On the Ethics of Trade Credit: Understanding Good Payment Practice in the Supply Chain

In spite of its commercial importance and signs of clear concern in public policy arenas, trade credit has not been subjected to systematic, extended analysis in the business ethics literature, even where suppliers as a stakeholder group have been considered. This paper makes the case for serious consideration of the ethics of trade credit and explores the issues surrounding slow payment of debts. It discusses trade debt as a kind of promise, but— noting that not all promises are good ones—goes on to develop an analysis of the ethics of trade credit grounded in an understanding of its fundamental purpose. Making a distinction between ‘‘operating’’ trade credit and ‘‘financial’’ trade credit, the paper provides an account of the maximum period for which it is appropriate for one company to delay payment to another from which it has purchased goods or services. The concern of commentators and policy makers that companies should not take too long to pay their debts is affirmed, but the understanding of what timely payment means is significantly finessed, with one conclusion being that, if debts have not already been settled according to acceptable standard terms of trade, cash should pass quickly back along the supply chain once the customer in the final product market has paid. The analysis has implications not only for companies that take credit but also for external parties that seek to rate companies or set regulations according to speed of payment—an approach that is shown to be misleadingly simplistic, albeit well intentioned. A corresponding important responsibility for suppliers, not to extend excessive credit (and thus act as a quasi-bank), also follows from the analysis developed. Having provided a novel analysis of an important business problem, the paper then discusses some of the related practical issues and makes suggestions for further research

Influência do capital intelectual na avaliação de desempenho aplicada ao setor hospitalar The influence of intellectual capital in performance evaluation: a case-study in the hospital sector

Este estudo contribui com a adaptação, para as entidades públicas, de uma ferramenta de avaliação de desempenho sedimentada nas empresas privadas. O objetivo é demonstrar como pode ser mensurado o impacto da atividade de ensino no valor econômico agregado por um hospital universitário público à sociedade. Para tanto, o texto foi dividido em quatro partes, além dos aspectos introdutórios, metodológicos e das considerações finais. Inicialmente, será contextualizado o setor hospitalar, mais especificamente os hospitais universitários públicos. Logo após, serão apresentadas as definições, a natureza e mensuração do capital intelectual, seguidas da demonstração dos principais modelos avaliação de desempenho econômico. Finalmente, será apresentado um modelo adaptado, sob o enfoque da gestão baseada no valor, propondo ajuste nos indicadores de retorno e do respectivo investimento, demonstrando os impactos da gestão do capital intelectual e da atividade de ensino no resultado econômico de tais instituições. O estudo foi elaborado por intermédio de uma metodologia consubstanciada em uma pesquisa bibliográfica, sob o prisma do método de procedimento comparativo descritivo. Ressalta-se, por fim, a importância da prestação de contas para a sociedade quanto ao uso do recurso público.<br>This paper contributes to public institutions with the adaptation of a performance evaluation tool based on private companies. The objective is to demonstrate how the impact of an educational activity might be measured in the economic value added for the society of a public university hospital. The paper was divided in four parts, despite the introductory and methodological aspects and the final remarks. First, the hospital sector is explained, specifically in the context of the public university hospitals. Then, the definitions, the nature and measure of the intellectual capital are presented, followed by the disclosure of the main economic performance evaluation models. Finally, an adapted model is presented, under the approach of the value based management, considering adjustments of the return and the respective investment measures, showing the impacts of the intellectual capital management and the education activity on the economic result of those institutions. The study was developed based on a methodology supported by a bibliographical research, using a comparative method procedure in the descriptive modality. At last, it is highlighted the importance of accountability for the society regarding the use of public resources and how this study can help in this way