Search results for: Chinese regional service industry

Authors: P. Kanakasabapathy, Radhika. S,

Abstract:

In the competitive electricity market environment, the profit of the pumped-storage plant in the energy market can be maximized by operating it as a generator, when market clearing price is high and as a pump, to pump water from lower reservoir to upper reservoir, when the price is low. An optimal self-scheduling plan has been developed for a pumped-storage plant, carried out on weekly basis in order to maximize the profit of the plant, keeping into account of all the major uncertainties such as the sudden ancillary service delivery request and the price forecasting errors. For a pumped storage power plant to operate in a real time market successive self scheduling has to be done by considering the forecast of the day-ahead market and the modified reservoir storage due to the ancillary service request of the previous day. Sliding Window Technique has been used for successive self scheduling to ensure profit for the plant.

Keywords: Ancillary services, BPSO, Power System Economics (Electricity markets), Self-Scheduling, Sliding Window Technique.

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Authors: Noor Azlina Mohd Salleh, Salmiah Kasolang, Ahmed Jaffar

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Integrated Total Quality Management (TQM) with Lean Manufacturing (LM) is a system comprises of TQM with LM principles and is associated with financial and nonfinancial performance measurement indicators. The ultimate goal of this system is to focus on achieving total customer satisfaction by removing eight wastes available in any process in an organization. A survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to 30 highly active automotive vendors in Malaysia and analyzed by PASW Statistics 18. It was found out that these vendors have been practicing and measuring the effectiveness TQM and LM implementation. More involvement of all Malaysian automotive vendors will represent the exact status of current Malaysian automotive industry in implementing TQM and LM and can determine whether the industry is ready for integrated TQM and LM system. This is the first study that combined 4 awards practices, ISO/TS16949, Toyota Production System and SAEJ4000.

Keywords: Automotive Industry, Lean Manufacturing, Operational Engineering Management, Total Quality Management

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Authors: EL-Sayed M. M. EL-Refaie, Mohamed R. Salem, Wael A. Ahmed

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Power systems and transformer are intrinsic apparatus, therefore its reliability and safe operation is important to determine their operation conditions, and the industry uses quality control tests in the insulation design of oil filled transformers. Hence the service period effect on AC dielectric strength is significant. The effect of aging on transformer oil physical, chemical and electrical properties was studied using the international testing methods for the evaluation of transformer oil quality. The study was carried out on six transformers operate in the field and for monitoring periods over twenty years. The properties which are strongly time dependent were specified and those which have a great impact on the transformer oil acidity, breakdown voltage and dissolved gas analysis were defined. Several tests on the transformers oil were studied to know the time of purifying or changing it, moreover prediction of the characteristics of it under different operation conditions.

Keywords: Dissolved Gas Analysis, Prediction, Purifying and Changing.

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Authors: S. Habte, K. Ouazzane, P. Patel, S. Patel

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The dynamic and highly competitive nature of the consumer electronics retail industry means that businesses in this industry are experiencing different decision making challenges in relation to pricing, inventory control, consumer satisfaction and product offerings. To overcome the challenges facing retailers and create opportunities, we propose a generic data warehousing solution which can be applied to a wide range of consumer electronics retailers with a minimum configuration. The solution includes a dimensional data model, a template SQL script, a high level architectural descriptions, ETL tool developed using C#, a set of APIs, and data access tools. It has been successfully applied by ASK Outlets Ltd UK resulting in improved productivity and enhanced sales growth.

Keywords: Consumer electronics retail, dimensional data model, data analysis, generic data warehousing, reporting.

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Authors: S. Bagher Daryaii

Abstract:

Delays in construction projects are one of the most common risky problems and regardless of the causes, the delays can occur in all projects and all industries. The impact of delays has a wide range from neglectable ones to losing the project's importance or its economic justification. In this paper, by doing research and interview with managers, executors, consultants and supervisors of construction projects in the petrochemical industry, their opinions about reasons of delays in projects have been gathered.

Keywords: Analysis of delays, causes of delays, delays in petrochemical projects, project delays.

