The major objective of any firm is to maximize the shareholders wealth. This is evidence through dividend yield and payout ratio and this encapsulate into the dividend policy of a company. The research purpose aimed at examining the influence that dividend policy has on the volatility of share prices among the listed insurance corporations in Kenya. Research design, approach and method: Data was collected from listed insurance corporations over a 10-year period with a total of 49 data points. The Pearson correlation and ordinary regression analysis were employed. The results reveal the existence of a positive link among the study variables. The correlations were found to be substantial at ninety-five percent confidence level. It is worth noting that the model summary shows forty-three-point one percent of changes in the volatility of stock price are explicated by dividend yield and payout ratio. ANOVA statistics which examines whether the analytical model as set out in the study explains variations in the dependent variable concluded that the model is analytically substantial. The outcome revealed a statistically significant positive link between stock price variations and the ratio of dividend payout. Research also established a statistically substantial negative interrelation between volatility of stock prices and dividend return. Results therefore recommend that companies should have dividend policies which are mapped to shareholders wealth maximization objective. The study suggests further studies be undertaken to determine whether there exists an analytically substantial difference between the dividend policies of various sectors in the economy.

Compared with general commercial reverse logistics operators, the recovery and treatment of expired drugs and medical waste is a complex and highly technically difficult project. The qualifications required by the relevant service providers are also more stringent. For medical institutions, the selection of reverse logistics operators is always a critical issue. On the perspective of sustainability, this paper aims to investigate and explore the critical factors of selecting a medical reverse logistics service provider. Through the process of the Delphi method, the experts’ assessments were collected, and 24 factors affecting the selection of medical reverse logistics service provider were screened and summarized. Then, Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) was employed to calculate the total influence values and net influence values between factors that could be used to draw the visual causal map. Referring the causal map, “Green process operation level” and “Recycling process greening degree” are significantly higher than other factors in terms of total influence value and net influence value. Therefore, they can be regarded as crucial factors. This finding implies that medical reverse logistics providers must have the ability to improve the greening of facilities, as well as equipment, integrating existing processes to make it greener and environmentally friendly.

The study investigates the impact of team building on organisational productivity. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of team building among the members of the selected case study and to assess the effect of training and retraining of team members on organisational productivity. The study also x-rayed the absence of team building in a workplace which led to low levels of turnover and productivity. the total population of the study was 750 while researcher employed Yaro Yamane sampling technique to select sample size of 261 because of the large population and hypothesis were tested using Pearson correlation. The finding revealed that if members of the team can work in synergy without considering the differences in the likes of level of educational background and others, the expected productivity will be very high. It was also observed that capabilities of team leader in carrying out the assigned task determined its output especially if the team leader understands the technical knowhow of job and he is friendly with co-team members with a lot of motivation, that this would definitely enhance employees’ efficiencies and productivities. The study recommends that team members should trust, support and respect one another individual differences in order to accomplish group common goals and tasks.

This research aims at identifying the impact of excellence in drawing up the following four marketing mix strategies (Product, Pricing, Promotion and Distribution) of the small and medium enterprises in Jordan, in terms of their marketing performance in its dimensions (Sales Growth, Profit Growth, Customer Attraction and Customer Retention).In order to reach the results of this study, A total of (187) valid questionnaire surveys were collected from companies belong to the SME Association in Jordan. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) approach was used to analyze the collected data. The empirical results indicated there is a significant relationship between the building of marketing strategies of the marketing mix elements in the Jordanian SME and their marketing performance, by (sales growth, profit growth, customer attraction, and customer retention) dimensions. Consequently, decision makers in small and medium organizations need to choose strategies based on their target market to the positive impact on the mind of the consumer, which in turn could improve modern scientific methods in SME to divide their markets into sub-market sectors.

