Search results for: business process automation

Authors: Fahad Ahmed Qureshi

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Is it essential for a Muslim businessperson and employees of Islamic financial institutions not only in Islamic Banks to perform his/her actions ethically in a universally, competing habitat? The answer is an emphatic NO! in Islam, ethics conduct all departments of life. The orders for eternal success or falah in Islam are the same for all Muslims–whether in managing their business activities or in carrying out their routine affairs. Without designating any circumstantial ambience, Allah specify people who achieve success as those who are “inviting to all that is good (Khayr), enjoining what is right (Ma'ruf) and forbidding what is wrong (Munkar).” Within a business context, however, what sole axioms of regimen should a company follow? What is a Muslim businessperson’s encumbrance to internal and external stakeholders? Although an organization’s top executives may display sterling ethical behavior, how can middle- and lower-level managers be enthusiastic to perform in a correspondingly ethical manner? What are some protocols that would clinch persistent ethical behavior in a Muslim business?

Keywords: business, ethics, finance, Islam

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Authors: Ozcan Yavas, Berrak Erol Nalbur, Sermin Gunarslan

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A materiality matrix is a tool that organizations use to prioritize their activities and adapt to the increasing sustainability requirements in recent years. For the materiality index to move from business models to the sustainability business model stage, it must be done with all partners in the raw material, supply, production, product, and end-of-life product stages. Within the scope of this study, the Materiality Matrix was used to transform the business model into a sustainability business model and to create a sustainability roadmap in a factory producing electric buses. This matrix determines the necessary roadmap for all stakeholders to participate in the process, especially in sectors that produce sustainable products, such as the electric vehicle sector, and to act together with the cradle-to-cradle approach of sustainability roadmaps. Global Reporting Initiative analysis was used in the study conducted with 1150 stakeholders within the scope of the study, and 43 questions were asked to the stakeholders under the main headings of 'Legal Compliance Level,' 'Environmental Strategies,' 'Risk Management Activities,' 'Impact of Sustainability Activities on Products and Services,' 'Corporate Culture,' 'Responsible and Profitable Business Model Practices' and 'Achievements in Leading the Sector' and Economic, Governance, Environment, Social and Other. The results of the study aimed to include five 1st priority issues and four 2nd priority issues in the sustainability strategies of the organization in the short and medium term. When the studies carried out in the short term are evaluated in terms of Sustainability and Environmental Risk Management, it is seen that the studies are still limited to the level of legal legislation (60%) and individual studies in line with the strategies (20%). At the same time, the stakeholders expect the company to integrate sustainability activities into its business model within five years (35%) and to carry out projects to become the first company that comes to mind with its success leading the sector (20%). Another result obtained within the study's scope is identifying barriers to implementation. It is seen that the most critical obstacles identified by stakeholders with climate change and environmental impacts are financial deficiency and lack of infrastructure in the dissemination of sustainable products. These studies are critical for transitioning to sustainable business models for the electric vehicle sector to achieve the EU Green Deal and CBAM targets.

Keywords: sustainability business model, materiality matrix, electricity bus, carbon neutrality, sustainability management

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Authors: Kapil Khanna, Swee Kuik, Joowon Ban

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The current linear economic system is unsustainable due to its dependence on the uncontrolled exploitation of diminishing natural resources. The integration of business innovation and supply chain management has brought about the redesign of business processes through the implementation of a closed-loop approach. The circular economy (CE) offers a sustainable solution to improve business opportunities in the near future by following the principles of rejuvenation and reuse inspired by nature. Those business owners start to rethink and consider using waste as raw material to make new products for consumers. The implementation of CE helps organisations to incorporate new strategic plans for decreasing the use of virgin materials and nature resources. Supply chain partners that are geographically dispersed rely heavily on innovative approaches to support supply chain management. Presently, numerous studies have attempted to establish the concept of supply chain management (SCM) by integrating CE principles, which are commonly denoted as circular SCM. While many scholars have recognised the challenges of transitioning to CE, there is still a lack of consensus on business best practices that can facilitate companies in embracing CE across the supply chain. Hence, this paper strives to scrutinize the SCM practices utilised for CE, identify the obstacles, and recommend best practices that can enhance a company's ability to incorporate CE principles toward business innovation and supply chain performance. Further, the paper proposes future research in the field of using specific technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and blockchain as business innovation tools for supply chain management and CE adoption.

