Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2012 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 6 Articles
This paper examines the contribution of marine insurance to the development of Nigerian insurance\r\nmarket in the period 1984 to 2006. It is not intended to extend the study to other countries of the world,\r\nbut mainly to Nigeria where the public opinion has been that insurance is of no benefit to the economic\r\nwell being of the people. Research was conducted in the Nigerian Insurance Market, Central Bank of\r\nNigeria, National Bureau for Statistics, Insurance Department of Finance and Economic Development\r\nand Research and the Development Department of Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation, Lagos. Premiums\r\naccruing to the Marine Departments of insurance companies were collected, analysed and it was\r\nconfirmed that marine insurance has significant impact on the level of the development of insurance\r\nmarket in Nigeria....
With the Chinese rapid industrial development, there became a need for importation of oil and minerals\r\n(that is, iron ore, bauxite, nickel, copper), which Africa have in great quantity. For that, China now\r\nbecomes Africaââ?¬â?¢s second largest trading partner after U.S. As a result of this, bilateral trade with Africa\r\nreached $114 billion in 2008, up from $65.9 billion in 2007. This was as a result of the governmentââ?¬â?¢s\r\nââ?¬Å?going global policyââ?¬Â, which encouraged Chinese companies to become multinationals, and therefore\r\nsupported a rise in Chinaââ?¬â?¢s foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa to $5.4 billion in 2009, up from a\r\nnegligible amount just a decade ago. In spite of Africa ââ?¬â?? China relationship, there appears to be culture\r\nrelated differences which need to be studied for greater mutual understanding. The objective of this\r\ntopic therefore, is more or less to minimize misunderstandings through an awareness of the priorities\r\nand expectations of business partners for greater world economy. In so doing, this study was able to\r\ndiscuss some differences in Africa and Chinese business cultures. It therefore explained the\r\nconnection between culture and business. It went on to clarify the differences between China and Africa\r\nby focusing on Hofstedeââ?¬â?¢s four cultural dimensions: power distance, individualism/collectivism,\r\nmasculinity/femininity, and uncertainty avoidance and Bondââ?¬â?¢s dimension about long-term/short-term\r\norientation also called ââ?¬Å?Confucian dynamismââ?¬Â. The paper tried to explain their cultural differences in\r\nbusiness strategies, conflict management, decision-making risk-taking/risk-avoiding, decision-making,\r\nwork-group characteristics, and motivation systems. It made it known that whereas Chinese has\r\nsomething to do with guanxi (relationship) that helps them not to lose face in business, African never\r\nthink of such. The paper concludes that knowing another culture is a legitimate concern of businesses.\r\nMore than that, it is essential. Those who make effort to understand another culture gain knowledge\r\nabout how to behave in that culture. Otherwise, if one knows what people value and understand their\r\nattitudes, one would not unintentionally do something that offends and diminishes oneââ?¬â?¢s chances for\r\nbusiness success....
Since the early 2000s, the conversation on CSR in Malaysia has been moving ahead rapidly. Whereas commentators tended to understand CSR in the 1990s as exclusively dealing with supplying chain issues, the last few years have seen changing expectations on company performance when it comes to social and environmental issues. \r\n\r\nIn this paper, the researchers have tried to focus on a handful of key changes in the way various groups perceive good company practices, and outline some of the key challenges and opportunities in the CSR area....
Even though God has ordained migration which has changed human history, rationalism, capitalism,\r\nliberalisation and technological innovation are central driving forces of globalization, and have\r\npositively impacted on global migration. Regardless of their entrepreneurial engagement, the presence\r\nof immigrants, including those from Congo-Brazzaville in South Africa, is often associated with an\r\nincreasing unemployment rate; therefore, Congolese immigrants have become easy targets of blame\r\nfor everything that has gone wrong in Cape Town. Therefore, the current authors believe that\r\ntechnological innovation, namely e-commerce could enable Congo-Brazzaville immigrant\r\nentrepreneurs, who are often accused of taking South African jobs, to plan for returning home. The\r\nmain objective of this study was to analyse the benefits of online business registration for Congo-\r\nBrazzaville immigrant entrepreneurs in Cape Town. In order to obtain a clearer idea, the study focused\r\non the junction of two strands, namely online company registration from both inductive and deductive\r\nperspectives. This paper utilised both qualitative and quantitative research methods. For research\r\npurposes, a self-administered questionnaire was utilised. The research target population included\r\nCongo-Brazzaville immigrant entrepreneurs in Cape Town, which is where the study was conducted.\r\nThe purposeful sampling method was utilised with a sample size N = 116. The samples were sought\r\nfrom the general population of Congolese immigrant entrepreneurs who are also members of the\r\nCongolese Association of Cape Town....
The present study seeks to empirically investigate the perceptions of users of corporate annual report on the various aspects of internet financial reporting (IFR). Further, this paper examines the factors that influence companies in Malaysia to engage in IFR. Finally, perceptions of advantages and problems in using this new technology for financial reporting were also examined. The perceptions of users of corporate annual report were solicited using a survey mailed questionnaire of four different user-groups. The findings of this study suggested three main benefits to companies that engage in IFR: attracting foreign investors, promoting company wider to the public, and providing wider coverage. The findings also revealed that three main benefits to the users who collect financial information of companies via their website are: increasing timeliness and efficiency in obtaining financial information, making investment decision process easier and faster, and providing information for company inexpensively. The outcome of the analysis revealed that three factors that are perceived as important by responding firms to engage in IFR: enhancing corporate image, company teller with the technology development, and competitors in the industry. The findings also suggested three factors that inhibit firms from engaging in IFR: The required expertise from the company, the need to keep information updated to be of use, and the concern over security of information. Another important result revealed the increased information and analysis as the most important advantages from financial reporting on the Internet. Moreover, security problems are the disadvantages of placing financial information on the Internet. The evidence on Malaysia is relevant to other emerging capital markets. Finally, the implication of research findings and future research will also be discussed...
The present study seeks to empirically investigate the perceptions of users of corporate annual report on the various aspects of internet financial reporting (IFR). Further, this paper examines the factors that influence companies in Malaysia to engage in IFR. Finally, perceptions of advantages and problems in using this new technology for financial reporting were also examined. The perceptions of users of corporate annual report were solicited using a survey mailed questionnaire of four different user-groups. The findings of this study suggested three main benefits to companies that engage in IFR: attracting foreign investors, promoting company wider to the public, and providing wider coverage. The findings also revealed that three main benefits to the users who collect financial information of companies via their website are: increasing timeliness and efficiency in obtaining financial information, making investment decision process easier and faster, and providing information for company inexpensively. The outcome of the analysis revealed that three factors that are perceived as important by responding firms to engage in IFR: enhancing corporate image, company teller with the technology development, and competitors in the industry. The findings also suggested three factors that inhibit firms from engaging in IFR: The required expertise from the company, the need to keep information updated to be of use, and the concern over security of information. Another important result revealed the increased information and analysis as the most important advantages from financial reporting on the Internet. Moreover, security problems are the disadvantages of placing financial information on the Internet. The evidence on Malaysia is relevant to other emerging capital markets. Finally, the implication of research findings and future research will also be discussed....
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