Ethiopian Journals Online (EJOL)
Not a member yet
4332 research outputs found
Sort by
Practices and Challenges of Implementing Balanced Scorecard in State Owned Banks of Ethiopia
No full textThis study assessed the overall practices and challenges faced while implementing the balanced scorecard (BSC) as a performance measurement, strategic management and communication system in three state owned banks of Ethiopia: Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE); Construction and Business Bank (CBB) and Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE). The study tried to evaluate the challenges faced as compared to the standard literatures of the system. In order to assess the implementation status of the stated banks, the study has been conducted by designing five-point Likert scale questionnaires. The total population size of the study was 654 involving department managers, team managers and non-management senior officers of the stated banks. The study adopted purposive sampling technique to select 150 respondents who have the working knowledge of the system of which the responses of 105 respondents were analyzed. Common implementation challenges such as limited understanding of BSC, lack of executive sponsorship, lack of BSC education and training, inadequate IT support, inadequate project team and organizational participation, inadequate key performance indicators (KPIs) and lack of planning and communication were observed in the stated banks at different level. However, lack of formal BSC education and training, lack of planning and communication, lack of organizational participation and inadequate IT support were the major challenges identified. The study advised those banks to conduct intensive awareness creation activities, ensure organizational level participation, develop strong implementation and monitoring mechanism and back the system with relevant IT system to gain advantage of the Balanced Scorecard system
Inter-organizational Cooperation, Financial Constraints and Innovation: Evidence from Large Manufacturing Companies
No full textThis study examines the relationship between inter-organizational cooperation, financial constraints, and innovation performance of large manufacturing companies. It uses descriptive and explanatory research designs and a quantitative research approach. Using a structured questionnaire partially adopted from the World Bank Innovation Follow-Up Survey instruments, we collect and use primary data from 79 large manufacturing companies in Addis Ababa. The study used a standard probit model as a baseline model along with several robustness tests. We find several interesting findings. Firstly, inter-organizational cooperation can be used as a coping mechanism to alleviate or reduce the adverse effect of financial constraints; however, not all modes of inter-organizational cooperation are effective. Cooperation with domestic firms, academic and research institutions, and government are effective. Despite having a significant direct role in promoting corporate innovations, cooperation with foreign firms andconsulting companies is less effective in alleviating or reducing the adverse impact of financial constraints on large manufacturing companies likely to innovate. The managers of financially constrained companies can consider cooperation as a coping strategy to mitigate the adverse influence of financial constraints on their innovation performance but should pay attention to partner selection
Effect of Growth Media, Starter N and P Fertilizers on Growth and Yield of Tomato under Rain fed Condition in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia
No full textExperiment was conducted to evaluate media mix ratios (various soil: sand: and decomposed FYM proportions) and to study the effect of supplementary inorganic nitrogen (0 and 25 kg N ha-1), and phosphorous (0 and 23 kg P ha-1) for container grown tomato crop during the rainy season under field condition at Melkassa Agricultural research, Ethiopia. Three factors, namely, media proportions; supplementary N and P applications rates were combined factorially with three replications. Data on canopy characteristics such as plant height, stem diameter, main lateral branch length, canopy width, canopy depth were measured from sample plants and canopy cover (CC) was estimated. Additionally, tomato early blight was scored using the scale of 0-5 and all data were analysed using SAS. The results indicated that among the tested six media mixes, MR3 (4:1:1) produced the highesttotal fruit yield, followed by MR4 (3:2:1) in the form of field soil: manure: sand order. Thus, the proposed media mixes based on the results of this study is MR3 (4:1:1) that suits organic tomato production. Use of FYM further prevented crusting and sealing of the media, which is a problem associated with top soil in the Central Rift Valley area of Ethiopia. Although there was no significant difference between supplementary application of 25 kg N ha-1and no N application for container grown tomato, application of N at the rate of 25 kg ha-1was found to be better yielding. Similarly, compared to 0 kg P ha-1, application of 23 kg P ha-1 produced higher fruit yield. Although there was increase in fruit yields of tomato crop, further research is required for management of supplementary N and P fertilizer uses in container grown tomato cultivation under both rainfed and irrigated conditions
