This thesis consists of four essays on the topic of asset management. The first essay, Performance and Characteristics of Swedish Mutual Funds studies the relation between fund performance and fund attributes in the Swedish market. The results show, among other things, that good performance is to be found among small equity funds, low-fee funds, funds whose trading activity is high, and in some cases, funds with good past performance. The second essay, Does Active Trading Create Value? An Evaluation of Fund Managers' Decisions decomposes fund performance and examines how it is influenced by fund managers' strategic and tactical decisions. The results support the value of active portfolio management in Sweden. The essay also finds a positive relation between performance and fund managers' voluntary trading decisions. In contrast, there is some evidence of inferior trading decisions when fund managers are forced to trade. The third essay, Investment Strategies, Fund Performance, and Portfolio Characteristics analyzes the relation between fund performance and fund managers' investment strategies. The results show that neither momentum characteristics nor the valuation of stocks in the fund portfolio can explain differences in fund performance. The findings also show a positive relation between performance and the degree of diversification of the fund portfolio. The last essay, Costly Information, Diversification, and International Mutual Fund Performance examines how fund managers' costly search for information affects the performance of mutual funds that invest in Asia and Europe. The essay shows that fund managers who select from a smaller set of Asian stocks perform better than those who select from a larger set. Moreover, the performance of large international mutual fund companies is similar to that of their small competitors. This suggests that there are no economies of scale in the costly search for information. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2001

Stereotype threat refers to the pressure that individuals feel when they are at risk of confirming a demeaning stereotype about themselves. Research has found that stereotype threat impairs performance on cognitive-based tasks by inducing mental interference (e.g., Schmader & Johns, 2003). This thesis hypothesised that this finding would generalise to driving and that drivers who are better able to inhibit cognitive interference (i.e., with better inhibitory ability) would be less susceptible to the disruptive effect of stereotype threat than drivers who are less able (i.e., with poorer inhibitory ability). A series of three experiments conducted in a driving simulator tested the predictions using the gender stereotype of driving skills and investigated the interpretation of the results. The experiments revealed that stereotype threat exerted both a facilitative and debilitative influence on driving performance, as indicated by different performance measures. The facilitative effect diminished when drivers experienced increased mental demands or when they were assessed by an unexpected performance measure, while the debilitative effect was more likely observed among drivers who received negative feedback than drivers who received positive feedback. Moreover, the results supported the prediction that inhibitory ability would moderate the detrimental impact of stereotype threat as the performance of drivers with poorer inhibitory ability was impeded more than that of drivers with better inhibitory ability. Regarding the processes underlying the present findings, the experiments provided suggestive evidence that stereotype threat elicits cognitive interference and simultaneously motivates drivers to concentrate on particular performance areas in an attempt to refute the stereotype. In combination, these processes appear to be at least partly responsible for the performance deficits and boosts observed.

