The focus of this study is twofold: first to determine the impact of agency costs on firm performance, measured using operating expenses to sales ratio and total asset turnover ratio, for Greenfield firms (private to public) and Heritage firms (spin-offs of already public companies) types of initial public offerings after one and five years; second to compare the performance, as measured market to book value per share, of Greenfield and Heritage firms after one and five years. Thus addressing the question of whether initial differences between Greenfield and Heritage firms at the time of the IPO are evident after one and five years. The results showed that Heritage firms have a significantly lower expenses/sales ratio one year after the IPO. The study confirmed that after five years Greenfield firms would have similar expense/sales ratio and show similar performance to Heritage firms.

The present research identified transaction costs in the mining sector in South Africa and provided means for mitigation. A review, discussion and evaluation of theories related to transaction costs such as vertical integration, outsourcing, price, long and short terms contracts was undertaken under literature review. A qualitative study, with two research questions, on eight companies of which four precious metals and minerals, two metallic minerals and two non-metallic minerals, was performed and provided among other results: • Cost of doing business in South Africa is high. • Site specificity and physical-asset specificity are the most influential specialised investments in the mining sector. • Long term contracts are the most appropriate to mitigate transaction costs. • Costly bargaining is the most important implication for all specialised investments. • Exchange rates, Mining Charter, BEE, legislation, taxes, royalties, fuel and electricity increases are cited as reasons for high transaction costs. • The small sample is a big concern as it does not allow generalising the results to over all mining companies. The South Africa’s government, as a regulator and a major stakeholder should revisit the mining charter and therefore the B-BBEE act as this clearly appeared to be a barrier to the development of mining companies. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This research investigates whether the South African Energy Regulator (NERSA) correctly prices the cost of equity, through looking at the petroleum storage sector. A model is built to simulate the current methodology for tariff setting and historical data is used to estimate the returns a regulated firm would have earned over the past 25 years. In addition, a benchmark cost of equity is calculated through a sample of US firms. Integrated firms are then decomposed to their revenue generating segments and cost of equity per segment is then estimated. The study finds that the methodology calculates a return lower than that earned by the market (measured through the J203). The study further finds that the risk to which the regulated company is exposed to, defined in terms of variability of retunes, is not significantly different than that of the market. Lastly, the study finds that the benchmark cost of equity is significantly higher than that calculated by the Regulator. Recommendation for Regulator consideration as well as for further research are provided. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Indústrias envolvidas com processos de usinagem estão sempre atentas, no sentido de aumentar a sua competitividade para atender adequadamente a demanda do mercado. Melhor qualidade sobre seus produtos finais e um processo de fabricação mais eficiente são alvos estratégicos de serem atingidos. No caso particular do processo de usinagem em ambiente fabril, existem algumas indústrias que preferem trabalhar com os gestores de ferramentas de usinagem, a fim de controlar a produtividade e os custos do processo. Entretanto, neste trabalho de dissertação, pretende-se sugerir que é essencial ter profissionais contratados diretamente pela empresa, para desempenhar o papel de introdutor de melhorias para o processo de fabricação. Então, seguindo o procedimento da empresa pesquisada, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo propor o uso da metodologia Seis Sigma (6σ) para a gestão e estratificação dos diferentes mecanismos de desgaste e das diferentes avarias incidentes na aresta de corte de ferramentas durante o processo de usinagem, observados no chão de fábrica em ambiente fabril. O procedimento incluiu também, considerar o comportamento de dispositivos de fixação e peças e ferramentas. Enfim, foram considerados todos os fatores de influência que provocam na retirada prematura da ferramenta da máquina. A metodologia escolhida para a realização dos procedimentos foi o DMAIC (Definir-Medir-Analisar-Implementar-Controlar), que foi o procedimento utilizado pela equipe formada internamente à empresa. Depois da aplicação do DMAIC, foi possível encontrar