The shortfalls of traditional measures of manufacturing performance are well documented and the drive to become World Class has led many industrialists and academics to explore alternative methods of performance measurement. Empirical research in the areas of management accounting practice, strategy formulation and goal congruence has established some key cornerstones. There remains, however, a shortage of research into the behavioural consequences of performance measures and the potential for exploiting this link in the pursuit of continuous improvement activities. This research uses the production facility of Dunlop Cox Ltd. as a case study in which an analysis of the existing performance measurement system and its behavioural consequences provides the basis for the introduction of a Cell Generated Performance Measurement System which drives kaizen and can be compared directly with the existing, imposed, system.

This thesis is a systemic examination of my practice as an educator specialising in the development of early career project managers. This inquiry is conducted through an internal inquiry into my living theory and an externally focussed inquiry into the journey that the early career project managers take to becoming a project manager. Four broad foci of my living theory are identified, ‘Soft Systems Methodology’, ‘Action Learning’, ‘Reflective Practice’ and ‘Systemic Practice’. These are discussed in order to consciously consider the foundations of my practice and to identify areas where the practice has been eroded through familiarity and developed through innovation. The external inquiry draws on three sources of qualitative data. The first two sources of data explore the experiences of students enrolled on the MSc in Project Management at Lancaster University during an action learning project. These two sources are an analysis of ‘word clouds’ and ‘critical incidents‘ presented in the dissertations that reflect on these projects. The third source of data is a series of interviews held with alumni of the MSc in Project Management at Lancaster University. These two areas of inquiry combine to present a framework for project management practitioner education that comprises of three broad areas of development. These areas of development align to the ‘ways of knowing’, ‘ways of doing’ and ‘ways of being’. The ways of knowing zone is made up of the development of a systematic approach to project management. This zone is complemented by the ‘ways of doing’ that looks at the development of this systematic perspective through the development of a range of analytical and social skills. It is suggested that systemic eloquence may be gained by enhancing the ‘ways of knowing’ and ‘ways of doing’ with a systemic perspective that encompasses relational dispositions to the practice of project management. This relational disposition covers the ways in which project managers learn to understand the dynamics of the problem situations that they co-create with their stakeholders. Furthermore, it is noted that the development of project management practitioners should be facilitated through their experience in the practice of projects. This ‘hands on’ engagement combined with an approach to self-development founded on reflective practice helps to develop people capable of delivering projects rather than talking about the delivery of projects.

The prevalence of obesity (BMI≥30kg/m²) in the Scottish population is rising at an alarming pace. The health implications for those affected and the lack of sustained success in treatment, demands that new strategies be explored to improve patient outcomes (Harvey et al. 2005). Primary care nurses appear well placed to address obesity management. Therefore, the aim of this research was to develop and evaluate an evidence based, holistic, person centred approach to management, which was relevant to both professionals and those who are obese. A conceptual framework was developed to encompass the physical, social and emotional components of weight management in conjunction with the nursing models of Roper, Logan and Tierney and Peplau. The approach used mixed methods of data collection, which was carried out in two phases. Outcomes from the initial exploratory, longitudinal survey phase, involving 64 outpatients attending a specialist obesity clinic, showed that physical, social and emotional factors, in conjunction with beliefs about weight management are interrelated. Evidence from the exploratory phase contributed to the development of materials for the intervention phase which was implemented in primary care by nine practice nurses (PNs) who recruited 28 obese individuals for a three month period. Methods of data collection included questionnaires, booklets, field notes and interviews. ii The key findings of this study confirmed that obesity is complex and a holistic, person centred approach to weight management through partnership working between nurses and obese individuals can be effective. While PNs have a key role to play in obesity management they recognised their need for appropriate tools and education to help individuals towards self-management. The results also suggested that nurses and individuals who took ownership of this approach had successful outcomes in terms of weight loss.

