903 resultados para financial planning services
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Improving the performance of private sector small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in a cost effective manner is a major concern for government. Governments have saved costs by moving information online rather than through more expensive face-to-face exchanges between advisers and clients. Building on previous work that distinguished between types of advice, this article evaluates whether these changes to delivery mechanisms affect the type of advice received. Using a multinomial logit model of 1334 cases of business advice to small firms collected in England, the study found that advice to improve capabilities was taken by smaller firms who were less likely to have limited liability or undertake business planning. SMEs sought word-of-mouth referrals before taking internal, capability-enhancing advice. This is also the case when that advice was part of a wider package of assistance involving both internal and external aspects. Only when firms took advice that used extant capabilities did they rely on the Internet. Therefore, when the Internet is privileged over face-to-face advice the changes made by each recipient of advice are likely to diminish causing less impact from advice within the economy. It implies that fewer firms will adopt the sorts of management practices that would improve their productivity. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.
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DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT
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A cross-country pipeline construction project is exposed to an uncertain environment due to its enormous size (physical, manpower requirement and financial value), complexity in design technology and involvement of external factors. These uncertainties can lead to several changes in project scope during the process of project execution. Unless the changes are properly controlled, the time, cost and quality goals of the project may never be achieved. A methodology is proposed for project control through risk analysis, contingency allocation and hierarchical planning models. Risk analysis is carried out through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) due to the subjective nature of risks in construction projects. The results of risk analysis are used to determine the logical contingency for project control with the application of probability theory. Ultimate project control is carried out by hierarchical planning model which enables decision makers to take vital decisions during the changing environment of the construction period. Goal programming (GP), a multiple criteria decision-making technique, is proposed for model formulation because of its flexibility and priority-base structure. The project is planned hierarchically in three levels—project, work package and activity. GP is applied separately at each level. Decision variables of each model are different planning parameters of the project. In this study, models are formulated from the owner's perspective and its effectiveness in project control is demonstrated.
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DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT One of the current research trends in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) involves examining the critical factors for its successful implementation. However, such research is limited to system implementation, not focusing on the flexibility of ERP to respond to changes in business. Therefore, this study explores a combination system, made up of an ERP and informality, intended to provide organisations with efficient and flexible performance simultaneously. In addition, this research analyses the benefits and challenges of using the system. The research was based on socio-technical system (STS) theory which contains two dimensions: 1) a technical dimension which evaluates the performance of the system; and 2) a social dimension which examines the impact of the system on an organisation. A mixed method approach has been followed in this research. The qualitative part aims to understand the constraints of using a single ERP system, and to define a new system corresponding to these problems. To achieve this goal, four Chinese companies operating in different industries were studied, all of which faced challenges in using an ERP system due to complexity and uncertainty in their business environments. The quantitative part contains a discrete-event simulation study that is intended to examine the impact of operational performance when a company implements the hybrid system in a real-life situation. Moreover, this research conducts a further qualitative case study, the better to understand the influence of the system in an organisation. The empirical aspect of the study reveals that an ERP with pre-determined business activities cannot react promptly to unanticipated changes in a business. Incorporating informality into an ERP can react to different situations by using different procedures that are based on the practical knowledge of frontline employees. Furthermore, the simulation study shows that the combination system can achieve a balance between efficiency and flexibility. Unlike existing research, which emphasises a continuous improvement in the IT functions of an enterprise system, this research contributes to providing a definition of a new system in theory, which has mixed performance and contains both the formal practices embedded in an ERP and informal activities based on human knowledge. It supports both cost-efficiency in executing business transactions and flexibility in coping with business uncertainty.This research also indicates risks of using the system, such as using an ERP with limited functions; a high cost for performing informally; and a low system acceptance, owing to a shift in organisational culture. With respect to practical contribution, this research suggests that companies can choose the most suitable enterprise system approach in accordance with their operational strategies. The combination system can be implemented in a company that needs to operate a medium amount of volume and variety. By contrast, the traditional ERP system is better suited in a company that operates a high-level volume market, while an informal system is more suitable for a firm with a requirement for a high level of variety.
