Eco Global Evaluation: Cross Benefits of Economic and Ecological Evaluation

This paper highlights the complementarities of cost and environmental evaluation in a sustainable approach. Starting with the needs and limits for whole product lifecycle evaluation, this paper begins with the modeling, data capture and performance indicator aspects. In a second step, the information issue, regarding the whole lifecycle of the product is addressed. In order to go further than the economical evaluations/assessment, the value concept (for a product or a service) is discussed. Value could combine functional requirements, cost objectives and environmental impact. Finally, knowledge issues which address the complexity of integrating multi-disciplinary expertise to the whole lifecycle of a product are discussing.EcoSD NetworkEcoSD networ

Formalisation and use of competencies for industrial performance optimisation : a survey.

For many years, industrial performance has been implicitly considered as deriving from the optimisation of technological and material resources (machines, inventories,...), made possible by centralized organisations. The topical requirements for reactive and flexible industrial systems have progressively reintroduced the human workforce as the main source of industrial performance. Making this paradigm operational requires the identification and careful formalisation of the link between human resource and industrial performance, through concepts like skills, competencies or know-how. This paper provides a general survey of the formalisation and integration of competence-oriented concepts within enterprise information systems and decision systems, aiming at providing new methods and tools for performance management

Why Social Enterprises Are Asking to Be Multi-stakeholder and Deliberative: An Explanation around the Costs of Exclusion.

The study of multi-stakeholdership (and multi-stakeholder social enterprises in particular) is only at the start. Entrepreneurial choices which have emerged spontaneously, as well as the first legal frameworks approved in this direction, lack an adequate theoretical support. The debate itself is underdeveloped, as the existing understanding of organisations and their aims resist an inclusive, public interest view of enterprise. Our contribution aims at enriching the thin theoretical reflections on multi-stakeholdership, in a context where they are already established, i.e. that of social and personal services. The aim is to provide an economic justification on why the governance structure and decision-making praxis of the firm needs to account for multiple stakeholders. In particular with our analysis we want: a) to consider production and the role of firms in the context of the “public interest” which may or may not coincide with the non-profit objective; b) to ground the explanation of firm governance and processes upon the nature of production and the interconnections between demand and supply side; c) to explain that the costs associated with multi-stakeholder governance and deliberation in decision-making can increase internal efficiency and be “productive” since they lower internal costs and utilise resources that otherwise would go astray. The key insight of this work is that, differently from major interpretations, property costs should be compared with a more comprehensive range of costs, such as the social costs that emerge when the supply of social and personal services is insufficient or when the identification of aims and means is not shared amongst stakeholders. Our model highlights that when social costs derived from exclusion are high, even an enterprise with costly decisional processes, such as the multistakeholder, can be the most efficient solution amongst other possible alternatives

Managing systemic risk in emergency management, organizational resilience and climate change adaptation

Purpose This paper applies the theory of cascading, interconnected and compound risk to the practice of preparing for, managing, and responding to threats and hazards. Our goal is to propose a consistent approach for managing major risk in urban systems by bringing together emergency management, organisational resilience, and climate change adaptation. Design/methodology/approach We develop a theory-building process using an example from the work of the Greater London Authority in the United Kingdom. First, we explore how emergency management approaches systemic risk, including examples from of exercises, contingency plans and responses to complex incidents. Secondly, we analyse how systemic risk is integrated into strategies and practices of climate change adaptation. Thirdly, we consider organisational resilience as a cross cutting element between the approaches. Findings London has long been a champion of resilience strategies for dealing with systemic risk. However, this paper highlights a potential for integrating better the understanding of common points of failure in society and organisations, especially where they relate to interconnected domains and where they are driven by climate change. Originality/value The paper suggests shifting toward the concept of operational continuity to address systemic risk and gaps between Emergency Management, Organizational Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation

Managing systemic risk in emergency management, organizational resilience and climate change adaptation: a science-policy roadmap

In urban systems, major risks need to be managed by bringing together emergency management, organisational resilience and climate change adaptation. In this endeavour, policy making must make use of disaster science. This chapter applies the theory of cascading, interconnected and compound risk to the practice of preparing for, managing and responding to threats and hazards. This methodology is illustrated with an example from the United Kingdom, namely the work of the Greater London Authority and its partner organisations. London has long been a champion of resilience strategies for dealing with systemic risk. The chapter investigates the potential and limitations of this approach. There remains a need to identify common points of failure, especially where they relate to interconnected domains and where they are driven by climate change. Radical new thinking is required in order to ensure operational continuity in the face of growing systemic risk

Traditional And Virtual Performance Management Functions In The Age Of Information Technology

