Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Corporate financial health'

Many studies have examined the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance, but scholars argue that the exact relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance remains unclear. This quantitative study examines the impact of CSR on corporate financial performance in the pharmaceutical industry. The study addresses the research question: What is the financial performance in the pharmaceutical industry among companies that have embraced CSR? The alternative hypothesis predicted positive correlations between financial performance and CSR. The related null hypotheses predicted that there would be no correlations between any of 8 dimensions of CSR and corporate financial performance. Archival data from 18 leading global pharmaceutical companies ranked by Access to Medicine Index were used to answer the research question.

In 4 of the 8 hypotheses tested, the results show partial support for a positive effect of CSR on corporate financial performance in the pharmaceutical industry based on significant correlations in 2014. Specifically, significant 2014 relationships with corporate financial performance were observed for CSR general access to medicine management, CSR capacity advancement in product development and distribution, CSR product donations and philanthropic activities, and overall CSR. However, no significant 2014 relationships with corporate financial performance were observed for CSR public policy and market influence, CSR research and development, CSR pricing, manufacturing, and distribution, and CSR patents and licensing. In the 8 hypotheses tested, the findings in 2012 did not show any effect of CSR on corporate financial performance in the pharmaceutical industry. The results of this study suggest at the minimum, that CSR does not negatively impact corporate financial performance in the pharmaceutical industry. This study does not support arguments against product donations and philanthropic activities. The partial support for a positive effect of CSR on corporate financial performance and no negative impact of CSR on financial performance in the pharmaceutical industry, could encourage corporate leaders to pay attention to, not only their corporate financial profits, but also ethical, environmental, and social issues such as improving the access to medicines; and contributing to improving society.

For employees to optimally perform at work, it is important that they are healthy. The employee is under constant work pressures that affects their health behaviour. The aim of this research is to look at the evident health risks of employees working within a financial institution, to analyze how physical activity influences these health risk factors and their medical costs. In this study a sample of 9860 self selected employees, aged between 18 and 64 (35.3 ± 10.7 years), was used. These employees are spread over all the provinces of South Africa and from all racial groupings. Differentiation was made between employees who were on chronic medication and those who were not. The Health Risk Assessment (HRA) questionnaire developed and provided by the medical aid of the institution was used as the analysis tool. Medical expenditures of the sample group were also provided by the medical aid and investigated. A national network of registered Biokineticists administered the implementation of the HRA, based on a set protocol. ANOVA was used for statistical data analysis - providing descriptive and summarising statistics. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine relationships between variables. It is clear from the descriptive data that the tendencies of selected health risks were high. The results also show that 37.6% (Diastolic) and 47.87% (Systolic) of the sample group comply with the normal borders of blood pressure. With regards to BM3, 32.3% were overweight and 25.3% within the boundaries of obesity. The average cholesterol of the group is 4.4mmol.L-l. The Physical activity levels were determined using an activity algorithm developed by the medical aid of the institution (described in detail in the thesis). Results show a low level of physical activity index (7.18 + 3.05) within the sample group. No statistical significance could be found between physical activity levels and medical expenditure, although those who are highly active seemed to have higher expenditure than those who are inactive.
Thesis (M.A. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This diploma thesis' objective is to assess the financial situation of the specific company and suggestion the concrete recommendation for the improvement its financial situacion. The first part of the thesis comprises theoretical fundamentals of the financial analysis and introduction the company. The second part represents application of financial analysis methods to assess the financial situation of the specific company. Summary gathers the general financial situation of the specific company and proposals to its improvement.

