Repetitive project failures or underperformance and ever increasing competition have given impetus for the need to drastically improve project performance within professional services organisations. This realisation has prompted actions to drive restitution efforts to enhance successful delivery and overall project management throughout the organisation. However, the desired outcomes to improve project management processes at an organisational level have not always been forthcoming in light of improvement activities implemented through various changes in operating procedures. The purpose of study is to investigate and identify, from an intra-organisational perspective, the factors required to bring about enhanced implementation and continuous improvements in project management processes; and to determine how they must be aligned to a successful strategy implementation for attainment of higher states of organisational project management maturity. The study focuses on project intensive organisations, mainly implementing information communication technology (ICT), business services and financial related projects. Through the use of a literature review, augmented by a quantitative survey, the perceived impacts and values of the determined factors on project management maturity were gathered. The research study shows that companies wanting to improve project management maturity must steer away from focussing only on certain processes, but must take a holistic view, encompassing a variety of internal factors, ranging from components of organisational learning, to change management and strategy implementation. The identified factors will provide impetus for organizations to create and leverage the drivers, fostering a climate for continuous project performance improvements and ultimately giving them the ability for moving to higher levels of maturity. / Graduate School for Business Leadership / (M.B.A.)

The aim of this research is to explore the relationship between culture and climate as well as the significance of an organisation’s climate on cross-functional behaviour, activities and actions (who, what and when) which forms an integral part of strategy implementation and increasing performance. A key component of an organisational development is team work; which facilitates organisational learning, establish common goals and provide support to achieve these goals. Within the Organisation under investigation there has not been any research into the subject of the significance of the climate on cross-functional behaviour and activities, which is impacted by ‘coopetition’ - the simultaneous role of cooperation and competition within organisations. The research by means of qualitative research should provide some insight into the significance of and if climate impact cross-functional behaviour and activities in organisations. The research methodology included a customised survey which was developed to elicit answers to determine the climate and cross-functional behaviour and activities within the Organisation. Interviews were conducted with Operating Unit Executive Directors of the Organisation. The results indicate that the perceived current climate of the Organisation is not positive and that there is still silo-behaviour within the Organisation which is as a result of the culture of the Organisation, a culture which existed prior to Beyond 60 process. The research confirmed the overlapping relationship between culture and climate and that climate indeed impact cross-functional behaviour and activities at the Organisational and Operating Unit level. / Graduate School for Business Leadership / (M.B.A.)

ITC/USA 2005 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-First Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2005 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The Telemetry Group (TG) of the Range Commanders Council (RCC) developed the Chapter 10 addition to the IRIG 106 standard to “establish a common interface standard for the implementation of solid-state digital data acquisition and on-board recording systems” ([1]). This standard is intended to allow the development of a common set of data playback/reduction software, minimizing the need for a large number of unique programs to handle proprietary data structures. This paper analyzes the Chapter 10 standard from a data processing perspective, providing insight into the benefits and challenges developers will face when writing Chapter 10 software.

ITC/USA 2009 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fifth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 26-29, 2009 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Multi-h Continuous Phase Modulation (CPM) is a promising waveform for aeronautical telemetry because it is a compact spectrally efficient constant amplitude modulation. It has been selected as the Advanced Range Telemetry (ARTM) tier II waveform owing to these qualities. However, it is also a complicated waveform that has the reputation of suffering from complex demodulation processing and high sensitivity to transmission impairments and in particular synchronization aspects. In this paper we review a set of complexity reduction techniques that intend to bring this waveform into the domain of operational telemetry waveform, by allowing low complexity hardware implementation without sacrificing performance or robustness. Most techniques are adjustments of recent literature results, concerning both demodulation and synchronization. Computer simulation of a receiver implementing theses techniques shows negligible performance loss compared to optimal coherent demodulation with perfect synchronization. Hardware implementation confirms that nearly optimal performance can be achieved with hardware resource currently available in middle range FPGAs.

