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South Africa’s electricity supply is under pressure because of inadequate capacity expansion in the early 2000s. One of the initiatives funded by Eskom to alleviate the pressure on the national electricity grid was an aggressive demand-side management (DSM) programme that commenced in 2004. A positive outcome of the DSM programme was that the industrial sector in South Africa benefited from the implementation of a relatively large number of DSM projects. These DSM projects reduced the electricity costs of industrial clients and reduced the demand on the national electricity grid. Unfortunately, the performance of industrial DSM projects deteriorates without proper maintenance. This results in wasted savings opportunities that are costly to industrial clients and Eskom. The purpose of this study was therefore to develop a maintenance strategy that could be applied, firstly, to reverse the deterioration of DSM project performance and, secondly, to sustain and to improve DSM project performance. The focus of the maintenance strategy was to obtain maximum project performance that translated to maximum electricity cost savings for the client. A new performance-centered maintenance (PCM) strategy was developed and proven through practical experience in maintaining industrial DSM projects over a period of more than 60 months. The first part of the PCM strategy consisted of developing a new strategy for the outsourcing of DSM project maintenance to energy services companies (ESCOs) on the company group level of the client. The strategy served as a guideline for both ESCOs and industrial clients to implement and manage a group-level DSM maintenance agreement successfully. The second part of the PCM strategy consisted of a simplified method that was developed to identify DSM projects where applying a PCM strategy would increase or sustain electricity cost savings. The third part of the PCM strategy consisted of practical maintenance guidelines that were developed to ensure maximum project performance. It was based on the plan-do-check-act cycle for continuous improvement with an emphasis on the monitoring of DSM project performance. The last part of the PCM strategy consisted of various alternative key performance indicators that should be monitored to ensure maximum sustainable DSM project performance. The PCM strategy was evaluated by implementing it on ten different DSM projects. The results showed that applying a PCM strategy resulted in an average increase of 64.4% in the electricity cost savings generated by these projects. The average implementation cost of the PCM strategy was 6% of the total benefit generated through it. This indicated that implementing the PCM strategy was a cost-effective manner to ensure that maximum performance of DSM projects was maintained sustainably. / PhD (Computer and Electronic Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

South Africa’s electricity supply is under pressure because of inadequate capacity expansion in the early 2000s. One of the initiatives funded by Eskom to alleviate the pressure on the national electricity grid was an aggressive demand-side management (DSM) programme that commenced in 2004. A positive outcome of the DSM programme was that the industrial sector in South Africa benefited from the implementation of a relatively large number of DSM projects. These DSM projects reduced the electricity costs of industrial clients and reduced the demand on the national electricity grid. Unfortunately, the performance of industrial DSM projects deteriorates without proper maintenance. This results in wasted savings opportunities that are costly to industrial clients and Eskom. The purpose of this study was therefore to develop a maintenance strategy that could be applied, firstly, to reverse the deterioration of DSM project performance and, secondly, to sustain and to improve DSM project performance. The focus of the maintenance strategy was to obtain maximum project performance that translated to maximum electricity cost savings for the client. A new performance-centered maintenance (PCM) strategy was developed and proven through practical experience in maintaining industrial DSM projects over a period of more than 60 months. The first part of the PCM strategy consisted of developing a new strategy for the outsourcing of DSM project maintenance to energy services companies (ESCOs) on the company group level of the client. The strategy served as a guideline for both ESCOs and industrial clients to implement and manage a group-level DSM maintenance agreement successfully. The second part