Showing papers in "IOSR Journal of Business and Management in 2012"
TL;DR: In this article, various variables responsible for employee satisfaction have been discussed such as Organization development factors, Job security factors, Work task factors, Policies of compensation and benefit factor and opportunities which give satisfaction to employees such as Promotion and career development also has been described.
Abstract: Employee satisfaction is the terminology used to describe whether employees are happy, contended and fulfilling their desires and needs at work. Many measures support that employee satisfaction is a factor in employee motivation, employee goal achievement and positive employee morale in the work place. Basically Employee satisfaction is a measure of how happy workers are with their job and working environment. In this paper various variables responsible for employee satisfaction has been discussed such as Organization development factors, Job security factors, Work task factors, Policies of compensation and benefit factor and opportunities which give satisfaction to employees such as Promotion and career development also has been described .This paper also deals the various ways by which one can improve employee satisfaction.
195 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored factors determining extrinsic and intrinsic rewards and their impact on employee performance and actions to influence the commercial banks for a consideration of a more systematic and structured approach to acknowledge employee's efforts which would in turn prosper high performance culture in commercial banks of Bangladesh.
Abstract: This study seeks to examine the relationship between rewards and employee performance as well as to identify the relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. The study explored factors determining extrinsic and intrinsic rewards and their impact on employee performance and actions to influence the commercial banks for a consideration of a more systematic and structured approach to acknowledge employee’s efforts which would in turn prosper high performance culture in commercial banks of Bangladesh. Descriptive statistics based frequency tables and graphs were used in the study to provide information on demographic variables. The results are investigated in terms of descriptive statistics followed by inferential statistics on the variables. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed to employees of the commercial bank and a total of 180 employees completed the questionnaire properly. The result indicate that there is a statistical significant relationship between all of the independent variables with dependent variables employee work performance and all the independent variables have a positive influence on employee work performance.
136 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors have described the importance of relationship of various components of marketing mix for attaining competitive advantage in market, they have proposed a targeted approach on these four different components and they are Product, Price, and Place & Promotion.
Abstract: The Marketing Mix comprises of four decisions which should be considered before launching a product. Firms should plan targeted approach on these four different components and they are Product, Price, and Place & Promotion. All the four variables help the firm in formulating strategic decisions necessary for competitive advantage. The main objective of this article is to describe the importance of relationship of various components of marketing mix for attaining competitive advantage in market. Marketing Mix comprises of Product marketing mix and Service marketing mix. Generally the Product marketing mix consists of product, price, place and promotion and it is generally used for marketing mix of tangible goods. However Service marketing mix is related to three different variables for example people, process and physical evidence. The term marketing mix became popular when Neil H. Borden published his article on “The concept of Marketing Mix” in 1964. The marketing mix is characterised by four equally important variables. The first step is Product plan for articulating a marketing plan. There are three parts of product plan, i.e. core product, augmented product and the tertiary product. Not only product related decisions but also price related decisions like whether the uniform price will be charged or different prices will be charged for the same product in different markets. The third variable is „Place‟ and it is related to the decisions like where the product will be sold. „Promotion‟ decisions are related to increase the sales. The marketing mix involves the decisions related to which the products will be made available at a particular price, may be different price will be charged for the same product as per different market, the marketing manager has to take into account the impact of different factors which are categorised under the 4 P‟s to decide marketing mix for a product.
100 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the identification of various problems associated with rural entrepreneurship is discussed, and suitable cures have also been discussed to overcome these problems, which is a key to develop rural areas and backward towns.
Abstract: India lives in its villages, nearly 73 % of the total population live in rural areas where agriculture and allied activities are the main stay of their lives. The economic development of our country largely depends on the development of rural areas and the standard of living of its rural mass. Rural entrepreneur is one of the most important inputs in the economic development of a country and of regions within the country. Rural entrepreneur uses the scarce resources in the most efficient manner thereby increasing profits and decreasing costs. Due to lack of education, majority of rural people are unaware of technological development, marketing etc. Shortage of finance and raw materials are main problems face by rural entrepreneurs. Most of the rural entrepreneurs face peculiar problems like illiteracy, fear of risk, lack of training and experience, limited purchasing power and competition from urban entrepreneurs. Promotion of rural entrepreneurship is a key to develop rural areas and backward towns. This paper focuses on the identification of various problems associated with rural entrepreneurship. Suitable cures have also been discussed to overcome these problems.
71 citations
TL;DR: Described in nature, the present paper suggests the most widely used model and what are the issues which lead to ignorance of evaluation as well as in the course of evaluation.
