Venture Capital Meets Industrial Sector and Location

This paper examines venture capital investment activity in the United States during the period 1995 to the first quarter 2009, taking into consideration both location and industry sector. The research question is whether industry and region are important factors in determining venture capital investment. Furthermore, the paper explores the effects of macroeconomic variables on investment activity. Consequently, the venture capital data are augmented by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Federal Funds Rate, three, five and ten year interest rates. By examining long term trends, the effect of the current economic crisis on venture capital investment may be better understood.Venture Capital; Economic Geography; Location; Biotechnology; Business Products and Services; Computers and Peripherals; Consumer Products and Services; Electronics and Instrumentation; Financial Services; Healthcare Services; Industrial and Energy; Information Technology Services; Media and Entertainment; Medical Devices and Equipment; Networking and Equipment; Retailing and Distribution; Semiconductors; Software; Telecommunications

Best Practices In Operations Executive Information Systems Software Development And Implementation

In this paper we identify best industry practices and current trends in the development and management of software products. We discuss the strategic importance of developing appropriate operational capabilities that are prerequisites for achieving marketing success. We illustrate these concepts with examples from software companies to highlight how they achieved the desired balance between market demands and operational resources. Finally, we highlight the benefits these companies had derived from such an alignment

When Software Meets the Road: Responsibility for Defective Smart Cars in the MVP Era

This Article reveals and analyzes the rising dominance of the Minimal Viable Product (MVP) dynamic in the car industry and its legal and policy implications, especially given the growing automation trends in the driving experience. The MVP concept refers to releasing products as soon as possible and gathering feedback from early adopters to improve the product on the fly, based on users’ inputs. Many software-related products we use today were introduced at such an unripe stage and were developed into their current versions, given business trends originating from Silicon Valley. As the use of software in cars has grown, the MVP concept has migrated into the vehicle industry. The experimental nature of software development may require a different legal approach when dealing with vehicles, given the substantial negative impact of traffic accidents. While banning unripe products from the roads seems to be a trivial reaction, different reasons deem this to be an unpractical response. The domination of AI-based technologies prevents a thorough examination of user-computer responses until they hit the road. The shortage of current legal remedies to adequately solve the challenges of the MVP concept requires an immediate rethinking of the regulatory environment to address vehicles with various forms of automation while accounting for both deontological and utilitarian challenges. The Article starts by describing the software industry’s “Agile” methods and introduces the MVP concept, while providing examples of its success and failure. Next, it demonstrates and provides examples as to how this concept migrated into the car industry. Thereafter, it turns to address the deontological challenges involved with applying the MVP method and argues that not only does the use of technologies in such an early stage require meaningful consent, but also approval of an ethics board in an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-like process. Next, the Article focuses on a utilitarian analysis, after first establishing that the current measures to limit risky vehicles on the road are insufficient. To do so it addresses reliance on recalls, ex-ante supervision, and regulation of software distribution. It points to the complexities of the driving experience which might only be properly addressed through substantial usage and thus ex post regulation. It further indicates that resolving the noted regulatory tensions by relying on stricter ex post measures premised on the law as it stands today might fail to achieve an optimal outcome. This is due to information asymmetries which might substantially hinder effective litigation by plaintiffs. The Article concludes by providing some initial proposals to mitigate these latter concerns and enable ex post measures. At the end of the day, because MVP products are likely to stay, the Article concludes that some reforms to liability doctrines might be of the essence. These should include mandating manufacturers to record and report their cars’ behavior and rethinking evidentiary burdens

Evolution of Software Testing Strategies and Trends: Semantic Content Analysis of Software Research Corpus of the Last 40 Years

