3673 research outputs found
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The Role of India and Pakistan Leadership in Kashmir Conflict
No full textA ThesisSubmitted to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the award of Degree of Master of Arts in International Relations (Integrated Studies)This thesis explores different aspects of the sub-conflict of Kashmir that has become the one of the most dangerous issue not only in South Asia but also in the world. It is so important that it be studied a full conflict in itself. Therefore, the significance of the movement understood. The study explores the development of the sub-conflict of Kashmir over the broader inter-state conflict between India and Pakistan. It seeks to map the role of Pakistan and Indian leadership in the conflic
An Evaluation of Unmet Financial Demands by Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Nairobi County
No full textA Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Global Executive Masters in Business Administration (GEMBA)This study was aimed at evaluating the unmet financial demands of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) within Nairobi County. Specific objectives of the study were to; establish financial needs of SMEs in Nairobi County, ascertain the challenges SMEs face in accessing financial services and evaluate the unmet demand for financial services in the market
In order to achieve the study objectives, this study used explanatory design to obtain information on SME financing. This involved a sample target of 100 SMEs through stratified sampling based on the various sectors in the SME market. Data was collected using structured questionnaire through a drop-and-pick field method. This was complemented by secondary data from journals and research papers. The data was analysed for percentages, means and standard deviation using Statistics for Social Scientists Program (SPSS, ver.20) computer program. Presentation of the analysed data was done using tables and various charts for information relating to the study objectives.
Findings from the study were that the most pressing financial need for the SMEs was the need for working capital as well as cash for development stages of the SMEs. It was also found that the least demand was requirement for professional training and research on market issues affecting the given SME market.
It was also found that high bank interests combined with lack of security for loans advanced by banks were the greatest challenges. The other challenge was bank’s suspicion that borrowers could default in their repayment. This was further strengthened by the fact that most borrowers did not raise adequate security. Another challenge was also lack of customised products for the SME market. Accessing alternative funding especially venture capital and government funding said to be politicised when the government distributes such funds.
The unmet demands of the SMEs were found to be lack of specialized and innovative SME products. Another unmet demand was the lack of variable and flexible guarantees which could enable a single guarantee or part thereof to be used to acquire loans from financial sources. Yet another unmet demand was lack of flexible repayment in which banks have
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remained rigid in their demand on repayment schedules. However, the least unmet demand was proved to be access to outside markets away from Nairobi as well as training for management of SMEs.
From the findings, it was concluded that development funds were the most pressing needs while the most challenging factor was high interest or repayment rates coupled with mistrust by banks to lend based on security provided by SMEs. Lack of specialized innovative products and variable plus flexible repayment periods were the most unmet demands by SMEs from banks or lenders. This led to development recommendations that banks should liaise with SMEs to develop specialized products and have variable or negotiable repayments. Finally recommendations for further studies were made that both scope and variables for SMEs should be changed in carrying out a similar study. In particular it was recommended that a study to establish economic factors affecting SMEs should be launched
The Impact of Corporate Restructuring on the Performance of Freight Companies: A Case of Mitchell Cotts Freights Kenya Limited
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The main objective of the study was to determine the impact of corporate restructuring on the performance o f Mitchell Cotts Freights Kenya Limited. The study was guided by the
following research questions: What is the impact of corporate restructuring on the efficiency of Mitchell Cotts Freights Kenya Limited? What is the impact of corporate restructuring on the performance of employees of Mitchell Cotts Freight Kenya Limited? What is the impact of corporate restructuring on the shareholder value of Mitchell Cotts Freight Kenya Limited? The research design employed in this study is the descriptive research design in soliciting information on the impact of corporate restructuring on the performance of freight companies. A descriptive research is research that describes an occurrence, and it is used to document and describe the phenomenon of interest. For this study, the target population was the employees of Mitchell Cotts Freights Kenya Limited. According to the human resources department, the company had a total of 150 employees as at December 2016. The sampling technique that was used for this study was systematic random sampling and the study used a sample size of 30 % of the total population that consists of 150 Mitchell Cotts Freight Limited staff, which translated into a sample of 45 respondents. From the sample size of 45 respondents only 36 responded resulting into an 80% response rate. The quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study used descriptive
analysis techniques to analyze data and Both Pearson correlation and Multiple Regression analyses were used to test for relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. Analysis of the first objective revealed that restructuring in Mitchell Cotts Freight led to cost reduction and increased the company's market share. The restructuring in the company was done in order to increase fierce competition with other local companies, react to changes in corporate governance and has since enabled the company obtain function efficiency and true value for the company's money.
Analysis of the second objective revealed that there was uncertainty on whether staff at
Mitchell Cotts Freight feel less certain about their capacity to deal with their own professions and feel extraordinary frailty about their future with the organization due to the restructuring.