Shaoul et al. (2012) state that the accounting, scrutiny and oversight of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) remain areas of concern. Also, there have been calls for a more socio-technical and multidisciplinary approach to accounting and governance studies (Broadbent, 2012; Broadbent and Guthrie 2008), especially in relation to the empirical study of PPPs (Hodge et al., 2010). This thesis responds to these calls in part by drawing on Giddens’ structuration theory to examine the financial accountability and governance concerns that are created in PPP joint venture structures. The empirical work focuses on the health sector, which is identified as one of the sectors inundated by PPP activities, particularly in the UK (Treasury, 2012; Whitfield, 2010). It adopts a case study approach, based on qualitative methodology, which involves documentary analysis of secondary data and interviews in relation to two PPP schemes under the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) scheme in the UK’s health sector.The thesis investigates: the extent to which the corporate structures of the LIFT scheme do complicate financial accountability and governance including external scrutiny; the extent to which the LIFT scheme does enhance partnership working between the public and private sector partners; the structures in financial accountability and governance in the LIFT scheme; the human agents that provide agency in financial accountability and governance in the LIFT scheme and; whether and in what ways structures and human agency in financial accountability and governance interact in the LIFT scheme and what the implications are.The thesis finds firstly that the complex corporate structure of the LIFT scheme is very complicated and the joint venture mechanism cannot be relied upon to deliver transparency of reporting. Secondly, as limited companies, all financial reporting follows private sector accounting regulations and Company Law and there is minimal disclosure in terms of information available to the general public. This is worsened by lack of information sharing between partners as evidenced in one case study group. Thirdly, there was considerable inconsistency in the reporting due to multiplicity of interpretive schemas between the two case study groups. Fourthly, there was considerable change in the reporting due both to changes in accounting regulations and changes in organisational structure and interpretive schemas throughout the period. Fifthly, there is lack of continuity of public sector oversight and monitoring as the public sector, in practice, restricts its activities to pre-operational phase and limited oversight after construction phases. Moreover, partnership working is very difficult in the context of profit seeking under the LIFT structure. Partnership working and success of the LIFT scheme may depend on trust, key personalities working together as well as leadership. From the structuration perspective, the study finds structural contradictions and conflicts of interests in financial accountability and governance practices. Therefore, transparency, public accountability, oversight and scrutiny are necessarily undermined and, policy makers should pay attention to not only the private sector technologies but also the manner in which they are used to benefit finance capital.

This Master’s thesis deals with the analysis of the existing, general and departmental environment and internal status of the company STROJÍRNA OSLAVANY, spol. s r. o. On the basis of the finding informations the work includes the processed suggestion of the corporate strategy, which should be helpful to establish the company position on the market and assure her additional development.

