M.A. Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / This research report documents diverse impressions and experiences, of and about the South African music industry in general and Moshito Music Conference and Exhibition in particular. Foregrounding the perspectives of black South African entrepreneurs that operate and own small businesses, the research enunciates how Moshito has come to embody an expression of the transition to democracy. Within a broader political, cultural and industrial context, the report captures anecdotes, observations and interviews with key interviewees and decision makers linked to Moshito, in addition to its dialogue with the interconnectedness of various social theories and concepts, and their relationship with industrial and government policy. Necessarily the research also engages literature concerned with cultural industries, music industry and development discourses.

Os riscos fazem parte do cotidiano das empresas. Eles variam conforme sua natureza, a chance de ocorrer e o impacto que pode ocasionar às organizações. Por diversas razões, as empresas de pequeno e médio portes estão mais suscetíveis à imprevisibilidade e aos efeitos negativos dos riscos. Desse modo, é essencial que criem processos capazes de gerenciar os riscos de modo contínuo e sistêmico. Entretanto, o que se pode constatar é que ainda são raros os casos de empresas desses portes que possuam esses mecanismos de gestão. Essas empresas são fundamentais para o sistema econômico nacional, tanto pela geração de empregos quanto pelo crescimento do PIB e desenvolvimento do país. Na revisão bibliográfica desta pesquisa, o autor busca expor os principais conceitos existentes para o termo \"risco\" que, apesar de ser objeto de estudo há muito tempo, ainda possui definições bastante distintas; busca também apresentar aspectos importantes sobre o Gerenciamento de Riscos Corporativos e detalhar os dois principais modelos usados no mundo: COSO e ISO 31000, além de apresentar um modelo de identificação de riscos que abrange toda cadeia de valor das empresas. Como objetivos, identificar e avaliar quais são os principais riscos envolvidos na gestão de uma pequena empresa nacional do setor de TI, além de propor uma estratégia de tratamento para eles. A metodologia escolhida foi a pesquisa ação, na qual o pesquisador possui uma postura direta e ativa sobre a pesquisa e sobre a problemática. A pesquisa foi realizada sob uma abordagem qualitativa de caráter exploratório. Após identificação, avaliação e proposição de uma estratégia para tratamento dos riscos, conclui-se que é possível a implementação de um processo de Gerenciamento de Riscos Corporativos em uma empresa de pequeno porte e esse processo pode criar condições favoráveis para sobrevivência e crescimento das organizações. Muitos riscos descritos na literatura, que afetam negativamente as pequenas e médias empresas em vários países do globo, foram identificados na empresa analisada, enfatizando a necessidade de gestão dos riscos de um modo sistêmico, abrangente e contínuo. São poucas as pesquisas sobre este tema, na literatura nacional e, portanto, são fundamentais os estudos que possam contribuir para melhor entendimento deste universo. / Risks are part of everyday business. They vary according to their nature, the chance to occur and the impact they can have on organizations. For various reasons, small and medium-sized enterprises are more susceptible to unpredictability and the negative effects of risks. In this way, it is essential that they create processes capable of managing risks in a continuous and systemic way. However, what can be seen is that there are still rare cases of companies of these sizes that have these management mechanisms. These companies are fundamental to the national economic system, both for the generation of jobs and for the GDP growth and development of the country. In the bibliographic review of this research, the author seeks to expose the main concepts existing for the term \"risk\" that, despite being object of study for a long time, still has quite different definitions; he also seeks to present important aspects of Enterprise Risk Management and to detail the two main models used in the world: COSO and ISO 31000, in addition to presenting a model of risk identification that covers the entire value chain of companies. The objectives are to identify and evaluate the main risks involved in the management of a small national IT company, and propose a treatment strategy for them. The methodology chosen was action research, in which the researcher has a direct and active attitude about the research and the problem. The research was carried out under a qualitative approach from an exploratory perspective. After identifying, evaluating and proposing a risk management strategy, it was possible to conclude that it is possible to implement an Enterprise Risk Management process in a small company, and this process can create favorable conditions for the survival and growth of the organization. Many risks described in the literature, which negatively affect small and medium enterprises in several countries of the globe, were identified in the analyzed company, emphasizing the need for risk management in a systemic, comprehensive and continuous way. There are few researches on this topic, in the national literature and, therefore, are fundamental studies that can contribute to a better understanding of this universe.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-05T19:14:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 24 / Nenhuma / Este estudo tem como objetivo investigar as percepções dos empresários sobre as causas que levaram as empresas de pequeno e médio porte, no Município de Novo Hamburgo – RS à falência, no período compreendido entre os anos de 2000 a 2006. A partir da réplica do questionário “Financial conditions among small firms in Iowa e Factors contributing to bankruptcy”, elaborado por Carter e Van Auken (2006), procedeu-se a tradução, a validação e a aplicação do questionário de forma a se comparar os resultados obtidos na realidade brasileira com os resultados obtidos pelos autores americanos. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho analisa as dificuldades financeiras das empresas desse porte, abordando os custos diretos e indiretos de falência, assim como o novo enfoque de reestruturação de empresas, trazido com o advento da Lei nº 11.101/2005, denominada Lei de Falências e de Recuperação de Empresas. Assume especial relevo, no momento, a investigação sob a luz de algumas evidências empíricas sobre falência, insolvência, ca / This research aims to investigate the perceptions of business people about the reasons that led small and medium companies to bankruptcy from 2000 and 2006 in Novo Hamburgo-RS. Using a version of the questionaire “ Financial conditions among small firms in Iowa and factors contributing to bankruptcy”, developed by Carter and Van Auken (2006), the translation , valuation and aplication took place in order to compare the results achieved concerning the Brazilian reality with the ones achieved by the American authors. In this context, this research examines the financial difficulties faced by the companies, analysing the direct and indirect bankruptcy costs as well as the reestructing of the companies that follwed the law nº 11.101/2005, named “Lei de falência e de recuperação de Empresas”. The investigation of some empirical evidence related to the bankarupcy, failure cases and mortality pointed out in several national and international literature, assumes a crucial importance at the momente for the understandi

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2018-04-26T13:33:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrey Schmidt dos Santos_.pdf: 3821784 bytes, checksum: 3ec0002a0c8656aa8110f2ae6166b117 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-26T13:33:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrey Schmidt dos Santos_.pdf: 3821784 bytes, checksum: 3ec0002a0c8656aa8110f2ae6166b117 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-26 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / As micro e pequenas empresas (MPEs) constituem 99% das empresas no Brasil, sendo responsáveis por 70% dos empregos formais e 27% do produto interno bruto. Apesar dessa representatividade, o grau de instrução nas MPEs ainda é baixo. Esse baixo nível de instrução dificulta a tomada de decisão. Uma alternativa para melhorar a tomada de decisão é utilizar a gestão baseada em evidências (EBM). A EBM é uma abordagem que ajuda a encontrar evidências e a avaliá-las criticamente. Uma organização que ajuda as MPEs na busca de evidências e na tomada de decisão é o Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas (SEBRAE). O SEBRAE possui uma central de atendimentos com capacidade limitada de suporte a MPEs. Essa capacidade pode ser aumentada utilizando tecnologias da inteligência artificial (IA). Uma revisão de literatura demonstrou a ausência de referências na utilização da IA para aplicação da EBM em MPEs. Diante desse contexto, a pesquisa responde como seria uma ferramenta computacional para suportar as demandas técnicas no contexto de MPEs. Para responder ao problema de pesquisa, construiu-se uma ferramenta computacional que suporta as demandas técnicas de MPEs a partir da EBM. Para tanto, desenvolveu-se um método de trabalho baseado na Design Science Research (DSR). Com base na DSR, construiu-se um artefato com um módulo de pergunta e resposta e um módulo de aprendizado. Após quatro rodadas de aprendizado, o artefato apresentou uma acurácia de 90,70%. Realizou-se, ainda, um experimento para comparar o desempenho do artefato com a performance da central de atendimento do SEBRAE. Na dimensão qualidade, o artefato apresentou um desempenho, correspondente a 53,59% do atendimento da central do SEBRAE. Na dimensão tempo, o artefato apresentou resultados superiores aos da central de atendimentos. O trabalho contribui para a literatura ao desenvolver um artefato que aplique a EBM. O SEBRAE beneficia-se com uma alternativa que possibilita aumentar a capacidade de atendimento. O artefato pode ser utilizado para complementar e agilizar o atendimento a MPEs. / Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) compose 99% of companies in Brazil, 70% of formal jobs and 27% of gross domestic product. Despite this representativeness, the level of education in SMEs is low. This education level difficult decision-making. One alternative to improve SMEs decision making is evidence-based management (EBM). EBM is an approach that helps to acquire and appraise evidence. One organization that helps SMEs find evidence and make decisions is the Brazilian Small and Medium Enterprises Support Service (SEBRAE). SEBRAE has a SMEs call center with limited service capacity. This capacity can be increased with artificial intelligence technologies (AI). A literature review has demonstrated the lack of literature in the use of IA for the application of EBM in SMEs. In this context, what would be a computational tool to support the technical demands in the context of SMEs? To answer this problem, the research goal was create a computational tool that supports the SMEs technical demands from EBM. To create this tool, a working method based on design science research (DSR) was developed. Using the DSR, an artifact with ask-answer module and learning module was created. After four learning rounds, the artifact presented an accuracy of 90,70%. An experiment was carried out to compare the artifact with the SEBRAE call center. In the quality dimension, the artifact presented a performance similar to 53,59% of the call center. In the time dimension, the artifact presented better results than call center. The work contributes to the literature by developing an artifact that applies EBM. SEBRAE benefited from an alternative to increase its service capacity. The artifact can be used to complement and expedite the SMEs call center service.

