Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Finance Services'

Electricity is a basic infrastructural service necessary for the achievement of developmental outcomes. The use of electricity, specifically, serves economic as well as social needs. It is universally accepted that electrification enhances quality of life at the household level and stimulates the economy at a broader level. Given its substantial benefits, electrification together with other sources of modern energy such as renewable energy, has been identified as essential for fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (UNDP, 2005). In most cases, the main challenge in the achievement of these goals is the bundled nature of the electricity supply chain in majority of developing countries. This necessitated the need for policy reforms with the aim of unbundling the sector in Kenya. The literature review sets out to consider the main features of the electricity sector to better understand the legal and regulatory reforms that have taken place in the electricity sector and the impact of the liberalization on rural electrification and the poor in society. It takes note of the changing role of government in the sector with the liberalization and privatization, which has entailed the unbundling of the vertically integrated state-owned utility that has led to the introduction of competition in some segments of the electricity sector value chain such as generation and distribution. In addition, the review considers the classification related issues arising from the reforms that have taken place in the electricity sector and the regulatory imperatives for a competitive electricity services sector. Finally, a review of the reforms in the electricity sector in Kenya is assessed together with the impact of the reforms. Furthermore, the necessary regulatory disciplines instrumental in cross-border trade in electricity services are identified. The rationale of the study focuses mostly on the phenomenological (qualitative) and positivistic (quantitative) types of research. The focus was on identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns (themes) within data to facilitate a clear understanding of the electricity services sector in Kenya. Furthermore, the chapter on methodology presents the research population, sampling strategy, data collection, frame of analysis and a summary of how the data was analysed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the questions. The findings and discussion sections of the study are focused on the reforms in the electricity services sector in Kenya, the pro-competitive regulations for an effectively liberalized electricity sector, and the resultant electricity-related services. Due to the complexity of the issues in the sector, interviewees preferred to be provided with the questionnaire instead of face-to-face or telephonic interviews. The questionnaire consisted of two sections, namely the respondent's demographics and reforms in the electricity sector in Kenya. The questionnaire targeted key stakeholders in the sector and was sent to eighteen potential respondents, and of these, only fourteen were responsive. The study concludes that reforms in the electricity sector in Kenya have brought about clarity in terms of the services that are embedded in the sector and identified the key regulatory elements necessary to enhance competition in the sector. The new services that have surfaced in Kenya, include geothermal exploration, grid connectivity through KENTRACO, generating electricity from crude oil, and ensuring that more households are connected to the national grid through the rural electrification project.

Value-Added Tax (VAT) was introduced in South Africa (“SA”) on 29th September 1991 to replace GST (General Sales Tax) as an indirect system of taxation. It is levied in terms of the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991. The Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is a mandated collector of all tax that is legally payable. SARS has a duty to ensure that the collection of tax is efficient and effective. VAT is a transaction and consumption-based tax that is triggered upon the consumption of goods and services in South Africa. South Africa operates a destination-based VAT system, which means that exports are zero-rated, and imports are subject to VAT at the standard rate of 15 per cent. The upshot of the destination-based VAT system is that it is designed to tax the consumption (in economic parlance) that takes place in South Africa (SA). For the purposes of VAT, revenue loss as a result of cross border supply of goods is insignificant in comparison to revenue loss experienced in the cross-border supply of services supplied via electronic means. This is due to the tangible nature of goods which would be required to be channelled through the border and/or customs, which are generally strictly controlled areas. Such goods could be subject to domestic tax (including VAT), thereby limiting the trade distortions as the foreign supplier will be put in the same tax position as the local supplier. However, all of this will be dependent on domestic legislation and value thresholds in a particular jurisdiction. In the instance of cross border supplies of services supplied electronically, there is increased exposure or risks to trade distortions since these are provided via the internet or through other forms of electronic agents or communication methods. These supplies do not have to physically pass through the border or customs, thereby limiting the control and monitoring of tax authorities. Imported services/reverse charge mechanism is where services supplied by non-residents are taxed within a taxing jurisdiction. This means that a resident of South Africa must account for VAT on services acquired from a non-resident or a person who carries on a business outside of South Africa, to the extent that such services are not used in the furtherance of taxable supplies. Essentially, the responsibility for the collection of tax does not lie with the non- resident but the person who imported the goods or services into South Africa. This is known as the reverse charged mechanism and is applied with respect to imported services acquired from non-resident businesses, consumed in South Africa and not for the furtherance of taxable supplies. In order to level the playground between foreign and local suppliers, the legislature introduced new rules governing the supply of electronic services by a foreign supplier to South Africa. This was done to eradicate the incorrect interpretation & application of the provisions governing imported services. In the 2018 National Budget Speech, released on 21 February 2018, the Minister of Finance announced that the regulation defining “electronic services” for VAT purposes would be updated. This resulted in an amended draft regulation being published on the same date. On 24 October 2018, the Minister of Finance presented the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement which was accompanied by the Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill 37 of 2018 (“the Bill). Amongst those amendments contained in the Bill was the changes in the VAT treatment of the supply of electronic services (“e-services”) in South Africa. These amendments and the revised e-services regulations are due to take effect on 1 April 2019. The objective of this paper is to discuss to what extent the SA regulations are in line with regulations introduced in the Ottawa Taxation Framework. This paper will also discuss the Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill 37 of 2018 considering electronic services. Lastly, the EU, New Zealand and Australia’s frameworks will be looked at to establish if they have also amended their local VAT/GST legislation considering the Ottawa Taxation Framework. New Zealand, Australia and EU were chosen as target jurisdictions of comparison because they are more developed than South Africa. Furthermore, South Africa has economic relations with Australia and some countries which form part of the European Union. It is also understood that Australia’s GST and South Africa’s VAT are similar in terms of certain aspects. Collectively, South Africa’s VAT and Australia’s GST were both based on the New Zealand’s GST model. This paper finds that the recent amendments by the National Treasury are broad and do not conform to the Ottawa Taxation Framework. The paper also finds that the regulations looks fine on paper, but the implementation thereof will be challenging to both SARS and the VAT vendors. The paper suggests that the National Treasury should look at what countries i.e. New Zealand have done to address the challenge of taxing 'electronic services’ to ensure that the SA VAT legislation is amended in accordance with the suggested guidelines.

The aim of this study is to investigate the role and implications of the customer orientation of service employees (COSE) in highly relational services (HRS) and its front-line employees. Customer orientation (CO) is considered a key pillar in the development of relationship marketing (RM). However, there are not COSE studies trying to fully exploit its potential by the use of highly relational settings and the introduction of new consequences from the original COSE model aligned with those of RM goals. Accordingly, the COSE model was adequately framed under the relationship marketing (RM) theory, compared with other different CO models and then assessed via a qualitative study. For this study, private banking (PB) was chosen as HRS due to its particular characteristics, namely; a dyadic relationship between customers and employees (private bankers), a high customisation of the service, a needed judgement of the employee, and a particular way of delivery. The qualitative study was comprised of 25 semi-structured interviews to PB practitioners in order to address different research questions regarding the importance and applicability of the COSE model. Additionally, this research questioned what changes to the COSE model should be introduced for it to be adapted to HRS. Furthermore, new potential outcomes of COSE were examined together with the current situation related to the application of measurements of COSE in practice. This analysis confirmed the validity of the construct. COSE was proved to be notably important in PB, as in any HRS. Regrettably, no PB firm has a standardised process for measuring COSE. Moreover, the four dimensions that make up COSE received different grades of importance. Social skills were agreed to be more important than technical skills. Motivation was also considered as less important than social skills. Likewise, decision-making authority generated some disagreement as it can eventually result in a worse performance of the service delivery. There is a risk of the private banker to lose his or the focus on the service delivery due to the close relationship with the customer. Therefore, the interests of the three parties (company, employee and customer) have to be calibrated and aligned. Regarding the different COSE outcomes, new consequences were elicited; trust, loyalty, word of mouth, and customer-oriented deviance, from which some of the consequences were confirmed to be outcomes of RM too. Finally, an improved and extended COSE model has been proposed, including the potential effect of some characteristics of the firm and the employee. This is as well as a questionnaire to use in a future quantitative study that is adapted to the reality of the PB service. Numerous academic and managerial implications have also been extracted; (1) an innovative application of a qualitative methodology to an area where quantitative studies are the norm, (2) the application of the COSE model to a HRS setting like PB, whose academic classification and characterisation was also provided, (3) the identification and validation of new consequences of COSE, and (4) the adaptation and improvement of the COSE model that was provided by the proposition of a new conceptual model and a new questionnaire.

The purpose of this empirical study was to explore the extent to which the marketing concept had been accepted and implemented by the Islamic banks in Jordan. To achieve this, a survey of the Islamic banks' managers and customers was carried out. The survey questioned the managers, at both senior and branch levels, concerning their opinions about the understanding, acceptance and implementation of the marketing concept. Customers' opinions were also explored with particular regard to the factors considered to be important in choosing to bank with Islamic banks; services used; personal characteristics; the importance of promotional media; and the banks' role in informing customers about the Islamic banking concept. The findings of the study were that Islamic banks in Jordan have a narrow understanding of the marketing concept. These banks were found to be value - rather than profit-orientated. They accepted many of the facets of the marketing concept such as customer orientation, profit orientation and social orientation, while they downgraded the status of marketing activities. It was found that while some customers were gained from the nonbanking segment of the market, the banks won approximately two thirds of their customers from conventional banks. However, some customers were not impressed by the Islamic banks to the extent that they continued their patronage of other banks. This study is important in the light of the increasing growth of Islamic banks. It provides empirical data about the marketing orientation of the Islamic banks in Jordan which cannot be found elsewhere. It contributes to a better understanding of the ways in which the banks could increase their effectiveness by providing guidelines and the implications for marketing strategies. The research methodology and instruments used will help researchers to conduct studies in the field of financial services marketing in the Arab-Muslem countries.

This research effort seeks to investigate the co-creation of customer value in distribution channels of financial services as perceived by customers. In financial services, an in-depth investigation of customer value is necessary because of its recognised strategic imperative for competitive advantage (Woodruff, 1997). The Service Dominant Logic further demonstrates the importance of customer value as the basis of customers’ evaluations of products or service offerings (Vargo and Lusch, 2004). Customer value assessments are typically based on core services. However, core services are rapidly copied, diminishing prior competitive advantages. Hence, other sources of customer value and competitive advantage have to be considered. In light of this, distribution channels are considered resilient sources of value for the customer (Ballantyne and Varey, 2006). Specifically, this research seeks to empirically determine the type of value co-created through interactions in various distribution channels of financial services and the degree to which the various types of value vary, in distribution channel use. The conceptual model developed for this study synthesises two perspectives of customer value. The first perspective is the unidimensional perspective, which posits that customer value is a trade off between perceived benefits and perceived sacrifices. The alternative perspective is the multidimensional perspective where customer value is multidimensional. Various types of value, functional or utilitarian as well as emotional and aesthetic value are offered in the extant literature. In financial services, dominant studies focus on adoption and non-adoption of financial services channels particularly innovative technological channels such as the internet channel and mobile channel. A study of the customer value of various channels in the multichannel context of financial services is relatively absent. Therefore, a two-step research design was utilised. First, an exploratory study was conducted to determine the different benefits and sacrifices perceived by customers when using the distribution channels. The first stage of the study incorporated an exploratory study of semi-structured interviews conducted on a sample of 22 respondents. The hypotheses developed for the study were based on the exploratory study and the extant literature of customer value and distribution channels. The second stage of the study was a survey of 300 respondents using a questionnaire, within the Klang Valley area. The data were collected and analysed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and regression analysis as appropriate. The findings of the study show that both co-created functional value and emotional value perceptions exist in the distribution channel of financial services. Co-created functional and emotional value furthermore contributes to overall customer value perceptions. The study also finds that different benefit and sacrifice perceptions give rise to co-created functional and emotional value perceptions respectively. A comparison of the customer value perceptions of channels revealed that customers perceived functional value and emotional value in all channels, except the ATM/CDM/Cheque deposit channel. The in-branch channel is perceived to co-create a greater magnitude of emotional value. Adding to the extant literature, the findings demonstrate that distribution channels are an important source of customer value assessments. Furthermore, the findings lend support to the conceptual model, which posits various benefits and sacrifice perceptions existing in distribution channels of financial services lead to co-created perceived functional and emotional value or both simultaneously. From a managerial point of view, the findings of this study enable accurate identification of specific benefits and sacrifice perceptions in the various distribution channels of financial services to inform the development of strategies and tactics to enhance customer value of individual channels. Furthermore, the importance of emotional value in the in-branch channel lends support to the role of face to face interactions, careful recruitment and training of personnel to enhance the in-branch experience. The study also raises the importance of the consideration of service failures in services customer value assessments.

