Background: The hippocampus and corpus callosum have been shown to be vulnerable in head injury. Various neuroimaging modalities and quantitative measurement techniques have been employed to investigate pathological changes in these structures. Cognitive and behavioural deficiencies have also been well documented in head injury. Aims: The aim of this research project was to investigate structural changes in the hippocampus and corpus callosum. Two different quantitative methods were used to measure physical changes and neuropsychological assessment was performed to determine cognitive and behavioural deficit. It was also intended to investigate the relationship between structural change and neuropsychology at 1 and 6 months post injury. Method: Forty-seven patients with head injury (ranging from mild to severe) had undergone a battery of neuropsychological tests and an MRI scan at 1 and 6 months post injury. T1-weighted MRI scans were obtained and analysis of hippocampus and corpus callosum was performed using region-of-interest techniques and voxel-based morphometry which also included comparison to 18 healthy volunteers. The patients completed neuropsychological assessment at 1 and 6 months post injury and data obtained was analysed with respect to each assessment and with structural data to determine cognitive decline and correlation with neuroanatomy. Results: Voxel-based morphometry illustrated reduced whole scan signal differences between patients and controls and changes in patients between 1 and 6 months post injury. Reduced grey matter concentration was also found using voxel-based morphometry and segmented images between patients and controls. A number of neuropsychological aspects were related to injury severity and correlations with neuroanatomy were present. Voxel-based morphometry provided a greater number of associations than region-of-interest analysis. No longitudinal changes were found in the hippocampus or corpus callosum using region-of-interest methodology or voxel-based morphometry. Conclusions: Decreased grey matter concentration identified with voxel-based morphometry illustrated that structural deficit was present in the head injured patients and does not change between 1 and 6 months. Voxel-based morphometry appears more sensitive for detecting structural changes after head injury than region- of-interest methods. Although the majority of patients had suffered mild head injury, cognitive and neurobehavioural deficits were evidenced by a substantial number of patients reporting increased anxiety and depression levels. Also, the findings of relationships between reduced grey matter concentration and cognitive test scores are indicative of the effects of diffuse brain damage in the patient group.

Submitted by PPG Letras (letraspg@pucrs.br) on 2018-04-26T17:05:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Sabrine Cristine Hubner.pdf: 2098756 bytes, checksum: 9b73c0fb004e2143274124c300170dee (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sheila Dias (sheila.dias@pucrs.br) on 2018-05-09T12:48:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Sabrine Cristine Hubner.pdf: 2098756 bytes, checksum: 9b73c0fb004e2143274124c300170dee (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-09T13:29:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Sabrine Cristine Hubner.pdf: 2098756 bytes, checksum: 9b73c0fb004e2143274124c300170dee (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-28 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / Written and oral text comprehension abilities are indispensable for human experiences. Strokes causing left hemisphere (LH) damage may impact comprehension and textual production. However, little is known about this influence at the textual/discursive level, including the comparison between oral and written modalities in this kind of lesion. This research aimed at investigating text comprehension in two modalities of presentation (read and heard) by left brain damaged individuals (LBD) and healthy controls, comparing their performance in the micro- and macro-structural levels of text comprehension to neuropsychological data and to density of the brain areas involved. In order to do that, we performed two researches, Study 1, with 18 LBD and 10 controls, and Study 2, with 10 LBD and 10 controls, with matched age and education. In both studies, neuropsychological tests assessed working memory, verbal fluency and naming abilities. Comprehension of macro- and microstructural levels was verified by means of six short narratives, presented in oral or written modality. The participants were asked to retell the stories and answer to five interpretation questions. In Study 2, the same method was used, but it included structural magnetic resonance imaging indicating the density of brain regions by voxel-based morphometry (VBM). The results of Study 1 indicated significant differences in narrative comprehension between LBD and controls. The lower performance observed at the macrostructural level of LBD compared to the micro- suggest individuals who