Thesis (M.Eng.(Control Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This work is about process management. The main sources were annual reports of companies, web sites, other business documents and business management and staff. This work goes from analyse part to synthetic part. This two companies Vodafone Czech Republic and Severomoravská plynárenská were chosen for analyses. Analyse part contains economic analyse of sector charakteristic, costs analyse, core process analyse, financial analyse and process principles analyse. The synthetic part is about confrontation between results of analyses that two companies. Better rating have Vodafone because of image, IT and marketing. In the last part are the recomends how to rebuild their processes.

This thesis deals with the topic of process management and its importance within the modern management conception. The literature search introduce the progress of the process management and its principles, the approaches to improve the management processes, it presents the chosen tools of the process modelling, sorts of changes in the transition from the functional to process management, and introduces more closely the Business Process Reengineering and Total Quality Management. The practical part attends to the analysis of the present state of the choosen company, presents the company basic characteristics, organization structure, working positions, staff evaluation system, it identifies and describes the core, secondary and supportive managerial processes in progress within the company. Deals with the proposals how to implement the process management elements within the measurement and evaluation of processes, staff motivation and internal communication. The main benefits of this thesis include the elaboration of the process map of the organization, diagrams of the majority of processes together with their detailed descriptions, denomination of the staff responsible for the particular processes, determination of the key performance indicators suitable for the measuring of the processes effectiveness in time. We have elaborated the questionnaire on the periodic measurement of the customer satisfaction. We have also designed a new module of staff remuneration and suggested the implementation of the knowledge database and other precautions having an influence on the process management, internal communication and, in particular, on the customer satisfaction.

The nonprofit sector in Czech Republic grows slowly and in many key aspects significantly lags behind western countries. In fact, to find a feasible way to growth is actually far from being easy. Nonprofits, frequently encountering problems with self-presentation and communication with supporters, fail to establish transparency and credibility among public, which is connected to considerably low sum of financial donations supporting nonprofit causes and low public interest in volunteering as well. An aim of this thesis is to proceed with an analysis of a problem domain and to design a solution which lies in founding a platform organization, which would be able to offer IT supported services allowing the nonprofits to overcome aforementioned difficulties.

This master’s thesis concerns optimization of quotation process. It describes mapping of value stream by VSM Method (value stream mapping) in practical way in order to minimize cost. Further on it describes three points of view method when surveying and modifying process. It analyses process on three levels and describes suitable solution which makes process smoother and more effective. At the conclusion of this diploma project belongs evaluation of realised solutions and measures that need to be taken in future.

Yes / This work presents a systematic evaluation of the membrane and process characteristics of a scaled-up pressure retarded osmosis (PRO). In order to meet pre-defined membrane economic viability ( ≥ 5 W/m2), different operating conditions and design parameters are studied with respect to the increase of the process scale, including the initial flow rates of the draw and feed solution, operating pressure, membrane permeability-selectivity, structural parameter, and the efficiency of the high-pressure pump (HP), energy recovery device (ERD) and hydro-turbine (HT). The numerical results indicate that the performance of the scaled-up PRO process is significantly dependent on the dimensionless flow rate. Furthermore, with the increase of the specific membrane scale, the accumulated solute leakage becomes important. The membrane to achieve the optimal performance moves to the low permeability in order to mitigate the reverse solute permeation. Additionally, the counter-current flow scheme is capable to increase the process performance with a higher permeable and less selectable membrane compared to the co-current flow scheme. Finally, the inefficiencies of the process components move the optimal APD occurring at a higher dimensionless flow rate to reduce the energy losses in the pressurization and at a higher specific membrane scale to increase energy generation.

During the last two decades, there has been great interest in integrating computers and technology in higher education. Currently web tool services for learning have attracted researchers in the field of education technology to integrate eLearning within the learning environment. In particular, the Internet has become an increasingly important and novel feature of the modern learning environment. Amongst the innovations, a certain tool has become extremely popular worldwide. It is known as web 2.0. It is a read/write web. Blogs (web logs) are one its fastest growing features. The researcher investigated the exciting prospect of developing an eLearning environment by utilizing and applying effective blogs. To date there has been little use of blogs as online tools in higher education, especially in Saudi Arabia. This study concerned the disclosure of more understanding of the use of web 2.0 applications in higher education in Saudi universities. The first purpose of this study was to develop an eLearning model for web 2.0. Its second purpose was to examine learners' perceptions and attitudes toward web 2.0 applications, i.e. blog tools by exploring the relationship between learners' attitudes toward blog tool instructions and factors identified as potentially influencing these attitudes. This research adopted an approach based on an interpretive philosophical paradigm accompanied by a qualitative methodology coupled with action research methods. Learning theories were considered as a theoretical framework. The learning theories considered was Behaviorism, Cognitive and Constructivism with Bloom's Taxonomy and Boud's Model. Data was collected qualitatively and analyzed thematically. Triangulation was conducted upon the outcomes of the questionnaires, interviews, observations and blog content analysis. This research made four main contributions. First, it identified the factors that influenced learner acceptance for the use of blog tools in higher education. Second, it investigated the relationship between learners' attitudes and their acceptance of the utilization of blog tools within their learning environment. Third, it responded to calls from the literature review to investigate blog utilization by conducting an in-depth investigation that utilized qualitative methodology with action research. Lastly, it provided further insight and a better understanding of blog usage with respect to structured/ unstructured learning environments.

This diploma thesis deals with the analysis of the requirements, design and implementation of the System for monitoring of insolvency register and commercial register from administrative register of economical subjects. The system has an extendable design which allows further sources to be added at a later date to suit the client's needs. The design process is oriented at small business customers and emphasises the need for simplicity and understandability of the marketed solution. System requirements are analysed first, subsequently, several models with decreasing levels of abstraction are formulated and the System is then implemented, according to these models, using several funkcional increments.

This diploma thesis evaluates two competitive cutting inserts for machining of disk-shaped blanks. The first part summarizes theoretical knowledge of turning, wear of cutting inserts and cost analysis of the cutting process. In the second part, the wear of two inserts from a different manufacturer is observed in two different cutting speeds. Wear is evaluated by electron microscope images. In the end, there is an economic evaluation of both VBD in different cutting speeds for serial production.