This dissertation explores how cities achieve fiscal sustainability—the financial capacity to consistently meet basic public service responsibilities regardless of economic conditions. Two research questions arise from the interplay between the local economy and fiscal sustainability. First, what management tools do cities use to achieve fiscal sustainability given that economic conditions are largely outside their control? Second, what explains the variation among cities in the financial management tools used to achieve fiscal sustainability? The financial management tools of interest in this study are revenue diversity and the size of the fund balance. It is conjectured that financial management tools interact with each other prompting the tools to function as policy substitutes for each other. Cities achieve fiscal sustainability by strategically choosing budget-balancing tools appropriate to their economic conditions. The study utilizes a cross-state comparison from 351 Massachusetts municipal governments using panel data from 2000 to 2009 and 993 New York municipal governments using panel data from 2001 to 2010. Using theories of fiscal sustainability and revenue diversification, several models are proposed that test the interactive effects of fund balance size and revenue diversity on fiscal sustainability. The results from the empirical analyses show that cities use various financial management tools to stabilize spending during economic downturns. Cities pursue strategies that help maintain fiscal sustainability. Furthermore, it is discovered that interaction of fund balance and revenue diversity on municipal expenditures is stronger as the level of revenue diversity decreases. This interaction has a large effect during periods of economic downturns as compared to periods of economic growth.

Purpose - Healthcare (HC) is a globally expensive investment, suffering from service quality, due to medical errors caused by physicians’ poor decisions making (DM). Current published literature: (1) encourages clinical DM research to reduce diagnostic errors and (2) stresses on the dearth of means for practitioners’ knowledge shared DM; this research focuses on knowledge sharing for improving medical DM quality through physicians’ social capital (SC) in a virtual community of practice (VCoP). Physicians join a virtual community (VC) to share clinical practice knowledge to aid medical DM. This study aims to assess the effect of physicians’ SC on medical DM and assess the mediating role of knowledge sharing quality, between physicians’ SC and medical DM quality since research lacks to investigate the impact of knowledge management (KM) tools in a HC context. VCoP is a KM tool and medical DM quality is a HC topic of this study. Design/methodology/approach – This positivist, quantitative research utilizes non-experimental survey to empirically assess its conceptual framework. After attaining an ethical approval, from Brunel Business School Research Ethics Committee, online survey was pre-tested and pilot tested for clarity and validity. 10 non-physician Ph.D. academics voluntarily participated during the survey’s pre-test phase. The survey was amendment for its pilot study phase; conducted in “plastic surgery yahoo group” VC. 31 physician VC members voluntarily participated. Again, the survey was amended and distributed for main data collection from 204 voluntary SurveyMonkey’s VC’s physician members. Findings – Data was analysed using SPSS 20 and LISREL 8.80 by means of confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling. Empirical findings supported this study’s four main hypotheses as well as supported this study’s initially proposed conceptual framework. Originality/value – This study customized the Honeycomb framework to establish a definition of professional physicians; HC VCs followed by identifying 51 VCs from social networking platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. This study also fulfilled its aim and hence proposed a structurally fit conceptual framework.

