WorldWideScience

Sample records for non-profit evaluation service

  1. Generation and distribution of wealth in Blumenau non-profit social service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loriberto Starosky Filho

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Non-profit organizations exist all over the world and they have an important role to the economy. These are not aimed at profits and they appeared to develop initiatives of social aspects. The main goal of this research is to check how the wealth is generated and distributed by the non-profits that are enrolled in the Welfare Assistance Council in Blumenau city. This data was gotten through a qualitative, descriptive and documentary research based on analysis of published financial statements of a sample consisting of  nineteen non-profit Welfare Assistance Organizations. The results showed that: a To maintain their activities most  institutions  rely on resources coming from social grants, partnerships and donations; b The added value distributed represents more than fifty percent of the total proceeds in a large number  of institutions; c in most organizations the biggest share of the wealth distribution was used to the workers payment; d a low percentage of  the wealth is to lenders and government. As a general rule, most organizations presented a very low rate of retentions for themselves because they do not seek profits. Their goals are related to social services activities.

  2. Management trends: Internationalization of non-profit organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inić Branimir P.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Non-profit organizations are increasingly gaining importance in the modern economy with their development and their numbers increasing day by day. It is very important to note that non-profit organizations are often subject to various benefits that the for-profit companies are not. Thus, for example, preferential tax status of non-profit organizations is manifested primarily in the form of exemption from corporate income tax. In addition, private non-profit organizations enjoy various other state, local and federal taxes exemptions. Under certain conditions, these organizations are exempt from taxes on donations and membership fees. A feature that differentiates various non-profit organizations and profit-oriented companies is their source of income. Profit oriented companies depend on their income, obtained from sales of their goods or services to customers, who usually cover the price and cost of goods and services plus the profit. In contrast, nonprofit organizations are very dependent on membership fees, tax exemptions, members donations or depend on funds of the sponsoring agency which covers most of their costs, for example a federal government agency. Those non-profit organizations that have substantial operating costs beyond national borders and do not identify themselves as purely domestic in their mandate are International non-profit organizations. Most non-profit organizations remain in their national boundaries, on the territory of the country in which they were created, but a large number of non-profit organizations rapidly internationalize, and some larger non-profits have grown into important global actors. The paper includes the following sections: (1 introduction, (2 why is the 'non-profit' important, (3 the internationalization of non-profit organizations, (4 sources of income of non-profit organizations (4.1. causality of impact and of strategic decisions in cases pertaining to universities, (5 the limits of strategic

  3. TRANSPARENCY IN ITALIAN NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrizia Gazzola

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to evaluate the accountability and transparency of Italian non profits organizations. The main goal is to understand if a general accountability or transparency problem, or a systematic publicity deficit, exist in the third sector in Italy. Non profit organizations have an ethical obligation to their stakeholder and to the public to conduct their activities with accountability and transparency. Non profit organizations should regularly and openly convey information to the stakeholder about their vision, mission, objectives, activities, accomplishments, decision-making processes and organizational structure. Information from a non profit organization should be easily accessible to the stakeholder and should create external visibility, public understanding and trust in the organization, conditions necessary to find donors. Non profit organizations work with communities and community donors need to know how their money is used. In the first part the analysis of the definition of transparency and accountability is made and the sustainability report like an important instrument of communication is considered. In the second part an empirical research is presented. The Italian law allows taxpayers to devote 5 per thousand of their income tax to non profit organizations, choosing between charities, social promotion associations, recognized associations, entities dedicated to scientific research and health care, universities, municipal social services and other non profit organizations. The present study present a quantitative research and it’s based on an empirical analysis of non-profit organizations that receive this donation in Italy in the year 2010 and 2011. In the paper we analyze the transparency and the accountability of the top 100 non profit organizations that have received the contribution of 5 per thousand, checking whether they prepare their Sustainability Report or any other kind of report for communicate the use

  4. Application of relationship marketing in non-profit organisations ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Application of relationship marketing in non-profit organisations involved in the provision of sport and recreational services. ... A variety of factors have over time contributed to a need for marketing in non-profit ... AJOL African Journals Online.

  5. The Service-profit Chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønholdt, Lars; Martensen, Anne

    2016-01-01

    This paper examines the links between employee attitudes, customer loyalty and company profitability. From a conceptual point of view, this employee-customer-profit chain, also known as the service-profit chain, is well founded and generally accepted. But for many companies, it seems difficult...... to demonstrate such links, and several issues must be addressed to uncover the links. To investigate these links empirically, a hotel chain provided data matching employee and customer measures with measures of profitability. We have successfully employed a modeling approach, and the paper reports empirical...... evidence of the employee-customer-profit chain. As it is possible to estimate the links, we have demonstrated their effect on company profitability. The research findings provide a better understanding of the service-profit chain and may help practitioners in improving company financial performance....

  6. 26 CFR 1.857-11 - Non-REIT earnings and profits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Non-REIT earnings and profits. 1.857-11 Section 1.857-11 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Real Estate Investment Trusts § 1.857-11 Non-REIT earnings and profits...

  7. Civil society: beyond non profit / Sociedad civil: más allá del non profit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel de Haro Serrano

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available For a numerous group of recognized and proved authority authors, the Civil Society is limited to the Non Profit organizations. Non Profit is the great limit, the rigid and static border. The limes on the Roman Empire were less overwhelming than the non profit of certain academics. Dura lex and unfair law that keeps aside from the civil society scope the entities on the social economy and the whole market around mercantile enterprises and businesses. Nevertheless, the new changes in the today’s society and the new concept of businesses oriented to the society without forsaking the quest for economic profit, poses a Civil Society beyond non profit.

  8. Factor analysis of financial and operational performance measures of non-profit hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Dhiman

    2009-01-01

    To understand the important dimensions of the financial and operational performance of non-profit hospitals. Secondary data for non-profit US hospitals between 1996 and 2004. I use iterative principal factor analysis of hospitals' financial and operational ratios for each year of the study. For factor interpretation, I use oblique rotation. Financial ratios were created using cost report data from HCRIS 2552-96 available from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS). I identify five factors--capital structure, profitability, activity, liquidity, and an operational factor--that explain most of the variation in the performance of non-profit hospitals. I also find that capital structure is more important than profitability in determining the performance of these hospitals. The importance of capital structure highlights a significant shift in the organization of the non-profit hospitals' finances.

  9. Competition and Profitability in European Financial Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Balling, Morten; Lierman, F.; Mullineux, A.

    Financial services firms play a key role in the European economy. The efficiency and profitability of these firms and the competition among them have an impact on allocation of savings, financing of investment, economic growth, the stability of the financial system and the transmission of monetary...... policy. This collection of research contributions includes evaluations of trends in the European financial service industry and examinations of the driving forces of efficiency, competition and profitability of financial firms and institutions in Europe. The papers have been written by leading academics...... and researchers in the field, who specialize in strategic, systematic and policy issues related to the European financial services industry. This edited collection will be will be essential reading for students and academics but will also be of interest to financial practitioners and government officials...

  10. Wolves in sheep's clothing: Is non-profit status used to signal quality?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Daniel B; Propper, Carol; Smith, Sarah

    2017-09-01

    Why do many firms in the healthcare sector adopt non-profit status? One argument is that non-profit status serves as a signal of quality when consumers are not well informed. A testable implication is that an increase in consumer information may lead to a reduction in the number of non-profits in a market. We test this idea empirically by exploiting an exogenous increase in consumer information in the US nursing home industry. We find that the information shock led to a reduction in the share of non-profit homes, driven by a combination of home closure and sector switching. The lowest quality non-profits were the most likely to exit. Our results have important implications for the effects of reforms to increase consumer provision in a number of public services. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. Non-Academic Service Quality: Comparative Analysis of Students and Faculty as Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharif, Khurram; Kassim, Norizan Mohd

    2012-01-01

    The research focus was a non-academic service quality assessment within higher education. In particular, non-academic service quality perceptions of faculty and students were evaluated using a service profit chain. This enabled a comparison which helped understanding of non-academic service quality orientation from a key users' perspective. Data…

  12. Valuation of Volunteer Work in the Satellite Account of Non-Profit Institutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Václav Rybáček

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Volunteer work constitutes an important input into the activities of non-profit institutions. However, in the core system of national accounts, volunteering falls outside the production boundary even if it leads to the production of services. By doing so, national accounts inevitably underestimates the contribution of non-profit institutions to the well-being. This shortcoming is overcome by the Satellite Account of Non-profit Institutions complementing and extending the concept of national accounts chiefly by incorporation of the value of volunteering and by full coverage of non-profit institutions classified in a number of economic sectors. This paper is an attempt to address the key issue that is the way of volunteer work´s valuation for analytical purposes. We will discuss different approaches to the valuation and their impact on key macroeconomic aggregates.

  13. Accountability, efficiency, and the "bottom line" in non-profit organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cutt, J

    1982-01-01

    Financial reporting by non-profit organizations deals only with accountability for propriety and regularity, and ignores output measurement. The development of output measures of a physical or index nature offers a means of relating dollar costs to output in the form of cost-efficiency or cost-effectiveness measures, but does not provide any measure of the absolute value or worthwhileness of such programs. This fundamental absolute value question should be asked of all non-profit programs and documented to the greatest possible extent in budgetary submissions, and subsequent control and audit. In public sector non-profit programs, the posing of this question requires information on consumer demand other than in aggregative and imprecise form through the political process, and much improved information on the cost side. Eliciting demand information is feasible in the case of public programs with separable benefits by the use of a variety of pricing techniques, direct or imputed, whether or not the service in question is ultimately financed on a user-pay basis. The problem of eliciting demand is more difficult in the case of public goods, but improved demand information can be obtained, ideally by an approach such as the use of a Clarke tax. The argument can be extended to encompass questions of income distribution, stabilization, regulation and tax policy. Recent developments in program evaluation in the federal government are important, but remain deficient in failing to address the question of absolute value.

  14. 26 CFR 1.852-12 - Non-RIC earnings and profits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Non-RIC earnings and profits. 1.852-12 Section 1.852-12 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Regulated Investment Companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts § 1.852-12 Non-RIC...

  15. Employee motivation in a non-profit organisation: Case Study: Blå Kors

    OpenAIRE

    Rodrigues, Amanda Deborah Norma; Passos Ruvald, Carolina; Svetleva, Stanimira Nikolaeva

    2017-01-01

    Non-Profit Organisations are characterised by their dependence on their workforce. The functioning of such organisation commonly leans towards the service sector and so the employees play a vital part in the core function of fundraising, which in turn enables the organisation in furthering its cause. This feature, as well as the popular trait of non-profit organisation’s dependence on voluntary labour, also brings us to the importance of job satisfaction or employee motivation and commitment ...

  16. The role of private non-profit healthcare organizations in NHS systems: Implications for the Portuguese hospital devolution program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Álvaro S

    2017-06-01

    The national health services (NHS) of England, Portugal, Finland and other single-payer universalist systems financed by general taxation, are based on the theoretical principle of an integrated public sector payer-provider. However, in practice one can find different forms of participation of non-public healthcare providers in those NHS, including private for profit providers, but also third sector non-profit organizations (NPO). This paper reviews the role of non-public non-profit healthcare organizations in NHS systems. By crossing a literature review on privatization of national health services with a literature review on the comparative performance of non-profit and for-profit healthcare organizations, this paper assesses the impact of contracting private non-profit healthcare organizations on the efficiency, quality and responsiveness of services, in public universal health care systems. The results of the review were then compared to the existing evidence on the Portuguese hospital devolution to NPO program. The evidence in this paper suggests that NHS health system reforms that transfer some public-sector hospitals to NPO should deliver improvements to the health system with minimal downside risks. The very limited existing evidence on the Portuguese hospital devolution program suggests it improved efficiency and access, without sacrificing quality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Comparative Corporate Governance of Non-Profit Organizations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Steen

    2014-01-01

    Based on the impressive work of Hopt and von Hippel (2010), I review the comparative corporate governance of non-profit organizations and propose topics for future research. There is evidence of agency problems in non-profit as well as for-profit organizations, but the governance mechanisms...

  18. FACILITATORS OF INTERNET PROMOTION (E-BROCHURE ADOPTION BY NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelson Oly Ndubisi

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Internet promotion, otherwise e-brochure (EB or partial e-commerce adoption by non-profit organisations denotes the use of the Internet to provide business and service related information by academic institutions (as in the present study, non-profit organisations, religious organisations, and government agencies to reduce their expenses or to improve their operations and customer service. A field survey of Malaysian universities was conducted to determine the key factors that facilitate the adoption of non-business EB. Since EB adoption decision is a strategic one, a comprehensive list of potential facilitators for the strategic use of information technology (IT was derived from extant literature and used in collecting data from 65 schools and centres in five public universities in Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The data were factor-analysed to determine the key underlying dimensions of facilitators. On the basis of the resulting five dimensions namely, relative advantage orientation, network orientation, information efficiency orientation, innovativeness orientation, and competitiveness orientation, regression analysis was done to determine the impact of the five dimensions on non-business EB adoption.

  19. Service & non-profit marketing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanković Čedomir

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Services are dominantly untouchable products which cannot be physically owned. Services promotion is difficult for its untouchables. Personal sale is very powerful in service companies because customers must interact with employees. Price is very important for service's companies. It has psychological role, economic role and it creates attitude for goal achievement. Marketing goal for nonprofit organizations is to get an answer from target market Development of marketing strategies of nonprofit organizations consists of defining and analyzing target market and creating and maintaining marketing mix. In nonprofit organizations product is usually an idea or a service. Promotion in nonprofit organizations is very important. Personal sale, promotional sale, advertising and publicity are used for communicating an idea and informing people about services.

  20. 76 FR 13097 - Institute of Museum and Library Services; Evaluation by Grantees

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-10

    ... With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations, provides, in part... Services; Evaluation by Grantees AGENCY: Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Foundation On.... IMLS amends 45 CFR 1180.46, Evaluation by the grantee, to ensure that IMLS requirements conform to the...

  1. Non-profit Drug Research and Development at a Crossroads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarosławski, Szymon; Toumi, Mondher; Auquier, Pascal; Dussart, Claude

    2018-02-07

    In wealthy nations, non-profit drug R&D has been proposed to reduce the prices of medicines. We sought to review the ethical and economic issues concerning non-profit drug R&D companies, and the possible impact that their pricing strategy may have on the innovation efforts from for-profit companies targeting the same segment of the pharmaceutical market. There are two possible approaches to pricing drugs developed by non-profit R&D programs: pricing that maximises profits and "affordable" pricing that reflects the cost of manufacturing and distribution, plus a margin that ensures sustainability of the drug supply. Overall, the non-profits face ethical challenges - due to the lack of resources, they are unable to independently commercialize their products on a large scale; however, the antitrust law does not permit them to impose prices on potential licensees. Also, reduced prices for the innovative products may result in drying the for-profit R&D in the area.

  2. Democracy and non-profit housing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anne Vorre; Langergaard, Luise Li

    2017-01-01

    Resident democracy as a special form of participatory democratic set-up is fundamental in the understanding, and self-understanding, of the non-profit housing sector in Denmark. Through a case study, the paper explores how resident democracy is perceived and narrated between residents and employees....... The tensions are related to representative versus participatory democracy; collectivity versus individuality; and service versus welfare. The tensions elucidate how resident democracy is squeezed between different logics, which result in an ambiguous setting for practising democracy. Based on the results...... at a housing association. The study indicates that the meta-story of democracy is disconnected from practice and the lived lives of residents. Three analytical tensions structure the analysis, which relate to the conditions for realizing the democratic ideal embedded in the structure of the sector...

  3. ‘Value for Whom, by Whom’: Investigating Value Constructs in Non-Profit Project Portfolios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karyne Cheng Siew Ang

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In most non-profit organisations (NPOs, there are multiple programs, projects or initiatives running simultaneously. The management of multiple projects in organisations can be coined as project portfolio management (PPM (Archer & Ghasemzadeh 1999; Pennypacker & Dye 2002.  In any project-based organisation, it is critical that selected projects align with and deliver the organisation’s strategy or mission. Decisions about project funding are strategic decisions, particularly when there are resource limitations. In PPM decision making, the allocation of resources to projects requires a clear judgement of value across multiple perspectives. Value has often been expressed in financial terms, however increasingly research indicates that non-financial considerations are equally important in evaluating value. A key task in project portfolio management is to maximise value across the portfolio.  However, value can be a subjective notion, as each person may have different expectations of what is valuable. The involvement of diverse stakeholder interests could create complexities in decision making in non-profit organisations due to value being interpreted in different ways by the stakeholders. Furthermore in order to achieve its purpose, non-profits depend heavily on donors, patrons and sponsors - stakeholders who contribute to the portfolio but are often not the direct recipients of the services provided by the non-profit organisation (Kaplan 2012. Non-profit portfolios often compete with other initiatives for resources and attention from the same donors and sponsors, and may need to constantly justify the value they provide to these stakeholders. Most research about value in PPM has been conducted in the ‘for-profit’ sector. Recent value-based studies in the project portfolio field stress the importance of considering both commercial and non-commercial value in portfolio decision making (Killen, du Plessis & Young 2012; Kopman 2013; Martinsuo

  4. Does outsourcing affect hospital profitability?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danvers, Kreag; Nikolov, Pavel

    2010-01-01

    Organizations outsource non-core service functions to achieve cost reductions and strategic benefits, both of which can impact profitability performance. This article examines relations between managerial outsourcing decisions and profitability for a multi-state sample of non-profit hospitals, across 16 states and four regions of the United States. Overall regression results indicate that outsourcing does not necessarily improve hospital profitability. In addition, we identify no profitability impact from outsourcing for urban hospitals, but somewhat positive effects for teaching hospitals. Our regional analysis suggests that hospitals located in the Midwest maintain positive profitability effects with outsourcing, but those located in the South realize negative effects. These findings have implications for cost reduction efforts and the financial viability of non-profit hospitals.

  5. Evaluating Outsourcing Information Technology and Assurance Expertise by Small Non-Profit Organizations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guinn, Fillmore

    2013-01-01

    Small non-profit organizations outsource at least one information technology or information assurance process. Outsourcing information technology and information assurance processes has increased every year. The study was to determine the key reasons behind the choice to outsource information technology and information assurance processes. Using…

  6. How to sell services more profitably.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinartz, Werner; Ulaga, Wolfgang

    2008-05-01

    When products become commodities, manufacturing companies may seek to differentiate themselves with value-added services--a potentially profitable strategy. Unfortunately, companies often stumble in the effort. Reinartz and Ulaga conducted in-depth studies of 18 leading companies in a broad variety of product markets to learn what distinguished the successes from the rest. They discovered four steps to developing a profitable services capability. RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE A SERVICE COMPANY: You can identify and charge for simple services--as Merck did when it stopped quietly absorbing shipping costs. Switching services from free to fee clarifies their value for managers as well as for customers. INDUSTRIALIZE THE BACK OFFICE: To prevent delivery costs from eating up service-offering margins, build flexible service platforms, closely monitor process costs, and exploit new technologies that enable process innovations. The Swedish bearings manufacturer SKF provided off-site access to an online monitoring tool that could warn of potential failure in customers' machines. CREATE A SERVICE-SAVVY SALES FORCE: Services require longer sales cycles and, often, decisions from high up in a customer's hierarchy; what's more, product salespeople may be inimical to change. Schneider-Electric did a major overhaul of its sales organization and trained its people to switch from cost-plus pricing to value-based pricing. FOCUS ON CUSTOMERS' PROCESSES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THEY AFFORD FOR NEW SERVICE OFFERINGS: You may need to acquire new capabilities to take advantage of those opportunities: The industrial coatings specialist PPG had to learn how painting robots function after it offered to take over Fiat's Torino paint shop. Services can both lock in customers and help acquire new accounts. They should be developed with care and attention.

  7. Managing Competency in Non-Profit Organization: Experience with a European University

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mostaq M. Hussain

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Competence Management (CM has been discussed in contemporary academic and practitioner literature as a managing tool of Core Competences. Most of the studies of CM deal with manufacturing sector and profit organizations. Very little is known about CM in services and almost nothing in not-for profit organization. No research report has yet been found in educational institutions. Although, CM is not only important in manufacturing and profit organizations but also important in non-profit, like educational institutions, in order to meet the required quality and competitiveness of 21st century's education. Thus, an attempt has been made in this research to study CM in the administration of one the top ranking University in a Nordic country. The result results reveal that competencies had been defined in individual, network and unit level, but lack of integration of a comprehensive CM framework unable the higher educational institution to achieve the benefits of core competence. Based on the empirical findings, some policy and research directions are given at the end of the research.

  8. The role and importance of Non-Profit Organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicoleta Ciucescu

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available In a complex and challenging background of the whole country, and the NGO sector also, the non-profit organizations are established with the aim of providing public services to communities where they operate, making them as an intermediary between citizens and authorities. In any democratic society these organizations are meant to serve different types of needs and interests of the community, from both a strategic perspective and ethics, that those which are not covered by other categories of institutions and organizations, mean time providing a framework for civic participation, where citizens may participate to the public life.

  9. Non-Profit Organizations in a Bureaucratic Environment

    OpenAIRE

    Grout, Paul; Schnedler, Wendelin

    2008-01-01

    How does the environment of an organization influence whether workers voluntarily provide effort? We study the power relationship between a non-profit unit (e.g. university department, NGO, health trust), where workers care about the result of their work, and a bu- reaucrat, who supplies some input to the non-profit unit, but has opportunity costs in doing so (e.g. Dean of faculty, corrupt representative, government agency). We find that marginal changes in the balance of power eventually hav...

  10. Do Emotional Appeal and Media-context Influence the Effectiveness of TV Commercials for Profit and Non-profit Brands?

    OpenAIRE

    Roozen, Irene; Claeys, Christel

    2009-01-01

    This study investigates the impact of emotions, both ad- and context-evoked, on the effectiveness of commercials for non-profit vs. profit brands. Effectiveness is made operational by rational measures, recall and recognition, and by emotional measures, ad likeability and brand attitude. Four different experimental groups were exposed to a sequence of warm and sad commercials for non-profit and profit brands, embedded either in a warm film fragment or a sad one. The results indicate that, ove...

  11. Ex-ante evaluation of profitability and government's subsidy policy on vehicle-to-grid system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Junhee; Koo, Yoonmo; Jeong, Gicheol; Lee, Jongsu

    2012-01-01

    Abstact: Although the electric vehicle reduces pollutant emissions and results in reduced energy costs, lack of battery charging infrastructure and relatively high vehicle prices create challenges to the automobile industry and affect government support policies. To create a battery charging infrastructure, such as a vehicle-to-grid system, stakeholders need a quantitative analysis that decreases profitability uncertainty. The high cost of an electric vehicle can be offset by government subsidies that promote early marketing efforts, but an ex-ante evaluation of consumer demand is needed to analyze the effectiveness of any policy. This study provides information about optimal pricing based on consumer demand as well as the social welfare change effected by possible government subsidy polices for electric vehicles. Results show that the maximum profit for a vehicle-to-grid service provider will be 1.27 trillion Korean won/year with an annual subscription fee of 0.65 million Korean won. The government subsidy of 1 trillion Korean won, given annually, will increase social welfare by 1.94 trillion won and also boost the profit of vehicle-to-grid service provider to 1.98 trillion won. - Highlights: ▶ We evaluate consumer preference on electric vehicle and V2G service. ▶ Based on the consumer preference, we calculate profitability of V2G service. ▶ Also, the effect of government subsidy on electric vehicle market is analyzed. ▶ The empirical results will be useful to the V2G service providers and policy makers

  12. APLIKASI MANAJEMEN KEGIATAN UNTUK ORGANISASI NON PROFIT BERBASIS WEBSITE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arif Hidayat

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Suatu organisasi memiliki berbagai program kerja, yang di dalamnya ada kepanitian khusus. Biasanya manajemen kegiatan yang berisi pengelolaan keuangan pada masing-masing organisasi dan lembaga dikepalai oleh bendahara. Pengelolaan keuangan tersebut menjadi sebuah kebutuhan, karena bendahara tersebut wajib selalu melaporkan pencatatan keuangan. Tentu akan menjadi tidak efektif jika melakukan pencatatan keuangan harus melakukannya secara manual. Di samping susah, pencatatan secara manual sangat beresiko seperti rusak dan hilangnya buku pencatatan. Ada lagi pencatatan dengan cara lain yaitu menggunakan software yang sudah ada seperti Microsoft Excel, namun hal tersebut masih kurang efisien dan kurang efektif sehingga diperlukan tools pencatatan yang lebih baik agar mencapai tujuan dan sasaran yang diinginkan. Subjek penelitian yang dibahas pada penelitian ini adalah aplikasi pengelolaan keuangan untuk organisasi non profit berbasis website. Langkah pengembangan aplikasi yaitu menggunakan waterfall model. Dari penelitian yang dilakukan menghasilkan sebuah website tentang ”aplikasi manajemen kegiatan untuk organisasi non profit berbasis website” yang dapat digunakan untuk melakukan manajemen kegiatan bagi organisasi non profit sehingga pekerjaan seorang bendahara menjadi mudah dan efektif. Keywords: Manajemen Kegiatan, Nonprofit Online, Organisasi Non Profit.

  13. Analysis of efficiency and profitability of franchise services

    OpenAIRE

    GARCÍA MARTIN, CONSTANTINO JOSE; Medal Bartual, Amparo; Peris-Ortiz, Marta

    2014-01-01

    The present study analyses the relative efficiency of franchise services and characterises the best companies, confirming the relationship between efficiency and profit. These companies are from the trade and other services sector , the main group of service-providing companies in the Spanish economy. The methodology calls for first comparing the relative efficiency of franchisers and ownership enterprises. Second, the focus turns to the most efficient franchise services, usin...

  14. Social media for non-profit organizations in Vietnam

    OpenAIRE

    Nguyen, Thy

    2016-01-01

    The thesis presents about social media in general and social media for non-profit organizations in Vietnam in particular. The writer wanted to explore the disadvantages that non-profits in Vietnam face when using social media and search for recommendations which helps them to use it more efficiently. In the theoretic part, core concepts related to social media were introduced, namely, definition of social media, its types, the popular platforms, situation of social media in Vietnam, pros...

  15. Development of an activity-based costing model to evaluate physician office practice profitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dugel, Pravin U; Tong, Kuo Bianchini

    2011-01-01

    Newer treatment regimens for age-related macular degeneration have significantly affected traditional and non-traditional retinal services across all types of practice settings around the country as they seek to find a balance among delivering best patient care, keeping operating costs under control, and maintaining profitability. A systematic retrospective review of a multi-city, multi-physician retinal practice's accounting system to obtain data on revenues, expenses, and profit. Data reviewed were from practice management systems to obtain claims level data on clinical procedures across 7 primary activity centers: non-laser surgery, laser surgery, office visits, optical coherence tomography (OCT), non-OCT diagnostics, drugs and drug injections, and research. All treated patients from a retina practice from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2007. Retrospective claims data review from a multi-physician retina practice detailing Current Procedural Terminology and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System procedures performed and billed, submitted charges, allowed charges, and net collections. Analyses were performed by an outside firm and verified by a risk advisory firm. Identifying practice efficiencies/inefficiencies as they relate to patient care. An elaborate analysis using activity-based costing (ABC) showed that increased office visits and OCT and non-OCT diagnostics had a significant negative impact on the practice's profit margins, whereas surgical procedures contributed to the majority of the practice's profit margins because of the lower operating costs associated with surgery. The practice was able to accommodate the demand in patient volume, medical retina services, and medical imaging with the advent of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy and realized a seismic shift in operating costs. The practice attempted to deliver state-of-the-art patient care in a cost-effective manner, yet underwent a significant decline in its financial health

  16. Factors affecting the entry of for-profit providers into a price regulated market for formal long-term care services: a case study from Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tokunaga, Mutsumi; Hashimoto, Hideki

    2013-01-01

    While the distinct behaviors of for-profit and non-profit providers in the healthcare market have been compared in the economic literature, their choices regarding market entry and exit have only recently been debated. Since 2000, when public Long-Term Care Insurance was introduced in Japan, for-profit providers have been able to provide formal long-term homecare services. The aim of this study is to determine which factors have affected market entry of for-profit providers under price regulation and in competition with existing non-profit providers. We used nation-wide panel data from 2002 to 2010, aggregated at the level of local public insurers (n = 1557), a basic area unit of service provision. The number of for-profit providers per elderly population in the area unit was regressed against factors related to local demand and service costs using first-difference linear regression, a fixed effects model, and Tobit regression for robustness checking. Results showed that demand (the number of eligible care recipients) and cost factors (population density and minimum wage) significantly influenced for-profit providers' choice of market entry. These findings indicate that for-profit providers will strategically choose a local market for maximizing profit. We believe that price regulation should be redesigned to incorporate quality of care and market conditions, regardless of the profit status of the providers, to ensure equal access to efficient delivery of long-term care across all regions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. EPA for Businesses and Non-Profits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Information and links to EPA web pages that are meant to help businesses and non-profits adhere to EPA regulations and otherwise protect the environment, take advantage of opportunities to collaborate with the EPA, and find training EPA training programs.

  18. Strategies and techniques of communication and public relations applied to non-profit sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana – Julieta Josan

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to summarize the strategies and techniques of communication and public relations applied to non-profit sector.The approach of the paper is to identify the most appropriate strategies and techniques that non-profit sector can use to accomplish its objectives, to highlight specific differences between the strategies and techniques of the profit and non-profit sectors and to identify potential communication and public relations actions in order to increase visibility among target audience, create brand awareness and to change into positive brand sentiment the target perception about the non-profit sector.

  19. Evaluation of the Effect of Non-Current Fixed Assets on Profitability and Asset Management Efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubyanaya, Alexandra V.; Izmailov, Airat M.; Nikulina, Ekaterina Y.; Shaposhnikov, Vladislav A.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to investigate the problem, which stems from non-current fixed assets affecting profitability and asset management efficiency. Tangible assets, intangible assets and financial assets are all included in non-current fixed assets. The aim of the research is to identify the impact of estimates and valuation in…

  20. Do non-profit sport organisations innovate? Types and preferences of service innovation within regional sport federations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Winand, M.; Scheerder, J.; Vos, S.B.; Zint, T.

    2016-01-01

    Little is known about innovation in the non-profit sport sector. The current research addresses this gap by questioning whether and to what extent sport federations innovate. It aims to identify types of innovation implemented by sport federations and their attitude and preferences towards

  1. Spokespersons in media campaigns of non-profit organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milovanović Dragana

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The subject of this research is how spokespersons can be used in campaigns of non-profit organizations, with a goal to increase their visibility and gain public support. Namely, many companies employ celebrities for their media campaigns as protagonists and promoters of brand values. With their appearance and engagement, celebrities transfer part of their image and credibility to the brand, which widens and enriches the field of associations which brands trigger in consumers' conscience. Non-profit organizations could get similar benefits out of these campaigns. In a society where there is a certain level of fascination with celebrities, i.e. celebrity culture, their influence can be used not only to attract attention to the goods, but also to ideas. The goal of the paper is to show how spokespersons can influence behavior and attitudes of the public by participating in media campaigns, and also the important aspects of choosing a spokesperson. The paper is supposed to be a starting point for practitioners,so they can design creative ideas based on this technique on the non-profit organizations market, especially in Serbia.

  2. Traditions and Management Perspectives of Community and Non-Profit Organizations in Lithuania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrius Stasiukynas

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – To overview the traditions and management perspectives of community and non-profit organizations in Lithuania.Methodology – For the purpose of this research a literature analysis on community and non-profit organization case studies was conducted. The case studies describing stories of success were singled out and leaders of these organizations were interviewed.Findings – The research has showed the growth of the number of community and nonprofit organizations during the last twenty years and the difficulties of collecting the statistical data. This study presupposes the possibility to identify the tendencies of management in community and non-profit organizations, including the following: increasing use of the social networks for communication; proliferation of strategic planning; greater emphasis on educating and empowering new generation of leaders.Research implications – Prior studies in this area in Lithuania have not exhaustively analyzed the components of human resource management of non-profit organizations. An important follow up on this study would be to analyze the human resource management in community organizations.Practical implications – This study covered the management aspects important for the improvement of how community and non-profit organizations work.Originality/Value – This study expands the knowledge on Lithuanian community and non-profit organization development and management.Research type – literature review, research paper.

  3. Not for the Profit, but for the Training? Gender Differences in Training in the For-Profit and Non-Profit Sectors

    OpenAIRE

    Dostie, Benoît; Javdani, Mohsen

    2017-01-01

    We use Canadian linked employer-employee data to examine gender differences in probability, duration, and intensity of firm-sponsored training. We find that women in the for-profit sector are less likely to receive classroom training, and receive shorter classroom training courses. However, we find the reverse in the non-profit sector, with women being more likely to receive both classroom and on-the-job training, and also receiving longer classroom training courses. Our results suggest that ...

  4. Tradeoff between User Quality-Of-Experience and Service Provider Profit in 5G Cloud Radio Access Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahbuba Afrin

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, the Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN has become a promising solution for increasing network capacity in terms of high data rates and low latencies for fifth-generation (5G cellular networks. In CRAN, the traditional base stations (BSs are decoupled into remote radio heads (RRHs and base band units (BBUs that are respectively responsible for radio and baseband functionalities. The RRHs are geographically proximated whereas the the BBUs are pooled in a centralized cloud named BBU pool. This virtualized architecture facilitates the system to offer high computation and communication loads from the impetuous rise of mobile devices and applications. Heterogeneous service requests from the devices to different RRHs are now sent to the BBUs to process centrally. Meeting the baseband processing of heterogeneous requests while keeping their Quality-of-Service (QoS requirements with the limited computational resources as well as enhancing service provider profit is a challenging multi-constraint problem. In this work, a multi-objective non-linear programming solution to the Quality-of-Experience (QoE and Profit-aware Resource Allocation problem is developed which makes a trade-off in between the two. Two computationally viable scheduling algorithms, named First Fit Satisfaction and First Fit Profit algorithms, are developed to focus on maximization of user QoE and profit, respectively, while keeping the minimum requirement level for the other one. The simulation environment is built on a relevant simulation toolkit. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system outperforms state-of-the-art works well across the requests QoS, average waiting time, user QoE, and service provider profit.

  5. Grants Management Guidance for Non-Profit Organizations

    Science.gov (United States)

    This guidance is intended to provide non-profit grant recipients with information to ensure that their organizations remain in compliance with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Office of Management (OMB) cost principles, and the terms and conditions.

  6. National Health Insurance, Profitability, and Service Quality: Case Study at the Private Hospital in West Java

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andriyani Rahmah Fahriati

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available National health insurance is one of the government programs to facilitate health services for the people. The purpose of this research to determine whether there are effects of National Health Insurance program (JKN on profitability and service quality at Juanda Kuningan Hospital, of West Java. The method using the paired-t-test to analyze the difference between before and after the National Health Insurance program. The result showed that there is a difference in profitability and service quality between pre and post the implementation of national health insurance program. Gross profit margin measured the profitability, net profit margin, return on total assets, and return on equity. This result means that the value of the company's profitability is better when the program JKN yet takes place in the Juanda hospital. While on the service quality variable it is found that the mean value is higher when the JKN program has conducted at the hospital.DOI: 10.15408/etk.v17i1.7064

  7. Toward a balanced framework to evaluate and improve the internal functioning of non-profit economic development business incubators : A study in Belgium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vanderstraeten, J.; Matthyssens, P.; van Witteloostuijn, A.

    2014-01-01

    Non-profit organisations, such as economic development incubators, may adapt the balanced scorecard and strategy map in their efforts to improve their internal functioning. In this paper, we employ qualitative research among non-profit economic development incubators in Antwerp, Belgium, to modify

  8. Call for Papers – Special issue: Project Management in the Non-Profit Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Sankaran, Shankar

    2015-01-01

    This journal special issue will explore diverse stakeholder perspectives and share examples of project management practices in the non-profit sector. Key objectives are to develop understandings of project management practice in the sector, to examine how cross-sectoral collaboration and learning can help non-profit organisations achieve their project and programme objectives, and to explore ways in which the wider project management community can learn from experiences in the non-profit sector.

  9. The Features of Forming and Using the Finansial and Material Resources of Socially Oriented Non-Profit Organizations of Volgograd Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleynik Olga Stepanovna

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the problem of interaction of regional authorities and the institute of socially oriented non-profit organizations that carry out the activity aimed at solving social problems, the development of civil society in Russia. The forms and activities of socially oriented non-profit organizations are systematically presented. The authors reveal the directions and tools for supporting the activities of socially oriented non-profit organizations by public authorities and local self-government bodies. The authors aimed at fixing the peculiarities of organization and conduct of statistical observation over the activity of socially-oriented organizations in Volgograd region. The organizational events were arranged. They were necessary for the conduct of qualitative statistical analysis of the activity of socially oriented organizations. For the first time the official data on the activity of socially oriented non-profit organizations in Volgograd region, including the information on formation and use of money and other property, was received as a result of the statistical observation. The authors focus on the analysis of the sources of money and other property, reveal the composition of income in non-profit organizations of various organizational and legal forms. The forms of work in socially oriented non-profit organizations of Volgograd region and its results as of 2013 are thoroughly studied. The conducted statistical analysis showed that the significant public sector has been established in the region. It provides the necessary public social services, financial or social assistance to the most vulnerable members of society.

  10. Mobbing in a Non-Profit Organisation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kovacic Andrej

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyse mobbing in a large, non-profit, state-owned organization in order to find out to what extent mobbing is present and in what way it takes place. In addition, the purpose of the research is to analyse whether the extent of mobbing is connected to employee’s age, gender and position.

  11. How can work be designed to be intrinsically rewarding? Qualitative insights from South African non-profit employees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle Renard

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: Intrinsic rewards are personal, psychological responses to the work thatemployees perform, which stem from the manner in which their work is designed. Research purpose: This study sought to discover in what ways non-profit employees arepsychologically rewarded by the nature of their work tasks. The use of a qualitative approachto data collection and analysis ensured that in-depth responses from participants were gained. Motivation for the study: Intrinsic rewards are of particular importance to non-profitemployees, who tend to earn below-market salaries. This implies that their motivationoriginates predominantly from intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic rewards; yet, research into thisarea of rewards is lacking. Research approach, design and method: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conductedusing a sample of 15 extrinsically rewarded non-profit employees working within South Africa.Thematic analysis was utilised in order to generate codes which led to the formation of fiveintrinsic rewards categories. Main findings: Intrinsic rewards were classified into five categories, namely (1 MeaningfulWork, (2 Flexible Work, (3 Challenging Work, (4 Varied Work and (5 Enjoyable Work.These rewards each comprise of various subcategories, which provide insight into why suchwork is rewarding to non-profit employees. Practical/managerial implications: Traditional performance management systems shouldbe re-evaluated in the non-profit sector to shift focus towards intrinsic rewards, asopposed to focusing only on the use of extrinsic rewards such as incentives to motivateemployees. Contribution/value-add: The study provides a qualitative understanding of how extrinsicallyrewarded non-profit employees perceive their work to be intrinsically rewarding, whichbridges the empirical gap pertaining to intrinsic rewards within this sector.

  12. A longitudinal analysis of the impact of hospital service line profitability on the likelihood of readmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navathe, Amol S; Volpp, Kevin G; Konetzka, R Tamara; Press, Matthew J; Zhu, Jingsan; Chen, Wei; Lindrooth, Richard C

    2012-08-01

    Quality of care may be linked to the profitability of admissions in addition to level of reimbursement. Prior policy reforms reduced payments that differentially affected the average profitability of various admission types. The authors estimated a Cox competing risks model, controlling for the simultaneous risk of mortality post discharge, to determine whether the average profitability of hospital service lines to which a patient was admitted was associated with the likelihood of readmission within 30 days. The sample included 12,705,933 Medicare Fee for Service discharges from 2,438 general acute care hospitals during 1997, 2001, and 2005. There was no evidence of an association between changes in average service line profitability and changes in readmission risk, even when controlling for risk of mortality. These findings are reassuring in that the profitability of patients' admissions did not affect readmission rates, and together with other evidence may suggest that readmissions are not an unambiguous quality indicator for in-hospital care.

  13. The Role of Non-Governmental Non-Profit Organizations in the Provision of Social Services and the Palliation of Poverty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihaela Bronić

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available After introductory considerations, arguments are put forward for non-governmental organisations as exclusive providers of social services. The negative characteristics of the non-governmental organization are subject of the third part of the paper. In the fourth part, the meaning of the social funds is explained (they are a kind of non-governmental organisations, and in Part 5, we explain the importance of the synergy between the government and society in the provision of social services. After the explanation of the situation in Croatia, in the Part 6 of the paper we give our final considerations. In Croatia non-governmental organizations that provide social services are slowly developing. In their further strengthening it is necessary to change the general viewpoints concerning the role and importance of the non-governmental sector in the alleviation of poverty, as well as to achieve better coordination between the state and the sector.

  14. The Effects of Firm-Specific Factors on the Profitability of Non-Life Insurance Companies in Turkey

    OpenAIRE

    Kaya, Emine Öner

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates the firm-specific factors affecting the profitability of non-life insurance companies operating in Turkey. For this purpose, data of 24 non-life insurance companies operating in Turkey from the period 2006–2013 were brought together to obtain 192 observed panel data sets. In this study, profitability is measured by two different variables: technical profitability ratio and sales profitability ratio. According to the empirical results, the firm-specific factors affecti...

  15. Sustainability Perceptions in Romanian Non-Profit Organizations: An Exploratory Study Using Success Factor Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Ion Ceptureanu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses sustainability perceptions in Romanian non-profits by investigating 81 non-profits managers and board members. Using a multidimensional sustainability measurement framework, Success Factor Analysis, as a conceptual model, we measured perceptions on 5 critical sustainability factors: People, Business Model, Operations, Strategy and Culture and concluded that there are significant differences in the perceptions of sustainability depending on respondents’ previous failure experiences. While those which previously experienced failure adopt a long-term approach based on marketization, clear accountability standards and rely on strategy, while the others prefer a short-term approach, focused more on non-profits operations and focus on human resources.

  16. Age differences in career activities among higher-level employees in the Netherlands: a comparison between profit sector and non-profit sector staff

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Heijden, Beatrice

    2006-01-01

    The present study describes age differences in the occurrence of career activities among profit sector and non-profit sector employees in the Netherlands. Three different types of variables have been studied, i.e. individual, job-related and organizational variables. Hypotheses have been tested with

  17. STARTING DETERMINANTS OF STRATEGIC APPROACH TO MARKETING OF NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS: THEORETICAL ELABORATION

    OpenAIRE

    Pavičić, Jurica

    2001-01-01

    Non-profit organizations have remarkably important role in contemporary societies since they participate in solutions of numerous problems which enable or prevent functioning of society in an optimal way. In this, systematic application of marketing influences more efficient activity of non-profit organizations in practice, and by this indirectly contributes to better solution of social problems. If qualitative or systematic application of marketing is observed from the aspect of forming and ...

  18. Managing the effects of cultural diversity in HR in a non profit organization, Case organization: Moniheli

    OpenAIRE

    Irfan, Muhammad

    2014-01-01

    Non-profit organizations traditionally operate within limited resources. They cannot spend much of their resources to increase motivation. Especially when the bigger goal of the organization is to promote cultural diversity in society, it is very interesting to observe how a non-profit organization manages the cultural diversity that exists within its own human resources. This report is an attempt to identify the ways through which the case organization Moniheli, a non-profit network of diffe...

  19. Using creative problem solving (CPS) to improve leadership in a non-profit organization

    OpenAIRE

    Sousa, Fernando; Castelão, Paula; Monteiro, Ileana Pardal; Pellissier, René

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) method in improving the leadership process in a non-profit organization. The research was designed around an intervention and structured in three stages (pre-consult, intervention and follow-up), with a team designated by management, in order to bring leadership cohesion to both departments of the organization and also between the board and executive management. The results, expressed in the task...

  20. Inter-Relationship between Profitability, Growth and Size: A Case of Non-Financial Companies from Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rehana Kouser

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth description of the inter-relationship between firm size, growth, and profitability of non-financial companies listed at Karachi stock exchange. The study is based on the sample of 70 (seventy non-financial companies listed at Karachi Stock Exchange of Pakistan, selected on the basis of their market capitalization. Panel data techniques were employed using 700 observations of each of the variables of study; size(log natural of total assets, growth (sustainable growth rate for firm and profitability (return on assets. Observations are collected for ten years (2001-2010. The study concluded thatthere is study reveals that all the profitability has strong positive relationship with the growth of the firm; however size has less significant and negative impact on the profitability. Onesuggestion for further research would be to replicate the study in order to get more cases. Furthermore, it would be valuable to take a more long-term focus to examine the described relationships in the long run. The paper highlights the importance of these measures which are generally used for performance evaluation. Paper sets out the criteria that under which situations the company should focus which of the measure, so that company may derive its strategies on that way. This paper improves our preferences about the three major measures of the firm. Moreover, it contributes to the literature of financial management that how these three measures have trade-off between them.

  1. A Decomposition of Hospital Profitability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jason Turner

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: This paper evaluates the drivers of profitability for a large sample of U.S. hospitals. Following a methodology frequently used by financial analysts, we use a DuPont analysis as a framework to evaluate the quality of earnings. By decomposing returns on equity (ROE into profit margin, total asset turnover, and capital structure, the DuPont analysis reveals what drives overall profitability. Methods: Profit margin, the efficiency with which services are rendered (total asset turnover, and capital structure is calculated for 3,255 U.S. hospitals between 2007 and 2012 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Healthcare Cost Report Information System (CMS Form 2552. The sample is then stratified by ownership, size, system affiliation, teaching status, critical access designation, and urban or non-urban location. Those hospital characteristics and interaction terms are then regressed (OLS against the ROE and the respective DuPont components. Sensitivity to regression methodology is also investigated using a seemingly unrelated regression. Results: When the sample is stratified by hospital characteristics, the results indicate investor-owned hospitals have higher profit margins, higher efficiency, and are substantially more leveraged. Hospitals in systems are found to have higher ROE, margins, and efficiency but are associated with less leverage. In addition, a number of important and significant interactions between teaching status, ownership, location, critical access designation, and inclusion in a system are documented. Many of the significant relationships, most notably not-for-profit ownership, lose significance or are predominately associated with one interaction effect when interaction terms are introduced as explanatory variables. Results are not sensitive to the alternative methodology. Conclusion: The results of the DuPont analysis suggest that although there appears to be convergence in the behavior of

  2. A Decomposition of Hospital Profitability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broom, Kevin; Elliott, Michael; Lee, Jen-Fu

    2015-01-01

    Objectives: This paper evaluates the drivers of profitability for a large sample of U.S. hospitals. Following a methodology frequently used by financial analysts, we use a DuPont analysis as a framework to evaluate the quality of earnings. By decomposing returns on equity (ROE) into profit margin, total asset turnover, and capital structure, the DuPont analysis reveals what drives overall profitability. Methods: Profit margin, the efficiency with which services are rendered (total asset turnover), and capital structure is calculated for 3,255 U.S. hospitals between 2007 and 2012 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Healthcare Cost Report Information System (CMS Form 2552). The sample is then stratified by ownership, size, system affiliation, teaching status, critical access designation, and urban or non-urban location. Those hospital characteristics and interaction terms are then regressed (OLS) against the ROE and the respective DuPont components. Sensitivity to regression methodology is also investigated using a seemingly unrelated regression. Results: When the sample is stratified by hospital characteristics, the results indicate investor-owned hospitals have higher profit margins, higher efficiency, and are substantially more leveraged. Hospitals in systems are found to have higher ROE, margins, and efficiency but are associated with less leverage. In addition, a number of important and significant interactions between teaching status, ownership, location, critical access designation, and inclusion in a system are documented. Many of the significant relationships, most notably not-for-profit ownership, lose significance or are predominately associated with one interaction effect when interaction terms are introduced as explanatory variables. Results are not sensitive to the alternative methodology. Conclusion: The results of the DuPont analysis suggest that although there appears to be convergence in the behavior of NFP and IO

  3. A model to motivate, engage and retain non-profit employees

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    kirstam

    Key words: intrinsic rewards, intrinsic work motivation, non-profit sector, retention, ..... The process of informed consent was explained in both the e-mail and ..... from working, which causes a positive cycle of emotions whereby their desire to.

  4. Price and Profit Optimization for Financial Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catalina Bolancé

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Prospective customers of financial and insurance products can be targeted based on the profit the provider expects to earn from them. We present a model for individual expected profit and two alternatives for calculating optimal personalized prices that maximize the expected profit. For one of these alternatives, we obtain a closed-form expression for the price offered to each prospective customer; for the other, we need to use a numerical approximation. In both approaches, the profits generated by prospective customers are not immediately observed, given that the products sold by these companies have a risk component. We assume that willingness to pay is heterogeneous and apply our methodology using real data from a European insurance company. Our study indicates that a substantial boost in profits can be expected when applying the simplest optimal pricing method proposed.

  5. Resistance towards persuasion: differences between non-profit and commercial advertising

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boogaard, C.R.; Fransen, M.L.; Eisend, M.; Langner, T.

    2011-01-01

    In the present research we examined a variety of strategies that consumers may use to resist persuasion towards non-profit and commercial advertising. Based on research by Jacks and Cameron (2003), we investigated seven strategies (i.e., attitude bolstering, counter arguing, negative affect,

  6. What are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations (non-profits) to evaluate their services? A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bach-Mortensen, Anders Malthe; Montgomery, Paul

    2018-01-22

    The third sector is becoming a more common provider of social and health services, but little is known about how third sector organisations (TSOs) evaluate their activities. Past research has reported that the third sector is under increasing pressure to evaluate its impact and performance by government and other commissioning bodies. However, in responding to this increased pressure to undertake evaluation, research suggests that many TSOs struggle to evaluate their activities following the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP). Yet, there has been no systematic effort to investigate why the third sector is struggling to provide good quality evidence of its effects. This systematic review is reported following the PRISMA guidelines. Ten interdisciplinary databases were searched using a search string developed following best practice and in consultation with an information systems expert. Included studies were primary research of any research design investigating barriers to and facilitators of the evaluation process of TSOs as identified by practitioners. All studies were quality appraised, and the results were synthesised as a thematic summary. Twenty-four studies were included, which mainly investigated TSOs working within health and social services. The thematic summary identified the main barriers for TSOs to undertake evaluation to be related to the (1) lack of financial resources, (2) lack of technical capability and evaluation literacy and (3) challenges around identifying relevant evaluation systems and outcome indicators. Key facilitating factors involved (1) getting the appropriate support, (2) having an organisational culture that supports evaluation and (3) the motivation to be accountable to stakeholders. These findings were robust to study quality. This review constitutes the first systematic effort to synthesise existing literature on factors supporting and preventing evaluation by TSOs. The prevalence of factors revolving around the lack of

  7. Mitigating concerns and maximizing returns: social media strategies for injury prevention non-profits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMillan-Cottom, Tressie

    2014-08-01

    Injury prevention programs can use social media to disseminate information and recruit participants. Non-profit organizations have also used social media for fundraising and donor relationship management. Non-profit organizations (NPOs) with injury prevention missions often serve vulnerable populations. Social media platforms have varied levels of access and control of shared content. This variability can present privacy and outreach challenges that are of particular concern for injury prevention NPOs. This case report of social media workshops for injury prevention NPOs presents concerns and strategies for successfully implementing social media campaigns.

  8. Mitigating Concerns and Maximizing Returns: Social Media Strategies for Injury Prevention Non-profits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tressie McMillan-Cottom

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Injury prevention programs can use social media to disseminate information and recruit participants. Non-profit organizations have also used social media for fundraising and donor relationship management. Non-profit organizations (NPOs with injury prevention missions often serve vulnerable populations. Social media platforms have varied levels of access and control of shared content. This variability can present privacy and outreach challenges that are of particular concern for injury prevention NPOs. This case report of social media workshops for injury prevention NPOs presents concerns and strategies for successfully implementing social media campaigns.

