Impact Of Management Decisions Research Articles

The Impact of Management Decisions: How Business and IT Managers Can Effectively Control Their IT Costs

ZusammenfassungIT-Kosten machen heute einen immer größeren Anteil an den Gesamtkosten von Unternehmen aus. Die Verantwortlichen sind aufgefordert die IT-Kosten zu senken oder zumindest ein effizientes Management sicherzustellen. Oftmals fehlt es dafür an Transparenz und Verständnis für diese Ausgaben. Die Analyse der IT-Kostentreiber ermöglicht ein tieferes Verständnis der Ursachen und Auswirkungen strategischer Entscheidungen. Dieser Beitrag zielt darauf ab, die strategischen IT-Kostentreiber bezüglich des Wirkungshorizonts und des Entscheidungsortes zu analysieren. Die durchgeführte Delphi-Studie zeigt, dass Entscheidungen über diese Kostentreiber größtenteils mittel- bis langfristige Auswirkungen haben. Zudem wird deutlich, dass die IT-Abteilung zwar in den Entscheidungsprozess eingebunden ist, während die finalen Entscheidungen häufig stärker im Fachbereich liegen. Zusammenarbeit und effektive Kommunikation sind deshalb entscheidend und die Verantwortung für IT-Kosten sollte von allen EntscheidungsträgerInnen getragen werden. Dieser Beitrag erweitert die Forschung im IT-Kostenmanagement und sensibilisiert PraktikerInnen für Kostenbeeinflussungshebel und die strategische Diskussion über IT-Kosten und das Wertversprechen der IT.

BODIUM—A systemic approach to model the dynamics of soil functions

AbstractThe increasing demand for biomass for food, animal feed, fibre and bioenergy requires optimization of soil productivity, while at the same time, protecting other soil functions such as nutrient cycling and buffering, carbon storage, habitat for biological activity and water filter and storage. Therefore, one of the main challenges for sustainable agriculture is to produce high yields while maintaining all the other soil functions. Mechanistic simulation models are an essential tool to fully understand and predict the complex interactions between physical, biological and chemical processes of soils that generate those functions. We developed a soil model to simulate the impact of various agricultural management options and climate change on soil functions by integrating the relevant processes mechanistically and in a systemic way. As a special feature, we include the dynamics of soil structure induced by tillage and biological activity, which is especially relevant in arable soils. The model operates on a 1D soil profile consisting of a number of discrete layers with dynamic thickness. We demonstrate the model performance by simulating crop growth, root growth, nutrient and water uptake, nitrogen cycling, soil organic matter turnover, microbial activity, water distribution and soil structure dynamics in a long‐term field experiment including different crops and different types and levels of fertilization. The model is able to capture essential features that are measured regularly including crop yield, soil organic carbon, and soil nitrogen. In this way, the plausibility of the implemented processes and their interactions is confirmed. Furthermore, we present the results of explorative simulations comparing scenarios with and without tillage events to analyse the effect of soil structure on soil functions. Since the model is process‐based, we are confident that the model can also be used to predict quantities that have not been measured or to estimate the effect of management measures and climate states not yet been observed. The model thus has the potential to predict the site‐specific impact of management decisions on soil functions, which is of great importance for the development of a sustainable agriculture that is currently also on the agenda of the ‘Green Deal’ at the European level.

Insect Diversity in the Coastal Pinewood and Marsh at Schinias, Marathon, Greece: Impact of Management Decisions on a Degraded Biotope

The insects trapped in 63 plots positioned in a mixed pinewood and a marsh in Schinias, Marathon, Greece is studied relative to the anthropogenic disturbance. The last anthropogenic impact was recently intensified because of the Olympic Games in the area. One hundred and forty insect species were found that had abundances greater than two individuals in each sampling session in all plots. Seven insect community types were found using cluster analysis. The types, which corresponded to recognized habitats, re-emerged in a non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination. It was also found that insects tended to dwell in different plots, even in the same habitat. The invading P. halepensis Mill., which replaces P. pinea L., changed the entomofauna. The seven habitats had different numbers of bioindicators out of 74 insect species, not in general correlated with human impact. Three components of insect diversity were measured, and the temporal species turnover was consistently higher than the spatial one. In this sense, pine habitats were rated first in terms of overall insect diversity. In terms of biodiversity, the impact on the various biotopes was assessed utilizing the diversity–equitability index V, which indicated that the two P. halepensis-dominated habitats have negative V values together with the habitat dominated by Tamarix hampeana Nied. The conservation of P. pinea and the marsh habitats is recommended for conserving local entomofauna and stopping the progression of P. halepensis. The optimization of management strategies to meet the management goals of all elements of this degraded ecosystem seems to be crucial.

