This graduation thesis ,,Tendencies of development in regional news service of ČTK" deals with regional news service of ČTK during 2005 - 2009 period and tries to describe its form and latest trends of development. It also features a field trip to one of regional redaction in Plzeň. The results of research quantify data picked from infobank of ČTK, they are compared with findings from field, with theoretical knowledges and also with statements of ČTK in its annual reports. Trends of ČTK general and business regional news service are compared with trends of ČTK domestic and business news service. This thesis is theoretically based on routines of journalist organization, role of regional journalist and standing of press agency in medial system.

The thesis, The Access of Economic Analysts to the Czech News Agency (CTK) and daily Press, researches the paths that analysts who provide economic news commentary utilize to access the CTK news and daily press. The thesis focuses on the impact on editors' daily routines of utilizing such sources. Further, the thesis focuses on the hierarchy of analysts' access to the news and delineates the relationship between the journalist and his sources. In the theoretical portion of the thesis, the author defines basic approaches to the study of news coverage, information sources in media contents, and organizational routines. The author presents Leon V. Sigal's three basic types of communication channels and draws on Paul Manning's source theory. In the ensuing chapters, the author discusses the rules of source selection and the relationship shifts between journalists and their sources. Further, he elucidates Jürgen Hagerman's concept of "public sphere," Antonio Gramsci's Theory of the Hegemonic Media, and Noam Chomsky's and Edward S. Herman's propaganda model. The research portion of the thesis is based on the author's in-depth interviews with eight economic analysts. Based on his research data, he explores in detail the relationship between the news agency journalist and his source. In conclusion, the author...

This thesis deals with legal relations existing between real estate agencies and its clients. Main objective of thesis lies on analyzing of possible legal risks based on using agent services of real estate agencies. Such risks are not only described but thesis tries to find out its sources and practical impacts. Author works with large amount of particular examples of agreement which are actually used in practise.

The thesis "The Influence of the ČTK News Agency Content on Sports Sections of Daily MF Dnes and Právo" describes the influence of the Czech news agency ČTK on the sports section of two selected national newspapers - MF Dnes and Právo. The main objective of the research and a conducted two-week content analysis was to determine how individual editors work with the agency service. Another aim was to determine whether ČTK is still the main source of information for them, and whether there was something that had fundamentally changed its position. The thesis also examines the format of the messages produced by ČTK that appear in the newspapers most frequently. It also includes a questionnaire survey for editors of both media and basic analysis of photo journalism, which is an integral part of the sports sections. To complement the wider context of the theoretical part, the author describes the current battle of printed and electronic media, sport and commercialization processes of internetisation and digitization, which largely influenced the work of intelligence agencies.

Studiens syfte: Denna studie har som syfte att undersöka hur svenska venture capital aktörer minimerar asymmetrisk information i samarbetsprocessen med entreprenören. Metod: Studien är av fallstudiedesign med kvalitativ ansats där semistrukturerade intervjuer samt enkät med slutna frågor har använts för att samla in data. Empiri: Det empiriska materialet visar hur tre svenska venture capital aktörer noggrant och effektivt väljer investeringsobjekt och sedan arbetar aktivt för att dessa bolag ska bli så bra som möjligt. Slutsats: Studien visar att svenska venture capital aktörer använder sig av en kombination av olika verktyg och att bygga förtroende mellan de olika parterna för att minimera risken med asymmetrisk information. / Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine how the Swedish venture capital operators minimize the asymmetric information that may occur during an investment process. Method: This study has a case study design using a qualitative approach in which semi- structured interviews and a questionnaire with closed-end questions were used to collect data. Research: The empirical data shows how Swedish Venture Capital operators accurately and efficiently selects investment targets and then actively work for the companies they invest in. Conclusion: The main result of this investigation is that Swedish venture capital operators use a combination of different tools and trust to minimize the risk of asymmetric information.