This research begins by showing the different meanings attributed to the term cluster by different currents and authors, which suggests definitions that are found around its spatial framework. Next, the factors that intervene in the competitiveness of a region and its growth are shown, for the development of these, Porter’s model of competitiveness which was taken as reference, and the contexts: geographical and economic. Therefore, the methodology was used based on a qualitative design, with descriptive and correlational scope since it will analyze differences of each cluster, with respect to the factors of dimensions, establishments, growth, economic impact and policies. To do this, the information-gathering tool was two semi-structured interviews with cluster leaders in both countries, because the approach is based on data collection methods that are not completely standardized or predetermined. And finally, the results of the comparison of the Mexican Bajío automotive cluster with the German cluster located in Baden-Württemberg are presented.

In recent years, retired workers eligible for social security receive their emoluments from the appropriate regulatory agency and this provides more realistic evidence on the better living standard of the aged (retirees) under the scheme. Empirically, this paper examines the impact of social security on economic growth in Ghana using time series secondary (monthly) data ranging from 2000 – 2018. The author answers in two questions: 1) how significant are pensioners benefit payments dependent on economic growth and also, 2) how business environmental policy is contributing to economic performance as far as pensioners well-being are concerned. Using STATA analytical software, the findings show a positive significant relationship between social security and economic growth. The study concludes by outlining appropriate policy measures to help strengthen the current social security scheme in Ghana.

This study examines the effect of the trademark on consumer behavior of consumers of air conditioners in Sudan, in order to know the dimensions of the trademark that affect consumer behavior in Sudan, and provide information to companies on the dimensions of the trademark that affect the purchasing decision of the customer and contribute to customer satisfaction. The study adopted descriptive analytical method using a sample of 230 individuals who consume air conditioners in Sudan. The results showed that there is a positive significant relationship between the trademark of air conditioning and consumer behavior as well as a positive significant relationship between the trademark name of air conditioning and consumer behavior and finally there is a positive significant relationship between the trademark logo and consumer behavior.

This literature review is organized in five sections. Firstly, we begin with general ideas and continue with the origin of the fraudulent. Secondly, we discuss the struggle of the phenomena, insisting on the available mechanisms. Finally, we’ll discuss the link between audit and fraud.

Accounting function aims at providing accurate and sufficient accounting information to facilitate proper financial reporting and management performance. Accounting information is usually in the form of periodic or annual financial statements which are products of costing, financial and management accounting prepared for the benefit of a number of external interest groups. Accounting has its roots in the stewardship approach and as a management performance tool to guide the agent and the principal over the exact status of the going concern. Accounting function also involves financial statement analysis, interpreting the accounts by computing and evaluating ratios which relate pairs of financial information or items with one another. This analysis of ratios can be cross-sectional comparing the results of one company with another or trend. In doing so close attention is usually paid to profitability ratio to help keep pace with effective management performance. The exploratory research design was adopted for the study and result showed positive correlation between accounting function and management performance. The study was not exhaustive, therefore, further study should examine the relationship between audit failure and business failure as a matter of finding a solution to the problem. It was recommended that management should always carefully study audit reports to enhance decision making and management performance.

Child labor is one of the issues receiving much attention from researchers and scholars around the world. Child labor still occurs in most countries around the world. Viet Nam is also one of the countries with relatively high child labor and increasing trend. This article is based on critical discourse analysis and data from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam to analyze some fundamental issues of child labor in Vietnam, thereby giving policy suggestions to the Vietnam government in minimizing the current child labor situation.

This paper’s objective is to present the importance of the strategic planning in business management. Speaking of strategic planning is always speaking in general terms and how to fix paths of behavior will necessarily affect deeply and significantly in the future evolution of the company or organization that adopts it. Today we think of the organization as part of an environment and in terms of options or choices based on what you have, of its surroundings and the opportunities or pathways that can lead to achieving the objective, (Garrido, 2009). For this work the method used was a bibliographical review of relevant articles from a range of authors was conducted. The conclusions were that the be properly analyzed and adapted to the precise conditions and characteristics of the small business or, more generally, to any type of business for which the planning is intended. Strategic planning brings multiple benefits (which exceed its disadvantages) if applied in the right way, however, there are inherent risks, which can be overcome with proper monitoring and control.

