Integrative Summary: Small to Medium Business Enterprises (SME's) are widely recognised as the driver of economic growth. SME's are responsible for employing large sections of the working population and, in doing so, facilitate the development of skills for many thousands of workers. Whilst SME's may differ (according to various definition criteria such as size or turnover) from other types of organisation, they share one common denominator across all organisations: their overall effectiveness depends largely on the individual and collective people that make up the organisation -their employees. In this context the central question relevant to the research is "how do SME's retain their valued employee managers?" A quantitative research method was applied in the research. Data was collected by way of a structured self-administered survey questionnaire designed from a post positivist paradigm. The survey was constricted by way of modifying and adapting previous surveys designed to investigate factors that influence staff retention, to be relevant to managers employed by SME's. The sample consisted of 35 managers employed by SME's in and around East London in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The results of the research give rise to a number of clear indicators on the key retention factors of employee managers. Based on the research results SME's that want to have the best chance of retaining their employee managers need strong and effective leadership within the organisation, must address soft organisational factors that are conducive to an open and trusted working environment and the roles of managers must have inherent job factors that allow a sense of freedom to plan and execute tasks autonomously. Economic factors such as pay and financial benefits were identified through the research as being the least important factor when it came to manager retention. These conclusions provide SME owners and senior managers with insight into the factors that are most likely to influence their ability to retain employee managers.

This diploma thesis discusses the selection process and increasing its efficiency. It deals with selection of employees in manufacturing positions at Lear Corporation Czech Republic s. r. o. It includes analysis of the current situation of recruitment and selection of employees in that company and proposals for changes to increase the efficiency of HR assistants work and help to select appropriate personnel.

PhD (Economics) / Department of Economics / This is the first study to investigate the impact of working capital management on the performance (profitability and value) of South African firms listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) before, during and after the 2008/2009 global financial crisis. Richards and Laughlin’s (1980) Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) theory was used as the theoretical framework for analysing and linking working capital management to firm performance. In addition, the study investigates how the separate working capital management components impact the performance of firms. The study used both accounting and market based secondary data obtained from I-Net Bridge/BFA McGregor database and the JSE for 75 firms for the 10 year period, 2003 to 2012. Panel data regression models were used in the analyses. The key findings from the study indicate the following. First, the average profitability (ROA) for the sample firms decreased from 27% (before the financial crisis) to 20.2% during the crisis period and increased to 25.9% after the financial crisis. Second, the average market capitalisation (firm value) decreased from R18.9 billion before the crisis to R16.3 billion during the crisis period, and thereafter increased to a high of R24.4 billion after the crisis. Third, the average firm’s CCC was 28.4 days before the crisis and decreased to 12.5 days during the crisis period and later increased to 16.2 days after the crisis. Fourth, and interestingly, of the four working capital management variables, only accounts receivable conversion period is significantly negatively related to profitability during the financial crisis. Fifth, the three firm-specific variables (size, financial leverage, and current assets to total assets ratio) have no significant relation with profitability during the crisis period. Sixth, the external variable, change in GDP growth rate, has a significant positive relation with profitability. This suggests firms perform better when the economy is booming and otherwise during economic downturns, which is consistent with economic theory. Finally, and perhaps the most important contribution is that the study found an inverted U-shape relationship between working capital management (proxied by cash conversion cycle) and firm value before the crisis. This implies that there exists an optimal level of investment in working capital for which the sampled firms’ value is maximized. At this point, costs and benefits are balanced. Thus corporate managers should aim to keep as close to the optimal level as possible and try to avoid any deviations from it that destroy firm value. On the contrary, the results have not established any such relationship between working capital management and profitability for any of the three financial crisis periods. Based on the findings, it is recommended that firm managers should aim at keeping as close to the optimal working capital level as possible and try to avoid any deviations from it that may destroy firm value. / NRF

