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LEVERAGE, LIQUIDITY AND PROFITABILITY OF BANKS AND INSURANCE FIRMS LISTED AT THE NAIROBI SECURITIES EXCHANGE
Full text linkPurpose: Banks and Insurance firms keep the finances of other firms and investors. Therefore the study sought to establish the relationship between leverage and liquidity on profitability and determine the effect of leverage and liquidity on profitability of Banks and Insurance firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Methodology: A census study was done on all the seventeen Banks and Insurance firms listed at the NSE for a six year period beginning the year 2010 to the year 2015. Secondary data was collected from NSE handbooks and individual firms published financial statements for the respective years. Data was analyzed using correlation analysis and General linear models including ANOVA and regression analysis. Findings: Findings show that a positive relationship exists between leverage and profitability expressed in terms of ROA and a negative relationship exists between leverage and profitability expressed in terms of ROE. Liquidity showed a negative relation with profitability when expressed in terms of ROA whereas a positive insignificant relation exists between liquidity and profitability expressed in terms of ROE. Implication: The study recommends that managers need to gauge the appropriate leverage and liquidity levels to use for firms given their unique circumstances. Value: These findings form the basis of argument and support for proposition that liquidity effects on profitability varies when different measures of profitability are applied. Combining leverage and liquidity aspects to determine probable joint effects on profitability brings about opposite observations on firm profits. Keywords: leverage, liquidity, profitabilit
Antidepressant activity of ethanol leaf extract of Zea mays
Full text linkBackground Zea mays L. (Poacae), also called maize or corn, is used for its nutritive value. Parts of the plant such as maize grains, leaves, cornsilks, stalk, and inflorescence are also employed in ethnomedicine Warm tea made from the husk and leaf is taken in traditional medicine for the treatment of malaria, depression and other diseases. Objective: Evaluation of antidepressant activity of the leaf extract was carried out to ascertain its ethnomedicinal uses. Method: The ethanol leaf extract of Zea mays (170 - 510 mg/kg) was investigated for antidepressive activity in open field, force swimming, and tail suspension tests using Swiss albino mice. Results: The extract was found to significantly (p<0.05-0.01) increase the frequency of line crossing, rearing and walling activities of mice in open field test. The extract also decreased significantly (p<0.05-0.001) duration of immobility time of mice in force swimming and tail suspension tests. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that leaf extract of Z. mays has antidepressant activity and this lay credence to its use in ethno-medicine for the treatment of depression. Keywords: Zea mays, antidepressant, CNS stimulan
MICROFINANCE AND FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NIGERIA
Full text linkNigerian women are in great numbers turning to entrepreneurship for succor in thesetimes of economic hardship. This activity which is supposedly meant to boost familyincome is also envisaged to have positive effects on national economy. However, theimpact of women’s entrepreneurial activity in Nigeria is below expectation due to thesevere financial constraints they encounter. Issues bordering on discrimination, socioculturalfactors, high illiteracy rate among Nigerian female entrepreneurs featurepredominantly in the list of hindrances. Government and individual femaleentrepreneurs have their parts to play in ameliorating the situation
ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES IN THE 21st CENTURY: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT
Full text linkThe objective of this article is to present the key entrepreneurial leadership competencies which CEOs need in order to play their entrepreneurial roles optimally. Despite the instrumental role played by entrepreneurial leadership in development process and the potential entrepreneurial leadership hold in enhancing firm performance, little research work has been done to identify the entrepreneurial leadership competencies and understand the ways and strategies through which they are acquired and developed in Kenyan context. The study used a mixed methods research design which combined three different data collection methods to generate rich primary data, which were then subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis. This study used primary data obtained from CEOs of mid-sized companies and entrepreneurial leadership experts through a survey, case studies and Delphi methods. The combination of these methods was intended to help improve the validity of results and also allow for complementarity in data collection for the purposes of attaining high levels of completeness. The research established that the top entrepreneurial leadership competencies are: Innovativeness; proactiveness; being decisive; adaptability and flexibility; foresight; risk taking; being ambitious and performance oriented; ability to identify and articulate a vision; ethics and integrity; being informed; positive; effective bargainer; having intellectual versatility; emotional intelligence and personal mastery; being improvement oriented and organizational savvy. Others included being independent, being intellectually stimulating, being diplomatic and having global mindset. The study concludes with a call for scholars and experts in the area of entrepreneurship to continuously re-examine the leadership competencies required for success in the dynamic, complex and uncertain competitive business landscape- largely because competencies are context specific. This will help to update the key competencies in tandem with the emerging challenges and therefore effectively guide the process of entrepreneurial leadership development especially in regard to necessary competencies to be nurtured and the methods and strategies to achieve that. There is need for sustained investment in research on entrepreneurial leadership competencies as this will provide a framework to state and non-state actors involved in promoting entrepreneurial leadership development among the citizenship