RELEVANSI STRUKTUR KEPEMILIKAN TERHADAP NILAI PERUSAHAAN PADA PT. AKR CORPORINDO, TBK PERIODE 2011-2020

The value of the company becomes very important for the company or the holders of stock. Each party has its view on the value of the company, the similarity is to want the value of the company to be in a high position. Managerial ownership is the manager's shareholding where the manager is not only involved in managing the company but also involved in the impact of management decisions. Institutional ownership is the shareholding of another company that has a function as a management supervisor. This examination utilizes unmistakable techniques and quantitative methodologies utilizing optional information upheld by writing and documentation considers. The results showed partially both variables had no significant influence on the value of the company. Similarly, simultaneously it has no significant influence on the value of the company.Keywords: Managerial Ownership, Institutional Ownership, Corporate Value.

Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of North of Yakutia in Focus of Academic Research in Late 1980s — Early 1990s

A historical analysis of research conducted during 1988—1991 by employees of the USSR Academy of Sciences to identify the socio-economic and ethnocultural situation of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North living in Yakutia is presented in the article. At the same time, the main attention is paid to those materials that most representatively reflect the changes that have occurred in the assessment by scientists of the consequences of the state policy carried out in the Soviet period in the national history of the state policy for indigenous ethnic groups. The sources for the preparation of the article were archival materials identified by the author, as well as published documents and scientific literature data. The work carried out made it possible to determine the main directions of the research, which focused mainly on understanding the impact of management decisions taken by the authorities, as well as changes in the state of the environment under the influence of intensive industrial development on the traditional culture and economy of indigenous peoples. The presented material testifies to the fact that at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, Yakutia actually found itself at the forefront of criticism of the state policy pursued towards the indigenous peoples of the North through-out most of the Soviet period.

Quantifying Uncertainty in Exposure to Coastal Hazards Associated with Both Climate Change and Adaptation Strategies: A U.S. Pacific Northwest Alternative Coastal Futures Analysis

Coastal communities face heightened risk to coastal flooding and erosion hazards due to sea-level rise, changing storminess patterns, and evolving human development pressures. Incorporating uncertainty associated with both climate change and the range of possible adaptation measures is essential for projecting the evolving exposure to coastal flooding and erosion, as well as associated community vulnerability through time. A spatially explicit agent-based modeling platform, that provides a scenario-based framework for examining interactions between human and natural systems across a landscape, was used in Tillamook County, OR (USA) to explore strategies that may reduce exposure to coastal hazards within the context of climate change. Probabilistic simulations of extreme water levels were used to assess the impacts of variable projections of sea-level rise and storminess both as individual climate drivers and under a range of integrated climate change scenarios through the end of the century. Additionally, policy drivers, modeled both as individual management decisions and as policies integrated within adaptation scenarios, captured variability in possible human response to increased hazards risk. The relative contribution of variability and uncertainty from both climate change and policy decisions was quantified using three stakeholder relevant landscape performance metrics related to flooding, erosion, and recreational beach accessibility. In general, policy decisions introduced greater variability and uncertainty to the impacts of coastal hazards than climate change uncertainty. Quantifying uncertainty across a suite of coproduced performance metrics can help determine the relative impact of management decisions on the adaptive capacity of communities under future climate scenarios.