Within the worldwide business community, many analysis tools and techniques have evolved to assist in the evaluation and encouragement of financial health and fiscal viability. However, in the educational community, such analysis is uncommon. It has long been argued that educational institutions bear little resemblance to, and should not be treated like, businesses. This research identifies an educational environment where educational institutions are, indeed, businesses, and may greatly benefit from the use of business analyses. The worldwide effort of Education for All (EFA) has focused on primary education, particularly in less developed countries (LDCs). In Sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda increased its primary school enrollments from 2.7 million in 1996 to 7.6 million in 2003. This rapid primary school expansion substantially increased the demand for secondary education. Limited government funding for secondary schools created an educational bottleneck. In response to this demand, laws were passed to allow the establishment of private secondary schools, operated and taxed as businesses. Revenue reports, filed by individual private schools with the Uganda Revenue Authority, formed the database for the financial analysis portion of this research. These reports, required of all profitable businesses in Uganda, are similar to audited corporate financial statements. Survey data and national examination (UNEB) scores were also utilized. This research explored standard business financial analysis tools, including financial statement ratio analysis, and evaluated the applicability of each to this LDC educational environment. A model for financial assessment was developed and industry averages were calculated for private secondary schools in the Mukono District of Uganda. Industry averages can be used by individual schools as benchmarks in assessing their own financial health. Substantial deviations from the norms signal areas of potential concern. Schools may take appropriate corrective action, leading to sustainable fiscal viability. An example of such analysis is provided. Finally, school financial health, defined by eight financial measures, was compared with quality of education, defined by UNEB scores. Worldwide, much attention is given to education and its role in development. This research, with its model for financial assessment of private LDC schools, offers a new and pragmatic perspective.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2017-03-01T20:45:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Christiane Garrido Schwach.pdf: 1899108 bytes, checksum: 9b2c0c03535e3bd98c46eb138b1cc179 (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-01T20:45:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Christiane Garrido Schwach.pdf: 1899108 bytes, checksum: 9b2c0c03535e3bd98c46eb138b1cc179 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-29
With the opening of the Brazilian market of hospitals for foreign direct investment, authorized from January 2015, some challenges of the private hospitals and the healthcare market is to understand what the investors seek in hospitals to make financial contributions. Some issues as macroeconomic outlook of the market; growth potential of the health sector; knowledge of the risks; existence of attractive hospitals available and Corporate Governance (CG), are essential for the analysis of investors. The need to professionalize the management of hospitals and train more qualified professionals is because, of mergers and acquisitions in health operations, be preceded by a thorough study of economic and financial viability and the assessment of the hospital that will receive the contribution. In this way, openness to foreign capital, brings new concepts to the health sector, particularly as the need for adjustments in current management models, mainly as good CG practices. In this sense, the objective of this study is to analyze the CG practices grip level in hospitals of the National Association of the Private Hospitals (ANAHP), and its indicators of economic and financial performance, which make them attractive to foreign investment. In addition, it elaborated the following research question: What is the relationship between the principles of corporate governance and financial indicators of the hospitals associated with ANAHP within the multidimensional perspective. The methodology is a study of exploratory nature, using a nearly-experimental research strategy, classified as ex post facto. Given a quantitative assessment the research has a multivariate approach, using descriptive analysis, multidimensional scaling (MDS) and application of cluster model. It was found that the group with the highest percentage of member hospitals CG (75%) showed better indicators. This result showed a positive relationship between the economic and financial performance indicators and CG practices and illustrated that the greater transparency of information, the better the economic and financial analysis of hospitals who wish to seek foreign investment.
Com a abertura do mercado brasileiro de hospitais ao investimento estrangeiro direto, autorizada a partir de janeiro de 2015, um dos desafios dos hospitais privados e do mercado de saúde é entender o que os investidores buscarão nas instituições hospitalares para realizar os aportes financeiros. Algumas questões como, perspectivas macroeconômicas do mercado; potencial de crescimento do setor de saúde; conhecimento dos riscos; existência de hospitais atrativos disponíveis e Governança Corporativa (GC), são essenciais para a análise dos investidores. A necessidade de profissionalizar a gestão dos hospitais e formar profissionais mais qualificados, se deve ao fato das operações de fusões e aquisições na saúde, serem precedidas de profundo estudo de viabilidade econômico-financeira e avaliação do hospital que receberá o aporte. Desta maneira, a abertura ao capital estrangeiro traz novos conceitos ao setor da saúde, sobretudo quanto a necessidade de adequações nos atuais modelos de gestão, principalmente quanto as boas práticas de GC. Neste sentido, o objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o nível de aderência as práticas de GC nos hospitais da Associação Nacional dos Hospitais Privados (ANAHP) e seus indicadores de desempenho econômico-financeiros, que os tornam atraentes ao investimento estrangeiro. Ademais, elaborou-se a seguinte questão de pesquisa: Qual é a relação entre os princípios de Governança Corporativa e os indicadores econômico-financeiros dos hospitais associados a ANAHP, dentro da ótica multidimensional. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza exploratório, por meio de uma estratégia de pesquisa quase-experimental, classificada como ex post facto. Perante uma avaliação quantitativa a pesquisa adotou uma abordagem multivariada, por meio da análise descritiva, da técnica de escalonamento multidimensional (EMD) e da aplicação do modelo de agrupamentos. Verificou-se que, o agrupamento com maior percentual de hospitais aderentes as práticas de GC (75%), apresentou os melhores indicadores. Este resultado evidenciou uma relação positiva entre os indicadores de desempenho econômico-financeiros e as práticas de GC e ilustrou que, quanto maior a transparência das informações, melhor a análise econômico-financeira das instituições hospitalares que desejam buscar o investimento estrangeiro.

Submitted by Luiz Carlos Moura (lcarlos_moura@hotmail.com) on 2017-06-22T12:12:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação final - Luiz Carlos Moura.pdf: 2925493 bytes, checksum: aa0b6504529bc4a71035f39aef7b6b02 (MD5)
Approved for entry into archive by ÁUREA CORRÊA DA FONSECA CORRÊA DA FONSECA (aurea.fonseca@fgv.br) on 2017-07-12T16:46:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação final - Luiz Carlos Moura.pdf: 2925493 bytes, checksum: aa0b6504529bc4a71035f39aef7b6b02 (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-20T20:21:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação final - Luiz Carlos Moura.pdf: 2925493 bytes, checksum: aa0b6504529bc4a71035f39aef7b6b02 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-10
Research on corporate governance has made a substantial effort to determine its impact on the stock market, albeit little attention has been given to testing the value of distinct listing segments of transparency. Building on the asymmetric information and investor awareness literatures, we test the relative importance of each level of corporate governance in the Brazilian Stock Exchange and how they are perceived among shareholders. Using an event study methodology, we provide clear evidence that investors are willing to reward high levels of transparency, although it is not the smartest investment choice in the short-term as one might expect. Finally, our last analysis explores situations in which the relationship between transparency and the firms’ cumulative abnormal returns can be enhanced. For this purpose, we make use of the Altman Z-score (2000) and present clear reasons of whether and how this strong relationship can be moderated. The results are robust to alternative event windows, different time-periods in the comparison, alternative sets of control variables, and distinct measures of financial health.

