Archives of Business Research

Challenges HR Managers Facing due to COVID-19 and Overcoming Strategies: Perspectives from Georgia

Iza Gigauri — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 07:52:04 +0000

Purpose - The paper aims to clarify the implications of COVID-19 on organizations and Human Resource Management. The study proposes organizational responses to the pandemic, and outlines how to adapt HRM practices to the new normal. It aims to explore how human resource managers support employees and whether top management has a strategic focus on employee wellbeing during the crisis.

Design/methodology/approach - The paper opted for quantitative research method using descriptive research design. The data was collected with the survey. Questionnaires were distributed to the HR managers through the Internet. The response rate is 32%. The gathered data was analyzed through SPSS.

Findings - The research provides empirical insights on the challenges organizations are facing due to the pandemic. It sheds light on the decisions Georgian managers took in times of Covid-19. The paper suggests that changes in HR policies will lead to successfully overcome emerged difficulties with remote working, flexible schedule, and employee wellbeing.

Research limitations/implications - The research results may lack generalizability due to the small amount of participants in the survey. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to conduct future larger-scale research.

Practical implications - The paper includes implications for the development of HRM strategy to adapt to the new reality shaped by the pandemic, and for managing remote working systems considering the employee perspectives.

Social implications - The paper contributes to decisions of policymakers and governments regarding the workforce, and to the society for responding the changes.

Originality/value - This paper studied the role of HR managers in employee adaptation to the pandemic state, their perceptions towards organizational response to the crisis, and supportive behavior.

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON ONLINE COURSE INTEGRITY: A PILOT STUDY

Rhonda Richards, Robert Stevens, Lawrence Silver, Kitty Campbell — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic caused many universities to move face-to-face and hybrid courses to completely online formats, resulting in increased challenges to academic integrity. Although academic misconduct and academic dishonesty among students is nothing new, the literature is inconclusive as to whether there is more cheating in online classes than in face-to-face classes. However, online education has made it much more difficult for instructors to detect instances of cheating. The purpose of this study is to identify faculty perceptions and attitudes regarding student violations of academic integrity, particularly in online courses. An Internet survey link was sent to all faculty at a southwestern university. Responses revealed that although faculty are aware of the threat of technology to academic integrity, many do not use the available technology safeguards.

Wealth redistribution between stakeholders

Samia JIRARI, Mounime El Kabbouri, Sidi Mohamed Rigar — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a very popular concept that hits the headline recently, companies face the obligation, not only to maintain their viability to ensure the sustainability of their business by continuing to create value, but to adopt a mode of governance that combines interests of all stakeholders. A CSR strategy is becoming more and more an obligation than just a wise choice.

The strong involvement of Moroccan companies in CSR strategies is not by coincidence; but fits perfectly into the Kingdom's strategy, which adheres to the principles of sustainable development and CSR, for a sustainable economy and an inclusive growth.

The purpose of this empirical study is to examine the shareholder’s engagement and the degree of involvement in CSR strategy, of a sample of 45 Moroccan companies listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange and belonging to all sectors other than banking, insurance and equity investments, that claim to be socially responsible, through an analysis of the redistribution of their created value towards five categories of primary stakeholders, that are: lenders of funds, customers, suppliers, shareholders and employees.

CSR INITIATIVES: THE PREDICTOR OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN ENERGY SECTOR

MUSHTAQ AHMAD — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the financial performance for publicly-traded firms operating in the energy sector. The energy sector has a unique role to play in global CSR efforts because of the size of the firms within that industry, the impact on the environment, and the operational risks that come with energy production. Previous research has been conducted on the relationship between CSR engagement and financial performancein various contexts, but this research has shown mixed outcomes– in some cases there is a positive relationship between CSR and performance while in other studies the research is non-existent or marginal. Thus, the research question for this study addresses a significant gap in the understanding of this topic by exploring the relationship between CSR and firm performance in a contextualized setting of the energy sector. The dependent variable was a series of three financial metrics –returnon assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and EBITDA. This study looked into convenience sampling method and the population in this study was employees who were currently employed in an energy sector company in Malaysia.

A STUDY TO EXPLORE SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES

MUSHTAQ AHMAD — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 07:52:38 +0000

Economic growth in rural areas faces several challenges when comparing to urban regions. Limited employment opportunities and smaller profit from rural specific economic activities such as agriculture caused lower incomes to the local community. It is also very often that Agri-food products is undervaluation and not able to reach out outside market. This economic gaps between regions has resulted in several cases of outward migration flows of rural populations and land abandonment, which possibly brings major risk to the future of rural growth and sustainability. As reinforced by the needs to address the gaps and demands of the local community, therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the socio-economic demands and challenges of the local population in Temerloh, Pahang to recommend relevant assistance and interventions required. Findings from this study will provide important inputs that will suffice relevant literatures for the stakeholders to plan for a better socio-economic development in Malaysia. In general, the overall results of this study reveal the gaps faced by the community in the District of Temerloh in the context of social and economy. This study was carried out via a structured survey throughout the district involving 300 respondents and also complemented with a face-to-face interview carried out with key stakeholders.