In this thesis, methods that are capable of improving the revenue and profitability of a financial services company are presented. Of particular interest is the use of customer specific information for pricing insurance products and segmenting a customer population based on the expected profitability of the customers. A prerequisite is the possibility for customers to have many different financial services products from the same provider. The thesis presents multivariate credibility models for how customer specific information from one (or many) financial services products is related to customer specific information from another financial services product. The models are foremost applied to the context of cross-selling (selling additional products to existing customers) where customer specific information from the offered cross-sale product is not available before the sale. As products are related, it is reasonable to use an appropriate (credible) amount of customer specific information from another product (or products), for estimating the profitability expected to emerge from the offered cross-sale product. In four separate but related articles, it is shown that having appropriate models for pricing and customer segmentation is of great importance for a financial services company aiming at running a profitable and growing business.

Malaysia is an ever-growing business hub in Asia. Due to the fact that Malaysia has diverging socio-economic, cultural, ethnic groups, and ethical systems, this study seeks to find out multicultural impacts on corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues and practices in the country. This study encompasses top and executive managers in financial services sector in Malaysia. A total of 1000 questionnaires were given out to the respondents in different segments of financial institutions in Malaysia namely commercial banks, investment banks, brokerage firms, fund management companies, insurance companies, unit trust companies, and large public fund organisations. The questionnaire used in this study was modified from Aupperle, Carroll and Hatfield (1995), Maignan and Ferrell (2000), and Maignan (2001). The questionnaire was used to measure perceptions about CSR elements as proposed by Carroll (1991): economic, legal,ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. The results indicated that top and executive managers ranked ethical responsibilities as the most important CSR duties for corporations. The results from the factor analysis revealed four drivers that were able to motivate corporations to practice CSR namely local and global forces, corporate image,economic performance, and cultural awareness. A depth observation across ethnicity of the respondents revealed that there are no homogenous results, especially with regards to Carroll’s CSR elements. The finding clearly demonstrated a separation of opinions between Malaysian bumiputera and Malaysian non-bumiputera respondents. This is potentially a significant finding since culture gives a significant impact on people attitude, behaviour and perception. The findings from this study suggest a unique CSR model for Malaysia and it is hoped to be the guide for local and international companies that is operating and that will be operating in this country.

The level of supply of public transport increases proportionately with population size. However, increases in population growth and urbanization have led to several transport problems, including meeting the supply of transport services. The rationale behind the supply model as used in the study is generally found in economic theory, where vehicle operators/owners choose among alternative opportunities before investing in urban transport service industry. Despite the importance of the transport business sector to the Zimbabwean economy, the continued undersupply in the sector is alarming. The main objective of the study is to identify the factors affecting the supply of urban transport in Harare, Zimbabwe. The research seeks to find the reasons of the high mismatch of demand and supply in the urban public transport sector. These situations are related to finance, demand forecasting, management, high operational overheads, unviable fares, marketing, capitalization at start up and business planning. It also established that many entrepreneurs have high operational overheads as a result of inefficiency due to vehicle old age and high statutory safety requirements on vehicle fitness, which is forcing many large investors to opt to sell their passenger vehicles and venture into haulage trucks instead. By the end of the research we should be able to list the factors affecting investment in this sector in their order of importance such that coming up with solutions to those most important factors may just unlock a lot of investment into this sector This research established the notion that under investment in the transport sector are caused by lack of funding and non viable fares even though occupancy is very good. These factors will serve as a basis of modeling the supply situation in the study area. In addition, the study will outline some policy directions, which need to be considered in order to sustain the supply of urban transport services.

This mixed methods study was to examine coaches who provided coaching for leaders to improve employee career development, defined as the individual's involvement and satisfaction with the organization in achieving his or her goals (Harter, Schmidt, & Haynes, 2002). The purpose is to determine if these coaches are able to be evaluated through assessments to determine who is more effective in coaching leaders in the financial services industry, and to determine the overall effectiveness in working with leaders to determine a non-traditional return on investment that an organization can use to measure coaching. One way to measure a coaching outcome is by goal achievement (Spence, 2007). The individual will be able to determine if measureable progress is being made toward goal achievement, which allows for earlier assessment of whether or not coaching is successful. This study was implemented to find out earlier if the coaching is working and to develop a more systemic way to assist high potential executives rather than leaving it up to each individual coach. The research creates a survey instrument and pilots its use in a financial services organization to evaluate the effectiveness of the questionnaire set created to conduct this study.

This thesis examines the impact of globalisation on areas of innovative legislative change, policy development and law reform in Australian finance law and financial services law. ‘Globalisation’ has had extensive influence on the law reform and regulation affecting companies and corporations, financial services, fundraising, managed investments, takeovers, finance, disclosure issues, the futures industry and the securities industry. Australian finance law and financial services law reform also impacts on the areas of trusts and equity, property law, secured transactions law, administrative law and takeover law. Globalisation has been an influential factor since the 1990’s on Australian financial services and corporate law reform development in the context of the global financial system. The origin in the pre-globalisation era of the influence of globalisation on Australian domestic policy and law reform developments in finance law and financial services law is considered in this thesis. Since the 1990’s, a globalisation based focus arose from international banking and corporate developments, which resulted in extensive international statutory and policy changes. These changes have had considerable impact on Australian finance and financial services law reform and related areas of Australian law and policy. In addition, the role of globalisation and electronic commerce on Australian finance law and financial services law is considered in this thesis. This thesis analyses the nature of globalisation theory and the process of globalisation, which is designed to ensure a free movement of capitalism so that banking and financial entities would be able to facilitate industry as well as electronic commerce transactions. This interweaving of globalisation and electronic commerce (as a mechanism in globalisation) in the free international movement of capital and labour is intended to bolster international banking systems, economies and industries. In practice, this close relationship between globalisation, electronic commerce and domestic law reform/policy development has caused problems in times of economic crisis since the Global Financial Crisis began in 2007. The conclusions drawn in this thesis demonstrate the role that globalisation has had on the development of law and policy in Australia in finance law and financial services law.

An organisation's accumulation of knowledge has been identified as a key factor in its progress and survival. This is particularly the case for a business that involves service delivery and is very pertinent to the construction industry. The key to success in managing organisational knowledge is recognising the importance of managing (and maintaining) the knowledge of the staff in the face of staff retention challenges. Knowledge retention is integral to ensuring that the experience and tacit knowledge acquired by the staff during their service will not be lost when the staff leave the organisation. The concept of Knowledge Management (KM) is seen as the solution through the inculcation of knowledge sharing via various tools and techniques in managing the knowledge within parties in construction. The aim of this research is to identify where and how KM initiatives being used within PFI-FM healthcare projects as a result of the unique character of the associated PFI contracts and a wide range of FM services. The complexities involved in managing and delivering services at the operational stage of PFI projects and the vast amount of tasks and services stipulated in the FM context, particularly regarding the planning, types of services, time, place, tools and resources needed, make it a suitable area for KM adoption. This research, which involved exploratory studies, literature reviews, analyses of three case studies involving PFI-FM healthcare projects and structured interviews with the Facilities Managers, has managed to discover the adoption of KM tools in managing FM healthcare services among Facilities Managers in PFI healthcare projects. However, KM has not been used to its fullest potential; the incomplete application of KM initiatives has, thus, created some problems with regard to delivering PFI-FM healthcare services. The outcome has resulted in the formulation of a framework that combines the best practices of KM initiatives with practical approaches of managing organisational knowledge of FM healthcare services which derived from the case studies. The framework has been validated by experts evaluated from the industry and refined to ensure that the framework developed is practical. The most pertinent achievements of this research include demonstrations of the needs for KM initiatives in delivering PFI-FM healthcare services and the development of a framework to enable better service delivery among the PFI-FM healthcare service providers, particularly with regard to addressing the challenges derived from PFI contracts and the vast scope of FM healthcare services. Overall, the study provides a clear justification and indication from a theoretical point of view and empirical evidence from the facilities managers perspective of the significance of KM initiatives in delivering PFI-FM healthcare services in the UK. Furthermore, recommendations have been made to improve and enable comprehension of the framework application and facilitate its implementation in the construction industry.

This thesis examines the development of management in financial services and its implications on managers' activities and socialisation. The thesis uses gender and emotional labour as the main themes for the discussion of management in the financial services. The thesis reports on two ethnographic case studies within two UK retail banks. Analyses are based on data derived from interviews, observations and documents. Both the literature and data suggest that management in the service sector centres around the management of organisational cultures. Managers must disseminate the organisational values in order to extract excellent customer service from the front-line staff. Managers themselves are acculturated into the organisation and its values, in order to more easily acculturate their staff. The data indicates that although management appears to have been feminised, masculine values still dominate. Managers are socialised into organisational cultures in which human relations rhetoric looms large and both male and female managers employ 'feminine' management styles. Confusingly however, male managers' skills seem to be valued more and male-dominated business areas receive greater kudos. A disjunction between rhetoric and reality is thus evident. In addition, both management and emotional labour are presented as gendered in sociological literature. The data indicates that although management styles and practices are perceived to be gendered, there is little evidence to support the stereotypes. Both men and women can be seen to be performing emotional labour too, but it is the expectations of others and their different life experiences that can lead to gender differences in the way that emotional labour is displayed.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study seeks to analyse the financial sector’s (commercial banks and the Bank of Namibia) policy interventions towards creating an inclusive financial system. To achieve this the objective of this study is in three folds, firstly to examine the level and extent of financial inclusiveness in Namibia, secondly to evaluate financial sector (commercial banks and the Bank of Namibia) policies to ascertain their effectiveness in promoting access to finance in Namibia, and thirdly to review international experiences to provide key learning lessons for Namibia’s financial system improvement. It is important that the problems associated with the high level of financial exclusion are understood. Through an analysis of the theoretical information and empirical results it is possible to establish how to improve financial inclusion which is critical for development and economic growth. Financial Inclusion (FI) has become a key pillar of development policy in a number of countries around the world on account of the fact that exclusive development is not sustainable. The paper explored the role of Mobile Money Services (MMS) in enhancing financial inclusion. The study was motivated by the proliferation of mobile phones amongst low income earners, the prepaid billing system sensitive to users’ incomes, adoption of ICT by government and the private sector that has enhanced e-commerce readiness of Uganda, as well as the launch of three Mobile Money Services in the country. A qualitative analysis of the web content of the three MMS providers was undertaken and focused on issues related to services provided; transaction charges; number of registered customers; number and volume of transactions; stakeholders; user interfaces and security; institutional relationships; policy and regulation; as well as appropriateness of the current business model(s). The findings indicate that while the MMS have enormous potential to enhance FI, it would require an open business model that involves all stakeholders to establish a truly national solution. Furthermore, the initial contribution of MMS to FI is in improving money transfer by lowering the transaction costs for small volumes. As a way forward, the regulatory authorities need to establish a legal framework that does not stifle innovation but ensures safety for customers’ savings. From the literature it becomes clear that there are various advantages associated with inclusive financial system. Various studies have demonstrated the positive correlation between financial inclusion and economic growth and poverty alleviation. Most of the data used in the study were collected by means of desk review for secondary data. Various articles and annual reports of commercial banks and regulators were analysed to provide an overview of the current state of financial inclusion in Namibia. However, primary data were also used to analyse the current initiatives of the commercial banks. The study finds that there are policy interventions that are in place and are being pursued by various players aimed at improving the public access to financial services. Results of the recently published FinMark2011 Survey report also indicate that 51 percent of adults are now included in the financial system compared to 31 percent recorded during the 2007 survey. Finally the study’s recommendations highlight various initiatives and activities which different stakeholders should undertake to improve the level of financial inclusion in the economy.

