Explore the vast range of titles available.

This book reviews the major developments in and the lessons learned from the 21-year (1991-2012) experience with private sector participation (PSP) in the power sector in India. It discusses the political economy context of the policy changes, looks at reform initiatives that were implemented for the generation sector, describes transmission and distribution segments at different points in the evolution of the sector, and concludes with a summary of lessons learned and a suggested way forward. The evolution of private participation in the Indian power sector can be divided into different phases. Phase one was launched with the opening of the generation sector to private investment in 1991. Phase two soon followed - early experiments with state-level unbundling and other reform initiatives, including regulatory reform, culminating in divestiture, and privatization in Orissa and Delhi respectively. Phase three, the passage of the electricity act of 2003 by the central government, followed by a large increase in private entry into generation and forays into transmission and experiments with distribution franchise models in urban and rural areas during the 11th five-year plan (2007-12) period. In phase four, at the start of the 12th five-year plan (2012-17), the sector is seeing a sharp reduction in bid euphoria and greater risk aversion on the part of bidders, who are concerned about access to basic inputs such as fuel and land. In this context, the report is structured as follows: chapter one gives introduction; chapter two presents private sector participation in thermal generation; chapter three presents private sector participation in transmission; chapter four deals with private sector participation in distribution; chapter five deals with private sector participation in the Indian solar energy sector; chapter six deals with financing of the power sector; chapter seven presents emerging issues and proposed approaches for the Indian power sector; and chapter eight give updates.

PurposeThe main contribution of the research is to propose a quantitative model based on indicators designed by the authors, to measure the effect on the performance of the process caused by an improvement in the integration of information.Design/methodology/approachIt is a descriptive and exploratory investigation, immersed in a case study; the bidding process was selected by senior management due to the high complexity and impact of this process on the organization. The protocol for carrying out the study involved interviews with the owner of the process and all the officials involved, as sources of information, inputs to model in BPMN2.0 at the activity level and a statistical validation of the model was carried out, to sustain an acceptable confidence of the same.FindingsAmong the most outstanding results of the research are that the effects of the improvements or changes in the activities were reflected or evidenced in subsequent activities, not in the immediate ones or in which the improvement is applied. This confirms the theorization of the systemic approach to processes since the effects of the improvements are not close to their application.Research limitations/implicationsFor the proposed model, it was evident that the measurement of the efficiency and quality dimensions of the process activities required verification in transactional databases where nonconformities and nonquality costs related to orders are recorded.Originality/valueIn the reviewed literature, there are no models or reference frameworks that quantitatively measure the effects of the integration of information on the performance of processes.

BackgroundThe effectiveness of the bidding process for state-owned entities (SOEs) in South Africa is crucial for efficient resource allocation and service delivery. It is communal information and the government’s acknowledgement that the existing procurement practices used at SOEs are outdated and are confronted with countless difficulties, including conflicts of interest, corruption, fronting, theft, inflated prices, a lack of standardisation, ineffective processes, and a deficiency of suitable controls.AimThis case study investigates the bidding process in the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ) to assess its alignment with the principles of fairness, transparency, equitability, cost-effectiveness and a competitive bidding process outlined in Section 217 of the Constitution.SettingThis setting relates to the bidding process in SOEs to align with the legislative framework to improve public sector performance and service delivery.MethodsThe study used a quantitative research design using a questionnaire with 25 key stakeholders.ResultsThe findings signify the importance of effective communication, the value of briefing and debriefing sessions, and the need for alignment with international best practices to contribute to the effectiveness of the bidding process.ConclusionThe research recommends integrating digital technologies, fostering stakeholder collaboration, and adhering to international best practices to enhance bidding processes in SOEs. It also advises policymakers to invest in digital infrastructure, bolster cybersecurity, offer stakeholder training, and develop a digital procurement framework.ContributionThis empirical investigation contributes to an understanding of the role of the bidding process within the context of SOEs.

Using Complete Coverage Path Planning (CCPP), a cleaning robot could visit every accessible area in the workspace. The dynamic environment requires the higher computation of the CCPP algorithm because the path needs to be replanned when the path might become invalid. In previous CCPP methods, when the neighbours of the current position are obstacles or have been visited, it is challenging for the robot to escape from the deadlocks with the least extra time cost. In this study, a novel CCPP algorithm is proposed to deal with deadlock problems in a dynamic environment. A priority template inspired by the short memory model could reduce the number of deadlocks by giving the priority of directions. Simultaneously, a global backtracking mechanism guides the robot to move to the next unvisited area quickly, taking the use of the explored global environmental information. What's more, the authors extend their CCPP algorithm to a multi-robot system with a market-based bidding process which could deploy the coverage time. Experiments of apartment-like scenes show that the authors’ proposed algorithm can guarantee an efficient collision-free coverage in dynamic environments. The proposed method performs better than related approaches on coverage rate and overlap length.

