In 1990’s, the circumstances of being a contestant on a popular game show were published in a trendy question and answer column in Parade Magazine. If contestant switched from the initial choice to a second choice offer by the host, would the chances of winning the desired prize be increase? The columnist’s response to the reader sparked a good deal of controversy among mathematicians. Shortly after the publication of this answer, articles appeared in various mathematical publications some supporting and some refuting the columnist’s answer. This document reports the results of research into the controversy generated by some of the probability problems used on Let’s Make a Deal game show. Using a variety of approaches and assumption, the author attempts to formulate mathematical proof to explain the correct answer to the contestant’s question, “Should I switch?” / text

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur några lärare på gymnasiesärskolans nationella program arbetar med bedömning av elevernas kunskapsutveckling samt hur dessa lärare arbetar för att eleverna ska kunna synliggöra sina kunskaper. Studien baseras på sju halvstrukturerade intervjuer med lärare som undervisar i svenska på gymnasiesärskolan.  Resultatet visar att lärarna använder sig av många olika metoder för att skaffa underlag för  kunskapsbedömning. Samtal, observationer och dokumentation är några exempel. Lärarna arbetar tätt ihop med eleverna och ger konkret, tät återkoppling för att synliggöra kunskapsutvecklingen både för eleven och sig själva. Eleverna behöver mycket stöttning och repetition för att utveckla kunskaper och självständighet i arbetet. Ett dilemma som framträder är att det är svårt att skapa förutsättningar för alla elever att kunna visa fram sina kunskaper. Det vanligaste är att man sitter bredvid och samtalar med eleven för att ta reda på vilka kunskaper eleven har tillägnat sig. Lärande som en social företeelse som sker i samspel med andra är ett synsätt som skiner igenom. Enligt min studie är det oftast eleven och läraren som samspelar med varandra. / The aim of this study is to explore how a few teachers in the upper secondary school’s national programmes for pupils with intellectual disabilities work with assessing the knowledge development in students and how these teachers work for the pupils to be able to make their own knowledge visible.   The study is based upon seven semi structured interviews with teachers teaching Swedish in upper secondary schools for pupils with intellectual disabilities.  The results show that the teachers use multiple methods to acquire ground for assessment of knowledge. Conversation, observation and documentation are some examples of methods. The teachers work closely together with the students and provide tangible, frequent feedback to make the knowledge development visible both to the student and themselves. The students need a lot of scaffolding and repetition to develop knowledge and independence in their work. An emerging dilemma is the difficulty to create opportunities for all students to communicate their knowledge. The most common strategy is to sit beside the student and have a conversation to find out what knowledge the student has acquired. Learning as a social experience which occurs in interaction with others is a line of approach that shines through. According to my study it is most commonly the student and the teacher who are interacting with each other.