The study examined the relationship between non-financial incentives and workers’ motivation in Akwa Ibom State Civil Service exploring five key variables of continuing professional development, performance feedback, employee employment, employee participation in decision-making and task autonomy. Survey research design was adopted involving the use of questionnaire to gather data from 392 respondents drawn from a population of 20465 civil servants in state using Taro Yamene Sample Size Determination Table. The sample was drawn across all ministries and departments through stratified and convenience sampling techniques. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The five dimensions of non-financial incentives were positively correlated with workers’ motivation from the results of the analysis. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) had the highest correlation value (r = 0.33, P<0.01). Also, the five null hypotheses were rejected implying that the variables of study influence workers’ motivation in Akwa Ibom State Civil Service, Nigeria with beta coefficients and t-values of CPD (0.29;4.313); PF (0.117; 3.500); EE (0.2.141); PDM (0.182; 2.935), and TA (0.231;2.817). It was concluded that since workers’ motivation is a vital tool to organizational effectiveness and growth, employers should explore more of non-financial incentives in formulating and implementing employee benefits related policies.

In this article, we analyze in the Malian context the link between the structure of the shareholding and the sustainability of companies based on data from the census of industrial enterprises of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, 2015. The results show that Mali’s economic opening option in the 1980s, strengthened in the 1990s following the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programs, resulting in the state’s withdrawal from the management of enterprises, have enabled the emergence of private enterprises in almost all sectors of economic activity. However, shareholding in industrial enterprises has suffered from poor governance. It also shows that the number of women entrepreneurs is close to that of men. Between 2010 and 2014, the majority of shareholders are in the agri-food sector. The majority of the investment is in the metal and metallurgical sector.

The study examined the relationship between non-financial incentives and workers’ motivation in Akwa Ibom State Civil Service exploring five key variables of continuing professional development, performance feedback, employee employment, employee participation in decision-making and task autonomy. Survey research design was adopted involving the use of questionnaire to gather data from 392 respondents drawn from a population of 20465 civil servants in state using Taro Yamene Sample Size Determination Table. The sample was drawn across all ministries and departments through stratified and convenience sampling techniques. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The five dimensions of non-financial incentives were positively correlated with workers’ motivation from the results of the analysis. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) had the highest correlation value (r = 0.33, P<0.01). Also, the five null hypotheses were rejected implying that the variables of study influence workers’ motivation in Akwa Ibom State Civil Service, Nigeria with beta coefficients and t-values of CPD (0.29;4.313); PF (0.117; 3.500); EE (0.2.141); PDM (0.182; 2.935), and TA (0.231;2.817). It was concluded that since workers’ motivation is a vital tool to organizational effectiveness and growth, employers should explore more of non-financial incentives in formulating and implementing employee benefits related policies.

Poor public management defined by corruption and lack of prudence in public life continues to hold Nigeria hostage and makes good governance difficult. Since the 1980s government has been using many methods including the processes of privatization and commercialization as means of re-engineering the public sector for total quality management, and to increase the share of the public sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product. The experiment never achieved the desired level of success partly due to lack of political will on the part of government to wedge a total war against corruption, and also partly because the public sector is a large scale administration that has many entry and revolving doors which government finds difficult to close. These limitations provide the incentives for widespread public corruption that is recognized as one of the greatest challenges of government in carrying out its mandate. 110 respondents participated in this study conducted through the exploratory research design. The participants provided useful data that were triangulated with data from secondary sources for the purpose of the study. To achieve the objective of the investigation, data were analyzed through statistical techniques and the result showed significant positive correlation between good governance and good management. It was recommended that appointments in the public sector should feature a combination of people from private and public sectors of the economy to enhance competence with the aim of reducing public sector corruption. Further study should examine the reasons behind rising budget deficits as a way of reducing cost of governance in Nigeria.

This study evaluates the impacts of urban road investment and operation in China, especially the spillover effect attributable to the investment of urban road projects. Using the synthetic control method and difference-in-differences technique and taking the opening of Jiaozhou Bay Bridge and its Subsea Tunnel in China on 30 June 2011 as a natural experiment, this paper investigates the causal effect between urban road investment and its economic impacts. Results show that the project has a positive externality in terms of its contribution to the output and employment: taken the industrial relative output as outcome variable, no matter whether the covariates are controlled or not, the parameters of the interactive terms are positive; taken the industrial relative employment rate as outcome variable, the gap between the treated unit and its counterpart indicates a direct program effect for the treated city as well as a spillover effect across the cities within the sample province. Furthermore, the permutation test ascertains that the probability of achieving a spillover effect as large as the treated city is around 5.88 per cent. Overall, the investment and operation of urban road transportation infrastructure has a noticeable spillover effect. Our results are robust across a series of placebo tests.

