As pressões geradas pela competitividade têm aumentado intensamente justificando assim uma maior preocupação com a gestão do Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produtos (PDP). Administradores têm priorizado a sistematização deste processo a partir da implantação de atividades, ferramentas, conceitos e melhores práticas dos modelos referenciais para o PDP. Os modelos referenciais são adotados nas empresas através de projetos de mudança ou melhoria na empresa e incluem: o diagnóstico das necessidades de melhoria, seleção de melhores práticas, implantação e acompanhamento da mudança do PDP. Entretanto, nem sempre as melhores práticas são realizadas integralmente na rotina da empresa, posteriormente à implantação, o que suscita a dúvida sobre a efetividade dos métodos de melhoria para atingir uma mudança duradoura e de sucesso. O objetivo desta dissertação é identificar práticas que contribuam para uma mudança duradoura no PDP de empresas e incorporar estas práticas a um método de melhoria existente. Os resultados indicam que os métodos de melhoria para o PDP, presentes na literatura, contemplam um conjunto de melhores práticas com forte enfoque nos aspectos de gestão do processo, porém não tão fortes nas práticas relacionadas à gestão da equipe envolvida na execução das mudanças. Desta forma, práticas de gestão de pessoas foram incorporadas num método de melhoria para PDP e experimentado através de um estudo de caso em empresa do setor metal-mecânico. As características de maturidade da empresa limitam a aplicação integral da proposta, confirmando que a adoção das práticas de gestão de pessoas depende da cultura organizacional vigente e, por conseqüência, do estilo e apoio gerencial, o que em última instância reflete o nível de maturidade da organização para os processos de mudança e melhoria do PDP. / Pressures of competition have increased strongly justifying more concern with the Product Development Process (PDP) management. Administrators have focused on the systematization of this process through the implementation of activities, tools, concepts and best practice from reference models. The PDP reference models are adopted in companies via improvement or change projects that include: the diagnostic of requirements for improvement, the selection of best practices, the implementation and monitoring of PDP change. However, the best practices are not always performed entirely on the company's routine, after the implantation, what raises doubt about the effectiveness of improvement methods to achieve long lasting change and success. This article aims to present a literature review and comparison of the improving methods to identify the best practices that address a well succeeded PDP improvement. The results indicate that the methods of improvement for PDP, existing in the literature, include a set of best practices with a strong focus on aspects related to resources management of the project improvement, but not as strong in practices related to team management involved in implementing changes. Thus, practices related to people management were incorporated into a comprehensive method of improvement for PDP and experienced through a case study in a metal mechanic company. The company maturity characteristics limited the full implementation of the proposal, confirming that the adoption of best practices related to people management depends on organizational culture and, consequently, on the management style and support. The latest, ultimately, reflects the level of maturity of the organization to change processes and PDP improvement.

