The COVID-19 pandemic and the growing need to train engineers aligned to the sustainable development goals

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Considering the requirements of sustainable development regarding professionals training and the challenges evidenced during Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, this study aims to contribute to the debates regarding the need to insert sustainability into engineering education in the current context. Design/methodology/approach: For this, the literature about sustainability in engineering education was considered, and the need for sustainability insertion in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic was debated. It is important to emphasize that this debate was based on the authors’ experience regarding sustainability research and teaching. Findings: The current moment unveiled companies’ financial management problems, constantly evidenced by media. In this sense, the interest of engineering students in business management may lead them to believe that companies’ survival depends only on financial aspects, neglecting environmental and social aspects. This study is characterized as a reminder to academic staff in the field of engineering to continue valuing the principles of sustainable development with their students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value: The need to make engineering students understand the importance of social projects in the current period is emphasized. The training of professionals to consider all the sustainability aspects even during crisis moments is evidenced now and should be used as a learning lesson for the future

Evaluation of lean practices in warehouses: an analysis of Brazilian reality

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This article aims to investigate the most applied lean warehouse practices in Brazilian warehouses. Design/methodology/approach: To perform this research, three phases were conducted: a literature review, a multiple case study, and an analysis of lean warehouses practices implementation by an engineering committee. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. Additionally, the study has an applied nature, with an exploratory and descriptive character. Findings: Results showed that regardless of the type of criterion used, the most implanted practices are those that do not involve investments in technology. On the other hand, practices like RFID and Cross Docking systems were not found in any of the operations, which shows numerous possibilities for improvement. Originality/value: The main contribution of this article is to initiate a debate about the management and productivity of Brazilian warehouses, a theme still little explored by the academic community despite the importance that the logistic scenario represents for Brazil as an emerging country and leader in Latin America, participating actively in several global supply chains

Critical analysis of organizational change process: evidences from a steel company

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the main factors that influence the organizational change in a steel company. Design/methodology/approach: The methodological procedures used were literature review and survey. The literature review allowed the listing of 24 factors and these factors were grouped into three constructs (Behavioral Aspects, Cultural Aspects and Management Aspects). The survey allowed the quantification of each factor based on information provided by employees who work in the mentioned company. The data collected were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling technique. Findings: For the Behavioral Aspects, the following factors were validated: fear of the unknown; insecurity and anxiety; stress and feeling of suffering. For the Cultural Aspects the following factors were validated: multiculturalism in the company; low degree of risk acceptance and low performance acceptance; excessive concerns about consensus. Finally, for the Management Aspects, the following factors were validated: lack of clarity in communications; lack of alignment of goals; lack of leadership engagement. Originality/value: The results are valuable for the company studied and for other managers interested in subject. The findings presented here can broaden the debate about this topic and contribute with professionals that wish to evaluate the mentioned factors

Business models towards SDGs: the barriers for operationalizing Product-Service System (PSS) in Brazil

© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Sustainable development requires the creation and development of new business models. Sharing economy will maximize the use of a product by several people, while it enables the reduction of natural resource consumption. In this sense, Product-Service Systems (PSS) can greatly contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, published by the United Nations. In this context, the present study aims to analyse the barriers associated with the operationalization of PSS business models in Brazil. Nineteen barriers listed in the literature supported a questionnaire used in a survey of Brazilian researchers. Data analysis was performed through Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, descriptive statistics and TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution). TOPSIS is used for comparative ordering of barriers in terms of intensity. The results showed that there are many barriers observed in the Brazilian scenario for the operationalization of PSS; those related to the resistance to change to the mentioned business models and the lack of necessary skills to manage them stood out. These findings can be used to enhance the debates about PSS in the Brazilian context

Technological innovation management: understanding difficulties in an emerging country to enhance manufacturers performance

Purpose: This study aims to discuss the difficulties faced by two large Brazilian industrial companies in technological innovation management. Design/methodology/approach: Initially, a literature review is carried out using meta-synthesis technique to consolidate an expanded and detailed framework that complemented and dialoged with the difficulties presented by Oslo Manual. The difficulties presented in this framework were used as an instrument to conduct two case studies. Findings: There were several findings, especially the adherence to the structured framework and the identification of short-term management and inflexibility of the regulatory environment as relevant difficulties for both companies. Originality/value: The understanding of these difficulties can contribute to optimizing manufacturers performance in innovation processes. Although only two companies were analyzed, their magnitude and relevance in the sectors they belong to should be highlighted. The information presented here can greatly contribute to expanding the debates about the management of innovation by companies in emerging countries

Improving research labs’ performance through project management guidelines: a case study analysis

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The article aims to critically analyze the project management developed by research laboratories of a Brazilian university in order to enhance their performance. For this, a critical analysis was performed to identify existing opportunities about the management of schedules and resources. Additionally, a software was developed to enable performance improvement. Design/methodology/approach: The methodological procedures used were literature review, for a theoretical foundation, and case study conducted with semi-structured interviews, documentary research and on-site visits. Through a detailed critical analysis of the laboratories' management, it was possible to understand the activities developed and map the main difficulties observed. Findings: A total of five plausible points of improvement were identified, namely reduced teams and accumulation of activities; team seasonality; centralized management; deviations from projects and schedule control. Based on the theoretical foundation, it has been proposed adjustments to minimize the mentioned difficulties that can greatly contribute for better management efficiency of multiple research projects. In addition, a software was structured based on the proposed improvements. The laboratories' performance was monitored for a month and significant improvements were observed. Practical implications: The information presented here may be of great value to other researchers interested in enhancing research laboratory performance. Originality/value: The academic literature presents several examples of project management guidelines application in different organizations; however, there are few studies about the application of them in research laboratories and how to improve their performance