Ciclos Políticos e Gestão Fiscal nos Municípios Brasileiros

RESUMO O estudo analisou como incentivos político-eleitoreiros influenciam a gestão fiscal dos municípios brasileiros e seus desdobramentos nos resultados eleitorais. Nas estimações realizadas dois achados se sobressaem. O primeiro é que apesar de existir um aumento nos investimentos, visíveis à população e associados pela literatura a resultados eleitorais favoráveis, os partidos reconduzidos também possuem uma estrutura de pessoal mais sustentável e melhores condições de liquidez no curto prazo, com desempenhos alavancados em períodos estratégicos, como em anos eleitorais. O segundo é que, apesar dos partidos com recondução sinalizarem melhores níveis na condição fiscal nos três ciclos políticos, no período pós-eleitoral as médias se retraem para patamares inferiores ao alcançado pela gestão no início do primeiro mandato. Portanto, embora indiquem melhores condições fiscais em anos eleitorais, o efeito da sinalização se inverte no ano seguinte. Como o impacto das decisões da gestão não estará disponível para o eleitorado imediatamente no período eleitoral, os políticos podem utilizar de estratégias fiscais para evitar que o equilíbrio fiscal seja prejudicado nos momentos estratégicos e postergar o desembolso para o ano pós-eleitoral, decisão que não prejudicaria a gestão fiscal atual e o recebimento de votos.

A new way of carbon accounting emphasises the crucial role of sustainable timber use for successful carbon mitigation strategies

The roles of forest management and the use of timber for energy in the global carbon cycle are discussed. Recent studies assert that past forest management has been accelerating climate change, for example in Europe. In addition, the increasing tendency to burn timber is an international concern. Here, we show a new way of carbon accounting considering the use of timber as a carbon neutral transfer into a pool of products. This approach underlines the robust, positive carbon mitigation effects of sustainable timber harvesting. Applying this new perspective, sustainable timber use can be interpreted not as a removal but a prevention of carbon being converted within the cycle of growth and respiration. Identifying timber use as a prevention rather than a removal leads to the understanding of timber use as being no source of carbon emissions of forests but as a carbon neutral transfer to the product pool. Subsequently, used timber will then contribute to carbon emissions from the pool of forest products in the future. Therefore, timber use contributes to carbon mitigation by providing a substantial delay of emissions. In a second step, the carbon model is applied to results of a previous study in which different timber price scenarios were used to predict timber harvests in Bavarian forests (Germany). Thus, the influence of the economic dimension “timber price” on the ecological dimension carbon sequestration was derived. It also shows that these effects are stable, even if an increasing tendency of burning timber products for producing energy is simulated. Linking an economic optimization to a biophysical model for carbon mitigation shows how the impact of management decisions on the environment can be derived. Overall, a sustainably managed system of forests and forest products contributes to carbon mitigation in a positive, stable way, even if the prices for (energy) wood rise substantially.

Assessing the South African sardine resource: two stocks rather than one?

Sardine Sardinops sagax distributed off the west and south coasts of South Africa have traditionally been assumed to comprise a single well-mixed stock for assessment and management purposes. New research, however, lends weight to the possibility of two stocks in this region. A precautionary management approach thus needs to consider the impact of management decisions on the hypothesised two individual stocks as well as on the resource as a whole. As a first step in this process, Bayesian assessments of South African sardine are presented, which compare results for the traditional single-stock hypothesis with those that follow from a new two-mixing-stock hypothesis. Recruits from the west stock are assumed to move to and remain part of the south stock in annual pulses of varying size. This movement is estimated to be appreciable, and to take place from a substantially more productive west stock to the south stock. This immigration makes a greater contribution to the south-stock biomass than do years of above-average south-stock recruitment. Importantly, this two-mixing-stock hypothesis is shown to be consistent with the data available. Further alternative sardine stock-structure hypotheses suggested by the most recent data are discussed.

State emergency service local controllers' attitudes towards disaster planning for cultural heritage resources

