A produtividade e competitividade de empresas intensivas em capital é muito dependente do grau de utilização de sua capacidade industrial. Muitos indicadores têm sido utilizados para medir o desempenho da manufatura, dentre eles o Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). Contudo, somente altos índices de OEE não garantem um desempenho superior em uma fábrica. Alguns autores sugerem que a adoção de indicadores com maior abrangência como o Overall Plant Effectiveness (OPE) é mais adequada à medição e análise do desempenho global da manufatura por contemplar a influência de outras áreas da organização sobre a utilização da capacidade de uma fábrica. Esta pesquisa discute a aplicação do OEE em empresas cuja competitividade depende fortemente da sua habilidade em racionalizar a utilização da capacidade industrial e explora indicadores derivados da sua utilização. Com este propósito é realizada uma revisão bibliográfica da literatura para identificar suas limitações, relacionar os indicadores derivados do OEE e caracterizá-los como ferramentas gerenciais que podem oferecer uma perspectiva mais global à medição do desempenho da utilização da capacidade. Além disto, um estudo de caso é desenvolvido em uma empresa processadora de alimentos para identificar como se pode envolver os diversos agentes responsáveis pelas perdas de capacidade de produção, inclusive aqueles que atual além da área de manufatura, para eliminação ou controle deste problema. O estudo mostra que a aplicação do OPE além do OEE pode tornar a detecção da causa raiz de problemas mais eficaz, além de induzir a integração da estratégia de produção com outras estratégias funcionais e desta forma promover o aumento do desempenho global da manufatura. / Process industries have to strive to attain high resource utilization so as to increase their productivity and competitiveness in the market. Many indicators have been used to measure their manufacturing performance, one of them is the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). However, high OEE values per se do not ensure superior global performance. Some authors suggest that the consideration of indicators with broader magnitude such as Overall Plant Effectiveness (OPE) is more appropriate to measure and analyze the overall manufacturing performance since it also reflects the impacts of support areas on a plant\'s capacity utilization. This research reviews the application of OEE in companies that depend heavily on the ability to rationalize the utilization of their production capacity and explores the use of indicators derived from it. With this purpose, a literature review is presented to identify the limitations of OEE, to enumerate indicators derived from OEE and characterize them as management tools that may offer a more global perspective to the measurement of capacity utilization. Moreover, a case study is developed in a food processing company to identify how the diverse agents responsible for the losses in production capacity including those who perform beyond the manufacturing function, can be involved in the effort to eliminate or control this problem. The study shows that the use of OPE besides OEE can make the detection of the root cause of problems more effective and induce the integration of manufacturing strategy with other functional strategies, and thus promote the increase of overall manufacturing performance.

A presente pesquisa trata da compreensão e caracterização do papel do design dentro de uma empresa de desenvolvimento de produtos digitais por meio do ponto de vista de membros das equipes de projetos e seus gestores. Uma das principais motivações para a condução do estudo provém do fato de que poucas pesquisas do tipo foram realizadas em âmbito regional e direcionadas a projetos digitais, a fim de explorar o tema. Pretende-se com a pesquisa, fornecer subsídios para um melhor aproveitamento dos benefícios do uso do design e das habilidades dos designers. A investigação foi conduzida, a partir de um estudo de caso realizado na empresa onde a pesquisadora atua também como designer e fundamentada sob uma perspectiva temporal dos papéis do design e do entendimento sobre o funcionamento de equipes multidisciplinares no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos digitais. Foram selecionados dois instrumentos de fundamentação teórica para análise dos resultados, a Design Ladder e a Taxonomia dos Papéis do Design. Por fim, apresenta-se uma discussão sobre a percepção do design pelos membros da equipe e concluiu-se que o nível de maturidade em design detectado no objeto de estudo encontra-se no segundo nível da Design Ladder: design como provedor de diferencial estético, embora seja percebido através dos discursos o desejo pelo terceiro nível, que trata o design como processo. / This research deals with the understanding and characterization of the role of design in a digital product development company and through the point of view of members of the project teams and their managers. One of the main motivation for conducting this study is due to the fact that little research has been conducted at the regional level and oriented for digital products, in order to explore the topic, and also with the aim of providing subsidies to better exploit the benefits of the use of design and designers skills. The investigation was conducted from a case study in the company where the researcher works as a designer too and based on a temporal perspective of the roles of design and understanding of the functioning of multidisciplinary teams in the digital product development process. Two instruments were selected from the theoretical background in order to analyze the results: the Design Ladder and the Taxonomy of Roles Design. Lastly, a discussion is presented on the perception of design and was concluded that the ripeness level of design are in the second level of Design Ladder: design as esthetics, although it is perceived by the team speech a desire for reach the third level who treats design as a process.