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / Este trabalho investigou, numa amostra de 656 observaÃÃes, correspondente a 207 companhias abertas no Brasil, a relaÃÃo entre fontes de dÃvida e conflitos de agÃncia, no perÃodo de 2009 a 2013. A emissÃo de dÃvida tende a sinalizar informaÃÃes positivas sobre a empresa, tendendo reduzir a probabilidade de conflitos de agÃncia. Gestores, portanto, captariam recursos com base na percepÃÃo do mercado e investidores, por sua vez, usariam as fontes de dÃvida na composiÃÃo de suas expectativas. Indagou-se se hà sinalizaÃÃo para os gestores das reaÃÃes de acionistas minoritÃrios em suas decisÃes de investimento, no sentido de orientar sua escolha de dÃvida. Concomitantemente, verificou-se o efeito da escolha da dÃvida em relaÃÃo à atenuaÃÃo de custos de agÃncia potenciais e, consequentemente, de reduÃÃo de tais conflitos. Foram consideradas fontes de dÃvida bancÃria privada, bancÃria governamental e de colocaÃÃo pÃblica. A percepÃÃo de conflitos de agÃncia foi verificada atravÃs do valor de mercado das firmas, da liquidez na negociaÃÃo de suas aÃÃes e do nÃvel de assimetria informacional; proxies de risco e de investimento minoritÃrio, portanto, da probabilidade de conflitos de agÃncia. A literatura propugna que os bancos teriam vantagens sobre a dÃvida de colocaÃÃo pÃblica no monitoramento das firmas; investidores pegariam carona dessas vantagens como forma de minimizar o risco de seus investimentos. A relaÃÃo entre as variÃveis representativas das fontes de dÃvida e da percepÃÃo de conflitos foi testada por meio de anÃlise de regressÃo com dados em painel. Nesta anÃlise, diferentes argumentos levam a crer que a percepÃÃo de conflitos pode influenciar as polÃticas de financiamento; isto pode ser questionado na medida em que o investidor minoritÃrio pode ter utilizado a existÃncia de determinada fonte como determinante da sua decisÃo de investimento. Uma fonte comum de problemas de endogeneidade à a provÃvel determinaÃÃo simultÃnea das variÃveis que torna enviesados e inconsistentes os estimadores. Para tanto, foi utilizada abordagem por MQ3E que leva em conta as variÃveis endÃgenas. As evidÃncias mostram que os gestores tomam suas decisÃes de financiamento com base na percepÃÃo do mercado, uma vez que o valor de mercado e a liquidez das aÃÃes foram significantes sobre suas decisÃes. Por outro lado, investidores minoritÃrios utilizam-se das fontes de dÃvida na composiÃÃo de suas expectativas em relaÃÃo à firma. No entanto, no cenÃrio brasileiro, nÃo se constata preferÃncia explÃcita por dÃvida bancÃria ou emissÃo pÃblica de dÃvida, no sentido preconizado pela literatura. O sentido das relaÃÃes evidenciadas conduz à interpretaÃÃo de que a percepÃÃo do mercado nÃo à relevante na captaÃÃo por dÃvida bancÃria governamental, enquanto apresenta sentido positivo para as fontes bancÃria privada e de colocaÃÃo pÃblica, indicando que gestores optam por ambas as fontes frente à reaÃÃo positiva do mercado. Na ocorrÃncia de reaÃÃes negativas, nÃo se justificaria utilizar fontes de dÃvidas na perspectiva de sinalizar decisÃes voltadas a garantir direitos de minoritÃrios. Os achados corroboram ainda que o ambiente brasileiro, com forte atuaÃÃo de bancos governamentais, pode ter inibido funÃÃo de sinalizaÃÃo da fonte bancÃria, bem como o desenvolvimento da emissÃo e colocaÃÃo pÃblica de tÃtulos corporativos. / This work investigated in a sample of 656 observations, corresponding to 207 public companies in Brazil, the relationship between debt and agency conflicts, from 2009 to 2013. Issuance of debt tends to signal positive information about the company, tending to reduce the probability of agency conflicts. Managers therefore borrow funds based on the perception of the market and investors, in turn, would use the debt sources in the composition of your expectations. Asked whether there are signs for the managers of minority shareholders reactions in their investment decisions, to guide your debt choice. There was the effect of the debt choice with regard to mitigating potential agency costs and hence reduce such conflicts. Sources of private bank debt, government banking and public placement were considered. The perception of agency conflicts was checked by the market value of firms, the liquidity in the trading of its shares and the level of information asymmetry, proxies of risk and minority investment and therefore of agency conflicts. The literature argues that the banks would have advantages over the debt of public placement; investors would take ride these advantages in order to minimize the risk of their investments. The relationship between the variables representing sources of debt and the perception of conflict was tested by regression analysis with panel data. In this analysis, different