resultados que mostraram a viabilidade de introdução, na rotina da empresa, de um sistema para controlar os possíveis fatores de influência na falha prematura da ferramenta. Além disso, o trabalho tem também o compromisso de contribuir para a redução de custos e aumento de produtividade dos setores de usinagem avaliados. / Industries involved in machining processes are always attentive to increase their competitiveness to meet adequately the markets demand. A better quality of their final products and a more efficient manufacturing process are strategic targets to be met. In the particular case of the machining process in a manufacturing environment, there are some industries that prefer to work with the managers of machining tools, in order to control the costs and the productivity of the process. However, this dissertation is intended to suggest that it is essential to have professionals hired directly by the company to play the role of introducer of improvements to the manufacturing process. Then, following this procedure the company studied, this paper aims to propose the use of Six Sigma (6σ) for the management and stratification of the different wear mechanisms and the different failures incident to the cutting edge of tools during the machining process, observed in the manufacturing shop floor environment. The procedure also included considering the behavior of fixation devices of tools and parts. Finally, we considered all the factors of influence on premature withdrawal of the machine tool. The methodology chosen to carry out the procedures was the DMAIC (Define - Measure -Analyze - Implement - Control), which was the procedure used by the team formed within the company. After the DMAIC application, it was possible to find results that showed the feasibility of introducing, into the routine of the company, a system to control the possible influencing factors in the premature tool failure and, undoubtedly, contribute to the reduction of costs and to increase the productivity of the machining sectors evaluated.

INTRODUÇÃO: As doenças cardiovasculares estão entre as principais causas de óbito no Brasil e no mundo. Dentre as doenças cardiovasculares, a insuficiência cardíaca (IC) participa de maneira importante para morbi-mortalidade por ser via final de todas as entidades que acometem o coração. A internação hospitalar constitui momento crucial no tratamento e sobrevida dos pacientes com IC. Neste momento, em que o estado da doença atinge seu período mais crítico, é de grande importância o conhecimento dos pacientes com maior risco, que necessitam de cuidados mais intensos. No entanto, a apuração dos custos hospitalares é tarefa difícil, principalmente nas situações de alta complexidade, onde a utilização de recursos nos diversos setores do hospital, materiais e medicamentos, é muito heterogênea. Assim, a busca de variáveis clínicas capazes de ajudar a identificar os pacientes com maior risco, morbidade hospitalar (e conseqüente maior tempo de internação), e o custo destas internações foram o escopo deste estudo. OBJETIVO: primariamente, identificar variáveis clínicas capazes de predizer prognóstico de sobrevida e custos de internação numa população de pacientes internados por IC. Secundariamente, determinar custo mediano destas internações, correlacionando os as variáveis clínicas, de etiologia da cardiopatia de base, e com o perfil hemodinâmico na admissão hospitalar. Visamos ainda projetar os dados da Instituição no modelo de regressão por árvore de decisão proposto pelo estudo ADHERE. MÉTODOS: Realizamos um estudo retrospectivo na qual foram analisados dados consecutivos referentes a internações de pacientes que chegaram ao Pronto Socorro do InCor e permaneceram no Hospital por mais de 24 horas, sendo internados nos anos de 2006 e 2007. Foram avaliados dados clínicos na chegada ao pronto atendimento e evolutivos durante a internação. Foi realizada avaliação de custo da doença durante internação hospitalar através de modelo misto de análises de custos diretos contabilizados por absorção total e rateio dos setores de apoio. Análises estatísticas incluíram modelos de: regressão de proporcional de Cox para variáveis de morbidade-permanência hospitalar, regressão logística para variáveis de mortalidade hospitalar, e regressão através de árvores de decisão para definição de variáveis prioritárias. RESULTADOS: Foram avaliadas 577 internações de pacientes diferentes, sendo 60% do sexo masculino, e idade mediana de 69 anos (57-77). As principais variáveis clínicas preditoras de tempo de internação para nossa população foram: perfil hemodinâmico C, necessidade de dobutamina, ventilação mecânica, ou antibióticos. As principais variáveis clínicas preditoras de mortalidade foram: fração de ejeção, pressão arterial sistólica, clearence estimado de creatinina, ocorrência de infecção hospitalar, e a necessidade de dobutamina, noradrenalina, ou cateteres centrais. Todas estas variáveis compuseram os modelos de