Nas últimas décadas, diversos estudos acadêmicos investigaram práticas de gestão da Segurança e Saúde no Trabalho (SST) de forma a identificar fatores que contribuem para o sucesso de programas de prevenção de acidentes no setor da construção civil. A maior parte desses estudos foi baseada na realização de surveys e objetivaram identificar correlações entre as taxas de acidentes de cada empresa e a existência ou não de práticas, permitindo apontar os conjuntos de práticas que têm maior impacto na SST. Em que pesem as contribuições destes estudos, principalmente no que diz respeito à identificação e disseminação de práticas associadas à prevenção de acidentes, quatro principais críticas podem ser feitas: (a) não há um conceito definido de o que são boas práticas e critérios para categorizá-las; (b) escopo limitado a grandes empresas de países desenvolvidos; (c) a falta de um referencial teórico adequado; e (d) a abordagem metodológica adotada, cujo enfoque é descritivo. O objetivo principal desta pesquisa é propor um protocolo para caracterização e avaliação do grau de implementação de práticas de gestão da SST, através da utilização de múltiplas fontes de evidência, visando a obter uma compreensão mais detalhada destas práticas, que levem em consideração o contexto de aplicação. Em relação ao método, foi adotada a abordagem da pesquisa construtiva, escolhida por se tratar do desenvolvimento de um protocolo para a solução de um problema com relevância prática e teórica. Inicialmente, foi realizada uma revisão da literatura acerca das práticas de gestão da SST e do referencial teórico da Engenharia de Resiliência (ER). O protocolo foi proposto com base na revisão da literatura e também em uma survey realizada com uma amostra de empresas de construção. A ferramenta foi desenvolvida, aprimorada e testada em 5 estudos de caso em canteiros de obras, realizados de forma sequencial. Além disso, a mesma foi aplicada em 3 obras na Espanha, com o objetivo de avaliar a sua aplicabilidade em outro contexto. Os resultados deste conjunto de obras foram processados e analisados, de forma a exemplificar os dados produzidos. Por fim, com base na avaliação do protocolo desenvolvido, foram propostas diretrizes para a sua implantação. As principais contribuições da pesquisa são referentes ao protocolo de avaliação desenvolvido, que possui um enfoque prescritivo. Por um lado, este possibilita a coleta sistemática de dados sobre práticas de SST que pode ser utilizado na avaliação do sistema de gestão da SST das empresas, possibilitando a realização de benchmarking externo e interno. Por outro lado, a ferramenta pode contribuir para o registro e a disseminação das práticas de gestão de SST no setor da construção. / Several academic studies have investigated Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) managerial practices in order to identify factors that contribute for the success of accident prevention programs in the construction industry. Most of those studies were based on surveys and aimed to identify correlations between accident rates and the existence or non-existence of such practices, establishing sets of practices that have the greatest impact on OSH. Despite the contributions of those studies, especially regarding the identification and dissemination of practices associated with accident prevention, four main drawbacks can be pointed out: (a) the lack of definition for best practices and of criteria for categorizing them, (b) scope limited to large companies from developed countries, (c) the lack of theoretical foundation, and (d) the descriptive focus of the methodological approach adopted. The main objective of this research work is to devise a protocol for characterizing and evaluating the degree of implementation of OSH managerial practices based on multiple sources of evidence, aiming to get a more detailed understanding of those practices, and take into account the context of application. Regarding the method, the constructive research approach was adopted, since this investigation proposes the development of a protocol for solving a problem with practical and theoretical relevance. Initially, a literature review on OSH managerial best practices and on the Resilience Engineering (RE) theoretical framework was undertaken. The protocol has been proposed based on both a literature review and also on a survey conducted with a sample of construction companies. The tool was developed and tested in five case studies in construction sites carried out sequentially. In addition, it was also applied in three construction sites in Spain in order to evaluate its applicability in another context. The results of those construction sites were processed and analyzed to illustrate the data produced. Finally, based on the evaluation of the protocol, some guidelines for implementing it were proposed. The main contributions of this research are related to the protocol, which has a prescriptive approach. From one hand, it enables the systematic collection of data on OSH practices that can be used for assessing the OSH management system of construction companies, making it possible to carry out internal and external benchmarking. From the other hand, with the tool may contribute for the documentation and dissemination of OSH best practices in the construction sector.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a gender difference in how students perceived their classroom environment on the Navajo Nation public school. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2011

