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A PERSPECTIVE ON THE EFFECTS OF THE USE OF QUALITY COST INFORMATION ON QUALITY-RELATED LEARNING

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects on quality-related learning resulting from the use of the quality cost information (QCI). More specifically, we intend to analyze to what extent the diagnostic and interactive uses of QCI contribute to the development of quality-related learning. A conceptual model was developed and tested using structural equation modelling. To this end, a questionnaire survey was conducted in Portuguese companies with the ISO 9000 certification. The results of the estimation process shed light on the causal links between the variables, showing that the interactive use of QCI has a positive effect on quality-related learning. Inversely, the diagnostic use hasn’t a direct positive impact on qualityrelated learning. However, the diagnostic use of QCI has an indirect positive impact on learning through the positive effect it on interactive use

Beneficiation of a zinc rich oxidized ore from Nuevo Léon, México

Rich zinc ores are relatively rare now in this country but are still abundant in countries like México, that have not yet developed all their mineral potentialities. In almost all Mexican zinc districts there has been reported sporadic production of oxidized ores, although until now no specially designed plants have been built for the beneficiation of such ores. Generally the zinc carbonate and zinc silicate ores are hand picked and shipped to this country for beneficiation. The Mexican production of zinc ores has never been steady, because of economic factors such as bad transportation systems and lack of market for the product...During the last few years, particularly after the outbreak of the second World War, there has been in México an increasing demand for zinc oxide to be used in the rubber and paint industries. This product has to meed rigid specifications, similar to those established by the Bureau of Standards of this country --Introduction, page 1-2

ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems: Critical Analysis of Literature Review

Purpose and Methodology/Approach: This paper follows a previous one focused on a bibliographic review of motivations, benefits and difficulties in implementing quality management systems (QMS) based on ISO 9001 standard (Saraiva et al, 2017). Controversial, conflicting and even contradictory, and/or non-consensual findings in same or different countries have suggested other dimensions were lacking. So, a further and critical analysis was deepened in order to identify possible flaws in dimensions of analysis and in methodological issues, which is the scope of this paper. Findings: Many research works were based on perceptions/opinions (eg. motivations, benefits, difficulties) and tangible results were missing, being conclusions built only on qualitative data. Quantitative data were not used to objectivize and validated qualitative findings. Physical or economic indicators rarely were presented. Researchers may not have asked for quantitative data or even ignore these aspects of organizational reality, or the organizations also do not have this type of data. It is hard to corroborate statements (from company’s managers) or findings (from researchers) without other objective evidences (examples are: motivations influence the QMS performance; cost reduction is a benefit; the biggest difficulties in implementation/certification of QMS are the excessive and complex (bureaucratic) documentation, the weak commitment to quality by management and staff, the high cost/scarce resources and the time spent with the additional tasks for the implementation process; organizations operating an ISO 9001 QMS show a better performance). Another matters such as the relative size of the certification phenomenon in each country or region and their economic and social development were generally unknown or were not taken into account. These contextual factors can distort findings. The scientific affiliation of researchers (eg. Industrial engineering, Management, Sociology, Organizational psychology) may also have implications for the research perspective and aspects that are privileged in analysis and conclusions. Research Limitation/implication: Additionally, other methodological issues can also be related to data collection instruments (eg. questionnaires to collect perceptions/opinions) are not the most appropriate for achieving some desired information or data processing does not validate conclusions. Thus, we will take into account in our future research these limitations we have identified in this one and strongly recommend to other researchers our conclusions. Originality/Value of paper:These reflections and findings suggest further and deeper work for research in QMS and other related topics, looking for those dimensions already identified as missing, and/or considering more dimensions, bearing in mind concerns that quality movement is losing popularity, because it does not appear to managers consistently with quantitative data proving contributions of quality to increase productivity and competitiveness. Finally, we raise methodological questions about research on these topics, and other dimensions of analysis are recommended

