Differences in the perception of interest representation: a comparision of Brasília and Brussels lobbying activity

The research topic of this paper is focused on the analysis of how trade associations perceive lobbying in Brussels and in Brasília. The analysis will be centered on business associations located in Brasília and Brussels as the two core centers of decision-making and as an attraction for the lobbying practice. The underlying principles behind the comparison between Brussels and Brasilia are two. Firstof all because the European Union and Brazil have maintained diplomatic relations since 1960. Through these relations they have built up close historical, cultural, economic and political ties. Their bilateral political relations culminated in 2007 with the establishment of a Strategic Partnership (EEAS website,n.d.). Over the years, Brazil has become a key interlocutor for the EU and it is the most important market for the EU in Latin America (European Commission, 2007). Taking into account the relations between EU and Brazil, this research could contribute to the reciprocal knowledge about the perception of lobby in the respective systems and the importance of the non-market strategy when conducting business. Second both EU and Brazilian systems have a multi-level governance structure: 28 Member States in the EU and 26 Member States in Brazil; in both systems there are three main institutions targeted by lobbying practice. The objective is to compare how differences in the institutional environments affect the perception and practice of lobbying, where institutions are defined as ‘‘regulative, normative, and cognitive structures and activities that provide stability and meaning to social behavior’’ (Peng et al., 2009). Brussels, the self-proclaimed "Capital of Europe”, is the headquarters of the European Union and has one of the highest concentrations of political power in the world. Four of the seven Institutions of the European Union are based in Brussels: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council and the European Commission (EU website, n.d.). As the power of the EU institutions has grown, Brussels has become a magnet for lobbyists, with the latest estimates ranging from between 15,000 and 30,000 professionals representing companies, industry sectors, farmers, civil society groups, unions etc. (Burson Marsteller, 2013). Brasília is the capital of Brazil and the seat of government of the Federal District and the three branches of the federal government of Brazilian legislative, executive and judiciary. The 4 city also hosts 124 foreign embassies. The presence of the formal representations of companies and trade associations in Brasília is very limited, but the governmental interests remain there and the professionals dealing with government affairs commute there. In the European Union, Brussels has established a Transparency Register that allows the interactions between the European institutions and citizen’s associations, NGOs, businesses, trade and professional organizations, trade unions and think tanks. The register provides citizens with a direct and single access to information about who is engaged in This process is important for the quality of democracy, and for its capacity to deliver adequate policies, matching activities aimed at influencing the EU decision-making process, which interests are being pursued and what level of resources are invested in these activities (Celgene, n.d). It offers a single code of conduct, binding all organizations and self-employed individuals who accept to “play by the rules” in full respect of ethical principles (EC website, n.d). A complaints and sanctions mechanism ensures the enforcement of the rules and addresses suspected breaches of the code. In Brazil, there is no specific legislation regulating lobbying. The National Congress is currently discussing dozens of bills that address regulation of lobbying and the action of interest groups (De Aragão, 2012), but none of them has been enacted for the moment. This work will focus on class lobbying (Oliveira, 2004), which refers to the performance of the federation of national labour or industrial unions, like CNI (National Industry Confederation) in Brazil and the European Banking Federation (EBF) in Brussels. Their performance aims to influence the Executive and Legislative branches in order to defend the interests of their affiliates. When representing unions and federations, class entities cover a wide range of different and, more often than not, conflicting interests. That is why they are limited to defending the consensual and majority interest of their affiliates (Oliveira, 2004). The basic assumption of this work is that institutions matter (Peng et al, 2009) and that the trade associations and their affiliates, when doing business, have to take into account the institutional and regulatory framework where they do business.