  9. Development of non-profit organisations providing health and social services in rural South Africa: a three-year longitudinal study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mosa Moshabela

    Full Text Available In an effort to increase understanding of formation of the community and home-based care economy in South Africa, we investigated the origin and development of non-profit organisations (NPOs providing home- and community-based care for health and social services in a remote rural area of South Africa.Over a three-year period (2010-12, we identified and tracked all NPOs providing health care and social services in Bushbuckridge sub-district through the use of local government records, snowballing techniques, and attendance at NPO networking meetings--recording both existing and new NPOs. NPO founders and managers were interviewed in face-to-face in-depth interviews, and their organisational records were reviewed.Forty-seven NPOs were formed prior to the study period, and 14 during the study period--six in 2010, six in 2011 and two in 2012, while four ceased operation, representing a 22% growth in the number of NPOs during the study period. Histories of NPOs showed a steady rise in the NPO formation over a 20-year period, from one (1991-1995 to 12 (1996-2000, 16 (2001-2005 and 24 (2006-2010 new organisations formed in each period. Furthermore, the histories of formation revealed three predominant milestones--loose association, formal formation and finally registration. Just over one quarter (28% of NPOs emerged from a long-standing community based programme of 'care groups' of women. Founders of NPOs were mostly women (62%, with either a religious motivation or a nursing background, but occasionally had an entrepreneurial profile.We observed rapid growth of the NPO sector providing community based health and social services. Women dominated the rural NPO sector, which is being seen as creating occupation and employment opportunities. The implications of this growth in the NPO sector providing community based health and social services needs to be further explored and suggests the need for greater coordination and possibly regulation.

  10. Not a numbers game : How non-profit organisations measure the impact of social media

    OpenAIRE

    Nurmi, Kasper

    2017-01-01

    The thesis explores social media use of Finnish non-profit organisations using the examples of the Finnish Red Cross and the World Wildlife Foundation Finland. Although the field is widely discussed, no previous studies have looked at the measuring of social media communication in the field of Finnish non-profits. In order to assess the impact of their online communication, specifically on social media platforms, organisations have begun to implement various tools for data accumulation and an...

  11. Decision making in a non-profit engineering environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christensen, D.C.

    1997-06-01

    A conceptual management framework is developed and applied in a science and engineering organization located within a non-profit, public institution. The goal of this research is to select a set of projects whose combined contributions to the organization's strategic interests satisfy sponsor desires and can be completed within existing time and resource constraints. The development of the rationale for project selection and implementation within the plutonium facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory is studied. This includes the integration of prioritization decision tools, optimization techniques, and advanced planning and scheduling tools. The Nuclear Materials Technology Division is the custodian of the plutonium facility, whose mission is to develop, demonstrate, and deploy technologies necessary to address the nation's and world's plutonium problems. This includes management of nuclear weapon stockpile components, stabilization of plutonium residues, clean-up of contaminated soils and facilities, support to non-proliferation and arms control initiatives, and the eventual disposition of surplus plutonium. In this study, projects are evaluated against selection criteria deemed to be of critical program importance. The Analytic Hierarchy Process is used to evaluate and rank the importance of the suite of candidate projects. Because individual projects may be of interest to a number of business sectors and sponsors, the approach must be capable of using funding sources in an integrated manner in order to meet overall facility and program strategies. Finally, project planning and scheduling tools are integrated into the decision network in order to ensure that appropriate resource leveling occurs and that the actual project selection takes into account the temporal relationships among available resources

  12. The Proposal of the Changes in the Taxation of Income of the Non-profit Organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milena Otavová

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper is focused on the issue of the taxation of incomes of the non-governmental non-profit organizations, especially the civic associations in the conditions of the Czech Republic and in the selected countries of the European Union (Austria, Slovakia, Germany. The main emphasis is put on the comparison of the corporate income tax of the studied countries. Particularly the tax benefits that are provided to the non-profit organizations in the individual countries are compared here. This paper points to the current situation in the Czech Republic, where there is no clear legislation that would regulate the activities by the studied organizations. Changes in the taxation of the incomes of non-profit organizations are designed to eliminate absences with regard to the simplicity and clarity of the individual provisions, and also to prevent misuse of the benefits and to the speculative behavior of tax entities.

  13. Measuring customer profitability through time-driven activity-based costing: a case study at hotel x Jogjakarta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Billy Ardiansyah Garry

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Travelling intensity has been higher in the past few years making hospitality industry must be ready to provide the best service at optimum prices to customers who purchase and enjoy the services. Hotel as one of the accommodation service providers should be able to allocate resources accurately according to the actual needed capacity and thorough tariff policy for not losing the competition and obtain profit according to how much is projected. TDABC system is the most updated costing system which can assist the allocation of these resources. TDABC system is considered twice important to be applied in the service industry as service is intangible so costing system must show the exact and accurate number of resources used to provide the service. Through TDABC system, Customer Profitability Analysis is conducted with the aim of knowing the level of profitability every customer type possesses and classifying them as profitable or non-profitable customers. A case study had been conducted in a five-star hotel located in the Special Region of Jogjakarta resulting a profit recognized under TDABC system that traditional method used as the hotel’s costing system failed to do so and more proper data on costs and profitability of customers.

  14. Transforming the tobacco market: why the supply of cigarettes should be transferred from for-profit corporations to non-profit enterprises with a public health mandate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callard, C; Thompson, D; Collishaw, N

    2005-08-01

    Current tobacco control strategies seek primarily to decrease the demand for cigarettes through measures that encourage individuals to adopt healthier behaviours. These measures are impeded and undermined by tobacco corporations, whose profit drive compels them to seek to maintain and expand cigarette sales. Tobacco corporations seek to expand cigarette sales because they are for-profit business corporations and are obliged under law to maximise profits, even when this results in harm to others. It is not legally possible for a for-profit corporation to relinquish its responsibility to make profits or for it to temper this obligation with responsibilities to support health. Tobacco could be supplied through other non-profit enterprises. The elimination of profit driven behaviour from the supply of tobacco would enhance the ability of public health authorities to reduce tobacco use. Future tobacco control strategies can seek to transform the tobacco market from one occupied by for-profit corporations to one where tobacco is supplied by institutions that share a health mandate and will help to reduce smoking and smoking related disease and death.

  15. Evaluating ecosystem services provided by non-native species: an experimental test in California grasslands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Claudia; Hallett, Lauren M; Harpole, W Stanley; Suding, Katharine N

    2014-01-01

    The concept of ecosystem services--the benefits that nature provides to human's society--has gained increasing attention over the past decade. Increasing global abiotic and biotic change, including species invasions, is threatening the secure delivery of these ecosystem services. Efficient evaluation methods of ecosystem services are urgently needed to improve our ability to determine management strategies and restoration goals in face of these new emerging ecosystems. Considering a range of multiple ecosystem functions may be a useful way to determine such strategies. We tested this framework experimentally in California grasslands, where large shifts in species composition have occurred since the late 1700's. We compared a suite of ecosystem functions within one historic native and two non-native species assemblages under different grazing intensities to address how different species assemblages vary in provisioning, regulatory and supporting ecosystem services. Forage production was reduced in one non-native assemblage (medusahead). Cultural ecosystem services, such as native species diversity, were inherently lower in both non-native assemblages, whereas most other services were maintained across grazing intensities. All systems provided similar ecosystem services under the highest grazing intensity treatment, which simulated unsustainable grazing intensity. We suggest that applying a more comprehensive ecosystem framework that considers multiple ecosystem services to evaluate new emerging ecosystems is a valuable tool to determine management goals and how to intervene in a changing ecosystem.

  16. Long Term Recovery in Disaster Response and the Role of Non-Profits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor B Flatt

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The Legal Framework of Disaster Response does not deal as well with long term recovery. In particular, the role of non-profits is unexamined. This paper examines the role of non-profits in disaster recovery and argues for a legal framework acknowledging its important role. El marco legal de las respuestas ante desastres no tiene en cuenta la recuperación a largo plazo. En particular, no se analiza el papel de las organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro. Este artículo estudia el papel de las organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro en la recuperación de desastres, y se muestra a favor de establecer un marco legal que reconozca la importancia de su papel.

  17. The role of non-financial performance measures in predicting hospital financial performance: the case of for-profit system hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vélez-González, Heltie; Pradhan, Rohit; Weech-Maldonado, Robert

    2011-01-01

    Non-financial measures have found increasing acceptance in the business world--however, their application in the health care industry remains limited. The purpose of this article is to understand the influence of non-financial measures (efficiency, productivity, and quality) on the financial performance of for-profit system hospitals. The sample consists of 499 for-profit system hospitals in the United States from 1999 to 2002. Data analyzed include the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey, Medicare Cost Reports, Joint Commission's quality scores, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Hospital Case Mix Index. Dependent variables consist of financial measures (operating and total margins), while independent variables include measures of efficiency, productivity, and quality. Our results suggest the influence of non-financial performance measures on financial performance; occupancy rate positively influences financial performance while greater labor intensity may have negative implications for financial performance. In addition, we show that quality positively influences financial performance thereby offering a potential business case for quality. This result has important managerial and policy implications as it may incentivize capital and human resource investments required to improve hospital quality of care.

  18. Resource categories and performance in Portuguese non-profit sports clubs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Arraya

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The resource-based view (RBV explores the role of key resources identified as tangible, personnel-based, and intangible resources in creating superior organizational performance. The RBV posits that an organization’s success is mainly driven by resources that possess Barney’s VRIO (valuable, rare, inimitable, and organized framework. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the relationship between the three categories of resources and organizational performance. The data was analyzed with a two-stage structural equation modelling approach. The sample included Portuguese sports management staff from non-profit clubs which composed of 375 men and 102 women. The results of the structural model demonstrated that, intangible resources can significantly influence organizational performance while, personnel-based resources influence tangible and intangible resources. The results show that “staff competence”, “reputation”, and “financial capital” were the most essential resources, and that is core for non-profit clubs and their strategy to recognize, develop, and leverage VRIO resources. These findings also have considerable implications for sport managers, and suggestions for possible future research were given.

  19. THE INFLUENCE OF EMPLOYEE JOB SATISFACTION AND SERVICE QUALITY ON PROFITABILITY IN PT. BANK JATIM: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AS THE INTERVENING VARIABLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Finanda Y.D.

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This research aimed to examine the influence of employee job satisfaction and service quality on profitability in PT. Bank Jatim, in which customer satisfaction was the intervening variable. According to literature review, the hypothesis of the research stated that employee job satisfaction and service quality influenced the profitability of the Bank and customer satisfaction as intervening variable proved to affect the relationship between independent variable and dependent variable. The data of the research were collected by using questionnaire from respondents that consisted of 92 permanent employees of PT. Bank Jatim in Gresik City. The technique of hypothesis testing was performed by using Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA and Path Analysis using SPSS 24 statistical application. The findings of the research indicated that employee job satisfaction and service quality have positive effect to profitability and customer satisfaction was shown as intervening variable. Specifically, this research found that employee satisfaction and service quality will improve the profitability of the company.

  20. Non-profits discover the benefits of using software through the Internet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-04-01

    Many non-profits are looking at ways that they can leverage the Internet to assist in fund raising. Some organizations are using the Internet as a form of e-commerce to accept online gifts, while others are using the immediacy of the Internet for online auctions.

  1. Influential variables in the profitability of hospital companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judit Creixans

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This study attempts to evidence the economic and financial health of Spanish hospital companies in the period 2008-2015 and discover the variables that explain their profitability for survival and the opportune performance of their assets during a period of technological revolution and austerity. Design/methodology: The study methodology consists of the short and long-term financial analysis of the companies in the study sample during the period 2008-2015, together with analysis is of their economic state, equity and treasury. To add value to the research, the profitability of the hospital companies has been explained in terms of the following independent variables: short-term solvency, debt, business size, legal form, GDP per capita, population density of and indicators of Corporate Social Responsibility. Findings: In the analyzed period, the economic and financial health of hospital companies is characterized by acceptable liquidity and indebtedness that significantly influence its profitability; this is accompanied by good financial and expenditure management, though it is necessary to improve the management of assets. Research limitations/implications: It was not possible to obtain data for 2016, as it was not available in the database used (SABI. These data would have been useful to evaluate the changes in trends that are taking place in the health sector due to the technological revolution and economic policies affecting it. Practical implications: The health sector is one of the pillars on which society is based, and therefore knowing detailed economic and financial information allows us to make appropriate decisions, both on the hospital level and in terms of the economic policies of governments. Social implications: This study provides evidence of the financially relevant indicators that healthcare companies must control for their survival and to provide proper service to society in general. The research also identifies non

  2. Why public health services? Experiences from profit-driven health care reforms in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahlgren, Göran

    2014-01-01

    Market-oriented health care reforms have been implemented in the tax-financed Swedish health care system from 1990 to 2013. The first phase of these reforms was the introduction of new public management systems, where public health centers and public hospitals were to act as private firms in an internal health care market. A second phase saw an increase of tax-financed private for-profit providers. A third phase can now be envisaged with increased private financing of essential health services. The main evidence-based effects of these markets and profit-driven reforms can be summarized as follows: efficiency is typically reduced but rarely increased; profit and tax evasion are a drain on resources for health care; geographical and social inequities are widened while the number of tax-financed providers increases; patients with major multi-health problems are often given lower priority than patients with minor health problems; opportunities to control the quality of care are reduced; tax-financed private for-profit providers facilitate increased private financing; and market forces and commercial interests undermine the power of democratic institutions. Policy options to promote further development of a nonprofit health care system are highlighted.

  3. Mapping the Profit Motive: The Distinct Geography and Demography of For-Profit Charter Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, W. Brett

    2015-01-01

    For-profit charter schools represent a controversial new market-based education reform (Garcia, Barber, & Molnar, 2009; Conn, 2002). This essay explores how schools operated by for-profit corporations differ from those operated by non-profit organizations. Specifically, do for-profit charter schools locate in demographically distinct areas and…

  4. Win-Win-Win: Reflections from a Work-Integrated Learning Project in a Non-Profit Organization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dale C MacKrell

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on the educational aspects of an information systems work-integrated learning (WIL capstone project for an organization which operates to alleviate homelessness in the Australian non-profit sector. The methodology adopted for the study is Action Design Research (ADR which draws on action research and design research as a means for framing a project's progress. Reflective insights by the project stakeholders, namely, students, academics, and the non-profit client, reveal a curriculum at work through internal features of the organization; personal features of the participants and features of the external environment. Preliminary findings suggest that students in a WIL project for a non-profit are highly engaged, especially when they become aware of the project’s social value. As well, the improvement of professional skills and emotional intelligence by students is more likely in real-life practice settings than in other less authentic WIL activities, equipping graduates for the workforce with both strong disciplinary and generic skills. Win-win-win synergies through project collaboration represent worthwhile outcomes to education, industry and research.

  5. Bioeconomic evaluation of sow longevity and profitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez-Zas, S L; Southey, B R; Knox, R V; Connor, J F; Lowe, J F; Roskamp, B J

    2003-12-01

    Sow production indicators, including litter size, litter weight, and the length of time that sows remained in the herd (sow longevity), were used to characterize sow performance and profitability. Sow longevity and production records from 148,568 sows in 32 commercial herds from Central Illinois from January 1995 to May 2001 were analyzed using survival and repeatability models, respectively. The factors studied included sow genetics (32 genetic lines), with eight major lines present in multiple herds, and the combination of herd and year of entry in the herd. The largest difference in longevity between the major genetic lines was approximately one parity. There were differences (P present value per sow (present value of future cash flows and the present value of the sow) was used to evaluate the effect of sow longevity and production traits on economic returns. Assuming a zero discount rate per parity, genetic lines with longer herd life resulted in greater profit than genetic lines with shorter herd life. This difference was reduced with increasing discount rates and was reversed with high discount rates and low net income per litter. These results suggest that the magnitude of the economic improvement attained through the use of sow genetic lines with longer longevity depends on the economic context under which the evaluation is made.

  6. Anti-profit beliefs: How people neglect the societal benefits of profit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharjee, Amit; Dana, Jason; Baron, Jonathan

    2017-11-01

    Profit-seeking firms are stereotypically depicted as immoral and harmful to society. At the same time, profit-driven enterprise has contributed immensely to human prosperity. Though scholars agree that profit can incentivize societally beneficial behaviors, people may neglect this possibility. In 7 studies, we show that people see business profit as necessarily in conflict with social good, a view we call anti-profit beliefs . Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that U.S. participants hold anti-profit views of real U.S. firms and industries. Study 3 shows that hypothetical organizations are seen as doing more harm when they are labeled "for-profit" rather than "non-profit," while Study 4 shows that increasing harm to society is viewed as a strategy for increasing a hypothetical firm's long-run profitability. Studies 5-7 demonstrate that carefully prompting subjects to consider the long run incentives of profit can attenuate anti-profit beliefs, while prompting short run thinking does nothing relative to a control. Together, these results suggest that the default view of profits is zero-sum. While people readily grasp how profit can incentivize firms to engage in practices that harm others, they neglect how it can incentivize firms to engage in practices that benefit others. Accordingly, people's stereotypes of profit-seeking firms are excessively negative. Even in one of the most market-oriented societies in history, people doubt the contributions of profit-seeking industry to societal progress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. Facebook Satisfaction and Its Impacts on Fundraising: A Case Study at a Portuguese Non-Profit Organization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raul M. S. Laureano

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Non-profit organizations have invested in the development of content for their Facebook pages, believing be an efficient and effective means to publicize its mission and raising resources, whether monetary or human. The purpose of this study is to assess the satisfaction of the participants with the Facebook page, and how that satisfaction influences the dissemination of the organization through the word-of-mouth and the donations practices. In this context, a questionnaire was administered to 204 participants that were aware of the Portuguese non-profit organization “Leigos para o Desenvolvimento” (People for Development. The results show that the participants are satisfied with Facebook page of the organization, and that there is influence of satisfaction on the word-of-mouth and on the frequency and amount of donations. However, satisfaction with the Facebook, itself, does not appear crucial to the realization of donations, either in the present or in future as intended. The study focuses only on one organization and includes a sample that may not represent all the population extracts and so inhibit the generalization of the findings to other populations. The paper includes implications for the development of an effective use of the Facebook as a digital marketing tool that can contribute to the sustainability of non-profit organizations. The study confirms the importance of the Facebook as a digital marketing tool that can contribute to the sustainability of non-profit organizations.

  8. Financial controlling in non-profit organizations. The case of Slovak Republic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Vaceková

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of financial controlling is to secure liquidity and financial stability of an organization. It is very important especially for NPOs. They are not founded primarily for the purpose of making profit, so their financial policy gives priority to continuously provide liquidity. The paper presents partial results of a pilot primary research of utilization of financial controlling tools in governmental and nongovernmental non-profit organizations in the conditions of Slovak Republic. Primary data were obtained by the sociological method of a structured questionnaire. The analysis was carried out by adequate mathematical and statistical methods for processing qualitative data and ordinal variables. The presented paper provides a new insight into the studied problem while generating a primary information basis for further scientific study and research work in this field.

  9. Evaluation of logistic service level of an automotive parts distribution firm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fábio Germano Cardoso

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The stock management theories have a mathematical and statistical trend, usually failing in exposing the business side of decisions regarding inventory costs and the related service levels. The article tests the theory of defining the service level by building the profit mathematical model, using for such some available historical data. With this theory it is possible to find the optimal service level by deriving the profit curve and equaling the marginal profit to zero. The research is characterized as a case research of an auto parts distribution company. The calculated optimal service level was compared to the data available from the company. The results of such analysis revealed the fact that only the theory of calculating the optimal service level through the profit curve derivation is not sufficient to explain how the company defines which service level is going to be used.

  10. THE THEORY OF NON-PROFIT ALTERNATIVE ECONOMY AS THE BASIS FOR A NEW ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Myamlin

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available The conflicts of existing financial-and-economic model of management are revealed. The groundlessness of profit-financial economic model based only on a profit approach is shown. The alienation of this model from general laws of the Nature is demonstrated. As an argument of absence of additional product the scheme of rotation of substances in the Nature is given. It is suggested to build the laws of economics starting not from idea considerations of those or other social groups but from general laws of the Nature. A new basic economic ideology – the theory of non-profitable economy – is proposed.

  11. Cause Related Marketing: Consumers Perceptions and Benefits for Profit and Non-Profits Organisations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisca Farache

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available This study is an attempt to understand consumers’ perceptions regarding Cause Related Marketing [CRM]. The research findings were based on a survey of 200 consumers in the Brighton area and published data. The research aim was focused on the consumers’ perception of the alliance between corporations and non-profit organisations. The research found that consumers have a better perception of firms that work with charities and good causes than those that do not. They believe that the partnership between corporations and charities has an impact on the good of society. However, they are aware that corporations themselves benefit from this partnership. Concerning good causes, consumers prefer to support those related to Children. The researchers noticed that an individual connection with a cause might have considerable influence on consumer attitudes and behaviour in relation to a specific cause.

  12. EVALUATION OF CUSTOMERS’ PROFITABILITY IN THE ACCOUNTING PRACTICE OF TUZLA CANTON COMPANIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selma Novalija Islambegović

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to clarify and systematize the methods of evaluating customers’ profitability on a scientifically based methodology. It also aims at investigating the relationship between business results achieved by individual sectors in the companies from the Tuzla Canton (TC and the applied method of profitability management, in the function of generating such results. The analysis was conducted on the appropriateness of the current approach to profitability management according to information resources which served as the basis of the approach. Certain limitations were identified, which in practice lead to an inaccurate evaluation of customers’ profitability. The transitional economy, characterized by macroeconomic instability and a low competitiveness factor in general, along with other numerous external limitations, requires that companies effectively rearrange their value chain, in the function of finding internal resources, in order to achieve long-term profitability of the customer portfolio management. The origin of modern trends in creation and maintenance of comparative advantages of the company lies in adoption of the “Customer Relationship Management” (CRM business philosophy. The research results indicate insufficient knowledge of the management about the key “drivers” of success in achieving comparative advantages and point to inadequate organization of the accounting function which is not able to support a modern approach to business performance management.

  13. Person-Organization Commitment: Bonds of Internal Consumer in the Context of Non-profit Organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juaneda-Ayensa, Emma; Clavel San Emeterio, Mónica; González-Menorca, Carlos

    2017-01-01

    From an Organizational Behavior perspective, it is important to recognize the links generated between individuals and the organization that encourage a desire for permanence. After more than a half century of research, Organizational Commitment remains one of the open questions in the Psychology of Organizations. It is considered an essential factor for explaining individual behavior in the organization such as satisfaction, turnover intention, or loyalty. In this paper, we analyze different contributions regarding the nature of the bond between the individual and the organization. Taking into account the peculiarities of Non-profit Organizations, we present different interpretation for later validation, comparing results from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the four models obtained using exploratory factor analysis, both conducted on a sample of 235 members of Non-profit Organizations.

  14. The Impact of Profitability of Hospital Admissions on Mortality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindrooth, Richard C; Konetzka, R Tamara; Navathe, Amol S; Zhu, Jingsan; Chen, Wei; Volpp, Kevin

    2013-01-01

    Background Fiscal constraints faced by Medicare are leading to policies designed to reduce expenditures. Evidence of the effect of reduced reimbursement on the mortality of Medicare patients discharged from all major hospital service lines is limited. Methods We modeled risk-adjusted 30-day mortality of patients discharged from 21 hospital service lines as a function of service line profitability, service line time trends, and hospital service line and year-fixed effects. We simulated the effect of alternative revenue-neutral reimbursement policies on mortality. Our sample included all Medicare discharges from PPS-eligible hospitals (1997, 2001, and 2005). Results The results reveal a statistically significant inverse relationship between changes in profitability and mortality. A $0.19 average reduction in profit per $1.00 of costs led to a 0.010–0.020 percentage-point increase in mortality rates (p payment generosity than in service lines that remain profitable. Policy simulations that target service line inequities in payment generosity result in lower mortality rates, roughly 700–13,000 fewer deaths nationally. Conclusions The policy simulations raise questions about the trade-offs implicit in universal reductions in reimbursement. The effect of reduced payment generosity on mortality could be mitigated by targeting highly profitable services only for lower reimbursement. PMID:23346946

  15. Evaluating Banking Profit Performance in Ghana during and post Profit Decline: A five Step Du-Pont Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baah Aye Kusi

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available In this study we aimed at three objectives. First, identify and rank banks based on a composite score comprising of all five du-pont variables. Second, we identify variables in the five step du-pont set up that are most likely to influence bank ROE during and post profit declining periods. And third, we estimate a model to capture the variables that drive bank ROE during and post profit declining periods. We first establish from our rankings that, foreign banks in Ghana performed better during profit declining periods while the local banks performed better in post profit decline periods using the top ten banks as a benchmark in both periods. Employing Pearson correlation coefficients matrix, we recognized that operating profit margin, asset turnover and leverage were most likely to influence bank ROE in both time periods. We further employ OLS regression and find that bank ROE was impacted by operating profit margin and leverage during profit declining periods and post profit decline while tax effect added up in post profit declining periods.

  16. Taxation of Non-profit Organizations in the Selected European Countries: the Proposal of the Changes for the Czech Republic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milena Otavová

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper is focused on the issue of taxation of income of non-profit organizations, especially to associations (clubs in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. This paper is part of research, where the main emphasis is placed on the comparison of the tax benefits which are provided to non-profit organizations in different countries. This paper points to the current situation in the Czech Republic where despite the changes that have occurred in connection with the new Civil Code, there is still missing clear legislation that would regulate the activities of the monitored organizations. Changes in the taxation of income of non-profit organizations are designed with regard to the elimination of deficiencies in order to prevent the abuse of the benefits and the speculative behavior of tax entities.

  17. THE INFLUENCE OF THE CONNECTIONS OF ROMANIAN NON-LISTED FIRMS TO TAX HAVENS ON THEIR PROFITABILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihai-Bogdan AFRASINEI

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The offshore entities have become one of the most efficient solutions for tax avoidance and are used by taxpayers almost all around the world. This paper investigates the influence of the connections (via subsidiaries or shareholders of Romanian non-listed firms to tax havens on their profitability and effective tax rate. In this regard, we used a sample of 7,167 Romanian firms (3,370 with connections to tax havens and 3,797 without tax havens connections. For statistical analysis, we used the simple and multiple linear regression methods with dummy variables. Results have shown that the presence of Romanian non-listed firms in tax havens significantly influences their profitability and effective tax rate. The firms with connections to tax havens have a return on equity ratio higher, a return on assets ratio lower, a gross profit margin ratio lower, a total assets turnover ratio higher and an effective tax rate lower than companies without connections to such jurisdictions.

  18. Legal environment of non-profit organizations in Iceland Réttarumhverfi félagasamtaka á Íslandi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hrafn Bragason

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Despite a high number of non-profit organizations and their important social function a comprehensive legislation on their activities does not exist in Iceland, as is the case for most other operating entities. In the article existing rules on non-profit activities in Iceland are analyzed. In addition, the entity, non-profit organizations, is defined, and rules on their establishment, member participation, organization, accountability and obligations are described. The analysis will also focus on current regulation on fundraising, business activities, taxation and income from the government. A comparison of non-profit organizations and foundations is performed.Þrátt fyrir fjölda félagasamtaka og þýðingarmikið samfélagslegt hlutverk þeirra eru ekki í gildi heildarlög á Íslandi um starfsemi þeirra eins og um flest önnur félagaform. Í greininni er fjallað um þær reglur sem þó gilda um starfsemi félagasamtaka eða almennra félaga eins og þau eru nefnd í félagarétti. Auk skilgreiningar á félagaforminu er þeim reglum lýst sem gilda um stofnun þeirra, félagsaðild, skipulag, ábyrgð og skuldbindingar. Einnig er rætt um þá reglu um gjörð sem gildir um tekjuöflun félagasamtaka, atvinnustarfsemi, skattlagningu og fjárveitingar frá hinu opinbera. Gerður er samanburður á félagasamtökum og sjálfseignarstofnunum sem starfa á sambærilegum vettvangi.

  19. The impact of profitability of hospital admissions on mortality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindrooth, Richard C; Konetzka, R Tamara; Navathe, Amol S; Zhu, Jingsan; Chen, Wei; Volpp, Kevin

    2013-04-01

    Fiscal constraints faced by Medicare are leading to policies designed to reduce expenditures. Evidence of the effect of reduced reimbursement on the mortality of Medicare patients discharged from all major hospital service lines is limited. We modeled risk-adjusted 30-day mortality of patients discharged from 21 hospital service lines as a function of service line profitability, service line time trends, and hospital service line and year-fixed effects. We simulated the effect of alternative revenue-neutral reimbursement policies on mortality. Our sample included all Medicare discharges from PPS-eligible hospitals (1997, 2001, and 2005). The results reveal a statistically significant inverse relationship between changes in profitability and mortality. A $0.19 average reduction in profit per $1.00 of costs led to a 0.010-0.020 percentage-point increase in mortality rates (p profitable. Policy simulations that target service line inequities in payment generosity result in lower mortality rates, roughly 700-13,000 fewer deaths nationally. The policy simulations raise questions about the trade-offs implicit in universal reductions in reimbursement. The effect of reduced payment generosity on mortality could be mitigated by targeting highly profitable services only for lower reimbursement. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  20. Measures to assess the performance of an Australian non-government charitable non-acute health service: A Delphi Survey of Organisational Stakeholders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colbran, Richard; Ramsden, Robyn; Stagnitti, Karen; Adams, Samantha

    2018-02-01

    Organisation performance measurement is relevant for non-profit charitable organisations as they strive for security in an increasingly competitive funding environment. This study aimed to identify the priority measures and indicators of organisational performance of an Australian non-government charitable organisation that delivers non-acute health services. Seventy-seven and 59 participants across nine stakeholder groups responded to a two-staged Delphi technique study of a case study organisation. The stage one questionnaire was developed using information garnered through a detailed review of literature. Data from the first round were aggregated and analysed for the stage two survey. The final data represented a group consensus. Quality of care was ranked the most important of six organisational performance measures. Service user satisfaction was ranked second followed by financial performance, internal processes, employee learning and growth and community engagement. Thirteen priority indicators were determined across the six measures. Consensus was reached on the priority organisational performance measures and indicators. Stakeholders of the case study organisation value evidence-based practice, technical strength of services and service user satisfaction over more commercially orientated indicators.

  1. Profitability primer: a guide to profitability analysis in the electric power industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woo, C.K.; Lloyd-Zannetti, D.; Martin, J.; Price, S.

    1996-06-01

    As the electric power industry is opened to forces of competition, increased attention must be focused to develop products and services that deliver good value to customers and to identify customer segments that are profitable to serve. This primer introduces the concept of profitability analysis and its application to the electric power industry. The primer recognizes that some segments of the business will remain monopolistic and subject to regulations, while other segments will become competitive. The primer also recognizes that customer profitability is critically dependent on a host of related issues such as how internal costs are allocated to various functions and how revenues are collected and allocated

  2. The engagement and retention of non-profit employees in Belgium and South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle Renard

    2016-11-01

    Contribution: This study provides insights into the means by which non-profit employees across two nations demonstrate their enthusiasm, pride and involvement in the work that they perform. It moreover sheds light on the factors contributing to such employees intending to leave or stay within the employment of their organisations.

  3. Sequential Relationship between Profitability and Sustainability: The Case of Migratory Beekeeping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciano Pilati

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available When beekeeping is managed on a migratory basis, the bee colony produces physical outputs (honey and pollination services on a sequence of forage sites. Forage sites are competitors if their flowering periods overlap, and are complementary otherwise. Viable sequences consist only of complementary forage sites. A part of the bee colony’s production time is spent on each forage site in the period when the crop or wild vegetation covering it is in flower. The total period covered by the sequence of sites, including the base site, must be equal to or less than the duration (365 days of the bee colony’s annual biological cycle. The migratory beekeeper draws up viable sequences of forage sites and calculates their profitability levels. Variations in the profitability of forage sites which alter the composition of the sequence, affecting provision of the non-marketed ecosystem pollination services, impact the biodiversity of the pollinated plants with trickle-down effects on sustainability. In the case of migratory beekeeping, there is, therefore, a sequential relationship between profitability and sustainability.

  4. Evaluation Framework for Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Services for Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-12-01

    The objective of this project is to design a framework that could be used to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of non-emergency transportation services (NEMT) for better livability. In addition to the development of the framework, this projec...

  5. Multiobjective Optimization Model for Pricing and Seat Allocation Problem in Non Profit Performing Arts Organization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baldin, Andrea; Bille, Trine; Ellero, Andrea

    The implementation of Revenue Management (RM) techniques in non profit performing arts organizations presents new challenges compared to other sectors, such as transportion or hospitality industries, in which these techniques are more consolidated. Indeed, performing arts organizations are charac......The implementation of Revenue Management (RM) techniques in non profit performing arts organizations presents new challenges compared to other sectors, such as transportion or hospitality industries, in which these techniques are more consolidated. Indeed, performing arts organizations...... are characterized by a multi-objective function that is not solely limited to revenue. On the one hand, theatres aim to increase revenue from box office as a consequence of the systematic reduction of public funds; on the other hand they pursue the objective to increase its attendance. A common practice by theatres...

  6. A Decomposition of Hospital Profitability: An Application of DuPont Analysis to the US Market.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Jason; Broom, Kevin; Elliott, Michael; Lee, Jen-Fu

    2015-01-01

    This paper evaluates the drivers of profitability for a large sample of U.S. hospitals. Following a methodology frequently used by financial analysts, we use a DuPont analysis as a framework to evaluate the quality of earnings. By decomposing returns on equity (ROE) into profit margin, total asset turnover, and capital structure, the DuPont analysis reveals what drives overall profitability. Profit margin, the efficiency with which services are rendered (total asset turnover), and capital structure is calculated for 3,255 U.S. hospitals between 2007 and 2012 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Healthcare Cost Report Information System (CMS Form 2552). The sample is then stratified by ownership, size, system affiliation, teaching status, critical access designation, and urban or non-urban location. Those hospital characteristics and interaction terms are then regressed (OLS) against the ROE and the respective DuPont components. Sensitivity to regression methodology is also investigated using a seemingly unrelated regression. When the sample is stratified by hospital characteristics, the results indicate investor-owned hospitals have higher profit margins, higher efficiency, and are substantially more leveraged. Hospitals in systems are found to have higher ROE, margins, and efficiency but are associated with less leverage. In addition, a number of important and significant interactions between teaching status, ownership, location, critical access designation, and inclusion in a system are documented. Many of the significant relationships, most notably not-for-profit ownership, lose significance or are predominately associated with one interaction effect when interaction terms are introduced as explanatory variables. Results are not sensitive to the alternative methodology. The results of the DuPont analysis suggest that although there appears to be convergence in the behavior of NFP and IO hospitals, significant financial differences remain

  7. Determinants of Sustainability and Organisational Effectiveness in Non-Profit Organisations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chux Gervase Iwu

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This case study investigates the criteria for organizational effectiveness in non-profit organizations (NPOs with the aim to determine how the elements of sustainability fit within the criteria. To achieve this, the study utilized the research questions: “what criteria do NPOs use to evaluate their effectiveness?” and “how is sustainability embedded in NPO effectiveness?” The research design was interpretivist, adopting focus group interviews to obtain data. Specifically, two focus group interviews were held with the top management of an NPO which revealed that both financial and non-financial criteria were equally essential for NPO effectiveness. This finding is consistent with the literature, although it contradicts the initial assumption of the study that NPO effectiveness was based more on non-financial criteria than financial criteria. The study also found that the effectiveness of an NPO should be viewed in two ways: firstly, “the full achievement of its mandate” and, secondly, “the ability to run business projects to cover cost.” It also emerged that both the ability to cover costs and the achievement of a mandate should be done in a sustainable manner (a sustainable manner is seen as one that is harmonious with the natural and the socio-political environment. The results of this paper present a practical case for the management of NPOs by reiterating that the full achievement of the NPO mandate and the successful running of social projects to generate funds for sustainability are key elements of effectiveness. Given the essential role that NPOs play in developing countries, this study has provided the foundation for more widespread enquiry into the sustainability and effectiveness of NPOs.

  8. The Application of the Sfas No.45 on Financial Reporting in the Non-profit Organization Nurul Huda Mosque Kawangkoan

    OpenAIRE

    Walandouw, Stanley Kho; Mangkona, Sri Wardana Saleh

    2015-01-01

    Organization are founded by the public due to the similarity of interests, both in the realization of human nature as well as to meet their needs. Based on the objectives, the organization can be divided into non-profit organizations and commercial organizations. There is a fundamental difference between nonprofit organizations and commercial organizations, the IAI makes SFAS No.45 which regulates the financial statements of non-profit organizations. The purpose of this study is to see whethe...

  9. Evolution of public and non-profit funding for mental health research in France between 2007 and 2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gandré, Coralie; Prigent, Amélie; Kemel, Marie-Louise; Leboyer, Marion; Chevreul, Karine

    2015-12-01

    Since 2007, actions have been undertaken in France to foster mental health research. Our objective was to assess their utility by estimating the evolution of public and non-profit funding for mental health research between 2007 and 2011, both in terms of total funding and the share of health research budgets. Public and non-profit funding was considered. Core funding from public research institutions was determined through a top-down approach by multiplying their total budget by the ratio of the number of psychiatry-related publications to the total number of publications focusing on health issues. A bottom-up method was used to estimate the amount of project-based grants and funding by non-profit organizations, which were directly contacted to obtain this information. Public and non-profit funding for mental health research increased by a factor of 3.4 between 2007 and 2011 reaching €84.8 million, while the share of health research funding allocated to mental health research nearly doubled from 2.2% to 4.1%. Public sources were the main contributors representing 94% of the total funding. Our results have important implications for policy makers, as they suggest that actions specifically aimed at prioritizing mental health research are effective in increasing research funding. There is therefore an urgent need to further undertake such actions as funding in France remains particularly low compared to the United Kingdom and the United States, despite the fact that the epidemiological and economic burden represented by mental disorders is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

  10. University partnerships with the corporate sector faculty experiences with for-profit matriculation pathway programs

    CERN Document Server

    Winkle, Carter

    2013-01-01

    Carter Winkle provides emperically derived insight into both positive and negative implications of the contemporary phenomena of partnerships between universities and private, for-profit educational service providers resulting in matriculation pathway programs for non-native English speaking students in the United States.

  11. Regenerative agriculture: merging farming and natural resource conservation profitably.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaCanne, Claire E; Lundgren, Jonathan G

    2018-01-01

    Most cropland in the United States is characterized by large monocultures, whose productivity is maintained through a strong reliance on costly tillage, external fertilizers, and pesticides (Schipanski et al., 2016). Despite this, farmers have developed a regenerative model of farm production that promotes soil health and biodiversity, while producing nutrient-dense farm products profitably. Little work has focused on the relative costs and benefits of novel regenerative farming operations, which necessitates studying in situ , farmer-defined best management practices. Here, we evaluate the relative effects of regenerative and conventional corn production systems on pest management services, soil conservation, and farmer profitability and productivity throughout the Northern Plains of the United States. Regenerative farming systems provided greater ecosystem services and profitability for farmers than an input-intensive model of corn production. Pests were 10-fold more abundant in insecticide-treated corn fields than on insecticide-free regenerative farms, indicating that farmers who proactively design pest-resilient food systems outperform farmers that react to pests chemically. Regenerative fields had 29% lower grain production but 78% higher profits over traditional corn production systems. Profit was positively correlated with the particulate organic matter of the soil, not yield. These results provide the basis for dialogue on ecologically based farming systems that could be used to simultaneously produce food while conserving our natural resource base: two factors that are pitted against one another in simplified food production systems. To attain this requires a systems-level shift on the farm; simply applying individual regenerative practices within the current production model will not likely produce the documented results.

  12. Challenges and best practices for big data-driven healthcare innovations conducted by profit–non-profit partnerships – a quantitative prioritization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Witjas-Paalberends, E. R.; van Laarhoven, L. P.M.; van de Burgwal, L. H.M.; Feilzer, J.; de Swart, J.; Claassen, H.J.H.M.; Jansen, W. T.M.

    2017-01-01

    Big data-driven innovations are key in improving healthcare system sustainability. Given the complexity, these are frequently conducted by public-private-partnerships (PPPs) between profit and non-profit parties. However, information on how to manage big data-driven healthcare innovations by PPPs is

  13. A Guide to Community Shared Solar: Utility, Private, and Non-Profit Project Development (Book)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coughlin, J.; Grove, J.; Irvine, L.; Jacobs, J. F.; Johnson Phillips, S.; Sawyer, A.; Wiedman, J.

    2012-05-01

    This guide is organized around three sponsorship models: utility-sponsored projects, projects sponsored by special purpose entities - businesses formed for the purpose of producing community solar power, and non-profit sponsored projects. The guide addresses issues common to all project models, as well as issues unique to each model.

  14. Can working with the private for-profit sector improve utilization of quality health services by the poor? A systematic review of the literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanson Kara G

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There has been a growing interest in the role of the private for-profit sector in health service provision in low- and middle-income countries. The private sector represents an important source of care for all socioeconomic groups, including the poorest and substantial concerns have been raised about the quality of care it provides. Interventions have been developed to address these technical failures and simultaneously take advantage of the potential for involving private providers to achieve public health goals. Limited information is available on the extent to which these interventions have successfully expanded access to quality health services for poor and disadvantaged populations. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by presenting the results of a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of working with private for-profit providers to reach the poor. Methods The search topic of the systematic literature review was the effectiveness of interventions working with the private for-profit sector to improve utilization of quality health services by the poor. Interventions included social marketing, use of vouchers, pre-packaging of drugs, franchising, training, regulation, accreditation and contracting-out. The search for published literature used a series of electronic databases including PubMed, Popline, HMIC and CabHealth Global Health. The search for grey and unpublished literature used documents available on the World Wide Web. We focused on studies which evaluated the impact of interventions on utilization and/or quality of services and which provided information on the socioeconomic status of the beneficiary populations. Results A total of 2483 references were retrieved, of which 52 qualified as impact evaluations. Data were available on the average socioeconomic status of recipient communities for 5 interventions, and on the distribution of benefits across socioeconomic groups for 5 interventions

  15. Can working with the private for-profit sector improve utilization of quality health services by the poor? A systematic review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patouillard, Edith; Goodman, Catherine A; Hanson, Kara G; Mills, Anne J

    2007-11-07

    There has been a growing interest in the role of the private for-profit sector in health service provision in low- and middle-income countries. The private sector represents an important source of care for all socioeconomic groups, including the poorest and substantial concerns have been raised about the quality of care it provides. Interventions have been developed to address these technical failures and simultaneously take advantage of the potential for involving private providers to achieve public health goals. Limited information is available on the extent to which these interventions have successfully expanded access to quality health services for poor and disadvantaged populations. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by presenting the results of a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of working with private for-profit providers to reach the poor. The search topic of the systematic literature review was the effectiveness of interventions working with the private for-profit sector to improve utilization of quality health services by the poor. Interventions included social marketing, use of vouchers, pre-packaging of drugs, franchising, training, regulation, accreditation and contracting-out. The search for published literature used a series of electronic databases including PubMed, Popline, HMIC and CabHealth Global Health. The search for grey and unpublished literature used documents available on the World Wide Web. We focused on studies which evaluated the impact of interventions on utilization and/or quality of services and which provided information on the socioeconomic status of the beneficiary populations. A total of 2483 references were retrieved, of which 52 qualified as impact evaluations. Data were available on the average socioeconomic status of recipient communities for 5 interventions, and on the distribution of benefits across socioeconomic groups for 5 interventions. Few studies provided evidence on the impact of private sector

  16. Can working with the private for-profit sector improve utilization of quality health services by the poor? A systematic review of the literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patouillard, Edith; Goodman, Catherine A; Hanson, Kara G; Mills, Anne J

    2007-01-01

    Background There has been a growing interest in the role of the private for-profit sector in health service provision in low- and middle-income countries. The private sector represents an important source of care for all socioeconomic groups, including the poorest and substantial concerns have been raised about the quality of care it provides. Interventions have been developed to address these technical failures and simultaneously take advantage of the potential for involving private providers to achieve public health goals. Limited information is available on the extent to which these interventions have successfully expanded access to quality health services for poor and disadvantaged populations. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by presenting the results of a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of working with private for-profit providers to reach the poor. Methods The search topic of the systematic literature review was the effectiveness of interventions working with the private for-profit sector to improve utilization of quality health services by the poor. Interventions included social marketing, use of vouchers, pre-packaging of drugs, franchising, training, regulation, accreditation and contracting-out. The search for published literature used a series of electronic databases including PubMed, Popline, HMIC and CabHealth Global Health. The search for grey and unpublished literature used documents available on the World Wide Web. We focused on studies which evaluated the impact of interventions on utilization and/or quality of services and which provided information on the socioeconomic status of the beneficiary populations. Results A total of 2483 references were retrieved, of which 52 qualified as impact evaluations. Data were available on the average socioeconomic status of recipient communities for 5 interventions, and on the distribution of benefits across socioeconomic groups for 5 interventions. Conclusion Few studies provided

  17. Academic and Non-Profit Accessibility to Commercial Remote Sensing Software

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, A. S.; Farr, B.

    2013-12-01

    Remote Sensing as a topic of teaching and research at the university and college level continues to increase. As more data is made freely available and software becomes easier to use, more and more academic and non-profits institutions are turning to remote sensing to solve their tough and large spatial scale problems. Exelis Visual Information Solutions (VIS) has been supporting teaching and research endeavors for over 30 years with a special emphasis over the last 5 years with scientifically proven software and accessible training materials. The Exelis VIS academic program extends to US and Canadian 2 year and 4 year colleges and universities with tools for analyzing aerial and satellite multispectral and hyperspectral imagery, airborne LiDAR and Synthetic Aperture Radar. The Exelis VIS academic programs, using the ENVI Platform, enables labs and classrooms to be outfitted with software and makes software accessible to students. The ENVI software provides students hands on experience with remote sensing software, an easy teaching platform for professors and allows researchers scientifically vetted software they can trust. Training materials are provided at no additional cost and can either serve as a basis for course curriculum development or self paced learning. Non-profit organizations like The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and CGIAR have deployed ENVI and IDL enterprise wide licensing allowing researchers all over the world to have cost effective access COTS software for their research. Exelis VIS has also contributed licenses to the NASA DEVELOP program. Exelis VIS is committed to supporting the academic and NGO community with affordable enterprise licensing, access to training materials, and technical expertise to help researchers tackle today's Earth and Planetary science big data challenges.

  18. Finding the community in sustainable online community engagement: Not-for-profit organisation websites, service-learning and research

    OpenAIRE

    Dodd, Alice

    2017-01-01

    This article explores the use of action research (2008–2014) based on a case study of the Sustainable Online Community Engagement (SOCE) Project, a service-learning project in which University of South Australia students build websites for not-for-profit (NFP) organisations, to demonstrate that effective teaching, public service and research are interdependent. A significant problem experienced in the SOCE project was that, despite some training and ongoing assistance, the community organisat...

  19. Refined analysis results for multimedia network costs and profits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tahkokorpi, M.; Falch, Morten; Skouby, Knud Erik

    This deliverable describes the techno-economic business model developed in EURORIM WP3 and presents the refined results of the multimedia service delivery cost-profit calculations......This deliverable describes the techno-economic business model developed in EURORIM WP3 and presents the refined results of the multimedia service delivery cost-profit calculations...

  20. The profitability of companies offering services to seniors: Comparative study of nursing homes and services at home

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresa M. Monllau Jaques

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: We considered two objectives; on one hand, to analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of enterprises, the purpose of which is to provide services to the elderly. On the other hand, examine whether the enactment of law 39/2006, has meant a change in the profitability of the companies.Design/methodology/approach: We study the accounting behaviour of companies that have more than 250 employees. The period submits to study is over the years 2004 to 2011. The data has been obtained through the SABI and AMADEUS databases.The variables analyzed were the operating margin (OMR rate and the rate of rotation (TAR assets ratioFindings and Originality/value: The analysis of the evolution of OMR shows that in the subsectors analyzed, the Spanish companies are not profitable. The conclusion is not the same when the variable analyzed is TAR. It shows a change in the behaviour of the analyzed companies since 2007. This variation is statistically significant in the case of the OMR, but not so in the case of TAR.Originality/value: The subsectors analyzed have been little studied in Spain. Knowing the evolution of their behaviour will improve the competitiveness of enterprises.

  1. The quasi-market for adult residential care in the UK: Do for-profit, not-for-profit or public sector residential care and nursing homes provide better quality care?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barron, David N; West, Elizabeth

    2017-04-01

    There has been a radical transformation in the provision of adult residential and nursing home care in England over the past four decades. Up to the 1980s, over 80% of adult residential care was provided by the public sector, but today public sector facilities account for only 8% of the available places, with the rest being provided by a mixture of for-profit firms (74%) and non-profit charities (18%). The public sector's role is often now that of purchaser (paying the fees of people unable to afford them) and regulator. While the idea that private companies may play a bigger role in the future provision of health care is highly contentious in the UK, the transformation of the residential and nursing home care has attracted little comment. Concerns about the quality of care do emerge from time to time, often stimulated by high profile media investigations, scandals or criminal prosecutions, but there is little or no evidence about whether or not the transformation of the sector from largely public to private provision has had a beneficial effect on those who need the service. This study asks whether there are differences in the quality of care provided by public, non-profit or for-profit facilities in England. We use data on care quality for over 15,000 homes that are provided by the industry regulator in England: the Care Quality Commission (CQC). These data are the results of inspections carried out between April 2011 and October 2015. Controlling for a range of facility characteristics such as age and size, proportional odds logistic regression showed that for-profit facilities have lower CQC quality ratings than public and non-profit providers over a range of measures, including safety, effectiveness, respect, meeting needs and leadership. We discuss the implications of these results for the ongoing debates about the role of for-profit providers of health and social care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Time spent for activation of non-profit studies in oncology in Italy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gianfranco De Feo

    Full Text Available AIM: The aim of this paper is to describe the time spent to activate oncological non-profit clinical trials promoted in Italy by the National Cancer Institute of Naples, following the implementation of recent European laws. METHODOLOGY: Data about the process of activation of 5 non-profit multicentre clinical trials were prospectively collected through a web-based system. The impact of European guidelines was assessed by comparing the efficiency of the process between applications started before and after the decree introducing in Italy the Clinical Trial Application form (MD-CTA. Outcomes of the descriptive analyses were the time to EC opinion, the time to administrative agreement signature after a positive EC opinion, and the cumulative percentage of submissions that came to closure (either positive or negative within four subsequent time cohorts. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: From March 2007 to October 2009, 202 applications were submitted to 107 centres. Forty-four (59% applications of those submitted before were successful, compared to 71 (55% of those submitted after MD-CTA. Most of the failures were due to missing EC response (27% and 22% or administrative reasons (10% and 16%, before and after, respectively; very few (4% and 7% were due to EC refusal. The impact of the MD-CTA on time to EC opinion looked positive (median 4.1 vs 2.4 months, before and after, respectively but a subgroup analysis revealed that the impact was limited to a comparison biased by the selection of EC. After a positive EC opinion, there was no difference before and after MD-CTA in the time to administrative agreement signature (median 3.6 and 3.8 months, respectively. A trend to shortening time to closure of the whole submission process over the time was evident, with 58% of the applications coming to closure within 6 months from submission in the most recent cohort. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience there is reassuring evidence of a trend toward shortening the time spent to

  3. An Ecosystem-Service Approach to Evaluate the Role of Non-Native Species in Urbanized Wetlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yam, Rita S. W.; Huang, Ko-Pu; Hsieh, Hwey-Lian; Lin, Hsing-Juh; Huang, Shou-Chung

    2015-01-01

    Natural wetlands have been increasingly transformed into urbanized ecosystems commonly colonized by stress-tolerant non-native species. Although non-native species present numerous threats to natural ecosystems, some could provide important benefits to urbanized ecosystems. This study investigated the extent of colonization by non-native fish and bird species of three urbanized wetlands in subtropical Taiwan. Using literature data the role of each non-native species in the urbanized wetland was evaluated by their effect (benefits/damages) on ecosystem services (ES) based on their ecological traits. Our sites were seriously colonized by non-native fishes (39%–100%), but wetland ES. Our results indicated the importance of non-native fishes in supporting ES by serving as food source to fish-eating waterbirds (native, and migratory species) due to their high abundance, particularly for Oreochromis spp. However, all non-native birds are regarded as “harmful” species causing important ecosystem disservices, and thus eradication of these bird-invaders from urban wetlands would be needed. This simple framework for role evaluation of non-native species represents a holistic and transferable approach to facilitate decision making on management priority of non-native species in urbanized wetlands. PMID:25860870

  4. Proposing a framework for airline service quality evaluation using Type-2 Fuzzy TOPSIS and non-parametric analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Navid Haghighat

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on evaluating airline service quality from the perspective of passengers' view. Until now a lot of researches has been performed in airline service quality evaluation in the world but a little research has been conducted in Iran, yet. In this study, a framework for measuring airline service quality in Iran is proposed. After reviewing airline service quality criteria, SSQAI model was selected because of its comprehensiveness in covering airline service quality dimensions. SSQAI questionnaire items were redesigned to adopt with Iranian airlines requirements and environmental circumstances in the Iran's economic and cultural context. This study includes fuzzy decision-making theory, considering the possible fuzzy subjective judgment of the evaluators during airline service quality evaluation. Fuzzy TOPSIS have been applied for ranking airlines service quality performances. Three major Iranian airlines which have the most passenger transfer volumes in domestic and foreign flights were chosen for evaluation in this research. Results demonstrated Mahan airline has got the best service quality performance rank in gaining passengers' satisfaction with delivery of high-quality services to its passengers, among the three major Iranian airlines. IranAir and Aseman airlines placed in the second and third rank, respectively, according to passenger's evaluation. Statistical analysis has been used in analyzing passenger responses. Due to the abnormality of data, Non-parametric tests were applied. To demonstrate airline ranks in every criterion separately, Friedman test was performed. Variance analysis and Tukey test were applied to study the influence of increasing in age and educational level of passengers on degree of their satisfaction from airline's service quality. Results showed that age has no significant relation to passenger satisfaction of airlines, however, increasing in educational level demonstrated a negative impact on

  5. 34 CFR Appendix B to Subpart L of... - Ratio Methodology for Private Non-Profit Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Ratio Methodology for Private Non-Profit Institutions B Appendix B to Subpart L of Part 668 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STUDENT ASSISTANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS...

