Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 142 p. : ill. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-131).

The aim of this dissertation is to study the conditions of and changes in sociative democracy processes at club level. One sports club is studied, Örebro Sportklubb (ÖSK), from its foundation in 1908 up to 1989. The main sources are club minutes, member magazines and annual reports. Democracy, and its twofolded relation to sport and economy processes, is the main problem area of the study. The specific question is how aspirations for economic effectiveness and sporting success influenced the democracy processes in ÖSK between 1908 and 1989. The Swedish sports movement has been described as a democratic movement. But the same movement has also been portrayed as an undemocratic movement made of men, for men. The study is based on a broad understanding of the democracy concept where issues of representativeness, influence, participation and knowledge are prominent. At a club level, the study is analysing the contents of the Swedish sports movement's democracy and its change during the 1900s. The thesis also illustrates how the pursuit of economic efficiency affected the associative democracy. These efficiencies were visible already in the 1920s, but was deepened during the 1970s. In short, the democratic range decreased, and successful sections became less and less motivated to finance the deficits of other sections. But the increased market orientation did not only represent a threat to the associative democracy. Marketisation and commercialization also preconditioned the democracy. At the club arena (Eyravallen), the members met in the clubhouse and café which, in turn, deepened the social capital and friendships within the club.

The topic of my thesis is bookkeeping of the contribution-based organisation Administration of National Park Šumava in an accounting programme. Accounting represents a system of information including operation of business entity in financial statements, i.e. in monetary units. Accounting should provide an accurate and thorough image of the economical aspect of the business entity, i.e. its real property and financial situation.

The thesis is focused on the specifics of the management of non-profit organizations, development opportunities and the analysis of acquisition of financial resources in the non-profit sector, specifically within unincorporated associations. The practical part of the thesis is based on the model of the unincorporated association that is active in social services and whose main activity is the provision of personal assistance services. The thesis is concluded by the discussion of the analyzed problems and contains a project proposal of the development of the association which consists of the sub-project components that focus on individual areas of management and on the analyzed problems.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed by Congress in 2010 as a health policy initiative to improve the effectiveness of the United States healthcare system. Policies and regulations under the ACA include provisions to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of medical services which has resulted in a transition of payment systems from fee-for-service (FFS) reimbursement models to value-based reimbursement (VBR) models. Policies under the ACA also encouraged the formation of affordable care organizations (ACOs) which endorse new models of healthcare delivery, specifically team-based care models, to increase the efficiency, quality and accessibility of medical care while at the same time controlling costs. Although physician assistants (PAs) have been a proposed method for addressing the growing demand for high quality, cost-effective healthcare, research that explores the economic value and financial impact of physician assistants is limited. Currently, productivity metrics are used to determine the economic value of physicians and PAs. Current methods of measuring productivity include volume-based metrics and claim based data. Although these methods may be sufficient for measuring physician productivity, they fail to account for PA practices. Current productivity metrics also fail to account for a vast majority of PA productivity due to current billing policies that do not capture all services provided by PAs. In this study, we will explore the financial impact associated with the addition of PAs to ten different physician-owned family medicine practices by measuring the percent increase in net annual practice revenue one year after the employment of a PA. Net practice revenue is defined as the total revenue generated per provider per year minus overhead costs associated with provider employment.

Sýkorová K., Service-Profit Chain in the Hotel Industry. Thesis. Brno: Mendel University in Brno, 2015. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the theory of a Service-Profit Chain in the hotel industry. The thesis is divided into two sections -- theoretical and practical. The theoretical part describes each of the particular links of the chain such as employee satisfaction, motivation, place of work, work performance, engagement and so on. Another important link of the chain involves guests, their satisfaction, and loyalty. As the research includes a questionnaire survey, the theoretical section describes both how to create a questionnaire and also how to evaluate it. The practical section of this thesis demonstrates the questionnaires, process of interviewing and evaluation of data. This area of the thesis also presents an interpretation of results and further recommendations.