The relationship between school violence and student proficiency

School violence has recently become a central concern among teachers, students, students' parents and policymakers. Violence can induce behaviors on educational agents that go against the goals of improving the quality of education and increasing school attendance. In fact, there is evidence that school environmental characteristics and student performance and behavior at school are related. Although school violence may have a direct impact on students’ performance, such impact has not yet been quantified. In this paper, we investigate this issue using Brazilian data and show that, on average, students who attended more violent schools had worse proficiency on a centralized test carried out by the Brazilian Ministry of Education, even when we controlled for school, class, teachers and student characteristics. We also show that school violence affects more the students from the bottom of the proficiency distribution. Furthermore, we find out that besides the direct effect on student proficiency, it seems that school violence has an indirect effect on it operating through teacher turnover. Indeed, we show that the occurrence of violent episodes in a school decreases the probability of a class in that school having only one teacher during the academic year, and increases the probability of that class having more than one teacher (teacher turnover).

Hope, risk perception and propensity to indebtedness

Hope is an important construct in marketing, once it is an antecedent of important marketing variables, such as trust, expectation and satisfaction (MacInnis & de Mello, 2005, Almeida, Mazzon & Botelho, 2007). Specifically, the literature suggests that hope can play an important influence on risk perception (Almeida, 2010, Almeida et al., 2007, Fleming, 2008, MacInnis & de Mello, 2005) and propensity to indebtedness (Fleming, 2008). Thus, this thesis aims to investigate the relations among hope, risk perception related to purchasing and consumption and propensity to indebtedness, by reviewing the existing literature and conducting two empirical researches. The first of them is a laboratory experiment, which accessed hope and risk perception of getting a mortgage loan. The second is a survey, investigating university students’ propensity to get indebted to pay for their university tuition, analyzed through the method of Structural Equations Modeling (SEM). These studies found that hope seems to play an important role on propensity to indebtedness, as higher levels of hope predicted an increase in the propensity to accept the mortgage loan, independent of actual risks, and an increase in the propensity of college students to get indebted to pay for their studies. In addition, the first study suggests that hope may lead to a decrease in risk perception, which, however, has not been confirmed by the second study. Finally, this research offers some methodological contributions, due to the fact that it is the first study using an experimental method to study hope in Brazil and, worldwide, it is the first study investigating the relation among hope, risk perception and propensity to indebtedness, which proved to be important influences in consumer behavior

Gestão da polícia militar: a cultura institucional como agente limitador da construção de uma polícia cidadã

Esta dissertação teve como objetivo compreender de que maneira a cultura organizacional da polícia militar influencia o modelo de gestão da instituição. O cotidiano institucional da policia militar é repleto de situações que servem de objeto de argüição sobre o processo de construção da identidade do policial militar como resultante de um comportamento normativo e disciplinar que consolida conceitos historicamente enraizados, os quais se repassam de geração a geração. O modo de agir do policial militar configura uma cultura institucional que reforça a crise de segurança instalada na sociedade. Frente a tal realidade, a gestão institucional passa a ser um importante objeto de investigação capaz de contribuir com mudanças no trabalho policial militar, pois ainda persiste no modus operandi da segurança pública uma ação tipicamente ligada ao controle da violência mediante o uso da violência. Presumivelmente, esse papel seria exercido através do cumprimento da doutrina que atualmente é ensinada nas academias militares. No entanto, essas formulações são usadas como anteparo e reforço de valores militares rígidos, configurando a cultura organizacional da instituição, de maneira que tais preceitos e as práticas que as acompanham são as referências principais do discurso teórico e dos argumentos ideológicos da Polícia Militar. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que as bases doutrinárias, transplantadas do exército brasileiro e que originaram as policias militares, persistem até os dias atuais nessa instituição e resultou na absorção da doutrina militar expressa no pensamento, símbolos, modus operandi e estrutura, o que a mantém sob controle rígido, atendendo às expectativas do Estado em detrimento do povo ou da própria policia; a cultura organizacional da polícia militar permanece quase inalterada desde suas origens, o que a coloca em dissonância com a realidade contemporânea; o modelo de gestão que a polícia militar utilizar foi construído a partir da base ideológica de suas origens, centrado na hierarquia e na disciplina, e que tem no cumprimento do regulamento o foco central da gestão; e que o modelo de gestão praticado pela polícia militar impede o cumprimento de sua missão institucional e social porque seu foco está deslocado, ou seja, ao invés de focar a solução dos problemas de segurança e defesa dos direitos da sociedade visa ao cumprimento linear, puro e simples do regulamento militar (Esse trecho está muito confuso!! Não consigo entender o que você quis dizer). A conclusão é que a cultura organizacional das polícias militares determina o modelo de gestão contemporâneo da instituição focado na militarização. É um modelo que privilegia a hierarquia e a disciplina (e ao apego ao regulamento), em detrimento do capital intelectual e da participação de seus membros e da sociedade na identificação e solUção dos seus objetivos e metas. Como resultado, a polícia militar se distanciou da solução de sua missão institucional e social, o que levou a sociedade a se ressentir de proteção e defesa de seus direitos.