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This research has been undertaken to determine how successful multi-organisational enterprise strategy is reliant on the correct type of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) information systems being used. However there appears to be a dearth of research as regards strategic alignment between ERP systems development and multi-organisational enterprise governance as guidelines and frameworks to assist practitioners in making decision for multi-organisational collaboration supported by different types of ERP systems are still missing from theoretical and empirical perspectives. This calls for this research which investigates ERP systems development and emerging practices in the management of multi-organisational enterprises (i.e. parts of companies working with parts of other companies to deliver complex product-service systems) and identify how different ERP systems fit into different multi-organisational enterprise structures, in order to achieve sustainable competitive success. An empirical inductive study was conducted using the Grounded Theory-based methodological approach based on successful manufacturing and service companies in the UK and China. This involved an initial pre-study literature review, data collection via 48 semi-structured interviews with 8 companies delivering complex products and services across organisational boundaries whilst adopting ERP systems to support their collaborative business strategies – 4 cases cover printing, semiconductor manufacturing, and parcel distribution industries in the UK and 4 cases cover crane manufacturing, concrete production, and banking industries in China in order to form a set of 29 tentative propositions that have been validated via a questionnaire receiving 116 responses from 16 companies. The research has resulted in the consolidation of the validated propositions into a novel concept referred to as the ‘Dynamic Enterprise Reference Grid for ERP’ (DERG-ERP) which draws from multiple theoretical perspectives. The core of the DERG-ERP concept is a contingency management framework which indicates that different multi-organisational enterprise paradigms and the supporting ERP information systems are not the result of different strategies, but are best considered part of a strategic continuum with the same overall business purpose of multi-organisational cooperation. At different times and circumstances in a partnership lifecycle firms may prefer particular multi-organisational enterprise structures and the use of different types of ERP systems to satisfy business requirements. Thus the DERG-ERP concept helps decision makers in selecting, managing and co-developing the most appropriate multi-organistional enterprise strategy and its corresponding ERP systems by drawing on core competence, expected competitiveness, and information systems strategic capabilities as the main contingency factors. Specifically, this research suggests that traditional ERP(I) systems are associated with Vertically Integrated Enterprise (VIE); whilst ERPIIsystems can be correlated to Extended Enterprise (EE) requirements and ERPIII systems can best support the operations of Virtual Enterprise (VE). The contribution of this thesis is threefold. Firstly, this work contributes to a gap in the extant literature about the best fit between ERP system types and multi-organisational enterprise structure types; and proposes a new contingency framework – the DERG-ERP, which can be used to explain how and why enterprise managers need to change and adapt their ERP information systems in response to changing business and operational requirements. Secondly, with respect to a priori theoretical models, the new DERG-ERP has furthered multi-organisational enterprise management thinking by incorporating information system strategy, rather than purely focusing on strategy, structural, and operational aspects of enterprise design and management. Simultaneously, the DERG-ERP makes theoretical contributions to the current IS Strategy Formulation Model which does not explicitly address multi-organisational enterprise governance. Thirdly, this research clarifies and emphasises the new concept and ideas of future ERP systems (referred to as ERPIII) that are inadequately covered in the extant literature. The novel DERG-ERP concept and its elements have also been applied to 8 empirical cases to serve as a practical guide for ERP vendors, information systems management, and operations managers hoping to grow and sustain their competitive advantage with respect to effective enterprise strategy, enterprise structures, and ERP systems use; referred to in this thesis as the “enterprisation of operations”.
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Microfinance has been developed as alternative solution for global poverty alleviation effort in the last 30 years. Microfinance institution (MFI) has unique characteristic wherein they face double bottom line objectives of outreach to the poor and financial sustainability. This study proposes a two-stage analysis to measure Islamic Microfinance institutions (IMFIs) performance by comparing them to conventional MFIs. First, we develop a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) framework to measure MFIs' efficiency in its double bottom line objectives, i.e. in terms of social and financial efficiency. In the second stage non-parametric tests are used to compare the performance and identify factors that contribute to the efficiency of IMFIs and MFIs.
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Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2013
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This paper describes the application of a model, initially developed for determining the e-business requirements of a manufacturing organization, to assess the impact of management concerns on the functions generated. The model has been tested on 13 case studies in small, medium and large organizations. This research shows that the incorporation of concerns for generating the requirements for e-business functions improves the results, because they expose issues that are of relevance to the decision making process relating to e-business. Running the model with both and without concerns, and then presenting the reasons for major variances, can expose the issues and enable them to be studied in detail at the individual function/ reason level. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2013.
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The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission has developed, in consultation with many partners, the DOPA as a global reference information system to support decision making on protected areas (PAs) and biodiversity conservation. The DOPA brings together the World Database on Protected Areas with other reference datasets on species, habitats, ecoregions, threats and pressures, to deliver critical indicators at country level and PA level that can inform gap analyses, PA planning and reporting. These indicators are especially relevant to Aichi Targets 11 and 12, and have recently contributed to CBD country dossiers and capacity building on these targets. DOPA also includes eConservation, a new module that provides a means to share and search information on conservation projects, and thus allows users to see “who is doing what where”. So far over 5000 projects from the World Bank, GEF, CEPF, EU LIFE Programme, CBD LifeWeb Initiative and others have been included, and these projects can be searched in an interactive mapping interface based on criteria such as location, objectives, timeframe, budget, the organizations involved, target species etc. This seminar will provide an introduction to DOPA and eConservation, highlight how these services are used by the CBD and others, and include ample time for discussion.