This aim of this research is to explore two methods for procuring security services in South Africa. This research is a comparative case study between two correctional centers, which are the Mangaung Correctional Centre and the Kimberly Correctional Centre. The Mangaung Correctional Centre has been procured through Public-Private Partnership, where government procures services through a private party and the Kimberly Correctional Centre has been procured through the traditional public sector finance method. The main objectives of the study is to compare and contrast the costs of incarceration in these correctional centres; to evaluate the quality of security services provided in these two correctional centres as well as to examine the most economic, efficient and effective method of procuring security services. The research findings indicated that the incarceration costs for Mangaung Correctional Centre were far more than the costs for Kimberly Correctional Centre, which poses a threat of affordability for the Department of Correctional Services. The research study also found in terms of the quality of security services provided in Mangaung Correctional Centre, there have been no escapes or riots reported in the centre for a very long time, on the other hand, the research has found that there has been a compromise in the quality of security services provided in Kimberly Correctional Centre because the centre has experienced violent riots in the recent years and there has been security threats due to the loss of the master key. It emerged from the research findings that there is generally a lack of monitoring and evaluation especially when it comes to the issue of incarceration costs in Mangaung Correctional Centre because the costs have increased by more than 100 per cent since inception, this is far more than increase in average inflation for the period reviewed. The research concluded by providing recommendations for consideration of procuring security services in future. Some of the key recommendations made in this research are that before government enters into any major contract, unless the feasibility study confirms the affordability of the project, then the government should not pursue the project further. The research further recommended that the government negotiators represented in the negotiation processes and awarding contracts should be capacitated, more especially in the area of finance and law to ensure that they understand the complexities and technicalities involved during the processes.

This thesis reports a study examining how the corporate centres of UK financial services companies involve themselves in product development in constituent businesses. Herein lies a key challenge for corporate managers - deciding on the appropriate balance between corporate nvolvement and granting autonomy to business units. Analysis of 16 businesses in large UK banks, building societies and insurers shows that in successful product development businesses the corporate centre becomes more intensely involved than in less successful businesses. In addition to providing expert product development advice, a corporate centre can provide leadership in the agreement of objectives based on a long-term vision of market opportunities. The results show that successful businesses are helped by their corporate centres to capitalize more fully on their entrepreneurial efforts. This is so particularly when businesses are allowed autonomy in performing operational tasks. Less successful product development businesses, on the other hand, are distinguished from winners by a distinctly different type of corporate involvement which at the extreme amount to unnecessary meddling in their affairs.

Bakgrund: Prestationsmätning syftar till att implementera ett företags strategi. För att lyckas med det krävs tillgång till relevant information för att ta rätt beslut. Nya alternativa organisationsformer som shared service centres har lett till en ökad efterfrågan på ny anpassad ekonomistyrning. En förfrågan om att utvärdera P2P-processens prestationsmätningssystem på IKEA AB, Finance Services ledde till utvärderingsstudien. Syfte: Syftet med utvärderingsstudien är att utveckla en modell med dimensioner, för att analysera prestationsmätningssystem på shared service centres. Analysmodellen kommer appliceras på P2P-processen inom IKEA AB, Finance Services. Om brister identifieras finns avsikten att föreslå hur de bör åtgärdas. Metod: Undersökningsdesignen för studien är en utvärderingsstudie. Empiriskt material har hämtats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Slutsats: Avsaknaden av mål leder till otydlighet gentemot intressenter. Samtidigt görs en generalisering där samtliga mått benämns som KPIs för att förenkla styrningen. Det påverkar verksamheten eftersom det saknas riktlinjer för hur prestationer bedöms och om de ligger på en rimlig nivå. En tydligare uppdelning av prestationsmåtten skulle leda till en bättre styrning av verksamheten och lägga mer fokus på att nå övergripande mål.
Background: The purpose of a performance measurement system is to implement a business strategy. In order to successfully implement this will the resources of relevant information be required. New options of organization structures creates an increasing demand of suitable financial control systems. A request to evaluate the performance measurement system on the P2P-process on IKEA AB, Finance Services made this evaluation study possible. Purpose: The purpose with this evaluation study is to develop a model with dimensions, used for an analysis of performance measurement systems on shared service centres. The model will be used to evaluate the P2P-process on IKEA AB, Finance Services. If deficits are detected we intend to suggest solutions for these problems. Method: The method used in this study is an evaluation study. The empirical data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. Conclusion: The absence of concrete goals creates vagueness to stakeholders. In addition, all the performance measures is named KPIs to make the financial control easier for employees. This affects the business because it lacks to provide guidance regarding how to assess performances and whether the performances seems to be at reasonable levels. A transparent distinction between the performance measures would create a better operations management and focus more on achieving strategic goals.

The purpose of this research is to discover some of the main findings the field of behavioural finance can provide for entrepreneurs in the financial services industry. Behavioural finance is a rapidly growing area that deals with the influence of psychology on the behaviour of entrepreneurs in decision-making. The researcher will focus on six heuristics and biases that entrepreneurs are seemingly prone to exhibit. Firstly, entrepreneurs tend to be overconfident. Secondly, the manner in which a problem is framed will influence the choice that is made. Thirdly, entrepreneurs make decisions on what information is available to them. Fourthly, entrepreneurs exhibit loss aversion. Fifthly, entrepreneurs tend to separate their money into several mental accounts. Finally, entrepreneurs tend to form judgment on stereotypes. The general objective of the research study has been to understand and evaluate the effect of behavioural heuristics and biases on entrepreneurs in their financial management. The study embraced the following aspects: ■ A literature study; ■ Empirical research by means of a structured questionnaire. The findings of the questionnaire were used to understand the concepts of these heuristics and biases in a South Africa environment (a group in the North West Province) in the financial services industry. All the research in the literature was done internationally and the challenge was to see a South Africa perspective on these heuristics and biases. The results have shown that entrepreneurs do manifest these heuristics and biases in their decision-making. On the strengths of the results, entrepreneurs should be conscious of the use of heuristics and biases in decision-making. The researcher recommends that entrepreneurs must understand these heuristics and biases, and they must be aware of all the heuristics and biases that they are prone to before they make important decisions.
Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Due to the lack of efficient offline payment services for small value payment, and along with the booming of the Internet and telecommunications technologies, new electronic payment services and instruments are becoming increasingly popular and important in the first and second decades of the 21 century in China’s electronic commerce economy. The new electronic payment instruments, which primarily include Internet third party payment and virtual currency, are the subjects of research in this thesis. This thesis focuses on electronic payment law relating to the Internet, and the e-payment law which has been altered substantially by the Internet, rather than focusing on a comprehensive law of payment, clearance and settlement, or traditional mechanisms of payment, such as negotiable instruments and electronic funds transfers that occurs only within the intranet of closed banking systems. Although the new electronic payment instruments cannot escape from the influence of the traditional payment, and new payment instruments are based upon the traditional one both in technological infrastructure and in legal framework, the new electronic payment instruments do possess their own special features in technology, business models and in law. On this regard, readers might be asking why the author did not use the topic of “Internet Payment” or “online payment” instead of “new electronic payment” for the title of the thesis. The answer is because in China, telephone payment, along with Internet payment should be collectively considered as new electronic payment tools, and therefore, it is too narrow to just use the term “Internet Payment”. Also, the word “online” is, somewhat, a misleading word, and the author tries to specify in most cases whether it is an “Internet” or a “mobile network” or “landlines” or any other forms of networks in the following analysis when the concept of “online” has to be referred to. On the other hand, it is a truth that, among those new electronic payment instruments, it is the Internet that has been shaking and reshaping the infrastructure framework of payment, clearance and settlement; and telephone payment as well as mobile payment, to a great extent, are relying on the Internet. Therefore, Internet-related payment lies at the heart of the thesis. Furthermore, in China, new electronic payment instruments are largely created and facilitated through non-bank Internet third party payment providers and virtual currency, These two types of new electronic payment services possess enormous scale and are developing in a fast speed. Therefore, this thesis will treat the law on non-bank Internet third party payment platform providers and virtual currency as two crucial points to discuss.1 1.2 Research Questions The hypothesis of the thesis is that legal issues arising from new electronic payment services, which heavily rely on and is substantially attached to the Internet, are different from legal issues pertaining to traditional electronic payment services which are primarily intra-bank or inter-bank related. For example, in the Internet third party payment system (see Chapter 4 of the thesis), non-bank intermediaries are involved which is outside the regulatory framework of the traditional banking and payment system; also for example, in the virtual currency system (see Chapter 5 & 6 of the thesis), money is not issued by governments and denominated into any national legitimate currencies such as Renminbi in China, instead, money is issued by private Internet companies and denominated into currencies of those private companies. Thus, there are a number of legal questions to be considered: how is the Internet third party payment being regulated in China? What are the key issues in regulating the Internet third party payment? Is the current regulation appropriate? How to regulate the Internet games virtual currency in China? How is the Internet third party payment and virtual currency regulated in the European Union? Are there any lessons that China may learn from the European Union? In the thesis, the author examines these important legal issues relating to new electronic payment in detail, evaluate current existing regulations both in China and in the EU/UK, and propose specific regulatory approaches and measures for China.

According to Chapter XV of the Chicago Convention, the Joint Financing Aid has been successfully applied in the North Atlantic Region since 1948. The Agreement on the Joint Financing of Certain Air Navigation Services in Iceland, the main topic of this thesis, has ensured the availability of the service and facilities in the Reykjavik Flight Information Region, in accordance with the Standards and recommended practices of the Annexes to the Chicago Convention. The services were at first financed by the participating States, but later on user charges were gradually introduced and, since 1981, they became the principal means of services financing.
During the last thirty years, a series of significant social, economic and technical developments has changed the aviation and the air navigation services environment. This thesis examines the evolution of the Agreement and the general technical and economic tendencies that are likely to affect its future.
This thesis critically examines the Agreement in light of ICAO policy on the joint support aid and the general economic situation surrounding the Agreement. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This study focuses on exploring the determinants of the use of financial services in Tanzania with respect to the role of household behavioural factors. This is achieved by attempting three interrelated research questions: i) What are the financial experiences of households in Tanzania? ii) What are beliefs held by households in Tanzania about the use of financial services? iii) What are the effects of household behavioural characteristics for intention to use financial services and subsequent usage of financial services? Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are employed to achieve the research objective. The empirical findings suggest that behavioural factors matter for the use of financial services. Firstly, the examination of household financial experiences on a sample of 30 households through the application of financial diary methodology revealed a variety of household financial experiences that highlight the necessity of financial services to households. Secondly, despite the fact that most households do not use financial services, it is found that households hold positive beliefs about financial services for saving facilities, security, finance, money management and improving economic well-being. Thirdly, structural equations models indicate that attitudes towards financial services, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms significantly impact the intention to use financial services. Perceived behavioural control is observed to prominently influence the use of financial services. The study offers the following contributions: Firstly, it develops a behavioural conceptual framework that integrates financial and psychological perspectives. This framework facilitates a broader understanding of the determinants for the use of financial services from various perspectives. Secondly, it provides distinct insights into the influence of behavioural characteristics in the use of financial services. This adds to the limited empirical literature about the determinants for the use of financial services specifically the effects of behavioural factors. Based on the findings, implications for financial inclusion initiatives and relevant future research have been identified.

Thesis (MDF (Development Finance))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
Financial Services Associations (FSAs) have been established in Sierra Leone as a new form of shareholder-owned village bank since 2007, as part of an ongoing IFAD programme to assist the development of rural finance. This research report is a case study examining the viability of the FSA concept in the Sierra Leonean context, particularly with reference to previous research findings in other countries in Africa, and it includes a field survey within the communities and amongst the staff and board members of the FSAs. The findings of the study reveal a wide acceptance amongst the village communities of both the structure of the institutions and the products and services that they are capable of offering. There was no evidence of the abuse of their positions by the members of the boards with regard to their own loans and repayments, as had been reported in other studies. However, there is a pressing need for further staff training and sensitisation of the communities regarding their rights as shareholders. There is also a need for further injections of capital, and the study recommends the introduction of a wide range of additional products and services and the establishment of links with other financial institutions, such as community banks and commercial banks. It was found that there are considerable demands on IFAD’s management unit that is responsible for the FSAs. These demands are growing as the number of FSAs increases, and it is recommended that this unit be strengthened before continuing its expansion programme, to enable it to consolidate its strengths before its activities are dispersed too widely.

