Controller as business manager

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/2707/thumbnail.jp

Ill. teach. home econ. (1973)

Description based on: Vol. 17, no. 2 (Nov.-Dec. 1973); title from cover.Education index 0013-1385 -1992Current index to journals in education 0011-3565Bibliography of agriculture 0006-153

Responsible AI and Analytics for an Ethical and Inclusive Digitized Society

publishedVersio

Product support and the new product development process

Product support is a key aspect in the industrial marketing of not only high-technology products but also heavy goods and software applications, since it strongly influences customer satisfaction and can also be an important source of revenue. Typical elements of product support include installation, user training, equipment maintenance and, if necessary, repair - all of these are normally provided by manufacturers’ support organisations. Despite its importance to several industries, support has not been extensively researched. This study describes the involvement of the support organisation in the new product development process. Several authors have identified that product support is dependent on product design. Consequently, the same authors emphasise that support should be thoroughly evaluated during product design. This study identifies the elements of product support that may be evaluated and shows in detail how four companies in different industrial sectors evaluate support when developing new products. To further investigate the topic, two similar products per company were selected: one easy and one difficult to support. The study investigated the differences in the development between the two products in terms of product support input in the new product development process. The results show that all companies had product support participating in their new product development processes, however product support was more involved in the easy than in the difficult to support products. Compared to other research works and research publications, this research project took a step deeper inside the NPD teams in order to investigate the involvement of product support, the actions and targets set and the influence of product support. Consequently, the study provides a foundation from which there is real scope for further management research into what is becoming recognised as a vital element of industrial marketing

The Critical Success Factors of Quality Assurance and Measurement Practice in the Software Industry

In this thesis I analyse how QA and measurement programmes are implemented in the software industry. My thesis is that, contrary to popular belief, how companies implement QA and measurement is as important to the ultimate success of a programme as what QA and measurement tools and techniques are implemented. I have combined input from over 300 software developers and managers in 26 different companies, with the analysis of all the relevant publicly available information on companies’ experiences to produce a definitive study into implementing QA and measurement in the software industry. In this study I: • identify those QA and measurement practices considered to be state-of-the-art; • quantify the penetration of state-of-the-art practices; • report on the state-of-the-practice; • assess the effectiveness of the state-of-the-practice; • present guidelines for improved practice. I tested a variety of hypotheses about implementing QA and measurement programmes. My key findings about these hypotheses include: • Some companies have a large gap between what is officially said to be implemented and what is actually implemented. • Practitioners had a significant impact on the success of programmes. Furthermore, I confirmed my hypotheses about managers and developers having different attitudes to QA and measurement. However, I was unable to find convincing evidence to confirm that the demographics of practitioners affected their attitudes. • Many of my hypotheses about the implementation process were confirmed. In particular I found that doing background research was related to success, but that very few companies did research. However, I was unable to find convincing evidence to confirm the importance of feedback to practitioners. Overall my study reveals that the quality of the implementation process across the software industry is, in practice, very poor. Indeed, I show that the gap between state-of-the-art and state-of-the practice is large. I conclude that until the software industry puts as much effort into developing strategies for implementing QA and measurement as it does into developing tools and techniques, then effective and optimised programmes will remain rare

Safety and Reliability - Safe Societies in a Changing World

The contributions cover a wide range of methodologies and application areas for safety and reliability that contribute to safe societies in a changing world. These methodologies and applications include: - foundations of risk and reliability assessment and management - mathematical methods in reliability and safety - risk assessment - risk management - system reliability - uncertainty analysis - digitalization and big data - prognostics and system health management - occupational safety - accident and incident modeling - maintenance modeling and applications - simulation for safety and reliability analysis - dynamic risk and barrier management - organizational factors and safety culture - human factors and human reliability - resilience engineering - structural reliability - natural hazards - security - economic analysis in risk managemen