The rapid trend of changes and social issues in managing the global workforce has forced organizations to look for innovative ways of enhancing the job satisfaction of employees. Among these innovative approaches is the provision of Flexible Working Arrangements (FWAs). The purpose of this exploratory research was to identify the effects of FWAs, i.e., flextime schedule, compressed workweek, and telecommuting on job satisfaction from the perspective of the Ethiopian national employees of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa. To achieve this objective both descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted. The total population of the study was 250; out of which, 71% of responses were collected. A primary data collection method was implemented using a structured questionnaire. The analysis showed that there is significant positive effect of flextime schedule (R = .39, R2 = .264, p = .001) and compressed workweek (R = .39, R2 = .159, p = .039). This means that increase in the use of flextime schedules and compressed workweek enhances job satisfaction for employees of the ECA in Addis Ababa. The independent variables reported R = .39 and R2 = .15 which means that 15% of corresponding variations in employee job satisfaction can be explained by flexible working arrangements. Nevertheless, this study found out that there are no significant relationship of telecommuting (R = .39, R2 = .065, p = .398) on job satisfaction. Therefore, since the provision of FWAs is at the nascent stage, further studies on the effect of telecommuting on job satisfaction from Ethiopian employees context are highly recommended.

The practitioners and academicians in the business arena are highly concern about the enhancement of employee performance in this competitive age for achievement of business goals. Considering the issue, this study aimed to measure the influence of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices on the performance of employees. The data of this study have been collected from 392 on-the-job operational level employees using survey method who are working at different garment factories in Bangladesh. The collected data are analyzed through structural equation modeling to partial least square method. The study empirically proves that employee training and development, promotion opportunity, and job security has significant influence on the employees’ performance. Theoretically, this study proves that training and development, job security and promotion opportunity together influence on the performance of employees in the developing economy. The practitioners and policy makers of the organizations are expected to make necessary adjustments in their existing HRM practices based on the findings of this study in the context of Bangladesh for enhancing the employees’ performance level so that their whole-hearted efforts can be gained for the achievement of business goals.

The integration between innovation and business is a key factor in competitiveness between organizations. That is, innovation applied to a business makes no sense if not considered as an integral tool for the processes of the organization. Companies should therefore adopt a policy where innovation plays a strategic role in the design of business models to become lean, effective and competitive entities (Moraleda, 2004). The objective of this paper is to show the importance of innovation within companies, identifying the concept, the various models that different entities might adopt in order to develop better processes of innovation, as well as indicators that represent innovation at global and national levels in order to develop strategies that lead to an increase in competitiveness. For this work the method used was a bibliographical review of relevant articles from a range of authors was conducted.

Although performance appraisal is concerned with the evaluation of workers job performance, it at the same time serves to highlight the specific objectives of an organization. As the employee is being evaluated the organization is also evaluating itself by comparing objectives and standards of performance, reviews the whole appraisal framework and design as well as organizational values and culture. Performance appraisal is a veritable tool for organizations to evaluate and increase the quality of education and training of their workforce with a view to developing lifelong learning patterns and strategies to sustain productivity throughout longer working periods. Motivation as it relates to employee productivity is often behind the drive for performance and self-actualization and provides opportunities for higher productivity. Productivity is an important measure of goal achievement because getting more done with less resources increases organizational profitability. Using the exploratory research design and 109 participants the result of the study indicates a strong positive correlation between performance appraisal and employee productivity. It suggests that the issue of performance appraisal in charitable organizations should be addressed. In view of the result of the study, the paper recommends that performance appraisal should carefully review employee’s strengths and weaknesses against requirements for possible future higher responsibilities.