This research is an in-depth study concerning the practice of Risk and Opportunity (R&O) assessment during the early phases of major project alliances in Australia. The particular focus is on how R&Os are assessed and how the profile of R&Os are set up and transferred during tender phases (from pre-tender, tender development, through to tender negotiation and construction start-up). The motivation for this research was that project risk assessments are reported to be inadequately assessed and ineffectively managed throughout the project life cycle in spite of the existence of well developed theories and procedures. However, little is known factually about how effectively R&Os are actually assessed in practice during the early project phases, the factors that influence the risk assessment performance and the nature of the issues causing the deficiency of the tender risk assessment system. Although much has been written on the theoretical development of risk assessment systems, tools and techniques, very few studies have been conducted to discover empirically how both risks and opportunities are actually assessed during the tender phase in construction practice. These problems suggest that there is a need for in-depth studies of the practice of R&O management, in order to better understand the fundamental nature of the issues that might be causing the reported ineffectiveness of current risk management practice as a basis for improvements. The researcher was immersed in the actual projects at critical stages in order to gain fine-grained access to investigate the issues ‘in situ.’ Four major construction project alliances were selected for in-depth investigation, from amongst twenty large mining and construction projects considered in the course of this research. The research methodology used centred on participant observations and document analysis supported by interviews, discussions and mini-surveys to triangulate the findings. Data were gathered and analysed on how information and rapport associated knowledge of R&Os were captured, converted and transferred during tender phases, from pre-tender, tender development, commercial negotiation up to construction start-up. Risk assessment systems, tools and techniques used during the tender phase in the projects studied were first examined and analysed. This revealed the R&O assessment profile transfer process plus its variatious patterns, the associated practical problems and gaps in both theoretical models as well as practical implementation. The process and analysis were then interpreted and modelled using the four modes of the SECI (Socialisation-Externalisation-Combination-Internalisation) model developed in Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). This provided a better understanding about the fundamental nature of the issues that might be causing the reported inadequacies of current practice. Implications of this knowledge conversion perspective for the adoption of risk assessment tools and techniques were identified. The major findings of this research are: (1) The R&O assessment profile transfer across the tender phases described as an information transfer model, reveals that while considerable effort goes into formal R&O documentation during the tender phase, there are a number of “breakdowns” in the assessment process. The two most critical issues are the disconnections between the quantitative assessment process and qualitative process, and a discontinuous process during hand-over from the tender phase to construction start-up phase; (2) These breakdowns can be explained when the R&O assessment process is modelled as a knowledge conversion and transfer process rather than an information transfer process described in finding 1. The analysis reveals subsequent knowledge losses during the process and knowledge gaps between theory and practice. People, process and technology factors influencing tender risk assessment are also discussed; (3) Viewing R&O assessment as a knowledge conversion process points to the need for the adoption of tools that can enhance the effectiveness of risk assessment through a knowledge elicitation, capture, communication and consolidation process; (4) The study proposes the SECI model as a suitable framework to better understand the nature of reported problems and reveals possible explanations for the deficiencies in the R&O assessment systems observed in practice. These major thesis findings provide an alternative way of looking at risk assessment, shifting risk assessment from an information-based process to a knowledge conversion-based approach for a more sustainable and effective R&O assessment system. Using the SECI model to describe risk and opportunity assessment processes as a knowledge conversion process has major implications for education and training in the practice of R&O assessment. R&O assessment becomes a learning process rather than a mere information passing process. Knowledge is revealed and captured and becomes internalised as an integral part of R&O assessment. This helps to explain why attempts to capture “lessons learned” as a separate of conventional R&O procedures frequently fail. Alliances and similar modes of project delivery that involve the collaboration of many stakeholders are likely to be used increasingly in construction, and it is essential we understand the ways in which information and knowledge of risks and opportunities are managed, especially in the early phases of major projects. Thus the new insights provided by these findings have significant implications for the formation and operation of risk and opportunity procedures in alliances and major projects more generally. Project alliance is recommended as a good procurement strategy that can enhance the effective transfer and use of knowledge about project uncertainties, thus assisting project organizations in achieving an effective risk management performance. Future research is needed to further explore the relationship between the characteristics of project alliances and the effectiveness of risk management over the whole project life cycle, with the support of the analysis framework from knowledge conversion process proposed in this thesis. Building on these findings, future research work is needed to understand how to effectively enhance the conversion of tacit knowledge about uncertainty into explicit knowledge. This will aid the development of a practical risk management framework across the whole project life cycle together with supporting risk assessment tools that utilize a knowledge-centered approach. The findings also point to the need for more research on the risk attitudes and related people factors, in the conduct of risk and opportunity assessments across the project life cycle.

The presented thesis addresses selected questions within the topic of public tender competitions, with focus on defining the term "public tender" and defining different types of public tenders. The thesis attempts to explain current legal environment of public tenders with regard to the amendment which has entered into force on September 15, 2010, and which has altered certain establishments of the Public Tenders Act. Alternations occurred also in the establishments focused on in this thesis; and because there has been no statutory interpretation or judicature yet, this thesis attempts to shed light on the implications of the amendment on the selected establishments. Definition of the term "public tender" is crucial from the viewpoint of full compliance of the Public Tenders Act; therefore, definition of the term along with its proprieties is one of the core topics of this thesis. Connected to this topic is also the question of proper definition of the term contracting authority, and assortment of subjects into correct contracting authority categories. This assessment is deemed fundamental for public tender competition. The thesis attempts to analyze situations where contracting authority specification is ambiguous. The case of ČEPRO, a.s., was chosen as a practical example to demonstrate such...

