctuates excessively and grows very slowly. This remains a big challenge to policy makers, developers, consultants and contractors in their decision-making processes. In this study, systems thinking was applied to investigate the problem of excessive fluctuations and stunted growth of construction output in Kenya. The study developed a system dynamics model to simulate the construction output problem behaviour. The historical behaviour of the construction industry was described using construction output data of a 40-year period - from 1964 to 2003. Line graphs of the historical data exhibited profiles that helped to identify the system archetypes operating in the industry. From the profiles, it was deduced that the problem of fluctuations and slow growth of construction output in Kenya is encapsulated in two system archetypes, namely: balancing process with a delay, and limits to growth. The relationship between construction output and its determinant factors from the constru ction industry's environment was investigated using time series regression, which involved autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) regression and multiple regression modelling of the output. On the basis of the historical data analysis and the system archetypes identified, a system dynamics (SD) model was developed to replicate the problem of fluctuations and slow growth in the construction output. The data used to develop the system dynamics model was annual construction output in Kenya from 1964 to 2003. The model was then used: to appraise policy changes suggested by construction industry participants in Kenya, and to project construction output in Kenya from year 2004 to year 2050, in order to establish the expected future fluctuations and growth trends of the construction output. It was observed that three fundamental changes are necessary in the system structure of the construction industry of Kenya, in order to minimize fluctuations and foster growth in construction output in the country, in the long run. The changes are: setting long-term targets of annual construction output in the industry as a whole, incorporating reserve capacity in the production process, and expanding the system st ructure to capture a larger construction market. The study recommends regulation of the response of the construction industry of Kenya to changes in construction demand in the market, and expansion of the construction industry's market into the African region and beyond.

<p>During the evolution of the music industry, developments in the media environment have required music firms to adapt in order to survive. Changes in broadcast radio programming during the 1950s; the Compact Cassette during the 1970s; and the deregulation of media ownership during the 1990s are all examples of changes which have heavily affected the music industry. This study explores similar contemporary dynamics, examines how decision makers in the music industry perceive and make sense of the developments, and reveals how they revise their business strategies, based on their mental models of the media environment.</p><p>A qualitative system dynamics model is developed in order to support the reasoning brought forward by the study. The model is empirically grounded, but is also based on previous music industry research and a theoretical platform constituted by concepts from evolutionary economics and sociology of culture. The empirical data primarily consist of 36 personal interviews with decision makers in the American, British and Swedish music industrial ecosystems. The study argues that the model which is proposed, more effectively explains contemporary music industry dynamics than music industry models presented by previous research initiatives.</p><p>Supported by the model, the study is able to show how “new” media outlets make old music business models obsolete and challenge the industry’s traditional power structures. It is no longer possible to expose music at one outlet (usually broadcast radio) in the hope that it will lead to sales of the same music at another (e.g. a compact disc).</p><p>The study shows that many music industry decision makers still have not embraced the new logic, and have not yet challenged their traditional mental models of the media environment. Rather, they remain focused on preserving the pivotal role held by the CD and other physical distribution technologies.</p><p>Further, the study shows that while many music firms remain attached to the old models, other firms, primarily music publishers, have accepted the transformation, and have reluctantly recognised the realities of a virtualised environment.</p>

During the evolution of the music industry, developments in the media environment have required music firms to adapt in order to survive. Changes in broadcast radio programming during the 1950s; the Compact Cassette during the 1970s; and the deregulation of media ownership during the 1990s are all examples of changes which have heavily affected the music industry. This study explores similar contemporary dynamics, examines how decision makers in the music industry perceive and make sense of the developments, and reveals how they revise their business strategies, based on their mental models of the media environment. A qualitative system dynamics model is developed in order to support the reasoning brought forward by the study. The model is empirically grounded, but is also based on previous music industry research and a theoretical platform constituted by concepts from evolutionary economics and sociology of culture. The empirical data primarily consist of 36 personal interviews with decision makers in the American, British and Swedish music industrial ecosystems. The study argues that the model which is proposed, more effectively explains contemporary music industry dynamics than music industry models presented by previous research initiatives. Supported by the model, the study is able to show how “new” media outlets make old music business models obsolete and challenge the industry’s traditional power structures. It is no longer possible to expose music at one outlet (usually broadcast radio) in the hope that it will lead to sales of the same music at another (e.g. a compact disc). The study shows that many music industry decision makers still have not embraced the new logic, and have not yet challenged their traditional mental models of the media environment. Rather, they remain focused on preserving the pivotal role held by the CD and other physical distribution technologies. Further, the study shows that while many music firms remain attached to the old models, other firms, primarily music publishers, have accepted the transformation, and have reluctantly recognised the realities of a virtualised environment.

