Na medida em que se toma conhecimento do processo de reestruturação gerencial e profissionalização do setor sucroalcooleiro, surge a necessidade de verificar se os novos modelos de gestão de RH adotados suportam o crescimento e mantém a competitividade das usinas, contribuindo de forma efetiva para a criação de valor. Neste caso, como as organizações têm adotado práticas diferenciadas e poucos são os estudos que mostram, efetivamente, se sua aplicação reflete um bom desempenho financeiro, avaliar a relação do papel da gestão de RH no desempenho financeiro pode contribuir para esclarecer sua abrangência, tanto em termos dos desafios quanto em termos dos benefícios organizacionais gerados por esta mudança. Para tanto foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa descritiva com o estudo de três casos específicos. Os dados foram coletados por meio de fontes primárias, questionários e entrevistas semi-estruturadas, e também, por meio de fontes secundárias complementares. O embasamento teórico foi feito a partir da abordagem de cinco temas centrais: evolução do conceito de RH, a administração de RH em mudança, a administração estratégica de RH, a gestão de RH e o desempenho organizacional e, por fim, o agronegócio sucroalcooleiro. Os resultados da pesquisa evidenciaram papéis de gestão de RH divergentes, que diferenciam as usina pelo nível de instrução e/ou grau de adoção de determinadas práticas. No entanto, ao se fazer as análises das relações entre os papéis de gestão de RH apresentados pelas usinas e seu desempenho financeiro observou-se que a usina B, que possuía a maior orientação estratégica entre as demais, obteve os melhores resultados financeiros na safra 2007/08. Desta forma, conclui-se que, existe uma relação positiva entre a gestão de RH e o desempenho financeiro das usinas, e além disso, as usinas com maior orientação estratégica apresentam resultados melhores. / As we noted the process of management restructuring and professionalization of sugaralcohol sector, there is a need to ascertain whether the new management adopted HR support growth and maintain the competitiveness of plants, contributing effectively to the creation of value. In this case, as the organizations have adopted different practices and there are few studies that show, actually, if your application reflects a good financial performance, evaluate the role of HR management in financial performance may help to clarify its scope, both in terms of the challenges in terms of the benefits generated by this organizational change. For this was a descriptive qualitative research to the study of three specific cases. Data were collected through primary sources, questionnaires and semi-structured, and also through additional secondary sources. The theoretical basis was made from the approach of five central themes: evolution of the concept of HR, administration of HR change in the strategic management of human resources, management of HR and organizational performance and, finally, the sugar-alcohol sector agribusiness. The survey results showed the roles of HR management divergent to distinguish the plants by level of education and/or degree of adoption of certain practices. However, when doing the analysis of relations between the roles of HR management provided by mill and its financial performance showed that the plant B, which had the greatest strategic guidance from the others, received the best financial results in 2007/08 season. Thus it appears that there is a positive relationship between HR management and financial performance of plants, and moreover, the plants with more strategic orientation have better results.