Cross-functional teams are becoming increasingly common in organisations. However, a large proportion of these teams fail to meet their full potential as social and productive units. The present research was conducted under the assumption that a cross-functional team involves simultaneous intragroup and intergroup contact. The failure of cross-functional teams often involves the neglect of normal social psychological processes that occur in intergroup contexts that may potentially be employed to increase the likelihood of success with cross-functional teams. The social identity theory approach to intergroup relations was used to formulate two identity management strategies intended to improve the functioning of a cross-functional team. One strategy involved social interaction within an intragroup social frame. The intragroup aspect was apparent in that there was no outgroup present, with participants operating at the intergroup level of psychological processing after exposure to (successful) pre-task manipulations intended to facilitate acceptance of the task group social identity. The intragroup identity management process required increasing pre-task salience of the task group social identity, absence of any outgroup, wearing a team uniform, and performance of an intellectually challenging problem solving as a group. A second identity management process was based in an intergroup social frame. The intergroup procedure involved pre-task manipulation of social identity, wearing of a team uniform, and performance of a physically and intellectually involving problem solving task in a competitive intergroup social frame. Two separate studies were performed. In Study one, 110 university students were randomly assigned to 'mono-functional' teams (teams with no obvious basis for internal intergroup differentiation). The relative efficacy of either of the two identity management processes was assessed with regards to changes in social identity, subjective uncertainty, conceptualisation of the aggregate, similarity, heterogeneity, effort, and trust. Pre-post within groups differences were analysed Improving functioning of cross-functional teams by repeated measures ANOVA. Between groups differences were analysed with ANCOVA. The results indicated both identity management strategies resulted in improved team functioning. In general, neither strategy was notably superior to the other, however there was less subjective uncertainty reported by participants from the intragroup condition than those from the intergroup condition due to the effect of losing the competition. Participants from losing teams also became more aware of 'subgroups within the single group' than those from the intragroup condition. Participants from the intergroup condition were less likely to think of themselves as separate individuals than participants from the intragroup condition. The social identity theory approach to intergroup relations was useful for interpreting the results as well as developing the two strategies which suggests SIT/SCT provide a potentially useful conceptual base from which to develop team building processes in mono-functional teams. In study 2, 110 university students were assigned to cross-functional teams (composite task groups containing three academic subgroups). The identity management processes used in Study one were extended by drawing participant attention to the presence of subgroups within the cross-functional teams. The intragroup process involved pre-task manipulation of social identity, wearing uniforms which denoted both task group and subgroup membership, and performance of an intellectually challenging problem solving task which was performed with out an outgroup present. The intergroup identity management strategy involved pre-task manipulation of social identity, performance of a physically and intellectually involving problem solving task requiring integration of subgroup knowledge and inter-functional cooperation within a competitive intergroup context. As in the intragroup condition, participants were made aware of the social complexity of the task group through their uniforms. Participants responded differently to the two identity management processes, with the intergroup strategy proving more beneficial than the intragroup strategy. The intragroup process was marked by non-significant pre-post differences, indicating neither Improving functioning of cross-functional teams a marked improvement nor decline in group functioning. In contrast, participants from the intergroup condition reported results indicating increased post-task self-definition with the cross-functional team, increased trust, and higher effort. Losing the competition did not impact on post-task levels of any dependent variable with the exception of subjective uncertainty, where 'winners' reported less uncertainty than 'losers'. The intergroup condition gave rise to the most potential perceived 'distinctiveness threat'; however there was no sign of any threat across the array of dependent variables. Therefore it can be suggested that the intergroup identity management strategy provided some protection to the cross-functional team from the negative impact of inter-functional distinctiveness threat. All results could be explained with recourse to the concepts of SIT/SCT which suggests social identity theory has utility for interpreting results as well as developing team building processes in cross-functional teams. Future research in cross-functional team settings would benefit from the development of comprehensive measures of uncertainty, status, and heterogeneity with item content drawn from social identity and self-categorisation theories.