  6. Emergency department admissions are more profitable than non-emergency department admissions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henneman, Philip L; Lemanski, Michael; Smithline, Howard A; Tomaszewski, Andrew; Mayforth, Janice A

    2009-02-01

    We compare the contribution margin per case per hospital day of emergency department (ED) admissions with non-ED admissions in a single hospital, a 600-bed, academic, tertiary referral, Level I trauma center with an annual ED census of 100,000. This was a retrospective comparison of the contribution margin per case per day for ED and non-ED inpatient admissions for fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005 (October 1 through September 30). Contribution margin is defined as net revenue minus total direct costs; it is then expressed per case per hospital day. Service lines are a set of linked patient care services. Observation admissions and outpatient services are not included. Resident expenses (eg, salary and benefits) and revenue (ie, Medicare payment of indirect medical expenses and direct medical expenses) are not included. Overhead expenses are not included (eg, building maintenance, utilities, information services support, administrative services). For fiscal year 2003 through fiscal year 2005, there were 51,213 ED and 57,004 non-ED inpatient admissions. Median contribution margin per day for ED admissions was higher than for non-ED admissions: ED admissions $769 (interquartile range $265 to $1,493) and non-ED admissions $595 (interquartile range $178 to $1,274). Median contribution margin per day varied by site of admissions, by diagnosis-related group, by service line, and by insurance type. In summary, ED admissions in our institution generate a higher contribution margin per day than non-ED admissions.

  7. Factors of U.S. Hospitals Associated with Improved Profit Margins: An Observational Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ly, Dan P; Cutler, David M

    2018-02-14

    Hospitals face financial pressure from decreased margins from Medicare and Medicaid and lower reimbursement from consolidating insurers. The objectives of this study are to determine whether hospitals that became more profitable increased revenues or decreased costs more and to examine characteristics associated with improved financial performance over time. The design of this study is retrospective analyses of U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals between 2003 and 2013. There are 2824 hospitals as subjects of this study. The main measures of this study are the change in clinical operating margin, change in revenues per bed, and change in expenses per bed between 2003 and 2013. Hospitals that became more profitable had a larger magnitude of increases in revenue per bed (about $113,000 per year [95% confidence interval: $93,132 to $133,401]) than of decreases in costs per bed (about - $10,000 per year [95% confidence interval: - $28,956 to $9617]), largely driven by higher non-Medicare reimbursement. Hospitals that improved their margins were larger or joined a hospital system. Not-for-profit status was associated with increases in operating margin, while rural status and having a larger share of Medicare patients were associated with decreases in operating margin. There was no association between improved hospital profitability and changes in diagnosis related group weight, in number of profitable services, or in payer mix. Hospitals that became more profitable were more likely to increase their admissions per bed per year. Differential price increases have led to improved margins for some hospitals over time. Where significant price increases are not possible, hospitals will have to become more efficient to maintain profitability.

  8. Exploring Reasons for the Resistance to Sustainable Management within Non-Profit Organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claus-Heinrich Daub

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The numerous empirical and conceptual studies that have been conducted over recent years concerning the social responsibility of enterprises and their contributions towards sustainable development have given very little consideration to non-profit organizations (NPOs. This is surprising, because NPOs are confronted with very similar challenges to profit-orientated enterprises regarding their evolution into sustainable organizations. This paper is a preliminary conceptual study and explores the question of why the corporate social responsibility, or corporate sustainability, of NPOs has to date been both neglected by research establishments and also extensively ignored by the NPOs during their day-to-day practical management. The example of church and pastoral institutions in Germany is used to demonstrate the extent to which they take account of ecological and social aspects in their management systems and processes and, thus, implement sustainable management within their day-to-day practice. The paper concludes with some proposals for further empirical and conceptual research projects, which are designed to analyze developments within NPOs with relation to the integration of sustainability into their management systems and processes.

  9. Strategic Marketing as Solution for Growing Uncertainties among National Non-Profit Sports Federations in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marije van 't Verlaat

    2007-01-01

    Today, Dutch National Non-profit Sports Organizations (NNSFs) experience financial pressures. Two indications for this are described in this paper i.e. increased competition in the sports sector and changes in subsidy division. Decreasing incomes from subsidies can be compensated with either

  10. FURNIZORII SI CLIENTII-SURSE DE PROFIT ALE COMPANIILOR DE COMERT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgiana Lavinia Tănăsoiu

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Customer is a relevant item to evaluate products, because it is an expression of effectivedemand, which manifests at a time on the market. Source of company profits are customersand not products and services. They are a true capital for company and can be reunited inthe economic circle-firms and institutions and the circle of individuals which companyoffers its products and services. Managing suppliers is more than just meeting obligationsof making available provide the required inventory supply master plan (acquisition ofmaterials, parts, components and articles.

  11. 26 CFR 509.105 - Industrial and commercial profits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... sales promotion, the orders being transmitted to Switzerland for acceptance, then the profits arising... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Industrial and commercial profits. 509.105 Section 509.105 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED...

  12. Analysis of Funding Sources and Methods of Non-profit Organization%非营利组织筹资渠道与方式探析

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    戚舟波

    2011-01-01

    Various non-profit organizations have become the important form of social organization. Expanding financing channels, flexibly using various means of financing, and improving their fund-raising capacity is the problem to be solved for non-profit organization. This paper summarizes and analyzes the status and problems of financing of non-profit organization, and proposed countermeasures to expand financing channels and methods for non-profit organizations.%各类非营利组织已成为重要的社会组织形式,拓展筹资渠道,灵活运用各种筹资方式,提高自身筹资能力,是目前大多数非营利组织急待解决的问题.本文在分析总结非营利组织筹资现状和问题的基础上,提出拓展非营利组织筹资渠道与方式的对策措施.

  13. Profitability diagnosis of refinery and improvement proposal; Seiyusho no shueki shindan to kaizen teian

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aoyama, H.

    2000-07-01

    Based on consulting service RPS-J under joint operation of Nikki, UOP LLC of U.S.A. and Nikki Universal, approaching ways applied for profitability improvement and improvement proposal for refineries and analyzing techniques used for resolution of process bottlenecks were described. In RPS-J, themes of (1) energy saving, (2) quality upgrading, (3) improvement of disintegrating ratio, (4) reduction of give-away, (5) improvement of equipment operation ratio, (6) reduction of maintenance cost, (7) effective utilization of catalysts, are considered for profitability improvement fields. Procedures from idea excavation for profitability improvement to realization of profitability improvement are carried out in the order of, (1) Grasping of the present state, (2) Excavation of improving items and selection, (3) Quantitative evaluation of draft profitability improvement plan and focusing, (4) Profitability improvement by operation improvement, (5) Profitability improvement by minor improvement, (6) Profitability improvement in middle- and long-term vision, (7) Final focusing by feasibility study. Afterwards, examination to economically solve bottlenecks of critical facilities, examination on bottlenecks of distillation tower and refining tower and utility analysis are carried out. RPS-J was already applied to 4 refineries including Muroran Refinery and Negishi Refinery of Nisseki Mitsubishi, and profitability improvement themes were found to improve profitability of 50 to 150 cents per barrel. (NEDO)

  14. 76 FR 32377 - Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations; OMB Circular A-133 Compliance...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-06

    ... --a Federal E-Government Web site that allows the public to find, review, and submit comments on... OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations... CFDA 84.938, [[Page 32378

  15. Subfield profitability analysis reveals an economic case for cropland diversification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandes, E.; McNunn, G. S.; Schulte, L. A.; Bonner, I. J.; Muth, D. J.; Babcock, B. A.; Sharma, B.; Heaton, E. A.

    2016-01-01

    Public agencies and private enterprises increasingly desire to achieve ecosystem service outcomes in agricultural systems, but are limited by perceived conflicts between economic and ecosystem service goals and a lack of tools enabling effective operational management. Here we use Iowa—an agriculturally homogeneous state representative of the Maize Belt—to demonstrate an economic rationale for cropland diversification at the subfield scale. We used a novel computational framework that integrates disparate but publicly available data to map ˜3.3 million unique potential management polygons (9.3 Mha) and reveal subfield opportunities to increase overall field profitability. We analyzed subfield profitability for maize/soybean fields during 2010-2013—four of the most profitable years in recent history—and projected results for 2015. While cropland operating at a loss of US 250 ha-1 or more was negligible between 2010 and 2013 at 18 000-190 000 ha (profitable areas, incorporating conservation management that breaks even (e.g., planting low-input perennials), into low-yielding portions of fields could increase overall cropland profitability by 80%. This approach is applicable to the broader region and differs substantially from the status quo of ‘top-down’ land management for conservation by harnessing private interest to align profitability with the production of ecosystem services.

  16. 76 FR 38673 - Establishment of the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Advisory Committee

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-01

    ... partnership opportunities with corporations, private businesses or entities, foundations, and non-profit... High School, College and Graduate Students; State, Tribal, Local, or Private/Non-Profit Youth... Organizations, Corporations or Industry Associations Investing in Youth Service or Employment and/or...

  17. An Ecosystem-Service Approach to Evaluate the Role of Non-Native Species in Urbanized Wetlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rita S. W. Yam

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Natural wetlands have been increasingly transformed into urbanized ecosystems commonly colonized by stress-tolerant non-native species. Although non-native species present numerous threats to natural ecosystems, some could provide important benefits to urbanized ecosystems. This study investigated the extent of colonization by non-native fish and bird species of three urbanized wetlands in subtropical Taiwan. Using literature data the role of each non-native species in the urbanized wetland was evaluated by their effect (benefits/damages on ecosystem services (ES based on their ecological traits. Our sites were seriously colonized by non-native fishes (39%–100%, but <3% by non-native birds. Although most non-native species could damage ES regulation (disease control and wastewater purification, some could be beneficial to the urbanized wetland ES. Our results indicated the importance of non-native fishes in supporting ES by serving as food source to fish-eating waterbirds (native, and migratory species due to their high abundance, particularly for Oreochromis spp. However, all non-native birds are regarded as “harmful” species causing important ecosystem disservices, and thus eradication of these bird-invaders from urban wetlands would be needed. This simple framework for role evaluation of non-native species represents a holistic and transferable approach to facilitate decision making on management priority of non-native species in urbanized wetlands.

  18. Rael Artel Gallery: Non-Profit Project Space : short tale of an experimental project's space tactics / Kiwa

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Kiwa, pseud., 1975-

    2009-01-01

    Aastatel 2004-2008 Pärnus ja aastatel 2006-2008 Tartus tegutsenud Rael Artel Galeriist, mille looja ja moderaator oli Rael Artel. Galerii tegevus lõppes kunstialbumi "Hotell Pärnu : Rael Arel Gallery : Non Profit Project Space 2004-2008 / kontseptsioon ja toimetamine: Rael Artel" ilmumisega 2009. aastal

  19. A Financial Ratio Analysis of For-Profit and Non-Profit Rural Referral Centers

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCue, Michael J.; Nayar, Preethy

    2009-01-01

    Context: National financial data show that rural referral center (RRC) hospitals have performed well financially. RRC hospitals' median cash flow margin ratio was 10.04% in 2002 and grew to 11.04% in 2004. Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare the ratio analysis of key operational and financial performance measures of for-profit RRCs to…

  20. A More Detailed Understanding Of Factors Associated With Hospital Profitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Ge; Anderson, Gerard F

    2016-05-01

    To identify the characteristics of the most profitable US hospitals, we examined the profitability of acute care hospitals in fiscal year 2013, measured as net income from patient care services per adjusted discharge. Based on Medicare Cost Reports and Final Rule Data, the median hospital lost $82 for each such discharge. Forty-five percent of hospitals were profitable, with 2.5 percent earning more than $2,475 per adjusted discharge. The ten most profitable hospitals, seven of which were nonprofit, each earned more than $163 million in total profits from patient care services. Hospitals with for-profit status, higher markups, system affiliation, or regional power, as well as those located in states with price regulation, tended to be more profitable than other hospitals. Hospitals that treated a higher proportion of Medicare patients, had higher expenditures per adjusted discharge, were located in counties with a high proportion of uninsured patients, or were located in states with a dominant insurer or greater health maintenance organization (HMO) penetration had lower profitability than hospitals that did not have these characteristics. These findings can inform policy reforms, while providing a baseline against which to measure the impact of any subsequent reforms. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  1. Alternative profit rate shariah-compliant for islamic banking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazali, Nadhirah; Halim, Nurfadhlina Abdul; Ghazali, Puspa Liza

    2017-09-01

    Profit is the aims for Islamic banking and conventional banking. Determination of profit in Islamic banking in Malaysia depends on the profit rate, whereas profit rate is essentially from reference rate which is known as the base rate (BR). However, the determination of the components contained in the BR such as benchmark cost of funds and the statutory reserve requirement (SRR) is non-compliance with the Shariah because its directly proportional to the overnight policy rate (OPR). Therefore, an alternative formula for the profit rate are proposed which is known as the base profit rate (BPR). Construction of BPR formula is based on the principle that are more Shariah-compliant.

  2. Screen Wars, Star Wars, and Sequels: Nonparametric Reanalysis of Movie Profitability

    OpenAIRE

    W. D. Walls

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we use nonparametric statistical tools to quantify motion-picture profit. We quantify the unconditional distribution of profit, the distribution of profit conditional on stars and sequels, and we also model the conditional expectation of movie profits using a non- parametric data-driven regression model. The flexibility of the non-parametric approach accommodates the full range of possible relationships among the variables without prior specification of a functional form, thereb...

  3. 75 FR 44814 - Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations; Circular A-133 Compliance...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-29

    ..., Washington, DC 20503. Comments may also be sent to via http://www.regulations.gov --a Federal E-Government... OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations... CFDA 93.794 program is no longer active (i.e., no funds are being spent by recipients), and it has been...

  4. From People to Profits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barber, L.; Hayday, S.; Bevan, S.

    An empirical test of the service-profit chain in a large United Kingdom retail business explored how employee attitudes and behavior can improve customer retention and, consequently, company sales performance. Data were collected from 65,000 employees and 25,000 customers from almost 100 stores. The business collected customer satisfaction for…

  5. 78 FR 41424 - Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations; OMB Circular A-133 Compliance...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-10

    ... OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations... Management and Budget. ACTION: Notice of availability of the 2013 OMB Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement...--National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants (SMART Grants) CFDA 84.390...

  6. How Big is Too Big for Hubs: Marginal Profitability in Hub-and-Spoke Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Leola B.; Schmidt, Stephen J.

    1997-01-01

    Increasing the scale of hub operations at major airports has led to concerns about congestion at excessively large hubs. In this paper, we estimate the marginal cost of adding spokes to an existing hub network. We observe entry/non-entry decisions on potential spokes from existing hubs, and estimate both a variable profit function for providing service in markets using that spoke as well as the fixed costs of providing service to the spoke. We let the fixed costs depend upon the scale of operations at the hub, and find the hub size at which spoke service costs are minimized.

  7. Evaluation of comparative advantages in the profitability and competitiveness of the small-scale dairy system of Tulancingo Valley, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Posadas-Domínguez, Rodolfo Rogelio; Del Razo-Rodríguez, Oscar Enrique; Almaraz-Buendía, Isaac; Pelaez-Acero, Armando; Espinosa-Muñoz, Verónica; Rebollar-Rebollar, Samuel; Salinas-Martínez, Jesús Armando

    2018-06-01

    This article combines a Policy Analysis Matrix with a sensitivity and poverty line analysis with the objective of evaluating the economic contribution of comparative advantages to the private profitability and competitiveness of small-scale dairy systems. For 1 year, socioeconomic data were collected from 82 farms selected from four strata via statistical sampling. Two scenarios were established to determine the quantitative contribution of comparative advantages: (1) a simulated scenario, which accounted for the cost of purchasing the total food and the opportunity cost of the family labour force (FLF), and (2) an actual production scenario, which accounted for the cost of producing food and eliminating the payment of the FLF and included other income. The E3 and E4 producers were the most profitable and competitive in the simulated scenario and actual production scenario. Of the four scales evaluated, the E2 and E1 producers were the most efficient in taking advantage of the economic contribution provided by the comparative advantages in their own production of food and employment of the FLF, in addition to accounting for other income, a condition that increased their profitability by 171 and 144% and competitiveness by 346 and 273%, respectively. The poverty results indicated that only E3 and E4 producers were non-vulnerable in the simulated scenario and actual production scenario. The purchase of food was the comparative advantage with the greatest sensitivity to cost increases in the two scenarios analysed, which exacerbated the effect on the E1 and E2 producers.

  8. State directed hybridity? : the relationship between non-profit housing organizations and the state in three national contexts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mullins, David; Milligan, Vivienne; Nieboer, N.E.T.

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents results from the first international comparative study of non-profit housing organizations in Australia, England and the Netherlands to engage with panels of organizational leaders. The study uses a ‘modified Delphi method’ with Likert-type scaled surveys, followed by in-depth

  9. Legitimacy, trustee incentives, and board processes: the case of public and private non-profit nursing homes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewaelheyns, Nico; Eeckloo, Kristof; Van Hulle, Cynthia

    2011-01-01

    Using a unique data set, this study explores how type of ownership (government/private) is related to processes of governance. The findings suggest that the neo-institutional perspective and the self-interest rationale of the agency perspective are helpful in explaining processes of governance in both government- and privately owned non-profit organizations. Due to adverse incentives and the quest for legitimacy, supervising governance bodies within local government-owned non-profit institutions pay relatively less attention to the development of high quality supervising bodies and delegate little to management. Our findings also indicate that governance processes in private institutions are more aligned with the business model and that this alignment is likely driven by a concern to improve decision making. By contrast, our data also suggest that in local government-owned institutions re-election concerns of politicians-trustees are an important force in the governance processes of these institutions. In view of these adverse incentives - in contrast to the case of private organizations - a governance code is unlikely to entail much improvement in government-owned organizations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. QUALITY OF SERVICE ORIENTED WEB SERVICE SELECTION: AN EVALUATION OF TECHNIQUES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Munjiah Nur Saadah

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In service-oriented computing, web services are the basic foundation that aims to facilitate building of business application in a more flexible and interoperable manner for enterprise collaboration. One of the most promising advantages of web service technology is the possibility of creating added-value services by combining existing ones. A key step for composing and executing services lies in the selection of the individual service to use. Much attention has been devoted to appropriate selection of service functionalities, but also the non-functional properties of the services play a key role. A web service selection technique must take as much as possible the important influencing aspects into account to the selection process in order to minimize the selection efforts. This paper evaluates several web service selection techniques published in literature with the focus on their contributions to web service selection. The evaluation results can be used as a basis for improving web service selection techniques and then simplifying the selection tasks.

  11. The for-profit sector in humanitarian response: integrating ethical considerations in public policy decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huckel Schneider, Carmen; Negin, Joel

    2016-01-01

    The engagement of the for-profit private sector in health, social and humanitarian services has become a topic of keen interest. It is particularly contentious in those instances where for-profit organizations have become recipients of public funds, and where they become key decision-makers in terms of how, and to whom, services are provided. We put forward a framework for identifying and organizing the ethical questions to be considered when contracting government services to the for-profit sector, specifically in those areas that have traditionally remained in the public or not-for-profit spheres. The framework is designed to inform both academic debate and practical decision-making regarding the acceptability, feasibility and legitimacy of for-profit organizations carrying out humanitarian work. First, we outline the importance of posing ethical questions in government contracting for-profit vs. not-for-profit organizations. We then outline five key areas to be considered before then examining the extent to which ethics concerns are warranted and how they may be safeguarded.

  12. Powering Profits. Profits, Investments and Fuel Type Mixes in the Dutch Power Sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilde-Ramsing, J.; Steinweg, T.

    2007-06-01

    This report addresses the Dutch power sector, identifying the major corporate players in the market, types of fuel used to generate electricity, the profits being made, and investments in both renewable and non-renewable generation capacity. For the purposes of this report, the power sector is understood to encompass production (i.e. generation) and supply of electricity. Some discussion and figures on heat and gas, which are also essential energy services, are provided, but the focus is primarily on electricity. Section 2 of the report provides an overview of the Dutch power sector, breaking the market down into production and supply. Major players, markets shares, and recent trends and developments are given for each of these activities. Sections 3 - 7 go into detail on the five major corporate players active in the Dutch power sector: ENECO, Essent, Nuon, Electrabel, and E.ON Energie. For each company, information is provided on profits and earnings, the fuel mix used to generate and supply electricity, the CO2 emissions associated with these activities, installed capacity in the Netherlands, and recent investments in renewable and non-renewable generation capacity in the Netherlands. For the Dutch companies, ENECO, Essent and Nuon, additional information on the ownership structure of the company, shareholders and dividends paid and received is given. A section on RWE (Section 8) is also included in the study because, although RWE is not currently active in generating electricity in the Netherlands, RWE Energy does currently supply electricity generated by producers in the Netherlands. In addition, RWE Power is currently planning to invest significantly in power generation capacity in the Netherlands. The final section of the report compares the companies activities in the Netherlands and draws conclusions based on the companies' respective performance

  13. Does Capital Structure Influence Company Profitability?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Herciu Mihaela

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Every company has a different structure of balance sheet. Some of the companies have more liabilities than equity. Considering the industry or debt-to-equity ratio, the balance sheet structure affects the company profitability measured by DuPont system. The main objective of the paper is to analyze the structure of balance sheet and to identify some optimal levels in order to increase company profitability. The DuPont returns like ROA (return on assets and ROE (return on equity will be used to measure the company profitability, while the debt-to-equity ratio will be used as a measure (reflection of capital structure. The samples consist on the most profitable non-financial companies ranked in Fortune Global 500. The companies will be grouped in clusters (based on industry or debt-to-equity ratio in order to identify the signification of the correlation between the profit and the balance sheet structure. The main results of the paper refer to the company profitability that can be increased by using an optimal structure of liabilities and equity.

  14. Digital marketing plan for a non-profit organization. Case: Nordic ASEAN Business Forum Ry

    OpenAIRE

    Ngo, Chi

    2017-01-01

    The Internet is changing people’s lives as well as the way organizations operate. In fact, digitalization and digital marketing are considered essential in organization’s operations. In this context, the capability to facilitate and master digital marketing becomes a key asset of an organization to stay competitive. This project-based thesis was commissioned by Nordic ASEAN Business Forum (NABF), a non-profit organization based in Helsinki, Finland. The need for the thesis comes from the ...

  15. CSRQ Center Report on Education Service Providers: Educator's Summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (NJ3), 2008

    2008-01-01

    Education service providers (ESPs), or education management organizations, are for-profit or non-profit organizations that contract with new or existing public, charter, or private schools to help them implement comprehensive reforms. Which of these ESPs have evidence that they help children in elementary and secondary school of positive effects…

  16. From Financialization to Low and Non-Profit: Emerging Media Models for Freedom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nuria Almiron-Roig

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In the midst of what is probably the worst economic and financial crisis the capitalist world has ever experienced, professional journalistic structures and news organizations are disintegrating. While mainstream current economic and media gurus –and the whole media executive class around the globe– are claiming for a business model change that allows them to go on making lots of money, many voices have been raised in unison to ask for a true radical change: money cannot be the first goal, but rather public interest. This paper presents the outcome of a research on the non-profit alternatives currently under debate destined to help journalism survive.

  17. Canais de atendimento, satisfação e lucratividade de clientes em serviços: um caso bancário Customer services, customer satisfaction and profitability in services: a banking case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Émerson Adriano Fiebig

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Este trabalho tem como tema o atendimento e sua importância na satisfação e na lucratividade dos clientes no setor de serviços. Dentro de um mercado cada vez mais concorrido, o atendimento tende a ser um dos principais diferenciais para as empresas. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar o tipo de relação existente entre a satisfação dos clientes pessoa física de um Banco com os canais de atendimento e a lucratividade desses. O estudo foi desenvolvido por meio de estudo de caso na agência do Banrisul de Dois Irmãos (RS. Foi estudada uma amostra da população dos 1000 clientes mais rentáveis da agência, visando identificar seus níveis de satisfação com o atendimento pelos canais atendimento pessoal, caixas eletrônicos e internet banking. Após a comparação dos níveis de satisfação com os da lucratividade conhecida de cada respondente, foi possível conhecer quais os atributos e canais mais determinam a satisfação do cliente e sua lucratividade. As principais ferramentas estatísticas utilizadas foram a determinação dos Coeficientes de Correlação de Spearman e a Análise de Regressão. A pesquisa destacou que as dimensões empatia e responsividade do atendimento pessoal foram as mais determinantes para a satisfação dos clientes. Ficou evidenciado também que há uma correlação positiva entre a satisfação e a lucratividade dos clientes e, ainda, que o aumento no nível de satisfação corresponde a um aumento mais que proporcional no nível de lucratividade.The subject of this paper is banking services and its importance for customer's satisfaction and profitability in the service sector. In an increasingly competitive market, costumer service tends to be one of the main differentials for organizations. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between individual customers of a bank and its service channels, and profitability. The study was developed through a case study at Banrisul, in the

  18. 48 CFR 1415.404-4 - Profit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... CONTRACT TYPES CONTRACTING BY NEGOTIATION Contract Pricing 1415.404-4 Profit. (a) DOI's policy is to use a... also refer to the Armed Services Pricing Manual (ASPM No. 1). The “Other Costs” factor shall include...

  19. Profitability analysis of broiler production in rawalpindi district

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohsin, A.Q.; Riaz, M.; Mushtaq, A.

    2008-01-01

    The present study was conducted in Rawalpindi District to evaluate the profitability of different Broiler farm sizes. Poultry farms were categorized into large, medium and small farms, Different efficiency measure such as net present worth, whole farm budget, marginal rate of return were applied. It was found that cost of production was high in small farm category. Small farmer buy feeds on credit basis and therefore, lose 8 percent concession on cash payment. The cost of medium farmer was lower as compared to small farmer. Benefit cost ratio of medium and large farmer was greater then one which indicate that they were earning profit on their investment. More economic incentive was found in increasing the farm size from small to medium as compared to medium to large as marginal rate of return were greater in former case. Efficient extension services were lacking in the study area. Extension activities can play a vital role in improving the poultry farming practices particularly for small farmers. (author)

  20. An evaluation system for financial compensation in traditional Chinese medicine services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dou, Lei; Yin, Ai-Tian; Hao, Mo; Lu, Jun

    2015-10-01

    To describe the major factors influencing financial compensation in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and prioritize what TCM services should be compensated for. Two structured questionnaires-a TCM service baseline questionnaire and a service cost questionnaire-were used to collect information from TCM public hospitals on TCM services provided in certain situations and service cost accounting. The cross-sectional study examined 110 TCM services provided in four county TCM public hospitals in Shandong province. From the questionnaire data, a screening index system was established via expert consultation and brainstorming. Comprehensive evaluation of TCM services was performed using the analytic hierarchy process method. Weighted coefficients were used to measure the importance of each criterion, after which comprehensive evaluation scores for each service were ranked to indicate what services should receive priority for financial compensation. Economy value, social value, and efficacy value were the three main criteria for screening for what TCM services should be compensated for. The economy value local weight had the highest value (0.588), of which the profit sub-criterion (0.278) was the most important for TCM financial compensation. Moxibustion was tied for the highest comprehensive evaluation scores, at 0.65 while Acupuncture and Massage Therapy were tied for the second and third highest, with 0.63 and 0.58, respectively. Government and policymakers should consider offer financial compensation to Moxibustion, Acupuncture, Massage Therapy, and TCM Orthopedics as priority services. In the meanwhile, it is essential to correct the unreasonable pricing, explore compensation methods, objects and payment, and revise and improve the accounting system for the costs of TCM services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Management of Enterprise Profit: Theory and Methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadezhda Sergeevna Piontkevich

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Effective management of financial activity of commercial organization promotes achievement of the main objective of its activity – receiving profit. Both external and internal factors causing specifics of financial management of organization in the field of management of profit have impact on this process. In modern conditions of economic development this problem gains the greatest relevance, and new approaches for its decision are required. In the present article the author’s theoretical and methodological approach to profit management of organization is offered: its application is connected with revision of acting control system of enterprise profit on the basis of assessing the initial condition of profit, planning the demanded profit level, periodical monitoring condition of planned values on profit, and also adoption of flexible administrative decisions on reduction of deviations and increasing the efficiency of organization activity. The system of profit formation including corresponding income and expenses of organization is presented. Methods of revenue planning are characterized. The characteristics of income and expenses connected with non-operating operations and transactions is given. The essence of the main directions of using enterprise profit is revealed. Need of application of author’s technique of management of profit of organization taking into account influence of external and internal factors is proved. The universal purpose of management of profit of organization and a task providing achievement of the goal are formulated . Tools of assessment efficiency of the system of formation and use of profit which is actually created in organization are offered. The methodical approach to planning of profit allowing to increase efficiency of activity of organization is presented. The mechanism of an assessment deviations of planned indicators of effective management of profit from actual and adoptions of correcting decisions on

  2. Evaluating solar energy profitability: A focus on the role of self-consumption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiaroni, Davide; Chiesa, Vittorio; Colasanti, Lorenzo; Cucchiella, Federica; D’Adamo, Idiano; Frattini, Federico

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Investment profitability for realisation of PV facilities in Italy is analysed. • Self-consumption can support the economic sustainability of photovoltaic facilities. • A survey was conducted on 750 companies operating in various stages of supply chain. • The economic feasibility of PV investment is evaluated for systems of varying sizes. • The investments are located in two areas of the country to account for different levels of insolation. - Abstract: Renewable energies have a key role in defining an energy policy based on security, independence, and sustainability. The Italian market is characterised by the absence of support mechanisms for photovoltaic sources for electricity and by a high level of maturity in the energy market. Consequently, this paper contributes to, and advances, the debate concerning self-consumption that can support the economic sustainability of photovoltaic facilities. We constructed a database to conduct an analysis. A survey was conducted among 750 companies operating in various stages of the industry supply chain. The survey collected data related to industry turnover, profitability levels, profitability margins of the business areas and employee numbers. The economic feasibility of photovoltaic investment is evaluated for systems of varying sizes (3 kW, 20 kW, 200 kW, 400 kW, and 1 MW) located in two areas of the country to account for different levels of insolation (northern and southern regions). The indicators used are net present value (NPV) and discounted payback time (DPBT). A subsequent sensitivity and scenario analysis is conducted according to the share of self-consumption, investment costs, and financial structure to examine 210 case studies

  3. Charity care: do not-for-profits influence for-profits?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clement, Jan P; White, Kenneth R; Valdmanis, Vivian

    2002-03-01

    This study further examines whether not-for-profit hospitals exert pressure on for-profit hospitals to provide charity care and whether for-profit hospitals react differently than not-for-profit hospitals to managed care pressures and hospital competition in providing charity care. A two equation model is estimated using 1996 data from California hospitals. The results indicate that in mixed ownership markets, for-profit hospitals provide significantly less charity care as not-for-profit hospitals in the market provide more. Unexpectedly, study for-profit hospitals were not more influenced by price competition than other hospitals with respect to charity care. Having a unique role in providing charity care may justify continuing tax exemption for not-for-profit hospitals and enhance interest in payment and other policies with regard to conversions to ensure that not-for-profit hospitals continue to be represented in market areas.

  4. DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS OF BANK PROFITABILITY LEVELS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ante Rozga

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Discriminant analysis has been employed in this paper in order to identify and explain key features of bank profitability levels. Bank profitability is set up in the form of two categorical variables: profit or loss recorded and above or below average return on equity. Predictor variables are selected from various groups of financial indicators usually included in the empirical work on microeconomic determinants of bank profitability. The data from the Croatian banking sector is analyzed using the Enter method. General recommendations for a more profitable business of banking found in the bank management literature and existing empirical framework such as rationalization of overhead costs, asset growth, increase of non-interest income by expanding scale and scope of financial products proved to be important for classification of banks in different profitability levels. A higher market share may bring additional advantages. Classification results, canonical correlation and Wilks’ Lambda test confirm statistical significance of research results. Altogether, discriminant analysis turns out to be a suitable statistical method for solving presented research problem and moving forward from the bankruptcy, credit rating or default issues in finance.

  5. Take Five for Customer Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura J. Ax-Fultz

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Businesses leverage excellent customer service to improve profitability. Although not profit-driven, libraries should leverage excellent customer service to achieve their unique missions. Evaluating and improving customer service practices will help a library determine if it is successfully serving its customers. The library should review three areas to improve customer service: the physical space of the library, how library employees work with library policies, and the communication skills of the library staff. By using the Take Five model, the library can make immediate, no-cost changes or plan for future improvements by taking just five minutes, every day, to assess specific areas. Over a few weeks or months, these small changes will result in better customer service.

  6. Profit margins in Japanese retailing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.C.A. Potjes; A.R. Thurik (Roy)

    1993-01-01

    textabstractUsing a rich data source, we explain differences and developments in profit margins of medium-sized stores in Japan. We conclude that the protected environment enables the retailer to pass on all operating costs to the customers and to obtain a relatively high basic income. High service

  7. Organizational resilience: Sustained institutional effectiveness among smaller, private, non-profit US higher education institutions experiencing organizational decline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Kenneth A

    2016-06-04

    Recent changes in the United States (US) economy have radically disrupted revenue generation among many institutions within higher education within the US. Chief among these disruptions has been fallout associated with the financial crisis of 2008-2009, which triggered a change in the US higher education environment from a period of relative munificence to a prolonged period of scarcity. The hardest hit by this disruption have been smaller, less wealthy institutions which tend to lack the necessary reserves to financially weather the economic storm. Interestingly, a review of institutional effectiveness among these institutions revealed that while many are struggling, some institutions have found ways to not only successfully cope with the impact of declining revenue, but have been able to capitalize on the disruption and thrive. Organizational response is an important factor in successfully coping with conditions of organizational decline. The study examined the impacts of organizational response on institutional effectiveness among higher education institutions experiencing organizational decline. The study's research question asked why some US higher educational institutions are more resilient at coping with organizational decline than other institutions operating within the same segment of the higher education sector. More specifically, what role does organizational resilience have in helping smaller, private non-profit institutions cope and remain effective during organizational decline? A total of 141 US smaller, private non-profit higher educational institutions participated in the study; specifically, the study included responses from participant institutions' key administrators. 60-item survey evaluated administrator responses corresponding to organizational response and institutional effectiveness. Factor analysis was used to specify the underlying structures of rigidity response, resilience response, and institutional effectiveness. Multiple regression

  8. Information Brokers/Free-Lance Librarians: An Alternative Reference Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogan, Matthew

    This paper examines the profession of information brokerage through a look at types of services provided, and through a discussion of major issues, including that of fee for service. The types of information broker and free-lance librarian services are identified: (1) non-profit reference and research services administered by public libraries and…

  9. Avoidance of international double taxation. Taxation of business profits in Romania

    OpenAIRE

    Florin Dumiter; Ștefania Jimon

    2017-01-01

    In this article we wanted to achieve a comprehensive analysis of corporate profit tax for non-residents, from the standpoint of the issues that it creates on the double taxation of income and capital. Taxing the corporate profits of non-residents is a particularly important aspect in terms of revenue growth, encouraging foreign investment, and strengthening cross-border trade. The “source” state will decide the legitimate right to tax the profits of businesses that operate within its juris...

  10. Risk Pricing and Profit Maximization of Insurance Companies ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The research investigates the impact of pricing of risk on the profitability of Nigeria insurance market and also the relationship between operation expenses and profitability of the non-life insurance market in Nigeria. Results show that economy, competition and government regulation have effect on pricing of risk. Also, it was ...

  11. 14 CFR 271.6 - Profit element.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) ECONOMIC REGULATIONS GUIDELINES FOR SUBSIDIZING AIR CARRIERS PROVIDING ESSENTIAL AIR TRANSPORTATION § 271.6 Profit element. The reasonable return for a carrier for providing essential air service at an eligible place...

  12. Valuation of Non-Market Ecosystem Services of Forests

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Taye, Fitalew Agimass

    Forests provide a multitude of ecosystem services to society. However, not all such services are being reflected in market prices and that leads to underestimation of their economic values and suboptimal management schemes. Therefore, non-market valuation is required to provide complementary...... information for better forest management that underpins the concept of total economic values. In this thesis, the non-market ecosystem services of forests are evaluated with a focus on showing the impact of forest management. The thesis consists of four papers that address three main research questions: 1......) Which forest structural characteristics and features affect recreational preferences? 2) Does childhood forest experience determine forest visiting habit in adulthood? And 3) How does environmental attitude influence individuals’ willingness to pay for forest management initiatives designed to enhance...

  13. Methods utilized in evaluating the profitability of commercial space processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloom, H. L.; Schmitt, P. T.

    1976-01-01

    Profitability analysis is applied to commercial space processing on the basis of business concept definition and assessment and the relationship between ground and space functions. Throughput analysis is demonstrated by analysis of the space manufacturing of surface acoustic wave devices. The paper describes a financial analysis model for space processing and provides key profitability measures for space processed isoenzymes.

  14. Segmenting health maintenance organizations to study productivity and profitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sobol, M G

    2000-01-01

    As the decade ended, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) were increasing in popularity as a means of health care delivery. These groups take many forms, so it is important for the analyst to see if the efficiency and financial results for these different forms vary. The four major forms are profit vs. not-for-profit, chain vs. non-chain, group/staff vs. individual practice association (IPA), and federally qualified vs. non-federally qualified. Using a nationwide database of all the HMOs in the United States, the article compares liquidity rates, leverage ratios, profitability ratios, marketing, and per member ratios across the four groups using paired t tests. The two classifications that showed the most differences were group/staff vs. IPA and federally qualified vs. non-federally qualified. IPAs have a better liquidity position and lower leverage ratios than group/staff but their administrative costs are higher and the time to receive payments and to pay debts is higher. Non-federally qualified have somewhat higher liquidity ratios and higher profitability ratios. These significant differences in financial outcomes indicate that studies of HMOs should segment different major forms of organizations and study them separately before trying to show the effects of different policies on HMO efficiency and effectiveness.

  15. 26 CFR 1.381(c)(2)-1 - Earnings and profits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Earnings and profits. 1.381(c)(2)-1 Section 1.381(c)(2)-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Insolvency Reorganizations § 1.381(c)(2)-1 Earnings and profits. (a) In...

  16. Profitability Analysis of Soybean Oil Processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Ming-Hsun; Rosentrater, Kurt A

    2017-10-07

    Soybean oil production is the basic process for soybean applications. Cash flow analysis is used to estimate the profitability of a manufacturing venture. Besides capital investments, operating costs, and revenues, the interest rate is the factor to estimate the net present value (NPV), break-even points, and payback time; which are benchmarks for profitability evaluation. The positive NPV and reasonable payback time represent a profitable process, and provide an acceptable projection for real operating. Additionally, the capacity of the process is another critical factor. The extruding-expelling process and hexane extraction are the two typical approaches used in industry. When the capacities of annual oil production are larger than 12 and 173 million kg respectively, these two processes are profitable. The solvent free approach, known as enzyme assisted aqueous extraction process (EAEP), is profitable when the capacity is larger than 17 million kg of annual oil production.

  17. Profitability Analysis of Soybean Oil Processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming-Hsun Cheng

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Soybean oil production is the basic process for soybean applications. Cash flow analysis is used to estimate the profitability of a manufacturing venture. Besides capital investments, operating costs, and revenues, the interest rate is the factor to estimate the net present value (NPV, break-even points, and payback time; which are benchmarks for profitability evaluation. The positive NPV and reasonable payback time represent a profitable process, and provide an acceptable projection for real operating. Additionally, the capacity of the process is another critical factor. The extruding-expelling process and hexane extraction are the two typical approaches used in industry. When the capacities of annual oil production are larger than 12 and 173 million kg respectively, these two processes are profitable. The solvent free approach, known as enzyme assisted aqueous extraction process (EAEP, is profitable when the capacity is larger than 17 million kg of annual oil production.

  18. Statistical methods for analysing the relationship between bank profitability and liquidity

    OpenAIRE

    Boguslaw Guzik

    2006-01-01

    The article analyses the most popular methods for the empirical estimation of the relationship between bank profitability and liquidity. Owing to the fact that profitability depends on various factors (both economic and non-economic), a simple correlation coefficient, two-dimensional (profitability/liquidity) graphs or models where profitability depends only on liquidity variable do not provide good and reliable results. Quite good results can be obtained only when multifactorial profitabilit...

  19. Patient experience and hospital profitability: Is there a link?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richter, Jason P; Muhlestein, David B

    Patient experience has had a direct financial impact on hospitals since value-based purchasing was instituted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2013 as a method to reward or punish hospitals based on performance on various measures, including patient experience. Although other industries have shown an indirect impact of customer experience on overall profitability, that link has not been well established in the health care industry. Return-to-provider rate and perceptions of health quality have been associated with profitability in the health care industry. Our aims were to assess whether, independent of a direct financial impact, a more positive patient experience is associated with increased profitability and whether a more negative patient experience is associated with decreased profitability. We used a sample of 19,792 observations from 3767 hospitals over the 6-year period 2007-2012. The data were sourced from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. Using generalized estimating equations to account for repeated measures, we fit four separate models for three dependent variables: net patient revenue, net income, and operating margin. Each model included one of the following independent variables of interest: percentage of patients who definitely recommend the hospital, percentage of patients who definitely would not recommend the hospital, percentage of patients who rated the hospital 9 or 10, and percentage of patients who rated the hospital 6 or lower. We identified that a positive patient experience is associated with increased profitability and a negative patient experience is even more strongly associated with decreased profitability. Management should have greater justification for incurring costs associated with bolstering patient experience programs. Improvements in training, technology, and staffing can be justified as a way to improve not only quality but now

  20. How Managerial Ownership Affects Profit Maximization in Newspaper Firms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Busterna, John C.

    1989-01-01

    Explores whether different levels of a manager's ownership of a newspaper affects the manager's profit maximizing attitudes and behavior. Finds that owner-managers tend to place less emphasis on profits than non-owner-controlled newspapers, contrary to economic theory and empirical evidence from other industries. (RS)

  1. Partnership in civil society : a case of building trust between non-profit associations and international NGOs in Lao PDR

    OpenAIRE

    Purdin, Sky

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this Master's thesis is to develop a context-specific substantive theory of trust building based on the experiences of development workers in Laos, as well as the methods they identify as keys to a better partnership. The research material is based on eleven interviews with civil society development workers in Vientiane, Laos. The study context is partnerships between in-country International Non-Governmental Organizations and local Non-Profit Associations. ...

  2. Economic characteristic of non-profit sport clubs and their relations with municipalities and sport federations

    OpenAIRE

    Marek Pavlik

    2013-01-01

    There is a running discussion about the system of financing sport from public budgets and there are opinions that the sport is not sufficiently supported. We know surprisingly little about the situation of non-profit sport clubs and to find a better support system we have to gather information about the environment of sport clubs. What do we know about relations of sport clubs with public authorities and their own sport union/federation and why do we need to know? The aim of this paper is to ...

  3. Mental Health Service Use in Schools and Non-School-Based Outpatient Settings: Comparing Predictors of Service Use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langer, David A; Wood, Jeffrey J; Wood, Patricia A; Garland, Ann F; Landsverk, John; Hough, Richard L

    2015-09-01

    Researchers have consistently documented a gap between the large number of US youth meeting criteria for a mental health disorder with significant associated impairment, and the comparatively few youth receiving services. School-based mental health care may address the need-services gap by offering services more equitably to youth in need, irrespective of family economic resources, availability of transportation, and other factors that can impede access to community clinics. However, diagnoses alone do not fully capture the severity of an individual's mental health status and need for services. Studying service use only in relation to diagnoses may restrict our understanding of the degree to which service use is reflective of service need, and inhibit our ability to compare school and non-school-based outpatient settings on their responsiveness to service need. The present study evaluated predictors of mental health service use in school- and community-based settings for youth who had had an active case in one of two public sectors of care, comparing empirically-derived dimensional measurements of youth mental health service need and impairment ratings against non-need variables (e.g., ethnicity, income). Three dimensions of youth mental health service need were identified. Mental health service need and non-need variables each played a significant predictive role. Parent-rated impairment was the strongest need-based predictor of service use across settings. The impact of non-need variables varied by service setting, with parental income having a particularly noticeable effect on school-based services. Across time, preceding service use and impairment each significantly predicted future service use.

  4. Public stewardship of private for-profit healthcare providers in low- and middle-income countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiysonge, Charles S; Abdullahi, Leila H; Ndze, Valantine N; Hussey, Gregory D

    2016-01-01

    Background Governments use different approaches to ensure that private for-profit healthcare services meet certain quality standards. Such government guidance, referred to as public stewardship, encompasses government policies, regulatory mechanisms, and implementation strategies for ensuring accountability in the delivery of services. However, the effectiveness of these strategies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have not been the subject of a systematic review. Objectives To assess the effects of public sector regulation, training, or co-ordination of the private for-profit health sector in low- and middle-income countries. Search methods For related systematic reviews, we searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) 2015, Issue 4; Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE) 2015, Issue 1; Health Technology Assessment Database (HTA) 2015, Issue 1; all part of The Cochrane Library, and searched 28 April 2015. For primary studies, we searched MEDLINE, Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, MEDLINE Daily and MEDLINE 1946 to Present, OvidSP (searched 16 June 2016); Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index 1987 to present, and Emerging Sources Citation Index 2015 to present, ISI Web of Science (searched 3 May 2016 for papers citing included studies); Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), 2015, Issue 3, part of The Cochrane Library (including the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Specialised Register) (searched 28 April 2015); Embase 1980 to 2015 Week 17, OvidSP (searched 28 April 2015); Global Health 1973 to 2015 Week 16, OvidSP (searched 30 April 2015); WHOLIS, WHO (searched 30 April 2015); Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index 1975 to present, ISI Web of Science (searched 30 April 2015); Health Management, ProQuest (searched 22 November 2013). In addition, in April 2016, we searched the reference lists of relevant

  5. Optimal Guaranteed Service Time and Service Level Decision with Time and Service Level Sensitive Demand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sangjun Park

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We consider a two-stage supply chain with one supplier and one retailer. The retailer sells a product to customer and the supplier provides a product in a make-to-order mode. In this case, the supplier’s decisions on service time and service level and the retailer’s decision on retail price have effects on customer demand. We develop optimization models to determine the optimal retail price, the optimal guaranteed service time, the optimal service level, and the optimal capacity to maximize the expected profit of the whole supply chain. The results of numerical experiments show that it is more profitable to determine the optimal price, the optimal guaranteed service time, and the optimal service level simultaneously and the proposed model is more profitable in service level sensitive market.

  6. Facebook satisfaction and its impacts on fundraising: a case study at a Portuguese non-profit organization

    OpenAIRE

    Laureano, R. M. S.; Fernandes, A. L.; Hassamo, S.; Alturas, B.

    2018-01-01

    Non-profit organizations have invested in the development of content for their Facebook pages, believing be an efficient and effective means to publicize its mission and raising resources, whether monetary or human. The purpose of this study is to assess the satisfaction of the participants with the Facebook page, and how that satisfaction influences the dissemination of the organization through the word-of-mouth and the donations practices. In this context, a questionnaire was administered t...

  7. Policy incentives for switchgrass production using valuation of non-market ecosystem services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chamberlain, Jim F.; Miller, Shelie A.

    2012-01-01

    This study presents a linear profit model with combined economic and environmental factors for a switchgrass-for-biofuels agricultural system in the southeastern U.S. The objectives are to establish conversion-to-switchgrass thresholds for various market prices and identify policy incentives that would ensure economic profit while also maximizing environmental benefits (carbon sequestration, displacement of fossil fuels) and minimizing negative impacts (global warming potential, nitrate loss). Weighting factors are chosen to represent incentives and penalties by assigning value to the impacts. With no other incentives, switchgrass market prices of at least $51 and $58/dton would be needed in order to make a profitable switch from corn/Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands and cotton, respectively. At a mid-range offering of $50/dton, feasible carbon credit prices of $3/ $8/ $23 per metric tonne CO 2 e would incentivize conversion from corn, CRP, or cotton, respectively. Similarly, a water quality penalty of $0.20/ $3/ $2 per kilogram NO 3 –N leached would incentivize the same conversions with resultant watershed improvement. At a lower price of $30/dton switchgrass, incentives based on valuation of ecosystem services begin to exceed feasible ranges of these valuations. - Highlights: ► A linear effective profit model predicts conversion thresholds to switchgrass. ► Carbon and nitrogen fluxes can be valued and incorporated into producer choices. ► Farmgate prices alone of $51 and $58/dton switchgrass will entice conversion. ► Reasonable ecosystem service valuations will encourage adoption of switchgrass.

  8. Service life evaluation of non-metallic containment seals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pringle, T.G.

    1994-01-01

    A Service Life Evaluation Program (SLEP) was successfully completed for expansion joint seals used in the pressure relief duct of Pickering NGS, an eight unit CANDU station. These seals are part of the containment boundary, are difficult to replace and then only during station outages which are scheduled at ten year intervals. The SLEP, consisting of an accelerated aging program and a qualification test, was undertaken to determine the service life of the seals such that they would be capable of remaining functional following a combination of service life, a design basis accident and a subsequent seismic event. The Arrhenius model of aging was used for the accelerated aging program. Samples of seal material were subjected to oven aging at five temperatures, 150, 160, 170, 180 and 190 deg C. Tensile properties and hardness were measured at various aging times and Arrhenius plots constructed. Based on changes in elongation, activation energies of 1.2 eV and 1.1 eV were calculated for the reinforcing fabric and the silicone cover rubber, respectively. Hardness measurements were also taken but as expected, no precise quantitative aging relationship could be determined from material hardness. For the qualification test a representative length of seal was installed and field-spliced in a test frame built to simulate the installed configuration of the seal. It then underwent accelerated aging equivalent to the service life, followed by LOCA irradiation exposure to LOCA conditions of humidity, temperature and pressure and a design-basis seismic event. Finally, a pressure test to approximately five times design pressure was successfully performed to demonstrate the remaining margin of safety. Periodic air leakage tests indicated no deterioration in sealing performance and no physical deterioration was apparent. (author). 11 refs., 2 tabs., 8 figs

  9. Evaluating Bank Profitability in Ghana: A five step Du-Pont Model Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baah Aye Kusi

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available We investigate bank profitability in Ghana using periods before, during and after the globe financial crises with the five step du-pont model for the first time.We adapt the variable of the five step du-pont model to explain bank profitability with a panel data of twenty-five banks in Ghana from 2006 to 2012. To ensure meaningful generalization robust errors fixed and random effects models are used.Our empirical results suggests that bank operating activities (operating profit margin, bank efficiency (asset turnover, bank leverage (asset to equity and financing cost (interest burden  were positive and significant determinants of bank profitability (ROE during the period of study implying that bank in Ghana can boost return to equity holders through the above mentioned variables. We further report that the five step du-pont model better explains the total variation (94% in bank profitability in Ghana as compared to earlier findings suggesting that bank specific variables are keen in explaining ROE in banks in Ghana.We cited no empirical study that has employed five step du-pont model making our study unique and different from earlier studies as we assert that bank specific variables are core to explaining bank profitability.                