The study focuses on the use of information systems in the Heavy Engineering industry in South Africa and the decision to make, buy or rent information systems. Special focus was placed on the factors that influence the decision to make, buy or rent information systems. It is undeniable that changes in the competitive environment, such as technological advances and globalisation, are driving organisations toward new ways of operating. In striving to become flexible, lean, and more competitive, organisations have been increasingly swift to externalise support service functions. Every organisation must adapt to the current economic environment, the technology available in its industry and consider the risk and rewards within the industry framework. Organisations should carefully analyse the impact of their decisions, especially in consideration of the extent to which organisational competencies and competitive advantage could be affected. An extensive literature study was conducted on the factors that influence the decision to make, buy or rent. The literature study portrays the ideal state or methodologies for acquiring information systems and the best practices used in evaluating the best option for the organisation. The literature indicated the criteria for evaluating the decision to make, buy or rent information systems are the business need, in–house experience, project skills, project management and the time frame. These criteria can be broken down into the factors that have an influence on the decision, competitive advantage, security, skills, expertise, available resources, cost, time, implementation, support, maintenance, performance, quality, documentation, vendor issues, size of organisation, expected annual transactions, software control, functionality, productivity and increased turnover. Calculating the benefit that can be achieved from information systems must also include measures to incorporate the total benefit, not only the financial benefit. The balance scorecard approach measures the total return accompanying an investment in information systems, broken down into four sections, the financial perspective that measures the tangible outcomes, the customer perspective that measures customer value (quality, delivery and skill), the internal process perspective that measures the internal processes that add value and have the greatest impact on strategy and finally the learning and growth perspective that measures the intangible assets which focuses on human capital. Information systems form part of the corporate strategy, competitive positioning and must be aligned with the overall strategy of the organisation. A survey was done to determine the opinions about the different options managers/organisations have to consider when seeking to fulfil organisational requirements for information systems. Methodological issues as well as considerations with regard to gathering the data were discussed. A questionnaire was designed to collect data to obtain the information needed to solve the research problem. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was tested and it was found that a moderate to high level of consistency exists. The survey results were then presented in frequency tables and were analysed using descriptive statistics as well as inferring possible trends or conclusions based on relationships between certain responses on specific related questions and referring to the literature study. A framework was compiled from the literature study and empirical study that can be used for the purpose of decision–making in the make, buy or renting of information systems in the heavy engineering environment in South Africa. Benefits from purchasing software from a vendor include competitive advantage, available resources, implementation of the system, support to the system, system performance, documentation and training, and business functionality. Benefits from open source offerings include the size of the organisation and the number of expected annual transactions by the organisation. Benefits from SaaS (Software as a service) include competitive advantage, expertise, system performance and business functionality. Benefits from the outsourcing of development and other IT functions include competitive advantage, security, skills, available resources, implementation of the system, support to the system, system performance, documentation and training, business functionality and technical functionality. Benefits from developing in–house all or part of the effort include competitive advantage, security, skills, expertise, available resources, time, implementation of the system, support to the system, maintenance and upgrades, system performance, quality, documentation and training, business functionality, technical functionality, productivity improvements and increased turnover. Overall the linkage between the literature study and the empirical study concludes / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The study focuses on the use of information systems in the Heavy Engineering industry in South Africa and the decision to make, buy or rent information systems. Special focus was placed on the factors that influence the decision to make, buy or rent information systems. It is undeniable that changes in the competitive environment, such as technological advances and globalisation, are driving organisations toward new ways of operating. In striving to become flexible, lean, and more competitive, organisations have been increasingly swift to externalise support service functions. Every organisation must adapt to the current economic environment, the technology available in its industry and consider the risk and rewards within the industry framework. Organisations should carefully analyse the impact of their decisions, especially in consideration of the extent to which organisational competencies and competitive advantage could be affected. An extensive literature study was conducted on the factors that influence the decision to make, buy or rent. The literature study portrays the ideal state or methodologies for acquiring information systems and the best practices used in evaluating the best option for the organisation. The literature indicated the criteria for evaluating the decision to make, buy or rent information systems are the business need, in–house experience, project skills, project management and the time frame. These criteria can be broken down into the factors that have an influence on the decision, competitive advantage, security, skills, expertise, available resources, cost, time, implementation, support, maintenance, performance, quality, documentation, vendor issues, size of organisation, expected annual transactions, software control, functionality, productivity and increased turnover. Calculating the benefit that can be achieved from information systems must also include measures to incorporate the total benefit, not only the financial benefit. The balance scorecard approach measures the total return accompanying an investment in information systems, broken down into four sections, the financial perspective that measures the tangible outcomes, the customer perspective that measures customer value (quality, delivery and skill), the internal process perspective that measures the internal processes that add value and have the greatest impact on strategy and finally the learning and growth perspective that measures the intangible assets which focuses on human capital. Information systems form part of the corporate strategy, competitive positioning and must be aligned with the overall strategy of the organisation. A survey was done to determine the opinions about the different options managers/organisations have to consider when seeking to fulfil organisational requirements for information systems. Methodological issues as well as considerations with regard to gathering the data were discussed. A questionnaire was designed to collect data to obtain the information needed to solve the research problem. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was tested and it was found that a moderate to high level of consistency exists. The survey results were then presented in frequency tables and were analysed using descriptive statistics as well as inferring possible trends or conclusions based on relationships between certain responses on specific related questions and referring to the literature study. A framework was compiled from the literature study and empirical study that can be used for the purpose of decision–making in the make, buy or renting of information systems in the heavy engineering environment in South Africa. Benefits from purchasing software from a vendor include competitive advantage, available resources, implementation of the system, support to the system, system performance, documentation and training, and business functionality. Benefits from open source offerings include the size of the organisation and the number of expected annual transactions by the organisation. Benefits from SaaS (Software as a service) include competitive advantage, expertise, system performance and business functionality. Benefits from the outsourcing of development and other IT functions include competitive advantage, security, skills, available resources, implementation of the system, support to the system, system performance, documentation and training, business functionality and technical functionality. Benefits from developing in–house all or part of the effort include competitive advantage, security, skills, expertise, available resources, time, implementation of the system, support to the system, maintenance and upgrades, system performance, quality, documentation and training, business functionality, technical functionality, productivity improvements and increased turnover. Overall the linkage between the literature study and the empirical study concludes / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Zugl.: Weimar, Bauhausuniv., Diss.