Keywords: business innovation, challenges, circular supply chain, supply chain management, technology

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Authors: Biswanath Swain

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Ethical relativism, as an ethical perspective, holds that moral worth of a course of action is dependent on a particular space and time. Moral rightness or wrongness of a course of action varies from space to space and from time to time. In short, ethical relativism holds that morality is relative to the context. If we reflect conscientiously on the scope of this perspective, we will find that it is wide-spread amongst the marketers involved in the offshore business. However, the irony is that most of the marketers gone along with ethical relativism in their offshore business have been found to be unsuccessful in terms of loss in market-share and bankruptcy. The upshot is purely self-defeating in nature for the marketers. GSK in China and Nestle Maggi in India are some of the burning examples of that sort. The paper argues and recommends that a marketer, as an alternative, should have recourse to Kantian ethical perspective to deliberate courses of action sensitive to offshore business as Kantian ethical perspective is logically and methodologically sound in nature.

Keywords: business, course of action, Kant, morality, offshore, relativism

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Authors: Pei-Hsing Huang, Wei-Ju Huang

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Investment casting is commonly used in the production of metallic components with complex shapes, due to its high dimensional precision, good surface finish, and low cost. However, the process is cumbersome, and the period between trial casting and final production can be very long, thereby limiting business opportunities and competitiveness. In this study, we replaced conventional wax injection with stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing to speed up the trial process and reduce costs. We also used silicone molds to further reduce costs to avoid the high costs imposed by photosensitive resin.

Keywords: investment casting, stereolithography, wax molding, 3D printing

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Authors: Diana Katherine Gonzalez Galindo, David Rolando Suarez Mora

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With this study, we used data mining as a new alternative of the solution to evaluate the comments of the customers in order to find a pattern that helps us to determine some behaviors to reduce the deactivation of the partners of the LEVEL app. In one of the greatest business created in the last times, the partners are being affected due to an internal process that compensates the customer for a bad experience, but these comments could be false towards the driver, that’s why we made an investigation to collect information to restructure this process, many partners have been disassociated due to this internal process and many of them refuse the comments given by the customer. The main methodology used in this case study is the observation, we recollect information in real time what gave us the opportunity to see the most common issues to get the most accurate solution. With this new process helped by data mining, we could get a prediction based on the behaviors of the customer and some basic data recollected such as the age, the gender, and others; this could help us in future to improve another process. This investigation gives more opportunities to the partner to keep his account active even if the customer writes a message through the app. The term is trying to avoid a recession of drivers in the future offering improving in the processes, at the same time we are in search of stablishing a strategy which benefits both the app’s managers and the associated driver.

Keywords: agent, driver, deactivation, rider

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Authors: Samuel Faboyede, Obiamaka Nwobu, Samuel Fakile, Dickson Mukoro

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In the present dynamic business environment of corporate governance and regulations, financial reporting is an inevitable and extremely significant process for every business enterprise. Several financial elements such as Annual Reports, Quarterly Reports, ad-hoc filing, and other statutory/regulatory reports provide vital information to the investors and regulators, and establish trust and rapport between the internal and external stakeholders of an organization. Investors today are very demanding, and emphasize greatly on authenticity, accuracy, and reliability of financial data. For many companies, the Internet plays a key role in communicating business information, internally to management and externally to stakeholders. Despite high prominence being attached to external reporting, it is disconnected in most companies, who generate their external financial documents manually, resulting in high degree of errors and prolonged cycle times. Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officers are increasingly susceptible to endorsing error-laden reports, late filing of reports, and non-compliance with regulatory acts. There is a lack of common platform to manage the sensitive information – internally and externally – in financial reports. The Internet financial reporting language known as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) continues to develop in the face of challenges and has now reached the point where much of its promised benefits are available. This paper looks at the emergence of this revolutionary twenty-first century language of digital reporting. It posits that today, the world is on the brink of an Internet revolution that will redefine the ‘business reporting’ paradigm. The new Internet technology, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), is already being deployed and used across the world. It finds that XBRL is an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) based information format that places self-describing tags around discrete pieces of business information. Once tags are assigned, it is possible to extract only desired information, rather than having to download or print an entire document. XBRL is platform-independent and it will work on any current or recent-year operating system, or any computer and interface with virtually any software. The paper concludes that corporate stakeholders and the government cannot afford to ignore the XBRL. It therefore recommends that all must act locally and think globally now via the adoption of XBRL that is changing the face of worldwide business reporting.