  10. Transforming the tobacco market: why the supply of cigarettes should be transferred from for-profit corporations to non-profit enterprises with a public health mandate

    OpenAIRE

    Callard, C; Thompson, D; Collishaw, N

    2005-01-01

    Current tobacco control strategies seek primarily to decrease the demand for cigarettes through measures that encourage individuals to adopt healthier behaviours. These measures are impeded and undermined by tobacco corporations, whose profit drive compels them to seek to maintain and expand cigarette sales. Tobacco corporations seek to expand cigarette sales because they are for-profit business corporations and are obliged under law to maximise profits, even when this results in harm to othe...

  11. Contested spacing: International non-profit organizations and the mobility of asylum seekers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Albu, Oana Brindusa

    The importance of examining space from an organizational standpoint is timely, not the least because the use of this concept has critical and often unintended social, and political effects (Mengis, Nicolini & Gorli, 2016). The global refugee crisis following the post-2015 Syrian conflict is perhaps...... one indicative situation of the highly contested ways in which international non-profit organizations (INGOs) create spaces for their organizational activities (e.g., build informal settlements to provide emergency aid), and thus affect how individuals (e.g., asylum seekers) get re-settled, confined...... to, or even restricted from living in such spaces. These matters are relevant since in the contexts where both the opportunities to move freely and being at peace are challenged, space is not only a neutral structure in which such contested organizing takes place (Mengis et al., 2016). Rather...

  12. Maximizing profitability in a hospital outpatient pharmacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorgenson, J A; Kilarski, J W; Malatestinic, W N; Rudy, T A

    1989-07-01

    This paper describes the strategies employed to increase the profitability of an existing ambulatory pharmacy operated by the hospital. Methods to generate new revenue including implementation of a home parenteral therapy program, a home enteral therapy program, a durable medical equipment service, and home care disposable sales are described. Programs to maximize existing revenue sources such as increasing the capture rate on discharge prescriptions, increasing "walk-in" prescription traffic and increasing HMO prescription volumes are discussed. A method utilized to reduce drug expenditures is also presented. By minimizing expenses and increasing the revenues for the ambulatory pharmacy operation, net profit increased from +26,000 to over +140,000 in one year.

  13. Preliminary evaluation of the profitability indexes of the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villanueva M, C.

    2010-10-01

    The Laguna Verde nuclear power plant of the Federal Commission of Electricity has an installed capacity of 1,350 MW and unit 1 started commercial operation in 1990 and unit 2 in 1995. This paper is a synthesis of the results of a preliminary evaluation of the expected profitability indexes of the power plant during an economic lifetime of 40 years. The following data was used as input to the evaluation model prescribed by the Finance and Public Credit Secretary for public investment projects. Unit investment cost: 3,500 US D/k W; Fixed operation and maintenance cost: 54. 45 US D/year-k W; Variable operation and maintenance cost: 0. 38 US D/M Wh; Nuclear fuel cycle cost: 10. 28 US D/M Wh; Lifetime capacity factor: 85%; Discount rate: 12.0% per year; Sale price of electricity to the interconnected electric system: 80. 75 US D/M Wh. The output of the evaluation model is the following: Cost of electricity generated: 60. 2 1 US D/M Wh; fixed cost 49. 55 US D/M Wh; variable cost 10. 66 US D/M Wh; Internal rate of return (Irr): 18.0%; Benefit to cost quotient (B/C): 1.341. A very systematic sensitivity analysis was done, that shows that the cost is very sensitive to the capacity factor and to the investment cost, but is very insensitive to the fixed operation and maintenance cost and to the nuclear fuel cost. Finally, a comparison was made to the evaluation of the profitability indexes of a natural gas fired combined cycle power plant. (Author)

  14. A MANAGERIAL AND COST ACCOUNTING APPROACH OF CUSTOMER PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CARDOS Ildiko Reka

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available In the last years many organizations realized that market orientation is essential to their success. Satisfying the needs of customers, offering them products and services which meet their desires and demands, customer loyalty can increase profitability for long term. After analyzing the existing journal literature in this field we would like to emphasize that managerial accounting, cost calculation methods and techniques, the analysis of costs provides relevant information when analyzing the customer’s profitability. We pay special attention on cost systems. An activity based costing approach takes customer profitability to new levels of accuracy and usefulness, provides the basis for creating, communicating and delivering value to the customers.

  15. PROFITABILITY RATIO AS A TOOL FOR BANKRUPTCY PREDICTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel BRÎNDESCU – OLARIU

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The current study evaluates the potential of the profitability ratio in predicting corporate bankruptcy. The research is focused on Romanian companies, with the targeted event being represented by the manifestation of bankruptcy 2 years after the date of the financial statements of reference. All tests were conducted over 2 paired samples of 1176 Romanian companies. The methodology employed in evaluating the potential of the profitability ratio was based on the Area Under the ROC Curve (0.663 and the general accuracy ensured by the ratio (62.6% out-of-sample accuracy. The results confirm the practical utility of the profitability ratio in the prediction of bankruptcy and thus validate the need for further research focused on developing a methodology of analysis.

  16. PROFITABILITY RATIO AS A TOOL FOR BANKRUPTCY PREDICTION

    OpenAIRE

    Daniel BRÎNDESCU – OLARIU

    2016-01-01

    The current study evaluates the potential of the profitability ratio in predicting corporate bankruptcy. The research is focused on Romanian companies, with the targeted event being represented by the manifestation of bankruptcy 2 years after the date of the financial statements of reference. All tests were conducted over 2 paired samples of 1176 Romanian companies. The methodology employed in evaluating the potential of the profitability ratio was based on the Area Under the ROC Curve (0.663...

  17. Applying the Balanced Scorecard Strategic Evaluation Method to a University Athletic Department

    OpenAIRE

    THANOS KRIEMADIS, ANDREAS KOTSOVOS & PANAYIOTIS ALEXOPOULOS

    2008-01-01

    The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) has been extensively used in manufacturing organisations, service organisations, non-profit organisations, and governmental organizations with outstanding results (Kaplan and Norton, 2001b). Performance measures are at the core of the BSC system.However, financial measurement alone does not reflect the organisational mission of governmental and non-profit organisations; rather the mission of government or non-profitorganisation should be placed at top of the BSC i...

  18. Assessment, Knowledge, and Customer Service: Contextualizing Faculty Work at For-Profit Colleges and Universities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lechuga, Vicente M.

    2008-01-01

    As the labor market continues to demand more workers with postsecondary credentials, for-profit colleges and universities offer the training, degrees, and credentials that students seek to remain viable in an increasingly competitive job market. This study seeks to provide a new perspective on for-profit institutions by focusing on the roles and…

  19. In California, not-for-profit hospitals spent more operating expenses on charity care than for-profit hospitals spent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdovinos, Erica; Le, Sidney; Hsia, Renee Y

    2015-08-01

    In exchange for sizable tax exemptions, not-for-profit hospitals must engage in activities that meet the Internal Revenue Service's community benefit standard. The provision of charity care-free care to those unable to pay-can help meet that standard. Bad debt, the other form of uncompensated care, cannot be used to meet the standard, although Medicaid shortfalls can. However, the ACA lacks guidelines for providing charity care, and federal law sets no minimum requirements for community benefit activities. Using data from California, we examined whether the levels of charity and uncompensated care provided differed across general acute care hospitals by profit status and other characteristics during 2011-13. The mean proportion of total operating expenses spent on charity care differed significantly between not-for-profit (1.9 percent) and for-profit hospitals (1.4 percent), in contrast to the mean proportion spent on uncompensated care. Both types of spending varied widely across hospitals. Policy makers should consider measures that remove disincentives to meeting the persistent considerable need for charity care-for example, increasing supports to offset rising Medicaid shortfalls resulting from program expansion-and facilitate the tracking of ACA impacts on the distribution of charity care and uncompensated care delivery. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  20. Pan-London tuberculosis services: a service evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belling Ruth

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background London has the largest proportion of tuberculosis (TB cases of any western European capital, with almost half of new cases drug-resistant. Prevalence varies considerably between and within boroughs with research suggesting inadequate control of TB transmission in London. Economic pressures may exacerbate the already considerable challenges for service organisation and delivery within this context. This paper presents selected findings from an evaluation of London’s TB services’ organisation, delivery, professional workforce and skill mix, intended to support development of a strategic framework for a pan-London TB service. These may also interest health service professionals and managers in TB services in the UK, other European cities and countries and in services currently delivered by multiple providers operating independently. Methods Objectives were: 1 To establish how London’s TB services are structured and delivered in relation to leadership, management, organisation and delivery, coordination, staffing and support; 2 To identify tools/models for calculating skill mix as a basis for identifying skill mix requirements in delivering TB services across London; 3 To inform a strategic framework for the delivery of a pan-London TB service, which may be applicable to other European cities. The multi-method service audit evaluation comprised documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews with TB service users (n = 10, lead TB health professionals and managers (n = 13 representing London’s five sectors and focus groups with TB nurses (n = 8 and non-London network professionals (n = 2. Results Findings showed TB services to be mainly hospital-based, with fewer community-based services. Documentary analysis and professionals’ interviews suggested difficulties with early access to services, low suspicion index amongst some GPs and restricted referral routes. Interviews indicated lack of managed

  1. Operation and profits of energy boards. A study of the basis of municipal business activities and the equitableness of the profits of municipal energy boards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karhu, V.; Nissinen, T.; Valkama, P.

    1999-01-01

    The objective of the empirical part of the study (Chapter 6) is to evaluate the equitableness of profits on capital invested of the 16 municipal energy boards selected for this study and, at the same time, to create a general evaluation basis for equity decisions made by the authorities case by case. In this part of the study, answers are sought for the following questions: (1) how has the economic situation of the energy boards studied been recently developing based on various economic parameters? (2) have there been differences in the returns and profitability of energy boards operating as public utilities or energy boards operating in company form? (3) what kind of a price level the energy boards studied have maintained in relation to the national averages of this field? (4) is a city in a weaker economic position more tempted to require higher profits on capital invested than a city with a sound economic basis? (5) how high profits on capital invested can be considered reasonable for the whole energy board and particularly for a network business holding a monopoly? The structure of the study is as follows. Chapter 2 contains a brief description of the energy boards selected for this study and of the economic situation of the cities owning them. The theoretical part of the study is included in Chapter 3 'Municipal Self-Government and Business'. It analyses rather deeply the terminology of the municipal business, norm basis, steering of actions, restructuring of companies into business profit centres and privatisation, as well as application of the Act on Restrictions on Competition from the standpoint of a municipal self-government. Chapter 4 deals with the establishment of energy board activity, the legal basis and the criteria for pricing electricity, network services and district heat. Chapter 5 examines the Act on Restrictions on Competition as a regulator of the energy board activities. After this, there are the presentations of the research results of the

  2. All’origine dei differenziali salariali di genere nel settore non profit. il caso delle cooperative sociali italiane

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federica D’Isanto

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available L’elevata quota di lavoratrici nelle organizzazioni non profit potrebbe indurre a rite-nere le cooperative sociali un luogo ideale per la manodopera femminile, proprio perché in questo tipo di istituzioni le donne avrebbero maggiori possibilità di impiego e mag-giori opportunità di accedere a posizioni di potere organizzativo (data la peculiare natu-ra democratica che caratterizzerebbe tali istituzioni. Sebbene l’aumento della parteci-pazione femminile nel mercato del lavoro sociale abbia un impatto positivo sul tasso di crescita dell’economia, è stato dimostrato che la predominanza delle donne nel settore nonprofit non solo non riesce sempre a tradursi in un’attenuazione delle discriminazioni di genere in termini di carriera, retribuzione e accesso a ruoli di comando, ma rischia anche di implicare, tramite la mancata valorizzazione del loro apporto, la svalutazione economica dell’intero settore. I dati, infatti, confermano la presenza di potenti meccani-smi discriminatori rispetto al genere, tanto più sorprendenti quanto più si consideri l’elevata presenza di donne tra i lavoratori di queste organizzazioni.In Italia nel 2007 è emerso che il 74% della forza lavoro nel settore nonprofit era co-stituito da donne.Questo lavoro ha due obiettivi. In primo luogo (e per la prima volta nel contesto ita-liano, si propone di studiare le caratteristiche di questa composizione femminile della forza lavoro, utilizzando la banca dati ICSI 2007 (Indagine Cooperative Sociali Italia-ne; in secondo luogo, di analizzare il rapporto esistente tra differenziali salariale di ge-nere e segregazione.I principali risultati sono che anche nel settore non profit esiste un differenziale sala-riale di genere di circa il 16% in favore degli uomini (dato conforme alla media degli altri paesi europei; che esiste la segregazione femminile (orizzontale e verticale e che questa spiega quasi interamente l’esistenza di questo differenziale salariale.

  3. Applying the Balanced Scorecard Strategic Evaluation Method to a University Athletic Department

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    THANOS KRIEMADIS, ANDREAS KOTSOVOS & PANAYIOTIS ALEXOPOULOS

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The Balanced Scorecard (BSC has been extensively used in manufacturing organisations, service organisations, non-profit organisations, and governmental organizations with outstanding results (Kaplan and Norton, 2001b. Performance measures are at the core of the BSC system.However, financial measurement alone does not reflect the organisational mission of governmental and non-profit organisations; rather the mission of government or non-profitorganisation should be placed at top of the BSC in measuring whether such an organisation has been successful. Hence, the greatest difference between businesses and nonprofit organisations lies in the achievement of the mission.The purpose of this article is to present the evaluation of the performance of a University Athletic Department using the balanced scorecard strategic approach which includes four dimensions such as: (a the customer dimension, (b the financial dimension,(c the learning and growth dimension and (d the internal business process dimension.

  4. Is There a Trade-off Between Quality and Profitability in United States Nursing Homes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godby, Tyler; Saldanha, Sarah; Valle, Jazmine; Paul, David P; Coustasse, Alberto

    Nursing home residents across the United States rely on quality care and effective services. Nursing homes provide skilled nurses and nursing aides who can provide services 24 hours a day for individuals who could not perform these tasks for themselves. Not-for-profit (NFP) versus for-profit (FP) nursing homes have been examined for utilization and efficacy; however, it has been shown that NFP nursing homes generally offer higher quality care and generate greater profit margins compared with FP nursing homes. The purpose of this research was to determine if NFP nursing homes provide enhanced quality care and a larger profit margin compared with FP nursing homes. Benefits and barriers in regard to financial stability and quality of care exist for both FP and NFP homes. Based on the findings of this review, it is suggested that NFP nursing homes have achieved higher quality of care because of a more effective balance of business aspects, as well as prioritizing resident well-being, and care quality over profit maximization in NFP homes.

  5. Approaches to economic analysis of profitability of forestry enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.M. Dzyubenko

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The article substantiates the directions of adaptation of existing analytical procedures for assessing the profitability to specific activities of forestry enterprises, which is an integral part of evaluating financial potential of enterprises of the investigated branch. In particular, the author identifies the following analytical procedures that make it possible to assess the performance of forestry enterprises and determine its financial potential: the return on equity (assets on net profit, the return on equity, the return on assets, the return on sales of profits from operating activities, the profitability of sold products at net profit, reinvestment factor, the economic growth sustainability ratio, the period of payback capital, the payback period of equity capital. On the basis of these indicators, the current state of profitability of forestry enterprises was substantiated and their critical points were determined.

  6. Investigating Heuristic Evaluation: A Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldman, Kate Haley; Bendoly, Laura

    When museum professionals speak of evaluating a web site, they primarily mean formative evaluation, and by that they primarily mean testing the usability of the site. In the for-profit world, usability testing is a multi-million dollar industry, while non-profits often rely on far too few dollars to do too much. Hence, heuristic evaluation is one…

  7. 国内手机阅读服务盈利模式的调查与分析%Investigation and Analysis of the Profit Model of Mobile Phone Reading Service in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    何菊香; 茆意宏

    2012-01-01

    运用文献和网络调查法,从手机报、手机杂志和手机小说等不同形式的手机阅读服务产品以及中国移动、盛大文学和3G门户等典型手机阅读服务机构着手,在了解国内手机阅读服务基本情况的基础上,对国内手机阅读服务的盈利模式进行调查分析。总结现行广告、用户付费等国内手机阅读服务盈利模式的优势与不足之处,并针对盈利模式中存在的问题,给出改进国内手机阅读服务利益分配和盈利模式的建议。%By literature survey and web investigation,the authors study the products of mobile phone reading service which include mobile newspapers,mobile magazines and mobile phone novels,and typical providers of the mobile phone reading service such as China Mobile,Shanda Literature and 3G Portal.On the basis of deeply learning of the mobile phone reading service in China,the authors conduct an academic investigation and analysis on the profit model of mobile phone reading service,summarize the advantages and shortcomings of the current advertising,user-paid and other profit models of the mobile phone reading service in China,and give some proposes on the improvements of the profit model of mobile phone reading service in China according to the problems in the profit model.

  8. Applying the prudence principle in non-profit organizations and financial institutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milena Otavová

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper describes in detail the accounting principle of prudence in non-profit organizations and financial institutions. It defines its application in such organizations and based on comparison it evaluates the practical use of the prudence principle and its reflection in the accounting books. The main focus is on differences in applying the prudence principle that result from differences in the purpose activities and methods of asset management in these organizations. The practical application of the prudence principle in accounting consists mainly in the creation and use of provisions and impairments. These methods are defined by the Implementing Regulation to the Accounting Act No. 563/1991. The paper also provides tables where the creation and use of impairments and provisions in the above-mentioned organizations is compared with how business companies proceed in creating impairments and provisions. The key legislation standardizing accounting in the Czech Republic is the Accounting Act No. 563/1991, as amended, which stipulates the general accounting principles, the so-called accounting philosophy. The accounting is built around the general accounting principles, which are perceived as the pillars of accounting. Even though they are not stipulated in any particular law, they are legally enforceable and their ignorance can be sanctioned. The general accounting principles represent a set of rules to be observed in keeping the accounting books, preparing the accounting reports and submitting the accounting reports to users. The keystone accounting principle is the principle of true and fair refl ection of facts the essential goal of which is to report in the fi nancial statement actual assets and the fi nancial position of the accounting unit with an essential focus on reporting events that occurred during the accounting period with respect to their content.

  9. Cultural competency assessment tool for hospitals: evaluating hospitals' adherence to the culturally and linguistically appropriate services standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weech-Maldonado, Robert; Dreachslin, Janice L; Brown, Julie; Pradhan, Rohit; Rubin, Kelly L; Schiller, Cameron; Hays, Ron D

    2012-01-01

    The U.S. national standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) in health care provide guidelines on policies and practices aimed at developing culturally competent systems of care. The Cultural Competency Assessment Tool for Hospitals (CCATH) was developed as an organizational tool to assess adherence to the CLAS standards. First, we describe the development of the CCATH and estimate the reliability and validity of the CCATH measures. Second, we discuss the managerial implications of the CCATH as an organizational tool to assess cultural competency. We pilot tested an initial draft of the CCATH, revised it based on a focus group and cognitive interviews, and then administered it in a field test with a sample of California hospitals. The reliability and validity of the CCATH were evaluated using factor analysis, analysis of variance, and Cronbach's alphas. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified 12 CCATH composites: leadership and strategic planning, data collection on inpatient population, data collection on service area, performance management systems and quality improvement, human resources practices, diversity training, community representation, availability of interpreter services, interpreter services policies, quality of interpreter services, translation of written materials, and clinical cultural competency practices. All the CCATH scales had internal consistency reliability of .65 or above, and the reliability was .70 or above for 9 of the 12 scales. Analysis of variance results showed that not-for-profit hospitals have higher CCATH scores than for-profit hospitals in five CCATH scales and higher CCATH scores than government hospitals in two CCATH scales. The CCATH showed adequate psychometric properties. Managers and policy makers can use the CCATH as a tool to evaluate hospital performance in cultural competency and identify and target improvements in hospital policies and practices that undergird the provision

  10. Organizational communication on Twitter: Differences between non-profit and for-profit organizations in the context of climate change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Holmberg, K.; Hellsten, I.; Schmidt, C.M.

    2016-01-01

    Twitter as a socio-technical platform provides organizations with new ways to reach their stakeholders. In this paper, we compare the use of Twitter specific affordances – such as hashtags, mentions of usernames and sharing of URLs along the tweets in a sample of 1520 tweets sent by 16 profit

  11. Taxes, bankruptcy costs, and capital structure in for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Sean S; Yang, Jie; Carroll, Nathan

    2018-02-01

    About 60% of the US hospitals are not-for-profit and it is not clear how traditional theories of capital structure should be adapted to understand the borrowing behavior of not-for-profit hospitals. This paper identifies important determinants of capital structure taken from theories describing for-profit firms as well as prior literature on not-for-profit hospitals. We examine the differential effects these factors have on the capital structure of for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals. Specifically, we use a difference-in-differences regression framework to study how differences in leverage between for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals change in response to key explanatory variables (i.e. tax rates and bankruptcy costs). The sample in this study includes most US short-term general acute hospitals from 2000 to 2012. We find that personal and corporate income taxes and bankruptcy costs have significant and distinct effects on the capital structure of for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals. Specifically, relative to not-for-profit hospitals: (1) higher corporate income tax encourages for-profit hospitals to increase their debt usage; (2) higher personal income tax discourages for-profit hospitals to use debt; and (3) higher expected bankruptcy costs lead for-profit hospitals to use less debt. Over the past decade, the capital structure of for-profit hospitals has been more flexible as compared to that of not-for-profit hospitals. This may suggest that not-for-profit hospitals are more constrained by external financing resources. Particularly, our analysis suggests that not-for-profit hospitals operating in states with high corporate taxes but low personal income taxes may face particular challenges of borrowing funds relative to their for-profit competitors.

  12. Private sector, for-profit health providers in low and middle income countries: can they reach the poor at scale?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tung, Elizabeth; Bennett, Sara

    2014-06-24

    The bottom of the pyramid concept suggests that profit can be made in providing goods and services to poor people, when high volume is combined with low margins. To-date there has been very limited empirical evidence from the health sector concerning the scope and potential for such bottom of the pyramid models. This paper analyzes private for-profit (PFP) providers currently offering services to the poor on a large scale, and assesses the future prospects of bottom of the pyramid models in health. We searched published and grey literature and databases to identify PFP companies that provided more than 40,000 outpatient visits per year, or who covered 15% or more of a particular type of service in their country. For each included provider, we searched for additional information on location, target market, business model and performance, including quality of care. Only 10 large scale PFP providers were identified. The majority of these were in South Asia and most provided specialized services such as eye care. The characteristics of the business models of these firms were found to be similar to non-profit providers studied by other analysts (such as Bhattacharya 2010). They pursued social rather than traditional marketing, partnerships with government, low cost/high volume services and cross-subsidization between different market segments. There was a lack of reliable data concerning these providers. There is very limited evidence to support the notion that large scale bottom of the pyramid models in health offer good prospects for extending services to the poor in the future. In order to be successful PFP providers often require partnerships with government or support from social health insurance schemes. Nonetheless, more reliable and independent data on such schemes is needed.

  13. Forecasting Ability But No Profitability: An Empirical Evaluation of Genetic Algorithm-optimised Technical Trading Rules

    OpenAIRE

    Pereira, Robert

    1999-01-01

    This paper evaluates the performance of several popular technical trading rules applied to the Australian share market. The optimal trading rule parameter values over the in-sample period of 4/1/82 to 31/12/89 are found using a genetic algorithm. These optimal rules are then evaluated in terms of their forecasting ability and economic profitability during the out-of-sample period from 2/1/90 to the 31/12/97. The results indicate that the optimal rules outperform the benchmark given by a risk-...

  14. The determinants of hospital cost: a cost-volume-profit analysis of health services in the occupied territories: Palestine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Younis, Mustafa Z; Jaber, Samer; Smith, Pamela C; Hartmann, Michael; Bongyu, Moye

    2010-06-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the unit costs of a multi-service hospital in Palestine for the period 2005-2007. We investigate the cost structure of the Rafidya Hospital located in Nablus city, for both inpatient and outpatient departments. This study uses cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis, also known as breakeven analysis. CVP analysis requires examining total costs, along with fixed and variable costs. CVP analysis illuminates how changes in assumptions about cost behaviour and the relevant range in which those assumptions are valid affect the relationships among revenues, variable costs and fixed costs at various production levels. For the hospital of interest, we find that fixed costs account for 70% of total costs, and variable costs were 30% of total costs. Inpatient departments accounted for 86% of total costs, and outpatient departments were 14% of total costs. Results of the breakeven analysis illustrate that several departments charge sufficient fees to cover all unit costs. Results provide useful information about unit cost based on four categories: (1) unit cost per admission of each department, (2) unit cost per patient day of each department, (3) unit cost per admission with annual capital cost of each department and (4) unit cost per patient day with annual capital cost. Our results provide hospital cost information that can be used by decision-makers to provide and expand healthcare services, in an effort to increase sustainability and profitability. The use of cost analysis by administrators and regulators will improve the quality of financial information, as well as enhance the efficient use of scarce resources.

  15. E-navigation Services for Non-SOLAS Ships

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwang An

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available It is clearly understood that the main benefits of e-navigation are improved safety and better protection of the environment through the promotion of standards of navigational system and a reduction in human error. In order to meet the expectations on the benefit of e-navigation, e-navigation services should be more focused on non-SOLAS ships. The purpose of this paper is to present necessary e-navigation services for non-SOLAS ships in order to prevent marine accidents in Korean coastal waters. To meet the objectives of the study, an examination on the present navigation and communication system for non-SOLAS ships was performed. Based on the IMO's e-navigation Strategy Implementation Plan (SIP and Korea's national SIP for e-navigation, future trends for the development and implementation of e-navigation were discussed. Consequently, Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC download and ENC up-date service, ENC streaming service, route support service and communication support service based on Maritime Cloud were presented as essential e-navigation services for non-SOLAS ships. This study will help for the planning and designing of the Korean e-navigation system. It is expected that the further researches on the navigation support systems based on e-navigation will be carried out in order to implement the essential e-navigation services for non-SOLAS ships.

  16. Not-for-profits trek into for-profit accounting: goodwill impairments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-01

    Acquisitions may be integral and strategic drivers for successfully executing the business objectives of an entity or fulfilling its mission. The new guidance creates accounting and valuation challenges for not-for-profit entities that for-profit entities have been dealing with for years. Now that not-for-profit entities apply the same principles, the fair value concepts and accounting complexities are more pervasive. By brining to bear the rights complement of accounting, finance, and valuation resources, not-for-profit entities can successfully navigate these challenges and gain an understanding of the full magnitude of acquisition decisions on financial results.

  17. Building sustainable neuroscience capacity in Africa: the role of non-profit organisations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karikari, Thomas K; Cobham, Ansa E; Ndams, Iliya S

    2016-02-01

    While advances in neuroscience are helping to improve many aspects of human life, inequalities exist in this field between Africa and more scientifically-advanced continents. Many African countries lack the infrastructure and appropriately-trained scientists for neuroscience education and research. Addressing these challenges would require the development of innovative approaches to help improve scientific competence for neuroscience across the continent. In recent years, science-based non-profit organisations (NPOs) have been supporting the African neuroscience community to build state-of-the-art scientific capacity for sustainable education and research. Some of these contributions have included: the establishment of training courses and workshops to introduce African scientists to powerful-yet-cost-effective experimental model systems; research infrastructural support and assistance to establish research institutes. Other contributions have come in the form of the promotion of scientific networking, public engagement and advocacy for improved neuroscience funding. Here, we discuss the contributions of NPOs to the development of neuroscience in Africa.

  18. Evaluation of 604 Connect

    OpenAIRE

    Ladner, S.; Ihnat, M.

    2000-01-01

    The Vancouver Community Network (VCN) is a not-for-profit Internet Service Provider (ISP), based on the “freenet” model of public Internet access. As a VolNet delivery agency, VCN committed to providing participating organizations with the following: (1) A communications protocol, (2) Internet Access, (3) Computer Equipment, (4) Training, and (5) Technical Support. In April 1999, VCN began receiving applications from non-profit organizations for its 604 Connect program, so named for the 604 t...

  19. Capital Structure and Profitability of Quoted Companies in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AMOS O. AROWOSHEGBE. Ph.D; ACA.

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The study examined the relationship of capital structure to profitability of quoted firms in Nigeria. The study was based on a panel data set from 1996 to 2010 comprising sixty non – financial companies. The study specified two panel regression models. Two profitability measures: Net Profit Margin (NPM and Operating Profit Margin (OPM were taken as the dependent variables respectively. The principal explanatory variable for each of the models was Debt Ratio (DR. The results of the study indicated that there was a significant negative relationship between capital structure and profitability of quoted companies in Nigeria. Indeed, the results the Pecking order theory that profitable firms do not target an optimal level of leverage to balance the benefits and costs of debt financing. Rather, firms use retained earnings first, then debts and finally equity. Such firms would actually be paying high tax charges and also high operating costs arising from over dependence on the money market for their funds requirements. It was recommended that appropriate fiscal policies, relevant capital market institutional and legal framework should be put in place. These measures, we believe, will ensure better access to funds and reduce the cost of doing business.

  20. Cost-volume-profit analysis and expected benefit of health services: a study of cardiac catheterization services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Younis, Mustafa Z; Jabr, Samer; Smith, Pamela C; Al-Hajeri, Maha; Hartmann, Michael

    2011-01-01

    Academic research investigating health care costs in the Palestinian region is limited. Therefore, this study examines the costs of the cardiac catheterization unit of one of the largest hospitals in Palestine. We focus on costs of a cardiac catheterization unit and the increasing number of deaths over the past decade in the region due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We employ cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis to determine the unit's break-even point (BEP), and investigate expected benefits (EBs) of Palestinian government subsidies to the unit. Findings indicate variable costs represent 56 percent of the hospital's total costs. Based on the three functions of the cardiac catheterization unit, results also indicate that the number of patients receiving services exceed the break-even point in each function, despite the unit receiving a government subsidy. Our findings, although based on one hospital, will permit hospital management to realize the importance of unit costs in order to make informed financial decisions. The use of break-even analysis will allow area managers to plan minimum production capacity for the organization. The economic benefits for patients and the government from the unit may encourage government officials to focus efforts on increasing future subsidies to the hospital.

  1. PROFITABILITY AND FINANCIAL STABILITY

    OpenAIRE

    CĂRUNTU CONSTANTIN; LĂPĂDUŞI MIHAELA LOREDANA

    2011-01-01

    The business activity allows identifying two categories of flows: flows of results and cash flows. Flows affect the income and expenses, participating in training result, the company's profitability. Financial flows involved in their formation both monetary items (which drive the monetary input or output and thus implies a cash flow), and non-cash items (affecting the result, without leading to a cash flow). Are equally identifiable cash flows that do not involve an ...

  2. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TOPSIS AND FUZZY TOPSIS FOR THE EVALUATION OF TRAVEL WEBSITE SERVICE QUALITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Golam Kabir

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The Internet revolution has led to significant changes in the way travel agencies interact with customers. Travel websites provide customers diverse services including travel information and products through the Internet. In practical envir onments, Internet users face a variety of travel website service quality (TWSQ that is vague from human beings' subjective judgments, and most criteria have some degree of interdependent or interactive characteristics. In the face of the strong competitio n environment, in order to profit by making customers proceed with transactions on the websites, travel websites should pay more attention to improve their service quality. This study discusses the major factors for travel agency websites quality from the viewpoint of users' perception and explores the use of multiple - attribute decision making (MADM approaches for the evaluation of TWSQ. A comparative analysis of Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS and Fuzzy TOPSIS metho ds are illustrated through a practical application from the websites of five travel agencies. Empirical results showed that the proposed methods are viable approaches in solving the evaluation problem of TWSQ.

  3. Determinants of Profitability and Recovery from System-Wide Shocks: The Case of the Airline Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benny Mantin

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the determinants of profitability in the U.S. domestic airline industry, segmented into: operations strategy, productivity, and service measures, using quarterly data between 1995 and 2007. The analysis is performed separately on data prior and post 9/11 attack, revealing, among others, that after 9/11 the profitability of full-service carriers is improving faster than that of focused carriers, and that passengers are more forgivable to service glitches after 9/11 or possibly are associating lack of service with the intensified security measures imposed after 9/11. Focusing the analysis on determinants of consumers’ complaints we find further support for these arguments.

  4. 29 CFR 1470.26 - Non-Federal audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Non-Federal audit. 1470.26 Section 1470.26 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE... Organizations,” have met the audit requirements of the Act. Commercial contractors (private for-profit and...

  5. SERVICE QUALITY AND PROFITABILITY

    OpenAIRE

    Katarina Panić

    2012-01-01

    In recent years there have beenchanges in marketing focus. For ‘50s we may say itwas period of mass marketing, for ‘70s the time ofmarketing segmentation, and ‘90s representsperiod of personalized marketing. Today’s accent ison the concept of relationship. Importance ofrelationship marketing, in the area of services, isdirectly linked with principle that customer’ssatisfaction and loyalty are closely related toprofitability. This article presents analysis of newservice paradigm which foregrou...

  6. 22 CFR 226.81 - Prohibition against profit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ....81 Foreign Relations AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION OF ASSISTANCE AWARDS TO U.S. NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS Additional Provisions For Awards to Commercial Organizations § 226.81... organization. Profit is any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs. ...

  7. Profitability of Management Systems on German Fenlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Rebhann

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Fens are organic sites that require drainage for agricultural use. Lowering the groundwater level leads to trade-offs between economic benefits and environmental impacts (i.e., CO2 and nutrient emissions. To identify management options that are both environmentally and economically sustainable, a propaedeutic systematic analysis of the costs, income and profit of different land use and management systems on fenlands is necessary. This study provides an overview of the profitability, labor demand and comparative advantages of feasible management systems on German fenlands. Twenty management practices in four land use systems are analyzed. The results indicate that most management systems are profitable only with subsidies and payments for ecosystem services. In addition to sales revenue, these payments are indispensable to promote peat-saving agricultural practices on fenlands. Regarding the labor aspect, intensive management systems caused an increase in working hours per hectare, which may positively affect employment in rural areas. The calculations obtained in this study can be used as a basis for estimations of greenhouse gas (GHG mitigation costs when management systems are associated with GHG emission values.

  8. Data envelopment analysis in service quality evaluation: an empirical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najafi, Seyedvahid; Saati, Saber; Tavana, Madjid

    2015-09-01

    Service quality is often conceptualized as the comparison between service expectations and the actual performance perceptions. It enhances customer satisfaction, decreases customer defection, and promotes customer loyalty. Substantial literature has examined the concept of service quality, its dimensions, and measurement methods. We introduce the perceived service quality index (PSQI) as a single measure for evaluating the multiple-item service quality construct based on the SERVQUAL model. A slack-based measure (SBM) of efficiency with constant inputs is used to calculate the PSQI. In addition, a non-linear programming model based on the SBM is proposed to delineate an improvement guideline and improve service quality. An empirical study is conducted to assess the applicability of the method proposed in this study. A large number of studies have used DEA as a benchmarking tool to measure service quality. These models do not propose a coherent performance evaluation construct and consequently fail to deliver improvement guidelines for improving service quality. The DEA models proposed in this study are designed to evaluate and improve service quality within a comprehensive framework and without any dependency on external data.

  9. Assessment of a tool for measuring non-profit advocacy efforts in India, Uganda and Yemen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lalwani, Tanya; Rajaratnam, Julie Knoll; McOwen, Jordan; Gordis, Deborah J; Bowen, Lisa A; Bernson, Jeff

    2016-03-01

    To improve maternal and child health, the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood (WRA) implemented an innovative policy advocacy project in India, Uganda and Yemen from 2009 to 2011. PATH assisted WRA in designing an approach to measure the short- and long-term results of WRA's advocacy efforts.Expert rating instruments have been widely used since 1970s to track country-level program efforts focusing on family planning, maternal and neonatal health, and HIV/AIDS. This article assesses and establishes the strength and applicability of an expert rating tool, the Maternal Health Policy Score (MHPS), in measuring and guiding a non-profit's advocacy efforts.The tool was assessed using five criteria: validity of results, reproducibility of results, acceptability to respondents, internal consistency and cost. The tool proved effective for measuring improvements in the policy environment at both the national and subnational levels that the non-profit intended to effect and useful for identifying strong and weak policy domains. The results are reproducible, though ensuring fidelity in implementation during different rounds of data collection may be difficult. The acceptability of the tool was high among respondents, and also among users of the information.MHPS provides a quick, low-cost method to measure overall changes in the policy environment, giving advocacy organizations and grant makers timely information to gauge the influence of their work and take corrective action. WRA demonstrated the use of MHPS at multiple points in the project: at the onset of a project to identify and strategize around policy domains that need attention, during and at the end of the project to monitor progress made and redirect efforts. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. ANA position statement on privatization and for-profit conversion. American Nurses Association.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-01-01

    The American Nurses Association (ANA) believes that the health of communities benefits from a mix of health care facilities, including both public and nonprofit private facilities where feasible. ANA is concerned by the rate of conversion of nonprofit facilities and plans to for-profit status. Privatization of public facilities and the conversion of nonprofit facilities and health plans to for-profit status requires careful public oversight to ensure continued access to affordable, quality services, including a maintenance of uncompensated care; a fair accounting of the assets of the entity being privatized or converted; and an assurance that converted assets are used to maintain and improve access to affordable, safe and quality health care services. The rights and benefits of employees must be carefully safe-guarded in any privatization or conversion move. All hospitals, regardless of ownership or tax status, should be held accountable for the delivery of safe, quality services, and should be required to disclose data regarding staffing, patient outcomes, cost and delivery of uncompensated care. Continued data collection will be necessary to guide further development of public policy to address privatization and for-profit conversion.

  11. Profit maximization with customer satisfaction control for electric vehicle charging in smart grids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edwin Collado

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available As the market of electric vehicles is gaining popularity, large-scale commercialized or privately-operated charging stations are expected to play a key role as a technology enabler. In this paper, we study the problem of charging electric vehicles at stations with limited charging machines and power resources. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel profit maximization framework for station operation in both offline and online charging scenarios, under certain customer satisfaction constraints. The main goal is to maximize the profit obtained by the station owner and provide a satisfactory charging service to the customers. The framework includes not only the vehicle scheduling and charging power control, but also the managing of user satisfaction factors, which are defined as the percentages of finished charging targets. The profit maximization problem is proved to be NPcomplete in both scenarios (NP refers to “nondeterministic polynomial time”, for which two-stage charging strategies are proposed to obtain efficient suboptimal solutions. Competitive analysis is also provided to analyze the performance of the proposed online two-stage charging algorithm against the offline counterpart under non-congested and congested charging scenarios. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed two-stage charging strategies achieve performance close to that with exhaustive search. Also, the proposed algorithms provide remarkable performance gains compared to the other conventional charging strategies with respect to not only the unified profit, but also other practical interests, such as the computational time, the user satisfaction factor, the power consumption, and the competitive ratio.

  12. Multivariate Analysis of Profitability Indicators for Selected Companies of Croatian Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Perisa

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the profitability indicators are analysed for the first hundred companies of the Croatian market, which are classified according to the net profit. The profitability indicators included in the analysis are the following: EBIT margin, EBITDA margin, net profit margin, return on assets (ROA, return on invested capital (ROI and return on capital employed (ROCE. By implementing the factor analysis, six chosen profitability indicators have been reduced to two factors, thus solving the multicollinearity problem, which is one of the prerequisites for the cluster analysis. For two extracted factors, the factor scores are calculated and used in the following cluster analysis. By implementing the cluster analysis, selected companies are grouped into clusters according to their similarity in accomplished results that are measured by profitability indicators. The hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analyses are conducted and resulted into two clusters where ten companies were in the first cluster, while the other ninety were in the second cluster

  13. DataProfit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2016-01-01

    DataProfit er et værktøj til at kortlægge og analysere din virksomheds evne til datadreven forretningsudvikling.......DataProfit er et værktøj til at kortlægge og analysere din virksomheds evne til datadreven forretningsudvikling....

  14. Evaluation of Effective Factors on e-Loyalty in Organizations Providing Electronic Services using Fuzzy AHP Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    fatemeh mohammadi

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In today's business world, proper identification of customer’s requirements and a quick response to these requirements is a key to commercial success. Increasing customer loyalty affects the profitability and organizations can ensure their long-term interests by means of planning. In today's competitive world, the services provided by the competing company have to be more similar to each other and can be hard to surprise customers within completely new service in the long term, because the newest services are quickly imitated by competitors and marketed. Hence investment in customer loyalty is an effective and profitable investment for companies. One criticism that has entered into the e-service is customer loyalty. In order to study the causes of e-loyalty for organization providing e-services, this research identified the factors affecting customer loyalty in e-services and with questionnaire prepared and by using fuzzy hierarchical decision-making process acquires the weight of each factor and ultimately rank them. The results show that the quality of service provided to e-services customers is the most important factor in creating e-loyalty.

  15. Optimal security design under asymmetric information and profit manipulation

    OpenAIRE

    Koufopoulos, Kostas; Kozhan, Roman; Trigilia, Giulio

    2014-01-01

    We consider a model of external financing under ex ante asymmetric information and profit manipulation (non verifability). Contrary to conventional wisdom, the optimal contract is not standard debt, and it is not monotonic. Instead, it resembles a contingent convertible (CoCo) bond. In particular: (i) if the profit manipulation and/or adverse selection are not severe, there exists a unique separating equilibrium in CoCos; (ii) in the intermediate region, if the distribution of earnings is unb...

  16. QUALITY OF SERVICE BASED WEB SERVICE SELECTION: AN EVALUATION OF TECHNIQUES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rigga Widar Atmagi

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} In service oriented computing, web services are the basic construct that aims to facilitate building of business application in a more flexible and interoperable manner for enterprise collaboration. One of the most promising advantages of web service technology is the possibility of creating added-value services by combining existing ones. A key step for composing and executing services lies in the selection of the individual services to use. Much attention has been devoted to appropriate selection of service functionalities, but also the non-functional properties of the services play a key role. A web service selection technique must take as much as possible the important influencing aspects into account to the selection processes in order to minimize the selection efforts. This paper evaluates several web service selection techniques published in literature with the focus on their contributions to web service selection. The evaluation results may be used as a basis for improving web service selection techniques that may simplify the selection tasks.

  17. A critique of social marketing in the non-profit development sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L.M. Fourie

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available In its struggle to find funding, non-profit organisations world-wide are increasingly using social marketing strategies. This approach potentially influences non governmental organisations (NGOs and community based organisations (CBOs in their communication with their “clients”, i.e. those persons and com-munities in need of development. Marketing strategies con-sequently become instruments in achieving social development, with as main premise that behaviour could be changed by means of persuasive, top-down communication. Social marketing, with its roots in marketing, has a strong focus on persuasion and favours top-down communication rather than dialogical communication strategies suggested by the par-ticipatory development communication approach. It is also questionable whether social marketing can be equated with the principles of a Biblically informed approach to communication. With these questions in mind, this article discusses Biblical views on communication and the participatory development communication approach. A critique of the social marketing approach is then offered. It is argued here that there is no clear-cut answer as to whether social marketing could be described as participatory. What is clear is that there are many different views on social marketing, as is the case with participatory approaches. It would thus seem more correct to place social marketing on a participation continuum, rather than to define it as being participatory and thus per definition ethical or not. Finally, a number of suggestions are made which could bring it more in line with the participatory communication approach as well as Biblical principles on com-munication.

  18. A Strategic Analysis of Investment Opportunities within British Columbia's Private Healthcare Sector for a Non-Profit Genomics Research Organization

    OpenAIRE

    Barclay, John W.

    2010-01-01

    Advances in the genome sciences are leading to the development of new healthcare innovations relevant to the principles of personalized medicine. Genome BC, a non-profit research organization, invests in projects that will help facilitate the integration of these innovations into the delivery of healthcare. This analysis assesses the strategic positioning of private healthcare firms in BC to be early users of such innovations. The analysis assesses the suitability of investment from Genome BC...

  19. Risk and profitability of animal and crop production in Slovak farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marián Tóth

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper focuses on profitability and risk of crop and animal production based on an analysis of farms operating in Slovak Republic. The individual farm data used for the analysis are from the database of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic. For our analysis, data were selected according to the farm production orientation to the subset of crop farms and animal farms. The selecting criterion for production orientation was the percentage share of revenues from crop production, or revenues from animal production from the overall revenues from own products and services. We analyse profitability of farms divided into groups based on the type of production into crop and animal farms (according to the share in sales from crop or animal production. Using descriptive statistics and portfolio theory we simulate the total farm profitability and volatility of animal and crop production in Slovakia. The modified Markowitz portfolio theory approach was used to estimate the total risk of portfolios of crop and animal farms. Based on the results we conclude that in the long run crop farms are profitable and profit from crop production is used to cover the losses from animal production in mixed farms. Farms focused on animal production only are efficient and profitable, but the profitability is lower in comparison with crop farms. Animal farms results are less volatile than crop farms. Large farms tend to production with lower value added and can generate enough profit for the owner.

  20. Profitability Analysis of Rice Processing and Marketing in Kano State ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Profitability Analysis of Rice Processing and Marketing in Kano State, Nigeria. ... added to the commodity at each stage in the study area and determine the most efficient services produce. ... EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT

  1. RELATION OF DRILLING CAPACITY TO MARKET AND PROFIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mladen Zelenika

    1994-12-01

    Full Text Available Owner of drilling rigs should employ highly professional officers, who are capable to manage profit-orientated operations at all stages and make accurate analyses of the next three questions: how to deploy drilling crews to achieve the highest financial result; which kinds of equipment are compatible and employable in profitable operations, and how to compute the requirement of each type of equipment, and the number of drilling crews for a defined period and region to have profitable service. This paper introduce an original mathematical model convenient to compute exact values needed for an answer on these three questions. Application of this model is obvious for research of the relationship among: (i performance and cost of available drilling rigs, (ii condition on the market, and (iii estimated profit. Utilization of this model is possible only if records of market conditions' data, and data relating to progress and cost of operations in different conditions are established. These records will facilitate accurate estimation of input parameters' values and computation of output parameters' values using the Mathematical Model. Results of these computation should give basic data Tor precise plan of operation, rentabili-ty, and figures to decide the strategy of Drilling Company's capacity development.

  2. Let the bleeding begin: rising costs are starting to crush oilpatch profits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koch, G.

    1997-01-01

    Reasons for the increase in the cost and decrease in profits in the oil industry were investigated. The most likely cause for the cost increase and hence the diminishing profit margin, was identified as a simple supply and demand increase in the cost of exploration and drilling: seismic crews, drilling rigs, well servicing and labour have all increased by an average of some 10 per cent as a result of the heavy demand for these services to support the growth that companies seek. Concentrated ownership in the drilling sector is partially to blame. A severe shortage of skilled labour, and an increase in land prices are some of the other possible causes. While some industry observers expect the worst, others are confident that gradually falling profits will prompt a market correction. The tightening of investment capital will slow down rates of drilling and land acquisition, gradually easing prices downward. Volume contracting ahead of time, booking seismic crews and rigs for an entire season at a fixed cost, and technological improvements also offer hope of forcing costs down. Heavy investment by industry majors in new oilsands and heavy oil developments is yet another promise of maintaining profit margins in the oil patch while reducing the industry''s reliance on conventional light crude

  3. Maximising profitability through the use of simulation for new market crudes evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendez, Maryro P. [KBC Advanced Technologies, Surrey (United Kingdom)

    2012-07-01

    There is nothing that contributes more to the cost of production for a refinery than the cost of crude oil and other feedstocks. The efficient and effective evaluation and selection of crude oil to a refinery will have a very significant impact on its profitability. The crude oil selected will impact the utilization and output from different process units, has the potential to impact maintenance and energy costs, and will impact product properties from the refinery. The tools and knowledge necessary for a good new crude evaluation program are addressed as part of this paper. The work process is outlined in detail. Finally, we address some of the risk management issues inherent in processing high margin crudes. Innovative simulation tools like Petro-SIM offer the platform to evaluate opportunities to capture the value that the sour/sweet crude differential and that the new crudes coming in to the market have to offer for a given refinery configuration. The paper provides comments on how KBC's methodology has helped refiners to check their ability to run new challenging crudes. (author)

  4. Profitability of cover crops for single and twin row cotton

    Science.gov (United States)

    With the increased interest in cover crops, the impact of adoption on profitability of cash crops is a common question from producers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the profitability of cover crops for single and twin row cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in Alabama. This experiment inclu...

  5. Profit maximization mitigates competition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dierker, Egbert; Grodal, Birgit

    1996-01-01

    We consider oligopolistic markets in which the notion of shareholders' utility is well-defined and compare the Bertrand-Nash equilibria in case of utility maximization with those under the usual profit maximization hypothesis. Our main result states that profit maximization leads to less price...... competition than utility maximization. Since profit maximization tends to raise prices, it may be regarded as beneficial for the owners as a whole. Moreover, if profit maximization is a good proxy for utility maximization, then there is no need for a general equilibrium analysis that takes the distribution...... of profits among consumers fully into account and partial equilibrium analysis suffices...

  6. Adopting and implementing nutrition guidelines in recreational facilities: tensions between public health and corporate profitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olstad, Dana Lee; Raine, Kim D; McCargar, Linda J

    2013-05-01

    Little is known about how public entities can partner with industry to achieve public health goals. We investigated industry's perspective of factors that influenced their adoption and implementation of voluntary, government-issued nutrition guidelines (Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth, ANGCY) in recreational facilities. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data were analysed using directed content analysis. Food services in recreational facilities. Seven managers from industry participated; five from companies that had adopted and implemented the ANGCY (adopters) in recreational facilities and two from companies that had not (non-adopters). Industry views nutrition guidelines through the lens of profitability. Non-adopters were unwilling to implement the ANGCY for fear of sacrificing short-term profitability, whereas adopters adhered to them in an attempt to position themselves for long-term profitability. Adopters faced barriers including few resources, no training, complex guidelines, low availability of and demand for ANGCY-compliant products, competitive pressures and substantial declines in revenue. Managers believed widespread voluntary adoption of the ANGCY was unlikely without government incentives and/or a mandate, as the environmental context for voluntary action was poor. All managers supported government-mandated implementation of the ANGCY to level the playing field upon which companies compete. Public-private partnerships in recreational facilities can embrace public health goals in the short term, provided industry perceives potential for long-term financial gain. Widespread uptake of voluntary nutrition guidelines in this setting is unlikely, however, as market mechanisms do not encourage industry to sell and promote healthier options. Government legislation may therefore be warranted.

  7. Determinants of Profit as the Criterion for the Evaluation of the Product Development Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. C. Fairlie-Clarke

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available There are three main elements of the product development process that are suitable for evaluation: the means employed, the activities and the outcomes. Most available methods provide an evaluation of the outcomes, but this can only provide retrospective information. There is a need to be able to evaluate an existing or proposed process to determine whether it will successfully meet the objectives of a particular project. This can be done by evaluating the planned activities of the process for their effectiveness in addressing the important issues in the project. These issues are called the “determinants of profit”, and a survey and trials in industry show that they provide an effective criterion against which companies can evaluate the activities of their product development process. The determinants of profit can be divided into enabling determinants, which must be addressed above a threshold value of effectiveness in order to produce a viable product, and differentiating determinants, which provide scope for competitive advantage.