had a stroke may face difficulties in the application of macrorules of deletion, construction and generalization, which underlie overall comprehension of a text. The data from Study 2, with a lower number of participants, indicated a tendency to confirm results found in Study 1, with statistical significant differences in benefit of controls at the macrostructural level of oral narratives. We found significant differences between groups regarding the modality of text presentation. In both Study 1 and Study 2, differences were observed between the groups in auditory word span and in naming, with an advantage to controls. The morphometry data of brain regions, related to the participants of Study 2, indicated an integration of areas from left and right hemispheres to process text comprehension in oral and written modalities. In the left hemisphere, precuneus, cerebellum white matter, superior frontal region and medial orbitofrontal region and from the right hemisphere, accumbens and superior temporal sulcus were observed. The right superior temporal sulcus, left precuneus, left cerebellar white matter and superior frontal region are positively correlated among the participants, presenting better performance as the density increases. The left medial orbitofrontal region shows a negative correlation with comprehension. The right accumbens seems to compensate LH demands, showing increased density in the LBD and reduced volume in the controls. The present study intends to contribute to deepen our understanding of the comprehension of texts presented in the oral compared to written modality in the LH lesion, related to neuropsychological and brain data. / Compreender um texto, seja ele ouvido ou lido, ? indispens?vel para as experi?ncias humanas. Acidentes vasculares cerebrais (AVCs) ocorridos em especial no hemisf?rio esquerdo (HE) podem impactar na compreens?o e na produ??o textual. No entanto, pouco ainda se sabe sobre essa influ?ncia no n?vel textual/discursivo, incluindo, por exemplo, a compara??o entre a modalidade oral e escrita na compreens?o textual/discursiva nesse tipo de les?o. Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar a compreens?o de narrativas em duas modalidades de apresenta??o (lidas e ouvidas) por indiv?duos com les?o no hemisf?rio esquerdo (LHE) e controles saud?veis, comparando-se seu desempenho nos n?veis micro- e macroestruturais da compreens?o de narrativas a dados neuropsicol?gicos e ? densidade das ?reas cerebrais implicadas. Para tal, realizamos dois estudos, o Estudo 1, com 18 LHE e 10 controles, e o Estudo 2, que contemplou exames de neuroimagem, com 10 LHE e 10 controles (os mesmos do Estudo 1), com idade e escolaridade equiparadas. Em ambos os estudos, testes neuropsicol?gicos avaliaram a mem?ria de trabalho, a flu?ncia verbal e a nomea??o. A compreens?o dos n?veis macro- e microestrutural foi verificada por meio de seis narrativas curtas, divididas na modalidade oral ou escrita. Os participantes realizavam um reconto e respondiam a cinco perguntas de interpreta??o. No Estudo 2 empregou-se o mesmo m?todo, por?m com inclus?o de exame de resson?ncia magn?tica estrutural indicando a densidade das regi?es cerebrais pela morfometria baseada em voxels (VBM). Os resultados do Estudo 1 apontaram diferen?as significativas na compreens?o de narrativas entre LHE e controles. Os preju?zos observados no n?vel macroestrutural dos LHE em detrimento do micro- sugerem falhas na aplica??o das macrorregras de dele??o, constru??o e generaliza??o, subjacentes ? compreens?o global de um texto. Os dados do Estudo 2, com menor n?mero de participantes, indicaram uma tend?ncia a corroborar os resultados encontrados no Estudo 1, observando-se diferen?a significativa em benef?cio dos controles no n?vel macroestrutural das narrativas apresentadas oralmente. Foram encontradas diferen?as entre os grupos quanto ? modalidade de apresenta??o dos textos. Tanto no Estudo 1 quanto no Estudo 2 observou-se diferen?as no span auditivo de palavras e na nomea??o, com vantagem para os controles. Os dados da morfometria das regi?es cerebrais, atinentes aos participantes do segundo estudo, apontam uma integra??o de regi?es do hemisf?rio esquerdo e do direito. Do esquerdo, prec?neus, subst?ncia branca do cerebelo, regi?o frontal superior e regi?o orbitofrontal medial e do direito, accumbens e sulco temporal superior foram observadas. O sulco temporal superior direito, o prec?neus esquerdo, a subst?ncia branca cerebelar esquerda e a regi?o frontal superior correlacionam-se positivamente entre os participantes, apresentando desempenho superior ? medida que a densidade aumenta. A regi?o orbitofrontal medial esquerda apresenta correla??o negativa com a compreens?o. A regi?o do accumbens direito parece compensar as demandas do HE, apresentando sua densidade aumentada nos LHE e reduzida nos controles. O presente estudo pretende contribuir para aprofundarmos nossa compreens?o sobre a compreens?o de narrativas apresentadas na modalidade oral versus escrita na les?o de HE, relacionados a dados neuropsicol?gicos e cerebrais.