Avec l’essor du développement durable, des instruments de gestion ont été déployés dans les entreprises afin d’aborder cette problématique. Sur le climat en particulier, où le but est de réduire les émissions de gaz à effet de serre, les marchés du carbone, la fiscalité carbone et les normes d’interdiction constituent les instruments classiques de politique publique. A leurs côtés, la comptabilité carbone, plus confidentielle, a été développée pour rendre visible et estimer ces émissions afin de permettre d’enclencher des actions de réduction. Toutefois ses effets sont actuellement largement méconnus : comment les acteurs en entreprise se sont-ils saisis de cet instrument ? Nous adoptons dans cette thèse une perspective gestionnaire pour nous intéresser aux enjeux d’action collective qui entourent cet objet. Nous questionnons alors la performativité de la comptabilité carbone en proposant d’une part d’analyser le modèle implicite qu’elle véhicule et en étudiant d’autre part ses implications managériales. Pour cela, notre méthodologie repose sur une démarche qualitative et propose notamment des études de cas. En déconstruisant l’objet comptabilité carbone, nous montrons que les différents outils développés sous ce terme générique présentent en réalité des identités différentes, relevant ainsi soit d’une logique ingénierique, soit financière. Les implications managériales qui en découlent sont diverses : si la comptabilité carbone s’inscrit parfois dans une stratégie orientée vers la réduction d’émissions (sous certaines conditions dont nous proposons un modèle explicatif), d’autres effets induits existent (développement d’une bureaucratie, exhortation à la transparence, etc.). Cette thèse présente finalement des contributions théoriques (performativité), empiriques (réflexivité pour les entreprises et l’ADEME), et méthodologiques (analyse de la performativité par les instruments de gestion). / Since sustainable development has spread, management tools have been developed in companies in order to tackle this problem. For climate change, the goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To do that, carbon markets, carbon taxation and limits of emissions are traditional policy tools. Less known, carbon accounting has been developed in order to assess greenhouse gas emissions, make it visible and therefore to make it possible to reduce them. However carbon accounting’s effects remain mostly unknown. In this thesis, I address collective action problem around this tool in a managerial perspective. Therefore I tackle carbon accounting's performativity by analyzing hidden model which is embedded in it and by studying its managerial effects. My methodology rests upon a qualitative research by using case studies specifically. I explain first that there are different logics behind the common term “carbon accounting”: an engineering and a financial one. Managerial effects are also varied: a strategy oriented toward the emission reduction is sometimes settled but mostly other effects are created (claim for more and more transparency, etc.). Finally I propose theoretical contributions (performativity), empirical ones (ADEME and companies’ reflections) and methodological ones (performativity analysis through managerial tools).

Diversas áreas de conhecimento discutem o modelo tradicional de desenvolvimento econômico e os impactos sobre a vida no planeta. Tais debates incitam variadas demandas sobre as empresas e evocam um redimensionamento dos modelos de gestão. A responsabilidade socioambiental tornou-se um termo em voga, de modo que muitas práticas e instrumentos de gestão foram criados para subsidiar o processo de engajamento e comprometimento das empresas com uma sociedade mais sustentável. Nesta tese, utilizandose da abordagem da economia ecológica, partiu-se do pressuposto que o desenvolvimento sustentável implica numa articulação entre as ciências do homem e as ciências naturais, moldando-se estruturas sociais em coerência com os padrões presentes nos ecossistemas naturais. Nesse contexto, o propósito principal desta pesquisa foi identificar as relações entre algumas ferramentas de gestão para a sustentabilidade e os princípios ecológicos. Foram estudadas sete ferramentas gerenciais compartilhadas pela comunidade empresarial para o alcance de estratégias de sustentabilidade das empresas e quatro princípios ecológicos ou fundamentos básicos da ecologia, que consistem em características existentes na organização dos ecossistemas. Para tanto, pretendeu-se: (1) identificar a presença das ferramentas de gestão e dos princípios ecológicos nas empresas; (2) identificar a associação entre as ferramentas de gestão para a sustentabilidade e os princípios ecológicos quanto à presença, à abrangência e à aplicação; e (3) contribuir para o desenvolvimento teórico e prático dos temas em estudo. Dessa forma, a pesquisa pode ser caracterizada como descritiva e correlacional, com enfoque quantitativo e caráter interdisciplinar. Foi utilizado parte do questionário dos Indicadores Ethos como instrumento de pesquisa, reagrupado em novas categorias, a partir da análise de aglomerados e de correlações policóricas. O estudo envolveu 331 empresas e contou com a inestimável colaboração do Instituto Ethos na cessão do banco de dados dos Indicadores Ethos do ano de 2008. Para a análise estatística do relacionamento entre as variáveis preditoras e resposta em estudo, foi utilizada a técnica da regressão logística ordinal, que permite estabelecer a probabilidade de ocorrência de determinado evento e a importância da variável. Os resultados apontam para uma confirmação parcial das hipóteses de pesquisa. A partir da análise descritiva verificou-se que dentre os quatro