An investigation of the strategic decision making process in SMEs

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Changes in the environment are a major area of concern to any firm in its strategic decision making process (SDMP). SDMP is considered to be an important component in the success of firms in the strategic management literature. This includes small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the electronic, telecom and information technology (IT) sector which are subjected to frequent and extremely dynamic environments both internally and externally, unlike many other industries. A lack of prior studies supporting an understanding of the SDMP in SMEs is evident, and coupled with the extremely volatile environmental conditions that compound the problem, makes SMES dealing in electronic, telecom and IT products and services highly vulnerable to closure. An immediate investigation into the SDMP in SMEs is needed and long overdue. This research seeks to address this gap in the knowledge. In order to address the gap this research used synoptic formalism and incrementalism to develop an understanding on how SMEs in the electronic, telecom and IT sector make decisions and what is the nature of these decisions. A Strategic Decision Making Process (SDMP) model was developed based on prior research. Decision magnitude of impact acted as the input to the SDMP, rationality and intuition acted as the process component, and decision process output as the output component. Thus these three concepts acted as the three components of a process (input-process-output) configuration. The model facilitated the development of an understanding of the functioning of decision magnitude of impact as a decision characteristic factor, its relationship to SDMP and process dimensions (rationality in decision making and intuition) as an antecedent (and hence as a predictor) of decision output variables (decision process effectiveness, quality of the decision process output through the mediation of decision dimensions. In line with the need to understand the SDMP in SMEs data were collected from managers of a large number of SMEs belonging to electronic, telecom and IT sector. The territory chosen was the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Kingdom of Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates) as this region provides a rich source of such SMEs and the environment is highly dynamic. A self-administered questionnaire was developed by adapting previously validated questionnaire scales. Pre-testing and pilot surveys were used to ensure that the contents, format and scales were appropriate. A range of decision makers in those SMEs were targeted. 464 valid questionnaires were returned, representing a response rate of over 50%. The data was coded and analysed using SPSS/AMOS, two widely used statistical software tools. The data analysis steps included reliability and validity testing (Cronbach’s alpha and Confirmatory Factor Analysis, respectively). The entire model was tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Using SEM it was possible to identify the model, test the parsimonious nature of the model, determine whether the identified model makes theoretical sense and examine the fitness of the model to the data. The predictability of decision process output by decision magnitude of impact was analysed using path analysis as part of the SEM. The research outcome showed that in the electronic, telecommunication and information technology sector, where the environment is dynamic, decision magnitude as an important independent variable influences rationality in decision making directly and decision effectiveness, quality of decision process output and firm commitment indirectly. Rationality in decision making was found act as an important medicating variable in the strategic decision making process. In the same vein it was found that intuition is not affected by decision magnitude of impact. Further, dynamism in the industry and firm performance were also seen to influence decision effectiveness, quality of decision process output and firm commitment although the influence of dynamism in the industry on firm commitment was found to be very low. Thus the main contribution of this research is the development of an understanding of the relationship between decision magnitude of impact as input to the SDMP and hence as predictor of decision process output and the SDMP process output. Furthermore, the research has advanced current knowledge on the influence of rationality in decision making and intuition as mediators between decision magnitude of impact and decision process output variables. These two aspects have been tested in an SME sector that is affected seriously by dynamism in the industry and with varying firm performance as a contextual feature. The comprehensive research outcome can be of benefit to the SMEs in the electronic, telecom and IT sector and support them in overcoming potential vulnerabilities by making strategic decisions whose magnitude of impact on the firms is high and a decision process that is rational. In addition from the point of view of methodology this research has used SEM in understanding the nature and functioning of the model as well as the operationalisation of the variables. The outcome of this research is expected to benefit the SMEs in the electronic, telecom and IT sector in their SDMP and has opened up a new area of research for other researchers and academics

Electricity and Water Cogeneration Utilizing Aluminium Furnaces Waste Heat Integrating Thermal Storage Organic Rankine Cycle

High energy-intensive industries, including steel, chemicals, cement, and aluminium, contribute to about 75% of the industrial emissions of carbon dioxide globally and expelling large amounts of unrecovered waste heat into the atmosphere. Yet, there has been a challenge of studies that are conducted on recovering waste heat in the aluminium industry, especially in cast-house facilities, due to technical difficulties such as energy fluctuations in mass flow rate and temperature. In this study, the waste heat to power system is designed to generate power and freshwater in a cast-house facility with 18 furnaces by evaluating three methods in which the temporal waste heat from holding furnaces can be damped and exploited. These methods are: (1) implementing a temporal air injection, (2) optimising furnaces operation time shift, and (3) integrating sensible thermal heat storage. Organic Rankine Cycle is used for the waste heat to power conversion. The appropriate thermal energy storage design and a thermodynamic model of an Organic Rankine Cycle are investigated using temporal flue gas data that are collected on site from three furnaces. Reverse Osmosis technology is applied to produce water using the generated electricity. Results show that sensible heat thermal energy storage is the most suitable technology for damping the fluctuations of waste heat. By utilising waste heat from 18 remelting furnaces, a net power output of 323 kW can be produced to operate a Reverse Osmosis plant supplying 2419 m3 of fresh water daily, saving up to 2000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. This study gives a comprehensive approach to deal with temporal waste heat in aluminium furnaces for smooth cogeneration

