The Mediating Role Of EMS Teamwork As It Pertains To HR Factors And Perceived Environmental Performance

Little management theory or empirical results exist to guide managers in maximizing employee efforts to successfully implement Environmental Management Systems (EMS). In response, this study examines the relationship among Human Resource (HR) factors and employee perceptions of environmental performance. Four hundred thirty-seven (437) employees were surveyed in an organization with a well-developed EMS program and ISO 14001 certification. Results suggest that management support for EMS, EMS training, employee empowerment, and EMS rewards are related to perceived environmental performance. Furthermore, EMS teamwork plays a mediating role between some of independent variables and perceived environmental performance. Finally, implications for managers are discussed

Increasing Company Competitiveness: “Tuning-Up” Your Pay System

The cost of labor (i.e., salaries, benefits and incentives) accounts for a sizeable portion of an employer’s operating expenses. Pay packages priced too low or configured improperly can deprive firms of the talent needed to successfully develop, market and produce viable products and services in today’s ultra competitive business environment. However, if pay packages are too high, labor costs can weaken a firm’s ability to compete. For example, a firm with 500 employees can have labor costs that easily exceed $15 million. Thus, building and maintaining a cost-efficient pay system that encourages employee performance without adversely affecting corporate earnings requires constant vigilance

Teams, Team Process, and Team Building

This chapter examines what is involved in creating effective teams first by differentiating between work units and teams, examining team processes, understanding how and when teams can contribute to a more effective organization, and discussing how to select and develop the best team members, develop effective team leadership, and motivate team performance. It examines some of the latest developments and challenges in teams, including virtual and global teams. The group process model says that the sum of the individuals’ potential plus process gain minus process loss equals group effectiveness. The chapter describes the situations in which teams can be productive and those in which they cannot. It is important for employees to understand how their tasks contribute to the success of others’ tasks and what the successful performance of these tasks means to the organization. Team members should be selected based on either possessing technical skills, problem-solving and decision-making skills or interpersonal skills, or having a strong aptitude for their development. The chapter explains the importance of training with respect to teams, distinguishes between task-related training and team-related training, and helps the reader to understand the concept of team building. Successful team leaders know that team performance comes from collective effort and action. Goal-setting theories suggest that goals can improve performance because they generate, direct, and sustain effort. The chapter explains how to evaluate team and team member performance, and emphasizes individual performance in terms of contribution to the team

Flexible, reconfigurable, power efficient transmitter and method

A flexible, reconfigurable, power efficient transmitter device and method is provided. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving outbound data and determining a mode of operation. When operating in a first mode the method may include modulation mapping the outbound data according a modulation scheme to provide first modulation mapped digital data, converting the first modulation mapped digital data to an analog signal that comprises an intermediate frequency (IF) analog signal, upconverting the IF analog signal to produce a first modulated radio frequency (RF) signal based on a local oscillator signal, amplifying the first RF modulated signal to produce a first RF output signal, and outputting the first RF output signal via an isolator. In a second mode of operation method may include modulation mapping the outbound data according a modulation scheme to provide second modulation mapped digital data, converting the second modulation mapped digital data to a first digital baseband signal, conditioning the first digital baseband signal to provide a first analog baseband signal, modulating one or more carriers with the first analog baseband signal to produce a second modulated RF signal based on a local oscillator signal, amplifying the second RF modulated signal to produce a second RF output signal, and outputting the second RF output signal via the isolator. The digital baseband signal may comprise an in-phase (I) digital baseband signal and a quadrature (Q) baseband signal

Bayesian Network Structure Learning with Permutation Tests

In literature there are several studies on the performance of Bayesian network structure learning algorithms. The focus of these studies is almost always the heuristics the learning algorithms are based on, i.e. the maximisation algorithms (in score-based algorithms) or the techniques for learning the dependencies of each variable (in constraint-based algorithms). In this paper we investigate how the use of permutation tests instead of parametric ones affects the performance of Bayesian network structure learning from discrete data. Shrinkage tests are also covered to provide a broad overview of the techniques developed in current literature.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. Presented at the Conference 'Statistics for Complex Problems', Padova, June 15, 201

Progress on the Development of the UAS C2 Link and Supporting Spectrum - from LOS to BLOS

In order to provide for the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System, the control and non-payload communications (CNPC) link connecting the ground-based pilot with the unmanned aircraft must be highly reliable and robust, based upon standards that enable certification. Both line-of-sight (LOS) links using terrestrial-based communications and beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) links using satellite communications are required to support UAS operations. The development of standards has been undertaken by RTCA Special Committee 228 (SC-228), with supporting technical data developed by NASA under the UAS in the National Airspace (NAS) Project. As a result of this work minimum operational performance standards (MOPS) have been completed and published for the LOS CNPC system. The second phase of work, for both NASA and RTCA involves the BLOS CNPC systems. The development of technical data to support MOPS development for UAS BLOS satellite-based CNPC links has now been initiated by NASA, and RTCA SC-228 has organized itself to begin the MOPS development process. This paper will provide an overview of the work that has been completed to date by the Communications Subproject in support of LOS C2 communications for UAS followed by an update of plans and progress for the BLOS phase of the project, with the focus on the UAS C2 spectrum aspects

A comparison of univariate methods for forecasting electricity demand up to a day ahead

This empirical paper compares the accuracy of six univariate methods for short-term electricity demand forecasting for lead times up to a day ahead. The very short lead times are of particular interest as univariate methods are often replaced by multivariate methods for prediction beyond about six hours ahead. The methods considered include the recently proposed exponential smoothing method for double seasonality and a new method based on principal component analysis (PCA). The methods are compared using a time series of hourly demand for Rio de Janeiro and a series of half-hourly demand for England and Wales. The PCA method performed well, but, overall, the best results were achieved with the exponential smoothing method, leading us to conclude that simpler and more robust methods, which require little domain knowledge, can outperform more complex alternatives