Primera Reservoir Ltd. strategic position analysis

The purpose of this work is to understand the internal and external structure in which the company operates to provide an idea of the strategic actions needed to accomplish their organizational objectives. A strategic software was employed to build up phase one and phase two, phase one involved analysing internal and external factors that influence the company, comprehending their core competences, factors that influence the market and identification of strengths and weaknesses. Phase two consisted on providing an idea of their real competitive position and the suggestion of a development strategy, given the possible limitations in the external factors, the company should carefully analyse some of the opportunities present in the industry overseas to continue to develop their business and increase its profitability. Furthermore, a source of competitive advantage was found in their outbound logistics which could serve a differentiator between their competitors.

Corporate social reponsability strategic corporate social responsability: External and internal outcomes

This study investigates the importance and benefits of having a strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program by testing the interrelationships between strategic CSR with three external (reputation, corporate image, and customer loyalty) and four internal (organizational commitment, job satisfaction, performance, and organizational deviance) variables. 269 clients and non-clients along with 190 employees and their direct supervisors completed the survey. Strategic CSR has shown to have a positive impact on all the variables studied with the exception of organizational deviance. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Essays on bounded rationality: Individual decision and strategic interaction

Economics is a social science which, therefore, focuses on people and on the decisions they make, be it in an individual context, or in group situations. It studies human choices, in face of needs to be fulfilled, and a limited amount of resources to fulfill them. For a long time, there was a convergence between the normative and positive views of human behavior, in that the ideal and predicted decisions of agents in economic models were entangled in one single concept. That is, it was assumed that the best that could be done in each situation was exactly the choice that would prevail. Or, at least, that the facts that economics needed to explain could be understood in the light of models in which individual agents act as if they are able to make ideal decisions. However, in the last decades, the complexity of the environment in which economic decisions are made and the limits on the ability of agents to deal with it have been recognized, and incorporated into models of decision making in what came to be known as the bounded rationality paradigm. This was triggered by the incapacity of the unboundedly rationality paradigm to explain observed phenomena and behavior. This thesis contributes to the literature in three different ways. Chapter 1 is a survey on bounded rationality, which gathers and organizes the contributions to the field since Simon (1955) first recognized the necessity to account for the limits on human rationality. The focus of the survey is on theoretical work rather than the experimental literature which presents evidence of actual behavior that differs from what classic rationality predicts. The general framework is as follows. Given a set of exogenous variables, the economic agent needs to choose an element from the choice set that is avail- able to him, in order to optimize the expected value of an objective function (assuming his preferences are representable by such a function). If this problem is too complex for the agent to deal with, one or more of its elements is simplified. Each bounded rationality theory is categorized according to the most relevant element it simplifes. Chapter 2 proposes a novel theory of bounded rationality. Much in the same fashion as Conlisk (1980) and Gabaix (2014), we assume that thinking is costly in the sense that agents have to pay a cost for performing mental operations. In our model, if they choose not to think, such cost is avoided, but they are left with a single alternative, labeled the default choice. We exemplify the idea with a very simple model of consumer choice and identify the concept of isofin curves, i.e., sets of default choices which generate the same utility net of thinking cost. Then, we apply the idea to a linear symmetric Cournot duopoly, in which the default choice can be interpreted as the most natural quantity to be produced in the market. We find that, as the thinking cost increases, the number of firms thinking in equilibrium decreases. More interestingly, for intermediate levels of thinking cost, an equilibrium in which one of the firms chooses the default quantity and the other best responds to it exists, generating asymmetric choices in a symmetric model. Our model is able to explain well-known regularities identified in the Cournot experimental literature, such as the adoption of different strategies by players (Huck et al. , 1999), the inter temporal rigidity of choices (Bosch-Dom enech & Vriend, 2003) and the dispersion of quantities in the context of di cult decision making (Bosch-Dom enech & Vriend, 2003). Chapter 3 applies a model of bounded rationality in a game-theoretic set- ting to the well-known turnout paradox in large elections, pivotal probabilities vanish very quickly and no one should vote, in sharp contrast with the ob- served high levels of turnout. Inspired by the concept of rhizomatic thinking, introduced by Bravo-Furtado & Côrte-Real (2009a), we assume that each per- son is self-delusional in the sense that, when making a decision, she believes that a fraction of the people who support the same party decides alike, even if no communication is established between them. This kind of belief simplifies the decision of the agent, as it reduces the number of players he believes to be playing against { it is thus a bounded rationality approach. Studying a two-party first-past-the-post election with a continuum of self-delusional agents, we show that the turnout rate is positive in all the possible equilibria, and that it can be as high as 100%. The game displays multiple equilibria, at least one of which entails a victory of the bigger party. The smaller one may also win, provided its relative size is not too small; more self-delusional voters in the minority party decreases this threshold size. Our model is able to explain some empirical facts, such as the possibility that a close election leads to low turnout (Geys, 2006), a lower margin of victory when turnout is higher (Geys, 2006) and high turnout rates favoring the minority (Bernhagen & Marsh, 1997).

