Konfiguration eines Prozeßkennzahlensystems für den mittelständischen Maschinenbau

Das Prozessmanagement und die Prozesslenkung gewinnen auch im Mittelstand zunehmend an Bedeutung. Damit ergeben sich verschiedene Probleme, wie die Verknüpfung von Strategie und Prozesszielen, die Lenkung sowohl monetärer wie nicht-monetärer Größen und schließlich der erhebliche Aufwand, der für die Einführung und Pflege von Prozesskennzahlensystemen getrieben wird. Die vorliegende Arbeit leistet einen Beitrag zur Lösung dieser Herausforderungen, indem ein ganzheitliches prozessorientiertes Referenzkennzahlensystem für den mittelständischen Maschinenbau bereitgestellt wird. Merkmale sind die Abbildung aller erfolgsrelevanten Unternehmensprozesse sowie die strikte Kunden-/Lieferantenorientierung. Auf Basis des Quality Function Deployment leitet die Arbeit ein Konfigurationsvorgehen ab, das die Kopplung der Prozesse an die strategischen Erfolgsfaktoren sicherstellt. Die Erfahrungen mit der Methodik bei der Anwendung in mittelständischen Maschinenbauunternehmen werden erläutert

Behavioural studies: A necessity for wildlife management

A major concern of behavioural biology has been the study of evolutionary causative processes in animal behaviour, typically focusing on individuals or social groups. Conservation biology, on the other hand, deals with devising tools for the management of wildlife habitats and populations, and typically focuses on ecosystems. We argue that behavioural studies of individual animals in the appropriate social contexts are necessary for, and integral to, the development of effective management plans for any species. We use the results from our studies on lion-tailed macaques from wild habitats in the Western Ghats, and from captive populations in Europe, to demonstrate how information on behaviour and life-history can be incorporated into improved strategies for wildlife management. We explicitly conclude that one of the major goals of wildlife management should be to create conditions that facilitate the expression of the full range of behavioural patterns in the species being managed, so as to increase the likelihood of population stabilization through the optimization of life-history parameters

Towards more individual-based and fitness-oriented captive mammal population management

Many captive populations of birds and mammals are not likely to reach sustainability due mostly to breeding problems. Identifying the conditions under which breeding problems and poor population growth are likely to occur and establishing more appropriate conditions, therefore, will be a necessary prerequisite for future successful conservation breeding and the long-term survival of captive populations. This article analyses the basic approaches and concepts of management programmes for captive mammals. It discusses and propagates an approach which might help increase the productivity of the populations and decrease the risk of viability problems. Evolutionary biology, ecology and conservation biology provide concepts that propose a critical role of the individual phenotype in the context of evolutionary processes, population development and conservation practice. It is assumed that this is not yet sufficiently reflected in the management of captive mammals and possibly other populations, thus contributing to fitness problems. A more individual-based population management that intends to focus on the `quality' of the individuals and the individual phenotype therefore is proposed. Individuals have to be managed such that they are phenotypically represented in future generations

Captive propagation of threatened primates - the example of the Lion-tailed Macaque <i>Macaca silenus</i>

Many conservation-oriented breeding programs are not likely to reach their goal of establishing self-sustaining populations. Some zoo biologists propagate to reconsider zoo-based conservation policies and strategies. The Lion-tailed Macaque is a flagship species for in situ conservation and a high priority species in captive propagation. This article reviews the captive management history of the Lion-tailed Macaque, identifies management patterns that might have negatively influenced the development of the programs, and proposes to use this analysis to initiate a new management perspective. In the North American captive Lion-tailed Macaque population under the Species Survival Plan (SSP), the strong reduction in population size and group sizes due to space problems might have contributed to a decrease in population viability. The population over two decades has declined from almost 300 to less than 100 individuals. In the European population under the European Endangered Species Program (EEP), population size was not limited and larger groups were advocated. The population grew slowly but steadily to a present size of more than 350 individuals over about 23 years. The effective population size has remained low in both SSP and EEP populations. A general conceptual framework that focuses on individuals and their phenotypes for in situ and ex situ conservation recently developed by field conservationists is briefly introduced. It is used to suggest improvements in the management of the Lion-tailed Macaque. It is concluded that the size and structure of a breeding population is to be decided so as to provide conditions and materials for successful reproduction rather than by the available zoo space only. For this, large groups and populations with representation of all age-sex classes are advocated. This would result in a further reduction in the number of species kept in zoos. It is indicated that zoo biology needs to develop new concepts that include a large spectrum of concepts of biology and knowledge about the adaptive potential of animal species under altered and fragmented conditions

