Managing Talent Risk

Talent Management is one of the most exciting topics in Management, and coincidentally, the same can be said about Risk Management. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that one of the most interesting features of Risk Management is the firm’s ability to attract and retain the most talented individuals. This article tackles this interesting problem by blending both topics into a single framework, and discusses the importance of achieving a superb management of the risk of losing talent in the organizations. The authors combine their knowledge and expertise in both topics and provide a model that helps understanding the basics of managing the risk of not being able to attract and retain the most talented individuals for the organization. The article is grounded on the identification of the likelihood of the person leaving the firm, and the importance of this loss, but moves beyond this discussion analyzing the determinants of the risk of losing talented people in the organization, by studying the causes for the employee’s willingness to leave and the reasons for the importance of this loss. This model allows us a better talent management by helping us identifying the critical variables that we need to control for each category of employee in order to minimize the probability of losing valuable talent in the firm

DC Networks on the Distribution Level – New Trend or Vision?

"DC networks on Distribution Level – are they a new trend or a Vision?" That is the question that has focused the efforts of the Working Group the last two years, and whose consideration is summarized in this report. This report represents the first phase evaluation of this topic and is focused primarily on medium (MVDC) and low voltage (LVDC) level applications

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

The use of trade credit under extreme conditions: financial distress and financial crisis

textI investigate how firms use trade credit under extreme conditions when alternative sources of finance are restricted or even non-existent. My objective in this dissertation is to test the hypothesis that the use of trade credit in extreme financial situations is significantly different from its use in “more normal” situations. The cost associated with a different use of trade credit during distress is likely to increase the costs of financial distress. These costs in turn, are an important determinant of the firm's capital structure, and understanding the use and cost of trade credit under extreme situations will help to better understand the tradeoffs that firms face when making capital structure choices. I consider two different types of extreme conditions; financial distress and financial crises. The manner in which firms operate under the conditions described above provide a laboratory setting for investigating the costs they bear when trying to avoid failure by making incremental recourse to trade credit.Financ

Trade Credit or Financial Credit? An International Study of the Choice and Its Influences

Trade credit financing has usually been assumed to be an expensive source of funds. Recent studies, however, suggested that it can be available at either low or no cost. Using an international panel of firms, we provide an empirical answer to this matter. We analyze the type of firms and financial environments that are associated with a relatively more intense use of financial credit and, consistent with the mainstream literature, we find that trade credit financing is chosen by firms that have more restricted access to financial credit. These results appear to be stronger for firms located in emerging markets