The impact of corruption on the performance of state-owned companies: case of Petrobras Brasil

As empresas estatais são freqüentemente consideradas como componentes cruciais da economia de um país. Eles são responsáveis pela criação de vários postos de trabalho e proveem serviços essenciais que exigem um grande investimento de capital. Porém, em países com instituições fracas, onde a responsabilidade dos políticos é limitada e a gestão dos recursos financeiros das empresas estatais sofre pouco controle, os funcionários são muitas vezes tentados pela corrupção. Enormes quantidades de fundos públicos são facilmente desviados, e dinheiro que deveria ter sido investido nas despesas de capital, no pagamento de dívida da empresa ou no aumento do retorno para os acionistas, é usado para aumentar a riqueza privada de indivíduos ou para financiar ilegalmente partidos políticos. O desempenho da empresa sofre com essas alienações visto que parte dos lucros da empresa não são reinvestidos na empresa e dado que incentivos dos gestores estão desalinhados com os interesses dos acionistas. Petrobras, a maior empresa da América Latina em termos de ativos e receitas anuais, sofreu em 2014 e 2015 um escândalo de corrupção imenso, cujo impacto económico foi considerável, levando ao enfraquecimento da confiança de muitos investidores no Brasil após o evento. O escândalo expôs um extenso esquema de corrupção através do qual os contratantes foram conspirando para aumentar os preços de contratos de construção, com a aprovação da administração da Petrobras que pediu em troca ganhos pessoais ou fundos para o Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT). A exposição do escândalo na imprensa brasileira teve um grande impacto sobre a credibilidade da Petrobras: as contas da empresa estavam escondendo imensas irregularidades dado que a empresa tinha pago demais para os contratos de construção que não foram precificados no valor do mercado. Ao longo deste estudo, usamos o exemplo da Petrobras para ilustrar como a corrupção dentro empresas estatais prejudica o desempenho da empresa e como ela afeta as várias partes interessadas da empresa.

Effect of price and in-store promotion on sales: a study of distinct regions in an emerging market

Increasing competition caused by globalization, high growth of some emerging markets and stagnation of developed economies motivate Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs) manufacturers to drive their attention to emerging markets. These companies are expected to adapt their marketing activities to the particularities of these markets in order to succeed. In a country classified as emerging market, regions are not alike and some contrasts can be identified. In addition, divergences of marketing variables effect can also be observed in the different retail formats. The retail formats in emerging markets can be segregated in chain self-service and traditional full-service. Thus, understanding the effectiveness of marketing mix not only in country aggregated level data can be an important contribution. Inasmuch as companies aim to generate profits from emerging markets, price is an important marketing variable in the process of creating competitive advantage. Along with price, promotional variables such as in-store displays and price cut are often viewed as temporary incentives to increase short-term sales. Managers defend the usage of promotions as being the most reliable and fastest manner to increase sales and then short-term profits. However, some authors alert about sales promotions disadvantages; mainly in the long-term. This study investigates the effect of price and in-store promotions on sales volume in different regions within an emerging market. The database used is at SKU level for juice, being segregated in the Brazilian northeast and southeast regions and corresponding to the period from January 2011 to January 2013. The methodological approach is descriptive quantitative involving validation tests, application of multivariate and temporal series analysis method. The Vector-Autoregressive (VAR) model was used to perform the analysis. Results suggest similar price sensitivity in the northeast and southeast region and greater in-store promotion sensitivity in the northeast. Price reductions show negative results in the long-term (persistent sales in six months) and in-store promotion, positive results. In-store promotion shows no significant influence on sales in chain self-service stores while price demonstrates no relevant impact on sales in traditional full-service stores. Hence, this study contributes to the business environment for companies wishing to manage price and sales promotions for consumer brands in regions with different features within an emerging market. As a theoretical contribution, this study fills an academic gap providing a dedicated price and sales promotion study to contrast regions in an emerging market.

Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components in Brazilian women with polycystic ovary syndrome

SOARES, Elvira Maria Mafaldo et al. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components in Brazilian women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertility and Sterility, v.89, n.3, p.649-655, mar. 2008

Dream characteristics in a Brazilian sample: an online survey focusing on lucid dreaming