of the PCM strategy consisted of a simplified method that was developed to identify DSM projects where applying a PCM strategy would increase or sustain electricity cost savings. The third part of the PCM strategy consisted of practical maintenance guidelines that were developed to ensure maximum project performance. It was based on the plan-do-check-act cycle for continuous improvement with an emphasis on the monitoring of DSM project performance. The last part of the PCM strategy consisted of various alternative key performance indicators that should be monitored to ensure maximum sustainable DSM project performance. The PCM strategy was evaluated by implementing it on ten different DSM projects. The results showed that applying a PCM strategy resulted in an average increase of 64.4% in the electricity cost savings generated by these projects. The average implementation cost of the PCM strategy was 6% of the total benefit generated through it. This indicated that implementing the PCM strategy was a cost-effective manner to ensure that maximum performance of DSM projects was maintained sustainably. / PhD (Computer and Electronic Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

En la actualidad, cada vez es mayor la cantidad de personas que opta por alquilar o comprar una vivienda. Junto a esa demanda, se activa el sector mobiliario, el cual es requerido para que gracias a la oferta de sus productos puedan equipar este nuevo espacio. La empresa Decorec SAC se encarga de la fabricación de sillas, muebles, sofás entre otros productos para el hogar, y totalmente personalizados. Actualmente, presenta diversos inconvenientes con los cumplimientos del programa de producción en los tiempos establecidos, que se reflejan en entregas tardías al cliente, generando penalidades y la utilización de recursos extras. El presente proyecto muestra que el modelo de propuesta de mejora basado en la metodología Lean Manufacturing, es capaz de revertir la situación actual. La metodología inicia con el diagnóstico VSM (Value Stream Mapping) con el fin de encontrar el proceso cuello de botella de la situación actual, para ello nos apoyamos en la toma de tiempos de cada proceso relacionado al producto en evaluación. Con el cuello de botella detectado y el análisis del problema, se establece el procedimiento a seguir para lograr la solución. Las etapas de la propuesta de mejora están definidas por: Selección de nuevo proveedor de materia prima, Formación en Lean Manufacturing, Balance de Línea, Aplicación de Sistema 5s, Implementación Andon, Implementación Poka Yoke, Implementación de Priorización de Pedidos y Optimización del Uso de Materia Prima. La metodología fue validada en una simulación empleando el Software Arena. Y gracias a los resultados se pudo comprobar importantes ahorros en tiempos, costos y disminuciones en los envíos tardíos hacia los clientes, además de lograrse la implementación de buenas prácticas en la gestión de los procesos de la empresa. / Today, more and more people are choosing to rent or buy a home. Along with this demand, the furniture sector is activated, which is required to equip this new space thanks to the supply of their products. The company Decorec SAC manufactures chairs, furniture and sofas, among other products for the home, which are totally personalized. Currently, it has several disadvantages with the fulfillment of the production program in the established times, which are reflected in late deliveries to the customer, generating penalties and the use of extra resources. This project shows that the improvement proposal model based on the Lean Manufacturing methodology is capable of reversing the current situation. The methodology starts with the VSM (Value Stream Mapping) diagnosis in order to find the bottleneck process of the current situation. To do this, we rely on the timing of each process related to the product under evaluation. With the bottleneck detected and the analysis of the problem, the procedure to be followed to achieve the solution is established. The stages of the improvement proposal are defined by: Selection of new raw material supplier, Training in Lean Manufacturing, Line Balance, Application of 5s System, Andon Implementation, Poka Yoke Implementation, Implementation of Order Prioritization and Optimization of Raw Material Use. The methodology was validated in a simulation using Arena Software. And thanks to the results, it was possible to verify important savings in time, costs and decreases in late shipments to customers, in addition to achieving the implementation of good practices in the management of business processes. / Trabajo de Suficiencia Profesional

