In this study semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews were conducted with sixteen female street children aged 15 to 18, who were engaged in commercial sex work. These children were conveniently selected to explore the social dislocation of and social support for female street children engaged in commercial sex work. In addition, two focus group discussions consisting of nine female street children each, as well as seven key informant individual interviews, were conducted. This study found that female children engaged in commercial sex work experienced a high degree of social dislocation and that the children who participated in this study tended to create their own communities and isolated themselves from the broader community in which they lived. This study further found that different support programmes had been introduced to alleviate the problems experienced by these children and that a number of organisations delivered support services to address their needs. / Sociology / M. A. (Sociology)

The study aims to evaluate the Entrepreneurial Seed Fund Programme (ESFP) of the Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM). This Programme aims to provide seed funding to emerging and established businesses in order to start and/or grow their businesses. The Programme provides funding through a grant-in-kind by procuring the goods and equipment that the business needs. The businesses qualifying for the funding are not solely focusing on profit-making; they are addressing social issues through business activities in their communities. The population of the study includes five successful and unsuccessful beneficiaries and a questionnaire was designed in order to determine the contributing factors to the success or failure of the business and if the objectives of the Programme was realised. In conclusion, the ESFP can be regarded as a sustainable programme which contributed to job creation and social upliftment. The ESFP should be strengthened with a small business incubation programme in order to enhance its sustainability. / Public Administration & Management / M. Tech. (Public Management)

Bakgrund och problemdiskussion: Mikro- och småföretag har fått en allt större betydelse för sysselsättningen och den ekonomiska tillväxten i Sverige. 22.6 % av Sveriges företag klassificeras som mikroföretag och denna storleksklass har svårt att växa vidare. I denna storleksklass är viljan att växa vidare god, dock avtar den då antalet anställda inom en organisation ökar. Detta då komplexiteten att styra och kontrollera företaget ökar. När ett företag växer ökar behovet av formell ekonomistyrning och att utveckla det kommer främja ett företags långsiktiga tillväxt. Att inte införa formell ekonomistyrning kan orsaka att ett företag inte uppnår dess fulla tillväxtpotential och kan medföra stor skada inom ett företag. Syfte: Det övergripande syftet är att utveckla en konceptuell modell som beskriver och förklarar behovet av formell ekonomistyrning hos mikroföretag i tillväxt, vilket ska möjliggöras genom två delsyften. Metod: En kvalitativ forskningsansats med flerfallstudie ansågs lämplig för studiens forskningsfråga och syfte. För empiriinsamling valdes semi-strukturerade intervjuer och dokument. Slutsats: Behovet av att införa formell ekonomistyrning tilltar under ett företags tillväxt. I uppstarten behövs det för att ett företag ska överleva, sälja och ha möjlighet att utveckla en produkt. Vid ökad efterfråga växer behovet av formell ekonomistyrning för att kontrollera tillväxten och möjliggöra arbete mot de uppsatta målen. Under ett företags utveckling utökas dess organisation vilket ökar behovet av att vidareutveckla den formella ekonomistyrningen. / Background and discussion: Micro- and small enterprises have become increasingly important for the employment and economic growth in Sweden. 22.6 % of the Swedish companies are classified as micro-enterprises, and this size class has difficulties to grow on. The desire to continue to grow in this size class is good, however it decreases as the number of employees within an organization increases. This is because the complexity of managing and controlling the company increases. When a company grows, the need for formal management control increases and to develop it will promote a company’s long-term growth. To not introduce formal management control may cause the company to not achieve its full growth potential and can also cause great damage within a company. Purpose: The overall purpose is to develop a conceptual model that describes and explains the need for formal management control of micro-enterprises in growth, which will be enabled through two smaller purposes. Method: A qualitative approach with a multiple case study was considered appropriate for the study’s research question and purpose. For empirical data collection was semi-structured interviews and documents selected. Conclusion: The need to establish formal management control increases during a company’s growth. In the start-up is it needed for a company to survive, to sell and have the opportunity to develop a product. In case of increased demand is the need for formal management control growing to control the growth and facilitate work towards the established goals. During the development of the company its organization expands, which increases the need to further develop the formal management control.

