This dissertation is a study of strategy in thin industries, a class of industries whose members include the aircraft industry, jet engines, heavy electrical equipment, and diesel locomotives. These industries have a number of common features which inter-relate to produce a unique configuration. Foremost among the attributes that make up this configuration is the sparsity and magnitude of transactions on which the industry must subsist. The decrease in the number of transactions, and the increase in their size, results in a "thin" industry. The sparsity and size of transactions combine to produce complex, unstable, and highly interconnected environments. These environmental conditions motivate firms to develop external linkages with other organizations. The successful management of external linkages will frequently depend on knowledge and experience obtained in previous relationships. Many of the problems created by external linkages can only be resolved once they are formed. At the same time, the knowledge required to resolve these problems calls for previous experience. / The dissertation is divided into two parts. In the first three chapters we explore thin industries as a type and as an environment. In the remaining three chapters we look at the ramifications of interorganizational learning on the management of external linkages. In the concluding chapter we discuss the implications of thin industries to the study and practice of strategic management. Three issues in particular are singled out: the decline of organizational autonomy, the limits of competition, and new directions for theory building. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Over the last couple of years the ship repair industry in South Africa and in particular Durban has expanded significantly and the potential and opportunities for growth are still significant. This should be regarded as a positive sign for the industry that is currently enjoying a high level of demand for its services. This in turn has far reaching economic impacts upstream in the economy in terms of employment, revenue and income generation. The opportunities currently presented to the industry in the Port of Durban are vast and require exploitation. The Port of Durban, however, has physical constraints that are at present being addressed, but also structural and operational inefficiencies that hamper the full exploitation of such opportunities. The absence of a Development Framework Plan, in which these opportunities can be exploited, further aggravates the situation, much to the frustration of local ship repairers. This dissertation seeks to evaluate and assess opportunities currently presented to the industry in the Port of Durban. It further seeks to put a framework in place to best exploit such opportunities. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Thesis (M.S., operations research)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2008. / Title from title screen (viewed Oct. 9, 2008). Thesis Advisor(s): Pilnick, Steven E. "March 2008." "ADA479828"--DTIC URL. Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-95).

Thesis (M.S., operations research)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2008. / Thesis Advisor(s): Pilnick, Steven E. "March 2008." Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-95).

Thesis (M.Mar.Archaeol.) -- Flinders University, Department of Archaeology, 2006. / "A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Maritime Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Flinders University". "May 2006". Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-105). System requirements for remote version: Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF file.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

A competição atualmente vivida pelas organizações tem despertado o interesse em desenvolver formas de superar a concorrência e com isso, prosperar no mercado. Uma das formas de superar a concorrência é gerir os custos de forma estratégica para que seja possível superar a concorrência. A gestão estratégica de custos tem por finalidade ampliar os horizontes da análise de custos, ou seja, ela visa cobrir as deficiências existentes nos sistemas tradicionais de custeio, pois em sua análise irá considerar a cadeia de valor como um todo e não somente os processos internos em que há agregação de valor por parte da empresa. Assim, o objetivo da presente pesquisa foi investigar as características dos sistemas de custos e como as empresas da indústria de construção naval do Estado do Rio de Janeiro estão utilizando informações de custos para dar suporte à gestão estratégica, procurando investigar aspectos relativos a esta prática; assim, tem-se como propósito verificar a aplicação da teoria no setor. Para isso, foram realizados estudos casos em cinco empresas da indústria de construção naval, as empresas estudadas, constituem uma amostra não probabilística, ou seja, amostra por acessibilidade. O estudo constatou que mesmo às empresas não utilizando o método de custeio recomendando pela literatura, é dada uma especial atenção nas transações ocorridas ao longo da cadeia de valor, o que permite gerir os custos de maneira eficiente. Isso mostra a proximidade de diversas ações tomadas pelas empresas estudadas e a literatura sobre gestão estratégica de custos / The competition currently experienced by organizations has raised interest in developing ways to overcome the competition and consequently thrive in the marketplace. One way to overcome the competition is to manage costs strategically to the company can overcome your competitors. The strategic cost management aims to broaden the horizons of cost analysis, in other words, it is intended to overcome the deficiencies in traditional costing systems, because in his analysis will consider the value chain as a whole and not only internal processes where there is added value for the company. Therefore, the objective of this research was to investigate the characteristics of cost systems of shipbuilding industry in Rio de Janeiro and how these companies are using cost information to support strategic management, seeking to investigate aspects of this practice; thus, this article aims to verify the application of theory in the sector. For this, studies were performed in five cases of companies shipbuilding industry, the companies studied are a non-probabilistic sample, in other words, sample accessibility. The study found that even companies not using the cost method recommended by the literature, they give a special attention to transactions occurring along the value chain, which allows companies to manage costs efficiently. This shows the proximity of several actions taken by the companies studied and the literature on strategic cost management

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a flotilla of ships, owned by the United Kingdom (UK) Ministry of Defence (MoD), which serves to resupply naval vessels during worldwide operations. Design Alterations and Additions (As&As) are implemented throughout their service lives in order to ‘Upgrade’ and ‘Update’ their capability. This research offers an original contribution to knowledge by applying formal decision making techniques to A&A reasoning in a way that, to the best knowledge of the researcher, has not previously been implemented as an integral part of the in-service design control process for RFA ships. In delivering this contribution, Multi Attribute Decision Making (MADM) techniques are investigated and applied. Three MADM techniques are applied: SAW (Simple Additive Weighting), AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Processes) and TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution). Application of these techniques defines the scope boundary and so rules out exhaustive investigation into the wider decision making approaches that could form the focus of future research. Literature reviews indicate that formal decision techniques have been extensively studied and applied – seemingly to the point of saturation. For this reason, the research does not claim to have developed new techniques. Rather, the contribution to knowledge lies in the systematic application of the techniques. In this respect, a niche topic is identified involving the implementation of As&As during Fleet Time (FT). Investigation results in the systematic identification and categorisation of the Risk Factors (RFs) constraining FT implementation. Two different techniques (SAW and AHP) are applied to FT As&As. The outcomes demonstrate a consistent trend and so offer mutual assurance. In addition, comparison of the techniques indicates that, whilst SAW offers a convenient and intuitive approach, the AHP imposes a higher cognitive burden. This is regarded as significant by the researcher since As&As are subject to schedule and cost constraints, whereby pragmatic and proportional approaches are more likely to find programme acceptance. Based upon an actual decision involving the selection of materials for a ship sea water system, TOPSIS is used to evaluate the options against key criteria. A sensitivity analysis indicates that selection will be influenced in the direction of the criteria weighting. Since ‘procurement cost’ is an important criterion for As&As, the thesis demonstrates a methodology for the delivery of robust cost estimates. This involves the treatment of cost uncertainty using risk analysis software based upon the Monte Carlo technique. The researcher consolidates studies into systematic decision methodologies for As&As. Credibility is claimed since methodologies are based upon established techniques and tested against A&A examples. Credibility is also claimed from the theme, running throughout the thesis, that the studies build upon the professional experience of the researcher and involve engagement with Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel (SQEP).

This thesis develops a mixed mode function – boundary element method (BEM) to analyze the dynamics of an integrated airplane – floating structure – water interaction system subject to airplane landing impacts. The airplane and the floating structure are treated as two solid substructures of which the motions are represented by their respective modal functions. The landing gear system of the airplane is modelled with a few linear spring – damper units connecting the airplane and the floating structure. The water is assumed to be inviscid and incompressible and the fluid motion is irrotational. Under a linear potential theory, the motion of the fluid is governed by the Laplace equation and the related boundary conditions. A linearised composite free surface boundary condition and an undisturbed far field (infinity) radiation condition are considered. The Green function, or kernel, of BEM formulation is a fundamental solution of the Laplace equation assuming an infinite fluid domain. The motion of the floating structure and the surrounding fluid are coupled through the wetted surface interface conditions. The coupled equations of the airplane, the floating structure and the surrounding fluid are solved using a step by step time integration procedure based on the Newmark assumptions. A FORTRAN program MMFBEP is written to implement the proposed numerical method. A few examples are completed to validate the mathematical model and the developed computer code. In comparing the available numerical and experimental results reported in the literature, sound agreements are reached. It is hoped that the developed method and computer code may be further improved and modified to provide an engineering tool for the dynamic design of Very Large Floating Structures (VLFS).