Stereotype threat refers to the pressure that individuals feel when they are at risk of confirming a demeaning stereotype about themselves. Research has found that stereotype threat impairs performance on cognitive-based tasks by inducing mental interference (e.g., Schmader & Johns, 2003). This thesis hypothesised that this finding would generalise to driving and that drivers who are better able to inhibit cognitive interference (i.e., with better inhibitory ability) would be less susceptible to the disruptive effect of stereotype threat than drivers who are less able (i.e., with poorer inhibitory ability). A series of three experiments conducted in a driving simulator tested the predictions using the gender stereotype of driving skills and investigated the interpretation of the results. The experiments revealed that stereotype threat exerted both a facilitative and debilitative influence on driving performance, as indicated by different performance measures. The facilitative effect diminished when drivers experienced increased mental demands or when they were assessed by an unexpected performance measure, while the debilitative effect was more likely observed among drivers who received negative feedback than drivers who received positive feedback. Moreover, the results supported the prediction that inhibitory ability would moderate the detrimental impact of stereotype threat as the performance of drivers with poorer inhibitory ability was impeded more than that of drivers with better inhibitory ability. Regarding the processes underlying the present findings, the experiments provided suggestive evidence that stereotype threat elicits cognitive interference and simultaneously motivates drivers to concentrate on particular performance areas in an attempt to refute the stereotype. In combination, these processes appear to be at least partly responsible for the performance deficits and boosts observed.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:52:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CleideMRCCS.pdf: 72529 bytes, checksum: d057e6acc56a0450e2dc594b91c1da82 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-03-28 / This Master of Science Thesis deals with a study on applying the BSC Balanced Scorecard to assess the performance of Federal Centers for Technological Education Institution in Brazil, the CEFET s (Centro Federal de Educa??o Tecnol?gica), government organizations non for profit. It s accomplished a literature review in order to understand the BSC and its application to non for profit organizations and as a main result it is proposed a BSC conceptual model with an inversion of the main BSC perspective from financial to customer/society. Taking the FORPLAN/CONCEFET performance indicators matrix it is developed a set of performance indicators for the two tops perspective in the conceptual model proposed five for customer/society perspective and three for financial/budget perspective. A field survey with ten CEFET s General Directors is conducted to validate the indicators and assess the perception of the Directors on the hierarchy of the conceptual model, and a hierarchy among the indicators as well. The main results suggests that the indicators are validated, that most of the Directors support the hierarchy presented in the conceptual model but 30% of them have a traditional model with financials coming first. In terms of indicator hierarchy, there s a slight priority for the student unitary cost among the financial perspective indicators, and a relative balance among the customer/society perspective indicators / Esta Tese de Mestrado apresenta uma contribui??o ? aplica??o do Balanced Scorecard (BSC) no ?mbito de organiza??es sem fins lucrativos, com estudo em Institui??es Federais de Educa??o Tecnol?gica do Brasil. ? realizado um levantamento dos modelos de aplica??o do BSC na literatura os quais apresenta como principal varia??o o posicionamento e hierarquia das perspectivas financeira e cliente. A revis?o da literatura gera um modelo conceitual com invers?o da perspectiva final de financeira para cliente, para aplica??o ?s organiza??es foco da pesquisa. Partindo dos indicadores existentes no sistema CONCEFET s?o propostos indicadores simplificados para as perspectivas cliente e financeira. ? preparado um question?rio explorando a vis?o dos dirigentes quanto aos indicadores propostos e realizada uma an?lise onde se procura verificar qual a predomin?ncia de enfoque de hierarquia entre as duas perspectivas. Os principais resultados sugerem uma valida??o dos indicadores e uma vis?o n?o convergente quanto a hierarquia das perspectivas. Ainda, a pesquisa sugere haver uma hierarquia dentre os indicadores que poderia ser a base para atribui??o de pesos aos mesmos em uma eventual modelagem de BSC para Institui??es Federais de Educa??o Tecnol?gica

No contexto global, a competição entre as organizações mudou de perfil nos últimos anos. De forma geral, no passado as empresas buscavam melhorar seu desempenho considerando apenas o seu papel e as suas relações com o mercado. Entretanto, a mudança nos parâmetros competitivos passou a demandar uma visão integrada dentro e fora das empresas. As cadeias de suprimentos e as redes produtivas, para tanto, tornaram-se as estruturas de governança mais indicadas para a gestão das relações entre clientes e fornecedores. Entretanto, as considerações acerca do desempenho de uma empresa isolada passaram a não fazer mais sentido, uma vez que a integração entre empresas tem como principal foco a otimização da rede ou cadeia em detrimento do desempenho local. Assim, o desdobramento de um sistema de medição de desempenho que considere de forma acertada os elementos competitivos que devem ser mensurados e que possibilite a sua integração pode contribuir para a gestão dos processos entre empresas. Esta dissertação propõe, a partir da definição de uma empresa focal, uma sistemática para avaliar o desempenho de cadeias de suprimentos fundamentada em indicadores de competitividade empresarial. Apoiando-se no método Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), as diversas métricas são agrupadas em subgrupos e é realizada a hierarquização das mesmas com o objetivo de