What is Industry 4.0: a Review of the Literature Using the Conceptual Bibliographic Method

Purpose: Scientific production has tried to understand the various evolutionary intricacies of Industry 4.0, the so-called fourth industrial revolution. As discoveries increase and deepen, there must also be an effort to understand the frontiers of scientific knowledge, its most noticeable and studied aspects, and those attributes that have only now been perceived. It is, therefore, necessary to periodically take stock of what science knows about the phenomenon to understand where it is headed and which paths have already been taken. Therefore, the need to take inventory of the current state of knowledge about Industry 4.0 was the theoretical justification for this study.   Theoretical framework: The theoretical architecture of this study consisted of the transformations that the industrial revolutionary stages caused in production systems, firstly, and then for the entire society. It involves aspects from various areas of scientific knowledge to understand the different perceptions contained in the scientific literature on the phenomenon of Industry 4.0.   Design/Methodology/Approach: The conceptual bibliographic method was used to generate answers to three guiding questions: What are the main approaches to Industry 4.0? What are its main attributes? What is its irradiation logic? All conceptual definitions in scientific studies published in English and Portuguese available in the Google Scholar database from 2019 to 2020 were analyzed, with a total of 19 studies. The semantic analysis technique was used to identify the approaches and attributes, which were then organized by semantic proximity, constituting the semantic groupings on which the results were generated and interpreted.   Findings: The results showed the existence of eight groups of approaches (procedures, evolution, time, grouping, transformation, layer, organization, and model) and twelve groups of attributes (industrialization, transformation technologies, information technologies, integrated system, processes, society, quality, knowledge, planning, market, value chain, and automation). These discoveries made it possible to understand that Industry 4.0 has a driving force: knowledge, which spreads similarly in waves until it reaches the entire society and is not limited only to the interior of factories and economic organizations.   Research, Practical, and Social Implications: Two implications of these findings stand out. The first is the dynamic nature of implementing Industry 4.0 in organizations, whether economic or not, which is done more quickly if knowledge and technologies are available or more slowly when expertise and technologies are fragile or non-existent. The second is teleological since the purpose of Industry 4.0 and all industrial revolutions is to continually improve production processes, even though these benefits often generate unwanted externalities, such as environmental impacts. This means that the progress of knowledge and its developments cannot be stopped but can be directed towards other purposes.   Originality/Value: The main contribution of this study to science is to point out the current stage of the evolution of Industry 4.0 about previous revolutions. Three other contributions are also significant: identifying the main approaches to the phenomenon, its most prominent characteristics, and its irradiation dynamics

Analysis of Conceptual Definitions of Agribusiness Using the Conceptual Bibliographic Method

Purpose: Agribusiness is a phenomenon of interest to science from several aspects, and this multiplicity of aspects taken simultaneously is a new way of trying to understand and explain it. Specific, unidisciplinary studies still predominate on a single element of agribusiness, such as finance, marketing, and production, among countless others. However, the trend is towards multifactorial studies because agribusiness is a phenomenon that cannot be classified solely as industry, commerce, or service or as a primary, secondary, or tertiary sector. Consolidated agribusiness is all of these things simultaneously, whose reality is delimited by science based on its conceptual definitions. Therefore, the definitions must be analyzed so that the current stage of scientific knowledge about the phenomenon can be understood, especially its limits, characteristics, and dynamics, which are the purposes of this study.   Theoretical Structure: The theoretical architecture of this study consisted of seeking to understand the phenomenon of agribusiness with socio-economic development, which is its most evident externality. It was carried out interdisciplinary, highlighting its integral reality based on what appears and can be identified in the conceptual definitions available in scientific publications. The justification for this procedure was the need to understand agribusiness from multiple scientific views so that its various aspects could be understood.   Design/Methodology/Approach: This study aimed to analyze the conceptual definitions of agribusiness in the scientific literature in studies published between 2015 and 2023. To this end, it established three guiding questions, which sought to identify the frontiers of knowledge about the phenomenon, its main attributes, and what logical scheme it is possible to find among its main defining characteristics. For this, the conceptual bibliographic method was used, which consists of formulating a problem and its breakdown into a response pattern, collecting data in scientific databases, organizing and analyzing data based on semantic resources, and generating responses from the diagrammatic layout of the data organization.   Findings: The results showed the existence of nine approaches to agribusiness (set, sum, activity, science, practice, configuration, industry, process, and transformation) and eight groups of attributes (transnational activities, commercialization, distribution logistics, supply logistics, companies, production, services, and agroecosystem). These discoveries allowed us to understand that agribusiness has an evolutionary dynamic that begins with the professionalization of the rural output and culminates with the irradiation of the reach of this production to transnational borders. Research, Practical, and Social Implications: These findings fundamentally affect how agribusiness is viewed. In Brazil, in particular, the prevalent mentality tends to distinguish agribusiness as a unique and exclusive form of large rural enterprises, almost all of which are already globalized, excluding small enterprises from this coverage, almost always classified as family farming. Suppose the family farmer establishes himself as an enterprise. In that case, he often receives the entire discriminatory range intended for the large agribusiness enterprise, discouraging his professionalization, an essential corollary of the germ of agribusiness. Professionalization involves replacing improvised methods of producing and managing the enterprise with rational aspects originating from science and introducing scientifically subsidized techniques and technologies.   Originality/Value: The main contribution of this study to science was the construction of an evolutionary dynamic of agribusiness, which begins with the professionalization of rural production and culminates with globalization. These findings suggest that the family farming stage needs to be broken so that the benefits of professionalization can lead to improved quality of life and desired socioeconomic development for producers and partners

