Research Plus Journals (RPJ)
Not a member yet
364 research outputs found
Sort by
The Impact of Participative Decision-Making with Regards to Empowering Employees
Get PDFAbstract- There is a growing realisation that in the complexity of the post-modern world, it is becoming less and less feasible to concentrate leadership and decision-making solely at the top of the organisation. Hence, one of the reasons for empowering employees is that employees are able to take decisions quickly, without looking for manager’s approval all the time, in a participative decision-making capacity. But, the lack of knowledge about employee empowerment and the absence of a framework for implementation has created problems.
Although there is high consensus in the management literature that employee empowerment is necessary for the survival and success of organisations, there are still considerable gaps in our knowledge and understanding of a range of issues concerning employee empowerment, both at the conceptual and practice levels [Conger and Kanungo, 1988; Morrell and Wilkinson, 2002; Huq, 2008; 2010; 2015]. This lack of knowledge is dangerous, as it has serious implications how ‘managers and non-managers conceptualize employee empowerment’ [Hill and Huq, 2004: 1025].
The aim of this research titled: An Investigation of What Employee Empowerment Means in Theory and in Practice [Huq, 2008] was to investigate the meaning of employee empowerment both at the conceptual and practice levels. An interpretivist approach employing qualitative methods was adopted; it involved conducting two in-depth information-rich case studies, described in this paper as Large Organisation and Small Organisation respectively.
The knowledge drawn from the management literature review proved unsatisfactory, hence this author felt the need to conduct a multi-disciplinary research review in order to draw knowledge from another discipline, namely social work [Huq 2008; 2015], where empowerment is an important construct. However, it is important to note that due to limited space, this author is unable to go into details of both the literature reviews, management and social work, in this paper.It is sufficient for this paper to report that a number of ‘themes’ of employee empowerment exist, but they are fragmented in the management literature. These ‘themes’ are not found in any one place, which leads to confusion when organisations try to implement employee empowerment. Furthermore, there is a gap with regards to the knowledge of employee empowerment in the management literature and it is important to look at another discipline to get a fuller understanding of ‘empowerment’.
A multi-disciplinary literature review thus enabled this author to put together themes of empowerment from the management and social work literature that are relevant to employee empowerment. These seven themes of employee empowerment are as follows: power-sharing, participative decision-making, devolution of responsibility, people-oriented leadership style, access to information, collaboration and enablement, described as a ‘kaleidoscope of themes’Huq’s Model C, [Huq, 2015], as illustrated in the ‘Introduction’ section of this paper.
One of the conclusions of this research is that leaders and managers need to pay attention to the impact of participative decision-making with regards to empowering employees, which has significant implications for human resource management and if implemented properly can lead to a more judicious utilisation of human resources at all levels
Sio2/ Polyamide Nanocomposite Textile for Super Hydrophobic Coating By Electrospinning Technique
Get PDFSio2/polyamide nano composites textile coating for hydrophobic surface by electros pinning technique was prepared. Celluloseball sample with prepared textile were coated by electros pinning system. Contact angle between water and samples (glass, glass + PA(coating ) & glass + PA+Sio2 coating) surfaces were calculated.
The fall time through water of cellulose ball (coating & non-coating) were calculated. Results show the contact angle between the non-coating surface sample and water droplet smaller than coating surface. This contact angle increase from (26o) of glass surface to (126.6o) of (glass+PACoating), also it increase to (128o) with adding silica nano particles to (PA coating) As well as , the fall time of coating ball with (PA) nano fibers is (6 sec) and it smaller than non-coating ball fall time (10 sec), also silica nano particles adding leads to decrease the fall time of ball to (5 sec).  