The relationship between provincial social service spending and subsequent rates of volunteerism in Quebec was evaluated using information contained in a Montreal volunteer database (N = 2784) and revenue and expenditure data from the Department of Finance. A secondary analysis was performed to identify possible structural correlates to volunteerism, thus providing an alternative to existing theoretical approaches, which predominantly focus on the study of individual differences between volunteers.
The results of the correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between public spending and volunteer rates. In addition, a positive correlation was found to exist between levels of coordination activity and rates of volunteerism, lending strength to the contention that organizational infrastructure is related to volunteer rates. In general, the results highlight the integral role of public monies to the sustainability of Quebec's voluntary sector.

L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és explorar la realitat poc coneguda de la Intermediació Financera Rural, la seva situació i els acords per poder-hi accedir l’Empresa Rural, les activitats econòmiques rurals i l’explotació agrària, en el context de l'agenda d'inclusió financera multidimensional. També voldríem analitzar la cultura rural d'estalvi i crèdit i determinar bones pràctiques institucionals a nivell rural tant per a la banca com l’Institut de Microfinances (IMF). Compararem els bancs i l'IMF, per veure la disposició espacial avantatjosa d’aquest en el context rural, juntament amb la seva bona pràctica institucional i el model d'inclusió financera, al facilitar l'accés al finançament, de l'empresa rural. A les zones remotes de Bangla Desh, és difícil per a les persones i les seves empreses obtenir préstecs i altres serveis financers perquè els bancs estan geogràficament lluny d'elles i situats en els centres administratius, en zones ben dotades. D'altra banda, els productes bàsics (principalment el crèdit) dels intermediaris financers no són fàcilment accessibles a les empreses rurals a causa dels tràmits necessaris, el disseny imperfecta de productes i l'actitud escèptica dels banquers per facilitar el crédit segons la necessitat. Hi ha una preferència dels bancs a la garantia física, que afecta sobretot propietats i la seguretat de la font de flux dels fons adequats per garantir el pagament del préstec. Que encara decep més l'esperit empresarial. No obstant això, els bancs agrícoles tenen presència en zones rurals remotes però, estan subjectes a les restrictives directrius del govern, juntament amb algunes idees no competitius, i són l'últim recurs del poble. Els agricultors són insolvents per herència i evitant els reptes de convertir-se en empreses rurals. Pocs bancs tenen les seves oficines a les zones rurals i han estat treballant més com a agents a la caça dels dipòsits. La literatura disponible revela que cada any més de 60% dels dipòsits rurals estan sent canalitzats a les àrees urbanes, que mostra una clara discriminació a través de la limitació política de regulació bancària espacial pel món rural. D'altra banda la cultura restrictiva dels bancs està ben assentada en el sistema social. La morositat (NPL) a nivell nacional està augmentant actualment a un ritme alarmant. No obstant això, en primer lloc, l'augment de l'ONG-IMF (Institut de Microfinances - Organització no governamental) durant la dècada de 1970, va crear un nou model en la configuració dels serveis financers a les zones rurals mitjançant la superació de la distància física sobretot a mesura que van afavorir les localitats rurals que són al voltant dels mercats rurals. En segon lloc, es va desenvolupar recentment un model de préstecs a favor de les zones rurals pobres i les seves petites i micro empreses, alleujant les barreres culturals i d'organització, que d'altra banda mai havia estat capaç de superar el sistema bancari convencional, tant física com culturalment. Però s’ha generat una limitació en el sistema. Es fa difícil de seguir donant suport a la creixent demanda de les empreses rurals a mesura que creixen amb el temps i aquestes empreses utilitzen múltiples fonts per satisfer la seva demanda. Fins i tot les poques grans empreses rurals han de contractar alguns fons dels bancs convencionals, suportant molts obstacles i tenint de superar les fronteres geogràfiques, perquè la política de crèdit del MFI no cobreix l'alta demanda comercial. El IMF també te prohibit pels reglaments poder recollir fons públics, encara s’en permetin alguns de forma condicional. Tampoc no poden fer el negoci de servei regular, que es un requeriment per que les empreses rurals puguin mantenir les seves operacions diàries. La nostra investigació es basa en l'enquesta sobre el costat de la demanda de quatre àrees rurals de Bangla Desh. En base a l'anàlisi estadística de les dades recollides, que inclou una àmplia revisió de la literatura, comprovem que hi ha una estructura financera discrimina las entitats rurals, que simplement eviten. La nostra troballa assegura que hi ha una associació significativa entre la distància i l'endeutament i en el cas del IMF, molt recolzat amb la documentació, observem que hi ha costos tolerables i flexibilitat en comparació amb els serveis bancaris convencionals. Aquesta tesi s'estructura en set capítols. El primer capítol ofereix un marc conceptual per identificar els problemes de fons que condueix a les preguntes de recerca, explicant els objectius d'investigació, i presenta la hipòtesi d'investigació i, finalment, fa una justificació d'aquest treball de recerca. El segon capítol, s'informa sobre l'economia rural i el crèdit rural a Bangla Desh. Es fa una revisió de la literatura en el capítol 3, presentant els coneixements i les noves aportacions existents en relació als temes relacionats amb l'objectiu de la tesi. Aquests temes són de difícil comprensió i cal fer ús d’un enfocament multidisciplinari complexa. El quart capítol tracta la "Metodologia de la Recerca". S'explica el procediment de selecció de les àrees de treball de camp, la descripció d’aquestes, la ubicació del mercat rural, on es localitzen les empreses rurals com indicador. Una qüestió rellevant es la recollida de dades, el qüestionari i l'enquesta, l’anàlisi de les dades, la programació temporal i, finalment, explicar la problemàtica en el treball de camp respecte a la recopilació de les dades adequades. El capítol cinc descriu en profunditat alguns dels temes i conceptes relacionats amb els diners i l'entorn del finançament rural. El mercat rural informal de diners i el desenvolupament històric, el IMF, la seva evolució, capacitació emprenedora de les dones, el canvi de la geografia de la distància del finançament rural, etc. El capítol 6 és el nucli de la tesi amb l’anàlisi i interpretació de les dades del treball de camp. Les característiques generals de les dades s'han explicat i discutit en la tesi. Les qüestions quantitatives són la base per a poder avaluar les qüestions científiques de l’anàlisi qualitativa. En el capítol 7 es presenten suggeriments i recomanacions en forma de conclusió. I, finalment, s’inclouen les referències bibliogràfiques i els annexos.
El objetivo de esta tesis es explorar la realidad poco conocida de la Intermediación Financiera Rural, su situación y los acuerdos para que pueda acceder a la misma la Empresa Rural, las actividades económicas rurales y la explotación agraria, en el contexto de la agenda de inclusión financiera multidimensional. También quisiéramos analizar la cultura rural de ahorro y crédito y determinar buenas prácticas institucionales a nivel rural tanto para la banca como el Instituto de Microfinanzas (IMF). Compararemos los bancos con el IMF, para ver la disposición espacial ventajosa de éste en el contexto rural, junto con su buena práctica institucional y el modelo de inclusión financiera, al facilitar el acceso a la financiación, de la empresa rural. En las zonas remotas de Bangladesh, es difícil para las personas y las empresas obtener préstamos y otros servicios financieros porque los bancos están geográficamente lejos de ellas y situados en los centros administrativos, en zonas bien dotadas de oferta financiera. Por otra parte, los productos básicos (principalmente el crédito) de los intermediarios financieros no son accesibles fácilmente por las empresas rurales debido a los trámites necesarios, el diseño imperfecta de productos y la actitud escéptica de los banqueros para facilitar el crédito según las necesidades rurales. Hay una preferencia de los bancos por la garantía física, que afecta sobre todo las propiedades y la seguridad de la fuente de flujo de los fondos adecuados para garantizar el pago del préstamo. Lo cual aún desanima más el espíritu empresarial. Sin embargo, los bancos agrícolas tienen presencia en zonas rurales remotas aunque, están sujetos a las directrices restrictivas del gobierno, junto con algunas ideas no competitivas, y son el último recurso de los pueblos rurales. Los agricultores son insolventes por herencia y evitan la presión para convertirse en empresas rurales. Pocos bancos tienen sus oficinas en las zonas rurales y han estado trabajando más como agentes a la caza de los depósitos. La literatura disponible revela que cada año más de 60% de los depósitos rurales están siendo canalizados hacia las áreas urbanas. Hay una clara discriminación a través de la limitación política de regulación bancaria espacial para el mundo rural. Por otra parte la cultura restrictiva de los bancos está muy aceptada en el sistema social. La morosidad (NPL) a nivel nacional está aumentando actualmente a un ritmo alarmante. No obstante, en primer lugar, el desarrollo de la ONG-IMF (Instituto de Microfinanzas - Organización no gubernamental) durante la década de 1970, creó un nuevo modelo en la configuración de los servicios financieros en las zonas rurales mediante la superación de la distancia física sobre todo a medida que se favorecieron las localidades rurales que están alrededor de los mercados rurales. En segundo lugar, se desarrolló recientemente un modelo de préstamos a favor de las zonas rurales pobres y las pequeñas y las micro empresas, aliviando las barreras culturales y de organización, que por otra parte nunca había sido capaz de superar el sistema bancario convencional, tanto física como culturalmente. Pero se ha generado una limitación en el sistema. Se hace difícil de seguir apoyando la creciente demanda de las empresas rurales a medida que van creciendo y estas empresas utilizan múltiples fuentes para satisfacer su demanda. Incluso las pocas grandes empresas rurales deben contratar algunos fondos de los bancos convencionales, soportando muchos obstáculos y teniendo que superar las fronteras geográficas, cuando la política de crédito del IMF no cubre la alta demanda comercial. El IMF también tiene prohibido por los reglamentos poder recoger fondos públicos, aunque se le permitan algunos de forma condicional. Tampoco pueden hacer el negocio de servicio regular, que es un requerimiento para que las empresas rurales puedan mantener sus operaciones diarias. Nuestra investigación se basa en la encuesta sobre el lado de la demanda de cuatro áreas rurales de Bangladesh. En base al análisis estadístico de los datos recogidos, que incluye una amplia revisión de la literatura, comprobamos que hay una estructura financiera que discrimina las entidades rurales, que simplemente evitan. Nuestro hallazgo asegura que hay una asociación significativa entre la distancia y el endeudamiento y en el caso del IMF, muy apoyado con la documentación recogida, observamos que hay costes tolerables y flexibilidad en comparación con los servicios bancarios convencionales. Esta tesis se estructura en siete capítulos. El primer capítulo ofrece un marco conceptual para identificar los problemas de fondo que conducen a las preguntas de investigación, explicando los objetivos de la misma, y presentando la hipótesis de investigación y, finalmente, se hace una justificación de este trabajo de investigación. El segundo capítulo, se informa sobre la economía rural y el crédito rural en Bangladesh. Se hace una revisión de la literatura en el capítulo tercero, presentando los conocimientos y las nuevas aportaciones existentes en relación a los temas relacionados con el objetivo de la tesis. Estos temas son de difícil comprensión y hay que hacer uso de un complejo enfoque multidisciplinar. El cuarto capítulo trata la "Metodología de la Investigación". Se explica el procedimiento de selección de las áreas de trabajo de campo, la descripción de éstas, la ubicación del mercado rural, y donde se localizan las empresas rurales, como indicador. Una cuestión relevante es la recogida de datos, el cuestionario y la encuesta, el análisis de los datos, la programación temporal y, finalmente, la explicación de la problemática en el trabajo de campo respecto a la recopilación de los datos adecuados. El capítulo cinco describe en profundidad algunos de los temas y conceptos relacionados con el dinero y el entorno de la financiación rural. El mercado rural informal de dinero y el desarrollo histórico, el IMF, su evolución, la capacitación emprendedora de las mujeres, el cambio de la geografía de la distancia de la financiación rural, etc. El capítulo sexto es el núcleo de la tesis con el análisis e interpretación de los datos del trabajo de campo. Las características generales de los datos se han explicado y discutido en la tesis. Las cuestiones cuantitativas son la base para poder evaluar las cuestiones científicas del análisis cualitativo. En el capítulo séptimo se presentan sugerencias y recomendaciones en forma de conclusión. Y, por último, se incluyen las referencias bibliográficas y los anexos.
The objective of this thesis is to explore the little known reality of Rural Financial Intermediation, its’ location arrangement and barrier in reaching Rural Enterprise, rural economic activities and agrarian farm of rural areas and producing indication of multidimensional financial inclusion agenda. We also would like to analyse rural credit and savings culture and determine institutional good practice both for Bank and Microfinance Institute (MFI) at rural level. We need to compare between Bank and Microfinance Institute, whether it has the advantageous spatial arrangement in rural context along with its institutional good practice and the pattern of financial inclusion determinants, creating access to finance, in reaching Rural Enterprise. In remote areas of Bangladesh, it is difficult for people and their enterprises to get loans and other financial services because banks are geographically away from them and located in well-endowed areas following the administrative centres. Moreover, the basic products (mainly credit facilities) of financial intermediaries are not easily reachable to them because of the required formalities, imperfect product design and sceptical attitude of the bankers to expose the facilities as per need. Banks’ preference to physical collateral, mainly landed properties and assurance of source of proper fund flow to ensure loan repayment disappoint further entrepreneurship. Though, agricultural banks have presence in rural remote areas yet they are exposed through government directives along with few non-competitive ideas, and are the last resort of village. These are insolvent by inheritance and avoid challenges of rural enterprises. Few banks have their outlets in rural areas and have been working as deposit hunting agents. Available literature reveals that every year more than 60% of rural deposits are being channelized to urban appetite showing a clear discrimination through policy limitation of spatial banking regulation. On the other hand bank default culture is well patronized in social system. The non-performing loan (NPL) at national level is rising at an alarming rate ultimately. However, the rise of NGO-MFIs (Non-Government Organization- Microfinance Institute) during 1970s, created a new wave in shaping the financial services in rural areas by overcoming primarily physical distance as they favoured rural locations being around rural markets. Secondly, they developed newer lending model to favour rural poor and their micro and small enterprises by easing cultural and organizational barriers, who on the other hand had never been able to reach the conventional banking system both physically and culturally. But the limitation exists within system. It has become tough to continue supporting the growing demand of rural enterprises as they grow over time and these enterprises use multiple sources to meet their demand. Even the few rural big enterprises have to hire fund from conventional banks, enduring much hindrances and going across geographical boundaries, because the MFI-credit policy fails to meet the high commercial demand. MFIs are also barred by regulations to collect public fund, though few are conditionally permitted. They also cannot perform regular baking business, which are required by the rural enterprises to maintain their daily transactions. Our research is based on questionnaire survey on the demand side of four rural fields in Bangladesh. Based on gathered data the statistical analysis including extensive literature survey expresses discriminative financial structure that avoids rural entities. Our finding ensures that there is a significant association between distance and borrowing and in case of MFIs it is highly supported by tolerable costing and flexible documentation compared to conventional banks. This thesis is structured in seven chapters. The First chapter of the thesis deals to make a ground give a conceptual framework identify the background problems that leads to research questions, explain research objectives, tells about research hypothesis and finally explain the justification of this research work. The Second chapter tells about rural economy and rural credit in Bangladesh. Literature Review in Chapter three presents the existing thoughts and findings regarding the issues around the objective of the thesis. Issues are sensitive because we use an approach of multidisciplinary complexity. Chapter four reveals the “Research Methodology”. It explains the field selection procedures, description of fields, location of rural market where the rural enterprises are, indicator, relevant issue and data gathering, questionnaire and the survey, data analysis, time schedule and finally problem in field regarding proper data collection have been explained. Chapter five describes few in depth issues and concepts related to money and rural financing environment. Rural Informal money market and historical development, MFIs, its evolution, women empowerment, changing geography of rural financial landscape distance, etc. Chapter six is the core one named Data Analysis & Interpretation. The overall characteristics of data have been explained and discussed herein. The quantitative issues are the base for the scientific qualitative evaluation matters. Chapter seven stands as suggestion and recommendation like a conclusion. And finally are the references and annexes.