An Investigation of Factors Affecting the Adoption of E-payment System in Libya

Electronic payment systems (EPS) have received considerable attention from researchers and business owners worldwide, because of their potential to support economic development and growth. Despite the significant contribution of the growth in EPS to the ability to complete transactions via the Internet, Libya lags significantly behind developed countries in its adoption of EPS. This research focuses on factors affecting EPS adoption and use in Libya, explaining how they positively or negatively affect Libyan customers and organisations‟ willingness to adopt EPS. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders, including consumers, organisational staff (e.g. Telecommunications Companies, Banks, the Ministry of Telecommunication and Informatics, etc.), and strategic decision-makers (e.g. the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Communications, Director of Islamic Banking at Bank of Republic). The research implements Grounded Theory methods (GT), in particular the Straussian approach, to analyse, explore, and investigate the socio-organisational, technical, political, and economic factors affecting the adoption of EPS in Libya, and importantly the relationship between these factors. It discusses the impact of the factors identified, from both organisational and consumer perspectives, highlighting the factors and issues that need to be overcome to support successful adoption of EPS. The findings confirm that, for consumers and organisations alike, economic factors (e.g. perceived benefits, cooperation with existing entities, mutuality of stakeholders, Internet costs, standard of living, marketing businesses, awareness, withdrawal control, XX feasibility studies on EPS implementation, Islamic banking services and competition) are the core factors influencing the system‟s adoption. Furthermore, the findings revealed three new and significant factors of relevance to Libya, including standard of living, post coding and the unstable political situation in the country. These represent a unique contribution to the body of knowledge, illustrating the attitude of the Libyan people toward Internet usage, and current obstacles to EPS adoption. The use of substantive GT, in particular the Straussian approach, for data collection and data analysis in the field of EPS adoption, and the assessment of organisational and consumer attitudes, is unique to this research to the best of the researcher‟s knowledge. Thus, the research embodies a substantial contribution to the body of knowledge. The interpretive analysis of data using a Straussian approach has permitted the researcher to attain a deep understanding of the socio-organisational, economic, political, and technical factors affecting adoption of an E-payment system in Libya, as implemented by different stakeholders: Consumers, and Organisational. The benefits that the adoption of EPS in Libya will bring, include facilitation of online transactions, the availability of more secure websites, easier payment and access to the global markets. Furthermore, detailed recommendations are also being offered to assist decision-makers in the development and introduction of EPS in Libya, i.e. including the Communications and Informatics Ministry, which is hoped will advise internet service providers and companies to discount the cost of using the internet for limited bandwidths, in order to insure everyone access to the internet, and EPS

Ethical purchase behaviour and social responsibility in business

This thesis is about the decisions made in markets: whether decisions and what decisions are made by consumers. It isa study in consumer sovereignty and particularly In the way this may be used In ensuring social responsibility In business. Pressure group influence on purchase behaviour, particularly in the use or threat of consumer boycotts, suggests an extension of consumer sovereignty beyond its mere technical meaning within economics to a more literal meaning. Consumer authority in the marketplace may not simply refer to the more immediate characteristics of the offering such as product features or price but, as boycotts show, other charac- teristics such as whether the firm has investments in South Africa. Consumer boycotts are but the most manifest and organised form of purchase behaviour influenced by ethical concerns. Yet ethical purchase behaviour, although found in many markets, is largely unre- cognised In the literature. The novelty of this topic and the perspective on consumer sovereignty entailed an emphasis on conceptualisation in the research. The nature of capitalism and consumer sovereignty, the ideology of marketing, the problem of the social control of business, and pressure groups in the political process and their strategies and tactics, are explored to develop an argument which supports the notion of ethical purchase behaviour. A model is proposed identifying a role for pressure groups In the marketing system, explaining ethical purchase behaviour at the micro level by recognising negative product augmentation. Survey research and case studies support the model and the argument. Guidelines for action are proposed for pressure groups and business, suggesting both seek to influence a legitimacy element in the marketing mix. At a more conceptual level, consumer sovereignty is shown to offer potential for ensuring social responsibility in busi - ness. Of the three mechanisms for social control of business, the market may be used to greater effect through ethical purchase beha- vi our. However, consumer sovereignty requires choice as well as information. Pressure groups may act as a countervailing power by providing the necessary information, but competition is essential for choice. Consumer sovereignty Is the rationale for capitalism, the political- economic system in the West. This study questions the basis of such a system if political or ethical, as well as economic decisions, are not made by consumers in markets. Hence the argument for ethical purchase behaviour becomes an argument for capitalism

A socio-technical systems perspective of the operational delivery of secondary care in the NHS

Waiting has been widely acknowledged as a source o f patient dissatisfaction in the UK, especially the time spent in Hospitals waiting for safe, effective treatments and personal care. Comparison between healthcare systems in the UK and US informed managers, professionals and policy makers seeking to improve patient satisfaction with limited budgets. An emergence o f literature regarding Lean Thinking as a significant global influence in healthcare improvement has followed these comparison. Yet the NHS, with its unique history relating to policy shift, professional dominance and its sheer scale, has been portrayed as slow to change. What then, enables and inhibits healthcare organisations when implementing improvement strategies to reduce patient waiting? Taking an holistic approach, this study investigates the enablers and inhibitors for implementation o f premised high performance principles (Lean Thinking). Theoretically this study is significantly influenced by socio-technical systems theory and is argued from a realist stance. Using a single case, the research investigates major patient flows in secondary healthcare (NHS) to gain insight into the process and outcome o f implementation. Performance results were validated through comparison with two similar organisations. Primary analysis comprises a multi-method, triangulated approach o f interviews, questionnaires, process and performance measurement. The main limitations o f the study are a direct result o f the complexity and diversity o f the NHS. Findings show differences in implementation that arise from the degree o f closeness o f sub-systems related to patient contact. The importance o f middle managers on improvement implementation emerges. The impact o f Professionals and senior managers is greater at the extremes o f performance. The empirical findings from this study provide a contribution o f knowledge regarding the factors required for implementation o f improvement (Lean Thinking) to achieve high performance, culminating in models for practitioner and policy makers, derived from an original research procedure for theory buildin

Partial and impartial criticism in the major literary periodicals, 1800-30.

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