Submitted by Ana Carolina Talarico (anacarolinatalarico@gmail.com) on 2013-09-28T21:57:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Ana Carolina Talarico_final.pdf: 794527 bytes, checksum: 95b4f034f3aec69307fc529b693d1ae7 (MD5) / Rejected by Eliene Soares da Silva (eliene.silva@fgv.br), reason: Ana, bom dia. Por gentileza, insira o Resumo e Palavras-chave neste trabalho, que são itens obrigatórios. Faça uma nova submissão que aprovarei o trabalho. Att, Eliene 3799-3492 on 2013-09-30T14:54:10Z (GMT) / Submitted by Ana Carolina Talarico (anacarolinatalarico@gmail.com) on 2013-09-30T15:13:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Ana Carolina Talarico_final.pdf: 797494 bytes, checksum: 72af978f7e500f338279f3aba5ecab61 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Eliene Soares da Silva (eliene.silva@fgv.br) on 2013-09-30T15:49:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Ana Carolina Talarico_final.pdf: 797494 bytes, checksum: 72af978f7e500f338279f3aba5ecab61 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-30T15:49:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Ana Carolina Talarico_final.pdf: 797494 bytes, checksum: 72af978f7e500f338279f3aba5ecab61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-09-25 / Companies are moving to a more international structure; going into new markets and having an increased competition in all fronts. Therefore, the practices that lead companies to a more efficient and competitive position are praised. The management of the workforce comes as one of the main concerns of companies, aiming at performance enhancing and at creating better environments that both attract and maintain the professional talents. In an increasingly international environment, companies tend to look for the specialists and best professionals, regardless of their nationality. This new structure with several different nationalities working together poses new challenges for companies. Understanding if and how a more diverse has a relationship with financial performance is the starting point for better managing this new corporate structure. / As empresas estão mudando para uma estrutura mais internacional; entrando em novos mercados com competição mais acirrada. Portanto, as práticas que levam as empresas a serem mais eficientes e competitivas são exaltadas. O gerenciamento da força de trabalho é uma das maiores preocupações das companhias, com foco em melhorar a performance e criar melhores ambientes de trabalho, que atraem e mantem os talentos. Em um ambiente cada vez mais internacional, as empresas buscam os melhores profissionais, independente de sua nacionalidade. Essa nova estrutura com diferentes nacionalidades trabalhando junto é um novo desafio no mundo corporativo. Entender se e como uma empresa com maior diversidade tem relação com a performance financeira é o ponto de partida para um melhor gerenciamento dessa nova estrutura.

The economics of football during the last decades has gone through a dramatic transformation. The most considerable change for both European and Swedish football clubs, is the ongoing increase of total revenues. Despite increasing revenues, several clubs experience financial problems and difficulties. This has led to a point where clubs require a proper business strategy with economics playing a big part. The previous research on the field has been dedicated to the link between sport performance and economics, but above all on English and Spanish football clubs. The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze the impact of a potential correlation between sport performance and club economy. Different economic variables were examined during the period of 2010-2016 in Swedish elite league for men, Allsvenskan. In the study, the results show a link between club economy and sport performances, which previous studies have already proved. Player salaries measured highest among the examined variables, although none showed a strong correlation.

Cette thèse explore la relation entre la structure de propriété coopérative ou actionnariale avec les stratégies de marchés, et la performance et risque financiers. Elle couvre trois terrains d’études appartenant à des secteurs différents : (1) Les PME françaises, (2) le secteur viticole français et (3) les institutions financières américaines, en adoptant à chaque fois une approche comparative avec des données empiriques. Elle contribue à la littérature existante en ayant une vision transversale entre le marketing et la finance tout en considérant la structure de propriété via des échantillons de données représentatifs. Selon les résultats, les coopératives ont un niveau de performance financière plus faible (excepté les institutions d’épargne américaines) et un risque financier moins élevé (excepté les unions de crédit américaines) que les structures actionnariales. De plus, elles détiennent un niveau plus élevé de capitaux propres leur permettant d’amortir les chocs. En effet, les coopératives adoptent des stratégies de marché différentes. Le type de marque a été étudié dans le secteur viticole montrant que les coopératives optent pour des marques collectives alors que les entreprises actionnariales préfèrent les marques privées. Dans le secteur des institutions financières, dépendamment du type de structure, des segments de clientèles sont préférés et l’approche de relation client est différente. Quant à la relation entre la structure de propriété et les stratégies de marché d’une part et la performance et risque financiers d’autre part, les résultats montrent que les stratégies de marché peuvent influencer la performance financière. Néanmoins, le principal facteur qui affecte la réduction du risque est la structure de propriété coopérative indépendamment des stratégies de marché choisies. / This thesis explores the relationship between ownership structure (cooperative versus investorowned), market strategies as well as financial performance and risk. It tackles three databases in three different sectors: (1) French SMEs, (2) French wine sector (3) and financial institutions in the USA, along with a comparative methodology using empirical data. It contributes to the existing literature through a transversal approach between marketing and finance, in the framework of cooperatives with significant samples of data.Results show that cooperatives have lower levels of financial performance (except thrifts) with lower financial risk (except credit unions) compared to investor-owned firms; cooperatives have higher level of capitalization allowing them to face economic crises. Moreover, cooperatives adopt different market strategies. Research in the wine sector show that cooperatives tend to choose collective branding whereas investor-owned firms prefer private brands. As for financial institutions, business lines and relationship lending approaches vary according to ownership structures. In terms of the relationship between ownership structure and market strategies on one hand, and financial performance and risk on the other, results show that market strategies can affect financial performance while the main factor reducing the risk is cooperative structure.

