The goal of these theses is a critical examination, comparison and identifying differences in legislative requirements to set up and register partnerships, small businesses and companies between Czech Republic and Germany. Because of many different legal types of various enterprises, for purposes of this study only rules for establishing limited companies have been considered, mainly from theoretical point of view. The basic question is which country has more business friendly environment, easier less demanding legal framework to establish a new enterprise and fewer financial impediments to start up a limited company. In a nut shell how much time and how expensive the whole process will be. The publicly available information in both countries has been used in my study including related legislations, Internet sources, scientific literature and journals.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2017-04-24T13:36:52Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) _Dissertação_Final_Raquel_Ramos7_.pdf: 1871052 bytes, checksum: 40a1875bd807fcb32fb3c805e2ca4427 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-24T13:36:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) _Dissertação_Final_Raquel_Ramos7_.pdf: 1871052 bytes, checksum: 40a1875bd807fcb32fb3c805e2ca4427 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-15 / CAPES / CNPQ / Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo investigar a percepção dos gestores em relação à importância das práticas da governança corporativa e a gestão do capital de giro nas micro e pequenas empresas que compõem o Polo de Confecções do Agreste. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório realizado em 55 empresas de confecção e os dados foram coletados através da aplicação de um questionário estruturado no período de dez. 2015 a jan. 2016. Utilizou-se de índices de Liquidez (Imediata, Seca e Corrente e o Capital Circulante Líquido) como método de análise da situação econômico-financeira das empresas. Os resultados sobre a percepção da importância das práticas de governança corporativa que se baseou em transparência, gestão e controle, responsabilidade corporativa e práticas específicas para as pequenas empresas, indicam que os gestores, em sua maioria, consideram relevantes tais práticas para benefício das empresas, podendo contribuir para a sua manutenção no mercado. Já referente à situação financeira, os resultados se mostraram favoráveis, pois os índices de liquidez apresentaram um valor maior que o indicado pela literatura. Relativo ao financiamento, as empresas optam por capital gerado internamente, depois capital próprio e por último dívida bancária. E por fim, sobre a gestão do capital de giro percebe-se ainda um cenário de informalidade, devido a inexistência da separação das despesas financeiras da empresa e do proprietário, a não utilização de consultoria externa, e a falta de elaboração de relatórios contábeisfinanceiros, realidade encontrada em muitas das empresas pesquisadas. / This research aims to investigate the perception of managers regarding the importance of corporate governance practices and the management of working capital to micro and small businesses that make up the Polo Agreste Clothing. This is an exploratory study in 55 companies manufacturing and data were collected through the application of a structured questionnaire within ten. 2015 January 2016. We used liquidity ratios (Immediate, Drought and Current and Working Capital Net) as the method of analysis of the economic and financial situation of companies. The results on the perception of the importance of corporate governance practices that are based on transparency, management and control, corporate responsibility and specific practices for small businesses, indicate that managers, mostly relevant consider such practices to the benefit of businesses, can contribute to the maintenance market. Already for the financial situation, the results were favorable, as the liquidity ratios showed a higher value than indicated in the literature. On the financing, companies choose to internally generated capital, after capital and last bank debt. Finally, on the management of working capital is still a perceived informality scenario, due to the lack of separation of the financial expenses of the company and the owner, no use of external consultants, and the lack of preparation of reports contábeis- financial, reality found in many of the companies surveyed.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2017-08-07T14:48:19Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertação DOUGLAS ALMEIDA LIMA.pdf: 1671898 bytes, checksum: 72194f243c81b693df6721dc3cc92558 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-07T14:48:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertação DOUGLAS ALMEIDA LIMA.pdf: 1671898 bytes, checksum: 72194f243c81b693df6721dc3cc92558 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-30 / CAPES / O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar como as informações contábeis provenientes de um aplicativo móvel estão sendo utilizadas por micros e pequenas empresas. Selecionou-se a amostra por questões de acessibilidade, sendo composta por micros e pequenas empresas que tenham implantado o aplicativo GDI mobile. Coletaram-se os dados mediante entrevistas semiestruturadas e questionários. Questionaram-se as empresas a respeito de quais informações elas possuíam acesso antes da implantação do sistema, quais foram os impactos sentidos e se e como elas utilizam as informações para auxiliá-las no processo de tomada de decisão. Para a análise dos dados, transcreveram-se e categorizaram-se os dados coletados das entrevistas, buscando-se evidenciar, principalmente, como as informações faziam parte do processo decisório da empresa. Os resultados demonstraram