ITC/USA 2008 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fourth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 27-30, 2008 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / Network-based telemetry systems are increasingly being used to improve the flexibility and longevity of flight test systems. Modern network-based flight test systems utilize large numbers of devices including high-speed network switches, data acquisition devices, recorders, and telemetry interfaces, all of which must be managed in a coordinated fashion. The move to network-based testing provides the ability to build a standards-based System Management interface which can status and control a diverse set of devices. The benefits include the ability to easily tailor System Management tools to support many different styles of user interactions and to quickly integrate new types of devices. While the new capabilities presented by System Management are exciting, the very openness of the system presents challenges to ensure that future growth will be seamlessly supported. This paper will discuss issues encountered while implementing flight test System Management tools for a network-based telemetry system.

Implementation of lean helps many organizations to improve their productivity and efficiency; on the other hand numerous organizations have failed to benefit from lean philosophy. The lean thinking was originated in the automobile manufacturing sector and it widely spreads within the discrete industries; however the today’s challenge is to implement the lean philosophy within continuous manufacturing industries and different organizations regardless to the type, size, or mission of the applicant organization. This has motivated the undertaken research to propose a standard generic transition steps which can be adopted by different organizations in order to become lean. The cement industry is ideal example of the continuous industry sector and it will be used to demonstrate that the lean philosophy is applicable to all deferent organisation types. There are numerous challenges facing the cement industry in today’s competitive environments; one of the major challenges is the capability of the cement industry to adopt and introduce the improvement approaches and techniques by which the overall enhancement can be achieved. The need for improving the efficiency of the cement production line is widely acknowledged in order to reduce the downtime rates, and satisfy high levels of market demand where the demand for cement is mostly second substance behind water. In response to this respect this thesis has investigated and addressed the implementation of the lean philosophy within the cement industry. The main contribution of this study is to convey the message to the decision makers that the lean philosophy is the proposed solution by which the continuous industry and different organisation types can be improved through eliminating or minimising wastes and non-value added activities within the production line.

The purpose of the thesis is to investigate a specific case of curriculum change; that of organizing teacher training courses around learner outcomes in line with the Bologna process. The investigation is an example of a practitioner research case study and looks at how official Bologna policy messages are re-interpreted and recontextualised at the local micro level. A variety of methods are used to collect and analyse the data produced. A form of discourse analysis, as well as a survey of research literature, is used to identify policy discourses connected with the Bologna process. At the local micro level, local documentation as well as teacher talk in planning meetings are analysed to throw light on how the Bologna process was implemented. A number of discourses were found in policy documents; including the need to modernize higher education and to move towards a more student centred approach to learning. The thesis shows that these discourses were mediated locally by a regulative discourse portraying teachers as role models who have the task of passing on knowledge that is essential for the students to obtain before entering the profession. Instead of challenging the pedagogic identities for teachers and students, the introduction of learning outcomes acted to strengthen the fundamental vertical relations between teachers and students, cementing and confirming the level of control that teachers had over all aspects of the curriculum. Changes made in connection with the introduction of learning outcomes had a minimal influence on practice and were contested by some teacher educators. Teacher educators resisted and mediated the changes made by continuing to use their traditional practices. / <p>Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen i pedagogiskt arbete framläggs till offentlig granskning Fredagen den 20 september, kl. 13.15 vid Högskolan i Borås.</p>