In this study semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews were conducted with sixteen female street children aged 15 to 18, who were engaged in commercial sex work. These children were conveniently selected to explore the social dislocation of and social support for female street children engaged in commercial sex work. In addition, two focus group discussions consisting of nine female street children each, as well as seven key informant individual interviews, were conducted. This study found that female children engaged in commercial sex work experienced a high degree of social dislocation and that the children who participated in this study tended to create their own communities and isolated themselves from the broader community in which they lived. This study further found that different support programmes had been introduced to alleviate the problems experienced by these children and that a number of organisations delivered support services to address their needs. / Sociology / M. A. (Sociology)

Dans l’Union européenne, la nécessité de mieux protéger les droits fondamentaux favorise la recherche d’un nouvel équilibre entre équité et efficacité procédurales. La thèse examine les incidences de ce phénomène en droit des aides d’État, qui se caractérise par sa technicité et sa sensibilité politique, puisqu’il confie à la Commission le droit exclusif d’autoriser ou d’interdire les aides que les États membres projettent de verser à certaines entreprises. Bien que celles-ci soient en principe reconnues comme des sujets de droit fondamental, le contrôle des aides d’État fait figure d’exception, puisqu’il n’offre quasi-aucune garantie procédurale lors de la phase administrative, apparaît souvent imprévisible aux entreprises et retient une norme de contrôle juridictionnel largement perfectible, tant en matière de légalité que d’exécution. Ce constat plaide pour une réforme, dont l’étude examine quelques pistes. / In the European Union, the need to better protect fundamental rights calls for research into finding a new balance between procedural fairness and efficiency. The thesis examines the impact of this phenomenon in State aid law which is characterized by its technical nature and its political sensitivity since it confers on the Commission the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit aids that Member States plan to grant to certain companies. Although these businesses are in principle recognized as legal persons in regards to fundamental rights, the State aid control is an exception since it offers almost no procedural guarantees during the administrative phase, often appears unpredictable to companies and maintains a standard of judicial control that could be considerably improved, both in terms of legality and enforcement. This observation argues for a reform that the study examines in the following lines of thought.

Emerging markets such as India have witnessed waves of domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. This historical analysis, which consists of two parts, tests central tenets of resource dependence theory. The first part entails an analysis of the transition in public policy governing corporations between 1991 and 2005. The second part tests hypotheses derived from resource dependence theory relating to a firm’s decision to acquire. The analysis explores the factors that explain why firms engage in mergers and acquisitions by examining three specific policy periods (i.e., 1991-1996, 1997-2001 and 2002-2005). The findings from the historical analysis suggest that firms did not merely react to the conditions (i.e., constraints on capital) in their environment by undertaking merger and acquisition activity, but attempted to alter them as resource dependence theory suggests. Findings from the event history logit model also support resource dependence theory. Overall, the study shows that merger and acquisition activity increased during a period of intense deregulation (i.e., 1991-2005) brought about by the adoption of neo-liberal reforms, change to the multilayer subsidiary form, deregulation of the banking and financial sectors’ and reforms in foreign direct investment and equity markets. During this period of uncertainty, firms controlling more resources in terms of earnings, efficiency and number of subsidiaries were more likely to undertake acquisition activity as they have leverage in organization-environment relationships. The effect of number of subsidiaries on acquisition activity was the most consistent across policy periods’. This dissertation is organized in the following manner: Following the introductory chapter, Chapter II is a historical examination of the three policy periods and includes an analysis of the effect of the political-legal environment on mergers and acquisitions between 1991 and 2005. Chapter III reviews the propositions of resource dependence theory that pertain to organizational change and presents research hypotheses related to mergers and acquisitions. Chapter IV describes the data, measurement and methodology employed in the quantitative analysis. Chapter V presents the findings from the quantitative analysis and discusses the results. The concluding chapter (Chapter VI) includes a presentation of the theoretical findings and discussion of the limitations and scope of the study.

