Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-161). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Psychology, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Aug. 7, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-84). Also issued in print.

Thesis (PhD (Technology management))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 377-394)

The development and application of performance measurement systems for a purchasing function within a professional service company possesses a great challenge for both practitioners and academics. Despite the increasing popularity of this topic, the systems that are currently developed are rarely adequate to be applicable at the business-unit level. Furthermore, the existing productivity measures are predominantly designed to measure performance in industries where the inputs and outputs are both tangible and standardized items. Intangible and non-quantifiable factors of production cannot be reliably measured by manufacturing performance methodologies. Consequently, purchasing professionals seek tools to accurately track purchasing performances and connect it to given business strategies and objectives. This paper aims to develop a design of the performance measurement system that can be applicable onto the optimize-sourcing department of the selected firm of this study. The first section of the paper outlines key performance measurement concepts and establishes a theoretical framework that supports the following research. Subsequent questionnaires and interviews that were conducted with vital stakeholders reveal the flaws of the current performance measurement system. Conclusions derived from the interviews and questionnaires support the findings of extensive literature reviews. In the following chapters, the paper focuses on the development of the new model that overcomes limitations of the model in use. The thesis also lists additional recommendations on the implementation phase of the new model. In the final section, this paper emphasizes the limitations of the proposed model and describes potential challenges related to the implementation phase.

The organization I work in has 13 subsidiary businesses operating in the branded footwear and apparel industry. The industry currently faces significant macroeconomic and industry challenges. One of our biggest challenges is how to avoid excessive and wasteful new product development whilst still building an attractive range of products for the customer. So the focus of my research is on the management control and governance of the New Product Development (NPD) process to solve a pressing business problem. However, there is a gap in the literature. Many authors have claimed that our knowledge of the governance of NPD processes is incomplete and there is a dearth of actual studies in this area. My literature review looked at management control and in particular at the enduring problem of the need to generate control without stifling creativity. The literature led me to focus on the use of feedforward controls to influence NPD management teams to improve portfolio value and strategic alignment whilst simultaneously encouraging NPD experimentation. During this research I developed the concept of Feedforward Anticipatory Control (FAC), which encompasses the combination of feedforward control and double-loop learning. From this start my research question became “How does the use of FAC influence NPD management teams to improve portfolio value and strategic alignment?” From theory and my initial case study research I developed, tested and refined a tool for ascertaining the level of FAC sophistication in use by NPD teams in their development process. The tool was then used in action research interventions to help the teams develop their sophistication in the use of FAC. The tool was found to be useable, useful and have value. The action research case studies were embedded in a case study protocol to ensure the rigour of my research. This involved developing a framework to investigate the consequences of my interventions, in terms of both hard performance metrics and softer team perceptions. The contribution is in the use of management controls in NPD. The findings show that different levels of FAC sophistication can be applied in NPD and that the use of higher levels of FAC influences NPD teams to improve portfolio value and strategic alignment. The contribution to practice is an intervention “toolkit” that can influence NPD teams to develop higher levels of FAC sophistication and generate improvements in NPD portfolio performance.

In the knowledge economy age, the capability of a business to gain advantage depends not only on tangible assets but also on intangible assets, such as the knowledge owned by the organization. Given the importance of knowledge, knowledge management has become a very important task for business to remain competitive. Many literatures in knowledge management have emphasized the key role of knowledge creation activities and their impact on organizational performance. In particular, they have focused on the effect of creativity. In the study, we extend previous framework to add organizational learning to enhance the existing model. An empirical study was conducted to examine the extended model. Major findings include the following: (1) Socialization, combination and internalization have positive impacts on both organizational creativity and organizational learning, but externalization does not. (2) Both organizational creativity and organizational learning have positive impacts on organizational performance. (3) The explicitness of knowledge has a moderating effect on the effect of socialization and organizational learning and on the effect of externalization and organizational learning. (4) The degree of organizational knowledge has a moderating effect on the effect of internalization and organizational creativity.

Research in knowledge management has gained much attention in recent years. In the past, the process view that focuses on the creation, organization, sharing, and application of explicit and tacit knowledge has dominated knowledge management research. In this study, we propose an alternative view that examines the dynamic relationships of knowledge from an ecological perspective. The DICE model developed from relevant ecological concepts is proposed. The model consists of four major dimensions in measuring the status of organizational knowledge management: knowledge distribution, interaction, competition and evolution. These four elements interact with each other and evolve over time to form a knowledge ecology in an organization. The DICE model is supported by a qualitative case study in this research. Evidence collected through interviews in a large semi-conductor packaging company indicate the existence of these dimensions. A quantitative survey was then conducted to examine the relationships between these knowledge ecology constructs and organizational performance. The results show that different knowledge ecology do affect knowledge management performance. Therefore, the DICE model can be used to measure the knowledge ecology of an organization and managers can use the model to assess their knowledge ecology and make improvement in order to enhance organizational performance.