Abstract: Training and development enhances efficiency and develops a systematic way of performing duties and assigned tasks. Moreover it bridges the gap between job requirement and employees present specification. Training like any other organizational activity requires time, energy and money. It's an investment in employees' productivity and retention by providing for career progression and employees job satisfaction over the long time. Therefore the organisation needs to know whether their investment is being spent effectively or not. For this continuous evaluation of training and development is necessary. Evaluation of training and development means assessment of the impact of training on trainee's performance and behaviour. The present paper is descriptive in nature falls under the category of general review for understanding the conceptual framework of evaluation, its needs and purpose and the various models adopted by organisation for evaluation purpose. Finally in conclusive remark paper suggests the most widely used model and what are the issues which lead to ignorance of evaluation as well as in the course of evaluation.
67 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of the TATA Group under Mr. Ratan Tata has been presented, where he has exemplified the sense of responsibility towards upliftment of common masses and protection of the environment and development of the nation.
Abstract: Starting from the times of barter system to today's modern era of plastic money, the mankind has trodden a remarkably long path. Undoubtedly "profitability" has always been the driving force and an undercurrent behind all this development; but as every coin has two facets; growing cut throat competition and business rivalries started taking heavy toll on the quality, transparency, environment and the society in general endangering the peaceful coexistence of business and society. The businesses houses started realizing that they would have to rise over and above the profitability and take care of all those associated with their survival in the society directly or indirectly. This realization resulted into the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This research paper moves around developing an understanding about the corporate social responsibility (CSR), delving into its concept and finding out its scope taking the case study of the TATA Group under Mr. Ratan Tata who has exemplified the sense of responsibility towards the upliftment of common masses and protection of the environment and development of the nation.
59 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors have focused on the evolution of employee's performance appraisal system, critics the system suffered and how the performance management system came to the practice and used a review of the literature to evaluate the development of appraisal system and argues the critic areas of appraisal systems.
Abstract: Performance appraisal and performance management were one of the emerging issues since last decade. Many organizations have shifted from employee's performance appraisal system to employee's performance management system. This paper has focused to study the evolution of employee's performance appraisal system, critics the system suffered and how the performance management system came to the practice. The main purpose of this paper is to differentiate these two systems, employee's performance appraisal and management system. This paper uses a review of the literature to evaluate the development of appraisal system and argues the critic areas of appraisal system. The review identified as advancement in the management field and growing complexity in corporate sectors demand more capable HR, so mare appraisal of employee's performance is not sufficient. Employee's contribution should be aligned with organizational objectives and strategy. Performance management eliminates the shortcomings of performance appraisal system to the some extent.
55 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focused on the role of HRIS in human resource planning and concluded that HRIS identifies occupied and unoccupied positions in an organization very effectively and accurately.
Abstract: Human resource information system (HRIS) is not new concept but it is recuperating day by day with changing environment. Its major role is in human resource planning (HRP) which itself a crucial activity in any organization. Ineffective HRP can lead to extra or fewer numbers of employees than needed. Both over and under number of employees can create crappy situations. HRIS helps in proper planning of human resources. This paper focuses on the role of HRIS in HRP. The research is empirical in nature as 127 respondents from top 7 IT companies (as per their market share) are taken to see the sights of the objectives. The survey is done with the assistance of the questionnaire. After investigation it is concluded that HRIS has various benefits but the foremost is HRIS stores ample data about the employees of the organizations that helps in escalating the snail's pace of HRP. HRIS also helps in the strategic activities of HR managers and more in training and development, succession planning, applicant tracking in recruitment and selection and manpower planning. While analyzing the overall contribution of HRIS in HRP it is concluded that HRIS identifies occupied and unoccupied positions in an organization very effectively and accurately.
46 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that communication within organizations plays a vital role in structuring the organizational activities, objectives, company policies and strategies, and that individuals should exchange and share thoughts, news, in other words they should communicate.
Abstract: As a feature of socially defined people, everyone is in communication with the others in the social context. Whatever the content is, individuals should exchange and share thoughts, news, in other words they should communicate. In this regard, especially in organizations where formal and informal communication exists, “communication within organization” plays a vital role in structuring the organizational activities, objectives, company policies and strategies.
38 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the application of total quality management (TQM) in a variety of manufacturing companies located in the Industrial Area Makassar in South Sulawesi, Indonesia to see its effect on organizational performance, both directly and indirectly through the mediating variable of organizational culture of the company.
Abstract: This study aims to examine the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) in a variety of manufacturing companies located in the Industrial Area Makassar in South Sulawesi, Indonesia to see its effect on organizational performance, both directly and indirectly through the mediating variable of organizational culture of the company. Hypothesized that TQM affect organizational performance directly and indirectly through the mediating variable of organizational culture. This hypothesis was derived from nine sub-hypotheses that are constructed in Structural Equation Model and verified by using path analysis. Results from this early stage of confirmatory research revealed that there is no significant direct influence of TQM implementation in various manufacturing companies. However, TQM significantly affect organizational performance via a mediating variable of organizational culture. Thus, current research unearth four interesting findings, in which three of them point to the significance of TQM implementation on organizational culture, organizational culture on organizational performance, and TQM implementation on organizational performance through organizational culture. Finally it was found out that TQM implementation is not directly significant to organizational performance.