Application of Lean Six Sigma in a service company of technical assistance

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Industrial (área de especialização em Gestão Industrial)A importância da qualidade dos produtos e serviços vem de longa data, as empresas de fabricação de produtos e de prestação de serviços procuram alcançar padrões de referência relacionados com a qualidade. Tal procura pode ser evidenciada através de ações, para a empresa se manter no mercado que está cada vez mais competitivo. A gestão da qualidade tanto de sistemas associados a produtos físicos como a serviços, atualmente deixou de ser um fator diferenciador e passou a ser determinante para a competitividade das organizações. O objetivo desta dissertação é analisar e melhorar o funcionamento do sistema de prestação de serviços da empresa Colortel Comércio e Assessoria Técnica Ltda. È apresentado um estudo de caso que mostra como se investigam as causas e fatores que contribuem para com o aumento das reclamações dos clientes e como se melhora o referido sistema para aumentar a competitividade da empresa. A aplicação da metodologia Lean Six Sigma, utilizando o DMAIC em conjunto com as ferramentas adequadas, permitiu identificar as causas que influenciam o processo de análise de produtos defeituosos e implementar ações que deram celeridade ao tempo de análise, aumentando a produtividade. O tempo médio total de atendimento aos clientes que solicitaram uma reparação era, no início do projeto, de 31 dias. Após a conclusão do projeto de melhoria esse valor reduziu-se em cerca de 79% passando ser a inferior a sete dias. Tal redução deverá provocar um aumento significativo na satisfação do cliente.The importance of quality in products and services is not recent. Companies manufacturing products and providing services seek to achieve benchmarks related to quality. This path can be demonstrated through actions performed to keep the company on the market that is increasingly competitive. Quality management of systems associated both with physical products and services are currently no longer a differentiator, and has become crucial for the competitiveness of organizations. The aim of this work is to analyze and the process of technical assistance provided by the company Colortel Trade and Technical Assistance Ltda. A case study describes how to investigate causes and factors that contribute to the increase number of customer complaints and shows how to improve the company's competitiveness. The application of Lean Six Sigma methodology, using the DMAIC together with the proper tools, allowed to identify the causes that influence the process of analyzing defective products and to implementing actions to reduce products analysis time, increasing productivity. The average total time of service to clients who requested a repair was, at the project start, of 31 days. Upon completion of the improvement project this value was reduced by about 79% and is now less than seven days. This reduction will cause a significant increase in customer satisfaction

Strategic management: a review of scientific literature using the conceptual bibliographic method

This study aimed to review the scientific literature on strategic management published in the Google Scholar database between 2021 and 2023 and available for access. The conceptual bibliographic method was used in its four stages: 1) formulation of the problem and guiding questions, with their respective response patterns; 2) collection of data on scientific bases, with the help of the mass of data; 3) organization of data into figurative schematic format, so that the answers sought can be visible and 4) generation of answers, to communicate discoveries to scientific communities. The results showed a) seven approaches (process, art, knowledge, set, management, actions, and system), b) 45 attributes organized into seven semantic groupings (Environment, organization (social group), planning, organization, direction, implementation, and control ) and c) that the logic of strategic management is focused on knowledge of the environment (internal and external) so that the management process (planning, organization, direction, and control) can be effective. The conclusion shows that the more the organization relates to the external environment and meeting needs, the greater the probability that its goals will be achieved