Keywords: XBRL, financial reporting, internet, internal and external reports

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Authors: Dalyah Y. Al-Jamal, Maryam H. Eshtaiwi, Liyakathunisa Syed

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Connecting health services with technology has a huge demand as people health situations are becoming worse day by day. In fact, engaging new technologies such as Internet of Things (IOT) into the medical services can enhance the patient care services. Specifically, patients suffering from chronic diseases such as cardiac patients need a special care and monitoring. In reality, some efforts were previously taken to automate and improve the patient monitoring systems. However, the previous efforts have some limitations and lack the real-time feature needed for chronic kind of diseases. In this paper, an improved process model for patient monitoring system specialized for cardiac patients is presented. A survey was distributed and interviews were conducted to gather the needed requirements to improve the cardiac patient monitoring system. Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) language was used to model the proposed process. In fact, the proposed system uses the IOT Technology to assist doctors to remotely monitor and follow-up with their heart patients in real-time. In order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed solution, simulation analysis was performed using Bizagi Modeler tool. Analysis results show performance improvements in the heart monitoring process. For the future, authors suggest enhancing the proposed system to cover all the chronic diseases.

Keywords: IoT, process model, remote patient monitoring system, smart watch

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Authors: Tirimisiyu Olaide Gbadamosi

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Individuals go into business for the sake of obtaining regular income, becoming self-employed. Although, there different kinds of business enterprises that female and male can go into, often times, some businesses are regarded more suitable for a particular sex and not the other. This means that there is some gender discrimination in the choice of business one goes into and by extension in entrepreneurship development. Apparently, gender attitudes and behaviors will have positive or negative effects on entrepreneurship development in a society or economy. This research work therefore intends to take a critical look at gender discrimination as they affect entrepreneurship development with particular reference to northern Nigeria in general, using Exceptional Production Services Limited Kaduna, Kaduna North Local Government area as a case study, and also to suggest the possible solution to unidentified problems and give recommendation where necessary. Statement of research problem: Entrepreneurship has generally been recognised as a good medium or strategy for economic development of an individual, a community and a nation. It is also a known a known fact that some gender discrimination are often used in the choice of business or even the decision to go into business. For example, some businesses are regarded as more suitable to men than women. The question here is, is this the right approach to economic development through entrepreneurship? Of what effect is this approach to entrepreneurship development? These and the other questions are what this research intends to find answers to and if possible make recommendations. Significance of the study: The findings of this study will provide a guide for anyone for the establishment of a business in Nigeria. The study will help any prospective entrepreneur to make the right decision of which business to go into and how to contend with gender related issues that might influence its success in business. Furthermore, it is hoped that the study will assist the government and her agencies in the process in developing entrepreneurship development programs. Conclusion: There has been growing recognition that various types of discrimination do not always affect women and men in the same way. Moreover, gender discrimination may be intensified and facilitated by all other forms of discrimination. It has been increasingly recognized that without gender analysis of all forms of discrimination in business, including multiple forms of discrimination, and, in particular, in this context, related intolerance, violations of the human rights of women might escape detection and remedies to address racism may also fail to meet the needs of women and girls. It is also important that efforts to address gender discrimination incorporate approaches to the elimination of all forms of discrimination. Recommendation: Campaigning and raising awareness among young men and women, parents, teachers and employers about gender stereotypical attitudes towards academic performances and the likely consequences of overall educational choices for employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, career progression and earnings.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, economic development, small medium enterprises, gender discrimination

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Authors: Haikal Achmad Thaha, Pujo Laksono, Dhamma Nibbana Putra

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Customer service is one of the core interest in a service sector of a company, whether as the core business or as service part of the operation. Most of the time, the people and the previous research in service industry is focused on finding the best business model solution for the service sector, usually to decide between total in house customer service, outsourcing, or something in between. Conventionally, to take this decision is some important part of the management job, and this is a process that usually takes some time and staff effort, meanwhile market condition and overall company needs may change and cause loss of income and temporary disturbance in the companies operation . However, in this paper we have offer a new concept model to assist decision making process in service industry. This model will featured information platform as central tool to integrate service industry operation. The result is service information model which would ideally increase response time and effectivity of the decision making. it will also help service industry in switching the service solution system quickly through machine learning when the companies growth and the service solution needed are changing.

