Adherence to the Balanced Scorecard in public and private companies

Diversos estudos têm apontado que a busca das empresas abertas em atender às expectativas dos acionistas pode muitas vezes ter como conseqüência a tomada de decisões com foco no lucro imediato. Isso teria como conseqüência a perda de oportunidades de investimento em projetos mais lucrativos, com retorno a médio e longoprazo. Alguns pesquisadores entendem que esse fato pode ser sanado com o uso de instrumentos de gestão que proporcionem o equilíbrio entre aspectos financeiros e não-financeiros na empresa. Dentre esses pesquisadores, Kaplan e Norton afirmam ser essa a principal virtude do Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Considerando o problema a que esse instrumento visa a solucionar, o presente estudo buscou identificar se as suas características são mais aderentes às empresas abertas do que às fechadas. A questão foi investigada através de uma survey envolvendo a participação de executivos de 77 empresas com faturamento acima de R$10 milhões. Análises de distribuições de freqüência, testes qui-quadrado e testes Phi e Cramérs V foram realizados com o apoio da ferramenta SPSS. Os resultados indicam que as características do BSC são mais aderentes às empresas abertas do que às fechadas, sendo os aspectos financeiros predominantes nas empresas com ações negociadas na Bolsa de Valores.Various studies have indicated that public companies search to meet shareholder expectations can often lead to decision making with a short-term profit focus. This would lead to the loss of investment opportunities in more profitable medium and long-term return projects. Some researchers believe that this problem can be solved by using management tools that favor a balance between financial and non-financial aspects in the company. Among these researchers, Kaplan and Norton argue that this is the main virtue of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Considering the problem BSC intends to solve, this study aims to identify if its characteristics are more adherent to public than to private companies. The problem was investigated through a survey involving executives from 77 companies with annual revenues above R$10 million. Frequency distribution analyses, chi-square tests and Phi and Cramérs V tests were applied, with the support of SPSS software. The results indicate that BSC characteristics are more adherent to public than to private companies, with financial aspects prevailing in companies whose shares are negotiated in the Stock Exchange

In vitro evaluation of marginal and internal adaptation after occlusal stressing of indirect class II composite restorations with different resinous bases and interface treatments. "Post-fatigue adaptation of indirect composite restorations”

The present study evaluated the influence of different composite bases and surface treatments on marginal and internal adaptation of class II indirect composite restorations, after simulated occlusal loading. Thirty-two class II inlay cavities were prepared on human third molars, with margins located in cementum. A 1-mm composite base extending up to the cervical margins was applied on all dentin surfaces in the experimental groups; impressions were made and composite inlays fabricated. The following experimental conditions were tested: no liner (control group), flowable composite treated with soft air abrasion (experiment 1), flowable composite sandblasted (experiment 2) and restorative composite sandblasted (experiment 3). All specimens were submitted to 1,000,000 cycles with a 100-N eccentric load. Tooth-restoration margins were analysed semi-quantitatively by scanning electron microscopy before and after loading; internal adaptation was also evaluated after test completion. The percentage of perfect adaptation in enamel was 79.5% to 92.7% before loading and 73.3% to 81.9% after loading. Perfect adaptation to dentin was reduced before loading (54.8% to 77.6%) and after loading (41.9% to 63%), but no difference was found among groups for pre- and post-loading conditions. No debonding occurred between the base and composite luting. A significant, negative influence of cyclic loading was observed. The results of the present study support the use of flowable or restorative composites as base/liner underneath large class II restorations. Soft air abrasion represents a potential alternative to airborne particle abrasion for treating cavities before cementation. The application of a composite base underneath indirect composite restorations represents a feasible non-invasive alternative to surgical crown lengthening to relocate cavity margins from an intra-crevicular to supra-gingival positio

Generalized myoclonic epilepsy with photosensitivity in juvenile dogs caused by a defective DIRAS family GTPase 1

The clinical and electroencephalographic features of a canine generalized myoclonic epilepsy with photosensitivity and onset in young Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs (6 wk to 18 mo) are described. A fully penetrant recessive 4-bp deletion was identified in the DIRAS family GTPase 1 (DIRAS1) gene with an altered expression pattern of DIRAS1 protein in the affected brain. This neuronal DIRAS1 gene with a proposed role in cholinergic transmission provides not only a candidate for human myoclonic epilepsy but also insights into the disease etiology, while establishing a spontaneous model for future intervention studies and functional characterization