Over the past several decades and increasingly in recent years, blood transfusions in the United States have plummeted as surgery has gotten more precise and less invasive. Alongside this decrease in general transfusions has been an increase in specific blood products for patients whose immune systems require special treatment. Simultaneously, trends in healthcare in the United States have incentivized regional hospitals to join large conglomerates. These coexisting factors have left regional blood banks, traditionally economically viable, in much weakened states. This thesis was born out of an initial curiosity to discover whether or not genetic science, and genotyping in particular, could benefit small regional blood banks by allowing them to bring down their costs of pre-transfusion blood testing or offer new products. I focus on the San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB) as a case study of the larger blood banking industry. In the course of this research, economic factors were taken into consideration as well as social and health. A minor question that was also discussed was whether genotyping not only help regional blood banks survive fiscally but also open the gateway to better patient outcomes and lower costs nationally of blood transfusions and their associated costs. Feasibility analyses and financial modeling suggest support for genotyping blood donors and transfusion recipients in order to more perfectly match blood transfusions through extended antigen matching.

Cette thèse s’applique à explorer dans quelle mesure et par quels mécanismes lamondialisation, au travers de ses différentes composantes, impacte la santé des travailleurseuropéens. Dans une première partie, nous exposons les conséquences socio-économiques de cephénomène. Dans une deuxième partie, nous montrons que l’exposition concurrentielleinternationale constitue un facteur de risque pour la santé des travailleurs non qualifiés. Lesfacteurs individuels et organisationnels sont néanmoins les plus à même d’expliquer la prévalencede troubles physiques et mentaux chez l’ensemble des travailleurs. La mondialisation impliqueaussi de nouvelles pratiques organisationnelles liées à l’internationalisation des firmes, une autrefacette de la mondialisation. Nous soulignons que les travailleurs doivent ainsi trouver lesressources nécessaires pour rester attractifs dans ce monde en perpétuelle évolution. Dans unetroisième partie, nous exposons que la mondialisation favorise le développement des activités deservices dans les pays industrialisés. En parallèle, l'organisation de type "lean" est mise en placedans ces secteurs et la pression concurrentielle s’accroit. Ces changements impactent les conditionsde réalisation du travail. Dans ce contexte, la santé se trouve dégradée par des facteurs de risqueen évolution, parmi eux l’intensité du travail liées aux relations interpersonnelles. Enfin, nousmontrons que la Responsabilité Sociale de l’Entreprise apparait comme une solution dont lesentreprises peuvent s’emparer pour améliorer la santé de leurs travailleurs et par conséquent, leurperformance sociale et financière
This thesis aims at exploring to what extent globalization, through its diversecomponents, impacts the health of European workers. In a first part, we expose the socio-economicconsequences of this multi-faceted phenomenon. In a second part, we show that internationalcompetition, one of the essential components of globalization, is a risk factor for non-skilledworkers. Nevertheless, individual and organizational factors are the most likely to explain mentaland physical disorders prevalence in the population as a whole. Globalization also implies newpractices linked to firms’ internationalization strategy, another component of globalization. Weunderline that workers must acquire the skills to stay attractive in a constantly changing worldand they do not find much support in their companies. In a third part, we show that globalizationenhances the surge of the service sector in industrialized countries. In addition, the leanmanagement is implemented in those sectors and competitive pressure increases. These changesimpact the way the work is performed. Within this context, the health of workers deterioratesbecause they are exposed to changing risk factors, among them: intense of work related tointerpersonal relationships. Finally, we find that the Corporate Social Responsibility comes as ananswer to improve workers’ health and as a consequence, firms’ social and financial performance