It was also revealed that restructuring has changed the firm's commitments to its employees and the firm offered help to both surviving and withdrawing staff during the restructuring process. Majority of employees felt that the top management effectively implemented the restructuring process. In addition, the vision and Objectives of restructuring were clearly communicated to all employees. Analysis of the third objective revealed that due to restructuring, the company has occasioned an aggressive combination of acquisitions and divestitures to restructure its portfolio. It was also noted that restructuring had improved shareholder dividends. On the other hand, restructuring had improved value and shareholders are assured of no hostile takeover by another organization.
The study concluded that Restructuring at Mitchell Cotts Freight has led to cost reduction
and increased the company's market share and this has been a success due to employee's participation hence resulting into continuous competitive advantage as the firm has become a better performing one. It was also concluded that Corporate restructuring has transformed organizational commitments to its employees and the firm has been committed to help employees during the restructuring process through top management effectively implementing the restructuring process. In addition, it was also concluded that, the company has occasioned an aggressive combination of acquisitions and divestitures to restructure its portfolio as well as improved shareholder dividend which has ultimately resulted in improved value.
It was recommended that due to the benefits incurred from restructuring, firms need take the process seriously. It is also necessary to involve the employee's fijll participation and thus guarantee competitive advantage to the firm. Firm's need to improve commitments to its employees by offering help to both surviving and withdrawing employees during the
restructuring process. There is also a need to increase involvement of the top management to guaranteed effective implementation of the restructuring process. In order for firms to maintain a high performance there is a need to undertake restructuring so as to improve shareholder dividends and also improve shareholders value. Firms also need to undertake restructuring so as to benefit from the different sources of revenues thus leads to more stable revenue development, increased the international breadth of knowledge and experience.
Further studies should be done on other firms in the same industry to generalize the findings of the study
The Effects of Exchange Rate Changes on the Stock Market Performance in the Nairobi Securities Exchange
No full textA Research Project Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The general purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of changes in exchange rate
on the performance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange. More specifically, the study sought to establish the percentage change in Kenya Shillings and US dollar exchange rate across a 5 year period, 2012 to 2016; assess the performance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange across a 5 year period, 2012 to 2016; and determine the effect of the changes in exchange rate change on the performance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange across a 5 year period, 2012 to 2016.
The study took a descriptive research design. The study made use of secondary data
collected from the Nairobi Securities Exchange covering the period January 2012 to
December 2016 for both index movement and FOREX volatility. The study was interested
in both primary data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted in data
analysis. Descriptive statistics involved computation of frequencies, percentages, and
standard deviation and cross tabulations. Inferential statistics then involved both correlation and linear multiple regression analyses.
Findings indicate that foreign exchange movement was on average unstable across the 60 month period running from January 2012 to December 2016. The movement was highest in May 2012 at 4.34%, then in July 2015 at 3.94%. The sharpest decline was recorded in October 2015 at -3.32%, with the period from November 2015 to December 2016 stabilizing between 031% and 0.03% respectively.
The performance of Nairobi Securities Exchange market can be described as both
unpredictable and on the decline as the case observed from January 2012 to December
2016. A generally declining trend was observed in NSE performance as indicated by the
All Share Index across the period January 2012 to December 2016. A similar declining
trend was recorded in the performance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange across the period January 2012 to December 2016, as indicated by the percentage change in the NSE 20 Share Index as was with the All Share Index.
Results from both the Pearson's partial correlation and regression analyses reveal a weak
and negative associations between exchange rates and the performance of the Nairobi
Securities Exchange as measured by both the NSE 20 share index and the NSE All Share
Index. The weak and negative relationship between exchange rate movement and financial performance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange may reflect how fluctuating and volatile exchange rate may have contributed to the declining trends observed in both the NSE All Share and 20 Share Indices?
Based on the foregoing findings, the study concludes that foreign exchange movement was on average unstable across the 60 month period running from January 2012 to December 2016. Given the frequent changes of supply and demand influenced by numerous external and internal factors, this new system is responsible for currency fluctuations.
The study also concludes that the performance of Nairobi Securities Exchange market can be described as both unpredictable and on the decline as the case observed from January 2012 to December 2016. These fluctuations can be attributed to the flexible exchange rate system whereby the price of currency is determined by supply and demand of the currency in the forex market.
The study further concludes that there exists a weak and negative associations between
exchange rates and the performance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange as measured by
both the NSE 20 share index and the NSE All Share Index. The weak and negative
relationship between exchange rate movement and financial performance of the Nairobi
Securities Exchange may reflect how fluctuating and volatile exchange rate may have
contributed to the declining trends observed in both the NSE All Share and 20 Share
Indices. This may be attributed to the fact that many imports are paid by the NSE listed
firms using the dollar and, with the shilling weakening against the dollar the firms are
recording arbitrage losses.