Numerous studies have examined the relationship between a critical mass of women on corporate boards and firm performance. Despite convincing arguments that racially diverse board members contribute positively to the board's management oversight and strategy formulation responsibilities, literature examining race in the boardroom has been very scant and racial minority directors remain persistently under- represented on corporate boards. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a critical mass of 30% Black directors on boards and audit committees of public companies performed better than companies with less than 30% Black directors. The study was conducted using the mining and financial services companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Quantitative research methodology was utilized to test the financial ratios of ROA, ROE, Tobin's Q, Share Price, P: E Ratio and Dividend Payout with companies that had a minimum of 30% Black directors compared to companies with less than 30% Black directors. The study revealed that there was no relationship between either a critical mass of Black directors on boards and financial performance or between a critical mass of Black directors on audit committees and financial performance. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / ccgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) är ett aktuellt ämne som syftar till att företag ska ta ett större samhällsansvar, både ur ett ekonomiskt, miljömässigt och socialt perspektiv. Den globalisering som råder i världen påverkar inte bara ett internt företagsklimat, det ger även effekter på omgivande samhälle och individer, vilket tillsammans med sociala påtryckningar skapar ett behov av CSR. Ansvaret till samhället innebär inte bara ekonomiska och lagliga aspekter, dock ska ett etiskt och filantropiskt perspektiv också antas. Idag är CSR ett frivilligt åtagande och för att kunna motivera företag till ett större ansvarstagande för sitt agerande ämnar denna studie att undersöka, ur ett nordiskt sammanhang, om ett företags hållbarhetsarbete genererar lönsamhet. Studien utgår från nordiska börsnoterade företag som ingår i Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). Indexet representeras av de bäst presterande hållbarhetsföretagen i världen som kvalificerat sig till att ingå. Genom en deduktiv kvantitativ metod studeras sambandet mellan CSR och lönsamhet för att förklara vilken effekt variabeln Corporate Social Performance (CSP) har på variabeln Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) under tidsperioden 2010-20162010–2016. Fortsättningsvis undersöks skillnaden i lönsamhet mellan företag som inkluderats i DJSI och matchade likartade nordiska företag som inte ingår i indexet. Undersökningen baseras på sekundärkällor ur ett naturvetenskapligt perspektiv. Studien erhåller ett resultat som påvisar att företag som ingår i hållbarhetsindexet tenderar att vara mer lönsamma än företag som inte ingår genom att redovisningsbaserade mått, bruttomarginal och avkastning på totalt kapital (ROA), har applicerats. Studiens slutsats blir att CSR-arbete kan öka lönsamheten i nordiska företag genom att bli inkluderade i DJSI, studien visar dock att placeringen i indexet inte har någon betydelse. Därav blir studiens bidrag att motivera företag till ett större åtagande av hållbarhetsarbete eftersom CSR kan generera högre lönsamhet. / Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a current topic which aims to encourage companies to be more responsible as an societal actor, both from an economic, environmental and social perspective. The consequences of the globalization may not only affect the internal business environment, it will also affect the surrounding society and individuals, which together creates a demand for CSR. As a societal actor, companies needs to include ethical and philanthropic responsibilities, and not only take economic and legal aspects into consideration. Currently, CSR is a voluntary commitment and to motivate companies to embrace the responsibility for the society, this study aims to investigate, from a Nordic context, whether companies’ sustainability work generates profitability.   