Service guarantees have been argued to have many roles in managing services, for instance signal service quality, attract new customers, increase satisfaction and retention, and to differentiate the company from its competitors. Despite a growing interest from service organizations, research on service guarantees has been surprisingly scarce. The aim of this dissertation is to provide a wider understanding of the roles of service guarantees. Data is gathered from actual customers (as opposed to fictitious participants of an experiment) and/or employees regarding service guarantees in three different service contexts. The methods used to gather and analyze the data were manifold and includes personal interviews, Mystery Shopping observations, focus group interviews and a postal survey. The results represent new knowledge when it comes to the roles of service guarantees in managing services. Previous research has almost exclusively addressed pre-purchase effects of the service guarantee, but has failed to address the impact of the service guarantee after it has been used. Therefore, the most important contribution to service research of this dissertation concern the understanding of service guarantees “in action” and the post-use effects of a service guarantee in real service settings. Another contribution is the identification of the recovery paradox; that the customer is more satisfied with the service after he or she has used the service guarantee, than before he or she experienced the original service failure. This result strongly suggests that the use of a service guarantee can make a fruitful contribution in the managing of services.

In this dissertation, we examine specific network connectivity problems, and achieve improved approximation algorithm and integrality gap results for them. We introduce an important new, highly useful and applicable, network connectivity problem - the Vital Core Connectivity Problem (VCC). Despite its many practical uses, this problem has not been previously studied. We present the first constant factor approximation algorithm for VCC, and provide an upper bound on the integrality gap of its linear programming relaxation. We also introduce a new, useful, extension of the minimum spanning tree problem, called the Extended Minimum Spanning Tree Problem (EMST), that is based on a special case of VCC; and provide both a polynomial-time algorithm and a complete linear description for it. Furthermore, we show how to generalize this new problem to handle numerous disjoint vital cores, providing the first complete linear description of, and polynomial-time algorithm for, the generalized problem. We examine the Survivable Network Design Problem (SNDP) with multiple copies of edges allowed in the solution (multi-SNDP), and present a new approximation algorithm for which the approximation guarantee is better than that of the current best known for certain cases of multi-SNDP. With our method, we also obtain improved bounds on the integrality gap of the linear programming relaxation of the problem. Furthermore, we show the application of these results to variations of SNDP. We investigate cases where the optimal values of multi-SNDP and SNDP are equal; and we present an improvement on the previously best known integrality gap bound and approximation guarantee for the special case of SNDP with metric costs and low vertex connectivity requirements, as well as for the similar special case of the Vertex Connected Survivable Network Design Problem (VC-SNDP). The quality of the results that one can obtain for a given network design problem often depends on its integer linear programming formulation, and, in particular, on its linear programming relaxation. In this connection, we investigate formulations for the Steiner Tree Problem (ST). We propose two new formulations for ST, and investigate their strength in terms of their associated integrality gaps.

This paper will discuss the bankruptcies experienced by U.S. automakers in both 1979 and 2009. The main factors which led the automakers into financial ruin was the uncontrolled power of labor unions, the severe financial impact of oil embargos, the aggressive imposition of federal regulations and the increasing dominance of Japanese imports. After discussing these important factors, the paper will describe the specifics of Chrysler’s bailout experience in 1979 with the positive public acceptance of the government loans, largely due to the character of Lee Iacocca. After delving into Chrysler, this paper will explain the specifics of the government’s bailout of General Motors and Chrysler in 2009. The paper will also review the government’s position regarding the significant economic impact of letting the U.S. automakers fail. In conclusion, this paper will demonstrate that although the 1979 bailout was better perceived by the American public, the long term impact of 2009 bailout has the potential to produce a more strategic change in the U.S. auto industry.

