Thesis (Master of Construction in Construction Management)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / This study sought to determine the prevalence of non-value adding activities (NVAAs) associated with construction site management in Nigerian, utilising Lagos State as the case study. To pursue the study, the following objectives were formulated: (1) to identify the sources of NVAAs during construction projects; (2) to determine the causes of the occurrence of NVAAs; (3) to ascertain the effects of occurrence of NVAAs on management of personnel on construction sites; and (4) to develop techniques to mitigate the effect of NVAAs on construction projects. Relevant literature related to the matter under investigation was extensively reviewed. An exploratory study on non-value adding activities was conducted; the findings of which determined the focus of the study. This was achieved through a qualitative method where open-ended interviews were administered to purposively selected construction professionals including construction managers, site engineers, consulting engineers, and site managers who were based in Lagos. Additionally, observations of construction activities on site also provided the basis for the primary data collection to gain an in-depth understanding of the factors contributing to the occurrence of NVAAs on site. Three construction firms partook in the survey, and a total of eight construction professionals were interviewed. It was uncovered that improper planning of construction site activities – for example material management, site layout, and the competency of site personnel – came about to non-value adding activities, thereby confirming the situation of poor site execution within the construction industry. This exploration was limited to certain building construction locations in Lagos State, Nigeria. Accentuation was put on the evaluation of non-value adding activity (i.e. waste) related with site management in the construction industry amid the undertaking execution stage. The research was done to assist in creating a proper contribution to the perception of NVAA management measures by way of the application of significant principles that have been deserted, and also to fashion responsiveness for construction company workforces to determine factors that contribute to NVAAs with the goal that the level of waste can be decreased while simultaneously increasing productivity during construction. Suggestions regarding the reduction of NVAAs include the following: (1) Early identification of the root causes of NVAAs would certainly provide a useful information for project stakeholders to design a suitable containment strategy to minimise / prevent the occurrences of waste; (2) Conducting workshops for project team members on a regular basis concerning lean design management principle will also assist in reducing the incidence of NVAAs on site;

Ao longo da última década, tem aumentado o reconhecimento de medidas de gerenciamento de valor. Dentre essas, uma que tem recebido grande atenção tanto no meio acadêmico quanto nas empresas em geral é o valor econômico agregado (EVA®). Muito se tem discutido sobre essa medida, sendo que seus defensores afirmam que ela é uma melhor medida de desempenho do que as medidas contábeis tradicionais. Nessa perspectiva, uma série de pesquisas tem sido realizada, verificando a relação entre o EVA® e o retorno de ações, onde os resultados alternam-se entre uma relação superior dessa medida e o retorno de ações em comparação com as medidas contábeis tradicionais e uma fraca relação ou a ausência de relação entre essas variáveis. Em diferente abordagem, Machuga, Pfeiffer Jr. e Verma (2002) realizaram um estudo no mercado norte americano para verificar a capacidade do EVA® na predição de lucros futuros. Replicando a metodologia desse estudo, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo verificar empiricamente se o EVA® fornece informação incremental para predição de lucros futuros das empresas de capital aberto do Brasil. Na metodologia, foram aplicados modelos de regressão linear múltipla no período de 1998 a 2006 para testar a proposição de que o EVA® fornece informação incrementalmente útil para predizer lucros de um ano adiante das empresas de capital aberto do Brasil. Foram aplicadas regressões anuais (crosssection) e verificou-se a significância estatística dos coeficientes médios. Com os resultados obtidos, não se pode comprovar a utilidade incremental do EVA® na predição de lucros futuros. Na seqüência, realizou-se um teste do valor incremental da inclusão da informação EVA® no modelo de predição, sendo que foram aplicadas novas regressões sem as variáveis EVA® e apurados os novos coeficientes médios; em seguida, foram efetuadas duas previsões de lucros, uma utilizando os valores médios com e outra sem o EVA® . Por meio da comparação desses valores previstos com os reais dos lucros e apurando suas respectivas diferenças, obteve-se os erros médios de previsão. Foi observado que os erros médios de previsão apresentaram-se elevados em função da alta dispersão das variáveis da pesquisa, também foi encontrado que os erros médios de previsão foram menores quando houve a inclusão da informação do EVA® , indicando a utilidade incremental dessa medida na predição de lucros futuros, entretanto esses resultados devem ser interpretados como indicativos e não como conclusivos, já que os coeficientes das variáveis, em sua maioria, não se demonstraram estatisticamente significantes. / There has been increased recognition over the last decade of the measures of management of value. Among these, one that has received the great attention either on the academic field or in the companies in general is the Economic Value Added (EVA®). A lot has been argued about this measure, its defenders affirm that it is one measure of performance better than the traditional accounting measures. In these perspective, a lot of researches have been done, verifying the relation between the EVA® and the stock returns, where the results change between one relation superior of these measures and the stock returns in comparison with the usual accounting measures and a weak relationship or absence of relation between these variables. In a different approach, Machuga, Pfeiffer Jr. and Verma (2002) realize a study on the North America market to verify the ability of EVA® in the prediction of future earnings. Applying the methodology of this study, this research had as goal to verify empirically if the EVA® supplies incremental information to predict future earnings of the Brazilian public companies. After, in the methodology, some multiple linear regression models were applied on the period of 1998 to 2006 to test the proposition that EVA® supplies information incrementally useful to predict one-year-ahead earnings of the Brazilian public companies. The annual cross-section regressions were applied and verified the statistic significance of the average coefficients. With the gotten results, one cannot confirm the incremental utility of EVA® in the future earnings prediction. In the sequence, a test of the incremental value of the inclusion of the information EVA® on the model of prediction was realized, it being that news regressions were applied without the variables EVA® and gotten the new average coefficients, after that, two predictions of earnings was effected, one using the mean values with and the other without the EVA® information. By the comparison of the predicted values with the actual earnings and checking its respective differences, one got the average forecast errors. It was observed that the average forecast errors had been presented high in function of the high dispersion of the variables of the research. It was founded too that the average forecast errors were lower when was included the information of EVA®, indicating the incremental utility of this measure on the prediction of future earnings, however, these results must be interpreted as indicative and not as conclusive, since the coefficients of the variables, in its majority, did not show statistically significant.

