The Georgia Department of Public Health has been engaged in a registry-based quality improvement initiative to monitor and improve the quality of stroke care. It is important to evaluate effectiveness of the quality improvement initiative in order to expand the effort to other sites or disease conditions. The studies, included in this dissertation, addressed whether acute ischemic stroke patients cared for by hospitals participating in the Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry (GCASR) had a better survival than those treated at other facilities, assessed whether quality of care as measured by nationally accepted ten performance measures is associated with improved patient outcome and evaluated the impact of intravenous alteplase treatment on 1-year mortality. Three data sources – GCASR, Georgia Discharge Data System and the death data – were used for analyses. These data sources were linked applying both a hierarchical deterministic and a probabilistic linkage methods. Survival after stroke incident was analyzed using the extended Cox proportional hazard model. Generalized estimating equation (glimmix procedure) and conditional logistic regression were applied, respectively, to assess the association of quality of care and intravenous alteplase use with 1-year mortality. Acute ischemic stroke patients treated at nonparticipating facilities had a hazard ratio for death of 1.14 (95% confidence interval, 1.03–1.26; p-value = .01) after the first week of admission compared with patients cared for by hospitals participating in the registry. Among patients treated in GCASR-participating hospitals, patients who received the lowest and intermediate quality care respectively had a 3.94 (95%CI: 3.27, 4.75; p-value <0.0001) and a 1.38 (95%CI: 1.12, 1.62; p-value=0.002) times higher odds of dying in one year compared to those who got the best quality stroke care. Patients who were eligible but did not receive IV alteplase had a 1.49 (95%CI: 1.09-2.04; p-value=0.01) times higher odds of dying within one year than those who were treated with the thrombolytic agent. The results strongly suggest that registry-based quality improvement effort has brought significant improvements in ischemic stroke patients’ outcomes. Therefore, it is critical that hospitals adopt a quality improvement strategy to change the process of care delivery for a better patient outcome.

Titel: Frivillighet under tvång? – Är ESMA:s riktlinjer om presentationen av alternativa prestationsmått befogade? Bakgrund: Den tredje juli 2016 träder ESMA:s riktlinjer om presentation av alternativa prestationsmått (APM) ikraft. Bakgrunden till riktlinjerna är att nuvarande reglering ansetts bristfällig eftersom företag haft möjlighet att presentera APM på ett subjektivt sätt till användares nackdel. Frågeställning: Är ESMA:s riktlinjer rörande presentationen av APM befogade med avseende på den reglering som finns idag? Syfte: Författarnas syfte med uppsatsen är att undersöka om nuvarande möjlighet till presentation av APM är i behov av ny reglering. Resultat: Det är författarnas uppfattning att ESMA:s riktlinjer är befogade och nödvändiga för att hantera den nuvarande problematiken avseende presentation av APM. Kunskapsbidrag: Uppsatsen bidrar med kunskap som bekräftar att presentationen av APM är i behov av ytterligare reglering. / Title: Volunteerism whilst under Regulation? – Are ESMA’s Guidelines Regarding the Presentation of Alternative Performance Measures Justified? Background: On the third of July 2016 ESMA’s guidelines regarding the presentation of Alternative Performance Measures (APM) will enter into force. Current regulation has been regarded as deficient and companies have had the opportunity to present APM subjectively to the detriment of users. Thesis problem: Are ESMA’s guidelines regarding the presentation of APM justified considering current regulations? Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to examine whether current opportunities to present APM are in need of new regulation. Results: It is the opinion of the authors that ESMA’s guidelines are justified and necessary in order to handle the current problems of companies’ possibility to present APM. Contribution: The thesis confirms that the presentation of APM is in need of further regulation.