The thesis deals with the influence of the global financial and economic crisis on the functioning and management of small and medium enterprises in the Czech Republic. In this work the emphasis is based mainly on support from the state, and the European Union and other bodies involved in this problem. In the practical part of the diploma thesis the analysis is held on small business management - the company Pravé hořické trubičky s.r.o. The main emphasis is given to its functionning in times of crisis, and comparison with the industry. The analysis is performed using basic indicators and tools of financial analysis and benchmarking.

The automation of industrial processes has been one of the greatest innovations in the industrial sector. It allows faster and accurate operations of production processes while producing more outputs than old manual production techniques. In the beverage industry, this innovation was also well embraced, especially to improve its bottling processes. However it has been proven that a continuous optimization of automation techniques using advanced and current trend of automation is the only way industrial companies will survive in a very competitive market. This becomes more challenging for small to medium scale enterprises (SMEs) which are not always keen in adopting new technologies by fear of overspending their little revenues. By doing so, SMEs are exposing themselves to limited growth and vulnerable lifecycle in this fast growing automation world. The main contribution of this study was to develop practical and affordable applications that will optimize the bottling process of a SME beverage plant by combining its existing production resources to basic principles of the current trend of automation, Industry 4.0 (I40). This research enabled the small beverage industry to achieve higher production rate, better delivery time and easy access of plant information through production forecast using linear regression, predictive maintenance using speed vibration sensor and decentralization of production monitoring via cloud applications. The existing plant Siemens S7-1200 programmable logic controller (PLC) and ZENON supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system were used to program the optimized process with very few additional resources. This study also opened doors for automation in SMEs, in general, to use I40 in their production processes with available means and limited cost. / School of Computing / M.Tech (Engineering, Electrical)

This dissertation focuses on the formation, growth and discontinuance of business populations and firms in Sweden during the 20th century. It addresses some key issues in the domain of economic and social sciences, and in particular entrepreneurship and small business research: if and when firms grow, stagnate and decline, as well as how long firms survive and when they are likely to disband. Previous research has primarily analyzed these questions from a short time frame. Further, an individual or firm-oriented focus is commonly assumed. In that, alternative or complementary explanations to the growth and survival of firms may be disregarded. In contrast to much previous research, this dissertation assumes a micro-to-macro, longitudinal and demographic population approach. The period of investigation is over one hundred years. In addressing the growth and survival of firms, it takes into account the impact of firm-specific structural factors (such as firm age and size), generation (cohort) effects, as well as the influence of macroeconomic, exogenous factors. Further, the relationship between managerial/ownership succession and firm performance is also addressed. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal databases are employed in the dissertation. Its main empirical material consists of unique longitudinal data on new business firms, traced at the firm level from their birth to their termination. More specifically, seven birth cohorts – generations – of approximately 2,200 firms founded in 1899, 1909, 1912, 1921, 1930, 1942 and 1950 are included. The main findings show that ownership/management succession in firms had a quite weak correlation with firm performance and survival. At least at an aggregate level, and with some exceptions, it is debatable if the loss and replacement of owner-managers in small and in larger firms have any observable effects on firm performance. Furthermore, macroeconomic phenomena influence the conditions of individual firms as well as populations/aggregates of businesses. Both the growth and termination of firms and firm populations are found to be related to real economic (environmental) conditions; e.g. favorable macroeconomic conditions implied that firms grew in size. At the same time, under certain circumstances, the influence of structural variables (firm age and size) – as suggested in much previous research – is found to be of importance. As concerns firm growth, as well as firm termination, the economic environment and structural factors interact. These findings challenges individual or firm-level research that mainly focus on personal traits and behaviors in explaining firm success and failure. Other previous assumptions are also challenged when taking a longer time perspective into consideration. For decades, organization and business research have acknowledged a liability of newness and of size for business firms. While this might be true under some conditions, this liability of newness is falsified in the study: the termination behavior of some firm generations did not correspond with these assumptions. Thus, the perspectives and methodology applied in the dissertation complement earlier approaches in entrepreneurship and small business research.