The effects of information technology developments on the traditional roles of managers over the past decades have been extraordinary, especially when we consider the numerous changes these developments have brought to the global environment of business. The paper examines these effects by examining the changing nature of managerial roles in historical and contemporary contexts. The paper briefly describes  managerial roles and functions dating back to the Industrial Revolution and Scientific Management era, with transitions up to the present technological and service-oriented market economies in which the use of information technology (IT) and knowledge have become  vital tools for survival, growth, the  building of competitive advantage, and success in achieving organizational goals. The paper examines the effects of information technology (IT) developments on the role of managers using the four fundamental functions of management theory: planning, organizing, controlling, and leading. The paper concludes with an examination of information technology developments on the roles of managers from a Mintzbergian viewpoint

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main opportunities and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey was defined with the aim to involve the highest possible number of relevant CSR topics and give the issue a more wholesome perspective. It provides a basis for further comprehension and deeper analyses of specific CSR areas. The conditions determining the success of CSR in Romania have been defined in the paper on the basis of the previously cumulative knowledge as well as the results of various researches. This paper provides knowledge which may be useful in the programs promoting CSR.Corporate social responsibility, Supportive policies, Romania

Desenvolvimento de software de simulação num contexto global de negócios

Mestrado em Engenharia e Gestão IndustrialCom a globalização e o aumento de competitividade as empresas viram se forçadas a encontrar novas formas de optimização e de estar constantemente à acrescentar mais valor aos seus produtos. Como resultado, existe uma mudança progressiva para uma perspectiva externa com ênfase na concepção e implementação de novas parcerias estratégicas, que são geralmente nomeadas com o título de gestão da cadeia de abastecimento. No entanto, apesar do florescimento de várias soluções informáticas neste contexto, ainda há vários obstáculos evidentes a superar. Principalmente devido à maior complexidade dos problemas gerados numa rede logística onde existem conflitos resultantes de objectivos locais versus estratégias de integração. A simulação que conta já com um vasto histórico em aplicações industriais poderá revelar-se numa importante mais-valia neste novo âmbito. Esta ferramenta é usada para efectuar análises, estudos, optimizar projectos e identificar novas oportunidades. As empresas actualmente produzem numa rede complexa na maioria das vezes estão presentes em diferentes países, com múltiplas oportunidades de mercado. Normalmente existe a necessidade de produzirem componentes sofisticados que raramente são criados num único local. Isso representa um desafio extra para a plena utilização das ferramentas de simulação. Este trabalho tenta validar a ideia de que há um potencial inexplorado no uso e desenvolvimento de software de simulação. Novas aplicações tecnológicas estão a ser formuladas que tiram partido destes novos parâmetros e dão resposta a um superior número de critérios de eficiência e de produtividade nas empresas. Em conjunto procuram dar uma resposta a estes problemas, bem como integrar plenamente e com sucesso as empresas em novas formas de negócio como a gestão cadeia de abastecimento.The increased level of competitiveness in all industrial sectors, exacerbated in the last years by the globalization of the economies. This is pushing enterprises to find new ways to optimize their processes, and in particular to pursue new forms of collaboration and partnership with their direct logistics counterparts. As a result, at a company level there is a progressive shift towards an external perspective with the design and implementation of new management strategies, which are generally named with the term of supply chain management (SCM). However, despite the flourish of several IT solutions in this context, there are still evident hurdles to overcome. Mainly due to the major complexity of the problems to be tackled in a logistics network and to the conflicts resulting from local objectives versus network strategies. Simulation has now a solid background in manufacturing applications. This tool is used to perform analyses, studies, optimize designs and also identify problems. Companies now produce in a complex environment and most of the times they are present in different countries with different market opportunities, manufacturing intricate products that are seldom created in a single location. This poses an extra challenge for the full use of simulation. This work tries to validate the idea that there is an untapped potential in simulation software. And new forms of distributes simulation techniques are growing to give an answer to these problems as well as fully integrate companies successfully into new ways of business like supply chain management

Decision-making methods in engineering design: a designer-oriented approach

The use of decisional methods for the solution of engineering design problems has to be tackled on a "human" viewpoint. Hence, fundamental is the identification of design issues and needs that become a designer oriented viewpoint. Decision-based methods are systematically classified in MCDM methods, Structured Design methods and Problem Structuring methods. The results are organised in order to provide a first reference for the designer in a preliminary selection of decision-based methods. The paper shows the heterogeneous use of decision-based methods, traditionally expected to solve only some specific design problems, which have been used also in different design contexts. Moreover, several design issues, which emerged from the review process, have been pointed out and discussed accordingly. This review provided useful results for the enlargement of the state of the art on Decision Based Design methods in engineering design contexts