Analytical Comparison of German Owner’s Budget Estimate and Chinese Contractor’s Bid: A Case Study for a Warehouse Building Project in China

Nowadays, the need for scientific and modernized engineering cost management has been increasingly prominent. Hence, this study compared the differences of the quantities’ terms, the management philosophy, the related institutions (or specifications), and other factors in engineering cost management between China and Germany accompanied by a case study for a warehouse building project in China. There are two main parts. Firstly, according to the literature research, the comparative analysis was conducted on the engineering cost-control mode, the list of bills of quantities, and other parameters between China and Germany. On the basis of this, the “differences” between China and Germany especially in the bidding process were further studied with the empirical analysis of engineering cases, which is a supplementary argument to the theoretical analysis. Finally, several related suggestions were put forward, including proposing a set of “universal” bills of quantities (which can be understood by Chinese enterprises and also accepted by foreign-funded enterprises), the establishment of the whole process, a dynamic and information-based project cost-management system, cultivation of talents with the advanced management concept, and the development of international engineering companies and project-management companies with core competitiveness. The conclusions are expected to provide some references for China’s construction industry to further expand the international market and to increase the influences in global markets.

Enlightenment of Intelligent Construction in the Construction of First-Class University Campus

In September 2017, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly announced the first batch of “double first-class” construction universities, aiming to improve China’s education level and strengthen the country’s core competitiveness. In addition to first-class teaching and first-class scientific research, first-class universities should also have first-class campuses. The campus of a first-class university should have a complete range of infrastructure, scale, and function to meet the requirements of school-running and scientific research; it should also advocate sustainable development, which includes the concept of energy-saving, smart, and green. The traditional production methods and management models of the construction industry are far from being able to meet the needs of the construction and development of first-class campuses. Digital, intelligent, and informatized construction models are the only way for current campus construction.

Effects of Top Management Team Characteristics on Patent Strategic Change and Firm Performance

Patent strategy is increasingly recognized as a vital contributor in promoting core competitiveness of an enterprise. A top management team (TMT) has been indicated as one of the key factors driving changes in patent strategy. Based on upper echelons theory, this study examines how TMT characteristics, including, team diversity, emotional intelligence, and safety climate, influence enterprise patent strategic change and, hence, the business outcome. The data from 930 top managers in 228 enterprises showed that the changes in patent strategies are significantly influenced by the characteristics of top managers. These aforementioned internal TMT factors have diverse effects on the speed and scope of the enterprise patent strategic change, which in turn affects firm performance in a positive and negative way, respectively.

Development Strategies for Higher Education Institutions Based on the Cultivation of Core Competitiveness

The development of higher education institutions is the inevitable path towards strong scientific research ability of higher education. Currently, under the impact of the strategies of developing world-class universities, and strengthening the core competitiveness of disciplines, higher education institutions in China are faced with immense challenges. Based on the cultivation of core competitiveness, this paper explores the evaluation and development strategies for the core competitiveness of higher education institutions. The results show that: core competitiveness is a comprehensive intangible ability, and improving core competitiveness helps to clarify the direction and enhancing the quality of talent training. The core competitiveness of China’s higher education institutions has continued to improve, as evidenced by the growth in educational resources, educational fund, and scientific results. The core competitiveness of higher education can be evaluated by the following indexes: school-running philosophy, academic production capacity, management model innovation capacity, campus culture construction capacity, human resource management innovation capacity, and training model innovation capacity. The research results lay a theoretical basis for the reform of higher education institutions.