The main process of this dissertation involves thedevelopment and refinement of a conceptual framework fordescribing and discussing cross-functional co-operation andnetworking within product realisation processes. The conceptualframework, the analysis of the case study and a discussion ofthe implications and challenges for research and industrialsector are the main results of the dissertation. Industrial firms face different demands, which create anumber of potential sources of conflicts(‘faster–better–cheaper’), for examplebetween market, product development and manufacturingfunctions. The transformation of industrial firms from beingtraditionally hierarchically organised to becoming team-,project- and process-based has delegated a number ofresponsibilities to employees–for example, to interactwith others in planning and decision-making, and to act onissues or problems that may arise during daily work. Thissituation requires that new workand co-operation patterns aredeveloped between employees and between work units. Theestablishment of new co-operative behaviour seldom developswithout active support. Several studies confirm that there is aneed for organisational/managerial support for cross-functionalco-operation to develop, but that this type of support is oftenneglected (Blackler et al, 1997; Gabrielsson, 1998; Majchrzakand Wang, 1996). The case study, reported in this dissertation, waslongitudinal and context-oriented. The study pointed out thatan integrative view of management on the entire ProductRealisation Process (PRP) was lacking during the first vitalphases of the organisational restructuring. However, itdeveloped continuously over time, which indicates a change inorganisational paradigm. Support for cross-functionalco-operation was considered and implemented only after thatco-operation had collapsed in a pilot group. The support was,for example, based on‘Work Reflection Seminars’,which served as forums for discussing the new ways of working.In addition, two different parallel networks, originating fromthe previous organisational structure, had considerable impacton the development of cross-functional co-operation, whichdemonstrates the importance and power of practised rather thanformally ordered activities. <b>Keywords:</b>Cross-functional Co-operation, Networking,Product Realisation Process, Concurrent Engineering, Productdevelopment, Production, Organisational Change, OrganisationalRestructuring.

New product development quality has been found to be a key determinant of the market success and profitability of a new product because of its contribution to superior customer value, the cornerstone of a firm¡¦s competitive advantage in the marketplace. Therefore, enterprises are increasingly utilizing new product development teams for new product development. Previous studies have suggested that the diverse backgrounds of cross-functional team members can increase the amount and variety of information available to design products, thereby improving design process efficiency and product development performance. However, researchers still know very little about how such teams can improve new product quality. Thus, our first research question was; what are the relationships between team characteristics and organization contextual factors and new product quality? In addition, as nationality has been shown to influence individual¡¦s cognitive schema, values, and nonverbal behavior, all of which influence behavior in teams, new product development teams pose a particular type of challenge in different countries. Team-based work designs have been easier to implement in countries with collectivist as opposed to individualist cultures. To address that issue, this study will examine the differences of how team characteristics and contextual influences affect new product quality in collectivist and individualist cultures. Thus, our second research question was; do team characteristics and organization contextual factors affect new product quality differently in collectivist cultures and individualist cultures? Because this was a cross-national research, samples were taken from two countries, one in Taiwan and the other in the U.S.A. We received 184 completed questionnaires from Taiwanese teams, and 176 completed questionnaires from American teams. In order to make sure that the instrument used in this study could measure what it was intended to measure, we used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the validity of the measurement models of both dependent variables and independent variables. We then used hierarchical moderated regression analysis to test the contingency hypotheses. Research results reveal two different outcomes of hypotheses testing. For Taiwanese teams, new product quality is positively affected by the capability of information integration in the team and quality orientation in the firm, but is negatively influenced by speed-to-market pressure and product innovativeness in the firm. Functional and tenure diversity have a moderate no effect on new product quality. The capability of information integration in a team can also reduce the negative effect of speed-to-market pressure on new product quality. In contrast, for American teams, new product quality is positively affected by functional diversity and the capability of information integration in the team and quality orientation in the firm, but is moderately negatively influenced by supplier involvement in the firm. Customer involvement in a firm can increase the positive effect of the capability of information integration on new product quality. In conclusion, the present study contributes to the literature on new product development teams in several ways. First, it extends research on new product development teams across collectivist and individualist cultures and identifies boundary conditions for theories of new product development teams. Second, this study is the first to empirically examine how team characteristics and organization contextual factors affect new product quality across cultures. Third, it provides a thorough and integrative review of the literature from diverse disciplines such as new product development, organizational behavior, and management and innovation as a means of establishing links among team characteristics, organization contextual factors, and new product quality. Finally, the model we have provided will assist managers in identifying the team characteristics and organization contextual factors needed to assist new product development teams in collectivist and individualist cultures to develop high-quality products. Since these factors can be directly manipulated by managers, they can create the effective conditions, specific to the industry characteristics they are engaged in, for new product development teams to develop high-quality products.

