Evaluation of Soil Quality Indicators in Sugarcane Management in Sandy Loam Soil

An important factor for the sustainability of soils highly susceptible to degradation is the use of monitoring tools that promptly and realistically reflect changes imposed on soil by different cropping systems. To select soil quality indicator variables in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) production areas that fulfill the criteria of sensitivity to management practices and between-season consistency in the management discrimination, ten composite soil samples (0–10 cm) were collected in July 2005 (rainy season) and again in March 2006 (dry season) from areas under cultivation of organic sugarcane (OS), green sugarcane (GS), burned sugarcane (BS) and from an adjacent native forest (NF) area at Usina Triunfo, Boca da Mata, Alagoas, Brazil. Microbial biomass-C (MBC), total organic C (TOC), soil enzyme activity expressed as the rate of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis, mean weight diameter of water-stable soil aggregates (MWD), and percentage of water-stable macroaggregates (PWSA) were analyzed. Although MBC and TOC were higher in NF than in the cultivated areas, no differences were observed in these C pools between the three sugarcane systems. The response of FDA to the site management was dependent on the sampling time. In the rainy period, the activity followed the order: NF > OS > GS > BS, whereas in the dry season, only NF differed from the other treatments. Irrespective of the sampling time, MWD and PWSA decreased in the order NF > OS = GS > BS. The variables MWD and PWSA are quite sensitive for discriminating between site management histories regardless the sampling season.

A TOTAL QUALITY PROCESS FOR DESIGN OF A PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM

This paper proposes an improved performance appraisal system (PAS) that is based on the philosophy of total quality management(TQM). It focuses on understanding the customer′s (both management and employees) requirements for the PAS in order to prioritize and simplify the basic elements of the appraisal system and implementation process. The improved process is defined by performance planning, counseling and evaluation with assessments for individual, team and management contributions. In addition, reducing the rating scale to three categories should facilitate a very positive evaluation process for most employees and still allow a constructive focus on those individuals that must be improved. Finally, if people come first in the TQM organization, then the personnel systems must reflect this philosophy.

Managing the Value of the Organization Based on Organizational Culture

Managing the value of the organization is taking place based on factors forming it. It is becoming possible thanks to such managing operations of the organization, when in the end an image in accordance with expectations, giving the state back to the value of organizations is being got. Creating the goodwill is based among others on immaterial factors, which although they are becoming impossible to include in balance, are taken hold in time value of the organization. Creation of the value of an organization may be based on the organizational culture. The article presents the essence of value management and organization characterized the factors affecting the formation of organizational culture, ways of dealing with an organization aimed at consolidating and strengthening the organizational culture. Sometimes organizations feel the need to change the culture in order to achieve increased efficiency and ensure the success of the company to implement the necessary changes. Therefore, the rest of this article presents the elements to ensure a smooth implementation and consolidation of cultural change.

Quality oriented value and performance drivers

The quality endeavors of an organization, like other enterprise activities, must be oriented towards the economic principles. This approach gives a way to many organizations to question the extent to which the quality management contributes for the overall business success and to pin point the areas where particularly a high value or performance can be created in order to attain the maximum possible economic benefits out of quality management systems. Without including the answer of this question in the decision making process, the resources can not be allocated optimally for the quality purpose. Quality management activities create variety of effects that indirectly contributes towards the economic success and thus increase the company and stakeholder value. A closer look at the quality management philosophy reveals eight major principles namely： customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach to management, continual improvement, factual approach to decision making, mutually beneficial supplier relationships. These eight principles lead the efforts in the domain of quality management to project a positive impact on the company. For an understanding of response relationships, it is necessary to consider in detail the indicators along the response relationships. They provide helpful clues and give an insight into the complex mechanisms of action of the quality approaches on the path to the company＇s success. The following illustration depicts how the quality based activities generate the value to enhance the performance and a variety of indicators reflects how they indirectly add value to an organization and hence contribute to its economic success.