「中小企業」一直以來都是我國商業經濟的根基命脈，這些企業大多是以家族企業的形式經營，因此「父傳子、子傳孫」是相當普遍的接班形態。但發展至今，許多企業主開始面臨膝下無子或子女不願接班的窘境，且隨著產業變遷，中小企業在用人與留才上也遭遇到困境。這些因素都使得台灣的中小企業在近年來發生了嚴重的「接班問題」。 「接班人計劃」(Succession Plans)已逐漸成為企業相當重視的人才議題；正如許多企業在面臨領導人驟逝或因故離職時，因為無法迅速推舉出新任的接班人，進而導致組織動盪甚至影響到企業營運。因此，透過制定接班人計劃，預先培養未來所需的領導者，已成為企業間普遍的做法。 考量到中小企業的獨特性，在發展接班人計劃時無法完全因循大型企業的做法。本文旨在透過探究以下三個問題，試圖發掘中小企業在發展接班人計劃時應注意的重要議題： 1.中小企業接班人計劃發展的結構性困難。 2.中小企業接班人計劃所應具備的內容與特質。 3.中小企業接班人計劃得以成功的關鍵因素。 本文將以個案研究的方式，實際建構一套中小企業的接班人計劃，並將研究結果作一整理與綜合性之討論。 / “Small and medium enterprises” have been foundations of economy in our country for a long time. Most of these enterprises are family-owned, so passing on from generation to generation is a usual type of succession. However, there are some entrepreneurs who don’t have any offspring or finding their coming generation have no willingness to take over the business. It’s a troublesome problem that many small and medium enterprises have no idea about how to pass on the business. “Succession Plans”start to be paid attention by many entrepreneurs in recent years. In the past, many dominant enterprises collapsed in a flash just because of failure in succession when last conductor quitted or passed away. Now, it’s very common for enterprises to formulate a proper succession plan in order to incubate some backup talents for future needs. To consider about the uniqueness of small and medium enterprises, it’s hard to follow up the major industries totally. In this paper, we want to investigate the succession question of small and medium enterprises by dealing with three point: 1. What are the structural difficulties about succession plans in small and medium enterprises? 2. What are the contents and characteristics should be possessed by succession plans in small and medium enterprises? 3. What are the key success factors (KSFs) or key performance indicators (KPIs) for succession plans in small and medium enterprises? In this paper, we’ll have a case study research and try to build a succession plan for case company. The final goal is to make this issue prominent and then find the way to resolve the question.

Magistro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjama IRT įtaka smulkaus ir vidutinio verslo įmonių valdymui. IRT skverbimosi į verslą reiškinys darbe vadinamas e. integracija. E. integracija susideda iš dviejų dalių – techninės ir strateginės. Tai procesas, kuris yra nulemtas šiuolaikinių IRT santykio su įmonės valdymo metodais ir verslo idėja. Darbo pirmojoje dalyje aprašomas e. integracijos teorinis modelis, nagrinėjama mokslinė literatūra, analizuojamas teorinis informacinių bei ryšio technologijų ir valdymo metodų santykis. Antroje dalyje gilinamasi į e. integracijos ir verslo santykį per konkrečių veiklų prizmę, analizuojami e. integraciją lemiantys veiksniai. Trečioje dalyje e. integracija analizuojama Lietuvos smulkaus ir vidutinio verslo įmonių (SVVĮ) kontekste. Analizuojami empirinio Lietuvos SVVĮ tyrimo duomenys. Darbo rengimo metu buvo atliktas Lietuvos SVVĮ tyrimas, siekiant išsiaiškinti kokie veiksniai daugiausiai įtakoja įmonių techninį ir strateginį e. integracijos lygį. Apklausos duomenų statistinės tyrimo analizės rezultatai leido daryti išvadą, kad įmonių techninei e. integracijai įtakos turi įmonės tipas, o pastarajam įtakos turi strateginė e. integracija. Duomenų analizė taip pat parodė, kad strateginė e. integracija turi daugiau įtakos techninei e. integracijai nei atvirkščiai. / This master’s paper presents a research on information and communication systems (ICS) influence of management of small and medium business enterprises (SME). An ICS penetration to business management phenomenon in this paper named as electronic integration (e. integration). E. integration consists of two major segments – technical and strategic. E. integration could be understood as a process, determined by the relationship of ICS and methods of business management. Lithuanian SME was examined in order to find witch factors has mainly influence for technical and strategic e. integration. Data of survey analysis shoved that: technical e. integration is affected by type of enterprise; type of enterprise is affected by strategic e. integration; strategic e. integration is affecting technical e. integration much stronger than technical e. integration is affecting strategic e. integration.