The firm In this research is a trading company that has been exploiting and marketing hi-tech materials and equipments since it was founded in 1968. From 1980, the firm has been working on the globalization arrangement and the requirement to expand the company's operation scope. The overseas subsidiaries were established in south-eastern Asia, Hong Kong, and China. In today's growing complexity of global networks of supply chains and hypercompetitive business environments, firms are confronted with the need to manage supply chain activities across functions and between firms. Yet the overseas subsidiaries might not certainly get enough resources and support from their headquarter to conquer the challenges, even though they usually face tough competition and greater customer scale especially in China. The profit center system is the major reason that obstructs the cooperation between the headquarter and the overseas subsidiaries. Some employees of the headquarter just care their own business region, instead of assisting overseas subsidiaries to grow up together, and developing the strategies of the whole business group for the future. The findings show that a firm¡¦s cross-functional orientation (CFO) has positive effect on supply chain management (SCM) performance with empirical evidence. The conclusions are as below¡G 1. The cross-functional orientation (CFO) has remarkably positive effect on customer satisfaction. And the stronger factors that encourage CFO to enhance customer satisfaction are operation linkage and technology integration. 2. The cross-functional orientation (CFO) affects remarkably and positively on supply chain management (SCM) responsiveness. And operation linkage, participative management, and technology integration are stronger factors that encourage CFO to enhance supply chain responsiveness. 3. The supply chain management (SCM) responsiveness has remarkably positive effect on customer satisfaction. 4. The customer satisfaction of the headquarter and overseas subsidiaries influences each other.

This research is focus on the influence of cross-functional orientation on semiconductors¡¦ supply chain performance. In today¡¦s growing complexity of global network, more and more merge and acquisitions are happening in all kinds of industries. Semiconductors Industry is selected because of it¡¦s large investment on capacity expansion. Today the manufacturing service is getting mature, all IDM companies tend to asset-light policies to focus on their core business only. Intra-organization and inter-organizations cooperation is becoming important. This study is to find out whether the cross-functional activities can bring customer satisfaction and supply chain responsiveness through empirical research. The findings show that the supply chain¡¦s cross-functional orientation has some positive effect on supply chain performance with empirical evidence. The conclusions are: 1. The cross-functional orientation has some positive effect on customer satisfaction on its construct of ¡§Participative Management Model¡¨ and ¡§Technology Integration¡¨. 2. The cross-functional orientation has some positive effect on supply chain responsiveness on its construct of ¡§Participative Management Model¡¨, ¡§Information Exchange¡¨ and ¡§Technology Integration¡¨. 3. Customer Satisfaction and Supply Chain Responsiveness has remarkably positive effect to each other.

