Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis researches World Class Manufacturing Techniques (WCMT) and their applicability in a Non-Production Environment such as an inbound call centre in the financial services sector. These WCMT involve a set of innovative techniques and principles, which are applied by foremost manufacturing companies. These techniques however, are not sacred and one always needs to refer back to the objectives of World Class Manufacturing, namely to (a) Eliminate waste, (b) Improve quality, (c) Shorten lead times, (d) Reduce costs, and (e) Improve morale and seek other improvements. The importance lies in attaining the objectives in the context of the necessary manufacturing tasks. Companies applying these techniques demonstrate significant productivity gains, production synergies, reduced rework and more reliable on-time delivery. In the highly competitive global market, these offer a competitive advantage for such companies. A critical and essential element of a company's strategic vision is a clearly defined and healthy competitive advantage. It is imperative that a company's vision is clearly aligned to its business objectives and goals. The WCMT is a tool that aligns the business vision and strategic objectives to realize its competitive advantage. By aligning the vision to its competitive advantage, it is crucial that the company challenge its existing production processes and the way in which it operates. Existing production processes need to be continuously reviewed and adjusted where necessary to sustain the competitive advantage. This paper is a practical example of how a non-production organisation can apply these WCMT to sustain its competitive advantage. The WCMT such as Theory of Constraints (TOC), Just in Time (JIT) and Total Quality Management (TQM) are discussed and applied in the inbound call centre of a medical aid administration company. In a relatively short time span, some remarkable sustainable productivity improvements were achieved. This would imply that these WCMT could be applied in traditional non-production environments. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsings werkstuk ondersoek Wêreld Klas Vervaardigings Tegnieke (WCMT) en die moontlike toepassing daarvan in 'n nie-vervaardigings omgewing, soos 'n inbeldienssentrum in die finansiële dienste sektor. Hierdie WCMT omsluit 'n groep innoverende tegnieke wat huidiglik aangewend en toegepas word in die meeste vervaardigings ondernemings. Hierdie tegnieke is nie beperk nie en verwys altyd terug na die doelstellings van WCMT naamlik (a) Vermindering van afval, (b) Verbetering van kwaliteit, (c) Verkorting van wag periodes, (d) Verlaging van kostes, en (e) Verbeterende personeel moraal en die voortdurende soeke na ander verbeteringe. Die belangrikheid van WCMT lê in die bereiking van hierdie bogenoemde doelwitte binne die konteks van die noodsaaklike vervaardigings metodes. Ondernemings wat hierdie tegnieke toepas vind groot produksiekapasiteit verbeteringe, produksie sinergie, 'n verlaging in die oordoen van foutiewe werk en ondervind ook grotendeels meer gereelde op-tyd aflewering. In die hoogs kompeterende globale mark bied die WCMT die broodnodige mededingende voordeel aan hierdie ondernemings. Die kritieke en belangrike bestanddeel van 'n onderneming se strategie en visie is die onderneming se vermoë om 'n deeglike en gesonde mededingende voordeel bo sy mededingers te hê. Dit is van kardinale belang dat die onderneming se visie behoorlik in lyn is met die onderneming se strategiese doelwitte. Hierdie WCMT is 'n instrument wat die onderneming kan aanwend ten einde sy visie en strategiese doelwitte, asook sy kompeterende voordeel, te bereik. Dit is krities belangrik dat 'n onderneming se visie en sy kompeterende doelwitte gesinkroniseer en gelykgestel is en verder dat die onderneming ook sy huidige produksie prosesse herevalueer, asook die manier waarop die onderneming opereer. Huidige produksie prosesse moet voortdurend geherevalueer en aangepas word waar nodig, ten einde die onderneming se voortdurende kompeterende voordeel te behou. Hierdie navorsings stuk is 'n voorbeeld van die praktiese toepassing van WGMT en hoe hierdie tegnieke 'n onderneming behulpsaam kan wees ten einde sy kompeterende voordeel te behou. Die WGMT soos die Teorie van Beperkings (TOC), Net Betyds (JIT) en Totale Kwaliteit Beheer (TQM) word deeglik ondersoek en bespreek. Die navorser ondersoek voorts die moontlikheid om hierdie tegnieke toe te pas in 'n in beldienssentrum by 'n administrateur van mediese fondse. In 'n relatiewe kort periode het die navorser noemenswaardige en voortdurende produksie verbetering teweeg gebring deur die toepassing van WGMT. Die navorser het afgelei dat hierdie WGMT nie net beperk is tot die vervaardigings sektor nie, maar dat dit ook in die nie-vervaardigings sektor doeltreffend aangewend kan word.