PROAGRO - Programa de Garantia de Atividade Agropecuaria: avaliação de seus objetivos na microrregião homogenea de Passo-Fundo - RS

No Brasil nao e raro a criação de Programas pelas autoridades governamentais, para atender. determina da situação conjuntural ou para direcionar os esforços de pro . .' dução a uma atividade específica. Ocorre, porém, na maioria das vezes que não se criam -- simultaneamente ã formulação-instr~ mentos efetivos para sua avaliação e assim, os programas se agigantam e -introdu~em seus próprios mecanismos de de fesa para sua autopreservação. Este trabalho objetiva avaliar um deles --- o PROAGRO - Programa de Garantia da Atividade Agropecuá - ria --- através de uma confrontação entre a visão de seus for muladores e,a dos diversos agentes que atuam na operaciona lização do programa, em uma microrregião homogênea do LB.G. E., constituída pelos segu~ntes municípios: Carazinho, Chap! da, Coronel Bicaco, Palmeira das Missões, Passo Fundo e Santo Augusto, todos situados no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Com ênfase nos aspectos de formulação de políticas públicas, este trabalho foi desenvolvido dentro de uma sistemática, cuj as idé"'ias básicas discriminamos a seguir: descrição da importância do PROAGRO e, em virtude dele estar intimamente vinculado ao Sistema Nacional de Crédito Rural, dos objetivos, do desempenho e das disfunções desse Sistema. Como corolário, constata-se que pou cos agricultores têm acesso ao crédito rural institucio na1izado e entre seus beneficiários há uma concentração excessiva dos recursos; - registros dos antecedentes da implantação do seguro agrícola no Brasil, inclusive a experiência frustrada da Companhia Nacional de Seguro Agrícola (1954-1966); - análise do conteúdo formal da política e do desempenho em termos financeiros. ao longo dos se'is primeiros anos de atuação. Em decorrência emerge o fato' de que o programa vem sofrendo constantes déficits e há uma concentração excessiva na utilização de recursos por um tipo de cultura· (trigo) em uma determinada região (Sul); divulgação do resultado da pesquisa-junto aos vários a gentes que atuam no programa e dentre outras conclusões, ·1. constatam-se~indfcios de que o objetivo de auxílio na utilização de tecnologia moderna -- apregoada pelas suas normas -- nãR vem sendo atingido, oco~rendo, em alguns casos, o inverso, ou seja, a acomodação dos agricultores; - descrição dos modelos de seguro agrícola de três ses, Estados Unidos, México e Japão, para fornecer sub sídios ã análise do programa. t marcante a preocupa - ção do governo desses países em manter o programa dentro de critérios exclusivamente técnicos, lastreados em cálculos atuariais para definição dos percentuais de prêmios a serem cobrados; - comparação entre as duas visões descritas e as suges - tões dos modelos de outros países citados. Conclui-se pela necessidade de assegurar ao programa um maior rigor técnico na condução das operações de seguro e com ênfase apenas na forma de administração, propõe-se duas altern~tivas para consolidação do seguro agrícola no Brasil, a saber: 1) o aperfeiçoamento do programa; 2) a transferência gradativa para esfera do Sistema de Seguro Rural, com a vigilância e aporte financeiro do Governo Federal.