[pt] A crise financeira de 2008 estimulou com que as empresas compradoras e fornecedoras, assim como os bancos, buscassem novas alternativas de financiamento para aumentar a transparência das operações, reduzindo os riscos e o custo do crédito. O foco então passou a ser a gestão integrada da cadeia de suprimentos a partir dos seus fluxos físicos, de informação e financeiros, criando uma relação de ganha-ganha para todos os elos envolvidos na cadeia. O Financiamento da Cadeia de Suprimentos (FCS) é um meio de realizar esta integração dos fluxos, gerar economias e potencializar os ganhos financeiros utilizando a própria cadeia de suprimentos como fonte de recursos. Desta forma, este trabalho foi iniciado a partir da revisão da literatura acerca do FCS, destacando a sua evolução, principais conceitos e soluções de financiamento. Em seguida foi realizado um estudo de caso com o objetivo de compreender e descrever o funcionamento e principais características do programa de FCS de uma empresa de petróleo. A partir da comparação do Ciclo de Conversão de Caixa (CCC) com outras empresas e índices referentes ao setor de petróleo, mostrou-se que o CCC da empresa estudada, em geral, situa-se acima dos demais, sendo o principal fator para este resultado o seu elevado Prazo Médio de Estocagem (PME). Pela análise de indicadores de desempenho financeiro e econômico não é possível concluir objetivamente que o programa de FCS desde a sua implementação, em 2011, até 2019 tenha contribuído para a liquidez e rentabilidade da empresa. É preciso levar em conta questões adicionais como preço do petróleo e defasagem dos preços domésticos em relação aos preços internacionais nas importações de derivados, sendo fatores que tiveram forte impacto sobre o desempenho da empresa no período. Como forma de contribuição adicional para a Gestão da Cadeia de Suprimentos (GCS), a partir da análise DuPont sobre o Retorno Sobre os Ativos Líquidos (RONA) de 2019, foi realizada análise de sensibilidade para avaliar a relação dos componentes do CCC sobre esse indicador. Este trabalho foi realizado sob a perspectiva da empresa de petróleo que é a compradora dentro do programa FCS. Portanto, a principal recomendação para trabalhos futuros é a realização de pesquisas que avaliem o impacto do programa de FCS sobre os fornecedores. / [en] The 2008 financial crisis stimulated buyers and suppliers, as well as banks, to seek new financing alternatives to increase the transparency of operations, decrease risks and the cost of credit. The integrated Supply Chain Management (SCM) based on its physical, information and financial flows became the focus, creating a win-win relationship for all links in the chain. Supply Chain Finance (SCF) is a way of integrating flows, generating savings, and enhancing financial gains using the supply chain as a source of funds. Thus, this work begins with a literature review of the SCF, highlighting its evolution, main concepts and financing solutions. Then, a case study was carried out in order to understand and define the functioning and the main characteristics of an oil company s SCF program. From the comparison of the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) with other companies and indexes referring to the oil sector, it was demonstrated that the CCC of the studied company is in general situation above the others, being the high Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO) the main reason for this result. By analyzing financial and economic performance indicators, it is not possible to objectively realize that the SCF program since its implementation in 2011 and until 2019 has contributed to the company s liquidity and profitability, there are issues such as oil prices and the gap between domestic and international prices on imports of oil products had a strong impact on the company s performance in the period. As a form of additional contribution to SCM, from the DuPont analysis on the Return on Net Assets (RONA) of 2019, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to analyze the relationship of CCC components on the indicator. This work was carried out from the perspective of the oil company that is the purchasing company within the FCS program, therefore, the main recommendation for future work is to conduct research that evaluates the impact of the FCS program on suppliers.

Магистерская диссертация рассматривает проблему повышения конкурентоспособности промышленного предприятия на основе создания системы управления структурным капиталом. Автором рассмотрены понятия "интеллектуальный" и "структурный капитал", их структура, а также предложен подход к управлению структурным капиталом на промышленном предприятии. / Master's thesis addresses the issue of increasing the competitiveness of industrial enterprise on the basis of the management system of structural capital. The author has considered the concept of "intellectual capital" and "structural capital", examined their structures, as well as an approach to the management of structural capital in the industry.