verificar o seu comportamento integrado. A interação dos subgrupos de indicadores é então realizada através da função preferência, proporcionando uma análise crítica de desempenho sob a ótica agregada e desagregada. A sistemática proposta é aplicada em uma indústria do setor siderúrgico, permitindo a identificação de desajustes e de oportunidades potenciais de melhoria na avaliação de sua cadeia de suprimentos. / Competitiveness profile between organizations has changed over the last years. As a general rule, companies used to improve performance considering only their role and relation with market. However, recent changes due to competitiveness have required an integrated approach within and outside the enterprise. Supply chains and productive networks became suitable governance structures for modern management, especially to deal with relationships between customers and suppliers. However, considerations about performance of a single company turned out to be senseless in that integration between companies started a focused approach to optimize network performance. Thus, the development of a performance measurement system relying on measurable competitive elements and enabling integrated analysis of performance became vital for precise supply-chain management evaluation. This dissertation proposes, from the perspective of a central company, a system to evaluate performance of supply chain based on competitiveness related metrics. Based on Analytical Hierarchy Process, metrics are hierarchically grouped to promote their integration. Next, interaction of groups of metrics is performed, enabling a critical performance analysis. The proposed methodology is illustrated on a case study in the steel industry in order to improve supply-chain management.

Este estudo objetivou analisar como está acontecendo o processo de implantação de um Programa de Gestão por Competências na percepção dos supervisores de Hotelaria Hospitalar no Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. A relevância do estudo está apoiada na importância do tema, no papel social da Instituição e pelas pesquisas sobre gestão por competências na área de hotelaria hospitalar ainda não terem sido plenamente exploradas. O percurso metodológico deste estudo foi desenhado por uma pesquisa qualitativa descritiva por meio de estudo de caso. Para a realização desta pesquisa contou-se com a participação de onze supervisores de hotelaria hospitalar e um profissional da área de Gestão de Pessoas do hospital. A coleta de dados foi realizada através de grupos focais, entrevista semiestruturada e análise documental. A revisão da literatura contemplou o conceito de competências, avaliação de desempenho, gestão de desempenho por competências, levantamento de competências e gestão por competências no serviço público brasileiro. A apresentação dos resultados foi organizada em três categorias principais (conhecimento sobre gestão por competências, implantação do Programa de Gestão por Competências e dificuldades no Programa de Gestão por Competências) e onze subcategorias. Os resultados apontaram que os supervisores possuem um entendimento sobre competências baseado em conhecimentos, habilidades e atitudes e que o processo de gestão por competências envolve acompanhamento e participação das lideranças para que os resultados esperados sejam alcançados. A implantação de um sistema de avaliação de desempenho por competências, na visão dos participantes, era necessária para melhor acompanhar e desenvolver suas equipes e constatou-se que esse processo ainda está em andamento. Foram identificados aspectos relevantes quanto à metodologia empregada para capacitação e sua importância nas demais etapas da implantação. As dificuldades encontradas pelos participantes referem-se ao sistema operacional adotado e ao forte vínculo do resultado da avaliação aos processos de crescimento profissional e remuneração que se relacionam ao desafio de fortalecimento do propósito de desenvolvimento como foco do programa. / This study aimed to analyze how the process of implementation of a Competency Management Program in a public, general and university hospital is taking place from the perspective of hospital hotel services supervisors. The relevance of the study is supported by the importance of the theme, the social role of the Institution and the research on competency management in the hospital hotel services area, which have not yet been fully explored. The methodological course of this study was designed by a descriptive qualitative research through a case study. For the accomplishment of this research was counted on the participation of eleven supervisors of hospital hotel services and a professional of the hospital human resources. Data collection was done through focus groups, semi-structured interview, documentary analysis and participant observation. The review of the literature contemplated the concept of competencies, performance evaluation, competences performance management, competency survey and management by competences in the Brazilian public service. The presentation of the results was organized into three main categories (knowledge on competence management, implementation of the Competence Management Program and difficulties in the Competence Management Program) and eleven subcategories. The results showed that supervisors have an understanding of competencies based on knowledge, skills and attitudes and that the process of management by competences involves the follow-up and participation of the leaderships for the achievement of expected. The implementation of a performance evaluation system by competencies, according to the participants, was necessary to better follow up and develop their teams and it was verified that this process is still in progress. Relevant aspects were identified regarding the methodology used for training and its importance in the other stages of the implementation. The difficulties encountered by the participants refer to the operational system adopted and the strong linkage of the evaluation result to the processes of professional growth and remuneration which relate to the challenge of strengthening the purpose of development as the focus of the program.