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:44:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rosania Nascimento Pereira.pdf: 2711948 bytes, checksum: 5c1b840d79102ba92f01dda7cae403ed (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-10-09
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
Part of the Reform Plan of the State's strategy was to transfer at the end of the 90s, to the non public sector producing services such as health, education and culture, seeking to promote greater efficiency and quality services. A key strategy was the creation of social organizations (OS). Since 1998, the State Health Department of São Paulo (SES) transferred the management of hospitals to these organizations through management contracts that discriminated objectives and targets to be achieved for the production of health services. Due to the fact that it was the management of public money, the corporate governance issue was relevant to public administration. The research evaluates the governance in the social organization of health SPDM - Association for the Development of Medicine as the criteria for accountability (account responsibility) and transparency through the analysis of existing, contracts and reports that regulate OSS legislation. The research results show that the criteria for accountability and transparency - important to ensure good governance in the public sector elements - according to the literature examined were not achieved considering that: the government of Sao Paulo is the main buyer, payer and performance controller of these organizations; in compliance with the time limits due to law enforcement for accountability; the quality of information of the S.E.S. to the departments of external control and the difficulty of access to information for stakeholders
Parte da estratégia do Plano Diretor da Reforma do Estado foi transferir, no final da década de 90, para o setor público não estatal a produção de serviços tais como saúde, educação e cultura, procurando promover maior eficiência e qualidade dos serviços. Uma das principais estratégias foi a criação das organizações sociais de saúde (OSS). A partir de 1998, a Secretaria de Estado de Saúde de São Paulo (SES) tem repassado a gestão de hospitais para essas organizações mediante contrato de gestão que discrimina objetivos e metas para a produção de serviços de saúde. Por se tratar da gestão do dinheiro público, o tema governança corporativa é relevante para a administração pública. A pesquisa avalia a governança na organização social de saúde SPDM - Associação para o Desenvolvimento da Medicina - quanto aos critérios de accountability (responsabilidade em prestar conta) e transparência por meio da análise da legislação vigente, contratos e relatórios que regulam as OSS. Os resultados da pesquisa demonstram que os critérios de accountability e transparência - elementos importantes para garantir uma boa governança no setor público , de acordo com a literatura examinada, ainda não foram alcançados tendo em vista que o governo de São Paulo é o principal comprador, pagador e controlador do desempenho dessas organizações; que há necessidade do cumprimento dos prazos previstos na lei para prestação de contas; que a qualidade das informações pela S.E.S. junto aos órgãos de controle externo é primordial, e que há dificuldade de acesso às informações para os stakeholders