Based on the foregoing findings and therefore conclusions, the study recommends that the issues related to foreign exchange trading should always be taken into account in efforts to improve listed firms' foreign exchange transactions and explore avenues to enhance capacities within firms for managing foreign currency risk exposure. It is also
recommended that listed firms ought to explore the course of continuous short term
training and education which ought to be adequately practical as opposed to theoretical.
The same can involve the consultation of professional institutions comprised of bankers,
finance specialists, consultants and accountant
Factors Influencing Strategic Planning Practices in Government Organizations: A Case of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration (MBAThis study sought to examine factors influencing strategic planning practices in government organizations, while focusing on Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC). The study was guided by the study objectives that sought: to examine the influence of leadership on strategic planning practices, to establish the influence of human resource practices on strategic planning practices, and to determine the influence of organization structure on strategic planning practices in Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company.
The study applied the descriptive research design. The target population of the study was all level of staff members of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the intended sample size for the study. Data was collected through a questionnaire. Questionnaires were distributed to the different respondents by hand and through electronic mail and thereafter collected after submission. The demographic data was tabulated using frequency and percentages. Pearson’s correlations and regression analysis were used to describe the data.
The study revealed that strategic planning and thinking was viewed as the function and responsibility of leaders and management in the organization and the organization’s leaders were focused on getting the job done through predicting, shaping, controlling and measuring employees work. Managers prioritized and devised operational plans by managing both internal and external constituencies as leaders focused on systematic quality improvements with a focus on employees involved in the processes and the quality of services produced.
The study indicated that setting strategic direction in the organization involved putting into consideration its vision statement. Strategic planning in the organization set the goals and objectives to be met and aligned resources to staff with core competence to deliver the objectives. The study revealed that competitive advantage in the organization was gained through use of a business strategy that manipulated its various resources, and corporate reputation affected the organization’s ability to recruit financial resources, people, and partnerships they needed to attain goals and objectives.
The study showed that the organizational structure revolved around the distribution of responsibilities among organizational members and it enhanced the productivity and performance of members through strategy implementation. Decision-making authority in the organization was concentrated at the higher levels of the organization and centralization of operations in the organization has led to inefficiencies in decision making. The study indicated that employees in the organization were comfortable because managers confidently gave instructions and made decisions, and the organization had policies, procedures, job descriptions, and rules that had been written and had been explicitly articulated.
The study showed that strategic planning in the organization fostered strategic thinking, acting, and learning, and it focused on the work of figuring out how to build organizational capacity. Strategic planning in the organization revealed and clarified future opportunities and threats and this allowed the organization to connect and align to the environment. Strategic planning in the organization had ensured that the organization recorded better performance and it supported the role of finance in establishing and monitoring specific and measurable financial strategic goals.
The study concludes that leaders and management aligned employees’ concerns with the core essence of the organization and they assured that the team’s value system was integrated and holistic in nature so that they did not have to sacrifice values. The study indicated that the organization directed its employee training investment effectively to best develop its human capital and it preferred to recruit staff who were already trained or professionally qualified. The study concludes that organizational structure did not ensure that each employee served a specialized role nor handled large volumes of transactions.
The study recommends the management of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company to focus on both quantitative measures of success of actions and the qualitative measures inherent in the organization’s sense of values, purpose, meaning, and vision. This recognition of different perspectives of strategy will be essential for the managers and will facilitate their ability to deal with managing resources and delivering services
Negativity robs Kenya of glitter
No full textAs time barrels forward towards Kenya’s General Election next month, both traditional and social media alike seem ablaze with negative stories about our nation.
As each day passes, it appears that more and more negative national events, news, and conditions permeate our minds and conversations.
Social scientists Andrew Howell and Michael Conway research positive versus negative moods. Unfortunately, negative opinions, moods, and perceptions stick in the brain far longer than positive ones.
When in a negative frame of mind, even positive events that can prove contradictory to one’s negative state get dismissed by our psychology as we continue to focus on the negative
How bosses can deal with two-faced workers
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaHow many faces do you show in public? When visiting our children’s school open days we might show our humble and encouraging face yet while stuck driving in traffic we may show our impatient and agitated face and yet still in the office we might show our aggressive and attentive face.
We all hold different skills, abilities, and emotions that we display to the world under different situations.
However, some people portray an entirely different inaccurate persona to certain people or those holding certain positions.
The late University of California at Berkeley social scientist Erving Goffman first developed the notion that people act out roles in attempts to create and sustain identities they wish to portray whereby they can financially gain. We all know at least one co-worker who might act one way towards management but exceptionally different towards those with no power over them