PREDICTORS THAT LEADS TO SOCIO ECONOMIC SUCCESS OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES

MUSHTAQ AHMAD — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 07:52:57 +0000

In Malaysia, the infusion of private and public sectors has attributed to the nation’s socio-economic development as strengthen by the need to address the demands and challenges of the local community. These efforts will more likely provide several important ideas that would suffice related and relevant literatures, which will be used to develop a better socio-economic growth in Malaysia. In an economic sense, development entails the transformation of simple subsistence economies into complex monetary economies. In the process, an increase in the proportion of products that are sold or exchanged and a decline in the proportion of consumption may take place concurrently. The purpose of this study is to examine the socio-economic demands and gaps of the local population and to suggest assistance and interventions required. The overall results of this study reveal the challenges faced at the community level in the District of Kuala Lipis in the context of social and economy. This study was carried out via a structured survey throughout the district involving 300 respondents and also complemented with a face-to-face interview carried out with key stakeholders. The study findings were also supported with secondary data compilation of journals, articles and speeches.

Corporate Governance: The Linkage to Firm Performance in Malaysia

MUSHTAQ AHMAD — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 07:53:13 +0000

This paper focuses on corporate governance applied in Malaysia and how it contributes to the success of the company. Over recent years, with corporate scandals and the global financial crisis, the new idea of corporate governance has attracted rising scrutiny in the business world. It is viewed as a legal obligation that requires the fostering of the integrity of the law and the delivery of ethical advice. Corporate governance is seen as an significant resource for corporate financial efficiency, and investor investment decisions have become a more serious issue, with the result that the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and financial performance assessment has drawn researchers ' attention in established and emerging cities over the last decade. A total of 215 firms on the KLSE (Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) were listed for this report in 2017. Results have demonstrated that corporate governance indicators have a major effect on company efficiency and business value assessment in general. Through analyzing the structure of the group, the ROA and Tobin q calculation variables had a major positive impact. In comparison, the CEO duality was positively associated with all dependent variables, and the number of board committees was found to be negatively correlated with all calculated variables, and strongly correlated with ROA. The challenges of corporate governance are addressed in the final part of the paper.

The Outcomes of Corporate Governance to Financial Performance: Empirical Evidence from a Developing Country

MUSHTAQ AHMAD — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 07:53:33 +0000

Corporate governance has received increasing attention in the corporate world in these days. It is seen as a moral obligation and includes supporting the consistency of the law and showing ethical guidance. In this study, we attempted to examine the impact of corporate governance on corporate financial performance in Kuala Lumpur using a sample of 215 companies.Corporate governance variables have been shown to have a significant impact on corporate financial performance and market value measurement in general. The makeup of the board had a major positive impact on the ROA assessment variables, respectively. In addition, the CEO duality was positively correlated with all dependent variables, and the number of board committees was found to be negatively correlated with all measured variables, only significantly correlated with ROA.

KEYWORDS: Corporate governance, financial performance, Kuala Lumpur

Service Quality Perception and its Impact on Internet Banking in Klang Valley

MUSHTAQ AHMAD — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 07:53:51 +0000

Banking in Malaysia has undergone rapid transformation over the past two decades, witnessing a maritime shift in the nature of the services offered by banks, which have a positive impact on bank customers. The public sector banks have started to incorporate new technology into their operations with increasing customer expectations. It brought about a change in customer perceptions. Hence to what extent the needs to be studied were satisfied or not satisfied with the consumers. Since the Internet is a new virtual medium with so many potential customers, it is the banks that are most critical to consider customer desires and wants. This study aims to identify the impact of demographic characteristics of respondents on internet banking adoption. A total of 600 respondents from the one of the banks in Kuala Lumpur City who was selected for the purpose of this study. Results on service quality perception and its impact on Internet banking has been discussed in this paper.

Success Factors in Achieving Socio-Economic Development in Local Communities

MUSHTAQ AHMAD — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 07:54:08 +0000

Previous studies have shown that socio-economic growth of rural areas can be affecting by a complex of factors. Poverty, for instance, is not a single factor but rather is characterized by several physical and psychosocial stressors. The partnership between private and public sectors in Malaysia has demonstrated empirical success as reinforced by the needs to address the gaps and demands of the local community. However, there are many rural areas that are rich with natural resources are not fully explore and develop. Rural areas indeed have significant natural, human, economic and cultural potential to support their developments. Over the years, the importance of economic diversification and rural development has been increasing significantly and has eventually opens up new opportunity to discuss on how to using resources at the full value and in a sustainable way. These initiatives would later provide crucial information that will complement relevant literatures for the stakeholders to plan for a better socio-economic development in Malaysia, in particular for this study, Raub. Therefore, this study examines the socio-economic demands and challenges of the local population in Raub, Pahang to recommend relevant assistance and interventions required. The overall results of this study reveal the gaps faced by the community in the District of Raub in the context of social and economy. This study was carried out via a structured survey throughout the district involving 300 respondents and also complemented with a face-to-face interview carried out with key stakeholders.

Why Does Momentum Persist?

Greg Samsa — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 07:54:22 +0000

The phenomenon of short-term momentum in intriguing because it directly contradicts the notion that in an efficient market stock prices should lack memory. Three classes of possible explanation for momentum are (1) it is consistent with tenets of efficient markets after appropriate risk adjustment; (2) it is consistent with tenets of behavioral finance because of investors' cognitive biases; and (3) it is consistent with structurally-based positive feedback loops. The presence of extreme bubbles provides evidence against the first explanation. The fact that prices are effectively set by institutional investors who are aware of the cognitive biases in question and have a financial incentive to avoid them provides evidence against the second. Structurally-based explanations include the short-term incentives of institutional money managers and the impact of indexing. We believe that considering structural factors affecting the behavior of stock prices provides an additional perspective, to be used in combination with behavioral finance and market efficiency.