Risk management and risk control for state-owned firms of China

As global economic integration deepens and enterprises scale up their business, the enterprise groups have become the mainstream of the company's development form. Subsidiaries of the Company have grown in size and increasingly diversified. Thus how does the parent Company control its subsidiaries effectively has become an urgent challenge, especially for the state-owned enterprises in China. This thesis studies the management and control of state-owned enterprises in China, carrying certain theoretical and practical significance. The research examined the theory and mechanism of management of SOEs, and evaluation on employee performance. It also analyzed performance evaluation, coordination and risk control strategies of SOEs' subsidiaries. The same studies were repeated on state-owned enterprise groups and extended to the strategies of risk management and risk control. The thesis first examined the conundrum of effective cooperation between subsidiaries of different departments and the parent company for efficient allocation of resources. To tackle this headache, the IAHP and DEA model were adopted to help group decision makers better measure the performance of employees and organizations. The thesis used the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) tool as the main principle and the combination of fuzzy mathematics and Delphi and entropy weight methods as the main methodology to assess the performance. In addition, a novel method of using multi-reasoning, multi-dimensional and dynamic factors was developed to assess the performance of SOE employees, and this method was proven to be effective. Moreover, the super-efficiency DEA model which takes into account work performance, work ability, work attitude, job potential and other factors in the evaluation on employee performance was developed and tested. Finally, risk map for SOEs was proposed and evaluated

Improving the performance of accounting information systems of commercial banks in Jordan by using the balanced scorecard approach

The continuous development of information technology in the modern word affects the performance of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) in Jordanian business organizations, including commercial banks, in many respects, including: its objectives, strategies, nature of work and instruments that achieve its objectives. Hence, the traditional AIS needs to be reviewed since it requires new instruments to determine, measure and present accounting information in order to adapt to the requirements of modern technology and competition factors.The problem of this study stems from the ignorance of some commercial banks in Jordan about the impact of AIS on the level of banks' success in performing their various banking business, indicating that AIS is not used efficiently and effectively. Also, the problem stems from the great interest in AIS from other commercial banks in Jordan, although they are unable to take full advantage of AIS and what it can offer. With the prominent presence and effective role that could be played by companies of systems, programs and communications in Jordan in formulating the level of service performance of banks in Jordan, ignorance of AIS on the part of these commercial banks would negatively impact on their market share and effective performance, bilaterally, jointly, and their competitive position.Despite the argument of many commercial banks in Jordan that AIS is an important aspect of their daily operations, there are still some factors that limit the effectiveness of AIS performance. Hence, various critical problems emerged for the commercial banks, which are the main problems addressed by this study. First, specific technology in any AIS field might prevent it from being effective; second, it may prevent the production of credible information for stakeholders; third, it will hinder any technical progress in its control operations. This would negatively affect bank's performance in terms of providing highly efficient, low-cost services, and decrease its competence and competitiveness both internally and externally.Considering the negative reflections discussed in the previous section, it is noted that the impact of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) problems on AIS performance in the commercial banks in Jordan is a pressing and significant issue, especially in the KPIs field that enhances AIS performance. The problem that the researcher identifies to solve in this study is: What are the KPIs that will improve the accounting information systems' performance in the commercial banks in Jordan? This needs to address the question arising from the absence of a strategic vision in the literature to develop and improve the AIS professional performance in commercial banks in Jordan. Also, it highlights the importance of investigating the KPIs that lead to improving AIS performance in the commercial banks in Jordan.To improve AIS performance in commercial bank in Jordan, Balance Scorecard (BSC) as an integrated system of performance measures from the financial and non-financial perspectives, such as: financial, customers, internal business process, learning and growth, and internal control have been used. KPIs related to these perspectives were revealed and identified classified, and their relationships with, and their effects and influence on, the effectiveness of AIS performance in those banks, were examined. On the other hand, analyses were made for the all BSC-AIS elements and their effect on the performance of work strategies and tendencies by using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Analytical Network Process (ANP). The researcher also tested BSC-AIS in the field part, on the society, with emphasis on basic performance improvement stimulants AIS-KPIs, through analysing the questionnaire's results, using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programme. Then, analysed each element based on each of the five perspectives. A comparison was conducted between the analysis results of SPSS and analysis results of AHP/ANP, in order to get final KPIs to be adopted as a basic criterion to conduct the comparison between fact and the expected AIS future performance. Furthermore, the study suggests ten recommendations to be implemented by the commercial banks in Jordan in order to improve the performance of AIS.Finally, the study produced results that facilitate the establishment of a comprehensive AIS strategy intended to achieve, and maintain a competitive advantage, provide the attributes that produce comprehensive information for different stakeholders, improve and maintain the internal control systems. This study concluded that all of these elements together lead to the development and improvement of AIS performance in the commercial banks in Jordan, thereby improving AIS operational performance with different materiality determined by the relationship between the target elements and objectives