Community sport policy is characterised as complex and multi-faceted partly due to the number of agencies involved. This thesis explores the community sport policy process in England, specifically the significance of the relationship between CSPs and NGBs in the community sport policy process. The four key objectives of this study are (i) to analyse the significance of the relationship between CSPs and NGBs with regard to the national community sport policy process; (ii) to analyse the significance of the relationship between CSPs and NGBs in local-level policy making and policy implementation; (iii) to identify CSP and NGB attitudes and perceptions toward the community sport policy process; and as the study focuses on the meso-level of analysis, (iv) to evaluate the explanatory value of selected meso-level theories of the policy process in developing a better understanding of the community sport policy process. This study uses a mixed method comprising a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Initially, a quantitative questionnaire was used to gather information regarding CSPs and NGBs and support the selection of CSP cases. From this CSP-based case studies were developed involving semi-structured interviews with CSP, NGB and local authority representatives. The study draws attention to the hierarchical nature of the community sport policy process, the implications for collaboration, the mediating role of CSPs in national and local policy settings, and the associated challenges that agents face in implementing community sport policy. The study emphasises the value of theoretical pluralism in analysing the community sport field, particularly the combined used of meso-level frameworks such as the Advocacy Coalition Framework and the Policy Networks Approach with micro-level considerations from implementation theory and the partnership literature. It concludes that empirically, it is only by giving policy agents a voice that we can develop a more accurate understanding of the policy process and that practically only by harnessing the commitment and energy of the grassroots can we step toward a more effective policy community.

The purpose of this research project is to examine the technical, political, social, organisational and cultural ‘practices’ of tax policy making in order to gain an in-depth understanding of certain tax rules in the Chilean context. Consistent with a qualitative interpretivist approach, this study is informed by documents and three phases of face-to-face interviews with a range of actors engaged in the process of (re)making tax regulation. Through the views of a wide spectrum of participants, including policy makers (broadly defined), tax administrators, academics, tax practitioners and taxpayers, theoretical concepts were inductively developed. These concepts were combined with related tax policy literature and Bourdieusian concepts to construct a theoretical/conceptual framework which was later applied in interpreting the findings. The findings reveal how an élite group of agents forms a social space connected with the field of power. In this space, these agents define tax policy, draft legislation and budget for economic effects. This thesis illustrates how these agents mobilise different forms of capital from their respective fields in order to reach and access this social space. Transfer pricing processes highlight the fluidity of these spaces, allowing the access and influence of external forces. The research also shows that other stages are more distant from the field of power. The findings suggest the importance of tax knowledge and information in the development of tax regulation. Tax knowledge and information become a capital at stake which agents struggle to acquire. Empirical data show that the amount of tax knowledge and information in the space relating to the field of power is connected with the content and robustness of the transfer pricing rules under analysis. This research also suggests a high concentration of transfer pricing tax knowledge in very few agents across the bureaucratic, professional services and corporate/business fields. This research also shows the influence of social capital in the tax policy-making field. The findings show that bureaucrats and politicians consult with those connected with them who are subjects of trust. In the particularities of transfer pricing, the findings illustrate the importance of social capital in defining the content of tax rules. Finally, the study also shows how domination and two forms of violence are present and exercised across the tax policy-making field. This is one of only a few studies that have examined the practice of tax policy making holistically, from the very early stages to the application of the rules in practice, broadly contributing in this respect to the tax policy strand of literature. In contrast to previous descriptive and partial studies, this study captures the views of actors responsible for making tax rules. It also contributes to theory development by translating Bourdieusian tools to analyse tax policy making.

