Thèses sur le sujet « Management. Contracts. Economics »

Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 1990.
Thesis Advisor(s): Zambo, Leslie J. Second Reader: Fitzgerald, David M. "December 1990." Description based on title screen as viewed on March 30, 2010. DTIC Descriptor(s): Data bases, closures, impact, finance, contract administration, theses, adverse conditions, data processing, data management DTIC Identifier(s): Financial impact, contract administration, theses, navy, financial management, contract closeout. Author(s) subject terms: Contract Closeout Process, Financial Contracting Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-61). Also available in print.

Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Zimbabwe’s land-reform process has been widely debated and severely criticised, yet seldom been analysed at greater depth. In the transition from startup small-holding farmer to the long-run goal of commercial farmer, Zimbabweans currently experience a phase of increasing “contract farming”. New farmers are producing for contractors who buy up their produce at predetermined prices. Ideally, these contractors or agribusinesses also help the smallholders to get the seeds and fertiliser, obtain the necessary equipment, help with the production technology and assist in other ways. On the basis of interviews with 25 farmers and 12 agribusinesses in different regions of the country, the study tries to asses the merits, risks and preconditions for success of contract farming. The responses from both sides of this contract farming system suggest that overall success will largely depend on the effective co-operation between the two sides and the facilitation of the process by relevant government departments and/or supportive NGOs. Ideally, the lessons to be learned from these transitional reform processes are directly relevant for land reform and agricultural development efforts in other African countries.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Zimbabwe se grondhervormingsstelsel is in die jongste tyd wyd bespreek en skerp gekritiseer, maar dit is selde in groter diepte ontleed. In die oorgang van beginners-kleinskaal-boerdery tot die lang-termyn oogmerk van kommersiele boerdery word die land tans gekenmerk deur ‘n vinnig toenemende proses van “kontrak-boerdery”. Nuwe boere produseer vir kontrakteurs wat hul produksie teen voorafonderhandelde pryse opkoop. Op hul beste voorsien dié kontrakteurs ook die saadgoed en kunsmis, verskaf die nodige toerusting, help met die produksie-tegnologie en voorsien ander take. Op die grondslag van diepte-onderhoude met 25 kleinboere en 12 landboubesighede in verskillende dele van die land, probeer die studie die meriete, risikos en suksesvoorwaardes van hierdie stelsel van kontrakboerdery te bepaal. Terugvoering van die twee kante van dié stelsel toon dat sukses grootliks afhang van die effektiewe samewerking en interaksie van die twee partye tot die stelsel asook ondersteuning deur die betrokke staatsdepartemente en ander ondersteunende organisasies. Lesse geleer uit hierdie studie van Zimbabwe se hervormingsproses behoort direk relevant te wees vir soortgelyke hervormingsprosesse in ander Afrikastate.

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This paper investigates the importance of ow of funds as an implicit incentive in the asset management industry. We build a two-period bi- nomial moral hazard model to explain the trade-o¤s between ow, per- formance and fees where e¤ort depends on the combination of implicit ( ow of funds) and explicit (performance fee) incentives. Two cases are considered. With full commitment, the investor s relevant trade-o¤ is to give up expected return in the second period vis-à-vis to induce e¤ort in the rst period. The more concerned the investor is with today s pay- o¤, the more willing he will be to give up expected return in the second period by penalizing negative excess return in the rst period. Without full commitment, the investor learns some symmetric and imperfect infor- mation about the ability of the manager to obtain positive excess return. In this case, observed returns reveal ability as well as e¤ort choices. We show that powerful implicit incentives may explain the ow-performance relationship with a numerical solution. Besides, risk aversion explains the complementarity between performance fee and ow of funds.

Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 1990.
Thesis Advisor(s): San Miguel, Joseph G. Second Reader: Eberling, Glenn. "December 1990." Description based on title screen as viewed on March 31, 2010. DTIC Identifier(s): Submarine Bases, Contract Administration, Financial Management, Operation, Resource Management, Allocations, Costs, BOSC (Base Operating Support Contracts), Reimbursements, Fixed Price Contracts, Washington (State), Theses. Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-52). Also available in print.

Cette thèse a un objet théorique et un objet pratique. L'objet théorique est double. Il s'agit de démontrer la possibilité d'une réception juridique de l'analyse économique du droit. Cela nécessite de se placer dans les postulats de la postmodernité tant dans l'approche du concept d'Etat que dans celle de la règle juridique. La recherche se place alors résolument dans la doctrine théorique de l'approche de la règle juridique à travers le paradigme du réseau. Dans cette perspective théorique, le droit des marchés publics n'est que le support de cette démonstration. Mais il en devient aussi l'objet pratique. Le marché public est ainsi un acte dans l'économique et un acte économique. En tant que contrat de l'achat public, le marché public place la personne publique ou assimilée dans une relation d'échange économique. La notion générale de contrat permet de percevoir le marché public comme le support juridique d'un échange économique. Mais le recours aux marchés publics est aussi un choix de gestion. Il est est alors l'une des options possibles dans la gestion administrative contemporaine axée sur la recherche de la rationalisation de l'action administrative. Le marché public est alors perçu comme un acte juridique ayant aussi une source économique. En tant qu'acte économique, le marché public entretient alors des rapports d'interaction avec les règles de droit de la concurrence. Or le droit des marchés publics est lui-même le droit d'une concurrence spécifique. Cette mutation de la réception de l'économique dans les marchés publics et les règles les encadrant permet l'avènement d'un juge administratif du contrat économiste
This research deals with how the French and the European public procurement laws integrate the economic analysis of contract. The theoretical approach is based on Law taken under the network theory. In a first point, the public contract is taken under the relation between the general definition of contract and the economic notion of exchange. The second point deals with the new public management theories and the public procurement contracts. In this point, It is examined how the choice of buying influences the organization of public agencies. The third and the fourth points deal with consequences of taking the public procurement contract as an economic action. It is discussed the relation between the public procurement law and the competition law; especially how the public procurement law is, in itself, a specialized competition law. This new evolution offers to French administrative judge, taken as the judge of all the administrative contracts, a way to become an economic judge

Master of Agribusiness
Department of Agricultural Economics
Vincent Amanor-Boadu
Bunge is a global agribusiness company that has invested in a facility to produce extruded ingredients and inclusions in its Woodland, California rice mill. Because Bunge is not a branded food manufacturer, it is in a unique position to be a contract manufacturer to a variety of customers without the potential for a conflict of interest. Also, because Bunge is primary in three of the most common ingredients for extruded products, corn, rice and oil, this would be a move down the value chain that would allow it to be more competitive. The initial investment in Woodland has allowed Bunge to learn more about the manufacture of extruded ingredients and inclusions and also gauge overall market demand. A possible next step would be to build a second facility in the eastern half of the United States to expand capacity and be geographically situated to supply the Midwest, South and Northeast regions of the U.S. In order to begin exploring the possibility of a greenfield expansion into the contract manufacture of extruded ingredients and inclusions, this thesis considers three subjects. The first is a customer survey case study, which discovers the customer found high price and whether or not the manufacturer was considered a strategic partner to be the most significant factors in how desirable a manufacturer is. The second subject considered is the ideal location for a second manufacturing site based on a number of factors, including distance from both the customer base and inputs, labor issues, and any savings associated with a particular site. It was found that distance from the ultimate customer may be less important overall than the other factors. The third and final component of the research involved conducting a financial feasibility study. The analyses were conducted under alternative scenarios and subjected to a sensitivity analysis on a number of crucial variables. The weighted average NPV for the alternative scenarios was about $31 million and the IRR of 13.8% cleared the company’s investment hurdle rate. The payback period was estimated to be just under six years. All these suggest that the project as presented in this research is feasible and any investment in it, subject to the absence of any unforeseen event, will be profitable. It is hoped that this information can be used as a starting point and a guide to consider a future investment based on demand and other market indicators available at the time such a decision is required.

