Observatory expands research field

The University of Azuay created the Business Observatory to determine the needs of this sector, but also to analyze how their behavior is and bring the academy and the community closer together.

The Business Observatory of the University of Azuay was born in 2017 as an initiative of teachers of the Faculty of Administration Sciences and currently the coverage in the research is extended nationwide.

Ximena Moscoso, coordinator of the center and Sub-Dean of the Faculty of Sciences of the Administration of the university, explains that this was the way they found to “collaborate with the community and find a meeting point between the academy, the business sector and society "

The observatory, through its studies, seeks reflection for the business management of Cuenca organizations, as well as the approach and restructuring of public policies.

For Moscoso, the work they do is important because “it is the companies that mark the dynamism of the economy, give employment and cover the needs of society, so it is essential to know their activity, review their processes and show what happens in the sector business, ”he emphasizes.

After two years, a bulletin of the published meat sector and another of the textile sector that is about to be concluded, have become a means for the consultation and reflection of students, teachers and society regarding decision making.

20 are professors of Business Administration, Higher Accounting, Marketing, Economics and Computer Science, who make up the team supported by research technicians and thesisists who contribute to the work of the observatory.

Information
The observatory builds database and also approaches companies directly to contrast field information with data.

To date they have already published the study entitled 'Preparation and conservation of meat products', in which they covered and analyzed the Value Chain, Financial Management, Social Responsibility, Risks and Return on Assets within this production sector.

For September they plan to publish the second bulletin that analyzes the textile sector of the city. The work is extended and not only focus on companies in the province, they also make comparisons with companies nationwide.

María José González, who is also part of the Observatory, noted that in the Value Chain in the meat sector they detected that there is a weakness in that part of the raw material used is imported and this makes the product more expensive, while in Social Responsibility found that consumers choose products that respect the environment and employees. 

GENERAL INFORMATION
-Investigation. The Observatory seeks to detect the strengths and weaknesses of the business sector.
-Help. With the information, governments can also improve or create public policies for this sector.
-Assistance. The interns of the University of Azuay do their professional practices in this observatory.

OUTSTANDING
The observatory determined that consumers opt for products whose companies have corporate social responsibility.

THE AMOUNT
20
Five career teachers are part of the Business Observatory.