Abstract: Green supply chain management is an increasingly recognized practice among companies that are seeking to improve environmental performance. Of particular concern is how to arouse organizational awareness and put green activities into practice in
order to enhance manufacturing performances. This paper investigates the correlation of green supply chain practices and
manufacturing performances in Malaysian certified MS ISO 14000 manufacturing firms. The findings shows that green supply chain
practices which that can be denominated product recycling, environmental compliance and optimization have significant influence to some of the manufacturing performances.
Abstract: As product life cycle becomes less and less every day,
having flexible manufacturing processes for any companies seems more demanding. In the assembling of closures, i.e. opening parts in
car body, hemming process is the one which needs more attention. This paper focused on the robot roller hemming process and how to
reduce its cycle time by introducing a fast roller hemming process. A
robot roller hemming process of a tailgate of Saab 93 SportCombi
model is investigated as a case study in this paper. By applying task
separation, robot coordination, and robot cell configuration principles in the roller hemming process, three alternatives are
proposed, developed, and remarkable reduction in cycle times achieved [1].
Abstract: This contribution deals with the relationship between
communication effectiveness and the extent of communication
among organizational units. To facilitate communication between
employees and to increase the level of understanding, the knowledge
of communication tools is necessary. Recent experience has shown
that personal communication is critical for smooth running of
companies and cannot be fully replaced by any form of technical
communication devices.
Below are presented the outcomes of the research on the
relationship between the extent of communication among
organisational units and its efficiency.
Abstract: Successful public-private-partnership (PPP)
implementation can not be achieved without the active participation of
private sector companies. This paper examines the decision-making of
private sector companies in public works delivered by the PPP model
on the basis of social responsibility theory. It proposes that private
sector companies should indentify objectives of entering into PPP
projects, and shoulder relevant social responsibilities, while a
minimum return should also be guaranteed in their favor, so as to
compensate for their assumed risk and support them to take on
responsibilities in the future. The paper also gives a calculation
regarding the appropriate scale and reasonable degree of private sector
involvement in PPP projects through the cost-benefit analysis in a
specific case study, with the purpose to guide the private sector
companies to create a cooperation environment resembling
“symbiosis" and facilitate the smooth implementation of public works
delivered by the PPP model.
Abstract: Recent evidences on liquidity and valuation of securities in the capital markets clearly show the importance of stock market liquidity and valuation of firms. In this paper, relationship between transparency, liquidity, and valuation is studied by using data obtained from 70 companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange during2003-2012. In this study, discriminatory earnings management, as a sign of lack of transparency and Tobin's Q, was used as the criteria of valuation. The results indicate that there is a significant and reversed relationship between earnings management and liquidity. On the other hand, there is a relationship between liquidity and transparency.The results also indicate a significant relationship between transparency and valuation. Transparency has an indirect effect on firm valuation alone or through the liquidity channel. Although the effect of transparency on the value of a firm was reduced by adding the variable of liquidity, the cumulative effect of transparency and liquidity increased.
Abstract: This paper presents the approach to design the Auto-
Tuning PID controller for interactive Water Level Process using
integral step response. The Integral Step Response (ISR) is the
method to model a dynamic process which can be done easily,
conveniently and very efficiently. Therefore this method is advantage
for design the auto tune PID controller. Our scheme uses the root
locus technique to design PID controller. In this paper MATLAB is
used for modeling and testing of the control system. The
experimental results of the interacting water level process can be
satisfyingly illustrated the transient response and the steady state
response.
Abstract: Recently, the design is becoming important in product development. The technology which is a strong point of Japan is immediately caught up by the foreign countries, and the price competition begins. Therefore companies tend to plan differentiation of products by the design or a color. The purpose of my work was to consider the optimal color for using by product development. We needed to clarify the thing leading to color preference for this purpose. Two kinds of investigations were made. By the first investigation, we found out that a geographical factor difference existed in color preference. Then, investigation which regarded the difference as latitude was conducted. However, the result expected from the difference in latitude was not obtained. It seems that it is necessary to set up difference of latitude a little more greatly, or to reexamine by other geographical factors.
