A Constituição Federal Brasileira de 1988 trouxe diversas inovações à estrutura governamental, notadamente nos aspectos financeiros. Com relação às receitas alterou o perfil tributário entre as esferas Federal, Estadual e Municipal. Do lado das despesas alterou profundamente a Agenda Governamental, entendida como o conjunto de obrigações a que o Estado está submetido. Porém, diversos fatores, tanto de natureza ambiental - como os choques na década de 90 na economia internacional; quanto de natureza interna - principalmente os referentes à reforma do Estado, levaram os Municípios a assumirem uma série de responsabilidades que não estavam claramente definidos na Agenda , não estando, por isto, acompanhadas das necessárias transferências de recursos. A diferença entre as despesas públicas realizadas pelos municípios e o volume de recursos próprios arrecadados localmente determina o que a literatura denomina de hiato de recursos. A análise deste hiato quando parcial, pode conduzir a conclusões incorretas. Diversos trabalhos apontam distorções no sistema de financiamento público municipal, desde o superdimensionamento das despesas até as influencias causadas pelo sistema de transferências intergovernamentais nos esforços de arrecadação local, o que faz com que as receitas próprias sejam menores. Este trabalho analisa, da perspectiva da gestão municipal, a existência e dimensionamento do hiato de recursos. Para isso, busca uma aproximação inicial de dois conceitos que devem ser considerados conjuntamente : o conceito de eficiência de exploração- que refere-se à capacidade de explorar suas bases tributárias; e o de eficiência de transformação - que refere-se à capacidade de um município conseguir transformar os recursos de que dispõe em qualidade de vida. Para operacionalizar o conceito de eficiência, os municípios do Estado de São Paulo foram agrupados de acordo com o conceito de centralidade e submetidos à metodologia de análise envoltória de dados (DEA - Data Envelopment Analysis). Os resultados demonstram que os municípios possuem baixas eficiências na exploração das bases tributárias (43%) e altos valores de eficiências na transformação (91%). O estudo também conclui que a ampliação da qualidade de vida nos municípios passa pela alteração do sistema de transferências, em função dos baixos valores de receitas próprias que os municípios podem atingir. / The Brazilian Major Law from 1988 brought several innovations to the governmental structure, notably in the financial aspects. In relation to the public revenue, it altered the revenual profile between Federal, State and Municipal spheres. In relation to the public expenses, it altered deeply the Governmental Agenda, understood as the group of obligations to which the State is submitted. However, many factors, as from environmental nature – like the international economic shocks from the 90 decade; as from internal nature – principally the ones referring to State’s reform, took the Municipalities to assume several responsibilities that were not clearly defined in the Agenda, so not being accompanied by the necessary intergovernmental revenues resources. The difference between the public expenses realized by the municipalities and the volume of their own resources collected locally determine what the literature calls resources hiatus. This hiatus’ analysis, when partial, can conduct to incorrect conclusions. Many studies point out distortions in the municipal public financial system, since the expenses’ super dimensionality to the influences caused by the intergovernmental revenues system in the local collect efforts, what makes their own revenues lower. This study analyses, from the municipal management perspective, the existence and the dimensionality of the hiatus’ resources. For this, it searches for an initial approach of two concepts that must be considered together: the concept of exploration efficiency – that refers to the capacity of exploring its own revenue basis; and the concept of transformation efficiency – that refers to a municipality’s capacity of transforming the resources that it has into quality of life. To make the concept of efficiency operational, the municipalities of São Paulo State were bracket together according to the concept of centrality and were submitted to the methodology of data envelopment analysis (DEA). The results showed that the municipalities have low exploration efficiencies of the revenue basis (43%) and high value in the transformation efficiencies (91%). The study also concludes that the enlargement of the quality of life in the municipalities goes through the alteration of the intergovernmental revenues system due to the low values of their own revenues that the municipalities can reach.