Research on a Compound Dual Innovation Capability Model of Intelligent Manufacturing Enterprises

The innovation capability of enterprises is reflected in whether their products and services can meet the needs of customers and adapt to the market. After analyzing the main differences between traditional manufacturing enterprises and intelligent manufacturing enterprises, it is proposed that intelligent manufacturing enterprises share the main characteristics of digitization, automation, platformization and flat manufacturing. Based on the theory of “ambidextrous innovation”, this paper analyzes the mechanism of the innovation capability of intelligent manufacturing enterprises and notes that informatization and intellectualization are the driving forces between the innovation capability of enterprises. In addition, a “dual drive” and “ambidextrous innovation” have a direct effect on manufacturing and management, promoting products and services and comprehensively improving the quality of such products and services to enhance the core competitiveness of intelligent manufacturing enterprises. A compound dual innovation capability model for intelligent manufacturing enterprises is constructed, and the evaluation indices of the model are provided for reference. The present work provides research focuses and a theoretical framework for follow-up research on the innovation capability of intelligent manufacturing enterprises to promote the innovation and development of intelligent manufacturing enterprises.

Construction Scheme and Talent Policies of Free Trade Zones in China

Free Trade Zones (FTZs) are the important product of deepening reform, expanding opening up and promoting high-quality economic development under the unified deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. As the core competitiveness of FTZs, talents play an important role in the construction and development of FTZs, and the formulation of talent selection policies are vital in talent introduction. This article mainly discusses the construction scheme and talent policies of FTZs in China for reference of relevant departments.

The Impact of Quality Management Practices on Manufacturing Performance: An Empirical Study Based on System Theory

As one important part of core competitiveness of manufacturing enterprises, quality management practices have gradually received more attention. In many existing researches, quality management practices are regarded as a whole or categorized into two or four types of practice elements for discussions. There are less researches on the relationships among specific quality management practice elements and their impacts on manufacturing performance. This study analyzes quality management practices with the philosophical thinking of system theory, and deconstructs the mechanism of the mutual influences and synergies among various quality management practice elements and also their impacts on manufacturing performance, from an overall perspective through an empirical research. At last, a model of quality management practice synergies is built, as a theoretical support for manufacturing enterprises implementation of quality management practices.

Utilization of Data Analysis and Decision Support System in the Chinese General Hospitals

With the deepening of medical system reform, there are unprecedented challenges for China’s medical industry. In order to promote hospital core competitiveness, medical enterprises urgently need to be based on industry demand. The establishment of a unified data platform is an important aspect of this process, however the hospital’s data inherent characteristics, makes the effective management a difficult task. This difficulty creates a hurdle for the implementation of an integrated information technology. Considering these obstacles, opting an effective method of data collection, data analysis and data management has become a concern for hospital staff. The hospital data analysis and decision support system make full use of the massive data deposited in the existing digital information system of the hospital. This cannot only facilitate the manager to monitor the operation and management of the hospital, but also predict its future development direction based on the historical data. This article mainly focuses on the characteristics of hospital data analysis and decision support, and application. We studied the hospital’s data analysis and decision support system for advanced technology as our guide.

Research on Influencing Factors of Technological Independent Innovation of Equipment Manufacturing Enterprises from the Perspective of Iceberg Theory

Technological independent innovation is not only the internal need for equipment manufacturing enterprises to improve their core competitiveness but also the urgent requirement to promote economic and social development. Based on the development status of technological independent innovation of equipment manufacturing enterprises, this study analyzes the explicit and implicit influencing factors of technological independent innovation using iceberg theory and obtains the multilevel hierarchical structure model of explicit and implicit influencing factors and its key influencing factors using the integrated DEMATEL-ISM method. The three aspects of enterprises give suggestions and countermeasures for the existing problems, put forward correct and effective guidance for the technological independent innovation of equipment manufacturing enterprises, and lay a solid foundation for China’s industrial revitalization and economic development.

The Governance Mechanism and Legal System of European Union Cyberspace Security

The whole world is making unremitting efforts to ensure the security of global cyberspace. The European Union (EU) has always regarded cyberspace security as the core competitiveness of regional integration and is committed to improving the cyberspace security legal system’s construction. Now it has been at the forefront of the world. Through the analysis of the EU cyberspace security governance mechanism and legal framework, this study concludes that the construction of cyberspace security is a complex project that requires long-term exploration and development. Besides, a sound cyberspace-security governance mechanism and a perfect legal system of cyberspace security should have a clear hierarchy, and specific effectiveness and system, updating the laws and regulations.