Keywords: service industry, customer service, machine learning, decision making, information platform

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Authors: Kristiana Haryanti, Theresia Dwi Hastuti, Agustine Eva Maria Soekesi

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Entrepreneurship is an important topic today that is widely discussed in the business world. The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated all businesses in the world, especially businesses at the micro-level. This study tries to prove the relationship between job satisfaction of micro-level business owners and family social support for their resilience. The respondents of this study amounted to 58 entrepreneurs. The results of this study indicate that there is a relationship between job satisfaction and social support with entrepreneurial resilience in continuing the family business.

Keywords: family business, family social support, job satisfaction, resilience

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Authors: Hamilton V. Niculescu

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Following a three year study conducted on eighteen Irish people that are involved in growing vegetables in various community gardens around Dublin, Republic of Ireland, it was revealed that addition of some automated features aimed at improving agricultural practices represented a process which was regarded as potentially beneficial, and as a great tool to closely monitor climate conditions inside the greenhouses. The participants were provided with a free custom-built mobile app through which they could remotely monitor and control features such as irrigation, air ventilation, and windows to ensure optimal growing conditions for vegetables growing inside purpose-built greenhouses. While the initial interest was generally high, within weeks, the participants' level of interaction with the enclosures slowly declined. By employing a constructivist grounded theory methodology, following focus group discussions, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and observations, it was revealed that participants' trust in newer technologies, and renewables, in particular, was low. There are various reasons for this, but because the participants in this study consist of mainly working-class people, it can be argued that lack of education and knowledge are the main barriers acting against the adoption of innovations. Consequently, it was revealed that most participants eventually decided to "set and forget" the systems in automatic working mode, indicating that the immediate effect of introducing people to assisting technologies also introduced some unintended consequences into their lifestyle. It is argued that this occurrence also indicates the fact that people initially "read" newer technologies and only adopt those features that they find useful and less intrusive in regards to their current lifestyle.

Keywords: automation, communication, greenhouse, sustainable

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Authors: Sungho Kim, Dae Shik Kim, Jong Min Lee

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Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process is one of the most important process in modern refinery indusrty. This paper focuses on the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process. As the FCC process is difficult to model well, due to its nonlinearities and various interactions between its process variables, rigorous process modeling of whole FCC plant is demanded for control and plant-wide optimization of the plant. In this study, a process design for the FCC plant includes riser reactor, main fractionator, and gas processing unit was developed. A reactor model was described based on four-lumped kinetic scheme. Main fractionator, gas processing unit and other process units are designed to simulate real plant data, using a process flowsheet simulator, Aspen PLUS. The custom reactor model was integrated with the process flowsheet simulator to develop an integrated process model.

Keywords: fluid catalytic cracking, simulation, plant data, process design

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Authors: Jeaha Yang, Ahmed Khan, Donna L. Rodela, Mohammed A. Qaudeer

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Traditional supply chain silos still exist today due to the difficulty of establishing trust between various partners and technological barriers across industries. Companies lose opportunities and revenue and inadvertently make poor business decisions resulting in further challenges. Blockchain technology can bring a new level of transparency through sharing information with a distributed ledger in a decentralized manner that creates a basis of trust for business. Blockchain is a loosely coupled, hub-style communication network in which trading partners can work indirectly with each other for simpler integration, but they work together through the orchestration of their supply chain operations under a coherent process that is developed jointly. A Blockchain increases efficiencies, lowers costs, and improves interoperability to strengthen and automate the supply chain management process while all partners share the risk. Blockchain ledger is built to track inventory lifecycle for supply chain transparency and keeps a journal of inventory movement for real-time reconciliation. State design patterns are used to capture the life cycle (behavior) of inventory management as a state machine for a common, transparent and coherent process which creates an opportunity for trading partners to become more responsive in terms of changes or improvements in process, reconcile discrepancies, and comply with internal governance and external regulations. It enables end-to-end, inter-company visibility at the unit level for more accurate demand planning with better insight into order fulfillment and replenishment.

