Pros and Cons of Fast-Track Process: A Case Study

--Cristina Ciartano and Francesco Lanfranchi

This paper analyzes the Italian healthcare system, in particular the aspects concerning Accident and Emergency (A&E) and new concepts applied to this field in recent years. The paper describes the healthcare system as a whole, followed by an analysis of the Italian National Health System, with particular focus on legal and organizational aspects. Important theoretical ideas can be drawn from this area, which as well as being studied in the field of economics have also often been analyzed in other disciplines, such as medical science, epidemiology and statistics. These theoretical ideas involve insurance, the issue of information asymmetry and the structure of the hospital co-payment, which acts as a form of co-insurance and a way of partial cost coverage. The paper also describes the latest trends in the sector, with attention focused on A&E, the area chosen for analysis, using relevant data. The fast-track process for patients triaged white and related international research, such as the British ‘See and Treat’ method, are also analyzed. The data is then used to study two facilities, one in Chieri, which uses the fast-track process, and one in Moncalieri, which does not. At this stage some issues arose regarding the standardization of data, so some statistical tests were conducted to check the homogeneity of the two populations. Finally, a case is used to draw various conclusions, discussing the effective value of the process dedicated to patients with triage code white both in terms of cost and in relation to waiting times and risk reduction.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Performance Measurement Through Ratio Analysis: The Case of Indian Hotel Company Ltd.

--Sanghani Divyesh Damjibhai

Ratio analysis is defined as the systematic use of ratio to interpret the financial statements so that the strengths and weaknesses of a firm as well as its historical performance and current financial condition can be determined. The use of ratios as a financial analysis tool was suggested by Alexander Wall, a German scholar, way back in 1919. Since then, it has become a very useful and powerful tool for analysis and interpretation by both the internal and the external parties of business enterprise. The present research measures the financial performance of Indian Hotel Company Ltd. through ratio analysis of 10 ratios. The chi-square test was used for testing the hypothesis and the research paper provides some important findings and suggestions to the company for better performance.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Advertising Media Efficiency of FMCG Firms in India: An Empirical Investigation Using Data Envelopment Analysis

--Hezekiah, Lalitha Ramakhrishnan and Majid Shaban

The present study aims to evaluate the advertising spending efficiency of 17 FMCG firms for the time period of seven years from 2006 to 2012. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique is used to evaluate the efficiencies in terms of Overall Technical Efficiency (OTE), Pure Technical Efficiency (PTE) and Scale Efficiency (SE) for each firm in different years. The analysis reveals that on an average, almost 6% of the companies in terms of OTE and 22% firms in terms of PTE efficiently utilize their advertising expenditure. The analysis also reveals that the analyzed companies, on an average, need to reduce their inputs by almost 50% while maintaining their current levels of outputs in order to become efficient.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Analyzing the Performance Appraisal System of a Public Sector Organization in India: The Case of Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Limited

--Vineet Chouhan, Bibhas Chandra, Shubham Goswami
and Pushpa Verma

Performance appraisal is considered as a management tool which is often used for motivating and effective utilization of human resources. This tool is used for determining compensation, incentives, promotion, tenure, transfers, layoffs and development of potential employees in an organization. The basic objective of this study is to analyze the need for replacement of traditional Performance Appraisal System (PAS) in public sector enterprises by using a case study approach selecting a public sector company, the Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Limited. The study highlights that employees perceive the PAS measures to be objective, accurate and unbiased, and the PAS system to be transparent, performance-based and linked to employee growth opportunities. Also, significant differences have been found in the perception of workers and managers on the given constructs of modified PAS.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.