INFLUENCE OF PRISON EDUCATION PROGRAMMES ON PERFORMANCE OF EX-CONVICT SMALL SCALE BUSINESS VENTURES IN TAITA TAVETA COUNTY, KENYA
Full text linkEuropean Prison Education Association (EPEA) sees prison education as a moral rightthat meets a basic human need. Similarly, the advocacy of human rights claims thatpeople held in prison are citizens, and that citizens are entitled to life-long educationtoensure their full development, therefore prisoners should be offered meaningfuleducation hence education is a very important human activity. It helps any societyfashion and model individuals to function well in their environment. The purpose ofeducation is to equip the citizenry to reshape their society and eliminate inequality. Thisstudy therefore sought to examine the influence of prison education programme onperformance of ex-convict small scale business venture in Taita Taveta County, Kenya.The objective of the study was: To establish how entrepreneurial skill influencesperformance of ex-convict small scale business ventures. Data wascollected by use of asemi-structured questionnaire and an interview schedule from the target population.The study focused on a total of 300 ex-convicts in Taita Taveta County that hosts fourpenal institutions namely; Voi prison, Taveta prison, Wundanyi and ManyaniMaximum Security prison. From the four penal institutions in Taita Taveta county thedata base for release (those completely served sentence, paid fine, power of mercy andappeal on the sentence) for three years (2012-2014) indicates 1,800 out of which 300 arefrom the TaitaTaveta locality. The researcher also targeted 80 prison technicalinstructors who are tasked in training the inmates stationed in four penal institutions inTaita Taveta County. The researcher sampled60 ex-convict and 16 prison technicalinstructors for the study. From the findings of the study, it was concluded that majorityof small scale business ex-convicts had entrepreneurial skills. The prison educationprogramme was found to be of great benefit to the ex-convicts. It was recommendedthat development and coordination of re-integration programme activities withconjunction with community based stakeholders and NGOs to receive immediateattention and form a core part of a new after care policy; the Kenya prison should workwith the county governments to assist in reintegration of ex-convicts back in the societyan assist them in starting businesses through funding and subsidized businessregistration. The government should also assist them through the Uwezo fund to startoff their business venture and update prisoner earning scheme to reflect the currenteconomic status
RISK MANAGEMENT, FIRM CHARACTERISTICS, CORPORATE GOVERNANCEAND BANK PERFORMANCE: A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW
Full text linkEffective risk management is accepted as a major cornerstone of bank management byacademicians, practitioners and well as regulators. Acknowledging this reality and the need for acomprehensive approach to deal with bank risk management, the Basel Committee on BankingSupervision adopted the Base I Accords, followed by the Basel II Accords and more recently, theBasel III accords, to attempt to deal with the critical matter in the banking industry. This studyaims to undertake a critical theoretical literature review on risk management, firm characteristics,corporate governance and performance of commercial banks. The paper starts from thetheoretical and empirical proposition that the risk management, firm characteristics as well ascorporate governance effectively leads to improved bank performance. The paper argues that riskmanagement coupled with theexternal demands for efficiency in banks (external corporategovernance) translates to internal, organizational arrangements for performance management andincentive system design (internal governance), leads into better performance of banks. Further itproposes that firm characteristics such as ownership structure, size and financial architecture caninfluence the nature of the relationship among risk management, corporate governance and bankperformance.The most common firm characteristics being included as variables in corporategovernance or risk management researches arefirm size,leverage and industry type. Theinfluence of these firm characteristics on the relationship between risk management and firmperformance however is not well documented.The study presents a conceptual framework guidedby the following theories: enterprise risk management framework, agency theory, thestewardship theory, the stakeholder theory. The study concludes by identifying and discussingthe knowledge gaps and documenting four possible areas for researches including: the effect ofrisk management on bank performance; the mediating effect of corporate governance on therelationship betweenrisk management;the moderating effect of firm characteristics on therelationship between risk management and corporate governance as well as the moderating effectof firm characteristics on the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance;further, many studies have assumed that the efficient performance of banks’ relies on either riskmanagement, corporate governance and firm characteristics in isolation or in combinations,however future research could focus on the effect of macroeconomic variables such as, financialcrisis, exchange rate, inflation rates, money supply and Gross domestic product as well microeconomic variables such as corporate strategy and management quality on the relationshipbetween risk management, corporate governance and bank .performance. Finally, future researchcould focus on the effect ofrisk management and corporate governance on shareholder return forlisted firms.Key Words: Risk Management, Corporate Governance, Firm Characteristi
KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND PERFORMANCE OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA
Full text linkThis study sought to determine the relationship between key account management practices and performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The hypothesis that there exists a statistically significant relationship between key account management practices and performance was tested. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. All commercial banks in operation in Kenya as at 30th, April 2016 were used in the study. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and simple regression analysis. The findings indicate that people related practices were the most intensely used by commercial banks. Customer satisfaction was the most applied measure of non financial performance in commercial banks. The regression results indicate a statistically significant relationship between key account management practices and performance of commercial banks. The findings have implications for both practice and theory; It is reported that people related practices were rated highest by respondents implying that these KAM practices were found to have the greatest influence on performance. Managers of commercial banks therefore need to invest more in these people related practices. The findings also have implications for theory; the greatest theory in the key account management debate is the relationship marketing theory which postulates that firms invest in long term relationships with their customers since such relationships are likely to give rise to benefits for both supplying and buying firm
INSTITUTIONAL PRESSURES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AMONG ISO 14001 CERTIFIED MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN EAST AFRICA
Full text linkIncreasing levels of environmental degradation by manufacturing firms has resulted inheterogeneous pressures from various organizational groups on the need for them toconduct environmentally friendly operations. A viable option for these firms has beenthe implementation of green supply chain practices. The key concern however is whatdrives organizations to implement these practices. The main objective of this studytherefore was to investigate the key institutional pressures that cause firms toimplement these practices. To achieve the objective, three hypotheses were formulated.The study employed descriptive cross-sectional research design. Based on the objective,the study established that coercive and normative pressures are significant in causingthe firms to implement GSCM practices while mimetic pressures are not significant.Since the study finds that government laws and policies on the environment are criticaland main drivers of GSCM practices implementation, it recommends that thegovernment should take steps in making the environmental regulations more stringent.This research adds to knowledge by advancing the evidence of the existence ofheterogeneity of pressures for GSCM practices implementation. The findings alsoextend understanding of the pressures of GSCM in East Africa and also in the contextof a developing country where the level of GSCM practice diffusion is still low. Futureresearchers’ are therefore provided with a useful conceptual and methodologicalreference to pursue further studies in this area especially in the African context
ELECTRONIC READINESS OF ADMINISTRATORS IN MAKERERE UNIVERSITY: A TEST OF ROGERS’ INNOVATION DIFFUSION THEORY
Full text linkThis paper reports on a survey of electronic readiness (e-readiness) of senior administrative staff in Makerere University. The study also intended to check whether the e-readiness correlated with six individual characteristics, namely interaction with ICT change agents, ICT training, cosmopolitanism, age, gender and income level. Using the quantitative paradigm, and the survey design, data were collected using self-administered questionnaire from a sample of 124 senior administrators, and analyzed using summary statistics (percentages, means and standard deviations), t, ANOVA and Pearson linear correlation analyses. The results indicated fair levels of e-readiness, but none of the six individual characteristics significantly correlated with the e-readiness. It was thus concluded that all the senior administrators in the University needed equal assistance and/ or encouragement with regard to e-readiness, from the relevant stakeholders such as the University’s Top Management and Directorate of ICT Support (DICTS)
MARKETING AS A DETERMINANT OF GROWTH AMONG MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN MAVOKO MUNICIPALITY, MACHAKOS, COUNTY, KENYA
Full text linkThis study sought to establish the determinants of growth among the micro, small and medium sector enterprises in Mavoko municipality, Machakos county, Kenya. Descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used with a semi structured questionnaire being the main data collection instrument. A convenient sample of 100 MSMes was used, in which 79 firms responded, giving a response rate of 79 %. Descriptive analysis, regression and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. The study found that marketing practices do influence the growth of the enterprises. It was found that a number of marketing practices hand significant influence on growth of the enterprises. Personal characteristics of the entrepreneur, such as age and educational level of the entrepreneur were found to significantly influence the growth of an enterprise.. Organizational characteristics such as financial ability and, Quality of employees were also found to have positive influence on growth of enterprise