regressão. O custo mediano das internações foi de R$ 4.450 (1.353 - 13.432), sendo o fator independente na análise multivariada, o tempo de internação hospitalar, que teve mediana de 5 dias (2-13). A mortalidade hospitalar geral foi de 132 pacientes (23%). CONCLUSÃO: As variáveis clínicas preditoras de tempo de internação para nossa população foram: perfil hemodinâmico, necessidade de dobutamina, ventilação mecânica, ou antibióticos. As variáveis clínicas preditoras de mortalidade foram a fração de ejeção, a pressão arterial sistólica, o clearence estimado de creatinina, a ocorrência de infecção hospitalar, e a necessidade de dobutamina, noradrenalina, ou cateteres centrais. Estas variáveis foram diferentes daquelas apontadas por outros estudos. A etiologia chagásica se correlacionou à maior incidência de choque cardiogênico, caracterizando assim maiores taxas de mortalidade, tempo de permanência, e custos frente às outras etiologias. A presença de choque cardiogênico na entrada se correlacionou a altas taxas de mortalidade, internações mais prolongadas, e maiores de custos de internação. O modelo descrito pelo estudo ADHERE pôde ser aplicado em nossa população, porém, propusemos outro modelo de árvore de decisão composto pelas variáveis: presença de choque cardiogênico uréia sérica, e pressão arterial sistólica, que apresentou maior acurácia em relação ao desfecho mortalidade hospitalar. O custo das internações variou muito de acordo com a evolução clínica dos pacientes, e conseqüentemente, seu tempo de internação hospitalar. No caso de pacientes atendidos pelo SUS, menos de um terço das internações tiveram custos inferiores ao valor médio das AIHs pagas por internações de pacientes com IC. / BACKGROUND: Heart diseases are the main mortality cause in Brazil and the rest of the world. Among those diseases, heart failure (HF) is utmost importance because it is the final pathway for overall heart diseases. Acute decompensate HF is a crucial situation while treating this disease because of its severity. At this critical time, stratification of risk is imperative in order to determine care. Hospital costs determination, however, is difficult in high complexity situations that use resources in a heterogeneity manner. The look for the clinical variables that could identify patients at higher risk for morbidity (and length of stay), mortality, and costs were the main aims of this study. OBJECTIVES: primarily to identify clinical variable able to predict survive and costs in a population of patients admitted by HF. Secondarily, determine median costs for the admissions, correlating these values to clinical variables, etiologies of HF, and hemodynamic profile at entrance. We aimed also to run our data in the tree regression model previously proposed by the ADHERE registry. METHODS: we reviewed consecutively 577 admissions records of different patients admitted by acute decompensated heart failure that stayed for more than 24 hours at the hospital during 2006 and 2007. Clinical data at the admissions and in-hospital follow-up data were analyzed. Costs analysis was performed through a mix model of microcosting (for direct resources) and average costing (for indirect resources). Statistical analysis included regression models as follows: Cox proportional for length of stay variables, logistic for hospital mortality, and classification and regression tree for defining priority variables. RESULTS: among the 577 patients, 60% were men; median age was 69 years (57- 77). The main predictor variables for length of stay were as follows: C hemodynamic profile, need for dobutamine, mechanic ventilation, or antibiotics. The main predictor variables for mortality were as follows: ejection fraction, systolic blood pressure, estimated creatinine clearance, occurrence of hospital infections, and need for dobutamine, norepinephrine, or central catheters. All these variables composed the regression models. Median admission cost was R$ 4.450 (1.353 13.432). Length of stay was an independent factor for predicting costs, with median of 5 days (2-13). Inhospital mortality rate was 23% (132 patients). CONCLUSION: The main predictor variables for length of stay were as follows: hemodynamic profile, need for dobutamine, mechanic ventilation, or antibiotics. The main predictor variables for mortality were as follows: ejection fraction, systolic blood pressure, estimated creatinine clearance, occurrence of hospital infections, and need for dobutamine, norepinephrine, or central catheters. These variables differ from other studies that evaluated similar outcomes. Chagas heart disease etiology was correlated to higher rates of cardiogenic shock, mortality rates, length of stay, and costs. The model used in the ADHERE registry could be used in our population; however, we proposed another variables integrating the regression and classification tree (systolic blood pressure, blood urea nitrogen, and hemodynamic profile C). This model presented greater accuracy for hospital mortality in our population. The cost of admissions ranged according to clinical evolution of the patients, and as consequence of length of stay. Less than a third of the admissions reimbursed by the government had their costs below the mean estimated value for reimbursement