Keywords: supply chain management, inventory trace-ability, perpetual inventory system, inventory lifecycle, blockchain, inventory consignment, supply chain transparency, digital thread, demand planning, hyper ledger fabric

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Authors: Lakhoua Najeh

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Aims of the work: After a presentation of the functionality of an example of a mechatronic system which is a paint mixer system, we present the concepts of modeling and safe operation. This paper briefly discusses how to model and protect the functioning of a mechatronic system relying mainly on functional analysis and safe operation techniques. Methods: For the study of an example of a mechatronic system, we use methods for external functional analysis that illustrate the relationships between a mechatronic system and its external environment. Thus, we present the Safe-Structured Analysis Design Technique method (Safe-SADT) which allows the representation of a mechatronic system. A model of operating safety and automation is proposed. This model enables us to use a functional analysis technique of the mechatronic system based on the GRAFCET (Graphe Fonctionnel de Commande des Etapes et Transitions: Step Transition Function Chart) method; study of the safe operation of the mechatronic system based on the Safe-SADT method; automation of the mechatronic system based on a software tool. Results: The expected results are to propose a model and safe operation of a mechatronic system. This methodology enables us to analyze the relevance of the different models based on Safe-SADT and GRAFCET in relation to the control and monitoring functions and to study the means allowing exploiting their synergy. Conclusion: In order to propose a general model of a mechatronic system, a model of analysis, safety operation and automation of a mechatronic system has been developed. This is how we propose to validate this methodology through a case study of a paint mixer system.

Keywords: mechatronic systems, system modeling, safe operation, Safe-SADT

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Authors: Harvard Najoan, Sarwono Sutikno, Yusep Rosmansyah

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Most enterprises are now using information technology services as their assets to support business objectives. These kinds of services are provided by the internal service provider (inside the enterprise) or external service provider (outside enterprise). To deliver quality information technology services, the service provider (which from now on will be called ‘organization’) either internal or external, must have a standard for service management system. At present, the standard that is recognized as best practice for service management system for the organization is international standard ISO/IEC 20000:2011. The most important part of this international standard is the first part or ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011-Service Management System Requirement, because it contains 22 for organization processes as a requirement to be implemented in an organizational environment in order to build, manage and deliver quality service to the customer. Assessing organization management processes is the first step to implementing ISO/IEC 20000:2011 into the organization management processes. This assessment needs Process Assessment Model (PAM) as an assessment instrument. PAM comprises two parts: Process Reference Model (PRM) and Measurement Framework (MF). PRM is built by transforming the 22 process of ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011 and MF is based on ISO/IEC 33020. This assessment instrument was designed to assess the capability of service management process in Divisi Teknologi dan Sistem Informasi (Information Systems and Technology Division) as an internal organization of PT Pos Indonesia. The result of this assessment model can be proposed to improve the capability of service management system.

Keywords: ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011, ISO/IEC 33020:2015, process assessment, process capability, service management system

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Authors: Gulnara Galeeva

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The Analytic Hierarchy Process is widely used in the economic and financial studies, including the formation of investment portfolios. In this study, a generalized method of obtaining a vector of priorities for the case with separate pairwise comparisons of the expert opinion being presented as a set of several equal evaluations on a ratio scale is examined. The author claims that this method allows solving an important and up-to-date problem of excluding vagueness and ambiguity of the expert opinion in the decision making theory. The study describes the authentic wide pairwise comparison matrix. Its application in the formation of the efficient investment portfolio of intangible assets of a small business enterprise with limited funding is considered. The proposed method has been successfully approbated on the practical example of a functioning dental clinic. The result of the study confirms that the wide pairwise comparison matrix can be used as a simple and reliable method for forming the enterprise investment policy. Moreover, a comparison between the method based on the wide pairwise comparison matrix and the classical analytic hierarchy process was conducted. The results of the comparative analysis confirm the correctness of the method based on the wide matrix. The application of a wide pairwise comparison matrix also allows to widely use the statistical methods of experimental data processing for obtaining the vector of priorities. A new method is available for simple users. Its application gives about the same accuracy result as that of the classical hierarchy process. Financial directors of small and medium business enterprises get an opportunity to solve the problem of companies’ investments without resorting to services of analytical agencies specializing in such studies.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, decision processes, investment portfolio, intangible assets

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Authors: Tsegahun Milkesa

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This study investigates the implementation of Power-Line Communications (PLC) as a sustainable solution for home automation in Ethiopia. With the country's growing technological landscape and the quest for efficient energy use, this research explores the potential of PLC to facilitate smart home systems, aiming to enhance connectivity and energy management. The primary objective is to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of PLC in Ethiopian residences, considering factors such as infrastructure compatibility, reliability, and scalability. By analyzing existing PLC technologies and their adaptability to local contexts, this study aims to propose optimized solutions tailored to the Ethiopian environment. The research methodology involves a combination of literature review, field surveys, and experimental setups to evaluate PLC's performance in transmitting data and controlling various home appliances. Additionally, socioeconomic implications, including affordability and accessibility, are examined to ensure the technology's inclusivity in diverse Ethiopian households. The findings will contribute insights into the viability of PLC for sustainable connectivity in Ethiopian homes, shedding light on its potential to revolutionize energy-efficient and interconnected living spaces. Ultimately, this study seeks to pave the way for accessible and eco-friendly smart home solutions in Ethiopia, aligning with the nation's aspirations for technological advancement and sustainability.

