Issue #2 (cont. 1) (Volume 14 2016)

The French Ecole Supérieure Libre des Sciences Commercial Appliquées (ESLSCA) in Paris is one of the most important global culturally diverse private business schools in terms of its number of branches and its history. ESLSCA has had a branch in Cairo in Egypt for about 17 years. This qualitative study seeks to focus on ESLSCA-Egypt branch to investigate the extent to which cultural diversity is included in its MBA curricula. The main methods for collecting data are document analysis, a number of semi-structured interviews, and a review of relevant literature. The study findings have meaningful implications for the practices of business schools’ education and training

The imagination of brand image for tourism industry is a combination of antecedents and moderators that create differential effects on customer response to the tourism marketing of the brand. As imagination consider framework of brand image for tourism industry. By constructing a conceptual framework of brand image for tourism industry will build a competitive advantage in the tourism marketplace. Indeed, recent trends in modern tourism marketing have changed tremendously, and study of a conceptual framework is increasingly becoming considerable to keep pace with this change. In this conceptual paper, authors have summarized the literature on currently prevailing concepts and approaches on brand image for tourism industry

The South African private news media industry represents a substantial portion of the overall media industry and the most successful in terms of profit acquired. It is critical however to assess the shareholders and private ownership of the news media industry in order to determine the likely success of investment in this industry. However, additional risk factors need to be considered along with the shareholders and ownership; macro factors such as, legislation and economic stability as well as micro factors such as the restructuring of ownership and transparency within the industry. It is also fundamental that the news media industry of South Africa is assessed through the lens of its historical landscape and transformation and its Fourth Estate responsibilities. Through this assessment it is possible to conclude three likely outcomes of investment in the news media industry. These outcomes are based on the measured growth and current stability of the industry and the South African economy. The most concerning risk for investment is the continued economic downturn of the South African economy and its effect on restructuring of media ownership and a declining profit. This can be coupled with the risk of legislative turnover and executive overreach within the news media industry

The problem studied is related to new venture creation. The question the authors will examine here is: What are the knowledge conditions for new venture creation? The methodology used is conceptual generalization. The purpose of the paper is to bring new understandings to venture creation. In attempting to answer the research question, the authors hope to make a contribution to a policy for supporting entrepreneurship, both corporate entrepreneurship and independent entrepreneurship. The approach the authors adopt here has its roots in the Austrian School. The area of research is the global knowledge economy of the 21st century. Finding one, in this paper, is that entrepreneurial policy has to take four types of knowledge (explicit, tacit, implicit, hidden) into consideration in order to effectively bring forward new venture creation. Finding two is a mini theory, i.e., a system of propositions for new venture creation. Finding three is a system of methodology developed to bring forward the four knowledge types mentioned in finding one

The present study is animated by the pespective that organizations can be compared to oxymorons lowered into the reality. The primary objective of this paper, therefore, is to highlight, through theoretical contributions and a case study, the role and the challenges that the companies face in the moments of the definition, and adaption, of the organizational structures in relation to the environmental changes and to the complexity, intended as a preliminary condition and opportunity. The essential thoughts animating the analysis are based on the concept of contingencies, on the new-institutionalism theory and they refer to the general framework of the complexity. The principal methodology used to perform the analyses was a process of literature review. In addition, another methodology used to identify a common thread in the existing research was the “conceptual generalization”. This process has highlighted the theoretical and scientific aspects of the analysis and it has been functional to the final analysis, aimed at highlighting the repercussions on the organization of the companies and the human resources of the Jobs Act, a set of laws and legislative decrees that from the end of 2014 has defined new rules and new technical and organizational scenarios

It is unclear what is meant by human resources (HR) practices at various levels: individual (micro); organizational (meso); and general (macro). An important objective of this article is to develop a model for future research into strategic HR management. Problem for discussion is how can organizations maintain their competitive position with the help of strategic HR management? Research questions: 1. How can strategic HR management be understood at different levels? 2. What knowledge base do the authors have for strategic HR management? Method of research – conceptual generalization. Findings: 1. The authors have developed a typology for the different levels (micro, meso and macro) and the various perspectives: behavioral; resource-based; knowledge-based and dynamic capabilities. 2. The authors have developed a research model for future research into strategic HR management, which takes account of the particular level and the knowledge perspective that has been applied. At the same time, the model illustrates examples of HR practices at different levels, HR management results, and organizational performance

Service quality and the effective measurement of service quality on the Internet have been drawing much attention lately with the increasing use of the World Wide Web. Researchers and managers focus on the construction of scales to measure electronic service quality, which assess customer satisfaction and loyalty as an ultimate goal. E-S-Qual is the most recently developed and popular e-service quality measurement technique on which there are quite a number of research studies. In this study, existing literature on service quality scales and the E-S-Qual scale is reviewed. A modified scale is also proposed suitable for the online banking sector