Integrating distance research with the behavioral strategy literature on MNC headquarters-subsidiary relations, this paper explores how the distance between headquarters and subsidiaries relates to value added by the headquarters. We show for 124 manufacturing subsidiaries in Europe that, on average, distance is unrelated to value added by headquarters but that this effect is contingent upon the extent to which the subsidiary is locally embedded. Only after a certain threshold level of subsidiary embeddedness, distance is negatively related to headquarters value added. This effect is more pronounced for cultural, economic, and administrative distances than for pure geographic distance, highlighting the critical role of contextual variation for MNCs.

En el Perú, el sistema financiero es fundamental para fomentar el desarrollo económico, por lo que la adopción de las buenas prácticas de gobierno corporativo tiene un impacto positivo, permitiendo la estabilidad del sistema, generando nuevas inversiones y el desarrollo del mercado de capitales. La presente investigación, tiene como principal objetivo analizar si existe una relación entre la adopción de las prácticas de buen gobierno corporativo y el grado de solvencia económica que mantienen los Bancos del Sistema Financiero Peruano. La investigación busca obtener evidencia con relación causal entre variables y su efecto. Además, fue necesario realizar una investigación de tipo cuantitativa, utilizando el scoring establecido por el índice de buen gobierno corporativo, y la medición de solvencia económica. Se analizaron diversos modelos de medición de solvencia y valor económico como; el Modelo Z de Altman, el Valor Económico Agregado y la Q de Tobin, determinándose como indicador el modelo Z de Altman lo que permite ser una herramienta útil en la evaluación de la viabilidad de las empresas. Además de ser considerado por expertos como un modelo de calificación para mercados emergentes como el Perú. La investigación comprende desde el año 2012 al 2018 y se analizaron a 15 Instituciones Financieras. Finalmente, los resultados hallados permiten asociar el buen uso de prácticas del gobierno corporativo con un impacto positivo para el fortalecimiento de la solvencia económica en el Sector Financiero del Perú. / In Peru, the financial system is essential to promote economic development, so the adoption of good corporate governance practices has a positive impact, allowing the stability of the system, generating new investments and the development of the capital market. The main objective of this research is to analyze whether there is a relationship between the adoption of good corporate governance practices and the degree of economic solvency maintained by the Banks of the Peruvian Financial System. The research seeks to obtain evidence with a causal relationship between variables and their effect. In addition, a quantitative investigation was necessary using the scoring established by the good corporate governance Index, and the measurement of economic solvency. Various solvency and economic value measurement models were analyzed, such as the Altman Z Model, the Added Economic Value and the Tobin Q. The Altman Z model was the indicator chosen, which allows it to be a useful tool in the evaluation of the viability of the companies. In addition, many experts consider it as a rating model for emerging markets such as Peru. The research includes the periods from 2012 to 2018 and 15 Financial Institutions were analyzed. Finally, the results found allow us to associate the good use of corporate governance Practices with a positive impact for the strengthening of economic solvency in the Financial Sector of Peru. / Trabajo de investigación