The objectives of this thesis are: (1) to investigate the antecedents and consequences of fairness of performance evaluation processes (procedural fairness) in the context of performance measurement, evaluation, and reward systems; and (2) to investigate the behavioural effects of reliance on multiple performance measures (RMPM) in evaluating subordinates' performance. In relation to the first objective, it examines whether managers' perceptions of procedural fairness are influenced by the form (financial or nonfinancial) of performance measures used to evaluate performance, and by goal-related variables such as participation in setting performance targets, the goal-attainment-reward link, and the specificity of goals to be achieved by managers. With regard to the consequences of procedural fairness, it examines the effects of procedural fairness on job satisfaction, performance, organisational commitment, and goal commitment, and also examines whether any such associations are direct or indirect. In relation to the second objective, it examines whether RMPM affects managerial performance or whether the effect is contingent on goal difficulty and goal specificity. To address these objectives, this thesis draws on organisational justice theory and goal theory and employs both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative data are collected using a questionnaire survey sent to managers in four organisations and qualitative data are gathered by means of interviews and focus group discussions within the organisations. The results indicate that procedural fairness is affected by participation in setting performance targets, the goal-attainment-reward link, and the specificity of goals to be achieved by managers, but not by the type of performance measure used to evaluate performance. With regard to the consequences of procedural fairness, the results indicate that: (1) the effects of procedural fairness on job satisfaction and performance are indirect and fully mediated by distributive fairness, trust, and organisational commitment; (2) the effect of procedural fairness on organisational commitment is partially mediated by distributive fairness and trust; and (3) the effect of procedural fairness on goal commitment is partially mediated by trust. Finally, the results indicate that the effect of RMPM on performance is contingent on goal specificity, but not on goal difficulty.

This study examines whether eliciting self-evaluations increases or decreases the propensity of a productive agent to retaliate against an employer for paying compensation that the agent perceives to be too low for the work performed. Specifically, I consider a setting in which a principal knows more about the agent’s production than even the agent can observe. In such a setting, an agent might perceive that s/he is being underpaid if the principal pays less than the agent believes s/he deserves, especially if the agent is overconfident about his/her own productive ability. Such an agent could take retaliatory actions against the principal that would be costly to both parties. Self-evaluations could mitigate such tendencies if they result in compensation that is more aligned with agent self-perceptions. Alternatively, self-evaluations could worsen such tendencies if they reinforce the perceived inequity of compensation that does not match agent self-perceptions. I present experimental evidence from comparing a control condition without self-evaluations to three different forms of self-evaluation reports, finding evidence consistent with the premise that self-evaluations increase retaliatory actions and lower welfare. My findings show a cost to self-evaluations that thus far has not been sufficiently considered in the literature. / text

D. Tech. (Logistics, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are the mainstay of economies and societies of many countries around the world. These enterprises are critical to the economy because of the way in which they contribute to the Gross Domestic Product, export revenue generation, innovation, the provision of goods and services thatlarge enterprises depend upon, and the creation of employment opportunities, social stability and improvement of economic welfare. SMEs operate within the economic environment characterised by volatility, dynamism and competitive markets that may seriously threaten their survival. In South Africa, the operating environment for SMEs is constantly changing in the face of a volatile economic environment and a highly competitive market. For SMEs to weather the storm of such volatility and competitive climate, they need to engage in strategic planning processes. While strategic planning research in large organisations has been studied extensively, little attention has been paid to strategic planning of small and medium sized enterprises. Strategic planning has not significantly filtered down to the SME sector. SMEs which practice strategic planning have plans, which are unstructured, less