princípios ecológicos estudados, as práticas de gestão vinculadas ao equilíbrio dinâmico são as menos presentes nas empresas. Identificou-se também que as ferramentas de gestão possuem associações diferenciadas com os princípios ecológicos. Foram, inclusive, encontradas correlações negativas com significância estatística. As constatações permitem afirmar que existem algumas ferramentas de gestão mais efetivas do que outras e que há complementaridade entre algumas delas. / Diverse areas of knowledge have addressed the traditional model of economic development and its impacts on the life of the planet. The debates provoke several demands on companies and claim for a re-dimensioning of their management models. The socio-environmental liability has become a fashionable term and many managerial practices and tools have been created to support the engagement and commitment process of the companies with and to a more sustainable society. In this thesis, by means of an ecological economy approach, there is the assumption that sustainable development implies the articulation between man`s sciences and natural sciences in which social structures are shaped coherently with patterns found in the natural ecosystems. Within this context, the main purpose of this research is to identify relations between some management tools as shared by the business community and focused on sustainability and ecological principals. Seven managerial tools shared by the business community for the achievement of strategies devoted to the sustainability of the companies and four ecological principals or basic fundaments of ecology, which are existent in the organization of ecosystems, were studied. Therefore, the intention hereby is to (1) identify the presence of management tools and ecological principals in the companies; (2) identify the association between management tools for sustainability and ecological principles as to their presence, scope and application; and (3) contribute for the theoretical and practical development of the themes under this study. Thus, this research is featured as descriptive and co-relational, under a quantitative focus and interdisciplinary character. Part of the Ethos Index Questionnaire was used as a research instrument, regrouped in nine categories based on the analysis of agglomerates and policoric correlations. The study comprehended 331 companies and counted with the valuable collaboration of the Ethos Institute in providing the 2008 Ethos Index databank. The statistic analysis of relationships between predicting variables and response under study was made through the ordinal logistic regression which allowed for the establishment of the occurrence probability of a given event and the importance of the variable. The results indicate a partial confirmation of the research hypothesis. The descriptive analysis evidenced that, among the four ecological principles under study, the management practices related to the dynamic balance are the less frequent in the companies. It was also verified that the management tools have associations that differ in regard to the ecological principles. In fact, negative and statistically significantly corelations were found. The findings allow for the conclusion that some management tools are more effective than others and that they complement one another.

The thesis deals with the use of project management tools beyond the standard environment in which project management approaches are common. The practical use of these tools is described on the example of realization of a specific project in a floorball club, which is a part of the Spartak Pelhřimov Physical Training Unit.

O ambiente cárstico é considerado um abrigo para a sociobiodiversidade, com presença de elementos faunísticos e da flora quase que singulares. A diversidade ecológica deste ambiente inclui uma riqueza mineral importante do ponto de vista econômico, por isso a exploração destas áreas tem crescido significativamente. Este ambiente possui ainda uma grande riqueza cultural, pois abriga elementos históricos da vida humana, através do registro rupestre no seu interior e da significativa importância religiosa. Cabe ressaltar que o ambiente cavernícola é bastante frágil e suscetível à impactos ambientais negativos. Mesmo assim, as áreas cársticas são alvos de implantação de empreendimentos altamente impactantes que podem trazer consequências irreversíveis a este ecossistema. Os empreendimentos em áreas cársticas quase sempre têm como objetivo principal a exploração dos componentes minerais presentes nas rochas carbonáticas, mas podem envolver a exploração de outros tipos de recursos naturais. Ademais, alguns empreendimentos são implementados com objetivo de utilização espacial: como a construção de rodovias, ferrovias e hidrelétricas. Desta forma, o objetivo deste estudo é a análise da implementação dos grandes empreendimentos em áreas cársticas no Tocantins, considerando os instrumentos de gestão ambiental destas áreas. Baseando-se em uma metodologia sistêmica e interdisciplinar através da análise de três empreendimentos nas três fases do licenciamento ambiental implementados em áreas cársticas. A abordagem da pesquisa foi estabelecida de acordo com a análise dos Stakeholders que compõem a gestão destas áreas: setor público, setor produtivo e sociedade civil. Os resultados advindos da pesquisa revelam que apesar dos diversos instrumentos de gestão das áreas cársticas estabelecerem uma atuação sistêmica, as constantes alterações destes levam à atuação dos órgãos e instituições de maneira fragmentada. Constatou-se também que a participação social, através da atuação dos órgãos protetivos, tem sido pontual e restritas às pesquisas acadêmico-científicas. / The