O aumento do número de produtos com vida útil menor, a intensificação no uso do comércio eletrônico, leis cada vez mais exigentes de responsabilidade sobre descarte dos produtos e uma crescente consciência ambiental têm gerado um elevado número de retornos, fazendo crescer a importância da Logística Reversa para as empresas e para a sociedade, de forma geral. Contudo, constatou-se na literatura que se trata de uma área ainda pouco explorada e, portanto, não existem dados concretos para se trabalhar e explorar as oportunidades de melhoria. Com o intuito de mitigar esta carência, foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica acerca da relação entre a Logística Reversa e o desempenho empresarial, bem como uma pesquisa junto às empresas, procurando verificar como se dá este relacionamento. Como resultado principal, relacionado diretamente com o objetivo do trabalho, obteve-se um modelo conceitual que contribuiu para a ampliação da visão gerencial sobre o processo de Logística Reversa, modelo este que inclui indicadores de desempenho que permitem avaliar a atividade. Também é proposta do trabalho a utilização de métodos de Tomada de Decisão com Múltiplos Critérios, ferramenta esta que facilita a seleção dos indicadores segundo as estratégias das empresas.

Purpose: This study aims to focus on the entrepreneurial education and profile in undergraduate business administration programs in Brazil, particularly in the southern region of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Assuming that the entrepreneurial profile can be developed by teaching and learning processes. Design/methodology/approach: The research performed qualitative approach through interviews and a quantitative approach using multiple criteria decision-making methods. Data were collected along 2015 in a survey with a population of 412 students from three high education institutions (HEIs) and analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process with ratings. Findings: The study has found that the key entrepreneurial trait for all groups was the ability to “plan”. Other relevant dimensions were “self-realization”, “innovative” and “leader”. The dimensions “risk taking” and “sociability” were considered not important in the opinion of all groups. Practical implications: The entrepreneurial profile does not seem to evolve over the four-year college period, thus suggesting a failure of the entrepreneurial education at the three surveyed HEIs to impact the overall perception of students about the requirements for creating and developing new ventures. Actions to revert this trend should be taken. Originality/value: This research aims to identify differences in perception about the entrepreneurial profile among freshmen and senior undergraduates. The theme is relevant in a knowledge era where academy has to prepare students to be entrepreneurs. Similar studies were done around in Brazil and around the world but no one in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The work has a contribution by proposing and applying a method to compare students groups, programs, institutions and countries over time.

This article analyzes Reverse Logistics (RL) practices associated with the concept of Circular Economy (CE), comparing studies conducted before and after the implementation of the National Solid Waste Policy (NSWP) in Brazil. Data from companies in the Sul Fluminense region were analyzed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process to prioritize RL practices and identify those related to CE. The research included companies from nine Brazilian economic sectors that engage in some form of RL. The comparison of results aimed to evaluate the influence of the NSWP on these practices, with data analyzed using the Super Decisions software (version 3.2) to establish priorities and aggregate them using the Aggregating Individual Priorities method. It was observed that the implementation of the NSWP in 2010 emphasized the importance of sustainability. Although the concept of CE is recent, its operationalization is based on consolidated RL practices such as recycling, remanufacturing, and material reuse. The study provides insights to optimize and expand these practices, facilitating the transition from a linear economy to a circular one.

El artículo propone un abordaje estructurado para evaluar el desempeño ambiental a través de un procedimiento que establece una línea de acción para realizar la evaluación del desempeño ambiental de empresas cubanas, integrando indicadores ambientales que responden a las principales políticas y estrategias. La propuesta tiene como objetivo presentar contribuciones teóricas para la evaluación del desempeño ambiental empresarial en el entorno de Cuba, para complementar la evaluación con medidas de resultados del desempeño ambiental y garantizar la eficacia de las políticas, estrategias y metas. La propuesta surge de la carencia de instrumentos metodológicos que permitan la selección, agrupamiento, integración y evaluación de indicadores ambientales que permitan evaluar el desempeño ambiental garantizando la eficacia de las políticas, estrategias y metas. El procedimiento facilita la selección de indicadores ambientales tomando como base las estrategias y principales cuestiones ambientales, modelos de integración y herramientas tales como ISO 14031, el Balanced Scorecard (BSC) y métodos para la toma de decisiones multicriterio, específicamente el Analytic Network Process. También se propone en el trabajo la obtención de un valor único de desempeño ambiental global, con base en el nivel de cumplimiento de las metas y los indicadores ambientales definidos inicialmente. Para la validación del procedimiento se aplicó en cuatro pequeñas y medianas centrales eléctricas, donde además de evaluar el desempeño ambiental, fue posible identificar los puntos críticos y oportunidades de mejora para re direccionar los esfuerzos y resolver los principales puntos críticos.

The scenario of global competitiveness demands more and more of the organizations the search for continuous improvement. For survival, in the face of adverse market conditions, modern production management strategies are essential to make production processes increasingly efficient, lean and sustainable, minimizing losses in their production systems. In this sense, when thinking about changes in production lines, in search of improvements in their process, criteria that provide Benefits, Opportunities, Costs and Risks (BOCR) should be considered. In this way, managers and executives should rely on tools and methods that allow them to guide their decisions in a clear way. The objective of this work is to apply a method of Decision Making with Multiple Criteria to the alternatives of investment projects in production lines in Lean Manufacturing concept. As a general result, it was possible to observe the applicability of the AHP BOCR method for the decision-making case involving several criteria and subcriteria for choosing the Lean investment project in the steel environment, the preferred alternative being the discontinuity of the production line 1 and the absorption of their respective production volume by production lines 2 and 3 through investments in them.