Economic and climate changes, combined with changing government regulations, are altering the strategic business model for small farm operators and necessitating their reliance on multiple income sources to maintain financial viability. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies of 3 small farming businesses in California's San Joaquin Valley that successfully implemented value-added products which contributed to their financial sustainability. Data from semistructured interviews and relevant documents were analyzed through the lens of system theory, utilizing in vivo coding to identify patterns and themes. Three high-level themes emerged: knowledge, marketing, and networking. The theme of knowledge reflects the value of pre-existing and new knowledge. The theme of marketing reflects 3 key areas including differentiation of value-added products, customer experience, and the value of word of mouth and social media marketing. The networking theme reflects the value of professional and community networking and connecting with family and friends. The findings of this case study may have implications for positive social and economic change. Farmers who sustain their operations and remain financially viable contribute to the local economy, provide continuing knowledge of agricultural practices to future generations, and contribute to the stability of available food. Providing information on successful value-added strategies used by a group of small farm operators may assist other owners of small farms looking to add value-added products and increase farm income. Doing so could lead to increased employment and a stronger local tax base.

Efforts are being made to replace petroleum-derived fuels with biofuels in a cost competitive manner. It is apparent that the continued use of petroleum is futile as population and technological growth put increasing pressure on the demand for cheap energy and chemicals. Diminishing resources, civil unrest in the Middle East, and the impact of using petrochemicals on the environment are critical driving forces for research in generating renewable petroleum replacements that can be produced with a limited carbon-footprint. Today, biofuels are derived mostly from land-based plants, but their potential for displacing petroleum is limited due to the competition with available farmland used in food production as well as their relatively slow growth rates. Microorganisms as single-cell factories for the production of biofuels have a promising outlook since they do not compete with the food and feed supply and they lack the necessity of arable land used in cultivation. Viable biofuel production hinges upon obtaining sufficient biofuel yields, lowering the costs of processing, production of value-added products, and real-life evaluation of the produced fuels. Herein, the current understanding of microbial biochemistry as well as new findings in the role of ATP citrate lyase in lipid accumulation in oleaginous yeasts will be discussed. Also, description of a novel two-step process that generates biodiesel blends from oleaginous microbes will be given. To facilitate the viability of microbial biofuel production, concomitant production of heterologous lactoferrin using Kluyveromyces lactis will be described. Lastly, the real-life evaluation of these microbial biofuels in a diesel engine is reported. The focus of this dissertation will be directed towards addressing the issues related to microbial biofuel production in order to facilitate the viability of biofuel production such that petroleum use can be displaced by more renewable and clean methodologies.

The presented diploma thesis deals with VAT rules applied to supply of services as settled by the VAT directive. The main aim of the work is to analyze the application of the VAT law by Czech Republic, France and Slovakia. The work also describes how the selected countries have made use of derogations and compulsory provisions. The taxation of services is described according to national legislation in force on 31/07/2019.

