Mergers and acquisitions have been demonstrated to create synergies, but not in all cases. Current research reveals that where synergies exist, these seem to accrue to the shareholders of the selling companies. Given the limitations of our qualitative research design, we find that it is important to quantify synergy before the acquisition, preferably by applying certain best practices. In an attempt to enhance understanding of the phenomenon, we find that several types of synergy exist and that their origins include efficiencies, such as economies of scale and economies in innovative activity. We further find that the bid price is an important indicator of success and that its maximum should not exceed the intrinsic value of the target, plus the value of synergies between the bidder and target. We further find that best practices exist in quantifying cost and revenue synergies and describe these separately per origin. / Management Accounting / M.Com. (Accounting)

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On average, a small business could lose $150,000 a year due to employee fraud schemes. For most of the small businesses affected by employee fraud schemes, the average $150,000 loss could be detrimental to the small business, causing the business to close. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the internal controls small business owners apply to detect and prevent fraud from occurring in the business. The population for the study consisted of 3 small business owners located in Hartsville, South Carolina who implemented effective internal fraud controls in their business. The conceptual framework guiding the study was the fraud triangle theory. Data were collected and triangulated through semistructured interviews, company internal control policy and procedure documents, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission internal control framework, and the Small Business Administration internal control good practices. Data were analyzed through coding. There were 3 themes which emerged in relation to addressing the central research question: cash collection, separation of duties, and attentiveness and awareness. The findings could contribute to positive social change by providing best practices for small business owners to mitigate the components of the fraud triangle and subsequently decrease, if not eliminate, fraud from occurring in small businesses.

The cultural and linguistic diversity of the United States is growing rapidly and early intervention service providers are very likely to work with families whose cultures differ from their own. Service providers must consider the multiple cultural factors of families which contribute to family dynamics and the potential for miscommunication is high when the cultural frameworks of early intervention providers differ from those of the families they serve. Culturally responsive practices have been put forth in the theoretical literature as a way to increase successful communication and service provision but there is limited research investigating the beliefs, experiences, and practices of early intervention providers regarding cultural responsiveness and the efficacy of specific practices. This study utilized an exploratory case study methodology with multiple case analyses to investigate the expressed beliefs and practices of in-service early intervention providers regarding culturally responsive practices and comparing them to the tenets of best practice set forth in the conceptual literature. Specifically, the study tested the theory that cultural responsiveness is an integral component of effective early intervention service provision.

<p>Urbanisation processes in developing countries are resulting in a rapidly increasing proportion of habitants living in urban slum areas. In the international development debate the lack of tenure security for slum dwellers in developing countries is considered to be an essentially important problem. Within the framework of the UN Millennium Development Programme the necessity of efforts towards increased tenure security for marginalised urban residents was agreed upon. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the overall progress towards improved living conditions for slum area residents is showing the least positive results. This paper investigates the occurrence of activities in the region which show an ambition of improving tenure security for people living in urban slum areas. It does so by examining cases submitted from African countries to the UN-HABITAT database of best international practices in the improvement of living conditions.</p>

Productivity and efficiency are the tools used in managing performance. This study researches and implements best practices that lead to best performance. A customer quality defined standard has to be created by benchmarking the Information Technology Service Regions which may be used to help decision-makers or management make informed decisions about (1) the effectiveness of service systems, (2) managing the performance of Information Technology Service Regions. Waiting lines or queues are an everyday occurrence and may take the form of customers waiting in a restaurant to be serviced or telephone calls waiting to be answered. The model of waiting lines is used to help managers evaluate the effectiveness of service systems. It determines precisely the optimal number of employees that must work at the centralised service desk. A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology is used as a benchmarking tool to locate a frontier which is then used to evaluate the efficiency of each of the organizational units responsible for observed output and input quantities. The inefficient units can learn from the best practice frontier situated along the frontier line. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

Urbanisation processes in developing countries are resulting in a rapidly increasing proportion of habitants living in urban slum areas. In the international development debate the lack of tenure security for slum dwellers in developing countries is considered to be an essentially important problem. Within the framework of the UN Millennium Development Programme the necessity of efforts towards increased tenure security for marginalised urban residents was agreed upon. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the overall progress towards improved living conditions for slum area residents is showing the least positive results. This paper investigates the occurrence of activities in the region which show an ambition of improving tenure security for people living in urban slum areas. It does so by examining cases submitted from African countries to the UN-HABITAT database of best international practices in the improvement of living conditions.

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This treatise is a historical policy study, empirical in nature, evaluating how Texas community college governance boards' roles have changed over the last 4 decades. Texas was chosen because trustees are elected; as the second largest state in the nation, demographic shifts are rapidly changing and trustees represent a very different constituency from 40 years ago; and, Austin Community College District was the case study evaluated. Community college trustees are lay members of boards who oversee governance of 50 districts in Texas. The long time consensus has been that boards are "rubber stamps" of a CEO's directional design, and trustees have been historically White, wealthy, businessmen, who have little educational knowledge regarding community colleges or the students served. Success for community colleges in Texas, and funding, has always been based on enrollment, never before on student achievement or graduations. Research questions addressed how trustees roles have changed in 40 years and if student success initiatives had impacted those responsibilities. The answers are interesting. Trustees duties, as prescribed by the Texas Education Code have not changed at all, but trustees are spending more time in only a few of those duties on a regular basis. Demographic attributes have also changed very little in 40 years. Yet, trustees of the 21st century have become more attuned to the financial deficits that exist and will escalate if student success is not made a priority. Utilizing research from the Texas Education Code, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, The Texas Association of Community Colleges, the Community College Association of Texas Trustees, and researchers who have documented trustees' roles and responsibilities since the early 1970s, and including a case study that evaluated one college's minutes from board meetings over a 40 year span to determine how trustees utilize their time, this study shows that boards are evolving, but need additional and continual training. Because some trustees still micromanage, what results from this study as a benefit to society is a final guide that addresses the humanistic roles that trustees should have that intertwine with the legal duties defined by the State. / text

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