Applying encryption schemed to supervisory control and data acquisition systems for security management
June 2013
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) is the combination of telemetry and data acquisition. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system is compose of collecting of the information, transferring it to the central site, carrying out any necessary analysis and control and then displaying that information on the operator screens. Encryption Schemes are needed to secure communication in SCADA...
Can we apply Fibonacci retracement in the African market?
June 2013
Forecasting was one of the most important issues facing companies. Technical analysis was the use of trends and charts to understand and analyze investors' behavior and their effect on subsequent price action of financial instruments when the trend is so clear or support and resistance levels obtained through Fibonacci ratios. The applicability of Fibonacci trading in the stock market for the western...
Job satisfaction level among university staff: Case study Iran
June 2013
This research is aimed at studying job satisfaction level among staff of Islamic Azad University, Naragh Branch and the prime objective for conducting the research is to study the effects of some material and non-material factors on the job satisfaction and motivation level of the university staff. To explore and study this issue, several items have been carefully considered and their relationships with job...
Accounting reforms in the Middle East: A portfolio -returns approach
June 2013
This paper examines the value relevance of accounting information in selected Middle Eastern countries (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE) for the per-period and post-period of accounting reforms, which could describe the effect of accounting standards reform in these countries. The result obtained from portfolio approach shows accounting information is value relevant to investor in all selected stock exchanges....
Applied data mining techniques in insurance company: A comparative study of rough sets and decision tree
June 2013
Nowadays, customers are the essential elements of marketing for business operation. It is a critical and unignorable task in exploring valuable customers for companies and estimating customer values. According to the definition of Customer Life Value (denoted as CLV), a suitable model was found in this study and customers’ present values were estimated by given data from insurance company. Two data...
Economic miracle in China
June 2013
It has been 30 years since the reform and opening policy in 1978 in China. During the past 30 years, China has created an economic miracle with its rapidly developing economy, sharply expanding foreign trade and constantly improving living standard and all-time strong overall national strength. Key words: China, economic miracle, reform, opening policy.
Will the knowledge economy signal the end of academic freedom?
June 2013
The emergent industrialisation of China and India has led to a fundamental rethink of policy in all Western industrialised nations and trading blocks including the UK and EU. This has led to the concept of a ‘knowledge economy’ (KE) in which the utilisation of knowledge capital will replace traditional methods of employment (a ‘brains versus braun’ market place). A large number of...
Does new technology always win? Study on diffusion route of new technology and related factors
June 2013
On the basis of sufficient analysis on product value and consumer’s technology preference, we improve Joseph Farrell and Garth Saloner (1985)’s model, and then simulate the market diffusion route of new technology by three random tests in the paper. Furthermore, we study the results of random tests to find out the fundamental conditions for new technology replacing old one. The study indicates...
Using AHP and ANP approaches for selecting improvement projects of Iranian Excellence Model in healthcare sector
June 2013
Healthcare has a long tradition in developed methods and models to assess the quality of work. There have been several models presented for deployment and assessment of quality management which much more attention is paid to organization excellence models due to their being total and complete. The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model can be used for continuous improvement of...
Surveying the impact of green product on consumers’ buying decision process: Case study of consumers of energy saving bulbs 2266-2270, 21 June, 2013 DOI: 10.5897/AJBM11.3025
June 2013
Dynamic economy leads to consuming more natural fuel, which has negative effect on the environment. Traditional marketing overemphasizes customers' wants and does not consider social welfare and environmental problems. Consequently, these limitations lead to green marketing. Moreover, there are different kinds of researches on this matter. This paper has been handled with the purpose of surveying the...
Integration of Kano’s model and SERVQUAL for enhancing standard hotel customer satisfaction
June 2013
The purpose of this study is to establish a new methodology for decision analysis. This is done by integrating Kano’s model and SERVQUAL to help organizations identify core service quality attributes that will effectively enhance customers’ satisfaction. SERVQUAL does not consider the non-linear impact of quality attributes and quality improvement effectiveness. Kano’s model determines...
Scale efficiency of Islamic banks of Pakistan
June 2013
This study investigated the scale efficiency scores of Islamic banks of Pakistan for the period 2006 - 2009. Non-parametric technique Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was applied on the data collected from the annual reports of banks. Both CRS and VRS specification were applied to calculate scale efficiency under input-orientation. The results suggest the Dawood Islamic bank was the most scale efficient...
The convergent use of mobile phones: A comparison of user behaviors between Australia and Taiwan
June 2013
The emergence of device convergence with regard to new design and data services have transformed the use of mobile phones from solely for voice and text communication into various purposes, namely personal information management (PIM), entertainment, e-mail communication, and commercial transactions. However, most of the existing literature on mobile technology adoption has thus far focused on the...