O presente estudo buscou avaliar, a partir de informações da Pesquisa Anual Industrial do IBGE, a evolução da Produtividade Total dos Fatores (PTF) para a indústria farmacêutica nacional, objetivando contribuir com o debate acerca dos reajustes de preços do setor no âmbito da resolução Nº 1, de 27 de Fevereiro de 2004 da CMED. Para tanto, foram estimadas as fronteiras de produção estocásticas segundo o modelo implementado em Battese e Coelli (1995) com o emprego da Forma Flexível de Fourrier. A partir da metodologia citada acima, calculou-se os índices PTF de Malmquist para o período compreendido entre 1996 e 2003. Foram construídos seis índices distintos de produtividade para avaliar o setor. Tal construção se deveu à necessidade de se atribuir exogenamente as taxas de depreciação para o cálculo do estoque de capital. Desta forma, três hipóteses distintas (8%, 9% e 10%, seguindo valores dentro do intervalo utilizado pela literatura de ciclos reais no Brasil) foram atribuídas com o objetivo de checar a robustez dos índices. A partir deste conjunto de três séries, foram calculados índices de média geométrica (seguindo a metodologia mais popular entre os autores da literatura de índices de Malmquist) e de média ponderada (cujo peso atribuído foi a participação do Valor da Transformação Industrial de cada empresa em relação ao total do mercado). Dentre os resultados obtidos, vale destacar que, no período investigado, o setor não apresentou variações tecnológicas significativas. Os coeficientes são, numericamente próximos a zero e os índices de variação técnica variam positivamente até 1999 e, posteriormente, apresentam variações negativas que compensam o efeito positivo do período anterior. O mesmo não pode ser dito ineficiência técnica. De acordo com as equações estimadas, a ineficiência não apenas está presente, como predomina a variância do erro idiossincrático. Sua variação não apresenta um padrão decrescente nítido como a tecnologia. Entretanto, quando avaliada de maneira acumulada, os resultados mostram que, em todos os índices elaborados, houve uma perda de eficiência. Os resultados finais dos índices, obtidos a partir da variação da eficiência técnica e da variação técnica, apontam para uma perda de produtividade acumulada nos dois grupos de índices, isto é, tomando como base o ano de 1996. Desta forma, o ano de 2003 apresentou uma perda média de 8% para a média ponderada e de aproximadamente 7% na média geométrica. / The aim of this study is develop a contribution about the prices readjustments in Brazilian Pharmaceutical Industrial Sector, which is regulated by Resolution Nº 1 from 27 February of Brazilian?s Medicines Chamber (CMED). The present work uses information from IBGE?s Industrial Annual Research between 1996-2003. This contribution comes from measuring the Malmquist Total Factor Productivity Index of this sector. In order to do so, Battese and Coelli?s (1995) stochastic productions frontiers were estimated whit employment of Fourrier Flexible Form. Six different indexes were constructed by the necessity to attribute an exogenous depreciation factor to calculus of capital stock. Therefore, three distinct hypotheses (8%, 9% and 10%) were established to this factor, following the values used by Brazilian Real Business Cycles Literature. Apart from these values, two sets of indexes were constructed: a geometric mean index (following the most popular methodology in the Malmquist Index Literature) and a weighted mean index (the weight used is the relatively participation of each firm at the total Industrial Transformation Value). The results shows that the sector doesn?t have a significant technological variation in the investigated period. The technological coefficients are numerically near to zero and the derivative technological indexes present positive variation until 1999. After this period, the technological indexes present negative variation, so the final effect is quite null. Looking to the technical efficiency, we can?t assume the same result. According to the estimated equation, inefficiency is not only present but it?s effects seem dominate the idiosyncratic error. Moreover, the inefficiency doesn?t show a clear decreasing pattern like technological variation. However, when someone evaluate this variable accumulated, the results show an efficiency lost. The final results of these indexes were got by the technical indexes and technical efficiencies indexes and present an accumulated efficiency lost in two sets of indexes with 1996 as basis. Therefore, 2003 shows an average lost about 8% in weighted mean and about 7% in geometric mean.