Univ., Diss.--Paderborn, 2002.

Submitted by TIAGO DA CUNHA JORGE null (tiago.jorge1984@gmail.com) on 2018-01-09T15:54:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Final Tiago da Cunha Jorge.pdf: 4224244 bytes, checksum: a8bc587a448d3ec8a242dfd59cfc9591 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Marlene Zaniboni null (zaniboni@bauru.unesp.br) on 2018-01-10T13:10:39Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 jorge_tc_me_bauru.pdf: 4224244 bytes, checksum: a8bc587a448d3ec8a242dfd59cfc9591 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-10T13:10:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 jorge_tc_me_bauru.pdf: 4224244 bytes, checksum: a8bc587a448d3ec8a242dfd59cfc9591 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar, por meio de simulação computacional, a regra de sequenciamento de ordens de produção recomendada pelo método Tambor-Pulmão-Corda Simplificado/Gerenciamento do Pulmão (Simplified Drum-Buffer-Rope / Buffer Management - S-DBR/BM) aplicado em ambientes de produção para estoque. Esta aplicação recebe o nome de Make to Availability (MTA), pois visa a um compromisso de atendimento da demanda baseado na pronta-entrega de produtos acabados. Para tanto, tal regra será comparada com as regras de sequenciamento da produção SPT (Shortest Processing Time), FIFO (First in First Out) e random. Para cumprir tal objetivo, será simulada uma fábrica real de manufatura contendo diferentes níveis de demanda e diferentes níveis de coeficiente de variação (CV) da demanda. A variável dependente utilizada para comparação dos desempenhos é o fill rate, que mensura o atendimento da demanda a partir do estoque de produtos acabados. Os resultados indicam que a regra S-DBR/MTA supera os demais métodos em todos os cenários simulados e também que cenários com menor CV da demanda apresentaram melhor fill rate médio que aqueles com maior CV. / This dissertation evaluated by computer simulation the production order sequencing rule recommended by the Simplified Drum-Buffer-Rope (S-DBR) applied in make-to-stock environments, called Make to Availability (MTA). MTA method aims at a commitment to meet demand based on the finished products prompt delivery. For this purpose, we compared it with SPT (Shortest Processing Time) sequencing heuristic, FIFO (First In First Out) and random sequencing rules, through demand patterns variations of a real factory. Fill rate was the dependent variable used to compare performances, which is the percentage of demand that is fulfilled directly out of the finished product stock. We show that S-DBR / MTA sequencing rule overcame all other sequencing rules and SPT had the worst fill rate.

abstract: Today's competitive markets force companies to constantly engage in the complex task of managing their demand. In make-to-order manufacturing or service systems, the demand of a product is shaped by price and lead times, where high price and lead time quotes ensure profitability for supplier, but discourage the customers from placing orders. Low price and lead times, on the other hand, generally result in high demand, but do not necessarily ensure profitability. The price and lead time quotation problem considers the trade-off between offering high and low prices and lead times. The recent practices in make-to- order manufacturing companies reveal the importance of dynamic quotation strategies, under which the prices and lead time quotes flexibly change depending on the status of the system. In this dissertation, the objective is to model a make-to-order manufacturing system and explore various aspects of dynamic quotation strategies such as the behavior of optimal price and lead time decisions, the impact of customer preferences on optimal decisions, the benefits of employing dynamic quotation in comparison to simpler quotation strategies, and the benefits of coordinating price and lead time decisions. I first consider a manufacturer that receives demand from spot purchasers (who are quoted dynamic price and lead times), as well as from contract customers who have agree- ments with the manufacturer with fixed price and lead time terms. I analyze how customer preferences affect the optimal price and lead time decisions, the benefits of dynamic quo- tation, and the optimal mix of spot purchaser and contract customers. These analyses necessitate the computation of expected tardiness of customer orders at the moment cus- tomer enters the system. Hence, in the second part of the dissertation, I develop method- ologies to compute the expected tardiness in multi-class priority queues. For the trivial single class case, a closed formulation is obtained. For the more complex multi-class case, numerical inverse Laplace transformation algorithms are developed. In the last part of the dissertation, I model a decentralized system with two components. Marketing department determines the price quotes with the objective of maximizing revenues, and manufacturing department determines the lead time quotes to minimize lateness costs. I discuss the ben- efits of coordinating price and lead time decisions, and develop an incentivization scheme to reduce the negative impacts of lack of coordination. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Industrial Engineering 2012