abstract: Commodity contracts are often awarded on the basis of price. A price-based methodology for making such awards fails to consider the suppliers' ability to minimize the risk of non-performance in terms of cost, schedule, or customer satisfaction. Literature suggests that nearly all risk in the delivery of commodities is in the interfacing of nodes within a supply chain. Therefore, commodity suppliers should be selected on the basis of their past performance, ability to identify and minimize risk, and capacity to preplan the delivery of services. Organizations that select commodity suppliers primarily on the basis of price may experience customer dissatisfaction, delayed services, low product quality, or some combination thereof. One area that is often considered a "commodity" is the delivery of furniture services. Arizona State University, on behalf of the Arizona Tri-University Furniture Consortium, approached the researcher and identified concerns with their current furnishing services contract. These concerns included misaligned customer expectations, minimal furniture supplier upfront involvement on large capital construction projects, and manufacturer design expertise was not being utilized during project preplanning. The Universities implemented a best value selection process and risk management structure. The system has resulted in a 9.3 / 10 customer satisfaction rating (24 percent increase over the previous system), for over 1,100 furniture projects totaling $19.3M. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Construction 2012

The research topic for this thesis is the transfer of best practice from a MNC to a subsidiary during the pre-implementation phase of an ERP system. A lot is written about best practice transfer but there is a call for more research on how the implementation is perceived from a subsidiary perspective. This study wishes to contribute to the literature in the intersection between knowledge transfer and legitimacy within MNCs. In order to do so, this thesis was conducted through a qualitative case study and data was mainly collected through semi-structured interviews. Based on the literature review five factors were identified that can affect the best practice transfer Furthermore, the potential effect of legitimacy related to the knowledge transfer was investigated. The thesis resulted in the classification of indirect and direct factors that affect the transfer of best practices in an MNC and their impact on knowledge implementation and the increase of internal legitimacy for a subsidiary. Moreover, a relationship between knowledge and legitimacy was observed. An interesting finding that calls for more research was the facilitating effects of internal audits on the knowledge transfer.

In response to criticism on the concept of "unlearning", we suggested that unlearning on an individual level should be defined as the reduction of the influence of old knowledge on cognitive and/or behavioural processes. In this article, we apply a systems thinking perspective on this definition to explore how far this kind of unlearning can possibly go and what happens if this process is inward-directed, i.e. affects the cognitive and behavioural patterns that define who we are. We take a knowledge perspective on the concept of the self and suggest that unlearning could trigger a disequilibrium, which in turn, enables a deep learning process and guides us to what is referred to as ideal or best version of the self. This does not only have implications for the individual level but it can initiate fundamental change processes in organizations.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how family law secretaries in Sweden works with fulfilling the best interests of the child in collaboration talks and how they get children involved in the process. I have performed five semi-constructed interviews with family law secretaries from different municipalities. In order to achieve broader answers to my questions I have chosen to use a qualitative method. This method was also chosen to enable the possibility of follow-up questions. I gathered data from previous research in this area by searching after these keywords; child’s best, collaboration talk, custody, family law, children’s participation in investigations. The collected data was then analyzed with three different theories; Michael Lipsky’s theory about grass root bureaucrats, Svensson, Johansson & Laanemets’ theory about the social worker role and Roger Hart’s participation model.  The participants that were interviewed all stated that it was difficult to fulfill the child’s best as it is an open concept that can be interpreted differently depending on the secretary’s individual knowledge and scope. Among the participants there were some of them that had deeper knowledge concerning the principle of the child’s best. This knowledge had been achieved through further education which ensures higher certainty that the child’s best has been fulfilled, but also raises awareness on when participation of the child in collaboration talk is possible. For those secretaries that are lacking this deeper knowledge in this principle agree that there are difficulties to ensure that the child’s best has been fulfilled. Because of the difference in knowledge there were variances in deciding when it was possible for a child to participate in the collaboration talk. Some of the secretaries thought that it was important to get the children involved in collaboration talks, but some thought that collaboration talks were not a platform for small children to participate in. This means that children are encountered in different ways depending on which family law secretary they meet and in what municipality the collaboration talk is held in.

