Systems engineering introduces the notion of top-down design, which involves viewing an entire system comprised of its components as a whole functioning unit. This requires an understanding of how those components efficiently interact, with optimization of the process emphasized rather than solely focusing on micro-level system components. The traditional approach to the systems engineering process involves requirements decomposition and flow down across a hierarchy of decision making levels, in which needs and requirements at one level are transformed into a set of system product and process descriptions for the next lower level. This top-down requirements flow approach therefore requires an iterative process between adjacent levels to verify that the design solution satisfies the requirements, with no direct flow between nonadjacent hierarchy levels. This thesis introduces a methodology that enables decision makers anywhere across a system-of-systems hierarchy to rapidly and simultaneously manipulate the design space, however complex. A hierarchical decision making process will be developed in which a system-of-systems, or multiple operationally and managerially independent systems, interact to affect a series of top level metrics. This takes the notion of top-down requirements flow one step further to allow for simultaneous bottom-up and top-down design, enabled by the use of neural network surrogate models to represent the complex design space. Using a proof-of-concept case study of employing a guided projectile for mortar interception, this process will show how the iterative steps that are usually required when dealing with flowing requirements from one level to the next lower in the systems engineering process are eliminated, allowing for direct manipulation across nonadjacent levels in the hierarchy. For this system-of-systems environment comprised of a Monte Carlo based design space exploration employing rapid neural network surrogate models, both bottom-up and top-down design analysis may be executed simultaneously. This process enables any response to be treated as an independent variable, meaning that information can flow in either direction within the hierarchy.

This research, based on literature discussion related to issues on intraorganizational power, aims to discover the critical factors affecting the power of HR department within a firm and measure their causal relation as well as correlation through questionnaires. The questionnaires, being sent to any possible representative firms within each industry on our lists, were distributed in a convenient way. They mainly contain two sets of items, one for the HR department manager, another three for the line department manager. In the HR manager one, the questionnaires has 10 questions on HR departmental power index as dependent variable in our study; in the line manager one, it has 15, 5 and 5 questions on HR effectiveness, Top Management Support and HR Innovativeness respectively as independent variable. Based on our findings after statistical analysis, we conclude the followings: 1. As the HR effectiveness increases, the power of HR department does in the same. 2. As the Top Management Support increases, the power of HR department does in the same. 3. As the HR Innovativeness increases, the power of HR department does in the same.

The function of human resource in business is changing. For this reason, the tasks of human resource top managers become much more complicated as well. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to seek and rank the roles of the human resource top manager. In this study, the framework of human resource top manager¡¦s roles is adapted from Schuler(1990). It becomes a five-role framework of the human resource top manager¡G business person, shaper of change, partner to line, strategy formulator and implementer, and talent manager. In order to elaborate the five roles, each role has added three to four particular activities. Through applying the Analytical Hierarchy Process to gather the opinions of 19 human resource top managers and analyzing the data, it can rank the five roles as below¡G strategy formulator and implementer, partner to line, talent manager, shaper of change, and business person. Furthermore, the ranks will change depends on the different of industries, business scales, and the ownership. From this study, it suggests that the human resource top manager should adjust his/ her roles according to the scenarios. Also, the chef of the business can peek the human resource top manager by evaluating the candidates¡¦ ability to play these five roles.

This study focuses on hexagonally sampled images and grayscale morphology. We combine hexagonal image processing and grayscale morphology to develop hexagonal grayscale morphology, and propose an algorithm to detect and enhance edges. Hexagonal image processing consists of three important steps: conversion of hexagonally sampled images, processing, and display of processed images on simulated hexagonal grid. We construct four different sizes of hexagonal structuring elements to apply morphological operations on hexagonal images. In this study, we applied morphological gradient for edge detection and proposed algorithm for edge enhancement. Moreover, we developed six different shapes of structuring elements to find an optimum one. Finally, we assessed two methods to compare our results, and identified the best result and optimum structuring element. We expect that proposed algorithm will offer a useful tool of image processing on hexagonally sampled images.

This is a case study to take the Top Management Team (TMT), as the main part; moreover, the point of view in the study is to apply ¡§Resource-Building Mechanism¡¨ to explore multicultural companies how effectively building resource on their practical operation in the enterprises. Gradually, the operation leads the Group into a competitive advantage with sustainable development. The secret is not in the esoteric management theories, but in the tangible and intangible resources to integrate the unity capabilities of Knowledge, Belief, and Action. By the methods of questionnaire survey and in-depth interview on the case study of the TMT in the K Company - one of the largest instant noodle food group in the world, this research aims to understand how the Belief strongly affects TMT in common interactions between CEO and TMT in the company. In addition, the research tries to realize how they integrate the idea in the process of organizational change and jointly establish the same faith and trust for the shared vision. Based on result of the research, a key factor to comprehend the maintaining growth of high-performance and competitive advantage which makes opponents hard to imitate and surpass is the tight coherence between the CEO of the company and the Top Management Team. By resolution and perseverance practice of organizational belief, it leads to a unique true essence in the strategic business actions and management. The research proposes a significant value of the unity capabilities of Knowledge, Belief, and Action for the company and provides a practicable way for future research.

