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Based on premise of importance of optimizing the value chain and introducing lean thinking in companies, this work focuses on answering the following research question: would it be possible to identify possible improvement points even in a coffee company which already uses as a production system the Make to Order (MTO), by means of application of the VSM tool? For this, it was adopted, as a general objective, application of the value stream mapping tool (VSM), characterizing Takt Time as a performance parameter in a coffee sector company, and specifically, one sought to identify the main metrics by the Takt Time tool in order to assess its relevance in production planning. As a methodology, this research is characterized as exploratory-quantitative and is based on two aspects, in the first, the literature review and in the second, the application of a case study in a company which adopts the Make to Order manufacturing system as a strategy (MTO). As a result, by means of analysis of the current VSM and the takt time, it was possible to develop a New VSM that was converted into effective gains for the company and increased efficiency of its production line, with a reduction of the average cycle time by 15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the center of the open access movement, whose philosophy is to provide free access to scientific production, Institutional Repositories have been shown to be strategic instruments that add value to higher education institutions, generating indicators that point to the quality of their intellectual and scientific framework. Furthermore, they increase the visibility of research and researchers, which provides benefits for the institution and society as a whole. The objective of the study is to analyze the Information and Communication Management requirements that contribute to increase the visibility and the number of deposits of scientific and academic productions in the Institutional Repositories of the Federal Universities of Alagoas and Ceará. The methodological approach adopts basic research in terms of nature, bibliographical, exploratory and descriptive, with a qualitative approach, which will be carried out through the comparative method, with application of a semi-structured questionnaire. This research is being developed from the ideal that Open Access Institutional Repositories can add value to the institution, stimulate the scientific communication cycle and democratize access to information. The effective operationalization of Information and Communication Management provides the optimization of functions, processes and informational flows, as well as the adequate population, dissemination and visibility of repositories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To analyze the technical efficiency of Brazilian railway companies. Methodology: The technical efficiency of Brazilian railway companies was analyzed through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), using the window analysis approach, and considering the Variable Returns of Scale model. The study examined eight companies during a five-year period, which totalizes 90% of the railway passengers in that timespan. The main inputs and outputs of railway systems referred in the international literature were used as variables. Results: Only railway companies classified as large can be considered technically efficient. Among them, São Paulo's metro system was the only one that remained efficient throughout the years analyzed. Medium-sized companies were inefficient in all years of the sample, showing the necessity to reduce their inputs by an average of 19% in order to become technically efficient. The inclusion of financial variable as an input did not significantly change the efficiency indexes assessed. The study reveals the prevalence of increasing returns to scale in the Brazilian railway system. Contributions of the study: This study identifies potential improvements for the companies considered inefficient and reveals they are medium-sized and state-owned, with high-cost financing from government resources. It is also a benchmark for further research on the topic, given the importance of identifying the effect of funding transport operations with government resources on companies' efficiency. In this context, considering this study identifies the prevalence of increasing returns to scale in the Brazilian railway system, it contributes to the analysis of public policies associated with population access to this means of transportation, as constant returns to scale suggests that production increase, which has the number of carried passengers as the main variable, can generate benefits for the companies in terms of efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimization of pasture management is essential for obtaining higher productive levels, and dualpurpose cereals have stood out and can be used for different purposes within the property through different management strategies. The objective was to evaluate the biomass production and the nutritional value of wheat forage (Triticum aestivum L. cv. BRS Umbu) under the influence of successive cutting regimes simulating grazing situations. The experimental design used was in randomized blocks, composed of three treatments (without cut - control; one cut; and two cuts performed) with five replications. For accumulated dry biomass production, average values of 10,926 kg ha-1 were observed for the treatment without cutting, 7,989 kg ha-1 for the treatment with one cut and 3,514 kg ha-1 for the treatment with two cuts. There was a difference between the leaf: stem ratio, this factor being reduced according to the increase in the number of cuts (4.14; 2.36 and 2.24 for without cut, with one and two cuts, respectively). In the bromatological composition, no significant differences were found for the crude protein, acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber contents. The increase in the number of cuts does not reduce the accumulated green biomass yield, but a significant decrease in the percentage of leaves can lead to lower dry biomass production. As bromatology was not altered by the cutting regime, better productive results can be seen with one cut and/or grazing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the article was to develop an alignment of cost management with the decisionmaking process in a technology-based incubated company. A descriptive research was carried out, through a case study, with a qualitative approach, using the techniques of data collection, interview and observation. After the content analysis, we proceeded with the description of the internal and external environment of the organization and with the diagnosis of the practices used regarding its cost management and decision making according to defined analysis categories. The analysis