A comparative study of the female character in Margaret Atwood's fiction

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 1981

Leadership Strategies to Reduce Employee Turnover in Luxury Hotels in China

Some midlevel managers in the China\u27s luxury hotel industry lack leadership strategies for engaging employees to reduce employee turnover. Employee turnover rates in China\u27s hotel industry have reached the 30% mark, affecting hotels\u27 bottom lines. This high employee turnover rate is impacting the hotels\u27 performance, and negatively affecting the industry\u27s profitability. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore employee engagement strategies luxury hotel industry midlevel managers apply to reduce turnover. The conceptual framework for this study was the three levels of leadership model created by Scouller. The participants in this study were 5 midlevel department managers from 3 luxury hotels in China, who demonstrated strong employee engagement leadership strategies to reduce turnover. Data were collected using semistructured interviews as the primary source, and companies\u27 related websites and internal documents about training and talent development. After analysis of the data through qualitative content analysis, 4 themes emerged, including corporate culture-related strategies, talent development-related strategies, leadership-related strategies, and mentorship- and coaching-related strategies. The results of this study may contribute to positive social change by improving leadership competencies to strengthen economic output, increase job opportunities, and improve and sustain employment benefiting employees, families, and communities

Fibre post adaptation and bond strength in oval canals

Aim: To evaluate ex vivo the bond strength and adaptation of fibre posts with oval and circular cross sections luted in oval canals with post spaces prepared using dedicated drills or ultrasonic tips. Methodology: Forty extracted premolars with oval canals were root filled, then randomly divided into four groups according to the post space preparation device and the shape of the luted fibre post: dedicated drill + round post, dedicated drill + oval post, ultrasonic tip + round post and ultrasonic tip + oval post. Posts were cemented with a self-adhesive cement (RelyX Unicem 2; 3M ESPE). Samples were sectioned in 1-mm-thick slices and observed under a microscope, and the area occupied by the post within the post space area was calculated. Bond strength was then measured using a push-out test, and the failure modes were evaluated with a stereomicroscope at 40× magnification. Fibre post adaptation and push-out test results were evaluated by analysis of variance (P < 0.05). Results: Fibre posts, both round and oval, were better adapted to the apical region of the post space (P = 0.001). In oval canals, the bond strength was significantly higher in coronal regions, when the post space was prepared with a dedicated drill and an oval post was luted (P < 0.0001). Adhesive failures between cement and post were the most frequent type of failure in all groups. Conclusions: Circular and oval posts achieved similar adaptation to oval canals, but the use of ultrasonic tips and round posts resulted in reduced bond strength value

The Use of Intensity Techniques for Noise Source Identification in Small Machinery

Intensity techniques are now widely used for two purposes: sound power determination and source identification. The work described in this presentation illustrates an application of the latter type. As part of a noise control program for a small domestic appliance, a narrow‐band intensity measurement system was developed based on a face‐to‐face microphone probe, a two‐channel FFT analyzer, and a personal computer. The probe was used to measure the nearfield normal intensity on planes parallel to the device\u27s major surfaces. Graphical display of these data allowed the radiated sound field to be visualized at any desired frequency. Further, it was possible to distinguish between various types of component sources by examining the field in detail. For example, airborne sound that is generated within the device and radiates to the exterior through apertures or “leaks” was plainly visible. Radiation from the exterior surface of the device resulting from direct vibrational excitation of the surface and from structure‐borne vibration could also be identified. Knowledge of this type was used to advantage to guide the noise control treatment program. Nearfield surveys conducted after these modifications yielded a particularly vivid indication of the effects and benefits of the individual modifications

Moving to Antarctica

This anthology is interesting, because it is a magazine which is entirely worked out and published by a women's col lective. This collective is characterized not by the common male hierarchy of boss and subordinate, but by a real democratic relationship, where everybody has the same rights. The anthology includes poetry, one novel excerpt, short stories, diaries,drama, and articles

Alba Nemesis

The China Poems seem to be a cycle, because they comprise a period of nine years, from 1969 to 1978. Carol Berge portrays the Chinese world in the States, the shock of two cultures the encounter of East and West, of dark and bright. mysteryand clarity. East and West are painted as Siamese twins, Chang and Eng, as a unit, "connected by more than flesh." Although a unit, the twins are individuals, with an individual life. The world , here is seen as a unit, there are differences, there are East and West, but there is also a common denominator which connects differences - halves - which can be called the human condition . The Chinese immigrants, in their condition of newcomers , suffer the process of an unavoidable adaptation, the common conflict of strangers in an extraneous homeland. "Chinese mur miming Buddhist liturgies carelessly translated from Latin versions of the same repressive history.