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Authors: Sarita D. Jackson

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Agriculture remains a sensitive issue during multilateral trade negotiations within the World Trade Organization (WTO). Similar problems arise at the bilateral level, as in the case of trade talks between the United States and the Dominican Republic. The study explores the determinant of agricultural industry competitiveness in the 21^st century, particularly in the case of U.S. and Dominican agriculture in each other’s market. Complementing existing scholarship on industry competitiveness, the study argues that trade rules that are established under preferential access programs and trade agreements play a significant role in shaping an industry’s ability to compete. The final analysis is used to offer recommendations to the same sector in Cuba. Cuba currently relies heavily on U.S. food imports and is experiencing the gradual opening of trade with the United States.

Keywords: Agriculture, bargaining, competitiveness, Dominican Republic, DR-CAFTA, free trade agreement, institutions.

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Authors: Iftikhar Ahmad, Youssef Elkezza

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Sarir oilfield is in North Africa. It has facilities of oil and gas production. The assets of the Sarir oilfield can be divided into five following categories, namely: (i) Well bore and wellheads; (ii) Vessels such as separators, desalters, and gas processing facilities; (iii) Pipelines including all flow lines, trunk lines, and shipping lines; (iv) storage tanks; (v) Other assets such as turbines and compressors, etc. The nature of the petroleum industry recognizes the potential human, environmental and financial consequences that can result from failing to maintain the integrity of wellheads, vessels, tanks, pipelines, and other assets. The importance of effective asset integrity management increases as the industry infrastructure continues to age. The primary objective of assets integrity management (AIM) is to maintain assets in a fit-for-service condition while extending their remaining life in the most reliable, safe, and cost-effective manner. Corrosion management is one of the important aspects of successful asset integrity management. It covers corrosion mitigation, monitoring, inspection, and risk evaluation. External corrosion on pipelines, well bores, buried assets, and bottoms of tanks is controlled with a combination of coatings by cathodic protection, while the external corrosion on surface equipment, wellheads, and storage tanks is controlled by coatings. The periodic cleaning of the pipeline by pigging helps in the prevention of internal corrosion. Further, internal corrosion of pipelines is prevented by chemical treatment and controlled operations. This paper describes the integrity management system used in the Sarir oil field for its oil and gas production facilities based on standard practices of corrosion mitigation and inspection.

Keywords: Assets integrity management, corrosion prevention in oilfield assets, corrosion management in oilfield, corrosion prevention and inspection activities.

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Authors: M. F. Wu, F. T. Cheng

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Leather industry is the most important traditional industry to provide the leather products in the world for thousand years. The fierce global competitive environment and common awareness of global carbon reduction make livestock supply quantities falling, salt and wet blue leather material reduces and the price skyrockets significantly. Exchange rate fluctuation led sales revenue decreasing which due to the differences of export exchanges and compresses the overall profitability of leather industry. This paper applies activity-based benefit assessment approach to build up fitness fur input mixed model, fur is Wet Blue, which concerned with four key factors: the output rate of wet blue, unit cost of wet blue, yield rate and grade level of Wet Blue to achieve the low cost strategy under given unit price of leather product condition of the company. The research findings indicate that applying this model may improve the input cost structure, decrease numbers of leather product inventories and to raise the competitive advantages of the enterprise in the future.

Keywords: Activity-Based Benefit Assessment Approach, Input mixed, Output Rate, Wet Blue.

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Authors: Mohammad H. Abu-Arqoub, Ihab S. Serhed, Waheeb A. Abu-Dawwas, Rashid M. Al-Azzeh

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This paper aims at improving web server performance by establishing a middleware layer between web and database servers, which minimizes the overload on the database server. A middleware system has been developed as a service mainly to improve the performance. This system manages connection accesses in a way that would result in reducing the overload on the database server. In addition to the connection management, this system acts as an object-oriented model for best utilization of operating system resources. A web developer can use this Service Broker to improve web server performance.

Keywords: Database server, Improve performance, Middleware, Web server.

