iRepository (Institute of Business Administration)
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A binge-worthy campus drama
No full textNadya Chishty-Mujahid’s Perennial College Tales offers 24 interconnected stories set in the fictional Saeed School of Business, capturing the energy, politics, friendships, and chaos of Pakistani campus life. A sequel to Timeless College Tales, this collection is sharper and more cohesive, with recurring characters and overlapping arcs that read like episodes of a Netflix-style campus drama. At the heart of the stories is Dr. Madeeha Sulaiman, a bold, meddling professor who shapes students’ lives with unconventional interventions. The book balances humour, conflict, and emotion, exploring themes like student politics, forbidden friendships, fragile masculinity, and resilience, while avoiding predictable romantic clichés. With vivid storytelling and layered characters, it resonates strongly with Pakistani readers familiar with university culture, making it both entertaining and emotionally compelling
CSR & Partnership Development for Bondh-e-Shams
No full textBondh-e-Shams is a social enterprise addressing Pakistan’s water scarcity through solar-powered water filtration technology. This Experiential Learning Project (ELP) aimed to develop corporate partnerships and CSR support for Bondh-e-Shams’ Solar Water Project, which directly contributes to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation) and SDG 7 (Affordable & Clean Energy), while yielding climate co-benefits aligned with SDG 13 (Climate Action). We conducted outreach to corporations and held fifteen meetings with domestic and international companies to pitch the solar-powered clean water mission. The Results detail each meeting’s feedback and how each company’s CSR response aligns (or not) with SDG priorities. Key findings indicate that companies with CSR agendas or sustainability commitments overlapping Bondh-e-Shams’ focus on clean water and renewable energy were receptive but required additional information (e.g., on tax benefits, impact metrics), whereas others lacking alignment or constrained by ongoing commitments were less inclined. The Discussion analyzes these outcomes in the context of corporate CSR trends and SDG alignment, noting barriers such as mismatched priorities, timing (budget cycles), and due diligence requirements. Recommendations are provided for Bondh-e-Shams to enhance future partnership development: emphasizing SDG alignment in proposals, targeting companies whose CSR focuses on water, energy, or climate, and preparing tailored documentation (tax incentive details, impact reports, legal compliance) to address corporate partners’ concerns. Visual evidence of meetings (collated screenshots and photos) is included as Appendix D, and the outreach communication templates (initial cold email and follow-up email) are provided in Appendix E. Overall, this project demonstrates the challenges and opportunities in mobilizing corporate support for an SDG driven social innovation, concluding that strategic alignment with corporate CSR goals and global sustainability frameworks are critical for fostering successful partnership
Consumer Product Pricing Analysis
No full textThis Experiential Learning Project (ELP), conducted in collaboration with FrieslandCampina Engro Pakistan (FCEPL), focused on evaluating the effectiveness of sales promotions for Olper’s 1000ml milk SKU across 2024–2025. The project combined data analytics with field insights to assess consumer response, sales uplift, and promotional ROI across various retail channels including Imtiaz, Metro, Carrefour, and Punjab Cash & Carry. Using Microsoft Excel and Python, we developed a dynamic dashboard and a chatbot to support faster, data-driven decision-making. Key findings highlighted short-term volume gains followed by post-promotion dips due to stockpiling and execution gaps. The project provides actionable insights and tools to optimize future trade promotions and align marketing investments with consumer behavior
Toxic Leadership and Employees\u27 Silence in the Public Sector: The Mediating Role of Emotional Exhaustion and the Moderating Effect of Cultural Values
No full textThis study examines the impact of toxic leadership on employee silence in public healthcare institutions within Sukkur Division, Sindh, Pakistan. Although prior studies have mostly focused on corporate settings, little is known about how toxic leadership shapes employee silence in public healthcare systems of developing countries. This study proposes emotional exhaustion as the mediating variable and cultural value as a moderating variable for the indirect effect. The study employed a cross-sectional and quantitative design, collecting data from 255 employees working in District Health Offices, Basic Health Units, and public hospitals. Validated measurement scales were applied, and data were analyzed using SmartPLS 4.0 to examine direct, mediated, and moderated relationships. The results showed that toxic leadership has a significant impact on employee silence, with emotional exhaustion serving as a mediator. Additionally, cultural values such as collectivism and power distance moderated the indirect effect, with employees in high power-distance and collectivist environments being more likely to remain silent when emotionally exhausted. The study advances the literature by examining toxic leadership within Pakistan\u27s public healthcare sector, an area that has received negligible attention in prior research. The findings suggest that healthcare organizations should focus on reducing toxic leadership and promoting open communication channels, as well as providing culturally sensitive leadership development and emotional support systems to improve employee engagement and reduce silence