Dans le contexte d’un succès grandissant de la microfinance marocaine, la thèse veut définir les conditions institutionnelles et financières permettant de garantir à long terme la croissance des Institutions de Micro Finance, en facilitant notamment leur accès aux diverses sources de financement. Actuellement, le financement est majoritairement constitué de dettes subventionnées. En économie de marché, ce mode de financement est limité. Malheureusement, le statut associatif des IMF se caractérise par une structure des droits de propriété qui ne facilite pas le financement en fonds propres et induit un plafonnement rapide des dettes contractées au taux d’intérêt de marché. Le premier impératif est donc de faire évoluer le statut juridique des IMF pour en faire des institutions de crédit à but lucratif. Concernant le financement externe des IMF par l’utilisation de l’épargne populaire, il se heurte à la mise en place coûteuse d’une législation prudentielle, dont certains effets pervers ne sont pas à négliger. D’une manière générale, le financement par l’épargne exige lui-même le changement du statut associatif des IMF. Enfin, dans le contexte marocain d’une législation plafonnant les taux d’intérêt, toute autorisation de collecter l’épargne soumettrait ipso facto les IMF à cette législation, au point d’annihiler leur rentabilité et leur pérennité. Le financement éventuel par l’épargne nécessite donc un certain nombre de réformes prioritaires, parmi lesquelles l’évolution de leur statut juridique et la libéralisation des taux d’intérêt. L’évolution institutionnelle des IMF étant admise, la thèse propose finalement une recherche sur la structure optimale du capital qui permettrait de répondre aux besoins de financement croissant. En raison d’intérêts convergents, notre recherche préconise une intervention des banques marocaines dans la constitution des fonds propres des IMF transformées. Enfin, en s’appuyant sur les concepts micro-économiques de la Nouvelle Economie Institutionnelle, la thèse montre comment le dynamisme concurrentiel du secteur de la microfinance, l’inefficacité du droit de la faillite au Maroc et à la spécificité de certains actifs productifs incitent à accroître la part des fonds propres relativement aux dettes dans la structure financière des IMF. A ces conditions la croissance du secteur pourra durablement se perpétuer
In the context of the growing success of Moroccan microfinance sector, the thesis aims to define the institutional and financial conditions that would enable the longterm growth Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), in particular by facilitating their access to various financing sources. Currently, MFIs funding mainly consists of subsidies and debts. In the market economy, this mode of financing is limited. Unfortunately, the MFI’s associative status is characterized by an ownership structure which does not facilitate the equity financingand which leads to a ceiling for market-rates debts. The first requirement is thus to transform MFIs’ legal status in a for-profit entity. With regard to MFIs’ external financing through private savings, the challenge comes from the expensive setting up of a prudential legislation, whose some perverse effects have to be considered. In general, financing through savings requires the change of MFIS’ associative status. In addition, in the Moroccan context where banking legislation has set interest rates ceilings, any authorization to collect savings would make MFIs ipso facto liable to this legislation, risking to crush their profitability and their sustainability. The potential funding through savings thus requires several priority reforms, among them the evolution of their legal status and the interest rates liberalization. Assuming the institutional evolution of Moroccan MFIs’, the thesis finally proposes a research on the optimal capital structure enabling to meet the growing financing needs. Because of convergent interests, our research recommends Moroccan banks intervention in the capital of transformed MFIs. Lastly, in reference to microeconomic concepts of “New Institutional Economics”, the thesis shows how the competing dynamism of microfinance sector, the bankruptcy law’s inefficiency in Morocco and the specificity of some productive assets advise for an increase in equity share relative to debts when considering MFIs capitalization. In these conditions, the sector’s growth would remain high for a long time

Since the mid-1980s, Algeria has embarked on a programme of comprehensive financial liberalisation to establish a market-oriented financial system, and to develop the role of the Algiers Stock Exchange in the mobilisation of financial resources. The transition from a centrally planned to a market-oriented economy meant fewer regulatory barriers towards local and foreign banks. This study demonstrates that financial liberalisation is the main force that drives the globalisation of financial services, followed by financial innovations and the Internet. Globalisation has affected the performance of the two prevalent banking models in Algeria: interest based (conventional) and non- interest-based (Islamic). The benchmarks used to assess banking performance are: competition, profitability and efficiency. Quantitative and qualitative analyses show a direct link between banking efficiency and the globalisation of financial services. The study concludes that globalisation has more advantages than disadvantages to the Algerian banking sector and the Algiers Stock Exchange. The elimination of regulatory barriers has enabled state-owned banks to improve the quality of their services and to use more advanced information technologies. Private and foreign banks are also involved in the modernisation of the Algerian banking industry by launching innovative financial products and attracting local and foreign capital. However, this project emphasises that the removal of remaining regulatory obstacles would enable banks to benefit fully from the process of financial liberalisation, and to be active institutions in the financial market. Moreover, opening the Algiers Stock Exchange to large domestic and foreign companies would attract capital investments and boost equity trading in Algeria.

This thesis examines the process of change in management accounting and control systems (MACSs) in a Thai financial services organisation. Specifically, it traces how a strategic perfOlmance measurement, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), was introduced, constlllcted, modified and re-defined over a period of time and in different organisational units of the organisation. The major aim of the research is to achieve an understanding of how an innovative management control idea, the BSC, was made operable in a particular organisational context. This research is based on intensive field study which involved indepth interviews, direct observations and documentation analysis. Drawing on actornetwork theory (ANT), the research illustrates how the BSC idea was brought into the organisation. It describes the way in which various actors mobilised their interests and concerns to construct the BSC, shows how the BSC collided and was reconciled with other networks of performance measurement and management control, and illustrates the way in which the all-encompassing nature of the BSC affected the design and implementation process. The study provides insights into how a global management idea like the BSC is introduced into an organisation and influences organisational practices while, at the same time, being localised and shaped by local practices. It sheds light on the process of change in performance measurement practices in an organisational context, as well as cnhancing our understanding of the ways in which an integrated performance measurement system such as the BSC operates. In particular, the research illustratcs how two key BSC concepts that are controversial in the existing literature - the notion of�· 'balance' and cause-and-effect relationships - were mobilised within the organisation. It shows that although these concepts are broad and abstract, creating complexities in designing the BSC, they can have a positive impact, generating discussions and solutions among organisational members. In addition, the study shows that the BSC construction process involves ongoing translations by heterogeneous actors - both local and global, human and non-human - who/which attempt to build networks of associations to support their own agenda and beliefs. The case study shows that resistance to the new system does not necessarily lead to a failure of system implementation; rather, it can be a positive force, providing opportunities for relevant actors to modify and appropriate the system. Moreover, the research shows how local BSC meanings and identities emerged via its interplays with these actors, and how the ongoing translations led the BSC to become something that it was not initially. However, this does not mean that the BSC and its implementation failed. Rather, it suggests the ability of the BSC to be shaped in different ways to make it work in specific situations. Arguably, it is this open nature of the BSC: which allows different actors to interpret, modify and construct their own versions of it, that makes it powerful.

The research seeks to explore why women in Zimbabwe still face hindrances in accessing micro finance services and what can be done to meet their needs in a more holistic and effective way. Women play a crucial role in the economic development of their families and communities but are faced with certain obstacles that hinder them from performing their role effectively. Such hindrances as poverty, unemployment, low household income and societal discrimination. UNIFEM (1992) confirms that the majority of the world‟s poor have a predominantly female face and argues that women earn only 10 percent of world‟s income and own less than 10 percent of the world‟s property. African women have been characterised by the lack of empowerment caused by societal perceptions and negative cultural practice. In many cases of women rights violation it has been noted that this has been exacerbated by the over reliance on the male counterpart. Development practitioners have noted that micro finance as one of the strategies needed for women empowerment. Despite the concept having been practiced for at least 15 years now, women still face challenges in accessing micro finance services. There is need for Micro Finance Institutions to recognise the position of women in relation to men as actors in society.