comprehensive and sporadic. There is little evidence of empirical research that has sought to evaluate strategic planning within the sphere of small business research. Therefore, despite the widespread recognition of the importance and significant contributions of SMEs, research on these small businesses remains scarce. There is need for more systematic research aimed at revealing the true nature of strategic planning in SMEs. Despite the contributions of a number of researchers in the field, there is still no universal agreement as to the impact of particular types of planning on SME performance. The study analyses the relationship between strategic planning and the performance of SMEs. It is unique in that rather than using the traditional objective performance measures, subjective measures are used to measure the performance of SMEs. The objective of this study was to establish the relationship between strategic planning and the performance of SMEs measured by perceptual measures of business performance. It also sought to ascertain the relationship between strategic planning and the plans of the business, as well as determining the relationship between business performance and its plans. Another objective was to examine the extent to which SMEs in South Africa have adopted the strategic planning practices. Finally, this study sought to determine if there are differences in strategic planning practices with regard to demographic variables, namely gender, age, and position occupied in the business. A quantitative method was used. Surveys were conducted with 415250 SMEs, which were identified by convenience sampling method. Data from owners/managers of these SMEs was collected using self-administered structured questionnaires. Factor, correlation and regression analyses were conducted and the findings were discussed. The main components of strategic planning include environmental scanning, business mission and vision, formality of strategic planning, employee participation in the strategic planning process, source of information about the environment, strategy implementation incentives, monitoring, evaluation and control, and time horizon of strategic planning. The finding of this study shows that there is a positive causal relationship between strategic planning and the performance of SMEs measured by perceptual measures of business performance. It was also found that there is a mixed relationship between strategic planning and future plans of the SMEs. An additional finding is that business performance has a positive relationship with the plans of the business. The results also indicate that the majority of SMEs practice strategic planning. Finally, the results reveal that the gender, age and occupation of the respondent do not influence the strategic planning practices in SMEs. The only strategic component that depends on the occupation of the respondent is the use of mission and vision statements. Given that today’s business environments for SMEs are characterised by high levels of competition, uncertainty and turbulence, it is recommended that SMEs should adopt more strategic planning practices so that they can make informed decisions. In order to ensure their success and sustainability, SMEs should scan the environment more frequently and seriously than they currently do.

Purpose The purpose of the study is to identify transport related performance measure within construction logistics in order to evaluate construction logistics solution. The aim is also to verify identified transport performance measures by available empirical data from both cases i.e. Case 1 and Case 2. Methodology This study is exploratory case study with qualitative research method. The research approach of this study is both deductive as well as inductive. Data has been collected from literature review, semi structured interview, focus group discussion and empirical data. Research question (RQ) RQ1 aims at identifying transport related performance measures and then classifying them according to terminal, checkpoint and their respective construction sites? The answer to this question lies in Figure 17 and 18. RQ2 refers to what kind of data is needed to measure identified transport performance measures. The answer to this question lies in the analysis of RQ2. RQ3 is related to what empirical data is available at construction logistics end. The answer to this RQ3 is that mostly the” duration of activities” has been found within both cases empirical data which seems to be insufficient to calculate identified performance measures in RQ3. RQ4 the aim of RQ4 is to find the gap between needed and available data. And the answer to this RQ can be found in Table 35. Conclusion Theoretical and practical case discussion of Case 1and Case 2 has given an in -depth view regarding the phenomena of construction logistics solutions. This paper will help in creating awareness among developer and main contractors regarding the benefit of construction logistics solution.

Pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs) cumprem um importante papel no desenvolvimento econômico e social das nações: geram riquezas, empregos e produzem inovação. Empresas como Apple® e Microsoft®, maiores do mundo na atualidade, já figuraram na dimensão dessas empresas. Entretanto, compreender a dinâmica desse universo empresarial tem se revelado um desafio para a pesquisa acadêmica. No contexto mundial constata-se que em torno de 25% das empresas nascentes sobrevivem menos de dois anos e, em torno de 50%, menos de cinco. O objetivo desta Tese consistiu em identificar e testar os fatores que determinam a sobrevivência e o desempenho de PMEs. A amostra foi formada por 410 empresas da região centro-sul do Estado do Paraná, sendo 74 empresas inativas (não sobreviventes) e 336 ativas (sobreviventes). A medida de desempenho resultou de oito indicadores, e foi testada sob três modalidades: a) sobrevivência versus não sobrevivência; b) grupos: não sobreviventes, sobrevivência marginal e alto desempenho, e; c) desempenho como variável contínua. As variáveis independentes foram distribuídas em oito dimensões: capital humano, capital social, características gerenciais, condições do ambiente, características organizacionais, motivação e percepção do risco, demografia pessoal e tamanho que, por sua vez, formaram as oito hipóteses declaradas no estudo. As inferências foram realizadas no contexto de cada uma das dimensões e em relação ao conjunto geral, mediante utilização das estatísticas análise fatorial, regressão linear múltipla e regressão logística. Das oito dimensões, seis (capital humano, capital social, características gerenciais, condições do ambiente, características organizacionais e tamanho) apresentaram pelo menos um indicador influente, e tiveram a hipótese nula rejeitada. A maior densidade nas evidências foi apresentado pelo modelo logístico geral (R2 = 75%) onde o suporte governamental, experiência ocupacional, capital social, sazonalidade e a qualificação dos empregados foram os indicadores que apresentaram maior poder discriminatório, demonstrando que as chances de sobrevivência de PMEs aumentam com a melhora desses fatores. Pelo modelo multinomial (R2 = 80%) constatou-se que o planejamento antes da abertura da empresa, a disponibilidade de recursos, o acesso ao crédito e as fontes e os custos de financiamento de curto prazo apresentaram maior capacidade de discriminação, demonstrando que o empobrecimento e a deterioração das características gerenciais e de fatores de capital social diminuem a probabilidade da empresa sobreviver ou de obter elevado desempenho. Na regressão linear (R2 = 42%) a qualificação dos empregados (32%) e o suporte governamental (22%) melhor explicaram o desempenho de PMEs. Constatou-se, ainda, que aproximadamente 35% das variáveis influentes estão associadas com a fase anterior à abertura da empresa, como: planejamento ou plano de negócio, experiências e disponibilidade de capital. / Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in economic and social development of nations: they generate wealth, jobs and innovation. Companies like Apple® and Microsoft®, the world\'s largest today, have already appeared in the size of these companies. However, understanding the dynamics of these enterprises has proven a challenge for academic research. In the international context it appears that about 25% of new companies survive less than two years, and about 50%, less than five. The aim of this study consisted in to identify and test the factors that determine the survival and performance of SMEs. The sample consisted of 410 companies in the central southern State of Paraná, including 74 inactive companies (non-survivors) and 336 active (survivors). The performance measure resulted from eight indicators, and was tested in three ways: a) survival versus non-survival b) groups: no survivors, marginal survival and high performance, and; c) performance as a continuous variable. The independent variables were divided into eight dimensions: human capital, social capital, managerial characteristics, environmental conditions, organizational characteristics, motivation and perceived risk, personal demographics and size, that, in turn, formed the eight hypothesis reported in the study. Inferences were made in the context of each of the dimensions and in relation to the general assembly by use of statistical factor analysis, multiple linear regression and logistic regression. Of the eight dimensions, six (human capital, social capital, managerial characteristics, environmental conditions, organizational characteristics and size) had at least one influential indicator, and had rejected the null hypothesis. The highest density was presented by the general logistic model (R2 = 75%) where government support, occupational experience, capital, seasonality and quality of staff were indicators that showed greater discriminatory power, demonstrating that the chances of survival of SMEs increase with the improvement of these factors. By multinomial model (R2 = 80%) found that planning before of the opening of the company, the availability of resources, access to credit and the sources and costs of short-term financing had higher capacity discrimination, demonstrating that the impoverishment and deterioration of managerial characteristics and factors of capital decrease the likelihood of the company surviving or get high performance . In OLS regression (R2 = 42%) the quality of staff (32%) and government support (22%) best explained the performance of SMEs. It was noted also that about 35% of influential variables are associated with earlier stage the opening of the company, such as planning or business plan, experience and availability of capital.