This thesis is an inquiry into the practice of imagining of organisational futures. The aims of this research are to promote understanding of imagining as relational, discursive and dialogical practice in organisations, to develop opportunities for imagining in organisations drawing on systemic and social constructionist theories and practices, and to develop propositions informing systemic constructionist practice. It is a reflexive, qualitative, case and practice based research, informed by ethnographic sensibility, using Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) theory and discourse analysis as research methods. The focus of this research is not to solve problems but to make sense and create connections. This research promotes an understanding of imagining as relational, discursive practice and a critical appreciation of imagining in organisational theory and systemic constructionist practice with organisations, in particular the relevance of imagining in organisational opportunity, alignment and coordination, organisational decision making, and organisation development. Reflections on imagining practice are articulated as concepts of games of imagining expressing archetypical discursive forms of imagining, discursive reflexivity, a practice of reflexive evaluating of the unfolding talk for the emergent possibilities in it, and game changing, an expanding of possibilities for imagining from within a conversational situation. Drawing on reflections from theory and practice this research promotes the relevance of relational, discursive imagining for organisational task attainment and makes a case for advancing imagining practices through developing the participation in imagining processes and by foregrounding and institutionalising imagining in organisations. It argues that such developments can be of a transformational nature and positions systemic constructionist practice as a resource for such a development. This research contributes to systemic constructionist practice research by developing practice based frameworks that serve to orientate practitioners in the living moment of practising. It builds on established frameworks of systemic constructionist theory and practice, expands their relevance, and also invites critical and appreciative sensibilities in relation to systemic constructionist practice. This research contributes to a small body of empirical case research into organisational imagining informed by social constructionist positions and ethnographic sensibility.

O objetivo desse estudo foi realizar o diagnóstico de aspectos da ocupação das áreas comuns do Campus da USP da Capital em relação à prática de atividade física, a fim de levantar elementos para a construção de um plano de gestão dessa atividade com base nas teorias e modelos da administração. Para isso, estudou-se os anos de 2013 e 2014, as características do território, ocupação das áreas comuns do Campus da USP pelas assessorias esportivas, as principais ocorrências relacionadas à prática esportiva registradas na Guarda Universitária, Ouvidoria da USP, Prefeitura do Campus e Sistema de Ambulância, os serviços oferecidos pelas assessorias esportivas, o comportamento do mercado destas assessorias presentes no Campus e o perfil do gestor de assessoria esportiva. Além disso, estudou-se a ocupação e o comportamento em termos de prática esportiva dos praticantes e a opinião destes sobre a prática de atividades físicas no Campus da USP. Foram analisados dados dos órgãos administrativos da USP relacionados à prática esportiva e aplicado questionário às assessorias e praticantes. Resultados: as principais ocorrências registradas na guarda universitária estavam relacionadas a furtos em veículos, seguidos de acidente pessoal e atropelamento, e ocorreram prioritariamente no período matutino; No serviço de ambulância a principal ocorrência foi relacionada a acidentes com queda de ciclistas; A principal reclamação está vinculada à prática de ciclismo tanto na Ouvidoria como na Prefeitura do Campus; Houve um crescimento expressivo do número de assessorias esportivas nos últimos dez anos; As assessorias esportivas em conjunto movimentam só em relação aos serviços de treinamento, cerca de 2 milhões e setecentos mil reais ao mês; Prioritariamente, as assessorias esportivas oferecem seus treinamentos no Campus da USP devido à demanda dos praticantes; O Campus da USP é escolhido como local para treino pelos praticantes principalmente devido a variação de percurso, a proximidade de casa ou do trabalho, ser um local arborizado, amplo, poder realizar treinos longos e ser considerado o melhor local para treinamento. Conclusão: a partir das análises apresentadas, pudemos obter o diagnóstico do uso do espaço, onde buscamos informações acerca do ambiente externo de forma a identificar e interpretar as tendências, visando analisar as informações e determinar quais apresentam oportunidades e ameaças para propor um plano de gestão / The objective of this study was to achieve a diagnosis of the occupation aspects concerning the common areas of USP Campus in São Paulo, the Capital of the State of São Paulo, with regards to the practice of the physical activities, aiming at an assessment of the elements for the elaboration of a management plan for these activities, based on administration theories and models. To accomplish this, we studied as references the occupation in the years 2013 and 2014; the characteristics of the territory; the occupation of common areas at the USP Campus by the running clubs; the main occurrences related to sports practice registered by USP Safety Department, Complaints Department, Superintendence, and Ambulance System; the services provided by the running clubs; the behavior of the running clubs market present in the Campus; and their profile. In addition to this, we also studied the occupation and behavior in terms of sports practice of the participants, their opinion about the practice of such physical sports at USP Campus. Data from USP Administrative Organs about sports practice was analyzed and a questionnaire was applied to the coaches and runners. Results: the main occurrences registered by USP Safety Department were related to vehicle thefts followed by running over, which occurred mainly in the morning. As for the Ambulance Service, the main occurrences were related cyclists to accidents and falls. The most important claims, both in the Complaint Department and in the Superintendence, regard the cycling practice. There has been a relevant growth in the number of running clubs in the past ten years. The running clubs together make around 2.7 million Reais monthly. They provide their running club services mainly at USP Campus due to the runners demand. USP Campus is chosen as a place for training among the runners thanks to the variety of routes, proximity to their houses and/or work, for being a green wide place, for the possibility of long training sessions, and for being considered the best place for training. Conclusion: based on the analysis presented we were able to obtain a diagnosis of the space use, where we obtained information about the external environment in order to identify and interpret the tendencies, aiming at analyzing the information and determining which represent opportunities and threats so as to propose a management plan