que a implantação do aplicativo permitiu que usuários que antes não possuíam acesso a informações do seu negócio tivessem a oportunidade de utilizar informações gerenciais como base para tomada de decisão. O fato de as informações estarem disponíveis por meio de dispositivos móveis se destacou como um diferencial facilitador de acesso à informação, fazendo com que ela seja acessada com uma frequência maior, tornando-se parte do planejamento da empresa e possibilitando decisões baseadas em informações sobre o negócio. De maneira geral, os usuários da amostra afirmaram que o uso do aplicativo gerou uma maior utilização de informações contábeis na gestão do negócio. Como contribuição, este estudo foi capaz de fornecer informações iniciais sobre uma área pouco explorada e que necessita de uma maior atenção, visto que afeta o profissional contábil. / This study aimed to identify how accounting information from a mobile application are being used by micro and small businesses. The sample was selected by accessibility reasons, consisting of micro and small businesses which have deployed GDI mobile application. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Businesses were asked about what information they had access before system implantation, what were the impacts felt and whether and how they use information to help them in the decision-making process. For data analysis, data collected was transcribed and categorized from interviews, seeking to highlight, especially, how information were part of the decision-making process of the businesses. Results showed that the application implantation enabled users who before had no access to your business information, had the opportunity to use management information as a basis for decision making. The fact that information is available through mobile devices stood out as a differential facilitating access to information, causing it to be accessed more frequently, becoming part of the business planning and enabling decisions based on information about business. In general, the sample users said that using the application generated a greater use of accounting information in business management. As a contribution, this study was able to provide initial information on a little-explored area which needs more attention, since it affects the accounting professional.

Na atual conjuntura, a competitividade das empresas passou a ser condição sine qua non para a permanência no mercado. Ademais, a competitividade deixou de depender da empresa por si só e passou a ser resultado da competitividade de toda a cadeia de valor em que a empresa está inserida. Neste contexto, surge no Brasil o Programa Nacional de Encadeamento Produtivo que visa, dentre outros objetivos, desenvolver a cadeia de valor de empresas para aumentar a competitividade de pequenos, médios e grandes negócios. O Programa Nacional de Encadeamento Produtivo atua em cinco focos estratégicos, sendo um deles o foco em Rede de Aprendizagem. O foco Rede de Aprendizagem, por fortalecer as ligações e interações entre os membros de uma cadeia de valor, ajuda no desenvolvimento dos outros focos estratégicos do programa. Possui, assim, importância singular em todo o processo de encadeamento produtivo. Mesmo com tamanha importância, as redes ainda estão aquém do potencial de desenvolvimento que elas podem gerar. Deste modo, o trabalho teve como objetivo geral propor referências para auxiliar o desenvolvimento de redes organizacionais. Para tanto, realizou-se pesquisa qualitativa baseada em entrevistas em profundidade. As entrevistas foram realizadas em oito redes organizacionais. Com base nas boas práticas existentes, nas diferentes formas de atuação, na cultura de cooperação entre os membros das redes e no impacto efetivo que cada uma das redes visitadas produz nas empresas, foram propostas referências para nortear o desenvolvimento das redes de aprendizagem. Os principais resultados foram referências sobre estrutura de gestão, processos internos, funções dos membros, métricas de desenvolvimento, dentre outros norteadores de atuação. / Nowadays, the competitiveness of enterprises has become an indispensable condition for surviving in the market. Furthermore, competitiveness no longer depends on the company itself, but rather became a result of the competitiveness of the whole value chain. In this context, the National Program for Productive Linkage was established in Brazil. This program aims, among other objectives, at developing the value chain of companies in order to increase the competitiveness of small, medium and large businesses. The National Program for Productive Linkage act on five strategic foci, one of them being the focus on Learning Network. The Learning Network focus, by strengthening the connections and interactions among members of a chain value, enhances the development of the other strategic foci of the program and, thus, has a singular importance in the whole process of the productive linkage. Despite being so important, the networks are still below the potential for development that they can generate. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to propose references to support the development of entrepreneurial Learning Networks. To this end, a qualitative research was done, based on in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted in eight organizational networks. Based on: (i) the existing good practices; (ii) the various ways of working; (iii) the cooperational culture among their members; and (iv) the effective impacts that Organizational Networks produce in the enterprises; references have been proposed to guide the development of Learning Network. The main results were references to management structure, internal processes, functions of members, development metrics, among other guides for better performance.