Sustainable Supply Chain Management

The book is a collection of studies dedicated to different perspectives of three dimensions or pillars of the sustainability of supply chain and supply chain management - economic, environmental, and social - and other aspects related to performance evaluation, optimization, and modelling of and for sustainable supply chain management, and thus presents another valuable contribution to sustainable development and sustainable way of life

Strategic hybrid approach for selecting suppliers of high-density polyethylene

Supplier selection is an important process for companies in the plastic sector due to its influence on firm performance and competitiveness. For a proper selection, a number of criteria from different aspects need to be considered by decision makers. Yet, as in different fields, because there are numerous criteria and alternatives to be considered in the plastic industry, choosing an appropriate multicriteria decision-making approach has become a critical step for selecting suppliers. Therefore, the aim of this research is to define the most suitable supplier of high-density polyethylene through the integration of powerful multicriteria decision-making methods. For this purpose, the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) is initially applied to define initial weights of factors and subfactors under uncertainty, followed by the use of decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) to evaluate interrelations between the elements of the hierarchy. Then, after combining FAHP and DEMATEL to calculate the final contributions of both factors and subfactors on the basis of interdependence, the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution is used to assess the supplier alternatives. In addition, this paper also explores the differences between the judgments of decision makers for both AHP and DEMATEL methods. To do these, a case study is presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach

The MinK Framework: An Integrated Framework to Assess Individual Knowledge in Organisational Context.

Knowledge is the currency of the global economy, the foundation of wealth creation, and the sole antecedent of sustainable competitive advantage in today’s markets. In the current business environment, success of organisations is dependent upon their ability to develop and implement resilient Knowledge Management (KM) strategies to leverage and exploit their knowledge assets. Yet, knowledge is intrinsically linked to individuals and their exclusive abilities to create, share and apply knowledge thereby creating value for their organisations. Knowledge holders are without doubt the valuable assets which lead the increasing velocity of organisational transformation in order to cope with market pressures and confront uncertainty. Effectual KM thus implicates knowledge assessment capability that enables the identification of knowledge holders within the firm and accordingly optimises the allocation of knowledge assets. Identifying and retaining knowledge holders requires a systematic KM initiative to help managers assess the individual knowledge of their employees and hence formulate and evaluate knowledge management and retention strategies. This research therefore attempts to focus on knowledge assessment practice and explores the underlying constructs of individual knowledge in the organisational context. In light of the knowledge-based view of the firm[1][2][3], a comprehensive theoretical model highlights the crucial role of individuals in organisational knowledge dynamics based on seminal KM theories of Stocks and Flows of Knowledge[4], Intellectual Capital[5] [6] [7], and the SECI Model of Knowledge Creation[8]. Evolving from this conceptual foundation, the MinK framework is proposed as an innovative framework that endows organisations in delineating knowledge stocks and visualising knowledge flows by providing an integrated assessment platform for decision makers. The presented framework ensures that individual knowledge is accurately assessed from a number of perspectives using a well-defined set of theoretically grounded and industry validated indicators stemming from a multi-dimensional scorecard. Flexibility is embedded in the MinK framework, allowing managers to customise the key measures according to the firm’s specific context. Adopting the 360-degree approach, the assessment process uses self evaluations and multi-source knowledge appraisals to provide rich and insightful results. An Individual Knowledge Index (IK-Index) that denotes the overall knowledge rating of each employee is another research outcome spanning out of a unique formula that combines a number of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques to consolidate assessment results into a single reflective numeral. The incorporation of technology enables the complete automation of the assessment process and helps to address parametric multiplicity and arithmetic complexity. Armed with advances in Information Technology, the MinK Web System offers a user-friendly interface supported by a sophisticated computational module and a smart deep learning algorithm to ensure the efficiency, security, and accuracy of the assessment process. Companies that used MinK in the pilot study have described the framework as an accurate assessment solution which can enable managers to make informed decisions, particularly in human capital planning. Such an approach balances the art and science of KM while taking into account the culture and dynamics of the organisation. Ultimately, this research advocates a people-centric KM approach that places the individual knowledge holder at the core of KM activity, and suggests that effective KM is essentially effective management of knowledge workers