  8. Rural hospital ownership: medical service provision, market mix, and spillover effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horwitz, Jill R; Nichols, Austin

    2011-10-01

    To test whether nonprofit, for-profit, or government hospital ownership affects medical service provision in rural hospital markets, either directly or through the spillover effects of ownership mix. Data are from the American Hospital Association, U.S. Census, CMS Healthcare Cost Report Information System and Prospective Payment System Minimum Data File, and primary data collection for geographic coordinates. The sample includes all nonfederal, general medical, and surgical hospitals located outside of metropolitan statistical areas and within the continental United States from 1988 to 2005. We estimate multivariate regression models to examine the effects of (1) hospital ownership and (2) hospital ownership mix within rural hospital markets on profitable versus unprofitable medical service offerings. Rural nonprofit hospitals are more likely than for-profit hospitals to offer unprofitable services, many of which are underprovided services. Nonprofits respond less than for-profits to changes in service profitability. Nonprofits with more for-profit competitors offer more profitable services and fewer unprofitable services than those with fewer for-profit competitors. Rural hospital ownership affects medical service provision at the hospital and market levels. Nonprofit hospital regulation should reflect both the direct and spillover effects of ownership. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  9. An early view of the impact of deregulation and managed care on hospital profitability and net worth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, W J

    2001-01-01

    This study shows the impact of the removal of hospital rate regulation followed by the growth of managed care on hospitals' profitability and net worth. New Jersey emerged from a regulated prospective payment system in 1992. The transition to a freely competitive market structure had a negative impact on hospital profitability, net worth, patient length of stay, and other measures of capacity utilization. Similarly, the doubling of the HMO penetration rate in the state between 1995 and 1997 is shown to have negatively influenced hospital financial viability. Hospitals have responded in part by increasing usage of outpatient services. The use of discounted fee-for-service instead of per diem reimbursement for outpatient services provides an incentive for hospitals to favor outpatient over inpatient services. The effect of these changes is detailed, along with data showing that the larger discounts given by hospitals to managed care organizations, Medicare, and Medicaid played an important role in explaining the diminished profitability of hospitals.

  10. Bank foundation – a symbiotic legal institution at the crossroad of banking system and non-profit sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena CATARGIU

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In the context of the development and omnipresence, in Europe, of the non-profit sector and due to the diversification of the legal entities that are involved in the configuration of the third sector, an legal analysis of the foundation of banking origins, is very appealing. Throughout this study we aim to point out key moments in the evolution of this particular figure, mainly in the Italian legislation. Nevertheless, we intend to identify the legal nature of the foundation of banking origins in order to draw a line between banking and philanthropic activities.

  11. Is merging and acquisition profitable?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skjeret, Frode; Soergard, Lars

    2002-01-01

    This report deals with mergers and acquisitions in the electricity sector in Norway. The background is the fact that the profitability of these activities proves to be low. In buying, it is typically the selling shareholder who profits from the transaction, while the buying company does not really earn much. This result appears to be a robust result both in different countries, between sectors and independent of methodology. The report provides theoretical justification for merging and buying up and empirical evaluations of the effects of company integration. It is asserted that what can be learned in general from the literature may also occur in the European power sector. Furthermore, the report discusses the challenges faced by the companies if they want to expand through mergers and acquisitions

  12. Non-use of Formal Health Services in Malawi: Perceptions from Non ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    for those who were non-users of health services due to poor attitudes of health workers, they ..... services (especially mother and child services) free of charge to the .... Ngozo C: Malawi: vaccination foiled by divine intervention. Africaonline: the ...

  13. Profitability of Residential Battery Energy Storage Combined with Solar Photovoltaics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph Goebel

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Lithium-ion (Li-Ion batteries are increasingly being considered as bulk energy storage in grid applications. One such application is residential energy storage combined with solar photovoltaic (PV panels to enable higher self-consumption rates, which has become financially more attractive recently due to decreasing feed-in subsidies. Although residential energy storage solutions are commercially mature, it remains unclear which system configurations and circumstances, including aggregator-based applications such as the provision of ancillary services, lead to profitable consumer investments. Therefore, we conduct an extensive simulation study that is able to jointly capture these aspects. Our results show that, at current battery module prices, even optimal system configurations still do not lead to profitable investments into Li-Ion batteries if they are merely used as a buffer for solar energy. The first settings in which they will become profitable, as prices are further declining, will be larger households at locations with higher average levels of solar irradiance. If the batteries can be remote-controlled by an aggregator to provide overnight negative reserve, their profitability increases significantly.

  14. Avoidance of international double taxation. Taxation of business profits in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florin Dumiter

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this article we wanted to achieve a comprehensive analysis of corporate profit tax for non-residents, from the standpoint of the issues that it creates on the double taxation of income and capital. Taxing the corporate profits of non-residents is a particularly important aspect in terms of revenue growth, encouraging foreign investment, and strengthening cross-border trade. The “source” state will decide the legitimate right to tax the profits of businesses that operate within its jurisdiction. Tax treaties do not impose limits on these types of taxing rights, other than those stemming from the obligation to impose profits, since the issue of taxation is “satisfied”. Moreover, the source of tax revenue belongs to the source state. Thus, we can see that it is unlikely that the state of residence of a non-resident taxpayer should want to “share” such tax revenue. It can be observed that the state of residence also has the right to tax the profits, but in general it gives credit in respect of taxes of the source state or deducts them for the purpose of preventing the occurrence of double taxation. If the state of residence provides a credit for taxes paid within the source state, taxes which have not been collected and owed to the source state will constitute a tax transfer to the state of residence, from which the taxpayer will not have any benefit. As regards Romania, in terms of the treatment of enterprises, this article represents a real quid pro quo, as it tackles both the international and national taxation of corporate profits, through the provisions found in the new Fiscal Code and the Code of Fiscal Procedure, as well as the new proposals on the taxation of turnover in companies, all of this extrapolated with the new proposals for turnover tax from IT giants. The article ends with the presentation, comment and analysis of a case of international double taxation, more specifically the taxation of corporate profits, a topic of

  15. Business analytics of specialized medical biochemistry laboratory using profit and loss acount

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vikica Buljanović

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. By measuring the actual effectiveness of a medical biochemistry laboratory’s business operations, we can determine the accounting measure of laboratory’s profitability, where operating expenses of the laboratory are covered by the income generated from the services. A laboratory’s financial report can be based on a profit and loss account, which shows whether or not a business entity, i.e., the laboratory, is making a profit during a particular business period. Methods. Profitability of the Specialized Medical Biochemical Laboratory (Laboratory of the General County Hospital in Našice, Croatia, was determined using the profit and loss account for 2007. Business success was expressed using the accounting measures of marginal contribution, gross income, and operating income, which could show whether or not the laboratory was operating profitably. This procedure allowed us to identify indicators of successful or unsuccessful business operations of the Laboratory. Results. According to the profit and loss account, the operating profit was 719,926 HRK, i.e., the operating margin was 11.7%, indicating that the Laboratory was operating positively. After subtracting all operating expenses per 100 income units, 11.7 units profit remained from the Laboratory’s core business. Conclusion. The Specialized Medical Biochemical Laboratory of the General County Hospital in Našice generated income, i.e., it operated at a profit. The purpose of profit and loss account was to determine the Laboratory operations that had impact on its business effectiveness and could increase the actual profitability. If the laboratory operates at a loss, and no activities are undertaken that would reverse the business toward positive, the analysis may provide information on the cost for the society as a whole of the studied laboratory within the existing healthcare system.

  16. Domotics in existing houses for elderly people. Evaluation of the project Lidwinahof. People, Planet, Profit; Domotica in bestaande seniorenwoningen. Evaluatie project Lidwinahof. People, Planet, Profit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schouw, J.; Corpeleijn, M.; Poiesz, E. [CEA, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

    2003-08-01

    Domotics is applied in 49 houses for elderly people of the building complex Lidwinahof in Best, Netherlands. The domotics application concerns the functions safety (burglary, control of access, fire), care (emergency call, measurement of activity) and comfort (lighting). Among all residents an evaluation has been carried out from the perspective of sustainable development. A precondition for sustainable development is a balance between social, ecological and economical benefits (People, Planet and Profit). Results before and after the application of domotics are compared. [Dutch] De afgelopen jaren hebben diverse woningcorporaties een pilot-project met domotica uitgevoerd, met name met toepassingen op het gebied van wonen en zorg. Domein (woningcorporatie in Eindhoven, Best en Son en Breugel) was in het voorjaar van 2002 de eerste woningcorporatie die domotica heeft toegepast in de bestaande bouw (49 seniorenwoningen van het complex Lidwinahof in Best). Het systeem bevatte de functies veiligheid (inbraak, toegangscontrole, brand), zorg (noodoproep, activiteitsmeting) en comfort (verlichting). Onder alle bewoners is een evaluatie uitgevoerd vanuit het perspectief van duurzame ontwikkeling. Voorwaarde voor duurzame ontwikkeling is een balans tussen sociale, ecologische en economische opbrengsten (People, Planet en Profit). De resultaten op deze drie gebieden voor en na toepassing van domotica zijn vergeleken.

  17. Comparative analysis of the role of for-profit and non-profit private ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The increasing private sector\\'s participation in agricultural extension delivery is, complimenting significantly contributing to the public sector\\'s effort. It is essential to understand how different private organizations with nuances and goals set about their extension service delivery to the mutual benefit of both the service ...

  18. Investment in Electronic Commerce: Financial Perspectives and Profit Conditions

    OpenAIRE

    Bergendahl, Göran

    2002-01-01

    Electronic Commerce ("eCommerce") is a concept for trade based upon products and services that are being marketed, contracted, and paid for over the Internet. Consequently, electronic commerce demands for the investment in computer systems, marketing, logistics and payments. This paper will focus on the profitability of investments in eCommerce with a special focus on outlays for information technology systems and sales management. If the services are made more standardized, if they do not ch...

  19. Financial Analysis of For Profit Child Care: A Work in Progress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephens, Keith

    1989-01-01

    Compares revenues, debts, investments, and profit margins of for-profit publicly and privately owned day care centers. An evaluation tool was developed through analysis of financial statements of seven privately owned child care businesses and six publicly owned child care chains. (RJC)

  20. Factorial Analysis of Profitability

    OpenAIRE

    Georgeta VINTILA; Ilie GHEORGHE; Ioana Mihaela POCAN; Madalina Gabriela ANGHEL

    2012-01-01

    The DuPont analysis system is based on decomposing the profitability ratio in factors of influence. This paper describes the factorial analysis of profitability based on the DuPont system. Significant importance is given to the impact on various indicators on the shares value and profitability.

  1. DISPAQ: Distributed Profitable-Area Query from Big Taxi Trip Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putri, Fadhilah Kurnia; Song, Giltae; Kwon, Joonho; Rao, Praveen

    2017-09-25

    One of the crucial problems for taxi drivers is to efficiently locate passengers in order to increase profits. The rapid advancement and ubiquitous penetration of Internet of Things (IoT) technology into transportation industries enables us to provide taxi drivers with locations that have more potential passengers (more profitable areas) by analyzing and querying taxi trip data. In this paper, we propose a query processing system, called Distributed Profitable-Area Query ( DISPAQ ) which efficiently identifies profitable areas by exploiting the Apache Software Foundation's Spark framework and a MongoDB database. DISPAQ first maintains a profitable-area query index (PQ-index) by extracting area summaries and route summaries from raw taxi trip data. It then identifies candidate profitable areas by searching the PQ-index during query processing. Then, it exploits a Z-Skyline algorithm, which is an extension of skyline processing with a Z-order space filling curve, to quickly refine the candidate profitable areas. To improve the performance of distributed query processing, we also propose local Z-Skyline optimization, which reduces the number of dominant tests by distributing killer profitable areas to each cluster node. Through extensive evaluation with real datasets, we demonstrate that our DISPAQ system provides a scalable and efficient solution for processing profitable-area queries from huge amounts of big taxi trip data.

  2. Profit and loss account in the international context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PALIU - POPA LUCIA

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Given that the objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of an economic unit, useful for a wide range of users in making economic decisions, particular attention should be paid to the profit and loss account, which is the main instrument for reflecting the financial performance, because on the one hand it provides the information necessary for their evaluation, and on the other hand the information essential for determining the risk of cash flows. Even if each component of the financial statements provides different pieces of information, they should be correlated because they reflect different aspects of the same transactions or events, and in this article we will address the general aspects of profit and loss account from the perspective of profit and loss account models. In this regard, after a brief theoretical approach of the profit and loss account, we will indicate the advantages of two models of profit and loss account but without forgetting their limitations. Thus, we will provide the income statement structure on two stages of normalization: internationally and nationally.

  3. An analysis of the value of marketing to non-profit organizations: the case of child safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Razis, V; Razis, N

    1993-01-01

    This paper considers a broad spectrum of literature concerning the limitations and value of applying marketing management principles from the private sector to public or non-profit organizations. The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa is used as a principle case-study. The authors conclude that there is much to be gained from applying a more systematic approach, providing one adapts business strategies to more complex social environments and objectives. Since both marketing and social issues share the challenge of 'sensitivity serving and satisfying human needs,' (Kotler, 1983 p 272) there are also some instances where business can learn from the experience of social organizations in attempts to influence human behavior.

  4. Role of Surgical Services in Profitability of Hospitals in California: An Analysis of Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development Annual Financial Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moazzez, Ashkan; de Virgilio, Christian

    2016-10-01

    With constant changes in health-care laws and payment methods, profitability, and financial sustainability of hospitals are of utmost importance. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between surgical services and hospital profitability. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development annual financial databases for the years 2009 to 2011 were used for this study. The hospitals' characteristics and income statement elements were extracted for statistical analysis using bivariate and multivariate linear regression. A total of 989 financial records of 339 hospitals were included. On bivariate analysis, the number of inpatient and ambulatory operating rooms (ORs), the number of cases done both as inpatient and outpatient in each OR, and the average minutes used in inpatient ORs were significantly related with the net income of the hospital. On multivariate regression analysis, when controlling for hospitals' payer mix and the study year, only the number of inpatient cases done in the inpatient ORs (β = 832, P = 0.037), and the number of ambulatory ORs (β = 1,485, 466, P = 0.001) were significantly related with the net income of the hospital. These findings suggest that hospitals can maximize their profitability by diverting and allocating outpatient surgeries to ambulatory ORs, to allow for more inpatient surgeries.

  5. THE INFLUENCE OF AGRIBUSINESS SUBSYSTEM ON BEEF CATTLE FATTENING FARMS PROFIT IN CENTRAL JAVA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Rianto

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This study was aimed : (i to know the subsystem implementation and agribusiness planning in beef cattle fattening; (ii to count the profit of beef cattle farming; (iii to analyze the effect of agribusiness subsystem implementation and agribusiness planning to beef cattle fattening profit. This study was carried out using survey method and the elementary units were feedlot farmers. The sample was determined by Purposive Quota Sampling Method on 112 respondents spread across five regencies, namely Blora, Rembang, Grobogan, Wonogiri, and Boyolali. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources. The data analysis used quantitative descriptive and inferential statistics method, which include scoring, financial, and multiple linear regression analysis. The results showed that : (i the implementation of agribusiness subsystem (including preproduction subsystem, marketing, and agribusiness support services and agribusiness planning were not so good category, while the cattle farming subsystem was moderate category; (ii the average of farming scale in each feedlot farmer was 2.95 head of cattle with the profit rate was IDR 1,044,719 per fattening period during 6.68 months (equivalent to IDR 156,395 per month; (iii agribusiness subsystem and agribusiness planning had significant impact on feedlot farmer profit simultaneously, but preproduction subsystem and the agribusiness support services subsystem partially had a significant impact on feedlot farmer profit.

  6. THE INFLUENCE OF AGRIBUSINESS SUBSYSTEM ON BEEF CATTLE FATTENING FARM’S PROFIT IN CENTRAL JAVA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Prasetyo

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This study was aimed : (i to know the subsystem implementation and agribusiness planning inbeef cattle fattening; (ii to count the profit of beef cattle farming; (iii to analyze the effect ofagribusiness subsystem implementation and agribusiness planning to beef cattle fattening profit. Thisstudy was carried out using survey method and the elementary units were feedlot farmers. The samplewas determined by Purposive Quota Sampling Method on 112 respondents spread across five regencies,namely Blora, Rembang, Grobogan, Wonogiri, and Boyolali. Data were collected from primary andsecondary sources. The data analysis used quantitative descriptive and inferential statistics method,which include scoring, financial, and multiple linear regression analysis. The results showed that : (i theimplementation of agribusiness subsystem (including preproduction subsystem, marketing, andagribusiness support services and agribusiness planning were not so good category, while the cattlefarming subsystem was moderate category; (ii the average of farming scale in each feedlot farmer was2.95 head of cattle with the profit rate was IDR 1,044,719 per fattening period during 6.68 months(equivalent to IDR 156,395 per month; (iii agribusiness subsystem and agribusiness planning hadsignificant impact on feedlot farmer profit simultaneously, but preproduction subsystem and theagribusiness support services subsystem partially had a significant impact on feedlot farmer profit.

  7. Community benefits: how do for-profit and nonprofit hospitals measure up?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholson, S; Pauly, M V

    The rise of the for-profit hospital industry has opened a debate about the level of community benefits provided by non-profit hospitals. Do nonprofits provide enough community benefits to justify the community's commitment of resources to them, and the tax-exempt status they receive? If nonprofit hospitals convert to for-profit entities, would community benefits be lost in the transaction? This debate has highlighted the need to define and measure community benefits more clearly. In this Issue Brief, the authors develop a new method of identifying activities that qualify as community benefits, and propose a benchmark for the amount of benefit a nonprofit hospital should provide.

  8. Public stewardship of private for-profit healthcare providers in low- and middle-income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiysonge, Charles S; Abdullahi, Leila H; Ndze, Valantine N; Hussey, Gregory D

    2016-08-11

    Governments use different approaches to ensure that private for-profit healthcare services meet certain quality standards. Such government guidance, referred to as public stewardship, encompasses government policies, regulatory mechanisms, and implementation strategies for ensuring accountability in the delivery of services. However, the effectiveness of these strategies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have not been the subject of a systematic review. To assess the effects of public sector regulation, training, or co-ordination of the private for-profit health sector in low- and middle-income countries. For related systematic reviews, we searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) 2015, Issue 4; Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE) 2015, Issue 1; Health Technology Assessment Database (HTA) 2015, Issue 1; all part of The Cochrane Library, and searched 28 April 2015. For primary studies, we searched MEDLINE, Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, MEDLINE Daily and MEDLINE 1946 to Present, OvidSP (searched 16 June 2016); Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index 1987 to present, and Emerging Sources Citation Index 2015 to present, ISI Web of Science (searched 3 May 2016 for papers citing included studies); Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), 2015, Issue 3, part of The Cochrane Library (including the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Specialised Register) (searched 28 April 2015); Embase 1980 to 2015 Week 17, OvidSP (searched 28 April 2015); Global Health 1973 to 2015 Week 16, OvidSP (searched 30 April 2015); WHOLIS, WHO (searched 30 April 2015); Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index 1975 to present, ISI Web of Science (searched 30 April 2015); Health Management, ProQuest (searched 22 November 2013). In addition, in April 2016, we searched the reference lists of relevant articles, WHO International Clinical

  9. Tying Profit to Performance: A Valuable Tool, But Use With Good Judgment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-06-01

    profitability on behalf of its shareholders and/or owners—that’s capital- ism. Our job is to protect the interests of the taxpayers and the warfighter while...business, then it was not good. Profit is the fundamental reason that businesses exist: to make money for their owners or shareholders . Without...performance of the service, or we may only be interested in controlling cost at a set level of performance. As we emphasized in BBP 2.0, we have to start

  10. Bureaucratic Corruption and Profit Tax Evasion

    OpenAIRE

    Laszlo Goerke

    2006-01-01

    Firms may evade taxes on profits and can also avoid fulfilling legal restrictions on production activities by bribing bureaucrats. It is shown that the existence of tax evasion does not affect corruption activities at the firm level, while the budgetary repercussions of tax evasion induce less corruption. Policy measures which alter the gains or losses from corruption have a non-systematic impact on tax evasion behaviour.

  11. The Capacity Development of Non-Profit Organizations in the Growth Stage (An Action Research Based on the SSM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harry Nenobais

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This research aims in analyzing the capacity development of non-profit organizations in the growth stage through six internal components and four external components at Papuan Pesat Foundation. The approach used in the research is the action research based on the soft systems methodology that consists of two activities that had been done simultaneously, which are the research interest and the problem solving interest (McKay and Marshall, 2001. It fulfills criteria that are systematically desirable and culturally feasible (Flood an Jackson, 1991. Whilst the theory used is according to Brothers and Sherman (2012 that states that there are six internal components that should be strengthened in the growth stage, which are the leadership, the organization’s culture, the role of the board, programs’ extension, the management and infrastructure, the financial sustainable.  Afterwards, according to De Vita, et. al. (2001 there are four organization’s external components that should be maintained, which are the social demographic, the economy/market, the politic and values, and the norms. The result of this research shows the research interest, that the organization needs to be equipped with the transformational leadership, the simple structure design, and the improvement of the role of the board. For the problem solving interest, it needs the working programs’ extension through the correct formulation process, the human resources management, the organization’s financial sustainability. Then the external components which need to be formed are the collaboration among the non-profit organizations, the local government, the private sectors, business activities, politic participations and the public relation.

  12. Quality differences between private for-profit, private non-profit and public hospitals in Norway: a retrospective national register-based study of acute readmission rates following total hip and knee arthroplasties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holom, Geir Hiller; Hagen, Terje P

    2017-08-18

    To compare the quality of care-using unplanned acute hospital readmissions as a quality measure-among patients treated at private for-profit hospitals (PFPs), private non-profit hospitals (PNPs) and public hospitals (PUBs) in Norway. A retrospective comparative study using the Norwegian Patient Register. Readmissions were evaluated by logistic regressions both using adjustment for various patient-level and other covariates, and a two-stage model using distance as an instrumental variable. The Norwegian healthcare system. All publicly financed patients having primary total hip (37 897 patients) or primary total knee arthroplasty (25 802 patients) at one of the three hospital types from 2009 to 2014. 30-day unplanned acute hospital readmission rate. We found highest readmission rates among PUBs and lowest among PFPs, for both procedures. However, the patients were on average more than 2 years younger at PFPs. PFPs also treated the least severe patients, while PUBs treated the most severe. Using adjustment for various patient-level and other covariates, compared to PUBs, both PFPs and PNPs had lower odds of readmission following both procedures. However, using the instrumental variable method, the only significant difference found was a lower odds of readmission at PNPs among hip patients when compared with PUBs. No patients in our data set were readmitted to PFPs, those originally treated at PFPs were readmitted to either PNPs or PUBs, and PUBs received most of the readmitted patients across hospital types. Quality differences between hospital types were small; however, PNPs had significantly lower readmission rates compared with PUBs among patients having total hip arthroplasty. PUBs received the larger part of the readmitted patients across hospital types and thus play an essential role in the care of more complex patients and for readmissions, regardless of any quality differences. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the

  13. For-profit colleges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deming, David; Goldin, Claudia; Katz, Lawrence

    2013-01-01

    For-profit, or proprietary, colleges are the fastest-growing postsecondary schools in the nation, enrolling a disproportionately high share of disadvantaged and minority students and those ill-prepared for college. Because these schools, many of them big national chains, derive most of their revenue from taxpayer-funded student financial aid, they are of interest to policy makers not only for the role they play in the higher education spectrum but also for the value they provide their students. In this article, David Deming, Claudia Goldin, and Lawrence Katz look at the students who attend for-profits, the reasons they choose these schools, and student outcomes on a number of broad measures and draw several conclusions. First, the authors write, the evidence shows that public community colleges may provide an equal or better education at lower cost than for-profits. But budget pressures mean that community colleges and other nonselective public institutions may not be able to meet the demand for higher education. Some students unable to get into desired courses and programs at public institutions may face only two alternatives: attendance at a for-profit or no postsecondary education at all. Second, for-profits appear to be at their best with well-defined programs of short duration that prepare students for a specific occupation. But for-profit completion rates, default rates, and labor market outcomes for students seeking associate's or higher degrees compare unfavorably with those of public postsecondary institutions. In principle, taxpayer investment in student aid should be accompanied by scrutiny concerning whether students complete their course of study and subsequently earn enough to justify the investment and pay back their student loans. Designing appropriate regulations to help students navigate the market for higher education has proven to be a challenge because of the great variation in student goals and types of programs. Ensuring that potential

  14. Associations between age at first calving, rearing average daily weight gain, herd milk yield and dairy herd production, reproduction, and profitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krpálková, L; Cabrera, V E; Kvapilík, J; Burdych, J; Crump, P

    2014-10-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the associations of variable intensity in rearing dairy heifers on 33 commercial dairy herds, including 23,008 cows and 18,139 heifers, with age at first calving (AFC), average daily weight gain (ADG), and milk yield (MY) level on reproduction traits and profitability. Milk yield during the production period was analyzed relative to reproduction and economic parameters. Data were collected during a 1-yr period (2011). The farms were located in 12 regions in the Czech Republic. The results show that those herds with more intensive rearing periods had lower conception rates among heifers at first and overall services. The differences in those conception rates between the group with the greatest ADG (≥0.800 kg/d) and the group with the least ADG (≤0.699 kg/d) were approximately 10 percentage points in favor of the least ADG. All the evaluated reproduction traits differed between AFC groups. Conception at first and overall services (cows) was greatest in herds with AFC ≥800 d. The shortest days open (105 d) and calving interval (396 d) were found in the middle AFC group (799 to 750 d). The highest number of completed lactations (2.67) was observed in the group with latest AFC (≥800 d). The earliest AFC group (≤749 d) was characterized by the highest depreciation costs per cow at 8,275 Czech crowns (US$414), and the highest culling rate for cows of 41%. The most profitable rearing approach was reflected in the middle AFC (799 to 750 d) and middle ADG (0.799 to 0.700 kg) groups. The highest MY (≥8,500 kg) occurred with the earliest AFC of 780 d. Higher MY led to lower conception rates in cows, but the highest MY group also had the shortest days open (106 d) and a calving interval of 386 d. The same MY group had the highest cow depreciation costs, net profit, and profitability without subsidies of 2.67%. We conclude that achieving low AFC will not always be the most profitable approach, which will depend upon farm

  15. Willow growing - Methods of calculation and profitability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosenqvist, H.

    1997-01-01

    The calculation method presented here makes it possible to conduct profitability comparisons between annual and perennial crops and in addition take the planning situation into account. The method applied is a modified total step calculation. The difference between a traditional total step calculation and the modified version is the way in which payments and disbursements are taken into account over a period of several years. This is achieved by combining the present value method and the annuity method. The choice of interest rate has great bearing on the result in perennial calculations. The various components influencing the interest rate are analysed and factors relating to the establishment of the interest rate in different situations are described. The risk factor can be an important variable component of the interest rate calculation. Risk is also addressed from an approach in accordance with portfolio theory. The application of the methods sheds light on the profitability of Salix cultivation from the viewpoint of business economics, and also how different factors influence the profitability of Salix cultivation. Aspects studied are harvesting intervals, the importance of yield level, the competitiveness of Salix versus grain cultivation, the influence of income taxes on profitability etc. Methods for evaluation of activities concerning cultivation of a perennial crop are described and also involve the application of nitrogen fertilization to Salix cultivation. Studies have been performed using these methods to look into nitrogen fertilizer profitability in Salix cultivation during the first rotation period. Nitrogen fertilizer profitability has been investigated involving both production functions and cost calculations, taking the year fertilization into consideration. 72 refs., 2 figs., 52 tabs

  16. License Compliance Issues For Biopharmaceuticals: Special Challenges For Negotiations Between Companies And Non-Profit Research Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponzio, Todd A.; Feindt, Hans; Ferguson, Steven

    2011-01-01

    Summary Biopharmaceuticals are therapeutic products based on biotechnology. They are manufactured by or from living organisms and are the most complex of all commercial medicines to develop, manufacture and qualify for regulatory approval. In recent years biopharmaceuticals have rapidly increased in number and importance with over 4001 already marketed in the U.S. and European markets alone. Many companies throughout the world are now ramping up investments in biopharmaceutical R&D and expanding their portfolios through licensing of early-stage biotechnologies from universities and other non-profit research institutions, and there is an increasing number of license agreements for biopharmaceutical product development relative to traditional small molecule drug compounds. This trend will only continue as large numbers of biosimilars and biogenerics enter the market. A primary goal of technology transfer offices associated with publicly-funded, non-profit research institutions is to establish patent protection for inventions deemed to have commercial potential and license them for product development. Such licenses help stimulate economic development and job creation, bring a stream of royalty revenue to the institution and, hopefully, advance the public good or public health by bringing new and useful products to market. In the course of applying for such licenses, a commercial development plan is usually put forth by the license applicant. This plan indicates the path the applicant expects to follow to bring the licensed invention to market. In the case of small molecule drug compounds, there exists a widely-recognized series of clinical development steps, dictated by regulatory requirements, that must be met to bring a new drug to market, such as completion of preclinical toxicology, Phase 1, 2 and 3 testing and product approvals. These steps often become the milestone/benchmark schedule incorporated into license agreements which technology transfer offices use to

  17. License Compliance Issues For Biopharmaceuticals: Special Challenges For Negotiations Between Companies And Non-Profit Research Institutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponzio, Todd A; Feindt, Hans; Ferguson, Steven

    2011-09-01

    Biopharmaceuticals are therapeutic products based on biotechnology. They are manufactured by or from living organisms and are the most complex of all commercial medicines to develop, manufacture and qualify for regulatory approval. In recent years biopharmaceuticals have rapidly increased in number and importance with over 400() already marketed in the U.S. and European markets alone. Many companies throughout the world are now ramping up investments in biopharmaceutical R&D and expanding their portfolios through licensing of early-stage biotechnologies from universities and other non-profit research institutions, and there is an increasing number of license agreements for biopharmaceutical product development relative to traditional small molecule drug compounds. This trend will only continue as large numbers of biosimilars and biogenerics enter the market.A primary goal of technology transfer offices associated with publicly-funded, non-profit research institutions is to establish patent protection for inventions deemed to have commercial potential and license them for product development. Such licenses help stimulate economic development and job creation, bring a stream of royalty revenue to the institution and, hopefully, advance the public good or public health by bringing new and useful products to market. In the course of applying for such licenses, a commercial development plan is usually put forth by the license applicant. This plan indicates the path the applicant expects to follow to bring the licensed invention to market. In the case of small molecule drug compounds, there exists a widely-recognized series of clinical development steps, dictated by regulatory requirements, that must be met to bring a new drug to market, such as completion of preclinical toxicology, Phase 1, 2 and 3 testing and product approvals. These steps often become the milestone/benchmark schedule incorporated into license agreements which technology transfer offices use to monitor

  18. Cross-Cultural Service Learning: American and Russian Students Learn Applied Organizational Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Betsy

    2001-01-01

    Describes how American and Russian students engaged in service learning in their own communities as part of an organizational communication class in which they learned communication principles and applied their skills to assist non-profit organizations. Describes both projects, stumbling blocks, and course outcomes. (SR)

  19. Non-audit services and auditor independence: Norwegian evidence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Yu (Elli); Hay, David; Holm, Claus

    2016-01-01

    We examine the effect on auditor independence of auditors providing non-audit services in the Norwegian audit market. We report the results of three tests of independence of mind and one test of independence in appearance. These tests find that there is a positive relationship between audit fees......-audit services and the frequency with which auditors issue modified audit opinions. There is no association between non-audit services and audit tenure. Finally, we examine the relationship between unexpected or excess non-audit fees and cost of capital. There is no relationship. Our findings fail to find any...

  20. 26 CFR 31.3402(r)-1 - Withholding on distributions of Indian gaming profits to tribal members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... profits to tribal members. 31.3402(r)-1 Section 31.3402(r)-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE... TAXES AND COLLECTION OF INCOME TAX AT SOURCE Collection of Income Tax at Source § 31.3402(r)-1 Withholding on distributions of Indian gaming profits to tribal members. (a) (1) General rule. Section 3402(r...

  1. Cultural challenges and essential factors in the implementation of IS in a non-profit organisation in a developing country

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kastrup Nielsen, Sebastian; Svejvig, Per

    2013-01-01

    collaboration. Cultural dimensions from Hofstede and other researchers are examined to take spe-cific actions to reduce the cultural gap between developed and developing countries. The culture also affects the implementation process, which this paper has found an appropriate solution for. This, together......This paper seeks to describe some of the challenges in the implementation of IS in a non-profit or-ganization in a developing country. When people from developed countries assist in the process of making requirements specification, an understanding of local culture is essential for a successful...

  2. Strategic responses to fiscal constraints: a health policy analysis of hospital-based ambulatory physical therapy services in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landry, Michel D; Verrier, Molly C; Williams, A Paul; Zakus, David; Deber, Raisa B

    2009-01-01

    Ambulatory physical therapy (PT) services in Canada are required to be insured under the Canada Health Act, but only if delivered within hospitals. The present study analyzed strategic responses used by hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to deliver PT services in an environment of fiscal constraint. Key informant interviews (n = 47) were conducted with participants from all hospitals located within the GTA. Two primary strategic responses were identified: (1) "load shedding" through the elimination or reduction of services, and (2) "privatization" through contracting out or creating internal for-profit subsidiary clinics. All hospitals reported reductions in service delivery between 1996 and 2003, and 15.0% (7/47 hospitals) fully eliminated ambulatory services. Although only one of 47 hospitals contracted out services, another 15.0% (7/47) reported that for-profit subsidiary clinics were created within the hospital in order to access other more profitable forms of quasi-public and private funding. Strategic restructuring of services, aimed primarily at cost containment, may have yielded short-term financial savings but has also created a ripple effect across the continuum of care. Moreover, the rise of for-profit subsidiary clinics operating within not-for-profit hospitals has emerged without much public debate and with little research to evaluate its impact.

  3. Price and Service Competition between New and Remanufactured Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper sets two manufacturers on the market. One is traditional manufacturer, which produces new products, and the other remanufactures by recycling used products. Two manufacturers sell products to customers through one retailer and also provide product-related services. Three participators decide prices and service levels independently. We discuss the optimal decision of prices, service levels, demands, and profits in three scenarios: Manufacturers Stackelberg, Retailer Stackelberg, and Nash Equilibrium. We also study the influence of customer acceptance of remanufactured product (θ on participators’ decisions. With the increase of θ, new product profit reduces; remanufactured product profit increases at the beginning and then decreases. Retailer profit grows steadily. In Manufacturers Stackelberg, new and remanufactured products can get the maximum profits, and retailer only has the minimum profit. In Retailer Stackelberg, retailer can get the maximum profit; new product only has the minimum profit and remanufactured product has the medium gain. In Nash Equilibrium, new product and retailer have the medium gains, and remanufactured product has the minimum profit.

  4. Research on listed bank profit model under the interest rate liberalization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geyao Zhu

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available With constantly deepening the interest rate liberalization, shrinking the net interest margin and the ever-rising non-performing loan ratio, the traditional commercial banks with the main profit model of credit suffers from a severe challenge. The research significance of this paper lies in helping China’s commercial bank convert management philosophy, developing a new financial business and improving the profit model. Through the empirical research of 80 samples of China’s listed commercial banks: under the condition of interest rate liberalization, the net interest margin is still the current major profit model of the commercial bank, but the intermediate business is the future development model of the commercial banks.

  5. Healthcare public key infrastructure (HPKI) and non-profit organization (NPO): essentials for healthcare data exchange.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takeda, Hiroshi; Matsumura, Yasushi; Nakagawa, Katsuhiko; Teratani, Tadamasa; Qiyan, Zhang; Kusuoka, Hideo; Matsuoka, Masami

    2004-01-01

    To share healthcare information and to promote cooperation among healthcare providers and customers (patients) under computerized network environment, a non-profit organization (NPO), named as OCHIS, was established at Osaka, Japan in 2003. Since security and confidentiality issues on the Internet have been major concerns in the OCHIS, the system has been based on healthcare public key infrastructure (HPKI), and found that there remained problems to be solved technically and operationally. An experimental study was conducted to elucidate the central and the local function in terms of a registration authority and a time stamp authority by contracting with the Ministry of Economics and Trading Industries in 2003. This paper describes the experimental design with NPO and the results of the study concerning message security and HPKI. The developed system has been operated practically in Osaka urban area.

  6. DISPAQ: Distributed Profitable-Area Query from Big Taxi Trip Data †

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putri, Fadhilah Kurnia; Song, Giltae; Rao, Praveen

    2017-01-01

    One of the crucial problems for taxi drivers is to efficiently locate passengers in order to increase profits. The rapid advancement and ubiquitous penetration of Internet of Things (IoT) technology into transportation industries enables us to provide taxi drivers with locations that have more potential passengers (more profitable areas) by analyzing and querying taxi trip data. In this paper, we propose a query processing system, called Distributed Profitable-Area Query (DISPAQ) which efficiently identifies profitable areas by exploiting the Apache Software Foundation’s Spark framework and a MongoDB database. DISPAQ first maintains a profitable-area query index (PQ-index) by extracting area summaries and route summaries from raw taxi trip data. It then identifies candidate profitable areas by searching the PQ-index during query processing. Then, it exploits a Z-Skyline algorithm, which is an extension of skyline processing with a Z-order space filling curve, to quickly refine the candidate profitable areas. To improve the performance of distributed query processing, we also propose local Z-Skyline optimization, which reduces the number of dominant tests by distributing killer profitable areas to each cluster node. Through extensive evaluation with real datasets, we demonstrate that our DISPAQ system provides a scalable and efficient solution for processing profitable-area queries from huge amounts of big taxi trip data. PMID:28946679

  7. Non-profit organisations and government’s pro-poor spending: the case of health and development in Gauteng

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L B Mzini

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Globally, there is growing recognition of participatory public expenditure management (PPEM. PPEM is seen as the process whereby citizens and civil society organisations participate in the management of public expenditures. The adoption of PPEM is aimed at ensuring greater transparency, better targeting and tracking of resources, and increased overall responsiveness. The Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development (GDHSD is committed to co-operative governance; this includes working with different spheres of government and civil society or non-profit organisations (NPOs. NPOs are required to have a governing committee to manage funds allocated by GDHSD. The committee has the capacity to hold the NPO management accountable for the resources (financial and material entrusted to it by the GDHSD. The effectiveness of NPOs is challenged by poor attendance of board members at meetings, poor understanding of the board’s mandate and responsibilities and lack of experience amongst members. The paradigm of PPEM is still faced with challenges to ensure that significant flows of revenue are accounted for and used effectively for growth and poverty reduction. This study is divided into three components. The first section focuses on the background, the introduction and the conceptual framework. The second part focuses on the empirical study for deriving a benchmark for the South African NPO sector. The third section highlights good practices as well as governance-related challenges. Finally, for further consideration by the GDHSD, a series of recommendations is provided, focusing on how key domestic stakeholders can better contribute to successful participatory budgeting programmes. Keywords: Participatory public expenditure management, non-profit organisations, pro-poor spending, public finance, public financial management, early childhood development.  Disciplines: Public Management and Administration, Public Financial Management

  8. Quality evaluation in health care services based on customer-provider relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eiriz, Vasco; Figueiredo, José António

    2005-01-01

    To develop a framework for evaluating the quality of Portuguese health care organisations based on the relationship between customers and providers, to define key variables related to the quality of health care services based on a review of the available literature, and to establish a conceptual framework in order to test the framework and variables empirically. Systematic review of the literature. Health care services quality should not be evaluated exclusively by customers. Given the complexity, ambiguity and heterogeneity of health care services, the authors develop a framework for health care evaluation based on the relationship between customers (patients, their relatives and citizens) and providers (managers, doctors, other technical staff and non-technical staff), and considering four quality items (customer service orientation, financial performance, logistical functionality and level of staff competence). This article identifies important changes in the Portuguese health care industry, such as the ownership of health care providers. At the same time, customers are changing their attitudes towards health care, becoming much more concerned and demanding of health services. These changes are forcing Portuguese private and public health care organisations to develop more marketing-oriented services. This article recognises the importance of quality evaluation of health care services as a means of increasing customer satisfaction and organisational efficiency, and develops a framework for health care evaluation based on the relationship between customers and providers.

  9. Polish and Silesian Non-Profit Organizations Liquidity Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grzegorz Michalski

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The kind of realized mission inflows the sensitivity to risk. Among other factors, the risk results from decision about liquid assets investment level and liquid assets financing. The higher the risk exposure, the higher the level of liquid assets. If the specific risk exposure is smaller, the more aggressive could be the net liquid assets strategy. The organization choosing between various solutions in liquid assets needs to decide what level of risk is acceptable for her owners (or donors and / or capital suppliers. The paper shows how, in authors opinion, decisions, about liquid assets management strategy inflow the risk of the organizations and its economicalresults during realization of main mission. Comparison of theoretical model with empirical data for over 450 Silesian nonprofit organization results suggests that nonprofit organization managing teams choose more risky aggressive liquid assets solutions than for-profit firms.

  10. Profit enhancement by a set of performance and robustness indices based design of dual-dimensional PODC and PSS2B in smart grids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shayeghi, H.; Hashemi, Y.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Design based on a set of performance and robustness criteria can increase profit. • Time delay as uncertainty in smart grid decrease profit. • Design method applied in this paper deal with large structure of controllers. • INSGA-II optimization and FDM method is applied to specify the best solution. - Abstract: Expansion of power systems is accompanied by innovations in smart grid solutions to power system operation and control. Profit enhancement by power oscillation damping controllers (PODC) and acceleration based power system stabilizer (PSS), model PSS2B, designed by the idea of pseudo-spectra based on multi-objective optimization is presented. The contribution of multi-objective functions in respect of performance and robustness criteria in stability enhancement is evaluated by considering the control actions of PODC and PSS2B as an ancillary service (AS). The robustness requirement is achieved by using the idea of pseudo-spectra to handle the changes of power system parameters and time delay introduced by processing of remote signals in the wide-area supplementary damping controller (WASDC). The weighted sum of six objective functions as performance and robustness criteria is selected as low-frequency oscillation damping index (LFODI). Two scenarios for the evaluation of small signal stability as an AS provided by PODC and PSS2B are considered. A multi-objective optimization approach based on LFODI, generation costs is formulated and improved non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (INSGA-II) is employed to solve this problem. Fuzzy decision making (FDM) is used to find the best compromise solution from the set of Pareto-solution obtained by INSGA-II. Comparative analysis of the results of the conventional method and the proposed design method is presented by case study on a modified 2-area 4-machine power system

  11. Amazon: Is Profitability a Possibility?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brett DENNIS

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In today’s society, companies seem to all be following the same trend; growth in profitability at all cost. Higher profits, for the most part, leads to more investors and more potential financing. Amazon.com appears to be breaking that trend, however. Their strategy seems to be growth, but not in profits. We would like to look into how and why Amazon is growing at such a fast pace, while their profits are staying steady at a very low level. Is profitability a possibility for Amazon? We believe that a marginal increase in price could accomplish just that, with a minimal impact to consumers.

  12. Evaluating the Effect of a Television Public Service Announcement about Epilepsy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martiniuk, Alexandra L. C.; Secco, Mary; Yake, Laura; Speechley, Kathy N.

    2010-01-01

    Public service announcements (PSAs) are non-commercial advertisements aiming to improve knowledge, attitudes and/or behavior. No evaluations of epilepsy PSAs exist. This study sought to evaluate a televised PSA showing first aid for a seizure. A multilevel regression analysis was used to determine the effect of the PSA on epilepsy knowledge and…

  13. Profit vs. Purpose

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strand, Robert

    2017-01-01

    Money helps us meet our basic needs, but what about our need for meaning? Businesses will profit — not just financially — by finding their souls.......Money helps us meet our basic needs, but what about our need for meaning? Businesses will profit — not just financially — by finding their souls....

  14. The plight of the not-for-profit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owens, Bramer

    2005-01-01

    Recent controversies in the hospital sector have questioned whether the levels of charity care, community benefit, and executive compensation provided by not-for-profit hospitals are consistent with mandates of their tax-exempt status and mission statements. This article demonstrates that these recent controversies stem from a combination of historical influences, regulatory inequities, and competitive disadvantages, which are suffocating many not-for-profit hospitals across the nation. Once the current environment is described, the article discusses each threat and offers actionable recommendations to quell current attacks faced by the industry. First, to address the current probe by the Internal Revenue Service, hospitals must begin to link their executive compensation with their organizational mission. Second, to address recent lawsuits, the article presents a standardized definition of community benefit and recommends an alternative model to classify charity care. Finally, to address recent congressional hearings, the article offers a plan for hospitals to gauge their expected benefit to the community they serve.

  15. Comparison of efficiency and profitability of investor-owned multihospital systems with not-for-profit hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sear, A M

    1991-01-01

    It is often assumed that investor-owned hospitals are more market driven than are not-for-profit hospitals, and that they will maximize output and minimize inputs, to the exclusion of other management strategies. To resolve the conflicting research evidence, this study analyzed efficiency and profitability measures for approximately 50 investor-owned and 60 not-for-profit hospitals in Florida for the period from 1982 through 1988. The results indicate that the investor-owned hospitals used significantly fewer FTE staff per bed, had significantly fewer manhours per adjusted patient day, and paid significantly less in wages and had significantly higher operating margins (profit) than did the not-for-profit institutions.

  16. How to make an integrated care service sustainable? An interactive workshop on business model development

    OpenAIRE

    Hammerschmidt, Reinhard; Meyer, Ingo; Müller, Sonja; Kubitschke, Lutz

    2016-01-01

    When developing and implementing integrated care services spanning across established organisational boundaries, decision makers frequently need to create new business models involving diverse stakeholders, both profit and non-profit. These may rely on reimbursement from statutory health and social care bodies as well as on other revenue streams. In practice, the needs of a wide range of stakeholders may need to be identified and duly balanced within the framework of what is possible, e.g. in...

  17. Application of Data Envelopment Analysis to Measure Cost, Revenue and Profit Efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristína Kočišová

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The literature analysing efficiency of financial institutions has enveloped rapidly over the last years. Most studies have focused on the input side analysing input technical and cost efficiency. Only few studies have examined the output side evaluating output technical and revenue efficiency. We know that both sides are relevant when evaluating efficiency of financial institutions. Therefore the primary purpose of this paper is to review a number of approaches for efficiency measurement. In particular, the concepts of cost, revenue and profit functions are discussed. We apply Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA to a sample of Slovak and Czech commercial banks during years 2009–2013 comparing the efficiencies by either minimizing cost or maximizing revenue and profit. The results showed that the level of average revenue efficiency was the highest and the average profit efficiency was the lowest one. As can be seen the Czech banks were more cost, revenue and profit efficient than Slovak ones during the whole analysed period.

  18. Coordinating a Service Supply Chain under Arms Offset Program’s Intervention by Performance-Based Contracting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Kuei Lin

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates a support service supply chain for coordinating with a local third-party logistics provider by arms offset program’s intervention and develops a performance-based contracting framework for the coordinating problem, which remains scarce in the literatures. The performance-based contracting framework evaluates payments and profits for the support service by a game-theoretical approach with principal-agent model. We prove that the proposed framework is an effective tool in acquiring the balance between maximum profit and minimum payment for both parties in the coordinating problem without moral hazard issue. A numerical study consolidates the formulated schemes as contracting preference for both parties’ decision with a higher profit margin at a lower customer’s payment.

  19. Acute coronary syndrome patients admitted to a cardiology vs non-cardiology service: variations in treatment & outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Deirdre E; Southern, Danielle A; Norris, Colleen M; O'Neill, Blair J; Curran, Helen J; Graham, Michelle M

    2017-05-16

    Specialized cardiology services have contributed to reduced mortality in acute coronary syndromes (ACS).  We sought to evaluate the outcomes of ACS patients admitted to non-cardiology services in Southern Alberta. Retrospective chart review performed on all troponin-positive patients in the Calgary Health Region identified those diagnosed with ACS by their attending team. Patients admitted to non-cardiology and cardiology services were compared, using linked data from the Alberta Provincial Project for Outcomes Assessment in Coronary Heart Disease (APPROACH) registry and the Strategic Clinical Network for Cardiovascular Health and Stroke. From January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2008, 2105 ACS patients were identified, with 1636 (77.7%) admitted to cardiology and 469 (22.3%) to non-cardiology services. Patients admitted to non-cardiology services were older, had more comorbidities, and rarely received cardiology consultation (5.1%). Cardiac catheterization was underutilized (5.1% vs 86.4% in cardiology patients (p cardiology vs. cardiology services (49.1% vs. 11.0% respectively at 4-years, p cardiology services. These patients had worse outcomes, despite adjustment for baseline risk factor differences. Although many patients were appropriately admitted to non-cardiology services, the low use of investigations and secondary prevention medications may contribute to poorer patient outcome. Further research is required to identify process of care strategies to improve outcomes and lessen the burden of illness for patients and the health care system.

  20. Commercializing ALURTRONs electron beam irradiation services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siti Aiasah Hashim; Mohd Sidek Othman; Shari Jahar; Sarada Idris; Naurah Mohd Isa; Muhamad Zahidee Taat

    2010-01-01

    ALURTRON has been the nation's sole electron irradiation service provider for research sectors. The main irradiation is done by utilising the EPS 3000 Cockcroft-Walton type 3.0 MeV, 90 k Watts electron beam machine (EBM). With more than 15 years experience in the operation and maintenance of the EPS, the challenge is now to commercialize the service at a larger and profitable scale. Medical products sterilization at commercial level has been ruled out since the energy is insufficient to penetrate dense and non-homogenous items. Recently, the demand for irradiation of wire and heat shrinkable tubes is showing bigger commercial potential. Therefore, prudent planning considerations need to be taken to ensure profitable return to the agency. Calculations were made to estimate ALURTRON service capacity, based on the existing EBM and its auxiliary systems. Details of the calculation including all the variables are presented. Results indicated that Alurtron should be able to process a minimum of 1000 km of small wires per month, running at 150 m/ min, working in two shifts, 5 days a week. The projected revenue is dependent on the charges imposed on the basis of total length delivered. (author)

  1. Precise image-guided irradiation of small animals: a flexible non-profit platform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tillner, Falk; Thute, Prasad; Löck, Steffen; Dietrich, Antje; Fursov, Andriy; Haase, Robert; Lukas, Mathias; Krause, Mechthild; Baumann, Michael; Bütof, Rebecca; Enghardt, Wolfgang; Rimarzig, Bernd; Sobiella, Manfred

    2016-01-01

    Preclinical in vivo studies using small animals are essential to develop new therapeutic options in radiation oncology. Of particular interest are orthotopic tumour models, which better reflect the clinical situation in terms of growth patterns and microenvironmental parameters of the tumour as well as the interplay of tumours with the surrounding normal tissues. Such orthotopic models increase the technical demands and the complexity of preclinical studies as local irradiation with therapeutically relevant doses requires image-guided target localisation and accurate beam application. Moreover, advanced imaging techniques are needed for monitoring treatment outcome. We present a novel small animal image-guided radiation therapy (SAIGRT) system, which allows for precise and accurate, conformal irradiation and x-ray imaging of small animals. High accuracy is achieved by its robust construction, the precise movement of its components and a fast high-resolution flat-panel detector. Field forming and x-ray imaging is accomplished close to the animal resulting in a small penumbra and a high image quality. Feasibility for irradiating orthotopic models has been proven using lung tumour and glioblastoma models in mice. The SAIGRT system provides a flexible, non-profit academic research platform which can be adapted to specific experimental needs and therefore enables systematic preclinical trials in multicentre research networks. (paper)

  2. Profit-Sharing – A Tool for Improving Productivity, Profitability and Competitiveness of Firms?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fibirova Jana

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The importance of appropriate utilization of rewards for performance is still growing and therefore this type of rewards can be seen as a significant part of a total rewards package. Companies that are able to appropriately implement rewards for performance may gain competitive advantage over their competitors, but successful implementation requires a good knowledge of these rewards. The main aim of this paper is to contribute to the growth of this knowledge by identifying possible positive and negative impacts of profit-sharing on various areas that are important for the performance of a company, nevertheless, addressed are also macroeconomic consequences of profit-sharing. Furthermore, a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the relevant literature is provided, under-researched areas are identified and suggestions for further research are given. To accomplish these goals, we applied methods of bibliometric analysis to the articles indexed in ISI Web of Knowledge to identify the most important articles, authors and topics. According to our findings, the majority of studies report a neutral or positive impact of profit-sharing on productivity and profitability. This impact may be achieved by direct influence of profit-sharing on productivity of employees (due to the dependence of their pay on profit, but it seems that yet more important are various mediating mechanisms, especially effects on employment stability, absenteeism, quits and related issues, as well as effects on attitudes of employees and on relationships between employees. We argue that a well-designed profit-sharing plan is crucial for its success, but it is a relatively under-researched problem.