The dissertation proposes three approaches for financial risk management. In the first topic, we investigate the stock return and risk of financial holding companies via Markov regime-switching model. The model reduces the disadvantage of traditional linear model, which disregard information of another regime if there exist structural change during the estimation periods. The empirical result shows that all financial holding companies have different stock risk between state 0 and state 1. Moreover, stock risks of all financial holding companies are significant lower after listing. That is, financial holding companies have diversification benefits after listing. In the second topic, we gauge the credit risk of guarantee issue in a bills finance company in Taiwan by a market-based model. Since bills finance companies engage in short-term loans, we renew the contract that can extend short-term loans to mid-and long-term loans. We find that the recovery rate, different industries and business cycle have significant impact on the credit risk of the bills finance company. In the third topic, we relax the assumption of Jarrow, Lando and Turnbull (1997), and propose an elaborate model to gauge the credit risk of Taiwanese bank loans. The empirical result indicates that the credit risk is heavily reliant on the recovery rate. Therefore, collateral value check procedure is very important, which has been found in previous topic. On the other hand, we find that the credit risk management is indifferent between banks participated in financial holding companies and others. That is, banks do not have better credit risk management if take part in financial holding companies. In conclusion, we expect approaches of the dissertation will be helpful for Taiwan¡¦s financial institutions to rise to the challenge of financial risk in the future.

Οι κατανεμημένοι αλγόριθμοι δρομολόγησης για switches βασισμένα σε κελιά (=πακέτα σταθερού μεγέθους - π.χ. ΑΤΜ) που χρησιμοποιούν την αρχιτεκτονική Virtual Output Queueing έχουν οδηγήσει στη κατασκευή δρομολογητών υψηλών επιδόσεων. Στην παρούσα διπλωματική παρουσιάζουμε μια νέα ιδέα για την κατασκευή τέτοιων αλγορίθμων που λέγεται "αμοιβαία προτεραιότητα". Οι αλγόριθμοι της οικογένειας αυτής, που λέγεται οικογένεια "MPE", πετυχαίνουν βέλτιστη εγγύηση εξυπηρέτησης για κάθε ουρά εισόδου (καθυστέρηση το πολύ N κύκλων για switch ΝχΝ). Επίσης όσον αφορά τη μέση καθυστέρηση των πακέτων , ξεπερνούν σε απόδοση όλους τους γνωστούς αλγορίθμους. Οι βελτιώσεις που επιτυγχάνονται είναι αρκετά σημαντικές (π.χ. μέχρι και 78% μικρότερη καθυστέρηση πακέτων σε σύγκριση με τον καλύτερο υπάρχοντα αλγόριθμο, για μια επανάληψη). / Distributed scheduling algorithms for cell-based (e.g. ATM) Virtual Output Queuing (VOQ) switches have led to high performance schedulers. In this thesis we introduce a new concept in making such algorithms called "mutual priority" . Algorithms of this family , called "MPE" , achieve optimal service guarantee (N in a NxN switch) and lead to packet delays that outperform all existing algorithms. The improvements achieved are quite significant (i.e. up to 78% less packet delay compared to the best existing algorithm for a single iteration).