karst environment is considered a shelter for the socio-biodiversity, with the presence of fauna elements and of the flora almost singular. The ecological diversity of this environment includes an important mineral richness from an economic standpoint, so the exploitation of these areas has grown significantly. This environment also has a great cultural richness, because it houses historical elements of human life, through the rock record in its interior and of significant religious importance. It is important to stress that the caveman environment is very fragile and susceptible to negative environmental impacts. Even so, karstic areas are targets for deploying highly impactful enterprises that may bring irreversible consequences to this ecosystem. The enterprises in karstic areas almost always have as main objective the exploration of the mineral components present in the carbonate rocks, but may involve the exploitation of other types of natural resources. In addition, some enterprises are implemented with the objective of spatial use: such as the construction of highways, railways and hydroelectrics. In this way, the object of this study is the analysis of the implementation of the large enterprises in karstic areas in Tocantins, considering the environmental management tools of these areas. It is based on a systemic and interdisciplinary methodology through the analysis of three enterprises in the three phases of environmental licensing implemented in karstic areas. The research approach was established in accordance with the analysis of the stakeholders that make up the management of these areas: public sector, productive sector and civil society. The results of the research show that despite the various tools of management of the karstic areas to establish a systemic action, the constant changes of these lead to the action of the organs and institutions in a fragmented way. It was also found that social participation, through the action of the protective bodies, has been punctual and restricted to academic-scientific researches.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo ampliar o conhecimento sobre as teorias de ciclo de vida e de Contabilidade Gerencial investigando a relação existente entre o estágio do ciclo de vida organizacional e os artefatos da Contabilidade Gerencial adotados pelas Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PMEs) que mais cresceram no Brasil entre 2008 e 2010, sendo esta não muito explorada em pesquisas e literatura, contribuindo, deste modo, para um melhor entendimento dos problemas enfrentados pelas PMEs, uma vez que a estas empresas possuem grande relevância na economia e na sociedade Brasileira. Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo envolvendo 37 PMEs, dentre as 250 PMES que mais cresceram no Brasil entre 2008 e 2010, por meio de questionário eletrônico enviado durante o mês de Setembro de 2012 que tinha como objetivo investigar a relação existente entre o estágio do ciclo de vida organizacional e os artefatos de Contabilidade Gerencial adotados pelas 250 PMEs. Sendo uma pesquisa descritiva e quantitativa o tratamento estatístico dos dados foi submetido ao teste de Qui- Quadrado para independência. No que diz respeito aos resultados da pesquisa, foi constatado que, das 37 organizações pesquisadas, 26 estavam no estágio nascimento, oito no estágio crescimento, uma no estágio maturidade e duas no estágio declínio. A identificação dos estágios do ciclo de vida organizacional das empresas pesquisadas foi realizada de forma descritiva e com uma abordagem cross-sectional. Os artefatos de Contabilidade Gerencial foram escolhidos com base nas recentes pesquisas sobre o tema, com especial destaque para a tese de Borinelli (2006) e para cada um dos artefatos escolhidos o teste estatístico foi realizado, concluindo que quatro artefatos dos 12 artefatos escolhidos, possuem relação com o estágio do ciclo de vida, ou seja, sendo este um achado da presente pesquisa, pode-se inferir que é possível que PMEs adotem artefatos que façam mais sentido com relação ao seu ciclo de vida obtendo com isto melhor controle da operação. Sendo assim o trabalho contribuiu para clarificar as possíveis inter-relações entre a o uso de artefatos de Contabilidade Gerencial e o ciclo de vida organizacional de PMEs, contribuindo adicionalmente para criar um arcabouço empírico e metodológico para futuras pesquisas e aprofundamentos em outras PMEs. / This work aims to increase knowledge about the life cycle and Management Accounting theories investigating the relationship between the stage of organizational life cycle and the use of management tools adopted by the 250 fatest growing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) between 2008 and 2010, which is not much explored in research and literature, thus contributing to a better understanding of the problems faced by SMEs, since these companies have great relevance in the Brazilian economy and society. Therefore, a study was conducted involving 37 SMEs, among the 250 fastest growing SMEs in Brazil between 2008 and 2010, through an electronic questionnaire sent during the month of September 2012 which aimed to investigate the relationship between the stage of organizational life cycle and management tools adopted by 250 SMEs. Being a descriptive and quantitative research, statistical treatment of the data was subjected to chi-square test for independence. It was observed that out of the 37 SMEs, 26 were in the birth stage, eight in the growth stage, one at mature stage and two at decline stage. The identification of the stages of organizational life cycle for companies surveyed was performed with a descriptive and cross-sectional approach. Management tools were chosen based on recent research on the subject, with particular emphasis on the Borinelli\'s thesis (2006) and for each of the management tools chosen statistical test was conducted, concluding that four of 12 management tools chosen, have relation to the stage of the life cycle, ie, being a finding of this research, it can be inferred that it is possible for SMEs to adopt management tools that make more sense in relation to its life cycle getting better control of this operation. So the work has helped to clarify the possible inter-relationships between the use of management tools and organizational life cycle of SMEs, contributing further to create an empirical and methodological framework for future research and insights in other SMEs.