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Article
Publication date: 19 October 2018

Zhiqiang Huang, Lei He, Xinxia Li, Yewei Kang and Dou Xie

The purpose of this paper is to propose a buoyancy-gravity adjustment device and a fuzzy intelligent controller for the depth control of a storage tank in-service inspection robot.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a buoyancy-gravity adjustment device and a fuzzy intelligent controller for the depth control of a storage tank in-service inspection robot.

Design/methodology/approach

The structure of the robot is first designed based on the construction of the bottom of a crude oil tank and explosion-proof requirements. The buoyancy-gravity adjustment system is used to control the vertical movement of the robot. The motion analysis of the robot indicates that the diving or rising process is influenced by hydrodynamic force and umbilical cord tension. Considering the nonlinear model in-depth control, a fuzzy intelligent controller is proposed to address the depth control problem. The primary fuzzy controller is used to compensate for initial error with fast response. The secondary fuzzy controller is activated by an intelligent switch to eliminate the steady error.

Findings

The proposed fuzzy controller can better solve the complicated hydrodynamic problem of the coupling of umbilical cord and the robot during depth control by classifying the error values of depth, velocity and acceleration.

Originality/value

The buoyancy-gravity adjustment device and the depth control system of the robot can move through the heating coils by safe and accurate diving or rising.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 45 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2004

Michael Power

This is a briefing by the author on his PD Leake lecture given at the Chartered Accountants’ hall earlier in the year. In it he examines the rise and rise of the risk industry and…

23785

Abstract

This is a briefing by the author on his PD Leake lecture given at the Chartered Accountants’ hall earlier in the year. In it he examines the rise and rise of the risk industry and assesses the changes it has wrought in business life. He argues that unless the rise is halted we will see the retreat of socially valuable intelligence from the public domain.

Details

Balance Sheet, vol. 12 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-7967

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2015

Linda K. Gibson, Bruce Finnie and Jeffrey L Stuart

This paper aims to explore organizational structure, efficiency and evolution, and its relationship to bureaucracy. A new mathematical model is utilized to generate theoretically…

1400

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore organizational structure, efficiency and evolution, and its relationship to bureaucracy. A new mathematical model is utilized to generate theoretically consistent relationships between economic performance and organizational scale and structure, and to develop a taxonomy of organizational structure.

Design/methodology/approach

A systems approach is used to model structural evolution and generate consistent, testable hypotheses concerning organizational sustainability and financial performance. This theoretical treatment seeks to reconcile contradictory views of bureaucracy, modeling both positive and negative impacts on performance and behavior. A variant of agency theory is used as an organizing paradigm, based on three competing organizational needs: control, autonomy and ownership of consequences.

Findings

Simulations reveal that organizations evolve through five stages of development: from an entry (flat/parallel) stage, through a hybrid or mixed stage, to the massively serial (hierarchical) stage. As firms evolve, the risk/return ratio first falls as employment expands, but later rises as higher levels of hierarchy appear. Eventually, organizational complexity rises sufficiently to produce lower levels of managerial ownership of consequences and professional autonomy, as well as higher levels of control, leading to a collapse of organizational efficiency. A subtle variation of agency theory is revealed: upper-management may maximize organizational depth, increasing salary differences between levels.

Originality/value

This paper uses an internally consistent, deductive framework to elucidate relationships between task complexity, skill level, industry life-cycle and firm age – providing the first known attribute-based metric for organizational complexity. This approach is reminiscent of Perrow’s (1999) non-mathematical treatment of organizational systems complexity.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2004

MICHAEL POWER

I recently decided that there was no longer space to store 20 years worth of Accountancy and Accountancy Age. Prior to disposal I reviewed all the back issues for articles of…

23553

Abstract

I recently decided that there was no longer space to store 20 years worth of Accountancy and Accountancy Age. Prior to disposal I reviewed all the back issues for articles of particular note worth saving. In the course of this process, a number of things were striking. First, articles on financial reporting were conspicuous in the 1980s, and in the 1990s it was auditing which seemed to be the main object of discussion. Second, risk and risk management begin to receive regular exposure only from about the mid‐1990s onwards. In particular, the late 1990s reveal an increasing commentary on practice management and risks to professional partnerships.

Details

The Journal of Risk Finance, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1526-5943

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2005

Ian Smith and Trevor Boyns

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Fayol's ideas on both British management thought and practice.

24744

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Fayol's ideas on both British management thought and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a schematic which seeks to illustrate the links between the various strands of scientific management theory, especially that of Fayol, in Britain between the 1920s and the 1960s/1970s and, for the same period, the links between the theory and practice of scientific management. The links indicated in the schematic are assessed first through an examination of the development of British management thought, in particular the exemplification of Fayol's ideas by Lyndall Fownes Urwick and the British neoclassical school. Using archival evidence from a small number of engineering companies, the impact on practice of the ideas of Fayol and other aspects of scientific management is then examined.