During sleep, humans experience the offline images and sensations that we call dreams, which are typically emotional and lacking in rational judgment of their bizarreness. However, during lucid dreaming (LD), subjects know that they are dreaming, and may control oneiric content. Dreaming and LD features have been studied in North Americans, Europeans and Asians, but not among Brazilians, the largest population in Latin America. Here we investigated dreams and LD characteristics in a Brazilian sample (n=3,427; median age=25 years) through an online survey. The subjects reported recalling dreams at least once a week (76%), and that dreams typically depicted actions (93%), known people (92%), sounds/voices (78%), and colored images (76%). The oneiric content was associated with plans for the upcoming days (37%), memories of the previous day (13%), or unrelated to the dreamer (30%). Nightmares usually depicted anxiety/fear (65%), being stalked (48%), or other unpleasant sensations(47%). These data corroborate Freudian notion of day residue in dreams, and suggest that dreams and nightmares are simulations of life situations that are related to our psychobiological integrity. Regarding LD, we observed that 77% of the subjects experienced LD at least once in life (44% up to 10 episodes ever), and for 48% LD subjectively lasted less than 1 min. LD frequency correlated weakly with dream recall frequency (r =0.20,p< 0.01), and LD control was rare (29%). LD occurrence was facilitated when subjects did not need to wake up early (38%), a situation that increases rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) duration, or when subjects were under stress (30%), which increases REMS transitions into waking. These results indicate that LD is relatively ubiquitous but rare, unstable, difficult to control, and facilitated by increases in REMS duration and transitions to wake state. Together with LD incidence in USA, Europe and Asia, our data from Latin America strengthen the notion that LD is a general phenomenon of the human species.

Mapeando fundamentos do Constructo Neuromarketing com profissionais de empresa de publicidade

This study aims to acknowledge the domain level and influence of the neuromarketing construct. This is done considering professionals at advertising agencies in Brazil. The presence of concepts related to this new approach is very little divulged, and there are little analysis performed on this area. Thus, the research is of qualitative and exploratory nature and used as primary fonts books, articles related to marketing, neuroscience, and psychology as well as secondary fonts. A profound interview was realized aiming the main advertising agencies in Brazil. The public was composed by managers responsible for planning. A content analysis was performed afterwards. The advances related to the brain science have permitted the development of technological innovation. These go primarily towards knowledge and unconscious experiences of consumers, which are responsible for the impulse of decision making and consumer behavior. These issues are related to Neuromarketing, that in turn, uses techniques such as FMRI, PET and FDOT. These scan the consumer s brain and produces imagines on the neuron s structures and functioning. This is seen while activities such as mental tasks for the visualization of brands, images or products, watching videos and commercials are performed. It is observed that the agencies are constantly in search of new technologies and are aware of the limitations of the current research instruments. On the other hand, they are not totally familiar with concepts related to neuromarketing. In relation to the neuroimage techniques it is pointed out by the research that there is full unawareness, but some agencies seem to visualize positive impacts with the use of these techniques for the evaluation of films and in ways that permit to know the consumer better. It is also seen that neuroimage is perceived as a technique amongst others, but its application is not real, there are some barriers in the market and in the agencies itself. These barriers as well as some questioning allied to the scarce knowledge of neuromarketing, make it not possible to be put into practice in the advertising market. It is also observed that even though there is greater use of neuromarketing; there would not be any meaningful changes in functioning and structuring of these agencies. The use of the neuro-image machines should be done in research institutes and centers of big companies. Results show that the level of domain of the neuromarketing construct in the Brazilian advertising agencies is only a theoretical one. Little is known of this subject and the neurological studies and absolutely nothing of neuroimage techniques

Processo de planejamento estratégico em universidade pública: o caso da Universidade Federal do Pará

The goal of this research is to check if the strategic planning developed between 2001 and 2009 into the State University of Para (Universidade Federal do Pará - UFPA) was consolidated into its Academic Centers as a management practice. To this end, we identified the planning formalization degree of the Academic Centers, the conceived tools for the planning, the conception and the methodological process used in the tools elaboration, as also its implementation. The research used a qualitative approach: it is descriptive and it uses the case study technique. The data were gathered from primary and secondary sources, through bibliography, documents, and field researches through semi-structure interviews. The analysis and data interpretation were done by each investigated Academic Center from the analytics categories guided by the specifics goals. We used theoretic fundamental based principles and the university as a study empiric reference based on its structure analysis, organizational processes and institutional strategic plan. We inspected how the strategic planning process was developed throughout the fixed period and how the investigated Academic Centers are from the collected documents and interviews. The theoretical foundation was built from three axis: the Brazilian undergraduate and posgraduate education system; the university itself including its singularity and complexity as an organization; and the planning as a strategic management process. The main results show us that the UFPA has updated regulatory milestones, presenting organizational structure, laws, instructions, manuals and deployed management model that give the strategic planning development conditions beyond its administration, i. e., into its Academic Centers. The centers also present those established milestones and develop the basic planning processes of the institution. Those processes are conceived based on the institutional strategic planning and the managers mainly use the procedural orientation defined by the university management, from where the conceptual foundation is originated and propagated. According to the literature and to the research done in this work, we can conclude that the Academic Centers from the UFPA developed the strategic planning practice. This planning is organized and founded and guided the plans and decisions which avoided the disordered management and, according to the managers, allowed the advances and performance improvement. We can conclude that the UFPA built an important foundation with respect to the management professionalization. On the other hand, we can not conclude that the management practice is consolidated since there are weaknesses into the structuring of the technical teams and there is not any management tool for the implementation of the elaborated plans