The effects of organizational practices and social norms on self-reported extra-role work behaviour and mental health
June 2013
To date, little is known on how organizational practices and social norms influence self-reported work behaviour and mental health, especially in the African context. A good understanding of these influences can help in developing policies that contribute to efficient and productive work behaviour. These factors are potentially important in ensuring organizations perform well and survive in the current economic climate....
Verifying the effects of organizational justice and work values upon organizational performance: using organizational citizenship behavior as the dual mediator
June 2013
This study aims at verifying the effects of employees’ perception of organizational justice and work values on organizational performance at a Taiwanese state-run company, with Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) being the dual mediator. The study interviewed employees of a Taiwanese state-run company with a special focus on those holding key positions, selected by simple random sampling. Linear...
Investigating the role of psychosocial factors on mobilization behaviour among bank employees
June 2013
The study was designed to assess the predictive influence of psychosocial factors on mobilization behaviour among bank employees. The study was a cross-sectional survey, which employed ex-post facto design. Questionnaire format was employed for data collection. A total of 800 bank employees took part in the study as participants. Specifically, the participants comprised 377 males and 423 females with a mean...
Combining DEMATEL with ANP to modify multidimensional scaling in identifying the similarities of e-shopping stores
June 2013
While many studies have discussed the purchase behavior for e-shopping stores, there is little study focusing on mechanism which consumers accurately and reasonably identify the similarities of e-shopping stores. Therefore, we introduce the approach which combines DEMATEL with ANP to modify multidimensional scaling to address this concern. In traditional MDS, the average summation is combined with the...
Promoting tea business in the tea smallholding sector in developing countries through efficient technology transfer system: Special reference to Sri Lanka
June 2013
Tea production in smallholding sector, the dominant sector in Sri Lankan economy, is below its targeted level recently. Therefore, this paper attempts to study the effectiveness of the technology transferring system in tea smallholding sector in order to uplift its productivity. The study was carried out in Pasgoda DS division in Matara district, Southern, Sri Lanka. Seventy tea smallholders were interviewed...
Serbian forest potential management – Status and opportunities
June 2013
Starting from the role and importance of forests for society, the growing conflictbetween the demands and possibilities of the forest has led to an increasingdemand for information about this natural resource in quantitative and qualitative terms, both locally and globally. On the basis of the national forest...
Gabon corridors performance evaluation: New strategic approach based-supply chain and transport logistics efficiency
June 2013
This paper is aimed at evaluating Gabonese corridors’ supply chain and transport logistics efficiency. The main purposes of this paper are to: (a) carry out investigations and develop enabling environment strategies; (b) suggest a strategy for boosting investment to ameliorate efficiencies. The scope of the measurement includes: supply chain efficiency (corridor infrastructure; enabling environment;...
Corporate disclosure, transparency and stock liquidity: Empirical estimation from the Ghana Stock Exchange
June 2013
Illiquidity remains one of the biggest challenges facing many African Securities Markets including Ghana. The paper sought to empirically document the extent to which corporate disclosure and transparency (TDS) reduces information asymmetry on the GSE with a residual effect of improving liquidity. Using a multidimensional liquidity approach of Liu (2006) and Lesmond et al. (1999) and the corporate...
Employer and employees’ perceptions on implementation of health and safety regulations in the platinum mining sector of South Africa
June 2013
Maintaining occupational health and safety (OHS) is always a priority in many organisations. The purpose of this study was to investigate employer and employees’ perceptions on the implementation of OHS regulations in the Platinum mining industry in South Africa. Using questionnaires, data was collected from 22 employers and 153 employees in the platinum mining industry. The data was subjected to a...
Technological determinants of entrepreneurship performance: Evidence from OECD countries
June 2013
In this paper we acknowledge the role of technology as an engine in fostering entrepreneurship. We examine the technological determinants of entrepreneurship performance in twenty three developed OECD countries during the period 2000-2007 using two measures of entrepreneurship performance: the number of newly registered corporations, which is introduced by the World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Survey...
An exploratory study on corporate governance practices in small and micro fast moving consumer goods enterprises in the Cape Metropole, Western Cape, South Africa
June 2013
Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) play a crucial role in the growth and development of a country’s economy. With this in mind, the small business sector is seen as an important force to generate employment and more equitable income distribution. SMMEs strive towards sustainability and growth, however a substantial number of SMMEs fail due to, amongst other, the lack of corporate governance...
Eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) and its implementation in Serbia
June 2013
The way people are doing business are changing fast under pressures such as growing number of environmental concerns, public pressure, regulatory measures, demands of consumers and shareholders for environmentally friendly products and services, so it is becoming more and more important for organizations/companies to demonstrate sustainability of their investment strategies and operations. A management tool...