Econet wireless Zimbawe Limited: Building the future

In February 2015, when Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Limited, EWZL, the market leader of the telecommunications sector in Zimbabwe, published the financial results, the management team was worried about the shareholders’ reaction. With over 60% market share in its core business (the voice and SMS market), it has achieved remarkable results due to the great diversification strategy. However, the share price was continuously falling due to exogenous factors that were pressuring margins and threatening future sustainability of the company. EWZL was highly exposed to Zimbabwe’s specific risks and regulatory policies. This case explores both the business environment surrounding the company and the strategic decisions necessary to fight against the economic and political challenges. Students will step into Econet’s obstacles by analyzing the strategies and diagnosing the multiple risk factors affecting the profitability of the firm. Furthermore, they will have to compute the valuation of the firm, facing several challenges of a developing country.

Does the existing Corporate Governance structure and strict Legal Framework, affect the strategic decisionmaking of CEOs?

This thesis is a case study on Corporate Governance and Business Ethics, using the Portuguese Corporate Law as a general setting. The thesis was conducted in Portugal with illustrations on past cases under the Business Judgment Rule of the State of Delaware, U.SA along with illustrations on current cases in Portugal under the Portuguese Judicial setting, along with a comparative analysis between both. A debate is being considered among scholars and executives; a debate on best practices within corporate governance and corporate law, associated with recent discoveries of unlawful investments that lead to the bankruptcy of leading institutions and an aggravation of the crisis in Portugal. The study aimed at learning possible reasons and causes for the current situation of the country’s corporations along with attempts to discover the best way to move forward. From the interviews and analysis conducted, this paper concluded that the corporate governance structure and legal frameworks in Portugal were not the sole influencers behind the actions and decisions of Corporate Executives, nor were they the main triggers for the recent corporate mishaps. But it is rather a combination of different factors that played a significant role, such as cultural and ethical aspects, individual personalities, and others all of which created gray areas beyond the legal structure, which in turn accelerated and aggravated the corporate governance crisis in the country.

Análise do impacto do controlo de custos na competitividade de uma empresa de mobiliário

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial

Strategic planning of electricity systems: Integrating renewable energies

Tese de Doutoramento - Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Industrial e Sistemas (PDEIS)

Adult learning and education policies in Germany, Portugal and Sweden: An analysis of national reports to CONFINTEA VI

The chapter presents a theoretical proposal of three analytical models of Adult Learning and Education (ALE) policies. Some analytical categories and the corresponding dimensions are organised according to the ALE rationale which is typical of each social policy model. Historical, cultural and educational features are mentioned in connexion with the different policy models and its interpretative capacity to making sense of policies and practices implemented in Germany, Portugal and Sweden. !e analysis includes the states of the art and the official representations of ALE produced by the respective national authorities through national reports which were presented to CONFINTEA VI (2009).