Darbuotojų apsauga darbdavio nemokumo atveju viena iš šiuo metu Lietuvoje aktualiausių ne tik įmonės bankroto teisės, bet ir darbo teisės instituto problemų. Bankrutuojančių ir bankrutavusių įmonių skaičius kiekvienais metais išlieka aukštas, o pastaruoju metu ėmė didėti. Didėja ir darbuotojų, su kuriais įmonės iš dalies arba visiškai neatsiskaitė skaičius. Tarptautiniai, Europos Sąjungos standartai jau yra numatę darbuotojų teisių apsaugos darbdavio nemokumo atveju būdus, pagrindiniai būdai išskiriami du: teikiant privilegiją ir įsteigiant garantinę instituciją, iš kurių darbuotojų reikalavimų gynimas per garantinę instituciją yra efektyviausias. Tuo tarpu mišri sistema derinant tiek privilegijos, tiek garantinės institucijos būdą, sudaro palankiausias sąlygas darbuotojų teisėtiems interesams apsaugoti. Lietuva taip pat teisės aktais įgyvendinusi palankiausią darbuotojų apsaugos modelį darbdavio nemokumo atveju, t.y. įtvirtindama tiek darbuotojų reikalavimų tenkinimą pirmąja eile bankroto proceso metu, tiek reikalavimų tenkinimą iš Garantinio fondo lėšų. Įmonių bankrotų gausa bei nepakankamas darbuotojų teisių užtikrinimas jas ginant teisme, pasinaudojimas Lietuvos ratifikuotais TDO standartais, bei Europos Sąjungos Direktyvų įgyvendinimas šioje darbuotojų teisių apsaugos srityje lėmė Garantinio fondo įkūrimą. Tik įkurtas Garantinis fondas neišsprendė visų įsiskolinimų įmonių darbuotojams, darbuotojų reikalavimai buvo tenkinami pažeidžiant tarptautinius standartus. Tačiau... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The list of the enterprises which are bankrupt or facing bankruptcy is getting longer and longer. Guarantees assured to employees in the event of insolvency of the employer form one of the most urgent themes in Lithuania both for the corporate bankruptcy law institute and for the labour law institute. Insolvency of the employer produces the greatest negative impact on employees: the employer fails to settle payments with the employees or at times settlements are not executed at all. Law stipulates quite a few guarantees to employees. International standards and European Union directives provide protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer. There are two key institutions defending the interest of employees, i.e.: the court, with which the employee may lodge a claim on demands and guarantee funds, which would meet the minimum demands of employees targeted against insolvent employers. The ILO and EU requirements have been interpreted and implemented in myriad ways. Most developed countries use a hybrid system that gives workers’ predetermined entitlements some priority in bankruptcy, but also provides unemployment insurance in acknowledgement that the remaining assets are often insufficient to cover outstanding entitlements. Lithuania has also accepted aforementioned Bankruptcy Priority - Guarantee Fund Approach model. However, at the beginning Guarantee Fund Law has some shortcomings why it does not act ant the Guarantee Fund was not possible at... [to full text]

Dans ma mémoire, j’ai discuté les concepts d’arbitrage comme méthode de résolution d’un litige et par après, je donne un court historique de l’acceptation d’arbitrage au Québec. Le Chapitre I étudie la structure des règlements du R.B.Q., qui est un gendre d’arbitrage obligatoire institutionnelle, et j’inclus les diverses procédures dans ce système d’arbitrage. La sécurité offert par le plan de garantie règle par le R.B.Q. est discuté dans le Chapitre II en autant qu’il est relié avec le system d’arbitrage R.B.Q., y compris la structure du plan et le contenu de la sécurité. Chapitre III parle des recours disponible aux Bénéficiares ainsi que les avantages et désavantages de l’arbitrage sous les Règlements du R.B.Q. Un court étude comparative de quatre autres juridictions est recherché en Chapitre IV, incluant notre voisin, Ontario, les Etats-Unis et on croise dans les juridictions de Royaume Unie et Allemagne. En conclusion, j’établis que notre système d’arbitrage sous le Règlement protéges notre publique plus que d’autres juridictions. Je suggère des améliorations au système, par contre, incluant l’agrandissement du plan de garantie, l’ajout des pouvoirs donnés aux arbitres américains et ensuite d’intègré un système d’arrêt semblable aux Royaumes Unis. / In my memoire, I discuss the concept of arbitration generally as a dispute resolution method after which I outline a history of its acceptance under Quebec law. Chapter I addresses the structure under the R.B.Q. Regulations, which is a mandatory institutional arbitration system is discussed, and includes the various procedures of the arbitration system. The security offered under the Guarantee Plan which is regulated by the R.B.Q. is discussed in Chapter II insofar as it affects its arbitration system, including the structure of the guarantee plan and the contents of the guarantee. Chapter III reviews a Beneficiary’s available recourses as well as the advantages and limitations of the arbitration system under the Regulations. Then a brief comparative study with four other jurisdictions is directed in Chapter IV, including our neighbouring Ontario, United States, and then overseas to the United Kingdom and Germany. In conclusion, I prove that the arbitration system protects Quebec Beneficiaries more than any where else that I have studied and recommend improvements to the system, including the expansion of the guarantee plan, the addition of powers to the arbitration similar to those granted in the United States jurisdictions and the integration of an adjudication system similar to that used in the United Kingdom for construction dispute resolution.