How to get correct result from weighted average cost of capital (WACC) formula and avoid a common pitfall in calculating WACC: An analysis of Miller (2009) and Pierru’s (2009) articles
June 2013
Calculating the cost of capital has been always a key issue in financial management. One way to calculate cost of capital is using the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) formula which has been presented by Modigliani and Miller. Recently, validity and correctness of WACC have been questioned by an article titled “The weighted average cost of capital is not quite right” (Miller, 2009), so that...
Regional integration: Evidence from Africa
June 2013
To promote and strengthen the economic development and financial system in today’s globalized world regional integration has become inevitable, in particular, regions where different nations share similarities in history, culture, trade and financial system such as, Africa. The purpose of this study was to examine the stock market integration among the African financial markets, in a regional...
Inward licensing of new ventures: Examining the effects of industry and strategy characteristics
June 2013
New ventures compete by creating innovative products. Liabilities of newness and inexperience, limited resources, rapid technological obsolescence and constantly changing market conditions often encourage new ventures to license other companies' technologies to complement and augment their internally developed innovations. Building on the knowledge-based view of the firm, the study proposes that the...
Corporate governance and performance: An empirical evidence from textile sector of Pakistan
June 2013
In developed countries a lot of work has been done on the subject “Corporate Governance” but on the other hand developing countries are still lacking in this area especially, Pakistan which has observed rare interest in research associated with corporate governance. Present research has explored the actual effect associated with corporate governance measures and financial performance. This...
A causal relationship between trade, FDI, exchange rates and economic growth of Pakistan
June 2013
This study aims to do an empirical investigation of the causal relationship among FDI (foreign direct investment), trade, real effective exchange rates and economic growth. Economic growth attracts FDI and enhances trade as explained in some literatures. The present study focuses on Pakistan during the period 1980 to 2012. The Johansson co-integration analysis shows the long term relationship between the...
Factors influencing customer satisfaction with the success factors identified in the insurance industry
June 2013
This article gives the customer satisfaction survey, and factors affecting the insurance industry, according to insurers. First, a study using Servqual model (service quality factors) was investigated; therein, customer satisfaction and other indicators and factors in the success of the insurance companies were identified. Finally, factors such as access, customer response time and trust in customer...
Recovery period, inventories, sales growth cycles and companies’ profitability: Empirical evidence of Iran
June 2013
The current study reviews the effects of recovery period demands and inventories going through periods of circulation of profitability of companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange from 2005 to 2010. In this research, an efficiency asset synonymous with profitability is considered. The findings of the study show that between these two variables related to corporate profitability there is reversed relation. The...
Evaluating efficacy of nursing managers using performance indicators of patient and staff satisfaction
June 2013
Organizations in the 21st century need self-efficient, independent, self-reliant, self-confident creative staffs. The present study aims to determine the efficacy of nursing managers in the hospitals of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences using performance indicators of patient and staff satisfaction. This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted in a six-month period between April...
Creating a sustainable competitive advantage at a high performing firm in Kenya
June 2013
This article examines the role of both resource- and activity-based views of a firm in creating a sustainable competitive advantage. The research design is a case study of a consistently high-performing firm in the motor service industry in Kenya. To collect data, in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face audio-taped interviews with senior managers including the chairman and CEO were employed. This...
Gender equity and executive management in tourism: Challenges in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region
June 2013
Tourism is a major employer of women. However, women experience gender discrimination with regard to attaining executive management positions. The paper reports on the study of gender and executive management in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries. The aim of the study is to investigate the extent at which gender equity is being practiced in the SADC tourism sector. The study used a...
An analysis of business skills and training needs essential for business success in plastic manufacturing industries in developing nations: A case study of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
May 2013
Businesses need to maintain a high level of performance in order to remain competitive and effective. One of the key factors to achieving this is having a well skilled workforce and a competitive management. It is very easy to get experienced managers but not easy to get workers who have relevant technical knowledge; hence there is a need to evaluate the workforce and recommend that those falling short should be sent...
The optimal pattern modeling of knowledge management systems establishment in public sector organizations: A case study in Tavanir organization
May 2013
Today, knowledge is seen as the main asset for major organizations and a resource to achieve sustainable competitive advantage and in the developing business world, the importance of knowledge management in organizations is increasing every day. The fact that many organizations neglect knowledge management is because of their vague understanding of the concept that exists in organizations. To overcome such a...
National culture and organizational capabilities of IT offshoring services in Kenya
May 2013
The pervasive adoption of outsourced information technology (IT) services has made the multi-billion dollar information technology outsourcing industry become important to individual organizations and governments as well. IT offshoring elevates the importance of country destination where services are outsourced to with increasing attention shifting to offshore destinations in Africa. African countries are emerging as...