This research informs an ongoing debate regarding a firm’s incentives to invest in information security. Previous research reported that data breaches have had a decreasing impact on a company’s stock price over time, leading researchers to conclude that market-based incentives are decreasingly effective. Some information security economists also suggested that further regulation is necessary because they found that capital market participants poorly accounted for the spillover effects of a breach—the effects of a breach that are external to the breached company. However, some studies indicate that sector-wide systematic risk could measure spillover effects and that the effects of a data breach on systematic risk may have changed over time. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively describe the relationship between the data breach of a firm and changes to the systematic risk of that firm’s sector. This dissertation used event studies of sector-wide systematic risk within American stock markets to measure the external effects of breaches that occurred in companies within the financial, technology, healthcare and services sectors. The use of a repeated measures analysis of variance between those event studies allowed examination of longitudinal changes to sector-wide systematic risk between 2006 through 2016. This analysis found that the breach of an individual company had a significant impact on the systematic risk for that company’s entire sector (1.08% in 2016) and that these impacts have increased over time (p = 0.015). The results were consistent across all measured sectors, without any significant correlation attributable to the scope of the breach. Together, these findings suggest that market forces are increasingly incentivizing sector-wide investment in information security. Further research should consider the potential for government enforced meta-regulation of sector defined information security standards.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
The World Bank (1994) concluded that there is a close relationship between infrastructure and economic growth. This also reflects on the water sector because, despite water sector importance, water services infrastructure is probably one of the most difficult to finance, while its deficiency or absence instils a particular burden on society. According to Baietti and Raymond (2005), more than 1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water, and approximately 2.4 billion are without adequate sanitation. Yet these estimates underestimate the gravity of the situation in relation to access gap and quality of services provided. Most consumers face situations where water services are intermittent and when available the water is not safe for consumption, while sanitation facilities are overloaded, unused or in despair. This research was conducted in the North West Province with municipalities that have the status of water services authorities. This included a combination of district and local municipalities. The North West Province has 11 water service authorities of which nine are local municipalities and two are district municipalities. The competing demands and needs for governments to provide infrastructure for other sectors such as roads and energy further aggravate the stance of finance unavailability for the water sector. The purpose of the study was to highlight the challenges that municipalities face in financing water services infrastructure. The result of the study will provide knowledge and innovative ideas that will allow South Africa‘s municipalities to address challenges of service delivery. At municipal level water services are provided through a variety of approaches, although most involve centralised systems with large supply, distribution and treatment facilities. The social benefits that water services provide are well known, particularly those that relate to public health including reduced morbidity and mortality from waterborne diseases. The challenge is that funding to meet these development objectives is either scarce or entirely unavailable. The Water Services Act 108 of (DWAF, 1997) requires water services authorities and water service providers to put significant efforts into cost recovery for sustainable provision of water services. This aspect has significant challenges which results from widespread poverty and a culture of non-payment from communities inherent as a remnant of protest against apartheid. The scope of the water sector is complex, owing to its diversity, interactions and synergies with other industrial, commercial and financial sectors, and its international nature. Under the current South African constitutional and legislative framework, municipalities will remain to be a major player in the development, financing and delivering of water services infrastructure for sustainable growth and development. Water Services Authorities (WSAs) have responsibilities including protection and management of water resources, provision of adequate and sustainable water services, operation and maintenance of water services infrastructure, monitoring and management of municipal water quality to regulatory requirements and reporting to the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) with regards to the aforementioned. Water service delivery failures at the municipal level are a widespread and fundamental problem in South Africa. At the same time, under the current decentralisation policies, the responsibility for delivering such services is increasingly being delegated to lower levels of government/municipalities that are often ill equipped for the challenge in terms of financial and human resources capacity. Cardone and Fonseca (2006) indicated public administration and financial management capacity at central and sub-sovereign levels of government as limited, and affecting the timely transfer of funding as well as the capacity of municipalities to absorb those funds. Various strategies are needed to enable municipalities to secure and finance their water services infrastructure. These include understanding what bankers are looking for, understanding where donors are going, greater involvement of the private sector, matching service levels to affordability, improving revenues and influencing the regulatory regime.

The objective of this study is to examine the economic factors motivating Australian listed lessee firms to adopt capitalization or footnote disclosure of their finance lease commitments from 1985 to 1987 as permitted by the transitional provision of AAS 17. Six research hypotheses are developed from the economic consequences perspective. It is hypothesised that the decision to capitalize finance lease commitments is positively related to firm’s : (1) corporate structure, (2) size, {3) political visibility, _(4) financial performance, and (5) overseas association, and negatively related to (6) debt contract financial constraints. Support for these hypotheses would be construed as suggesting that capitalization is a means "for lessee firms to reduce or mitigate agency and/ or political costs and concurrently as a signal to the market that they are high quality firms. A-pooled multivariate cross-sectional analysis for 1985 to 1987 was performed incorporating sensitivity analysis to determine the "best" logistic regression model This model was then assessed to determine its validity and predictive, efficacy.

In response to the spectacular financial reporting failures in Western economies in the early 21st century, the UK has undergone a series of regulatory reforms and the Ethical Standards (ES) by the Auditing Practices Board (APB) are among the most prominent. While the issues of joint provision of audit and non-audit services (NAS) and long audit firm tenure died down following the enactment of ES in 2004, they attracted comments from regulators and policymakers in the wake of the 2007-09 financial crisis. This makes such joint provision and extended tenure long-standing, potentially unresolved issues even in a changed regulatory setting. In this context, the current study has been motivated to investigate the impact of NAS and audit firm tenure regulations on de facto auditor independence and financial reporting quality (FRQ) of FTSE350 companies. Using estimates of discretionary accruals and measures for auditors‟ economic dependence, the study finds little support against popular arguments that NAS fees and long audit firm tenure erode FRQ. Out of two measures of auditors‟ economic dependence, „total fees to auditors‟ is documented to be significantly negatively associated with discretionary accruals during the post-APB ES period. The „differencein- differences‟ method provides some evidence at a marginally significant level for ES‟s causal impact in improving FRQ during post-APB ES period, ceteris paribus. Tests of association between audit firm tenure and FRQ suggest, with a caveat of marginally significant results, that audits conducted during the post-APB ES period have a mitigating effect on discretionary accruals and that longer audit firm tenure does not compromise auditor independence but in fact helps to improve FRQ in the form of lower discretionary accruals. These empirical findings have weak support for policymakers‟ views that an outright prohibition on supplying NAS for audit clients and mandating more frequent rotation of auditors would help to improve FRQ. Results from the final set of tests suggest a marginally significant negative association between audit firm tenure and discretionary accruals for companies audited by Big4 auditors but not for those audited by their non-Big4 counterparts. This provides insight to the most recent regulatory concerns about the concentrated audit market with Big4 domination. The study, therefore, makes important empirical contributions with policy implications.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are very important to employment creation, poverty alleviation and the sustainable economic development of a nation. Encouraging SMEs, especially start-ups is crucial for sustainable economic growth. However, the failure rate of start-up SMEs in South Africa is one of the highest in the world. In reviewing the literature of the causes of the failure of start-up SMEs, access to finance emerged as a prime challenge. Start-up SMEs find it very difficult to obtain external finance from commercial banks and venture capitalists. The national and provincial governments in South Africa have realised that access to finance is a major constraint to the growth and survival of start-up SMEs and have put in place certain measures to improve access to finance by start-up SMEs. One of the primary measures put in place by government to improve access to finance by start-up SMEs is the provision of Business Development Service by some government agencies. This research investigates the role of Business Development Services Providers (BDSs) in improving access to finance for start-up SMEs. Questions arise as to why the failure rate of start-up SMEs is high in South Africa despite all these government measures aimed at assisting start-ups to access finance. Empirical research was conducted to investigate the role of BDS in improving access to finance by start-up SMEs. The instrument used for data collection was the self-administered questionnaire. The statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, T-test, ANOVA, correlation and regression analysis. The Cronbach‟s alpha was used as a measure of reliability. The results of the study revealed that: Access to finance is still a major problem hindering the survival of start-up SMEs. There is a lack of awareness of BDS providers and their services by the majority of start-up SMEs. There is a significant positive relationship between the use of BDS by start-up SMEs and success in accessing finance. Start-up SMEs that are aware of BDS do make use of the services. The results suggest that BDS are important to improving access to finance by start-up SMEs. However, there is a need to build awareness and encourage the use of BDS by start-up SMEs to improve their access to finance and ultimately increase their chances of survival.

Various allegations have been levelled against certain local authorities in South Africa. These allegations include poor governance, maladministration, corruption and poor service delivery. Some of the South African municipalities are unable to deliver sufficient services to the people due to financial instability. On the other side the fact that the municipalities have to generate their own revenue is no longer sufficient. However, government, both national and provincial has to support the municipalities in terms of their capacity to provide services. While government has to provide services to the people to ensure their welfare, people from local communities should also support the continuous provision of `these services by paying for municipal rates and services. These may include services such as water, refuse removal and electricity as well as property taxes. The main issue is that these services are not readily available, for instance water has to be purified. The situation at Mnquma Local Municipality as indicated in the financial and other reports is such that there is a very slow payment of rates and services, which leads to the municipality relying mostly on government grants, and this puts a heavy strain on service delivery by the municipality. Seemingly, it has been long that rates and services have not been paid in Butterworth-even before the restructuring of the municipality (i.e. before the Mnquma Municipality came into being). However, if alternatives could be found to enhance regular payment of rates and services the municipality might improve in terms of its capacity to deliver services.

Ces travaux sont du domaine de génie systèmes industriels et l'ingénierie de l'innovation. Ils se sont déroulés dans l'industrie de services financiers au sein du groupe de banque-assurance Groupama. Les services représentent 64% de PIB mondial. Le secteur employait en 2007 en France près de 20 millions de personnes contre 5 millions pour l'industrie. Pourtant la recherche sur les processus d'innovation présente un déséquilibre avec un article scientifique NSD (new service development) pour quatre NPD (new product development). L'objectif de ces travaux est de proposer une méthode de pilotage des projets d'innovation dans les services. Pour formaliser le pilotage d'innovation dans les services tout en préservant la zone de liberté nécessaire à l'innovation, nous sommes basés sur un formalisme de type NPD pour définir un processus NSD qui respecte la flexibilité spécifique de l'innovation dans les services. Le cœur de notre hypothèse a été d'identifier des invariants de processus NSD. Nous proposons six classes d'invariants : les OICs (Objets Intermédiaires de Conception), les ressources, les compétences, les tâches, les indicateurs et les méthodes. Leurs interactions sont rendues dans un Diagramme de Classes UML. Un projet peut être décrit comme une " somme " d'OIC eux-mêmes résultat de l'agencement des 5 autres invariants. Ces six classes d'invariants ont été validées sur projets de Groupama. Elles permettent de décrire, suivre, capitaliser, réutiliser des savoirs acquis sur des projets antérieurs et de manager les projets innovants. Nous proposons aussi un processus de pilotage des projets NSD, formalisé par un Diagramme d'Ordonnancement des Phases sous MEGA.