identified the company's organizational needs, such as the lack of informational support for management through reliable information about its expenses and methodologies for essential practices - among them the classification of expenses, the apportionment of indirect costs and the costing method -, characterizing the underutilization of its cost management. A practical intervention proposal was drawn up to align your cost management and decision making, through measures such as the managerial classification of expenses, the redefinition of cost centers, the establishment of criteria for apportioning indirect costs, the implementation of absorption costing method and monitoring of planned and realized expenses. The contribution to the company consists of the optimization of its cost management as a tool to support decision making, aiming to improve its results through productive efficiency, market competitiveness and more expressive profit margins. As an academic contribution, the work contributed to the understanding of the still little explored relationship between the themes of cost management and decision making in an incubated company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane production in Brazil is highlighted due to high agricultural profits and industrial efficiency when compared to other crops, such as corn and beetroot, also used in the production of ethanol. Decrease in production and, consequently, financial performance, has been registered. Current paper, an exploratory research with data collection structured on multi-case technique, emphasis on quantitative analysis and analysis of the co-relationship of variables which integrate economic, social and environmental aspects, compared the agricultural strategy of exporting and non-exporting plants in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Economy-related results showed that a better financial performance exists in export firms. The social aspects reveal that the benefits of firms exporting their byproducts are not different from those that do not export. The quantity of a ton of sugarcane executed by a worker is not different. In the case of the environment, firms fail to execute the impermeability of stillage channels during harvest time and the incorporation of the fertilizer nitrogen. However, export firms report less problems in soil erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new method for maximizing the economic operational profit through production planning. The model uses an optimization algorithm involving four areas of analysis: market, production, costs and economic results. The objective function comprises profit maximization. The application of the model occurs in a manufacturing company that has been characterized by high variability in selling prices. The results, this study, indicate that small deviations in sale prices may severely reduce production system global profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a new Fuzzy-DEA-Game (FDG) model to support the establishment of production strategies. This model combines Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with concepts of Fuzzy Set Theory and Nash Bargaining Game. The model permits an evaluation of the productive and economic efficiency of products, which may result in a portfolio of more profitable products with greater consumer market interest. The model was applied at an energy company. The results obtained applying the FDG model adhered to the reality of the studied company and provided goals for reducing resource levels (inputs) needed for manufacturing products and for increasing result levels (output) stemming from their commercialization. As an important additional outcome, the FDG model permitted the identification of portfolio products that are more sensitive to the occurrence of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern portfolio theory is based on the idea that diversification of a portfolio results in a better relationship between risk and return. Recently, managers have tried to extend the diversification of their portfolios by investing in fund of funds that, in turn, already contains diversified portfolios. With that comes growing interest from academic and market participants in the selection of portfolios formed by investment funds. In this paper, the applicability and performance out of sample of quantitative portfolio optimization strategies to build portfolios of funds will be analyzed. The performance of these portfolios of investment funds will be compared with the performance of the naive equally weighted portfolio, the Ibovespa index and the fixed income index, IRF-M. To obtain optimal portfolios, restricted to short selling, we determine an optimization problem of portfolios composed of 388 Brazilian hedge (multimarket) funds over five years traded in the Brazilian market. For modeling of the covariance matrix of returns of 388 funds is used a heteroscedastic factorial parsimonious model. Considering different frequencies for the portfolio re-balancing frequency (daily, weekly and monthly), the measures of performance out of the sample show that the optimal portfolios exhibit superior results in terms of volatility, risk-adjusted performance, turnover and transaction costs over time. In particular, the results based on robust statistical tests indicate that the Sharpe ratio (SR) of the mean-variance portfolios and that of the minimum-variance portfolios were statistically different (higher) compared to the SR of the benchmark index in all portfolio re-balancing frequencies used in the paper. Regarding the standard deviation, statistical tests employed in the paper showed that the volatility of the minimum-variance portfolios is statistically different (lower) than the volatility of the benchmark index. Similar results were found when comparing the performance of the optimal portfolios with respect to the Ibovespa index and the equally- weighted portfolio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the entrepreneurial behavioral characteristics of an entrepreneur through a case study in an appliances retail company and relate them qualitatively to the positioning strategies adopted by this company in relation to major competitors. Being an entrepreneur is an audacious action because the entrepreneur faces a daily routine composed by uncertainty of economic, political and social scenarios. This phenomenon, with all Its peculiar unpredictability, is the key of the economic growth of any nation, it sustains harness new technologies, practices and concepts for products and services. The method used was a case study of qualitative nature, adopting the questionnaire, interview and observation as tools of data collection, prioritizing content analysis such as data analysis. The study was based on three theoretical perspectives: David McClelland, with entrepreneurial behavioral characteristics; the