A relação entre preço e custo marginal pode ser utilizada para evidenciar características das indústrias, com destaque para aspectos relacionados à concorrência. Uma das formas de estimar esta relação, definida como mark up, é a análise da relação entre insumos e produtos. Na presente pesquisa, este tipo de estudo foi realizado por meio da análise do resíduo de Solow, como em Hall (1986), e a partir da estimação da função de produção, conforme proposto por Loecker e Warzynski (2009). As características complementares dos procedimentos e o fato de haver insuficiente análise de aspectos concorrenciais das indústrias nacionais favorecem o emprego conjunto destas abordagens para o caso da indústria brasileira, sendo este o objetivo da presente pesquisa. Foram utilizados dados da PIA-Empresa (IBGE) para as indústrias de extração e transformação entre 1996 e 2007. A análise do resíduo de Solow evidenciou que a hipótese conjunta de retornos constantes de escala e concorrência perfeita para a indústria nacional não é válida, com altas estimativas de mark up para os setores extrativista, alimentício, florestal e químico. Já os setores têxtil e máquinas e equipamentos apresentaram baixas estimativas. As estimativas obtidas por meio da função de produção e a análise dos retornos de escala confirmaram os altos mark ups dos setores florestal e químico. Para os setores extrativista e alimentício as estimativas foram consideravelmente menores, o que foi interpretado como consequência do retorno de escala dos setores, que deve ser decrescente. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significativaentre as estimativas obtidas para os setores metalurgia básica, eletro eletrônico, têxtil e máquinas e equipamentos por meio das duas metodologias, o que corrobora as evidências encontradas sobre retornos de escala, que indicaram que estes são constantes para tais setores. Para os demais setores não foi possível obter constatações relevantes sobre as estimativas alternativas e retornos de escala. Dessa forma, foram encontradas evidêcias de que a hipótese de concorrência perfeita não é válida, com mark ups maiores do que dois para quase todos setores. / The price and marginal cost relation can evidence important industry features, especially the ones that concern competition. Input and output data can be used to estimate the price and marginal cost relation, defined as mark up. In this research, this type of study was done by the Solow residual analysis, as in Hall (1986), and by the production function estimation, as in Loecker e Warzynski (2009). The returns to scale influences both methodologies, and was used to compare their results. The methodologies complementaries features and the fact that there is few analisys about competition in brazilian industry stimulates the use of the Solow residual and the production function to calculate the mark up of the brazilian industry. The data of the extraction and transformation industries used in this research are from PIA-Empresa (IBGE) for the years between 1996 and 2007. The 104 industries were classified in eleven sectors: extrative, food, forest, textile, chemistry, non-metallic mineral, metallurgy, machines and equipment, electronics, general equipment and automotive vehicles. The Solow residual analysis rejected the competition and constants returns to scale hypothesis, and the extractive, food, forest and chemistry sectors showed high mark ups. Textile and machines and equipment had low mark ups. The mark up estimatives from the production function estimation and the returns to scale analysis confirmed the high mark ups for the forest and chemistry sectors. For the extractive and food sectors the mark ups were lower, what is probably consequence of the decreasing returns to scale that these sectors may have. There were no statistically significant di_erence between the mark ups estimatives obtained from both methodologies for the metallurgy, electronics, textile and machines and equipment sectors, what support the evidences of constant returns to scale that were found. The other sectors did not showed relevant conclusions about the relations between the estimatives and the returns to scale. Hence, the perfect concorrence hypotesys is not valid for the brazilian industry.

<p>In May 2000 share repurchases were legalized in Sweden, with the purpose to provide companies with an efficient and flexible way to distribute capital. To buy back shares gives companies several benefits which are discussed in our study. The lack of academic research about this topic for Swedish companies gave us an incentive to provide knowledge specifically for this market. When companies announce a share repurchase program they are subject to uncertainty about the society’s reaction and economic consequences. Individuals within a well established organizational field deal rationally with uncertainty by adjusting to their institutional environment. The institutional environment can be defined as an abstract structure of regulations and behavioral norms that guide human’s decisions. This often leads to homogeneity in companies’ culture, structure and output. We ask the question if companies are realizing repurchase programs in a similar way over time, and if share repurchases have been developed as a more common used financial instrument since 2000. Our second question is if companies that decide to buy back shares pursue this under similar economic conditions as a result from becoming homogeneous.</p><p>The purpose of this study is to describe how institutional pressures in form of coercive, normative and mimetic isomorphism have affected companies’ decision to repurchase shares. We want to explain if there is an upward going trend of share repurchases, a standardized way to repurchase over time and if this decision can be determined by similarities in certain financial indicators of a company’s economic situation. To answer our purpose we used a quantitative research strategy with a deductive approach. The collected data was analyzed in a logistic regression analysis and by interpretations of descriptive statistics. We decided to examine for mimetic isomorphism public companies listed within the industrial sector on Stockholm Stock Exchange from the years 2000-2006. For the test of coercive and normative isomorphism with a logistic regression analysis we had to limit ourselves to investigate the years 2001-2003.