This thesis aims to develop an alternative expectations model to the Rational Expectations Hypothesis (REH) and adaptive-expectations models, which provides more accurate temporal predictive performance and more closely reflects recent advances in behavioural economics, the ‘science of complexity’ and network dynamics. The model the thesis develops is called Adaptive Interactive Expectations (AIE), a subjective dynamic model of the process of expectations formation. To REH, the AIE model provides both an alternative and a complement. AIE and REH complement one another in that they are diametrically opposite in the following five dimensions, agent intelligence, agent interaction, agent homogeneity, equilibrium assumptions and the rationalisation process. REH and AIE stress the importance of hyper-intelligent agents interacting only via a price signal and near zero-intelligent agents interacting via a network structure, respectively. The complementary nature of AIE and REH provide dual perspectives that enhance analysis. The Dun & Bradstreet (D&B 2008) profit expectations survey is used in the thesis to calibrate AIE and make predictions. The predictive power of the AIE and REH models is compared. The thesis introduces the ‘pressure to change profit expectations index’, px. This index provides the ability to model unknowns within an adaptive dynamic process and combine the beliefs from interactive-expectations, adaptive-expectations and biases that include pessimism, optimism and ambivalence. AIE uses networks to model the flow of interactive-expectations between firms. To overcome the uncertainty over the structure of the interactive network, the thesis uses model-averaging over 121 network topologies. These networks are defined by three variables regardless of their complexity. Unfortunately, the Bayesian technique’s use of the number of variables as a measure of complexity makes it unsuitable for model-averaging over the network topologies. To overcome this limitation in the Bayesian technique, the thesis introduces two model-averaging techniques, ‘runtime-weighted’ and ‘optimal-calibration’. These model-averaging techniques are benchmarked against ‘Bayes-factor model-averaging’ and ‘equal-weighted model-averaging’. In addition to the aggregate called all–firms, the D&B (2008) survey has four divisions, manufacturing durables, manufacturing non–durables, wholesale and retail. To make use of the four divisions, the thesis introduces a ‘link-intensity matrix’ based upon an ‘input-output table’ to improve the calibration of the networks. The transpose of the table is also used in the thesis. The two ‘link-intensity matrices’ are benchmarked against the default, a ‘matrix of ones’. The aggregated and disaggregated versions of AIE are benchmarked against adaptive-expectations to establish whether the interactive-expectations component of AIE add value to the model. The thesis finds that AIE has more predictive power than REH. ‘Optimal-calibration model-averaging’ improves the predictive performance of the better-fitting versions of AIE, which are those versions that use the ‘input-output table’ and ‘matrix of ones’ link-intensity matrices. The ‘runtime-weighted model-averaging’ improves the predictive performance of only the ‘input-output table’ version of AIE. The interactive component of the AIE model improves the predictive performance of all versions of the AIE over adaptive-expectations. There is an ambiguous effect on prediction performance from introducing the ‘input-output table’. However, there is a clear reduction in the predictive performance from introducing its transpose. AIE can inform the debate on government intervention by providing an Agent-Based Model (ABM) perspective on the conflicting mathematical and narrative views proposed by the Greenwald–Stiglitz Theorem and Austrian school, respectively. Additionally, AIE can provide a complementary role to REH, which is descriptive/predictive and normative, respectively. The AIE network calibration uses an ‘input-output table’ to determine the link-intensity; this method could provide Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) and Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) with a way to improve their transmission mechanism. Furthermore, the AIE network calibration and prediction methodology may help overcome the validation concerns of practitioners when they implement ABM.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed September 20, 2006). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-132).

Thesis (M.Sc.Admin.)--Faculty of Commerce and Administration, Concordia University, 1998. / "December 1998" Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-157). Available also on the Internet.

La implementación de un sistema de costos para empresas industriales de porcelanato en base a la arcilla y esmaltes requiere definir ciertos temas que influyen en la determinación del costo de producción. Así tenemos, que la materia prima, mano de obra y los costos directos e indirectos agregados para la fabricación influye en la determinación del costo a ser aplicados a la producción en el periodo correspondiente. En el presente trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo proponer a la gerencia general el sistema de costos estándar para calcular los elementos del costo con mejor precisión. La metodología consiste en presentar el caso de una empresa industrial – porcelanato dedicado a la producción de porcelana, pisos y revestimientos cerámicos, implementando como el sistema de costos estándar implica en la determinación del costo unitario. Se concluye que el sistema por estándar tiene incidencia en la determinación del costo de producción de una empresa industrial – cerámico. Ya que a la fecha la empresa no cuenta con un apropiado sistema de costos que incide en la determinación y cálculo en los impuestos, en el control y cálculos de los inventarios. Implementation of the United Nations System Cost for Industrial Enterprises in the base porcelain clay and glaze requires defining certain issues that influence the determination of the production cost. Thus, we have the raw material, labor and direct and indirect costs for manufacturing aggregates influences the determination of Being a cost applied to production in the corresponding period. In the present research aims to propose to the general management system standard costs to calculate the cost elements with more precision. The methodology is to present the case of an industrial enterprise - porcelain tile dedicated to the production of porcelain floors and ceramic tiles, implemented as the standard cost system involves determining the unit cost. It is concluded that the system standard has an impact on the determination of cost of production of an industrial company - ceramics. Since the date the company does not have an appropriate cost system that affects the determination and calculation of taxes, control and inventory calculations.