  3. Windfalls and other profits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verbruggen, Aviel

    2008-01-01

    'Windfall profits' again is a popular term, but mostly the term is used inappropriately. This short article discusses why, and proposes a more complete taxonomy of profits. There exists little ground and need for policy to act against genuine windfalls, while the contrary holds for other excessive earnings. Very few windfalls, freely fallen down from winds in the sky, occur after observed excessive profits are stripped from deliberate man-made interventions. That is why clear identification and correct language are needed

  4. Effect of information, uncertainty and parameter variability on profits in a queue with various pricing strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Wei; Li, Shiyong

    2014-08-01

    This paper presents an unobservable single-server queueing system with three types of uncertainty, where the service rate, or waiting cost or service quality is random variable that may obtain n(n > 2) values. The information about the realised values of parameters is only known to the server. We are concerned about the server's behaviour: revealing or concealing the information to customers. The n-value assumption and the server's behaviour enable us to consider various pricing strategies. In this paper, we analyse the effect of information and uncertainty on profits and make comparisons between the profits under different pricing strategies. Moreover, as for parameter variability reflected by the number of each parameter's possible choices n, we observe the effect of variable n on all types of profits and find that revealing the parameter information can much more benefit the server with the increase of n.

  5. Profitability of Qualified-Labour-Power Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldino, Roberto Ribeiro; Cabral, Tânia Cristina Baptista

    2015-01-01

    In Baldino and Cabral (2013) we introduced the concept of qualified labour-power as the commodity produced by the school system. In the present article we outline a quantitative model to evaluate the profit rate of educational programmes. We compare a medical school programme with a teacher education programme at a public university in Brazil,…

  6. Pecuniary evaluation of provided service by local and global based dual-dimensional SDC and PSS2B in the context of deregulated power markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shayeghi, H.; Hashemi, Y.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Assessing the role and performance of SDC and PSS2B in deregulated power markets. • The profit allocation of WADC as an AS provider is involved in this work. • A dual-dimensional SDC scheme for UPFC is applied to damp the power system swings. • The high share of dual-dimensional SDC shows capability of it in enhancing security. - Abstract: The problem of profit allocation of Unified Power Flow Controller-Supplementary Damping Controller (UPFC-SDC) and accelerating power PSS model (PSS2B) is an important and update issue which has not been properly directed yet. The model of UPFC-SDC that has been used in this paper is a dual-dimensional controller that first dimension of control is resulted from local signals and the second dimension is covered by global signals as additional measuring data from appropriate remote network locations, where swings are well observable. Thus, in this paper the profit allocation of Wide Area Damping Controller (WADC) is also presented as an undefined problem in security subject of deregulated power system. Assuming control action by UPFC-SDC and WADC as an Ancillary Service (AS), the contribution of UPFC-SDC in stability enhancement is evaluated. It is important to appropriately choose a criterion to assess the performance of UPFC-SDC, so that a suitable allocation of profit can be achieved. The sum of deviations of damping ratios and real part of eigenvalues is selected as Oscillation Damping Criterion (ODC). Two scenarios for valuation of small signal stability as an AS provided by UPFC-SDC is considered. The first scenario without retuning of controllers and in the second scenario controllers is retuned due to response of the market situation. A multi-objective optimization approach based on ODC, generation costs and UPFC cost is considered and then Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) is utilized for solving this problem. A two area four machine test power system is considered for investigation

  7. Profitables Food & Beverage Management

    OpenAIRE

    Studer, Adrian; Blatter, Martin; Glenz-Mounir, Chantal

    2008-01-01

    Die Diplomarbeit befasst sich mit dem Thema „Profitables Food & Beverage Management“, es geht darum, wie Restaurationsstätten, Beherbergungsbetriebe und Campingbetreiber ihren Umsatz innerhalb kürzester Zeit um 6 bis 8 % und den Gewinn um 8 bis 10 % steigern können. Grundlage für die Diplomarbeit ist das Buch „Profitables Food & Beverage Management“ von Urs Schaffer1 und die angebotenen Kurse von ritzy*2. Mit dem Buch und dem Module Profit Management auf dem ritzycampus3 haben die Wirte, Hote...

  8. Overdependence on For-Profit Pharmacies: A Descriptive Survey of User Evaluation of Medicines Availability in Public Hospitals in Selected Nigerian States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ushie, Boniface Ayanbekongshie; Ugal, David Betelwhobel; Ingwu, Justin Agorye

    2016-01-01

    Lower availability of medicines in Nigerian public health facilities-the most affordable option for the masses-undermines global health reforms to improve access to health for all, especially the chronically ill and poor. Thus, a sizeable proportion of healthcare users, irrespective of purchasing power, buy medicines at higher costs from for-profit pharmacies. We examined user evaluation of medicine availability in public facilities and how this influences their choice of where to buy medicines in selected states-Cross River, Enugu and Oyo-in Nigeria. We approached and interviewed 1711 healthcare users using a semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire as they exited for-profit pharmacies after purchasing medicines. This ensured that both clients who had presented at health facilities (private/public) and those who did not were included. Information was collected on why respondents could not buy medicines at the hospitals they attended, their views of medicine availability and whether their choice of where to buy medicines is influenced by non-availability. Respondents' mean age was 37.7±14.4 years; 52% were males, 59% were married, 82% earned ≥NGN18, 000 (US$57.19) per month, and 72% were not insured. Majority (66%) had prescriptions; of this, 70% were from public facilities. Eighteen percent of all respondents indicated that all their medicines were usually available at the public facilities, most (29%), some (44%) and not always available (10%). Reasons for using for-profit pharmacies included: health workers attitudes (43%), referral by providers (43%); inadequate money to purchase all prescribed drugs (42%) and cumbersome processes for obtaining medicines. Lower availability of medicines has serious implications for healthcare behavior, especially because of poverty. It is crucial for government to fulfill its mandate of equitable access to care for all by making medicines available and cheap through reviving and sustaining the drug revolving

  9. Non-audit services in Ukraine: the need for regulatory harmonization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I.О. Makarenko

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Tightening the requirements for the audit profession and improving the quality of non-audit services led to best practice sharing of such services. The article analyzes the key trends in the provision of non-audit services in Ukraine in the context of implementing global experience. The comparative analysis of the requirements for separation of audit and non-audit services is conducted. The need for harmonization to ensure the independence of auditors in Ukraine is grounded. The author gives the particular attention to contemporary approaches to the regulation of such services in the EU and the US. So, the deep analysis of Directive 2014/56/EU «On statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts», Directive 2014/95/EU «Оn disclosure of non-financial and diversity information» and Sarbanes-Oxley Act is used by authors. In this regard, the gaps in regulatory control of audit and non-audit services in Ukraine are identified and the ways of their solution in the context of the reform of audit and convergence of accounting and auditing standards are underlined.

  10. Finding the community in sustainable online community engagement: Not-for-profit organisation websites, service-learning and research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alice Dodd

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This article explores the use of action research (2008–2014 based on a case study of the Sustainable Online Community Engagement (SOCE Project, a service-learning project in which University of South Australia students build websites for not-for-profit (NFP organisations, to demonstrate that effective teaching, public service and research are interdependent. A significant problem experienced in the SOCE project was that, despite some training and ongoing assistance, the community organisations reported that they found it difficult to make effective use of their websites. One of the proposed solutions was to develop an online community of the participating organisations that would be self-supporting, member-driven and collaborative, and enable the organisations to share information about web-based technology. The research reported here explored the usefulness of developing such an online community for the organisations involved and sought alternative ways to assist the organisations to maintain an effective and sustainable web presence. The research used a three-phase ethnographic action research approach. The first phase was a content analysis and review of the editing records of 135 organisational websites hosted by the SOCE project. The second phase was an online survey sent to 145 community organisation members responsible for the management of these websites, resulting in 48 responses. The third phase consisted of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 18 of the website managers from 12 of these organisations. The research revealed the extent to which organisations were unable to manage their websites and found that the proposed solution of an online community would not be useful. More importantly, it suggested other useful strategies which have been implemented. In Furco’s (2010 model of the engaged campus, public engagement can be used to advance the public service, teaching and research components of higher education’s tripartite

  11. Non-market forest ecosystem services and decision support in Nordic countries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Filyushkina, Anna; Strange, Niels; Löf, Magnus

    2016-01-01

    The need to integrate non-market ecosystem services into decision-making is widely acknowledged. Despite the exponentially growing body of literature, trade-offs between services are still poorly understood. We conducted a systematic review of published literature in the Nordic countries (Denmark......, Norway, Sweden and Finland) on the integration of non-market forest ecosystem services into decision-making. The aim of the review was two-fold: (1) to provide an overview of coverage of biophysical and socio-economic assessments of non-market ecosystem services in relation to forest management; (2......) to determine the extent of the integration of biophysical and socio-economic models of these services into decision support models. Our findings reveal the need for wider coverage of non-market ecosystem services and evidence-based modelling of how forest management regimes affect ecosystem services...

  12. 28 CFR 550.52 - Non-residential drug abuse treatment services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Non-residential drug abuse treatment... INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT DRUG PROGRAMS Drug Abuse Treatment Program § 550.52 Non-residential drug abuse treatment services. All institutions must have non-residential drug abuse treatment services, provided...

  13. Measuring Customer Profitability in Complex Environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Morten; Kumar, V.; Rohde, Carsten

    2012-01-01

    Customer profitability measurement is an important element in customer relationship management and a lever for enhanced marketing accountability. Two distinct measurement approaches have emerged in the marketing literature: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Customer Profitability Analysis (CPA...... propositions. Additionally, the framework provides design and implementation guidance for managers seeking to implement customer profitability measurement models for resource allocation purposes....... that the degree of sophistication deployed when implementing customer profitability measurement models is determined by the type of complexity encountered in firms’ customer environments. This gives rise to a contingency framework for customer profitability measurement model selection and five research...

  14. Liquidity risk and profitability: An assessment of Nigerian banks ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    International Journal of Development and Management Review ... The paper examines liquidity risk and profitability from the Nigerian banking sector perspective. ... financial system, which in turn would assist financial institutions to evaluate ...

  15. Determinants of Food Crop Diversity and Profitability in Southeastern Nigeria: A Multivariate Tobit Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanzidur Rahman

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The present study jointly determines the factors influencing decisions to diversify into multiple food crops (i.e., rice, yam and cassava vis-à-vis profitability of 400 farmers from Ebonyi and Anambra states of Southeastern Nigeria using a multivariate Tobit model. Model diagnostic reveals that the decisions to diversify into multiple crops and profits generated therefrom are significantly correlated, thereby justifying use of a multivariate approach. Results reveal that 68% of the farmers grew at least two food crops and profitability is highest for only rice producers followed by joint rice and yam producers, which are mainly for sale. Farm size is the most dominant determinant of crop diversity vis-à-vis profitability. A rise in the relative price of plowing significantly reduces profitability of yam and rice. High yield is the main motive for growing yam and cassava whereas ready market is for rice. Other determinants with varying level of influences are proximity to market and/or extension office, extension contact, training, agricultural credit, subsistence pressure and location. Policy recommendations include investments in market infrastructure and credit services, land and/or tenurial reform and input price stabilization to promote food crop diversity vis-à-vis profitability in Southeastern Nigeria.

  16. Profitability analysis in the hospital industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cleverley, W O

    1978-01-01

    Measures of marginal profit are derived for the two payment classes--cost payers and charge payers--that the hospital industry must consider in profitability analysis, i.e., prediction of the excess of revenue over expenses. Two indexes of profitability, use when payment mix is constant and when it is nonconstant, respectively, are derived from the two marginal profit measures, and one of them is shown to be a modification of the contribution margin, the conventional measure of profitability used in general industry. All three measures--the contribution margin and the two new indexes of profitability--are used to estimate changes in net income resulting from changes in patient volume with and without accompanying changes in payment mix. The conventional measure yields large overestimates of expected excess revenue. PMID:632101

  17. Profiting from negawatts: Reducing absolute consumption and emissions through a performance-based energy economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steinberger, Julia K.; Niel, Johan van; Bourg, Dominique

    2009-01-01

    Current energy and GHG emissions policies either focus directly on emissions or promote renewable production and the implementation of specific efficiency measures. Meanwhile, the fundamental structure of the energy market based on profits through energy throughput remains largely unchallenged. This policy oversight prevents the transition to an energy economy in which profits are based on energy services delivered at the lowest energy cost: a performance-based energy economy (PBEE). The PBEE applies the combined concepts of the performance economy and energy services to the energy sector. Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) are discussed as an example of PBEE practices. The implications for energy suppliers and consumers as well as the conditions for PBEE diffusion and consequences for technological change are also explored. The expected environmental, social and economic benefits are described. However, absolute consumption and emissions reductions may prove elusive due to the rebound effect. In order to forestall rebound-led increases, complementary policy measures likely to lead to absolute reductions are required

  18. Profiting from negawatts. Reducing absolute consumption and emissions through a performance-based energy economy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steinberger, Julia K. [IPTEH, Quartier Sorge-Bat. Amphipole, University of Lausanne, CH-1015-Lausanne (Switzerland); Institute of Social Ecology, Klagenfurt University, Schottenfeldg. 29, A-1070 Vienna (Austria); van Niel, Johan [IPTEH, Quartier Sorge-Bat. Amphipole, University of Lausanne, CH-1015-Lausanne (Switzerland); CREIDD, University of Technology of Troyes, 12 rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes Cedex (France); Bourg, Dominique [IPTEH, Quartier Sorge-Bat. Amphipole, University of Lausanne, CH-1015-Lausanne (Switzerland)

    2009-01-15

    Current energy and GHG emissions policies either focus directly on emissions or promote renewable production and the implementation of specific efficiency measures. Meanwhile, the fundamental structure of the energy market based on profits through energy throughput remains largely unchallenged. This policy oversight prevents the transition to an energy economy in which profits are based on energy services delivered at the lowest energy cost: a performance-based energy economy (PBEE). The PBEE applies the combined concepts of the performance economy and energy services to the energy sector. Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) are discussed as an example of PBEE practices. The implications for energy suppliers and consumers as well as the conditions for PBEE diffusion and consequences for technological change are also explored. The expected environmental, social and economic benefits are described. However, absolute consumption and emissions reductions may prove elusive due to the rebound effect. In order to forestall rebound-led increases, complementary policy measures likely to lead to absolute reductions are required. (author)

  19. Profiting from negawatts: Reducing absolute consumption and emissions through a performance-based energy economy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steinberger, Julia K. [IPTEH, Quartier Sorge-Bat. Amphipole, University of Lausanne, CH-1015-Lausanne (Switzerland); Institute of Social Ecology, Klagenfurt University, Schottenfeldg. 29, A-1070 Vienna (Austria)], E-mail: julia.steinberger@uni-klu.ac.at; Niel, Johan van [IPTEH, Quartier Sorge-Bat. Amphipole, University of Lausanne, CH-1015-Lausanne (Switzerland); CREIDD, University of Technology of Troyes, 12 rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes Cedex (France); Bourg, Dominique [IPTEH, Quartier Sorge-Bat. Amphipole, University of Lausanne, CH-1015-Lausanne (Switzerland)

    2009-01-15

    Current energy and GHG emissions policies either focus directly on emissions or promote renewable production and the implementation of specific efficiency measures. Meanwhile, the fundamental structure of the energy market based on profits through energy throughput remains largely unchallenged. This policy oversight prevents the transition to an energy economy in which profits are based on energy services delivered at the lowest energy cost: a performance-based energy economy (PBEE). The PBEE applies the combined concepts of the performance economy and energy services to the energy sector. Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) are discussed as an example of PBEE practices. The implications for energy suppliers and consumers as well as the conditions for PBEE diffusion and consequences for technological change are also explored. The expected environmental, social and economic benefits are described. However, absolute consumption and emissions reductions may prove elusive due to the rebound effect. In order to forestall rebound-led increases, complementary policy measures likely to lead to absolute reductions are required.

  20. 47 CFR 25.142 - Licensing provisions for the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Licensing provisions for the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service. 25.142 Section 25.142 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS Applications and Licenses Space...

  1. The Strategic Involvement of Stakeholders in the Efficiency of Non-Profit Sport Organisations: From a Perspective of Survival to Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dina Alexandra Marques Miragaia

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study is to analyse the efficiency of non-profit sports clubs and identify the perceptions of their directors with regards to the stakeholders that exert the greatest influence over club efficiency levels. In order to analyse the efficiency of these clubs, we made recourse to the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA method. We also applied the Mann-Whitney test, to identify whether there are significant differences between efficient and non-efficient clubs with regards to the influence held by their stakeholders. We thus report that the majority of clubs operate efficiently. Both the efficient and the non-efficient clubs classify the club managers, members, sponsors, fans and athletes as the most important stakeholders to their efficiency levels. The results convey how there are no significant differences among the management team perceptions on the role of stakeholders in attaining club efficiency. The study also details the respective procedures that inefficient clubs should adopt in order to approximate the efficiency frontier.

  2. Argumentasi Nasabah Non-Muslim Menjadi Nasabah di Bank Syariah Mandiri Kantor Cabang Lumajang

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurhafid Ishari

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The rapid development of sharia banking is not only supported by government regulation but also supported by the quality and service of sharia banking which is getting better. The service, quality, variety of products, minimization of risk that gives profit to customers and the professionalism of sharia banking managers that are increasingly improving now make sharia banking can slowly compete with conventional banking professionally. Sharia banking that proved to be more just and profitable is now growing and gain the trust of the wider community, in this case not only Muslim community but also non-Muslim community. This research uses quantitative method, with field research approach and is descriptive. Technique of collecting data using questioner with sampling technique used is convenience sampling technique. The data analysis uses descriptive statistics, by determining the mean using the mode. The result of this research is the argumentation of non-Muslim customers to customers in syariah banking especially in Bank Syariah Mandiri Lumajang Branch Office there are six factors that are cultural factor, social class factor, learning experience factor, personality factor, self concept factor, attitude and belief factor. The most prompting factor for non-Muslim customers to choose Bank Syariah Mandiri Lumajang Branch Office is a cultural factor in the sixth indicator of service related to Bank Syariah Mandiri.   Keywords: arguments of non-Muslim customers.

  3. The bottom line: an ethnography of for-profit elderly residential care

    OpenAIRE

    Greener, Joe

    2011-01-01

    In the last 20 years the UK’s elderly residential care system has become progressively more privatised with an increase in the number of for-profit organisations delivering these services. This study is a participant observation of care work in one privatised elderly residential care home (‘Meadowvale’), owned and operated by a large provider of such services (‘Moonlight Care’). It provides a rich ethnographic depiction of life at Meadowvale both from the point of view of the workers and the ...

  4. Role of the private sector in the provision of immunization services in low- and middle-income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, Ann; Kaddar, Miloud

    2011-07-01

    The authors conducted a literature review on the role of the private sector in low- and middle-income countries. The review indicated that relatively few studies have researched the role of the private sector in immunization service delivery in these countries. The studies suggest that the private sector is playing different roles and functions according to economic development levels, the governance structure and the general presence of the private sector in the health sector. In some countries, generally low-income countries, the private for-profit sector is contributing to immunization service delivery and helping to improve access to traditional EPI vaccines. In other countries, particularly middle-income countries, the private for-profit sector often acts to facilitate early adoption of new vaccines and technologies before introduction and generalization by the public sector. The not-for-profit sector plays an important role in extending access to traditional EPI vaccines, particularly in low-income countries. Not-for-profit facilities are situated in rural as well as urban areas and are more likely to be coordinated with public services than the private for-profit sector. Although numerous studies on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) suggest that the extent of NGO provision of immunization services in low- and middle-income countries is substantial, the contribution of this sector is poorly documented, leading to a lack of recognition of its role at national and global levels. Studies on quality of immunization service provision at private health facilities suggest that it is sometimes inadequate and needs to be monitored. Although some articles on public-private collaboration exist, little was found on the extent to which governments are effectively interacting with and regulating the private sector. The review revealed many geographical and thematic gaps in the literature on the role and regulation of the private sector in the delivery of immunization

  5. What determines the profitability of a retail gasoline outlet? A study for the Competition Bureau of Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sen, A.

    2006-03-01

    An independent study was conducted to better understand the key determinants of profitability in the retail gasoline industry. The economic and financial analysis was based on pricing and other financial data collected by the Competition Bureau from representative retail outlets owned by vertically-integrated firms and independent retailers in the Greater Toronto Area and adjoining areas. This study combined economic and accounting techniques to provide an objective opinion regarding allegations of anti-competitive behaviour on the part of vertically-integrated gasoline firms. It evaluated the validity of complaints such as predatory pricing, collusion, retail price-fixing, and forcing the exit of smaller independents from the industry. This document described LECG's distinctive business model that was used to evaluate complex business and organizational behavior. It included a literature review, as well as a comparative economic and profitability analysis of retail gasoline stations. The study showed that movements in both retail and wholesale prices are largely dictated by corresponding fluctuations in crude oil prices. It also showed that there is serious doubt on the possibility of strategic behaviour by vertically-integrated refiners. It was noted that the final evaluation of station efficiency is limited because of missing data on costs incurred by site operators and revenues from ancillary services such as car wash and convenience store sales. It was concluded that the critical factor driving profitability is throughput, which impacts both revenue and average total costs. Since throughput is related to population density, local traffic and degree of local competition, the loss incurred by a specific outlet can be due to poor business strategy or circumstances rather than anti-competitive behaviour. 5 refs., 17 tabs., 21 figs

  6. Non-Profit Ecological Organizations in the Function of the Realization of the Right to Freedom of Association and the Development of Civil Environmental Liability in Kazakhstan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aitimov, Bolat Zh.; Dussipov, Erkin Sh.; Altynbekkyzy, Alua; Ashimova, Dinara I.; Nurbek, Dana T.; Urazymbetov, Talgat E.

    2016-01-01

    Environmental issues have become a central issue, which is considered not only at the state level, but also in the international arena. At the moment the main initiators of drawing attention to the environment are the environmental non-profit organizations. In developed countries, these organizations provide full support to the government and…

  7. The Café Femenino Peru story : evaluating the potential of a for-profit gender equitable value chain

    OpenAIRE

    Shah, Kanira; Bjørndal, Trond

    2016-01-01

    The focus of this paper is on evaluating how Café Femenino Peru, an organically grown coffee produced by women, is successful in promoting gender equity, while being a for-profit business. Using the ‘pro-poor perspective’ of Porter’s value chain analysis as its primary methodology, this research identifies links and dynamics in the value chain of Café Femenino Peru but with a gender lens perspective. Results reveal that the combined increases in income and the increased access to assista...

  8. A Determination Method of Optimal Customization Degree of Logistics Service Supply Chain with Mass Customization Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weihua Liu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Customization degree is a very important field of mass customization. Its improvement could enhance customer satisfaction and further increase customer demand while correspondingly it will increase service price and decrease customer satisfaction and demand. Therefore this paper discusses how to deal with such issues in logistics service supply chain (LSSC with a logistics service integrator (LSI and a customer. With the establishment of customer demand function for logistics services and profit functions of the LSI and the customer, three different decision modes are proposed (i.e., customization degree dominated by LSI, customization degree dominated by customer, and customization degree decided by concentrated supply chain; many interesting findings are achieved. Firstly, to achieve customization cooperation between LSI and customer, measures should be taken to make the unit increase cost of the customized logistics services lower than a certain value. Secondly, there are differences between the optimal customization degree dominated by LSI and that dominated by customer. And in both cases, the dominator could realize more profit than the follower. Thirdly, with the profit secondary distribution strategy, the modified decentralized decision mode could accomplish the maximum profit achieved in centralized decision mode and meanwhile get the optimal customization degree.

  9. The Impact of Revenue Diversification on Bank Profitability and Stability: Empirical Evidence from South Asian Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shoaib Nisar

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a contribution to the ongoing debate on the benefits and drawbacks of bank revenue diversification. Revenue diversification may benefit banks if diversified activities are inherently less risky and possess high returns, while it may hurt banks if diversified activities are more risky and have low returns. Analyzing a panel dataset of 200 commercial banks from all South Asian countries, we found that overall revenue diversification into non-interest income has a positive impact on the profitability and stability of South Asian commercial banks. We further observed that different types of non-interest income-generating activities have different impacts on bank performance and stability. While fees and commission incomes have a negative impact on the profitability and stability of South Asian commercial banks, other non-interest income has a positive impact. Our results imply that banks can benefit from revenue diversification if they diversify into specific types of non-interest income-generating activities. Our findings are robust and relevant to the use of alternative measures of revenue diversification, profitability and stability.

  10. La maximisation du taux de profit

    OpenAIRE

    De Mesnard, Louis

    1991-01-01

    On the traditional micro-economic theory, firms are supposed to maximise pure profit. We study what happened when we take into consideration shareholders and the financial profit remunerating the financial capital. We show that it is necessary to surrender the financial profit maximisation to use the rate of financial profit maximisation. The cases of concurrence with fix coefficient of capital, monopoly with fix coefficient of capital, monopoly with variable coefficient of capital are studie...

  11. Health care joint ventures between tax-exempt organizations and for-profit entities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Michael I

    2005-01-01

    Health care exempt organizations have many options regarding their structure and affiliations with for-profit entities. As long as any joint ventures are carefully structured and the nonprofit retains control over the exempt health care activities, the Internal Revenue Service should not question the structure. However, as outlined above, if the for-profit entity effectively gains control over the activities of the venture, the structure is not likely to be upheld by the IRS or the courts, and either the exempt status of the nonprofit will be denied or revoked, or health care income will be subject to the unrelated business income tax. In summary, the health care industry has been severely impacted by many economic forces, including uncertainty in the area of joint ventures between nonprofits and for-profit health care systems. The uncertainty as to whether the joint venture would negatively impact the nonprofit's tax-exempt status undoubtedly caused many nonprofits to form for-profit subsidiaries and otherwise expanded operations in a for-profit marketplace. Fortunately, with the guidance that is currently available in the form of Revenue Ruling 98-15, Redlands, St. David's, and now Revenue Ruling 2004-51, health care institutions can move forward with properly structured joint ventures with greater confidence that the joint venture will not endanger the tax-exempt status of the nonprofit.

  12. Media resource service: Getting scientists and the media together

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jerome, F.

    1990-01-01

    The Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident in 1979 led to the establishment of the Media Resource Service (MRS), which puts journalists in touch with scientists by telephone to help the press meet the public's need to understand science and technology. The Chernobyl nuclear power accident in 1986 underscored that need. The MRS is run by the Scientists' Institute for Public Information (SIPI), a non-profit group in the USA. Similar services have since been set up in Canada and the United Kingdom, and interest has been shown in many other countries

  13. Personnel Policy and Profit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bingley, Paul; Westergård-Nielsen, Niels Chr.

    2004-01-01

    personnel structure variation. It is found that personnel policy is strongly related to economic performance. At the margin, more hires are associated with lower profit, and more separations with higher profit. For the average firm, one new job, all else equal, is associated with ?2680 (2000 prices) lower...

  14. Combining purpose with profits

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Birkinshaw, J.; Foss, N.J.; Lindenberg, S.M.

    2014-01-01

    Is it possible for a company to strive for a higher purpose while also delivering solid profits? Some have argued that pursuing goals other than making money means, by definition, spending on things that aren't profit-maximizing. Others have countered that by investing in worthwhile causes the

  15. Determinants of Commercial Banks' Profitability in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Trofimov, Ivan D.; Md. Aris, Nazaria; Ying Ying, Jovena Kho

    2018-01-01

    This study aims to examine the relationship between non-performing loans (NPLs) and commercial banks' performance in Malaysia, alongside other factors. It considers the effect of NPLs, cost efficiency and bank size on commercial banks' profitability by using panel data regression (Pooled OLS model), covering the period of 2010-2015. The findings of the study show that NPLs and cost efficiency have a significant negative relationship with commercial banks' performances in Malaysia. On the othe...

  16. Profitability analysis of KINGLONG nearly 5 years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Mei; Wen, Jinghua

    2017-08-01

    Profitability analysis for measuring business performance and forecast its prospects play an important role. In this paper, the research instance King Long Motor in understanding the basic theory on the basis of financial management, to take a combination of theory and data analysis methods, combined with a measure of profitability related indicators of King Long Motor company’s profitability do a specific analysis to identify factors constraining the profitability of Kinglong company exists and the motivation to improve profitability, which made recommendations to improve the profitability of Kinglong car company to promote the company’s future can be better and faster development.)

  17. Energy productivity, fertilization rate and profitability of wheat production after various predecessors II.Profitability of wheat production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Uhr

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. In the course of our study on the adaptation of modern genotypes common winter wheat (Triticum aestivum to the requirements of sustainable agriculture data were received concerning the influence of the predecessor and nitrogen fertilizer rate on energy efficiency and recyclable nitrogen fertilization and profitability of productivity.We share these data with the scientific community, as they are up-to-date and informative in both theoretical and practical aspects. The analyses are based on data from field experiments fertilizer derived after predecessor cereals – regular crop of sorghum, millet, maize and legumes after predecessor - separate sowing of chickpeas. Energy efficiency of nitrogen fertilization was calculated as the ratio between the energy supplied in the additional grain yield and energy input in the form of fertilizers. Refundable efficiency of nitrogen fertilization is the additional amount of nitrogen accumulated in the grain, with respect to the applied nitrogen fertilization. Economic profitability of production is evaluated by coefficient R = P/Ra (ratio of benefits/costs. The results show that energy efficiency and recyclable nitrogen fertilization are on average five times higher after cereal than after legumes predecessor, and decreased with increasing the fertilizer rate, the decrease was statistically significant only for the first item (exponent. Profitability ratio of production after the introduction of legumes predecessor in crop rotation increases by an average of 42% and retains maximum values of fertilization levels 0.06, 0.12 and 0.18 t/ha nitrogen. Profitability of wheat production using pre-legumes crop is not determined by the parameters nitrogen fertilizer rate and energy efficiency of nitrogen fertilization and refundable efficiency of nitrogen fertilization.

  18. An ethical justification of profit maximization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koch, Carsten Allan

    2010-01-01

    In much of the literature on business ethics and corporate social responsibility, it is more or less taken for granted that attempts to maximize profits are inherently unethical. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether an ethical argument can be given in support of profit maximizing...... behaviour. It is argued that some form of consequential ethics must be applied, and that both profit seeking and profit maximization can be defended from a rule-consequential point of view. It is noted, however, that the result does not apply unconditionally, but requires that certain form of profit (and...... utility) maximizing actions are ruled out, e.g., by behavioural norms or formal institutions....

  19. Research evaluation support services in biomedical libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutzman, Karen Elizabeth; Bales, Michael E; Belter, Christopher W; Chambers, Thane; Chan, Liza; Holmes, Kristi L; Lu, Ya-Ling; Palmer, Lisa A; Reznik-Zellen, Rebecca C; Sarli, Cathy C; Suiter, Amy M; Wheeler, Terrie R

    2018-01-01

    The paper provides a review of current practices related to evaluation support services reported by seven biomedical and research libraries. A group of seven libraries from the United States and Canada described their experiences with establishing evaluation support services at their libraries. A questionnaire was distributed among the libraries to elicit information as to program development, service and staffing models, campus partnerships, training, products such as tools and reports, and resources used for evaluation support services. The libraries also reported interesting projects, lessons learned, and future plans. The seven libraries profiled in this paper report a variety of service models in providing evaluation support services to meet the needs of campus stakeholders. The service models range from research center cores, partnerships with research groups, and library programs with staff dedicated to evaluation support services. A variety of products and services were described such as an automated tool to develop rank-based metrics, consultation on appropriate metrics to use for evaluation, customized publication and citation reports, resource guides, classes and training, and others. Implementing these services has allowed the libraries to expand their roles on campus and to contribute more directly to the research missions of their institutions. Libraries can leverage a variety of evaluation support services as an opportunity to successfully meet an array of challenges confronting the biomedical research community, including robust efforts to report and demonstrate tangible and meaningful outcomes of biomedical research and clinical care. These services represent a transformative direction that can be emulated by other biomedical and research libraries.

  20. An evaluation of service use outcomes in a Recovery College.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourne, Philippa; Meddings, Sara; Whittington, Adrian

    2017-12-23

    Recovery Colleges offer educational courses about recovery and mental health which are co-produced by mental health professionals and experts by lived experience. Previous evaluations have found positive effects of Recovery Colleges on a range of outcomes including wellbeing, recovery and quality of life. To evaluate service use outcomes for Sussex Recovery College students who use mental health services. The study used a controlled-before-and-after design. It used archival data to analyse service use before and after participants registered with the Recovery College (n = 463). Participants acted as their own control. Students used mental health services less after attending the Recovery College than before. Students who attended the Recovery College showed significant reductions in occupied hospital bed days, admissions, admissions under section and community contacts in the 18 months post compared with the 18 months before registering. Reductions in service use were greater for those who completed a course than those who registered but did not complete a course. These findings suggest that attending Recovery College courses is associated with reduced service use. The reductions equate to non-cashable cost-savings of £1200 per registered student and £1760 for students who completed a course. Further research is needed to investigate causality.

  1. Heavy-traffic limits for polling models with exhaustive service and non-FCFS service orders

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    P. Vis (Petra); R. Bekker (Rene); R.D. van der Mei (Rob)

    2015-01-01

    htmlabstractWe study cyclic polling models with exhaustive service at each queue under a variety of non-FCFS (first-come-first-served) local service orders, namely last-come-first-served with and without preemption, random-order-of-service, processor sharing, the multi-class priority scheduling with

  2. Profitability and occupational injuries in U.S. underground coal mines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asfaw, Abay; Mark, Christopher; Pana-Cryan, Regina

    2013-01-01

    Coal plays a crucial role in the U.S. economy yet underground coal mining continues to be one of the most dangerous occupations in the country. In addition, there are large variations in both profitability and the incidence of occupational injuries across mines. The objective of this study was to examine the association between profitability and the incidence rate of occupational injuries in U.S. underground coal mines between 1992 and 2008. We used mine-specific data on annual hours worked, geographic location, and the number of occupational injuries suffered annually from the employment and accident/injury databases of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and mine-specific data on annual revenue from coal sales, mine age, workforce union status, and mining method from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A total of 5669 mine-year observations (number of mines×number of years) were included in our analysis. We used a negative binomial random effects model that was appropriate for analyzing panel (combined time-series and cross-sectional) injury data that were non-negative and discrete. The dependent variable, occupational injury, was measured in three different and non-mutually exclusive ways: all reported fatal and nonfatal injuries, reported nonfatal injuries with lost workdays, and the 'most serious' (i.e. sum of fatal and serious nonfatal) injuries reported. The total number of hours worked in each mine and year examined was used as an exposure variable. Profitability, the main explanatory variable, was approximated by revenue per hour worked. Our model included mine age, workforce union status, mining method, and geographic location as additional control variables. After controlling for other variables, a 10% increase in real total revenue per hour worked was associated with 0.9%, 1.1%, and 1.6% decrease, respectively, in the incidence rates of all reported injuries, reported injuries with lost workdays, and the most serious injuries reported

  3. Profitability and occupational injuries in U.S. underground coal mines☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asfaw, Abay; Mark, Christopher; Pana-Cryan, Regina

    2015-01-01

    Background Coal plays a crucial role in the U.S. economy yet underground coal mining continues to be one of the most dangerous occupations in the country. In addition, there are large variations in both profitability and the incidence of occupational injuries across mines. Objective The objective of this study was to examine the association between profitability and the incidence rate of occupational injuries in U.S. underground coal mines between 1992 and 2008. Data and method We used mine-specific data on annual hours worked, geographic location, and the number of occupational injuries suffered annually from the employment and accident/injury databases of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and mine-specific data on annual revenue from coal sales, mine age, workforce union status, and mining method from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A total of 5669 mine-year observations (number of mines × number of years) were included in our analysis. We used a negative binomial random effects model that was appropriate for analyzing panel (combined time-series and cross-sectional) injury data that were non-negative and discrete. The dependent variable, occupational injury, was measured in three different and non-mutually exclusive ways: all reported fatal and nonfatal injuries, reported nonfatal injuries with lost workdays, and the ‘most serious’ (i.e. sum of fatal and serious nonfatal) injuries reported. The total number of hours worked in each mine and year examined was used as an exposure variable. Profitability, the main explanatory variable, was approximated by revenue per hour worked. Our model included mine age, workforce union status, mining method, and geographic location as additional control variables. Results After controlling for other variables, a 10% increase in real total revenue per hour worked was associated with 0.9%, 1.1%, and 1.6% decrease, respectively, in the incidence rates of all reported injuries, reported injuries with lost

  4. A comprehensive health service evaluation and monitoring framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeve, Carole; Humphreys, John; Wakerman, John

    2015-12-01

    To develop a framework for evaluating and monitoring a primary health care service, integrating hospital and community services. A targeted literature review of primary health service evaluation frameworks was performed to inform the development of the framework specifically for remote communities. Key principles underlying primary health care evaluation were determined and sentinel indicators developed to operationalise the evaluation framework. This framework was then validated with key stakeholders. The framework includes Donabedian's three seminal domains of structure, process and outcomes to determine health service performance. These in turn are dependent on sustainability, quality of patient care and the determinants of health to provide a comprehensive health service evaluation framework. The principles underpinning primary health service evaluation were pertinent to health services in remote contexts. Sentinel indicators were developed to fit the demographic characteristics and health needs of the population. Consultation with key stakeholders confirmed that the evaluation framework was applicable. Data collected routinely by health services can be used to operationalise the proposed health service evaluation framework. Use of an evaluation framework which links policy and health service performance to health outcomes will assist health services to improve performance as part of a continuous quality improvement cycle. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  5. Mental health care roles of non-medical primary health and social care services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Penny

    2009-02-01

    Changes in patterns of delivery of mental health care over several decades are putting pressure on primary health and social care services to increase their involvement. Mental health policy in countries like the UK, Australia and New Zealand recognises the need for these services to make a greater contribution and calls for increased intersectoral collaboration. In Australia, most investment to date has focused on the development and integration of specialist mental health services and primary medical care, and evaluation research suggests some progress. Substantial inadequacies remain, however, in the comprehensiveness and continuity of care received by people affected by mental health problems, particularly in relation to social and psychosocial interventions. Very little research has examined the nature of the roles that non-medical primary health and social care services actually or potentially play in mental health care. Lack of information about these roles could have inhibited development of service improvement initiatives targeting these services. The present paper reports the results of an exploratory study that examined the mental health care roles of 41 diverse non-medical primary health and social care services in the state of Victoria, Australia. Data were collected in 2004 using a purposive sampling strategy. A novel method of surveying providers was employed whereby respondents within each agency worked as a group to complete a structured survey that collected quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously. This paper reports results of quantitative analyses including a tentative principal components analysis that examined the structure of roles. Non-medical primary health and social care services are currently performing a wide variety of mental health care roles and they aspire to increase their involvement in this work. However, these providers do not favour approaches involving selective targeting of clients with mental disorders.

  6. ProfitFruit: Decision Support System for Evaluation of Investments in Fruit Production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roelofs, P.F.M.M.; Groot, M.J.

    2012-01-01

    Innovative techniques were developed in the Isafruit project in order to create a more ecological sustainable way of fruit growing. Before fruit growers will consider implementation of these innovations they need information concerning their economic sustainability. The economic model ProfitFruit is

  7. The impact of customer-specific marketing expenses on customer retention and customer profitability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S. van Triest (Sander); M.J.G. Bun (Maurice); E.M. van Raaij (Erik); M.J.A. Vernooij (Maarten)

    2009-01-01

    textabstractWe study the effects of customer-specific marketing expenses on customer retention and customer profitability in a business-to-business setting. Using data from a company providing hygiene services, we look at the impact of a hitherto unstudied type of expense targeted at individual

  8. The impact of customer-specific marketing expenses on customer retention and customer profitability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Triest, S.; Bun, M.J.G.; van Raaij, E.M.; Vernooij, M.J.A.

    2009-01-01

    We study the effects of customer-specific marketing expenses on customer retention and customer profitability in a business-to-business setting. Using data from a company providing hygiene services, we look at the impact of a hitherto unstudied type of expense targeted at individual customer

  9. A social work study on quality on quality of physical education programs in primary schools: A case study of governmental and non-for-profit schools in city of Esfahan, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allahyar Arabmomeni

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Physical education is one of the most important parts of schoolchildren studies and it could influence of social and academic performance of children, significantly. This paper studies physical education among schoolchildren who attend elementary schools in city of Esfahan, Iran over for the educational calendar of 2010-2011. The study selects 52 schools as sample, 18 non-for-profit and 34 governmental schools and half of them belong to female students. The results of this study indicate that physical education has a somewhat better quality in non-for-profit educational system compared with governmental ones although this difference is not statistically significance (P<0.05. In our survey, ten percent of time, physical education was performed poorly, twenty five percent was in average condition, forty eight percent was in good condition and seventeen percent was in excellent condition.

  10. Factors Affecting Post-Service Wage Growth for Veterans

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-12-01

    Labor economics is primarily concerned with how employers and employees respond to changes in wages, prices, profits, and the non-pecuniary aspects...of the employment reLaticnship [Ref: 4, pg. 31 Two of the basic assumptions underlying labor economics are Lhat resources are scarce, and that people...Retiree’ Post-Service Earnigs and Empjoyment, February 1981, Fand Corporation. 4. Ehrenberq, R. G. and Smith, R. S., Modern Labor Economics . 3ra Edit on

  11. Atlantic Environmental Resource Directory, 1989: A directory of non-profit environmental and development organizations in Atlantic Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cuthbertson, L.L.

    1989-01-01

    This directory lists 161 non-profit groups in the Atlantic region, along with contacts for the environmental networks across the country and in New England and appropriate federal and provincial offices in Atlantic Canada. The directory was compiled from questionnaires sent out to a list of contacts that were on an original mailing list of groups known to have taken stands on environmental issues in the past. Follow-up mailouts and phone calls were also made. As well, some contacts were discovered through word-of-mouth. Groups are listed alphabetically by province and are classified by subjects. Information includes address and phone number, contact, date formed, number of members, scope, language and objectives. Groups and resources are indexed by subject area and groups are listed by resources available, environmental networks, Eastern states-United States citizen groups, labour unions, federal and provincial government.

  12. Applying Marketing Concepts to Non-Profit/Educational Organizations: The Youth Professional’s Responsibilities in Program Marketing & Promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keith G. Diem

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The degree of participation in community-based youth development programs is typically affected by both the recruitment and retention of participants. A review of literature over more than forty years revealed the value of marketing and promotion to the viability of a company, product, or organization and how it may contribute to company sales or an organization’s membership. This article is focused on the application of marketing concepts to a non-profit organization or educational program. Using a marketing approach to program development can result in improved program quality as well as increased enrollment. Utilizing marketing activities such as needs assessment will aide in ensuring the program remains current in meeting needs and interests of clientele, the community, and society. Promoting an accurate and relevant image is a key in making sure people realize the value of your program.

  13. 非営利 vs. 営利介護事業者の経営志向 : 経営実態と規模規定要因の分析から

    OpenAIRE

    金谷,信子

    2015-01-01

    With the emergence of a quasi-market for long-term care services (LTCS) for the elderly, various non-profit and for-profit providers have started to offer such services. New providers have become particularly prevalent in home visit care services: in 2012, for-profit companies comprised 63% of home care services providers. Nonprofit providers including social welfare corporations, councils for social welfare, medical corporations and non-profit organizations also compete in the market. Becaus...

  14. MAXIMIZING PROFIT - OPTICAL TRADITIONAL TRAVEL AGENCIES EXCEEDED

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ENEA CONSTANŢA

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Recently concepts of globalized the services the advertising only that and substantial modifications, but that just radicals, in the structure net of touristic states. Is directed to of a new conceive the organic fashions of structures ale net of realized and of casting of guy colaborative, baze on interconexion, the interface and flexible interactions, from which his. I result the competitive advantages popularly the partners of business. The optics traditional agencies of tourings considered the production and the delivery touristic services except through the of a alone objective major prism scilicet maximizarea of the profits, falls to is exceeded. For the past decades ale the century XX, the impact technological changes in the industry services becomes all determine maul influenced the „traditional sectors” in charge, as for example the education, the trade, the touring, the informatics. Certainly, globalized can be interpretation in different senses. Referenced to the touristic services, the globalized is define as be a form an advanced still more complex maul of which nationalization involves a degrees of functional integration between the touristic activities disperse on plans transfrontalier.

  15. Proceedings of the national workshop on non destructive evaluation of structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    In spite of the care and best efforts to improve the quality of structures, problems do occur, raising alarm. This makes doubtful about the understanding. Distresses in the structures start immediately after construction and these are often concealed under the external finishes. A defect takes time to manifest itself. To add further, structures remain unattended for several years. As it is uneconomical to replace the assets before the intended service life by another capital investment, it is essential to periodically monitor the health of structures throughout its life. Success of both, the construction and restoration work depends on right diagnosis of the problem thorough proper testing techniques. Non destructive evaluation is one of the reliable methods for the scientific assessment of health and prediction of residual service life of structure. The workshop shall provide a platform to students, engineers and professionals for acquaintance with the current state of art technology of non-destructive evaluation techniques. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

  16. The profitability of Norwegian salmon farming companies : a study of profitability variation

    OpenAIRE

    Eilertsen, Bendik Foss; Hui, Erik

    2015-01-01

    The conditions in the Norwegian salmon farming industry are constantly changing. Locally and globally, regulations, consolidation and technological advancements are some of the factors having a deep impact on the current industry. To ensure competitiveness, it is essential to emphasise on profitability and taking the correct strategic decisions. The objective of this thesis is to indicate what may cause variation in profitability in the current Norwegian salmon farming industry...

  17. Marketization in Long-Term Care: A Cross-Country Comparison of Large For-Profit Nursing Home Chains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrington, Charlene; Jacobsen, Frode F; Panos, Justin; Pollock, Allyson; Sutaria, Shailen; Szebehely, Marta

    2017-01-01

    This article presents cross-country comparisons of trends in for-profit nursing home chains in Canada, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Using public and private industry reports, the study describes ownership, corporate strategies, costs, and quality of the 5 largest for-profit chains in each country. The findings show that large for-profit nursing home chains are increasingly owned by private equity investors, have had many ownership changes over time, and have complex organizational structures. Large for-profit nursing home chains increasingly dominate the market and their strategies include the separation of property from operations, diversification, the expansion to many locations, and the use of tax havens. Generally, the chains have large revenues with high profit margins with some documented quality problems. The lack of adequate public information about the ownership, costs, and quality of services provided by nursing home chains is problematic in all the countries. The marketization of nursing home care poses new challenges to governments in collecting and reporting information to control costs as well as to ensure quality and public accountability. PMID:28634428

  18. The impact of customer-specific marketing expenses on customer retention and customer profitability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Triest, S.; van Raaij, E.M.; Bun, M.; Vernooij, M.

    2007-01-01

    We study the effects of customer-specific marketing expenses on customer retention and cus-tomer profitability in a business-to-business setting. Using data from a company providing hygiene services, we look at the impact of a type of expenses targeted at individual customer relationships: the

  19. «Neutral» Profit Taxation, Risk Taking and Optimal Profit Taxation

    OpenAIRE

    Jack M. MINTZ

    1982-01-01

    The object of this study is to answer two questions related to the design of profit taxes when taking into account riskiness of firms. The first question is the following: leaving aside general equilibrium effects of taxation on the interest rate and risk premia faced by firms, would a cash flow tax be neutral with respect to the investment decisions made by firms. The second question to be considered is whether profit tax rates should vary across industries because of different degrees of ri...

  20. Impact of government incentives in the profitability of green energy production using fuel cells in Colombia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernardo A. Potosí-Guerrero

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Fuel cells are a technological alternative to produce green energy, however, high costs make fuel cell a non-profitable option. This paper analyses the impact of the Colombian government incentives in the profitability of fuel cells. The analysis is based on the total operation cost of the fuel cell in three representative applications: residential, office and building elevator. The economic viability of fuel cell generation in those cases is contrasted with classical solutions like diesel generators and standard grid to provide a reference framework. Such results enable to evaluate the effectiveness of the Colombian government incentives in promoting the use of fuel cells over other less environmental-friendly options such as diesel generators. Finally, new incentives are proposed by subsidies offered by other countries with higher fuel cell penetration into their electric market. All the analyses are supported in simulations performed with a mathematical model parameterized using the characteristics of commercial devices.

  1. Profits in reverse? An examination of the decisive factors for reverse supply chain profitability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Samuel; Jacobsen, Peter

    2015-01-01

    Although the concept of the reverse supply chain (RSC) is not unknown in industry, an inhibitor for its successful use is low (or no) profitability. A research challenge is investigating ways to establish the RSC as a profit-creating center in the organization. This paper contributes...

  2. Using a Service Audit Project for Improving Student Learning in a Service-Marketing Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez-Padron, Tracy; Ferguson, Jeffery M.

    2015-01-01

    Service-marketing education provides students customer service skills sought by employers who recognize the relationship between service and profit. Students in service marketing benefit from active-learning activities with actual organizations to apply customer service frameworks taught in the course. The purpose of this paper is to describe an…

  3. European business venturing in times of digitisation - An analysis of for-profit business incubators in a triple helix context

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brem, Alexander; Kreusel, Nico; Roth, Natalie

    2018-01-01

    Business incubators have been developed as a key component of entrepreneurial activities in countries all over Europe. These incubators have a non-profit or a for-profit profile, with one-third located in Germany. The increased engagement of private business in what was a public-dominated incubat......Business incubators have been developed as a key component of entrepreneurial activities in countries all over Europe. These incubators have a non-profit or a for-profit profile, with one-third located in Germany. The increased engagement of private business in what was a public......-dominated incubation landscape may influence established theoretical frameworks. Within this context, this paper analyses 11 German business incubators to look at the most common types of for-profit business incubators in Germany and their main characteristics. Moreover, it introduces classification criteria...... for these incubators. Another aspect of the analysis is the effect of the triple helix dimensions of the different incubation types. The results show that two additional types of incubators can be identified in addition to the traditional public business incubator model, namely 'company builders' and 'accelerators...

  4. From Quality in Services to Loyalty: Theoretical Perspective of Consumer Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Roque Mangini

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Services show differences related to conception, production form, how they are consumed and how they are evaluated. These differences or characteristics influence directly on the evaluation of quality offered in the service. It is possible to observe certain consumer’s behavior with the evaluation of quality offered in a service, which could cause total rejection in future purchases. On the other hand, with the satisfaction of results, the consumer has a greater willingness to purchase, develop loyalty and make profit for the service operation. In order to understand the dynamic involving service quality and the formation of consumer’s loyalty, this theoretical article sought in literature the basis to create proposals that could increase the edges of knowledge frontiers in service marketing. As result, eight proposals were developed which entails future researches so that the empirical results could turn the theoretical findings into real results.

  5. Having faith in each other: not-for-profit giant Ascension Health hooks up with United Surgical Partners for ASC joint venture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romano, Michael

    2004-09-13

    In the biggest deal of its kind, not-for-profit giant Ascension is going to build ambulatory surgery centers with for-profit United Surgical Partners, which already has a deal with Baylor, left. "Hospitals are realizing that outpatient services are the future. This strategy is sound," one healthcare consultant said.

  6. A MANAGERIAL AND COST ACCOUNTING APPROACH OF CUSTOMER PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS

    OpenAIRE

    PETE Stefan; CARDOS Ildiko Reka

    2010-01-01

    In the last years many organizations realized that market orientation is essential to their success. Satisfying the needs of customers, offering them products and services which meet their desires and demands, customer loyalty can increase profitability for long term. After analyzing the existing journal literature in this field we would like to emphasize that managerial accounting, cost calculation methods and techniques, the analysis of costs provides relevant information when analyzing the...

  7. Public ownership helps boost HMOs' profits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenkel, P J

    1992-05-04

    Health maintenance organizations have found that the route to faster growth and better profitability may be turning into a for-profit business and issuing stock. For the past five years, such organizations have generally outperformed their older, not-for-profit counterparts that rely on debt to fuel growth. Since 1988, HMOs have completed 48 stock and debt offerings, raising $3.6 billion.