Submitted by Tatiana Lima (tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2016-07-07T21:50:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Coelho, Silvana Márcia Pinheiro Santos.pdf: 1289246 bytes, checksum: 417616fb87867f1db1ab0960828497d6 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lima (tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2016-07-08T18:25:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Coelho, Silvana Márcia Pinheiro Santos.pdf: 1289246 bytes, checksum: 417616fb87867f1db1ab0960828497d6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-08T18:25:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Coelho, Silvana Márcia Pinheiro Santos.pdf: 1289246 bytes, checksum: 417616fb87867f1db1ab0960828497d6 (MD5) / Este estudo analisa se os indicadores presentes nos contratos da gestão terceirizada de hospitais públicos realizados na Secretaria de Saúde do Estado da Bahia- SESAB favorecem a avaliação e o controle da gestão terceirizada. Parte-se do pressuposto de que os indicadores presentes ainda são elaborados de forma normativa, reforçando a fragilidade e insuficiência de práticas avaliativas sistemáticas no âmbito da administração pública, decorrente da ausência de uma cultura de avaliação do desempenho dos serviços públicos prestados à população. Para a análise pretendida, foi construída uma matriz analítica, propondo dimensões e critérios baseados na literatura que discute aspectos conceituais sobre a avaliação e a terceirização. Assim, a escolha das dimensões e dos critérios foi pautada nas premissas que justificam a utilização da terceirização da gestão pela administração pública. Esta matriz foi encaminhada a especialistas, utilizando-se de uma adaptação do método Delphi, para a avaliação dos indicadores presentes nos contratos de gestão e para sua validação como ferramenta metodológica para avaliar os indicadores dos contratos de terceirização realizados pelo poder público. Apesar de terem sido encontrados indicadores considerados consistentes para avaliar a gestão terceirizada, os resultados apontam para a falta de padronização na apresentação dos indicadores nos contratos, a dificuldade para compreender o que está sendo descrito como indicador, uma quantidade excessiva de indicadores inconsistentes, além de uma ausência de correlação dos indicadores com os objetivos pretendidos. Assim é possível concluir, que a seleção e formulação de indicadores ainda não vêm sendo precedida de escolhas fundamentais a exemplo do foco, dos agentes, do tipo e natureza da avaliação que deve ser realizada pela administração pública, ao transferir a gestão de hospitais públicos para entes privados, confirmando o pressuposto inicial. / This study examines whether the indicators present in the contracts of outsourced management of public hospitals performed at the Secretaria de Saúde do Estado da Bahia- SESAB (Bahia State Department of Health) favor the evaluation and control of outsourced management. It starts from the assumption that the present indicators are also designed in a normative manner, reinforcing the fragility and lack of systematic evaluation practices within the public administration, due to the absence of a performance evaluation culture of public services to the population. For the analysis, an analytical matrix was built, proposing dimensions and criteria based on literature that discusses conceptual aspects of the assessment and outsourcing. Thus, the choice of dimensions and criteria was based on the assumptions that justify the use of outsourcing management by government. This matrix was referred to specialists, using an adaptation of Delphi method for the evaluation of the indicators present in management contracts and its validation as a methodological tool to assess the indicators of outsourcing contracts signed by the government. Although they were found indicators considered consistent to evaluate the outsourced management, the results point to the lack of standardization in the presentation of indicators in contracts, difficulty understanding what is being described as an indicator, an excessive amount of inconsistent indicators, and a lack of correlation of the indicators with the intended objectives. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that the selection and formulation of indicators have not yet been preceded by fundamental choices such as the focus, the agents, the type and nature of the assessment to be carried out by the public administration, to transfer the management of public hospitals for private entities, confirming the initial assumption