arguments suggest that the perception of conflict can influence the funding policies; this may be questioned to the extent that the minority investor may have used the existence of the source as decisive investment decision. A common source of endogeneity is the simultaneous determination of the variables that makes biased and inconsistent estimators. Therefore, it was used by MQ3E approach that considers the endogenous variables. Evidence shows that managers make their funding decisions based on the perception of the market, since the market value and the liquidity of the shares were significant on their decisions. On the other hand, minority investors are used for debt sources in the composition of their expectations for the firm. However, the Brazilian environment, are not found explicit preference for bank debt or public debt issuance, as advocated in the literature. The meaning of the demonstrated relationship leads to the interpretation that the market perception is not relevant in the capture by government bank debt, while presenting positive direction for private and public placement bank sources, indicating that managers opt for both front sources the positive reaction market. When the reactions are negative, there is no justification to use sources of debt in view of signaling decisions aimed at ensuring minority rights. The results corroborate although the Brazilian environment, with strong performance of government banks, may have inhibited the banking source signaling function, and the development of the issue and public placement of corporate bonds.

In der hier vorliegenden Dissertation wurden anhand einer empirischen Fallstudie die Entscheidungs- und Aushandlungsprozesse zwischen Auftraggeber und Auftragnehmer in IT-Projekten analysiert und auf diesem Wege die Handlungszwänge des Projektmanagements beleuchtet. Damit sollte ein Beitrag zum näheren Verständnis der Eigendynamik von IT-Projekten und zur Wirkungsweise der gängigen Ansätze von Projektmanagement und QM geleistet werden. In dieser Arbeit wurden IT-Projekte und die Empfehlungen zum Projektmanagement aus politik- und organisationstheoretischer Perspektive beleuchtet, um Effekte begrenzter Rationalität, opportunistischen Verhalten und Inkrementalismus mit berücksichtigen zu können. Theoretische Ausgangspunkte für die Untersuchung sind auf der einen Seite die mikropolitischen Ansätze und auf der anderen Seite die Agenturtheorie. Gemeinsam ist diesen Ansätzen, die Auffassung, wonach das Handeln der Akteure in ergebnisoffenen, interdependenten Handlungskonstellationen stattfindet, in denen die Auswirkungen von Entscheidungen wenig bekannt sind und die benötigten Informationen den Akteuren in unterschiedlichem Maße zur Verfügung stehen. Bezüglich der Empfehlungen des Projektmanagements wurde auf Normen und Richtlinien sowie die Einführungs- und Praxisliteratur zum Projekt- und Qualitätsmanagement und zur Verwaltungs- und Organisationsberatung Bezug genommen. Die Fallstudie bezieht sich auf ein Realisierungsprojekt zur Einführung eines Personalmanagementsystems in einem Ministerium und seinen nachgeordneten Behörden. Das Projekt fand im Rahmen eines umfassenden Modernisierungsprogramms nach dem NSM statt und legte erstmals einen Schwerpunkt auf das Personalmanagement. Das Vorhaben war ursprünglich in drei Phasen von jeweils einem Jahr Laufzeit geplant. Mit der Realisierung wurde ein Konsortium aus drei Firmen beauftragt. Die Studie bezieht sich auf die erste der drei Phasen der Systemeinführung, die Pilotierungsphase in drei Pilotbehörden. Diese Phase beanspruchte insgesamt zwei Jahre und acht Monate und hatte damit ein Jahr und acht Monate Verspätung vor allem wegen wechselnden Ziel- und Aufgabenstellungen durch das Ministerium und aufgrund interner Steuerungsdefizite und Entscheidungsblockaden auf beiden Seiten. Die Entwicklung einer Schnittstelle in die Personalabrechnung wurde erfolglos abgebrochen. Hauptergebnis der Arbeit ist, dass die Anwendung von Methoden und Instrumenten, die in den Projektmanagement-Leitfäden bereitgestellt werden, stets den jeweils individuellen Interessen der Akteure unterliegen und als Bausteine der akteursspezifischen Strategien fungieren. Dabei führen insbesondere Strategien der Unsicherheitsabsorption, die auf die gegenseitige Kontrolle von Auftraggeber und Auftragnehmer hinauslaufen, zu unproduktiven, sich selbst verstärkende Blockadezyklen („Circuli vitiosi“), aus denen die Akteure nur durch Strategiewechsel ausbrechen können. Zwischen Auftraggeber und Auftragnehmer besteht eine strukturelle Informationsasymmetrie, weil der Auftragnehmer über die fachlichen-technischen Aspekte und über den aktuellen Projektstand besser informiert ist als der Auftraggeber. Gleichzeitig besteht jedoch auch eine entgegen gesetzte Entscheidungsasymmetrie, bei der der Auftraggeber formale Entscheidungsbefugnisse an sich ziehen kann und im Konfliktfall über das größere