Environmental change and housing conditions result in disappearance and return of reproductive seasonality in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Rhesus macaques in their natural environments, as well as in the free-ranging colonyat Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico are highly seasonal breeders. Many ani-mal species lose breeding seasonality when brought under captive conditions. The present study that cov-ers aperiod of 25 years between 1985 and 2010 reports a quick loss of reproductive seasonalityin Group O of rhesus macaques after the group was shifted from Cayo Santiago to German Primate Cen-tre at Gottingen, Germany in 1984, and maintained indoors with controlled temperature and day-length periods for about four years. We divided the study pe-riod of 25 years into five time-periods of five years each for analysis of the data. Over the subsequent years, births started to concentrate within only a few months indicating an increasingtrend towards return of reproductive seasonality. This increase coincided with the increasing number of births in groups with outdoor facilities. Because other factors such as food, water, etc. were similar in indoor and outdoor condi-tions, we infer that the recovery of seasonality in the outdoor groups was due to the variations in tempera-ture and photoperiod. We report here the presence of reproductive seasonality, its disappearance and return in the same colony and its descendents

KMU setzen auf TQM: ISO 9000-zertifizierte Unternehmen erkennen den Verbesserungsbedarf für ihr Qualitätsmanagement

Total Quality Management (TQM) ist gerade in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen ein aktuelles Thema. Die Ergebnisse einer empirischen Studie zeigen jedoch, daß es hier oft am nötigen Wissen zur Umsetzung mangelt. Dies betrifft insbesondere systematische Ansätze wie das TQM-Modell der EFQM. Total quality management (TQM) is a current topic, even among small- and medium-sized companies. The results of an empirical study reveal, however, that the necessary knowledge for its implementation is often lacking. This applies particularly to the introduction of systems such as the TQM model for EFQM

Male-male relationships in lion-tailed macaques (macaca silenus) and bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata)

Socioecology suggests that female distribution in space is determined by the distribution of food resources and the male distribution is influenced by female distribution. Though studies have traditionally focused on females, males have received increasing attention in recent years. We compared male-male relationships in lion-tailed macaques and bonnet macaques. Because bonnet macaques have a high adult male:female sex ratio and are seasonal breeders whereas lion-tailed macaques have a low adult male:female sex ratio and are largely aseasonal breeders, we predicted that bonnet macaque males would be spatially and socially more tolerant of each other and would have less linear dominance relationships than lion-tailed macaques. We recorded male-male and male-female relationships in 1 group of wild macaques of each species via scan sampling and 1-0 sampling. The results revealed that lion-tailed macaque males largely remained at a distance from each other whereas bonnet macaque males remained in close proximity to one another. Lion-tailed macaque males were more agonistic toward each other whereas bonnet macaque males showed more affiliative interactions. The dominance hierarchy among lion-tailed macaque males was more linear than among bonnet macaque males. Our data support the hypothesis that the study of spatial structuring, temporality of interactions, and linearity of social relationships may contribute to a better understanding of macaque social systems

Reproductive biology of lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus): An important key to the conservation of an endangered species

The lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), endemic to rainforests of the Western Ghats; in southern India, is an endangered species. Most of its population now lives in fragmented pockets of rainforests. Considerable research has been carried out on its reproductive biology both on wild and captive populations in North America and Europe. We review studies carried out on birth seasonality, life-history parameters, and reproductive physiology and behaviour. The captive populations differ considerably from wild populations on several parameters of reproductive biology. Because of a low population turnover in this species due to a delayed age at first birth and long inter-birth intervals, and further degradation of its natural habitats, rapid population replenishment or augmentation is unlikely. This article shows that the study of reproductive biology may provide an important key to the conservation of this species. It also indicates that several aspects of reproductive biology of lion-tailed macaque still remain to be addressed