Size-dependent behaviour of functionally graded sandwich microbeams based on the modified couple stress theory

Abstract Static bending, buckling and free vibration behaviours of size-dependent functionally graded (FG) sandwich microbeams are examined in this paper based on the modified couple stress theory and Timoshenko beam theory. To avoid the use of a shear correction factor, equilibrium equations were used to compute the transverse shear force and shear stress. Two types of sandwich beams were considered: (1) homogeneous core and FG skins and (2) FG core and homogeneous skins. Numerical results were presented to illustrate the small scale effects on the behaviours of FG sandwich beams. The results reveals that the inclusion of the size effects results in an increase in the beam stiffness, and consequently, leads to a reduction of deflections and stresses and an increase in natural frequencies and critical buckling loads. Such effects are more pronounced when the beam depth was small, but they become negligible with the increase of the beam depth

Business Process Management 2014 : Status quo und Perspektiven eines ganzheitlichen Geschäftsprozessmanagements : Ergebnisse einer branchenübergreifenden empirischen Studie + Themenfokus "Business Process Management in der Immobilienwirtschaft"

StudieDas Institut für Wirtschaftsinformatik an der ZHAW School of Management and Law führt in regelmässigen Abständen empirische Studien durch, um den Stand und die Perspektiven des Geschäftsprozessmanagements in Unternehmen zu erheben. Die Studie «Business Process Management 2011» ergab, dass Organisationen das Potenzial eines methoden- und IT-gestützten Geschäftsprozessmanagements noch nicht vollumfänglich ausschöpfen. Die vorliegende Studie baut hierauf auf und untersucht, wie sich Organisationen im deutschsprachigen Raum weiter in Richtung eines ganzheitlichen Geschäftsprozessmanagements entwickelt haben. Die Studie fokussiert die drei Aspekte strategische Orientierung, prozessorientierte Organisation sowie Methoden & Technologien und beabsichtigt, die Ausprägung dieser Gestaltungselemente zu überprüfen, um Rückschlüsse auf den Stand eines ganzheitlichen Geschäftsprozessmanagements in Organisationen im deutschsprachigen Raum zu ziehen. Die branchenübergreifende Analyse wird um einen Branchenfokus «Immobilienwirtschaft» ergänzt

Technology Management Process Framework

The effective management of technology as a source of competitive advantage is of vital importance for many organizations. It is necessary to understand, communicate and integrate technology strategy with marketing, financial, operations and human resource strategies. This is of particular importance when one considers the increasing cost, pace and complexity of technology developments, combined with shortening product life cycles. A five process model provides a framework within which technology management activities can be understood: identification, selection, acquisition, exploitation and protection. Based on this model, a technology management assessment procedure has been developed, using an ``action research'' approach. This paper presents an industrial case study describing the first full application of the procedure within a high-volume manufacturing business. The impact of applying the procedure is assessed in terms of benefits to the participating business, together with improvements to the assessment procedure itself, in the context of the action research framework

Management Evaluation Process

Management Evaluation Process ; Management Evaluation Process Schedule

Participatory process management

Although the process of public and stakeholder participation continues to be intensively investigated and discussed in academic circles, the implementation of participatory methods in practice remains problematic. This can be attributed to the lack of knowledge transfer on the one hand, and the general underestimation of participatory approaches in planning processes on the other.\ud A possible solution - participatory processmanagement - is introduced in this article. Participatory process management means that all participatory activities are embedded in the overall planning activities of a project. The most significant criteria for a participatory process are identified as ’objectives’, ’constraints’ and ’process’which together forma framework for combining generally applicablemethodswith local constraints and the objectives of a project. Themain elements of the participatory management framework introduced here are levels and classes of participation and a generic process scheme includingmonitoring and evaluation of participatory processes. This work is based upon long-term experiences of consultants and scientists. However, the insights from the InterReg project TRUST are particularly valuable and confirm the hypotheses that different water management projects are comparable in terms of their participatory process performance. The participatory management framework is a step forward in closing the gap between scientific knowledge about participatory methods and their applicability in practice

Hybrid process modelling within business process management projects

Business Process Management (BPM) is still an important research topic amongst both academics and businesses. The recent recession has forced businesses to focus on cost control and efficiency in order to better cope with the economic downturn. Many companies in this situation turn to BPM software as a means of improving their efficiency and costs by reducing aspects of the business such as process lead-times and material costs. In order to identify areas of the business and its processes which require changing the business will most likely adopt a method of modelling their business processes. Because of the large number of available techniques decision makers usually struggle to decide the best approach. Recent literature has also pointed out that prevalent modelling techniques are designed to serve one specific purpose and may not be capable of modelling the whole picture. The key relationship between the information systems and the human behaviour is one example of where existing techniques are biased towards opposite ends of the scale. This paper proposes the use of a hybrid modelling notation composed of multiple existing notations in order to bridge this. The hybrid notation was applied to a BPM project at a company in the construction industry and a case study conducted with its users

Knowledge Management: A Discovery Process

Getting strategic about how you organize and redistribute knowledge can help just about anyone achieve their goals more efficiently. We at The McKnight Foundation often find ourselves at the center of meaty, data-rich, analytic conversations. This case study summarizes our yearlong exploration and planning to consume, organize, and share knowledge better

Decision Management Process Improvement Project

A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Project ManagementIt has become all too common that questions are raised during the execution of a project pertaining to the decisions that were made early on. Without having maintained a concise, accessible record of project decisions, the project manager and team members would find it difficult to provide hard evidence as to how they got to this point and what impacts specific decisions had on the project’s trajectory. This paper introduces the Decision Management Process Improvement Project (DMPIP), which focuses on improving decision management process throughout the lifecycle of a project with the aim of adding value to project performance and helping obtain project success. This new tool was inspired due to a lack of appropriate methods involving complex projects at a local consulting firm. The process along with the tool is being added to the toolset of a local Consulting Firm. This Firm plans to introduce the tools and techniques to clients that will benefit from an increased Project Management maturity level with improvements to its decision-tracking processes and demonstration of downstream effects of important decisions. The final product is a contribution to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) in the form of creating a Project Decision Management knowledge area in the PMBOK format. A decision log that follows a decision throughout the whole process from problem identification and analysis to the eventual outcome is at the core of the created knowledge area.Title Page / Table of Contents / List of Exhibits / Abstract / Keywords / Introduction / Project Purpose / Project Benefits / Research Methodology / Research Results Analysis / Project Management Approach / Final Products / Conclusion and Recommendations / Opportunities for Future Development / Reference