Le présent mémoire analyse le phénomène des prises de contrôle inversée (PCI). Cette technique permet à une société privée de se faire acquérir par une société publique coté en Bourse. Elle obtient de cette dernière, en contrepartie, un nombre si important de ses actions qu'à la suite de la transaction, la société privée contrôle la société publique qui vient légalement de l'acheter. D'où la prise de contrôle dite inversée. Le but de l'opération consiste pour la société privée à devenir publique rapidement, et ce, à coûts moindres, comparativement à un appel public traditionnel. La société privée profite ainsi de son nouveau statut pour se financer par un appel public à l'épargne publique par le biais de la Bourse. La piètre réputation associée à ce genre de transactions est due à la cupidité de quelques entrepreneurs peu scrupuleux qui ont comme objectif d'empocher un profit rapide au détriment du public investisseur. Avec comme résultat que ce type de transaction suscite, à juste titre, la méfiance des autorités réglementaires. Le dilemme peut donc être posé en ces termes: compte tenu de l'importance économique des PME en termes de création de richesse au pays, doit-on restreindre l'usage de la PCI au nom du principe de la protection des épargnants? En somme, la liberté commerciale doit-elle céder le pas à des craintes de nature réglementaire? Nous concluons que malgré ces craintes très réelles, la PCI, majoritairement utilisée par la PME, doit être maintenue et qu'en termes de politique réglementaire, les autorités devraient favoriser l'emploi par ces jeunes sociétés du programme de financement « Société de Capital de Démarrage» (SCD) mis en place par la Bourse de Croissance rsx. Malgré ses défauts évidents, ce programme doit être amélioré afin de promouvoir une PCI plus efficace, et ce, à l'intérieur du programme Sco. À cet égard, la SCD pourrait bénéficier de la crédibilité ainsi que de l'expertise indéniable de la Bourse de Croissance en matière de financement de jeunes entreprises. Idéalement, la SCD serait améliorée au point où elle rendrait la PCI, hors ce programme, inutile. En ce sens, la liberté commerciale de faire des PCI serait préservée, tout en assurant la protection du public investisseur. / This thesis endeavours to analyse the phenomenon of the reverse takeover (RTO). This technique allows a private company to be acquired by a public entity whose stock is listed on an exchange. The former obtains from the latter such an important part of its stock that following the completion of the transaction, the private company controls the public company which has just acquired it. The takeover is therefore deemed reversed. The purpose of the transaction from the private entity perspective is to gain the status and privilege associated with being a publicly listed company faster and at a fraction of the cost that would otherwise be the case with a traditional public offering. Thereafter the private company uses its newly acquired public status to tap the capital markets via the stock exchange. The poor reputation generally associated with this kind of transaction is in a large measure due to the greed of a few scam artists whose main motive is a quick profit at the expense of the investing public. The result of this situation is that the RTO is viewed with considerable scepticism by the regulatory authorities. The dilemma may therefore be set in the following terms: taking into consideration the economic importance of the small and medium business (SME) as a creator of wealth in the economy, should the competent authorities limit the use of the RTO in the name of investor protection. In other words, should the commercial freedom to use the RTO in order to finance SME take a back seat to regulatory concerns. We conclude that although the serious concerns levelled by the regulators are very real, the RTO which is used primarily by SME should be maintained. It is further argued that regulatory authorities should promote as a matter of policy the RTO sponsored by the Capital Pool Company (CPC) program provided for by TSX Venture. We find that this program should be upgraded to allow for a more efficient RTO under the rules of the CPC. In this regard, the program would gain from the credibility and the undeniable expertise of the TSX Venture in the realm of financing young and emerging companies. Therefore, ideally, this program would be improved to the point where it would render the RTO pursued out of the program useless. If this were the case, we conclude that commercial freedom would be preserved, while concurrently maintaining protection for investors and upholding the integrity of capital markets. / "Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de LLM en droit"