Business & Management – Scholar Publishing

The Influence of Supply Chain Management and Net Trade Cycle on Financial Performance

This research empirically investigates the relationships among the four most common supply chain management practices (supplier partnership, customer relationship, information sharing, and lean system), net trade cycle, and financial performance. It consists of nine hypotheses concerning the relationships of the aforementioned factors that have been verified throughout reviewed literature and examined via employing the structural equation modelling technique. This research used data taken from floated questionnaires at three manufacturing companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain. An inclusive review of the literature to retrieve the four most common supply chain management practices has been undertaken and has identified limitations in the research techniques applied. This research has discovered the significant influences of the supplier partnership, the information sharing, and the lean system of the three most common supply chain management practices and the net trade cycle on the financial performance. Although this is the first research that combines the critical relationships among those four most common supply chain management practices, the net trade cycle, and the financial performance in one model, it is important to note that this study was unsuccessful in demonstrating whether there is a significant influence between customer relationship of the most common supply chain management practices and the net trade cycle on the financial performance. Researchers can employ the outcomes of this research to discover several related hypotheses in more details and increase the accuracy of forthcoming empirical relationships among those factors. This research offers particular suggestions for such further research. The outcomes of this research can be utilized by managers to highlight the execution of those four most common supply chain management practices and the net trade cycle in their respective ventures. Moreover, almost all of those relationships are found to have significant influences on the financial performance. Furthermore, the outcomes can be recommended to production managers who may well assign resources to enhance these practices to achieve the greatest outcomes.

Sea Robbery and Maritime Business Operations in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

The main thrust of this study was to examine sea robbery and maritime business operations in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The Routine Activity Theory propounded in (1979) by Lawrence .E. Cohen and Marcus Felson served as the theoretical guide. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted to select respondents from three littoral states in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The sample size for this study was 400; this was derived using the Taro Yamane formula. Questionnaire and oral interview were used as methods of data collection. Four null hypotheses were formulated and tested. The data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC). The results revealed that there was a significant relationship between sea robbery and artisanal fishing, sea robbery and water transportation, sea robbery and tourism development, also sea robbery and coastal trading in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The implication is that the continuing existence of the activities of robbers in the waterways of the Niger Delta region will impact negatively on the economy of business operators as well as scare investors from investing in the region. In addition, these waterways will continue to maintain their notorious posture and ranking as dangerous waterways by the international maritime watchdogs such as the International Maritime Bureau and International Maritime Organization. Furthermore, it was concluded from the study that sea robbery is rife in the Niger Delta region because of the following criminogenic factors (a) the endowment of crude oil in the study area (b) other commercial activities which are transported by the waterways and (c) the absence of adequate surveillance. Consequent upon this, it is recommended from the study, among others, that problem oriented policing at sea robbery hotspots be adopted as a measure to guarantee safety of life and property along the waterways and creeks in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

The Export Processing Zone Strategy and SocioEconomic Development in Nigeria

This study examined the contribution of Export Processing Zones to the socio-economic development of Nigeria. The country adopted the EPZ strategy in 1992 with the establishment of Calabar Free Trade Zone to diversify the economy, accelerate industrialization, acquire modern technologies, create jobs, and attract FDIs. Since then 25 zones have been registered out of which 11 are operational, 9 under construction and 5 merely declared. In this study, the endogenous growth theory was adopted as the theoretical framework of analysis. It focuses on the institution of a knowledge-based human capital accumulation system and structures through learning by doing externalities, investment in research and development (R and D) activities that will generate new ideas enhance technological progress and improve quality of products via the zones. Four zones, (Calabar, Oil and Gas, Snake Island and ALSCON) were randomly selected. Two hundred and ninety (290) copies of questionnaires were administered on 290 respondents selected from 54 FZEs and 4 Zonal Management Boards. Out of this number 242 properly completed questionnaires served as the sample size for the data analysis. Primary and secondary data were used in the study. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage distribution. Views on the research assumptions were presented and discussed exhaustively. The study revealed that EPZs have not substantially contributed to Nigeria’s socio-economic development. This is because the zones have not significantly enhanced the industrialization process, economic diversification, technology transfer, employment generation, etc. It concluded that for the EPZs to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s socio-economic development they must accelerate the industrialization and diversification, increase export of manufactured goods, and create jobs. Some of the recommendations are that value addition should be made compulsory in the production processes; R and D must be made central to EPZ’s operations and that deliberate efforts must be made to increase the exports of manufactured goods and government should endeavour to stabilize the power situation at the zones.