Diese Arbeit bietet eine solide theoretische Grundlage zu Philanthropie und religiös motivierten Spendenaktivitäten und deren Einfluss auf Wohltätigkeitstrends, Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und einer auf dem Gedanken der sozialen Gerechtigkeit beruhenden Philanthropie. Untersucht werden dafür die Strukturen religiös motivierte Spenden, für die in der islamischen Tradition die Begriffe „zakat“, „Waqf“ oder im Plural auch „awqaf-“ oder „Sadaqa“ verwendet werden, der christliche Begriff dafür lautet „tithes“ oder „ushour“. Aufbauend auf diesem theoretischen Rahmenwerk analysiert die qualitative und quantitative Feldstudie auf nationaler Ebene, wie die ägyptische Öffentlichkeit Philanthropie, soziale Gerechtigkeit, Menschenrechte, Spenden, Freiwilligenarbeit und andere Konzepte des zivilgesellschaftlichen Engagements wahrnimmt. Um eine umfassende und repräsentative Datengrundlage zu erhalten, wurden 2000 Haushalte, 200 zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen erfasst, sowie Spender, Empfänger, religiöse Wohltäter und andere Akteure interviewt. Die so gewonnen Erkenntnisse lassen aussagekräftige Aufschlüsse über philanthropische Trends zu. Erstmals wird so auch eine finanzielle Einschätzung und Bewertung der Aktivitäten im lokalen Wohltätigkeitsbereich möglich, die sich auf mehr als eine Billion US-Dollar beziffern lassen. Die Erhebung weist nach, dass gemessen an den Pro-Kopf-Aufwendungen die privaten Spendenaktivitäten weitaus wichtiger sind als auswärtige wirtschaftliche Hilfe für Ägypten. Das wiederum lässt Rückschlüsse zu, welche Bedeutung lokale Wohltätigkeit erlangen kann, wenn sie richtig gesteuert wird und nicht wie bislang oft im Teufelskreis von ad-hoc-Spenden oder Hilfen von Privatperson an Privatperson gefangen ist. Die Studie stellt außerdem eine Verbindung her zwischen lokalen Wohltätigkeits-Mechanismen, die meist auf religiösen und kulturellen Werten beruhen, und modernen Strukturen, wie etwa Gemeinde-Stiftungen oder Gemeinde-„waqf“, innerhalb derer die Spenden eine nachhaltige Veränderung bewirken können. Daher bietet diese Arbeit also eine umfassende wissenschaftliche Grundlage, die nicht nur ein besseres Verständnis, sondern auch den nachhaltiger Aus- und Aufbau lokaler Wohltätigkeitsstrukturen in Ägypten ermöglicht. Zentral ist dabei vor allem die Rolle lokaler, individueller Spenden, die beispielsweise für Stiftungen auf der Gemeindeebene eingesetzt, wesentlich zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung beitragen könnten – und das nicht nur in Ägypten, sondern in der gesamten arabischen Region. Als konkretes Ergebnis dieser Arbeit, wurde ein innovatives Modell entwickelt, dass neben den wissenschaftlichen Daten das Konzept der „waqf“ berücksichtigt. Der Wissenschaftlerin und einem engagierten Vorstand ist es auf dieser Grundlage gelungen, die Waqfeyat al Maadi Community Foundation (WMCF) zu gründen, die nicht nur ein Modell für eine Bürgerstiftung ist, sondern auch das tradierte Konzept der „waqf“ als praktikable und verbürgte Wohlstätigkeitsstruktur sinnvoll weiterentwickelt.
This work provides a solid theoretical base on philanthropy, religious giving (Islamic zakat, ‘ushour, Waqf -plural: awqaf-, Sadaqa and Christian tithes or ‘ushour), and their implications on giving trends, development work, social justice philanthropy. The field study (quantitative and qualitative) that supports the theoretical framework reflects at a national level the Egyptian public’s perceptions on philanthropy, social justice, human rights, giving and volunteering and other concepts that determine the peoples’ civic engagement. The statistics cover 2000 households, 200 Civil Society Organizations distributed all over Egypt and interviews donors, recipients, religious people and other stakeholders. The numbers reflect philanthropic trends and for the first time provide a monetary estimate of local philanthropy of over USD 1 Billion annually. The survey proves that the per capita share of philanthropy outweighs the per capita share of foreign economic assistance to Egypt, which implies the significance of local giving if properly channeled, and not as it is actually consumed in the vicious circle of ad-hoc, person to person charity. In addition, the study relates local giving mechanisms derived from religion and culture to modern actual structures, like community foundations or community waqf that could bring about sustainable change in the communities. In sum, the work provides a comprehensive scientific base to help understand- and build on local philanthropy in Egypt. It explores the role that local individual giving could play in achieving sustainable development and building a new wave of community foundations not only in Egypt but in the Arab region at large. As a tangible result of this thesis, an innovative model that revives the concept of waqf and builds on the study’s results was created by the researcher and a dedicated board of trustees who succeeded in establishing Waqfeyat al Maadi Community Foundation (WMCF) that not only introduces the community foundation model to Egypt, but revives and modernizes the waqf as a practical authentic philanthropic structure.

