Firmago S.A. - 2016: A deadline for succession

This paper, “Firmago S.A. - 2016: a deadline for succession”, is a case-based essay on a family business. It aims to provide the necessary tools for readers to best decide upon who should be chosen for the continuity of the family business after July 2016. Along with the case study the reader will have the opportunity to identify two main problems: blurred boundaries and the nonexistence of succession planning. In order to elaborate this case study I conducted several meetings with João Cabral, the current CEO of Firmago, who helped me understand the company’s background and the complexity of the family’s relationships. In order to fulfill the CEO’s requirement, all the real names and surnames of those from Firmago were replaced by fake names.

Assessing the community needs of mental health residential care service users in Republic of Moldova

RESUMO: Background: Problemas de saúde mental são um grande problema clínico e social na República da Moldávia, representando uma quota significante de deficiência, sendo classificada no top cinco das dez linhas na hierarquia das condições. A taxa de incidência tem sido crescente na República da Moldávia, atingindo cerca de 15.000 por ano (14,655 em 2011), ou seja, 411,4 por 100 mil habitantes, e uma taxa de prevalência de 97.525 pessoas em 2011, ou seja, 2,737.9 por 100 mil habitantes. Sistema de atendimento psiquiátrico fornece serviços de saúde mental escassos a nível da comunidade, visando principalmente terapia hospitalar, centralizada, através de uma rede de três hospitais psiquiátricos, com 1.860 camas e 4 sanatórios psico- neurológicos com 1890 camas, assim alimentando-se a estigmatização do paciente. Objetivos: O objetivo deste estudo foi a avaliação das necessidades individuais dos beneficiários e do seu nível de autonomia dentro de cuidados residenciais, para o planeamento de reformas de saúde mental e desinstitucionalização na República da Moldávia. Este estudo foi encomendado pelo Ministério do Trabalho, Proteção Social e da Família e pelo Ministério da Saúde, com o apoio da Organização Mundial da Saúde, para determinar o cumprimento eficaz do artigo 19 da Convenção da ONU. O estudo tem os seguintes objetivos: Avaliar o nível de autonomia dos residentes nos hospitais psiquiátricos e sanatórios psico-neurológico, usando uma amostra representativa de 10 por ce nto do número total de pacientes/residentes e comparação cruzada; Para avaliar quatro sanatórios psico-neurológicos para adultos e três hospitais psiquiátricos; Para desenvolver recomendações para o planeamento da desinstitucionalização das pessoas com problemas de saúde mental e colocação na comunidade com base nos resultados do estudo. Metodologia e resultados: O estudo fez uso de duas ferramentas globais: questionário para a avaliação individual dos residentes do estabelecimento de saúde mental, e questionário de avaliação institucional. Todos os entrevistados foram divididos em quatro categorias conforme com o grau de dependência e preparação de viver de forma independente na comunidade. Apenas 1,2% dos entrevistados de PNHB eram totalmente dependentes de terceiros ou serviços especializados, tornando-se a categoria 4, que necessitam de cuidados e apoio contínuo. No PH esta categoria de pessoas é ausente. Conclusões: A condição dos entrevistados foi pior em PNBH que em PH. No entanto, ainda, aqueles que estão prontos para ser desinstitucionalizados correspondem com a maior parte dos entrevistados. Todos os hospitais tinham o consentimento do utente para admissão e tratamento, enquanto não houve consentimento qualquer em PNBH. É bastante óbvio que tanto os hospitais como também a sistema de assistência residencial não atingem a sua finalidade, o que significa que a maioria dos utentes pode ser desinstitucionalizados, sem qualquer terapia de suporte.------------------ABSTRACT: Background: Mental health problems are a major clinical and social issue in the Republic of Moldova,accounting for a significant share of disability and ranking in top five of the ten lines in the hierarchy of conditions. The incidence rate has been growing in the Republic of Moldova to reach approximately 15 thousand a year (14,655 in 2011), i.e. 411.4 per 100 thousand population, and a prevalence rate of 97,525 thousand people in 2011, i.e. 2,737.9 per 100 thousand population. Psychiatric care system provides for scanty mental health services at community level, aiming mainly at centralized hospital-based therapy through a network of three psychiatric hospitals tallying up 1,860 beds and 4 psycho-neurological boarding houses with 1,890 beds, thus fuelling up patient stigmatization. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the individual needs of beneficiaries and their level of autonomy within residential care for the planning of mental health system reforms and deinstitutionalization in the Republic of Moldova. This study was commissioned by the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family and by the Ministry of Health, with the World Health Organization support, to provide for effective enforcement of article 19 of the UN CRPD. The study pursued the following goals: To evaluate the level of autonomy of the psychiatric hospital and psycho-neurological boarding house residents by using a representative sample of 10 per cent of the total number of patients / residents and cross-comparison; To evaluate four psycho-neurological boarding houses for adults and three psychiatric hospitals; To develop recommendations for planning the deinstitutionalization of people with mental health problems and community placement based on the study findings.Methodology and results: The study made use of two global tools: questionnaire for individual assessment of mental health facility residents, and institutional assessment questionnaire. All interviewees were divided into four categories by one’s degree of dependence and readiness to live independently in the community. Only 1.2% of respondents from PNHB were fully dependent on a third party or specialized services, making up category 4, requiring continuous care and support. In PH this category of people is absent.Conclusions: The condition of respondents was worse in PNBH than in PH. However, yet, those ready to be deinstitutionalized accounted for most of respondents there. All hospitals had the resident’s consent to admission and treatment, whereas there was no consent in PNBH whatsoever. It is quite obvious that both the hospitals and residential care system do not achieve their intended purpose, meaning that the majority of residents may be deinstitutionalized without any support therapy.