This thesis presents mathematical modeling and control techniques that can be used to predict and specify performance of biologically inspired actuation systems called cellular actuators. Cellular actuators are modular units designed to be connected in bundles in manner similar to human muscle fibers. They are characterized by inherent compliance and large numbers of on-off discrete control inputs. In this thesis, mathematical tools are developed that connect the performance to the physical manifestation of the device. A camera positioner inspired by the human eye is designed to demonstrate how these tools can be used to create an actuator with a useful force-displacement characteristic. Finally, control architectures are presented that use discrete switching inputs to produce smooth motion of these systems despite an innate tendency toward oscillation. These are demonstrated in simulation and experiment.

The cash conversion cycle which is a very important indicator measures how efficient a company manages its working capital. This indicator clearly points the effect of a company business operation from the cash flow point of view. Basically, it is an excellent systematic financial system that includes the function which will fully describe the important parts of daily operation behavior of a company. According to this study, the cash conversion cycle can completely show the skeleton of working capital management and its own business operation character of a company. By using the cash conversion cycle as a base, the model of working capital management cycle is created from a system dynamics method. A close-tight and highly dependent relationship between revenue and profit growth rate with the cash conversion cycle is illustrated in this model by inputting some criteria. The illustration shows: 1.The cash conversion cycle will affect a company¡¦s profitability. 2.The cash conversion cycle will affect Cash flow shortage risk. 3.The cash conversion cycle focuses on the period of time between ¡§payment and receiving¡¨. When a company¡¦s revenue increases substantially but profit is not increased accordingly, the length of time between payments and receiving shows a gap is created by increasing cash payments on production but less increasing or decreasing cash receiving on sales. This gap will gradually cause cash outflow greater than cash inflow. Although the account indicates that the company is profitable, the company business operation will still suffer from the cash shortage eventually. Of course, the company¡¦s strong refinancing ability may solve this problem. However, if the company has problem of refinancing and increasing its operation capital, the raising cash outflow from the gap will trigger off a counterintuitive of ¡§bankruptcy from the technical insolvency ¡§.

In the recent years, ongoing debates in the mineral sector has shown that efficient use of natural resources is of vital importance as the use of minerals is essential for modern living. Especially, in the context of sustainable development, it is required that mineral resources should be exploited to maximize the contribution to the well being of current generation without depriving the potential for future generations to meet their own needs. The aim of this thesis is to develop a decision support system using system dynamics methodology where

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In order to make company work efficiently, managers often divide an enterprise into several functions or departments, such as sales, marketing, human resource, finance and manufacture. However, in this structure, managers would fail to see the wood for the trees. Because each department manager has to be responsible for his own performance, which may easily leads these managers to make decisions that are fit for their department instead of the whole company. Therefore, it¡¦s impossible for companies to make an optimized decision in a dynamic environment. As we enlarge space and time, we can find out that decisions may influence one by another, and the feedback of each decision has a long time delay which makes the manager try to see the wood for the trees even harder. For one manager who tries to show up his performance in a short time will leave the side effect which caused by time delay to other people. What even worse is they can¡¦t predict how much side effect is behind. In this research, we used system dynamics and systems thinking to develop our system dynamics model for the case study. And we developed a MFS(management flight simulator) as a learning tool. Students who manipulate this MFS can enrich their ability to see the wood for the trees. In this case study, we choose a factory which provide electronic product assemble services as a research object. The company was established since AD 1989 until now. After first five years hard working time, it started to grow up stably by keeping changing the product and service. In this industry, success is relied on product quality, price, service and delivery time. Only by making the optimized decision in this competition market can gain better performance. This thesis simulated the case company surface mount technology plant from 1995 to 2006 for 12 years. Students can make different decisions to obtain different equity and capital equipment to evaluate their performance. By different result, simulators can reconsider the structure which is behind the game and their own mental models. After learning from this virtual world, players will find out that their own mental models influencing the final result. From the result and experience, one simulator can accumulate their know-how for the next game. After experiencing this double loop learning process, player will finally learn how to make the best decisions by systems thinking for the real world. Keywords : System Dynamics¡BSystems Thinking¡BDynamic Complexity¡BEnterprise Modeling¡BManagement Flight Simulator¡BSurface Mount Technology(SMT)¡BElectronic Manufacturing Services(EMS)