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Authors: H. H. Goh, K. C. Goh, T. W. Seow, N. S. Said, S. E. P. Ang

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Malaysia is rich with historic buildings, particularly in Penang and Malacca states. Restoration activities are increasingly important as these states are recognized under UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Restoration activities help to maintain the uniqueness and value of a heritage building. However, increasing in restoration activities has resulted in large quantities of waste. To cope with this problem, the 3R concept (reduce, reuse and recycle) is introduced. The 3R concept is one of the waste management hierarchies. This concept is still yet to apply in the building restoration industry compared to the construction industry. Therefore, this study aims to promote the 3R concept in the heritage building restoration industry. This study aims to examine the importance of 3R concept and to identify challenges in applying the 3R concept in the heritage building restoration industry. This study focused on contractors and consultants who are involved in heritage restoration projects in Penang. Literature review and interviews helps to reach the research objective. Data that obtained is analyzed by using content analysis. For the research, application of 3R concept is important to conserve natural resources and reduce pollution problems. However, limited space to organise waste is the obstruction during the implementation of this concept. In conclusion, the 3R concept plays an important role in promoting environmental conservation and helping in reducing the construction waste.

Keywords: 3R Concept, Heritage building, Restoration activities.

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Authors: Xunan Huang, Caicai Zhang

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This paper investigated the code-mixing features in Mandarin-English bilingual children in Singapore. First, it examined whether the code-mixing rate was different in Mandarin Chinese and English contexts. Second, it explored the syntactic categories of code-mixing in Singapore bilingual children. Moreover, this study investigated whether morphological information was preserved when inserting syntactic components into the matrix language. Data are derived from the Singapore Bilingual Corpus, in which the recordings and transcriptions of sixty English-Mandarin 5-to-6-year-old children were preserved for analysis. Results indicated that the rate of code-mixing was asymmetrical in the two language contexts, with the rate being significantly higher in the Mandarin context than that in the English context. The asymmetry is related to language dominance in that children are more likely to code-mix when using their nondominant language. Concerning the syntactic categories of code-mixing words in the Singaporean bilingual children, we found that noun-mixing, verb-mixing, and adjective-mixing are the three most frequently used categories in code-mixing in the Mandarin context. This pattern mirrors the syntactic categories of code-mixing in the Cantonese context in Cantonese-English bilingual children, and the general trend observed in lexical borrowing. Third, our results also indicated that English vocabularies that carry morphological information are embedded in bare forms in the Mandarin context. These findings shed light upon how bilingual children take advantage of the two languages in mixed utterances in a bilingual environment.

Keywords: Code-mixing, Mandarin Chinese, English, bilingual children.

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Authors: Kiyohiro Yamazaki

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A purpose of this study is to examine how a firm without fundamental technology is able to gain the competitive advantage. This paper examines three case studies, Sony in the flat display TV industry, Casio in the digital camera industry and Nintendo in the home game machine industry. This paper maintain the firms without fundamental technology construct two advantages, economic advantage and organizational advantage. An economic advantage involves the firm can select either high-tech or cheap devices out of several device makers, and change the alternatives cheaply and quickly. In addition, organizational advantage means that a firm without fundamental technology is not restricted by organizational inertia and cognitive restraints, and exercises the characteristic of strength.

Keywords: Firm without fundamental technology, economic advantage, organizational advantage, Sony, Casio, Nintendo.

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Authors: Mohamed Haffar, Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Ahmad Ghoneim

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The importance of having a good organizational culture that supports employee job satisfaction has fascinated both the business and academic world because of a tantalizing promise: culture can be fundamental to the enhancement of financial performance. This promise has led to growing interest for both researchers and practitioners in attempting to understand the influence of organizational culture on employees’ satisfaction and organizational performance. Even though the relationship between organizational culture and employee job satisfaction have gained attention in the literature, the majority of studies have been conducted within manufacturing organizations and tend to oversee the impact of culture on employee job satisfaction in a service-based environment. Thus, the main driving force of this study was to explore the role of organizational culture types in facilitating employee job satisfaction at Emerald Publishing Group. Interviews qualitative data analysis indicated that Emerald’s culture dominated by adhocracy and clan culture values. In addition, the findings provided evidence, which demonstrated that group and adhocracy organizational culture types play key roles in facilitating employee job satisfaction in a service-based environment.

Keywords: Employee satisfaction, organizational culture, performance, service based environment.

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Authors: Maha Shamseddine, Amjad Nusayr, Wassim Itani

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In this paper, we present a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model for controlling the privacy enforcement mechanisms applied on user data when stored and processed in Cloud data centers. The proposed architecture consists of establishing user configurable ‘sticky’ policies on the Graphical User Interface (GUI) data-bound components during the application development phase to specify the details of privacy enforcement on the contents of these components. Various privacy classification classes on the data components are formally defined to give the user full control on the degree and scope of privacy enforcement including the type of execution containers to process the data in the Cloud. This not only enhances the privacy-awareness of the developed Cloud services, but also results in major savings in performance and energy efficiency due to the fact that the privacy mechanisms are solely applied on sensitive data units and not on all the user content. The proposed design is implemented in a real PaaS cloud computing environment on the Microsoft Azure platform.