Experimental Investigation and Controller Development for Variable Speed Wind-Driven DFIG
Get PDFThis paper investigates the performance of wind-driven Doubly fed Induction Generator (DFIG) under sub-synchronous and super-synchronous speed. A simple controller for DFIG has been proposed using low cost 555 timer ICs, flip-flops and an IGBT inverter. The controller can be adjusts the frequency of inverter pulse to obtain a desired frequency despite the variations in the rotor speed of the DFIG. A prototype of the system has been built by fabricating the controller and a three-phase IGBT bridge inverter. The controller has been tested on a 4-pole, three-phase, 400V, 5kW, delta connected prototype machine driven by a DC motor under wide speed operation. The simplified steady state analysis of the system is presented. The results of the both calculated and experimental are furnished in the paper
Proposal for the Appropriate Natural Gas Utilizations in Developing Countries – Sudan as Case Study
Get PDFThe paper considers Natural Gas utilizations worldwide and the developments in its sectors, and the global consumptions with some suggestions and recommendations on how to exploit Natural Gas reserves developing countries and in Sudan as a case study. It is predicted that Natural Gas would be an important fuel for power generation and main raw material for a plethora of industries in the decades to come. Projections for year 2040 are that Natural Gas would consist of about 29% of the total energy consumed in the world, with corresponding 33% to oil. It is also suggested that the use of cogeneration plants in Sudan would benefit in power and space cooling generation stations that use Natural Gas in the near future. Petrochemical industry is also an important and crucial sector in which Natural Gas constitutes most of the raw material, and therefore it is highly recommended to be introduced in Sudan for domestic use and export. LNG and its re-gasification are also reviewed; the re-gasification capacity has been growing gradually since 2006 from 0.8% and has currently reached 8.8%. The design for a Natural Gas driven train engine is included in this report, to encourage using Natural Gas trains and Metros in the future
Accessing Energy Security of BRICs Nations for Strategic Partnership
Get PDFAvailability of the energy is crucial for the sustenanceof any country. The energy available at a countries disposal isdependent on a lot of factors such as the geographical location,technology and resources available for the energy extraction,Government policies, international alliances, military might etc.Developed countries, already having an energy intensive lifestyleare supposedly shifting to greener ways whereas in the newemerging world the people have an aspiration to lead an energyrich materialistic lifestyle. Within this chaos, the security of thebare minimum energy needed for the survival of every individualis at stake. A small crisis due to political, environmental ormilitary may put the population of that nation in jeopardy. ThusEnergy security is essential for countries sustenance and securingenergy through strategic ties with likeminded countries becomescrucial. This paper tries to highlight the energy requirement andpotential of the emerging economies and also tries to identify thechallenges posing them. The paper discusses the opportunity forstrategic partnership, for energy, within the BRIC Nations andsuggests interventions and policies to increase the collectiveenergy security (pertaining to certain sectors) of these nations
The Impact of Planning In Business Operations and As a Tool for Its Success in the Competitive Environment
Get PDFThis study examines the impact of planning in thebusiness operations in competitive environment. Globalization isseriously transforming and reshaping the operations,performance and future of businesses. As the world isintegrating new challenges and opportunities were emerging dueto competition, technological advances, and globalization, thesegenerate amazing trouble changes in the operations ofbusinesses, they were collapsing and falling, new ones werecoming and bubbling up in the environment that didn’t existjust few years ago. This paper studies the need for businessmanagers to ensure that they understood the significant andimpact of planning as a guide and foundation of businesses andas a determinant of its survival, success and growth. Theyshould start upwith virtuous plans that will state their vision,mission, and objectives such would equip and prepare them toface globalization, technological advances and competition.Planning gave managers an insight to be aware of theirenvironmental conditions and challenges facing their businessorganization and to forecast future conditions and its success
Agrarian Crisis & Its Management: Pre-Requisite for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth of India