The informal economy in South Africa and other parts of the continent is a safe haven for many who are unable to find jobs in the formal sector of the economy. In the case of South Africa, it is not only the nationals of the country who are striving to survive and generate their income from this sector. Since 1994, the country has experienced a huge influx of immigrants from other parts of the continent some escaping from dire living conditions in their home countries and looking for better life opportunities while many others were forced to migrate from their own countries as a result of political unrest and lack of stability and security. Among these later example is the Somali community who are the subject matter of this study. Many of these mainly African immigrants including Somalis got involved themselves in the informal sector of the South Africa. This has increased the competition in this sector and caused clashes between South Africans and immigrants who were also involved in the sector. This study examines the involvement of the Somali immigrants in South Africa’s informal sector. The study is exploratory in nature and tried to find the surrounding factors that impacted on the involvement of Somalis in the informal economy of Motherwell. The study has found that Somalis who arrived in Motherwell are generally young unmarried men who were attracted to the area mainly because there were affordable business opportunities in the township. Somalis financed their businesses through various resources including their savings from working while working inside and outside South Africa and from the contributions by their families and friends. Despite facing high levels of crime where many Somalis were killed and their property looted, they are still determined to stay in the township. This can be shown by their high level of savings and their intention to invest in the township. Although this research does not aim to be comparative in nature, personal and business characteristics of Somalis as well as South Africans who are also involved in the sector vii were compared. Because of this comparison, it has became clear that though price is an important factor in the business competition between the two groups, it is not the only factor, neither the most important, that creates friction and the shift of loyalty of customers from one side to another. Quality of service, the number of the people working in the business, responsibility towards the area the business serves, the strictness or the leniency towards customers who want to buy but are short of money and many other factors created a friendly atmosphere between the businesses run by the Somalis and their customers. The study showed that some of the Somali as well South African business owners were of this view. Although the vast majority of the Somalis have a minimum level of education, they still contribute positively to the economy of the township and the greater Nelson Mandela Bay. This is done through renting business premises, paying both direct and indirect taxes and taking the business services to remote areas of Motherwell. The study suggests that there is a need to sooth the relationship between the two groups particularly between Somalis and South Africans who are involved in grocery businesses through meetings, seminars, and other get-together activities. This can be done by South African Police Service, Somali Association of South Africa in Korsten, community elders from both sides and other concerned government institutions as well as the academic institutions particularly Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The business skills of both groups need to be uplifted in order to maximise their profitability and contribution to the people in the area.

The focus on entrepreneurs as drivers of the economies of nations has catapulted them into the forefront of the local and international marketplace. This has led to a demand for entrepreneurial education and training resulting in a plethora of different and often divergent views. One commonality that has emerged is that entrepreneurship can be taught; although it cannot be taught in conventional and traditional ways. It requires a move from traditional education and training to more enterprising participative and supportive forms of business development. It requires investments of time, resources and support. Incubators are facilities that are engaged with entrepreneurs and offer a variety of support including education and training. This study has assessed the effectiveness of training offered by the Seda Nelson Mandela Bay ICT incubator. There has been limited research undertaken on entrepreneurial education and training in an incubator setting. This study followed the qualitative paradigm. The sample comprised of 10 small businesses at the Seda Nelson Mandela Bay ICT incubator. Empirical data was obtained by interviewing the owners of the small businesses using an interview schedule. Issues such as the most effective training programme, content that it contained, methodology used and quality of the facilitator and applicability of the training programme were explored. The study found that the small businesses were opportunity driven rather than necessity driven and that the incubator served as a bridging facility in moving the businesses from the informal sector to the formal sector. The content of the training programmes was found to be effective when a mix of both theoretical and practical is offered especially with an emphasis on the underlying entrepreneurial themes of confidence, persistence and uncertainty and so on. It also found that training programmes should be linked to the life cycle of the business and address the specific needs of the small business owner. The start-up phase requires very specific training. Most of the facilitators were found to be experienced and empathetic. However, only a few were using a wider range of preferred learning styles favoured by entrepreneurs such as role playing, simulation, brainstorming and problem-solving techniques. The study also found that when generic training programmes are offered there was less recall on the part of the trainees. The management team of the incubator is an important determinant of the success of the incubatees and it is recommended that they need to be well versed in their sector and have good networking skills. There is a strong link between the theoretical and the practical content of training programmes especially where the emphasis is more on the practical content. It is recommended that facilitators pay attention to their relationship with trainees as it is a critical success factor in the training programme. Training programmes offered over a period of time add more value to the incubatee. This might be because of the mentoring and counselling that is available after each training module is completed. Finally, more research needs to be undertaken on the quality and effectiveness of training programmes offered by incubators to small businesses.