Drohpotenzial verfügt. Diese wird durch die Rechtsform des Werkvertrags verstärkt. Die Leitfäden des Projektmanagements werden hierbei zwar angewendet, doch die Anwendung beschränkt sich auf fachlich-operative Aspekte der Projektdurchführung, in denen die Empfehlungen einen hinreichenden Konkretisierungsgrad erreicht haben. Nur unzureichend umgesetzt werden jedoch die Empfehlungen zu politisch-strategischen Problemen, deren Anwendung entweder einen komplexen strategischen Entscheidungsprozess erfordert oder zwischen den Vertragsparteien strittig ist. Als äußerst kritisch lässt sich vor allem der Umgang mit dem Leistungsumfang im Projektverlauf bezeichnen, die von Seiten des Auftraggebers häufig im Projektverlauf verändert wird. Hier kollidiert das Gebot der Unabänderlichkeit der Leistungsbeschreibung mit den vitalen Interessen des Auftraggebers, und es zeigt sich anhand der Fallstudie, dass die vertrauensvolle Zusammenarbeit beider Vertragsparteien nötig ist, um zu eine befriedigenden Lösung zu gelangen. Gelingt dies nicht, so kann das Projekt nur mit Hilfe so genannter starker Ideologien wie dem NSM in einer Art Krisenmanagement fortgeführt werden, bedarf aber dann der strategischen Neuorientierung z.B. in Form von Personalwechsel oder Reorganisationen. Im Fallstudienprojekt hat sich herausgestellt, dass, eine Analyse der spezifischen Akteursstrategien (Policy-Analyse) den Akteuren helfen kann, die Ausgangskonstellationen besser zu verstehen und die eigene Strategie auf ihre Konsens- oder Durchsetzungsfähigkeit hin zu justieren. Hier halten die Leitfäden zum Projektmanagement jedoch keine befriedigenden Handlungsanweisungen bereit. / In the here available thesis on the basis of an empirical case study the decision making processes between clients and contractor in IT-projects were analyzed and in this way the compulsions to act of the project management were lit up. Thus a contribution should be made to the closer understanding of the self-dynamics of IT-projects and to the impact of the usual beginnings of project management and quality management. In this work IT-projects and the recommendations regarding the project management were lit up out of politics-scientifically and organization-theoretical perspective, in order to be able to consider effects of limited rationality, opportunistic behaviour and incrementalism. Theoretical starting points for the investigation are on the one side the micro-political approaches and on the other side the agency theory. These approaches have the conception in common according to which acting of the participants takes place in result-open, interdependent action constellations, in which the effects of decisions are few known and the needed information is available to the participants in different degree. Concerning the recommendations of the project management on standards and guidelines as well as the introduction and practice literature to the project and quality management and for the administrative and system information purchase was taken. The case study refers to a realization project for the introduction of a personnel management system in a Ministry and its subordinate authorities. The project took place in the context of a comprehensive modernization program according to the New Public Management and put for the first time an emphasis on the personnel management. The project was originally planned by in three phases in each case one year running time. The realization a consortium of three companies was assigned. The study refers to first of the three phases of the system introduction, the pilot phase with three pilot authorities. This phase lasted altogether two years and eight months and had thereby one year and eight months delay particularly because of changing a setting of tasks and goal by the Ministry and due to internal control deficits and decision blockades on both sides. The development of an interface into the personnel account was unsuccessfully cancelled. Main result of the work is that the use of methods and instruments, which are made available in the project management manuals, are always subject to the individual interests of the participants and the participant-specific strategies. Thereby particular strategies of the uncertainty absorption, which come down to mutual control of client and contractor, lead to unproductive, intensifying blockade cycles („Circuli vitiosi “), of which the participants can break out only by changes of strategy. Between clients and contractors a structural information asymmetry exists, because the contractor is better informed about the technical-technical aspects and about the current project conditions than the client. At the same time however also a contrarious decision asymmetry exists, with that the client can accroach formal powers of decision making and has the larger threat potential available in the conflict situation. This is strengthened by the legal