School of Entrepreneurial Strategic Management of Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel (2010) and the concepts and types of positioning strategies. The entrepreneurial behavioral characteristics that stood out were: entrepreneurial commitment; demand for quality and efficiency; information search and independence and self-confidence, with actions of competitor positioning strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a large number of research which main purpose is the search for a empirical relationship between corporative governance and the performance. Studies which seeks to demonstrate this relationship characterized by the use of financial indicators and indicators of stock analysis, combined with the use of econometric methods. However, there are suggestions so that be established alternative measures of performance, such as use of non-parametric analysis. Measuring the performance using other analysis techniques to assess the relationship between corporate governance and performance represents a relevant contribution to this study field. By using the nonparametric technique of Data Envelopment Analysis, the main objective of this paper is to verify whether there are significant differences between technical efficiency and productivity of companies in the segments of corporate governance with the technical efficiency and productivity of companies in other segments of Bovespa. The technical efficiency scores showed no significant differences between groups of companies with and without governance. However, in the years of 2008 and 2009 companies with shares traded on other segments of Bovespa showed a higher level of technical efficiency. Similar results were observed with the Malmquist productivity index. In order to establish parameters in the comparison of the performance achieved by the efficiency scores were analyzed the traditional metrics for measuring the value, Tobin's Q and Firm Value. It was observed in the three years analyzed that the market value of companies in the segments of corporate governance is lower than the companies of other segments of stock trading. This research advances over previous contributions have focused on determining the performance, too, by measuring technical efficiency and productivity growth. The results allow a new angle of analysis in the evaluation of companies in a specific way for the adoption of good corporate governance practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O presente estudo investigou se as companhias brasileiras de capital aberto, entre 1995 e 2008, coordenam as políticas de caixa e dívida para efeitos de hedging contra subinvestimento em condições de restrição financeira. Os resultados indicam a inexistência de um componente de hedging usando, simultaneamente, as políticas de caixa e dívida em companhias restritas. Foi observada para as companhias restritas financeiramente uma sensibilidade positiva do caixa ao fluxo de caixa e sensibilidade negativa da dívida ao fluxo de caixa, independentemente da necessidade de hedging. As companhias irrestritas não apresentaram uma sensibilidade do caixa ao fluxo de caixa significante estatisticamente, mas apresentaram sensibilidade negativa da dívida ao fluxo de caixa, resultados também independentes da necessidade de hedging. As evidências contrariam os resultados encontrados por Acharya, Almeida e Campello (2007) no mercado norte-americano, onde caixa e dívida negativa apresentaram de acordo com a necessidade de hedging diferentes papéis na otimização intertemporal dos investimentos em companhias restritas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to analyze issues in Operations Management and the methodology employed by Brazilian researchers in this field. The analysis of the literature traced two complementary axes: relevance and rigor. We covered the last ten years by examining the main Brazilian journals in Business Administration and analyzing articles published in the main international journals in OM as well. The study found a certain level of convergence between the issues in the articles published by Brazilian authors in both groups of journals and the importance of supply chain management and operations strategies. The main challenge facing Brazilian researchers concerns the methodological changes in OM studies that are currently in progress on an international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O artigo analisa a eficiência das firmas de construção civil nacionais, através da aplicação de Análise Envoltória de Dados em multiestágio para um pool de construtoras, entre os anos de 2005 e 2008. O Índice Malmquist é utilizado para calcular a variação na produtividade total dos fatores ao longo do período, decompondo-o em variações da eficiência técnica e de escala, bem como do progresso tecnológico. Os resultados, para nossa amostra, apontam para diferenças significativas de eficiência técnica e de escala em função do nível de faturamento e indicam que, em média, os escores de eficiência técnica diminuíram entre 2005 e 2008, assim como a variação na produtividade total dos fatores. O escore de eficiência técnica média para o período foi de 0,433 e apresentou trajetória descendente desde 2006. A produtividade total dos fatores no período 2005-2008 apresentou queda de 7,2%, devido principalmente à variação negativa no progresso tecnológico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O artigo analisa a eficiência das firmas de construção civil nacionais, através da aplicação de Análise Envoltória de Dados em multiestágio para um pool de construtoras, entre os anos de 2005 e 2008. O Índice Malmquist é utilizado para calcular a variação na produtividade total dos fatores ao longo do período, decompondo-o em variações da eficiência técnica e de escala, bem como do progresso tecnológico. Os resultados, para nossa amostra, apontam para diferenças significativas de eficiência técnica e de escala em função do nível de faturamento e indicam que, em média, os escores de eficiência técnica diminuíram entre 2005 e 2008, assim como a variação na produtividade total dos fatores. O escore de eficiência técnica média para o período foi de 0,433 e apresentou trajetória descendente desde 2006. A produtividade total dos fatores no período 2005-2008 apresentou queda de 7,2%, devido principalmente à variação negativa no progresso tecnológico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of minimum lubrication, optimized and conventional cooling at different flows and application rates of cutting fluids on the quality of hardened-steel pieces produced by external cylindrical plunge grinding with super-abrasive grinding wheels with low CBN concentrations was verified. The analysis of the quality of the pieces was performed through the assessment of the behavior of the specific energy of the grinding, roughness, roundness deviation, and the generated residual