From the early days of computer systems to the present, software testing has been considered as a crucial process that directly affects the quality and reliability of software-oriented products and services. Accordingly, there is a huge amount of literature regarding the improvement of software testing approaches. However, there are limited reviews that show the whole picture of the software testing studies covering the topics and trends of the field. This study aims to provide a general figure reflecting topics and trends of software testing by analyzing the majority of software testing articles published in the last 40 years. A semi-automated methodology is developed for the analysis of software testing corpus created from core publication sources. The methodology of the study is based on the implementation of probabilistic topic modeling approach to discover hidden semantic patterns in the 14,684 published articles addressing software testing issues between 1980 and 2019. The results revealed 42 topics of the field, highlighting five software development ages, namely specification, detection, generation, evaluation, and prediction. The recent accelerations of the topics also showed a trend toward prediction-based software testing actions. Additionally, a higher trend on the topics concerning “Security Vulnerability”, “Open Source” and “Mobile Application” was identified. This study showed that the current trend of software testing is towards prediction-based testing strategies. Therefore, the findings of this study may provide valuable insights for the industry and software communities to be prepared for the possible changes in the software testing procedures using prediction-based approaches.publishedVersio

Cash Flow Trends and Their Fundamental Drivers: A Continuing Look Comprehensive Industry Review (Qtr 4, 2008)

This research report is one of a series that looks at the cash flow performance of Corporate America. Our primary focus is on free cash margin, or free cash flow measured as a percent of revenue. We also look at the drivers or components of free cash margin in an effort to determine factors behind observed changes. In the current study we conduct a comprehensive review of 20 four-digit GICS non-financial industries and their 61 six-digit GICS sub-industries for a series of rolling twelve-month periods from the first quarter of 2000 through the fourth quarter of 2008. Recession notwithstanding, due to declining capital expenditures and reduced working capital requirements, free cash margin held up reasonably well during the twelve months ended December 2008. The metric declined to 4.12%, down from a high of 5.14% reached in June 2004, and more recently, the 4.93% level reached in December 2007 and 4.44% in September 2008. With free cash margin at 4.12%, corporate America is generating 4.12 cents of free cash flow for every dollar of revenue generated. The number of industries experiencing declining free cash margin increased from our last report. For our sample as a whole, free cash margin last bottomed at 2.43% during the 2001 recession. We continue to believe that during the current recession, free cash margin will likely decline to levels that are at or below those found in the 2001 recession, suggesting a continuing contraction of free cash flow of 50% or more from current levels. However, a continuing focus on maintaining low working capital levels and reduced capital expenditures may leave companies better off on a cash flow basis than they were in 2001

Understanding Occupational and Skill Demand in New Jersey's Finance Industry

The finance industry in New Jersey employs over 200,000 people. Many more workers benefit from the state's proximity to the finance industry in New York City. Jobs in the industry are evolving rapidly in response to national and global trends, such as deregulation, increasingly complex laws, and new technologies. As jobs change, skill requirements for both entry-level and incumbent workers increase. This report summarizes the skill, knowledge, and educational requirements of key finance occupations and identifies strategies for meeting the workforce challenges facing the industry

A Banker’s Perspective on the Financial Crisis

During the last several years Robert Amzallag as Senior Fellow at CIRANO has taken an active interest in the research and transfer activities undertaken by the Finance Group. He has suggested initiatives that would be relevant to the financial industry in Montreal, particularly in derivative products and concerning practical issues in governance at the director’s level. As the former President and CEO at BNP Paribas (Canada), Mr. Amzallag is certainly well placed to offer insightful commentary on the financial crisis that has preoccupied us over the last several months. Mr. Amzallag’s presentation combines a retrospective analysis of root causes of the crisis followed by some thoughts on what’s to come. As to causes, he isolates three trends that have been gathering force over several decades. These include the erosion of certain stabilizing factors, particularly in the credit market, that has lead to extreme concentrations of risk. Looking to the future, Mr. Amzallag cautiously explores the consequences of several scenarios or responses to the crisis. The first two represent the pursuit of policies reflecting established political sensibilities involving different degrees of government intervention. The third represents a more thoughtful re-appraisal of the different functions that the key players—governments, central banks, regulators and financial institutions —should pursue and should be left to pursue. We have also invited CIRANO Fellow Michel Magnan, Professor of Accounting at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business to present an overview of the controversy surrounding marking to market, an issue highlighted by Mr. Amzallag as an important aspect of the crisis. Professor Michel Magnan takes up the technical but crucial issue of whether fair-value accounting [FVA] was an inadvertent messenger of the financial crisis or was an actual contributor to the crisis. The point is far from academic. By way of appendices to these presentations, the Finance Group has prepared a graphic tool that permits the time-series presentation of key financial indicators against the historical background of the crisis. As well, we have prepared a primer on structured products, including synthetic CDOs, that have played a lead role in the current crisis. This presentation leads naturally to the software module developed at CIRANO that explores the risk management dimensions of these products.