The theoretical and practical importance of working capital management (Sharma & Kumar, 2011) and its strong link with the firm’s financial stability (Wang et al., 2020, p. 2; Kamel 2015, p. 35) make it one of the most important functional areas of corporate finance. Although literature and the corporate world recognize corporate sustainability mainly through corporate social responsibility (CSR), ESG emerged in the recent past and quickly made its strong footfall as an indicator of corporate sustainability. Literature is evident that studies have mainly focused on studying both working capital management (WCM) and corporate sustainability in relation to firm financial performance (FFP), while scant research has assessed the relationship between WCM and corporate sustainability (Barros et al., 2022, p. 1). The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate sustainability and WCM in the Swedish market to fill this gap in the literature and contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the subject matter through its findings, especially with reference to the use of ESG rating scores.  The relationship was examined through the quantitative approach. Sample data was comprised of 418 firm-year observations retrieved from Refinitiv Eikon on 38 firms listed on Nasdaq Stockholm between 2010-2020. ESG rating scores were used to measure corporate sustainability, while two proxy measures; cash conversion cycle (CCC) and working capital requirements (WCR) were for WCM. Stata software was used to find the results of the study by running the pertinent regression models using robust standard errors. Various statistical tests were performed to satisfy all the OLS classical assumptions. The empirical results of our study revealed mixed findings. The findings connected to CCC indicated no statistically significant relationship between ESG scores and CCC which allowed us to conclude that sustainable firms in Sweden do not operate with a shorter CCC (or cash cycle). The findings connected to WCR indicated a significant negative relationship of WCR with the environmental and social score, however no relationship with ESG and governance scores. These results allowed us to conclude that sustainable firms in Sweden are able to operate with WCR (or cash requirements), however, these effects entirely come from the environmental and social pillars, which indirectly implies more sustainable firms can operate with lower levels of debt than their counterparts. Since we found no significant effect from the ESG scores for both CCC and WCR, our findings were partially in line with the shareholder theory, the stakeholders’ theory, and the legitimacy theory we used as theoretical references in our study. The overall findings of our study allow us to suggest sustainable firms in Sweden reconsider their working capital policy decisions to achieve working capital efficiency (a shorter cash cycle) while staying aligned with their sustainability goals.

Tesis por compendio / [ES] La digitalización de los procesos de RRHH en soluciones basadas en la nube progresa continuamente. Esta tesis examina tales transformaciones, deriva un modelo de proceso concreto e identifica los factores críticos de éxito. La metodología utilizada para la investigación es de carácter cualitativo. Como base y medida preparatoria para abordar las cuestiones de investigación, se llevó a cabo un amplio estudio bibliográfico en el ámbito de los recursos humanos, con especial atención a las publicaciones sobre la gestión electrónica de los recursos humanos (en adelante, "e-HRM"). Basándose en este conocimiento y en la combinación de una amplia experiencia práctica con proyectos de transformación de RRHH, se publicó un estudio que presenta el desarrollo histórico de e-HRM y que ha derivado en un modelo de procesos optimizado que tiene en cuenta los requisitos técnicos de RRHH así como las limitaciones de la nueva tecnología de la nube. Posteriormente, se entrevistó a varios expertos en RRHH que ya habían adquirido experiencia de primera mano con los procesos de RRHH en un entorno de nube para averiguar qué factores de éxito eran relevantes para dicha transformación de RRHH. Las principales conclusiones de esta tesis son la derivación de un modelo de procedimiento de proyecto de mejores prácticas para la transformación de los procesos de RRHH en una solución basada en la nube y la identificación de obstáculos potenciales en la implementación de dichos proyectos. Además, se elaboran los motivos de dicha transformación, los factores que impulsan el proceso dentro de una organización, el grado actual de digitalización de los recursos humanos, los parámetros operativos y estratégicos necesarios y, en última instancia, el