31 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of advertising in promoting brand predominantly in the perspective of men's wear is investigated in the context of Men's Wear, and the authors conclude that if the consumers experience dissonances or discomforts owing to their purchase decision, then advertisement reduces this feeling of discomfort y providing information on the products attributes.
Abstract: The word is speeding into information age. Style is taking a sent next to substance and the bar gauge of commerce is shifting to images and perceptions from nuts and bolts. As a result everyone is jumping on the brand wagon. Brands are bigger than every, but as a result it is also true that more than ever is expected of them. In today's world a brand occupies a space on the consumer landscape much like tat of a person. Advertising also provides the necessary support after the consumer has made the purchase. If the consumers experience dissonances or discomforts owing to their purchase decision, then advertisement reduces this feeling of discomforts y providing information on the products attributes. It is even more necessary to neutralize the impact of the advertisements of rival brands. The subsequent paper endeavors to gauge the role of advertising in promoting brand predominantly in the perspective of men's wear.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the socioeconomic status of garment workers in Bangladesh and proposed some recommendations to improve the present conditions of the garments workers as well as garments sector of the country.
Abstract: Garments sector is the life blood of Bangladesh as the agricultural land has there been turned to a country of garments industries. Employment in the Ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh provides workers with economic benefits and some empowerment. More than 3.2 millions people are working in this sector and about 5000 garments factories are scattered across the country. 78 per cent of our foreign earnings come from this sector. So it will not be an overstatement to say that, we earn our bread from garments industries. The study attempts to explore the present socio-economic status of the garments workers. The study based mainly on economic and social status of 100 garments workers from Rampura and Badda areas of Dhaka City. It was found that the socio-economic condition of the Garments workers is not in a lofty stage. Amongst the workers about 70 per cent are women, who work dawn to dusk even up to late night when their wages are not in the satisfactory level. They cannot afford their foods, cloths, housing, medicines, and educations of their wards as they are ill paid. On the contrary, their children are deprived from their care; they suffer from malnutrition and unhygienic complexities. They have no time or scope for recreation. During the study it was found that, worldwide economic meltdown has affected RMG sector of Bangladesh as some workers have lost their jobs and trend of works have been declined. At the end of the study, some recommendations were placed to improve the present conditions of the garments workers as well as garments sector of the country. I. Bangladesh is the country of Garments Industries: Bangladesh is a developing country. Most of the people are still occupied in agriculture sector. But per capita land is very scant. Most of our farmers are the marginal farmers. Others rural workforce is involved with day labors, nonetheless some people are engaged in others small scale industries like handicrafts which are yet to booming to earn huge currency to involve the enormous unemployed persons. The Successful export oriented readymade garments (RMG) industry of Bangladesh has observed remarkable growth since its beginning late 1970s. Paradoxically, this flagship industry of Bangladeshi private entrepreneurial talent took roots through the first export consignment of shirts from Bangladesh made by state trading agency, the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) in the mid -1970s (Rashid, 2006), under the country trade administration & the destination was some East European Countries. Subsequently, however, private entrepreneurs entered the industry and phenomenal growth took place in RMG exports from Bangladesh. Export of RMG increased from US $40 thousand in 1978-79 to US $6.4 billon in 2004-05.The industry has also provided employment to nearly 2.8 million workers (BGMEA, 2009) most of them women drawn from the rural areas. Explosive growth of RMG exports is of not inimitable to Bangladesh. The annual compound growth rate of RMG export industries in Indonesia (31.2%), Mauritius (23.8%) & Dominican Republic (21.1%) compares favorably with that of Bangladesh (81.3%) over the 1980-87 periods. However, while the initial conditions were favorable for export growth in the countries noted above, this was far from the truth in case our country. This makes research into the factors responsible for the observed outstanding growth of RMG exports from Bangladesh-a persuasive case study in economic development. Academics and researchers have generally attributed the remarkable growth of RMG export from Bangladesh to favorable external conditions, notably the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) bilateral quota system imposed by developed apparel countries, and low wages in Bangladesh. The role played by supportive government policy has also been noted in these studies. This noticeable incredulity in the dynamics and creativity of Bangladeshi RMG entrepreneurs seems to have sprung from the more general conception, widely held by many scholars during the 1970s and 1980s, that Bangladesh lacks industrial possessions. As we have seen above that, rising of RMG industry in Bangladesh occurred during a time when the economy‟s health was poor shaped and it was plagued by various problems both structural and policy-induced in nature, which inhibited, among other things, growth of manufacturing industries in the country, the work forces related to this, including govt. had to fight a lots to peruse these from the each corner, while inappropriate government policy can spell digester for an industry, by the same logic, sound economic policy of the government can stimulate industrial growth. There is unanimity of opinion among scholars that the changing structure of the global apparel industry