Abstract: The present study investigated the relationship
between personality characteristics of drivers and the number and
amount of fines they have in a year .This study was carried out on
120 male taxi drivers that worked at least seven hours in a day in
Lamerd - a city in the south of IRAN. Subjects were chosen
voluntarily among those available. Predictive variables were the NEO
–five great personality factors (1. conscientiousness 2. Openness to
Experience 3.Neuroticism4 .Extraversion 5.Agreeableness )
thecriterion variables were the number and amount of fines the
drivers have had the last three years. the result of regression analysis
showed that conscientiousness factor was able to negatively predict
the number and amount of financial fines the drivers had during the
last three years. The openness factor positively predicted the number
of fines they had in last 3 years and the amount of financial fines
during the last year. The extraversion factor both meaningfully and
positively could predict only the amount of financial fines they had
during the last year. Increasing age was associated with decreasing
driving offenses as well as financial loss.The findings can be useful
in recognizing the high-risk drivers and leading them to counseling
centers .They can also be used to inform the drivers about their
personality and it’s relation with their accident rate. Such criteria
would be of great importance in employing drivers in different places
such as companies, offices etc…
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine factors related to system environment (namely, system quality and vendor support) that influences ERP implementation success in Iranian companies. Implementation success is identified using user satisfaction and organizational impact perspective. The study adopts the survey questionnaire approach to collect empirical data. The questionnaire was distributed to ERP users and a total of 384 responses were used for analysis. The results illustrated that both system quality and vendor support have significant effect on ERP implementation success. This implies that companies must ensure they source for the best available system and a vendor that is dependable, reliable and trustworthy.
Abstract: In this paper, we propose a hybrid machine learning
system based on Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Support Vector
Machines (SVM) for stock market prediction. A variety of indicators
from the technical analysis field of study are used as input features.
We also make use of the correlation between stock prices of different
companies to forecast the price of a stock, making use of technical
indicators of highly correlated stocks, not only the stock to be
predicted. The genetic algorithm is used to select the set of most
informative input features from among all the technical indicators.
The results show that the hybrid GA-SVM system outperforms the
stand alone SVM system.
Abstract: Westudy a dual-channel supply chain under
decentralized setting in which manufacturer sells to retailer and to
customers directly usingan online channel. A customer chooses the
purchase-channel based on price and service quality. Also, to buy
product from the retail store, the customer incurs a transportation cost
influenced by the fluctuating gasoline cost. Both companies are under
the revenue sharing contract. In this contract the retailer share a
portion of the revenue to the manufacturer while the manufacturer
will charge the lower wholesales price. The numerical result shows
that the effects of gasoline costs, the revenue sharing ratio and the
wholesale price play an important role in determining optimal prices.
The result shows that when the gasoline price fluctuatesthe optimal
on-line priceis relatively stable while the optimal retail price moves
in the opposite direction of the gasoline prices.
Abstract: Humic acids (HAs) have been shown to activate some
ion uptakes along with stimulating the lateral roots at effective
concentration of micronutrients. However, the effects of HA on ion
adsorption by plant roots are not easily explainable due to the
varieties of HAs that differ from origins. Therefore, this study was
aimed to investigate the effect of various concentrations of HA
obtained from the compost derived from mix manures and some
agricultural wastes on the growth of eggplant seedlings (Solanum
melongena L. cv. Chao Praya) in tissue cultures at low nutrient level.
Egg plant seeds were surfaced sterilized and germinated in ½
Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) without HA added or in ¼ MS
supplemented with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 ppm of HAs. Then, they
were cultured for 4 weeks under the controlled environment. The
results showed that seedlings grown on ¼MS supplemented with
HAs at the concentration of 25 and 50 ppm had the average plant
heights (2.49 and 2.28 cm, respectively) higher than the other
treatments. Both treatments also significantly showed the maximum
average fresh and dry weights (p
Abstract: The move towards internationalization of accounting encountered a great boost, when in 2002 EU delegated the IASB to provide the accounting standards to be applied inside its frontiers. Among the incentives of the standardization of accounting on the international level, is the reduction of the cost of capital. Romania made the move towards IFRS before EU, when the country was not yet a member of it. Even if this made Romania a special case, it was scarcely approached. The leak of real data is usually the reason for avoiding. The novelty of this paper is that it offers an insight from the reality of Romanian companies and their view regarding the IFRS. The paper is based on a survey that the authors made among the companies listed on the first two tiers of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE), which are basically, the most important companies in the country.
Abstract: Continuous innovation is becoming a necessity if
firms want to stay competitive. Different factors influence the rate of
innovation in a firm, among which corporate culture has often been
recognized among the most important factors. In this paper we argue
that the development of corporate culture that will support and foster
innovation must be accompanied with an appropriate reward system.