PurposeNatural disasters exert a continual toll not only on property and public infrastructure, but also on places and items of cultural heritage value. Whereas infrastructure and modern buildings can be rebuilt, archaeological and heritage sites cannot be restored without loss of integrity and authenticity. Often, the impact of management decisions during and following a disaster is greater than the physical impact of the disaster itself. Aims to assess attitudinal barriers that may exist among disaster management professionals, a study of local controllers of the state emergency service of New South Wales (Australia).Design/methodology/approachAll local controllers of the state emergency service of New South Wales were surveyed by a mail‐out questionnaire as to their knowledge of cultural heritage and their attitudes to the protection of cultural heritage assets during bushfires.FindingsKey areas identified are a general lack of awareness of the special needs of heritage places, a lack of communication between emergency and heritage managers; an acknowledged need for but decided absence of disaster planning for cultural heritage assets; and a need for training and education.Research limitations/implicationsThe study considered the local controllers of the state emergency service of New South Wales. Given the observed attitudinal barriers, there is a need for future research looking at the attitudes held by the various levels in the vertical decision making and authority tree.Practical implicationsThe awareness of SES controllers regarding cultural heritage in disaster situations needs to be improved as are the communication channels both in the disaster preparedness and the disaster response phase.Originality/valueThis is the first time research has been carried out into assessing the attitudes and awareness of local controllers of the state emergency service of New South Wales with respect to cultural heritage asset management.

Contribution of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography to the management of patients with suspected common bile duct stones

To evaluate the value of magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) as a systematic first-line investigation in the management of patients with suspected common bile duct stones. Ninety-nine consecutive patients with clinical suspicion of choledocolithiasis were prospectively explored by MRC. All MRCs were interpreted by two radiologists with knowledge of the patient's clinical condition and laboratory results. In case of discrepancy, a third opinion was obtained to reach consensus. The definitive diagnosis was established on the basis of endoscopic exploration of the common bile duct (n=40), clinical and biological follow-up at 6 Months (n=55) or other investigations (n=4). The clinician's level of confidence, management options implemented, and impact of management decisions were used to assess the contribution of MRC. The diagnostic accuracy of MRC for common bile duct stones was also determined. At the observed level of confidence (85.9%), MRC identified a differential diagnosis in 7.1% of patients avoiding unnecessary endoscopic exploration in 59.6%. Systematic first-line MRC enabled appropriate management in 83.8% of patients. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of MRC for the diagnosis of common bile duct stones were 95.7%, 98.7%, 95.7% and 98.7%, respectively, with excellent inter-observer agreement (kappa=0.915). Magnetic resonance cholangiography can be used to efficiently screen patients who may need further invasive exploration of the common bile duct. It specifically identifies patients requiring therapeutic ERCP.

An Aristotelian Approach to Ethical Corporate Leadership

It is often argued that a view of managerial responsibility which is concerned with the impact of management decisions on stakeholders is more ethically viable than one which considers the impact of such decisions on shareholders alone. I agree with this position, but it is unclear how corporate managers should function as moral agents and determine what is good for the corporation as a whole. More spe cifically, it is unclear how managers can create a fair balance among the legitimate claims of the various constituencies which are impacted by management's decisions. I shall argue that Aristotle's theory of moral virtue is useful in furnishing ethical guidance for corporate managers, and his analysis in the Nicomachean Ethics and the Politics is helpful in both clarifying an important difficulty in determining a just distribution of corporate goods and in providing a plausible solution to this problem.1

The shrimp fishery of the South Atlantic United States: A regional management plan

Abstract Marine fishery resources often have been difficult to manage because no single agency has had effective control over utilization of the resources. Recently, in the United States a State-Federal program has been developed to provide better management of marine fishery resources. One product of this approach has been the development of a regional management plan which joins the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in a partnership to manage the South Atlantic shrimp fishery. The plan presented here describes a regional management system that will allow states to standardize their laws, regulations and enforcement practices; coordinate research and management activities; develop a regional catch and effort statistics program; and better evaluate the impact of management decisions both within states and regionally. The plan has five objectives which account for biological, economic, and institutional factors that affect the fishery. Present management regimes are described and a schematic model of a proposed regional system is given. In addition, two shrimp management models, which will be an integral part of that system, are presented. Capabilities of present and future management systems are described including the present structure of the South Atlantic States Regional Marine Fisheries Management Board. Major recommendations of the plan including their present status are given. A management action program summary concludes the report.

Share Price Maximization: A Tool for Management Decision-Making

A framework is indispensable in pursuing share price maximization. By making explicit many of the interdependent effects of management decisions concerning the investment and financing activities of the firm, the framework presented in this article is an ideal tool to evaluate the impact of management decisions upon the firm9s stock price.