Human resource (HR) challenges for the information technology (IT) industry in India
May 2013
This paper analyses the challenges human resource faces in Information technology industry of India. The focus of HR practitioners should not be only on to attract, motivate and retain key 'knowledge workers. But HR practitioners must also play a proactive role in IT industry. Profitability and sustainability of company in long run cannot be ensured without focusing on HR Management practices. This paper adds to the...
Effect of auditor opinion on discretionary accruals behavior of distressed firms: Empirical evidences from Iran
May 2013
The present study attempts to determine the discretionary accruals behavior (as a proxy for earnings management) of Iranian failing firms (defined here as pre-bankruptcy firms) in years prior to bankruptcy, and factors that lead to this behavior as well. For this purpose, we selected a sample composed of 68 bankrupt firms and 68 non-bankrupt firms (matched in terms of firms’ industry and size) and examined the...
Role of financial stress on relationship between financial problem and financial wellness among Malaysia workers
May 2013
This paper examines a framework for understanding the determinants of financial wellness. Samples were selected using multi-stage sampling technique among employees in public and private sectors. A total of 1000 completed questionnaires were analyzed using path analysis to identify direct and indirect effects on financial wellness. The results of this study can be used for better understanding on the relationships...
The determinants of debt maturity structure in Iranian firms
May 2013
The purpose of this research is to test the main theories of firm debt maturity in an emerging economy, including agency conflict; signaling and tax theories. This paper investigates the firm specific determinants of debt maturity structure for a sample of 140 Iranian manufacturing firms listed in Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2001 to 2009. Employing random effect panel data analysis, and multivariate...
Factors influencing brand association
May 2013
The purpose of this study is to investigate brand management alternatives (includes the susceptibility to global consumer culture, perceived brand globalness and brand investment) influence on brand cognition (includes brand association through brand credibility) and brand association in the personal computer industry. This is one of the first studies to provide evidence of the relationship between brand marketing...
Head of household characteristics and family economic status (FES) among Kerman households, Iran
May 2013
Families are economically successful when they can meet their needs, provide a stronger and more protected financial future, and can move stably towards attaining the family vision. Economic status represents the economic capacity of families to meet their material and non-material needs. The aim of this article is to determine the effect of demography variables that is, age, gender, level of education, and occupation,...
Progress and regression group performance in data envelopment analysis (DEA): An application of productivity Malmquist index
May 2013
In this paper, we extend the work of Camanho and Dyson (2006, 26:35-49) into a group of Malmquist productivity index for two time periods of measurement, based on the Malmquist index to enable the decision making units’ internal efficiencies from those associated with their group characteristics. We construct an index reflecting the relative performance groups in two time periods, which can be decomposed into two...
The effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the internationalization of SMEs in developing countries
May 2013
The increasing globalization of markets and businesses is playing a major role on the pace at which small and medium enterprises (SMEs) internationalize. Within this context, the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and the internationalization of SMEs in developing countries is an important area of academic research. This paper reviews the literature in an effort to provide an understanding of this...
The relationship of ethical climate with intention and socially responsible investment behaviour: A structural equation model analysis
May 2013
This study examines the impact of organizational ethical climate on perceived socially responsible investment (SRI) behavior with intention to engage in SRI as a mediating variable. This study uses questionnaire to collect opinion from respondents. Questionnaires were distributed to 320 fund managers of unit trust fund companies but only 84 of them positively responded by returning the filled questionnaires. This led to...
The effect of ownership concentration on company performance
May 2013
The study is to explore a relationship between ownership attributes and the performance of the firm (value of the firm). The ownership concentration or type of ownership will be divided into a few categories either institutional or individual companies, foreign or non foreign holding companies and government or non government holding companies. The study found that companies in Malaysia with foreign or government...
Economic value added (EVA) versus traditional tools in predicting corporate performance in Malaysia
May 2013
A tool which could help in explaining company’s performance, particularly in Malaysia, in terms of quantitative factor is very much needed. However, it is arguable if earnings alone can be considered as the best performance tool. Economic value added (EVA) has recently amazed much attention as a tool that takes into consideration many factors and incorporates more information as compared to traditional tools....
Investigating the effect of management attitude with respect to human resources, export and marketing on the performance of firm: Evidence from Iran's export firms
May 2013
Quick changes in international economy have made it by far more difficult and more complicated to plan to work in foreign markets than it was in the past. Actually, with regard to the high intensity of competition in the area of world trade, it is unavoidably inevitable to accept the role of thoughts, skills and abilities of managers of commercial units to enter world markets. With respect to the importance of the...
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