Submitted by PPG Letras (letraspg@pucrs.br) on 2018-12-13T10:48:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda_Schneider_VERS?O FINAL 12_12.pdf: 2996710 bytes, checksum: 10f51d3b651bfbe650679cd5e4cd2155 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sheila Dias (sheila.dias@pucrs.br) on 2018-12-17T11:56:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda_Schneider_VERS?O FINAL 12_12.pdf: 2996710 bytes, checksum: 10f51d3b651bfbe650679cd5e4cd2155 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-17T12:08:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda_Schneider_VERS?O FINAL 12_12.pdf: 2996710 bytes, checksum: 10f51d3b651bfbe650679cd5e4cd2155 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-10-31 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / This research aims to analyze the micro and macrostructure in the oral production of three narratives, produced from a sequence of pictures, comparing the performance of participants with right hemisphere damage (RHD) and participants with left hemisphere damage (LHD) with the performance of control groups. Furthermore, the linguistic analysis was related to data of memory constructs (working and semantic), reading and writing habits and brain volumetry. The research is divided into Study 1 and Study 2. For Study 1, 32 adult participants who suffered ischemic stroke were selected (with a minimum of four months before collection) to compose the experimental group ? 16 participants in LHD and 16 participants in RHD aged between 50 to 79, with a minimum of two and maximum of 12 years of schooling; and 16 participants within the health control (CG), paired in age and schooling with the clinics. From these, 10 participants of each group ? capable to perform magnetic resonance imaging exams ? were selected to make part of Study 2, which relates data from neuropsychological and linguistic tasks to data from structural neuroimaging ? known as Voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Inferential analysis in Study 1 showed that post-stroke writing and naming variables influenced significantly the performance in the micro and macrostructure, with the clinical group obtaining a statistically inferior result in the microstructure in relation to the CG. In relation to the macrostructure, there was also a significant correlation in the Digit span (working memory) in the three groups, but without statistical difference between the groups. In Study 2, LHD performance was significantly lower in the microstructure compared to RHD and CG. In the microstructure, in Study 2, the brain regions were grouped into four major components (CP). Thus, in the inferential analysis, all the main components of the brain areas (CP1, CP2, CP3 and CP4) showed a correlation with the microstructure variable, as well as significantly correlated post-stroke writing and naming variables. In the macrostructure, in Study 2, the variables that presented a statistically significant effect were GLH, writing habits after stroke, working memory and interaction between GLH variables and one of the main components of brain area (CP3). The parahippocampal area of the RH showed a correlation with CP3, which implies that this region significantly differentiates LHD from RHD in macrostructure processing. Thus, based on the analyzes and discussions proposed in the study, it was intended to contribute to the understanding of micro and macrostructure characterization in the production of oral narratives in right hemisphere and left hemisphere lesions and their correlation with cognitive constructs, more specifically of working memory and semantics and volume of brain areas involved. The work sought to advance in the discussion surrounding hemispheric specialization for the processing of oral discourse, especially of narratives, for the benefit of future research and clinical intervention. / A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar o processamento da micro e da macroestrutura na produ??o oral de tr?s narrativas, produzidas a partir de sequ?ncia de figuras, comparando o desempenho de participantes com les?o de hemisf?rio esquerdo (LHE) e participantes com les?o de hemisf?rio direito (LHD), com a de controles. Outrossim, a an?lise lingu?stica foi relacionada a dados de construtos de mem?ria (de trabalho e sem?ntica), h?bitos de leitura e escrita e de volumetria cerebral. A pesquisa foi dividida em Estudo 1 e Estudo 2. Para o Estudo 1, foram selecionados 32 participantes adultos que sofreram acidente vascular cerebral (AVC) isqu?mico - 16 participantes no GLHE e 16 participantes no GLHD - entre 50 e 79 anos, com m?nimo de 2 e m?ximo 12 anos de escolaridade; 16 participantes saud?veis controles (GC), pareados por idade e escolaridade com os cl?nicos. Desses, 10 participantes de cada grupo foram selecionados para fazerem parte do Estudo 2, em que se relacionaram os dados das tarefas neuropsicol?gicas e lingu?sticas a dados da neuroimagem estrutural de morfometria baseada em voxel (em ingl?s, Voxel-based morphometry - VBM). A an?lise inferencial mostrou, no Estudo 1, que as vari?veis escrita p?s-AVC e nomea??o influenciaram de modo significativo o desempenho na micro e na macroestrutura com o grupo cl?nico obtendo resultado estatisticamente inferior na microestrutura em rela??o ao GC. Em rela??o ? macroestrutura, houve uma correla??o significativa tamb?m no Digit span (mem?ria de trabalho) nos tr?s grupos, por?m sem diferen?a estat?stica entre os grupos. No Estudo 2, a performance do GLHE foi significativamente inferior na microestrutura em compara??o com GLHD e GC. Na microestrutura do Estudo 2, as regi?es cerebrais foram agrupadas em quatro componentes principais (CP). Assim, na an?lise inferencial, todos os componentes principais das ?reas cerebrais (CP1, CP2, CP3 e CP4) apresentaram correla??o com a vari?vel microestrutura, assim como correlacionaram significativamente as vari?veis escrita p?sAVC e nomea??o. Na macroestrutura, do Estudo 2, as vari?veis que