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1 – 9 of 9Laszlo Hetey, Eddy Neefs, Ian Thomas, Joe Zender, Ann-Carine Vandaele, Sophie Berkenbosch, Bojan Ristic, Sabrina Bonnewijn, Sofie Delanoye, Mark Leese, Jon Mason and Manish Patel
This paper aims to describe the development of a knowledge management system (KMS) for the Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery (NOMAD) instrument on board the ESA/Roscosmos…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the development of a knowledge management system (KMS) for the Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery (NOMAD) instrument on board the ESA/Roscosmos 2016 ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft. The KMS collects knowledge acquired during the engineering process that involved over 30 project partners. In addition to the documentation and technical data (explicit knowledge), a dedicated effort was made to collect the gained experience (tacit knowledge) that is crucial for the operational phase of the TGO mission and also for future projects. The system is now in service and provides valuable information for the scientists and engineers working with NOMAD.
Design/methodology/approach
The NOMAD KMS was built around six areas: official documentation, technical specifications and test results, lessons learned, management data (proposals, deliverables, progress reports and minutes of meetings), picture files and movie files. Today, the KMS contains 110 GB of data spread over 11,000 documents and more than 13,000 media files. A computer-aided design (CAD) library contains a model of the full instrument as well as exported sub-parts in different formats. A context search engine for both documents and media files was implemented.
Findings
The conceived KMS design is basic, flexible and very robust. It can be adapted to future projects of a similar size.
Practical implications
The paper provides practical guidelines on how to retain the knowledge from a larger aerospace project. The KMS tool presented here works offline, requires no maintenance and conforms to data protection standards.
Originality/value
This paper shows how knowledge management requirements for space missions can be fulfilled. The paper demonstrates how to transform the large collection of project data into a useful tool and how to address usability aspects.
Details
Keywords
This study examines how the strong emphasis placed on the purposes of budgeting, referring to a comprehensive focus on budgeting, is related to top managers' education and tenure…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines how the strong emphasis placed on the purposes of budgeting, referring to a comprehensive focus on budgeting, is related to top managers' education and tenure while controlling for their functional positions in their respective firms and ages, as well as several company-specific predictors (information quality, firm size, information technology, importance of profit and strategy).
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from senior managers of large manufacturing firms in Finland and Sweden.
Findings
The results suggest that academic business education is positively associated with a comprehensive focus on budgeting, but tenure as well as functional position in the company (Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or not) and age are not. Overall, the company-specific control variables in general and information quality in particular are shown to have greater explanatory power than the top management characteristics analyzed.
Research limitations/implications
This study identifies several empirically supported factors that seem to contribute to a comprehensive focus on budgeting. The effects of information quality, business education, the importance of profit and firm size could be considered in future research.
Practical implications
Academic business education matters more than the other top management characteristics analyzed. If organizations want to make comprehensive use of budgets, they should employ business graduates and be mindful of company-specific variables.
Originality/value
This study is the first to address a comprehensive focus on budgeting and some of its determinants. Future research could investigate a broader set of such determinants in different contexts.
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Keywords
Clarice Vepo do Nascimento Welter, Jorge Oneide Sausen and Carlos Ricardo Rossetto
To identify the instruments and organizational mechanisms that provide the development of the innovative capacities of companies that (i) no longer work with technology-based…
Abstract
Purpose
To identify the instruments and organizational mechanisms that provide the development of the innovative capacities of companies that (i) no longer work with technology-based incubators, and (ii) are associated with the community universities of the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical research, qualitative approach and descriptive nature, conducted through multiple case studies in 21 companies from IEBTs in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Data were organized and analyzed through content analysis.
Findings
Results show that the development of IC occurred through behaviors and skills, routines and processes and mechanisms of learning and knowledge governance that support the development of product, process and behavioral dimensions. It became evident that the companies that are emerging from IEBTs need innovation capacity to survive in the market. These innovations are related to product, process and behavioral innovations.
Research limitations/implications
The study cannot be generalized to other segments, since it was restricted to a set of IEBT egress companies, with specific realities and based on the perception of the managers of these companies.
Practical implications
The mechanisms and instruments for the development of innovative capacity can be used by companies from different sectors to make them more competitive before the current economic scenario.
Originality/value
It is justified by the scarcity of studies related to the dynamic capacity component (DC) elements, constituting a theoretical gap regarding the innovative capacity.
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