US economic recession from 2007- 2009, also known as the Great Recession, negatively impacted the financial sector as well as other aspects of society. Researchers have found value-based measures and accounting measures as effective performance measures, but they have found inconclusive results when comparing the strengths of economic value added (EVA) and accounting measures in predicting stock performance. This study used data from the Great Recession to further compare EVA and accounting measures. The purpose of this cross-sectional or correlational study was to determine the relative predictive strength of EVA during the Great Recession to determine whether a model with EVA added to accounting measures did a better job predicting stock returns. Secondary were data collected from a sample of 93 Fortune 500 Companies from 2007-2009 and then analyzed via multivariate regression analysis. The null hypothesis was not rejected. The result showed that EVA was not a useful addition to accounting variables in predicting stock returns during the Great Recession. Although the findings did not support EVA as a better predictor of stock returns during the Great Recession, the study revealed useful information about value-based measures and value-creation, especially how they are impacted by the period of a severe economic downturn. Researchers have indicated that creating value for shareholders enables the funding of positive-net-present-value projects that would result in positive social change. This study revealed that firms are unlikely to create shareholder value through returns on investment for a positive social change in unfavorable economic conditions.

Zugl.: Hannover, Universiẗat, Diss., 2007.

<p>The market of today consist of products/services who resemble each other, the differences are small. Their for it’s necessary for the companies to provide added values to the product so it will stand out from the rest of the products and lead to purchase. A well used strategy in the fashion industry is marketing with celebrities, this is considered successful because it brings attention and strengthening to the brand. Because of this, the strategy also branch out to other industries, but the question is if it’s as successful there? There’s also a serious down-side with the strategy and that is that there’s a great risk with using celebrities. These could, of different reasons, be dangerous for the companies and cause large amount of costs. This is something that the companies must respect.</p><p>This thesis aims to describe and compare why companies use celebrities in their commercials to strengthening their brand. It will also examine the procedure of the companies choice of celebrity and contingent risks that may emerge of the strategy. The writers have chosen a corporate management perspective and their for the customer perspective will not be brought up.</p><p>The study has been realized with a qualitative study, totaly eight marketing managers at different companies, within different industries where interviewed. With a helping hand from the theories, the authors have succeeded to answer the study’s question. The main theory were brand identity.</p><p>After that the empirical data has been analyzed with help from the theories, the authors have reached following conclusions. The ultimate reason why companies co-operate with celebrities are to create attention and to increase the knowledge of the brand. The celebrity can be useful by many different reasons, no matter what goals or effects the companies want to achieve, the strategy is considered successful. Companies first choice of celebrity is someone who can represent the identity that the company wants to be associated with, for example different values. In general, companies don’t reflect much about the risks that may appear.</p> / <p>Dagens marknad består till stor del av produkter/tjänster som liknar varandra, skillnaderna är ofta små. Därför krävs det att företagen tillför ett mervärde till produkten som gör att den sticker ut från mängden, vilket i sin tur ska leda till köp. En välanvänd strategi inom klädbranschen är marknadsföring med kändisar, denna anses vara framgångsrik eftersom den ger stor uppmärksamhet och stärker varumärket. Av denna anledning har även strategin spritt sig till andra branscher, men frågan är om den är lika lyckosam även där? Det finns dock en allvarlig baksida med strategin och det är att det finns stora risker med att använda sig av kändisar. Dessa kan av olika anledningar vara till skada för företaget och orsaka stora kostnader. Detta är något företagen måste ha i beaktning.</p><p>Syftet är att beskriva och jämföra varför företag använder sig av kända personer för att stärka sitt varumärke. Dessutom kommer det att undersökas hur företag går tillväga i sitt val av kändis samt vilka eventuella risker som kan uppstå med denna marknadsföringsstrategi. Författarna har valt att utgå från ett ledningsperspektiv och därför kommer inte kundperspektivet att belysas.</p><p>Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ ansats, totalt intervjuades åtta stycken marknadschefer på olika företag inom olika branscher. Med hjälp av teorier inom området så har författarna lyckats besvara forskningsfrågan. Huvudteorin var brand identity.</p><p>Efter att den empiriska data analyserats med hjälp av teorierna så har författarna kommit fram till följande slutsatser. Den främsta anledningen till att företag använder sig av kändisar är för att skapa uppmärksamhet och öka kännedomen om varumärket. Kändisen kan användas i marknadsföring av många olika anledningar, oavsett vilka mål företaget har och vilka effekter man vill uppnå, strategin anses vara lyckosam oavsett mål. Företag väljer i första hand en kändis som kan representera det som företaget vill förknippas med, till exempel olika värden eller ledord. Generellt sett så tar företag lätt på de risker som kan uppstå när de använder sig av en kändis i sin reklam.</p>