Get PDFThe concept of Equality and Sustainability lies in the core concept of Human Development. By sustainable development we ensure the better utilization of the resources as well as secure the future of coming generations whereas in inclusive growth we ensure that ample opportunities for all are available to lead a prosperous life. Inclusive growth is growth that not only creates new economic opportunities but also one that ensures equal access to the opportunities created for all segments of society including the disadvantaged and the marginalized. India has emerged as a major economic power in the world, with the growth rate of the gross domestic product reaching impressive levels. However, India is also the home to the large number of poor people with an estimated of about 29 percent population falling below the poverty line. India ranks 135 on the global Human Development Index rankings. The ranking is based on a collective index of life expectancy, education and income standards of population. India ranks lowest among the BRICS countries and even lower than few of its neighbors like Sri Lanka. About 70 per cent of the Indian population lives in rural India and approximately 56 per cent of the workforce is dependent upon agriculture for their livelihood, this sector contributes only 18.9 per cent of GDP and witnessed a growth of average 2 to 3 per cent. Studies show that agricultural growth has been the main source of poverty alleviation in particular and inclusive growth in general in India. For more than a decade, Indian agriculture has been marked by deceleration in growth and distress of farmers. This crisis is structural and institutional in nature, with farmers’ suicides symptomatic of deep-seated maladies that have engulfed the agricultural sector
The Role of Built Environment on Under-Five Malnutrition in Indonesia
Get PDFThirty five percent of under-five deaths areassociated with undernutrition. In fact, there were more thanone hundred million underweight children, 171 millionstunting children, 13 million low birth weight children. Inmany developing and poor countries, malnutrition is still aburden. The built environment is factors that affect thenutritional status. Yet, the data and information on therelationship between the built environment and theundernutrition is still limited. The analysis aims to obtain therelationship between the built environments with nutritionalproblems on under-five children.MethodThis is a secondary data analysis. Data on theprevalence of malnutrition on under-five children is obtainedfrom a national survey Basic Health Research (Riskesdas)2013 that covers 82,666 children throughout 34 provinces inIndonesia. Data of the built environmental was derived from anational survey Village Potential Statistics 2011, which coversall villages in Indonesia, 70,390 villages. Ecological analysisand regression were conducted to examine the relationshipbetween prevalence of malnutrition and various builtenvironment variables. The unit of analysis is province.ResultsThe prevalence of underweight (z-score <-2) was 19.6per cent in 2013 and stunting (z-score <-2) was 37.2 per centon under-five children in 2013. The correlation analysissuggested that variable of a waste temporary shelter (WTS) invillage (r= 0.70), four-wheel car passable roads in villages (r =0.59), a restaurant/food vendor in village (r = -0.52), and aminimarket in village (r = -0.59) had the most strongly andsignificantly correlated with the prevalence of underweight (zscore<-2SD). While variable of four-wheel car passable roadsin villages (r = -0.60), a waste temporary shelter in village (r =-0.74), a minimarket in village (r = -0.56) were the moststrongly and significantly correlated with the prevalence ofstunting (z -score <-3SD). To eliminate underweight andstunting in the longer term, interventions need to addressthose variables and other underlying causes of undernutrition,such as poverty, infrastructure, and unhealthy environment
Theoritical Approach: The Impact off New Environmentalism and Green Marketing On Maximize Bothe the Producers and the Consumers Life Quality
Get PDFOn Earth Day 1970, a newly emerging environmentalismmovement made its first large—scale effort to educate peopleabout the dangers of pollution. This was a tough task: At thetime, most folks weren’t all that interested in environmentalproblems. These days, however, environmentalism has broadpublic support. People hear and read daily about a growing listof environmental Problems-global warming, acid rain,depletion of the ozone layer, air and water pollution,hazardous waste disposal, the buildup of solid wastes and theyare calling for solutions.The new environmentalism has caused many consumers torethink what products they buy and from whom. According toone recent study, nearly half of all Americans say they wouldchange product brands to support environmental friendliness.“People are changing their brand loyalties based on things likea company’s reputation for helping or harming theenvironment,†comments an environmental researcher. Forexample, when the Massachusetts utility market recently wasopened to competition, over 25 percent of customers chose topay more by signing up with a utility employing “greenâ€sources such as Wind, geothermal, and solar power. Suchconsumer attitudes have sparked a major marketing thrust—green marketing--the movement by companies to develop andmarket environmentally responsible products. Committedgreen companies pursue not only environmental cleanup butalso pollution prevention. True green work requires companiesto practice the three Rs of waste management: reducing,reusing, and recycling waste.McDonald’s provides a good example of green marketing. Itused to purchase Coca-Cola syrup in plastic bags encased incardboard, but now the syrup is delivered as gasoline is,pumped directly from tank trucks into storage vats atrestaurants. The change saved 68 million pounds of packaginga year. All napkins, bags, and tray liners in McDonald’srestaurants are made from recycled paper, as are its carry outdrink trays and even. the stationery used at headquarters. For acompany the size of McDonald’s, even small changes canmake a big difference. For example, just making its drinkingstraws 20 percent lighter saved the company 1 million poundsof waste per year. Beyond turning its own products green,McDonald’s purchases recycled materials for building andremodeling its restaurants, and it challenges its suppliers tofurnish and use recycled products.Producers in a wide range of industries are responding toenvironmental concerns. For example, 3M runs a PollutionPrevention Pays program, which has led to substantialpollution and cost reduction. Xerox now remanufactures itscopy machines and markets them as “proven workhorses"under names such as “Eco-series," “Renaissance,†and “GreenLine.