The purpose of writing this thesis is to analyse the most important aspects of concluding a contract resulting from public tender. The thesis is composed of three main chapters. The first chapter deals with the definitions of basic terminology in the field of public tender, the purpose of the public procurement procedure and legislation related to the concluding a contract resulting from public tender. The second chapter concerns with the most important and the most interesting aspects of the final phase of public procurement procedure. I point out that the bidder is bound by its offer and that he has the obligation to cooperate when entering into the contract within specified period of time. In this part of the thesis I also describe the procedure of concluding small-scale public contracts and the procedure of concluding a contract resulting from public tender based on framework agreement. I also examine the publication of contracts in relation to the proposal of Register of Contracts Act. The third and final chapter is focused on the possibility of changing the contract resulting from public tender. In this context, I mention the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, especially key decision Pressetext. On the basis of this decision new provision related to the prohibition of...

The ignition temperature of the aluminium copper oxide (Al-CuO) thermite was measured using differential thermal analysis (DTA) at a scan rate of 50 °C/min in an inert nitrogen atmosphere. Thermite reactions are difficult to start as they require very high temperatures for ignition, e.g. for the Al-CuO thermite comprising micron particles it is ca. 940 °C. It was found that the ignition temperature is significantly reduced when the binary Si-Bi2O3 system is used as sensitiser. Further improvement is achieved when nano-sized particles are used. For the composition CuO + Al + Bi2O3 + Si (65.5:14.5:16:4 wt %), when all components except the aluminium fuel are nano-sized, the observed ignition temperature is reduced to ca. 615 °C and results in a thermal runaway. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted

This thesis presents an empirical investigation of the role of competition in determining (1) bidder firm behaviour in, and (2) the resulting valuation effects of, corporate takeovers. The study is based on the most comprehensive sample currently available of interfirm tender offers for publicly traded U. S. target firms during the period 1971-1990. Corporate takeover contests differ in complex ways with respect to the asymmetric information and bargaining environment, distributions of bidder reservation values and target share ownership, and information acquisition costs. There is substantial theoretical work examining the strategic role of the choice of payment method, bidder elimination and target management resistance, and of particular interest in this thesis, pre-bid acquisition of target shares ("toehold") and its impact on the subsequent tender offer price. Despite a voluminous empirical literature on corporate acquisitions, systematic evidence on the extent and role of bidder toeholds on bidding strategies is sparse. While the toehold has been shown to be prevalent in takeover contests, the extant empirical literature contains few results pointing to the strategic role suggested by theory. The lack of statistical significance may reflect a combination of small samples, weak experimental design, and biases in estimation. This thesis remedies the small sample problem by examining more than 1350 takeover contests in the U. S. from 1971 to 1990. The experimental design is improved by including a larger set of sample controls, and addressing the bias issue by estimating a set of equations which simultaneously determines the toehold and the takeover premium. The wealth effects of takeover contests are estimated as a function of toeholds, the number of bids/bidders, the outcome of the bid, and the target management response. Other empirical issues, including the effect of toeholds on the probability of target management resistance and emergence of a second bid in the contest, are also examined. Finally, a new econometric technique is developed for simultaneously estimating event probabilities and conditional expected event returns in order to determine whether entering the takeover auction, and responding to rival bids for the target shares, on average enhances the wealth of the initial bidders' shareholders. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

The subject of the diploma thesis "Offer of the building company in a public tender" is to find out, how construction companies provide public contracts, how the public contracts process works in different companies, how individual companies create tender documentation in a public tender, and subsequently describe the creation of tender documentation to public competitions.

This diploma thesis discusses the methodology for selecting an information system to a smaller company. In the theoretical part of the work are described currently used information systems. Then it is analyzed the current situation in the selected company. Based on the analysis are shown necessary steps to tender for the supplier system. In conclusion it is suggested the methodology for evaluating bids, the financial evaluation and the expected benefits of successful implementation of the information system.

No description available.

This work is in the spirit of the literature on the understanding and analysis of the different forces that shape the takeover process. We focus on the strategic interaction among the raiders and we study their decision to enter the bidding for a target form in a context of asymmetric information. Each raider incurs a fixed takeover sunk. cost when she decides to enter the bidding. Therefore she wants to avoid bidding for the firm and losing the bid to a raider with a higher valuation. We analyze the Bayesian-Nash equilibrium in one-period, two-period and infinite period models where each raider decides whether and in which period to enter. This decision depends on the takeover cost, the target's reservation price and the distribution function of the raiders' valuations. We also consider the case where one of the raiders is a large shareholder and the role of management in maximizing the shareholders' interests. We find that raiders delay entry into the bidding when the takeover cost or the reservation price for the firm increase. Such an increase also implies a decrease in the probability of a takeover. If one of the raiders is a large shareholder, he will enter the bidding faster the bigger is the percentage of shares he owns in the target. The existence of a large shareholder will, however, discourage other raiders from entering. The shareholders of the target firm might benefit from an increase in the target's reservation price but they never profit from an increase in the takeover cost. We conclude with an empirical section that indirectly tests some of our model's implications. The results of our empirical work indicate that raiders enter the bidding faster when the management's reaction to the bid proves to be friendly. The premiums offered by the raiders and the size of the target test insignificant in determining the pre-bidding period. Finally we find that the existence of a large shareholder discourages other raiders from entry. However, the large shareholder has on average a longer pre-bidding waiting period than a raider with no ownership in the firm. / Ph. D.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universiẗat Hamburg, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 585-679).