This thesis provides a theoretical framework for evaluating the causes of vacant land in shrinking cities. The focus of this thesis was New Orleans and St. Louis; these two cities were selected as the case studies because they are roughly of similar age, possess a common cultural and economic heritage, and have a geographic footprint which encompasses different environmental conditions. This thesis evaluated factors that contribute to patterns of land vacancy within these two cities. Factors included in this evaluation include employment and other economic and cultural opportunities, environmental and ecological conditions, social dynamics and conditions, governmental management decisions, and 'quality of life' stressors, such as proximity to major infrastructure and industrial development. The theoretical framework described in this thesis is intended to apply to other shrinking cities beyond the case studies. A geographic information system database using historical maps and population census data were created for each city and utilized to examine temporal patterns in the relationship between land vacancy and a variety of environmental, economic, and social factors. Maps from the time of the founding of each city were geo-referenced to create a depiction of the ecological conditions prior to European settlement at the sites of New Orleans in 1718 and St. Louis in 1764, respectively. Time-series data gathered from the United States population censuses were utilized to document spatial change of the two cities as they evolved. Homo sapiens like other species compete for habitat. Access to high quality habitat within the urban ecosystem is determined by contestation between individuals and social groups, through market mechanisms and through management decisions, both utilitarian and ideological. Corruption and violence may also be factors. Individual agency is a factor in this contestation but social and cultural structures can also work to limit individual choices, particularly for minorities and low income residents, and relegate many residents to suboptimum or marginal habitat. A data analysis of both New Orleans and St. Louis showed that the quantity and location of vacant land is primarily influenced by proximity to opportunities and by proximity to major risks which impact the quality of Homo sapiens habitat. The first of these is proximity to opportunities such as employment, education, and cultural resources. The second is the presence of natural hazards, such as flooding and geological hazards, as revealed by the analysis of the historical ecology of the city. The third is the impact of local government management decisions and social planning which has spatial implications, including racially-based zoning, racial covenants, redlining, and isolation from public services and facilities such as the segregation of public schools. These decisions are often the reflection of ideology and power relationships. A fourth driver of land vacancy is proximity to risks, notably industrial lands, but also the intrusion of major infrastructure projects such as the development of the railyards and rail corridor of St. Louis, the construction of the Industrial Canal in New Orleans, and the construction of Interstate highways through both cities. In some circumstances, such drivers that include the unintended consequences of utilitarian decisions. The fifth driver include socio-economic factors and the neighborhood effects of crime, and poor education. These five drivers act in different proportions in each city to influence land values which, in turn, drive levels of vacancy. This comparative investigation revealed that the impact of geophysical factors on land vacancy varies greatly between New Orleans and St. Louis. While much of New Orleans lies below sea level and is often subject to flooding and hurricanes, little of the vacant lands of St. Louis are impacted by geophysical factors. In contrast, management decisions and social planning have contributed significantly to the concentration of poverty and, in turn, land vacancy in both cities. While some of these management decisions are utilitarian in nature and intended to provide the greatest benefits for the most number of people, others are ideologically driven or reflect power relationships and in the case of both New Orleans and St. Louis, racism. Proximity to risks, such as active railroad tracks, major highways, and industrial development, also has a strong relationship to land vacancy in both cities. Land vacancy also has a strong spatial relationship with areas of low income, poor education, and crime and neighborhood effects. While an understanding of environmental history can provide a useful guide to vacant land policy, efforts to address the challenge of vacant lands must consider not only the symptoms but the underlying causes of vacancy, particularly economic and social factors. This thesis is addressed to planners, architects, urban designers, landscape architects, and elected and appointed government officials who work to address the challenges of shrinking cities. Though this thesis examined the causes of vacant land in two shrinking cities, future research should examine the application of the theoretical framework presented here to cities experiencing growth as well.

<p>Osnovni istraživački problem ove disertacije predstavlja razvoj modela<br />za upravljanje lancima snabdevanja u cilju podizanje kvaliteta usluge.<br />Stoga je razvijen adaptivni model za upravljanje lancima snabdevanja<br />koji se sastoji od modela za: upravljanje lancima snabdevanja,<br />upravljanje korisničkim zahtevima i ocenu kvaliteta pružene usluge. U<br />svrhu primene adaptivni model je predstavljen algoritmom sa precizno<br />definisanim koracima koje korisnik treba da sprovede da bi podigao<br />nivo kvaliteta usluge i održao stabilnost lanca snabdevanja. Verifikacija<br />modela je urađena na primeru 17 lanaca snabdevanja na teritoriji<br />Republike Srbije, &scaron;to je rezultiralo odgovorima na koji način se može<br />podići kvalitet usluge.<br />Doprinos istraživanja ogleda u mogućnosti direktne primene<br />razvijenog modela i pružanja novih informacija za naučnu i stručnu<br />javnost koje mogu predstavljati kvalitetnu podlogu daljem razvoju<br />modela za upravljanje lancima snabdevanja.</p> / <p>The basic research problem of this dissertation is the development of<br />supply chain management model in order to improve the quality of<br />service. Therefore, an adaptive supply chain management model has<br />been developed that consists of a model for: supply chain management,<br />management of user requirements and assessment of the quality of<br />service provided. For the purpose of application the adaptive model, it<br />is presented an algorithm with precisely defined steps that the user<br />needs to implement in order to raise the level of service quality and<br />maintain the stability of supply. The model verification was done on<br />the example of 17 supply chains in the territory of the Republic of<br />Serbia, which resulted in answers on how to improve the quality of the<br />service. The contribution of the research is reflected in the possibility<br />of direct application of the developed model and providing new<br />information for the scientific and professional public, which can<br />represent a quality basis for the further development of the supply<br />chain management model.</p>