stress. By analyzing of the application ways and of the several flows and application rates of the cutting fluid, one could encounter lubrication/cooling conditions that enable the reduction in cutting fluid volume, reduction in grinding time without compromising the dimensional parameters (superficial finishing, surface integrity). Regarding the different applications of cutting fluids, it could be noted the optimized application for higher velocities has presented the best performance, demonstrating the effectiveness of the new concept of nozzle utilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of networks between firms, and other forms of interorganizational relationship, have attracted the attention of researchers. Based on the logic of interorganizational relationships, this study identifies the motives and outcomes of suppliers and "anchor" firms that participated in a training project. Through an exploratory case study with qualitative approach developed in the automotive metal mechanical industry, it was possible to identify efficiency and legitimacy as the main motives, and performance and knowledge as outcomes. Moreover, a sharing of experiences was considered the main collective outcome, and restrictions on information as the main barrier, in the relations formed by the participating firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this work is to present a model of strategic management of the benefices linked with criterions of accessibility and companies costs' reduction. The study was conducted in two rendering of services companies (each of them with more than 380 civil servants) involved directly or indirectly in one of the following participants groups: high administration, human resources sector and civil service, featuring as multi-cases study (research-action type) This model is a result of a work in progress research but with a already strong philosophy of making possible the eligibility and the accessibility to the benefits. By such a way, the basic premises, objective, political constituent and elements of the model had been defined beyond the excessive requests necessary for the development of the mathematical model of optimization with restrictions, i.e., the variable decisions, the parameters and the imposed limitations and conditions. Implanted in the studied organizations, it had a high ratio of accessibility and satisfaction of the civil servants with the proposed parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cooperative form of the organization has been an important option for the development of small organizations. However, as well as it occurs in other organizations, the cooperatives need to be evaluated using the category of efficiency to evaluate how was his activities performance. The efficiency evaluation is very important for these categories of organizations because the cooperatives own an administration that should attend the needs to yours several cooperated. In this work was accomplished the application of the denominated method Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the performance of rural credit cooperatives of São Paulo state. The accomplished study show that the cooperatives that had larger resources managed was able to obtain better performance, concerning your operation goal (credit concession). One of the most important results, evidenced in the study, was that the cooperatives that had larger resources managed obtained better efficiency rates when considered the total relation assets and administrative expenses relatively to the volume of conceded credit. The results obtained show that the DEA can be an interesting alternative option for evaluation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distribution channels are a union of independent organizations involved in the process of making available products and services to consumers. In this process, members of a channel perform marketing flows like storage, promotion, service, negotiation, financing, risk, information, order and payment. The channel members like producers, intermediates and consumers fall within costs to perform these marketing flows. The purpose of this paper is to show and apply a system for distribution channels value capture analysis, based in the marketing flows performance. This was done after a literature review and the study of some models, theories and systems that take into consideration aspects of marketing flows performance and added value as a service output determinant, and contemplates the following steps: 1. weighted marketing flows scores and division of members activities to calculate the normative channel profit share; 2. channel members costs and margins surveys to calculate the real channel profit share and compare to normative profit share; and 3. results analysis and managerial implications for planning and management of marketing channels. The tool was applied on two companies of two different industries, one in the animal feed and the other in the dairy industry, focusing channels structured for selling to retailers. It was possible verify some advantages and limitations of the system as a tool for analyzing and planning marketing channels. In this way, the research outcomes are a channel analysis and evaluation system that could be applied for any company that pursue a conventional channel system, with necessary adaptations to companies or market segment specificities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organizational performance analysis is always something a matter of a lot of discussions. Questions on which indicators to use and how to consolidate them in way to establish a fair criteria of performance evaluation is present in several studies and in the companies' daily routine. In this way that this work is proposed with a modeling proposal of this problem through the use of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). A relative performance index that is capable to conjugate financial indicators of liquidity, cost, risk and profitability in the analysis of organizational performance is searched. In other words, the index of each company is an integrated combination of several performance vectors and it is function not only of its performance, but also of the performance of the other analyzed companies. The research sample were composed of banks of four segments: 20 retail banks, 34 wholesale banks, 21 middle market banking and 26 financing banks, that were in operation in Brazil in 2003, listed in the ranking of the Gazeta Mercantil -- Balanço Financeiro Magazine about the performance of the best banks and other financial institutions. The results show that as much the giants as the small and middle institutions have total survival and competition conditions, because it is not the size that produces the competitiveness in the sector, but the superior performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]