Bakgrund: Enligt svensk lagstiftning ska alla arbetsgivare bedriva ett systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete (SAM). Även om majoriteten av arbetsgivare anser att de följer lagens krav, visar såväl arbetsmiljöverkets statistik som empiriska undersökningar att detta inte alltid är fallet. Brist på tid, pengar och kunskap är de främsta förklaringarna till företagares oförmåga att bedriva ett fungerande SAM. Speciellt småföretagen har det svårt att uppfylla kraven. Vissa företag lyckas dock ovanligt bra med SAM, men om dessa goda exempel finns det lite forskning. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att undersöka och beskriva arbetsmiljöansvarigas attityder till systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete (SAM), på företag som bedriver ett fungerande SAM. Metod: Studien tillämpade en kvalitativ tvärsnittdesign. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med sex arbetsmiljöansvariga från fyra småföretag (<50 anställda). Datamaterialet analyserades genom metoden kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat och slutsats: Undersökningen resulterade i huvudtemat att ett systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete är en investering som ger många fördelar för företaget och anställda, men kräver anpassning efter företagets upplevda behov. Huvudtemat konstruerades utifrån fem identifierade sub-kategorier: ”SAM skapar en god image”, ”SAM är en konkurrensfaktor”, ”SAM är lönsamt för företaget och de anställda”, ”SAM är en dyr och tidskrävande investering” och ”SAM kan och måste anpassas till den egna verksamhetens behov”. Studiens slutsats var att de arbetsmiljöansvarigas attityder till SAM präglas av att det ger positiva effekter framförallt för företaget och även för de anställda. För att det ska fungera måste det anpassas till de egna företagets upplevda behov. Uppfattas behovet vara att förbättra arbetsmiljön anpassas SAM därefter, så att det blir en del av kvalitetsstyrningen. Uppfattas behovet framförallt vara att ge en god image och öka konkurrenskraften anpassas SAM så att kraven uppfylls, men attityden är att det egentligen inte är nödvändigt då den egna arbetsmiljön uppfattas som väldigt bra. / Background: According to Swedish legislation, all employers must conduct a systematic work environment management (SAM). Although most employers consider that they comply with the law's requirements, both statistics from the Swedish Work Environment Authority and empirical studies show that this is not always the case. Lack of time, money and knowledge are the most common explanations for entrepreneurs' inability to conduct a functioning SAM. Especially the small businesses have problems to meet the requirements. However, some companies are doing very well with SAM, but for those good examples there is little research. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate and describe the attitudes of work environment managers, to systematic work environment management (SAM), on companies operating a functioning SAM. Method: The study applied a qualitative cross-sectional design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six work environment managers from four small businesses (<50 employees). The data was analyzed by qualitative content analysis. Result and conclusion: The study resulted in the main theme that systematic work environment work is an investment that provides many benefits for the company and employees, but requires adaptation to the company's perceived needs. The main theme was constructed from five identified sub-categories: "SAM creates a good image", "SAM is a competitive factor", "SAM is profitable for the company and employees", "SAM is an expensive and time-consuming investment" and "SAM can and Must be adapted to the company needs". The study concluded that the attitudes of the work environment managers to SAM are characterized by positive effects primarily for the company but also for the employees. For SAM to work, it must be adapted to the company perceived needs. If the perceived need is to improve the work environment, SAM is subsequently adapted to become part of quality management. If the need is seen above all to become a good image and to increase competitiveness, SAM is adapted to meet the requirements, but the attitude is that it is not necessary when the own working environment is perceived as very good.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-06-21T14:15:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcius Koehler.pdf: 733203 bytes, checksum: 9a6d64929fe7426744bc83e9d23505e5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-21T14:15:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcius Koehler.pdf: 733203 bytes, checksum: 9a6d64929fe7426744bc83e9d23505e5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-30 / This work dealt with the topic networks in the basic context of Brazilian football. The study addressed small organizations involved in the Brazilian Base Football Movement - MFBB initiated by the Brazilian Football Confederation - CBF returned to discuss the problems of basic categories, mainly of harassment and "theft" of young talent and generate improvement proposals . This movement resulted in the formation of a network of grassroots clubs organized later by the Brazilian Football Association Executives - ABEX Football. The research was a multi-case study, qualitative, exploratory type, in order to explain how the network training contributed to the retention of talent in small clubs of Brazilian football. Processing of the data was collected mainly with semi-structured interviews and analyzed in tables (Word). We interviewed two representatives of ABEX, representatives of three clubs entered the network