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Objective To audit the records of a group of patients who had previously benefited from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for dental phobia.Aim To ascertain if they had returned to the use of intravenous (IV) sedation to facilitate dental treatment. Ten years ago these patients were routinely requiring IV sedation to facilitate dental treatment due to severe dental phobia.Method Sixty patients entered the original pilot project. Of those, 30 were offered CBT and 21 attended. Twenty of those patients (95.2%) were subsequently able to have dental treatment without IV sedation. In this follow-up study the electronic records of 19 of the 20 patients who had originally been successful with CBT were re-audited. Our purpose was to see if there was any record of subsequent IV sedation administration in the intervening ten years.Results Of the 19 successful CBT patients available to follow-up, 100% had not received IV sedation since the study ten years ago. This may suggest the initial benefit of CBT has endured over the ten-year period.Conclusion This study indicates that the use of CBT for patients with dental phobia proves beneficial not only in the initial treatment but that the benefits may endure over time. This results in a significant reduction in health risks to the patient from repeated IV sedation. It may also translate into significant financial savings for dental care providers. Our evidence for CBT as treatment for dental phobia suggests dental services should be implementing this approach now rather than pursuing further research. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
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A hálózatos iparágakban, ahogy a postai szolgáltatásoknál is, a forgalomban lévő készpénz nagyméretű működőtőkét jelenthet. A Magyar Posta a levél- és csomagkézbesítésen kívül jelentős készpénzforgalmat bonyolít le: nyugdíjakat, segélyeket és készpénz-átutalási megbízásokat továbbít. A forgalom napi ingadozása a vállalat likvideszköz-igényét jelentősen meghatározza. A posta esetében a postahivatalok készpénzgazdálkodása jól működő hüvelykujjszabályokon keresztül történik, ezek a szabályok döntési teret hagynak a hálózat heterogén egyedi szereplőinek. Az egyedi készletezési viselkedést a vállalati működőtőke meghatározásakor figyelembe kell venni. A tanulmány az egyedi készletezési szokások modellezésére új módszertant ajánl, majd a viselkedésmintákat csoportosítva a pénzkészletezésnek, a vállalati működőtőke szintjének és a vállalati likviditási pozíciónak a kapcsolatát elemzi. / === / The cash in circulation within network industries such as post-office services can repre-sent a sizeable quantity of operating capital. The Hungarian Post Office, besides han-dling mail, handles a significant amount of cash turnover, forwarding pensions, welfare benefits, and cash orders. Fluctuation in the daily volume of these is a strong factor in determining the company's liquidity requirements. The management of cash in post of-fices is governed by rules of thumb that operate well; the regulations leave decision-making scope for the diverse individual actors in the network. Attention has to be paid to individual cash holding when determining the corporate operating capital. The study suggests a new methodology for modelling the individual cash-holding habits, and goes on to group the behaviour patterns by analysing the connection between cash holding, level of corporate operating capital, and corporate liquidity position.