Findings

The paper concludes that, while Fayol's theoretical influence has stood the test of time, his impact on practice was much more limited.

Originality/value

By focusing on the historical impact on practice of management theory, this paper not only provides a basis for future research by business and management historians, but also throws light on the relevance for practice of theory, an issue of relevance for all theoreticians and management practitioners.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 43 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 September 2023

Clement Oppong, Abukari Salifu Atchulo, Achille Dargaud Fofack and Daniel Elorm Afonope

This study aims to evaluate the moderating impact of corporate governance on the relationship between internal control mechanisms and financial performance.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to evaluate the moderating impact of corporate governance on the relationship between internal control mechanisms and financial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs a structured questionnaire to collect data from 250 top managers of rural banks in the capital of Ghana. Cronbach alpha value and Fornell-Larcker tests were performed to assess the reliability and validity of the data used. The study adopted a partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The results show that internal control and corporate governance both have a direct positive and significant impact on financial performance. Furthermore, the interaction of internal control and corporate governance also has a positive and significant impact on financial performance, thus confirming the moderating role of corporate governance in the relationship between internal control mechanisms and financial performance.

Practical implications

This implies that organizations need to strengthen their corporate governance procedures to increase the efficiency of their internal control systems, which would ultimately lead to an improvement in their financial performance.

Originality/value

The present study innovates by assessing the moderating role of corporate governance in the nexus between internal control mechanisms and financial performance. This moderating effect assessment implies that corporate governance may not only affect the technical implementation of the internal control structures but will subsequently make an impact on the overall performance of the organization.

Details

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-0705

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1993

Peng S. Chan

The US health care industry has experienced dramatic economic,social and technological changes since the late 1970s. These changeshave reshaped the structure and function of…

Abstract

The US health care industry has experienced dramatic economic, social and technological changes since the late 1970s. These changes have reshaped the structure and function of inpatient hospitals and continue to drive their evolution into the 1990s. Examines the causes and effects of these changes on major for‐profit hospital firms, and suggests viable strategies for them to compete in the future.

Details

Journal of Management in Medicine, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-9235

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2006

J‐C. Spender

Getting value from knowledge management (KM) means managing the way new knowledge is brought to bear on the business's practices, for value is added only through practice – not…

2400

Abstract

Purpose

Getting value from knowledge management (KM) means managing the way new knowledge is brought to bear on the business's practices, for value is added only through practice – not through talk. Though there are relationships between knowledge and practice, and the purpose of KM is to get more value from the firm's knowledge, knowledge is too loose and slippery a term to afford us a good handle on these matters. The paper proposes a novel typology that distinguishes data, meaning, and skilled practice. Each must be managed differently, though management must integrate all into the business model.

Design/methodology/approach

A non‐empirical theoretical paper clarifying the interaction of different epistemologies or ways of knowing within the business. Different epistemologies are illustrated and discussed at a managerial level, the formal and academic philosophizing is left out.

Findings

The paper shows that KM are not all alike.

Originality/value

Highly original, given very few KM writers address multiple epistemologies and then propose a practice‐based approach to their integration. Despite its theoretical language the paper actually proposes a severely practical approach to real‐world KM.

Details

The TQM Magazine, vol. 18 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0954-478X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2002

John Pitts

While many problems of behaviour that are manifested in the school have their origins elsewhere, the school can represent a key point of entry for professionals to develop…

Abstract

While many problems of behaviour that are manifested in the school have their origins elsewhere, the school can represent a key point of entry for professionals to develop preventive strategies. This article examines the influence of the school upon the prevention of offending by children and young people and explores the effective dynamics of anti‐bullying initiatives and ‘optimal social work’ in the school.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Article
Publication date: 28 October 2013

Abbas Valadkhani and Sayyed M. Mehdee Araee

The main purpose of this paper is to provide more accurate estimates of Iran's time varying non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) than what already exists in the…

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to provide more accurate estimates of Iran's time varying non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) than what already exists in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the Kalman filter approach and annual time series data spanning from 1959 to 2008, the paper presents two estimates of the NAIRU for Iran.

Findings

The estimated two measures appear to be robust and consistent in terms of their magnitude and pattern, having a more logical upper limit of 11.1 per cent. Irrespective of which of the two models are considered, the results clearly indicate that overall Iran's NAIRU has been on the rise since the 1960s and whenever the unemployment rate lies below the NAIRU, the rate of inflation has exhibited an explosive behaviour. Such a phenomenon was observed in both 1995-1996 and the post 2006 era.

Originality/value

In the context of Iran, all previous studies have consistently over-estimated the maximum value of the time varying NAIRU. In these studies, the NAIRU's upper limit ranges from 14 to 20.7 per cent. The paper concludes that such implausible high rates are as a result of the overestimation associated with misspecification errors in their model.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 40 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

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