apresentaram efeito estatisticamente significativo foram GLHE, h?bitos de escrita posteriores ao AVC, mem?ria de trabalho e a intera??o entre as vari?veis GLHE e um dos componentes principais de ?rea cerebral (CP3). A ?rea parahipocampal do HD demonstrou correla??o com o CP3, o que implica afirmar que essa regi?o diferencia significativamente o GLHE do GLHD quanto ao processamento da macroestrutura. Assim, a partir das an?lises e discuss?es propostas no estudo, pretendeu-se contribuir para a compreens?o da caracteriza??o da micro e da macroestrutura na produ??o de narrativas orais na les?o de HD e HE e sua correla??o com construtos cognitivos, mais especificamente da mem?ria de trabalho e sem?ntica, e volume de ?reas cerebrais implicadas. Procurou-se avan?ar na discuss?o sobre a especializa??o hemisf?rica para o processamento do discurso oral, em especial de narrativas, para benef?cio de pesquisas futuras e de interven??es cl?nicas.

For management to perform its functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling effectively, a control process has to be in place. This control process should incorporate a target or standard measures and compares performance with the standard, evaluates results and takes any necessary corrective action. Hence, the introduction of the control process, including the measurement and evaluation of performance, has been recognized as a significant progression to ensure organizations achieve their objectives and goals.There are a number of performance measurement tools for management to select but one that stands out as possibly the preferred method is Value-based management (VBM). Value-based management, a relatively new concept, offers management a better way to measure performance in today’s business environment. The application of VBM links business strategy, finance, performance measurement and management processes all together to create value. VBM tells how the value of an organization is maximized, while developing corporate value is the best long-term measure to show how good the present management is doing its job. Therefore, VBM indicates the current situation as well as future prospects of an organization. Further, VBM helps managers and employees to obtain a sharper focus of the corporate vision and objectives based on one leading measurement indicator – that is to enhance corporate value. Unlike many performance measurement tools that may focus on many objectives, which may cause the lack of single focus for accountability for shareholder value, VBM provides a clearer objective focusing on the financial objectives across the organization. More importantly, VBM includes the cost of all capital required, while many performance measurement tools still provide incomplete information about cost.The purpose of this research is to study what organization factors influence the choice of performance measurement tools, such as VBM selected by management. This research also studies the manner in which the selection and the use of VBM might affect the performance of organizations in Thailand. A number of studies were made in the past dealing with the effectiveness of VBM.These studies analyzed how VBM assisted management in their administration and measurement of organizational activities. These researches add significantly to the body of knowledge and advance the concept of VBM. However, most researchers ignored an important aspect and that is, what factors influence the management to select and utilize VBM tools in their organization. This research attempts to address this knowledge gap, and answer the following questions: • What are the organization factors that could influence the selection and the use of VBM tools to measure organization performance? Then importantly,• Do the selection and the use of VBM tools improve organization performance?To examine and to properly evaluate the above questions, this research study identifies four key objectives. First, factors that influence management in selecting value based management tools to measure performance and set standards are to be identified. Second, identify the relationship between organization performance, the use of VBM and certain organization factors such as organization size, market share position and product life cycle stages. Third, study the impact of VBM on organization performance in the Thai environment. Fourth, provide information on how VBM is selected and used in the electrical and electronic industry in Thailand.The following three hypotheses were proposed to study the behaviour of variables:Hypothesis 1: Organization factors are not the determining factors for selecting and using VBM tools for performance measurement.Hypothesis 2: VBM tool selected and used by an organization do not influence its organization performance.Hypothesis 3: The relationship between organization factors and organization performance are not mediated by the VBM tools selected and used by an organization to measure organization performance.To test the hypotheses empirically, a mailed-survey questionnaire was used to collect data. A stratified sampling technique on a population of 462 Head of Finance/Accounting Departments of the Electrical and Electronics Industry of Thailand was employed. The above hypotheses were tested using several analytical techniques including regression model, correlation coefficient and factor analysis.The result of this research indicates that none of the chosen organization factors studied directly influences the selection and the use of VBM tools. In addition, the findings indicated a significant relationship between independent variables, which are organization size and market share position. But these two factors do not establish significantly relationship with the VBM or an organization performance. Further, although the product life cycle stage was not a factor that influenced the selection and the use of VBM tools, it showed a significant negative relationship with organization performance. This