Este estudo teve como objetivo principal verificar se há consonância entre as medidas de mensuração das perdas por lucros cessantes expressas nos acórdãos emitidos pelo Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de São Paulo (TJSP) e aquelas referenciadas na literatura de Contabilidade aplicável ao tema. Além disso, buscou identificar o entendimento recorrente do TJSP a respeito das medidas de mensuração aplicáveis a essas apurações. O estudo trata de maneira específica da interrupção de atividades ou negócios, quando o prejudicado é uma entidade jurídica. Foi analisado o conteúdo de 104 acórdãos emitidos pelo TJSP, no período de junho de 2012 a setembro de 2012. As decisões foram analisadas à luz da técnica de análise de conteúdo e por meio de recursos da estatística descritiva, basicamente frequências relativas e acumuladas. A análise dos dados revelou que: (i) existe relação entre as medidas de mensuração expressas nos acórdãos emitidos pelo TJSP e a literatura aplicável ao tema, e (ii) a extensão dessa relação, no que se refere a concordância com a literatura aplicável, é parcial, correspondendo a 52,2% das locuções identificadas na amostra analisada. Verificou-se, também, que 80,4% das locuções utilizadas pelo TJSP para se referir a medidas de mensuração dos lucros perdidos são representadas por cinco (5) diferentes expressões. Essas expressões não possuem o mesmo significado contábil. Outro aspecto constatado foi o uso do termo \'faturamento\' como referência de medida de lucro aplicável às apurações. Além do fato de que esse termo não é referenciado pela literatura como uma medida válida, identificou-se decisão do STJ que descredencia o seu uso em pleitos de indenização por danos dessa natureza. Observou-se, também, como parte dos outros achados, que os acórdãos do TJSP utilizam expressões que representam diferentes critérios para a mensuração dos lucros perdidos. A principal expressão corresponde ao termo \'razoável\', cuja interpretação para fins de operacionalização da apuração, é subjetiva. A conclusão é de que o uso de uma terminologia contábil que não tenha consonância com a literatura aplicável ao tema pode comprometer a apuração do valor do dano e a eficácia da decisão judicial. Nesse contexto, não há segurança de que o valor apurado atenda ao que era a intenção do relator do acórdão nem de que corresponda ao dano sofrido pelo prejudicado. / This study aims at verifying whether there is consonance between the measures used for the measurement of the damages for lost profits issued by the Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de São Paulo (TJSP) and those referenced in the Accounting literature applicable to the subject. Furthermore, we sought to identify TJSP\'s understanding of the measures applicable to such measurement calculations applicable to these findings. The study treats the interruption of the activities or of the business itself in a very specific manner, when the injured party is a legal entity. The content of 104 judgments issued by TJSP was analyzed from June 2012 to September 2012. The decisions were analyzed in light of the technique for content analysis and by means of descriptive statistics, basically relative and cumulative frequency analyses. Data analysis revealed that: (i) there is a connection between measures informed in the judgments issued by TJSP and the literature applicable to the subject, and (ii) the extent of this connection, regarding the concordance with the applicable literature, is partial, corresponding to 52.2% of the phrases identified in the analyzed sample. It was also found that 80.4% of the phrases used by TJSP to refer to the measures of the lost profits are represented by five (5) different idioms, which in turn, do not have the same meaning in accounting. Another aspect observed was the use of the term \'turnover\' as a reference to measure of profits applicable to the findings. Besides the fact that this term is not referenced in the literature as a valid measure, we identified STJ\'s decision to invalidate its use in claims for such damages. It could also be seen that, as part of other findings, TJSP\'s judgments use idioms that represent different criteria to measure lost profits. The main idiom corresponds to the term \'reasonable\', whose interpretation in order to operationalize the findings is subjective. The conclusion is that the use of accounting terms which do not have consonance with the literature to the subject may compromise the findings of the value of the damage and the effectiveness of the legal decision. In this context, there is not guarantee as to whether the value found faithfully describes the judge\'s intent in the judgment or that it matches the damage suffered by the injured party.