impacto en los métodos de trabajo. Como resultado, se realiza una evaluación del uso de las métricas de HR y se derivan nuevas ratios potenciales. / [CA] La digitalització dels processos de RRHH en solucions basades en el núvol progressa contínuament. Aquesta tesi examina tals transformacions, deriva un model de procés concret i identifica els factors crítics d'èxit. La metodologia utilitzada per a la investigació és de caràcter qualitatiu. Com a base i mesura preparatòria per a abordar les qüestions d'investigació, es va dur a terme un ampli estudi bibliogràfic en l'àmbit dels recursos humans, amb especial atenció a les publicacions sobre la gestió electrònica dels recursos humans (en endavant, "e-HRM "). Basant-se en aquest coneixement i en la combinació d'una àmplia experiència pràctica amb projectes de transformació de RRHH, es va publicar un estudi que presenta el desenvolupament històric d'e-HRM i que ha derivat en un model de processos optimitzat que té en compte els requisits tècnics de RRHH així com les limitacions de la nova tecnologia del núvol. Posteriorment, es va entrevistar a diversos experts en RRHH que ja havien adquirit experiència de primera mà amb els processos de RRHH en un entorn de núvol per esbrinar quins factors d'èxit eren rellevants per a aquesta transformació de RRHH. Les principals conclusions d'aquesta tesi són la derivació d'un model de procediment de projecte de millors pràctiques per a la transformació dels processos de RRHH en una solució basada en el núvol i la identificació d'obstacles potencials en la implementació d'aquests projectes. A més, s'elaboren els motius de la transformació, els factors que impulsen el procés dins d'una organització, el grau actual de digitalització dels recursos humans, els paràmetres operatius i estratègics necessaris i, en última instància, l'impacte en els mètodes de treball . Com a resultat, es realitza una avaluació de l'ús de les mètriques de HR i es deriven nous ràtios potencials. / [EN] The digitisation of HR processes into cloud-based solutions is progressing continuously. This thesis examines such transformations, derives a concrete process model and identifies the critical success factors. The methodology used for the investigation is of a qualitative nature. As a basis and preparatory measure to address the research questions, an extensive literature study in the HR field was carried out, with a special focus on publications on electronic human resources management (hereinafter e-HRM). Based on this knowledge and the combination of extensive practical experience with HR transformation projects, a study was published which presents the historical development of e-HRM and derived an optimised process model taking into account the technical HR requirements as well as the limitations of the new cloud technology. Subsequently, several HR experts who had already gained first-hand experience with HR processes in a cloud environment were interviewed to find out which success factors were relevant for such an HR transformation. Main findings of this thesis are the derivation of a best-practice project procedure model for the transformation of HR processes into a cloud-based solution and the identification of potential obstacles in the implementation of such projects. In addition, the motives for such a transformation, the drivers within an organisation, the current degree of HR digitisation, the necessary operational and strategic parameters and ultimately the impact on working methods are worked out. As a further result, an assessment of the use of HR metrics is given and potential new key figures are derived. / Ziebell, R. (2019). Digital transformation of HR - History, implementation approach and success factors - Cumulative PhD Thesis [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/117608 / Compendio

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main goal of this thesis was to better understand the role and function of the focus schools project in the Western Cape, to explore the reasons for their emergence in 2006, and to locate the policy initiative within historical and policy developments around vocationalism in the province. The study focused in particular on how one focus school experienced the roll-out of this policy decision, what the impressions of the learners and educators at a case study school were, and also how officials attached to the Western Cape Education Department described the emergence and implementation of the policy. Further goals of the study were to contextualize the policy process that led to this form of provision, and to conceptualise how this fitted in with educational development issues in the province. A brief backdrop of historical developments and its role