has been uniquely fashioned by the MFA Quota system used by the developed importing countries which restricted export supplies of garments to these markets from the established supplying countries and thereby paved the way for the emergence of new garments exporting Present Status of Garment workers in Bangladesh: An analysis www.iosrjournals.org 39 | Page countries. This migration of the export oriented garments industry from the established suppliers to the new suppliers was, as one would expect, directed by the existence of the wages in the new exporting countries. Before the innovation of Garments industry of late 1970s the unemployed were the burden to the Agro based economy of Bangladesh. Then the following social problems were found in the rural areas of Bangladesh which used lead the country as a country of poor, poorly developed infra structures, lack of education, Social unrest, Malnutrition, Marriage in underage, Polygamy, Dirty village politics. 1.1. THE RISE OF READYMADE GARMENTS IN BANGLADESH: Generally an industry initially develops to domestic demand, and then subsequently turns to export once it becomes matured. The evolution of garments industry in Bangladesh, as in most CBI and Sub-Saharan countries, has not followed this pattern. Instead of growth being supped by domestic demand, the rise of RMG industry in Bangladesh can be attributed to growing demand in developed countries for cheap apparel. But it should be noted that there was a small domestic garments industry in the then East Pakistan in 1960s which created demand in West Pakistan. The mercury shirt, a company located in Karachi, sourced a few consignments of shirts during 1965-68 made by some tailoring outfits operating in Dhaka and the exported these to some European countries. There were few tailoring shops in Dhaka who made garments a small quantity of export-quality shirts and children wears on specific orders. Mainly they received orders from West Pakistan (Karachi –based firm) & supply thereafter. However there was very little investment in that time. Of course, the involvement was also very little as it was in the initial stage. During the early eighties, the government issued licenses to many entrepreneurs for the duty free importation of machinery to produce garments for export for export purposes. Consequently, the number of firms in the garments industry increased rapidly and reached 632 in 1984-85,a phenomenal growth in deed as shown in the table 1.Bangladesh exported its garments to the North American and European Markets in the early eighties; at that time, its export were not subject to MFA Quotas in these markets, hence the spectacular growth. However, the very rapid growth of imports of apparel from Bangladesh prompted the US, Canada and the European countries to impose the MFA Quotas on Bangladesh‟s garments export. This had temporarily showed down growth of RMG industry in Bangladesh; there was a restrained increase in the number of firms from 744 in 1985-86 to 804 in 11989-90. Export growth had also slowed down somewhat during 1985-90 period. However, the industry bounced back from 1990 onwards. According to the BGMEA, there were 4300 member firms in 2004-05 which 2275 were woven garments units, 700 were knitted factories, and 525 were sweaters; however, 133 of these were closed .in addition, there were 560 units which were exclusive members of the Bangladesh Knitwear Exporters and Manufacturers Association (BKMEA).Thus the total number of active firms producing garments in Bangladesh was woven units, 42 percents knit units, and 11 percent producing sweaters. Total employment generated by these enterprises is estimated to be 1.9 million production workers, or 2 million if all employees are included .Most of these workers (an estimated 80 percent) are women from the rural areas. The number of garments factories shot up to some 3000 in 2002 and by 2005 it reached 3560.By 200405 exports had reached US$ 6.4 billion. The average growth rate of export during 1990/91-1997/98 was almost 21 percent per year. However, the growth rate of export declined in the 1998/99-2004/05 period mainly due to exogenous factors like flood in 1988, the global recession in 2000, and the 11 September incidents in the US the garments following year. The share of garments export earnings of Bangladesh climbed from 3.89 percent in 1983-84 to 75.67 percent in 1998-99 and has stayed around this level since then. An important development in RMG sector of Bangladesh was the growth of knitted garments export in the early 1990s .The garments industry was almost completely dominated by woven garments during the 1980s.Export of knit wear to the tune of US $ 131.20 million was the first major consignment of knit RMG export from Bangladesh. After this knitwear export from Bangladesh grew rapidly; during the ten year period 1993/94-2003/04 the annual growth rate of knitwear export was about 23 percent, which was higher than the annual growth rate of 10.6 percent achieved by the woven garment during this period. II. Favorable Trade Environment In Bangladesh /Causes Of Mushrooming The Garments In Bangladesh: Two factors which played very important roles in the growth of the
TL;DR: In this article, a study by analyzing smartphone brands in Malaysia found that the relationship of customer satisfaction and advertising with brand attitude is positive and significant, while the latter is positively related to purchase intention.
Abstract: The notion of brand attitude has been conceptualized and been the target of different empirical investigations. There are arguments regarding the antecedents and the consequences of this concept in business environment, and it is believed that there are several factors affecting brand attitude including advertisement and customer satisfaction. On the other hand brand attitude has been argued to be positively related to purchase intentions among customers. This study by analyzing smartphone brands in Malaysia found that the relationship of customer satisfaction and advertising with brand attitude is positive and significant, while the latter is positively related to purchase intention.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the impact of stock market returns on foreign portfolio investment in Nigeria and find that there is a unidirectional causality running from stock market return to FPI investment in the economy.