O objetivo desse estudo foi realizar o diagnóstico de aspectos da ocupação das áreas comuns do Campus da USP da Capital em relação à prática de atividade física, a fim de levantar elementos para a construção de um plano de gestão dessa atividade com base nas teorias e modelos da administração. Para isso, estudou-se os anos de 2013 e 2014, as características do território, ocupação das áreas comuns do Campus da USP pelas assessorias esportivas, as principais ocorrências relacionadas à prática esportiva registradas na Guarda Universitária, Ouvidoria da USP, Prefeitura do Campus e Sistema de Ambulância, os serviços oferecidos pelas assessorias esportivas, o comportamento do mercado destas assessorias presentes no Campus e o perfil do gestor de assessoria esportiva. Além disso, estudou-se a ocupação e o comportamento em termos de prática esportiva dos praticantes e a opinião destes sobre a prática de atividades físicas no Campus da USP. Foram analisados dados dos órgãos administrativos da USP relacionados à prática esportiva e aplicado questionário às assessorias e praticantes. Resultados: as principais ocorrências registradas na guarda universitária estavam relacionadas a furtos em veículos, seguidos de acidente pessoal e atropelamento, e ocorreram prioritariamente no período matutino; No serviço de ambulância a principal ocorrência foi relacionada a acidentes com queda de ciclistas; A principal reclamação está vinculada à prática de ciclismo tanto na Ouvidoria como na Prefeitura do Campus; Houve um crescimento expressivo do número de assessorias esportivas nos últimos dez anos; As assessorias esportivas em conjunto movimentam só em relação aos serviços de treinamento, cerca de 2 milhões e setecentos mil reais ao mês; Prioritariamente, as assessorias esportivas oferecem seus treinamentos no Campus da USP devido à demanda dos praticantes; O Campus da USP é escolhido como local para treino pelos praticantes principalmente devido a variação de percurso, a proximidade de casa ou do trabalho, ser um local arborizado, amplo, poder realizar treinos longos e ser considerado o melhor local para treinamento. Conclusão: a partir das análises apresentadas, pudemos obter o diagnóstico do uso do espaço, onde buscamos informações acerca do ambiente externo de forma a identificar e interpretar as tendências, visando analisar as informações e determinar quais apresentam oportunidades e ameaças para propor um plano de gestão / The objective of this study was to achieve a diagnosis of the occupation aspects concerning the common areas of USP Campus in São Paulo, the Capital of the State of São Paulo, with regards to the practice of the physical activities, aiming at an assessment of the elements for the elaboration of a management plan for these activities, based on administration theories and models. To accomplish this, we studied as references the occupation in the years 2013 and 2014; the characteristics of the territory; the occupation of common areas at the USP Campus by the running clubs; the main occurrences related to sports practice registered by USP Safety Department, Complaints Department, Superintendence, and Ambulance System; the services provided by the running clubs; the behavior of the running clubs market present in the Campus; and their profile. In addition to this, we also studied the occupation and behavior in terms of sports practice of the participants, their opinion about the practice of such physical sports at USP Campus. Data from USP Administrative Organs about sports practice was analyzed and a questionnaire was applied to the coaches and runners. Results: the main occurrences registered by USP Safety Department were related to vehicle thefts followed by running over, which occurred mainly in the morning. As for the Ambulance Service, the main occurrences were related cyclists to accidents and falls. The most important claims, both in the Complaint Department and in the Superintendence, regard the cycling practice. There has been a relevant growth in the number of running clubs in the past ten years. The running clubs together make around 2.7 million Reais monthly. They provide their running club services mainly at USP Campus due to the runners demand. USP Campus is chosen as a place for training among the runners thanks to the variety of routes, proximity to their houses and/or work, for being a green wide place, for the possibility of long training sessions, and for being considered the best place for training. Conclusion: based on the analysis presented we were able to obtain a diagnosis of the space use, where we obtained information about the external environment in order to identify and interpret the tendencies, aiming at analyzing the information and determining which represent opportunities and threats so as to propose a management plan