The Trilogy of Science: Filling the Knowledge Management Gap with Knowledge Science and Theory

The international knowledge management field has different ways of investigating, developing, believing, and studying knowledge management. Knowledge management (KM) is distinguished deductively by know-how, and its intangible nature establishes different approaches to KM concepts, practices, and developments. Exploratory research and theoretical principles have formed functional intelligences from 1896 to 2013, leading to a knowledge management knowledge science (KMKS) concept that derived a grounded theory of knowledge activity (KAT). This study addressed the impact of knowledge production problems on KM practice. The purpose of this qualitative meta-analysis study was to fit KM practice within the framework of knowledge science (KS) study. Themed questions and research variables focused on field mechanisms, operative functions, principle theory, and relationships of KMKS. The action research used by American practitioners has not established a formal structure for KS. The meta-data-analysis examined 385 transdisciplinary peer-reviewed articles using social science, service science, and systems science databases, with a selection of interdisciplinary studies that had a practice-research-theory framework. Key attributes utilizing Boolean limiters, words, phrases and publication dates, along with triangulation, language analysis and coding through analytic software identified commonalities of the data under study. Findings reflect that KM has not become a theoretically saturated field. KS as the forensic science of KM creates a paradigm shift, causes social change that averts rapid shifts in management direction and uncertainty, and connects KM philosophy and science of knowledge. These findings have social change implications by informing the work of managers and academics to generate a methodical applied science

Evaluation and improvement on service quality of Chinese university libraries under new information environments.

The rapid development of information technology in the recent years has added a range of new featuresto the traditional information environment, which has a profound impact on university library services and users. The Quality of Service parameter in library services has reached a broader consensus,which directly reflects customer satisfactions and loyalty. Exploring the evaluation frameworks for service quality in university libraries cannot be undermined in this context. Besides, existing evaluation frameworks of service quality of university library services are also facing numerous challenges due to their imperfections. Thus,there is an urgency and necessity to explore and enhance the efficiencies of the evaluation frameworks of service quality. To this end, this thesis conducts a systematic analysisof evaluation frameworks with a motivation of identifying the core components that needs enhancements for achieving effective service quality in Chinese university libraries through empirical methods. Furthermore, the inferences extracted from the analysis has been exploited to provide suitable recommendations for improving the service quality of university libraries.N/

Social and legal aspects of the development of civil society institutions. Part I

This collective monograph offers the description and analysis of the formation and development of civil society institutions at various levels of government in the field of politics, economics, education and culture. The authors of individual chapters have chosen such point of view for the topic which they considered as the most important and specific for their field of study. Theoretical and applied problems and the existing legal base of practical activities of civil society institutions in the context of growing interdependence of economic, cultural, demographic, political, environmental processes are investigated. The prospects for the further development of civil society and its institutions, their relations with the state, as well as the promotion of the participation of civil society organizations in socio-economic development

Studies of strategic performance management for classical organizations theory & practice

Nowadays, the activities of "Performance Management" have spread very broadly in actually every part of business and management. There are numerous practitioners and researchers from very different disciplines, who are involved in exploring the different contents of performance management. In this thesis, some relevant historic developments in performance management are first reviewed. This includes various theories and frameworks of performance management. Then several management science techniques are developed for assessing performance management, including new methods in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Soft System Methodology (SSM). A theoretical framework for performance management and its practical procedures (five phases) are developed for "classic" organizations using soft system thinking, and the relationship with the existing theories are explored. Eventually these results are applied in three case studies to verify our theoretical development. One of the main contributions of this work is to point out, and to systematically explore the basic idea that the effective forms and structures of performance management for an organization are likely to depend greatly on the organizational configuration, in order to coordinate well with other management activities in the organization, which has seemingly been neglected in the existing literature of performance management research in the sense that there exists little known research that associated particular forms of performance management with the explicit assumptions of organizational configuration. By applying SSM, this thesis logically derives some main functional blocks of performance management in 'classic' organizations and clarifies the relationships between performance management and other management activities. Furthermore, it develops some new tools and procedures, which can hierarchically decompose organizational strategies and produce a practical model of specific implementation steps for "classic" organizations. Our approach integrates popular types of performance management models. Last but not least, this thesis presents findings from three major cases, which are quite different organizations in terms of management styles, ownership, and operating environment, to illustrate the fliexbility of the developed theoretical framework