and three bookies entrepreneurs soccer athletes. It was based on intra-case analysis and inter-case performed to compare the data and obtain search results valid for the whole sample. As a result of research, it was found that the network interface of the base club has great influence on the retention of young athletes. They were identified and analyzed other elements that helped in the study for the research goal was reached. In addition, it was noticed that the relationship network, particularly for small clubs studied played an important role in young talent retention or receipt of compensation from its output. / Esta dissertação tratou do tema redes no contexto do futebol brasileiro de base. O estudo abordou pequenas organizações envolvidas no Movimento de Futebol de Base Brasileiro - MFBB iniciado pela própria Confederação Brasileira de Futebol – CBF voltado para discutir os problemas das categorias de base, principalmente os de assédio e “roubo” de jovens talentos e gerar propostas de melhorias. Este movimento resultou na formação de uma rede de clubes de base organizados mais tarde pela Associação Brasileira de Executivos do Futebol – ABEX Futebol. A pesquisa realizada foi um estudo multi-caso, de natureza qualitativa, do tipo exploratório, com o objetivo de explicitar como a formação em rede contribuiu para a retenção de talentos em pequenos clubes do futebol brasileiro. O tratamento dos dados foi coletado principalmente com entrevistas semi-estruturadas em profundidade e analisados em tabelas (Word). Foram entrevistados dois representantes da ABEX, representantes de três clubes inseridos na rede e três empresários agenciadores de atletas de futebol. Baseou-se em análises intra-caso e inter-caso realizadas para se comparar os dados e obter resultados de pesquisa válidos para o conjunto da amostra. Como resultado de pesquisa, constatou-se que a rede de relação dos clubes de base tem grande influencia na retenção de jovens atletas. Foram identificados e analisados outros elementos no estudo que auxiliaram para que o objetivo de pesquisa fosse atingido. Além disto, percebeu-se que a rede de relação, principalmente para os pequenos clubes estudados tiveram papel importante na retenção do jovem talento ou no recebimento da indenização proveniente da sua saída.

The main purpose of this study is to develop a bankruptcy prediction model for the small business firm. Data was collected from the Dallas Small Business Administration (SBA), making this study specific to its decision makers. Existing research has produced models which predominately use financial ratios and information measures either independently or combined, and a few research models have used economic trends. This study varies from past studies in that it includes regional economic variables from the states of Texas. A sample of three-year data for 138 firms included fifteen bankrupt firms. This proportion of bankrupt/nonbankrupt firms approximates the proportion of repayed/defaulted loans in the SBA. Stepwise regression, set at the .15 level of significance, reduced a total of fifty-three variables to nine. These nine variables were then used to test twelve predictive models. All twelve models tested improved the SBA repayment rate and only two of the twelve would have caused the SBA to deny loans to applicants who eventually repaid. The study determined the model that included financial ratios, information measures, and Texas economic variables as best. It was also demonstrated that some of the variables used in this model could be eliminated without decreasing the predictive power of the model. The best of twelve models improved the SBA default rate by 40 percent without denying a loan to any applicant that eventually repaid.

Medan en stor mängd forskning på affärsrelationer mellan företag har fokuserat på relationers utveckling efter ett avtalat samarbete, så har mindre forskning fokuserat på hur företagen först inleder och kommer fram till ett avtalat samarbete. Den forskning som finns på detta område har främst fokuserat på antingen större eller nyetablerade företag, medan mindre, redan etablerade företag inte studerats i lika stor utsträckning. En utmaning i detta är att förstå hur tillit mellan företag bildas i ett inledande skede av affärsrelationen. Detta arbete studerar därför hur tillitsbildande faktorer påverkar bildandet av affärsrelationer i mindre företag. Genom intervjuer med fem verkställande direktörer har studien illustrerat hur tillitsbildande faktorer påverkar relationsbildningen hos mindre företag. Sociala band, referenser och kommunikation anses i studien som de viktigaste faktorerna för lyckade relationsbildningar. Arbetet avslutas med att diskutera praktiska tillämpningar och rekommendationer för framtida forskning. / While a large amount of research regarding business to business relationships has focused on the development of relationships after an agreement to cooperate, less research has focused on the initial stage leading up to this agreement. Further, most of the research on this topic has focused on either large companies or startups, while small, already established ventures has not been studied to a great extent. A central issue in business relationships is how trust is initially built between companies. Using a relationship stage model and interviews with five CEO: s the study examines how trust building factors affect the development of small, already established companies relationships in the initial stage. Social bonds, references and communication are regarded in the study as the most important trust building factors for successful relationship initiation. The study concludes by discussing practical implications and recommendations for future research.