Background The OEMs are facing fundamental changes. The importance of the quality of products in the automotive industry has changed to being exclusively dependent on the demand and sense of the customer. The OEMs have to react quickly on trends to fulfill the customer demands and be technically innovative. These innovations and intensity of their implication lead to a high cost pressure for the OEMs again. Therefore, the OEMs need to work together with their suppliers. Production strategies like TQM or outsourcing are known as the key to success. Although cost and quality management themselves are quite well-investigated in literature, and the use of both TQM and outsourcing are widely implemented in the OEMs’ strategies to improve quality and reduce costs, studies about the combination of TQM and outsourcing and their impact on quality and costs cannot be found. The wide spread opinion of managers is that quality and costs cannot support each other. Purpose In our Master Thesis we wanted to find out how quality and costs are related to each other to fulfill the given goals. The purpose was to examine the impact of the two common methods, TQM and outsourcing, on costs and quality for the OEMs. We explored how the concepts interact and support costs and quality. Furthermore, the analysis states how these approaches are related within a supply chain and how automobile manufacturers can use both approaches to assure low costs and high quality at the same time. Method Our Master Thesis is a theoretical study based on a qualitative research method. We used scientific articles and literature for the theory and combined these in the analysis with the data and results from previous case studies as the empiric value. We combined this through the deductive approach. We not only used a positivistic view, but we also used a hermeneutic view due to the fact that analysis and conclusion incorporate both scientific articles and also personal interpretations. Results and Conclusion We concluded that precisely these two methods, outsourcing and TQM, supplement each other and fit together very well to assure the efficiency of the automobile OEMs with high quality and low costs at the same time. This is due to the fact that outsourcing is often used in companies and reduces the costs of OEMs; and TQM alone leads to quality improvements. Not only do they work well separately in companies, but outsourcing lays ideal foundations for an efficient TQM implementation. Suggestions on Continued Research We could not find any studies where these two approaches were researched in combination. Thus, one good future research could be to go on with empirical analyses about this theme in the automotive industry, for example by conducting surveys or interviews with OEMs. A case study about the combination of TQM and outsourcing could verify our mostly from the theory concluded results of the interrelation. A further deviation on the research could be that suppliers, instead of OEMs, could be the focus of the study.

<p>Background</p><p>The OEMs are facing fundamental changes. The importance of the quality of products in the automotive industry has changed to being exclusively dependent on the demand and sense of the customer. The OEMs have to react quickly on trends to fulfill the customer demands and be technically innovative. These innovations and intensity of their implication lead to a high cost pressure for the OEMs again. Therefore, the OEMs need to work together with their suppliers. Production strategies like TQM or outsourcing are known as the key to success. Although cost and quality management themselves are quite well-investigated in literature, and the use of both TQM and outsourcing are widely implemented in the OEMs’ strategies to improve quality and reduce costs, studies about the combination of TQM and outsourcing and their impact on quality and costs cannot be found. The wide spread opinion of managers is that quality and costs cannot support each other.</p><p>Purpose</p><p>In our Master Thesis we wanted to find out how quality and costs are related to each other to fulfill the given goals. The purpose was to examine the impact of the two common methods, TQM and outsourcing, on costs and quality for the OEMs. We explored how the concepts interact and support costs and quality. Furthermore, the analysis states how these approaches are related within a supply chain and how automobile manufacturers can use both approaches to assure low costs and high quality at the same time.</p><p>Method</p><p>Our Master Thesis is a theoretical study based on a qualitative research method. We used scientific articles and literature for the theory and combined these in the analysis with the data and results from previous case studies as the empiric value. We combined this through the deductive approach. We not only used a positivistic view, but we also used a hermeneutic view due to the fact that analysis and conclusion incorporate both scientific articles and also personal interpretations.</p><p>Results and Conclusion</p><p>We concluded that precisely these two methods, outsourcing and TQM, supplement each other and fit together very well to assure the efficiency of the automobile OEMs with high quality and low costs at the same time. This is due to the fact that outsourcing is often used in companies and reduces the costs of OEMs; and TQM alone leads to quality improvements. Not only do they work well separately in companies, but outsourcing lays ideal foundations for an efficient TQM implementation.</p><p>Suggestions on Continued Research</p><p>We could not find any studies where these two approaches were researched in combination. Thus, one good future research could be to go on with empirical analyses about this theme in the automotive industry, for example by conducting surveys or interviews with OEMs. A case study about the combination of TQM and outsourcing could verify our mostly from the theory concluded results of the interrelation. A further deviation on the research could be that suppliers, instead of OEMs, could be the focus of the study.</p>