The study is based on Nordic listed companies included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World (DJSI), which is an index where the top performing sustainability companies can qualify for an inclusion. The correlation between CSR and profitability will be studied through a deductive quantitative method to explain what impact Corporate Social Performance (CSP) has on Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) during the years between 2010-2016. Furthermore, the differences in profitability between companies included in DJSI matched Nordic companies that are not included in the index will be investigated. From a scientific perspective, the survey is based on secondary sources. The results of the study indicates that companies included in the sustainability index tend to have an improved profitability than companies that are not included. This by applying the accounting-based measures gross margin and return on assets (ROA). The conclusion of the study is that CSR can improve profitability among the Nordic companies by an inclusion in DJSI, but the study shows that the placement in the index does not have an impact. Hence, the contribution of this study is to motivate companies to a greater commitment to sustainability because CSR can generate improved profitability.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management and Dietetics / SooCheong Jang / Deborah D. Canter / In the last few decades, franchising has become a part of everyday life in the United States. Many firms in a variety of industries have adopted franchising as a method of doing business. Despite the importance of franchising, the literature on why firms initially choose to franchise and how franchising affects financial performance has been scant (Combs et al., 2004; Watson et al., 2005). The purposes of this study were 1) to examine how well agency theory, resource scarcity theory, risk-sharing theory, and specific knowledge theory justify the franchising decision, 2) to investigate whether franchising affects restaurant firms' market value and profitability, and 3) to investigate the relationship between the ownership mix, combination of franchised and company-owned outlets, and financial performance. For the statistical analysis, the data were collected from the Standard and Poor's COMPUSTAT database, Bond's Franchise Guide and 10 K reports. A logistic regression model was developed to identify a set of variables that best differentiated firms engaged in franchise contracts from those that were not. The statistical results indicated that: 1) Young and growing firms used franchise more to increase the flow of resources. This result supported resource scarcity theory. 2) The degree of geographic dispersion and involvement in foreign countries increased the probability of a firm's decision to franchise. These results supported agency theory. 3) The decrease of specific knowledge requirements increased the franchising probability. This result supported specific knowledge theory. T-tests and multivariate regression models were used to test how franchising affects firms' financial performance. The findings indicated that 1) franchised firms had better financial performance than non-franchised firms, 2) the relationship between ownership mix and financial performance was curvilinear and the inverted U-shaped relationship suggested the existence of optimal ownership mix that can maximize a firm's financial performance, and 3) ownership mix not only directly affected a firm's intangible assets, but also indirectly affected a firm's intangible assets through advertising. This study found that a purely company owned or a purely franchised chain did not produce the best financial performance. Restaurant companies could use both company-owned and franchised units to leverage the strengths of one another, which will yield a better overall financial performance than if either structure was to operate alone.

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Michael R. Langemeier / The overall objective of this study was to examine the relative efficiency of farmers in various age groups. Nine Hundred sixty-four sole proprietors, who were members of the Kansas Farm Management Association (KFMA) with continuous data from 2002-2006, were split up into four groups based on age. Comparing the fourth age group (over 65 years of age) to the first age group (under or equal to 45 years of age) was of primary importance in this study. Comparisons were made utilizing variables pertaining to farm size and tenure, specialization, efficiency, liquidity, and solvency. In this study, there are four age groups; under or equal to 45 years, 46 to 55 years, 56 to 65 years, and greater than 65 years old. T-tests were used to compare variables among age groups. Nineteen variables were statistically different between age groups one and four. The fourth age group performed poorly in terms of cost efficiency. Based on the results, the fourth age group had a difficult time covering unpaid labor and capital expenses. Discriminant analysis was used to determine which variables discriminate the most between age groups. The top three variables in this discriminant analysis were the asset turnover ratio, the economic total expense ratio, and percent acres owned. The top three variables in the discriminant analysis involving groups one and four were the debt to asset ratio, asset turnover ratio, and net farm income.