Supply chains evolve in accordance with changes in the market and their ambitions. The evolution of supply chain is correlated to different elements of progress in the business context referred to as performance measurement, innovation and clockspeed. These correlations are the starting point of moving the chain towards the higher goals and therefore are of most importance. In order to assure that the chain is moving on the right path in its evolutionary journey, the journey must start based on the most accurate data available. In chapter 1 an overview of evolution strategy is discussed and two definitions of supply chain evolution are provided. The second chapter begins with performance measures and its relevance to supply chain evolution. There is also a discussion of weighted approach to SCOR model and an introduction of some new measures for further research. Chapter 3 is discussing outsourcing strategies in different business structures based on product modularity. The concept of „modularity balance‟ and evolution advantages with regards to modularity are introduced. The evolution stages from inter-organizational level to network level are discussed. Also two solutions for dealing with uncertainty during evolutionary process are suggested. The double helix is introduced and discussed. In chapter 4, evolution aspects of different innovation methods within the supply chain is discussed. Primary and secondary innovations are introduced and the correlation between clockspeed and innovation is discussed.

O presente estudo apresentou os objetivos de: desenvolver lista de indicadores para compor modelo de avaliação de desempenho para as CEs e após verificar sobre o uso e finalidade dos indicadores CEs, na sequência foi verificado sobre a existência de correlação (associação) dos indicadores com as finalidades de tomada de decisão estratégica, monitoramento e controle, educação e aprendizagem, legitimidade e comunicação externa, e por fim foi verificado sobre as finalidades mais relevantes no uso dos indicadores nas CEs. O desenvolvimento metodológico do estudo ocorreu em três etapas, sendo que na primeira e segunda etapa a pesquisa se caracterizou como do tipo exploratória, com dados coletados por meio das técnicas de pesquisa de grupo focal e Delphi e a terceira etapa da pesquisa foi do tipo descritiva e correlacional, com dados coletados por meio de pesquisa Survey. A primeira etapa do estudo iniciou a partir da relação teórica de trinta e quatro indicadores, que por meio da pesquisa de grupo focal junto a cooperativa Creluz foi possível acrescentar outros trinta e três indicadores de uso das CEs. Estes indicadores foram distribuídos nas seguintes dimensões: econômico-financeira, eficiência operacional, pessoas e inovação, qualidade técnica e comercial, satisfação do consumidor, relacionamento com associados e benefícios sociais e ambientais. Na segunda etapa do estudo, os 67 (sessenta e sete) indicadores foram submetidos a apreciação de quinze especialistas em eletrificação por meio da técnica de pesquisa Delphi, tendo em vista selecionar os indicadores mais importantes (privilegiados) para compor um modelo de avaliação de desempenho para as CEs - MADCE. Os especialistas indicaram quarenta e um indicadores para compor o modelo de avaliação de desempenho. Na sequência na terceira etapa do estudo os quarenta e um indicadores do modelo de avaliação, foram submetidos por meio de um instrumento de coleta de dados junto as CEs, tendo em vista: i) verificar sobre o uso e as finalidades de uso dos indicadores pelas diretorias das CEs, ii) verificar sobre o grau de associação/correlação do uso dos indicadores com as finalidades de tomada de decisão estratégica, monitoramento e controle, legitimidade, educação e aprendizagem e comunicação externa, e iii) verificar sobre as finalidades mais relevantes no uso dos indicadores. Os resultados demonstram que os indicadores que compõe o modelo de avaliação são quase sempre e sempre utilizados pelas CEs, com níveis de uso variando de 0,49 a 0,87 de uma escala de zero a um. Os indicadores mais utilizados pelas CEs fazem parte das dimensões que retratam sobre a eficiência operacional, o relacionamento com associados e econômico-financeiros. Quanto às finalidades das informações dos indicadores pelas diretorias, os resultados demonstram que os indicadores possuem os seguintes propósitos: i) para o monitoramento e controle (0,70), ii) para a tomada de decisão estratégica (0,67), iii) para a comunicação externa (0,66), iv) para a legitimidade (0,63) e v) para a educação e aprendizagem (0,62) de uma escala de zero a um. Após verificou-se sobre os graus de correlação (associação) dos indicadores com as finalidades descritas. Os resultados demonstram correlações fortes e positiva dos indicadores (variáveis) com a tomada de decisão estratégica e monitoramento e controle e correlação moderada e positiva com a educação e aprendizagem, legitimidade e comunicação externa. Por fim, foi possível verificar sobre as finalidades mais relevantes em função da frequência do número de correlações fortes. Os resultados demonstram que as finalidades mais relevantes no uso dos indicadores são as seguintes, pela ordem: tomada de decisão estratégica, monitoramento e controle, legitimidade e educação, aprendizagem e comunicação externa. / The present study has the following objectives: develop list of indicators to compose model performance evaluation for ECs and after checking on the use and purpose of the indicators ECs following was found on the correlation (association) with the indicators purposes of strategic decision making, monitoring and control, education and learning, legitimacy and external communication, and ultimately was found on the most important purposes in the use of indicators in ECs. The methodological development of the study occurred in three stages, with the first and second stage of the study was regarded as exploratory type, with data collected by the techniques of focus group research and Delphi and the third stage of the research was descriptive and correlational, with data collected through Survey Research. The first phase of the study started from the theoretical relationship of thirty-four indicators that through focus group research with the cooperative Creluz could add another thirty-three indicators of use of ECs. These indicators were distributed in the following dimensions: economic and financial, operational efficiency, people and innovation, technical and commercial quality, consumer satisfaction, and relationship with associated social and environmental benefits. In the second stage of the study, 67 (sixty seven) indicators underwent assessment of fifteen experts electrification through the Delphi survey technique, in order to select the most important indicators (privileged) to compose a model of performance evaluation for ECs - MADCE. Experts indicated forty-one indicators to compose the model performance evaluation. Following the third stage of the study the forty-one indicators of the evaluation model, submitted by an instrument to collect data from the ECs, in order to: i) check on the use and purpose of use of indicators by boards of ECs, ii) check on the degree of association / correlation of the use of indicators for the purposes of strategic decision making, monitoring and control, legitimacy, education and learning and external communication, and iii) check on the most important purposes in use of indicators. The results demonstrate that the indicators that make up the evaluation model are almost always used by CEs and always with use levels ranging from 0.49 to 0.87 on a scale of zero to one. The indicators used by more ECs are part of the dimensions that portray on operational efficiency, relationships with associates and economic-financial. As for information purposes by the boards of the indicators, the results show that the indicators have the following purposes: i) to monitor and control (0.70), ii) for strategic decision making (0.67), iii) for external communication (0.66), iv) to the legitimacy (0.63) ev) for education and learning (0.62) on a scale from zero to one. After it was found on the degrees of correlation (association) of the indicators for the purposes described. The results show strong correlations and positive indicators (variables) with strategic decision making and monitoring and control and moderate and positive correlation with education and learning, legitimacy and external communication. Finally, it was possible to check on the most relevant purposes depending on the frequency of the number of strong correlations. The results show that the most important purpose in the use of indicators are as follows, in order: strategic decision making, monitoring and control, legitimacy and education, learning and external communication.

Thesis (M. Com.) --University of Limpopo, 2018 / The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of e-business applications when used for the creation and delivering of value propositions that the target markets that businesses desire to achieve in the Limpopo Province. The study had three objectives. (1) To identify the e-business applications that can be used in the development of new value propositions for businesses (2) To identify the benefits that the use of e-business applications offers to businesses (3) To determine the relationship between the use of e-business applications and the operational performance of the value propositions. The study was quantitative in nature. Exploratory and descriptive research were utilised to the use of e-business applications by businesses. A sample size of 330 businesses was used. The questionnaire was based on a thorough theoretical basis and a pilot study was conducted to improve the validity. The Cronbach alpha test was conducted to ascertain the reliability of the research instrument. Data was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaires in a survey. SPSS was used for data analysis. The results indicate the e-business applications, the benefits of e-business and the relationship between the e-business applications and operational performance of value propositions. Recommendations to businesses utilise e-business applications so that they are able to create and deliver value propositions in an efficient and effective manner are made.