Análise do licenciamento ambiental como instrumento de política do meio ambiente no Rio Grande do Norte Período 1992-2003

This analysis on the ambient licensing is based on a research that identifies the fragilities and advances of the application of this instrument of politics of the environment in the ambient politics of the Rio Grande do Norte, in the period of 1992 the 2003. The isolated urban area of Búzios, situated in the City of Nísia Floresta/RN, situated in the eastern coast of the State, where concentrates the boarding of the ambient question as a matter in the Brazilian process of urbanization, over all the institutionalization and implementation of the ambient licensing. They are distinguished in the used methodology in consultation to the diverse involved social segments with the ambient subject in study, the example of the managers, technician and specialists, as well as the application of the legislation and norms techniques, the forms of appropriation of the common wealth and the procedures of ambient licensing of the competent agencies. The results of the research designate that the ambient licensing while instrument of the ambient politics is one of the alternatives more efficient as techniques in the process of sustainable development, since it is beyond the prerogatives to conciliate the activities and enterprises with the conservation of the environmental resources and natural benefits to the societies. In the RN one evidenced progress in the ambient legislation and the instructions techniques, and that the imperfections and limitations in the system of ambient licensing are not directly on to the instruments, but in the implementation of mechanisms of the ambient agencies. This because they do not make use of operational structure to apply in practical and established abilities, as an ambient management, institutional joint and deliberations of the State Counselor for Environment

O Plano Diretor como instrumento de gestão da cidade: o caso da cidade de Fortaleza/CE

According to article 182 of the Brazilian Federal Constitution, cities should perform social function, what brings the concept that the city should be a place for one to live well. For that to happen, it should be well administered by its public managers. However, so that there is a sound administration, one that really performs that social function, there must be, first, an efficient planning. We understand that such a thing occurs when the master plan is the main planning instrument of a city and serves as basis for its administration. We notice, however, that in most of the cities the master plan is formulated as a law that regulates urban planning but that both the population and the government most of the times are not aware of its importance concerning the relevant issues related to municipal administration, such as its relationship with the economy, taxation, the social issue, land use regulation, and, in summary, with all the aspects that constitute and that a municipal government should manage in the best possible way. One also knows that, in general, the attempt of city planning has always been connected to the duration of a mandate and that way public managers many times implement restricted measures aiming to just attain a political-electoral objective and publicizing their administration. That implies actions and works that in some cases have negative impacts or ones that cannot be removed from the cities. This study intends to show that the master plan should be the planning instrument guiding the municipal administration but that, however, what we note is a lack of connection between that instrument and the government guidelines of the municipal managers. In order to study what happens to the cities that have a planning which is not taken into account in its administration, we will use the city of Fortaleza, capital of the State of Ceará as a case study. Historically, in Fortaleza the public managers have seldom decided to administer the city in according to the master plans developed for it. We should emphasize that planning begins in the city quite late and until the current days it is being substituted by temporary measures. Through the analysis of the planning process and of the urban management of the city of Fortaleza, especially the master plans predicted since 1933, we explain that if such plans had been implemented, they could have been important tools for its administration to attain a social function, becoming therefore a place for one to live well

Eutrofização e capacidade de carga de fósforo de seis reservatórios a bacia do Rio Seridó, região semi-árida do Estado do RN

The eutrofization is a natural process of accumulation of nutrients in aquatic´s body that it has been accelerated for the human´s actives, mainly the related with the activities of camp, industrial and the inadequate disposition of the domestic sewage. The enrichment of the aquatic´s body with nutrients, mainly the nitrogen and the phosphorus, and the consequent proliferation of algae and Cyanobacteria can commit the quality of the water for the public provisioning, for the fish farming and for other ends. The problem becomes more critical when there is a shortage of water naturally as in the semi-arid area of the Brazilian northeast. Before that problem this work had as objective evaluates the trophic state of six reservoirs of the basin of River Seridó of Rio Grande of Norte and also estimate the capacity of load of match of the reservoir and risk probabilities based on the established limits by the resolution Conama 357/05. The results demonstrate that the six reservoirs are eutrofization, with concentration of total phosphorus and cloro a in the water upster to 50 e 12 μg l-1. The results show that space homogeneity exists in the state trophic of the reservoirs, but a significant variation interanual in function of the increase of the concentrations of nutrients and decrease of the transparency of the water with the reduction of the body of water accumulated in the reservoirs.The results of the simulation risk estocastic show that the reservoirs could receive annually from 72 to 216 Kg of P, assuming a risk of 10% of increasing in more than 30 μg l-1 the annual medium concentrations of total match in the water of these reservoirs. This load could be high in until 360 kg of P a year in case the managers assume a risk of 10% of increasing in more than 50 μg l-1 the annual medium concentrations of total phosphorus in the waters of these reservoirs