Firm Productivity and Cities: The Case of Colombia

En este documento estudiamos los determinantes de la productividad total de los factores de las firmas colombianas. Nos interesan particularmente los efectos de aglomeración que explican por qué la actividad económica manufacturera tiende a concentrarse en términos geográficos, y los efectos de otros factores que pueden afectar negativamente la productividad en áreas con una alta densidad de firmas. Ejemplos desafortunados de este tipo de efectos son los altos niveles de crimen y ataques terroristas. Para nuestro estudio utilizamos dos bases de datos: un panel con información operacional de las firmas manufactureras que nos permite estimar la productividad a nivel de firma, y un panel con características municipales. En nuestra estimación de la productividad utilizamos una función de control para corregir los posibles sesgos por selección y endogeneidad. Nuestros principales resultados son los siguientes. Primero, las economías de escala no parecen afectar el nivel de productividad de las firmas manufactureras. Segundo, sí encontramos evidencia de economías de ubicación; la especialización industrial tiene un efecto positivo sobre la productividad, mientras que una mayor variedad industrial reduce la productividad. Aparentemente, las firmas manufactureras se benefician de agruparse y ubicarse en ciudades con actividades manufactureras menos variadas. Además encontramos efectos significativos del desempeño fiscal, del nivel y la calidad de la educación y de los niveles de crimen y violencia de una ciudad sobre la productividad de sus firmas manufactureras.In this paper we study the determinants of firm-level productivity in Colombia. We are interested in the effects of agglomeration forces that explain why manufacturing economic activity tends concentrate geographically as well as the effect of forces that can hurt productivity in high-density areas. An unfortunate major example of the latter forces in Colombia is its high levels of crime and terrorist attacks. We carry out this study by exploiting two very rich data sources: a firm-level panel which allows us to estimate firm-level productivity and a panel of municipality characteristics. To address selection and endogeneity issues in the estimation of firm-level productivity we use a control function approach. Our main findings are the following. First, scale economies do not seem to affect firm-level productivity. Second, we do find evidence of location economies (industrial specialization has a positive effect on productivity). Industrial variety, on the other hand, lowers productivity. It seems that firms in Colombia benefit from forming clusters and locating in cities with less industrial variety. We also find non-trivial effects of city fiscal performance, education level and quality, and crime and violent attacks.Las ciudades concentran una alta proporción de la población mundial y de los recursos productivos. Según datos del World Population Prospects de las Naciones Unidas, el porcentaje de la población mundial que vive en zonas urbanas ha crecido de forma sostenida aumentando del 33.6% en 1960 al 54.3% en 2017. Actualmente hay 37 mega-ciudades en el mundo con más de 10 millones de habitantes, y 84 ciudades más con una población superior a los 5 millones (Demographia 2017). La formación de estas ciudades es el resultado de la interacción de dos fuerzas opuestas: las economías de aglomeración y los costos de la congestión urbana (Duranton y Puga 2004).[1] Originalmente Marshall (1890) propuso tres razones por las que pueden existir economías de aglomeración. Primero, la aglomeración facilita la difusión de conocimiento y tecnología; éstos pueden transferirse cuando los trabajadores cambian de firma llevando consigo conocimientos adquiridos, o cuando transfieren sus conocimientos a trabajadores de otras firmas con los que interactúan constantemente debido a su proximidad geográfica. Segundo, puede facilitar las interacciones del mercado laboral al disminuir los costos de emparejar firmas y empleados. Y tercero, la aglomeración facilita los encadenamientos de insumo-producto, pues las firmas productoras de bienes finales pueden aprovechar las economías de escala de productores de insumos compartidos. La literatura desarrollada a partir de Weber (1929), Hoover (1937) e Isard (1956) resalta la importancia de estos mecanismos para la concentración de la actividad económica en áreas metropolitanas. Una limitación de esta literatura es que asume que los factores determinantes de las economías de aglomeración, que a su vez afectan el desempeño de las firmas, son externos a ellas. Por el contrario, la literatura de la organización industrial asume que la productividad es un proceso interno a cada firma. El objetivo de este documento es conectar las dos ideas: al hacer explícitas tanto las economías de la aglomeración como la productividad interna, e incorporarlas simultáneamente a nuestro análisis, buscamos entender las relaciones sistemáticas que existen entre la productividad de una firma y las características de la ciudad en la que se ubica. Nuestro estudio se desarrolla en tres etapas. En primer lugar realizamos una descripción detallada de la ubicación de las firmas manufactureras en Colombia, para lo que analizamos la distribución geográfica y por sectores industriales de las firmas y de los recursos productivos. En segundo lugar estimamos la productividad total de los factores (PTF) y describimos su comportamiento entre sectores y ciudades. Por último, exploramos la relación entre la PTF y diferentes características de las ciudades. Para nuestro análisis utilizamos datos detallados de producción y utilización de insumos por firma, e información de cientos de características municipales. Al analizar la distribución geográfica de la actividad manufacturera encontramos que: (i) Bogotá concentra la mayoría de las firmas manufactureras del país (44.7% del total de firmas), y tiene la industria más diversificada de todas las ciudades principales; (ii) por el contrario, la producción industrial de Cartagena está dominada por sólo tres sectores (químicos, alimentos y productos de caucho y plástico); (iii) con excepción de Medellín, la industria de alimentos y bebidas concentra la mayor proporción de firmas en todas las ciudades principales; (iv) las firmas de la industria de confecciones se agrupan principalmente en Medellín y Bogotá, las de las industrias de químicos y productos de caucho y plástico se concentran principalmente en Bogotá y, en menor medida, en Medellín y Cali, y la manufactura de equipos de oficina y computación se realiza exclusivamente en Bogotá y Medellín. En términos de la relación entre productividad y características de las ciudades, encontramos que las economías de escala no parecen afectar el nivel de productividad de las firmas manufactureras. Es decir, el tamaño de la ciudad donde se ubica una firma no parece afectar su desempeño. Sin embargo, sí encontramos evidencia de economías de ubicación; la especialización industrial tiene un efecto positivo sobre la productividad, mientras que una mayor variedad industrial reduce la productividad. Aparentemente, las firmas manufactureras se benefician de agruparse y ubicarse en ciudades con actividades manufactureras menos variadas. Además encontramos efectos significativos del desempeño fiscal, del nivel y la calidad de la educación y de los niveles de crimen y violencia de una ciudad sobre la productividad de sus firmas manufactureras. Por ejemplo, el aumento en una desviación estándar de la tasa de hurtos, la tasa impositiva a la industria, o el puntaje en las pruebas Saber 11 de una ciudad se traduce, en promedio, en una caída de la productividad del 4—5%, una caída en la productividad del 3,3—3,9%, y un aumento en la productividad del 2—3,2 %, respectivamente. Entender el efecto sobre la productividad de estas características municipales, diferentes a la estructura industrial local considerada tradicionalmente por la economía urbana, es un primer paso necesario para informar decisiones de política económica encaminadas a mejorar el desempeño industria