A comunicação do compromisso para com o desenvolvimento sustentável, das organizações portuguesas certificadas em qualidade, ambiente e segurança

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Industrial (área de especialização em Qualidade, Segurança e Manutenção)

A comunicação estratégica aplicada à divulgação da ciência: o caso do Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade

A ciência é uma atividade que torna possível o desenvolvimento tecnológico, social, cultural e económico. É importante avaliar a forma como o mundo científico comunica, nomeadamente a capacidade de adequação da comunicação da ciência às novas ferramentas e às respetivas formas de interação com os públicos. Referimo-nos à comunicação digital que traz potencialidades acrescidas, face à comunicação tradicional. Na verdade, procuraremos demonstrar que o investimento que é feito na comunicação online, inserida numa estratégia de comunicação sólida e coerente, pode trazer benefícios acrescidos à divulgação científica. O Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade tem, como preocupação primária, a divulgação dos resultados da sua investigação. A atual inquietação à volta do desinvestimento na ciência torna a avaliação das políticas de comunicação levadas a cabo no CECS uma necessidade premente, para demonstrar a importância da sua atividade e do financiamento necessário à sua prossecução. Neste contexto, esta investigação procura desvendar a importância da comunicação online, no âmbito da comunicação da ciência e da investigação científica. Para este efeito, faremos uma auditoria de comunicação focando-nos nas ferramentas de comunicação online do CECS, procurando perceber a importância da utilização destas na estratégia de divulgação científica.

O papel da diplomacia económica na dinamização da economia: o caso de Cabo Verde

Dissertação de mestrado em Negócios Internacionais

VET: a strategic approach for economic, organisational and personal development in EU countries

Vocational Education and Training (VET) is a continuous long-term process of economic, organisational and personal development. It envisions the construction of dynamic skills to improve performance, productivity and organisational, personal and social development. This article focuses on generating skills. It frames training as a process of work-linked training and as a primary source for generating skills whilst seeking to boost creativity. It sheds light upon the discussion pertaining to learning transfer as a necessary condition to structure performance and competitiveness. It highlights the Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI), because it allows to measure the effectiveness of training and it identifies the organisations' weaknesses. The data used were collected from the Eurostat Database.

Energía Eólica en Argentina: una cuestión estratégica hacia la Economía del Hidrógeno. Wind Energy in Argentina: a strategic subject towards the Hydrogen Economy.

Identificación/caracterización del problema: El abastecimiento energético en base a fuentes no tradicionales o recursos no renovables es un tema altamente estratégico en las agendas de los Estados. El petróleo se está agotando y las existencias no alcanzarán para abastecer el consumo mundial.Esto ha llevado a Gobiernos a implementar alternativas de producción energética basadas en fuentes no tradicionales, tales como el Hidrógeno (H2), lo cual creará una Economía basada en el Hidrógeno.Argentina cuenta con una matriz energética dependiente en un 90 por ciento del petróleo y con reservas certificadas de petróleo y gas natural para 8,6 y 9,4 años respectivamente. Sin duda, los desafíos próximos serán: a) crear las herramientas necesarias para minimizar una potencial crisis energética en el corto plazo, y b) desarrollar políticas energéticas que articulen su autoabastecimiento e inserción en la Economía del Hidrógeno. Dado que Argentina cuenta con uno de los recursos renovables más importantes del mundo, "el viento", tiene condiciones inmejorables para obtener Hidrógeno (H2) por electrólisis del agua, utilizando energía eléctrica proveniente de fuentes renovables como la eólica (EE). Es por ello que apostar al desarrollo local del H2 basado en la EE nos ofrecerá como país, un rol estratégico en la futura Economía del Hidrógeno.Objetivo General: Identificar la actual Matriz Energética Argentina y reconocer los factores limitantes y oportunidades para la diversificación de la misma, utilizando la Energía Eólica (EE) como pilar hacia la Economía del Hidrógeno (Econo-H2). El fin último será esbozar herramientas de política energética e instrumentos regulatorios pertinentes, que sirvan de base para la formulación de una macro política energética.Metodología de Investigación: Se utilizarán técnicas de análisis de la siguiente información:a) Documental (textos, artículos, información periodística)b) Técnica, Legal y administrativa) Oral (Declaraciones oficiales-privadas y entrevistas)d) Visual (imágenes, gráficos y mapas)e) Datos (cronológicos, estadísticos y geográficos)Resultados esperados: La formulación de herramientas de política energética y de instrumentos regulatorios pertinentes, que sirvan de base para la formulación de una macro política energética que considere la Energía Eólica (EE) como un pilar fundamental para la diversificación de la matriz energética actual. Asimismo se reflexionará sobre la importancia de asociar la EE a la producción masiva del hidrógeno (H2) para la inserción y proyección futura de la Argentina hacia la Economía del Hidrógeno.Importancia del Proyecto: Argentina ha ratificado el protocolo de Kioto y forma parte de la Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (JREC), por la cual ha asumido compromisos para fijar políticas nacionales de incentivo para el desarrollo de uso de energías renovables.Sin embargo, y a pesar de una serie de iniciativas y leyes promulgadas relacionadas a uso de energías renovables, hasta la fecha, no se ha logrado cumplir con metas concretas.Consideramos que uno de los factores fundamentales que ha dificultado esto, se basa en la ausencia de una política de Estado de mediano y largo plazo que incluya a las energías renovables como un objetivo concreto y un sistema de instrumentos y planes complementarios que acompañen dicha política.