was regardless of whether or not the organization selected and used VBM tools. This indicates that the selection and the use of VBM tools are less preferable when the product of an organization is at the early stages such as emerging and growth stages. On the other hand, VBM tools are more preferred by an organization when its product reaches maturity. Finally, these research findings demonstrate that the selection and the use of VBM tools are significantly related to an improvement in organization performance. In other words, the performance of an organization improved with the use of the VBM tool.It is believed that this research is a first attempt to delineate factors that influence management to select and utilize VBM tools in their organizations. One nation, Thailand and one Industry, the electrical and electronic industry were used as the laboratory to test the hypotheses. It is hoped that future research will replicate this study in other industries and countries that would help to confirm the results of this study. Such studies will not only substantiate this research but also offer new insights into understanding the factors influencing the selection and the use of VBM tools. Different organizational factors, different performance measurement tools, and/or different methodologies in conducting the research showed further contribute to knowledge in this area. The research opportunities are considerable, especially in relation to cross-country comparisons based on performance measurements, using VBM tools and it is this type of research that will improve our understanding of the subject and lead to adoption of these measures in organizations.

The cost of mining companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) have not been immune to inflationary pressures. Increasing cost pressures, lower grades, and reduced electricity supply imply that management will have to apply rigorous cost saving measures to mitigate the effect on profits. One such measure is value based management (VBM). VBM is a powerful management framework with the aim to focus all managerial processes on shareholder wealth creation. It therefore encourages all staff levels within the organisation to focus on value creation. Various metrics have been developed to measure the value creation process within the organisation. Discounted cash flow to the present value at the weighted average cost of capital lies at the heart of these metrics. Through the use of value mapping, underlying value drivers are linked to the overall strategy of value creation. While value-based management is used to increase shareholder value, one of the serious drawbacks is the short-term focus on immediate results to the detriment of long-term sustainable competitive advantage. A quantitative study was done on the mining sector to determine if investors can use productivity as a value based management measurement to predict share price movement. The results from this study indicate that productivity measures do not influence share price. Productivity is good for determining shareholder value, but not adequate for determining stock performance. Even though it was found that investors do not rely on productivity measures, companies should still focus on creating value for the shareholders. It is beneficial to investors to understand what value based management is, and to understand management actions in terms of value creation. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The cost of mining companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) have not been immune to inflationary pressures. Increasing cost pressures, lower grades, and reduced electricity supply imply that management will have to apply rigorous cost saving measures to mitigate the effect on profits. One such measure is value based management (VBM). VBM is a powerful management framework with the aim to focus all managerial processes on shareholder wealth creation. It therefore encourages all staff levels within the organisation to focus on value creation. Various metrics have been developed to measure the value creation process within the organisation. Discounted cash flow to the present value at the weighted average cost of capital lies at the heart of these metrics. Through the use of value mapping, underlying value drivers are linked to the overall strategy of value creation. While value-based management is used to increase shareholder value, one of the serious drawbacks is the short-term focus on immediate results to the detriment of long-term sustainable competitive advantage. A quantitative study was done on the mining sector to determine if investors can use productivity as a value based management measurement to predict share price movement. The results from this study indicate that productivity measures do not influence share price. Productivity is good for determining shareholder value, but not adequate for determining stock performance. Even though it was found that investors do not rely on productivity measures, companies should still focus on creating value for the shareholders. It is beneficial to investors to understand what value based management is, and to understand management actions in terms of value creation. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