Este estudo tem como objectivo dar a conhecer o Grupo Jerónimo Martins, que é actualmente a empresa líder no sector da distribuição e cujas insígnias têm uma posição de liderança nos segmentos retalhista e grossista no mercado português, e no segmento de hard discount na Polónia, o outro país onde actualmente se encontra estabelecida a empresa. De modo a cumprir essa finalidade e de que forma ela se relaciona com a realidade presente, é realizada uma breve contextualização sobre a conjuntura económica sobre os países e sectores onde a Jerónimo Martins está inserida, passando em seguida para uma descrição sobre a empresa bem como uma análise à sua situação financeira e às suas perspectivas futuras tendo em conta o conjunto de decisões que é tomado pela sua administração com vista ao crescimento e desenvolvimento sustentáveis dos seus negócios. A conclusão do estudo centra-se exclusivamente na recomendação sobre a acção da empresa de acordo os devidos critérios de avaliação do preço-alvo da mesma, ao mesmo tempo que tal valor é confrontado com os resultados obtidos por outras entidades especializadas na avaliação de títulos financeiros de forma a conseguir apurar se a conclusão obtida está dentro de um intervalo de valores considerados verosímeis para a situação em causa e para comparar recomendações de modo a que seja possível a um investidor obter um conjunto mais alargado de recomendações que apontam para uma postura específica face à acção da Jerónimo Martins em uma determinada data.
This case study has the objective to provide an insight regarding Jerónimo Martins Group, which is the leader in the distribution sector and whose banners hold the lead position in the Portuguese Retail and Wholesale market segments, as well as the hard discount one in Poland, which is the only other country where the company is established. In order to do so and to relate it toward the present, it begins with a small contextualization over the economic conjuncture concerning both countries and their respective sectors where Jerónimo Martins operates, followed by its thorough description and a detailed financial status analysis. Finally it is laid out what are the Group‟s future prospects bearing in mind the set of managerial decisions taken in order to keep the healthy business growth and development. This study concludes by issuing a recommendation over the company‟s stock price according to some suitable valuation methods and by making a comparison between the result achieved and a few other recommendations from other financial entities to see whether the recommendation made is somewhat in line with the other ones and in order for a given investor to get a larger set of opinions pointing out a certain stance regarding Jerónimo Martins stock and its price at a given date.

A investigação é um estudo de caso com o objetivo de analisar a sustentabilidade financeira da operadora de autogestão CASSI, integrante do mercado de saúde suplementar do Brasil. A princípio, realizamos uma análise dos indicadores econômicos e financeiros apurados e divulgados pelos ANUÁRIOS da ANS, período de 2010 a 2018, com vistas a selecionar aqueles que seriam objeto de comparação. Posteriormente, fizemos análises comparativas destes indicadores entre as firmas de Autogestão que guardavam similaridade com a CASSI (entre as operadoras selecionadas) para obtenção de uma visão mais aproximada da real situação da operadora em estudo. Assim, analisando as cinco hipóteses separadamente: Tíquete Médio (2º maior); Envelhecimento (2º menor); Despesas Administrativas (menor); Inflação Médica (tíquete médio teve reajuste superior aos índices oficiais da ANS); Sinistralidade (despesas superiores as contraprestações). Conclui-se que o déficit da CASSI está, tão somente, ligado a Sinistralidade; especialmente, em relação às internações hospitalares. Este item, em 2018, consumiu 58% das receitas da CASSI; houve redução da quantidade destes eventos em 12,96%; porém, os reajustes dos valores destes serviços (informado de 16%; mas efetivamente 33%) são muito superiores (dobro) da inflação médica (VCMH) de 16%. Paralelamente, existe forte atuação do Patrocinador (Banco do Brasil) para efetuar alterações estatutárias para se desobrigar em relação a sua responsabilidade corporativa de manter o plano de saúde como Benefício Definido (Entidade patrocinadora se compromete a proporcionar benefícios pós-emprego, a um ou mais empregados, após a conclusão do período de emprego). A busca pela sustentabilidade da CASSI deve superar todos os obstáculos.
The investigation is a case study aiming to analyze the financial sustainability of the self-management operator CASSI, part of the Brazilian supplementary health market. At first, we performed an analysis of the economic and financial indicators calculated and disclosed by the ANS ANNUALS, from 2010 to 2018, with a view to selecting those that would be subject to comparison. Subsequently, we made comparative analyzes of these indicators among the Self-Management firms that were similarity with CASSI (among the selected carriers) to obtain a closer view of the actual situation of the operator under study. Thus, analyzing the five hypotheses separately: Medium Ticket (2nd highest); Aging (2nd minor); Administrative Expenses (lower); Medical Inflation (average ticket had higher readjustment than ANS official indexes); Loss ratio (expenses higher than consideration). It can be concluded that CASSI's deficit is only related to claims; especially regarding hospital admissions. In 2018, this item consumed 58% of CASSI's revenues; there was a reduction in the amount of these events by 12.96%; however, the readjustments of the values of these services (reported by 16%; but effectively 33%) are much higher (double) than the medical inflation (HCV) of 16%. At the same time, there is strong action by the Sponsor (Banco do Brazil) to make statutory changes to release its corporate responsibility to maintain the health plan as a Defined Benefit (Sponsor commits to provide post-employment benefits to one or more employees upon completion of the period of employment). CASSI's quest for sustainability must overcome all obstacles.