Partial or non-recognition of the influence of interpersonal relationships at work could impair the growth, diffusion and success of retail business. For instance, South African retailers have been taking advantage of the retail revolution in Africa to reach the rest of the continent with products and services. Therefore, to examine the interpersonal relationships among supervisors and subordinates in this sector for its contribution to individual and organizational outcomes is important. This paper examines the influence of individual interpersonal relationships on employee performance at work. A mixed method approach was adopted and self-reporting questionnaires were administered to 167 supervisors and 144 subordinate workers of four retail companies that participated in the study. The survey instrument contained both closed-ended and open-ended questions to enable a concurrent collection of data. The quantitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 22, while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. It was found that the relationship between interpersonal relationships and employee performance for the supervisors was weak, while a less significant relationship was observed among the variables for the subordinate workers. The qualitative analysis offered explanations for the weakness and dissociation among interpersonal relationships and employee performance

The purpose of this research study is to theoretically investigate the sustainability, the managerial conduct of management and the internal control systems evident in South African small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). To achieve the aforementioned, a literature review was conducted through analyzing relevant secondary data from journal articles, theses, dissertations, books, and reports. According to popular literature, the overall sustainability of any organization is strongly influenced by its internal control systems. Taking into account the weak sustainability of South African SMMEs, it appears that the soundness of the internal control systems of these business entities is adversely influenced by the managerial conduct of its management. This is particularly the case, since the managerial conduct of management in South Africa is often described as flexible; the managerial conduct of management makes up a substantial part of the control environment which, in turn, is deemed as the foundation of any system of internal control. In quintessence, the literature reviewed shows that the sustainability of South African SMMEs is adversely influenced by a flexible managerial conduct of management which directly (and negatively) impacts on the soundness of their internal control systems; their abilities to attain relevant objectives in the foreseeable future

The purpose of this study is to assess the challenges faced by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in adopting and implementing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for SMEs in South Africa. There is a perception that, although SMEs are required to use IFRS for SMEs in South Africa, many of these entities are finding it difficult to adopt or implement the IFRS for various reasons including lack of the necessary expertise. The objective of the study is to establish, empirically, the reasons and, subsequently, to determine the attributing causes of the problem, if that was the case.
The study is based on a sample of randomly selected number of SMEs in Vhembe district, Thohoyandou, Limpopo province, South Africa. The study findings show that many SMEs in Vhembe District (67%) have adopted IFRS for SMEs in various forms and degree, but, generally, SMEs still find challenges in implementation due to lack of resources. For compliance purposes, however, even those SMEs which have not substantially implemented the IFRS for SMEs are expected to prepare their financial statements by referring to the guidelines.
Consequently, this raises a problem when comparing financial performance of various SMEs whose financial statements are prepared using different approaches. The study findings serve as a reminder to the accounting profession about the challenges that SMEs face when they attempt to adopt IFRS for SMEs

The lack of communication privacy boundaries among students and the fault of self-disclosure are two main reasons for unforeseen distress, broken relationships and trust, vulnerability and conflicts in universities. Based on S. Petronio’s theory of communication privacy management this research investigates the interaction of domestic students and foreign students in Latvia with their peers in order to set up privacy and disclosure boundaries that do not violate peer privacy, especially in a sensitive multicultural context. In fact, the presence of private information and the willingness to disclose it is often confronted with numerous privacy dilemmas and issues regarding their secureness, especially in universities where peers are young with different cultural backgrounds. This article analyzes the privacy management skills of locals and foreigners and reveals how security of information is managed between them stemming from social penetration and communication privacy management theory. Privacy management is significant in facing the dilemma of communication privacy and facilitates solving already existing problems of privacy among students

South Africa is experiencing high rates of unemployment and poverty, particularly among the youth. Entrepreneurship, and the education of it, is often seen as a solution to this socio-economic issue, yet studies show conflicting results on the impact the field of study has on entrepreneurial intent. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to evaluate and compare the entrepreneurial intention among urban students enrolled for an entrepreneurship qualification versus students who were registered for a non-entrepreneurship related qualification. The article presents quantitative, empirical data collected from 603 students by means of a questionnaire to determine if the field of study has an influence on entrepreneurial intent. The study makes use of descriptive statistics, factor analysis, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett test in order to discover similarities and differences in entrepreneurial intent in students pursuing entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial qualifications. The results reveal that students view entrepreneurship as a valuable career path, regardless of field of study. Both groups hold similar strong positive views and beliefs regarding their intention to pursue this career path. Entrepreneurship students, however, display a marginally higher self-observed personal attitude toward becoming entrepreneurs. Results also show that family support is an important influencer in entrepreneurial intent among students

The agricultural sector is no doubt one of the most important sectors in sub-Saharan Africa, considering its prime place as a livelihood source and employer of the vast majority of residents, especially those in rural areas. In South Africa, for instance, agriculture plays a very significant role despite its declining contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for some years now. This dwindling share of agriculture in the country’s GDP could be attributed to a number of factors ranging from changing government policies, declining budgetary allocation to the sector, and aging infrastructure and population growth. It is against this backdrop that a review of the effect of this downward slide in budgetary allocation on the development of the country is considered to be important

All school populations are diverse in many ways. The diversity in South African schools has been compounded since 1994 with the migration of Black learners to former ‘white’ schools. Some schools and their principals have succeeded in coping efficiently with the new social and cultural makeup of their schools, while others have been struggling and even resigned under the pressures of all the conflicting demands from stakeholders. The theoretical and empirical investigation reported in this paper shows that principals and schools could benefit enormously from learning from the experiences of the more successful schools and their principals