Ethics as a subject is investigated in this paper and in particular how ethics can be analyzed in different organizations. The paper investigates how the generic ethical performance (EPE) evaluation model can help organizations to evaluate their ethical performance. The base for the empirical material is collected through qualitative interviews with staff on four different international organizations. The results proclaim that the EPE model can help organizations to narrow down focus and to categorize results, which help organizations to analyze ethical behavior. If the EPE model is complemented with an improvement model (the Deming cycle) an ethical improvement model is created. Conclusions are that evaluating ethical performance is not simple and the results can be ambiguous. The EPE model should be seen as a tool in generic cases and not as the only way of evaluating ethics. If ethics is processed according to the Deming cycle small steps of continuous improvement should help organizations to improve ethical performance. The more you study something the more you realize the complexity of it. Opening doors to new knowledge is like finding yourself in a labyrinth. Some ways are leading to dead ends and sometime you get lost. But when you have been walking in the labyrinth for a while you tend to recognize how the different paths are connected and a web is revealed. This study reveals a gap between theoretical knowledge and knowledge about how to implement and use theories of ethics in “real life” situations. The paper ends with ideas for future possible research, the Ethical Improvement Model (EIM) created in this paper is brought forward as a suggestion.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / Planning of resources is a powerful tool in the field of supply chain management and control and in general. Global large-scale companies and enterprises have this implemented in their planning processes. Today, experts in the subject have found issues regarding the implementation of such tools in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, this paper aims to develop an application for the methodology of continual improvement of processes, referred to as the Deming cycle or Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA), which adapts to continuous improvements of processes and products in SMEs. The methodology was modeled in a SME dedicated to manufacture and distribution of wine and products (wine and Pisco). The model was simulated through a simulation software, obtaining results of improvement regarding problems like break of stock, taking into account the satisfaction of the client, productivity in the delivery, and shipment time.

Ce travail décrit la mise en oeuvre d’une démarche d’évaluation des pratiquesprofessionnelles mise en place dans le service d’odontologie du CHU de Clermont-Ferrandafin de définir la qualité et le résultat des traitements endodontiques. Un cycle de Deming, oucycle Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) a été appliqué dans l’objectif de rechercher les facteursinfluençant la qualité et le résultat des traitements endodontiques, et de proposer lesaméliorations susceptibles d’assurer un meilleur service au patient. La phase Plan d’un cyclePDCA est la phase d’évaluation des pratiques. Elle se déroule en 6 étapes. Au cours de l’étape1, la pratique idéale pour la procédure a été évaluée, en référence aux recommandationsacadémiques. L’étape 2 a consisté au choix d’indicateurs permettant d’évaluer la proportionde traitements endodontiques adéquats et le résultat du traitement endodontique. Au cours del’étape 3, la qualité et le résultat des traitements endodontiques réalisés dans le serviced’odontologie de Clermont-Ferrand ont été évalués à l’aide des indicateurs définis à l’étape 2.Les facteurs influençant la qualité et le résultat ont également été recherchés. Au terme del’évaluation, deux actions d’amélioration ont été proposées. Il s’agit d’une part de la mise enplace d’un arbre décisionnel des procédures du traitement, prenant en compte le type de dent,l’état pulpaire, et la difficulté prévisible du ou des canaux et d’autre part de l’organisation durappel systématique des patients et de la gestion des traitements en échec. Au CHU deClermont-Ferrand, la procédure d’amélioration des pratiques se poursuit par la mise en placede ces actions dans le contexte de la phase « Do » du cycle PDCA. / Objectives: Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycles are a methodology used to improveprofessional practices. This study presents the Plan phase that identifies and analyses clinical practicesin endodontics in a university dental hospital service.Methods: The plan phase was divided into six steps. Step 1 identified the quality and the outcome ofEndodontic Treatment (RCT) as the targeted procedure for PDCA referring to academic guidelines. InStep 2, an evidence based approach indicated the use of the proportions of RCTs with adequate qualityand the proportions of RCTs that were effective in the PDCA approach. Step 3 evaluated RCTs duringthree consecutive years. Step 4 compared the results from Step 3 with data from the literature. Step 5identified the factors acting on the quality and the outcome of RCTs. Step 6 proposed actions supposedto improve RCTs. Steps 1 to 5 were conducted by three PDCA managers, and the staff of teachers inendodontics was enrolled for consensual decisions in Step 6.Results: Step 3 reported that the proportion of RCTs with adequate quality reached 57.1% and thisproportion was significantly decreased when specific indicators for treatment difficulties were present.The proportion of successful RCTs after one year was 65.6% and its variation was influenced by thepreoperative periapical status, but not by the quality of RCTs. The consensual meeting in Step 6proposed five procedures to be implemented for the further Do phase of PDCA cycle.Conclusion: This study encourages systematic evaluation of RCTs in private and hospital practices.