Management of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) in an emergency department setting is challenging due to the complexity of the disease and the multi-disciplinary care environment, leading to the need for standardized protocols to ensure patient safety and care quality. Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) for ACS are prevalent but they are not directly applicable in the ED setting due to their complex narrative nature. In this thesis we present a knowledge modeling solution, using semantic web technologies, to computerize the ACS CPG published by the American Heart Association. Our knowledge modeling approach provides a modular characterization of the CPG knowledge and offers unique mechanisms to (a) update the knowledge model in response to periodic CPG updates; and (b) streamline the ACS management clinical pathway in response to resource constraints at an institution. The computerized CPG will serve as an ACS management decision support system, targeting tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

Since the early 1990s, the rapid growth of international hotel chains and its effects on managerial work have drawn the attention of researchers (Gilbert & Guerrier, 1997 and Ladkin & Juwaheer 2000). There is a current need to investigate how management in hotels is adapting to the significant change in the last decade (McKenney, 2016). The contemporary Hotel General Manager’s (HGM’s) role, responsibility, and ultimately autonomy, are seen to be largely influenced by the owners, management companies or the franchise the hotel is operating under. “Understanding the scope and limits of HGMs decision autonomy is an understudied yet important topic for hospitality research” Hodari & Sturman, 2014 p.434 How management is practiced at the highest level in the hotel is the research problem to be investigated. Kotter (2010), Whitley (1989) and Hales (1986) emphasised how the nature of managerial work is closely linked to its organisational context. Accepting that managerial work is shaped and exercised in context (Dierdorff et al, 2009; Akrivos, Ladkin and Reklitis 2007), the aim of this research is to explore and understand the way in which contemporary HGMs manage and what influences how they manage. This work aims to shed light on hotel general management across three contemporary business models in the operating environment of Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire. The research strategy will be interpretivist, with a qualitative approach taken to elicit HGMs’ experiences about their working life and chosen activity to understand the influences on their management practice. Dann (1990), credits Hales (1987) with providing a methodology, which allows the conduct of managerial work to be placed within the context of the management process. On account of this Hale’s five broad questions are built into the interview schedule. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews are held with HGMs who were members of the Aberdeen City and Shire Hotel Association. This Association has a membership of thirty-eight hotels operating through private, chain and franchise models. In total 21 HGMs are interviewed. From this data a profile of the HGM is provided, as found in each of the three ownership/business models (private, chain and franchise). The data were analysed by the constant comparison method. This study contributes to the body of research through looking at what HGM’s actually do, and how these individuals practice management. This work provides new knowledge in the form of a model, which maps out the identified management context (characteristics) that influence HGM behaviour/activity and the consequences for management across business models surveyed. The business model under which the HGM manages is found to be the primary influence on HGM activity and behaviour. The work sheds light on the meaning of work, and why it is the way it is. At the first level of analysis management context across three business models is identified. These then map onto the second level of analysis, which explains how these influences shape management behaviour and activity. The model identifies consequences for management across the business models. The proposition in the study is that HGMs have not been de-skilled; they have instead prioritised skills and activity in line with the demands of the business model and the ownership style under which they manage. In effect new skills have been learnt, and behaviour and activity tailored to meet the contemporary demands in context of the business model. This research has found that although HGMs have the same title, they are found to be very different managers that are managing different things. Not only do the HGMs manage differently the priorities of management are also quite different. The contribution to knowledge is considered at theoretical and practical levels. At the theoretical level a modern take on Taylorism shows that specialisation is relevant to contemporary hotel management. Silos are created on account of the business models, with markedly different ways of hotel services being delivered. The priorities of HGMs, dictated by the business model, are different. The extreme cases being the people centric, long term focus of the private sector manager juxtaposed with the short financial term focus by the chain HGMs. At the practical level, accepting that hotel general management is not homogeneous, and driven by the business model, hotel organisations need to develop their own organisationspecific competency framework for their HGMs. Success across the business models is measured differently; for chain and franchise HGMs there is a need to generate higher gross profits and for results to reported frequently, and for the private sector HGMs success is linked to long term sustainability, serving the community and providing a personal service. A challenge for each HGM in each of the models is managing stakeholders. These stakeholders vary with the model; managing the owners and operating company superiors are vital in chains, while the customers and staff are more important to HGMs in private model. For HGMs in both chain and franchise business models activity and behaviour is influenced by the need to ensure brand compliance through standard operating procedures.