Exploring the Delays in Construction Projects: An Empirical Study of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana

Delay has been one of the most prevalent challenges within church construction projects, especially in the orthodox churches. Despite construction challenges and project delays within most orthodox churches, there is still a lack of empirical evidence on unearthing the factors that lead to church construction delays. This quantitative study is aimed at exploring church construction delays within the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. After extensive literature and theoretical review, a proposed construct was generated with a structured questionnaire and distributed using the online survey tool, MikeCRM. Out of the 480 questionnaires distributed, 402 were completed and returned, representing a response rate of 84.8%. The questionnaires were completed by 39.3% Other Positions, 21.9% Resident Pastors/Agents, 18.9% Managers, 9.95% Project Managers, 5.90% Consultants, 1.99% Site superintendents (foreman), and 1.99% Electricians. The sample data were analysed statistically using Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Cronbach’s Alpha, Pearson correlations, and AMOS for reliability and validity and for measuring the suitability of the proposed constructs. The study confirmed six factors as being responsible for the church construction delay with Material-related being the highest influential factor and Client/Ownerrelated as the least. The other four factors include Project-related, Quality-related, External-related, and Church Organizational Structure. The findings will help academicians, building contractors and church stakeholders with awareness of church construction delays. Theoretically, the findings will contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the research area of church construction delay from the perspective of developing countries.

Normative Framework in the Organization – Statutes and Regulation of Asilo de Infância Desvalida da Horta [Asylum for the Disadvantaged Childhood of Horta] in the Monarchy and the 1st Republic

Asilo da Infância Desvalida da Horta [Asylum for the Disadvantaged Childhood of Horta], located in the city of Horta, Faial island, in the Azores, Portugal, was established in 1858 and operated under this name until 1971. Its central goal was to assist female children and young women in a situation of extreme poverty and neglect. At the time of the monarchy in Portugal, the 1860 Statutes and the 1876 Regulation provided the normative guidelines for the functioning of Asilo de Infância Desvalida da Horta. After the republic was established in Portugal, in 1910, the 1912 Statutes started to normatively guide the institution’s operation. While it is interesting and useful to compare the different documents that, contrary to what might be expected by this transformation of the political regime, this legal framework does not demonstrate, however, a profound change in this formal dimension.

Negotiations Strategies In International Business

Distorted market competition poses new challenges for business negotiations. It affects the balance of negotiating powers among negotiation participants. Such situations often result in negative consequences for both buyers and sellers. As a result, it opens additional opportunities for international business, because of the emergence of other market participants in the relevant markets, which can provide additional alternatives for both buyers and sellers by reducing the negative impact on the distortion of competition and balancing the negotiating powers of the negotiating parties. The development and implementation of an effective international business negotiation strategy, as well as the assessment of the negotiating powers among negotiating parties and the essential components of their deviation from balance is important for the effective use of the potential of business negotiations — the negotiating power. When solving the scientific problem it is necessary to ensure that its solutions help to consider the balance of negotiating power among negotiation participants, allowing them to achieve the balance and to ensure the most efficiency of the development and implementation of their negotiation strategy.

