The need for construction to change its traditional working practices has been repeatedly expressed in government, industry, and academic publications. The Internet has been a major catalyst for change in most industry sectors, including the construction sector. The implementation of Internet-based technologies, such as ecommerce for achieving business targets, bring about changes in an organisation, its current practices, systems, processes and workflows. It is therefore important to evaluate the business process implications of adopting e-commerce in construction organisations. This was the focus of this study. The early stages of the research established the possible benefits, barriers, and drivers for the adoption of e-commerce technologies within construction. This was done by conducting an industry-wide survey that explored attitudes, current usage, barriers and enablers of IT and e-commerce within the UK construction sector. Survey results indicated that the exact benefits of using e-commerce within the construction industry were not known and more needed to be done to establish the effects of incorporating e-commerce applications into construction business processes and to demonstrate the opportunities of e-commerce for construction. To address this need a typical business process model that used the principles of business process re-engineering and demonstrated opportunities for e-commerce, was developed. Using this model it was possible to illustrate how, with the use of ecommerce applications, different members of the construction supply chain could derive business benefits and overcome traditional process inefficiencies. In order to effectively adopt e-commerce technologies in construction, companies may have to reengineer their current working methods, which could lead to a step change in current work practices. To facilitate such a step change it was essential to study and document the impact of specific e-commerce applications on their current end-user business processes. Case studies were conducted for this purpose. The case study findings showed that the end-user companies had accrued several business benefits from using e-commerce tools. Issues related to management buy-in and organisational culture were the main barriers to the wider use of e-commerce within the construction industry. The case studies and earlier findings indicated that e-commerce is 'here to stay' and it will not be long before it becomes an industry norm. Taking this into account, construction companies who are currently using, and those who have yet to use, e-commerce tools need to take measures to successfully adopt and benefit from these tools. It is important for companies that seek to adopt ecommerce to assess their 'e-readiness' for adopting e-commerce tools to ensure a productive and beneficial implementation of these tools. To address this need an ereadiness model for construction organisations and a prototype application, VERDICT, that assess e-readiness were developed and implemented. The model is based on the premise that for any company to be e-ready, its management, people, process and technology have to be e-ready in order to derive maximum business benefits. The research findings indicate that the use of e-commerce is still in its infancy within the construction industry. The current use of e-commerce has resulted in process automation, however, there is no evidence of process re-engineering. Such practices, although beneficial in the short-term, can have long-term implications in that the end-users are not necessarily making full use of the technology and hence not deriving full benefits from it. The model and e-readiness assessment prototype developed as part of this study will enable construction organisations to successfully adopt e-commerce and exploit its potential.

Based on permanently operation faiths of enterprise and faced to the strike against recycle of economical prosperity, variation of society and information technology, the main purpose of this case study is to discuss how enterprise will be transform and the relationship between Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) and Information Technology (IT). The object of this case study is Air Asia Company Limited (AACL) which is a 60-years enterprise and goes through verities managements by Arm Forces of USA, American operational company and Taiwanese operational company. This case study goes deep into understand industrial characteristic of AACL and influences from the trend of world economies and development polices of government in first step. Furthermore, this case study will discuss AACL¡¦s development background, company culture and problems of currently business operations and management, expecting by using BPR and IT to bring the transform opportunities for the subject enterprise. The main basement of this case study is mode of¡uThe 5 levels of Business Transformation enabled by Information Technology¡vwhich was raised by Venkatraman in 1995. Writer using the above mentioned mode to examine the Information Technology (IT) plays what kind of rules, the ranges and ways of influences during the development processes of the subject company. However, ¡§People¡¨ is main key elements to the success for leading the results of the above mentioned.

This empirical research focuses on exploring the role of strategic leadership in the shift from Electronic Government (eGovernment) to Transformational Government (tGovernment). Despite the fact that many countries have implemented eGovernment, the literature reports a number of themhave failed to reach the promised seamless transformation. Moreover, there is a dearth of research into the domain of tGovernment; the research which exists is limited in extent thus leaving scope for timely and novel research contributions. This thesis reveals that a valuable contribution to knowledge could be derived from exploring the domain of transformational government. The leadership motivationand incentives to conduct a radical government organisational change have become an area of great importance. There is limited research on the strategic role of leadership in achieving transformational government domain; hence, the implications of seamless integration for transformational government have yet to be explored. This research discusses transformational government by using a qualitative, multiple case study research strategy. Data is triangulated and analysed according to its explanatory properties and underlying structural context. This researchextends established norms in literature for tGovernment implementation by incorporating established theories in organisational change from other related disciplines. This is to explain the significance of the underlying philosophical nature of the emerging themes, thus enabling government leaders to create robust strategic proposals for tGovernment. This empirical research is conducted in a Middle Eastern cultural context based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The research arrives at several key findings and themesthat contribute to the body of knowledge. A primary finding is the need for a radical change and an innovative managerial approach in using ICT to enable radical change in government organisations. A related finding of this research is that many assumptions underlying the various tGovernment models for transformation fall short to empirically explain the transformational government domain. The government visionary leadership has been proven to be a powerful driver for change in terms of initiating and leading the process for transformational government.

