Magister Commercii - MCom / This study analyses the process that an IT refurbishing organisation used to socialise 15 IT graduates to the norms of the working world. In addition, 5 IT industry and 2 governmental agency interviews were used, and 60 online job advertisements were analysed to develop a system dynamic model. The main motivation for this study was to develop a system dynamics model of the graduate socialisation process, in an attempt to understand the cause and effect of practical exposure, to bridge the IT skill-expectations gap. The main source of data for the model was from a-priori coding and content analysis of job adverts, online blogs and reports created by the students, supported by a review of the existing literature

(i) The thesis sets out to address the problematic phenomenon of Systems of Congestion via Basic Queueing Theory. The theory, and its application in practice, appears to be a field of study which is the common domain of “theorists” and “practitioners”. (ii) This professional dichotomy has come about due to diverging interests in that one group is mainly interested in the purity of mathematical modelling, and the other group is motivated to use modelling, which conveniently employs applications oriented solutions. (iii) The schism between the groups has been accentuated by the “practitioners” who in addition to having an interest in steady state system behaviour make use of methods of modelling of the transient operation of complex Systems of Congestion. (iv) At the outset the thesis demonstrates how closed form solutions are obtained for steady state and transient state operation of a selection of Systems of Congestion. The attendant mathematical derivations are elegant and intricate. (v) Having revealed the limited utility of closed-form solutions the thesis proceeds to investigate the feasibility of using dynamical systems theory to study the transient behaviour of complex Systems of Congestion. (vi) The creation of Chaos Theory in recent decades suggests that it may be employed as a useful tool in analysing Systems of Congestion. Iterative Chaos Theory methods of orbit generation for complete Systems of Congestion are therefore examined. The use of such orbit generation methods is found to be satisfactory for simple Systems of Congestion. More than a perfunctory knowledge of chaos mapping is however required. The simplicity of modelling is emphasized. (vii) Based on the results of benchmarking the creation of dynamic system orbits against an existing simulation method, the research advances to modelling of the transient operation of complex systems. Once again the iterative method of orbit generation displays the ease of modelling while simultaneously unfolding system dynamics graphically. (viii) One may hopefully contend that a tool of eminent utility has been developed to aid practitioners in studying and optimizing Systems of Congestion. / Thesis (PhD (Industrial Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Industrial and Systems Engineering / Unrestricted

Environmentally conscious construction has received a significant amount of research attention during the last decades. Even though construction literature is rich in studies that emphasize the importance of environmental impact during the construction phase, most of the previous studies failed to combine environmental analysis with other project performance criteria in construction. This is mainly because most of the studies have overlooked the multi-objective nature of construction projects. In order to achieve environmentally conscious construction, multi-objectives and their relationships need to be successfully analyzed in the complex construction environment. The complex construction system is composed of changing project conditions that have an impact on the relationship between time, cost and environmental impact (TCEI) of construction operations. Yet, this impact is still unknown by construction professionals. Studying this impact is vital to fulfill multiple project objectives and achieve environmentally conscious construction. This research proposes an analytical framework to analyze the impact of changing project conditions on the relationship of TCEI. This study includes green house gas (GHG) emissions as an environmental impact category. The methodology utilizes multi-agent systems, multi-objective optimization, analytical network process, and system dynamics tools to study the relationships of TCEI and support decision-making under the influence of project conditions. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is applied to the evaluation of environmental impact in terms of GHG. The mixed method approach allowed for the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. Structured interviews of professionals in the highway construction field were conducted to gain their perspectives in decision-making under the influence of certain project conditions, while the quantitative data were collected from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for highway resurfacing projects. The data collected were used to test the framework. The framework yielded statistically significant results in simulating project conditions and optimizing TCEI. The results showed that the change in project conditions had a significant impact on the TCEI optimal solutions. The correlation between TCEI suggested that they affected each other positively, but in different strengths. The findings of the study will assist contractors to visualize the impact of their decision on the relationship of TCEI.

The reason why I chose this topic is not nor the complexity of global world neither the growing pressure on quick and effective managerial resolutions as it is mentioned in similar scripts. Surprisingly, the main impulse was the synergy of three principal aspects of my master study. First millstone was a study of main specialization by its self: Information management, on cathedra of System analysis, faculty of Informatics and Statistics, Economic University in Prague. The second angle is the minor specialization of the study: Retail business, on cathedra of Commercial business, faculty of International relations, Economic University in Prague. Last but no least aspect is simultaneously exercised practice in field of managing the project ICT/ IS and logistic operations. Prime aim of this work is a concept of presentation of DSS, which is intended to support the decision-making process of development of a retail chain of fictitious firm JK, a.s. Partial goals heading to fulfilment of a prime aim are: determination of a theoretical expectations, methods and methodic needed to proposal of DSS, description, and analysis of company and retail chain, procedural analyze of decision making-process of retail chain development, concept of system dynamic model, which forms the root of DSS and the concept of DSS by its self. Secondary aim is to gather satisfactory amount of theoretical and practical details for presentation of project DSS to management of the company. The biggest benefits of this work are fulfilment of a prime and secondary aim, together with the project DSS it self, which could be partly applied for the support of the decision-making process in the company. Further assets for the firm JK, a.s. are conclusions of some captures, which could be used for planning of marketing campaigns, generating Business Knowledge Base, evaluation of affectivity of sales and human resources, etc. The final bonus for the author of this work is the personal progression, profession growth, caused by gain of new