A research conducted among Croatian firms showed that a
statistically significant relationship exists among corporate culture
that supports innovations and reward system features.
Abstract: The use and management of projects has risen to
a new prominence, with projects seen as critical to economic in
both the private and public sectors due challenging and dynamic
business environment. However, failure in managing project is
encountered regularly, which cause the waste of company
resources. The impacts of projects that failed to meet
stakeholders expectations have left behind long lasting negative
consequences in organization. Therefore, this research aims to
investigate on key success factors of project management in an
organization. It is believed that recognizing important factors
that contribute to successful project will help companies to
increase the overall profitability. 150 questionnaires were
distributed to respondents and 110 questionnaires were collected
and used in performing the data analysis. The result has strongly
supported the relationship between independent variables and
project performance.
Abstract: Medical Tourism is a new development in Taiwan
recently. The willingness and barriers of potential tourists from
China to participate medical tourism are studied. A questionnaire
survey is conducted and the SPSS software is used to analyze data.
The results show that under one fifth of respondents express full
medical tourism participation willingness. Among travel barriers
toward medical tourism, “insufficient information of medical tourism
trip", “not enough time", “no companion", “worrying about
unsatisfied itinerary." are perceived the most important barriers.
Abstract: The increasing demand for sufficient and clean
energy forces industrial and service companies to align their strategies towards efficient consumption. This trend refers also to the
residential building sector. There, large amounts of energy consumption are caused by house and facility heating. Many of the
operated hot water heating systems lack hydraulic balanced working
conditions for heat distribution and –transmission and lead to
inefficient heating. Through hydraulic balancing of heating systems,
significant energy savings for primary and secondary energy can be
achieved. This paper addresses the use of KNX-technology (Smart
Buildings) in residential buildings to ensure a dynamic adaption of
hydraulic system's performance, in order to increase the heating
system's efficiency. In this paper, the procedure of heating system
segmentation into hydraulically independent units (meshes) is
presented. Within these meshes, the heating valve are addressed and
controlled by a central facility server. Feasibility criteria towards
such drivers will be named. The dynamic hydraulic balance is
achieved by positioning these valves according to heating loads, that
are generated from the temperature settings in the corresponding
rooms. The energetic advantages of single room heating control
procedures, based on the application FacilityManager, is presented.
Abstract: Innovation is being view from four areas of
innovation, product, service, technology, and marketing. Whereas
customer loyalty is composed of customer expectation, perceived
quality, perceived value, corporate image, customer satisfaction,
customer trust/confidence, customer commitment, customer
complaint, and customer loyalty. This study aimed to investigate the
influence of innovation factors to customer loyalty to GSM in the
telecom companies where use of products and services. Structural
Equation Modeling (SEM) using to analyze innovation factors. It was
found the factor of innovation have significant influence on customer
loyalty.
Abstract: For the efficient and safe use of the cable-stayed
bridge, a design based on the detailed local analysis of the cable anchor
system is required. Also, a theoretical design process for the anchor
system should be prepared and reviewed. Generally, the size of the
fixing pipe in the anchor system is decided according to the
specifications prepared by cable-manufacturing companies, and
accordingly, there is difficulty determining the initial inner diameters
of the fixing pipes. As such, there is no choice but to use the products
with the existing sizes. In this study, the existing design process of the
fixing pipe, is a type of guide pipe anchor in the cable anchor system,
is reviewed, a formula determining the thickness of the fixing pipe is
proposed, and the convenience and validity of the suggested equation
is compared with the results of the existing designs to verify its
convenience and validity.
Abstract: Aluminothermic rail welding was from the beginning
a great success because its low price even in 1895 in Germany. This
method is now, widely used all over the world for the railways
construction, maintenance and modernization. Instructions give you
guidelines for preparing papers for conferences or journals.
After 1989, the welding needs of the potentials beneficiaries
(Romanian Railways, Urban Transportation Companies) keep raise
because of the railways maintenance and modernization necessity.
The main materials that determine the Thermit (T) composition
result from manufacturing scraps all over the country. This can help
the environment by consuming these scraps.
The Romanian need for alumino-thermic welding is now by 11300
per year, and in a favourable economical environment, this amount
can reach 30000 units.
This paper tries to show the effect of two types of modifiers
introduced in the T composition on the structure and properties of an
alumino-thermic welding.