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Elizabeth Yeager / The main objective of this analysis was to examine the profitability and efficiency of Kansas farms in order to draw inferences among the profitability, efficiency, and growth of agricultural producers in Kansas. The time period analyzed was 2005 to 2015. Farms in the sample include a mix of 564 crop and/or livestock operations with 11 years of continuous data through the Kansas Farm Management Association data-bank. Efficiency scores were calculated to determine how close each farm was to the production possibilities frontier, or their cost efficiency. Profitability measures, (operating profit margin and return on assets), were obtained for each farm. The profitability dynamics in 2014 and 2015 for these farms changed compared to previous years. Crop farms generated less profits in 2014 and 2015 compared to previous years, and relative profits from average fluctuated more for sampled farms in 2014 and 2015. Farms were also categorized into risk classes. These classifications aim at distinguishing farms that are profitable or not, and their level of solvency, utilizing their net farm income from operations and their debt to asset ratio. Farms are migrating from the low risk classification, showing that Kansas farms are becoming less profitable, but are not transitioning to a higher risk solvency state. These farms will need to focus on utilizing their inputs more efficiently to keep their solvency levels in check. After analyzing persistence in profitability, the results suggest that farms with higher return on assets tend to be more solvent, but farms with higher operating profit margin tend to be less solvent. The analysis also suggests that there might have been persistence in profits in the years prior to 2015. The analysis of relative positioning of farms in terms of return on assets suggests that during 2007-2011 some farms were able to consistently differentiate themselves by generating either below or above normal profits. Some farms were able to become more profitable in 2012 and 2013, while others lagged behind supported by regression results that signaled divergence of profitability levels. The relative positioning analysis for operating profit margin indicates that farms had similar operating profit margins from 2010 through 2014, and divergence occurred in 2015 by farms that were able to differentiate themselves more through the average operating profit margin. Next the efficiencies of the farms were examined. Analysis of the efficiency scores suggests that the cost efficiencies of Kansas farms are not explained by risk classification significantly, but the crop-labor percentage ratio significantly explains the cost efficiency of the farms. The relationship between cost efficiency and profitability measures proved to be the strongest out of the three performance measures due to their correlation. The final step in the analysis was to examine farm characteristics of the top performing farms. Farms were ranked by profitability measurements and the efficiency measure. Variables of interest that were significantly different between the top 25 percent and the bottom 25 percent of farms include total farm assets, value of farm production, crop-labor percentage, crop acres, number of workers, and age of operators.

M.Comm. (Financial Management) / Although general studies have been conducted on the agency problem, such studies have not focused on the relationship between executive remuneration and company performance. Many of the studies conducted abroad have focused on quantitative methods using regression analysis to understand the relationships between diverse financial performance measures and a variety of performance appraisal techniques. This study aims at establishing the relationship between executive remuneration and company financial performance on the basis of 20 of the largest companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Ltd (JSE). It has been observed that JSE-listed South African companies have almost a standard governance framework for determining salary structures of CEOs and directors. Furthermore it can be seen that most performance-linked payouts for CEO's and directors are based on measurement criteria established which are based on actual performance levels achieved. For this reason, it may be concluded that short-term targets are crucial to keeping a business going, to ensure positive cash flows, manage working capital, and achieve year-on-year growth of revenues and profits. However, to ensure survival and sustainability of the business in the changing global and local environments, long-term strategies should be formulated and various steps should be taken by CEOs, supported by other executive and non-executive directors. This research focuses on short-term goals and their influence on executive remuneration for CEOs and CFOs. The performance measures selected for this study were revenues, profits, share price and net asset value. These performance measures selected are supported by the relevant academic literature. The results of this study reveal that CEOs and CFOs have received lower remuneration in the form of bonuses as a result of companies not achieving their short-term goals.

No description available.

Success in business is for the most part defined in financial terms and, because of this, business operations are almost entirely, if not entirely, directed to this end. The principle behind this rationale has been informed by the thought that the best contribution businesses can make to social justice is to focus on the bottom line. By appealing to enlightened self-interest and the high premium people place on freedom, neoliberal economists like Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek argue that maximising profits is necessarily socially responsible. And, moreover, that not to pursue this end is socially irresponsible. Social responsibility is the ultimate justification that thinkers such as Friedman and Hayek appeal to when claiming that the business of business is to maximise profit. Yet this position is internally inconsistent. The position is ultimately justified by what is socially just but this means that in fact social justice, and not profit-making, ought to be the end of business. I shall argue that taking this commitment seriously involves rejecting the idea that the aim of business is to maximise profits. This is not to say that businesses should not make profits, rather it implies that this feature is not what ultimately makes them successful. The central contribution of this project is to resolve the contradictions embedded in the traditional approach to business by arguing that the primary aim of business is the promotion of social justice. To this end success in business needs to be redefined so that it reflects the achievement of its ultimate ends and not simply its instrumental means (profit) to the realisation of these aims. We ought then to revise our fundamental assumptions about the structures and policies that are necessary for business to achieve its real end of social justice.

The Master´s Thesis deals with analyze of total costs in transportation company JOLLY trans, s.r.o., where these costs are divided into operational and financial. This thesis is preparing data for a pricing of the transportation. Operational costs are divided into salary for driver, fuel and much more, there are a lot of hidden charges, that affect the final price of transportation. Financial costs are one of the highest costs in company accountancy, because this costs include purchase of a truck and semitrailer. This thesis focus on optimization of this financial costs to save the money. Main goal of this Master´s Thesis is to set the minimal price that transportation company is able to offer to the customer to take profits. And then suggest how to cut the costs to realize higher profit.