in the education of communities in the Western Cape, particularly the coloured community, was provided to contextualize the policy initiative. The main contribution of the thesis is its description and analysis of policy documents and the viewpoints of a range of people connected to a new provincial initiative, focus schools, with regard to what a focus school is meant to achieve and how it is experienced. Data was collected by studying a range of unpublished policy documents, and to link these to interviews conducted with departmental and district officials, educators, learners, and one principal in relation to one case study school. The study showed that focus schools were regarded mainly as a form of vocational education provision to accommodate the desire of the Western Cape economy for intermediate skills in the mid-2000s. It illustrated how the focus school band has run its own unique course within educational structures since 2006, and highlighted how they have fulfilled their goal of getting more learners from historically disadvantaged communities into further study or into positions that better serve the needs of the local economy. The thesis suggested that the policy focus of getting learners into higher education seemed misguided and contrary to the goals of vocational education provision. This policy confusion was further highlighted by learners interviewed in the study who noted that they would have preferred to follow a more academically-based path. Few believed they could either get to university (as claimed by policy officials) or into a viable employment poisition by following a vocational route at school. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die hoofdoel van die tesis was om ´n beter begrip van die rol en funksie van die fokusskool-projek in die Wes-Kaap te verkry, die redes vir die ontstaan van hierdie skole in die jaar, 2006 te ondersoek, asook om die beleids-inisiatief binne die historiese en beleidsontwikkeling rondom beroepsonderwys (vocationalism) in die provinsie na te speur. Die navorsing konsentreer hoofsaaklik op hoe een fokusskool die implementering van die beleidsbesluit ervaar, en in hoe ´n mate die leerders en die opvoeders verbonde aan die gevallestudie-skool die onderwysvoorsiening beleef. ´n Gedeelte van die ondersoek gee ook die sieninge van sleutelpersone in die Wes-Kaapse Onderwysdepartement weer. Verdere doelwitte van die ondersoek was om die beleidsproses wat gelei het tot hierdie onderwysvoorsiening te kontekstualiseer, en om dit te konseptualiseer in hoe ´n mate dit inpas in die opvoedkundige ontwikkeling binne die provinsie. ´n Kort agtergrond skets van die historiese ontwikkeling en die rol wat onderwys in die gemeenskappe van die Wes-Kaap, spesifiek die van die bruin (kleurling) gemeenskap was aangebied om die beleids-inisiatief te konseptualiseer. Die belangrikste bydrae van die tesis is die beskrywing en analise van beleidsdokumente en die standpunte van 'n verskeidenheid van mense wat betrokke is by die nuwe provinsiale inisiatief, fokusskole, met betrekking tot wat fokusskole beoog om te bereik en hoe dit beleef word. Inligting was versamel deur die bestudering van 'n reeks van ongepubliseerde beleidsdokumente, en dit verbind met onderhoude wat gevoer was met departementele- en distriks-amptenare. Opvoeders, leerders, en 'n skoolhoof verbonde aan een gevallestudie skool was ook ondervra. Die navorsing het getoon dat fokusskole ´n vorm van beroepsonderwys is om die strewe van die Wes-Kaapse ekonomie vir intermediêre vaardigheidsvlakke te verhoog. Die planne was gedurende die middel 2000´s in werking gestel. Die navorsing het ook getoon dat die fokusskool-projek sy eie unieke verloop binne die onderwys strukture sedert 2006 gehad het. Die ondersoek het ook getoon dat die strewe om meer leerders uit die historiese benadeelde gemeenskappe sover te kry om verder te gaan studeer of posisies te vervul om die plaaslike ekonomie te bedien, nie so suksesvol is soos die beleid dit vooruitstel nie. Die tesis stel voor dat die beleidsfokus om leerders na hoër onderwys te lei, misleidend is en teenstrydig is met die doelwitte van beroepsonderwys. Die verwarring wat deur die beleid veroorsaak was, was verder belig deur die leerders wat onderhoude mee gevoer was. Die leerders se mening is dat hulle liefs verkies om die meer akademiese-gebaseerde weg te volg. Min van hulle het geglo dat hul weg oop is na hoër onderwys soos wat amptenare van die Wes-Kaapse Onderwysdepartement beweer of dat beroepsmoontlikhede daar is nadat hy beroepsonderwys in fokusskole gevolg het.