</p><p>In reality the three institutional pressures are working simultaneously and should together lead to a common perception about share repurchases among companies. For our testing we separated institutional isomorphism based on our theoretical preconceptions. This allowed us to analyze each individual institutional pressure and how they interact together. We defined mimetic isomorphism as companies adjusting their repurchase behavior to other companies within the industrial sector. Our result has not shown any indications of such a behavior concerning time, amount or frequency of the buybacks. Testing if certain financial indicators such as excess cash, liquidity, solvency, dividends, volatile operative income, prior year return, growth opportunities, companies’ size, ownership concentration, institutional and individual shareholders could explain stock repurchase activity gave us the possibility to evaluate coercive and normative isomorphism. But the question how institutional isomorphism affects companies’ repurchase decisions still remains unanswered. We have not found any certain financial indicator which motivates companies’ decision to buy back their own shares. The decision might therefore be carried out under very different economic conditions and with different objectives. In the industrial sector and generally in the whole Swedish market only a relatively low proportion of companies buy back shares. The stated findings for the Swedish market imply a need for further investigations over a longer time horizon and for a larger population. Further investigations in this topic which has the potential to provide recent insight into the stock repurchase decision for Swedish companies would enhance and verify our statements.</p>

In May 2000 share repurchases were legalized in Sweden, with the purpose to provide companies with an efficient and flexible way to distribute capital. To buy back shares gives companies several benefits which are discussed in our study. The lack of academic research about this topic for Swedish companies gave us an incentive to provide knowledge specifically for this market. When companies announce a share repurchase program they are subject to uncertainty about the society’s reaction and economic consequences. Individuals within a well established organizational field deal rationally with uncertainty by adjusting to their institutional environment. The institutional environment can be defined as an abstract structure of regulations and behavioral norms that guide human’s decisions. This often leads to homogeneity in companies’ culture, structure and output. We ask the question if companies are realizing repurchase programs in a similar way over time, and if share repurchases have been developed as a more common used financial instrument since 2000. Our second question is if companies that decide to buy back shares pursue this under similar economic conditions as a result from becoming homogeneous. The purpose of this study is to describe how institutional pressures in form of coercive, normative and mimetic isomorphism have affected companies’ decision to repurchase shares. We want to explain if there is an upward going trend of share repurchases, a standardized way to repurchase over time and if this decision can be determined by similarities in certain financial indicators of a company’s economic situation. To answer our purpose we used a quantitative research strategy with a deductive approach. The collected data was analyzed in a logistic regression analysis and by interpretations of descriptive statistics. We decided to examine for mimetic isomorphism public companies listed within the industrial sector on Stockholm Stock Exchange from the years 2000-2006. For the test of coercive and normative isomorphism with a logistic regression analysis we had to limit ourselves to investigate the years 2001-2003. In reality the three institutional pressures are working simultaneously and should together lead to a common perception about share repurchases among companies. For our testing we separated institutional isomorphism based on our theoretical preconceptions. This allowed us to analyze each individual institutional pressure and how they interact together. We defined mimetic isomorphism as companies adjusting their repurchase behavior to other companies within the industrial sector. Our result has not shown any indications of such a behavior concerning time, amount or frequency of the buybacks. Testing if certain financial indicators such as excess cash, liquidity, solvency, dividends, volatile operative income, prior year return, growth opportunities, companies’ size, ownership concentration, institutional and individual shareholders could explain stock repurchase activity gave us the possibility to evaluate coercive and normative isomorphism. But the question how institutional isomorphism affects companies’ repurchase decisions still remains unanswered. We have not found any certain financial indicator which motivates companies’ decision to buy back their own shares. The decision might therefore be carried out under very different economic conditions and with different objectives. In the industrial sector and generally in the whole Swedish market only a relatively low proportion of companies buy back shares. The stated findings for the Swedish market imply a need for further investigations over a longer time horizon and for a larger population. Further investigations in this topic which has the potential to provide recent insight into the stock repurchase decision for Swedish companies would enhance and verify our statements.