This dissertation is comprised of four studies investigating the hypothesis that adults and children who stutter differ from their same-age fluent peers in the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology underlying auditory speech processing. It has been consistently reported that adults who stutter demonstrate unique functional neural activation patterns during speech production, including reduced auditory activation, relative to nonstutterers. The extent to which these functional differences are accompanied by abnormal morphology of the brain in stutterers is unclear. The first study in this dissertation examined the neuroanatomical differences in speech-related cortex between adults who do and do not stutter using magnetic resonance imaging and voxel-based morphometry analyses. Adults who stutter were found to have localized grey matter volume increases in auditory and motor speech related cortex. The second study extended this line of research to children who stutter, who were found to have localized grey matter volume decreases in motor speech related cortex. Together, these studies suggest an abnormal trajectory of regional grey matter development in motor speech cortex of people who stutter. The last two studies investigated the mechanism underlying the repeated findings of reduced auditory activation during speech in people who stutter in more detail. Magnetoencephalography was used to investigate the hypothesis that people who stutter have increased speech induced suppression of early evoked auditory responses. Adults and children who stutter demonstrated typical levels of speech induced suppression relative to fluent peers. However, adults and children who stutter showed differences from peers in the timing of cortical auditory responses. Taken together, the studies demonstrate structural and functional abnormalities in brain regions related to auditory processing and point to the possibility that people who stutter have difficulty forming the neural representations of speech sounds necessary for fluent speech production.

For management to perform its functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling effectively, a control process has to be in place. This control process should incorporate a target or standard measures and compares performance with the standard, evaluates results and takes any necessary corrective action. Hence, the introduction of the control process, including the measurement and evaluation of performance, has been recognized as a significant progression to ensure organizations achieve their objectives and goals.There are a number of performance measurement tools for management to select but one that stands out as possibly the preferred method is Value-based management (VBM). Value-based management, a relatively new concept, offers management a better way to measure performance in today’s business environment. The application of VBM links business strategy, finance, performance measurement and management processes all together to create value. VBM tells how the value of an organization is maximized, while developing corporate value is the best long-term measure to show how good the present management is doing its job. Therefore, VBM indicates the current situation as well as future prospects of an organization. Further, VBM helps managers and employees to obtain a sharper focus of the corporate vision and objectives based on one leading measurement indicator – that is to enhance corporate value. Unlike many performance measurement tools that may focus on many objectives, which may cause the lack of single focus for accountability for shareholder value, VBM provides a clearer objective focusing on the financial objectives across the organization. More importantly, VBM includes the cost of all capital required, while many performance measurement tools still provide incomplete information about cost.The purpose of this research is to study what organization factors influence the choice of performance measurement tools, such as VBM selected by management. This research also studies the manner in which the selection and the use of VBM might affect the performance of organizations in Thailand. A number of studies were made in the past dealing with the effectiveness of VBM.These studies analyzed how VBM assisted management in their administration and measurement of organizational activities. These researches add significantly to the body of knowledge and advance the concept of VBM. However, most researchers ignored an important aspect and that is, what factors influence the management to select and utilize VBM tools in their organization. This research attempts to address this knowledge gap, and answer the following questions: • What are the organization factors that could influence the selection and the use of VBM tools to measure organization performance? Then importantly,• Do the selection and the use of VBM tools improve organization performance?To examine and to properly evaluate the above questions, this research study identifies four key objectives. First, factors that influence management in selecting value based management tools to measure performance and set standards are to be identified. Second, identify the relationship between organization performance, the use of VBM and certain organization factors such as organization size, market share position and product life cycle stages. Third, study the impact of VBM on organization performance in the Thai environment. Fourth, provide information on how VBM is selected and used in the electrical and electronic industry in Thailand.The following three hypotheses were proposed to study the behaviour of variables:Hypothesis 1: Organization factors are not the determining factors for selecting and using VBM tools for performance measurement.Hypothesis 2: VBM tool selected and used by an organization do not influence its organization performance.Hypothesis 3: The relationship between organization factors and organization performance are not mediated by the VBM tools selected and used by an organization to measure organization performance.To test the hypotheses empirically, a mailed-survey questionnaire was used to collect data. A stratified sampling technique on a population of 462 Head of Finance/Accounting Departments of the Electrical and Electronics Industry of Thailand was employed. The above hypotheses were tested using several analytical techniques including regression model, correlation coefficient and factor analysis.The result of this research indicates that none of the chosen organization factors studied directly influences the selection and the use of VBM tools. In addition, the findings indicated