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:33:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcelo_de_Oliveira_Cardoso.pdf: 1815960 bytes, checksum: 47794692be2e0d4e60f97e2abafffbd7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-08 / This Objective of this study is to investigate challenges in the determination of the Required Referential Net Equity, of financial institutions, with the entry into force of the new Central Bank regulations that meet the recommendations of the Committee on Banking Supervision Basel III. The application of standards subject to the Resolution 3897/2010 revoked by Resolution 4194/2013 will address the implementation and management of liquidity risk, the new methodology of calculating the Reference Equity and the introduction of additional core capital, among other issues. Changes brought by the withdrawal of tax credits for purposes of computing the capital and changes in the form of acceptance of subordinated debt will have a strong impact on all financial institutions, with repercussions on the levels of capitalization and leverage. In this Risk management in banking and capital management with emphasis on the determination of the reference net equity required. The results suggest the need to strengthen the management of new sources of capital and line-of-business and customers, as circular 3644, especially for the average banks / O objetivo desse estudo ?? investigar as principais mudan??as na determina????o do Patrim??nio de Refer??ncia Exigido das institui????es financeiras, com a entrada em vigor das novas regulamenta????es do Banco Central, que atendem as recomenda????es do Comit?? de Supervis??o Banc??ria de Basileia III. A aplica????o das normas que s??o objeto da Resolu????o 3897/2010 revogada pela Resolu????o 4194/2013 tratar??o da implementa????o e do gerenciamento do risco de liquidez e Cr??dito, da nova metodologia de apura????o do patrim??nio de refer??ncia e da introdu????o do adicional de capital principal, entre outras quest??es. Mudan??as como a dedu????o gradativa do saldo dos cr??ditos tribut??rios diretamente do Capital e altera????es na forma de aceita????o das d??vidas subordinadas t??m forte impacto sobre todas as institui????es financeiras, com repercuss??o nos seus n??veis de capitaliza????o e alavancagem. Nesse contexto, foi realizado revis??o da literatura sobre os assuntos: Basileia I, II e III, riscos na gest??o banc??ria e gerenciamento de capital com ??nfase na determina????o do Patrim??nio de Refer??ncia Exigido. Os resultados encontrados sugerem a necessidade de refor??ar a gest??o de novas fontes de capital e de linhas de neg??cios e clientes, conforme circular 3644, sobretudo para os bancos m??dios

創新是企業競爭力的來源，擁有堅強的新產品開發能力是企業成功的關鍵。然而，隨著世界經濟發展的腳步不斷加快，環境品質遭到破壞，各界開始倡導綠色經濟，包括歐盟自2000年開始陸續發布的環保指令，表示企業生產的產品必須考量綠色－對環境友善是一個必要趨勢。而在今日的知識經濟時代，智慧資本的重要性漸漸取代原料、廠房等有形資產，成為企業創造的來源。 本研究採個案研究法，以國內某資訊電子企業為對象，探討綠色新產品開發之重要智慧資本及其管理、報導機制。研究結論如下: 一、個案公司綠色新產品開發之重要智慧資本包含九大因素構面。 二、個案公司研發部門與永續發展辦公室對於綠色新產品開發之重要智慧資本的看法一致。 三、個案公司對於綠色新產品開發之重要智慧資本均設有具體的管理制度以助蓄積。 四、個案公司目前尚未將重要智慧資本資訊彙總為一份完整的內部報導表，故本研究衡酌各報導形式之優缺點，設計了一份內部報導表，透過量化與非量化項目的揭露，供其更了解綠色新產品開發之重要智慧資本的發展情形。 / Innovation is the source of corporate competitiveness, equipping with excellent new product developing ability is the key to success. With the accelerated development of the world economy, the environment quality continues to decrease. More and more people began to pay attention to environmental issues, advocating green economy. With the rise of international environmental regulations such as the three environmental directives issued by the EU, enterprises face more pressure to take green issues into the consideration of the products. And in the information age, the importance of intellectual capital exceeds the tangible assets to be the value driver of enterprises. This study adopts case study method and is assisted with questionnaire survey analysis. This study takes one enterprise in the information and electronic industry as the object company to discuss what is the important intellectual capital of the green new product development and their management and internal reporting system. According to the result of case analysis, the research claims four conclusions in response to the research questions. 1. The case company considers 9 factors as important intellectual capital of the green new product development. 2. The R&D department and the Corporate Sustainability Office of the case company have consistent view of the important intellectual capital of the green new product development. 3. The case company has specific management system to help the important intellectual capital of the green new product development accumulate. 4. This study designs an internal intellectual capital reporting form to help the case company learn the development of the important intellectual capital of the green new product development.