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-04T11:45:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Wanny_Di_Giorgi.pdf: 415025 bytes, checksum: dc08bb9acbb530c99872bb0dad535bb0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2002-09-01 / This paper concerns to the theme "Theory of Constraints Impacts to the Pricing Management Models" and presents a bibliographic research that involves the pricing formation focused on the Economics, Costs and Constraints Theories. Under the economic approach, the Theory of Pricing is presented with its different concepts through the history, as well as its politics, methods and planning. Concerning to the Theory of Costs, the Cost Accounting is showed with its concept, history, goals and methods of costing as base of pricing. Then, the general principles of the Constraints Theory are presented with its contribution to the pricing planning. Finally, a verification is made about the TOC tools of the pricing planning and decisions and a conceptual comparison is made between the different models of pricing management. / Este trabalho diz respeito ao tema "Impacto da Teoria das Restri????es nos Modelos de Planejamento de Pre??os" e apresenta uma pesquisa bibliogr??fica que envolve as abordagens da forma????o de pre??os da Teoria Econ??mica, da Teoria de Custos e da Teoria das Restri????es. Na abordagem econ??mica, s??o apresentados a Teoria de Pre??os e os conceitos de pre??os atrav??s da hist??ria, assim como as pol??ticas, os m??todos e o planejamento de pre??os. No ??mbito da Teoria de Custos, a Contabilidade de Custos ?? apresentada com sua defini????o, hist??ria, objetivos, finalidades e m??todos de custeio como base de pre??os. Em seguida s??o apresentados os princ??pios gerais da Teoria das Restri????es e sua contribui????o no tocante ao planejamento de pre??os. Finalmente, ?? feita a verifica????o da ferramenta TOC de decis??o de pre??o de venda e a compara????o conceitual entre os diferentes modelos de gest??o de pre??os.

Esta dissertação analisa os determinantes do investimento na economia brasileira no período compreendido entre 2003 e 2008, com enfoque teórico na teoria das restrições financeiras. Para efetuar tal análise, esse trabalho apresenta as principais teorias do investimento presentes na literatura, assim como os principais trabalhos que abordam a questão da relevância ou não da estrutura de capital no financiamento do investimento, com destaque àqueles que inserem a assimetria informacional no escopo teórico. Em seguida, são apresentados os trabalhos que defendem a importância da restrição financeira na determinação do investimento da firma. Para enriquecer a argumentação, é feita uma análise histórica da trajetória da taxa de investimento brasileira e da estrutura de capital das empresas nacionais, e um resumo dos principais trabalhos que estudaram os determinantes do investimento na economia brasileira, com destaque para os que incorporam as restrições financeiras. Por fim, a partir de dados de balanços patrimoniais e segregando a amostra por porte da empresa, um modelo de dados de painel é desenvolvido para testar a hipótese de restrição financeira nas firmas brasileiras de mercado aberto no período. / This dissertation analyzes the determining factors for investment in the Brazilian economy over the 2003-2008 period, with a theoretical focus on financial constraints. To conduct such analysis, this paper presents the main investment theories in the available literature, as well as the main papers that address the issue concerning the relevance, or not, of capital structure in financing investment, highlighting those that insert informational asymmetry into the theoretical scope. Following this are the works that defend the importance of financial constraints when deciding on a company’s investment. For a more in-depth examination, an historical analysis is carried out on the course not only of the Brazilian investment rate, but also of the capital structure of Brazilian companies. In addition, a summary of the main papers containing studies on the determining factors for investment in the Brazilian economy is presented, highlighting those [papers] that incorporate financial constraints. Finally, based on data from balance sheets and taking samples per company-size, a panel-data model is developed to test the hypothesis of financial constraints in publicly-listed Brazilian firms in the period in question. / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Economia, Rio de Janeiro, 2010 / Bibliografia: p. 88-94