The importance of succession planning in family-owned Small and Medium Enterprises in Portugal

This work project addresses the importance of succession planning in family-owned Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This is directly related with Human Resources Management (HRM) given that there is an HRM long term vision in order for the succession to be planned on time and benefit the companies. This study focused on SMEs since these are the entities that have a minor focus on HRM practices. A total of 22 in-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed. Selected SMEs owners/managers and successors/antecessors were interviewed with the purpose of acquiring more insight on the level of succession planning, using a qualitative methodology from which the process of succession was derived. This study unveils that the first step in this process is related to the definition of criteria to be a good successor, followed by the choice of possible successors, being the children the natural successors, but also considering other potential ones, and finally some considerations on the future of these companies.

Sustainable urban planning: parameters to the operational process

In modern society, energy consumption and respect for the environment have become essential aspects of urban planning. The rising demand for alternative sources of energy, coupled with the decline in the construction sector and material usage, gives the idea that the thinking on modern cities, where attention is given to reduced energy consumption, savings, waste recycling and respect for the surrounding environment, is being put into practice. If we examine development of the city over recent centuries, by means of the theories of the most famous and influential urban planners, it is possible to identify the major problems caused by this type of planning. For this reason, in recent urban planning the use of systems of indicators that evaluate and certify land environmentally and energetically guides the master plan toward a more efficient city model. In addition the indicators are targeted on key factors determined by the commissioner or the opportunities the territory itself provides. Due the complexity of the environmental mechanics, the process of design and urban planning has become a challenging issue. The introduction of the indicators system has made it possible to register the life of the process, with a spiral route that allows the design itself to be refined. The aim of this study, built around the creation of a system of urban sustainability indicators that will evaluate highly eco-friendly cities, is to develop a certification system for cities or portions of them. The system will be upgradeable and objective, will employ real data and will be concerned with energy production and consumption.

Evaluation of outpatient child-adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Attica-Greece