Dans l’environnement financier d’après crise, le business model des hedge funds semble remis en cause. La crise a en effet révélé leur incapacité à générer du rendement absolu puisqu’ils sont corrélés aux marchés financiers. La prétention d’en être décorrélée ne tient pas en effet, au début de l’année 20l0, la performance des hedge funds était parallèle à celle des actions, qui ont enregistré une hausse fin 2009. Aujourd’hui la tendance est d’avantage à la stagnation, à l’instar des hedge funds. Ils ont eu des difficultés à se rétablir et à dégager des profils exceptionnels, indépendamment de la conjoncture financière. C’est pourquoi l’évaluation et l’analyse de la performance représentent des éléments de recherche qu’on examine à travers cette thèse. Ce travail de recherche offre aux investisseurs, aux risk managers, ou encore aux autorités de régulation des marchés, une réponse à plusieurs interrogations, à savoir, l’attribution des performances absolues dans l’industrie hedge funds est-elle « vrai » ou il s ’agit d ’un phénomène de marketing ? Quelle est la relation entre les rendements des hedge funds et l’évolution des marchés financiers ? Comment expliquer la différence des rentabilités des stratégies hedge funds ? / In the post-crisis financial environment, the business model of hedge funds seems challenged. The crisis has revealed their inability to générérer absolute return since they are correlated with financial markets. Pretending to be uncorrelated does not in fact, at the beginning of 2010; the hedge fund performance was parallel to that of actions, which rose late 2009. Today the trend is of benefit to the stagnation, like hedge funds. They had difficulty réatblir and release profiles exceptional indépedemment financial conditions. This is why the evaluation and analysis of the performance represent elements of research that examines through this thesis. This research provides investors, risk managers, or regulators to market a response to several interrogations, namely, the assignment of absolute performance in the hedge fund industry is it "true" or it is a marketing phenomenon? What is the relationship between hedge fund returns and financial markets? How to explain the difference in returns of hedge fund strategies?

Abstract Management control system is meaningful for corporations.  It aims to define overall company-goals and develops strategies that eases the achievement of these goals. The purpose of the strategies is to create desirable performances through guidance of employees. The strategy and performance evaluation are correlated since both creates desirable performances. This is achieved through performance evaluation as it monitors and examines employees’ performances.  Prior research highlights performance evaluation through corporations' perspective, but does not present a connection between performance evaluation and its effects on auditors. Although, it has been established some effects of parts within performance evaluation. Due to that the research has been based on corporations' perspective, it becomes interesting to study the subject through auditors’ perspective. Performance evaluation is used in a wide variety within the large audit firms, thus relevant to study.  The purpose of the thesis is to create a broader understanding of which role performance evaluation has in audit firms. This has been studied through observations of how performance evaluation is executed and which effects it has on auditors. The thesis’s research-strategy is qualitative, though empirical data has been generated through interviews with eleven auditors.  All of the researched audit firms include overall company-goals, individual goalsetting, time budgets, feedback and monetary incentives in the process of execution of performance evaluation. This study presents which effects performance evaluation has on auditors. Positive effects of performance evaluation are increased performances and motivation. This increment is based on increased self-efficacy, clear expectations and guidelines, and active participation during goal-setting and feedback processes. The negative effects of performance evaluation are based on the work procedure that is created by the management tool, in terms of time pressure, stress and pressure regarding acquisition of customers. / Sammanfattning Ekonomistyrning är betydelsefullt för företag, då den syftar till att definiera översiktliga