This paper presents the study of family firm demographic characteristics on the base of 415 Swedish family companies. The main purpose is to investigate if there is a connection between the location of a family company and its size, age and industrial sector. The results of the study showed some distinctions of the family firms located in rural areas. They are usually of smaller size compare to those from more urban areas. The prevailing types of activities of the rural family companies are manufacturing and wholesale whereas the urban family firms dominate in the service sector, especially in the branches demanding high level of education and technology. There was also an attempt made to detect the relationship between the location and the age but there was not found any prove for this relation to exist. Also there was found evidence that most of the Swedish family companies are situated in less urban and rural areas which is in line with the results of previous studies in this area.

A relação entre preço e custo marginal pode ser utilizada para evidenciar características das indústrias, com destaque para aspectos relacionados à concorrência. Uma das formas de estimar esta relação, definida como mark up, é a análise da relação entre insumos e produtos. Na presente pesquisa, este tipo de estudo foi realizado por meio da análise do resíduo de Solow, como em Hall (1986), e a partir da estimação da função de produção, conforme proposto por Loecker e Warzynski (2009). As características complementares dos procedimentos e o fato de haver insuficiente análise de aspectos concorrenciais das indústrias nacionais favorecem o emprego conjunto destas abordagens para o caso da indústria brasileira, sendo este o objetivo da presente pesquisa. Foram utilizados dados da PIA-Empresa (IBGE) para as indústrias de extração e transformação entre 1996 e 2007. A análise do resíduo de Solow evidenciou que a hipótese conjunta de retornos constantes de escala e concorrência perfeita para a indústria nacional não é válida, com altas estimativas de mark up para os setores extrativista, alimentício, florestal e químico. Já os setores têxtil e máquinas e equipamentos apresentaram baixas estimativas. As estimativas obtidas por meio da função de produção e a análise dos retornos de escala confirmaram os altos mark ups dos setores florestal e químico. Para os setores extrativista e alimentício as estimativas foram consideravelmente menores, o que foi interpretado como consequência do retorno de escala dos setores, que deve ser decrescente. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significativaentre as estimativas obtidas para os setores metalurgia básica, eletro eletrônico, têxtil e máquinas e equipamentos por meio das duas metodologias, o que corrobora as evidências encontradas sobre retornos de escala, que indicaram que estes são constantes para tais setores. Para os demais setores não foi possível obter constatações relevantes sobre as estimativas alternativas e retornos de escala. Dessa forma, foram encontradas evidêcias de que a hipótese de concorrência perfeita não é válida, com mark ups maiores do que dois para quase todos setores. / The price and marginal cost relation can evidence important industry features, especially the ones that concern competition. Input and output data can be used to estimate the price and marginal cost relation, defined as mark up. In this research, this type of study was done by the Solow residual analysis, as in Hall (1986), and by the production function estimation, as in Loecker e Warzynski (2009). The returns to scale influences both methodologies, and was used to compare their results. The methodologies complementaries features and the fact that there is few analisys about competition in brazilian industry stimulates the use of the Solow residual and the production function to calculate the mark up of the brazilian industry. The data of the extraction and transformation industries used in this research are from PIA-Empresa (IBGE) for the years between 1996 and 2007. The 104 industries were classified in eleven sectors: extrative, food, forest, textile, chemistry, non-metallic mineral, metallurgy, machines and equipment, electronics, general equipment and automotive vehicles. The Solow residual analysis rejected the competition and constants returns to scale hypothesis, and the extractive, food, forest and chemistry sectors showed high mark ups. Textile and machines and equipment had low mark ups. The mark up estimatives from the production function estimation and the returns to scale analysis confirmed the high mark ups for the forest and chemistry sectors. For the extractive and food sectors the mark ups were lower, what is probably consequence of the decreasing returns to scale that these sectors may have. There were no statistically significant di_erence between the mark ups estimatives obtained from both methodologies for the metallurgy, electronics, textile and machines and equipment sectors, what support the evidences of constant returns to scale that were found. The other sectors did not showed relevant conclusions about the relations between the estimatives and the returns to scale. Hence, the perfect concorrence hypotesys is not valid for the brazilian industry.