The popularity of staging Olympic Games has dropped in democratic countries as a series of failed referenda and withdrawn bids as well as protests against mega sport events have shown in recent years. Nevertheless, the there still are democratically elected office-holders willing to become involved in an Olympic bid despite the high probability of public opposition and the threat of an almost unwinnable referendum. This conceptual study analyses the individual risk management that these politicians have to concern themselves with because of their involvement in Olympic bids and referenda. It does so by looking at possible 'personal legacies' the politicians can obtain. It is interesting to note that although the size of such legacies will vary, they can result irrespective of the outcome of a bid or a referendum and can have positive, negative, or neutral effects for the politician(s) in question. As will be shown, personal legacies can also be obtained by opponents of Olympic bidding ambitions, which is not the only finding that is problematic particularly for the IOC and National Olympic Committees interested in hosting Olympic Games or other sport events.

PurposeAmbulance service trusts in England have historically had little or no competition for non-emergency patient transport services (NEPTS), but following the imposition of the NHS Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition (PPCC) Regulation (Number 2) 2013, NHS commissioners could accept suitable bids for NEPTS work from third-party commercial competition. This paper describes how NEPTS evolved in England and how an Ambulance Service Trust Board had to step-up their approach to bidding for NHS NEPTS work and to protect their brand and financial position in a competitive commercial market place.Design/methodology/approachThe Trust Board developed a competitive bidding strategy with a market research project using “grounded theory” to identify and categorise stakeholders' issues followed by re-engineering to achieve new operational goals. A fundamental element of the bid was an opportunity to share patient information between local NHS facilities using a common access data warehouse. This would represent a serious barrier to entry to any third-party non-NHS commercial competitor.FindingsKey projects were identified in the bidding process, including relocation of NEPTS resource bases, use of third-party resources and the establishment of a local NHS-wide data warehouse. They were all self-financing within the contract period and accepted by the commissioners. However, the establishment of NEPTS hubs at hospitals with clinics scattered throughout their grounds was rejected by the commissioners due to incompatibility with existing hospital practices.Originality/valueThis case study defines the challenges and opportunities faced by an English Ambulance Service Trust Board when responding to an invitation to tender (ITT) from NHS commissioners for NEPTS and competing with third-parties on a commercial basis. Any emergency service would face similar challenges bidding for work in a competitive environment.

The study investigated the perception of the public - sector critics regarding the control mecha- nisms employed in the fight against corruption in bidding processes through the identification and recognition of this group as to nine control mechanisms that can be used against such prac- tice. The data were collected with the use of questionnaires and measured with a Likert scale and consisted of demographic items on the group and of assertions regarding the importance attributed to the present ed mechanisms. The investigated group was composed by critics with exercise in several segments of the public sector in Brazil. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and comparisons of means between groups formed by the demographic variables, in the search for indicative of determinants of perception on the subject. The results point to the identification and recognition of greater importance for the control of the bidding procedures of the Checklist, Publicity and Transparency mechanisms, reinfor cing the current path of the search for compliance and public transparency for the reduction of opportunistic behavior in public processes. The demographic variables groupinganalyzes did not indicate any statistical significance that could indicate relevan t determinants in relation to the perception regarding the control mechanisms studied O estudo investigou a percepção dos pregoeiros do setor público quanto aos mecanismos de controle no combate à corrupção em processos licitatórios através da identificação e reconhecimento deste grupo quanto a nove mecanismos de controle que podem ser empregados contra tal prática. Os dados foram coletados com a utilização de questionários e mensuração com escala Likert e constou de itens demográficos sobre o grupo e de assertivas quanto a importância atribuída aos mecanismos apresentados. O grupo investigado foi composto por pregoeiros com exercício em diversos segmentos do setor público no Brasil. Os dados foram analisados com a utilização de estatísticas descritivas e comparações de médias entre grupos formados pelas variáveis demográficas, na busca de indicativos de determinantes de percepção sobre o tema. Os resultados apontam para a identificação e reconhecimento de maior importância para o controle dos procedimentos licitatórios dos mecanismos de Checklist, Publicidade e Transparência, reforçando o caminho atual da busca pela conformidade e transparência pública para a redução de comportamentos oportunistas em processos públicos. As análises de agrupamento por variáveis demográficas não apontaram nenhuma significância estatística que pudesse indicar determinantes relevantes em relação a percepção quanto aos mecanismos de controle estudados.Palavras-Chave: Mecanismos de Controle. Processos Licitatórios. Pregões. El estudio investigó la percepción de los pregoneros del sector público en cuanto a los meca- nismos de control empleados en el combate a la corrupción en procedimientos licitatorios a través de la identificación y reconocimiento de este grupo en cuanto a nueve mecanismos de control que pueden ser empleados contra tal práctica. Los datos fueron recolectados con la uti- lización de cuestionarios y medidos con escala Likert y constó de ítems demográficos sobre el grupo y de asertivas en cuanto a la importancia atribuida a los mecanismos presentados. El grupo investigado fue compuesto por pregoneros con ejercicio en diversos segmentos del sector público en Brasil. Los datos fueron analizados con la utilización de estadísticas descriptivas y comparaciones de promedios entre grupos formados por las variables demográficas, en la bús- queda de indicativos d e determinantes de percepción sobre el tema. Los resultados apuntan a la identificación y reconocimiento de mayor importancia para el control de los procedimientos licitatorios de los mecanismos de Checklist, Publicidad y Transparencia, reforzando el camin o actual de la búsqueda por la conformidad y transparencia pública para la reducción de compor- tamientos oportunistas en procesos públicos. Los análisis de agrupamiento por variables demo- gráficas no señalaron ninguna significación estadística que pudiera in dicar determinantes rele- vantes en relación a la percepción en cuanto a los mecanismos de control estudiados