This study examines the factors appear to lead to the failure of small businesses in the Kagiso Township. The high failure rate can be partially attributed to the lack of support that the small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) receive from support institutions as well as to their own internal weaknesses. Strategies are recommended that will help small businesses be more successful. The study was exploratory, descriptive and qualitative in nature. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data. Results indicated that the most common causes of business failure were lack of knowledge regarding legal matters, lack of funding and a general lack of business acumen. The study recommends that government should improve the effectiveness of its support mechanisms and that record keeping and cash flow management training is critical for SMEs. These recommendations, if applied properly, will ensure small businesses' success in Kagiso and the rest of South Africa. / Business Management / M.Tech. (Business Administration)

Cette recherche traite du devenir de l’espace urbain et de ses logiques traditionnelles, dans un contexte marqué par les technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC). Ce sujet est abordé par le prisme des commerces ethniques situés dans trois localités, parisiennes et régionales. Le regard est focalisé sur ces lieux afin de comprendre les facteurs à l’origine de la présence, en leur sein, des TIC accessibles au public. Trois hypothèses sont proposées. Il s’agit d’abord d’expliquer ce phénomène par le message des scénographies commerciales, puis par le besoin qu’éprouvent les migrants de maintenir les liens avec leurs origines culturelles et leur famille, enfin par l’appartenance des commerçants à la communauté des migrants. La méthodologie privilégie les méthodes d’enquête qualitative relevant de l’anthropologie et de la microsociologie. L’analyse des données permet de valider les hypothèses. Elle offre également la possibilité de montrer que dans une société marquée par les technologies de l’information et de la communication l’espace ne disparait pas sous le coup de la domination d’un espace en réseaux. Au contraire, l’analyse permet de souligner d’une part que l’espace urbain, avec ses logiques traditionnelles, persistent tout en s’articulant à une logique en réseaux. D’autre part, elle fait émerger la production de diverses formes spatiales. La plus significative offre à la principale clientèle la possibilité quotidienne de conserver son ancrage aux lieux urbains, tout en étant mobile et virtuellement mobile, de sortir des termes de la fracture numérique. Cette clientèle s’en trouve intégrée à la société en réseaux, dépasse la situation de double présence au pays d’origine et à la famille s’y trouvant et connaît des situations de multiples présences. Enfin, la recherche a permis de montrer que les lieux urbains et particulièrement les commerces ethniques sont des espaces de socialisation des réseaux virtuels en les situant au même niveau que les offres et services marchands, et qu’ils sont des outils dont les migrants et leur famille située à l’étranger savent se saisir pour permettre une évolution de leurs situations quotidienne et projets. / This research deals with the future of the urban space in a context marked by the Technologies of Information and Communication (ICT). This subject is approached by the prism of the ethnic businesses situated in three localities, Parisian and regional. The outlook is focused on these places to understand why ICT are included in those spaces open to the public.Three hypotheses are suggested. First, The ICT are included in the businesses thanks to the commercial message diffused through the setting up of goods. Then, the networking of businesses can be explained by the need which the migrants have to maintain the links with their cultural origins and their family, lastly through the membership of the storekeepers in the community of the migrants.The methodology favors the methods of qualitative investigation coming from the anthropology and the micro-sociology. The empirical data allows a validation of the hypotheses. The analysis of those data underline first that, in the network society, urban places don’t disappear. Among them, the ethnic shops are areas of socialization of the virtual networks by placing them at the same level as the offers of the goods and the trade services. Then, the space produced by those businesses offers to the main clientele the possibility of preserving its anchoring in the urban places while being mobile and virtually mobile. By this last idea, this research shows that the ethnic business and ICT are articulated tools which the migrants and their family situated abroad know how to seize to allow an evolution of their daily situations and projects. This analysis gives possibility to considered migrants out terms of the digital divide, and as integrated into the networks society. This new figure of migrant has overtaken the situation of double presence in their origin country and to their family living there, to actually know situations of multiple presences in this country and to their relatives.

The dissertation work engages in working out a business plan for a business intention of A HOUP s. r. o. company, which is running a café. The work pays attention to the basic terms of business, legal policies in business and new law no. 90/2012col. and also its economic impact on the company itself. Within the frame of business intention, the work concentrates on an assessment of the intention effectiveness through the analysis of the environment and the foundation budget. On the ground of researched indicators the implementation of such intention is recommended and it is classified as effective. In conclusion of this study, the most common business risks are assessed form the point of limiting those.

Text in English / The aim of this research is to assess the impact social capital has had on Somali businesses. It argues against the perception that Somali business expertise is derived solely from the principles of economics. It argues that social capital plays a pivotal role in shaping the Somali spirit of entrepreneurship. The role of social capital in the creation of Somali human and financial capital is examined. This thesis, being a qualitative study, used semi-structured, unstructured interviews and direct observation as data collection methods. / Sociology / M.A. (Sociology)