Independent Journal of Management and Production

8

Authors: Felichesmi Selestine Lyakurwa, Michael Shadrack Mangula

Environmental information systems are essential platforms for the provision of adequate and relevant information necessary for the planning and decision making for greener production. Corporate use of Environmental Information Systems gained several benefits in the global and local markets. Nevertheless, there was no documentation to explain the extent to which corporate organizations utilize available Environmental Information Systems in Tanzania. This study used purposive sampling with informants being workers from the strategic, tactical and control functions of the corporate organization. Moreover, data collection involved survey of 50 corporate organizations in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Moshi and Morogoro councils, with 71 respondents. The collected data includes exploration of the extent to which corporate management functions utilize available Environmental Information Systems in Tanzania. The study identified various corporate environmental management functions performed at all levels of the corporate organization, in which workers spends less than one hour on the environmental information systems available. The results also revealed that, there is adequate utilization of available Environmental Information Systems for environmental management. Therefore, the research outcomes provides inputs to corporate organization unit managers, corporate owners and other environmental stakeholders on the extent of the systems’ use as well as sharing experience on different environmental management systems used worldwide.

12

Authors: Eduardo Biagi Almeida Santos, Otávio Bandeira De Lamônica Freire

This present paper shows the influence of music used in a retail environment in relation to consumer behavior. For obtaining the information, we based this research on a literature review in national and international journals, by 4 databases including: Proquest, EBSCO Host, CAPES periódicos and Mendeley, in the period of 2008 and 2012, by the keywords: music behavior, music in retail environment, background music, music consumer, environmental music, music and consumer behavior and music in purchase decision. The use of music has been applied in traditional areas such as psychology, trough the discipline of environmental psychology (DONOVAN & ROSSITER, 1982).; marketers use this tool as a motivator in a purchase decision in different shopping environments. This paper shows that there is an influence of background music in purchase decision but it’s still needs an explanations of some variables. At the end this paper will present some suggestions for future research.

14

Authors: João Almeida Santos, Getulio Kazue Akabane, Eduardo Biagi Almeida Santos

This paper discusses the development process and the influence of globalization on culture and behavior of society seen on reflexes in the consumer market and how they participate or interfere in sustainability. Whereas globalization as a process of interaction between people in general originated in trade and political relations, reflections on the culture and behavior of society are inevitable from the point of view of consumption of products that are offered for new consumers in these markets that are in the process of globalization. Considering this necessity, it is important to consider the sustainable use of resources and by-products. This article is a reflection on sustainability, globalization, culture and work, and can be summarized in: a) identifying the consequences of globalization on employment from the use of technology, b) the consequences of globalization on culture are positive or negative for both involved, c) benefits globalization and society have with new, better and cheaper products to meet the population needs and d) how sustainability is in this consuming-producing context.

16

Authors: Aline Marian Callegaro, Henrique Simonetti, Fernando Gonçalves Amaral, Carlos Fernando Jung, Carla Schwengber ten Caten

This paper aims to presentthe results after conducting an Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA) in a smallbusiness located in Porto Alegre. The ergonomic intervention was performed basedon Guérin et al. (2001) and aimed to analyze the process organization and thelayout of the shoemaker workstations to provide improvements to these areas.The starting point was the account of the small shoe business owner’s need hadto hire one more shoemaker without increasing the company physical space. The EWAwas used focusing the work organization, how the flow of information ran fromthe entry of an order to the final stage of the product repairing. Thediagnosis showed the company main problems were related to the shop assistantsdependence on the shoemakers to provide budget information and delivery time tocustomers and the layout organization. Among the results, a temporal analysisof two company recurrent tasks was performed in order to ascertain possiblelosses related to the displacement and the search for material. A new layoutscheme was also proposed, aiming to organize the work stations, making easierthe stock, tools and equipment removal, providing a free space to make possiblethe hiring of the new shoemakers within the current company boundaries.

19

Authors: Pedro Reyes, Jianghong Man, Patrick Jaska

This research study is an effort to shed light on how transshipment may help improve the management of inventory in a disaster relief system. System dynamics simulation was used to compare inventory control and costs in a humanitarian supply chain without transshipment vs. one with transshipment. A framework for this approach is given along with the results of simulations on a system consisting of two warehouses where transshipment is allowed compared to the alternative where transshipment is not allowed. The preliminary results of this study indicate that transshipment can reduce costs and improve service to disaster victims based on inventory levels maintained in the warehouses. In some cases, transshipment may be more expensive, but this assumes the cost of replenishing inventory as a result of emergency purchase costs.

21

Authors: David John Patrishkoff

Pictorial Process Analysis (PPA) was created by the author in 2004. PPA is a unique methodology which offers ten layers of additional analysis when compared to standard process mapping techniques. The goal of PPA is to identify and eliminate waste, inefficiencies and risk in manufacturing or transactional business processes at 5 levels in an organization. The highest level being assessed is the process management, followed by the process work environment, detailed work habits, process performance metrics and general attitudes towards the process. This detailed process assessment and analysis is carried out during process improvement brainstorming efforts and Kaizen events. PPA creates a detailed visual efficiency rating for each step of the process under review. A selection of 54 pictorial Inefficiency Icons (cards) are available for use to highlight major inefficiencies and risks that are present in the business process under review. These inefficiency icons were identified during the author's independent research on the topic of why things go wrong in business. This paper will highlight how PPA was developed and show the steps required to conduct Pictorial Process Analysis on a sample manufacturing process. The author has successfully used PPA to dramatically improve business processes in over 55 different industries since 2004.

25

Authors: Hector Ricardo Formento, Franco Javier Chiodi, Fernando Juan Cusolito, Lucas Ariel Altube, Sebastian Pablo Gatti

The goal of this work was to examine the content of continuous improvement strategies, taking into account the important role they play in building competitiveness. This paper argues that several specific issues must be taken into account in order to reach successful outcomes. This work starts with a literature review on the matter. On this basis, we designed a survey administered to a group of 30 large companies, each of which is renowned leader in Argentina. Finally, we compared the development of continuous improvement process in companies with very effective results and with scarce results. Differences that emerged from this comparison enabled us to identify critical factors for achieving a successful improvement process. As there are no recent researches on continuous improvement programs in Argentina, this paper contributes to recognizing and systematizing what has been done, comparing it with theoretical framework and uncovering research gaps for future studies. However, further research must confirm these findings and move forward on the analysis of intangible factors, like: internal communications, climate, culture, self reflexion, consensus, etc.