Keywords: sustainable connectivity, power-line communications (PLC), home automation, Ethiopia, smart homes, energy efficiency, connectivity solutions, infrastructure development, sustainable living

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Authors: Vladimir Simovic, Matija Varga, Tonco Marusic

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This research paper shows matrix technology models and examples of information systems in education (in the Republic of Croatia and in the Germany) in support of business, education (when learning and teaching) and e-learning. Here we researched and described the aims and objectives of the main process in education and technology, with main matrix classes of data. In this paper, we have example of matrix technology with detailed description of processes related to specific data classes in the processes of education and an example module that is support for the process: ‘Filling in the directory and the diary of work’ and ‘evaluation’. Also, on the lower level of the processes, we researched and described all activities which take place within the lower process in education. We researched and described the characteristics and functioning of modules: ‘Fill the directory and the diary of work’ and ‘evaluation’. For the analysis of the affinity between the aforementioned processes and/or sub-process we used our application model created in Visual Basic, which was based on the algorithm for analyzing the affinity between the observed processes and/or sub-processes.

Keywords: designing, education management, information systems, matrix technology, process affinity

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Authors: Tamás Gyulavári, Erzsébet Malota

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The main purpose of our study was to investigate the effect of congruence between the perceived self and perceived culture personality on the evaluation of the examined countries as ideal business/tourist destinations. A measure of Culture Personality (CP) has been developed and implemented to assess the perception of French and Turkish culture. Results show that very similar personality structure of both cultures can be extracted along the dimensions of Competence, Interpersonal approach, Aura, Life approach and Rectitude. Regarding the congruence theory, we found that instead of the effect of similarity between the perceived culture personality and actual self, the more positively culture personality is perceived relative to the perceived self, the more positive attitude the individual has toward the country as business and tourist destination.

Keywords: culture personality, ideal business/tourist destination, personality, scale development

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Authors: Xue Xiao, Sun Hao, Liu Donghua

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E-commerce is experiencing rapid development and evolution, but traditional research methods are difficult to fully demonstrate the relationship between micro factors and macro evolution in the development process of e-commerce, which cannot provide accurate assessment for the existing strategies and predict the future evolution trends. To solve these problems, this paper presents the concept of e-commerce service ecosystem based on the characteristics of e-commerce and business ecosystem theory, describes e-commerce environment as a complex adaptive system from the perspective of ecology, constructs a e-commerce service ecosystem model by using Agent-based modeling method and Java language in RePast simulation platform and conduct experiment through the way of computational experiment, attempt to provide a suitable and effective researching method for the research on e-commerce evolution. By two experiments, it can be found that system model built in this paper is able to show the evolution process of e-commerce service ecosystem and the relationship between micro factors and macro emergence. Therefore, the system model constructed by Agent-based method and computational experiment provides proper means to study the evolution of e-commerce ecosystem.

Keywords: e-commerce service ecosystem, complex system, agent-based modeling, computational experiment

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Authors: Stanley Fore

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The case study company is one of the leading newsprint companies in South Africa. The company has achieved this status through operational expansion, diversification and investing in cutting-edge technology. They have a reputation for the highest quality and personalised service that transcends borders and industries. The company offers a wide variety of small and large scales printing services. The company is faced with the challenge of significant waste production during normal operations. The company generates 1200 kg of plastic waste and 60 – 70 tonnes of paper waste per month. The company operates a waste management process currently, whereby waste paper is sold, at low cost, to recycling firms for further processing. Having considered the quantity of waste being generated, the company has embarked on a venture to find a more profitable solution to its current waste production. As waste management and recycling is not the company’s core business, the aim of the venture is to implement a secondary profitable waste process business. The venture will be expedited as a strategic project. This research aims to estimate the financial feasibility of a selected solution as well as the impact of non-financial considerations thereof. The financial feasibility is analysed using metrics such as Payback period; internal rate of return and net present value.