Thesis (MDF (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die langtermynversekeringsindustrie het voorheen slegs finansiële produkte en dienste ontwerp, wat gefokus was op die middel tot hoër inkomstegroepe. Die armes was dus uitgesluit, primêr as gevolg van die laer inkomstegroepe wat nie lewensversekeringsprodukte kon bekostig nie. Inteendeel, arm huishoudings is, en was, meer kwesbaar vanweë die feit dat hulle geredelik blootgestel word aan meer diverse risiko’s – mensgemaakte, sowel as natuurlike risiko’s - terwyl hulle juis diegene is wat minder middele het om dit bestuur. Hierdie toedrag van sake het egter drasties verander gedurende die afgelope paar jaar. Die onderskeie partye, insluitend verteenwoordigers van die langtermynversekeringsindustrie, het konsensus bereik ten opsigte van die ontwikkeling van die Finansiële Sektor Handves wat in ooreenstemming is met die nasionale swart ekonomiese bemagtigingstrategie. Die oogmerk van die Finansiële Sektor Handves was nie net om mense in die laer inkomstegroepe te bemagtig nie. Dit het ook ten doel om finansiële insluiting te verseker, en mettertyd, die aktiewe deelname van die armes in die hoofstroom van die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie. ’n Stel toegangstandaarde was gevolglik ontwikkel en geïmplementeer, wat die langtermynversekerings-produkaanbiedinge aan LSM 1-5 reguleer (met ander woorde vir die doeleindes van hierdie verslag, huishoudings wat minder as R3 000 per maand verdien). Die doel van die standaarde wat ontleed word in hierdie verslag, is om te verseker dat die langtermynversekeringsindustrie geskikte produkte ontwerp wat die minimum standaarde soos beskryf in die Finansiële Sektor Handves, nakom. In beginsel word die toepaslikheid en geskiktheid van die toegangstandaarde in hierdie verslag geëvalueer, met die oogmerk om te bepaal wat die standaarde inhou vir beide die verbruiker asook die lewensversekeraar van ’n verslaggewingsperspektief. Die eerste deel van die toegangstandaarde wat goedgekeur is deur die Finansiële Sektor Handves in 2007, het slegs begrafnisdekking ingesluit, terwyl die tweede deel gefokus het op nie-begafnisprodukte en sedert 2008 geïmplementeer is. Laasgenoemde het die volgende dekking ingesluit: lewensversekering, dekking vir fisiese ongeskiktheid, kredietlewensversekering en gewone lewensversekering. Die toegangstandaarde wat van toepassing is op verbandlenings is egter nog nie gefinaliseer nie en is gevolglik nie ingesluit in hierdie verslag nie. ’n Fundamentele vraag ten opsigte van die daarstelling van toegangsprodukte vir die laer inkomstegroepe, is wat die rol is van die publiek vergeleke met die privaatsektor en dié van die regering. Terwyl die regering optree as die wetgewer, moet dit ook daarteen waak om nie te veel van ’n rigiede proses vir die privaatsektor daar te stel nie. Die wetgewer moet die relevante reëls en regulasies stipuleer en sekerheid verskaf ten opsigte van die inhoud daarvan. Terselfdetyd moet die wetgewer ook die privaatsektor asook `n klimaat van innovasie ondersteun, sowel as die daarstelling van ’n stabiele regulerende atmosfeer. Behalwe die ontwikkeling van geskikte, bekostigbare en minder komplekse produkte, berus die verantwoordelikheid op die privaatsektor om vertroue te skep in die langtermynversekerings-industrie asook om die noodsaaklikheid van risiko-dekking te propageer. Versekeraars het verder nodig om die laer inkomstegroepe as ’n winsgewende segment te beskou, terwyl die armes versekering as ’n noodsaaklike vereiste moet beskou. Hoe meer vertroue geskep word deur die versekeringsindustrie, hoe minder sal mense in die laer inkomstegroepe hul geld belê in die informele sektor wat gekenmerk word deur die afwesigheid van regulering, minder sekuriteit en hoër risikos. Dit is verder noodsaaklik vir die sukses van die verskaffing van toegang tot finansiële produkte, om in gedagte te hou watter impak dit op die verbuiker sal hê. Met betrekking tot die produkte wat ontwikkel en bemark word deur die lewensversekeringsindustrie: spreek dit werklik die behoeftes van die laer inkomstegroepe aan en dra dit positief by tot transformasie? Die privaatsektor is as gevolg daarvan grotendeels afhanklik van marknavorsing en analises oor verbuikerstendense gemeet oor tyd. Die impak wat finansiële produkaanbiedinge het op die laer inkomstegroepe, kan gevolglik nie onafhanklik beskou word nie want die behoeftes, verwagtinge en profiel van die onderste deel van die piramide sal met verloop van tyd verander. Mededinging dra as sulks ook positief by tot die daarstelling van toegang tot finansiële produkte en dienste. Dit dwing die privaatsektor (die lewensversekeringsmaatskappye) om vorendag te kom met innoverende wyses om effektiewe toegangsprodukte en dienste te kan lewer aan die armes. Die bring mee dat die verbruiker waarde vir geld kry wanneer finansiële produkte en dienste aangekoop word van lewensversekeraars. Met verwysing na die toepaslikheid van die langtermynversekeringsindustrie se toegangstandaarde en of dit die behoeftes van die armes bevredig: die lewensversekeringsindustrie het inderdaad baie bereik gedurende die afgelope paar jaar, deurdat konstruktiewe geleenthede geskep is vir die laer inkomstemark. Gegewe die minimum-vereistes soos uiteengesit in die Finansiële Sektor Handves, kan die armes nou ook langtermynversekeringsprodukte bekom wat uitdagings soos fisiese beskikbaarheid, toegang tot transaksies, bekostigbaarheid, diskriminasie en kompleksitiet aanspreek. Dit is daarom noodsaaklik vir die doeleindes van effektiewe finansiële insluiting, om vir verbruikersopleiding ook voorsiening te kan maak. Finansiële geletterdheid sal in beginsel die laer inkomstegroepe in staat stel om hulself te kan bemagtig en terselfdertyd die teikengroep in staat stel om meer ingeligte besluite te kan neem ten opsigte van hul finansies. Laasgenoemde kan egter nie in isolasie geskied nie. Finansiële geletterheid en dus verbruikersopleiding, is minstens net so belangrik. Dit is juis daarom dat, bo en behalwe die regering wat die rol as wetgewer vertolk deur die toepassing van die reg, al die betrokke partye veronderstel is om ’n gemeenskaplike oogmerk te hê. Met ander woorde, dit verwys direk na transformasie en die doelwit om mense in die laer inkomstegroepe te bemagtig – nie net om finansiële insluiting te bewerkstelling nie, maar van meer belang, om te verseker dat die armes oor die vermoë beskik om meer ingeligte besluite te kan neem oor hul finansies. Hierdie aspek sal veral bydra tot effektiewe toegang tot finansële dienste in die ware sin van die woord - as die armes ’toegelaat’ word om meer aktief deel te kan vorm van die hoofstroom van die land se ekonomie.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Previously, the long-term insurance industry only developed financial products and services that were mainly targeted at the middle to high income groups. The poor have thus been excluded, primarily due to them not being able to afford financial products and services offered by life insurers. However, poor households are, and have been, more vulnerable because they are often exposed to more diverse risks, both ‘man- made’ and natural, whilst having fewer instruments to manage them. This state of affairs has drastically changed during the past couple of years. The respective stakeholders, including representatives from the long-term insurance industry, reached consensus with regards to the development of the Financial Sector Charter which is aligned to the national black economic empowerment strategy. The objective of the Financial Sector Charter is not only to empower people in the lower income groups. It also aims to ensure financial inclusion and, eventually, the active participation of the poor in the mainstream of the South African economy. A set of access standards that governs life insurance products and services offered to LSM 1-5 (i.e. for the purposes of this report, households earning less than R3 000 per month), were developed and implemented accordingly. The objective of the access standards, analysed in this report, is to ensure that the long term insurance industry develops appropriate products that meet the minimum standards defined in the Charter. In principle, this report evaluates the feasibility of the access standards with the aim of ascertaining what the standards imply for both the consumer as well as the life insurer from a reporting perspective. The first set of access standards, approved by the Financial Sector Charter in 2007, included funeral products only, whereas the second phase, which focused on nonfuneral products, came into effect in 2008. The latter is applicable to the following financial products: life cover, physical impairment cover and credit life cover. The access products standards relevant to mortgage protection are not yet finalised and have therefore been excluded from this report. A fundamental question in terms of providing access to the low income groups is the role of the public versus private sector delivery as well as that of government. Whilst government acts as the lawmaker, it also needs to be sensitive towards not creating too much ‘red tape’ for the private sector to comply with. The regulator should therefore stipulate and clarify the relevant rules and regulations, but at the same time support the private sector and encourage a climate of innovation as well as creating a stable regulatory environment. Apart from developing appropriate, affordable and less complex insurance products, the private sector’s responsibility is to create trust in the insurance industry as well as to promote the need for risk insurance. Insurers thus need to see low income earners as a profitable segment, whereas poor people need to see insurance as a necessity. The more trust is created by the insurance sector, fewer people in the low income groups will invest their money in the informal sector which entails no regulation, less security and higher risks. It is furthermore pivotal for the success of access to financial services to take into account how this will impact on the consumer. With respect to the products developed and marketed by the life insurance industry: does it really meet the needs of the poor and does it contribute positively to transformation? The private sector is therefore heavily dependent on research and analyses of consumer trends measured over time. As a result, the impact that financial product offerings have on the low income earners cannot be dealt with on its own, because as time passes so will the needs, expectations and profile of the bottom of the pyramid change. On its own, competition tends to also contribute positively towards access to financial services. It forces the private sector (i.e. life insurance companies) to come up with innovative ways of providing effective access, products and services to the poor. This ensures that the end user gets value for money, when procuring financial products and /or services from life insurers. In respect of the viability of the long-term insurance industry’s access standards and whether or not it speaks to the needs of the poor: the life industry has indeed achieved a lot over the past couple of years, by creating constructive opportunities for the lower end of the market. Given the minimum requirements as per the Financial Sector Charter, poor people can now also obtain long-term insurance products that address challenges with regards to physical accessibility, transactional access, affordability, non-discrimination and the level of complexity. However, more important for the low income group to participate effectively in the mainstream of the South African economy, is the fact that the need for financial literacy is even bigger. It is one thing to have the right of entry (i.e. access) to the financial services sector in terms of life insurance product offerings, but it is different if that same target audience does not have the ‘know-how’ to use and implement the products developed. It is hence an imperative for the purposes of effective financial inclusion to also make provision for consumer education. In principle, financial literacy will enable the lower income groups to become more empowered and at the same time, ensure that the target audience is equipped to make more informed decisions about the finances. Given the latter, it can however not happen in isolation. Financial literacy and thus consumer education, is equally important - if not more. It is therefore critical that, apart from government fulfilling its role as regulator by upholding the rule of law, all the stakeholders should have a universal goal. In other words, this directly addresses transformation and the objective of empowering people in the lower income groups – i.e. not only to ensure financial inclusion, but more importantly to enable poor people to make more informed decisions about their finances. And only this will contribute to effective transformation in the true sense of the word - if poor people are ‘allowed’ to become more actively involved in the mainstream of the South African economy.

This thesis aims to trace the development of management accounting systems (MAS) in a Portuguese bank, where an activity-based costing system (ABC) was trialled for implementation, as a means to improving the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of employee activity. The culture of banking in Portugal has changed significantly over the last 25 years, but at the same time there are older traditions which remain strong. The purpose of this research was to study how an imported MAS like ABC is developed and disseminated within a Portuguese banking context. The research can be classified as a longitudinal study of organisational change using a single case study. Although based in the interpretive tradition since it is concerned with actors' perceptions, interpretations and beliefs, it also draws on a Foucault-inspired critical framework of the kind developed in the work of Hoskin and Macve (e.g. 1986, 1988, 1994, 2000), and in the research into the financial sector undertaken by Morgan and Sturdy (2000). The particular model developed here is designed to enable the exploration of the effect of accounting practices on change from three perspectives - changing structures, changing discourses and the effect of both of these processes on power relations. It also draws on Fligstein's (1991) institutional framework to understand change in terms of the interplay across three relevant institutional contexts - the organisational field, the state, and the existing strategy and structure of the bank. The research draws on the literature and on primary data, including 41 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and documentary and archive data. The main contributions of the research are related to the increase of visibility and perceived importance of accounting in the banking sector, and how accounting is significant beyond its technical roles. The study provides new insights into how management accounting practices, along with other organisational systems, play an important role in questioning, visualising, analysing, and measuring implemented strategies.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS)
This thesis is both a qualitative and quantitative study, investigating the sustainability of Credit Management Services Limited (CMS) within the broader context of the Zambian micro finance industry. Micro finance is regarded as one of the tools for poverty reduction. As such, making microfinance available to many poor people is the purpose of microJinance. Over the years it has become clear that microfinance institutions have to operate efficiently and be self-sustai nable in order to continue assisting the poor. However. in spite of the support and encouragement given for sustainability, evidence shows that there are few sustainable microfinanee institutions in the world. The various factors impacting upon sustainability therefore, need to be examined and means of enhancing sustainabi Ii ty mapped out. The study brought to the fo re the main viewpoints regarding sustainability and how they have been inl1uenced by experiences of MFls around the world. The framework for discussion and analysis of operational sustainability, financial sustainability and operational e ffi ciency is also set out. The study discusses the Zambian microfinance industry and shows how and why the industry has emerged and grown in the past decade. Some constraints are identified that need to be dealt with in order to enhance sustainability of the industry. The study of CMS reveals that the institution is not yet fi nancially sustainable, but that its effi ciency levels are steadily increasing as it has put in place mechanisms to recover costs, charge economic rates of interest and increase and maintain its client outreach. Indicators are that it is moving in the right direction with its cost recovery. increasing client outreach and utilization of loans for on-lending as opposed to subsidies. This study therefore draws on the general experiences of the Credit management Services in order to draw lessons for the Zambian industry. The study will argue the case that though sustainability is difiicult to achieve, there arc positive indicators in the Zambian industry that this is possible and that CMS could be considered as an example. This claim is verified against the experi ence on the ground of Credit Management Services. The study concludes that building a sustainable microfinance industry anywhere is not the easiest task. Sustainabi lity is possible but requires a lot of investment in capacity bui lding and del iberate steps for cost effi ciency, appropriate pricing poli cies and an increased client outreach. The Zambian situation characterised by even a younger industry. will require not only a concerted effort in capacity building, but much more, the need to counter constra ints in the external environment of Mrls. Recommendations lo stake holders inc lude the need to utilise cheaper local human resources and invest in strengthening local institutions owned by local communities, to enhance the sustainability or micro finance initiatives.