Master of Agribusiness
Department of Agricultural Economics
Kevin Dhuyvetter
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is national milk marketing cooperative. DFA’s primary focus is to market the milk of the cooperative’s 17,000 members. In addition, DFA offers its membership a number of farm services. The sole purpose of these services is to make it easier for DFA members to operate their businesses. One of the services offered provides members access to forward contracting alternatives for pricing their milk. The objective of this research is to utilize demographic and other information related to the characteristics of individual dairy producers and determine how these characteristics impact the use (or lack thereof) of risk management marketing tools. More specifically, the focus of this research is to identify what types of dairy producers are most likely to use the DFA’s forward contracting program. The logit model estimated indicated that regional and demographic differences impact the use of DFA’s forward contracting program. Members in the Mountain Area are most likely to use the program followed by members in the Central Area. Demographic differences that significantly impacted the use of forward contracting include age (older producers use forward contracts less than younger operators) and the size of operation, as measured by milk produced per year (larger operators were more likely to use forward contracting services). While the estimated logit model did identify several factors related to the use of forward contracting services, relationships are not particularly strong and the percent of producers using the services is relatively low. Thus, the model is limited in its ability for identifying key factors and thus it will be difficult for DFA to base a targeted marketing effort at certain producers. DFA would need additional information about their members to successfully target for this farm service.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2010.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-78).
This thesis examines the often competitive interests involved in oil contracts and the ensuing strategic dilemmas faced by both the Republic of Congo and international oil companies that operate in that country. Throughout this thesis, we use the Issues-Frameworks-Actions approach to identify, analyze and propose solutions to key problems facing Congo and IOCs. The paper first analyses the historical, legal and institutional background of oil contracting in the Republic of Congo. The production sharing contract (PSC) is the prevailing contractual framework for oil business between the Congolese government and international oil companies (IOCs). The national oil company, SNPC, has received a mandate from the government to act in its name vis-a-vis IOCs. In a second step, the paper develops new analytical frameworks and discusses the strategic challenges posed by the current PSCs to both Congo and IOCs. Multiple levels of information and skills asymmetries challenge Congo's ability to effectively negotiate and implement oil contracts. On the other hand, transforming IOCs into active corporate citizens of Congo would guarantee them contract stability and business sustainability. Finally, against the background of identified problems, the paper makes recommendations as to how Congo and IOCs could address those problems and build lasting partnership. In light of the growing international competition for the African oil and the huge development needs for oil producing countries like Congo, the paper argues that in the best interest of both the IOCs and the host country, oil contracts should evolve from simple transactions to long term cooperation tools that address each side's expectations and needs. The thesis indeed supports the idea of shifting the contract focus from the traditional oil profit split and government take to broader value creation in the host country.
by Yaya Moussa.
M.B.A.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
Contract farming is being given renewed attention on the African continent in the wake of reduced public expenditure for credit programmes. Many African countries have recognised the potential of contract farming in linking farmers to viable markets and stimulating agricultural production in the face of globalisation. In Zimbabwe prior to 1998, smallholder farmers were poorly integrated in the cash economy and had extremely low incomes, largely due to poor access to productivity-enhancing inputs. Small-scale farmers were marginalised as the economy focused on the larger commercial farms. Currently, mainstream banks have been unable to provide funding due to their own capital inadequacy and the view that smallholder farming is a risky and unprofitable sector. There is also a shift in roles as the government moves from direct participation in agricultural production and marketing towards facilitation, legislation and enforcement. The private sector is now participating more actively in the agricultural sector, providing credit to smallholder farmers. This research seeks to better understand the partnership between private and public sector players in Zimbabwe’s agricultural credit programmes, through a study of Leo Marketing and the Zimbabwe Agricultural Market Development initiative called the Agricultural Input Supply Programme (AISP). In this research, the Mutasa Garlic Project, implemented by the AISP, has been analysed to achieve the objective. One hundred smallholder farmers have been contracted to commercially produce garlic in the Mutasa district. Using a sample of 20 farmers, the study examined how this financing model contributes to improved access to productivity-enhancing inputs, viable markets and technical expertise for the farmers. The analysis indicates that farmers have access to inputs but the model still needs improvement in distributing them efficiently to ensure that all farmers have their inputs in time for the planting season. Marketing and extension services in the project are operating well. The study reveals that there is potential for growth in the number of farmers contracted to the programme. As the contracting model continues to improve, the same model can be used for similar projects in surrounding districts.

Bibliography: leaves 91-93. Examines the response of two civil engineering construction contractors in South Australia to environmental economic conditions and market requirements using primarily an action research methodology whilst the researcher was engaged as the environmental manager at both corporations.

Evolution in the world of work has led to the adoption of outsourcing. These evolutions have not being without challenges hence indicating the need for greater attention to be paid to the complexities surrounding the potential impact of outsourcing on employees. This study focused on the effects of outsourcing on the employees' perception of the psychological contract. The study explored whether applying a relational content analysis model will give better insight into the complexity of the psychological contract and provide in-depth understanding of what influences the psychological contract. Key relational content analysis concepts and tools such as; reactions and coping strategies, diagrammatic representations and tabular mapping were used. Thirty (30) interviews from five departments (Property management, IT and Administration, Brokerage, Marketing and Valuation) of two estate management organisations were conducted. Data gathered from these interviews were analysed to draw out the reactions and their resulting responses between employees and the organisation. The findings showed that the outsourcing experience was perceived as a violation of the psychological contract by a majority of employees and an in-depth analysis model indeed provides in-depth understanding of the effects of outsourcing on the employees' perception of the psychological contract and experience of violation. Through the implementation of research approaches the study fully addressed the research questions meeting the requirements for the research objectives.

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This paper describes a study on the evolution of contracts used in transactions between orange producers and the processing industry. Its goal is to analyze changes in contracts signed from 1978 to 2004, and to establish the influence of the institutional environment. Three distinct types of contract were identified in the citric network, all of them related to the orange market: fixed price contracts, standard contracts and post-standard contract contracts. Many changes occurred in this period, the most important of which were associated with the tendency of moving from standard contracts to post-standard-contract contracts. In this research, an analysis was made of specific variables in contractual clauses, and how these parameters depended on the company assets, including building infra-structures, dedicated assets and human resources. In this context, the paper indicates the main changes in the variables and in its causes, according to the institutional and/or strategic environment of the industries. Among those changes, it is possible to emphasize the harvest responsibility and fruit transportation, quality standards required by the processing industry, extended contractual relationships (two harvests or more), price and payment policy.
Este trabalho apresenta um estudo sobre a evolução dos contratos como instrumento de comercialização entre citricultores e a indústria processadora. O objetivo é analisar as mudanças contratuais mais notórias de 1978 a 2004, e determinar as influências do ambiente institucional. Identificam-se três fases distintas dentro do setor citrícola, sendo todas elas relacionadas com a forma de comercialização da laranja: contratos a preço fixo, contratos padrão e contratos pós-contratos padrão. Várias mudanças foram identificadas, algumas mais relevantes que outras. As maiores influências do ambiente institucional encontram-se na transição do contrato padrão para o contrato pós-contrato padrão. Nesta pesquisa as variáveis específicas são usadas como forma de análise para referenciar cláusulas contratuais. Essas variáveis empregadas são analisadas sob o grau de influência da especificidade dos ativos, sendo eles, físico, dedicados, locacional, temporal e humano. Neste contexto, o trabalho aponta as principais mudanças nas variáveis e suas respectivas causas, seja sob o ponto de vista do ambiente institucional e/ou estratégico das indústrias. Entre as mudanças mais significativas, podemos destacar a responsabilidade de colheita e transporte de frutas, os padrões de qualidade exigidos pela indústria processadora, relação contratual estendida (duas ou mais safras) e políticas de preços e pagamentos.

The subject of this study is long-term, contract-based relationships, demonstrated through a variety of cases in the music industry. An alternative legal approach, the hypothetical doctrine of unconscionably constructed contracts, is propounded, compared with existing law and tested against prominent and recent cases. Observational knowledge gained over fifteen years of experience and contact with writers, performers, managers, agents and lawyers, led to the study. Thus, that industry was specifically considered, although there may be other industries where the concept could be applied. Because the relationships discussed are vulnerable to breakdown causing costly litigation, current rules and doctrines may fall short of providing adequate advice and governance to a needy business class. Whatever the outcome, judicial ruling and cost to the various parties, cases with similar root cause and argument recur time and again, decade after decade. Neither side, creative nor corporate appears to learn enough from experience. Their inability to understand guidance and governance offered by the law is examined, as are other possible reasons for their apparent recalcitrance. Relevant areas of contract law are found to be undue influence, restraint of trade and inequality of bargaining power. Underlying judicial concern over public policy and unconscionable behaviour is recognised as important. Combined with the study of contract law theory and practices, is an examination of the nature of the parties, creative and corporate. Economic, personal and commercial factors which influence their behavioural patterns have been analysed. Economics analysis methodology combined with behavioural and personality analysis has led to an understanding of those aspects of long-term contractual conduct which are often the cause of relational breakdown. The music industry is seen to be receptive to improvements offered by thoughtfully structured law. The parties anticipate intervention and attempt to utilise rules of law in building and severing their obligation to each other. Therefore, it is believed here that the hypothetical doctrine offered would give tighter definition, resulting in better practice in the preparation of contracts and reduce the frequency of costly litigation.

Targeted Procurement strategies are widely used in government contracts to achieve contractor performance and development objectives in the South African construction industry. However, there have been reports of poor performance and high attrition rate of contractors in contractor development programmes. There is little or no objective empirical evidence informing the implementation of SMC-friendly policies in South Africa. The study fundamentally set out to empirically validate the pre-existing assumption that targeting small and medium-sized contractors, and increasing their participation in government contracts stimulates their growth performance and development. The research further examines whether the quality of relationships in the project supply chain mediates the relationship between targeted procurement strategies used and contractor development. An embedded mixed methods research approach was adopted, that primarily employed quantitative (survey) means of data collection, and supported by secondary qualitative data (focus group interview) which was conducted concurrently. A sample size of 307 contractors registered on Grades 3 to 6 of the Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) Register of Contractors that have executed targeted procurement projects and been part of a cidb-registered contractor development programme within a five-year period (2011 – 2015) constituted the focus of the research. Data collected was subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. The empirical model developed was validated using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. Findings from the study reveal that Targeted Procurement strategies influences the quality of relationships in the project supply chain, and is a statistically significant predictor of the growth performance and development of targeted contractors. Moreover, relationship quality emerged to be an important mediator of the relationship between Targeted Procurement strategies and contractor development. These findings demonstrate that Targeted Procurement has the potential to achieve its intended results of improving the performance and development of historically disadvantaged contractors where the quality of relationships in the project supply chain has significant elements of trust, communication, collaboration, joint problem-solving and risk allocation. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge recognizing the importance of social and relational dimensions of inter-firm relationships within the context of project management and particularly relating to public-sector procurement and small contractor development. The findings imply that the government as a key construction sector client should continue to invest in Targeted Procurement or affirmative action policies that benefit historically disadvantaged SME contractors. The recommendations made calls for the establishment of a framework on Targeted Procurement for ease of application by the government and accountability. This also implies further research into more measurable criteria for the proposed Targeted Procurement framework. The policy implication of the findings from this study is the need for policymakers, state entities, and public-sector client departments to recognise their role in shaping construction supply chains. They should encourage the design and implementation of strategies and policies that enable adequate relationship management to be entrenched in the supply chain, and consider including relationship management as a relevant criterion for participating in public contracts.