Orientador: Paulo José Fortes Villas Boas / Resumo: Introdução: A prescrição de Medicamentos Potencialmente Inapropriados (MPIs) possuem aspectos relevantes em idosos juntamente com a prevalência de automedicação, interações medicamentosas, reações adversas e polifarmácia, sendo, portanto, necessário utilizar medidas que proporcionem o uso racional destes medicamentos nessa população, além de elaborar medidas que possibilitem a diminuição de custos relacionados à essa prática para as Instituições de Saúde. Objetivo: Analisar os custos diretos das prescrições medicamentosas de idosos internados em enfermaria de Clínica Médica e comparar os custos das prescrições com e sem medicamentos potencialmente inapropriados (MPI) para idosos. Metodologia: Estudo observacional retrospectivo descritivo, realizado em enfermaria de Clínica Médica de hospital universitário público de nível terciário. Foram analisadas as prescrições de 124 idosos com 60 anos ou mais, internados por condições clínicas. Os dados das prescrições foram coletados por meio do sistema de prontuário eletrônico da instituição. Os custos das prescrições foram obtidos junto à Seção Técnica de Farmácia de acordo com a tabela de preço unitário do ano vigente de 2018, sendo realizada a somatória total dos custos de toda internação. Os medicamentos foram considerados MPI segundo critérios de Beers de 2019 da American Geriatrics Society. Resultados: Foram avaliadas prescrições de 124 pacientes com mediana de idade de 74,6 (percentil 25 – 75: 69 – 81) anos, sendo 60,5% do sexo ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Introduction: Prescription of Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs) have relevant aspects in the elderly along with the prevalence of self-medication, drug interactions, adverse reactions and polypharmacy, therefore, it is necessary to use measures that provide rational use of these drugs in this population, besides to elaborate measures that allow the reduction of costs related to this practice for the Health Institutions. Objective: To analyze the direct costs of the prescriptions of elderly patients hospitalized in a Clinical Medical ward and to compare the costs of prescriptions with and without potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) for the elderly. Methodology: Descriptive retrospective observational study, carried out in a Clinical Medical ward of a tertiary-level public university hospital. The prescriptions of 124 elderly patients 60 years of age or older hospitalized for clinical conditions were analyzed. Prescribing data were collected through the institution's electronic medical record system. Prescription costs were obtained from the Technical Section of Pharmacy according to the unit price table of the current year of 2018, and the total sum of the costs of all hospitalization was made. The drugs were considered PIM according to the 2015 Beers criteria of the American Geriatrics Society. Results: Prescriptions of 124 patients with a median age of 74.6 (25 - 75: 69 - 81 percentile) years were evaluated, with 60.5% being male. The median number of medi... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

This study analyzed the history of American foreign trade policy during the administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Four levels of analysis (international, governmental, societal, and individual) provided a framework to explore two historiograhical problems: the decision-making power structure of U.S. trade policy formulation and the aims, motives, and results of this policy. The campaign for the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 served as a basis for testing four models of decision-making: bureaucratic, corporatist, interest group, and inter-branch. The models were tested in the specific issue areas of textiles, lumber, oil, and carpets and glass. These commodities also were used to validate the interpretations of the "hegemony" or the "comparative-advantage" schools of thought regarding the aims and effects of American trade policy. Under the auspices of the Kennedy Round negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, trade relations with the European Economic Community were the overall focus of the debate between the two schools, but bilateral trade with Japan, Asian less-developed countries, Canada, and Venezuela assumed primary importance depending on the commodity. The inter-branch model, and to a lesser extent pressure from interest groups, was found to determine decision-making on trade matters. The assumptions of the comparative-advantage school generally were most accurate in describing the motives and results of U.S. trade policy.