  8. Profit-driven drug testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collen, Mark

    2012-01-01

    Random drug testing of people being treated for chronic pain has become more common. Physicians may drug test patients on opioid therapy as a result of concerns over prosecution, drug misuse, addiction, and overdose. However, profit motive has remained unexplored. This article suggests profits also drive physician drug-testing behavior and evidence is offered, including an exploration of Medicare reimbursement incentives and kickbacks for drug testing.

  9. The Impact of Tariff Structure on Customer Retention, Usage, and Profitability of Access Services

    OpenAIRE

    Raghuram Iyengar; Kamel Jedidi; Skander Essegaier; Peter J. Danaher

    2011-01-01

    Past research in marketing and psychology suggests that pricing structure may influence consumers' perception of value. In the context of two commonly used pricing schemes, pay-per-use and two-part tariff, we evaluate the impact of pricing structure on consumer preferences for access services. To this end, we develop a utility-based model of consumer retention and usage of a new service. A notable feature of the model is its ability to capture the pricing structure effect and measure its impa...

  10. The importance of working capital management for hospital profitability: evidence from bond-issuing, not-for-profit U.S. hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauscher, Simone; Wheeler, John R C

    2012-01-01

    Increased financial pressures on hospitals have elevated the importance of working capital management, that is, the management of current assets and current liabilities, for hospitals' profitability. Efficient working capital management allows hospitals to reduce their holdings of current assets, such as inventory and accounts receivable, which earn no interest income and require financing with short-term debt. The resulting cash inflows can be reinvested in interest-bearing financial instruments or used to reduce short-term borrowing, thus improving the profitability of the organization. This study examines the relationship between hospitals' profitability and their performance at managing two components of working capital: accounts receivable, measured in terms of hospitals' average collection periods, and accounts payable, measured in terms of hospitals' average payment periods. Panel data derived from audited financial statements for 1,397 bond-issuing, not-for-profit U.S. hospitals for 2000-2007 were analyzed using hospital-level fixed-effects regression analysis. The results show a negative relationship between hospitals' average collection period and profitability. That is, hospitals that collected on their patient revenue faster reported higher profit margins than did hospitals that have larger balances of accounts receivable outstanding. We also found a negative relationship between hospitals' average payment period and their profitability. Hospital managers did not appear to delay paying their vendors. Rather, the findings indicated that more profitable hospitals paid their suppliers faster, possibly to avoid high effective interest rates on outstanding accounts payable, whereas less profitable hospitals waited longer to pay their bills. The findings of this study suggest that working capital management indeed matters for hospitals' profitability. Efforts aimed at reducing large balances in both accounts receivable and accounts payable may frequently be

  11. Semantic Service Search, Service Evaluation and Ranking in Service Oriented Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Hai; Hussain, Farookh Khadeer; Chang, Elizabeth

    The theory of Service Oriented Environment (SOE) emerges with advanced connectivity of the Internet technologies, openness of business environment and prosperousness of business activities. Service, as a critical object impenetrating every corner of SOE, is a hot research topic in many research domains. Software Engineering (SE), as a subject in engineering field, its researchers pay more attention to supporting advanced technologies for promoting service activities in SOE. In this paper, we draw the position in the research field of semantic service search, service evaluation and ranking in SOE. By means of the case study and literature review research approach, we discover the research motivations and research issues in this field.

  12. Evaluating a Service-Oriented Architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-09-01

    See the description on page 13. SaaS Software as a service ( SaaS ) is a software delivery model where customers don’t own a copy of the application... serviceability REST Representational State Transfer RIA rich internet application RPC remote procedure call SaaS software as a service SAML Security...Evaluating a Service -Oriented Architecture Phil Bianco, Software Engineering Institute Rick Kotermanski, Summa Technologies Paulo Merson

  13. 26 CFR 1.852-5 - Earnings and profits of a regulated investment company.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Earnings and profits of a regulated investment company. 1.852-5 Section 1.852-5 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Regulated Investment Companies and Real Estate Investment...

  14. The impact of a conditional cash transfer program on the utilization of non-targeted services: Evidence from Afghanistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witvorapong, Nopphol; Foshanji, Abo Ismael

    2016-03-01

    While existing research suggests that health-related conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have positive impacts on the utilization of CCT-targeted health services, little is known as to whether they also influence the utilization of non-targeted health services-defined as general health services for which program participants are not financially motivated. Based on a sample of 6649 households in a CCT program that took place in May 2009-June 2011 in Afghanistan, we evaluate the impact of the receipt of CCTs on the utilization of non-targeted health services both by women, who were direct beneficiaries of the program, and by members of their households. We estimate the outcomes of interest through four probit models, accounting for potential endogeneity of the CCT receipt and dealing with lack of credible exclusion restrictions in different ways. In comparison with the control group, the receipt of CCTs is found to be associated with an increase in the probability of utilizing non-targeted services among household members across regression models. The results are mixed, with regard to the utilization by women, suggesting that there exist non-economic barriers to health care, unique to women, that are not captured by the data. The results confirm the importance of accounting for direct as well as indirect effects in policy evaluation and suggest that future studies investigate more deeply the role of community health workers in removing non-economic barriers for Afghan women and the possibility of introducing an incentive structure to motivate them to contribute more actively to population health in Afghanistan. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. 20 CFR 435.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Financial and Program Management § 435.26 Non-Federal audits. (a) Recipients and subrecipients that are institutions of higher education or other non-profit organizations...

  16. 15 CFR 14.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT, AND COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Financial and Program Management § 14.26 Non-Federal audits. (a) Recipients and subrecipients that are institutions of higher education or other non-profit...

  17. 22 CFR 518.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Financial and Program Management § 518.26 Non-Federal audits. (a) Recipients and subrecipients that are institutions of higher education or other non-profit organizations (including hospitals) shall...

  18. Improving profitability in a grassroots refinery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coombs, T. [Star Petroleum Refining Co. Ltd. (Thailand); Kennedy, P.; Bhargava, S. [KBC Process Technology Ltd. (United Kingdom)

    1999-05-01

    Actions taken to maximise profit at the Star Refinery in Thailand are described. The company made good use of the Profit Improvement Programme (PIP) (which specialises in refinery economics) and the way in which PIP addressed the problem and the benefits derived therefrom is the nub of this paper. The efforts appear to have been more than satisfactory from the aspect of increasing profit margins. (UK)

  19. Impact of robotic operative efficiency on profitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geller, Elizabeth J; Matthews, Catherine A

    2013-07-01

    We sought to determine the impact of robotic operative efficiency on profitability and assess the impact of secondary variables. Financial data were collected for all robotic cases performed for fiscal years 2010 (FY10) and 2011 (FY11) at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and included 9 surgical subspecialties. Profitability was defined as a positive operating income. From July 2009 through June 2011, 1295 robotic cases were performed. Robotic surgery was profitable in both fiscal years, with an operating income of $386,735 in FY10 and $822,996 in FY11. In FY10, urogynecology and pediatric surgery were the only nonprofitable subspecialties. In FY11, all subspecialties were profitable. Profitability was associated with case time, payor mix, and procedure type (all P profitability regardless of surgical specialty. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Capitation of public mental health services in Colorado: a five-year follow-up of system-level effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloom, Joan R; Wang, Huihui; Kang, Soo Hyang; Wallace, Neal T; Hyun, Jenny K; Hu, Teh-wei

    2011-02-01

    Capitated Medicaid mental health programs have reduced costs over the short term by lowering the utilization of high-cost inpatient services. This study examined the five-year effects of capitated financing in community mental health centers (CMHCs) by comparing not-for-profit with for-profit programs. Data were from the Medicaid billing system in Colorado for the precapitation year (1994) and a shadow billing system for the postcapitation years (1995-1999). In a panel design, a random-effect approach estimated the impact of two financing systems on service utilization and cost while adjusting for all the covariates. Consistent with predictions, in both the for-profit and the not-for-profit CMHCs, relative to the precapitation year, there were significant reductions in each postcapitation year in high-cost treatments (inpatient treatment) for all but one comparison (not-for-profit CMHCs in 1999). Also consistent with predictions, the for-profit programs realized significant reductions in cost per user for both outpatient services and total services. In the not-for-profit programs, there were no significant changes in cost per user for total services; a significant reduction in cost per user for outpatient services was found only in the first two years, 1995 and 1996). The evidence suggests that different strategies were used by the not-for-profit and for-profit programs to control expenditures and utilization and that the for-profit programs were more successful in reducing cost per user.

  1. 34 CFR 74.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Financial and Program Management § 74.26 Non-Federal audits. (a) Recipients and subrecipients that are institutions of higher education or other non-profit organizations (including hospitals) shall be subject to...

  2. 40 CFR 30.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Financial and Program Management § 30.26 Non-Federal audits. (a) Recipients and subrecipients that are institutions of higher education or other non-profit...

  3. 38 CFR 49.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Financial and Program Management § 49.26 Non-Federal audits. (a) Recipients and subrecipients that are institutions of higher education or other non-profit...

  4. 76 FR 2930 - International Product Change-Global Expedited Package Services-Non- Published Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-18

    ... POSTAL SERVICE International Product Change--Global Expedited Package Services-- Non- Published... request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add Global Expedited Package Services-- Non-Published...--Non-Published Rates, to the Competitive Products List, and Notice of Filing (Under Seal) the Enabling...

  5. 78 FR 11164 - Policy on Contractor Profits

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Defense Acquisition Regulations System Policy on Contractor Profits AGENCY... Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. Section 804, Department of Defense Policy on Contractor Profits... modifications to such guidelines that are necessary to ensure an appropriate link between contractor profit and...

  6. On the Origin of Intermediary E-Government Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arendsen, Rex; Ter Hedde, Marc J.

    The majority of SME’s tends to outsource administrative tasks, including their direct relationships with the (electronic) government. Commercial intermediary service providers therefore have to be part of governmental multi channel e-service delivery strategies. This research paper explores the origin, added value and future position of these intermediary organisations with respect to the delivery of e-government services to businesses. Results indicate that (re-)intermediation is more likely to occur within this context than disintermediation is. SME’s do not want to be captured within a non-profitable electronic hierarchical relationship with a governmental organisation. The empirical study on the impact of the legal obligation of the use of e-tax services illustrates that SME’s instead prefer the ‘save haven’ of a commercial relationship with an intermediary service provider. Thus creating and fuelling a new market of intermediary e-government services.

  7. Managing corporate identities of non-profit organisations in the social welfare sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lida Holtzhausen

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Present-day South Africa is characterised by many societal and developmental issues, such as HIV awareness and prevention, child-headed households, environmental protection, poverty alleviation, violence and victim aid. However, it is widely acknowledged that government alone cannot address these issues effectively. The role of non-profit organisations (NPOs in addressing social and development issues is increasingly emphasised. NPOs work at grass-roots level and they can therefore, on the whole, identify societal vulnerabilities and risks earlier than the government sector. However, due to the economic recession, NPOs operate in a competitive environment where an increasing number of NPOs rely on a small number of donors and other resources. NPOs should therefore differentiate themselves from the competition in order to obtain public legitimacy and funding. Corporate identity management is important for NPOs to fulfil their role in social welfare and thus contribute to disaster risk reduction. The exploratory nature of this study dictates a qualitative research approach. Semi-structured interviews with management of five NPOs in the social welfare sector were conducted in order to provide an answer to the study’s research question: ‘To what extent do NPOs in the social welfare sector practise corporate identity management, in order to prevent and address social welfare risks?’ The research found that NPOs do not realise the full potential of managing their corporate identities. NPOs therefore do not take advantage of a strong and distinct corporate identity which would allow them to ensure their ability to assess, address, reduce and/or alleviate vulnerabilities and disaster risks.

  8. Critical care medicine as a distinct product line with substantial financial profitability: the role of business planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekes, Carolyn E; Dellinger, R Phillip; Brooks, Daniel; Edmondson, Robert; Olivia, Christopher T; Parrillo, Joseph E

    2004-05-01

    As academic health centers face increasing financial pressures, they have adopted a more businesslike approach to planning, particularly for discrete "product" or clinical service lines. Since critical care typically has been viewed as a service provided by a hospital, and not a product line, business plans have not historically been developed to expand and promote critical care. The major focus when examining the finances of critical care has been cost reduction, not business development. We hypothesized that a critical care business plan can be developed and analyzed like other more typical product lines and that such a critical care product line can be profitable for an institution. In-depth analysis of critical care including business planning for critical care services. Regional academic health center in southern New Jersey. None. As part of an overall business planning process directed by the Board of Trustees, the critical care product line was identified by isolating revenue, expenses, and profitability associated with critical care patients. We were able to identify the major sources ("value chain") of critical care patients: the emergency room, patients who are admitted for other problems but spend time in a critical care unit, and patients transferred to our intensive care units from other hospitals. The greatest opportunity to expand the product line comes from increasing the referrals from other hospitals. A methodology was developed to identify the revenue and expenses associated with critical care, based on the analysis of past experience. With this model, we were able to demonstrate a positive contribution margin of dollar 7 million per year related to patients transferred to the institution primarily for critical care services. This can be seen as the profit related to the product line segment of critical care. There was an additional positive contribution margin of dollar 5.8 million attributed to the critical care portion of the hospital stay of

  9. On using an efficiency matrix in analysing profit per employee (on the basis of the Estonian SME software sector 

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paavo Siimann

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Service companies earn their profit mainly due to their employees’ intellectual skills, therefore, increasing profit per employee is one opportunity to increase profit and thereby also the company’s market value. In this article the number of employees, the value of owners’ equity and loan capital, operating expenses, net sales and profit before income tax have been used to analyse the change in profit per employee of the Estonian software small and medium-sized enterprise (SME sector in total, and for small and medium-sized companies separately in the years 2009–2013. Furthermore, this article demonstrates that the efficiency matrix methodology and its developments that were refined in Estonia and Russia from the 1960s to the 1990s can be deployed nowadays as well. Of all the components, profit margin and owners’ equity per employee showed the most rapid growth during the analysed period. Profit per employee was higher in the small enterprises segment and lowest among medium-sized enterprises, where owners’ equity per employee, net sales to operating expenses, and profit margin were lower than in small enterprises over the whole period analysed.

  10. The strategic value of customer profitability analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Raaij, van E.M.

    2005-01-01

    Purpose – The aim of the paper is to show how intelligence emanating from customer profitability analysis (CPA) can help improve strategic marketing planning. Insights into the profitability of individual customers, as well as the distribution of profitability across the customer base, can lead to

  11. Estimating Profit Efficiency of Artisanal Fishing in the Pru District of the Brong-Ahafo Region, Ghana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edinam Dope Setsoafia

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluated the profit efficiency of artisanal fishing in the Pru District of Ghana by explicitly computing profit efficiency level, identifying the sources of profit inefficiency, and examining the constraints of artisanal fisheries. Cross-sectional data was obtained from 120 small-scale fishing households using semistructured questionnaire. The stochastic profit frontier model was used to compute profit efficiency level and identify the determinants of profit inefficiency while Garrett ranking technique was used to rank the constraints. The average profit efficiency level was 81.66% which implies that about 82% of the prospective maximum profit was gained due to production efficiency. That is, only 18% of the potential profit was lost due to the fishers’ inefficiency. Also, the age of the household head and household size increase the inefficiency level while experience in artisanal fishing tends to decrease the inefficiency level. From the Garrett ranking, access to credit facility to fully operate the small-scale fishing business was ranked as the most pressing issue followed by unstable prices while perishability was ranked last among the constraints. The study, therefore, recommends that group formation should be encouraged to enable easy access to loans and contract sales to boost profitability.

  12. 78 FR 1277 - International Product Change-Global Expedited Package Services-Non-Published Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-08

    ... POSTAL SERVICE International Product Change--Global Expedited Package Services-- Non-Published...-- Non-Published Rates 4 (GEPS-NPR 4) to the Competitive Products List. DATES: Effective date: January 8... add Global Expedited Package Services-- Non-Published Rates 4 (GEPS-NPR 4) to the Competitive Products...

  13. PROFIT SENSITIVITY IN THE DECISION - MAKING PROCESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimi Ofilean

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Projections on the profitability of an entity is a prerequisite impact assessment of implementing various management strategies. The literature did not include a model sensitivity analysis in terms of profit margin of safety modification and safety coefficient. This article aims to explicit solutions for identifying the factors that influence the sensitivity of profit, the proposed analytical models to change the margin of safety (physical and value and coefficient of safety. The model allows the determination of limits that can increase or decrease sales costs so that the company remains profitable, ie to be able to maintain an adequate level of profit. This analysis allows knowing the influence of each factor in the evolution of the profitability of the entity, allowing managers to adopt the right decisions based on the importance of the influence of the analysis results of the entity. To facilitate understanding of the proposed analytical model is presented a case study.

  14. Comparing two socially optimal work allocation rules when having a profit optimizing subcontractor with ample capacity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Christian

    We study a service system modelled as a single server queueing system where requests for service either can be processed at the service system or by a subcontractor. In the former case the subcontractor is incurred waiting costs but the service is free, while in the latter case the customer must...... pay for the service but there is no waiting time, hence no waiting costs. Under the premises that the subcontractor prices his services in order to maximize his profit, we study two work allocation rules, which given the príce of the subcontractor seek to allocate work such that the costs...

  15. Effect of the Adoption of IFRS on the Information Relevance of Accounting Profits in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mateus Alexandre Costa dos Santos

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to assess the effect of adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS in Brazil on the information relevance of accounting profits of publicly traded companies. International studies have shown that the adoption of IFRS improves the quality of accounting information compared with domestic accounting standards. Concurrent evidence is sparse in Brazil. Information relevance is understood herein as a multidimensional attribute that is closely related to the quality and usefulness of the information conveyed by accounting profits. The associative capacity and information timeliness of accounting profits in relation to share prices were examined. Furthermore, the level of conditional conservatism present in accounting profits was also analyzed because according to Basu (1997, this aspect is related to timeliness. The study used pooled regressions and panel data models to analyze the quarterly accounting profits of 246 companies between the first quarter of 1999 and the first quarter of 2013, resulting in 9,558 quarter-company observations. The results indicated that the adoption of IFRS in Brazil (1 increased the associative capacity of accounting profits; (2 reduced information timeliness to non-significant levels; and (3 had no effect on conditional conservatism. The joint analysis of the empirical evidence from the present study conclusively precludes stating that the adoption of IFRS in Brazil contributed to an increase the information relevance of accounting profits of publicly traded companies.

  16. Booming Economy Fuels Continued Expansion of For-Profit Child Care--Annual Status Report #13.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neugebauer, Roger

    2000-01-01

    Discusses growth of North America's 40 largest for- profit child care centers. Identifies current threats, including staffing shortage and increasing competition from public schools and among chains. Identifies current opportunities to include employer and franchise child care, upscale child care, elementary school services, and flexible hours.…

  17. Assessing the feasibility and profitability of cable logging in southern upland hardwood forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chris B. LeDoux; Dennis M. May; Tony Johnson; Richard H. Widmann

    1995-01-01

    Procedures developed to assess available timber supplies from upland hardwood forest statistics reported by the USDA Forest Services' Forest Inventory and Analysis unit were modified to assess the feasibility and profitability of cable logging in southern upland hardwood forests. Depending on the harvest system and yarding distance used, cable logging can be...

  18. DETERMINANTS OF BANK PROFITABILITY: EVIDENCE FROM US

    OpenAIRE

    Cheng, Yinglin; Huang, Yating

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines the variables that affect bank profitability. We construct a sample of US banks from 2003 to 2015, and use return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) to measure bank profitability. We find that banks with higher profitability are the banks that have: (1) a higher deposits to total asset ratio, (2) a higher diversification ratio, and (3) higher operational efficiency. We also find that better-capitalized banks tend to be more profitable only when we use ROA as the me...

  19. Profitability expertise of rural methanization projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-02-01

    The main objectives of this study were to analyze the profitability of projects of methanization, and to identify factors which curb or favour their profitability. It is based on a detailed analysis of the investment and of the profitability of 50 sites of different sizes and at different stages of progress (from the feasibility study to few months of operation), and also of experiences in three neighbour countries (Germany, Switzerland and Belgium). First, the study highlights the importance of investment costs in the biogas production global cost, notably with respect to current German prices. Then, it comments the impact of subsidies on facility profitability. It proposes ways to improve public support to the different energetic vectors produced from biogas: electricity, biomethane, and heat

  20. Energy consumption of public administration and the services sector in the Netherlands, 1995; Energieverbruik van openbaar bestuur en dienstverlening, 1995

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-07-01

    In 1995 the energy consumption of the sectors public administration, defence and mandatory social insurance was investigated. Also attention was paid to the energy consumption in the sectors environmental services, organizations for employees, employers and professions, and other non-profit and political organizations, cultural, sports and recreational sectors, and other services. The investigation concerned the use of natural gas, electricity, district heating, and domestic fuel oil.

  1. Financialization and financial profit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arturo Guillén

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This article starts from the critical review of the concept of financial capital. I consider it is necessary not to confuse this category with of financialization, which has acquired a certificate of naturalization from the rise of neoliberalism. Although financial monopoly-financial capital is the hegemonic segment of the bourgeoisie in the major capitalist countries, their dominance does not imply, a fortiori, financialization of economic activity, since it depends of the conditions of the process reproduction of capital. The emergence of joint stock companies modified the formation of the average rate of profit. The "promoter profit" becomes one of the main forms of income of monopoly-financial capital. It is postulated that financial profit is a kind of "extraordinary surplus-value" which is appropriated by monopoly-financial capital by means of the monopolistic control it exerts on the issue and circulation of fictitious capital.

  2. THE MARKETING MENTALITY WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION - A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN COMPANIES AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pop Nicolae Al.

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available In contemporary Marketing theory and practice, debates regarding the role and place of the homonymous activity within the company are frequent. The development of a marketing mentality, as specialists state, allows the implementation of a marketing vision in all the organization’s departments, regardless of the activities performed. The economic theory enunciates all the more the existence of a marketing doctrine urged to ensure the methodological frame of the organization regarding market and consumer orientation. Based upon two selective exploratory market research performed among the major distributors of electro-technical materials and electro-technical solutions integrators, respectively among some public faculties’ management the authors want to examine the existence and the decision makers’ responsiveness regarding the implementation of a marketing mentality in one’s organization. The conclusions concern both business environment and academic non-profit organizations’ activity. The connection between the marketing mentality as an essential premise for the development of the entrepreneurial university concept is also emphasized.

  3. Factors associated with non-reimbursable activity on an inpatient pediatric consultation-liaison service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bierenbaum, Melanie L; Katsikas, Steven; Furr, Allen; Carter, Bryan D

    2013-12-01

    The aim of this study was to identify factors contributing to clinician time spent in non-reimbursable activity on an inpatient pediatric consultation-liaison (C-L) service. A retrospective study was conducted using inpatient C-L service data on 1,246 consecutive referrals. For this patient population, the strongest predictor of level of non-reimbursable clinical activity was illness chronicity and the number of contacts with C-L service clinicians during their hospital stay. Patients with acute life-threatening illnesses required the highest mean amount of non-reimbursable service activity. On average, 28 % of total clinician time in completing a hospital consultation was spent in non-reimbursable activity. Effective C-L services require a proportion of time spent in non-reimbursable clinical activity, such as liaison and coordinating care with other providers. Identifying referral and systemic factors contributing to non-reimbursable activity can provide insight into budgeting/negotiating for institutional support for essential clinical and non-clinical functions in providing competent quality patient care.

  4. Evaluating the Impact of Business Service Expertise and Business Links on the Performance of SMEs in England

    OpenAIRE

    John Bryson; David Ingram; Peter Daniels

    1999-01-01

    The last decade has seen a growing body of research on information-intensive business service firms. These are companies that supply expertise and knowledge which are considered to add value to the output of their clients. This paper explores the impact of business service expertise provided via business link on the performance, profitability and competitiveness of client companies. The authors use a unique survey of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in England as well as case studies...

  5. Challenges to healthcare reform in China: profit-oriented medical practices, patients' choice of care and guanxi culture in Zhejiang province.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Dan; Lam, Tai Pong; Lam, Kwok Fai; Zhou, Xu Dong; Sun, Kai Sing

    2017-11-01

    Doctors' profit-oriented practices in public institutions were widespread in China. Two major targets of the healthcare reform launched in 2009 were to curb the profit-making practices in public institutions and to encourage the citizens to use primary care. After 6 years, the status of profit-orientation of public institutions remains unknown. Compared with hospitals, there is no trend of increasing use of primary care. Our study aimed to explore the status of profit-orientation of public institutions and patients' utilization preference. The impacts of guanxi (personal relationship) on patients' utilization of healthcare and doctors' practices were also explored. From September 2014 to September 2015, we conducted focus group and individual interviews, followed by a survey with doctors (n = 1111) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Thematic analysis, independent t-test and Fisher's exact test were conducted to analyse the data. This study found that 36.8% of survey respondents needed to consider making profits for their institutions, especially the hospital specialists. A total of 38.5% and 40.7% thought that their practices led to patients' worries of unnecessary drugs and tests, respectively. Doctors attributed their profit-oriented practices to institutions' agenda setting, poor salary and an organizational bonus system. Their awareness of breaching medical ethics created a guilt feeling and frustration. Nearly 65.0% reported patients' preference for hospital-based care even for minor conditions and 76.2% if the patient was a child. Ineffective gate-keeping mechanism, weak primary care and mistrust in community-based care were major reasons. More specialists than primary care practitioners (41.0 vs 21.5%, P < 0.001) said that patients would use guanxi to gain better services and 64.5% of doctors reported better dedication when patients were somehow connected. In conclusion, profit-orientated practice widely exists in public institutions. Patients

  6. Characteristics of Human Brain Activity during the Evaluation of Service-to-Service Brand Extension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Taeyang; Lee, Seungji; Seomoon, Eunbi; Kim, Sung-Phil

    2018-01-01

    Brand extension is a marketing strategy to apply the previously established brand name into new goods or service. A number of studies have reported the characteristics of human event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to the evaluation of goods-to-goods brand extension. In contrast, human brain responses to the evaluation of service extension are relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was investigating cognitive processes underlying the evaluation of service-to-service brand extension with electroencephalography (EEG). A total of 56 text stimuli composed of service brand name (S1) followed by extended service name (S2) were presented to participants. The EEG of participants was recorded while participants were asked to evaluate whether a given brand extension was acceptable or not. The behavioral results revealed that participants could evaluate brand extension though they had little knowledge about the extended services, indicating the role of brand in the evaluation of the services. Additionally, we developed a method of grouping brand extension stimuli according to the fit levels obtained from behavioral responses, instead of grouping of stimuli a priori . The ERP analysis identified three components during the evaluation of brand extension: N2, P300, and N400. No difference in the N2 amplitude was found among the different levels of a fit between S1 and S2. The P300 amplitude for the low level of fit was greater than those for higher levels ( p service-to-service brand extension from goods-to-goods.

  7. PROFITABILITY EVALUATION METHODS – A STRATEGY FOR ROMANIAN COMPANIES TO AVOID INSOLVENCY.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SABĂU CĂTĂLIN

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Addressing economic strategies for determining the stability and financial position of the companies has become a very topical issue in recent years due to the financial crisis manifested worlwide in 2008 and which led to the start of insolvency proceedings for a considerable number of Romanian companies , which often resulted in bankruptcy for the firms concerned. Beside the international macroeconomic context, another issue that we consider essential and which led to the bankruptcy of Romanian companies is the lack of emphasis on financial analysis and diagnostic methods in determining a company's profitability and financial prospects of development in the short, medium and long term. Precisely for this reason a large number of Romanian companies fall prey to unsustainable financial commitments, often have low liquidity and the rate of equity return (ROE is below the industry average thus denoting a lack of real competitive capabilities. This article seeks to highlight the positive contribution that can be implemented in the awareness of management regarding stability and the financial position of the company wchich is evaluated in order for the managers to make the necessary arrangements in time for the recovery, efficiency and sustainable implementation of a medium and long term business plan by analyzing the concepts of capitalization and upgrading but also but also by analyzing the evaluation method based on determining the beneficiary capacity; cash flow and discounted cash flow method.

  8. Geothermal Heat Pump Profitability in Energy Services

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1997-11-01

    If geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) are to make a significant mark in the market, we believe that it will be through energy service pricing contracts offered by retailcos. The benefits of GHPs are ideally suited to energy service pricing (ESP) contractual arrangements; however, few retailcos are thoroughly familiar with the benefits of GHPs. Many of the same barriers that have prevented GHPs from reaching their full potential in the current market environment remain in place for retailcos. A lack of awareness, concerns over the actual efficiencies of GHPs, perceptions of extremely high first costs, unknown records for maintenance costs, etc. have all contributed to limited adoption of GHP technology. These same factors are of concern to retailcos as they contemplate long term customer contracts. The central focus of this project was the creation of models, using actual GHP operating data and the experience of seasoned professionals, to simulate the financial performance of GHPs in long-term ESP contracts versus the outcome using alternative equipment. We have chosen two case studies, which may be most indicative of target markets in the competitive marketplace: A new 37,000 square foot office building in Toronto, Ontario; we also modeled a similar building under the weather conditions of Orlando, Florida. An aggregated residential energy services project using the mass conversion of over 4,000 residential units at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. Our method of analyses involved estimating equipment and energy costs for both the base case and the GHP buildings. These costs are input in to a cash flow analysis financial model which calculates an after-tax cost for the base and GHP case. For each case study customers were assumed to receive a 5% savings over their base case utility bill. A sensitivity analysis was then conducted to determine how key variables affect the attractiveness of a GHP investment.

  9. Evaluation of Urban Bus Transport Failure in Gujranwala City of Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MUHAMMAD WAQAR ASLAM

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This research work has evaluated the performance of urban public bus transport service operating in Gujranwala city of Pakistan. The assessment has been made in terms of financial viability, bus condition, operational performance and user perception. Based on the data requirements, various traffic/transport surveys were conducted including Passenger Boarding and Alighting Survey, Bus Count Survey, Bus Inspection Survey, Illegal Operations Survey and Public Transport User Interview Survey in consultation with concerned department/agencies. Field surveys were also conducted to get input from passengers and local people. Initial investigation informed that out of four operational bus routes, only two routes are profitable. The overall bus operation is running in loss (only 0.3% net profit. It has barely any profit for the bus operator against its investment thereby making the urban bus operation financially non-viable. The whole revenue flow is dependent on passenger ticketing revenue only. Around 35% of the buses are in poor condition with major issues of quality of tyres, no speedometer, worse condition of seats, floor and ceiling, and display of route. Illegal operation of Qingqis/Rickshaws (as para-transit mode along the bus routes is also decreasing the revenue by capturing the passenger volume. According to passenger opinion analysis, around 55% of the passenger are not satisfied with the service quality and prefer other modes of transport. Their major concerns are absence of facilities for disables and bus stops, bus seating and standing capacity, poor bus condition and pick pocketing. Collectively, these factors are contributing

  10. Hydro-Quebec is profitable

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poirier, M.

    1997-01-01

    The pros and cons of the potential privatisation of Hydro-Quebec were discussed. A brief review of charges of less than competent management, low profitability and the corporation's recent administrative restructuring was presented. The general thrust of the argument was that Hydro-Quebec plays a crucial role in the economic development of Quebec, it can be made to be more profitable and that for the good of Quebec it should continue as a public corporation under the control of the provincial government

  11. Fractal profit landscape of the stock market.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grönlund, Andreas; Yi, Il Gu; Kim, Beom Jun

    2012-01-01

    We investigate the structure of the profit landscape obtained from the most basic, fluctuation based, trading strategy applied for the daily stock price data. The strategy is parameterized by only two variables, p and q Stocks are sold and bought if the log return is bigger than p and less than -q, respectively. Repetition of this simple strategy for a long time gives the profit defined in the underlying two-dimensional parameter space of p and q. It is revealed that the local maxima in the profit landscape are spread in the form of a fractal structure. The fractal structure implies that successful strategies are not localized to any region of the profit landscape and are neither spaced evenly throughout the profit landscape, which makes the optimization notoriously hard and hypersensitive for partial or limited information. The concrete implication of this property is demonstrated by showing that optimization of one stock for future values or other stocks renders worse profit than a strategy that ignores fluctuations, i.e., a long-term buy-and-hold strategy.

  12. Return and profitability of space programs. Information - the main product of flights in space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolova, Irena

    The basic branch providing global information, as a product on the market, is astronautics and in particular aero and space flights. Nowadays economic categories like profitability, return, and self-financing are added to space information. The activity in the space information service market niche is an opportunity for realization of high economic efficiency and profitability. The present report aims at examining the possibilities for return and profitability of space programs. Specialists in economics from different countries strive for defining the economic effect of implementing space technologies in the technical branches on earth. Still the priorities here belong to government and insufficient market organization and orientation is apparent. Attracting private investors and searching for new mechanisms of financing are the factors for increasing economic efficiency and return of capital invested in the mentioned sphere. Return of utilized means is an economically justified goal, a motive for a bigger enlargement of efforts and directions for implementing the achievements of astronautics in the branches of economy on earth.

  13. Profitability and efficiency of Italian utilities: cluster analysis of financial statement ratios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Linares, E.

    2008-01-01

    , II) return on invested capital and return on equity capital, and III) efficiency of personnel. Cluster analysis has identified four clusters. Each cluster has then been described in terms of the factors, the profitability and the efficiency indicators (Return on Sales, Return on Equity, Return on Assets, Turnover / Personnel Costs, Capital Intensity), the presence in different stages of the energy value chains and the same descriptive variables used for the previous set of clusters. Based on indicators of cost incidence, profitability and efficiency, five cluster have emerged. Based on three non-observable factors (efficiency in ordinary and financial management, return on invested capital and on equity capital, efficiency of personnel) four clusters have emerged. These results suggest that there may be a nexus between the performances of the observed Italian utilities and some of their characteristics, such as size (in terms of total assets), presence in more or less capital-intensive stages of the value chains of different public utility services, and the industries in which these enterprises generate most of their sales revenues (i.e. their core businesses) or, in other words, the extent of diversification. This hints to a couple of avenues for future research, such as the replication of this kind of analysis on a larger sample, with the same or different indicators, and the identification of economies of scale, economies of density, economies of scope and industry-specific factors that may help to explain the results of multivariate statistical analysis of financial statement data. [it

  14. Evaluation Model of Tea Industry Information Service Quality

    OpenAIRE

    Shi , Xiaohui; Chen , Tian’en

    2015-01-01

    International audience; According to characteristics of tea industry information service, this paper have built service quality evaluation index system for tea industry information service quality, R-cluster analysis and multiple regression have been comprehensively used to contribute evaluation model with a high practice and credibility. Proved by the experiment, the evaluation model of information service quality has a good precision, which has guidance significance to a certain extent to e...

  15. The Charpin report confirms the profitability of nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2000-01-01

    An official report written by 3 experts committed by the French government in may 1999 about the profitability of nuclear energy has been published. In this report 7 scenarios have been compared according to the demand of electricity, the price of gas, the operating life of power plants and the nuclear equipment replacement schedule. If the prices of fossil energies (oil and gas) remain stable, the cheapest scenarios are those based on the non-replacement of nuclear power plants when they reach their maximal operating life. The differences between scenarios are so slight than the uncertainty about the price of gas is enough to make a scenario more profitable than another. The extra-costs of carbon emissions that France will have to face in order to respect the Kyoto agreement, will weigh more in the economic balance than the management of radioactive wastes. (A.C.)

  16. Partial valuation of the goods and services that it provides the mangrove ecosystem: An integrated ecological-economic analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castiblanco R, Carmenza

    2002-01-01

    The article presents a methodology to value the economic benefits of the use of some goods and services that provides the mangrove ecosystem, located in the municipality of Tumaco. An ecological analysis is developed integrated to an economic evaluation that allows expressing in monetary terms some values of use of the mangrove; this value are compared with the profitability that reports the Camaroniculture, productive activity that is constituted at the moment, in the most profitable alternative use

  17. Time delay and profit accumulation effect on a mine-based uranium market clearing model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auzans, Aris; Teder, Allan; Tkaczyk, Alan H.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Improved version of a mine-based uranium market clearing model for the front-end uranium market and enrichment industries is proposed. • A profit accumulation algorithm and time delay function provides more realistic uranium mine decision making process. • Operational decision delay increased uranium market price volatility. - Abstract: The mining industry faces a number of challenges such as market volatility, investment safety, issues surrounding employment and productivity. Therefore, computer simulations are highly relevant in order to reduce financial risks associated with these challenges. In the mining industry, each firm must compete with other mines and the basic target is profit maximization. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the world uranium (U) supply by simulating financial management challenges faced by an individual U mine that are caused by a variety of regulation issues. In this paper front-end nuclear fuel cycle tool is used to simulate market conditions and the effects they have on the stability of U supply. An individual U mine’s exit or entry in the market might cause changes in the U supply side which can increase or decrease the market price. In this paper we offer a more advanced version of a mine-based U market clearing model. The existing U market model incorporates the market of primary U from uranium mines with secondary uranium (depleted uranium DU), enriched uranium (HEU) and enrichment services. In the model each uranium mine acts as an independent agent that is able to make operational decisions based on the market price. This paper introduces a more realistic decision making algorithm of individual U mine that adds constraints to production decisions. The authors added an accumulated profit model, which allows for the profits accumulated to cover any possible future economic losses and the time-delay algorithm to simulate delayed process of reopening a U mine. The U market simulation covers time period 2010

  18. Time delay and profit accumulation effect on a mine-based uranium market clearing model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Auzans, Aris [Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Ostwaldi 1, EE-50411 Tartu (Estonia); Teder, Allan [School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu, Narva mnt 4, EE-51009 Tartu (Estonia); Tkaczyk, Alan H., E-mail: alan@ut.ee [Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Ostwaldi 1, EE-50411 Tartu (Estonia)

    2016-12-15

    Highlights: • Improved version of a mine-based uranium market clearing model for the front-end uranium market and enrichment industries is proposed. • A profit accumulation algorithm and time delay function provides more realistic uranium mine decision making process. • Operational decision delay increased uranium market price volatility. - Abstract: The mining industry faces a number of challenges such as market volatility, investment safety, issues surrounding employment and productivity. Therefore, computer simulations are highly relevant in order to reduce financial risks associated with these challenges. In the mining industry, each firm must compete with other mines and the basic target is profit maximization. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the world uranium (U) supply by simulating financial management challenges faced by an individual U mine that are caused by a variety of regulation issues. In this paper front-end nuclear fuel cycle tool is used to simulate market conditions and the effects they have on the stability of U supply. An individual U mine’s exit or entry in the market might cause changes in the U supply side which can increase or decrease the market price. In this paper we offer a more advanced version of a mine-based U market clearing model. The existing U market model incorporates the market of primary U from uranium mines with secondary uranium (depleted uranium DU), enriched uranium (HEU) and enrichment services. In the model each uranium mine acts as an independent agent that is able to make operational decisions based on the market price. This paper introduces a more realistic decision making algorithm of individual U mine that adds constraints to production decisions. The authors added an accumulated profit model, which allows for the profits accumulated to cover any possible future economic losses and the time-delay algorithm to simulate delayed process of reopening a U mine. The U market simulation covers time period 2010

  19. Evaluation of maintenance strategies for steam generator tubes in pressurized waster reactors. 2. Cost and profitability analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Isobe, Y.; Sagisaka, M.; Yoshimura, S.; Yagawa, G.

    2000-01-01

    As an application of probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM), risk-benefit analysis was carried out to evaluate maintenance activities of steam generator (SG) tubes used in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The analysis was conducted for SG tubes made of Inconel 600, and Inconel 690 as well assuming its crack initiation and crack propagation law based on Inconel 600 data. The following results were drawn from the analysis. Improvement of inspection accuracy reduces the maintenance costs significantly and is preferable from the viewpoint of profitability due to reduction of SG tube leakage and rupture. There is a certain region of SCC properties of SG tubes where sampling inspection is effective. (author)

  20. Selecting profitable customers for complex services on the internet

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vroomen, B; Donkers, B; Verhoef, PC; Franses, PH

    In contrast to books and compact discs, the number of complex services offered on the Internet is still small. The decision-making process for complex services is different because it has an additional intermediate step of "indication of interest." The Web site is (a) visited and searched for

  1. 介護系NPO の持続性と多様性 : 介護保険制度外サービスの実態分析から

    OpenAIRE

    金谷,信子

    2012-01-01

    When Long Term Care Insurance was introduced in 2000, citizen-driven non-profit care providers were expected to deliver diverse services for the elderly ― institutional and beyond ― ,based on their particular mission, which differes from for-profit and public providers. However recently it has been argued that the presence and meaning of non-profit care providers have diminished. The reasons include crowding out of non-profit providers as a result of the rapid growth of institutional services...

  2. Role of research in non-destructive evaluation for nuclear technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jayakumar, T.; Rao, B.P.C.; Raj, Baldev

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents the role of research in non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of microstructures and mechanical properties in materials, assessment of manufacturing quality and early detection of in-service damage in nuclear components and structures. A few applications and case studies are discussed based on the results of systematic research and developmental activities pursued in different NDE techniques at the authors' laboratory for three different types of Indian nuclear reactors. (author)

  3. Merchant interconnector projects by generators in the EU: Profitability and allocation of capacity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koten, Silvester van

    2012-01-01

    When building a cross-border transmission line (a so-called interconnector) as a for-profit (merchant) project, where the regulator has required that capacity allocation be done non-discriminatorily by explicit auction, the identity of the investor can affect the profitability of the interconnector project and, once operational, the resulting allocation of its capacity. Specifically, when the investor is a generator (hereafter the integrated generator) who also can use the interconnector to export its electricity to a distant location, then, once operational, the integrated generator will bid more aggressively in the allocation auctions to increase the auction revenue and thus its profits. As a result, the integrated generator is more likely to win the auction and the capacity is sold for a higher price. This lowers the allocative efficiency of the auction, but it increases the expected ex-ante profitability of the merchant interconnector project. Unaffiliated, independent generators, however, are less likely to win the auction and, in any case, pay a higher price, which dramatically lowers their revenues from exporting electricity over this interconnector. - Highlights: ► A merchant interconnector owned by an electricity generator needs special attention of regulators. ► Even when allocation of the capacity is done by auctions, the generator will make a large profit. ► The generator will also decrease the allocation of capacity to competitors by bidding aggressively.

  4. Comparing two socially optimal work allocation rules when having a profit optimizing subcontractor with ample capacity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Christian

    2005-01-01

    We study a service system modelled as a single server queuing system where request for service either can be processed at the service system or by a subcontractor. In the former case the customer is incurred waiting costs but the service is free, while in the latter case the customer must pay...... for the service but there is no waiting time, hence no waiting costs. Under the premises that the subcontractor prices his services in order to maximize his profit, we study two work allocation rules, which given the price of subcontractor seek to allocate work such that the costs of the customers are minimized...

  5. Comparing two socially optimal work allocation rules when having a profit optimizing subcontractor with ample capacity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Christian

    2003-01-01

    We study a service system modelled as a single server queueing system where request for service either can be processed at the service system or by a subcontractor. In the former case the customer is incurred waiting costs but the service is free, while in the latter case the customer must pay...... for the service but there is no waiting time, hence no waiting costs. Under the premises that the subcontractor prices his services in order to maximize his profit, we study two work allocation rules, which given the price of the subcontractor seek to allocate work such that the costs of the customers...

  6. Evaluating clinical librarian services: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brettle, Alison; Maden-Jenkins, Michelle; Anderson, Lucy; McNally, Rosalind; Pratchett, Tracey; Tancock, Jenny; Thornton, Debra; Webb, Anne

    2011-03-01

      Previous systematic reviews have indicated limited evidence and poor quality evaluations of clinical librarian (CL) services. Rigorous evaluations should demonstrate the value of CL services, but guidance is needed before this can be achieved.   To undertake a systematic review which examines models of CL services, quality, methods and perspectives of clinical librarian service evaluations.   Systematic review methodology and synthesis of evidence, undertaken collaboratively by a group of 8 librarians to develop research and critical appraisal skills.   There are four clear models of clinical library service provision. Clinical librarians are effective in saving health professionals time, providing relevant, useful information and high quality services. Clinical librarians have a positive effect on clinical decision making by contributing to better informed decisions, diagnosis and choice of drug or therapy. The quality of CL studies is improving, but more work is needed on reducing bias and providing evidence of specific impacts on patient care. The Critical Incident Technique as part of a mixed method approach appears to offer a useful approach to demonstrating impact.   This systematic review provides practical guidance regarding the evaluation of CL services. It also provides updated evidence regarding the effectiveness and impact of CL services. The approach used was successful in developing research and critical appraisal skills in a group of librarians. © 2010 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2010 Health Libraries Group.

  7. Evaluating bull fertility based on non-return method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prka Igor

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to evaluate the results of reproductive cows and heifers, different parameters of fertility are used, such as the service period, insemination index, intercalving time and others, and of the breeding bulls the values obtained through non-return. An ejaculate is taken up for further processing by veterinary centres only provided it meets the prescribed quality parameters. Rating semen parameters includes a macroscopic (volume, colour, consistency, smell and pH and a microscopic evaluation (mobility, density, percentage of live sperm and abnormal and damaged sperm. In addition to sperm quality and the fertility of the female animal, the results of the non-return method are also influenced by a number of exogenous causes (season, age, race, insemination techniques that have no small impact on the end result of insemination - pregnancy. In order to obtain more objective results of the fertility of bulls the following tasks were undertaken, namely: 1. to calculate with the non-return method the fertility of bulls in over 10,000 cows inseminated for the first time during a period of 6 years; and 2. to analyze the impact of semen quality, season, age of cow and bull, and the bull breed on the results of fertility.

  8. Provider-related barriers to rapid HIV testing in U.S. urban non-profit community clinics, community-based organizations (CBOs) and hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogart, Laura M; Howerton, Devery; Lange, James; Setodji, Claude Messan; Becker, Kirsten; Klein, David J; Asch, Steven M

    2010-06-01

    We examined provider-reported barriers to rapid HIV testing in U.S. urban non-profit community clinics, community-based organizations (CBOs), and hospitals. 12 primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs; three per region) were sampled randomly, with sampling weights proportional to AIDS case reports. Across PMSAs, all 671 hospitals and a random sample of 738 clinics/CBOs were telephoned for a survey on rapid HIV test availability. Of the 671 hospitals, 172 hospitals were randomly selected for barriers questions, for which 158 laboratory and 136 department staff were eligible and interviewed in 2005. Of the 738 clinics/CBOs, 276 were randomly selected for barriers questions, 206 were reached, and 118 were eligible and interviewed in 2005-2006. In multivariate models, barriers regarding translation of administrative/quality assurance policies into practice were significantly associated with rapid HIV testing availability. For greater rapid testing diffusion, policies are needed to reduce administrative barriers and provide quality assurance training to non-laboratory staff.

  9. Evaluation of Reference Services--A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuruppu, Pali U.

    2007-01-01

    Understanding the inherent deficiencies in reference service as provided is critical to providing effective, high quality service. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, as well as a combination of both, are being used to evaluate these services. The identification of appropriate research methodology is critical to an effective…

  10. Study notes separability of oil company profitability, efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, R.G.

    1993-01-01

    In recent years, the large publicly traded oil companies have been restructuring and downsizing to improve efficiency. Newly developed decision theory forces one to question the widely held singular focus on efficiency because improving efficiency will not necessarily improve profits. This is especially likely in the oil industry, where price volatility is the norm. Because its products are so basic, its price volatility typically ripples widely throughout the economy. In light of this, efficiency and profitability in the oil industry require separate treatment. More specifically, the efficient are not necessarily the most profitable; conversely, the most profitable are not necessarily the most efficient. Such a decoupling of efficiency and profitability requires a totally new look at business strategy. In the face of highly variable prices, firms can no longer depend on the long-accepted duality norm between profits and efficiency

  11. Meet the New For-Profit: The Low-Profit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumenstyk, Goldie

    2012-01-01

    "Doing well by doing good" is the business mantra of the for-profit-college industry. But one does not have to look far to find people who question the slogan's sincerity or the very legitimacy of that model. And that was even before reports of some companies' abusive student-recruiting practices and questionable educational standards fed a public…

  12. The tipping point: A mathematical model for the profit-driven abandonment of restaurant tipping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clifton, Sara M.; Herbers, Eileen; Chen, Jack; Abrams, Daniel M.

    2018-02-01

    The custom of voluntarily tipping for services rendered has gone in and out of fashion in America since its introduction in the 19th century. Restaurant owners that ban tipping in their establishments often claim that social justice drives their decisions, but we show that rational profit-maximization may also justify the decisions. Here, we propose a conceptual model of restaurant competition for staff and customers, and we show that there exists a critical conventional tip rate at which restaurant owners should eliminate tipping to maximize profits. Because the conventional tip rate has been increasing steadily for the last several decades, our model suggests that restaurant owners may abandon tipping en masse when that critical tip rate is reached.

  13. Evaluating Service Quality in Universities: A Service Department Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Gareth; Smith, Alison; Clarke, Alison

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of the study is to report on an in-depth exploration of service quality in an Information Technology service department in a Higher Education Institute (HEI) and to evaluate the instrument used. Design/methodology/approach: The study surveys customers using the SERVQUAL instrument, which is one of the most widely used and…

  14. Decomposing dynamic profit inefficiency of Belgian dairy farms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ang, Frederic; Lansink, Alfons Oude

    2018-01-01

    This paper introduces a nonparametric framework for analysing dynamic profit inefficiency and applies this to a sample of Belgian, specialised dairy farms from 1996 to 2008. Profit inefficiency is decomposed into technical and allocative inefficiency. The paper also decomposes profit inefficiency

  15. Profitability And Resource Use Efficiency In Dry Season Onion ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study evaluated profitability and resource use efficiency in dry season onion production in Sokoto and Kebbi States. Eight local government areas (L. G. As), four from each State, were purposively selected for the study. From each L.G.A., four villages were selected and from each village, five dry season onion farmers ...

  16. Profit sharing for increased training investments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gielen, A. C.

    2011-01-01

    This article investigates whether paying a profit-related wage stimulates training investments. The results point to increased worker effort and wage flexibility as two channels through which profit sharing enhances investments in training. While both effects are found for young workers, for older

  17. Outcomes that Matter[TM] for Children and Young People in Out-of-Home Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulcher, Leon C.; Garfat, Thom

    2012-01-01

    Outcomes measurement has become a contemporary requirement for non-profit, government, and private sector child, youth, and family service providers throughout North America as well as in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. Cost-effectiveness, care planning, service evaluations, and fiscal audits are now commonplace…

  18. Characteristics of Human Brain Activity during the Evaluation of Service-to-Service Brand Extension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taeyang Yang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Brand extension is a marketing strategy to apply the previously established brand name into new goods or service. A number of studies have reported the characteristics of human event-related potentials (ERPs in response to the evaluation of goods-to-goods brand extension. In contrast, human brain responses to the evaluation of service extension are relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was investigating cognitive processes underlying the evaluation of service-to-service brand extension with electroencephalography (EEG. A total of 56 text stimuli composed of service brand name (S1 followed by extended service name (S2 were presented to participants. The EEG of participants was recorded while participants were asked to evaluate whether a given brand extension was acceptable or not. The behavioral results revealed that participants could evaluate brand extension though they had little knowledge about the extended services, indicating the role of brand in the evaluation of the services. Additionally, we developed a method of grouping brand extension stimuli according to the fit levels obtained from behavioral responses, instead of grouping of stimuli a priori. The ERP analysis identified three components during the evaluation of brand extension: N2, P300, and N400. No difference in the N2 amplitude was found among the different levels of a fit between S1 and S2. The P300 amplitude for the low level of fit was greater than those for higher levels (p < 0.05. The N400 amplitude was more negative for the mid- and high-level fits than the low level. The ERP results of P300 and N400 indicate that the early stage of brain extension evaluation might first detect low-fit brand extension as an improbable target followed by the late stage of the integration of S2 into S1. Along with previous findings, our results demonstrate different cognitive evaluation of service-to-service brand extension from goods-to-goods.