Proposta de modelo de interação da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte e empresas do setor de petróleo

Operational procedures may negatively interfere in negotiation and execution regarding universities and business companies. In some cases it may even derail business interaction. Thus, aiming to overcome this and other barriers a university-industry interaction model was structured. The model enhances the appropriation of technological solutions on behalf of enterprises, as well as aim to improve the quality of teaching and research done at the university. In order to conduct a case study, sampling considering the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) was made as well as the Oil and Gas sector. For data collection questionnaires, classroom observation, document analysis, semi-structured interviews were used. The study describes the companies as well as the internal organization of UFRN in their interaction context. The diagnosis related to past interactions as well as the expectations of the companies and the university s internal subjects regarding the university-industry relationship were also studied. Thus, specific questionnaires were applied for the three types of groups: researchers, managers and business companies. These subjects pointed out that the great deal of barriers they identified were related to issues regarding the university internal management. Given these barriers, the critical factors were then identified in order to overcome this reality. Among the nine critical factors only one belongs to the macro environment, while the remaining factors are related to organizational issues present in the university context. It was possible to formulate a university-business interaction model one the researched focused on the case study results and contribution from a theoretical framework that was enabled trough literature review. The model considers all business collaboration mechanisms; it focuses on a particular strategic productive sector and provides a co-evolution vision over time, according to the sector´s development strategy. The need for institutionalizing the relationship with the companies involved is pointed out. The proposed model considers all the critical factors identified by the research; it aims long-term relationship with the company and integrates teaching, research and extension actions. The model implementation was also considered. It was seen that it must be done in three phases. The phases will be defined by the level of maturity in the relationship between the university and the companies. Thus, a framework was developed in order to assess the interaction level regarding company institutionalization. Whilst structuring the model was a concern with replication came up. It was pointed out that this model should not only serve to this specific case study situation. So the final result is a model of university-industry relationship appropriate in the first instance, for UFRN, but has applicability, in general, to any Brazilian university

Transfer function-noise modeling and spatial interpolation to evaluate the risk of extreme (shallow) water-table levels in the Brazilian Cerrados

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Volatile Oil of Psidium cattleianum Sabine from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Brachyuran soft-bottom assemblage from marine shallow waters in the southeastern Brazilian littoral.

The present investigation examined the assemblages of brachyuran crabs in three bays of southeastern So Paulo State, analyzing the numbers of species and individuals, biomass, and diversity. The crabs were collected monthly in Ubatumirim, Ubatuba, and Mar Virado bays in the Ubatuba region over 2 years (1998 and 1999). In each bay, six tows were made from a fishing boat. A total of 39,820 specimens, representing 11 super families, 39 genera, and 65 species of brachyurans, were obtained. The mean number of specimens and biomass varied seasonally, which can be mainly related with the population tendencies of two dominant species in the area (Callinectes ornatus and Hepatus pudibundus). The highest numbers of individuals and species were found in Ubatuba Bay, followed by Ubatumirim and Mar Virado. The highest diversity index was estimated for Ubatumirim (H' = 2.44), followed by Ubatuba (H' = 2.37) and Mar Virado (H' = 1.86). In general, the coastal region supported high abundance and species richness concerning brachyurans, with high diversity indices, probably because of its more-heterogeneous substrate, which may afford more refuges for certain species. These results suggested that environmental conditions in this area, although they showed certain differences, are favorable for the establishment and development of a diverse brachyuran guild.

In situ differentiation of labile/inert metal species in Brazilian tropical rivers by means of a time-controlled batch-procedure based on TEPHA resin

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Benthic response to upwelling events off the SE Brazilian coast

The main aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare temporal responses of the benthos in 2 continental shelf areas (Cabo Frio and Ubatuba) off the SE Brazilian coast. In Cabo Frio (23 degrees S, 42 degrees W), the western boundary coastal upwelling of the South Atlantic Central Water (SACW) enhances primary productivity, potentially increasing food supply to the benthic communities via sinking of particulate organic carbon (POC). In contrast, POC fluxes in Ubatuba (23 degrees S, 45 degrees W) are expected to be comparatively lower because SACW remains subsurface. We analyzed the temporal and spatial input of phytodetritus (concentration of chlorophyll a in sediments) and the benthic microbial biomass (estimated by ATP-based carbon content in sediments). Median surface chlorophyll concentration was computed for all daily available SeaWiFS images (from 2001 and 2002) to follow chlorophyll a inputs. All parameters used to investigate benthic responses in the study areas showed consistently higher values in Cabo Frio than in Ubatuba. The results showed that benthic response to upwelling may last months, fueling the microbial communities in the Cabo Frio region.