Shared Services (SS) involves the convergence and streamlining of an organisation’s functions to ensure timely service delivery as effectively and efficiently as possible. As a management structure designed to promote value generation, cost savings and improved service delivery by leveraging on economies of scale, the idea of SS is driven by cost reduction and improvements in quality levels of service and efficiency. Current conventional wisdom is that the potential for SS is increasing due to the increasing costs of changing systems and business requirements for organisations and in implementing and running information systems. In addition, due to commoditisation of large information systems such as enterprise systems, many common, supporting functions across organisations are becoming more similar than not, leading to an increasing overlap in processes and fuelling the notion that it is possible for organisations to derive benefits from collaborating and sharing their common services through an inter-organisational shared services (IOSS) arrangement. While there is some research on traditional SS, very little research has been done on IOSS. In particular, it is unclear what are the potential drivers and inhibitors of IOSS. As the concepts of IOSS and SS are closely related to that of Outsourcing, and their distinction is sometimes blurred, this research has the first objective of seeking a clear conceptual understanding of the differences between SS and Outsourcing (in motivators, arrangements, benefits, disadvantages, etc) and based on this conceptual understanding, the second objective of this research is to develop a decision model (Shared Services Potential model) which would aid organisations in deciding which arrangement would be more appropriate for them to adopt in pursuit of process improvements for their operations. As the context of the study is on universities in higher education sharing administrative services common to or across them and with the assumption that such services were homogenous in nature, this thesis also reports on a case study. The case study involved face to face interviews from representatives of an Australian university to explore the potential for IOSS. Our key findings suggest that it is possible for universities to share services common across them as most of them were currently using the same systems although independently.

The operational advantages of a pull system are very well documented. These advantages include not only operational efficiency and quality, but also the enhancement of the customer oriented of the organization. The objective of this field study is to examine the applicability and potential advantages of a pull operational system in a mid-size manufacturing organization. Philosophies, tools, and concepts of Just-in-Time, Theory of Constraints, Business Process Re-engineering, and Root Cause Analysis are used to analyze the existing operational system, to identify its weaknesses, and finally to re-engineer it to be more consistent with a pull operational system. The results of this field study appear to be consistent with reported findings in the literature. The results point to both operational gains and customer related benefits which can be attributed to the pull operational system philosophy. Conclusions and recommendations are presented and discussed in light of their practical and theoretical implications.

Abstact During the past several years,many facilites have tranfered to some foreign sties rapidly,and suffered the declined dilemma.The low cost,high quality,and differential are only one of the essential strategic factors to survive for any enterprise.To focus the knowledge management and create the enterprise intelligence asset will make sure of the prosperous business activities in the future. The fields of Paint and Resin are regarded as the conventional industries ,and divided to the ¡§formulation¡¨ characteristics.The storing,sharing,and creating of these knowledge,concering to the formulations and applications of their related products,have been recognized as the most important core competency advantages. The thesis is concentrated on the two fields of ¡§paint¡¨ and ¡§resin¡¨.The following research procedures are proposed as: (A) paper survey (B)the published reports (C)questionnaire(D)casestudies(E)survey the modules and interfaces of K.M. sofetwares in Taiwan,(F)then construct the K.M. manafement systen and web-site by the integration of business process re-engineering and prototyping. The conclusions could be proposed as: 1. The situations of K.M.for ¡§paint¡¨ and ¡§resin¡¨ fields¡G Even only the 12.9% of questionaired companies have established their K.M.system.However,the importance and urgency of K.M.system are well recognized. The division or classifications of knowedege contents can be based on the functional departments during the daily business operation.As wells,10 indices of knowedege management performance reviews are proposed.Some further proposed 12 possible problems or difficulties could be occurred in the futuer 2. the reseach of K.M.software¡Gthese modules including,system management, ,news broadcasting,community, paper workflow,resource management,E.I.P.,meeting management, ,e-learningdata-besed system,full-text searching,etc. 3.Cases studies for the two leading companies: To conclude the critical success factors of K.M. systems are¡Gthe pressure outside the enterprise,the full supports of owner or C.E.O.,the reasonable management system, high levels of human resource,and the well-training of M.I.S.people 4.To prototype the K.M.system and K.M. web-site is quite possible and helpful for the further K.M.project,and will help C.E.O. and some managers to recognize and support the K.M. project afterwards Key words¡GK.M.(knowledge management),B.P.R.(business process re-engineering),prototyping,enterprise intelligence asset,best practise¡Acommunity,paint,resin.