företagsmål samt utveckla strategier som ska underlätta uppfyllelsen av dessa mål. Strategiformulering har som funktion att skapa önskvärda prestationer genom att vägleda anställda. Strategin och prestationsmätningar är korrelerade i den bemärkelsen att de skapar önskvärda prestationer. Detta genomförs utifrån prestationsmätning genom att övervaka och utvärdera anställdas prestationer. Tidigare forskning framhäver prestationsmätning utifrån ett företagsperspektiv men visar inte på en koppling mellan prestationsmätning och dess effekter på revisorer i revisionsbyråer. Dock har det stadgats somliga effekter av delar inom prestationsmätning. Eftersom forskningen har varit utifrån ett företagsperspektiv är det intressant att studera prestationsmätning utifrån revisorers perspektiv. Prestationsmätning används i stor utsträckning inom de större revisionsbyråerna, denna bransch är således relevant att studera.     Syftet med uppsatsen är att skapa en bredare förståelse för vilken roll prestationsmätning har i revisionsbyråer. Detta har studerats genom att undersöka hur prestationsmätningar genomförs samt vilka effekter de har på revisorer. Uppsatsens forskningsstrategi är kvalitativ då empirisk data genererats utifrån intervjuer med elva revisorer. Samtliga undersökta revisionsbyråer inkluderar översiktliga företagsmål, individuell målsättning, tidsbudget, feedback och belöningar i processen för genomförandet av prestationsmätning. Studien visar även vilka effekter prestationsmätning har på revisorer. Positiva effekter av prestationsmätning är ökad prestation och motivation. Detta grundar sig i ökad självkänsla, tydliga förväntningar och riktlinjer samt aktivt deltagande under målsättnings- och feedbacksprocessen. De negativa effekterna av prestationsmätning grundar sig i det arbetssätt som skapas av styrverktyget, detta i form av tidspress, stress samt press gällande förvärv av kunder.

A gestão de empresas públicas e privadas é foco de diversos estudos nos diversos centros acadêmicos. No caso da gestão pública, a lógica do negócio é diferente e necessita de estudos específicos que atendam a suas características peculiares. Mesmo com certas peculiaridades, as empresas públicas também necessitam de uma estratégia bem definida, processos estruturados e indicadores que mostrem aos gestores informações sobre o desempenho da organização. Desenvolvido por Müller (2003), o MEIO (Modelo de Estratégia, Indicadores e Operações) procurou criar e fortalecer a integração entre o Planejamento Estratégico, Avaliação de Desempenho e Gestão por Processos em empresas de natureza privada. Essa integração se mostra importante no que tange alinhar todos os processos da organização à estratégia e também acompanhar a evolução desses processos para o alcance das metas que levarão ao atendimento dos objetivos estratégicos. O objetivo deste trabalho é contribuir com uma discussão sobre a necessidade de gestão integrada em empresas públicas, tendo como base o MEIO, através de uma pesquisa-ação. A análise da aplicação de um modelo similar ao MEIO, mesmo que parcialmente, na empresa objeto de estudo mostra resultados quantitativos e qualitativos, os quais são analisados e discutidos. / Many academic studies focus on the management of private and public companies. However, there are a lot of differences in business logic between the private and public sector. Because business logics of public companies contain many peculiarities, they demand special attention and specific studies. The management process of public organizations needs to present a well defined strategy, structured business processes and performance indicators, providing the managers with the required information about the organization’s performance. The MEIO (Strategy, Measures and Operations Model) model, developed by Müller (2003), aims to create and solidify the integration between Strategic Planning, Performance Measurement Evaluation and Business-Process Management in private companies. This integration is very important, since it aligns the business processes with the organization strategy, and also evaluates the evolution of the processes concerned with the fulfillment of strategic objective goals. This dissertation discusses the necessity of having integrated management in public companies. The discussion is based on the MEIO model, using a research-action method. The study analysis was based on the quantitative and qualitative results of a partial application of a model similar to the MEIO on a public company.