Over the past two decades, translation workplaces have been substantially transformed by technological developments (Drugan 2013; Risku et al. 2013), and by the emergence of production networks in which a language service provider (LSP) acts as an intermediary between translator and client (Abdallah and Koskinen 2007; Abdallah 2012). However, there is little research into how technologies are integrated in the various translation workplaces found in production networks. My research aims at enhancing our understanding of translation project management and translation quality in production networks by conceptualising project management as a practice (Shove et al. 2012). For this empirical study, a data set was collected based on 60 hours of workplace observations within a UK-based LSP and 10 semi-structured interviews with four project managers (PMs) and one vendor manager (VM). Drawing on concepts from practice theory, the study analyses routinised enactments of the practice by PMs, their integration of information technologies into such enactments, their understanding of translation quality, and their strategies to achieve quality in the translation production process. I propose that the practice of translation project management is deeply embedded into a larger complex of interdependent translation production practices. A practice-theoretical framework emphasises the socio-material and collective nature of the practice. My study demonstrates that project management is a joint effort between PMs and other actors in translation production. Based on an analysis of how PMs use CAT tools and an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system when they are managing translation projects, I argue that technologies are inextricably linked with enactments of production practices, and that they form part of the social structures surrounding the practice. The application of practice theory affords a new understanding of skills, or competence, in which the engagement in professional activities is vital, and in which building competence is an ongoing process. Finally, I suggest that buyers of translation products, i.e. clients, substantially contribute to translation quality, as PMs carry out project management based on the notion of translation as a service.

Date:   2022-06-01    Level:  Bachelor/Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr    Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University    Authors: Malak Shammakh (1993/08/23), Noura Touma (1996/06/05), Volodymyr Trykoz (2000/05/16)   Title: Investigation into PM tools and techniques currently used in practice.   Supervisor: Ali Farashah    Keywords: Projects, Management tools, project management, management in practice, adoption, engineering/manufacturing   Research questions:   RQ1: What kind of tools, methods, and techniques do project  managers use in the engineering/manufacturing companies, and why? RQ2: What are the factors that influence the process of adoption of PM techniques by project managers?   Purpose: This research attempts to investigate which tools, models, and systems are used in practice by the working project managers, in engineering/manufacturing companies in Sweden. Method: In this research paper, the authors relied mainly on primary data to analyze the conducted interviews with project managers in the field. This is a qualitative research paper, conducting an inductive research approach and including relevant topics from scientific journals in order to attain the research goal.    Conclusion: The results of this research showed that the PM methods, tools, and techniques are all essential parts of the management, which facilitate the work and increase the efficiency. However, experience, education and other factors are crucial when adopting PM tools.