The Brazilian class C women perception regarding premium mass products in the beauty industry

Recentemente, os mercados emergentes se tornaram um alvo potencial para a indústria da beleza e o Brasil está se tornando um mercado lucrativo para os produtos cosméticos Premium (Euromonitor International, 2013). A população de baixa renda no Brasil representa 70% de seus habitantes ao considerar as classes C, D e E (Barki e Parente, 2010), sendo a classe C representada por 56% da população (Neri, 2012). Este é um mercado potencial para as empresas multinacionais (MNCs), que enfrentam desafios de fazer negócios no país, visto que a classe C opta por gastar parte de sua renda com produtos relacionados a beleza (Silva e Parente, 2007) e ainda há um pouco conhecimento sobre o comportamento de consumo na base da pirâmide. Portanto, o objetivo deste estudo é investigar e descrever o comportamento de consumo das mulheres brasileiras da classe C no setor de beleza, em relação aos produtos Mass Premium, melhorando o conhecimento no que diz respeito a essa população e ao tema proposto. Para atingir esse objetivo, o autor utilizou uma metodologia baseada em uma análise descritivas qualitativa em que foram entrevistadas 20 mulheres de todas as faixas etárias, que pertencem à classe C brasileira e citações foram usadas para fornecer a confirmação dos resultados da análise. Os resultados sugerem que, ao longo dos anos, houve de fato um movimento de trade up no consumo de produtos de beleza. Além disso, foram identificados cinco aspectos principais, que conduzem decisão de compra das mulheres de classe C, no setor de beleza: confiabilidade, qualidade, status, autoestima e bem-estar. Apesar das limitações de um estudo exploratório, espera-se que a pesquisa aumente o conhecimento sobre o mercado da base da pirâmide, especialmente no que diz respeito à indústria da beleza.

The impact of corporate social responsibility on the Peruvian consumer’s purchasing behavior

This exploratory research aims to find out the extent to which Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) impacts the purchasing behavior of Peruvian consumers when it comes to convenience food products. The study includes qualitative and quantitative analysis. Qualitative analysis consists of in-depth interviews with CSR representatives from consumer product companies, CSR practitioners and some consumers from the quantitative sample. That group’s composition was selected in order to obtain a wide picture of the consumers’ perception towards CSR, including their understanding of the concept and the relevance in their decision making process when buying convenience food products. The quantitative analysis portion consists of an on-line survey focused on Peruvian consumers who live in Lima during the year 2015. Consumers included in the sample were selected by convenience. After analyzing the 134 completed surveys, the results obtained suggest that even though there is an increasing interest in CSR, including CSR as an attribute of the purchased goods, interest is not fully demonstrated by the purchasing behavior of consumers. The main breach leading to this inconsistency appears to be the lack of or failure in the companies’ CSR communication towards consumers. Consumers demand reliable information which socially responsible companies usually provide; however at this stage, the target audiences of such information are mostly corporations and communities surrounding the manufacturing plants of convenience food products.

Coffee house consumer behavior in Changsha, China

Women in Changsha are patronizing coffee-houses, ordering beverages and sweets, and disliking the taste of the expensive product purchased. This thesis is an exploratory research study conducted in Changsha, China with a consumer behavior focus. It uses primary surveys and interviews in addition to secondary sources from books, articles, and academic journals. It seeks to identify underlying motives for purchasing behavior from working women in the developing third-tier city Changsha, Hunan, China. It delves into the psychology of the working women who spend their hard-earned discretionary incomes at costly western chain coffee-houses. The inland mass-market consumer class feels the desire to project their newly established status while needing to save money for their personal future, their children’s schooling, and their parent’s retirement. They must wisely spend discretionary income while satisfying social societal norms. An individual’s self-concept plays and important role in determining which coffee shop she will frequent and what she will order. Daylight Donuts, Starbucks, Costa Coffee and local café’s all serve brewed coffee but they have different associations. This study aims at understanding the influencing factors associated with coffee-house brand equity and how the consumer’s perception of the brand forms her purchasing behavior. All coffee-house brands are relatively new in Changsha, none existing more than seven years. They do not have lasting ties with the community and need to create consumer relationships to ensure sustainability. Changsha women are bold and strong willed. If a corporation is to succeed in the future of Hunan, it will need to create an environment of hospitality excellence, place socially responsible roots in the society, and ask its customers what they want.