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In this dissertation, we examine specific network connectivity problems, and achieve improved approximation algorithm and integrality gap results for them. We introduce an important new, highly useful and applicable, network connectivity problem - the Vital Core Connectivity Problem (VCC). Despite its many practical uses, this problem has not been previously studied. We present the first constant factor approximation algorithm for VCC, and provide an upper bound on the integrality gap of its linear programming relaxation. We also introduce a new, useful, extension of the minimum spanning tree problem, called the Extended Minimum Spanning Tree Problem (EMST), that is based on a special case of VCC; and provide both a polynomial-time algorithm and a complete linear description for it. Furthermore, we show how to generalize this new problem to handle numerous disjoint vital cores, providing the first complete linear description of, and polynomial-time algorithm for, the generalized problem. We examine the Survivable Network Design Problem (SNDP) with multiple copies of edges allowed in the solution (multi-SNDP), and present a new approximation algorithm for which the approximation guarantee is better than that of the current best known for certain cases of multi-SNDP. With our method, we also obtain improved bounds on the integrality gap of the linear programming relaxation of the problem. Furthermore, we show the application of these results to variations of SNDP. We investigate cases where the optimal values of multi-SNDP and SNDP are equal; and we present an improvement on the previously best known integrality gap bound and approximation guarantee for the special case of SNDP with metric costs and low vertex connectivity requirements, as well as for the similar special case of the Vertex Connected Survivable Network Design Problem (VC-SNDP). The quality of the results that one can obtain for a given network design problem often depends on its integer linear programming formulation, and, in particular, on its linear programming relaxation. In this connection, we investigate formulations for the Steiner Tree Problem (ST). We propose two new formulations for ST, and investigate their strength in terms of their associated integrality gaps.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O presente trabalho se propõe a colocar em análise as relações de três famílias pobres com o Sistema de Garantia de Direitos (SGD), as quais, por fim, tiveram o seu poder familiar destituído, sob a perspectiva da moralização, da disciplina, da vigilância e do controle. As tramas e os caminhos tortuosos, as práticas sociais punitivas e penais, as relações de verdades e os poderes que se exercem e se atualizam, as resistências e os jogos de tensões e forças que se apresentam, tudo isso está posto e descrito nas linhas desta pesquisa, à luz de autores clássicos como Foucault (principalmente), Deleuze, Guattari, Lourau, Nietzche, Donzelot, bem como contribuições mais próximas de autores nacionais, que se debruçam em estudos e pesquisas sobre os temas acima e dialogam com as situações em análise nesta pesquisa. Desnaturalizar os lugares constituídos à luz da moral, das produções subjetivas contemporâneas, dos costumes higienistas e correcionais, das tentativas de enquadramento das práticas familiares, de um jeito de ser pai e mãe, é um dos principais propósitos desta pesquisa. Trata-se de pensar e criar outras possibilidades, como um sopro de liberdade, de desconstrução de lugares, de outras perspectivas e práticas possíveis. / This dissertation proposes to put on analyzing the relations of three poor families with assurance system rights, which finally had their family power stripped from the perspective of ethical standards, discipline, surveillance and control. The plots and devious ways, punitive and criminal social practices, the relations of truth and the powers that are exercised and updated, the resistors and games of tensions and forces that arise, are all described in the lines and put this research, in the light of classical authors such as Foucault (mostly), Deleuze, Guattari, Lourau, Nietzche, Donzelot and closer to national authors contributions that focus on studies and research on the above topics, dialogue with situations analysis in this research. Denature the places made in the light of morality of the productions subjective and contemporary, hygienists and correctional customs, attempts framework of family practice, a way of being father and mother, is one of the main purposes of this research. It is think and create other possibilities, like a breath of freedom, of deconstruction of places, about other possible perspectives and practices.