Keywords: Privacy enforcement, Platform-as-a-Service privacy awareness, cloud computing privacy.

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Authors: Laila Yasir Al-Harthy, Ali H. Al-Badi

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As an emerging business model, cloud computing has been initiated to satisfy the need of organizations and to push Information Technology as a utility. The shift to the cloud has changed the way Information Technology departments are managed traditionally and has raised many concerns for both, public and private sectors.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of cloud computing services replacing services provided traditionally by IT departments. Therefore, it aims to 1) explore whether organizations in Oman are ready to move to the cloud; 2) identify the deciding factors leading to the adoption or rejection of cloud computing services in Oman; and 3) provide two case studies, one for a successful Cloud provider and another for a successful adopter.

This paper is based on multiple research methods including conducting a set of interviews with cloud service providers and current cloud users in Oman; and collecting data using questionnaires from experts in the field and potential users of cloud services.

Despite the limitation of bandwidth capacity and Internet coverage offered in Oman that create a challenge in adopting the cloud, it was found that many information technology professionals are encouraged to move to the cloud while few are resistant to change.

The recent launch of a new Omani cloud service provider and the entrance of other international cloud service providers in the Omani market make this research extremely valuable as it aims to provide real-life experience as well as two case studies on the successful provision of cloud services and the successful adoption of these services.

Keywords: Cloud computing, cloud deployment models, cloud service models and deciding factors.

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Authors: Svetlana Pushkar

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The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system is recognized in Europe. LEED uses regional priority (RP) points that are adapted to different environmental conditions. However, the appropriateness of the RP points is still a controversial question. To clarify this issue, two different parts of Europe: northern Europe (Finland and Sweden) and southern Europe (Turkey and Spain) were considered. Similarities and differences in the performances of LEED 2009-new construction (LEED-NC 2009) in these four countries were analyzed. It was found that LEED-NC 2009 performances in northern and southern parts of Europe in terms of Sustainable Sites (SS), Water Efficiency (WE), Materials and Resources (MR), and Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) were similar, whereas in Energy and Atmosphere (EA), their performances were different. WE and SS revealed high performances (70-100%); EA and EQ demonstrated intermediate performance (40-60%); and MR displayed low performance (20-40%). It should be recommended introducing the following new RP points: for Turkey - water-related points and for all four observed countries - green power-related points for improving the LEED adaptation in Europe.

Keywords: Green building, Europe, LEED, regional priority points.

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Authors: Taneli Eisto, Venlakaisa Hölttä

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Customer-supplier collaboration enables firms to achieve greater success than acting independently. Nevertheless, not many firms have fully utilized the potential of collaboration. This paper presents organizational and human related success factors for collaboration in manufacturing supply chains in casting industry. Our research approach was a case study including multiple cases. Data was gathered by interviews and group discussions in two different research projects. In the first research project we studied seven firms and in the second five. It was found that the success factors are interrelated, in other words, organizational and human factors together enable success but not any of them alone. Some of the found success factors are a culture of following agreements, and a speed of informing the partner about changes affecting to the product or the delivery chain.

Keywords: Casting industry, collaboration success factors, customer-supplier collaboration, supply chain collaboration.

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Authors: Somayeh Abedian, Pirhossein Kolivand, Hamid Reza Lornejad, Amin Karampour, Ebrahim Keshavarz Safari

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For emergency and relief service providers such as pre-hospital emergencies, quick arrival at the scene of an accident or any EMS mission is one of the most important requirements of effective service delivery. EMS Response time (the interval between the time of the call and the time of arrival on scene) is a critical factor in determining the quality of pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS). This is especially important for heart attack, stroke, or accident patients that seconds are vital in saving their lives. Location-based e-services can be broadly defined as any service that provides information pertinent to the current location of an active mobile handset or precise address of landline phone call at a specific time window, regardless of the underlying delivery technology used to convey the information. According to research, one of the effective methods of meeting this goal is determining the location of the caller via the cooperation of landline and mobile phone operators in the country. The follow-up of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) organization has resulted in the receipt of two separate secured electronic web services. Thus, to ensure human privacy, a secure technical architecture was required for launching the services in the pre-hospital EMS information management system. In addition, to quicken medics’ arrival at the patient's bedside, rescue vehicles should make use of an intelligent transportation system to estimate road traffic using a GPS-based mobile navigation system independent of the Internet. This paper seeks to illustrate the architecture of the practical national model used by the Iranian EMS organization.

Keywords: response time, geographic location inquiry service, location-based services, emergency medical services information system

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Authors: Ana Bobirca, Paul-Gabriel Miclaus

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International competitiveness receives much attention nowadays, but up to now its assessment has been heavily based on manufacturing industry statistics. This paper addresses the need for competitiveness indicators that cover the service sector and sets out a multilevel framework for measuring international services trade competitiveness. The approach undertaken here aims at comparatively examining the international competitiveness of the EU-25 (the twenty-five European Union member states before the 1st of January 2007), Romanian and Bulgarian services trade, as well as the last two countries- structure of specialization on the EU-25 services market. The primary changes in the international competitiveness of three major services sectors – transportation, travel and other services - are analyzed. This research attempts to determine the ability of the two recent European Union (EU) member states to contend with the challenges that might arise from the hard competition within the enlarged EU, in the field of services trade.

Keywords: Bulgaria, EU-25, international competitiveness, international services trade, Romania.

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Authors: Muhammad Jamaluddin Thaheem, Alberto De Marco

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The area of Project Risk Management (PRM) has been extensively researched, and the utilization of various tools and techniques for managing risk in several industries has been sufficiently reported. Formal and systematic PRM practices have been made available for the construction industry. Based on such body of knowledge, this paper tries to find out the global picture of PRM practices and approaches with the help of a survey to look into the usage of PRM techniques and diffusion of software tools, their level of maturity, and their usefulness in the construction sector. Results show that, despite existing techniques and tools, their usage is limited: software tools are used only by a minority of respondents and their cost is one of the largest hurdles in adoption. Finally, the paper provides some important guidelines for future research regarding quantitative risk analysis techniques and suggestions for PRM software tools development and improvement.

Keywords: Construction industry, Project risk management, Software tools, Survey study.

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Authors: Nader Gharibnavaz, Naser Gharibnavaz

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This study extends research on the relationship between marketing strategy and market segmentation by investigating on market segments in the cement industry. Competitive strength and rivals distance from the factory were used as business environment. A three segment (positive, neutral or indifferent and zero zones) were identified as strategic segments. For each segment a marketing strategy (aggressive, defensive and decline) were developed. This study employed data from cement industry to fulfill two objectives, the first is to give a framework to the segmentation of cement industry and the second is developing marketing strategy with varying competitive strength. Fifty six questionnaires containing close-and open-ended questions were collected and analyzed. Results supported the theory that segments tend to be more aggressive than defensive when competitive strength increases. It is concluded that high strength segments follow total market coverage, concentric diversification and frontal attack to their competitors. With decreased competitive strength, Business tends to follow multi-market strategy, product modification/improvement and flank attack to direct competitors for this kind of segments. Segments with weak competitive strength followed focus strategy and decline strategy.

Keywords: Marketing strategy, Competitive strength, Market Segmentation

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Authors: Reihaneh Montazeri Shatouri, Rosmini Omar, Kunio Igusa

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Although automotive industry has brought different beneficiaries to human life, it is being pointed out as one of the major cause of global air pollution which resulted in climate change, smog, green house gases (GHGs), and human diseases by many reasons. Since auto industry is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels, the realization of green innovations is becoming a crucial choice to meet the challenges towards sustainable development. Recently, many auto manufacturers have embarked on green technology initiatives to gain a competitive advantage in the global market; however, innovative manufacturing systems and technologies can enhance operational performance only if the human resource management is in place to elicit the motivation of the employees and develop their organizational expertise. No organization can perform at peak levels unless each employee is committed to the company goals and works as an effective team member. Strategic human resource practices are the primary means by which firms can shape the skills, attitudes, and behavior of individuals to align with the business strategic objectives. This study investigates on the comprehensive approach of multiple advanced technology innovations and human resource management at Toyota Motor Corporation as the market leader of full hybrid technology in the automotive industry. Then, HRM framework of the company is described and three sets of human resource practices that support the innovation-oriented HR system, presented. Finally, a conceptual framework for innovativeness in green technology in automotive industry by applying a deliberate strategic HR management system and knowledge management with the intervening factors of organizational culture, knowledge application and knowledge sharing is proposed.