Abstract: This research work was designed to investigate the impact of stock market returns on foreign portfolio investment in Nigerian. The objectives of the research are: to identify the relationship between foreign portfolio investment and stock market return, inflation rate and stock market returns and to determine the direction of causality between foreign portfolio investment and stock market returns in Nigeria. The data were collected from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin. The data were consequentially analyzed using E-views statistical package. The methodology used was multiple linear regression analysis to capture the impact of foreign portfolio investment and inflation rate on stock market returns, as well as Granger causality tests to determine the direction of causality between the variables. The results showed that foreign portfolio investment has a positive and significant impact on stock market returns while inflation rate has positive but insignificant impact on stock market returns. In the case of causality test, evidence of the result showed that there is a unidirectional causality running from stock market returns to foreign portfolio investment in the economy, which in turn will foster stock market returns in Nigeria. We therefore recommend that policies that will attract foreign portfolio investment should be pursued in order to enhance stock market returns.
TL;DR: In this article, a positional, theoretical paper that explains comprehensively the all powerful but ambiguous concept of leadership, highlights its features and the categorization of its major theoretical approaches is presented, which distinguishes clearly the two categorizations that neophytes and even scholars often used interchangeable as if both are the same.
Abstract: This paper is a positional, theoretical paper that explains comprehensively the all powerful but ambiguous concept of leadership, highlights its features and the categorization of its major theoretical approaches. It distinguishes clearly the two categorizations that neophytes and even scholars often used interchangeable as if both are the same. These broad categories are the situational and contingency theories of leadership. This distinction, it is believed, enables students to understand clearly the theories under each category but more importantly, it helps officials in Ministries of Education in developing countries to act most appropriately in a timely manner in intervening in worsening school administration with success in view. Key Concepts; Administration, Consideration, Contingency theories, Leadership, Management, Maturity level, situational models, the behavioural approach, the ‘great man’ approach, the style approach, task – oriented, initiating structure,
TL;DR: In this article, a careful examination of the diversity concept and human resources systems, certain steps are to be taken to circumvent the problems inherent in contemporary human resource systems, and thereby allow organizations to obtain maximum utilization of their available talent.
Abstract: There are now more new faces and diversity among the workforce than ever before and this trend is expected to continue into the 21st century. Managers in public and private organizations are searching for and experimenting with various approaches to more effectively deal with increasing workforce diversity. HR managers are learning that positive synergy is not automatic. Bringing together different backgrounds, perspectives and functions is an arduous process. Specifically, there will be more women, minority group members, and older workers, suggesting a more heterogeneous workforce, which is a significant departure from the largely homogeneous workforces of the past .Whereas the notion of diversity brings with it opportunities for organizations, it poses serious challenges as well. Through a careful examination of the diversity concept and human resources systems, certain steps are to be taken to circumvent the problems inherent in contemporary human resources systems, and thereby allow organizations to obtain maximum utilization of their available talent. In the global economy of today, organizations cannot afford to waste resources. Indeed, organizations can achieve competitive advantage through the most effective utilization of their entire workforce's competencies and talents. For companies to be successful and move ahead of their competition they need to know how to create environments where all people can be accepted, respected and utilized for the differences they bring to the workplace. Knowing how to do that can enhance productivity and increase profit.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of multinational companies is presented, which discusses its merits and demerits, analysing the various components of its strategies and structures and comparing the merits of these different types of structures and strategies.
Abstract: This review paper critically examines multinational company; discuss its merits and demerits for host countries and debates on its various types of structures and strategies. The main part of this critical review relates about the various types of structures and strategies which multinational companies adopt while conducting business across boarders. It starts by defining Multinational Company discussing its merits and demerits, analysing the various components of its strategies and structures and comparing the merits and demerits of these different types of structures and strategies. A thematic approach rather than chronological approach has been used mainly due to the purpose and approach necessary for such type of review. The thematic approach enables an analysis of a specific topic or theme without considering the chronological order of which the research has been conducted. In latter part this review discusses the relationship of these strategies with international human resource management and also highlights the implications of different companies' strategies and structures for the international human resource management (IHRM). And at end we concluded that the role of IHRM varies in different types of organizational structures and therefore the implications of these structures are also vary for international HRM. Keywords- International Human Resource Management, Models, Structures and Strategies, Multinational Companies
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors tried to explore and describe consumer's attitude and perception towards the visual elements in social advertising campaign and found that perception towards image of social advertisements differed quite significantly between the male and the female respondents.