  19. Characteristics of Human Brain Activity during the Evaluation of Service-to-Service Brand Extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Taeyang; Lee, Seungji; Seomoon, Eunbi; Kim, Sung-Phil

    2018-01-01

    Brand extension is a marketing strategy to apply the previously established brand name into new goods or service. A number of studies have reported the characteristics of human event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to the evaluation of goods-to-goods brand extension. In contrast, human brain responses to the evaluation of service extension are relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was investigating cognitive processes underlying the evaluation of service-to-service brand extension with electroencephalography (EEG). A total of 56 text stimuli composed of service brand name (S1) followed by extended service name (S2) were presented to participants. The EEG of participants was recorded while participants were asked to evaluate whether a given brand extension was acceptable or not. The behavioral results revealed that participants could evaluate brand extension though they had little knowledge about the extended services, indicating the role of brand in the evaluation of the services. Additionally, we developed a method of grouping brand extension stimuli according to the fit levels obtained from behavioral responses, instead of grouping of stimuli a priori. The ERP analysis identified three components during the evaluation of brand extension: N2, P300, and N400. No difference in the N2 amplitude was found among the different levels of a fit between S1 and S2. The P300 amplitude for the low level of fit was greater than those for higher levels (p < 0.05). The N400 amplitude was more negative for the mid- and high-level fits than the low level. The ERP results of P300 and N400 indicate that the early stage of brain extension evaluation might first detect low-fit brand extension as an improbable target followed by the late stage of the integration of S2 into S1. Along with previous findings, our results demonstrate different cognitive evaluation of service-to-service brand extension from goods-to-goods. PMID:29479313

  20. DataProfit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ritter, Thomas; Lund Pedersen, Carsten; Eibe Sørensen, Hans

    sammen for at udnytte mulighederne for datadreven profitabel vækst. Denne guide giver en anvendelsesorienteret gennemgang af de ni kompetencer i vores kort, som vi kalder for DataProfit. I guiden beskrives hver kompetence – og du inviteres til at analysere din virksomhed. Til sidst sætter vi hele...

  1. Impact of customer churn [or turnover] on profitability. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamblin, D.; Ratchford, B.T.

    1998-12-01

    This report responds to a concern of a newly deregulated industry about the impact of customer churn, or turnover, on both the bottom line and staying power of incumbent utility distribution companies and new-entrant energy services providers. This research effort identifies those issues that will be of greatest importance to an energy service provider within a historical context that looks at churn impacts in other industries in the US as well as privatized electricity markets abroad. Churn and price maintenance or market power impacts on profitability are examined by looking at privatization and deregulation experiences within the context of economics. The report also looks at the marketing literature describing and modeling customer satisfaction, customer churn or retention, and price maintenance or market power

  2. Statistical methods for the evaluation of educational services and quality of products

    CERN Document Server

    Bini, Matilde; Piccolo, Domenico; Salmaso, Luigi

    2009-01-01

    The book presents statistical methods and models that can usefully support the evaluation of educational services and quality of products. The evaluation of educational services, as well as the analysis of judgments and preferences, poses severe methodological challenges because of the presence of the following aspects: the observational nature of the context, which is associated with the problems of selection bias and presence of nuisance factors; the hierarchical structure of the data (multilevel analysis); the multivariate and qualitative nature of the dependent variable; the presence of non observable factors, e.g. the satisfaction, calling for the use of latent variables models; the simultaneous presence of components of pleasure and components of uncertainty in the explication of the judgments, that asks for the specification and estimation of mixture models. The contributions concern methodological advances developed mostly with reference to specific problems of evaluation using real data sets.

  3. The relationship between the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) and hospital profitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Younis, Mustafa Z

    2006-01-01

    The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) reduced the payment for fees for service providers and reduced the subsidy paid by the government for teaching hospitals. Since the passage of such cost containment measures, debates regarding their impact on hospitals, graduate medical education, and access to health care were raised. The need to examine the effect of such payment reduction on hospital profitability was widely ignored. We examined the relationship between the BBA and hospital profitability by using return on assets to measure profitability, by running an ordinary least squares regression for 1996 as pre-BBA and 1999 as post-BBA. We controlled for variables that were not included in previous literature, such as disproportionate share hospital status, critical access hospital status, and graduate medical education, measured by teaching hospitals to measure the effect of BBA cuts on teaching hospitals. Furthermore we incorporated several economic, financial, and utilization variables in the model. We used 1996 and 1999 data in our analysis to bridge potential effects of the BBA. To locate hospitals that changed ownership status we cross-matched the Medicare Cost Report data with the American Hospital Association Annual Survey. We found that overall hospital profitability declined as a result of the introduction of the BBA; however, small rural hospitals that converted to critical access status enjoyed improvement in financial status over the period of our study. Hospitals that converted to for-profit status did not improve in financial status, and showed a lower earning after the conversation. Our results show that the BBA had a negative effect on hospitals because of cuts in its reimbursement policy, except for critical access hospitals, which show improvement because of their exemption from the prospective payment system. Our study differs from others by using national comprehensive data for years that focus exclusively on the Balanced Budget Act period. We

  4. Clustering consumers based on trust, confidence and giving behaviour: data-driven model building for charitable involvement in the Australian not-for-profit sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Vries, Natalie Jane; Reis, Rodrigo; Moscato, Pablo

    2015-01-01

    Organisations in the Not-for-Profit and charity sector face increasing competition to win time, money and efforts from a common donor base. Consequently, these organisations need to be more proactive than ever. The increased level of communications between individuals and organisations today, heightens the need for investigating the drivers of charitable giving and understanding the various consumer groups, or donor segments, within a population. It is contended that `trust' is the cornerstone of the not-for-profit sector's survival, making it an inevitable topic for research in this context. It has become imperative for charities and not-for-profit organisations to adopt for-profit's research, marketing and targeting strategies. This study provides the not-for-profit sector with an easily-interpretable segmentation method based on a novel unsupervised clustering technique (MST-kNN) followed by a feature saliency method (the CM1 score). A sample of 1,562 respondents from a survey conducted by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission is analysed to reveal donor segments. Each cluster's most salient features are identified using the CM1 score. Furthermore, symbolic regression modelling is employed to find cluster-specific models to predict `low' or `high' involvement in clusters. The MST-kNN method found seven clusters. Based on their salient features they were labelled as: the `non-institutionalist charities supporters', the `resource allocation critics', the `information-seeking financial sceptics', the `non-questioning charity supporters', the `non-trusting sceptics', the `charity management believers' and the `institutionalist charity believers'. Each cluster exhibits their own characteristics as well as different drivers of `involvement'. The method in this study provides the not-for-profit sector with a guideline for clustering, segmenting, understanding and potentially targeting their donor base better. If charities and not-for-profit

  5. Clustering consumers based on trust, confidence and giving behaviour: data-driven model building for charitable involvement in the Australian not-for-profit sector.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalie Jane de Vries

    Full Text Available Organisations in the Not-for-Profit and charity sector face increasing competition to win time, money and efforts from a common donor base. Consequently, these organisations need to be more proactive than ever. The increased level of communications between individuals and organisations today, heightens the need for investigating the drivers of charitable giving and understanding the various consumer groups, or donor segments, within a population. It is contended that `trust' is the cornerstone of the not-for-profit sector's survival, making it an inevitable topic for research in this context. It has become imperative for charities and not-for-profit organisations to adopt for-profit's research, marketing and targeting strategies. This study provides the not-for-profit sector with an easily-interpretable segmentation method based on a novel unsupervised clustering technique (MST-kNN followed by a feature saliency method (the CM1 score. A sample of 1,562 respondents from a survey conducted by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission is analysed to reveal donor segments. Each cluster's most salient features are identified using the CM1 score. Furthermore, symbolic regression modelling is employed to find cluster-specific models to predict `low' or `high' involvement in clusters. The MST-kNN method found seven clusters. Based on their salient features they were labelled as: the `non-institutionalist charities supporters', the `resource allocation critics', the `information-seeking financial sceptics', the `non-questioning charity supporters', the `non-trusting sceptics', the `charity management believers' and the `institutionalist charity believers'. Each cluster exhibits their own characteristics as well as different drivers of `involvement'. The method in this study provides the not-for-profit sector with a guideline for clustering, segmenting, understanding and potentially targeting their donor base better. If charities and not-for-profit

  6. Evaluation of temporary non-code repairs in safety class 3 piping systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Godha, P.C.; Kupinski, M.; Azevedo, N.F.

    1996-01-01

    Temporary non-ASME Code repairs in safety class 3 pipe and piping components are permissible during plant operation in accordance with Nuclear Regulatory Commission Generic Letter 90-05. However, regulatory acceptance of such repairs requires the licensee to undertake several timely actions. Consistent with the requirements of GL 90-05, this paper presents an overview of the detailed evaluation and relief request process. The technical criteria encompasses both ductile and brittle piping materials. It also lists appropriate evaluation methods that a utility engineer can select to perform a structural integrity assessment for design basis loading conditions to support the use of temporary non-Code repair for degraded piping components. Most use of temporary non-code repairs at a nuclear generating station is in the service water system which is an essential safety related system providing the ultimate heat sink for various plant systems. Depending on the plant siting, the service water system may use fresh water or salt water as the cooling medium. Various degradation mechanisms including general corrosion, erosion/corrosion, pitting, microbiological corrosion, galvanic corrosion, under-deposit corrosion or a combination thereof continually challenge the pressure boundary structural integrity. A good source for description of corrosion degradation in cooling water systems is provided in a cited reference

  7. Profitability of our lung retrieval program from non heart beating donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández, Elena; Calatayud, Joaquín; Jarabo, José Ramón; Hernando, Florentino; Rodríguez, Olga; Gómez, Ana María; Soria, Ana; Del Río, Francisco

    2009-02-01

    In 2002 the first lung transplant from non heart beating (NHB) donors took place in Madrid. The objective of this study was to analyse our Maastricht type I NHB lung donors retrieval program and to check out its profitability. Based on the NHB lung donors retrieval program carried out at Hospital Clínico San Carlos (Madrid) in association with Hospital Puerta de Hierro (Madrid), all lung donors from the beginning of the program from June 2002 to December 2006 have been analysed. When faced with a case of sudden death, advanced life support manoeuvres are initiated before 15 min. If the patient meets a given set of criteria, code 0/9 is activated. Arrival time to the hospital cannot exceed 90 min. Femoral artery and vein are cannulated, extracorporeal circulation is started and lungs are preserved. After the relatives' and judicial authorisation lungs are retrieved. Out of a total of 322 occurrences of code 0/9, 43 lung retrievals and 25 implants were reported. A total of 95% of donors were male, with an average age of 41 years and 91% with blood group A or O. 2004 saw the highest number of retrievals (14). January, May and December showed the highest number of retrievals. Incidence of sudden deaths was higher from 7 to 10 a.m. and from 7 to 10 p.m. Twenty-three implants at Hospital Puerta de Hierro and three more at Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla (Santander) were reported. A considerable amount of preserved lungs, valid for transplant, were not retrieved because of a lack of an appropriate recipient at the time. A total of 58.1% of preserved lungs were implanted. The ratio of obtained lungs was 11.4% of actual donors and 7.7% of total occurrences. However, this percentage could have been higher if we take into account the number of valid lungs that were not transplanted because of the lack of recipients.

  8. [Evaluation of diabetic retinopathy screening using non-mydriatic fundus camera performed by physicians' assistants in the endocrinology service].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barcatali, M-G; Denion, E; Miocque, S; Reznik, Y; Joubert, M; Morera, J; Rod, A; Mouriaux, F

    2015-04-01

    Since 2010, the High Authority for health (HAS) recommends the use of non-mydriatic fundus camera for diabetic retinopathy screening. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the results of screening for diabetic retinopathy using the non-mydriatic retinal camera by a physician's assistant in the endocrinology service. This is a retrospective study of all diabetic patients hospitalized in the endocrinology department between May 2013 and November 2013. For each endocrinology patient requiring screening, a previously trained physician's assistant performed fundus photos. The ophthalmologist then provided a written interpretation of the photos on a consultant's sheet. Of the 120 patients screened, 40 (33.3%) patients had uninterpretable photos. Among the 80 interpretable photos, 64 (53.4%) patients had no diabetic retinopathy, and 16 (13.3%) had diabetic retinopathy. No patient had diabetic maculopathy. Specific quality criteria were established by the HAS for screening for diabetic retinopathy using the non-mydriatic retinal camera in order to ensure sufficient sensitivity and specificity. In our study, the two quality criteria were not achieved: the rates of uninterpretable photos and the total number of photos analyzed in a given period. In our center, we discontinued this method of diabetic retinopathy screening due to the high rate of uninterpretable photos. Due to the logistic impossibility of the ophthalmologists taking all the fundus photos, we proposed that the ophthalmic nurses take the photos. They are better trained in the use of the equipment, and can confer directly with an ophthalmologist in questionable cases and to obtain pupil dilation as necessary. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. Reducing pesticide use while preserving crop productivity and profitability on arable farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lechenet, Martin; Dessaint, Fabrice; Py, Guillaume; Makowski, David; Munier-Jolain, Nicolas

    2017-03-01

    Achieving sustainable crop production while feeding an increasing world population is one of the most ambitious challenges of this century 1 . Meeting this challenge will necessarily imply a drastic reduction of adverse environmental effects arising from agricultural activities 2 . The reduction of pesticide use is one of the critical drivers to preserve the environment and human health. Pesticide use could be reduced through the adoption of new production strategies 3-5 ; however, whether substantial reductions of pesticide use are possible without impacting crop productivity and profitability is debatable 6-17 . Here, we demonstrated that low pesticide use rarely decreases productivity and profitability in arable farms. We analysed the potential conflicts between pesticide use and productivity or profitability with data from 946 non-organic arable commercial farms showing contrasting levels of pesticide use and covering a wide range of production situations in France. We failed to detect any conflict between low pesticide use and both high productivity and high profitability in 77% of the farms. We estimated that total pesticide use could be reduced by 42% without any negative effects on both productivity and profitability in 59% of farms from our national network. This corresponded to an average reduction of 37, 47 and 60% of herbicide, fungicide and insecticide use, respectively. The potential for reducing pesticide use appeared higher in farms with currently high pesticide use than in farms with low pesticide use. Our results demonstrate that pesticide reduction is already accessible to farmers in most production situations. This would imply profound changes in market organization and trade balance.

  10. 78 FR 41129 - Market Test of Experimental Product - International Merchandise Return Service-Non-Published Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-09

    ...--Non-Published Rates AGENCY: U.S. Postal Service\\TM\\. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Postal Service hereby gives notice of a market test for International Merchandise Return Service--Non-Published Rates in... Return Service (IMRS) Non-published Rate (NPR) experimental product on August 15, 2013. The Postal...

  11. Extended SOA to Enable Web Service Discovery on Non Functional Parameters

    OpenAIRE

    Vandan Tiwari Dr. Nirmal Dagdee Dr. Aruna Tiwari Divesh Dixit

    2012-01-01

    The current Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) standards, namely the concept of Web services and service registry lacks mechanism for managing the services’ nonfunctional properties of Web Services. Currently there is no standard that is capable of accurately representing quality of service parameters of web services. Such non functional properties are expressed by the term “Quality of Service (QoS)”. QoS for Web services is an important decisive factor for service selection. Therefore it is...

  12. Specialty-service lines: salvos in the new medical arms race.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berenson, Robert A; Bodenheimer, Thomas; Pham, Hoangmai H

    2006-01-01

    Hospitals and physicians are developing and marketing discrete and profitable specialty-service lines. Although closely affiliated specialist physicians are central to hospitals' service-line products, other physicians compete directly with hospitals via physician-owned specialty facilities. Specialty-service lines may be provided in a variety of settings, both inside and outside traditional hospital walls. Thus far, the escalating battle between hospitals and physicians for control over specialty services has not affected hospital profitability. However, as the scope of care that can be safely performed in the outpatient arena expands, physician competition for control over specialty services may threaten hospitals' financial health.

  13. A blueprint for community benefit. A CHA-AAHA (Catholic Health Association-American Association of Homes for the Aging) document helps long-term care providers plan for and implement needed services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forschner, B; Trocchio, J

    1993-05-01

    A collaborative effort of the Catholic Health Association (CHA) and the American Association of Homes for the Aging, The Social Accountability Program: Continuing the Community Benefit Tradition of Not-for-Profit Homes and Services for the Aging helps long-term care organizations plan and report community benefit activities. The program takes long-term care providers through five sequential tasks: reaffirming commitment to the elderly and others in the community; developing a community service plan; developing and providing community services; reporting community services; and evaluating the community service role. To help organizations reaffirm commitment, the Social Accountability Program presents a process facilities can use to review their historical roots and purposes and evaluate whether current policies and procedures are consistent with the organizational philosophy. Once this step is completed, providers can develop a community service plan by identifying target populations and the services they need. For facilities developing and implementing such services, the program suggests ways of measuring and monitoring them for budgetary purposes. Once they have implemented services, not-for-profit healthcare organizations must account for their impact on the community. The Social Accountability Program lists elements to be included in community service reports. It also provides guidelines for evaluating these services' effectiveness and the organization's overall community benefit role.

  14. Development of a concept for non-monetary assessment of urban ecosystem services at the site level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wurster, Daniel; Artmann, Martina

    2014-05-01

    Determining the performance of ecosystem services at the city or regional level cannot accurately take into account the fine differences between green or gray structures. The supply of regulating ecosystem services in, for instance, parks can differ as parks vary in their land cover composition. A comprehensive ecosystem service assessment approach also needs to reflect land use to consider the demands placed on ecosystem services, which are mostly neglected by current research yet important for urban planning. For instance, if a sealed surface is no longer used, it could be unsealed to improve ecosystem service supply. Because of these scientific shortcomings, this article argues for a conceptual framework for the non-monetary assessment of urban ecosystem services at the site scale. This paper introduces a standardized method for selecting representative sites and evaluating their supply of and demand on ecosystem services. The conceptual design is supplemented by examples of Salzburg, Austria.

  15. Effect of feed supplements on dry season milk yield and profitability of crossbred cows in Honduras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiber, Christoph; Peters, Michael; Möhring, Jens; Schultze-Kraft, Rainer

    2013-06-01

    The contribution of dry season silage feeding on daily milk yield (MY) and dairying profitability in terms of income over feed cost (IOFC) was evaluated in dual-purpose cattle production systems in Honduras. MY records of 34 farms from two milk collection centres were collected over a 2-year period. Farms were surveyed to obtain information on the type, quantity and cost of supplemented feed, breed type and number of lactating cows in each month. Farms were classified in silage farms (SF, with a short silage supplementation period), non-silage farms (NSF) and prototype farms (PF, with an extended silage supplementation period). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a linear mixed model approach. PF had significantly higher MY than SF and NSF but, due to higher expenses for both concentrate and silage, similar IOFC compared to NSF. SF had similar MY but lower IOFC compared to NSF, due to higher feed expenses. The effect of silage feeding, particularly maize silage, on MY was significant and superior to that of other forage supplements. Silage supplementation contributed to the highest MY and IOFC on farms with crossbred cows of >62.5 % Bos taurus and to the second highest profitability on farms with >87.5 % Bos indicus share. It is concluded that silage can play an important role in drought-constrained areas of the tropics and can contribute to profitable dairying, irrespective of breed.

  16. 77 FR 10558 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comments Requested: Request for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-22

    ... Collection; Comments Requested: Request for Recognition of a Non-Profit Religious, Charitable, Social Service... Recognition of a Non- profit Religious, Charitable, Social Service, or Similar Organization. (3) Agency form... requirements for recognition by the Board as a legal service provider, which then would allow its designated...

  17. Constraints and prospects for contraceptive service provision to young people in Uganda: providers' perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tumwesigye Nazarius M

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Unintended pregnancies lead to unsafe abortions, which are a leading cause of preventable maternal mortality among young women in Uganda. There is a discrepancy between the desire to prevent pregnancy and actual contraceptive use. Health care providers' perspectives on factors influencing contraceptive use and service provision to young people aged 15-24 in two rural districts in Uganda were explored. Methods Semi-structured questionnaires were used for face- to-face interviews with 102 providers of contraceptive service at public, private not-for-profit, and private for-profit health facilities in two rural districts in Uganda. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis of data. Results Providers identified service delivery, provider-focused, structural, and client-specific factors that influence contraceptive use among young people. Contraceptive use and provision to young people were constrained by sporadic contraceptive stocks, poor service organization, and the limited number of trained personnel, high costs, and unfriendly service. Most providers were not competent enough to provide long-acting methods. There were significant differences in providers' self-rated competence by facility type; private for-profit providers' competence was limited for most contraceptives. Providers had misconceptions about contraceptives, they had negative attitudes towards the provision of contraceptives to young people, and they imposed non-evidence-based age restrictions and consent requirements. Thus, most providers were not prepared or were hesitant to give young people contraceptives. Short-acting methods were, however, considered acceptable for young married women and those with children. Conclusion Provider, client, and health system factors restricted contraceptive provision and use for young people. Their contraceptive use prospects are dependent on provider behavior and health system improvements.

  18. Starting up stress thallium cardiac imaging services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owens, R G; Neubecker, J S

    1992-01-01

    This paper presents an evaluation of alternative methods for a hospital to establish stress thallium cardiac imaging services at a group of physicians' office. Volume-cost-profit analysis, break-even analysis and capital budgeting techniques were used to determine the most feasible method from a financial perspective without sacrificing quality of services. The main focus of this evaluation centers upon three alternative methods of procuring an imaging camera: (1) purchasing a new camera, (2) purchasing used equipment, or (3) leasing a new camera. Budgeted income statements were constructed using relevant revenue and cost information for each alternative. The payback period, net present value and the internal rate of return for each method of procuring a camera was computed. In addition, the break-even point was also determined for each alternative. After the analysis was completed, it was concluded that the method of choice, without sacrificing quality of service delivery, was that of purchasing a used camera.

  19. Profit Allocation in Fuzzy Cooperative Games in Manufacturing and Logistics Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoyan Wang

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Alliance between manufacturing and logistics industry is a new model of the joint development of the two industries. A reasonable profit allocation mechanism is the key to ensure the stable operation of the alliance, as well as to achieve the desired objectives. Based on uncertainty of alliance expected return as well as the inherent features of the alliance, this research establishes an improved model of profit allocation in manufacturing and logistics industry alliance.Design/methodology/approach: This article studies how to introduce comprehensive correction factors to improve interval Shapley value method, which is based on the fact that had been proved by exiting studies. In this study, interval Shapley value method is first applied to calculate the initial allocation of fuzzy cooperative games. Next AHP-GEM method and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method are incorporated. Based on those results, an improved model of profit allocation is established. After that, a case study is demonstrated the practicality and feasibility of the improved model.Findings: Profit allocation is a complex issue in fuzzy cooperative games. There’re impacts from partner risk sharing, collaborative effort market competition, innovative contribution as well as resource investment. All these factors should be involved in the profit allocation, and different factors have different weight in importance.Practical implications: The new model established in the paper is more scientific and reasonable, and more in line with the actual situation. This method also provides good incentives to each enterprise to ensure the healthy and stable development of the alliance.Originality/value: Based on alliance characteristics, this paper establishes an indicator system and a new model for profit allocation in manufacturing and logistics industry alliance, using AHP-GEM method.

  20. Connecting Students and Policymakers through Science and Service-Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szymanski, D. W.

    2017-12-01

    Successful collaborations in community science require the participation of non-scientists as advocates for the use of science in addressing complex problems. This is especially true, but particularly difficult, with respect to the wicked problems of sustainability. The complicated, unsolvable, and inherently political nature of challenges like climate change can provoke cynicism and apathy about the use of science. While science education is a critical part of preparing all students to address wicked problems, it is not sufficient. Non-scientists must also learn how to advocate for the role of science in policy solutions. Fortunately, the transdisciplinary nature of sustainability provides a venue for engaging all undergraduates in community science, regardless of major. I describe a model for involving non-science majors in a form of service-learning, where the pursuit of community science becomes a powerful pedagogical tool for civic engagement. Bentley University is one of the few stand-alone business schools in the United States and provides an ideal venue to test this model, given that 95% of Bentley's 4000 undergraduates major in a business discipline. The technology-focused business program is combined with an integrated arts & sciences curriculum and experiential learning opportunities though the nationally recognized Bentley Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center. In addition to a required general education core that includes the natural sciences, students may opt to complete a second major in liberal studies with thematic concentrations like Earth, Environment, and Global Sustainability. In the course Science in Environmental Policy, students may apply to complete a service-learning project for an additional course credit. The smaller group of students then act as consultants, conducting research for a non-profit organization in the Washington, D.C. area involved in geoscience policy. At the end of the semester, students travel to D.C. and present

  1. Refinery profitability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tobin, G.

    1998-01-01

    Recently there has been considerable shutting down of oil refinery capacity in response to the increasing pressures on profitability. This article examines the situation and the industry's response to it, including the drive for mergers, disposal of fuel oil, downsizing of workforces and strategic alliances. Future trends and their implications are also discussed. (UK)

  2. Siemens IT solutions for power sector. PROFIT solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lunter, P.

    2004-01-01

    The cost reduction, flexibility and revenue increase, potential exploitation, productivity increase, and business opportunities exploitation - that is all what can be required in the races for the promonent positioning on the electricity power market. These requirements can be realized by the sophisticated IT solutions hand-tailored to the special requirements of the electric power producers and tradesmen. This approach makes it possible to achieve greater profit. Our solutions 'PROFIT Solutions', that are symbiosis of the most progressive information technologies and the power plant techniques of the company Siemens, satisfy submitted specifications in substantial measure. The system solutions 'PROFIT Solutions' comprise three solution groups: process, operation a business. The solutions of the group 'IT Process Solutions' increase flexibility and manoeuvrability of equipment, improve the efficiency and contribute to more economical operation of the power generation. Solutions 'IT Process Solutions' simplify and shorten the period of power cycles and conduce to higher labour productivity. Solutions group 'IT Process Solutions' approaches equipment to the market - supports the profit strategies, helps quickly and expertly to determine and predict hazards. The extension PROFIT Cockpit means the nuance to the solutions world 'PROFIT Solutions'. The survey about the whole installation is within reach at the simple touch of a button. It is possible to compile the total system part by part from single solutions 'PROFIT Solutions'. As a matter of fact all single parts can be interconnected with already existing solutions. Routines 'PROFIT Solutions' cooperate with all modern control systems. (author)

  3. Impact of Customer Relationship Management on Customer Loyalty, Customer Retention and Customer Profitability for Hotelier Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra-Dinora Orantes-Jiménez

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Since the entrance of strategies oriented to marketing relational in Hotelier Sector, the traditional way of travel agents and other representatives arranging hospitality services for hotel and travel reservations has changed. The strategies oriented to customer relationship management are a relatively new area of specialty loyalty marketing in the hotel and hotelier sector, with advancements being made constantly. The use of this type of strategy can allow hoteliers or companies to tailor special guest programs, services and promotions based on hotel guest preferences. The hotel can use the data collected in a program to identify the needs of particular customers across hotel chains to be able to use marketing that can be targeted at specific groups of people. It also gives hoteliers the opportunity to evaluate frequent guest programs, personalize their services and perform trend analysis. A program based in marketing relational is typically run by hotels and companies to collect guest information and transaction data for use and examining to allow hoteliers to see target groups that should be marketed too. Based on these transactions hotels are able to create and manage guest loyalty programs and reward schemes. This research approach is to appraise the impact of customer relationship management on customer profitability as mediated by customer loyalty and customer retention within the hotelier sector of Mexico, and specifically for those hoteliers classified like of three stars. A sample of 100 hotels three stars was interviewed as respondents in this study. The objective of the study was to find the impact relationship between effective customer relationship implementation, customer loyalty, and customer retention and customer profitability. The findings of the study add value to hotels three stars in Mexico, and provide some invaluable statistical results essential for hotel managers and owners to successfully enhance customer loyalty

  4. Stakeholder-based evaluation categories for regional climate services - a case study at the German Baltic Sea coast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meinke, Insa

    2017-08-01

    In this study, categories, dimensions, and criteria for evaluating regional climate services are derived by a participatory approach with potential service users at the German Baltic Sea coast. The development is carried out within nine face-to-face interviews conducted with decision makers, working in climate sensitive sectors at the German Baltic Sea coast. Three main groups of categories were localized which seem to matter most to the considered stakeholders and which seem to be crucial evaluation categories for regional climate services: (1) credibility, (2) relevance, and (3) appropriateness. For each of these evaluation categories several dimensions emerged, indicating certain perspectives of stakeholder demands. When summarizing these evaluation categories and their dimensions, 13 evaluation criteria for regional climate services can be derived (see Table 1). The results show that stakeholders do mainly address components other than those found in the literature (e.g. inputs, process, outputs, outcomes, and impacts). This might indicate that an evaluation, following solely literature-based (non-participative) components, is not sufficient to localize deficiencies or efficiencies within a regional climate service, since it might lead to results which are not relevant for potential users.

  5. PENGARUH PROFIT MARGIN, ASSETS TURNOVER DAN LEVERAGE TERHADAP SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RATE PADA PERUSAHAAN SEKTOR JASA YANG TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA PERIODE 2010-2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arim Nasim

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to determine the effect of Profit Margin, Assets Turnover and Leverage on Sustainable Growth Rate. The variables used are profit margin, asset turnover and leverage as independent variable and sustainable growth rate as dependent variable. This study also aims to describe the state of profit margin projected by Net Profit Margin (NPM, asset turnover proxied by Total Assets Turnover (TATO, leverage which is proxied by Debt to Equity Ratio (DER and Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR Service sector. This research was conducted on service sector companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange 2010-2012.Data obtained from website Bursa Efek Indonesia.Teknik data analysis used is multiple linear regression and use t-statistics to test the influence of each independent variable to variable Dependent partially.Previously done classical assumption test that includes data normality test, multicolinierity test, heteroskedastisitas test and autocorrelation test.Based on data normality test, multicolinierity test, heteroscedasticity test and autocorrelation test did not found any variables that deviate from the classical assumption.From the results of research Shows that profit margin positively affect sustainable growth rate, asset turnover have positive effect to sustainable growth rate, and leverage have positive effect to sustainable growth rate.

  6. For-Profit Schools: They Get IT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waters, John K.

    2011-01-01

    The for-profit sector of higher education has generated some disturbing headlines recently. Widely publicized charges of predatory recruiting practices have prompted new regulations and provided fuel for scorching criticism of the entire business model. But while the spotlight is focused on what for-profits are doing wrong, are people overlooking…

  7. Effect of delayed breeding during the summer on profitability of dairy cows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gobikrushanth, M; De Vries, A; Santos, J E P; Risco, C A; Galvão, K N

    2014-07-01

    The objective of this retrospective observational cohort study, combined with simulation, was to evaluate the effect of extending the voluntary waiting period (VWP) during the summer on profitability on a Florida dairy farm. Data from Holstein cows (n=1,416) that calved between June and September of 2007 and 2008 were used. Cows that calved between June 1 and July 21 (regular group; REG; n=719) were artificially inseminated (AI) for the first time upon estrus detection (ED) after the second PGF₂α of the Presynch protocol administered between 57 and 63 d in milk (DIM), or underwent timed AI using the Ovsynch protocol (TAI) if not detected in estrus. Cows that calved between July 22 and September 18 (extended group; EXT; n=697) underwent AI for the first time after the first or second PGF₂α starting November 14 or November 21 or underwent TAI if not detected in estrus. For second and subsequent AI, all cows underwent AI upon ED or enrolled on TAI after nonpregnancy diagnosis. Following these schemes, average VWP in the REG group and EXT group were 60 and 83 d, respectively. Overall profitability for both experimental and subsequent parities were calculated by subtracting the costs existing of feeding costs ($0.30/kg lactating cow diet; $0.25/kg dry cow diet), breeding costs ($2.65/dose PGF₂α; $2.40/dose GnRH; $0.25/injection administration; $10/semen straw; $5/AI; $3/pregnancy diagnosis), and other costs ($3/d) from the daily revenues with milk sales ($0.44/kg of milk), cow sales ($1.76/kg of live weight), and calf sales ($140/calf). A herd budget simulation was used to predict future cash flow after culling or end of subsequent parity until 6 yr after the start of the study to account for all cash flow consequences of extended VWP. Cows in the EXT group had greater first-service pregnancy per AI (PAI1) but still had greater days open and calving interval. Delaying breeding did not affect total cash flow because the EXT group had greater combined

  8. 7 CFR 3019.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... higher education or other non-profit organizations (including hospitals) shall be subject to the audit... governments shall be subject to the audit requirements contained in the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996...-Profit Organizations.” (c) For-profit hospitals not covered by the audit provisions of revised OMB...

  9. 29 CFR 95.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... higher education or other non-profit organizations (including hospitals) shall be subject to the audit... governments shall be subject to the audit requirements contained in the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996...-Profit Organizations.” (c) For-profit hospitals not covered by the audit provisions of revised OMB...

  10. Profit U

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinstein, Margery

    2012-01-01

    Preparing employees for the immediate work in front of them is a challenge. While most companies are still mastering effectively training their own workforce, some, such as "Training" magazine Top 10 Hall of Famer The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, have set up for-profit academies open to the public. When Ritz-Carlton won the national Malcolm…

  11. Automated Information System for School Food Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazarika, Panna; Galligan, Stephen

    1982-01-01

    Controlling warehousing operations and food inventory, administering school cafeteria activity, and measuring the profitability of food service operations are identified as food service administrative problems. A comprehensive school food services information system developed to address these problems is described. (Author/MLF)

  12. Canadian upstream oil and gas industry profitability: Historical review and future perspectives [with executive summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-09-01

    The profitability of the Canadian upstream oil and gas industry is examined by analyzing return on equity and return on capital invested. By all measures and interpretations, the upstream industry has been unprofitable since the mid-1980s; returns generated are far below the industry's own historical cost of capital, and are inadequate relative to other sectors of the Canadian economy and to international oil and gas companies. This poor profitability is attributed to such factors as: overly optimistic price forecasts and healthy cash flows generated in the early 1980s, which led to excess capital spending; poor returns on capital reflective of the physical limitations of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin; high capital and operating costs; and a high royalty burden imposed by provincial governments. The consequences of low profitability include inadequate returns to equity investors, a drop in spending on upstream services such as drilling and exploration, a reduced ability of the industry to generate employment, and an adverse effect on the economy of Alberta. Forecasts indicate that the upstream sector is extremely vulnerable to a scenario of relatively flat prices due to high and increasing operating costs and depletion charges, and the significant royalty payments that still are in effect. Little scope is foreseen for industry profitability to return to acceptable levels over the first half of the 1990s. Reduced royalties have the potential to make a significant contribution to improved profitability. 52 figs., 40 tabs

  13. 14 CFR 399.86 - Payments for non-air transportation services for air cargo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Payments for non-air transportation... Enforcement § 399.86 Payments for non-air transportation services for air cargo. The Board considers that... air carriers for non-air transportation preparation of air cargo shipments are for services ancillary...

  14. 17 CFR 279.4 - Form ADV-NR, appointment of agent for service of process by non-resident general partner and non...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Form ADV-NR, appointment of agent for service of process by non-resident general partner and non-resident managing agent of an... agent for service of process by non-resident general partner and non-resident managing agent of an...

  15. Strategic Management Accounting and Feed-forward Management: with Reference to the Unified Management of Profit Opportunity and Risk

    OpenAIRE

    西村, 明

    2015-01-01

    This paper aims toreexamine strategic management accouning in relation to profit opportunity and risk from the viewpoint of feed-forward management , as few studies to date have discuued the relations between management accounting and the unified management of profit opportunity and risk.Many studies have been conducted that emphasize non-fine information and feedback organizational management in an attept to make traditional management accounting relevant to practical strategic needs. As lon...

  16. Gigantic environmental profit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    The article presents studies on possible profits and advantages by converting vehicles such as buses and taxis from diesel to gas fuel engines for the environment and human beings in Norway. Some applications for automobiles are mentioned

  17. Assessing and exploiting the profit function by modeling the net impact of targeted marketing

    OpenAIRE

    W. BUCKINX; D. VAN DEN POEL

    2005-01-01

    The success of a direct marketing campaign is driven by the ability of companies to estimate customers’ future contribution to their profitability. Especially when considering that in retailing companies are wasting resources when targeting customers who will make purchases even in case they would not receive a mailing. We present an advanced profit evaluation, which rates customers for the net impact of a campaign on their buying behavior. Moreover, in contrast to current practices and theor...

  18. Are loyal customers profitable? : customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer profitability at the individual level

    OpenAIRE

    Helgesen, Øyvind

    2000-01-01

    Customer satisfaction is supposed to be positively related to profitability. This conception may be called “the paradigm of customer satisfaction”. Nevertheless, only a few studies have examined this fundamental relationship. Thus, evidence for this “much talked about relationship” is questioned. In this working paper the focus is on the individual customer with respect to the relationships between customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer profitability at the customer level. The f...

  19. American Fuel Cell Bus Project Evaluation. Second Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eudy, Leslie [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Post, Matthew [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2015-09-01

    This report presents results of the American Fuel Cell Bus (AFCB) Project, a demonstration of fuel cell electric buses operating in the Coachella Valley area of California. The prototype AFCB was developed as part of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA's) National Fuel Cell Bus Program. Through the non-profit consortia CALSTART, a team led by SunLine Transit Agency and BAE Systems developed a new fuel cell electric bus for demonstration. SunLine added two more AFCBs to its fleet in 2014 and another in 2015. FTA and the AFCB project team are collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to evaluate the buses in revenue service. This report summarizes the performance results for the buses through June 2015.

  20. Profits or Professionalism? On Designing Professional Service Firms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.W. Lander (Michel)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractResearch on professional service firms (PSFs) did not come off the ground until recently. This lack of attention is surprising, given their integral role in contemporary knowledge-based economies. In this dissertation, I focus on two professional industries: law and accounting.

  1. Evaluation of radiodiagnostic services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yacovenco, Alejandro; Infantosi, A.F.C.; Tauhata, L.

    1996-01-01

    A preliminary evaluation of radiodiagnostic services is presented. Aspects such as legal responsibility, protection equipment, working conditions, personnel training, patients assistance are considered in a question's formulary. The results are briefly presented. The role of a quality control program is emphasized

  2. Electronic Payments Profitability Extent Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudolf Vohnout

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Cashless payments are recent phenomena, which even increased with the introduction of contactless means like NFC, PayPass or payWave. Such new methods speed-up the entire payment process and in comparison to cash transactions are much simpler and faster. But on the other hand the key question for merchant is if it is worth to have such device, which accept these new payment means or not to have the terminal at all. What is the amount of cash flow, which delimits the cash holdings to be still profitable? This paper tries to give answers to such question by presenting general profitability model, which will address defining the cash threshold amount. The aim is to show that cash holdings could be profitable up to certain amount, but after the threshold is met, cashless payment methods are fairly superior despite their additional costs.

  3. The determinants of Bank Profitability: Does Liquidity Creation matter?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Sahyouni

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Using a panel data set of 4995 banks across 11 developed and emerging countries during the period (2011-2015, this report analyses the amount of liquidity created by banks, how liquidity creation, bank-specific and the macroeconomic factors affecting bank profitability. The results show evidence of increased creation of liquidity over the period. By applying the panel data fixed effect technique, banks that create more liquidity, are set up to have lower profitability. As well as, Asset management, bank size and capital ratio are positively correlated with bank profitability. While, credit quality and operating efficiency affect bank’s profits negatively. Additionally, macroeconomic factors have different impact on profitability indicators in each market. Our findings may help decision makers inside and outside bank to determine important factors affecting bank profitability.

  4. Education for Profit, Education for Freedom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nussbaum, Martha C.

    2009-01-01

    Education is often discussed in low-level utilitarian terms: how can educators produce technically trained people who can hold onto "their" share of the global market? With the rush to profitability, values precious for the future of democracy are in danger of getting lost. The profit motive suggests to most concerned politicians that science and…

  5. Profit and place

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian Bentley

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the physical and symbolic effects the built environment has on human activities in a capitalist economy. The built environment is integrated in the capitalist economy on three levels: as the focus of a profit-oriented manufacturing industry, as the setting for all sorts of other enterprises and as the built context of the whole economy. The built environment is understood as a commodity. The capitalist system contains inbuilt tensions which have important design implications: the first tension arises because the system, if left to itself, lacks any overall planning functions, the second tension stems from the ability of the system to generate profit and the third arises from the character of labour, which distinguishes it from other commodities used in the production process. In conclusion methods of designing built environments, which perpetuate social order, are discussed.

  6. Nonprofit to for-profit conversions by hospitals, health insurers, and health plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Needleman, J

    1999-01-01

    Conversion of hospitals, health insurers, and health plans from nonprofit to for-profit ownership has become a focus of national debate. The author examines why nonprofit ownership has been dominant in the US health system and assesses the strength of the argument that nonprofits provide community benefits that would be threatened by for-profit conversion. The author concludes that many of the specific community benefits offered by nonprofits, such as care for the poor, could be maintained or replaced by adequate funding of public programs and that quality and fairness in treatment can be better assured through clear standards of care and adequate monitoring systems. As health care becomes increasingly commercialized, the most difficult parts of nonprofits' historic mission to preserve are the community orientation, leadership role, and innovation that nonprofit hospitals and health plans have provided out of their commitment to a community beyond those to whom they sell services.

  7. 10 CFR 603.230 - Fee or profit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... participant is to receive fee or profit. Note that this policy extends to all performers of the project... subrecipients' payment of reasonable fee or profit when making purchases from suppliers of goods (e.g., supplies...

  8. Evaluating the Evaluators: Comparative Study of High School Newspaper Critique Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Nancy

    High school publication staffs depend on national critique services as a major means of evaluation and recognition, but most have no measure of how one critique service compares to the others, because they can afford the entry fee for only one evaluation. Thus, a study was conducted to test the validity of three major national critique…

  9. Enhancing Web Service Selection by User Preferences of Non-Functional Features

    OpenAIRE

    Badr , Youakim; Abraham , Ajith; Biennier , Frédérique; Grosan , Crina

    2008-01-01

    International audience; Selection of an appropriate Web service for a particular task has become a difficult challenge due to the increasing number of Web services offering similar functionalities. The functional properties describe what the service can do and the nonfunctional properties depict how the service can do it. Non-functional properties involving qualitative or quantitative features have become essential criteria to enhance the selection process of services making the selection pro...

  10. Vectors for Increasing the Effectiveness of Profit Management at Company Level

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    І. V.

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Imperfect management of processes involved in accumulation and disposal of profit at Ukrainian companies affects their performance, with the consequent losses of public budget revenues. This raises the need for new and more effective mechanisms for accumulation and disposal of corporate profit, which would be focused on maximal utilization of production, marketing and fiscal capacities of business entities and enhancement of their competitiveness at domestic and global market. The article’s objective is to conduct theoretical study of profit as an economic category and an essential component of company’s performance, sum up the principles of profit management, and analyze the profit management system at company level. A brief review of theoretical definitions of profit is made, economic origin of profit and its role in business operation in the Ukrainian context is highlighted. The components of profit management system at company level, essential principles of strategic management of company profit, organizational and economic mechanism for company profit management, a strategy for profit management at company level is discussed and summed up. The organizational and economic mechanism for profit quality management at company level is proposed.

  11. NASA Earth Science Partnerships - The Role and Value of Commercial and Non-Profit Partnerships with Government in the Earth Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Favors, J.; Cauffman, S.; Ianson, E.; Kaye, J. A.; Friedl, L.; Green, D. S.; Lee, T. J.; Murphy, K. J.; Turner, W.

    2017-12-01

    NASA's Earth Science Division (ESD) seeks to develop a scientific understanding of the Earth as a dynamic, integrated system of diverse components that interact in complex ways - analogous to the human body. The Division approaches this goal through a coordinated series of satellite and airborne missions, sponsored basic and applied research, and technology development. Integral to this approach are strong collaborations and partnerships with a spectrum of organizations with technical and non-technical expertise. This presentation will focus on a new commercial and non-profit partnership effort being undertaken by ESD to integrate expertise unique to these sectors with expertise at NASA to jointly achieve what neither group could alone. Highlights will include case study examples of joint work with perspectives from both NASA and the partner, building interdisciplinary teams with diverse backgrounds but common goals (e.g., economics and Earth observations for valuing natural capital), partnership successes and challenges in the co-production of science and applications, utilizing partner networks to amplify project outcomes, and how involving partners in defining the project scope drives novel and unique scientific and decision-making questions to arise.

  12. Agency ownership, patient payment source, and length of service in home care, 1992 2000.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Beth; McAuley, William J; Remsburg, Robin E

    2007-08-01

    Little is known about whether an association exists between agency ownership and length of service among home care patients with different payment sources. This study investigated how for-profit and not-for-profit agencies responded to policy changes in the 1990s with respect to length of service. We examined length of service among 37,364 home care patients using the 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000 National Home and Hospice Care Surveys. We used Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox regression models. After we adjusted for patient and agency characteristics, our results revealed that agency ownership was not associated with length of service for patients with private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare plus Medicaid, or Medicare plus private insurance. This finding was consistent from 1992 through 2000. Length of service among patients with Medicare decreased significantly from 1998 through 2000, but length of service among patients with Medicaid did not change significantly from 1992 through 2000. Agency ownership is not associated with patient length of service in home care. Regardless of the policy changes in the home care arena in the 1990s, for-profit and not-for-profit home health agencies behaved similarly with regard to length of service among patients within differently structured payment systems.

  13. Feasibility and profitability of a radiology department providing trauma US as part of a trauma alert team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nunes, L W; Simmons, S; Kozar, R; Kinback, R; Hallowell, M J; Mulhern, C

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and profitability of a radiology department providing a six-point trauma ultrasound (US) examination for abdominal or pelvic free fluid as part of a trauma alert team. The study included 191 trauma alerts, which generated 156 US examinations. A radiologist and a departmental technologist carried beepers and responded to level I and II traumas. A departmental secretary or technologist recorded when the responding technologist exited and re-entered the department and if US was performed. If performed, the US examination evaluated the four abdominal and pelvic quadrants and the suprapubic and subxiphoid regions. For 64 patients, the responding technologist recorded the times of the trauma alert, emergency room arrival, US start and finish, and return to the radiology department. Median response, wait, scan duration, and return times were 2, 8, 5, and 7 minutes, respectively. Median costs for the technician, physician, archiving, transcription, and equipment were $8.17, $30.85, $0.97, $4.80, and $41.22, respectively. Reimbursement per examination averaged $110.60. Sensitivity analyses that varied the time spent (median vs mean), US non-use rate (10%-18%), and years of depreciation (5-7 years) yielded net results ranging from a $36.60 profit to a $6.12 loss per examination. A radiology department can profitably respond to trauma alerts and provide a six-point trauma US examination for free fluid.

  14. Profitability of timber harvesting and timber transportation enterprises

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajamaeki, J.

    1996-01-01

    In co-operation with the major companies contracting out forestry work and Statistics Finland, Metsaeteho carried out a project with the objective of analysing the economic profitability of timber harvesting and transportation enterprises in 1994. The calculation of profitability was based on utilisation of last livelihoods taxation data (EVR) that Statistics Finland was in possession of. The basic material comprised data that the companies contracting out forestry work had full-time entrepreneurs. There were 255 forestry machine contractor enterprises and 270 trucking enterprises. Statistics Finland was responsible for computations of the results of the project. The calculation of the indicators of profitability was based on the recommendations of Yritystutkimusneuvottelukunta, a committee looking into the functioning of enterprises. The year 1994 was a good year from the viewpoint of profitability of both forestry machine contractors as well as trucking enterprises. With full depreciations and salary adjustments attended to, both enterprise groups still showed a mean profitability of ca. 8 %. The yield of invested capital was ca. 25 %. The differences in profitability among enterprises were great in both groups and in different parts of the country

  15. Mapping Ecosystem Services: An Integrated Biophysical and Economic Evaluation

    OpenAIRE

    Hayha, T.

    2014-01-01

    Forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services, from timber and non-wood products (provisioning services) to carbon sequestration, hydrogeological protection (regulating services), and recreation and aesthetic experiences (cultural services). Nonmarketed forest ecosystem services tend to be undervalued due to the lack of a market price and a clear understanding of their vital support to socio-economic systems. Ecosystem services are interlinked, and therefore the optimization of one typol...

  16. Library performance and service competition developing strategic responses

    CERN Document Server

    White, Larry Nash

    2008-01-01

    A practice-driven and proven resource for library administrators of all types of libraries. The work describes how the library can identify the service environment factors impacting customers; strategic needs; identify library competitors; strategic abilities and service environment impacts; and use the combined results to develop proactive competitive responses that drive the service environment instead of reacting to the service environment. These strategic competitive responses would allow the library to increase the value of its service impact and effectiveness while increasing customer appreciation and the libraries advantage in the competitive service environment. Written by a highly knowledgeable practitioner from the library field Experience of the author (library and for-profit management experience) provides a hybrid/blended view of library competition and management responses from both the library and for-profit management worlds Written to applicable to all types of libraries.

  17. Do the services for children offered in Helsinki hotels meet the preferences of family travellers?

    OpenAIRE

    Fernández, Amelia

    2016-01-01

    Meeting the needs of family travellers by catering to the children is a way for hotels to attract these profitable guests. The objective of this thesis is to analyse the services offered for children in four Helsinki hotels and evaluate whether they meet the needs and preferences of current domestic and international travellers. The preliminary hypothesis is that the hotels chosen to represent the hotel market in Helsinki offer similar services; that do not meet current traveller preferences....

  18. Web Services Security - Implementation and Evaluation Issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pimenidis, Elias; Georgiadis, Christos K.; Bako, Peter; Zorkadis, Vassilis

    Web services development is a key theme in the utilization the commercial exploitation of the semantic web. Paramount to the development and offering of such services is the issue of security features and they way these are applied in instituting trust amongst participants and recipients of the service. Implementing such security features is a major challenge to developers as they need to balance these with performance and interoperability requirements. Being able to evaluate the level of security offered is a desirable feature for any prospective participant. The authors attempt to address the issues of security requirements and evaluation criteria, while they discuss the challenges of security implementation through a simple web service application case.

  19. The relationship between bed size and profitability in South Carolina hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yang K; Glover, Saundra H; Stoskopf, Carleen H; Boyd, Suzan D

    2002-01-01

    The purpose of the study is to identify factors affecting hospital profitability and to find the optimal hospital bed size that assures maximum profit. This is a cross-sectional study using survey data obtained from acute care hospitals in South Carolina in 1997. The relationship of hospital profitability and hospital bed size revealed that when bed size increases, hospital profitability increases, decreases, and then increases again. For the patient profit proportion, the turning points in bed size are 238.22 and 560.08. For the total profit proportion, the turning points in bed size are 223.31 and 503.86. The results on the relationship between bed size and hospital profitability indicate that medium-size hospitals have less profitability.

  20. Profitability of wood harvesting enterprises

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Penttinen, M. email: markku.penttinen@metla.fi; Mikkola, J. email: jarmo.mikkola@metla.fi; Rummukainen, A. email: arto.rummukainen@metla.fi

    2009-07-01

    The forest machine business is about 50 years old. The rapid technical development of machinery increased productivity up to the end of last century. In 2007, the total value of round and energy wood harvesting and silvicultural work operated by forest machine enterprises exceeded 570 mill. euro. According to the materials of the Vehicle Administration Finland and Statistics Finland there are about 1 600 active harvesting enterprises in the personal and business taxation system. Beside this, there are according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry about 1 300 farmers who do harvesting as side business. About 1 000 enterprises working in June 2007 were studied with their retrospective economic analyses from 2001. The data includes all enterprises that had supplied closing of the accounts data. One-machine entrepreneurs represent more than a third of the number of enterprises, but only 13 percent of the turnover. Enterprises with seven or more machines represent less than ten percent of the number, but over twenty percent of the turnover. Enterprises are largest in eastern and northern Finland, where the average number of machines per enterprise exceeds three. Small enterprises are mostly singleowner business enterprises with a median turnover of 125 000 euros per annum. Partnerships and limited enterprises have double the median turnover of single-owner businesss. Limited companies turn over a median of 450 000 euro/y, representing 67 percent of total turnover. Median net profit varied between 6 and 10 percent of turnover in 2001-2007, but only between 2 and 4 percent where the wage adjustment is deducted from the profit. The wage adjustment is estimated as if the owners of single-owner businesses earn an operator's salary. Profit was highest in 2002 and lowest 2006. In the smallest enterprise class with a turnover of less than 75 000 euro/y, profit was lowest and negative in 2006 and 2007. The variation in profits between enterprises was also biggest in