a significant relationship between independent variables, which are organization size and market share position. But these two factors do not establish significantly relationship with the VBM or an organization performance. Further, although the product life cycle stage was not a factor that influenced the selection and the use of VBM tools, it showed a significant negative relationship with organization performance. This was regardless of whether or not the organization selected and used VBM tools. This indicates that the selection and the use of VBM tools are less preferable when the product of an organization is at the early stages such as emerging and growth stages. On the other hand, VBM tools are more preferred by an organization when its product reaches maturity. Finally, these research findings demonstrate that the selection and the use of VBM tools are significantly related to an improvement in organization performance. In other words, the performance of an organization improved with the use of the VBM tool.It is believed that this research is a first attempt to delineate factors that influence management to select and utilize VBM tools in their organizations. One nation, Thailand and one Industry, the electrical and electronic industry were used as the laboratory to test the hypotheses. It is hoped that future research will replicate this study in other industries and countries that would help to confirm the results of this study. Such studies will not only substantiate this research but also offer new insights into understanding the factors influencing the selection and the use of VBM tools. Different organizational factors, different performance measurement tools, and/or different methodologies in conducting the research showed further contribute to knowledge in this area. The research opportunities are considerable, especially in relation to cross-country comparisons based on performance measurements, using VBM tools and it is this type of research that will improve our understanding of the subject and lead to adoption of these measures in organizations.

For management to perform its functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling effectively, a control process has to be in place. This control process should incorporate a target or standard measures and compares performance with the standard, evaluates results and takes any necessary corrective action. Hence, the introduction of the control process, including the measurement and evaluation of performance, has been recognized as a significant progression to ensure organizations achieve their objectives and goals.There are a number of performance measurement tools for management to select but one that stands out as possibly the preferred method is Value-based management (VBM). Value-based management, a relatively new concept, offers management a better way to measure performance in today’s business environment. The application of VBM links business strategy, finance, performance measurement and management processes all together to create value. VBM tells how the value of an organization is maximized, while developing corporate value is the best long-term measure to show how good the present management is doing its job. Therefore, VBM indicates the current situation as well as future prospects of an organization. Further, VBM helps managers and employees to obtain a sharper focus of the corporate vision and objectives based on one leading measurement indicator – that is to enhance corporate value. Unlike many performance measurement tools that may focus on many objectives, which may cause the lack of single focus for accountability for shareholder value, VBM provides a clearer objective focusing on the financial objectives across the organization. More importantly, VBM includes the cost of all capital required, while many performance measurement tools still provide incomplete information about cost.The purpose of this research is to study what organization factors influence the choice of performance measurement tools, such as VBM selected by management. This research also studies the manner in which the selection and the use of VBM might affect the performance of organizations in Thailand. A number of studies were made in the past dealing with the effectiveness of VBM.These studies analyzed how VBM assisted management in their administration and measurement of organizational activities. These researches add significantly to the body of knowledge and advance the concept of VBM. However, most researchers ignored an important aspect and that is, what factors influence the management to select and utilize VBM tools in their organization. This research attempts to address this knowledge gap, and answer the following questions: • What are the organization factors that could influence the selection and the use of VBM tools to measure organization performance? Then importantly,• Do the selection and the use of VBM tools improve organization performance?To examine and to properly evaluate the above questions, this research study identifies four key objectives. First, factors that influence management in selecting value based management tools to measure performance and set standards are to be identified. Second, identify the relationship between organization performance, the use of VBM and certain organization factors such as organization size, market share position and product life cycle stages. Third, study the impact of VBM on organization performance in the Thai environment. Fourth, provide information on how VBM is selected and used in the electrical and electronic industry in Thailand.The following three hypotheses were proposed to study the behaviour of variables:Hypothesis 1: Organization factors are not the determining factors for selecting and using VBM tools for performance measurement.Hypothesis 2: VBM tool selected and used by an organization do not influence its organization performance.Hypothesis 3: The relationship between