Information is considered a high value product, which can turn out to be the differential in an institution, and good quality of information is what distinguishes it in any administrative process, including the bidding process. This way, based in the classification of the information presented by Moresi (2000), critical, minimal and potential information, the purpose of this survey was to analyze the quality of information in the bidding processes to hiring engineering works at Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL). The methodological procedures were accomplished in two phases: (i) documental research and (ii) open questionnaire. The main results of the survey indicate the value of minimal information is about management information, and this was found in the bidding processes registration and identification data; the critics, that offers security to the actions with less imperfection, was found in many parts of the processes, with emphasis in the announcement, and the potential information, reputable as competitive edge, was used in selecting the winning firm, upon analysis of the presented proposal. The results of this survey provided the opportunity of discovery of aspects related to: (a) work experience - in front of the importance of ability to discern among the information which is more appropriate in the decision making process at hand; (b) the efficiency in the use, storage and information disposal, processes that lead one to find possible faults, flaws or divergent information, which have obstructed the improvement of work activities, with production of imperfect tasks that need modification in the course of their execution. Therefore, it’s thought to be appropriate to suggest the fulfillment of a research related to informational behavior of the managers involved in the elaboration of the technical chart and in the bidding processes of works at UEL, covering the hiring and contract alteration; due to what was verified in the work here presented.

Este artículo propone una mirada hacia las interconexiones que relacionan la venalidad con el ritual asociado a la misma. La propuesta se acerca al cabildo a través de tres conceptos (venalidad, práctica cotidiana y ritual) con el fin de explorar una faceta de la institución poco transitada. Pretende poner en relación la venta de oficios con los espacios, los símbolos y los ceremoniales que acompañan a su desarrollo. El uso de la costumbre, la plaza pública, los pregones, la toma de posesión o el juramento configuraban un escenario cotidiano en el que el comprador del oficio terminaba convirtiéndose en sujeto activo de la representación del poder local. Se presta especial atención al proceso de la puja por el empleo. Metodológicamente se han utilizado para su análisis expedientes de remate de oficios y actas de confirmación real.

This report assesses the potential of electricity contract auctions as a procurement option for the World Bank's client countries. It focuses on the role of auctions of electricity contracts designed to expand and retain existing generation capacity. It is not meant to be a 'how-to' manual. Rather, it highlights some major issues and options that need to be taken into account when a country considers moving towards competitive electricity procurement through the introduction of electricity auctions. Auctions have played an important role in the effort to match supply and demand. Ever since the 1990s, the use of long-term contract auctions to procure new generation capacity, notably from private sector suppliers, has garnered increased affection from investors, governments, and multilateral agencies in general, as a means to achieve a competitive and transparent procurement process while providing certainty of supply for the medium to long term. However, the liberalization of electricity markets and the move from single-buyer procurement models increased the nature of the challenge facing system planners in their efforts to ensure an adequate and secure supply of electricity in the future at the best price. While auctions as general propositions are a means to match supply with demand in a cost-effective manner, they can also be and have been used to meet a variety of goals.