‘(…) to ensure equality for all children, this Regulation covers all decisions on parental responsibility, including measures for the protection of the child, independently of any link with matrimonial proceedings.' [Recital 5 of Brussels II bis] Brussels II bis (Council Regulation 2201/2003) complements the Hague Convention on Child Abduction, with its well-established set of international rules and the related definitions based on a considerable body of case law. The interrelation has given rise to difficulties of application and issues of interpretation despite the existence of a set of rules supposed to regulate the complementary structures. Besides this interrelation, the Regulation interacts with the Hague Convention on Child Protection. Though Brussels II bis has been analysed with regard to different single aspects, it has not yet been considered which consequences the actual provisions of the Regulation and the ECJ’s decisions have both on the interrelation and its application in the national courts. It has further hitherto not been critically analysed whether the Regulation and the judgments of the ECJ take the right direction to meet the ambitious aim defined in the preamble and throughout the text, respecting the ‘best interests’ of the child. Now that a decade of Brussels II bis has passed and with a series of pioneer cases decided by the ECJ and with an intervention of the ECtHR in Convention and Regulation cases, the Regulation’s effectiveness is worthy of critical consideration. Despite the existence of some specific rules on the interrelation of the Regulation and the Conventions, their very co-existence gave rise to various interacting situations and questions of interpretation. For courts familiar with the rules of the Convention on Child Abduction and with at least their own respective national case law arising under it, the application of the added layer of rules of the Regulation and the interpretation of its different concepts was and still remains a challenge. A comparison of Brussels II bis with the two international instruments with regard to the role of ‘habitual residence’ and the suitability of the other central concepts of the provisions for the particularity of family disputes will demonstrate the differences of cases involving the Regulation and those involving the Conventions. III By governing jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments and orders relating to parental responsibility, the Regulation has a very wide application covering, for example, custody, access, guardianship and even placement of children in foster or institutional care. Further, Brussels II bis takes up concepts which lie at the very heart of the application of the Convention on Child Abduction and about which there is extensive jurisprudence. This thesis will explore a selection of legal issues arising from the interrelation between these private international law instruments dealing with parental responsibility and child abduction which the national courts applying the Regulation are confronted with. The question whether Brussels II bis is an effective instrument which has strengthened the return mechanism under the Convention on Child Abduction and can work hand in hand with the Convention on Child Protection is also important to critically evaluate. It will be considered if the provisions in the Regulation have been drafted clearly enough and the concepts defined so well that they promote the interests of the children concerned, where the provisions are complementing the Convention on Child Abduction, and has learned from the latter’s flaws so as to enhance the recognition and enforcement processes related to child abduction. It will be concluded whether or not the Regulation is an advancement only in terms of having implemented efficient, intra-Community provisions on jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement or a real advancement supporting the ‘best interests’ of the child(ren), despite the complications of application it has introduced.

A argamassa é um material largamente utilizado na construção civil, desempenhando diversas funções. Entretanto, muitas falhas vêm sendo observadas nos revestimentos de argamassa, principalmente nas fachadas. O aparecimento de manifestações patológicas em um edifício compromete a sua estética e o conforto ambiental, ocasionando uma desvalorização do mesmo perante o mercado, aumento insatisfação dos usuários e também elevados gastos com reparos e manutenção. Outro problema é a grande incidência de perdas de materiais, que resultam em prejuízos financeiros às empresas, além de acarretar a geração de entulho, que muitas vezes não recebe o devido tratamento e disposição final, tendo um impacto negativo também no meio ambiente. O objetivo dessa dissertação é identificar as causas do baixo desempenho de revestimentos de fachada de argamassa em edifícios e propor diretrizes para melhoria deste processo. Foram desenvolvidos oito estudos de caso em empresas construtoras de Porto Alegre - RS. Para a coleta de dados foram utilizadas várias ferramentas de descrição de processos e de avaliação do seu desempenho.Os principais resultados indicaram uma série de problemas no processo: alta variabilidade nas espessuras de revestimento, nos traços utilizados durante a confecção das argamassas e nos métodos de produção, inclusive dentro de uma mesma obra, elevadas perdas de materiais e de mão-de-obra, baixa produtividade, decorrente do inadequado dimensionamento das equipes de produção e de problemas no sistema de movimentação e armazenamento de materiais, e manifestações patológicas em revestimentos recentemente concluídos. Ao final do trabalho, é proposto um método de avaliação do processo de revestimento de argamassa em fachadas, são identificadas e descritas boas práticas introduzidas pelas empresas e são sugeridas melhorias no processo estudado. / Mortar is a widely used material in various functions in the construction industry. Nevertheless, many fails have been observed in rendering, mainly in façades. The incidence of building pathologies negatively affects its aesthetics and environmental comfort, and may result in a reduction of its market value, low degree of user satisfaction, and also high repair and maintenance costs. Another problem is the high incidence of materials waste, that causes financial losses, as well as generates site waste, which often does not receive an adequate treatment and final disposal, having also a negative impact in the environment. The main objective of this dissertation is to identify the main causes of low performance of building external rendering in mortar and to propose guidelines for improving this process. Case studies were carried out in eight different construction companies form Porto Alegre – RS. Several data collection tools were used for describing the main processes involved and assessing their performance. The investigation pointed out the problems in this process: high variability in rendering thickness, in mortar proportions, and in production methods, even in the same construction site; high percentage of material waste and low labor productivity, due to the inadequate definition of production teams and drawbacks in the material transportation and storage system; and building pathologies in recently concluded rendering. At the end, this study proposes a method for evaluating the process of mortar rendering in façades, identifies and describes best practices introduces by the companies and suggests improvements in that process.