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-07-09T14:32:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Luciano Francisco Silveira da Silva.pdf: 483165 bytes, checksum: 334385da5d76cb0272aec196438ccdf0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-09T14:32:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luciano Francisco Silveira da Silva.pdf: 483165 bytes, checksum: 334385da5d76cb0272aec196438ccdf0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-01-31 / Nenhuma / As redes de cooperação horizontais são organizações complexas que agrupam empresas individuais com um fim específico. Assim, necessitam de ferramentas para alinhar os associados aos objetivos da organização, promover interação entre os mesmos e estabelecer motivações não financeiras. Partindo deste princípio, o Gamification surge como uma ferramenta na gestão de redes de cooperação horizontais para gerar motivação dos participantes através da dinâmica de jogos. A aplicação das ferramentas de Gamification na gestão destas organizações pode servir como um estímulo envolvente, transformando atividades dos associados em jogos e assim, promover a interação e motivação de uma forma lúdica. As principais ferramentas de gamification são pontos, medalhas, níveis, desafios e ranking. Nesta dissertação estas ferramentas foram identificadas e analisadas dentro do programa de qualidade da REDEMAC, conhecido como Qualificar REDEMAC. Para isso propôs-se através de uma revisão bibliográfica e de uma pesquisa de caráter exploratório, utilizando o método de estudo de caso, compreender a dinâmica de jogos dentro do Qualificar REDEMAC e como o Gamification e suas ferramentas podem colaborar com a gestão destas organizações. As dinâmicas que envolvem sua utilização devem, sempre que possível, promover a motivação, uma experienciação lúdica, e transparência nas regras estabelecidas. O uso dos pontos, bem como o uso dos troféus foram adotados como fatores motivacionais e com o objetivo de dar status aos participantes que se destacavam. No entanto, a dificuldade em obter estes pontos, acabava por impedir o associado de evoluir rapidamente nos três níveis do Qualificar REDEMAC, tornando o programa dispendioso e desmotivador. Já a ferramenta de ranking aplicada a uma rede horizontal não se mostrou um fator motivador, dado o tipo de relação que se estabelece neste tipo de rede. Com base nestes achados, podemos afirmar que o Gamification auxilia o gerenciamento das redes de cooperação e sugere-se que estudos futuros abordem redes com maior e menor grau de proximidade dos associados. Sugere-se também o estudo da aplicação das ferramentas de ranking e de desafios em outra rede de cooperação horizontal, tendo em vista que no caso estudado ela não foi aplicada como o proposto na teoria de Gamification. / The horizontal networks are complex organizations that bring together individual businesses with a specific purpose. They require tools to align the goals associated with the organization, to promote interaction between them and establish non-financial motivations. With this assumption, the Gamification emerges as a tool in managing horizontal networks to generate motivation of participants through dynamic games. The application of Gamification tools in managing these organizations can serve as stimulus surroundings, transforming activities of associates in games and thus promote interaction and motivation in a playful way. The main tools are gamification points, medals, levels, challenges and ranking. In this dissertation these tools were identified and analyzed within the quality program of REDEMAC, known as Qualificar REDEMAC. For this it was proposed through a literature review and an exploratory research, using the method of case study to understand the dynamics of games within the Qualificar REDEMAC and how Gamification and its tools can collaborate with the management of these organizations. The dynamics involving their use should, wherever possible, promote motivation, one experiencing playful, and transparency in the rules. The use of points as well as the use of trophies was adopted as motivational factors and in order to give status to participants that stood out. However, the difficulty in obtaining these points would eventually prevent associated to evolve rapidly in the three levels of Qualificar REDEMAC, making the program expensive and demotivating. The ranking tool applied to a horizontal network was not a motivating factor, given the type of relationship that is established in this type of network. Based on these findings, we can say that the Gamification helps the management of cooperative networks and suggests that future studies address networks with higher and lower degree of closeness of the members. It is also suggested to study the application of the tools of ranking and challenges in another horizontal network, considering that in this case study it was not applied as proposed by the Gamification theory.