Keywords: Automotive Industry, Green Technology, Innovation, Strategic Human Resource Management

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Authors: Thandokazi Nyangiwe, Christopher Amoah, Charles P. Mukumba

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The South African construction sector is threatened by emerging black business forums called construction mafias. The emergence of the construction mafia has culminated in the disruptions and abandonment of construction sites resulting in the loss of jobs for construction workers. The paper examines the origin of construction mafias and their impact on the construction sector, including the potential ways to cope with their operations. A qualitative research approach was adopted for this study using open-ended interview questions to gather information from 30 key construction industry stakeholders, including contractors, subcontractors, consultants, and the construction project communities. Content and thematic analyses were used to analyses the data collected. The findings suggest that most participants do not fully understand the existence and operations of construction mafias in the construction industry. Construction mafias claim to be part of the local business forums. They disrupt construction projects and demand a certain amount, usually 30% of the construction value. Construction mafias frequently resort to intimidation and violence if their demands are unmet. Their operations have resulted in delayed completion of construction projects, abandonment of projects, and loss of income for the contractor and jobs for the construction workers. The interviews were limited to construction stakeholders. Because of the nature of the mafias’ operations, they could not be accessed for interviews for fear of being identified because of the connotation attached to their role as construction mafias. Construction project owners face disruptions of projects resulting in loss of equipment, materials, and income. Therefore, there is a need to sensitize the construction stakeholders in the construction industry regarding the existence and operations of the construction mafia and the implications on construction project performance and delivery. The findings will give insight into the operations of the construction mafias in the South African construction industry, which has caused disruptions in construction project sites. Stakeholders must find solutions to address the construction mafias’ disruptive actions on construction projects. The study presents an initial inquiry that will come up with how to manage and cope with the growing operations of construction mafias in the South African construction industry.

Keywords: Black business forums, construction mafia, South African construction industry.

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Authors: Bundit Pungnirund

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The purposes of this research were to develop and to monitor the antecedent factors which directly affected the success rate of new product development. This was a case study of the leather industry in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 350 leather factories were used as a sample group. The findings revealed that the new product development model was harmonized with the empirical data at the acceptable level, the statistic values are: χ2=6.45, df= 7, p-value = .48856; RMSEA = .000; RMR = .0029; AGFI = .98; GFI = 1.00. The independent variable that directly influenced the dependent variable at the highest level was marketing outcome which had a influence coefficient at 0.32 and the independent variables that indirectly influenced the dependent variables at the highest level was a clear organization policy which had a influence coefficient at 0.17, whereas, all independent variables can predict the model at 48 percent.

Keywords: Antecedent, New Product Development, Leather Industry.

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Authors: Blandina Šramová, Gabriela Kučeráková

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The paper is intended to declare and apply ethics, i. e. moral principles, rules in marketing environment. Ethical behavior of selected pharmaceutical companies in the Slovak Republic is the object of our research. The aim of our research is to determine perception of ethical behavior of the pharmaceutical industry in Slovakia by the medicine representatives in comparison with the assessment of doctors and patients. The experimental sample included 90 participants who were divided into three groups: medicine representatives of the pharmaceutical companies (N=30), doctors (N=30) and patients (N=30). The research method was a Questionnaire of ethical behavior, created by us, that describes individual areas included in the Code of ethics of the pharmaceutical industry in Slovakia. The results showed influence of professional status on ethical behavior perception, not gender. Higher perception was indicated at patients rather than doctors and medicine representatives.

Keywords: Ethics, corporate social responsibility, marketing, pharmaceutical industry.

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Authors: Wuttigrai Ngamsirijit

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Creative tourism is an ongoing development in many countries as an attempt to moving away from serial reproduction of culture and reviving the culture. Despite, in the destinations with diverse and potential cultural resources, creating new tourism services can be vague. This paper presents how tourism experiences are modularized and consolidated in order to form new creative tourism service offerings in evanescent cultural communities of Bangkok, Thailand. The benefits from data mining in accommodating value co-creation are discussed, and implication of experience modularization to national creative tourism policy is addressed.