Abstract: Abstarct : This research paper tries to explore and describe consumer’s attitude and perception towards the visual elements in social advertising campaign. The literature review concentrates on key areas of consumer behaviour, the role of perception in communication and the role of different image contents and elements in social advertising. We have used semi structured questionnaire and two focus-groups to obtain and analyse the feedback and observations of people regarding visual advertisements. Following from these are the results and discussion that focus on four key areas: perception towards social advertising; attention and interest; congruence; and authorial intent and reader response. Results indicate that perception towards image of social advertisements differed quite significantly between the male and the female respondents. Congruence was found to be highly subjective, and although the respondents showed great approval of an advertisement As a result of contrasting shock element and sexual element in social advertisement. The researcher came to the conclusion that these elements are the most effective in capturing attention and interest. The study concludes with a discussion of the main implications of the research and with forwarding of suggestions for further research.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed previous studies about benefits of 5S implementation and its efficiency in organizations and concluded that 5S can support the objectives of organization to achieve continuous improvement in performance and productivity.
Abstract: S is a systematic technique used by organizations comes from five Japanese words: Seiri (sort), Seiton (set in order), Seiso (shine), Seiketsu (standardize), and Shitsuke (sustain). This system helps to organize a work space for efficiency and decrease wasting and optimize quality and productivity via monitoring an organized environment and use visual evidences to obtain more firm results effectiveness. As importance role of 5S implementation in today's organizations, this study aims to review previous studies about benefits of 5S implementation and its efficiency in organizations. Consequently 5S can support the objectives of organization to achieve continuous improvement in performance and productivity.
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of tax incentives on foreign direct investments in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria was investigated. But, the authors found that there is no significant impact of market size, macroeconomic stability, infrastructural development and political risk on FDI in Nigeria.
Abstract: The government of oil-rich Nigeria strived to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through tax incentive, because of its acknowledged advantages as a tool for economic development.However, the trade-off between the sacrificed tax revenue and the expected gains from FDI are inconsistentas there is contentious evidence in the literature that tax incentive is actually the attraction for FDI. This study is aimed at filling this gap, therefore, it examines the impact of tax incentives on foreign direct investments in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. This study investigates the determinant factors of FDI andanalyse whether or not some selected factors such as tax incentives, availability of natural resources, macro-economic stability, market size, openness to trade, infrastructural development and political riskhave an impact on FDI in the oil and gas sector. Data from a sample size of twenty-one years (21) from the Central Bank of Nigeria annual statistical bulletin and the United Nations Conference On Trade and Development(UNCTAD) reportswere analysed. Karl Pearson coefficient of correlation ‘r’ statistical method of analysiswas employed in analysing the data collected. The results of the analyses show that there is significant impact of tax incentives, availability of natural resources and openness to trade on FDI in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. Also, there is no significant impact of market size, macro-economic stability, infrastructural developmentand political riskon FDI in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.This result supports the trend of findings in similar studies in the literature. In view of these findings, the study recommends that in particular attention should be given to institute new regulations to encourage the type of FDI needed to support the economic objectives of vision 20-20-20, such as provision of needed infrastructure especially electricity. This is in order to improve economic growth and the inflow of FDI in Nigeria.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the impact of education on economic growth of Pakistan based on an econometric model and found that there is no relationship between the two factors in short run.
Abstract: Education plays a vital role in enhancing economic growth by increasing productivity. It is one of the important elements of human capital formation. The study aims to examine the impact of education on economic growth of Pakistan based on an econometric model. To test the relationship between educational expenditure and economic growth, time series data has been used for the period of 1981-2010 for econometric analysis. The empirical results reveal that there is no relationship between the two factors in short-run. However, in long run a combination of several factors, including Education contribute towards economic growth. The results have been tested for heteroscedasticity, multicollinearity and autocorrelation for validation purposes. The study may be useful for educational sector for policy making and human capital formation to augment economic growth in Pakistan.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the implications of cognitive dissonance on varied aspects of consumer buying behavior and argued that higher the degree of purchase involvement on behalf of the consumer, the lesser would be his dissonance level.
Abstract: This article explores the implications of cognitive dissonance on varied aspects of consumer buying behaviour. Some of the factors leading to dissonance post purchase and prior to it have been comprehensively studied in the article. The paper begins with the identification of the degree of involvement in the purchase of a product which creates dissonance for a customer. The authors argue that higher the degree of purchase involvement on behalf of the consumer, the lesser would be his dissonance level. If he takes the purchase decision on his own, he would be more satiated with his decision as compared to a purchase decision taken in consultation with others. Also it is proposed, that the more time a consumer devotes to his purchase decision, the more content he would be with his decision and lesser would be the dissonance attached with the decision. The study also unveils that, a consumer is likely to face more dissonance over his decision which involves the purchase of luxury and expensive products whereas less dissonance was found to be associated with the purchase of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods). In other words, purchase of luxury products would make customers more dissonant as compared to a purchase of FMCG products.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of marketing mix on brand loyalty in the Malaysian hypermarkets sector were identified. And the authors adopted the study conducted by (37) in relation to its five independent variables (5 IVs) which are price, store image, advertising spending, distribution intensity and price promotion as examining the relationship between five IVs and Malaysian hypermarket's brand loyalty.