Abstract ------------- Background ---------------- Like other businesses, the failures and problems faced by the software development industry over the time have motivated experts to look for software process improvement to create quality software rapidly, repeatedly, and reliably. Objective ------------ The purpose of this study is to evaluate if and how Lean thinking and principles primarily associated with auto manufacturing industry can be applied to software development lifecycle for Software Process Improvement (SPI). The secondary aim is to analyze how BPR can be integrated with Lean software development for process improvement. Method ---------- A derived Lean-BPR adoption pattern model is used as a theoretical framework for this thesis. The seven Lean software development principles along with four-step BPR process are selected as process improvement patterns, which effects the KPIs of a software organization. This research study incorporates both Qualitative and Quantitative methods and data to analyze the objectives of this study. The methodological framework of Plan-Do-Check-Act is used in the case study to implement process re-engineering incorporating Lean and BPR principles. The impact of adopting the Lean and BPR principles is assessed in terms of cost, productivity, quality of products and resource management. Results ---------- Application of Lean and BPR principles for software process improvement in the organization under study resulted in 79% improvement in test coverage, 60% reduction in time for test execution and analysis and 44% reduction in cost for fixing defects that were being passed to customer in past. Conclusion ------------- Based on case study results, it can be concluded that Lean, a bottom up approach, characterized by empowerment of employees to analyze and improve their own working process can be effectively combined with IT centric traditionally top down BPR approach for improving KPI’s and software processes. / +45 40968458

Please read the abstract in the dissertation.pdf of this document / Dissertation (MEng (Industrial Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Industrial and Systems Engineering / MEng / unrestricted

Bakgrund: När covid-19 spred sig i Sverige under våren 2020 blev både samhället, näringslivet och andra samhällsfaktorer drabbade. Regeringen utformade flera restriktioner under årets gång och speciellt drabbad blev restaurang- och hotellbranschen. För företagen blev det snabbt viktigt att anpassa sig och tillämpa rätt strategi för att överleva. När covid-19 drabbade världen i modern tid skapade det ett unikt tillfälle att undersöka vilka faktiska strategival företag har tillämpat under en kris. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att nå en djupare förståelse i hur företag arbetat med strategiförändringar till följd av covid-19 och hur planering används i företags strategiarbete. Metod: I denna studie tillämpas en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med en abduktiv ansats. För att kunna undersöka forskningsfrågan har en intervjustudie gjorts. Data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer från sex olika företag som ligger till grund för empirin. Slutsats: I studien framkommer det att samtliga företag har arbetet med att tillämpa nya strategiförändringar för att kunna fortsätta bedriva sin verksamhet till följd av covid-19. Företagen har inte använt någon långsiktig planering vid deras strategiarbete. Deras strategiarbete i covid-19 har istället handlat om kortsiktig planering, samarbete, kommunikation och kreativt entreprenörskap. / Background: When covid-19 spread in Sweden in the spring of 2020, both society, business and other important societal factors were affected. The government designed several restrictions during the year and the restaurant and hotel industry was particularly affected. For companies, it quickly became important to adapt and apply the right strategy to survive. When covid-19 hit the world in modern times, it created a unique opportunity to examine strategy choices companies have applied during a crisis. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how companies worked with strategy changes as a result of covid-19 and how planning is used in companies' strategy work. Method: In this study, a qualitative research method with an abductive approach is applied. In order to investigate the research question, an interview study has been conducted. Data have been collected through semi-structured interviews from six different companies that form the basis of the empirical data. Conclusion: The study shows that all companies have had to apply new strategy changes in order to stay in business due to the covid-19. The companies have not used any long-term planning in their strategy work. Their strategy work in covid-19 has instead focused on short-term planning, collaboration, communication and creative entrepreneurship.

The study identifies how different stakeholders perceive service quality improvement initiatives in public higher education institutions in Ethiopia. For this purpose, a mixed research methodology was employed. Furthermore, secondary data were collected from a variety of literature and primary data were collected from academic staff and final year students at public higher education institutions using the SERVQUAL scale and through focus group interviews. The collected data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The research findings indicated that all dimensions of the service quality improvement initiatives were perceived by academic staff and studentsto be verypoor. The reasons for these poor or low perceptions were: the high expectationsof the stakeholders, the government’s intention to expand, lack of adequate knowledge regarding the implementation of the BPR process, the lack of motivation by service providers, poor management and the lack of good governance by the universities, inexperienced workers, non-empowered and task specific frontline employees, the low quality of the infrastructure, non-value adding hierarchical structures and approval systems, ethical problems with some service providers, the high staff turnoverand the lack of experienced staff. In addition, at all new universities, construction is underway and as a result,there are problems such as the poor state of the dormitories, classes,bathrooms, recreation areas, lounges, TV rooms, sport fields and internet connectivity, while the libraries are not well stocked with books and periodicals either. This study has recommended that the institutions should have standardised instruments that can be used to measure the status of service quality improvement and deliveryperiodically and to identify the areas that have the highest perceived performance gap scores in order to redeploy some of the resources. It also needs to be pointed out that the service providers lack sufficient knowledge and skillsconcerning the implementation of BPR, thus training is recommended in this regard.It is further recommended that for effective implementation of the BPR process, the importance of the provision of different guiding documents, continuous monitoring of activities and top management support should be kept in mind. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)