The VUCA Method for Leadership & Management in Times of Crisis – Ex. Covid- 19: Adaptation, performance, and development

The acronym VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) was coined in 1989, by the US Army War College – a school that depends on the US military – to denote the multilateral world more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, after the end of the cold war and the dangers of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in 1990-1991. After the implementation of this concept and the evolution of its application, in different fields, as well as the development that has been added on its characteristics and principles, it is more and more used in companies and administrations. So, VUCA represents these four terms: (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity), these traits have always been present in the world, but what has changed is the speed of change affecting all aspects of our life. As the world accelerates, it brings a whole new dimension to the VUCA world. There are no more stable moments now, and there has never been so much technological ability to predict the world, in instability, the only certainty is the change that it is made permanent.

Model of Strategic Management of Human Resources: Scenario Building From Human Resource Management Perspective

Model of strategic management of human resources; building a scenario from Human Resources management perspective was the outcome of this study. Organizations are increasingly looking at HRM as a unique asset that can provide them with sustained competitive advantage .The organization’s philosophy on how to manage its workforce, its policies, therefore needs to be well defined to enhance its ability to attract and retain the right calibre of employees to provide it with the required competitive advantage. Any business entity poised to make impact and to be relevant in the present-day dynamic business environment must plan strategically .Management must paint scenarios, anticipate the environment and be proactive or forward-looking, set realistic objectives and develop strategies and plans of action to achieve those objectives. The issue is not anticipating the future, but making fundamental decisions based on foresight. Organizations have been increasingly aware of the importance of understanding what is going on in their environment and among their audiences. Various methods are employed through Trade Unions, relations with employees, media monitoring, or conducting surveys. Moreover, a number of human resource scholars and professionals have maintained that practical steps and process should be put in place to discover problems in their initial stages before they affect the organizations.

The Case for Income Diversification in the Banking Sector in Zambia

This study aims to evaluate the extent to which banks in Zambia are benefiting from revenue diversification activities. Research design/methodology – The study used a quantitative research approach based on secondary data from 12 of the 18 banks in Zambia. Data analysis was buttressed by the use of several techniques such as the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index to measure bank diversification, ZScore to measure bank income volatility/risk and risk adjusted returns on assets and equity to measure profitability. Findings – The study finds that, in Zambia, some banks do not enhance their profit performance by diversifying into non-interest activities. For other banks, diversification yields better profit performance in some years, but not always. The overall picture, however, is that diversification into non-interest income earning activities enhances the profit performance of banks. With respect to bank riskiness as measured by income volatility, the study finds that, in Zambia, some banks do not reduce their income volatility by diversifying into non-interest earning activities. For other banks, diversification reduces income volatility in some periods, but not others. The overall picture, however, is that the larger the bank is, the more non-interest income diversification reduces its income volatility. Limitations – Although the Central Bank provided financial data for all the 18 banks in the country, only data for 12 banks was usable. Data for six banks did not cover the whole ten-year study period and was unusable for the purposes of the study. This limited the actual sample size. Furthermore, to preserve confidentiality, the bank data provided was anonymised such that it was impossible to tell the geographical spread of the bank, the bank’s product or market strategy, or whether the bank was foreign or locally owned. This limited the scope of analysis. Recommendations – Given that in general bank profitability has declined as banks have become less diversified, the Bank of Zambia needs to closely monitor performance of banks and avoid imposing regulations that stifle bank innovation. And since diversification does not always result in enhanced bank performance, banks should consider the extent to which their business models support non-bank activities before making diversification decisions.

Selected Topics on Foreign Direct Investments (Fdis): a Focus on Tanzania

In this chapter, the author makes a discussion on the mutual impacts of foreign direct investments (FDIs) from the developed to the developing countries with a specific reference to Tanzania, his home country. He identifies several theoretical mutual FDI impacts between the FDI source countries (predominantly, developed ones) and FDI destinations, especially the developing ones. He then presents several pieces of evidence on the mutual FDI impacts in Tanzania. The impacts include increased government revenues (through tax, royalties, privatization proceedings, licences and fees); increased direct and indirect employment; increased community support projects; increased up-to date and state-of the art technology; improved investment climate; technology transfer; and more market access. Tanzania’s impacts on the FDIs locating in the country include accessibility to markets and resources; investment incentives; profits; royalties; dividends; and employment.