Sustainability leadership in higher education institutions: An overview of challenges

© 2020 by the authors. Sustainability leadership entails the processes, which leaders, policymakers, and academics undertake in order to implement sustainable development policies and other initiatives within their organizations. It encompasses approaches, methods, and systemic solutions to solve problems and drive institutional policy towards a more sustainable organization. Higher Education Institutions (HEI) play a particularly important role, especially with regard to their institutional leadership role in promoting sustainable development. There is a paucity of research focusing on sustainability leadership in universities. In order to address this gap, this paper discussed the concept of sustainability leadership based on literature and empirical insights. The study aimed to understand the main characteristics of sustainability leaders at HEI and the main challenges they are confronted with. Secondary research questions involved gender issues and positive outcomes of sustainability leadership. The empirical component of the study consisted of an online-questionnaire survey performed among leaders (n = 50) froma set of universities in 29 countries. The sampling schemewas purposive, based on themembership in the Inter-University SustainableDevelopmentResearch Program(IUSDRP). The studywas explorative in nature, and the descriptive statistics were used for the analysis. Due to the purposive sampling, the participants from top management positions could be considered as experienced, and their views were assumed to be information-rich. With a self-evaluation, the respondents described their leadership style and their usual traits, with inclusive style and systemic thinking being predominant in the sample. Regarding the skills, the respondents selected the ability to innovate, to think long-term, and to manage complexity from a pre-defined set of options. Connectedness with interdisciplinarity and knowledge about organizational settings, as well as global challenges and dilemmas, were stated as important issues related to the knowledge required for being a leader. Regarding requirements for a change towards more sustainable universities' curriculum adaptation, investments in education for sustainable development (ESD), sustainable procurement, and reporting were mentioned. The study also revealed that gender issues were taken seriously among the sampled institutions, which is an encouraging trend. Challenges seen in implementing sustainability leadership are, for instance, a lack of interest by the university administration and among some members of the academic community, as well as lack of expertise and materials or resources. Based on the empirical insights, a set of measures were listed and which may be adopted in the future, so as to allow leaders of Higher Education Institutions to enhance their sustainability performance

Towards sustainability by aligning operational programmes and sustainable performance measures

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. In the last decades, sustainable concerns have increasingly gained importance to organizational survival, and Lean/Six Sigma approaches are becoming more and more outstanding in order to improve sustainability performance. This article aims to evaluate the degree of importance of sustainable performance measures of Brazilian organizations and to propose guidelines to achieve sustainability by aligning these measures with operational improvement programmes. Multiple data collection methods were applied as theoretical literature review, questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews with industry professionals and academic researchers. The findings show that it is the corporate responsibility to focus their efforts on both operational improvement programmes and sustainable initiatives in order to achieve better environmental protection, corporate reputation, quality management, cost performance and suppliers relations, as they are considered to be more important on organizational sustainability

Bibliometric study on SDG 6: analysing main content aspects by using Web of Science data from 2015 to 2021

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to understand how the literature has been addressing the United Nations' Sixth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to obtain an overview of the current scenario and future perspectives. Design/methodology/approach: For that, a bibliometric analysis will be conducted with documents published between 2015 and 2021 and present in the Web of Science database. Initially, 328 documents were identified, and after careful reading of titles and abstracts, 239 documents were analysed. The documents were analysed using tools available on the Web of Science database and the software Bibliometrix. Findings: Amongst the results generated, it should be highlighted the identification of the motor themes “sustainable development” + “developing countries” and “water security”, presenting a significant relevance to the field and a high development level. In addition, “human rights” was verified as an emerging theme in the context of SDG 6 debates. Originality/value: The information provided here offers good documentation of the extent to which SDG 6 is documented in the literature and can be helpful for researchers interested in the topic

COVID-19 and the targets of SDG 8: reflections on Brazilian scenario

Purpose: This paper aims to present reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic impacts in the search for the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8) disseminated by the United Nations. These reflections are made considering the Brazilian scenario. Design/methodology/approach: As this paper is a viewpoint, several information presented here are based on authors’ opinion. However, to enhance the information basis and present examples, a bibliographic research was also conducted. Findings: Analyzing the targets of SDG 8 and the probable crisis in the Brazilian economy as a consequence of the pandemic, the authors believe that this crisis will impact the achievement of these targets. Practical implications: The reflections presented here can contribute with the debates about the search for decent work in Brazil. It is worth to remember that the development of actions aligned with SDG 8 targets generates more than only economic gains, as these contribute for building a more just, egalitarian and inclusive society. Originality/value: This viewpoint calls attention to issues that demand urgent public policies; otherwise, these issues can generate losses to an entire generation of Brazilians