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Over the last few years, Business Process Management (BPM) has achieved increasing popularity and dissemination. An analysis of the underlying assumptions of BPM shows that it pursues two apparently contradicting goals: on the one hand it aims at formalising work practices into business process models; on the other hand, it intends to confer flexibility to the organization -- i.e. to maintain its ability to respond to new and unforeseen situations. This paper analyses the relationship between formalisation and flexibility in business process modelling by means of an empirical case study of a BPM project in an aircraft maintenance company. A qualitative approach is adopted based on the Actor-Network Theory. The paper offers two major contributions: (a) it illustrates the sociotechnical complexity involved in BPM initiatives; (b) it points towards a multidimensional understanding of the relation between formalization and flexibility in BPM projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, based on the Actor-Network Theory, intends to analyze the dynamics of implementation of a Health Information System (HIS) in a Brazilian public hospital by following the actors involved in controversies occurred throughout the project trajectory. The changes observed over the course of the system implementation reveal that the concept of success was jointly developed via negotiation of devices ofinteressement introduced during the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper was to analyze how managers of hospital services use performance indicators to conduct the strategic management of resources by means of the perspective ofevidence--based knowledge management. A qualitative study was performed to investigate a system of hospital indicators, a public hospital and a philanthropic hospital. The analysis showed that: the studied system is used as a comparative device sector, managers of the public hospital use indicators as a source of management of scarce resources and philanthropic hospital managers use indicators as a source of information for economic sustainability and caregiving. The discussion of results indicated that: information sharing is essential to the application of indicators system, the use of indicators in the public hospital privileges the development of knowledge and the use of indicators in the philanthropic hospital has an emphasis on quality management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to describe the motivations for the adoption of trade marketing in convenience stores, as well as its attributions and functional position in the organizational structure. We chose the multiple case study method approach in order to study the motivations and practices of four convenience store chains and five manufacturers. Results indicate that the existence of a formal trade marketing area does not per se ensure collaboration between manufactures and convenience store chains. Trade marketing activities are developed and negotiated with franchisors, but the execution takes place at the franchisee level. It is, in fact, a triadic relationship that encompasses the manufacturer, the franchisor of the convenience stores and its franchisees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]