ABSTRACT: Background: Childhood is a critical time for social and emotional development, educational progress and mental health prevention. Mental health for children and adolescents is defined by the achievement of expected developmental, cognitive, social and emotional skills. The development of child-adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) is a necessity for each country, not only as a prevention measure for the wellbeing of people, but also as an investment to the future of countries. Qualitative evaluation of services is the only way to ensure whether services function under quality standards and increase the possibility of better outcomes for their patients. This study examines the greek outpatient CAMHS against the British Standards of National Institute of Excellence for community CAMHS. The Standards assessed refer to the areas of Assessment, Care and Intervention. Objectives: The main objectives of the study are 1) to evaluate Greek outpatient CAMHS in the Attica region 2) to promote the evaluation process for mental health services in Greece. Methods: Due to the fact that Greek services are based on the British model, the tool used was the British self-review questionnaire of Quality Network for Community CAMHS(QNCC).The tool was translated, adapted and posted to services. Twelve out of twenty outpatient CAMHS of Attica (including Athens) responded. Data was collected and performed by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS. Results: The study resulted that the CAMHS examined, meet moderately the British Standards of 1) Referral and Access, 2) Assessment & Care planning, 3) Care & Intervention. Two out of twelve services examined, meet the standards of "Assessment and Care" in a higher percentage between 75% and 100%. Conclusions: The paper describes a satisfactory function of CAMHS in Attica prefecture taking into consideration the extremely difficult political situation of Greece at the time of the research. Strong and weak domains are identified. Also the translation and adaptation of British tools promote the evaluation process and quality assurance of Greek CAMHS.

Molecular tools in the diagnostic and epidemiology of infections caused by members of Mycobacterium avium Complex

Mycobacterium avium Complex (MAC) comprises microorganisms that affect a wide range of animals including humans. The most relevant are Mycobacterium avium subspecies hominissuis (Mah) with a high impact on public health affecting mainly immunocompromised individuals and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) causing paratuberculosis in animals with a high economic impact worldwide. In this work, we characterized 28 human and 67 porcine Mah isolates and evaluated the relationship among them by Multiple-Locus Variable number tandem repeat Analysis (MLVA). We concluded that Mah population presented a high genetic diversity and no correlations were inferred based on geographical origin, host or biological sample. For the first time in Portugal Map strains, from asymptomatic bovine faecal samples were isolated highlighting the need of more reliable and rapid diagnostic methods for Map direct detection. Therefore, we developed an IS900 nested real time PCR with high sensitivity and specificity associated with optimized DNA extraction methodologies for faecal and milk samples. We detected 83% of 155 faecal samples from goats, cattle and sheep, and 26% of 98 milk samples from cattle, positive for Map IS900 nested real time PCR. A novel SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) assay to Map characterization based on a Whole Genome Sequencing analysis was developed to elucidate the genetic relationship between strains. Based on sequential detection of 14 SNPs and on a decision tree we were able to differentiate 14 phylogenetic groups with a higher discriminatory power compared to other typing methods. A pigmented Map strain was isolated and characterized evidencing for the first time to our knowledge the existence of pigmented Type C strains. With this work, we intended to improve the ante mortem direct molecular detection of Map, to conscientiously aware for the existence of Map animal infections widespread in Portugal and to contribute to the improvement of Map and Mah epidemiological studies.

Unilever food solutions new digital CRM platform- what is the combination of tools, processes and content that will help Unilever food solutions grow his business?

Unilever Food Solutions new digital CRM1 Platform - What is the combination of tools, processes and content that will help Unilever Food Solutions grow his business? Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) intend to create a new online platform to enable it to communicate with segments of the markets, which have previously been too difficult to reach. Specifically targeted at Chefs and other food professionals, the aim is to create an interactive website, which delivers value to its intended users by providing a variety of relevant content and functions, while simultaneously opening up a potential transactional channel to those same users.

Jeronimo Martins in 2030 succession and strategy planning

The case outlines the history of Jerónimo Martins and the Dos Santos family in the context of a dialogue between the pater familias Alexandre and his successor Pedro. The case idea analyses the problems associated with next generation entrance in the family business and the outcomes on the different stakeholders and environment, with a particular focus on the evolution of the relationship between family, family holding and the JM group. The case is designed to assess the sustainability of a traditional succession strategy in the context of the challenges of globalization and growth of the company and family, analysing the reciprocal influence in a long-term strategy.

New tools for old organelles

For hundreds of years biologists have studied the naturally occurring diversity in plant and animal species. The invention of the electron microscope in the rst half of the 1900's reveled that cells also can be incredible complex (and often stunningly beautiful). However, despite the fact that the eld of cell biology has existed for over 100 years we still lack a formal understanding of how cells evolve: It is unclear what the extents are in cell and organelle morphology, if and how diversity might be constrained, and how organelles change morphologically over time.(...)