Enhancing competitive advantage for European maritime sector

This poster presentation explores the topic of enhancing competitive advantage for the European maritime sector

Software support for manufacturing operations in Belgian SMEs: one size fits all?

Manufacturing companies face a big challenge to bridge the gap between their business and manufacturing processes. The urge to increase efficiency makes it necessary to align the business and manufacturing processes. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) experience several barriers to adopt software support for manufacturing operations. This paper gives an overview of a research study conducted in Belgian SMEs. The research studied the current adoption of software support for manufacturing operations and the barriers that SMEs experience to invest in this type of software. The study is concluded with a number of considerations to enable the adoption of software support for manufacturing operations by SMEs

The challenge of management of multidimensional enterprises analysed from a logo-poietic perspective

The challenge to multidimensional farm management is analysed and discussed from the perspective of the farm enterprise, explored within a logo-poietic framework as a self-organising system/network. In conclusion, development of management of multidimensional farming takes: a reconstruction of the values, ideas, and meaning around which the farm enterprises are organised, a new way of increase of nonredundant complexity, shifting from dimension reduction to contextualisation, and a development of interactive relationships that facilitate network building of multidimensional farming

Challenges of cloud technology in manufacturing environment

The rapid growth Information systems and advanced network technologies have significant impact on enterprises around the world. Enterprises are trying to gain competitive advantage in open global markets by using the latest technologies, along with advanced networks, to create collaboration, reduce costs, and maximize productivity. The combination of latest technologies and advanced manufacturing networks technologies lead to growth of new manufacturing model named Cloud Manufacturing which can shift the manufacturing industry from product-oriented manufacturing to services-oriented manufacturing. This paper explores the literature about the current Manufacturing problems, understands the concept of Cloud Computing Technology, introduces Cloud Manufacturing and its role in the enterprise, and investigates the obstacles and challenges of adopting Cloud Manufacturing in enterprises

Knowledge formalization in experience feedback processes : an ontology-based approach

Because of the current trend of integration and interoperability of industrial systems, their size and complexity continue to grow making it more difficult to analyze, to understand and to solve the problems that happen in their organizations. Continuous improvement methodologies are powerful tools in order to understand and to solve problems, to control the effects of changes and finally to capitalize knowledge about changes and improvements. These tools involve suitably represent knowledge relating to the concerned system. Consequently, knowledge management (KM) is an increasingly important source of competitive advantage for organizations. Particularly, the capitalization and sharing of knowledge resulting from experience feedback are elements which play an essential role in the continuous improvement of industrial activities. In this paper, the contribution deals with semantic interoperability and relates to the structuring and the formalization of an experience feedback (EF) process aiming at transforming information or understanding gained by experience into explicit knowledge. The reuse of such knowledge has proved to have significant impact on achieving themissions of companies. However, the means of describing the knowledge objects of an experience generally remain informal. Based on an experience feedback process model and conceptual graphs, this paper takes domain ontology as a framework for the clarification of explicit knowledge and know-how, the aim of which is to get lessons learned descriptions that are significant, correct and applicable

Assessing sustainability support to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)

The aim of this paper is to evaluate qualitatively the impact of sustainability support to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) where quantitative results are often difficult to appraise. Many of these organisations require sustainable business support to enable them to start or build their business concepts on sound sustainable platforms. Many SMEs are unable to quantitatively evaluate the benefit which they have received from support programmes because they are in the project planning stage or have limited financial data. Without a form of evaluation, support networks often cannot retain funding support. This paper is based on the grounded theory approach to analyse qualitative data received from participants in a sustainability support programme. Research on such programmes to SMEs is scant. This paper proposes the use of qualitative data collection and its evaluation to be considered when making the case for funding such programmes, along with quantitative data when availabl

Performance measurement in small motels in Australia

This research explores the measurement of performance in small motels. There are many challenges facing business performance management in small firms. Most of these challenges are due to resource shortages, lack of functional expertise and environmental instability. Of major importance to firm survival is the small enterprise owner-manager’s ability to monitor the operations performance. Key components of the monitoring process include the ability to identify key performance indicators to track results as well as an understanding of the most suitable measures to use. Specifically, the study focuses on identifying the key constructs of performance for small firms which include the key components of drivers and results. The specific monitoring and measurement activities of small motel owner-operators were identified using a case research approach. The findings of the study indicate that those owner-managers who operate successful motels employ a balanced approach to performance measurement by utilising a small number of key measures to monitor results and to review management activities

Spin off as an Instrument of Utilising Entrepreneurship of Company Employees

Artykuł jest poświęcony uwarunkowaniom tworzenia firm spin off w kontekście wykorzystania potencjału przedsiębiorczego pracowników firmy. Wskazano, iż przedsiębiorczość pracowników i osobowy transfer wiedzy pełnią ważną rolę w rozwoju gospodarczym, jednocześnie z punktu widzenia konkretnego przedsiębiorstwa może stanowić zarówno szansę, jak i znaczące zagrożenie dla potencjału firmy oraz możliwości zachowania jej przewag konkurencyjnych. Dlatego też spin off został poddany analizie w odniesieniu do strategicznych elementów projektów realizowanych w przedsiębiorstwach. Wskazano ogólną charakterystykę projektów, w ramach których może zostać on wykorzystany w praktyce zarządzania

A polyocular framework for research on multifunctional farming and rural development

The paradox of multifunctionality is that, on the one hand, the specialized functionalities of agriculture only arise because of the functional differentiation of social systems and scientific disciplines and, on the other hand, multifunctionality can only enter as a way to mediate between conflicts, interests and fragmented knowledge when different functions and observations of functions combine. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a theoretical and methodological platform for multidisciplinary research on multifunctional farming. With the notions of polyocular cognition and polyocular communication we introduce a second order, interdisciplinary communication process that can meet the challenge of creating a shared view on multifunctional farming. Polyocular communication must be based on other rules than the rules of the involved disciplines. Whereas disciplinary communication is about providing consistent, efficient and precise knowledge in the context of a sharply delimited research world, polyocular communication is about extending a multidimensional space of understanding