Strategic Revitalization of Ziauddin Hospital: Rebuilding Trust, Enhancing Experience, and Strengthening Market Position
No full textExecutive Summary Overview of the Project
The main areas addressed within this report are Ziauddin Hospital’s brand, patient satisfaction and overall running of the hospital. The aim of this project is to carry out in-depth interviews and IDIs to analyze Ziauddin and find out how it can improve, build trust among patients and grow as a company over the long run. The report seeks to propose suggestions that enhance communication, how patients are looked after, branding and the way hospitals are managed. What is discovered will show Ziauddin how to organize its actions and plans to address what patients require and expect. Key Findings and Insights Brand Perception Issues: Ziauddin’s name is known, but people do not trust it consistently. Although a lot of patients consider it trustworthy, several have complained about poor communication, little empathy and inefficient operations. Because of this, trust has decreased, and the hospital’s image has been harmed in certain circles of the community. Patient Experience Challenges: The most common pain points identified in the research include: Poor Communication: Many patients said they did not get information on their progress in a timely manner which made them feel more anxious and frustrated. Because the emergency and ICU departments lacked transparency, things felt a bit messy. Inconsistent Service Quality: People noted that the standards for medical treatment changed from one department to another which caused them to doubt the hospital’s skills in general. More delays in treating urgent cases were common. Billing and Transparency: Statement issues seemed to be a major frustration for patients, including unclear billing of panel payments and sudden fees for additional tests and procedures. Competitive Landscape: Ziauddin Hospital is thought by some to need improvement in the care it gives and in its internal organization, as compared to top Karachi facilities such as Aga Khan, South City and Indus Hospital. Certain competitors are believed to have better service and clarity for their patients, but Ziauddin is not perceived to be as advanced as them in terms of digital interactions, how patients rate them and consistency of care. Digital Presence Deficiencies: The website and social media of Ziauddin are not very engaging or straightforward, which today’s patients often look for. Because the hospital’s website is hard to use, its costs are not clearly listed and there is not much interaction on social media, this has made the younger generation view the hospital as outdated. Summary of the Strategic Recommendations Communication Strategy: Improve Transparency: Ziauddin should update patients and their families about changes in care promptly, especially in busy and stressful places such as emergency departments and ICUs. Empathy Training: All health care workers should go through training that helps them communicate better and encourage care that is empathetic and centered on patients. Real-Time Patient Updates: Set up a way for patients to get instant feedback about their health through a special hospital app or platform. Digital and Social Media Strategy: Revamp Online Presence: Ziauddin’s electronic platform ought to allow patients to communicate via the internet, arrange appointments and read necessary details about the hospital, the doctors and charges. Active Social Media Engagement: Come up with a fun and lively way to post patient stories, interviews with doctors, health tips and achievements of the hospital on social media. Trust will be established, the hospital’s experience will be emphasized, and the brand will become more recognizable. Digital Marketing Campaigns: Run focused marketing efforts that talk about the hospital’s best qualities, previous patient achievements and superior care, all to deal with the issues that patients describe in their reviews. Branding and Patient Loyalty Strategy: Patient-First Branding: Highlight how Ziauddin emphasizes compassion and puts patients first instead of being seen as only a healthcare provider. To do this, the approach should be community-oriented and concentrate on personalized care. Loyalty and Referral Programs: Make loyalty programs for patients who come to your clinic regularly and give them discounts or free things. Introducing rewards for referrals may help patients suggest the hospital to people they know. Restore Reputation: Plan a program to fix Ziauddin’s reputation by admitting errors in the past and proving progress by highlighting upgraded care, good communication and better service. Operational Strategy: Enhance Internal Coordination: Ensure departments collaborate well to cut down on long waiting times, mainly in places where many people are treated such as the emergency department. It can be achieved by setting up a good flow for patients and making sure all teams are united in caring for them. Improve Staff Training: Train every member of the staff, not only doctors and nurses, to achieve the best results in caring for patients. Concentrate on bettering communication, empathy and meeting patients’ requirements. Transparent Billing System: Making the method of billing transparent and the same for all helps prevent people from being confused. It should be made clear at the start how much patients are expected to pay, without ambiguity. Expansion and Service Diversification: Branch Expansion: Offer services in areas where access to health care is limited to reach more people and improve accessibility. Expanding with more branches or services may be aimed at people in suburbs or heavily settled regions. Diversify Services: Incorporate new services like mental health support or wellness programs, so that the hospital can respond to future healthcare requirements and build a bigger market presence.