<p>Sammandrag</p><p>Denna studie tar upp problematiken vid införande av administrativa stödprojekt vid Uppsala universitet, främst hur motstånd till förändring kan motverkas. Problemet definieras genom frågan: Hur kan Uppsala universitet effektivisera implementeringen av administrativa stödprojekt? Syftet med denna studie är att lyfta fram kritiska framgångsfaktorer vid genomförandet av projekt. Färdigimplementerade administrativa stödprojekt studerades genom personliga intervjuer med projektansvariga och administratörer på institutioner. Upptäckterna analyserades med hjälp av en processorienterad teori baserad på Demingcykeln. Erfarenheterna utkristalliserades till konkreta riktlinjer och råd för framtida projektimplementeringar vid Uppsala universitet. Den främsta riktlinjen var att i större utsträckning informera och motivera de som kommer att påverkas av projektet.</p>

Sammandrag Denna studie tar upp problematiken vid införande av administrativa stödprojekt vid Uppsala universitet, främst hur motstånd till förändring kan motverkas. Problemet definieras genom frågan: Hur kan Uppsala universitet effektivisera implementeringen av administrativa stödprojekt? Syftet med denna studie är att lyfta fram kritiska framgångsfaktorer vid genomförandet av projekt. Färdigimplementerade administrativa stödprojekt studerades genom personliga intervjuer med projektansvariga och administratörer på institutioner. Upptäckterna analyserades med hjälp av en processorienterad teori baserad på Demingcykeln. Erfarenheterna utkristalliserades till konkreta riktlinjer och råd för framtida projektimplementeringar vid Uppsala universitet. Den främsta riktlinjen var att i större utsträckning informera och motivera de som kommer att påverkas av projektet.

Online marketing activities play an increasingly important role for organization in connection with the development of internet based technologies and their positive reception by the society. The aim of this dissertation is to design an artefact that would support the decision making of marketing specialists and thus the management of online marketing activities. The starting point is an explorative research among Czech companies, which identifies the issues felt as problematic and the needs of the selected set of organizations. Introduced at the same time is the current state of use of selected tools for online marketing by these organizations, and the situation is compared with worldwide development. The output of this explorative research, the examination of scientific literature, and a critical analysis serve as a basis for designing an own method, Genoma, whose purpose is to support the decision making of marketing specialists, and thereby also the management of marketing activities in internet-mediated environment. This method is presented as Deming (PDCA) cycle, which enables it to be used not only separately, but also as part of other frameworks for the management of marketing activities (e.g. the frameworks PMF, MCPF and RACE, which are presented in the dissertation). The Genoma method uses mainly the genetic algorithm for selecting a suitable portfolio of online marketing tools for a particular campaign. The selection is made on the basis of expected feedback at the level of social interaction, meeting the given marketing targets, and the financial demands of the individual tools. The prerequisite of using this method is a knowledge base that includes the area of sociotechnical interaction, which is based on interpreting phenomena related to the internet-mediated environment and the features of complex networks. Methodically, this dissertation builds on the complementary relationship of the behavioural (social informatics) and the design type of research (design science research). The final assessment of the suitability of the proposed method is done on the basis of a multiple case study, which uses also an own program created in C#, implementing the genetic algorithm used in the Genoma method.