The proverb ¡§Knowledge is power¡¨ points out the importance of knowledge. The advancement of information technology and increased competition among enterprises has pushed many researchers to study knowledge management. Most organizations understand the importance of knowledge and treat knowledge as a vital resource. However, it is not quite clear whether knowledge resource can increase organizational performance in the constantly changing environment. Although literature has indicated the key role of knowledge resources and their impact on organizational performance, empirical study is still lacking in this research domain. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between knowledge resources and organizational performance. An empirical study was conducted to evaluate the research model. Major findings include: (1) The degree of knowledge documentation has significant positive effect on the market performance of an organization; (2) Organizational culture and the degree of information technology applications have significant positive effects on both management performance and market performance. Organizational structure has significant positive effects on management performance, but the explicit-orientation of knowledge management strategy has negative effects on both management performance and market performance; (3) The nature of organizational knowledge has a moderating effect on the effect of the degree of information technology applications on management performance. Our findings can help managers and chief knowledge officers better the nature of organizational knowledge and organizational performance in order to cope with the dynamic environment.

This research aims at studying the relationship between the satisfaction on class cluster classroom reflected by teachers in elementary school and its management performance, the main purposes include: 1. To further investigation and study on the basic concept and related theories of class cluster classroom design with open space. 2. To understand the current status of class cluster classroom in Kao-ping area which adopts open space design and the class management performance run by teachers on the class cluster classroom which adopts open space design. 3. To study and analysis on the differences of the satisfaction and the class management performance of class cluster classroom, which adopts open space, reflected by teachers of different background variables. 4. To investigate the relationship and forecasting between the cluster classroom satisfaction and the class management performance reflected by teachers in the elementary school. 5. Suggestions will be proposed based on the study results so as to be used by teachers who practically operate and apply class cluster classroom of open space and by persons who are going to perform planning on school building of open space in the elementary school. ¡§Questionnaire survey¡¨ will be the main method used in this study, the sampled targets will be from all the teachers, who adopt open space in designing class cluster classroom, in the schools of Kaohsiung City, Kaohsiung County and Pingtung County; the number questionnaires are about 356 copies and a total of 310 effective questionnaires are recycled. The research tool in this study is self-developed ¡§A questionnaire on the relationship between class cluster classroom with open space design and the class management performance¡¨, statistical methods used include: descriptive statistical analysis, independent sample t test, single factor ANOVA (analysis on variance), Pearson product-moment correlation, stepwise multiple regression analysis, etc. The following conclusions are derived based on the results of this study: 1. Teachers have above-average evaluation on class cluster classroom with open space design. 2. Class cluster teachers in elementary schools have higher class management performance. 3. For teachers in Kaohisung city, teachers with part-time administrative duties, teachers in L shape class cluster module or teachers with 2 years (included) or below of teaching experiences in this school show higher satisfaction on the class cluster classroom adopting open space design. 4. For teachers in schools of Kaohsiung city, in schools of L shape and ¡§Arc¡¨ shape class cluster modules,all show better class management performance. 5. Class cluster classrooms adopting open space design is helpful in improving class management performance. 6. Among all background variables such as teacher¡¦s background, class cluster classroom adopting open space design, etc., ¡§city of school served¡¨ and ¡§accessory equipment and space¡¨ have the highest forecasting power on the class management performance of teachers. The researcher of this study would like to propose the following suggestions based on the findings and conclusions of this study: 1. To improve school space to drive the core engine of educational reform. 2. To need government¡¦s policy support to activate space function of campus. 3. To let the users to participate so as to inspire the idea of like-to-teach and like-to-learn. 4. To build appropriate space to inspire innovative momentum of teachers. 5. To take good use of space resource to realize class management synergy. 6. To continue research and evaluation and continue the dialogue between people and space. 7. Future research study: to include suggestions on research aims, tools and methods.

In recent years, domestic medicine companies limited by total value pay system can be regarded as depressing business. While some of medicine companies have been gradually losing their advantages, they, in addition to moving the production base to other countries, hope to find the suitable management system which completely subvert the way of thinking and traditional management skills as well for the purpose of improving the performance and competitiveness of company. Balanced Score Card (BSC) was proposed in 1990 by Kaplan & Norton. This set of management systems is to establish company's vision and mission. According to the survey, BSC has already been introduced by a lot of listed companies or non-listed companies to enhance the business performance. Therefore, we can know that BSC has deeply influenced the operation of Taiwan's companies of. BSC breaks through the traditional limitation to measure the performance in financial views , constructs four major aspects to inspect operation of companies in terms of financials, customers, business internal process and organization learning to grow, and gives consideration to balance between financial performance and non financial performance, balance between long-term goal and short-term goal, balance between internal and external of company, linkage between performance measurement and operation objective, improving management performance measurement system. Application of BSC would convert the organization vision into concrete goal, link the goal with cause-effect relationship, guide the behavior of staff and organization by the performance measurement and incentives, and combine personal goal with company goal. High ranking managers can not only easily communicate with staffs, but also trace back the effectiveness of company operation. However, It is still unable to find out whether the domestic medicine companies selling benign prostatic hyperplasia drugs could use BSC to improve its company performances or not. So, this research selects domestic medicine companies selling benign prostatic hyperplasia drugs as research object and investigates the effect of four major aspects such as financials, customers, business internal process and organization learning to grow, and influences of BSC on company's performance. Also, through qusetionaires and surveys, it would help domestic medicine companies selling benign prostatic hyperplasia drugs to set up the effective BSC system to raise company performance. The result of study can be offered to domestic medicine companies selling benign prostatic hyperplasia drugs as reference in the future.