The relation between BPM culture, BPM methods, and process performance: Evidence from quantitative field studies

Business process management (BPM) research conceptualizes BPM culture as a type of organizational culture that supports BPM. No quantitative fieldwork has so far examined how such a supporting role manifests itself. We study the relationship between BPM culture, BPM methods, and process performance empirically. Our analysis of multiple survey data sets from a total of 581 practitioners of multiple industries suggests that BPM methods indirectly contribute to process performance by establishing a BPM culture. This finding updates the prevalent assumption that the correct application of methods yields direct performance benefits. We discuss several implications for theory and practice

Опыт участия в международном летнем кампусе РАНХиГС 2017

Extraordinarily well-preserved chitinozoans from an Upper Silurian sedimentary sequence in south-east Turkey were recovered from different depth levels, hand-picked from the palynological residue, cleaned and analysed by micro-FTIR and Curie point pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Hand-picked chitinozoans were predominantly represented by the genera Bursachitina, Calpichitina, Cingulochitina, Ancyrochitina, Angochitina and Pterochitina. Both spectroscopic and pyrolytic investigations suggest that biogeomacromolecules of these Chitinozoa consist of both aliphatic and aromatic moieties. The micro-FTIR spectra of Chitinozoa are characterized by aliphatic CH, (3000-2800 and 1460-1450 cm(-1)) and CH3 (1375 cm(-1)) absorptions and aromatic C = C (1560-1610 cm(-1)) and CH (3050 cm(-1) and 700-900 cm(-1)) absorptions. Major pyrolysis products from the Chitinozoa include both aromatic compounds such as alkylbenzenes, alkylnaphthalenes, alkylphenols and alkylphenanthrenes and aliphatic hydrocarbons including a homologous series of n-alkene/n-alkane doublets. Aromatic compounds predominate over aliphatic compounds. 1,2,3,4-Tetramethylbenzene is the most abundant pyrolysis product of the studied Chitinozoa. No pyrolysis products diagnostic of chitin were detected in the present study and it is unlikely that the original biomacromolecules of Chitinozoa prior to fossilization were made of chitin. (c) 200

Constructing Effective Customer Feedback Systems -- A Design Science Study Leveraging Blockchain Technology

Organizations have to adjust to changes in the ecosystem, and customer feedback systems (CFS) provide important information to adapt products and services to changing customer preferences. However, current systems are limited to single-dimensional rating scales and are subject to self-selection biases. This work contributes design principles for CFS and implements a CFS that advances current systems by means of contextualized feedback according to specific organizational objectives. It also uses blockchain-based incentives to support CFS use. We apply Design Science Research (DSR) methodology and report on a longitudinal DSR journey considering multiple stakeholder values. We conducted expert interviews, design workshops, demonstrations, and a four-day experiment in an organizational setup, involving 132 customers of a major Swiss library. This validates the identified design principles and the implemented software artifact both qualitatively and quantitatively. Based on this evaluation, the design principles are revisited and conclusions for the construction of successful CFS are drawn. The findings of this work advance the knowledge on the design of CFS and provide a guideline to managers and decision makers for designing effective CFS

A theory of contingent business process management

Many researchers and practitioners suggest a contingent instead of a “one size fits all” approach in business process management (BPM). The purpose of this paper is to offer a contingency theory of BPM, which proposes contingency factors relevant to the successful management of business processes and that explains how and why these contingencies impact the relationships between process management and performance

Development and validation of an instrument to measure and manage organizational process variety

Organizational processes vary. Practitioners have developed simple frameworks to differentiate them. Surprisingly, the academic literature on process management does not–it typically strives for one method to manage all processes. We draw on organizational information-processing theory to systematically develop a new, theoretically motivated classification model for organizational processes. We validate this model using survey data from 141 process practitioners of a global corporation. We derive three distinct types of processes and demonstrate that an understanding of process variety based on process dimensions can differentiate processes better than existing frameworks used in practice. Our findings can enable process managers to make informed decisions and serve as a basis for contingent process management

Neuronal damage in autoimmune neuroinflammation mediated by the death ligand TRAIL

Here, we provide evidence for a detrimental role of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in neural death in T cell-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Clinical severity and neuronal apoptosis in brainstem motor areas were substantially reduced upon brain-specific blockade of TRAIL after induction of EAE through adoptive transfer of encephalitogenic T cells. Furthermore, TRAIL-deficient myelin-specific lymphocytes showed reduced encephalitogenicity when transferred to wild-type mice. Conversely, intracerebral delivery of TRAIL to animals with EAE increased clinical deficits, while naive mice were not susceptible to TRAIL. Using organotypic slice cultures as a model for living brain tissue, we found that neurons were susceptible to TRAIL-mediated injury induced by encephalitogenic T cells. Thus, in addition to its known immunoregulatory effects, the death ligand TRAIL contributes to neural damage in the inflamed brain

Local Delivery of Interleukin 4 by Retrovirus-Transduced T Lymphocytes Ameliorates Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system which serves as a model for the human disease multiple sclerosis. We demonstrate here that encephalitogenic T cells, transduced with a retroviral gene, construct to express interleukin 4, and can delay the onset and reduce the severity of EAE when adoptively transferred to myelin basic protein–immunized mice. Thus, T lymphocytes transduced with retroviral vectors can deliver “regulatory cytokines” in a site-specific manner and may represent a viable therapeutic strategy for the treatment of autoimmune disease

How an improved sorghum variety evolves in a traditional seed system in Mali: Effects of farmers’ practices on the maintenance of phenotype and genetic composition

In Africa, it is mostly the informal seed system that ensures farmers’ seed supply. This is partly because the formal seed systems are not always effective in meeting demand for new seed varieties. Sometimes informal seed recycling and exchange of improved sorghum varieties will take place alongside formal initiatives, as is the case in southern Mali. Focusing on one particular village in the Dioïla district, we analyze the efficacy of farmers’ strategies for preserving varietal seed purity and genetic integrity of an improved inbred-line (Soumba variety). Six seed lots of Soumba, recycled for two to six years by farmers using different practices, were collected and assessed in on-station trials in order to compare their agronomic performance and phenotypic purity (off-type plant frequencies) with control versions of the variety. Additionally, 30 panicle samples were randomly collected from five farmer fields sown with recycled Soumba and assessed for phenotypic purity in a progeny nursery and investigated for molecular diversity using 12 SSR markers. A total of 150 panicles from five other non-Soumba varieties were collected in the village in order to investigate eventual gene flow and its potential genetic consequences for the Soumba variety. In fields sown with recycled Soumba seed, between 2% and 14% of plants showed phenotypic deviations from the typical Soumba variety. The progeny nursery and SSR marker analysis verified the presence of the off-type plants observed in the field. The STRUCTURE program revealed admixtures with other varieties in 23% of Soumba plants, confirming the presence of gene flow. Gene diversity values in Soumba samples ranged from 0.006 for the commercial sample to 0.257 for recycled samples. Introgression and contamination were best minimized when (1) farmers had received specific training in seed production, (2) they could take advantage of isolated fields and (3) they could practise true-to-type panicle selection. Farmerswere generally able to maintain the phenotype, as well as sustain or even improve yield performance of their Soumba variety while at the same time genetically enriching their seed stock