La institucionalización de la Comunidad Regional Punilla (Provincia de Córdoba): estudio y promoción de metodologías de diseño participativo y gestión asociada de políticas públicas para el desarrollo. The institution of Punilla Regional Community: study and promotion of participative metodologies for the associated planning and management of development policies.

Durante el período 2006-2008, las actividades de investigación y asistencia técnica de este equipo enfatizaron en la necesaria práctica social y política de horizontalidad en las relaciones, en la 'dimensión intersubjetiva o relacional de la regionalización' (Cáceres, 2006) en el marco de la Comunidad Regional Punilla (CRP), considerando a la identidad regional como un condicionante relevante de la 'construcción de la región como unidad de acción(Boisier, 2003). Así, durante ese período, se ha ido conformando un espacio 'regional' de composición multiactoral, social y gubernamental, para el trabajo asociativo (PROFIM, SIP, UCC 2007, 2008). Con el propósito de profundizar el Programa, este proyecto propone el fortalecimiento institucional de la CRP a través de la formalización del escenario participativo regional (Poggiese, 2001, 2002) para el diseño y gestión asociada de políticas de desarrollo. Tales propósitos y mecanismos están previstos en la Ley Orgánica de Regionalización de la Provincia de Córdoba (9.206/04) y en las normativas regionales derivadas de ésta a través de la figura del 'Consejo de la Sociedad Civil'. Con base en la observación del proceso desarrollado en Punilla desde el año 2006, esta propuesta suscribe el carácter interdisciplinario e intersectorial de la red social y política en la que se sustentará el Consejo y la lógica 'procesal y consensual' de su construcción, considerando, además, la nueva configuración del mapa político de la CRP a partir de los resultados electorales del año 2008 en tanto cambios estructurales en la relación gobierno y oposición que se presentan como una oportunidad para desarrollar los espacios públicos participativos que la sociedad regional puede ocupar para canalizar institucionalmente sus demandas. El proyecto busca 'analizar' pero también 'promover' el proceso de cambio político y social en marcha para facilitar su 'ampliación democrática' (Redín y Moroni, 2003), reflexionado críticamente y poniendo en cuestión algunos de los supuestos que han caracterizado a la retórica de la regionalización provincial: la existencia de una sociedad civil debidamente organizada en cada una de las regiones, cuya concurrencia al proceso decisorio puede asegurarse una vez 'abiertos' -formalizados- los canales de participación; la superación de la dirección bottom up en los procesos de toma de decisiones y la preeminencia de modalidades de 'articulación intermunicipal' para la gestión de políticas allí donde la Ley y las ordenanzas locales declaran establecida una 'Comunidad Regional'. El cuestionamiento de dichos supuestos sustenta, en definitiva, las preguntas que delimitan los temas- problema que se abordarán a partir de este trabajo.

Producción de información para las políticas públicas: observatorio de salud mental y derechos humanos en la provincia de córdoba. Documented information and indicators for the pubic policies in mental health: human rights obseratory in córdoba