†Herman Miller, the large office—furnituremanufacturer, set a trend in the furniture industry when itbegan using tropical woods from sustainably managedsources, altering even its classic furniture lines. But it wenteven further by reusing packaging, recapturing solvents usedin staining, and burning fabric scraps and sawdust to generateenergy for its manufacturing plant. These moves not only helpthe environment, they also save Herman Miller 14 million, it built theSheraton Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia using onlymaterials and fabrics that are produced without toxic bleachesor dyes. All of the hotel's furniture is made of wood harvestedfrom managed forests and all of the carpets, draperies, paint,and wallpaper are free of toxic chemicals. The entire hotel isdesignated nonsmoking and a ventilation system ensures thatfresh air is circulated into all rooms at all times. A six—story central atrium houses bamboo trees, which grow at a rate ofone meter each day and produce oxygen at a rate 35 percenthigher than most other plants. The walls of the atrium arefashioned from Wall Street Journal rejects and soybeans,while the floor is made from engineered bamboo.Even retailers are jumping onto the green bandwagon. Forexample, Grow Biz International has developed a $100million business selling used equipment through retail chainssuch as Play It Again, Once upon a Child, ComputerRenaissance, Music Go Round, and Disk Go Round. Wal—Mart is pressuring its 7,000 suppliers to provide it with morerecycled products. In its stores, Wal—Mart runs Videos tohelp educate customers, and the retailer has set up more than900 recycling drop—off bins in store parking lots around thenation. It’s even opening "ecofriendly†stores. In these stores,the air—conditioning systems use non-ozone-depletingrefrigerant, rainwater is collected from parking lots androoftops for landscaping, skylights supplement fluorescentlighting adjusted by photo sensors, and the road sign is solarpowered.During the early phase of the new environmentalism,promoting environmentally improved products and actionsballooned into a big business. In fact, environmentalists andregulators became concerned that companies were goingoverboard with their use of terms like recyclable, degradable,compostable, and environmentally responsible. Perhaps ofequal concern was that, as more and more marketers usedgreen marketing claims, more and more consumers wouldview them as little more than gimmicks. In 1992, as a result ofsuch concerns, the Federal Trade Commission issued a set ofvoluntary guidelines for green marketing terms to help guidemarketers making environmental claims for their products.Revisions of the guidelines were finalized in 1998.As we move into the twenty—first centuryenvironmentalism appears to be moving into a more maturephase. Gone are the hastily prepared environmental pitchesand products designed to capitalize on or exploit growingpublic concern. The new environmentalism is now goingmainstream-broader, deeper, and more sophisticated. In thewords of one analyst:Dressing up ads with pictures of eagles and trees will nolonger woo an environmentally sophisticated audience. Peoplewant to know that companies are incorporating environmentalvalues into their manufacturing processes, products,packaging, and the very fabric of their corporate cultures.They . . . want to know that companies will not compromisethe ability of future generations to enjoy the quality of life thatwe enjoy today. . . .As a result, we’re seeing the marriage ofperformance benefits and environmental benefits . . . onereinforces the other.In all, some companies have responded to consumerenvironmental concerns by doing only what is required toavert new regulations or to keep environmentalists quiet.Others have rushed to make money by catering to the public’smounting concern for the environment. But enlightenedcompanies are taking action not because someone is forcingthem to, or to reap short—run profits, but because it is theright thing to do. They believe that environmentalfarsightedness today will pay off tomorrow—for both thecustomer and the company
GSM Based Gas Leakage Detection & Prevention System for Disabled and Handicapped
Get PDFGas leakage and monitoring is a prodigiouschallenge with a number of industries, habitation areas andvehicles that runs on natural gas and LPG resources especially indeveloping countries, where gas usage is at sky-high andoutrageous level. It is a runtime preventive system that provideshindrance to any causality with handicapped and disabledpersons in our surrounding and societies. The purpose of thiswork is to provide safety to that class of people who themselvesare not in position to take precautionary measures to save theirprecious lives. Specifically, this is a project in which we use ahighly sensitive gas sensor with a portable C-16 gas detectorwhich can detect more than 30 different gases or vapours. Alsosystem includes GSM SIM 900 module which can send messageso as to take useful cautions. Noteworthy part of this system isthat it not only alerts or warns people but the accommodatingfactor is to provide a runtime safety by evacuating the leakedparticles of combustible gas present in air on immediate basis, incase a custodian is not at home to take care of handicapped anddisabled one’s