This diploma thesis describes the design of an efficient optimization of the selected process. The thesis contains description of methods supporting creative and systematic approach to the problem, with an accent on discipline system dynamics and its instruments for system analysis. It thus offers a tool through which you can capture, analyze and model the selected process in a new way, to discover the causes of problems and predict their behavior. Creative application of methods and systems approach is chosen optimum alternative solution of the problem, which is then constructed to compare model simulations in order to determine whether the selected process improvements effectively.

Diploma thesis looks into the application of system dynamics and system thinking principles into the projects of quality management. This application offers the new perspective of project of quality management, which uncovers concealed relationships among entities of the system. The principles are specifically applied on the DMAIC cycle of the Six Sigma methodology. The goal of this thesis is to reveal the relationships between the key entities of the cycle, the revelation of the system archetypes with the negative impact on project management triangle and to propose recommendations to eliminate or minimize the negative impact. The goals of the thesis are fulfilled with the methods of analysis of the theoretical ground and its synthesis based on mutual characteristics across the examined areas of System dynamics, Project dynamics, Project management and Quality management. In the practical application the used methods are generalization, deduction, analysis and synthesis of the new systemic and dynamical perspective of the DMAIC cycle. The technical tool used in this process is Causal Loops Diagram. The research has proven the presence of free kinds of system archetypes in the DMAIC cycle, for which are suggested recommendations to eliminate the negative impact on the key indicators. The main contribution of the thesis is the systemic and dynamic approach of the quality management projects, which reveals nonlinear relationships and potentially harmful behavior, which would remain undiscovered under the linear perspective of the system relationships.

My thesis aims several objectives. The first goal is to search the theoretical basis of management simulators and health management in order to create an overview of these two topics. Healthcare is an exceptional field, so as I set out to find specifics in health service management. Another aim of my thesis is to create a management simulator using Powersim software. Created management simulator is used as a modeling tool for simulation of processes and behavior of the upper or ward nurse on each shift the focus on utilization of subordinate nurses and supervisors themselves. The simulator is designed as a decision support system. The simulator has been tested and consulted on gastroenterology department of Nemocnice Milosrdných sester sv. Karla Boromejského in Prague. One of the goals is to make accessible the system thinking and its application to management. Using system dynamics approaches to case study to find appropriate recommendations for lower-level management in health care facilities in general. The last objective is the creation of test scenarios to verify the functionality of the simulator and testing hypotheses from which emerges a recommendation for hospital departments.

This diploma thesis focuses on a model-oriented system for decision support. The main contribution of the thesis consists in creating a system simulating energy saving which would result from the purchase of plastic windows and/or of a heat pump. The basis of the simulator is a functional model consisting of individual variables and connections between them and created in compliance with relevant notation. The thesis describes and illustrates not only the model structure itself, but, in the same time, also its logic on which basis the corresponding energetic saving is calculated after entry of necessary initial values. The diploma thesis includes, in addition to the model, also the description and the graphical representation of the created user interface which provides the user with easy entry of parameters and clear display of results. The introductory part of this work introduces the basic theoretical terms and approaches concerning the system dynamics together with its principles. The following part is dedicated to the description of the enterprise for which the system for decision support was created. The final part contains the above mentioned model, its structure and description, as well as the created user interface.

System Dynamics is a powerful approach to understanding the behaviour of complex systems. This thesis is focused on a simulation model, that goes from principles of System Dynamics and the model will solve the problem of insufficient number of applicants that meet a specific set of project requirements, which are defined by the government agency, CzechInvest. The project, CzechEkoSystem, is mainly focused on efficient development of small and medium sized enterprises based on their pioneering business model. The thesis begins by describing the basic theories of System Dynamics that are introduced and elaborated on, within the particular tools of the simulation model problem statement. Then key terms about the CzechEkoSystem project are introduced. In the conclusion, results and recommendations for increasing the portfolio of pioneering small and medium sized enterprises are presented.

This thesis researches dynamics in projects managed by Scrumban. It describes the creation of system dynamics simulation model, which provides insight into the relationships between system components. It also presents data, that are further analysed with the purpose of discovering patterns in behaviour of project attributes in time, such as size of the product backlog, work in progress etc. The patterns are discovered and recommended parameter settings are provided so that there is no idle time or higher defect rate than necessary. Soft factors are also included in the model, namely the development team and the customer, which have a grand effect to the model behaviour. Managment flight simulator is developed, which provides the option to experiment even to users, who are not familiar with system dynamics modelling. The thesis consists of two parts. In the first part, necessary theory of project management, system dynamics and their fusion is provided. The second part is dedicated to the process of creating the simulation model, dynamic hypothesis formulation, mathematical modelling, testing and data analysis. In consideration of the analysis results, recommended policies are provided. Last pages of the thesis describe the user interface of management flight simulator and it's controls.