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-12-05Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:34:06Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 rodrigues_pcc_me_bauru.pdf: 661198 bytes, checksum: fd2070d60a4818ea36d1e95ea50627af (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / As organizações industriais vêm adotando modelos produtivos que priorizam a redução de custos e aumento da qualidade de seus processos e produtos. Neste contexto a otimização e racionalização da gestão de estoques é uma grande oportunidade para estas empresas conquistarem estes objetivos. Para a realização desta pesquisa optou-se pela metodologia de estudo de casos múltiplos (dois casos), para atender o objetivo de analisar a gestão de estoques em duas empresas do setor gráfico localizadas na região de Bauru, na qual uma adota o sistema produtivo Engineering-To-Order (ETO) e a outra o sistema produtivo Make-To-Stock (MTS). O qual foi alcançado por meio da triangulação dos meios de coleta de dados, ou seja, entrevista semi-estruturada, análise documental e observação in-loco e estes tiveram como embasamento o referencial teórico. Por meio da triangulação das informações obtidas durante a coleta de dados, pôde-se elaborar a descrição da gestão de estoques e do sistema produtivo adotado em cada uma das empresas apresentadas nos estudos de caso e a análise cruzada. Após estes procedimentos foi elaborada a análise da influência do sistema produtivo sobre a gestão de estoques, no qual foram analisados os seguintes itens: produção, previsão de demanda, sazonalidade, layout, gestão de estoques, setup, logística de suprimentos e logística de distribuição. / Industrial organizations are adopting productive models that prioritize the reduction of costs and increase the quality of their processes and products. In this context the optimization and streamlining the inventory management is a great opportunity for these companies conquer these goals. To achieve this research methodology was chosen for the study of multiple cases (two cases), to meet to evaluate the inventory management in two companies in the sector chart located in the region of Bauru, in which one adopts the production system. Which was achieved by means of triangulation of data collection, i.e., semi-structured interviews, document analysis and observation in loco and they were light as the theoretical framework. Through triangulation of information obtained during data collection, it was possible to develop a descritption of the inventory management and the production system used in each of the companies presented in case studies and crossexamination. After these procedures were developed to analyze the influence of the production system on the inventory management, which were analyzed in the following: production, estimates of demand, seasonality, layout, inventory management, setup, logistics supplies and logistics of distribution. While reviewing the analysis of the influence of the production system on the management of inventories could be observed some differences in relation to the literature, they are: logistics supply, distribution, inventory management, production systems Make-To-Stock and Engineering-To-Order.

abstract: The dissertation aims to provide a new perspective on the management of multi-tier supply chains. When a firm decides to buy a product from a supplier, the buying firm also needs to decide whether to use the supplier to make the lower-tier sourcing decisions or to make those decisions in-house. I call the former "supply chain-buy" and the latter "supply chain-make." If the choice is supply chain-buy, the buying firm releases sourcing control of its bill of materials (BOM) to the top-tier supplier and this supplier, then engages with the supply base to determine the BOM's supply chain. If the choice is supply chain-make, the buying firm maintains sourcing control of the BOM and engages with its own supply base to select the lower-tier suppliers. The dissertation provides a theoretical foundation and empirical observations for understanding the supply chain make-buy decisions. The dissertation consists of three main chapters: Chapter 2 extends the make-or-buy literature into the multi-tier supply management context to provide theoretical reasons for engaging in supply chain-make as opposed to supply chain-buy. Building on transaction cost economics, the knowledge-based view, and structural hole theory, Chapter 2 explains the phenomenon that cannot be fully explained by a single-theoretic perspective. Chapter 3 empirically investigates the economic and behavioral factors that influence individual purchasing managers' supply chain make-buy decision-making. Specifically, the roles of behavioral uncertainty, interpersonal trust, and familiarity are considered. A scenario-based behavioral experiment involving the members of the Institute for Supply Management is employed. Lastly, Chapter 4 studies the performance implications of particular supply network structures influenced by supply chain make-buy decisions. Supply chain make-buy decisions can affect the prevalence of structural holes in supply networks. Chapter 4 investigates the different types of structural holes in supply networks. It provides a novel way of understanding structural holes in the supply network context by distinguishing structural holes between the focal firm's suppliers (horizontal structural holes) from those between its customers and suppliers (vertical structural holes). Panel data on supply networks and firm financial indicators are used for analysis in Chapter 4. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2017