实施CMMS的五项原则及其使用——一个石化工厂的案例研究

大多数计算机维修管理系统(CMMS)没有起到管理系统应有的作用,或者实施以后限制了管理的能力.另一个重要的事实是:如果实施时间少于二年,大约有50%的CMMS实施是注定要失败的.笔者采用Peter Senge的观点,把学习组织(Learning Organisations)作为新方法来实施和使用CMMS.探讨如何成功地把这个方法应用于Rio de Janeiro天然气化工厂,保证全面使用CMMS.     

Taking operations strategy into practice: Developing a process for defining priorities and performance measures

Enterprises’ operations systems and environments, characterized by their complexity and dynamics, are challenging operations strategic management models. The study presented in this paper develops a process to integrate operations strategy content to operations performance measurement system design. Essentially, the developed methodology is based on Process Approach (Cambridge Approach) technique that systematizes procedures for generating a performance measures set coherent to operations strategy objectives and also produces a consistent strategy implementation process. To illustrate the development and the application of the proposed design methodology, findings of two case studies related to telecom engineering services companies are used. Results are discussed focusing on testing the proposed methodology in terms of its feasibility, usability, and utility. A refined process, organized in phases, steps, and procedures, is the final result of the presented study.     

Profit margins and business cycles in the Brazilian industry: a panel data study

The paper investigates the relationship between profit margins and business cycle in the Brazilian industry during the 1992–1998 period, taking as reference a dynamic panel data model founded around a conjectural variation framework. The empirical results indicate procyclical behaviour of profit margins for the aggregate business cycle but is less clear in the case of sector-specific business cycle variables. Among the most robust results, one can highlight the roles of lagged profitability and import intensity and the negligible role of union density. Schmalensee in (American Economic Review 75, pp. 341–51) outlined three theoretical interpretations associated with the empirical model (classical, revisionist and managerial). Econometric tests on the related restrictions do not allow one to exclusively legitimate any of the three interpretations.     

Combining monetary policy and prudential regulation: an agent-based modeling approach

This paper explores the interaction between monetary policy and prudential regulation in an agent-based modeling framework. Firms borrow funds from the banking system in an economy regulated by a central bank. The central bank carries out monetary policy, by setting the interest rate, and prudential regulation, by establishing the banking capital requirement. Different combinations of interest rate rule and capital requirement rule are evaluated with respect to both macroeconomic and financial stability. Several relevant policy implications were drawn. First, the efficacy of a given capital requirement rule or interest rate rule depends on the specification of the rule of the other type it is combined with. More precisely, less aggressive interest rate rules perform better when the range of variation of the capital requirement is narrower. Second, interest rate smoothing is more effective than the other interest rate rules assessed, as it outperforms those other rules with respect to financial stability and macroeconomic stability. Third, there is no tradeoff between financial and macroeconomic stability associated with a variation of either the capital requirement or the smoothing interest rate parameter. Finally, our results reinforce the cautionary finding of other studies regarding how output can be ravaged by a low inflation targeting.

     

The end of Brazilian big inflation: lessons to monetary policy from a standard New Keynesian model

The paper analyzes economic stabilization in Brazil in the context of a New Keynesian model estimated with Bayesian techniques. Dataset covers the period 1975–2012. Our methodology is based on tests for multiple structural breaks at unknown dates and counterfactual exercises. The results show that inflation and output volatility present an inverted U-shape pattern, peaking at the 1985–1994 sample. Changes in the monetary policy stance and milder shocks accounted for the reduced inflationary volatility (about 50% each, in some specifications). However, some assumptions indicated that a sharp decline in the Phillips curve slope was also important for controlling inflation. Concerning to output, the sole explanation for its volatility fall seemed to be smaller shocks. Therefore, we conclude that a mix of the “good luck” and “good policy” hypotheses mainly originated the current period of increased stability in the country.