Дослідження системи операційного менеджменту організації, на прикладі Apple Computer, Inc

The object of investigation is the process of managing of operating activities of Apple, Inc. The aim of the work is to formulate theoretical approaches and to develop practical recommendations on directions of improvement of operating management at the organization. Research methods cover methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, detailing, system approach. This master’s research paper analyzes the operational management of Apple, Inc. and provides recommendations for it’s improvement. In particular, the main directions of solving the problems of operational management of the company have been outlined, the proposals on improvement of expansion distribution network and organization of innovative activity of the Apple Inc. have been made.Об'єкт дослідження ‒ процес управління операційною діяльністю компанії Apple, Inc. Мета дослідження - формування теоретичних підходів та розробка практичних рекомендацій щодо напрямів вдосконалення системи операційного менеджменту компанії Apple, Inc. Методи дослідження: методи аналізу, синтезу, порівняння, деталізації, системний підхід. У роботі проведено аналіз операційного менеджменту Apple, Inc., а також викладені рекомендації щодо його вдосконалення. Зокрема, окреслено основні напрями вирішення проблем операційного менеджменту компанії, внесено пропозиції щодо розширення дистриб’юторської мережі, а також вдосконалення організації інноваційної діяльності Apple Inc.Introduction 6 CHAPTER 1 THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT 8 1.1 Meanings and definition of operational management 8 1.2 Principles and methods of operations management 12 1.3 Factors affecting the Operations activity of Apple Inc. company 21 CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS 31 2.1 Сompany introduction 31 2.2 SWOT - analysis of Apple Inc. Company 46 2.3 Analysis of operation management at Apple Inc 50 CHAPTER 3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING OF OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT AT THE APPLE INC 63 3.1 The main directions of solving operational management problems of the company 63 3.2 Recommendations concerning improvements of Distribution in the organization 65 3.3 Recommendations concerning improvements of innovative activity at the organization 67 CHAPTER 4 SPECIAL PART 73 4.1 Current trends in the field 73 4.2 Company policy in the market 75 CHAPTER 5 RATIONALE FOR RECOMMENDATIONS 77 5.1 Statement for recommendations at Company 77 CHAPTER 6 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY AT THE ENTERPRISE 79 6.1 The aim of occupational health 79 6.2 Organization of occupational health and safety at the enterprise 86 CHAPTER 7 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 92 7.1 Environmental issues in the field 92 7.2 Еnvironmental factors 94 Conclusions 96 References 98 Appendices 10

Ready for Tomorrow: Demand-Side Emerging Skills for the 21st Century

As part of the Ready for the Job demand-side skill assessment, the Heldrich Center explored emerging work skills that will affect New Jersey's workforce in the next three to five years. The Heldrich Center identified five specific areas likely to generate new skill demands: biotechnology, security, e-learning, e-commerce, and food/agribusiness. This report explores the study's findings and offers recommendations for improving education and training in New Jersey

The state of the art in e-business: A case study from the Chinese construction industry

In the 21st century, e-business is seen as the new frontier. Currently e-business has been widely used in other industry and to some extent in global construction market, particularly in developed countries, such as UK, EU and USA. Evidence of performance and success stories shows that the implementation of e-business is already delivering high improvement and innovation in construction project planning, design, delivery and management. However, the current performance of e-business in the emerging market, such as India and China is limited. China, as the world’s second largest economy after the United States, has the world fastest growing economy, averaging 10% growth of the past 30 years. The domestic construction industry is booming in both infrastructure and building construction sectors. It is predicted that nearly half of the world’s new building construction will be in China by 2015. In a similar way to other countries, there is a great potential for China to implement e-business in the construction industry in order to improve its productivity and competitiveness. This paper initially explains the concept of e-Business and its impacts in construction industry and reviews the development of Chinese construction industry over last two decades. A case study of one of the largest Chinese construction IT Companies is carried out to further analyse benefits, challenges and the market potential of e-business in China. This study provides a better and deeper understanding of the different characteristics of the implementation and capability of e-business in Chinese construction industry