Following these strategy suggestions, Ziauddin Hospital will raise its standard of patient care, recover its reputation and encourage loyalty in its patients. Transparent communication, care with empathy and keeping up with digital changes will help Ziauddin stay successful and competitive in Karachi’s healthcare market for a long time
Can fiscal consolidation improve growth outcomes in Pakistan? A local projections model analysis
No full textThis thesis aims to empirically estimate fiscal policy multipliers for total government expenditures, current fiscal expenditures, development expenditures and taxes with a view to evaluate implications of fiscal policy interventions for Pakistan economy. Following Ramey and Zubairy (2018), the local projections model of Jordà (2005) has been employed for the purpose, using quarterly data of Pakistan (2001Q3-2024Q4). Alongside linear local projection analysis, we use non-linear local projection estimations to analyze the impact of business cycle on size of fiscal multipliers in Pakistan. To establish justification of expenditure based fiscal policy interventions, value of spending multipliers should be positive and greater than unity. Positive but less than unity spending multipliers imply ineffective fiscal policy while negative values of multipliers imply counterproductive fiscal policy. Our results suggest that the expansionary fiscal policy is either ineffective or counter-productive. We conclude that the Keynesian effects of expansionary fiscal spending do not exist in Pakistan. Conversely, government spending consolidation is likely to foster long-term growth by reducing crowding out and making more credit available to the private sector. Thus, our recommendation is in favor of fiscal consolidation to boost private sector credit, investments and ultimately, the GDP in Pakistan
Satellite Based Crop Yield Predictor
No full textThis project presents a satellite-based crop yield prediction system tailored for Pakistan’s key crops. Leveraging multi-source satellite imagery from Landsat and Sentinel-2 combined with historical provincial yield data from AMIS, the system predicts crop yields using a custom convolutional neural network (CNN). The model incorporates feature engineering, data preprocessing, and hyperparameter tuning to improve accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate promising predictive performance with an error rate as low as 10.35%. This work addresses agricultural productivity challenges by enabling data-driven decision making for policymakers and stakeholders
From Bullion to Blockchain: Testing the ‘Digital Gold’ Hypothesis for Bitcoin
No full textThere has been a rising debate among block chain enthusiasts and traditionalists from quiet a long time whether the most dominant cryptocurrency Bitcoin, could serve as a safe heaven during difficult times as traditional gold does and claim the title of digital gold or it is just a speculative asset like any other option available in the financial market. From the day it was introduced in 2009, the dominant cryptocurrency has been gaining value due to its increasing adoption and limited supply.
This study examines if Bitcoin functions as a safe haven asset in general or within the cryptocurrency universe during periods of high volatility. Using monthly data from 2015 to 2024, we examine the relationship between Bitcoin dominance and the VIX index, as proxy for investor fear. While applying the time-series techniques including OLS regression, and two-sample t-tests, we found no significant relationship between VIX Index and Bitcoin dominance. However, we noted that market share of Bitcoin know as dominance, decreases at times of high fear while significant capital flight is observed in other cryptocurrencies which are most likely stable coins. Our findings challenge the perception about Bitcoin as digital gold as it does not exhibit traditional safe-haven characteristics
Climate risk insurance: Bibliometric review on present, past and future
No full textThe paper aims to examine the interrelation between climate risk and insurance, focusing on emerging trends, the evolution of risk assessment methodologies, and the challenges and opportunities in leveraging climate insurance to mitigate climate change risks. The study utilizes bibliometric analysis, network analysis, and content analysis on the bibliometric data comprises 1,726 documents from the Scopus database, narrowed down to 1,688 documents published within the time span of 1975-2023. The research identifies significant trends in the literature, with notable contributions from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. The evolution of risk assessment methodologies reflects a shift towards addressing systemic complexity, multi hazard risks, and forward-looking scenarios. The study also highlights the role of climate risk insurance in promoting sustainable development, encouraging adaptation strategies, and reducing long-term climate change costs. Policy makers and regulators can support the insurance sector’s contribution to climate adaptation by promoting risk reduction measures and fostering public-private partnerships. Enhancing data collection and analysis, developing innovative insurance products, and integrating technological advancements can improve the accuracy of risk prediction models and the effectiveness of climate insurance. This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric review of climate risk insurance literature, offering valuable insights into the field’s development and identifying future research directions
Ethical AI in Business: Leveraging Technology for People-Centered Transformation
No full textThe integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into business operations has ushered in a new era of innovation, efficiency, and growth, enabling organizations to streamline processes, enhance decision-making, and unlock new revenue streams. However, the widespread adoption of AI also brings with it significant ethical challenges that must be addressed. These concerns include algorithmic bias, data privacy infringements, lack of transparency in decision-making, and the displacement of human workers due to automation. These challenges have raised critical questions about how AI can be implemented in a way that not only advances business goals but also aligns with broader societal values and ethical principles. This study aims to explore the role of ethical AI in driving people-centered transformation in businesses. By employing a mixed-methods research design, this study investigates the ethical dilemmas businesses encounter during AI implementation and the strategies they adopt to address these concerns. The research is divided into two components: qualitative case study analysis and quantitative survey data collection. The qualitative component involves an in-depth analysis of three case studies from diverse industries, including healthcare, finance, and retail, where AI technologies are currently being implemented. These case studies provide real-world insights into the ethical challenges faced by businesses and the mechanisms used to mitigate these challenges. The quantitative component consists of a survey administered to 250 business leaders and AI professionals across various sectors. The survey aims to capture data on their awareness of ethical AI principles, the ethical challenges they encounter, and the steps taken to implement AI responsibly within their organizations. The findings from both the case studies and the survey are used to develop a comprehensive framework for ethical AI governance. This framework emphasizes the importance of aligning AI deployment with principles of fairness, accountability, transparency, and inclusivity. The research proposes that businesses must take a holistic approach to AI implementation, incorporating both technical efficiency and ethical considerations, to ensure that AI contributes to people-centered transformation. By focusing on equity and social responsibility, the study provides valuable insights into how businesses can use AI to drive positive, sustainable change while minimizing the risks of harm