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A könyvvizsgálati kockázat a téves auditjelentés kiadásának kockázata olyan esetekben, amikor a beszámoló lényeges hibás állítást tartalmaz. Ez a kockázat indirekt módon a hitelintézetek és pénzügyi vállalkozások működésében is megjelenik azokban az esetekben, amikor a lényeges hibás állítást a finanszírozott vállalkozás auditált beszámolója tartalmazza, amelynek az alapján finanszírozási döntést hoznak, vagy a finanszírozás folytatásáról a beszámolóban szereplő, hibás információkból számított hitelkovenánsok alapján döntenek. A könyvvizsgálat kockázatában a vizsgált gazdálkodó üzleti kockázatai tükröződnek vissza, ezért a kockázat felmérése és az ellenőrzés ennek alapján való megtervezése, majd végrehajtása kulcsfontosságú. Jelen tanulmány – kapcsolódva a Hitelintézeti Szemle 2011. évi 4. számához – szintén a kockázat és bizonytalanság témakörét tárgyalja, pontosabban ennek egy gyakorlati vetületét: a bizonyosságfüggvények (belief functions) alkalmazását a könyvvizsgálatban; mindezt a teljesség és a tankönyvszerű rendszerfelépítés igénye nélkül. A módszer ugyanis hazánkban szinte ismeretlen, nemzetközi viszonylatban viszont empirikus kutatásban is rámutattak már az alkalmazás lehetséges előnyeire a hagyományos valószínűségelméleten alapuló számszerű kockázatbecslésekkel szemben. Eszerint a bizonyosságfüggvények jobban reprezentálják a könyvvizsgálóknak a kockázatról alkotott képét, mint a valószínűségek, mert – szemben a hagyományos modellel – nem két, hanem három állapotot kezelnek: a pozitív bizonyíték létezését, a negatív bizonyíték létezését és a bizonyíték hiányának esetét. _______ Audit risk is the risk that the auditor expresses an inappropriate audit opinion when the fi nancial statements are materially misstated. This kind of risk indirectly appears in the fi nancial statements of fi nancial institutions, when the material misstatement is in the fi nanced entity’s statements that serve as a basis for lending decisions or when the decision is made based upon credit covenants calculated from misstated information. The risks of the audit process refl ect the business risks of the auditee, so the assessment of risks, and further the planning and performance of the audit based on it is of key importance. The current study – connecting to No 4 2011 of Hitelintézeti Szemle – also discusses the topic of risk and uncertainty, or to be more precise a practical implementation of the aforementioned: the application of belief functions in the fi eld of external audit. All this without the aim of achieving completeness or textbook-like scrutiny in building up the theory. While the formalism is virtually unknown in Hungary, on the international scene empirical studies pointed out the possible advantages of the application of the method in contrast to risk assessments based on the traditional theory of probability. Accordingly, belief functions provide a better representation of auditors’ perception of risk, as in contrast to the traditional model, belief functions deal with three rather than two states: the existence of supportive evidence, that of negative evidence and the lack of evidence.
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A tanulmány az Európai Unió strukturális és kohéziós alapjaiból létrehozott pénzügyi eszközök szerepét és perspektíváit elemzi. A téma aktualitását adja, hogy jelenleg zajlik a 2014–2020-as uniós költségvetési és programozási időszak előkészítése, amelynek során a pénzügyi eszközök az uniós elképzelések szerint az eddigieknél lényegesen jelentősebb szerepet játszanak majd. A szerző áttekinti a kohéziós politika keretében működő pénzügyi eszközök jelenlegi rendszerének legfőbb jellemzőit, bemutatja azokat a gyökeres változásokat, amelyek 2014-től kezdődően várhatóan jellemezni fogják a kapcsolódó szabályozási környezetet, végül pedig ismerteti a gyakorlatban működő jelentősebb programokat, amelyek referenciapontként is használhatók a programok tervezése során. _____ The paper examines the role and perspectives of financial instruments established from the structural and cohesion funds of the European Union. Hungary is one of the most significant beneficiaries of the structural and cohesion funds, therefore the interested national actors should know well the new support forms, in order to use them successfully in the next programming period. The article gives an overview about the current structure of financial instruments in the framework of the cohesion policy. The comprehensive changes of the regulatory environment expected from 2014 are also presented, and finally the major instruments in practice will be reviewed, that can serve as reference points in planning of future programmes.
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In modern societies, humans are largely managing the world's natural resources as if they were limitless. ln fact, even the so-called renewable resources require time tor renewal once they have been used. This kind of human attitude puts pressure on Earth's ecosystems at an unprecedented scale. In order to reverse the recent trend, policies shall tackle the roots of the problems and the drivers behind them must be addressed in order to reduce the pressure on ecosystems, including the overuse of natural resources and ecological space. This publication aims to show good examples tor evaluating natural values and tor showing possible environmental and social impacts of various policies. Considering carefully the examples presented in this publication could play fundamental role in proper decision making that considers environmental and overall sustainability aspects.
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The purpose of this study is to produce a model to be used by state regulating agencies to assess demand for subacute care. In accomplishing this goal, the study refines the definition of subacute care, demonstrates a method for bed need assessment, and measures the effectiveness of this new level of care. This was the largest study of subacute care to date. Research focused on 19 subacute units in 16 states, each of which provides high-intensity rehabilitative and/or restorative care carried out in a high-tech unit. Each of the facilities was based in a nursing home, but utilized separate staff, equipment, and services. Because these facilities are under local control, it was possible to study regional differences in subacute care demand.^ Using this data, a model for predicting demand for subacute care services was created, building on earlier models submitted by John Whitman for the American Hospital Association and Robin E. MacStravic. The Broderick model uses the "bootstrapping" method and takes advantage of high technology: computers and software, databases in business and government, publicly available databases from providers or commercial vendors, professional organizations, and other information sources. Using newly available sources of information, this new model addresses the problems and needs of health care planners as they approach the challenges of the 21st century. ^