El problema que enfrenta la institucionalidad estatal argentina es que existe un serio déficit de información no solamente en el momento de evaluar un resultado, sino ya al momento de diseñar la política. Las estadísticas oficiales de hechos vitales, salud y educación son difundidas en el mejor de los casos con un año de atraso. La información de indicadores de salud por su nivel de desagregación no permite conocer las realidades locales. Es posible constatar la falta de información sobre las medidas tomadas para asegurar el cumplimiento de las obligaciones del Estado en lo relativo a políticas y programas de salud mental. Del mismo modo que los organismos internacionales determinan los deficits de los sistemas de atención a la salud mental a través de las brechas de tratamiento y aun cuando no se dispone de estimaciones precisas se habla de brechas de información, que expresarían la distancia entre la información necesaria y la efectivamente disponible (OPS, 2009). Desde el mes de diciembre de 2007 se conforma la Mesa de Trabajo Permanente en Salud Mental y Derechos Humanos, con el objeto de instalar en agenda la necesidad de contar con una legislación que brinde el marco normativo para la transformación del sector. En los meses de octubre y noviembre de 2010 se aprobaron sendas leyes de salud mental en la Provincia de Córdoba y a nivel nacional. Ambas proponen la transformación progresiva en los sistemas de atención a los problemas de salud mental de la población. Desde la Mesa de Trabajo Permanente en Salud Mental y Derechos Humanos se afirma que la legislación es un marco necesario pero no suficiente, en tanto se constata que las princiales violaciones a los derechos humanos se producen en situaciones concretas. El presente proyecto nace de la necesidad de contar con un sistema de información que permita conocer la transformación de los servicios de salud mental en la provincia de Córdoba a partir de la sanción de la ley 9848 de Salud Mental en el mes de octubre de 2010. Una vez logrado este objetivo legislativo, se pretende monitorear la gestión con la formulación de los siguientes interrogantes: ¿a través de qué indicadores medir, evaluar y monitorear si la producción de los servicios de salud mental se lleva adelante desde la perspectiva del enfoque de derechos sancionada en el marco normativo vigente?; ¿cuáles son los indicadores que desde dicha perspectiva los organismos estatales de producción de servicios deben elaborar para el compromiso de acción y la rendición de cuentas frente a la ciudadanía? ¿cuáles son los indicadores que la ciudadanía debe reclamar a los fines de monitorear el cumplimiento de dichos compromisos? La puesta en marcha del Observatorio de Salud Mental y Derechos Humanos permitirá analizar las políticas y programas de salud mental desde la perspectiva de los derechos humanos y avanzar en el monitoreo de la producción de los servicios de salud mental. Objetivo General: analizar y hacer visible el cumplimiento de los objetivos sancionados en la ley 9848 de Salud Mental a través de la observación, el monitoreo y la incidencia en las políticas de salud mental de la provincia de Córdoba. Metodología: la construcción de indicadores de derechos humanos para la salud mental. El Observatorio de Salud Mental y Derechos Humanos pretende dar cuenta de las transformaciones que van a ocurrir a partir de la sanción de la ley 9848. Los resultados esperados están ligados a la producción y difusión de información sistematizada sobre las transformaciones en salud mental, a la vigilancia y el análisis del efecto/impacto de las políticas e incidir en las decisiones. El Observatorio pretende reconocer e integrar la información disponible y proponer indicadores que den cuenta de la situación inicial al momento de la implementación de los marcos normativos y permitir el monitoreo de las transformaciones emergentes. This project stems from the need for an information system designed to show the transformation of mental health services in the province of Cordoba after the enactment of the Mental Health Act 9848 in October 2010. Once achieved this legislative objective is to monitor the management with the formulation of the following questions: through which indicators to measure, evaluate and monitor whether the production of mental health services are carried forward from the perspective of rights-based approach enacted in two laws?, What are the indicators from that perspective the production agencies should develop services for the commitment to action and accountability to the public? What are the indicators that the public should demand that the purpose of monitoring compliance with these commitments? The launch of the Centre for Mental Health and Human Rights will review the policies and mental health programs from the perspective of human rights and progress in monitoring the production of mental health services. General Objective: to analyze and highlight the achievement of the objectives sanctioned by the Mental Health Act 9848 through the observation, monitoring and impact on mental health policy in the province of Cordoba. Methodology: building human rights indicators for mental health Mental Observatory Health and Human Rights aims to account for the changes that will occur after the enactment of Law 9848. The expected results are linked to production and dissemination of systematic information about changes in mental health, surveillance and analysis of the effect / impact and influence policy decisions. The Centre aims to recognize and integrate the available information and propose indicators that account for the initial situation at the time of implementation of regulatory frameworks and allow monitoring of change emerging.