form of the fixed price contract. The manuals of the project management are here used, but application is limited to technical-operational aspects of the implementation of the project, in which the recommendations achieved a sufficient concretisation degree. However the recommendations are only insufficiently applied regarding politico strategic problems, whose application either require a complex strategic decision-making process or is contentious between the Contracting Parties. Extremely critical is above all designated the handling of the scope definition within the project course, which is changed by the client frequently in the course of the project. Here the requirement of the unalterability of the performance specification collides with the vital interests of the client, and it shows up on the basis the case study that the trusting co-operation of both Contracting Parties is necessary, in order to arrive at a satisfying solution. If this does not succeed, then the project can be continued only with the help of strong ideologies such as the New Public Management in a kind of crisis management, it requires however then the strategic re-orientation e.g. in the form of personnel change or reorganizations. In the case study project it turned out that, an analysis of the specific participant strategies (Policy analysis) can help the participants to understand the output constellations better and to adjust the own strategy on its penetration ability or consent. Here the manuals hold no satisfying procedural instructions ready to the project management however.

This dissertation consists in a defence of the claim that belief is a state on which its bearer can reflect only deliberatively. That partial characterization of the concept is intended to throw light on the status of belief as a rational phenomenon. I defend it by appeal to features of our actual and imagined practices of ascribing belief linguistically, both to others and ourselves. Having set out the characterization in the first of four chapters, in the second chapter I survey the ways of learning from words: evidentially, by report, and by belief-expression. I go on to propose that where a person’s words afford belief of his belief, they do so through the belief-expressive character of assertoric speech. In the third chapter, I defend that claim as it applies to the case of ascribing belief to another. I argue that my characterization best explains the fact that we do not ordinarily report our beliefs or invite others to do so. I explain our ordinarily ascribing belief from the expressive character of assertoric speech by appeal to the relation between assertion and belief. In the fourth chapter, I turn to the prospect of ascribing oneself belief based on one’s own words. I argue that self-ascribing belief through the expressive character of words is alone consistent with the self-ascriber’s basic psychological and linguistic integrity. I recommend my characterization of belief for its capacity to explain the disintegrating effects of self-ascribing belief by one’s own report. I again appeal to the relation between assertoric speech and belief to explain the feasibility of self-ascribing belief through the expressive character of one’s words.

This dissertation consists in a defence of the claim that belief is a state on which its bearer can reflect only deliberatively. That partial characterization of the concept is intended to throw light on the status of belief as a rational phenomenon. I defend it by appeal to features of our actual and imagined practices of ascribing belief linguistically, both to others and ourselves. Having set out the characterization in the first of four chapters, in the second chapter I survey the ways of learning from words: evidentially, by report, and by belief-expression. I go on to propose that where a person’s words afford belief of his belief, they do so through the belief-expressive character of assertoric speech. In the third chapter, I defend that claim as it applies to the case of ascribing belief to another. I argue that my characterization best explains the fact that we do not ordinarily report our beliefs or invite others to do so. I explain our ordinarily ascribing belief from the expressive character of assertoric speech by appeal to the relation between assertion and belief. In the fourth chapter, I turn to the prospect of ascribing oneself belief based on one’s own words. I argue that self-ascribing belief through the expressive character of words is alone consistent with the self-ascriber’s basic psychological and linguistic integrity. I recommend my characterization of belief for its capacity to explain the disintegrating effects of self-ascribing belief by one’s own report. I again appeal to the relation between assertoric speech and belief to explain the feasibility of self-ascribing belief through the expressive character of one’s words.