Abstract: The Malaysian hypermarkets have steadily increased over the past decades with brand loyalty emerging as a frontrunner in the retail industry. There have been copious studies related to the effects of marketing mix towards brand equity instead of brand loyalty. It is the intention of the researcher to identify the effects of marketing mix on brand loyalty in the Malaysian hypermarkets sector. The researcher will adopt the study conducted by (37) in relation to its five independent variables (5 IVs) which are price, store image, advertising spending, distribution intensity and price promotion as examining the relationship between 5 IVs and Malaysian hypermarkets' brand loyalty. A total of 300 questionnaire surveys have been distributed to customers at 3 hypermarkets around Klang Valley in Malaysia. Lastly, the researcher uses a descriptive and explanatory study by means of descriptive and inferential analysis. In conclusion, price, store image, distribution intensity and price promotion are found to exert a significant positive influence towards Malaysian hypermarkets' brand loyalty.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared public and private sector banks of Pakistan by evaluating their customer satisfaction and showed that customer satisfaction varies from person to person and, bank managers need to conduct more researches in order to evaluate customer satisfaction more strongly.
Abstract: The purpose of conducting this research is to compare public and private sector banks of Pakistan by evaluating their customer satisfaction. This research is mainly based on primary data which has been collected through a well-structured questionnaire (adapted from three different studies). The questionnaire has been distributed to 351 different respondents on different chosen locations. This paper makes a useful contribution as there are very low number of studies has been conducted in Pakistan on such areas like price, technology, reliability, customer service, location and infrastructure. This research shows that customer satisfaction varies from person to person and, bank managers need to conduct more researches in order to evaluate customer satisfaction more strongly.
TL;DR: The success of a brand in the Indian rural market is as unpredictable as rain this article, and many brands, which should have been successful, have failed miserably, and therefore, marketers need to understand the social dynamics and attitude variations within each village.
Abstract: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently talked about his vision for rural India: "My vision of rural India is of a modern agrarian, industrial and services economy co-existing side by side, where people can live in well- equipped villages and commute easily to work, be it on the farm or in the non-farm economy. There is much that modern science and technology can do to realize this vision. Rural incomes have to be increased. Rural infrastructure has to be improved. Rural health and education needs have to be met. Employment opportunities have to be created in rural areas." 'Go rural' is the slogan of marketing gurus after analyzing the socio-economic changes in villages. The Rural population is nearly three times the urban, so that Rural consumers have become the prime target market for consumer durable and non-durable products, food, construction, electrical, electronics, automobiles, banks, insurance companies and other sectors besides hundred per cent of agri-input products such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and farm machinery. The Indian rural market today accounts for only about Rs. 8 billion of the total ad pie of Rs 120 billion, thus claiming 6.6 per cent of the total share. So clearly, there seems to be a long way ahead. Although a lot is spoken about the immense potential of the unexplored rural market, advertisers and companies find it easier to vie for a share of the already divided urban pie.The success of a brand in the Indian rural market is as unpredictable as rain. It has always been difficult to gauge the rural market. Many brands, which should have been successful, have failed miserably. More often than not, people attribute rural market success to luck. Therefore, marketers need to understand the social dynamics and attitude variations within each village. Though, nationally it follows a consistent pattern looking at the challenges and the opportunities which rural markets offer to the marketers it can be said that the future is very promising for those who can understand the dynamics of rural markets and exploit them to their best advantage. A radical change in attitudes of marketers towards the vibrant and burgeoning rural markets is called for, so they can successfully impress on the 230 million rural consumers spread over approximately six hundred thousand villages in rural India.The Indian established Industries have the advantages, which MNC do not enjoy in this regard. The strong Indian brands have strong brand equity, consumer demand-pull and efficient and dedicated dealer network which have been created over a period of time. The brand has to be made relevant by understanding local needs. Even offering the same product in different regions with different brand names could be adopted as a strategy. At times, it is difficult to pass on an innovation over an existing product to the rural consumer unlike his urban counterpart - like increased calcium or herbal content or a germ-control formula in toothpaste.The rural market has a grip of strong country shops, which affect the sale of various products in rural market. The companies are trying to trigger growth in rural areas. They are identifying the fact that rural people are now in the better position with disposable income. The low rate finance availability has also increased the affordability of purchasing the costly products by the rural people. Marketer should understand the price sensitivity of a consumer in a rural area. This paper is therefore an attempt to promote the brand image in the rural market
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual paper examines positive and negative perceptions of social networking sites, provides the relationship between social networking and employee productivity and examines whether social networking are capable of increasing the levels of employee performance and satisfaction.