organization factors and organization performance are not mediated by the VBM tools selected and used by an organization to measure organization performance.To test the hypotheses empirically, a mailed-survey questionnaire was used to collect data. A stratified sampling technique on a population of 462 Head of Finance/Accounting Departments of the Electrical and Electronics Industry of Thailand was employed. The above hypotheses were tested using several analytical techniques including regression model, correlation coefficient and factor analysis.The result of this research indicates that none of the chosen organization factors studied directly influences the selection and the use of VBM tools. In addition, the findings indicated a significant relationship between independent variables, which are organization size and market share position. But these two factors do not establish significantly relationship with the VBM or an organization performance. Further, although the product life cycle stage was not a factor that influenced the selection and the use of VBM tools, it showed a significant negative relationship with organization performance. This was regardless of whether or not the organization selected and used VBM tools. This indicates that the selection and the use of VBM tools are less preferable when the product of an organization is at the early stages such as emerging and growth stages. On the other hand, VBM tools are more preferred by an organization when its product reaches maturity. Finally, these research findings demonstrate that the selection and the use of VBM tools are significantly related to an improvement in organization performance. In other words, the performance of an organization improved with the use of the VBM tool.It is believed that this research is a first attempt to delineate factors that influence management to select and utilize VBM tools in their organizations. One nation, Thailand and one Industry, the electrical and electronic industry were used as the laboratory to test the hypotheses. It is hoped that future research will replicate this study in other industries and countries that would help to confirm the results of this study. Such studies will not only substantiate this research but also offer new insights into understanding the factors influencing the selection and the use of VBM tools. Different organizational factors, different performance measurement tools, and/or different methodologies in conducting the research showed further contribute to knowledge in this area. The research opportunities are considerable, especially in relation to cross-country comparisons based on performance measurements, using VBM tools and it is this type of research that will improve our understanding of the subject and lead to adoption of these measures in organizations.

O presente trabalho trata da Administração Baseada em Valor (VBM do inglês Value Based Management) , que é uma ferramenta de auxílio à administração de empresas, que busca a identificação de value drivers, que são controles internos a serem monitorados, que devem abranger os principais pontos vistos pelo mercado como criadores de valor, pois o objetivo central da VBM é a majoração de valor para o acionista. A VBM também se utiliza do fluxo de caixa descontado (DCF do inglês Discounted Cash Flow). O objetivo central desta dissertação é fazer uma análise comparativa da estrutura interna de funcionamento e acompanhamento e dos controles de uma organização do segmento de telecomunicações com a filosofia da VBM, identificando o distanciamento de uma para com a outra. A empresa pesquisada é a Dígitro Tecnologia Ltda., de Florianópolis, que não utiliza a VBM. É uma pesquisa quantitativa e foi desenvolvida através do método de estudo de caso. Sua investigação foi dividida em três pontos principais: (1) a identificação, na empresa, da estrutura básica necessária para a implantação da Administração Baseada em Valor, (2) os itens necessários para se montar um DCF e (3) os controles internos possuídos pela organização, que possam servir como value drivers ou suas intenções de implantar controles. O estudo de caso foi único e exploratório, contando com a aplicação de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, observação direta e coleta de documentos. Conclui-se que a organização pesquisada está distante da filosofia da VBM, porém, com intenção de utilizar-se de inúmeros conceitos da Administração Baseada em Valor para auxiliar sua gestão. / The present study is about Value Based Management (VBM), which is a tool to help Business Administration. VBM searches the recognition of the value drivers, which are internai controls to be supervised and must cover the main aspects seen by the market as something to increase the value of a company, that is the main objective of VBM. Thís tool also uses the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF). The main goal of this work is a comparative analysis of the internai functioning and monitoring structure and the internai contrais from a telecommunication company with the VBM philosophy, identifying the extent from one to the other. The organization searched is Dígitro Tecnologia ltda., from Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina, in Brazil, where the VBM is not used. The research is quantitative and was developed by the method of study of case. lts investigation was divided in three main points: (1 ) the identification in the organization of the basic structure needed for the implementing of VBM, (2) the necessary items to build a DCF and (3) the internai controls used by the company, which can be considered value drivers or its intentions to have them. The study of the case is unique and exploratory, it is based on inteNiews, obseNation and documental evidence. The conclusion of this work is that the researched organization is distant from the VBM philosophy, although, it intends to use some of the V alue Based Managament concepts to help its administration.