Submitted by Marcio Costa (marciohcosta@hotmail.com) on 2016-03-18T20:02:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Marcio Henriques da Costa - Cláusula de Melhores Esforços (deposito)(180316).pdf: 969740 bytes, checksum: 25d7825a9fca49a77ffd610e4d07a0c3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Joana Martorini (joana.martorini@fgv.br) on 2016-04-04T13:07:53Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Marcio Henriques da Costa - Cláusula de Melhores Esforços (deposito)(180316).pdf: 969740 bytes, checksum: 25d7825a9fca49a77ffd610e4d07a0c3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-04T13:14:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Marcio Henriques da Costa - Cláusula de Melhores Esforços (deposito)(180316).pdf: 969740 bytes, checksum: 25d7825a9fca49a77ffd610e4d07a0c3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-23 / The use of the best efforts clause is a common practice among Brazilian businessmen and lawyers. A study of sophisticated shareholders agreement of listed companies in Brazil shows the high incidence of the clause. Such inclusion has strong economic reasons, to justify its recognition and interpretation under Brazilian law. The standard of conduct required by this best efforts clause shall be analyzed according to different criteria, with subjective and objective elements, as well as the social environment and related custom and usage, based on well-established private law principles and rules. Brazil’s limited case law on this, as well as the consolidated jurisprudence in the U.S. relating to the clause, contribute to the best understanding of its legal nature and of the level of conduct required, which distinguishes the best efforts obligation from implicit good faith duties. Among findings, we can mention that the best efforts clause shall not be equate to the good faith duties or a mere moral duty. Its legal recognition as a distinct pattern of conduct, as each specific situation, shall be enforced by the national legal system / A utilização da cláusula de melhores esforços, ou best efforts, é prática comum do empresariado e advogados nacionais. Este trabalho realiza um levantamento a fim de demonstrar a alta incidência em acordos sofisticados entre acionistas de companhias abertas brasileiras. Tal inclusão tem fortes motivos econômicos, a justificar o reconhecimento e interpretação pelo aplicador do direito nacional. O padrão de conduta dessa obrigação de meio deve ser analisado por critérios distintos, por meio de elementos subjetivos e objetivos, bem como à luz do contexto social e usos e costumes relacionados, baseados em normas e princípios de direito privado amplamente aceitos. A escassa jurisprudência sobre o tema bem como a já consolidada jurisprudência norte-americana contribuem para o melhor entendimento sobre a natureza jurídica e o modelo de interpretação de conduta a ser aplicado, diferenciando a obrigação de melhores esforços dos deveres decorrentes da boa-fé objetiva. Entre as conclusões, pode-se mencionar que a cláusula de melhores esforços não deve ser igualada aos deveres de boa-fé ou a um mero dever moral. Seu reconhecimento legal como padrão de conduta distinto, apurado conforme cada caso, deve ser amparado pelo ordenamento jurídico nacional