Keywords: Co-creation, Creative tourism, New Service Design

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Authors: Rachel Bardy Prado, Vinícius de Melo Benites, José Carlos Polidoro, Carlos Eduardo Gonçalves, Alexey Naumov

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Most agricultural crops cultivated in Brazil are highly nutrient demanding. Brazilian soils are generally acidic with low base saturation and available nutrients. Demand for fertilizer application has increased because the national agricultural sector expansion. To improve productivity without environmental impact, there is the need for the utilization of novel procedures and techniques to optimize fertilizer application. This includes the digital soil mapping and GIS application applied to mapping in different scales. This paper is based on research, realized during 2005 to 2010 by Brazilian Corporation for Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA) and its partners. The purpose was to map soil fertility in national and regional scales. A soil profile data set in national scale (1:5,000,000) was constructed from the soil archives of Embrapa Soils, Rio de Janeiro and in the regional scale (1:250,000) from COMIGO Cooperative soil data set, Rio Verde, Brazil. The mapping was doing using ArcGIS 9.1 tools from ESRI.

Keywords: agricultural sustainability, fertilizer optimization, GIS, soil attributes.

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Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah

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E-government has been adopted and used by many governments/countries around the world including Ghana to provide citizens and businesses with more accurate, real-time, and high quality services and information. The objective of this paper is to present an overview of the Government of Ghana’s (GoG) adoption and implement of e-government and its usage by the Ministries, Departments and its agencies (MDAs) as well as other public sector institutions to deliver efficient public service to the general public i.e. citizens, business etc. Government implementation of e-government focused on facilitating effective delivery of government service to the public and ultimately to provide efficient government-wide electronic means of sharing information and knowledge through a network infrastructure developed to connect all major towns and cities, Ministries, Departments and Agencies and other public sector organizations in Ghana. One aim for the Government of Ghana use of ICT in public administration is to improve productivity in government administration and service by facilitating exchange of information to enable better interaction and coordination of work among MDAs, citizens and private businesses. The study was prepared using secondary sources of data from government policy documents, national and international published reports, journal articles, and web sources. This study indicates that through the e-government initiative, currently citizens and businesses can access and pay for services such as renewal of driving license, business registration, payment of taxes, acquisition of marriage and birth certificates as well as application for passport through the GoG electronic service (eservice) and electronic payment (epay) portal. Further, this study shows that there is enormous commitment from GoG to adopt and implement e-government as a tool not only to transform the business of government but also to bring efficiency in public services delivered by the MDAs. To ascertain this, a further study need to be carried out to determine if the use of e-government has brought about the anticipated improvements and efficiency in service delivery of MDAs and other state institutions in Ghana.

Keywords: Electronic government, electronic services, electronic payment, MDAs.

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Authors: Noura Meshaan Al-Otaibi, Amin Yousef Noaman

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Nowadays scientific data is inevitably digital and stored in a wide variety of formats in heterogeneous systems. Scientists need to access an integrated view of remote or local heterogeneous data sources with advanced data accessing, analyzing, and visualization tools. This research suggests the use of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to integrate biological data from different data sources. This work shows SOA will solve the problems that facing integration process and if the biologist scientists can access the biological data in easier way. There are several methods to implement SOA but web service is the most popular method. The Microsoft .Net Framework used to implement proposed architecture.

Keywords: Bioinformatics, Biological data, Data Integration, SOA and Web Services.

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Authors: Kailash, Rajeev Kumar Saha, Sanjeev Goyal

Abstract:

Each and every manufacturing industry has a goal that describes its purpose and destination. The goal of any industry may be achieved by team work and managerial skills of all departments. However, achieving goals and objectives is not enough to improve the internal supply chain management performance of manufacturing industries therefore proper identification of performance indicators for benchmarking of internal supply chain management is essential for the growth of manufacturing industry. The identification of benchmarking performance indicators and their impact on internal supply chain management performance is vital for productivity and performance improvement. This study identifies the benchmarking performance indicators to improve internal supply chain performance of Indian manufacturing industries through literature review.

Keywords: Benchmarking, Internal supply chain management, performance indicators, scenario of Indian manufacturing industries.

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