The role of top managers in shaping the performance of the firms that employ them represents a central issue to strategic management research. Indeed, a substantial amount of research has examined potential linkages between the characteristics of top managers and firm performance. However the empirical results of research in this area have been ambiguous. This study attempts to theoretically and empirically extend research on the influence of top managers on firm performance by examining the relationship between managerial prestige and firm performance in the post-IPO context. Although upper echelons researchers have attempted to link top managers with firm performance in the past recent reviews of the upper echelons research note that little attention has been paid to top management characteristics other than those of top management team (TMT) heterogeneity, TMT size and TMT tenure. Additionally, recent reviews also suggest the need to consider potential intervening mechanisms between TMT characteristics and firm performance. This study addresses these two limitations of prior upper echelons research by examining the direct and indirect influences of managerial prestige on post-IPO firm performance.In this study I develop a model which incorporates the resource based view and resource dependence theory with insights from upper echelons research and research on the IPO context. Results for the model developed in this study suggest the following. First, executive undergraduate prestige is positively related to post-IPO firm growth. The other aspects of managerial prestige examined in this study were not found to influence post-IPO firm performance. Second, the influence of the key external resource holders identified in this study, namely prestigious alliance partners and institutional investors with stable equity portfolios, were found to enhance firm survival rates, but were negatively associated with firm growth. Third, executive undergraduate prestige was found to garner the support of prestigious alliance partners. The remaining aspects of managerial prestige were not found to influence the support of prestigious alliance partners or dedicated institutional investors. Finally, no support was found for prestigious alliance partners and dedicated institutional investors as mediators of the relationship between managerial prestige and post-IPO firm performance.

Abstract In every prosperous city of the world , we could see the elevators in the huge buildings and great mansions , the escalators in the department stores and the passenger conveyers in the shopping mall or in the airport. People were dependent on the products of the elevator properties in deep. In this research , we used the analysis of the Delphi to inquire into the elevator property to find out the factors that made this property to be successful. The most important characterists are¡Gthe Global Logistics Management, the Creative Technlogical Management and Selling to the Top. The distinguishing features of the products of the elevator¡¦s property were such as¡G 1. In TAIWAN, the top 8 of the elevator¡¦s factory owners manufactured the elevators and also the related products together with the Global Logistics Management. 2. They paid more attentions to the studying ability and the tempo of the Creative Technlogical Management in order to change with each passing day and to keep improving. 3. The expenses of every project were enormous and the competed tactics were nimble. 4. Except for the top director , no one could make the decision. 5. It was not easy to handle the extensively selling market. 6. The educational background and the professional career of every regional director of the competed factory were all superior. In this study, I sincerely hope that I could do whatever is best for the elevator¡¦s property.

This study employs competitive dynamics theory, upper echelon perspective, power perspective, and strategic human resource management perspective to examine how executives matter with organizational outcomes. It argues that CEO dominance and executive human resource management system will affect top management team social integration, and the latter will promote aggressive competitive behavior. It also explores the performance implications of aggressive competitive behavior. Finally, it endeavors in opening the black box between executive human resource management system and firm performance. Anonymous questionnaires were distributed to firm executives, and the unit of analysis is firm level. Analyses with structural equation modeling confirmed most of our hypothesized relationships. CEO dominance is found to be negatively associated, but teamwork-oriented executive human resource management system is found to be positively related, with top management social integration. Top management team social integration will facilitate aggressive competitive behavior, and action speed matters with firm performance significantly. Finally, top management social integration and aggressive competitive behavior partially mediate the relationship of executive human resource management system and firm performance. Although strategic leadership research is prevalent, only few studies investigated the psychometric characteristics of top management team, even fewer paid attention to the impact of CEO power dominance on top management team¡¦s interaction. At the same time, strategic human resource management studies also put very few efforts on the topics of competitive behavior and top managers, although these issues should be critical sources of an organization¡¦s competitive advantage. This study is initiated to fill in these research gaps. Implications and limitations are discussed.

In this thesis, the effects of Harmonics on the Top Oil and Hot Spot Temperatures of Power Transformers used in Turkish Electricity Transmission System have been investigated. Due to the solid state equipment, the harmonic levels increase. This effect raises the losses and temperatures in the transformer windings. None of the power transformers currently used in Turkey has measuring equipment suitable for measuring the Hot-Spot temperatures. In this study, a computer program is written in LABVIEW which measures the harmonics and calculates the temperatures in accordance with the methods recommended in IEEE Standards C57.110-1998 and C57.91-1995. Also for sample transformers the work has been verified by measuring the Top-Oil temperatures of the transformers and then comparing with the calculated results.

While the concept of regional organization (regionalization) of perinatal care aimed at reducing perinatal mortality has remained at the agenda of developed countries since 1970&rsquo / s, Turkey is one of the countries that does not have such a system yet. In this study, a three-level hierarchical location-allocation model is developed for the regionalization of perinatal care in an attempt to have a better distribution of maternal and perinatal health care services in Turkey. Since the mathematical model developed is difficult to solve in a reasonable time, we propose three heuristic approaches: top-down, modified top-down and Lagrangean relaxation based heuristics. These heuristics are computationally tested on a set of problem instances for networks ranging from 10 to 737 vertices. A significant result is that Lagrangean relaxation based heuristic outperforms the other two heuristics in terms of solution quality. In most of the test problems, the modified top-down heuristic outperforms the top-down heuristic in terms of solution quality. Using the proposed approaches, we solve a real life problem corresponding to the Eastern and South Eastern Anatolian Regions (the East Region) of Turkey.