Abstract: Social networking site is all about awareness and connection, and presently the social networking site (SNS) seems to be the mantra that affects the productivity of employee in the workplace. The new media is growing so fast that it makes it imperative for employees to embrace the medium. The purpose of the study is to investigate the relevance of collaborative technology such as social networking to employee productivity in the workplace. The conceptual paper examines positive and negative perceptions of social networking sites, provides the relationship between social networking and employee productivity and examines whether social networking are capable of increasing the levels of employee performance and satisfaction. It was discovered that the use of social networks at work helped employees improve their productivity, but numerous studies also found the opposite. Thus, organizations should comprehend about social networking before educating their employees and setting appropriate policies at workplace.
TL;DR: In this article, the moderating role of organizational justice in organizational commitment is explored, and the effect of employee attitudes along with organizational justices collectively effect the organizational commitment, where positive attitudes are taken as moderator in this model.
Abstract: This research study covers the area of human resource management, where Employee commitment to the organization is difficult to retain; researches are being conducted regarding this issue, in this perspective two constructs are selected here under organizational commitment i.e. employee career commitment and supervisor related commitment. In this perspective organizational justices are taken as independent variable, where direct effect of these justices including procedural, distributive and interactional is seen on employee commitment. Employee attitudes are taken as moderator in this model. Employee attitudes along with justices collectively effect the organizational commitment. Purpose of this study is to explore the moderating role of organizational justice in organizational commitment; main purpose of this study is to see the effect of employee work attitudes on this relationship. How much these justices have effect on overall organizational commitment along with the effect of moderating variable of work attitudes. So this study has great significance as it could be a major contribution towards the education sector of Pakistan in analyzing the factors towards the employee commitment. This research study will be a great contribution in thee education sector, where it is really difficult to have committed workforce, this study is an attempt to measure that how much work attitudes moderate the effect of organizational justice on organizational commitment. Findings of this research study show positive and strong correlation among the model variables. That is a clear identification of the fact that perceived fairness in distributive, procedural and interactional justice's leads towards high level of commitment.Positive work attitudes are taken as highly effective towards the organizational commitment.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented the Indian experience through descriptive and empirical studies of available statistical data and role of RBI in promoting financial inclusion, they found that there are 403 million mobile users in India in which 54% has bank account.
Abstract: The issue of financial inclusion is emerging as the new paradigm of economic growth. Financial inclusion plays a major role in driving a way the poverty from the country. Financial inclusion refers to delivey banking services to masses including privileged and disadvantaged people at an affordable terms and conditions. It not only enhances overall financial intensity of agriculture but also help in increasing rural non farm activities which lead to development of rural economy and improve economic condition of people. The three major aspects of financial inclusion are (i) access financial market (ii) access credit market (iii) learn financial matters. Reserve bank of India and government play and important role in promoting financial inclusion for economic growth. Government and RBI has taken various steps to increase banking penetration in the country, nationalization of banks, establishment of RRBs, introduction of SHG and strategy of one person one account for accessing financial market. Accessing credit facilities improving interest rates, simple KYC process are major steps because nearly 80% of the population in India is without life, health, nonlife insurance cover.RBI has also adopted two strategies to generate great awareness and expand the reach of banking services which can be termed as empowerment and protection. The present paper purports is to access the Indian experience through descriptive and empirical studies of available statistical data and role of RBI in promoting financial inclusion. With special reference of some articles it is found that there are 403 million mobile users in India in which 54% has bank account. In which rural average among the adult population is 39% against 60% in Urban India. Himanchal Pradesh is only state to achieve full financial inclusion. The paper also explain the further opportunities, scope and challenges for financial inclusion.The paper concludes that financial inclusion plays a major role in driving away the poverty from the country. In India a day will come when all Indian have their bank accounts and everybody will take part in financial inclusion.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors have analyzed the various innovative HR strategies that can lead to change management and as such ensure a sustainable future for the SMEs, and they have shown that professionalism without the loss of agility and responsiveness is the right transformation direction for SME's success.
Abstract: The Small and Medium Scale Enterprises being very volatile in nature take high amount of risk. It is therefore imperative for them to address the uncertainty through reliable and loyal work force which can shoulder them in good and bad times. HR has the challenge of attracting talent on role dimension and then retaining that talent by providing a professionally driven organization culture. Due to low degree of bureaucracy and leaner work force structure, it is easier for HR to implement change management programs in SMEs. The HR faces the challenge to adhere to the agreed policy norms which succumb to exemption from the owners. HR also needs to understand that the owners do not want to feel themselves devoid of decision making power due to change in policies. HR professionals need to be conscious that professionalism without the loss of agility and responsiveness is the right transformation direction for SME's success. This paper analyses the various innovative HR strategies that can lead to change management and as such ensure a sustainable future for the SMEs.