João Neiva de Figueiredo

A DEA methodology to evaluate the impact of information asymmetry on the efficiency of not-for-profit organizations with an application to higher education in Brazil

This paper presents a conceptual framework and an analytical DEA model for evaluating the impact of information asymmetry on organizational efficiency. The framework uses concepts from agency theory to estimate the extent of moral hazard by comparing the objectives of the principal to those of the agent. The framework and model are useful in the analysis of both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations because DEA is applicable whether or not inputs and/or outputs are subject to pricing mechanisms. An illustration focusing on the Brazilian not-for-profit federal university system finds that the agency problem indeed exists for a subset of those institutions, indicating the desirability of improved incentive and control mechanisms on the part of the principal.

Developing International Managerial Skills Through the Cross-Cultural Assignment: Experiential Learning by Matching U.S.-Based and International Students

This article describes the “Cross-cultural Assignment,” an experiential learning technique for students of business that deepens self-awareness of their own attitudes toward different cultures and develops international managerial skills. The technique consists of pairing up small teams of U.S.-based business students with small teams of international students from the same country, who are not yet completely fluent in English, to form augmented teams that then need to execute tasks and produce several end-products. This pedagogical method has been used successfully in recent years in international management and international business courses for both lower-classman and upper-classman undergraduate business students and for students in graduate MBA programs. The article positions the technique within the literature on experiential learning and cultural differences, describes the methodology in detail, offers several examples of its use, and discusses the benefits and challenges observed in its implementation.

A decision support methodology for increasing school efficiency in Bolivia's low-income communities

This paper presents a data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based decision-support methodology that has been implemented and is being used by a not-for-profit organization, Fe y Alegria, which runs 439 Bolivian schools reaching over 160,000 disadvantaged students in that poverty-stricken Latin American nation. Bolivia is a poor country with the highest percentage of indigenous population and the lowest per capita income in South America and as such its inhabitants are in dire need of effective educational resources to help them out of poverty. The DEA-based methodology described in this paper has offered an objective way to compare network schools among themselves and with out-of-network schools, providing a deeper understanding of school efficiency levels in the face of scarce resources, and allowing for sharing of best practices across the network. The paper introduces the educational environment in Bolivia, presents the DEA model, describes the decision support methodology, and provides two examples of its use. The first example compares Fe y Alegria secondary schools with out-of-network secondary schools using publicly available data, and the second compares Fe y Alegria secondary schools among themselves using a proprietary database. The paper also comments on lessons learned and the need for broad consensus-building and organization-wide buy-in for successful adoption and maximum impact.

The Live In-Class CEO Intervention: A Capstone Experiential Technique for Leadership Development

This article describes a pedagogical technique that has been used successfully for more than 35 years in business education, primarily as a capstone experience in MBA and Executive MBA programs: the live in-class CEO intervention method. This method consists of a CEO bringing to the classroom a strategic issue that she or he is currently struggling with and addressing it real time with a team of students. The technique is most effective when used alongside a strategic framework of the instructor’s choice. The authors have used the method with an organization development and change framework that is described and that provides a blueprint for the student team to address in real time the CEO’s strategic issue through a question-and-answer format. The ensuing dialogue and analysis become a living example for the benefit of the whole class of how the CEO thinks and makes decisions. The authors describe the live intervention method in detail, examine process considerations, and discuss its advantages and limitations. They argue that the resulting active participation in the CEO’s thought process as she or he seeks to solve a significant problem, that is, the opportunity to “see the wheels turning” and follow all streams of thought (including those with a dead-end), is helpful in the development of a leadership skill-set. The authors further argue that a by-product of participation in several of these interventions is an expanded ability to engage in systemic thinking and bridge theory and application in an open way. The authors also report anecdotal evidence that both students and CEOs who have gone through this process have benefited substantially.

A decision support methodology for increasing public investment efficiency in Brazilian agrarian reform

The Brazilian Agrarian Reform Program has subsidized the settlement of over 425,000 destitute families on previously unproductive land in what has become a very effective vehicle for social inclusion and productivity growth for those settlers who reach the final stage of the process and receive definitive title to the land. Unfortunately, there is a large difference in efficiency and productivity between more and less successful settlements – fewer than 10% of relocated families have received title and over 25% of them have abandoned the property to which they were assigned. This paper presents a decision support methodology for increasing the efficiency of public investments in agrarian reform that includes a data envelopment analysis model and a mechanism for building consensus among the various constituencies of the agrarian reform process, who not infrequently have conflicting objectives. The OR model described herein uses principal component analysis and data envelopment analysis to identify the most important success factors for relocated families leading to an increase in the chance of both autonomous integration with the market economy and definitive entitlement by these displaced families as well as an increase in the predictability of future settlement success. The model was implemented successfully in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil, and was partially used in a pilot project for the countrywide agrarian reform accelerated consolidation program.

Aplicação de métodos de busca em grafos com nós parcialmente ordenados à locação de torres de tranmissão

This paper focuses on optimal transmission tower spotting as an application of search methods in a graph with partially ordered nodes and for the first time models the problem using preference relations between nodes. First basic results from graph theory and search algorithms are presented. Electro-mechanical and topographical constraints to obtaining the path of minimum cost are described, the nodes, arcs, costs and paths are defined, and the optimization algorithms are shown. The paper introduces and demonstrates the validity of preference relations between nodes. These are used together with cost comparisons to eliminate paths. This procedure increases the efficiency of the optimization algorithms.

U.S. MNE Firm-Specific Advantages and Inter-regional expansion

This study examines how characteristics of firm-specific advantages (FSAs) and locational advantages affect the international expansion of multinational enterprises (MNEs) at the inter-regional level. The conceptual framework expands on Rugman and Verbeke’s original model. We examine the impact of location-bound FSAs as reflected in sales productivity of domestic labor forces, non-location bound FSAs as reflected in cross-border intra-firm sales, FSA fragmentation as reflected in unrelated diversification, and complementary resources as reflected in employees concentrated in host regions on US MNEs’ sales in other regions including EU and Asia- pacific. For empirical testing, we used and compared industry and firm level panel data. We find that location-bound FSA and unrelated diversification hinder expansion to other regions, while non-location bound FSAs and host region complementary resources facilitate expansion to other regions. This study contributes to the literature on company internationalization...