Although there is an increasing interest in social sciences amongst policy makers in financial services and investment organisations, not enough is known about the way financial organisations and activities interact with their social environments. In particular, there is a need for more research into the way financial activities are integrated into broader social structures. This thesis will report on a comparative study analysing the practices of financial organisations and their employees in two very different social environments: the UK and Chile. From 38 in-depth interviews with financial practitioners in London, Edinburgh and Santiago de Chile about their job trajectories and experiences, it was possible to analyse the practices of financial organisations in the UK and Chile, with an emphasis on the way they interact with global financial trends and local distributions of power and resources. A sociological account of organisational processes such as recruitment, socialisation, staff allocation, promotion and organisation of work within firms in these countries allowed for description and analysis of the way firms’ practices are related to their social (structural, symbolic and institutional) contexts. The research shows that Chile’s position in the global financial market and local distribution of resources encourage more traditional organisational practices, especially in terms of recruitment, socialisation, staff allocation and promotion, as well as activities performed and the way services are provided. In the UK, on the other hand, all of the above-mentioned processes are more technical, formally designed and competitive.

Thesis (MPA))--School of Public Leadership, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The objective of this study is the evaluation of financial management practices in the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). For the purpose of the study, "financial management practices‟ are defined and demarcated as the practices performed by the accounting officer, chief financial officer and other managers in the areas of budgeting, supply chain management, movable asset management and control. Recurrence of similar internal audit and inspection findings, as well as the continuous poor audit reports that the department had been receiving annually, led the office of the National Commissioner to request all branches and Regional Commissioners to compile action plans aimed at addressing non-compliance. In order to fulfil the study objective, the normative requirements for the identified financial management practices are first defined in terms of financial management theory, policy and legislation. The accounting officers are heads of departments, and they account personally for financial transactions. The concepts of "budget processes" and "planning" are explored in order to identify normative requirements. „Budget‟ is identified as part of organisational planning, which starts with the aim and the mission of the institution. Under supply chain management, the principles of procurement are discussed, as considerable amounts are spent on goods and services. The life cycle of assets is discussed in detail, including the procedure for giving account of assets. Control is defined as a process through which a manager ensures that activities are carried out as originally planned. With regard to policy and legislation, the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), Act 1 of 1999 as amended by Act 29 of 1999 (South Africa, 1999) and Treasury Regulations are explained in detail, focusing on the budget process and financial management responsibilities of all different role players. With regard to supply chain management, policies are explained in detail, focusing on the acquisition of goods and services. The acceptable supply chain management system is also highlighted. According to Gildenhuys (1997:137), equipment is called movable assets and this category of assets are obtained and created to be utilised for a number of years as instruments for delivering services. With regard to control, in order to comply with financial management policies, an official in a department must ensure that the system of financial management and internal control established for that department is carried out within the area of responsibility of that official. The budget and planning processes of the Department of Correctional Services are explained in detail. How the financial management cascades through the department is highlighted by means of an organogram. Supply chain management processes are discussed in detail, focusing on the procurement procedures and requirements for acquisition of goods and services. The policy on asset management for the Department of Correctional Services is considered, focusing on the acquisition and control of assets. The legislative framework of the department is also examined in detail, focusing on the control measures within the department. The theory of evaluation is discussed in detail, with the emphasis on evaluation questions. A summary is provided of the financial functions of budgeting, supply chain management, asset management and control in terms of the financial functions of each of the following role players: the Accounting Officer, Chief financial officer and other managers. Evaluation questions are formulated, and audit reports contained in the annual reports, the internal auditor‟s reports and circulars of the department are used to answer those questions. Finally, recommendations are made, emphasising that Department of Correctional Services needs to continue to invest in the training and development of all staff, regarding The PFMA (South Africa, 1999) and Treasury Regulations.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie was om finansiële bestuurspraktyke binne die Departement Korrektiewe Dienste (DKD) te evalueer. "Finansiële bestuurspraktyke" word vir die doel van die studie gedefinieer en omskryf as die praktyke wat deur die rekenpligtige amptenaar, die hoof finansiële bestuursbeampte en ander bestuurders binne die gebied van begroting, voorsieningskettingbestuur, roerende batebestuur en beheer beoefen word. Herhaalde voorkoms van soortgelyke interne ouditerings- en inspeksiebevindings, sowel as die voortdurende swak ouditverslae wat jaarliks deur die departement ontvang is, het die kantoor van die Nasionale Kommissaris genoop om alle takke en Streekskommissarisse te versoek om 'n plan van optrede op te stel om nie-nakoming aan te spreek. Om die doelwit van die studie te bereik, word die normatiewe vereistes vir die geïdentifiseerde finansiële bestuurspraktyke eerstens in terme van finansiële bestuursteorie, beleid en wetgewing gedefinieer. Die rekenpligtige amptenare is hoofde van departemente en hulle doen persoonlik verantwoording vir finansiële transaksies. Die konsepte „begrotingsproses‟ en „beplanning‟ word verken om normatiewe vereistes te identifiseer. „Begroting‟ word as deel van organisatoriese beplanning, wat by die doel en misie van die instelling begin, geïdentifiseer. Die beginsels van aanskaffing word in verband met die voorsieningskettingbestuur bespreek aangesien aansienlike bedrae op goedere en dienste bestee word. Die lewensiklus van bates word met inbegrip van die prosedure vir verslaglewering aangaande bates in besonderhede bespreek. Beheer word as 'n proses waarvolgens 'n bestuurder verseker dat aktiwiteite sonder afwyking van 'n oorspronklike plan uitgevoer word. Ten opsigte van beleid en wetgewing word die Wet op Openbare Finansiële Bestuur (WOFB), No. 1, 1999 soos gewysig deur Wet 29 van 1999 (South Africa, 1999) en Regulasies van die Departement Finansies in besonderhede verduidelik, met aandag aan die begrotingsproses en die finansiële bestuursverantwoordelikhede van al die verskillende rolspelers. Beleid betreffende voorsieningskettingbestuur word in besonderhede bespreek met spesifiek aandag aan die verkryging van goedere en dienste. Die aanvaarbare voorsieningskettingbestuurstelsel word ook toegelig. Volgens Gildenhuys (1997:137) word toerusting as roerende bates aangedui en hierdie kategorie van bates word verkry en geskep om vir 'n aantal jare as middele vir die lewering van dienste gebruik te word. Om aan finansiële bestuursbeleid met betrekking tot beheer te voldoen, moet 'n amptenaar binne 'n departement verseker dat die stelsel wat binne sy/haar verantwoordelikheidsveld vir die finansiële bestuur en interne beheer van daardie departement ingestel is, toegepas word. Die begrotings- en beplanningprosesse van die Departement Korrektiewe Dienste word in besonderhede verduidelik. 'n Organogram word gebruik om lig te werp op hoe die finansiële bestuur die hele departement deurvloei. Voorsieningskettingbestuursprosesse word in besonderhede bespreek met klem op die prosedure en die vereistes vir die verkryging van goedere en dienste. Aandag word geskenk aan die beleid oor batebestuur binne die Departement Korrektiewe Dienste, met klem op die verkryging en beheer van bates. Verder word die departement se wetgewingsraamwerk in besonderhede ondersoek, weereens met aandag aan beheermeganismes binne die departement. Die teorie aangaande evaluering word in besonderhede bepreek, met spesiale klem op vrae wat vir evaluering gestel word. 'n Opsomming van die finansiële funksie van begrotings, voorsieningskettingbestuur, batebestuur en beheer in terme van die finansiële funksies van elk van die rolspelers, naamlik die rekenpligtige amptenaar, die hoof bestuursbeampte en ander bestuurders word voorsien. Vrae vir evaluering word geformuleer en antwoorde op daardie vrae word aan die hand van ouditverslae wat in jaarverslae opgeneem is, die interne ouditeur se verslae en departementele omsendbriewe verskaf. Ten slotte word aanbevelings gedoen wat beklemtoon dat die Departement Korrektiewe dienste sy belegging in die opleiding en ontwikkeling van alle personeel ten opsigte van die WOFB (South Africa, 1999) en Regulasies van die Departement Finansies moet voortsit.

Mobile phone service is increasing among low income populations; however, with over 1 billion mobile service users worldwide, many people still lack banking services. Banks do not reach out to the poor because of the high operational costs involved. Scholars and industry practitioners have indicated that mobile phones could be an alternative channel for delivering financial services to the less advantaged and unbanked, without requiring a traditional bank with a branch network. The purpose of this bounded case study was to explore the strategies bank managers used to implement the new mobile banking service to the Ethiopian community. The new product development theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. Twenty experienced bank managers were interviewed from the leading private bank in Ethiopia. Data were segmented and categorized. After member checking and triangulation, data were sorted into 4 themes: development, testing, commercialization of new products or services, and an organizational commitment to adopt new technologies and innovative processes. The findings may contribute to the body of knowledge regarding strategies bank managers can use for implementing and introducing new products in order to contribute to the prosperity of individuals, businesses, and communities.

Recent events in global capital markets have underscored the impotence of securities regulation and paucity of ethical behaviour. With the resurgence of virtue ethics it only seems appropriate that a concerted effort should be undertaken to apply this model to the financial services industry. This thesis will apply Alasdair MacIntyre's tripartite notion of virtue ethics as explicated in his highly acclaimed work After Virtue to the role of the Investment Advisor in the Canadian financial services industry. MacIntyre's concepts of practice, narrative order of a single human life and the notion of tradition will be applied to the role of the Investment Advisor and the institutions that accommodate the profession. It will be concluded that MacIntyre's notions of practice and narrative order of a single human life is readily applicable but due to MacIntyre's profound criticism of capitalism, the notion of tradition is more difficult to incorporate comprehensively.

In 1986, the inclusion of trade in services, including financial services, into the multilateral GATT Uruguay Round on trade liberalization stood for the official worldwide recognition of services as being internationally tradable and important for national economies. The establishment of a General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), as being an integral part of the new World Trade Organization (WTO), is the institutional manifestation of the increasing importance of the service industries in international trade.
Within a variety of services, the financial services, such as banking, play a crucial role in national economies. A functioning banking system, providing the domestic industry with the necessary flow of capital, equals stability, credibility and international competitiveness for a national economy.
Liberalization of international trade in financial services may further increase economic efficiency and the welfare of the consumer, but today liberal trade in financial services is still faced with various barriers, especially in the highly sensitive banking system. Natural barriers to cross-border trade in banking services were overcome by the increased tradability of services through new information and communication technologies. The GATS stands for the multilateral approach to overcoming the regulatory barriers to international trade in services. The worldwide opening of domestic banking markets to foreign banks, namely the provision of the right of establishment, is the main topic of liberalization with respect to the banking sector.
Aside from obvious structural shortcomings of the GATS, this multilateral liberalization approach is increasingly challenged by regional approaches. namely free-trade areas and customs unions. Furthermore, in the banking sector, as a reaction to the huge amount of bank failures and national economic crises, liberalization itself is challenged by a global tendency rather to re-regulate and to harmonize existing regulations than to further liberalize.
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