A opção de transferir para organizações sem fins lucrativos a prestação de serviços públicos já faz parte da realidade de diversos países, entre eles o Brasil. O processo chamado de contratualização se estabeleceu após o Plano Diretor da Reforma do Aparelho do Estado trazendo consigo a possibilidade de transferência dos serviços não-exclusivos do Estado para o setor público não-estatal ou terceiro setor, por meio da Lei Complementar nº. 846/98 que regulamenta as Organizações Sociais no Estado de São Paulo. A contratualização baseada em desempenho implica na transferência de responsabilidades e competências com base em acordo formal denominado contrato de gestão, em que o pagamento realizado pelo governo baseia-se na realização de resultados pré-determinados. O desempenho do contrato de gestão dos hospitais gerais administrados por organizações sociais de saúde implica em avaliar e acompanhar se os objetivos do contrato estão sendo atendidos quanto as metas quantitativas, qualitativas, valores de subvenção governamental, incentivos e sanções, isto é, se a execução contratual condiz com o desenho e especificações do contrato. O desenho e especificação do documento contratual deveria refletir a realidade do acordo celebrado entre Organização Social de Saúde e Secretaria de Estado da Saúde do Estado de São Paulo, ao estabelecer metas, responsabilidades e obrigações. A pesquisa apresenta como objetivo geral analisar o desempenho dos contratos de gestão celebrados entre a Secretaria de Estado da Saúde e as Organizações Sociais de Saúde que administram os hospitais gerais no Estado de São Paulo e identificar por meio da eficiência técnica dos hospitais a relação com a situação econômico-financeira das entidades. Para a análise foi utilizada uma amostra de 15 hospitais gerais em 2012 e 18 para o ano de 2013. O resultado da situação econômico-financeira, extraída das demonstrações contábeis, apontam para uma significativa fragilidade dos hospitais, pois muitos registram elevados índices de endividamento, dependência de capital de terceiros, patrimônio social negativo e rentabilidade negativa. Para a análise da hipótese, o estudo utilizou a metodologia de Análise Envoltória dos Dados para a definição da eficiência técnica dos hospitais gerais considerando os dados de estrutura (inputs) e a quantidade assistencial produzida (outputs). Esta análise segregou os hospitais em dois grupos e o resultado demonstra que em 2012, 47% dos hospitais foram considerados eficientes e para 2013 foram 61% hospitais gerais. A hipótese de pesquisa foi parcialmente aceita, não sendo possível generalizar os resultados e afirmar que os hospitais gerais eficientes apresentam melhores resultados econômico-financeiros analisados com base nas demonstrações contábeis. A matriz de correlação de Pearson indica que existe uma correlação fraca e moderada entre o desempenho do contrato de gestão e os indicadores econômico-financeiro, evidenciando que a variação na produção assistencial do hospital geral afeta parcialmente a situação econômico-financeira da entidade.
The option to transfer to non-profit organization the delivery of public services is already part of the reality of several countries, including Brazil. The process named contracting took place in Brazil after the Master Plan for the State Apparatus Reform (PDRAE in Brazil) bringing with it the possibility of transferring the state non-exclusive services to the third sector, through the Complementary Law nº. 846/98 that regulates the Social Organizations in the State of São Paulo. The performance-based contracting entails the transfer of responsibilities and competencies based on a formal agreement called management contract, in which the payment to non-profit made by government is based on achieving predetermined results. The contract management performance from the general hospitals managed by health social organizations, involves assessing, monitoring whether the contract objectives are being accomplished related to quantitative, and qualitative goal, the government financial resources, incentives and sanctions, in other words, implies in evaluating if the contract performance is consistent with the design and contract specifications. The contract design and specification should reflect the reality of the agreement between Health Social Organization and State Office of Health from the São Paulo state, in terms of goals, responsibilities and obligations. The present research presents as general objective to analyze the contract management performance established between the State Office of Health from the São Paulo state and the Health Social Organization that manages the general hospitals in the state of Sao Paulo and identity through the technical efficiency the relations with the economic-financial situation of these entities. The sample included 15 general hospitals analyzed in 2012 and 18 for the year of 2013. The results of the economic-financial situation extracted from the financial statements indicates a significative fragility of many general hospitals managed by health social organization in terms of liquidity, profitability and capital structure. The hypothesis analyzed in the study used the Data Envelopment Analysis methodology (DEA) in order to define the general hospitals technical efficiency considering the hospital structure data (inputs) and the quantity of service performed by the hospital (outputs). The analysis segregated the hospitals in two groups and the results demonstrates that 47% of the hospitals were considered efficient in 2012 and 61% efficient hospitals related to 2013. The research hypothesis was partially accepted but it is not possible to generalize the results and affirm that general hospitals classified as efficient presents better economic-financial results analyzed based on financial statements. The Pearson correlation matrix indicates a weak and moderate correlation between the management contract performance and the economic-financial index proving that a variation on the quantity of service rendered by the hospitals affect partially the entity economic-financial situation.

Ghana, like many African countries, is plagued with unemployment, poverty and annual trade deficits. Unemployment and poverty have led to a socio-economic breakdown. They are believed to be among the causes that led to the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Despite the abundance of an unemployed labor force, Ghana continues to depend on imported equipment, costing $174 million annually for its earthmoving and construction activities. In 1986, the Government of Ghana, the World Bank, the International Labor Organization and the United Nations Development Program introduced labor-based road rehabilitation program in Ghana to help create more jobs and reduce the high unemployment and poverty incidence. The program has not been patronized due to the casual labor usage and labor organizational and management problems. This research formulates the Family-Based Labor Management (FBLM) concept (also referred to as the HPWT-FBLM concept) by incorporating High Performance Work Team (HPWT), the Ghana Family System, and Roles and Responsibilities Matrix (RRM) concepts to make the program more attractive to labor and management. The FBLM concept would equip local contractors with the managerial skills to increase average monthly production from 1.33km to between 4km and 6km gaining competitive advantage over the 3.07km monthly production of the equipment-intensive contractor. Since the HPWT-FBLM concept has not been used, the related concepts HPWT and RRM concepts are used to validate the newly formulated recruitment, training, work method, communication and reward strategies. When adopted, the HPWT-FBLM concept would annually invest 10% of the $174 million for five years and yield employment increase of 23,000-34,000 the first year, growing to a total of 116,000-170,000 in five years. This concept will help reduce import deficit, conserve foreign exchange, and develop a pool of skilled workers and managers in Ghana. It has the potential of boosting the Ghanaian manufacturing industry for making hand-tools in lieu of purchasing imported equipment. The HPWT-FBLM concept can be adopted by the agriculture and building construction and other industries in Ghana that use large supplies of unskilled and semi-skilled labor.
Ph. D.

This thesis examines the role of the public in Flood Risk Management (FRM) service provision at a time when the perceptions of the distribution of benefits provided by FRM interventions are in flux, and the role the public should play in FRM highly contested among stakeholders. Two schemes have marked the revised role of the public in FRM - Partnership Funding and Flood Re - both of which challenge existing judgments of the excludability and rivalry of benefits delivered by FRM interventions. The Partnership Funding scheme allocates capital for FRM projects proportionately to the public benefits they provide, allowing communities to top-up grants through local contributions. In comparison, by increasing accessibility to affordable insurance through cross-subsidies and pricing signals, Flood Re highlights a growing recognition that the distribution of gains as a result of widespread insurance uptake is greater than the benefits received by the policyholder alone. Following the identification of these schemes, we tested their social feasibility, examining both the scale and distribution of benefits. Due to the different stages of implementation of each scheme at the time of writing this thesis, two distinct methods were developed. The Partnership Funding Chapter used field data to examine how public-private funding of flood defences has changed service provision and the public acceptance of this transition. Whereas the Flood Re chapter used computer-based experiments to hypothesize how Flood Re may make the purchase of insurance a more or less attractive investment for different types of consumer. We found that Partnership Funding enabled more FRM projects to go ahead, raised public awareness of flood risk, and improved collaboration between stakeholders, but encouraged lower-cost projects, which, in the longer term, could transfer the expense of managing residual risk to the householder. In comparison, Flood Re provided peace of mind to householders struggling to afford rises in insurance premiums, but disproportionately benefited those who annually purchased insurance. Combining this proposed inequity in Flood Re with increasing residual risks, we identify a gap in service provision for the public who cannot afford household mitigation measures. We propose that loss mitigation and flood defence should become increasingly collaborative in line with the complexities of flooding within a community. We seek a move away from the information asymmetry which currently exists between insurance providers and policyholders, and yet simultaneously call for local authorities to recognise the capacity of the public to participate in FRM, and sustain resilience in the face of rising flood risk.