The purpose of this thesis was to acquaint the reader on the nature of the uncertainty present in construction price forecasting and to introduce an environment that has the ability to integrate these uncertainties with greater consistency than that possessed by available price models. The objective of this thesis was to establish that uncertainty can be explicitly treated in price forecasting models. This would have two benefits to concerned parties. Firstly, the effectiveness of price forecasts could be improved as provision could be made for any uncertain variable. This will be of great benefit to the client, as a more accurate assessment of the building process could be established at an earlier stage of the design process. Secondly, the price forecast will be more useful to quantity surveyors, architects and clients, as it would 'quantify' the extent of the uncertainty which could be provided for in a more meaningful manner. In order to establish that existing price models do not deal with the uncertainty present at the time of forecasting, the price models used by practitioners were evaluated against the different types of uncertainty found at the different stages of the price forecasting process. Once this had been established, eight techniques that have the ability to treat various forms of uncertainty, were presented. After analysing the techniques abilities to cope with the uncertainties associated with price forecasting, it was established that certain of these techniques do have the ability, and are suitable, to be incorporated into the price forecasting process. From the results of a questionnaire survey conducted on quantity surveying offices in South Africa, it was found that the price models used by practitioners do not take uncertainty into account, and have in fact, the potential for uncertainty inducement. Some of the uncertainty found to be present in the preparation of a construction price forecast include the lack or incompleteness of design information, the uncertainty in the communication of design information, the variability in the data used by quantity surveyors and, the uncertainty in the choice of price model during the different stages of the design process. As a possible solution to the problem of uncertainty, an expert system environment, utilising a three-dimensional classification of uncertainty, has been proposed. It has been proved that this environment has the ability to cater for the uncertainty associated with the price forecasting process, as well as having the attribute of providing the user with the reasoning behind the logic that the expert system has followed, a characteristic not possible with the traditional forms of price models. From the findings of this thesis, it can be concluded that the methods of price modelling used by quantity surveying practitioners, are unable to take uncertainty into account effectively. It can also be concluded that an expert system environment has the ability to handle the different forms of uncertainty found at the various stages of construction design. The proposed model is conceptual in nature and has not been tested in practice. It is therefore recommended that further research be carried out in this field, with the aim of producing a construction price forecasting expert system which utilises the proposed three-dimensional classification of uncertainty.

The diploma thesis deals with the study of the supply process in the chosen company, which mainly deals with the purchase and sale of cleaning machines and equipment. The thesis presents a proposal to improve the Supply Chain, with an emphasis on streamlining traffic, while at the same time making it possible to streamline customer service by designing a website. The work is divided into three main parts. The first part includes all the theoretical starting points, from which the analytical part starts. This part is mainly consists of analyzing the state of the company by using appropriate methods. On the basis of the shortcomings identified, the third part discusses suggestions for improving the processes that will contribute to their improvement, increasing the competitiveness of the company and increasing the value for the customer.

The master thesis focuses on the project design of hackathon and application of project management methods in the selected company. The first part is devoted to theoretical background in the area of project management, the second part contains the analysis of the current situation in the company. The output and third part of the thesis is devoted to the project itself.