<p>The main process of this dissertation involves thedevelopment and refinement of a conceptual framework fordescribing and discussing cross-functional co-operation andnetworking within product realisation processes. The conceptualframework, the analysis of the case study and a discussion ofthe implications and challenges for research and industrialsector are the main results of the dissertation.</p><p>Industrial firms face different demands, which create anumber of potential sources of conflicts(‘faster–better–cheaper’), for examplebetween market, product development and manufacturingfunctions. The transformation of industrial firms from beingtraditionally hierarchically organised to becoming team-,project- and process-based has delegated a number ofresponsibilities to employees–for example, to interactwith others in planning and decision-making, and to act onissues or problems that may arise during daily work. Thissituation requires that new workand co-operation patterns aredeveloped between employees and between work units. Theestablishment of new co-operative behaviour seldom developswithout active support. Several studies confirm that there is aneed for organisational/managerial support for cross-functionalco-operation to develop, but that this type of support is oftenneglected (Blackler et al, 1997; Gabrielsson, 1998; Majchrzakand Wang, 1996).</p><p>The case study, reported in this dissertation, waslongitudinal and context-oriented. The study pointed out thatan integrative view of management on the entire ProductRealisation Process (PRP) was lacking during the first vitalphases of the organisational restructuring. However, itdeveloped continuously over time, which indicates a change inorganisational paradigm. Support for cross-functionalco-operation was considered and implemented only after thatco-operation had collapsed in a pilot group. The support was,for example, based on‘Work Reflection Seminars’,which served as forums for discussing the new ways of working.In addition, two different parallel networks, originating fromthe previous organisational structure, had considerable impacton the development of cross-functional co-operation, whichdemonstrates the importance and power of practised rather thanformally ordered activities.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>Cross-functional Co-operation, Networking,Product Realisation Process, Concurrent Engineering, Productdevelopment, Production, Organisational Change, OrganisationalRestructuring.</p>

In today's ever-changing, competitive business environment, cross-functional teams are an increasingly popular mechanism to implement major business transformations within multinationals. Yet empirical data (Kotter, 1995; Beer, Eisenstat and Spector, 1990; Beer, 2000; Stvetena and Damian, 2006) support for the prevailing view that such teams, unless they are well managed, lead to failure. By drawing on an in depth comparative study of one Pilot Team and four teams dedicated to marketing, sales and distribution transformation in two pharmaceutical companies, we examine under which internal conditions cross-functional teams dedicated to organizational change enable or hinder organizational change within multinational corporations. The findings suggest that they succeed best through high level coupling activities with the remainder of the organization during the early and the later phases of a project, when practicing shared leadership and when organized as a semi-structure. This study contributes to the literature on organizational change in transcending the paradoxical relationships between stability and change, to the literature on the practice-based approach in making more explicit the relationships between practices and organizations and provides implications for managers involved in major business transformations in multinational corporations.

Working on teams with professionals from other fields is often challenging. Researchers from the fields of Management and Writing Studies have frequently emphasized the tension and conflict experienced in such inter-professional, or cross-functional, teams. Whether studying engineering project teams, groups of medical professionals, or business teams, researchers have found that inter-professional work is often complicated by misunderstanding and miscommunication due to problems associated with inter-group professional identity. This interdisciplinary research draws from the fields of Management and Writing Studies in the exploration of a modern, inter-professional proposal writing team working at a commercial enterprise. A modified version of Grounded Theory, coupled with Rhetorical Genre Studies analysis, serves as a methodological framework for the study. The analytical framework is provided by the combination of Rhetorical Genre Studies, a model of successful team interactions, borrowed from Management Studies, and an expanded version of Wenger’s conceptualization of multiple communities of practice (CoPs). The research reveals the complexity of inter-professional team work. Professional identity of the team’s member is also presented as more complicated than previously anticipated. The study indicates that the team has been heavily influenced by a former, or an antecedent, CoP to which some of the team members belong. The genre and leadership preferences of the antecedent CoP are shown to moderate much of the predicted tension and conflict in the work of the team. The interdisciplinary study reveals the effects of antecedent CoPs and professional identity of the team members on the inter-professional team dynamics. Both researchers and practitioners may benefit from the findings of the study and a broader interdisciplinary approach used to investigate and interpret the dynamics of inter-professional teams.