Circular economy and office fit-out: an analysis for office fit-out processes based on material flows

The built environment is the most resource intensive sector of the economy, accounting for over a half of extracted materials and around one third of total waste generated. Within the built environment the most recurrent replacements of building materials and components take place during fit-out, which is the process of installing interior fittings, fixtures and finishes. These materials and components are more frequently replaced in non-domestic buildings, so non-domestic building fit-outs are responsible for recurrent consumption of materials and generation of waste. However, these processes tend to go unnoticed and unmeasured in the research about sustainable buildings. The present work aims to study this research gap and to analyse the potential for fit-outs to become more sustainable. The approach of this project ties in closely to the concept of circular economy, where materials are kept at their most useful state for as long as possible. This work analysed fit-out processes within UCL Estates and London through mixed research methods, including quantitative material flow analyses and the qualitative analysis of interviews. In total, 31 supply-chain stakeholders related to the fit-out industry were contacted and five fit-out case studies as well as two Waste Contractor case studies were considered. The structure of the fit-out supply chain was mapped out and the roles and interactions of the relevant stakeholders were analysed. Key materials and components installed and removed at fit-outs projects were defined while waste streams generated were measured, and their paths and final destinations were traced. A socio-technical analysis was developed for office and higher education institution building fit-outs and used to recognise key incentives and mechanisms that encourage higher rates of reuse, remanufacture and closed-loop recycling, from the design stage of building fit-outs and products to the treatment of wastes. It was concluded that the fit-out supply-chain generally showed a linear tendency in terms of both decisions and material flows, and a “reuse third party” in the supply chain showed to facilitate salvaging building components otherwise treated as waste. The rates of replacement for building products were generally shorter than their lifespans and the main barriers to potential reuse were both the lack of size standardisation and the lack of modular installation. Material flow analyses conducted for fit-out case studies showed that most waste streams were downcycled into products or uses that require inferior material quality and little waste was closed-loop recycled. Mixed waste was the highest-mass waste stream generated, followed by plasterboard and wood