Keywords: waste, printing industry, up-cycling, management

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Authors: Yogesh Pawar

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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the behaviors of information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) employees in relation to diet, exercise, sleep, stress, and social habits. This was a qualitative research study, using in-depth,semi-structured interviews. Descriptive data were collected from a two-stage purposive sample of 28 IT-BPO employees from two IT companies and one BPOs in Pune. The majority of interviewees reported having an unhealthy diet and/or sedentary lifestyle. Lack of time due to demanding work schedules was the largest barrier to diet and exercise. Given the qualitative study design and limited sampling frame, results may not be generalizable. However, the qualitative data suggests that Pune’s young IT-BPO employees may be at greater risk of lifestyle-related diseases than the general population. The data also suggests that interventions incorporating social influence may be a promising solution, particularly at international call centers. The results from this study provide qualitative insight on the motives for health behaviors of IT-BPO employees, as well as the barriers and facilitators for leading a healthy lifestyle in this industry. The findings provide the framework for future workplace wellness interventions.

Keywords: exercise, information technology, qualitative research, wellness

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Authors: Franziska Mais, Till Gramberg

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The paper presents the development of a sustainable business model for a platform-based application tailored for sawing companies in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The focus is on the integration of sustainability principles into the design of the business model to ensure a technologically advanced, legally sound, and economically efficient solution. Easy2IoT is a research project that aims to enable companies in the prefabrication sheet metal and sheet metal processing industry to enter the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) with a low-threshold and cost-effective approach. The methodological approach of Easy2IoT includes an in-depth requirements analysis and customer interviews with stakeholders along the value chain. Based on these insights, actions, requirements, and potential solutions for smart services are derived. The structuring of the business ecosystem within the application plays a central role, whereby the roles of the partners, the management of the IT infrastructure and services, as well as the design of a sustainable operator model are considered. The business model is developed using the value proposition canvas, whereby a detailed analysis of the requirements for the business model is carried out, taking sustainability into account. This includes coordination with the business model patterns, according to Gassmann, and integration into a business model canvas for the Easy2IoT product. Potential obstacles and problems are identified and evaluated in order to formulate a comprehensive and sustainable business model. In addition, sustainable payment models and distribution channels are developed. In summary, the article offers a well-founded insight into the systematic development of a sustainable business model for platform-based applications in SME sawmills, with a particular focus on the synergy of ecological responsibility and economic efficiency.

Keywords: business model, sustainable business model, IIoT, IIoT-platform, industrie 4.0, big data

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Authors: Joseph Reylan Viray, Kriztine R. Viray

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Call center conversations, more than the business dimensions that they normally manifest, are interactions between human beings. These are communication exchanges that are packed with psychological, cultural and social dimensions that affect the specific experience of the parties. The increasing development of information and communication technology over the past decades brought about important advantages and corresponding disadvantages in the process of communicational transactions in call center industry. It has been established that the technology is so powerful that it strongly affects, among others, call center business. In the present study, the author explores the interplay between the technology being utilized by the industry and the cultural orientations of both the call center agents and their customers in the process of communication exchanges. Specifically, the paper seeks to (1) describe the interplay between culture and technology in inbound call center industry as it affects the communication exchange of the agents and customers; (2) understand the nature and the dynamics of the call center industry as regards the cultural dimensions of Hofstede; and (3) come up with a simple study where the cross-cultural aspect of the call center industry could be highlighted and could provide necessary knowledge to the stakeholders. Cognizant of the complexity of the topic, the researchers employed Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Likewise, another theory that was used in this study is the Computer Mediated Communication Theory.

Keywords: call center industry, culture, Hofstede, CMT, technology

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Authors: Reza Hadjiaghaie Vafaie, Sevda Givtaj

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Automation and control of biological samples and solutions at the microscale is a major advantage for biochemistry analysis and biological diagnostics. Despite the known potential of miniaturization in biochemistry and biomedical applications, comparatively little is known about fluid automation and control at the microscale. Here, we study the electric field effect inside a fluidic channel and proper electrode structures with different patterns proposed to form forward, reversal, and rotational flows inside the channel. The simulation results confirmed that the ac electro-thermal flow is efficient for the control and automation of high-conductive solutions. In this research, the fluid pumping and mixing effects were numerically studied by solving physic-coupled electric, temperature, hydrodynamic, and concentration fields inside a microchannel. From an experimental point of view, the electrode structures are deposited on a silicon substrate and bonded to a PDMS microchannel to form a microfluidic chip. The motions of fluorescent particles in pumping and mixing modes were captured by using a CCD camera. By measuring the frequency response of the fluid and exciting the electrodes with the proper voltage, the fluid motions (including pumping and mixing effects) are observed inside the channel through the CCD camera. Based on the results, there is good agreement between the experimental and simulation studies.