Thesis (MDF)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
The constraints that impede the growth of smallholder farmers have been attributed to lack of access to markets and technical expertise. This has led to mainstream banks classifying smallholder farmers as high risk and therefore unwilling to finance smallholder farmers. Contract farming has developed as a model that may be able to link smallholder farmers with agribusinesses who have the expertise and have built marketing channels that can be utilised by the smallholder farmers. Despite its potential to bring smallholder farmers into the mainstream agriculture industry, literature on contract farming has indicated that contract farming can be skewed in favour of the agribusiness due to their superior bargaining power and information asymmetry in favour of the agribusiness. This study examines the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC)’s Kat River Development Scheme to finance nine farmers through a contract farming arrangement with Riverside (Pty) Ltd. More particularly, the study examines how this financing model contributes to improved access to finance, markets and technical expertise for the farmers. It also examines how the arrangement contributes to reducing the risk of financing smallholder farmers for IDC. The empirical analysis indicates that, despite the fact that the farmers are able to obtain access to finance, market and technical expertise, the ability for the scheme to meet its objectives in the long term is dependent on improving transparency between the agribusiness and the farmers, providing appropriate incentives for the farmers to apply the required effort and the farmers buying into the long term strategic aim (or “big picture”) of the scheme.

Thesis (MDF (Development Finance))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Infrastructure has been hailed as a fundamental link between markets and other development sectors of the economy. For over a long time the delivery of infrastructure in Africa has been the domain of the public sector. However, because of the continued budgetary constraints, most governments are seeking the support of the private sector in the delivery of infrastructure. Recent studies have, however, revealed that private participation in infrastructure delivery is very low in Africa. The research noted that certain obstacles at macro level of the economy are responsible for the low private participation in infrastructure delivery. It is, therefore, important that we assess the methodologies that have been used to attract private sector participation in infrastructure delivery in Africa. One method that is gaining popularity in the developing world is the use of project finance. The research study sought to achieve two objectives. The first was to discover whether governance played a significant role in attracting foreign lenders to use project finance in the delivery of infrastructure in Africa. The second objective was to find out, given that governance does matter, which of the governance indicators were important and what their relationship was with loan syndication. The study adopted a quantitative approach using six governance indicators as independent variables. The governance indicators are compiled by a team at the World Bank and these governance indicators are available on the World Bank database. Loan tranches were used as observations for the dependent variable with the data for the tranches originating from loans that were advanced under project finance across Africa covering the period between 1996 and 2006. The multiple regression model also incorporated certain control variables the data for which were collected from various sources. Findings from the research study revealed that governance does matter and is positively related to loan syndication in project finance structures. It was revealed that all six governance indicators exerted a positive influence on loan syndication. The results also revealed that political instability and violence, and control of corruption were statistically insignificant. In addition it was found that rule of law exerted the most positive influence on the composition of loan syndication in project finance structures.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Infrastruktuur is al aangeprys as ‘n fundamentele skakel tussen markte en ander ontwikkelingsektore in die ekonomie. Die voorsiening van infrastruktuur in Afrika figureer lank reeds in die openbare sektor, maar as gevolg van die volgehoue begrotingsbeperkinge soek die meeste owerhede die steun van die privaatsektor wat betref die voorsiening van infrastruktuur. Onlangse studies het egter bevind dat private deelname in die aflewering van infrastuktuur in Afrika baie laag is. Die navorsing het aan die lig gebring dat daar sekere struikelblokke op die makrovlak van die ekonomie is wat verantwoordelik is vir die geringe privaat deelname in die voorsiening van infrastruktuur. Derhalwe is dit belangrik om die metodologieë wat gebruik is om privaatsektordeelname ten opsigte van infrastruktuurvoorsiening in Afrika te beoordeel. Een metode wat gewild raak in die Derde Wêreld, is die gebruik van projekfinansiering. Hierdie navorsingstudie probeer om twee doelwitte te bereik. Die eerste doelwit is om uit te vind of staatsbestuur ‘n betekenisvolle rol speel om buitelandse kredietverskaffers te lok om projekfinansiering vir infrastruktuuraflewering in Afrika te gebruik. Die tweede doelwit is om, gegewe staatsbestuur se belangrikheid, te bepaal watter van die staatsbestuuraanwysers belangrik is en wat hul verband met leningsindikasie is. Die studie het ‘n kwantitatiewe benadering gevolg en het ses staatsbestuuraanwysers gebruik as onafhanklike veranderlikes. Die staatsbestuuraanwyser is deur ‘n span van die Wêreldbank opgestel en die staatsbestuuraanwyswers is beskikbaar op die Wêreldbank se databasis. Leningdeel is gebruik as waarnemings vir die afhanklike veranderlike, en die data vir die leningdeel is afkomstig van lenings wat toegestaan is onder projekfinansiering dwarsoor Afrika vir die periode 1996 tot 2006. Die meervoudigeregressiemodel het ook sekere kontroleveranderlikes behels, en die data daarvoor is vanuit verskeie bronne ingewin. Die navorsingstudiebevindinge het aan die lig gebring dat staatsbestuur ter sake is en positief aansluit by die leningsindikasie in projekfinansieringstrukture. Dit het aan die lig gekom dat al ses staatsregeringsaanwysers ‘n positiewe invloed op leningsindikasie uitoefen. Die bevindinge het ook daarop gedui dat politieke onstabiliteit en geweld, en korrupsiebeheer statisties onbeduidend is. Daar is ook bevind dat die oppergesag van die reg die mees positiewe invloed op die samestelling van leningsindikasie in projekfinansieringstruksture uitoefen.

Master of Agribusiness
Department of Agricultural Economics
Allen M. Featherstone
This thesis focuses on the rapid growth of new generation contracts used by grain producers. Specifically, the research studies a potential customer base of producers not using Cargill’s new generation contracts. A survey was conducted to uncover possible customer demand for Cargill’s marketing solutions. Those surveyed do not have the opportunity to use these solutions because their operations typically lay outside the footprint of existing Cargill grain facilities. With Cargill’s Flex Delivery Program, sales professionals have the ability to sell grain marketing solutions, like new generation contracts, to farming operations outside of existing asset footprints. From the experiences of current sales professionals offering new generation contracts via Cargill’s Flex Delivery Program, the author hypothesized that there are three primary variables influencing the likelihood of a customer finding value in the Flex Delivery Program. The size of farming operation, the number of facilities they deliver grain to and the importance they place on forward marketing are critical components to determining if a farming operation may market grain through Cargill’s Flex Delivery Program using a new generation contract. The survey results revealed the percentage of the sample population fit the criteria of a Flex Delivery candidate. The survey questions were also designed to uncover farmer demographics, current marketing styles, competition, and, in general, provide good background information useful for making follow-up sales calls on those selected to survey. The results show roughly a third of those surveyed are Flex Delivery candidates.

Syfte: Som blivande fastighetsekonomer ville vi finna mer kunskap om ämnet outsourcing och om hur fastighetsföretagen tänker och agerar kring detta.

Outsourcing känns för oss verklighetsförankrat och inspirerande, och vi hoppas vår studie ska bidra med förståelse för vad som styr valet av outsourcing samt ge en inblick i hur dess framtid kan komma att se ut.

Metod: För att få en användbar teori i denna uppsats har vi undersökt litteratur om outsourcing och fastighetsförvaltning. Vår studie sträcker sig över Gävleborg och Dalarna. Vi har skickat ut en enkät om trenden för outsourcing till 85 företag och fått svar av 52. Utifrån dessa enkäter har vi sedan valt ut ett antal företag som använder sig av outsourcing och sedan intervjuat dem mer ingående.

Resultat & slutsats:

Outsourcing är vanligt förekommande bland fastighetsföretagen i Gävleborg och Dalarna. 89 % av de svarande företagen använder sig av outsourcing i någon form. Kostnadsminskning, ökad flexibilitet samt fokusering på kärnverksamheten är viktiga motiv. En faktor som påverkar valet av outsourcing är att företagen vill undvika för stora och kostsamma organisationer.

Förslag till fortsatt forskning:

Vi tror att fortsatt forskning, utifrån denna studie, skulle kunna ta upp fastighetsföretagens kunder och hur de ser på outsourcing och hur det påverkar deras upplevelse av företaget i fråga. Vår studie kan också användas som jämförelsepunkt för att studera trenden för outsourcing och dess eventuella upp- eller nedgång i framtiden.

Uppsatsens bidrag:

Vi hoppas att vår studie ska bidra med kunskap om ämnet outsourcing och ge företagen i regionen en förståelse för hur andra företag ser på ämnet och hur de tror att framtiden kommer att utvecklas. Då outsourcing kan vara en stor del i ett företag och innebära stora beslut har vi också valt att visa på de faktorer som påverkar valet av outsourcing i fastighetsförvaltning.

Aim: As proposed real estate economists, we wanted to find more knowledge about outsourcing and about how the real estate companies intend and acts around this. Outsourcing feels reality anchored and inspiring, and we hope our study will contribute with understanding what governs the choice of outsourcing and give an insight in how the future will be.

Method: In order to find an applicable theory in this essay we have examined literature about outsourcing and real estate administration. Our study stretches over the area of Gävleborg and Dalarna. We have sent out a questionnaire about the trend for outsourcing to 85 companies and got replies of 52. On the basis of these questionnaires, we have chosen a number of companies that use outsourcing and interviewed them in more detail.

Result & Conclusions:

Outsourcing is commonly occurring among real estate companies in Gävleborg and Dalarna. 89% of the replying companies use outsourcing in some way. Cost reduction, increased flexibility and focus on the core activity are important reasons. A factor that influences the choice of outsourcing is that the companies want to avoid big and expensive organizations.

Suggestions for future research:

We believe that continued research, on the basis of this study, could include the customers of the real estate companies and their perspective on outsourcing and how outsourcing influences their experience of the company in question. Our study can also be used as comparison point to study the trend for outsourcing and its possible progress or decline.

Contribution of the thesis:

We hope that our study will contribute with knowledge about outsourcing and to give the companies in the region an understanding for how other companies see on the matter and how they believe that the future will be developed. Because outsourcing can be a big part in a company and involve big decisions we also pointing on the factors that influence the choice of outsourcing in real estate administration.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research study has examined the impact of contract farming on enhancing efficiencies with the agricultural value chain for smallholder tobacco farmers in Mashonaland Central Province in Zimbabwe. The major challenges facing smallholder farmers in Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular relate to financial constraints, technical expertise and market access. Contract farming as a transactions-cost-focussed-model is considered more effectively responsive to those challenges than the pure market approach which insufficiently addresses the impact of information asymmetries, bounded rationality, uncertainty, governance challenges and infrastructure challenges, among others. It allows for closely monitored smallholder financing by agribusiness entities which reduces or eliminates the probability of loan default. Contract farming is seen as an important mechanism in transforming the fragmented, subsistence agriculture in rural Africa into high commercialised and viable business undertakings. In this study, extensive reference is made to literature on agriculture financing; empirical research data on smallholder productivity and loan recoverability is drawn and analysed using the quantitative research methodology. The analysis sought to test for relationships among a set of variables and in the process examined the impact of contract farming. A comparative analysis of national data on the contract and auction system of tobacco marketing was done with emphasis on production and sales volumes, crop quality, price stability and market access. The results from the quantitative analysis of farmer-level and country-level data indicated a strong correlation between smallholder farmer production, productivity and loan recoverability and contract farming value chain intervention mechanisms.

The target of dissertation's work is creation of optimal cooperation model between The Faculty of Management the University of Economics Prague and Nemocnice Jindřichův Hradec, a. s., based on present system of cooperation with a view to mutual utility and benefits. Output of our dissertation's work is set the parameters of cooperation and full made new contract and approval of it by both sides.

Après avoir quitté le monde de la réprobation, le concubinage a intégré l'ordre social et par suite, l'ordre juridique. Le concubinage est devenu l'une des conjugalités. Contrairement au législateur français, le législateur polonais n'a pas donné de définition du concubinage. Nonobstant cette différence, les éléments constitutifs du concubinage dans les deux systèmes légaux se ressemblent. Le concubinage se caractérise tant en France qu'en Pologne par: l'absence de lien juridique entre les concubins, la monogamie, la stabilité et la continuité et la communauté de vie. Dans les deux pays, le concubinage n'est pas juridiquement inorganisé. Le concubinage ne fait naître aucun droit ni obligation entre concubins, que ce soit sur le plan personnel ou patrimonial
After leaving the world of disapproval, concubinage has integrated the social order and consequently the legal order. In French law, cohabitation is legally defined. In Poland, a legal definition of cohabitation does not exist. Notwithstanding this difference, the elements of cohabitation in the two legal systems are similar. Cohabitation is characterized in France and in Poland by the absence of a legal relationship between partners, monogamy, stability and continuity, and community of life. In both countries, concubinage is not legally organized. Cohabitation does not create any rights or obligations between the cohabitants, whether in a personal, property or financial sphere. Property relationships of cohabitants and their liquidation pose many difficulties. In order to legally qualify the economic acts of the cohabitants, it is necessary to retrospectively analyse the facts

The target of dissertation's work is creation of optimal cooperation model between The Faculty of Management the University of Economics Prague and Nemocnice Jindřichův Hradec, a. s., based on present system of cooperation with a view to mutual utility and benefits. Output of our dissertation's work is set the parameters of cooperation and full made new contract and approval of it by both sides.

La thèse porte sur les organisations de coopération agricole au stade de la production (OCAP) en Belgique. Elle s’inscrit dans le champ de l’économie institutionnelle, de l’économie sociale et de l’économie politique agraire. À partir d’une enquête empirique, la recherche s’efforce d’étayer la thèse de la complexité du fonctionnement interne des OCAP en Belgique étant donné la multiplicité des objectifs poursuivis par leurs membres et la nature des relations sociales dans lesquelles sont insérées ces structures coopératives de production agricole. En tant qu’objet d’étude, les OCAP sont définies comme les formes volontaires de coopération qui portent sur les processus biologiques de la culture des plantes et de l'élevage des animaux. Ces arrangements institutionnels sont caractérisés par la construction d'un ensemble de règles collectives qui organisent la mise en commun de ressources et d’activités et par la négociation entre associés des critères de répartition des résultats monétaires et non monétaires issus du travail. Les OCAP se distinguent des coopératives agricoles largement développées depuis le 19e siècle en Europe de l’Ouest pour offrir des services en amont ou en aval de la production. Ces coopératives de services ont été constituées pour faciliter l’intégration verticale sur les marchés d’exploitations indépendantes tandis que les OCAP, en intervenant au stade de la production, organisent la coopération horizontale entre agriculteurs associés.Les OCAP sont relativement peu développées en Europe et ailleurs dans le monde. Pourtant, les arguments pour coopérer au stade de la production agricole sont multiples et articulent des motivations d’ordre économique, social, politique, écologique et idéologique. Elles relèvent notamment de la volonté d’accéder aux ressources productives, de bénéficier d’économies d’échelle, d’améliorer les conditions de travail ou de renforcer les interdépendances des exploitations avec leur environnement biophysique et socioéconomique. Plusieurs raisons peuvent toutefois expliquer le fait que les OCAP sont peu répandues, comme l’attachement des agriculteurs à leur terre ou l’apparition de déséconomies d’échelle à partir d’un seuil de dimension relativement bas, liées aux coûts de déplacement des travailleurs et du matériel et aux coûts de coordination du travail. Malgré ces difficultés, depuis les années 2000 en Belgique, de nouvelles initiatives coopératives au stade de la production agricole sont portées par des néo-agriculteurs et coexistent avec les autres types d’exploitations agricoles. Notre recherche interroge en particulier la diversité des pratiques organisationnelles déployées au sein des OCAP à travers l’analyse des conditions sociales de production, des mécanismes qui permettent d’articuler la multiplicité des objectifs poursuivis et des processus de démocratisation de l’économie rurale. Pour cela, nous avons mené trois enquêtes empiriques complémentaires à partir d’une combinaison de méthodes de recherche qualitative. La première permet de caractériser la diversité organisationnelle des OCAP par la construction d’une typologie empirique menée sur la base d’un échantillon de 31 organisations. Trois variables dichotomiques définissent les types d’OCAP :la mise en commun du travail de la terre, le contrôle de la production et l’étendue de la coopération. L’analyse des conditions sociales de production dans chacun des types procède ensuite à l’examen des formes d’accès au foncier et au capital d’exploitation, des modes de prise de décision, des conditions de travail et des modalités de répartition des résultats produits. Cette première étude met finalement en évidence les tensions qui caractérisent la nature des relations que les agriculteurs nouent entre eux et avec d’autres catégories d’acteurs. La deuxième enquête empirique investigue les mécanismes par lesquels les membres des structures intégrales de coopération agricole, dont la particularité est d’organiser en commun le travail de la terre selon des principes agroécologiques, parviennent à construire une cohérence interne à leur organisation étant donné la multiplicité des objectifs qu’ils poursuivent. À travers une analyse comparative de dix organisations, les structures coopératives de production agroécologique sont alors étudiées à travers le prisme des organisations hybrides car, au-delà de la logique commerciale, elles combinent des demandes contradictoires issues de leur engagement dans des logiques d’autogestion, d’agroécologie et d’ancrage territorial. Après avoir défini les propriétés de ces logiques institutionnelles, l’analyse met en évidence les tensions paradoxales qui découlent de leur combinaison et les réponses organisationnelles mises en œuvre pour poursuivre dans la durée les multiples rationalités engagées. La troisième analyse consiste en une monographie d’une OCAP dont la singularité est de répartir le contrôle de la production agroécologique entre agriculteurs et citoyens. L’analyse vise à préciser la notion de démocratie économique à partir des principes qu’elle sous-tend et des principales praxis démocratiques mises en œuvre par les acteurs pour réguler leurs activités économiques. En particulier, nous avons cherché à comprendre les contradictions des pratiques organisationnelles avec les principes de démocratie économique et avec certains fondements du mouvement coopératif, ainsi que les tensions internes qui en résultent. Ce travail nous permet finalement d’appréhender dans une perspective critique et nuancée la transformation du rôle des citoyens dans les activités économiques et la diversification contemporaine des formes coopératives dans le secteur agricole et alimentaire induites par l’émergence d’initiatives aux multiples parties prenantes.
This thesis focuses on agricultural production cooperatives (APCs) in Belgium. It is framed within the fields of institutional economics, social economics, and agrarian political economy. Based on qualitative empirical research, this work seeks to untangle the thesis of the complexity of the internal functioning of APCs in Belgium, given the multiplicity of objectives pursued by their members, and the nature of the social relations in which these agricultural production cooperatives are embedded. APCs are defined here as voluntary forms of cooperation that deal with the biological processes of cropping plants and rearing animals. These voluntary arrangements are premised upon the construction of a set of collective rules that organize the pooling of resources and activities, as well as the negotiation between associates of the criteria for redistribution of monetary and non-monetary working outcomes. APCs are different from the agricultural cooperatives that, since the 19th century, have developed widely in Western Europe to offer upstream or downstream production services. The latter were established to facilitate the vertical integration of independent farms into markets. Instead, APCs, by intervening at the production stage, organize horizontal cooperation between associated farmers.APCs are relatively undeveloped in Europe and elsewhere in the world. However, incentives for cooperating at the agricultural production stage are multiple, and articulate economic, social, political, ecological, and ideological motivations. Such motivations relate to the desire to access productive resources, to benefit from economies of scale, to improve working conditions, or to strengthen the interdependence of farms with their biophysical and socioeconomic environment. Notwithstanding this, various elements may explain the limited presence of APCs such as farmers' attachment to the land or the appearance of diseconomies of scale from low dimension thresholds, linked to the costs of moving workers and equipment and the costs of coordinating work. Despite these difficulties, in Belgium, from the 2000s, new initiatives of agricultural production cooperation have been created by neo-farmers, and coexist with other social types of farms.Our research specifically examines the diversity of organizational practices implemented within APCs through the analysis of the social conditions of production, the mechanisms that allow the combination of the multiple objectives pursued and the processes of democratization of the rural economy. To do this, we conducted three complementary empirical analyses using a combination of qualitative research methods. The first analysis allows us to characterize the organizational diversity of APCs by constructing an empirical typology based on a sample of 31 organizations. Three dichotomous variables define the types of APCs: the pooling of labour on the land, the control of production, and the extent of cooperation. From the analysis of the social conditions of production in each type of APCs, it then proceeds to examine the forms of access to land and capital, the modes of decision-making, the working conditions, and the modalities of outcomes distribution.The second empirical study investigates the mechanisms by which members of the integral structures of agricultural cooperation, whose peculiarity is to organize farming labour collectively according to agroecological principles, manage to build an internal coherence within their organization given the multiple objectives they pursue. Through a comparative analysis of ten organizations, agroecological production cooperatives are studied through the prism of hybrid organizations, as they combine contradictory demands stemming from their commitment to logics of self-management, agroecology, and territorial embeddedness. After defining the properties of these institutional logics, the analysis reveals the paradoxical tensions that arise from the combination and the organisational responses adopted to pursue this multiplicity of rationalities on the long run. The third empirical analysis consists of a single case study on one type of APC, whose singularity is to allocate the control of production between farmers and citizens. Through an in-depth study of a citizen agroecological production cooperative, the analysis aims to clarify the notion of economic democracy by looking at its underpinning principles, and at the main democratic praxis that actors implement to regulate their economic activities. In particular, we unveil the internal contradictions that emerge from the organizational practices with the principles of economic democracy and certain foundations of the cooperative movement. This work finally allows us to grasp, through the adoption of a critical and nuanced perspective, the transformation of the citizen's role in economic activities, and the contemporary diversification of cooperative forms propelled by the emergence of multi-stakeholder initiatives in the agricultural sector.
Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The perception of organisational justice is dominant in people’s lives and organisations as well as being a predictor of workers and organisations’ success. Indeed, the relevant attitudes and behaviours at work depend, essentially, on judgments about organisational fairness or unfairness. In this study, we will seek to better understand this impact, directly or indirectly, on behaviours and attitudes. Empirical research has examined the data from a questionnaire administered to a sample of 407 employees belonging to various public and private organisations in Portugal. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses and multi-group analysis to identify how perceptions of organisational support, psychological contract violation, burnout and satisfaction with management may impact these relationships. The main findings are as follows: (a) Perception of organisational justice (POJ) has a positive impact on Perception of organisational support (POS), Psychological Contract (PC), Affective commitment (AC), Leader-member exchange (LMX) and on Individual performance (IP), (b) POS has a positive impact on POJ, (c) POJ mediates the relationship between POS and IP, (d) POS is a moderating variable in the relationship between POJ and PC and between POJ and IP, (e) Psychological contract violation (PCV) moderate the relationship between POS and POJ and between POJ and IP, and (f) Satisfaction with Management (SOM) moderate the relationship between PC and Burnout (BUR) and between LMX and AC. The overall results of this study are of much interest to managers as they provide a more comprehensive understanding of the organisational aspects, with a focus on the organisational justice, affecting employee attitudes and behaviours. According to these results, it is possible to design Human Resources Management (HRM) strategies and policies leading to organisational success. With this knowledge, organisations should invest in leaders who believe in the transparency of processes, the need for good quality interpersonal relationships, good communication, and the importance of attending the socio-emotional needs of employees. Preventing the emergence of burnout will give effectiveness and predictability to HRM practices. The originality of this study lies in the integration of various constructs, with a focus on the organisational justice, and relationships of mediation and moderation in a single study, to provide a model that depicts a critical chain of effects. Besides this contributes for the state of the art. This research studies the perception of organisational support as antecedent of the organization justice and still appeals to the necessity to contextualize the research studies since, in an economical and financial crisis situation and/or in a peripheral economy, same variables behave differently and even antagonistically to what is described in the literature.
A perceção da justiça organizacional é dominante quer na vida das pessoas quer na vida das organizações e é preditor do sucesso individual e das organizações. De facto, as atitudes e os comportamentos, relevantes no trabalho dependem, essencialmente, de julgamentos sobre justiça organizacional ou injustiça. Nesta investigação, procuramos compreender melhor este impacto, direta ou indiretamente, nos comportamentos e atitudes dos trabalhadores Nesta investigação empírica, os dados foram recolhidos através de um questionário criado para o efeito e aplicado a uma amostra de 407 colaboradores pertencentes a várias organizações portuguesas quer públicas quer privadas. Para testar as hipóteses recorrermos à modelagem de equações estruturais e à analise multi grupos para identificar como a perceção do suporte organizacional, a violação do contrato psicológico, o burnout e a satisfação com a gestão podem afetar essas relações. As principais conclusões são as seguintes: (a) a perceção da justiça organizacional (POJ) tem um impacto positivo sobre a perceção do suporte organizacional (POS), no contrato psicológico (PC), no empenhamento afetivo (AC), na relação líder-liderado (LMX) e no desempenho individual (IP), (b) POS tem um positivo impacto na PJO, (c) POJ medeia a relação entre POS e IP, (d) POS é uma variável moderadora na relação entre POJ e PC e entre POJ e IP, (e) o PCV modera a relação entre POS e POJ e entre POJ e IP e (f) SOM modera a relação entre PC e Burnout (BUR) e entre LMX e AC. Os resultados globais deste estudo são de grande interesse para os gestores, uma vez que proporcionam uma compreensão mais abrangente dos aspetos organizacionais, com foco na justiça organizacional, que afetam as atitudes e comportamentos dos colaboradores. Com base nestes resultados, é possível projetar estratégias e políticas de Gestão de Recursos Humanos (GRH) que conduzam ao sucesso organizacional. Estes resultados são indicadores que as organizações devem investir em líderes que acreditam na transparência dos processos, que fomentam relacionamentos interpessoais de boa qualidade, uma boa comunicação e ainda que se preocupem e procurem satisfazer às necessidades sócio emocionais dos colaboradores. Para a eficácia e previsibilidade das práticas de GRH as organizações devem eliminar ou reduzir o burnout organizacional. A originalidade deste estudo reside na integração de várias construtos com foco na justiça organizacional, e nas relações de mediação e moderação num único estudo, fornecendo um modelo que retrata uma cadeia de efeitos críticos. Para além deste contributo para o estado da arte, esta pesquisa estuda a perceção do suporte organizacional como antecedente da justiça organizacional e ainda chama a atenção para a necessidade de se contextualizar as investigações uma vez que em situações de crise económica e financeira e/ou numa economia periférica, algumas variáveis comportam-se de forma diferente e até antagónica ao que habitualmente encontramos descrito na literatura.

In this thesis, we analyze the impact of the decentralization of price and leadtime decisions made by the marketing and production departments, respectively, in a make-to-order firm. We first study a monopoly environment, and find that in the decentralized setting, the total demand generated is larger, leadtimes are longer, quoted prices are lower, and the firm profits are lower as compared to the centralized setting. We show that coordination can be achieved using a transfer price contract with bonus payments, where both departments receive a fraction of the total revenues generated as a bonus payment. In the second study, we extend this work to a duopoly environment, where two firms compete on the basis of their price and leadtime quotes in a common market. We find that under intense price competition, firms may suffer from a decentralized structure, particularly under high flexibility induced by high capacity, where revenue based sales incentives motivate sales/marketing for more aggressive price cuts resulting in eroding margins. We take the parameters of the demand models in the first two studies as constant, while estimating those parameters based on historical data is a very important problem in practice. In the last study of this thesis, we address the challenges encountered in estimating the price sensitivity of customers shifting focus to the passenger travel industry. We explore how to obtain better price elasticity estimates through an empirical study with an emphasis on the endogeneity problem, which arises as a result of the simultaneous determination of supply and demand. We show that if one does not account for endogeneity, price elasticities may induce an upward-sloping demand curve suggesting that high price produces high demand, or may be biased downward to the extent that elastic demand curves are incorrectly classified as inelastic. We show the improvement in price elasticities through an instrumental variable approach.

This diploma thesis solves problems of construction orders management. The key to successful business and stable position in a competitive market is the way of planning, managing and quality processing of construction orders. The aim of this diploma thesis is to describe and analyze the management of a construction order in a selected company, in my case ARCHATT, s.r.o. I also deal with this in this work, namely for the specific order Oprava Severního parkánu a hradeb of Prague Castle. The content of the work is a processed documentation of the supplier's preparation for this order and a detailed description of the entry of construction workers to this daily guarded building.

L'essor de la théorie économique de la firme depuis une trentaine d'années a donné lieu à d'intenses débats sur les origines et les fonctions de la hiérarchie et de l'autorité. Ces discussions sont abordées du point de vue de l'histoire de la pensée économique, sur la période 1968 - 1998. Jusqu'au début des années 1970, le courant dominant ne s'intéressait pas à l'organisation intra-firme. La publication, en 1972, par Alchian et Demsetz d'un article visant à expliquer l'existence de la firme à partir des coûts d'information, apparaît comme une première réponse de l'approche standard au "défi radical". À partir de 1968, l'économie politique radicale, qui est la traduction dans le champ académique du vaste mouvement protestataire anti-hiérarchique ayant traversé la société nord américaine à la fin des années 1960, a cherché à donner sa propre réponse à la question "à quoi servent les patrons ?". Les radicaux américains ont tenté de montrer que la hiérarchie ne vise pas à promouvoir l'efficience de l'organisation mais au contraire le pouvoir de l'employeur. Elle serait un moyen de "diviser pour régner" en vue de dégager de plus grands profits. D'autres auteurs du courant dominant, tels que Arrow et Williamson, s'emploieront à répondre aux radicaux et souligneront les avantages, en terme d'efficience, de l'autorité et de la hiérarchie. Les radicaux se tourneront alors, au début des années 1980, vers la micro-économie standard afin d'élaborer une théorie du pouvoir dans le cadre du paradigme dominant. Enfin, à son tour, la théorie des contrats incomplets répondra implicitement à l'approche radicale du pouvoir, au cours des années 1990, en soutenant que les relations de pouvoir sont organisées dans la firme de manière efficiente.

This thesis consists of three essays on risk management in crude oil markets. In the first essay, the valuation of an oil sands project is studied using real options approach. Oil sands production consumes substantial amount of natural gas during extracting and upgrading. Natural gas prices are known to be stochastic and highly volatile which introduces a risk factor that needs to be taken into account. The essay studies the impact of this risk factor on the value of an oil sands project and its optimal operation. The essay takes into account the co-movement between crude oil and natural gas markets and, accordingly, proposes two models: one incorporates a long-run link between the two markets while the other has no such link. The valuation problem is solved using the Least Square Monte Carlo (LSMC) method proposed by Longsta ff and Schwartz (2001) for valuing American options. The valuation results show that incorporating a long-run relationship between the two markets is a very crucial decision in the value of the project and in its optimal operation. The essay shows that ignoring this long-run relationship makes the optimal policy sensitive to the dynamics of natural gas prices. On the other hand, incorporating this long-run relationship makes the dynamics of natural gas price process have a very low impact on valuation and the optimal operating policy. In the second essay, the relationship between the slope of the futures term structure, or the forward curve, and volatility in the crude oil market is investigated using a measure of the slope based on principal component analysis (PCA). The essay begins by reviewing the main theories of the relation between spot and futures prices and considering the implication of each theory on the relation between the slope of the forward curve and volatility. The diagonal VECH model of Bollerslev et al. (1988) was used to analyse the relationship between of the forward curve slope and the variances of the spot and futures prices and the covariance between them. The results show that there is a significant quadratic relationship and that exploiting this relation improves the hedging performance using futures contracts. The third essay attempts to model the spot price process of crude oil using the notion of convenience yield in a regime switching framework. Unlike the existing studies, which assume the convenience yield to have either a constant value or to have a stochastic behaviour with mean reversion to one equilibrium level, the model of this essay extends the Brennan and Schwartz (1985) model to allows for regime switching in the convenience yield along with the other parameters. In the essay, a closed form solution for the futures price is derived. The parameters are estimated using an extension to the Kalman filter proposed by Kim (1994). The regime switching one-factor model of this study does a reasonable job and the transitional probabilities play an important role in shaping the futures term structure implied by the model.

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin
This research investigates the performance of private sector participation (PSP) in the water sector from a governance perspective. It is concerned with the role that institutions play in the interaction between the state and the private sector, which occurs with respect to the regulation and implementation of such PSP arrangements. The research takes place within the context of a development debate and practice, which identifies water as a key poverty issue in a substantial part of the developing countries, which advocates private sector participation as a remedy to inadequate water management and which acknowledges good governance as a crucial requirement for development. Nevertheless, few studies have scrutinized the impact of governance and institutions on the outcome of PSP arrangements in the water sector. Most research on the performance of PSP arrangements has examined exogenous and endogenous determinants, such as the price mechanism and the property rights allocation, but these factors proved unsatisfactory as explaining variables in the context of natural resource management. To contribute to filling a gap in research this study aims at evaluating the impact of institutional frameworks on the outcome of private sector participation in water supply and sanitation through a case study of the Management Contract for Water and Wastewater Service in the Amman Governorate, Jordan. At the end of the 1990s the quality of water supply and sanitation in the Jordanian capital Amman was unsatisfactory, as supply was insufficient and entailed high costs. Therefore, in 1999, the government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan contracted a private joint venture to improve water service provision in the Amman Governorate. The research takes into account the specific institutional framework for the mentioned arrangement in Amman, which is comprised of the national judicial and political institutions, the specific regulatory institutions as well as relevant international institutions. These institutions are not limited to laws and regulations only, but also include informal institutions such as traditions. The specific objective of this study is to show how the institutional framework of a transaction affects regulatory processes by abating and amplifying the potential for opportunistic behavior of the contracting parties, and thereby affecting the performance of a privately operated water utility. The examination of the institutional framework of the Amman Management Contract revealed that mainly judicial and international institutions and specific contract rules were constraining the discretion of the contracting parties. Political checks and balances were insufficiently established and the regulatory institutions of the water sector were set up in an improper way. The field study discovered that the resulting discretionary power of certain actor was used opportunistically, which had a detrimental effect on the outcome of the PSP arrangement. Nevertheless the overall performance of the arrangement was good from which the general insight was drawn that regulatory credibility may be developed even in unpropitious environments. However, to be able to judge upon the effect of governance and institutions on a planned or existing PSP arrangement each time a complex assessment of the respective institutional environment is necessary. This is because institutions may not be seen as independent building blocks but rather form a network which is likely to be unique for each country and situation. The mini-thesis is organized as follows. In Chapter 1 an outline of the study and its problem background is provided. Chapter 2 provides a detailed literature review and sets out the theoretical framework and research hypotheses of the study. Chapter 3 outlines the research design and methodology that was used for the study. Chapter 4 provides background detail on the Jordanian political, economic and social situation, on the issues pertaining to the water sector, andon the Amman water contract. Chapter 5 provides a description and analysis of the main research findings. Chapter 6 provides a summary as well as final conclusions and considerations.

Dissertação de mestrado em Gestão de Recursos Humanos
Num contexto laboral, onde a realidade atual é a da flexibilidade, tanto nas formas de organização do trabalho como nos processos contratuais, as mudanças na relação entre empregador e empregado são um facto. Estudando-se o caso em concreto de uma IPSS portuguesa, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo central perceber a relação entre o tipo de contrato legal de trabalho (CT) e o contrato psicológico (CP), nomeadamente, perceber se o tipo de CT detido pelos trabalhadores influencia ou não a sua orientação de CP. Também foi evidenciado o papel das variáveis demográficas como determinantes do CP. Neste sentido e com vista a cumprir com o propósito do estudo, a presente investigação, no que se refere à tipologia dos CPs, vai ser orientada e enquadrada segundo o modelo de Rousseau (1995), analisando-se dois dos quatro tipos de contratos identificados pela autora: o transacional e o relacional, avaliados por um inquérito sob a forma de questionário com os itens de Millward e Hopkins (1998). Quanto à outra variável central do estudo, o CT, esta será estudada na vertente de contrato permanente e contrato temporário. Os principais resultados demonstram que, nesta IPSS, não é o tipo de CT que determina a orientação do CP dos trabalhadores. Uma amostra de orientação mais relacional, reforça o que a literatura refere sobre o setor: no Terceiro Setor os trabalhadores são fortemente envolvidos na organização por fatores de natureza intrínseca, comprometidos essencialmente na missão e nos valores da mesma.
In labor context, where the current reality is the flexibility, both in the forms of work organization and contract processes, changes in the relationship between employer and employee are a fact. Studying a portuguese Social Solidarity Institution, the main objective of this research is to understand the existing relationship between the type of legal contract and the psychological contract, namely, to realize if the type of legal contract held by workers influences or not its orientation of psychological contract. It was also evidenced the role of demographic variables as determinants of the psychological contract. To fulfill the purposes of this study, this work (regarding the typology of psychological contracts) will be developed according to the model of Rousseau (1995), analyzing two of the four types of contracts identified by the author: transactional and relational, evaluated in the form of a survey with items from Millward and Hopkins (1998). Regarding the other variable in study, the legal contract, it will be studied in the form of permanent and temporary contract. The main results reveal that, in this Social Solidarity Institution, it is not the type of legal contract that determines the orientation of worker´s psychological contract. A sample whose orientation is more relational, reinforces what the literature refers about this sector: in the Third Sector, workers are heavily involved in the organization by intrinsic factors and essentially committed to the mission and its values.

Constant technological innovation is the current reality for businesses and people. Most of the technologies have great potential beyond what they are designed for. Blockchain, the underlying distributed ledger technology of Bitcoin, has only recently begun to be tested for other uses. This paper studies Blockchain technology and its applications to supply chains. The concept of Blockchain technology will be scrutinized and its implementation benefits and limitations presented. Furthermore, the use cases and benefits of Blockchain technology for supply chains will be analyzed. The paper is complemented with examples and achievements of organizations testing the technology and experts opinions on the technology and its future.

The construction industry is a complex, multi-level system that includes a large collection of independent, heterogeneous organizations and institutions and is associated with several economic sectors and markets. Because of its unique characteristics, the construction industry as one of the major economic sectors and contributors to the economic development of the nation needs its own specific and dedicated economics. The shortcomings of the existing methodologies call for the use of more sophisticated modeling tools that can capture more important aspects of the real world and its complexity in particular the interconnections among elements of the system, their idiosyncrasies, and emergent behavior. As a pioneer attempt in the exploration of a new theory of construction economics, this study aims to found the first building blocks of the comprehensive economic model of the construction industry. In this dissertation, an agent-based approach is applied to model the low-bid lump-sum construction competitive bidding by which most construction works are allocated. This model has several advantages over the previous analytical and empirical models including the capability of observing the bidding process dynamics, the interaction between the heterogeneous and learning agents, and the emergent bidding patterns arising from multiple scenarios of market conditions and contractors’ attributes. Then the model is used as a virtual laboratory for conducting a variety of experiments to answer several important research questions in the field of construction economics. The main research objectives of this study are to: (1) analyze the effectiveness of major quantitative methods in the bidding environment under a variety of market conditions (2) study the effect of contractors’ risk behavior, cost estimating and project management skills, and complexity of projects on contractors’ choice of optimal markup, long-term financial growth and market share (3) investigate the impact of risk behavior and need for work on contractors’ performance. The results presented in this dissertation offer new understandings and insights on the construction bidding environment and recommendations for both owners and contractors’ competitive success, which are not available using conventional approaches. In particular, results suggest that (1) using Friedman model can result in considerably higher market share whereas using Gates model can result in higher profit per project, (2) the optimal policy for contractors is moderation in both dimensions of risk attitude and need for work, (3) the comparative performance of slightly and extremely risk averse contractors are depending on level of cost estimating accuracy and project execution skills of contractors as well as the level of project complexities.

Pela presente dissertação pretendemos analisar a cláusula estatutária “simul stabunt simul cadent” e a correspondente relação de administração com a sociedade. Uma vez que a cláusula em estudo se relaciona com a cessação da relação administrativa de um ou mais administradores, a destituição e a renúncia, como causas de cessação mais frequentes, assumem um papel determinante neste trabalho. Para este efeito, iremos dividi-la em cinco capítulos, sendo eles: introdução; definição desta cláusula e exemplos de onde esta possa surgir; cessação da relação de administração com a sociedade; a validade da cláusula “simul stabunt simul cadent”; os seus respetivos efeitos; e, por fim, as nossas conclusões. Quando oportuno, subdividiremos os capítulos em subcapítulos de modo a explicar algumas temáticas com relevo para este trabalho mais detalhadamente. Iremos também apresentar, ao longo desta exposição, pontos de vista doutrinais essenciais para a explicação do tema, fazendo, de forma póstuma, um comentário acerca da nossa opinião relativamente a estes. Teremos sempre presente o direito comparado como base da nossa explanação, principalmente o Italiano pela importância que assume no surgimento e desenvolvimento desta figura. Não estando esta cláusula prevista legalmente no nosso ordenamento, encontramos como problemas a falta de decisões judiciais nacionais e a escolha de situações em que a podemos aceitar como válida.
By the present dissertation we want to analyse the “simul stabunt simul cadent” clause and the correspondent management relationship with the commercial company. Once this clause is related with the management relationship termination of one or more executive directors, the dismissal and the resignation, as most frequent causes of termination of the contract, take an important place in this work. For this purpose, we will divide our thesis in five chapters, which are: introduction; definition and examples of situations where this clause could emerge; management relationship termination with the commercial company; the “simul stabunt simul cadent” clause validity; their corresponding effects; and, last of all, our main conclusions. When necessary, we will subdivide the chapters in subchapters to explain other relevant issues in greater detail. We also will present, throughout our thesis, doctrine points of view to explain the theme, revealing our opinion in comparison to theirs. We will bear comparative law in mind as our explanation basis, mostly the Italian one for their importance. Since this clause is not included in our national law, we find, as problems, the lack of national sentences and the difficult choice between the situations which we can accept this clause applicable.

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Civil
Nos tempos correntes muitos são os modelos organizacionais adotados pelas empresas de construção de modo a fazer frente à crise económica que devastou o sector. Um dos principais modelos gerenciais usados é o recurso a subempreitadas, que consiste na contratação de outra empresa, que através de um contrato se vincula com o contratante a celebrar determinados serviços sob a sua alçada e responsabilidade. O recurso a subempreitada permite às empresa de construção, aumentar a sua flexibilidade empresarial, fomentar a produtividade e competitividade, controlar os custos e a delegar atividades a operários especializados em determinadas tarefas. Apesar do aumento exponencial do recurso a subempreitadas, este processo de contratação possui inúmeras lacunas, nomeadamente no que toca à gestão das subempreitadas por parte de todos os intervenientes envolvidos. De modo a conhecer os princípios que devem ser adotados é necessário estudar três momentos fundamentais que são: a decisão de subempreitar, a seleção dos subempreiteiros e os problemas/ incumprimentos mais frequentes. O estudo efetuado teve como objetivo a apresentação de diretivas que tornem mais eficaz a gestão de subempreitadas, que posteriormente possam ser usadas pelas empresas de modo a evitar problemas e incumprimentos aquando do recurso a subempreitadas. Nesse sentido foi efetuada uma pesquisa bibliográfica minuciosa de forma a conhecer melhor os estudos já efetuados sobre o assunto, verificando-se uma escassez de informação acerca do tema em causa, confirmando a importância do presente trabalho. Recorreu-se ainda à implementação de um inquérito com o intuito de auscultar a opinião das empresas contratantes de média/grande dimensão sobre os processo e critérios de selecção dos subempreiteiros, bem como sobre os problemas associados aos trabalhos com os subcontratados. Através dos dados recolhidos nas respostas ao inquérito foi possível desenhar uma metodologia passível de ser aplicada no sector da construção de modo a prevenir conflitos aquando da contratação de subempreiteiros.
In current times many are the organizational models adopted by construction companies to cope with the economic crisis that has devastated the industry. One of the main management models used is the use of subcontractors, which consists of contracting another company, which through a contract with the contractor is bound to enter into certain services under its purview and responsibility. The feature enables the subcontract construction company, increase your business flexibility, enhance productivity and competitiveness, control costs and to delegate activities to skilled workers in certain tasks. Despite the exponential increase in the use of subcontracting, this hiring process has many gaps, particularly with regard to the management of subcontracts by all actors involved. In order to meet the principles that should be adopted is necessary to study three key moments which are: the decision to subcontract, the selection of subcontractors and the problems / failures more frequent. The study conducted was aimed at presenting directives that make it more effective management of subcontractors, which may subsequently be used by companies to avoid problems and failures during the use of subcontractors. This direction was made a thorough literature search in order to better understand the studies already made on the subject, verifying a dearth of information about the topic in question, confirming the importance of this work. Still resorted to implementing a survey in order to gauge the opinion of the contracting firms medium / large on the process and criteria for selection of subcontractors, as well as issues associated with the work to subcontractors. Through the data collected in the survey responses was possible to design a methodology that can be applied in the construction sector in order to prevent conflicts when hiring subcontractors.

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências Económicas e Empresariais, 18 de Julho de 2016, Universidade dos Açores.
Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar o engagement organizacional dos trabalhadores que se encontram em regime de contrato individual de trabalho a termo certo (temporário) e os trabalhadores com contrato individual de trabalho por tempo indeterminado (permanente), através das dimensões da “Utrecht Work Engagement Scale”. Esta escala é constituída por três dimensões – o Vigor, a Dedicação e a Absorção –, que determinam o nível de engagement do trabalhador. Esta investigação terá como objetivo identificar se a modalidade de contrato de trabalho compromete o engagement organizacional, através da realização de entrevistas a trabalhadores temporários e permanentes. Será feito um estudo comparativo entre os trabalhadores com regime de contrato individual de trabalho a termo certo e os trabalhadores com regime de contrato individual de trabalho por tempo indeterminado, usando as dimensões da “Utrecht Work Engagement Scale”. Será, também, avaliado o papel da gestão de recursos humanos na melhoria do nível de engagement de um trabalhador.
ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to conduct an exploratory research into the level of work engagement of employees under fixed-term employment contracts (temporary) and employees under indefinite employment contracts (permanent), applying the framework set out by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). A short questionnaire was used to measure work engagement – a positive work-related state of fulfillment, which is characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption. The purpose of the research was to analyze whether employment contract modalities have an effect on work engagement levels. This purpose was conducted through a series of ten interviews that resulted in a comparative study between employees under fixed-term employment contracts and employees under indefinite employment contracts, using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Additionally, the role of human resource management in enhancing employees’ work engagement was also assessed.