Decades after the idea of not-for-profit marketing was first introduced the uptake has not been universal. This study investigates the application of commercial marketing principles in a sector where objectives other than profit are pursued. In particular, it seeks to establish the effectiveness of not-for-profit marketing in encouraging the public to “pay” the required “price”; to investigate the influence of charity brands on stakeholder choices; the influence of a charity’s reputation on donor behaviour; and whether smaller charities are aware of and use their brands. A questionnaire tested donor perceptions and through a focus group insight was gained into the marketing practices of smaller charities. The results indicate that not-for-profit marketing is effective and that smaller organisations can compete through less expensive marketing techniques, that charity brands are extremely valuable but underutilised, and that an organisation’s reputation is its most valuable asset. Recommendations are made to improve the performance of smaller charities by addressing marketing and wider management practices.

O objetivo geral desta dissertação é compreender como as variações da Taxa de Lucro dos EUA foram determinadas entre 1963 e 2008. Por isso faz-se necessário identificar as variáveis que afetam a Taxa de Lucro, buscar dados de variáveis proxy e especificar e estimar modelos econométricos. Por constatar-se causalidade mútua entre a Taxa de Lucro e as variáveis que a afetam, optou-se por estimar modelos VEC, os quais permitiram analisar os coeficientes de curto e longo prazo, o tempo necessário para ajuste completo das variáveis e as funções impulso-resposta para compreender as relações da Taxa de Lucro com as variáveis que a afetam. Os resultados do modelo VEC são novos em relação a Basu (2010), Shaikh (1991, 2010), Cockshott, Cottrell e Taraddinov (2009), e Duménil e Lévy (1993, 2002). / The overall objective of this dissertation is to understand the determinants of variations in the U.S. economy Rate of Profit between 1963 and 2008. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the variables that affect the rate of profit, select appropriate proxies, and specify and estimate suitable econometric models. Due to mutual causality between the profit rate and the variables that affect it, VEC models were estimated. This allowed analyzing the short and long term coefficients, the time required for full adjustment of the variables, and functions impulse-response in order to understand the relationships involving the Profit Rate and the variables that influence it. With basis on VEC models, some conclusions were inferred about the variations in the rate of profit, and these results were compared with known authors. In general, the results of VEC are new compared to Basu (2010), Shaikh (1991, 2010), Cockshott, Cottrell and Taraddinov (2009), and Duménil and Lévy (1993, 2002).

Using a combination of interviews of social entrepreneurs and secondary research, this paper investigates the strategies that social entrepreneurs use to overcome tension and conflict between the two distinct goals of financial sustainability and mission fulfillment. The results suggest that although some social entrepreneurs can simultaneously achieve revenue generation and mission fulfillment, thus almost entirely eliminating any tension or misalignment, it is the creative responses of social entrepreneurs who have achieved one of these objectives and are attempting to achieve the other that prove the unique value of the practice. Additionally, the results gesture towards the conclusion that different kinds of profit-purpose tension are differentially challenging to overcome. Ultimately, this paper suggests that it is only by interrogating the past experiences of social entrepreneurs that answers to the most difficult questions in the field can be obtained.

O objetivo geral desta dissertação é compreender como as variações da Taxa de Lucro dos EUA foram determinadas entre 1963 e 2008. Por isso faz-se necessário identificar as variáveis que afetam a Taxa de Lucro, buscar dados de variáveis proxy e especificar e estimar modelos econométricos. Por constatar-se causalidade mútua entre a Taxa de Lucro e as variáveis que a afetam, optou-se por estimar modelos VEC, os quais permitiram analisar os coeficientes de curto e longo prazo, o tempo necessário para ajuste completo das variáveis e as funções impulso-resposta para compreender as relações da Taxa de Lucro com as variáveis que a afetam. Os resultados do modelo VEC são novos em relação a Basu (2010), Shaikh (1991, 2010), Cockshott, Cottrell e Taraddinov (2009), e Duménil e Lévy (1993, 2002). / The overall objective of this dissertation is to understand the determinants of variations in the U.S. economy Rate of Profit between 1963 and 2008. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the variables that affect the rate of profit, select appropriate proxies, and specify and estimate suitable econometric models. Due to mutual causality between the profit rate and the variables that affect it, VEC models were estimated. This allowed analyzing the short and long term coefficients, the time required for full adjustment of the variables, and functions impulse-response in order to understand the relationships involving the Profit Rate and the variables that influence it. With basis on VEC models, some conclusions were inferred about the variations in the rate of profit, and these results were compared with known authors. In general, the results of VEC are new compared to Basu (2010), Shaikh (1991, 2010), Cockshott, Cottrell and Taraddinov (2009), and Duménil and Lévy (1993, 2002).