Feasibility Study for Water-Electricity Cogeneration Using Integrated System of Concentrated Solar Power and Biofuel as Renewable Energy

Although Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is one of the promising renewable energy technologies, several technical and economic challenges should be addressed. One of the major issues associated with Concentrated Solar Power technologies is the reliability limitation of the plant in the stand-alone configuration. Therefore, Concentrated Solar Power systems can be integrated with either thermal energy storage (TES) or a fossil-fuelled power assist FFPA). However, initial and maintenance costs and emission production are the main challenges for the developing countries. Integrating biofuel/biogas with CSP increases the renewability while solar irradiation is in absent. The paper main objective is to perform a feasibility study of integrating a biofuel based gas turbine power units in a Concentrated Solar Power plant for electricity and water cogeneration. The study includes the thermodynamics analysis and assessment of three biofuels, namely, Jatropha oil, castor oil, and palm oil. In addition, a cost lifecycle, sensitivity, and Monte Carlo analyses were performed. The results showed that Castor oil had a better performance in terms of efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions with a maximum daily freshwater production of 181,000 m3/day. The proposed integration resulted in a levelized cost of water that is lower than the water tariff in the UAE by $1.39/m3 with a payback period of 5 years

Measuring the minimum biofilm eradication concentration for bacterial isolates from diabetic foot infections

Background: Diabetic foot infection (DFI) is considered the most common cause of diabetes-related hospitalization. Diabetic foot ulcers are subjected to bacterial colonization with biofilm forming organisms which are difficult to eradicate. The aim of this study was to identify the spectrum of bacteria associated with DFI and their ability to form biofilm, to evaluate differences in antibiotic susceptibility pattern between planktonic and biofilm phases, and to determine the antibiotics which are active on the organism in the biofilm phase. Methods: The study comprised 50 patients with DFI. A deep swab was collected from each patient and cultured. All isolates were identified and screened for biofilm formation. Biofilm forming isolates were further subjected to minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) assays to determine resistance to different antimicrobials while in the biofilm phase. Results: Seventy-one isolates were identified, (14.1%) were Gram positive cocci, (83.1%) were Gram negative bacilli, and (2.8%) were Candida species. The most frequently isolated organism was Klebsiella spp. (18/71, 25.4%), followed by Proteus spp. (14/71, 19.7%). The prevalence of biofilm forming isolates was 38%. All the studied isolates showed MBEC higher than the MIC for all tested antimicrobials. Conclusions: The substantial discrepancy between MIC and MBEC results observed in this study emphasizes the lack of reliability of the routine antimicrobial susceptibility testing in case of biofilm formation. Among all tested antimicrobials; cefoperazone/sulbactam, gentamicin, and vancomycin demonstrated activity against bacteria in the biofilm phase

The effect of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues on the preservation of ovarian function against cyclophosphamide-induced damage in adult mice

Objective: To assess the effect of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) on the preservation of ovarian function against cyclophosphamide-induced gonadal toxicity. Materials and Methods: In a controlled, experimental study, 64 female mice were divided into four groups: control (C), triptorelin acetate (T), cyclophosphamide (CY), and triptorelin plus cyclophosphamide (T+CY) groups. Mice in the group (T) were subcutaneously injected with GnRHa (triptorelin acetate) in a dose of 0.5 mg/kg daily for 21 days. In contrast, mice in the (CY) group and (T+CY) group were injected intraperitoneally with 75 mg/kg of CY on day 15. After 21 days, half of the mice in each group were sacrificed, and their ovaries were removed. The rest of the mice in each group were left without any intervention for an additional 21 days, and the same procedures were repeated to assess the ovarian follicles. Results: There was significant depletion of ovarian follicles in the CY group compared to the control group (p<0.05). There were significant decreases in the number of secondary and antral follicles at late stage as compared to early stage in the CY group (p<0.05). There was also a significant increase in the number of primordial and primary follicles in the T+CY group as compared with the CY group early post-treatment, while the increase was significant in all follicles after 42 days (p<0.05). Conclusion: Cyclophosphamide destroys primordial and primary follicles at an early stage while damage in secondary and antral follicles was prominent after 42 days. Triptorelin acetate reduces the toxic effect of CY; it has early and late protective effects and preserves ovarian function in mice