Keywords: microfluidic, nano/micro actuator, AC electrothermal, Reynolds number, micropump, micromixer, microfabrication, mass transfer, biomedical applications

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Authors: Talha Sareshwala

Abstract:

The purpose of this research paper is to help entrepreneurs build an environment of trust, transparency and accountability necessary for fostering long term investment, financial stability and business integrity and to guide future Entrepreneurs into a promising future. The study presents a broader review on Corporate Governance, starting from its definition and antecedents. This is the most important aspect of ethical business. In fact, the 3 main pillars of corporate governance are: Transparency; Accountability; Security. The combination of these 3 pillars in running a company successfully and forming solid professional relationships among its stakeholders, which includes key managerial employees and, most important, the shareholders This paper is sharing an experience how an entrepreneur can act as a catalyst while ensuring them that ethics and transparency do pay in business when followed in true spirit and action.

Keywords: business, entrepreneur, ethics, governance, transparency.

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: V. Jagadeesh, K. Venkata Subbaiah, P. Govinda Rao

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This paper explaining about the significance of information technology tools and software packages in supply chain management (SCM) in order to manage the entire supply chain. Managing materials flow and financial flow and information flow effectively and efficiently with the aid of information technology tools and packages in order to deliver right quantity with right quality of goods at right time by using right methods and technology. Information technology plays a vital role in streamlining the sales forecasting and demand planning and Inventory control and transportation in supply networks and finally deals with production planning and scheduling. It achieves the objectives by streamlining the business process and integrates within the enterprise and its extended enterprise. SCM starts with customer and it involves sequence of activities from customer, retailer, distributor, manufacturer and supplier within the supply chain framework. It is the process of integrating demand planning and supply network planning and production planning and control. Forecasting indicates the direction for planning raw materials in order to meet the production planning requirements. Inventory control and transportation planning allocate the optimal or economic order quantity by utilizing shortest possible routes to deliver the goods to the customer. Production planning and control utilize the optimal resources mix in order to meet the capacity requirement planning. The above operations can be achieved by using appropriate information technology tools and software packages for the supply chain management.

Keywords: supply chain management, information technology, business process, extended enterprise

Procedia PDF Downloads 360

Authors: Kawinphat Lertpongmanee

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationships among business collaboration effectiveness, modern management excellence, proactive operational management, and firm performance to bring competitive advantage to the firm. Furthermore, the population and sample selected are exporters on textile businesses in Thailand in total of 566 companies. The data were collected by questionnaire survey and sent direct to the directors or managerial managers of each company which is appropriate as the key informant of this research. Moreover, the statistic to test hypothesis uses the hierarchical multiple regression analysis and provides those five hypotheses to testing. The results show direct effect that the business collaboration effectiveness has a significantly positive influence on firm performance, meaning that, the collaboration is an important factor in global business both internal and external of firms that reflect the linkage of business to create competitive advantage and gain benefits simultaneously of the firms efficiently also.

Keywords: business collaboration effectiveness, firm performance, modern management excellence, strategic management

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Vrajesh Chokshi

Abstract:

In last three decades, the global economy is substantially changed. Today, we are living in highly inter-connected world. The global markets are more open and consumers are well informed about products and services. The information technology revolution has broken all barriers in global business. The E-commerce has given opportunities of global trades to corporate. The IT is extensively used in almost all industries. After liberalization in 1992, the Indian economy is also significantly changed. The IT (information technology) and ITES (IT enable services) are extensively used in supply chain management. In India, previously car rental service business was dominated by local organization and operated through local contact. This industry is very lucrative and to catch this opportunity, many new corporate have ventured into e-commerce car rental service business in India. As the market is very competitive, branding is also very important part of marketing strategy. Now, the E-commerce portals those are in car rental business in India have realized the importance of the same and have started usage of all types of communication channel to promote their brand in different Indian markets. At consumer side, the awareness is also being considerably increased due to marketing communication campaign run by these companies. This paper aims to understand effectiveness of branding strategies in car rental business in India and also tries to identify unique promotional strategies to consolidate brand image of this business in different Indian markets.

Keywords: branding strategies, car rental business, CRM (customer relationship management), ITES (information technology enabled services)

Procedia PDF Downloads 284