Barnonkologen vid Uppsala Akademiska sjukhus är en barnavdelning för blod- och tumörsjukdomar. Avdelningen hanterar dagligen en stor mängd förbrukningsvaror för att kunna utföra en högkvalitativ och säker vård för patienterna. Ett identifierat behov är att effektivisera det nuvarande inventerings- och beställningsförfarandet på avdelningen, samt att organisera förråden efter personalens behov. Denna studie utreder och ger förslag på hur Barnonkologen kan förbättra sin hantering av förbrukningsmaterial. Syftet är att öka personalens tid för att vårda patienter genom att minska det administrativa arbete som vårdpersonalen spenderar på materialhanteringen idag. Tillverkande företag inom den privata sektorn har arbetat kontinuerligt med att identifiera och eliminera aktiviteter som inte skapar värde för slutkunden. Genom innovativ design av processer har industriföretagens service och kvalité kunnat förbättras. Drivkraften har bland annat varit en allt hårdnande konkurrens och för att möta denna har en viktig faktor varit att öka företagens effektivitet. Ett framgångsrikt och beprövat koncept för att åstadkomma effektivitetsökningar inom industrin är Lean Production. Sjukvården är en viktig funktion i samhället och kräver mycket resurser, men den står idag inför stora utmaningar. Liknande metoder för att leverera högre kvalitet till lägre kostnader skulle vara värdefullt för hälso- och sjukvården, men det måste även utredas noggrant hur processerna i slutändan påverkar patienten och säkerheten. Patienten bör vara i fokus och bekvämlighet och tid är viktiga aspekter som kan användas vid utvärdering av nya rutiner och processer. Studien inledes med en observation av den befintliga inventerings- och beställningsprocessen på Barnonkologen för att utföra en processkartläggning av avdelningens aktiviteter. Syftet med kartläggningen var att få en överblick över verksamheten för att vidare identifiera aktiviteter som inte var värdeskapande för varken personalen eller patienterna. I syfte att studera framgångsrika koncept för materialhantering inom vården genomfördes en omvärldsanalys bestående av observationer på andra sjukhusavdelningar. Resultatet från omvärldsanalysen var att de studerade avdelningarna använder ett materialhanteringssystem som kallas kanban. Systemet härstammar från Toyota Production System, där kanban betyder signalering på japanska, vilket ska meddela beställning. Beställningen ska ske efter rätt mängd och tid till rätt plats. Med hjälp av processkartläggningen och resultatet från omvärldsanalysen kunde en ny utformning av Barnonkologens materialhantering utformas. I ett förändringsarbete är det viktigt att den nya lösningen är väl förankrad hos personalen. Det hjälper med andra ord inte hur bra den förslagna lösningen är, om den inte är genomförbar. Därför utfördes en fokusgrupp där personalen fick ge sina synpunkter på den nya utformningen, samt hur de ansåg att ett införande skulle kunna ske. Genom detta kunde utformningen av systemet inte bara anpassas ytterligare efter personalens behov, utan också skapa underlag för förändringsarbetet.Denna studie kan visa på att ett nytt materialhanteringssystem baserat på Lean för Barnonkologens fall kan vara framgångsrikt. För Barnonkologen uppskattas att över tusen arbetstimmar kan besparas per år genom en eliminering av den visuella inventeringen och ett minskat letande efter material. Studien betonar de praktiska hinder som kan uppstå vid en implementering och understryker även vikten av ett lyckat förändringsarbete. Otillräckligt förberedda initiativ kan innebära risker som till och med kan överstiga risken att misslyckas med en förändring. Riskerna med att misslyckas kan förutom slöseri med resurser, få vårdpersonal att bli förändringströtta och i framtiden motsätta sig viktiga initiativ. I granskningen av den befintliga forskningslitteraturen inom området fanns det få empiriska undersökningar om hur sjukavdelningar kan effektivisera sina materialhanteringsprocesser. Denna studie kan visa på hur materialhanteringen kan förbättras för Barnonkologen och även fungera som underlag till vidare användning, både för andra sjukhusavdelningar men även som empiriskt bidrag till forskningsområdet. / Research Questions: I: How could a material handling system that is more time-saving and convenient than the present be structured? II: How can a new material handling system be implemented under current circumstances? III: How can Lean Healthcare be used to improve material handling in public healthcare? Purpose: The scope of the project was to study the material handling in a pediatric oncology department and give suggestions how to improve efficiency regarding time and convenience. Furthermore, analyze how Lean and Change Management can bring improvements to the public healthcare. Methodology: This master thesis is an abductive case study at Uppsala University Hospital which is equivalent to 30 ECTS. Primary data was collected through observations, a focus group, interviews and internal documents as well as business intelligence from external hospital departments. Secondary data collection was made through research papers and literature from the field of Lean, logistics' and change management. Findings: The material handling process can be improved with Leanprinciples, but the implementation requires resources and training. A two-bin replenishsystem based on kanban-methodology can save both time and be more comfortable than current material handling – by eliminating non-value activities such as visual inventory. However, there are some practical barriers regarding bacterial risks and traceability of goods.