Tyrimo objektas – socialinių paslaugų kokybė. Tyrimo dalykas - socialinių paslaugų kokybės vertinimas. Tyrimo tikslas – parengti socialinių paslaugų kokybės vertinimo modelį ir išbandyti jį vertinant socialinių paslaugų namuose kokybę Mažeikių rajone. Uždaviniai: 1. Išanalizuoti socialinių paslaugų kokybės sampratą, klasifikavimą bei socialinių paslaugų rūšis. 2. Nustatyti socialinių paslaugų kokybės vertinimo kriterijus. 3. Parengti socialinių paslaugų kokybės vertinimo modelį. 4. Įvertinti socialinių paslaugų namuose kokybę Mažeikių rajone naudojant sukurtąjį modelį. Tyrimo laikotarpis: 2000 m. – 2007 m. Tyrimo metodai: mokslinės literatūros, monografijos, dokumentų analizė ir sintezė, interviu, anketinė apklausa, indukcija bei dedukcija, loginio mąstymo bei grafinio vaizdavimo metodai. / The subject of research - quality of social services The object of research - evaluation of social services quality. The purpose of work – to formulate a model of social services quality evaluation and test it evaluating social services at home quality in Mažeikiai district. Tasks: 1. To analyze conception of social services quality, classification and type of social services. 2. To define criterions of social services quality evaluation. 3. To formulate a model of social services quality evaluation. 4. To evaluate social services at home quality in Mažeikiai district using made-up model. Time of exploration: 2000 – 2007 year. The methods of research: analysis and synthesis of monographs, scientific literature and documents, interview, questionnaire poll, induction, deduction, logical thinking and graphical representation methods.

The Air Quality Act (AQA) Act No.39 of 2004 promulgated in 2004 follows the outdated Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act (APPA) (Act No.45 of 1965). The legislative approach shifted from a source- based, end of pipe, command and control, guideline principle to ambient air quality management and improvement of compliance to standards through a consultative process. The AQA’s management framework incorporates a co-operative and integrated approach with government, communities and polluters to look at the holistic management of ambient air quality and the identified roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders. The AQA branched from the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) 107 of 1998, which is the first piece of legislation formalizing the principles of the Integrated Pollution Waste Management (IPWM) Policy published in 2000 and the Bill of Rights. Government and Industry have a role to play in the implementation of the AQA. Government’s role covers the management and enforcement aspects, whilst industries’ role includes the management of air emissions and compliance reporting to improve the overall ambient air quality. The AQA’s industrial requirements range from compliance and reporting by ensuring emission licenses are in place, compliance with standards set by different spheres of government and the management of these emissions. The management of these requirements includes understanding the legislation, its implications and the provision of other financial, human and technological resources. Industry needs to consider the impacts of these legislative changes and how it may impact business as a whole. The aim of this study is to analyze the industrial perspectives of the AQA and its implementation through the use of a questionnaire. Open-ended questionnaires were administered to a total of forty industrial companies in the chemical, petrochemical, energy and mining sectors in the Gauteng, North West and Durban industrial areas. Industries were identified as those which have scheduled process certificates or companies that will be impacted by the impending changes as a result of the AQA. The overall outcome of the industrial responses revealed poor general knowledge of the principles, purpose and the reasons for the transition from APPA to AQA. Few industries had insight into the type of challenges they may face from the AQA’s listed control measures and the control measures that would apply to their particular industry. There is a general concern surrounding the government’s lack of support and the essential enforcement that is required to ensure ambient air quality compliance. These challenges and recommendations are discussed in the thesis. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

Thesis (M.Sc. Hons.) -- University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1999. / Thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Science (Honours). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-117).

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Geography, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [1], iv, 49, [6] p. : ill., maps. Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-49).

The master’s thesis is focused on evaluation of present process of managment of complaints in particular company in 2014. The evaluation is made by quality managment tools and with using correlation analysis. On the basis of acquired pieces of information there will be suggest corrective measures. These correctives measures will lead to improvement of managment process of complaints and reduce customer complaints.