No mundo inteiro a discussão, ocorrida nas duas últimas décadas, sobre a gestão de resíduos sólidos, em congressos técnicos, em ambientes parlamentares e mesmo junto a população, tem sido dominada pela necessidade da humanidade fazer algo que realmente mude a realidade hoje vivida. As tecnologias existentes são suficientes para tratar de maneira eficiente a maioria dos resíduos que são gerados, mas o que falta à nossa sociedade é a capacidade de prever ações dentro de sistemas de planejamento estruturados, que originem políticas públicas coerentes. No ambiente acadêmico não tem sido diferente, muito se pesquisa, muito se ensina, mas no dia a dia as ferramentas de gestão que são ensinadas em aula, mas não são aplicadas. Neste trabalho desenvolveu-se, dentro do ambiente acadêmico, uma ferramenta de gestão que fornece uma estrutura para a elaboração de Planos de Gerenciamento de Resíduos Sólidos e que permite avaliar o seu grau de implantação. Para isto foi montado um modelo, baseado numa planilha, foram realizadas amostragem de resíduos em várias Unidades da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, sendo apresentados os dados quantitativos, os procedimentos e os planos para a melhoria da gestão. Aplicando a ferramenta de avaliação, que permitia a nota máxima de 100 pontos, as Unidades avaliadas obtiveram resultados que se adequavam à realidade encontrada, com 41 pontos para a que tinha o Plano iniciado a menos tempo. Aplicada em mais de um ciclo a ferramenta conseguiu também avaliar os avanços obtidos no processo de gestão, com a variação de 67 para 84 pontos na Unidade com mais tempo de implantação. Também apresentou entre os itens avaliados (liderança, estratégias, usuários, sociedade, pessoal e resultados), quais os que representavam maior risco e deveriam receber mais atenção no ciclo de melhoria seguinte especificamente sempre o de Estratégias. / Throughout the last two decades, in the whole word, the debate about solid waste management, in technical congresses, parliamentary spaces and even with the population has been dominated by humanity's need to do something that really changes the reality we are experiencing today. Existing technologies are sufficient to efficiently treat most of the waste that is generated, but what is lacking in our society is the ability to predict actions within structured planning systems that yield consistent public policies. In the academic space has not been different, much if research, much is taught, but in the day to day management tools that are taught in class, but are not implemented. In this work, a management tool was developed within the Academia, that provides a framework for the elaboration of Solid Waste Management Plans and allows evaluating their degree of implementation. For this purpose, a model based on a spreadsheet was set up. Samples were collected at various units of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Quantitative data, procedures and plans for improving management were presented. Applying the evaluation tool, which allowed a maximum score of 100 points, the Academics Units evaluated had results that were adequate to the reality found, with 41 points for which the plan was started in less time. Applied in more than one cycle, the tool was also able to evaluate the progress made in the management process, with the change from 67 to 84 points in the Unit with more implementation time. It also presented among the evaluated items (leadership, strategies, users, society, personnel and results), which represented the highest risk and should receive more attention in the following improvement cycle specifically always the Strategy.

Thesis (M. Environmental Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.