Land-based investment implications on land use land cover change and livelihood of the local community in Northern Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Get PDFA surge in land-based investment has been taking place in developing countries, including Ethiopia, with the aim to foster economic growth, enhance food security, and reduce poverty. This study sought to investigate the impact of such investments in the western Armachiho district of the Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, using remote sensing data from 1995, 2010, and 2020 supplemented by socioeconomic surveys and field observation to validate the spatial data. The results revealed significant land use and land cover changes in the district over the past twenty-five years. Forest cover decreased from 60.92% in 1995 to 27.6% in 2010, while water bodies, including rivers, streams, and ponds, declined from 3.04% to 1.4% during the same period. Conversely, built-up areas, bushland, farmland, and bare land exhibited an increasing trend. The observed changes during the initial study period can be attributed to the expansion of land-based investments and illegal farmland encroachment in the area under investigation. The results further indicated that the expansion of such investments during this period had adverse effects on the local community, resulting in the loss of access to farmland, grazing land, and forest products that served as sources of income. The results also demonstrated that the delineation of agricultural investment land, the closure of unproductive land, and the issuance of land-holding certificates have prevented illegal encroachment that contributed to the improvements in forestland cover between 2010 and 2020. Hence, when granting significant amounts of land for land-based investment, it is crucial to consider not only the short-term economic benefits but also the well-being of local communities and the principles of environmental sustainability
Characteristics of the cattle fattening system and body conformation of beef cattle in Bahir Dar Special Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia
Get PDFThe study was conducted in the urban and peri-urban areas of Bahir Dar special zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, with the objectives of characterizing the cattle fattening system and conformation traits of fattening cattle in the area. Data on the fattening systems were collected from 112 cattle fatteners (72 from peri-urban and 40 fatteners from urban areas) who have experience with cattle fattening using a semi-structured questionnaire. The beef cattle conformational traits measurement was carried out on fattening cattle on a total of 60 animals (30 from peri-urban farms and 30 from urban farms) in selected farms under the fattener’s management condition. Twelve farms were used for the body conformation measurement of the animals using ICAR guidelines. The survey data was analyzed and summarized using descriptive statistics and index ranking. Conformational trait data were analyzed using the General Linear Model Procedure of SAS 9.1. The overall mean family size, age of household heads, and landholding per household were 8.43, 42.31 years, and 0.77 hectares, respectively. Most of the respondents in the periurban hold cattle for draft power (index = 0.40). The respondents prefer intact and matured bulls in the urban (100%) and peri-urban (93%) areas. The respondents, on average, fatten three times a year (47.3%) with a mean number of 8.08 fattening cattle. The main feed sources in the peri-urban and urban areas were crop residue (index = 0.26) and agro-industrial by-products (index = 0.63), respectively. Most of the cattle fatteners select their fattening cattle based on body conformation (index 0.29) and condition (index 0.21). The mean initial and final body weight of fattening cattle were 348.75kg and 425.33 kg, respectively. In general, the cattle fattening practice needs to be supported by the extension system so as to efficiently use the resources
Seed tuber cutting improves tuber yield of potato (Solanum tuberosum L,) varieties under irrigation conditions in Dangla district of Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Get PDFPotato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important cash and food crop in Ethiopia. However, lack of planting material and improved varieties are among the major factors affecting its productivity. Therefore, an experiment was conducted at Gayeta Kebele of Dangla district, Awi Zone, Northwestern Ethiopia to study the effect of seed tuber cutting on yield and yield components of potato varieties under irrigated conditions. The experiment consisted of two improved varieties (‘Belete’ and ‘Jalenie’) along with one local variety and two tuber size categories and their half cuttings (whole large tuber (>75g), whole-medium tuber (39-75g), half cuttings of large tuber and half cuttings medium tuber. It was arranged with a factorial combination in RCBD with three replications. Phenological, growth, yield and quality parameters were significantly affected by the main factors (cutting and variety). Whole-large and half-large tuber sizes and Belete variety showed superior performance on marketable (38.24 t ha-1) and total tuber yield (40.26 tha-1) over the rest of the tuber sizes and varieties. The combination of Belete variety with whole-large seed tubers recorded the highest net benefit 261,516 ETB ha-1 with an acceptable marginal rate of return (113.6%). The second highest net benefit (247,001.3 ETB ha-1) with an acceptable marginal rate of return (2566.67%) was recorded when Beltete variety was planted using half-large cut tubers. Hence, Belete variety with whole-large seed tubers, and half-large cut tubers could be recommended for resource-rich and poor farmers, respectively, for the production of potatoes under irrigated conditions in Gayeta kebele and areas with similar agro-ecology. Repeating the research in different seasons and locations is also recommended