Background: Swedish companies were negatively affected by the financial crisis between 2007 to 2009. Even if companies with a high level of financial leverage were hit harder due to the financial crisis than companies with financial leverage, the level of financial leverage about the same now as it was right before the financial crisis. Even if an increase of cash flows associated to financial leverage increase a company’s business opportunities, there are a lot of research done in the field that claim that the relation between financial leverage and financial performance is negative. Purpose: Since there is evidence that the relation between financial leverage and financial performance differ from different countries across the world, it is important to determine the relation in different countries. There is a research gap when it comes to the relation in Sweden, since the prior research have focused on specific industries or company sizes. By extending prior research in Sweden, companies, investors and creditors could get better understanding for Swedish companies’ relation between financial leverage and financial performance. Method: In the thesis, data from 750 companies listed on Stockholm stock exchange has been examined to determine the relation between financial leverage and financial performance. Totally, 3750 observation from the years 2012 to 2016, have been tested by a multivariate regression. Results: The evidence from the thesis showed that the relation between financial leverage and financial performance depends on which type of measurement for financial leverage and financial performance that is used. There is partly significant evidence that company size affect the relation

The South African Government’s service delivery initiatives do not guarantee quality of life for all citizens of South Africa. An active challenge faced by researchers and practitioners, who do not have adequate solutions available, is based on the fact that government departments are not able to say what they have achieved; only what they have done. The aim of this study was to develop a conceptual approach or framework for public financial performance management, which will pave the way for operational and line managers in public financial management towards world-class performance with specific reference to effectiveness and service delivery outcomes. The contextualisation of public administration highlights the scientific foundations of public administration and the continuous development of administrative theories and growing administrative thought within the discipline of Public Administration. The development of public administration proves to be dynamic with the emphasis on future trends and emerging concepts of public management and good governance and the need for more efficient and effective service delivery. The state's role has changed from hands-on management and direct delivery of goods and services to the facilitation of an enabling environment, which provides a framework for private sector participation. Successful development programmes hinge on the effective economic policies, good governance and financial performance management of the facilitator. Due to the fragmentation of policy responsibility in society, the traditional mechanisms of governmental control are no longer workable, or even appropriate. Control is giving way to interaction and involvement with critical implications for the operational manager’s ability to manage, but still to be accountable. The future role of government will be based on governance and stewardship, which can create an enabling environment for all its citizens to enjoy a good life. Derived from an analysis of the public administration environment, the magnitude of the challenges and the tasks facing African countries, African governments and other stakeholders, especially the international community, must establish capacity to deal with a dynamic and changing environment. A systematic and holistic approach will be needed for the implementation of policy in order to become more effective and responsive to the needs of society. The role of governance as the ideal platform allows for an interactive relationship between the public financial management system and the budget process to be facilitated by various role players in different relationships. Interaction is based on the concept of getting the basics right and is also aligned with the public financial management system as a series of realistic platforms to accommodate the multiple role players. The result is a financial system that provides the opportunity for financial performance management and effective and optimal budget outcomes. A high-performing public-sector organisation is results-driven with a sound public financial management system, which allows the government to make the best use of all available resources. This type of organisation will meet the quest to efficiently and effectively utilise public resources to meet the needs of the community in an equitable manner. Public financial performance management must be viewed as the next logical evolution of the field of public management. Public financial performance management must be viewed as an essential component of successful management. This is cultural, operational and human resource management change. The transition will require recognition that rationality is the underlying force of performance management. The development of public financial performance management capacity is a means and not an end in itself; it is an integral part of the overall development agenda. Consequently, a capacity development strategy must be based on a broader vision of improved financial performance management and increasing organisational effectiveness leading to good governance. While country ownership is critical, the capacity development efforts have to be tailored to match the existing human resources, institutions, legal system, as well as the administrative and political culture. The drive for capacity development should transcend the mode by which it is to be delivered. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted