Do the specific countries in which a multinational corporation operates affect its private loan contracts?

Previous research has shown that higher levels of firm globalization lead to a lower cost of private debt. However, this research generally treats globalization as a homogeneous attribute ignoring the specific countries in which a multinational corporation (MNC) operates. Using a sample of U.S. MNCs from 1999 through 2017, we relax this assumption and find that while the results from prior research hold with regards to the level of an MNC’s operations in segments reported at the regional or continent-wide level, the level of an MNC’s operations in countries with low institutional quality is associated with a higher cost of bank debt. Our results are robust to controlling for firms’ choice to operate in countries with low institutional quality using self-selection models and propensity score matching. In additional testing we find that the level of MNCs operations in countries with low institutional quality is negatively associated with the inclusion of collateral requirements in private lending agreements, but is not associated with the maturity of the loan or the number of covenants included in the lending agreement. Finally, we find that firms’ segment disclosure choices vary around new loan issuances in a manner consistent with management being aware that operations in low institutional quality are perceived by lenders to indicate higher credit risk

Audit Sistem Informasi Menggunakan Framework COBIT 4.1 Pada Badan Kependudukan dan Keluarga Berencana Nasional

National Population and Family Planning Agency is one of the government agencies that implements an information system for its operations. Therefore, the National Population and Family Planning Agency requires a management system that is in accordance with the existing infrastructure. Therefore, this study aims to measure the quality of information system management that focuses on procurement, management, and maintenance. Referring to the problems that occurred, the appropriate problem formulation for this research is to carry out an information system audit with the COBIT 4.1 framework and use the Delivery and Support (DS) domain, which in this study are: DS1, DS2, DS3, DS4, DS5, DS10 and DS13. After the audit process is complete, it will get the current maturity value (current maturity level), expected maturity level (expected maturity level) and value (GAP). DS13 became the domain with the highest acquisition value of maturity level with a value of 3.95, while DS3 became the lowest domain with the acquisition of a maturity level value of 3.37. The final result of the audit process that has been carried out is that the current maturity level is 3.61 which is included on a scale of 4 or Managed and Measurable with an expected maturity level of 3.5. So in this study there is no GAP between Current Maturity Level and Expected Maturity

A Vision of DevOps Requirements Change Management Standardization

DevOps (development and operations) aims to shorten the software development process and provide continuous delivery with high software quality. To get the potential gains of DevOps, the software development industry considering global software development (GSD) environment to hire skilled human resources and round-the-clock working hours. However, due to the lack of frequent communication and coordination in GSD, the planning and managing of the requirements change process becomes a challenging task. As in DevOps, requirements are not only shaped by development feedback but also by the operations team. This means requirements affect development, development affects operations and operations affect requirements. However, DevOps in GSD still faces many challenges in terms of requirement management. The purpose of this research project is to develop a DevOps requirement change management and implementation maturity model (DevOps-RCMIMM) that could assist the GSD organizations in modifying and improving their requirement management process in the DevOps process. The development of DevOps-RCMIMM will be based on the existing DevOps and RCM literature, industrial empirical study, and understanding of factors that could impact the implementation of the DevOps requirement change management process in the domain of GSD. This vision study presents the initial results of a systematic literature review that will contribute to the development of maturity levels of the proposed DevOps-RCMIMM

Relationship Between the maturity of continuous improvement and the certification of quality management system in automotive sector in Brazil

The present paper aims to identify the relationship between the maturity of continuous improvement and the certification of the quality management system within a company in the Autoparts industry located in the South of Minas Gerais State. Continuous improvement has become the element of greatest importance for the development of all kinds of organizations, whether in production operations or when providing services, with the ends of reaching the objective of the present paper, where the following propositions shall be verified. The time necessary to implement the Quality Management System in certified companies brings forth implications with regards to the maturity of continuous improvement. The continuous improvement process is a gradual organization learning process. With the purpose of dealing with this issue, the explanatory qualitative Case Study method was chosen, through the use of the triangulation method where interviews with representatives were used, with direct observation and survey and analysis of historical facts. The approach taken is primarily descriptive/qualitative, where it was sought to analyze, classify, and interpret facts without research interference. As a result, it was observed that within the research unit the certification time did not show to be the principal factor for the advance in continuous improvement maturity levels. Organizational learning significantly contributes to the maturation of the continuous improvement system, especially when found deeply taking root in the company´s culture

Assessing the organisational maturity level of Rhodes Music Radio with the introduction of social media

This research seeks to evaluate the organisational maturity of Rhodes Music Radio as it relates to its use of social media. The research takes place within the context of Rhodes Music Radio (RMR) which is a community radio station operating in Grahamstown, South Africa. The station serves the Grahamstown community as a whole, with core listenership coming from the Rhodes University population. RMR has its base on the Rhodes University campus. The contribution of this study is the development of a Social Media Maturity Model which was used to assess the organisational maturity of Rhodes Music Radio with respect to its use of social media. As with other media organisations around the world, social media has become a major factor within the normal operations and functions of RMR. There is much research that has been done about the use of social media as a tool for marketing and branding in business. This tends to be the typical focus of research efforts. Though RMR makes use of social media as a marketing tool, media organisations have gone beyond this one dimensional approach in using social media. Social networking online has become a source of news and trends for organisations within the media space. For an organisation like RMR, social media is used in some way by departments such as Communication, Marketing and Branding, Production, Programming, Music, Technical; together with the presenters and producers who are hosting shows on a daily basis. Bearing the above in mind, this study aims to assess the level of maturity that RMR has as an organisation with use of social media. The goal is to find out how integrated and what systems the station has as a whole to make effective use of social media across the various departments which then helps to make a judgement on the station as a whole. This research has its literature base in the knowledge area of change management and operational excellence. Organisational maturity exists within the broad knowledge area of change management. It provides the theoretical basis upon which to gauge the maturity of RMR in relation to its social media use. Operational excellence provides a basis upon which to judge the quality of RMR’s product which speaks to how well integrated and effective the station is with its use of social media. The method of research was an evaluation that used 2 types of data, making use of both document analysis and interviews as sources of information. This information is then analysed using the Social Media Maturity Model developed specifically for this research from similar organisational maturity models used in other industries such as general management and supply chain management. This model assesses the maturity of the station by first assessing the maturity of the various departments that make up the operations of RMR and then comes up with an aggregate maturity level for the whole organisation. The conclusion of this study is that Rhodes Music Radio is quite mature in terms of its social media use but not yet fully networked. According to the model, the station is described as having a “Community” or “Linked” social media use. On the model, this is Stage 3 out of 5 in terms of maturity. Recommendations given to RMR to further increase this maturity level are for staff members more involved in the social media of the station by following the various RMR accounts and engaging with listeners and other staff members on these platforms. RMR staff need to be trained on the importance of social media and how to use it. The station needs to find a way to convert its social media following into listeners of its broadcast programming. Finally, the station needs to finalise and endorse its Social Media Policy

Maturity Level of ITSM Analysis Using ITIL V3 Framework in State Electricity Enterprise Purwokerto

In the industrialized world, information technology has become an essential component that everyone can feel and use. However, IT's proper use can provide opportunities for increased productivity and effective and efficient company processes. The quality of the service supplied is related to managing the problems faced and handling its day-to-day service operations. The purpose of this research is to analyze the IT service management (ITSM) of the National Electricity Company (NEC) in Purwokerto with media analysis using the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) v3 framework. The method used is a quantitative method with observation, distribution of questionnaires, and data analysis as a follow-up. Maturity level analysis becomes the target of assessment to become a reference for providing recommendations for the performance of ITSM. The results of the maturity level show that NEC Purwokerto is at the optimal level. The advice given is that NEC Purwokerto maintains IT services' performance so that the NEC Purwokerto company's business strategy continues to run well and improv

Treatment of Complications of Orthopedic Surgery and Consideration of Basic Medical Research Based on Intelligent Science-Guangzhou Medical University and Chifeng College as Examples

With the rapid development of modern medical technology, the maturity of orthopaedic technologies, and the improvement of people's quality of life, more and more people choose surgical treatment. The improvement of the overall medical concept requires us to pay equal attention to the psychological education and care of patients while improving the level of diagnosis and treatment. Compared with other surgical operations, orthopedic surgery is characterized by large trauma, more bleeding, long operation time and slow postoperative functional recovery. The psychological burden of patients before and after surgery is heavy, which directly affects the success rate of surgery . Whether the operation can achieve the desired effect depends not only on the success of the operation itself, but also on whether the preparation and nursing before and after the operation are correct and perfect. The research team made specific analysis and report in combination with Guangzhou Medical University and Chifeng University and make a visual medical information management system for research

KM Maturity Factors Affecting High Performance in Universities

This paper aims to measure Knowledge Management Maturity (KMM) in the universities to determine the impact of knowledge management on high performance. This study was applied on Al-Quds Open University in Gaza strip, Palestine. Asian productivity organization model was applied to measure KMM. Second dimension which assess high performance was developed by the authors. The controlled sample was (306). Several statistical tools were used for data analysis and hypotheses testing, including reliability Correlation using Cronbach’s alpha, “ANOVA”, Simple Linear Regression and Step Wise Regression.The overall findings of the current study suggest that KMM is suitable for measuring high performance. KMM assessment shows that maturity level is in level three. Findings also support the main hypothesis and it is sub- hypotheses. The most important factors effecting high performance are: Processes, KM leadership, People, KM Outcomes and Learning and Innovation. Furthermore the current study is unique by the virtue of its nature, scope and way of implied investigation, as it is the first comparative study in the universities of Palestine explores the status of KMM using the Asian productivity Model