Career Planning and Development: The Realities in Nigerian Organizations

Abstract: Employees are veritable sources of competitive advantage and planning and developing their careers is beneficial to both the organization and the employees. This study focuses on whether organizations in Nigeria give premium to career planning and development activities; the programmes engaged in and the perceived effectiveness of programmes generally. The investigation, which adopted a cross sectional survey and utilized structured questionnaire and interviews, centred on 10 firms in Rivers State, Nigeria. Data generated were analysed using descriptive statistics, specifically percentages and means, and simple regression. The results indicate that organizations recognize the need to invest in people and do embark on career planning and development programmes but employees do not perceive programmes as overly effective. Also, although firms recognize employees as important assets for organization success, they do not give as much attention to personal needs of employees as they do corporate needs. This is potentially counterproductive. Thus, we recommend the full incorporation of employees needs in career development activities so as to address the issues of employability of employees and long term competitiveness of organizations. Key words: Career planning resources; Career development programmes; Investing in people; Personal needs of employees; Employability; Perceived effectiveness; Nigeria organizatio

Characterization of virulence factors in the newly described <i>Salmonella enterica</i> serotype Keurmassar emerging in Senegal (sub-Saharan Africa)

From 2000 to 2001, nine strains of Salmonella enterica belonging to the new serotype Keurmassar have been isolated from human and poultry samples at the Senegalese National Salmonella and Shigella Reference Laboratory at the Pasteur Institute, in Dakar. All strains carried virulence factors including Salmonella Pathogenicity Islands (SPI)-1, -2, -3 and -5 encoded genes. Strains did not harbour virulence plasmid. Ribotyping analysis revealed a single clone identical to Salmonella Decatur isolated in Zimbabwe. These data suggest that strains are closely related, and may have been spread clonally. In this new serotype, insertion sequence IS200 is not present

State Manoeuvres in Hotel Acquisitions in Cameroon: An Analysis of the Ringway Hotel Saga, 1962- 1992

Since the independence and reunification of Cameroon in 1960/61, state engagements in hotel provisioning has been one of the essential socio-economic devotions. Decision making in this sector has most often largely depended on administrative preferences than well-versed managerial pointers. Consequently, some state ventures in this direction have been characterised by, inappropriate forecasting and mismanagement. These setbacks in the long run culminate in the collapse of public hotel investments. Based on primary and secondary sources and informed by qualitative analysis, this article profiles a crucial case of a public hotel investment, the Ringway Hotel in the chief town of Bamenda (Cameroon) as it quivered and writhed for survival. It argues that the purchase and management of the hotel was trapped in controversies involving but not limited to the strategic interest of the state and different stakeholders. The state purchase and operational principles of the hotel did not fluidly align with the desire for which its purchase was envisioned. This had as long run consequence, the collapse of the Ringway hotel. Key Words: Acquisitions, Manoeuvres, State, Ringway, Hotel, Board of Directors, Cameroon Hotel Limited. DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/76-07 Publication date:November 30th 202

Development and Efficacy of a New Stain for Assessing Acrosomal Characteristics of Spermatozoa

Dairy Scienc

Studies on the Acrosome of Bovine Spermatozoa

Animal Breedin

Some aspects of physical and mechanical properties of hollow blocks procuced from hot water treated sawdust.

The study investigated sawdust as a partial replacement for sand in production of hollow blocks with a view to reducing cost and converting waste to resource use. Sawdust of Daniella oliveri was collected from Timber Shed along New Bridge Wurukum, Makurdi. It was boiled and spread to dry. Standard ratio of 1:8 (cement and sand) was used in the study. Replacement levels of 0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% of sawdust were used for sand, while cement was kept constant throughout the mixture. Density, percentage water absorption (PWA), and compressive strength (CS) of the blocks were tested after 28 days of curing. PWA results showed that blocks produced from 0% sawdust replacement level had least mean of 10.06%, while 8% sawdust replacement had the highest mean of 11.40%. Mean density values showed that 8% sawdust replacement had the least value of 1090.40Kg/m3 and while the highest value (1346.60Kg) was observed for 0%. The mean CS for 0% sawdust replacement was highest (3.20N/mm2)and falls within the Nigeria Building Codes of 2.5N/mm2 - 3.45N/mm2 and Ghana Building Code of 2.75 N/mm2. Mean CS value of 2.0N/mm2 was obtained for 2% and 4% sawdust replacement levels respectively. The value meets the minimum standard of 2.0N/mm2 according to National Building Code for non-load bearing walls and 1.7 N/mm2 according to Ghana Building Code. However, 6% and 8% sawdust replacement levels showed the least CS of 1.00N/mm2 which is below standards. In conclusion, blocks produced with 2% and 4% sawdust replacement levels as obtained in this study are recommended for building and construction purposes

Habitat characteristics of wintering Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix in the Centre Region of Cameroon: conservation implications

Populations of many Afro-Palearctic birds have declined, with those wintering in sub-Saharan Africa, such as Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix, particularly affected. In this study we investigated the relationship between habitat characteristics and Wood Warbler presence/absence in the Centre Region of Cameroon. A total of six transects were established in three habitat types (forest, forest&ndash;savanna transitional zone and savanna). Call playback surveys were conducted monthly from November 2015 to April 2016 to determine Wood Warbler presence/absence. Detailed habitat measurements were also recorded in each transect. A total of 86 responses were recorded: 33 (mean 6.6 &plusmn; 2.3) in forest habitat, 47 (mean 9.4 &plusmn; 3.36) in the forest&ndash;savanna transitional zone, and 6 (mean 2 &plusmn; 1.1) in savanna habitat. Wood Warbler presence increased significantly with the number of trees between 3 and 7 m in height, and decreased significantly with the number of shrubs between 0.5 and 3 m in height. Anthropogenic disturbance such as the agricultural cycle and burning were not found to have an effect on Wood Warblers presence/absence. We conclude that Wood Warblers overwinter in all three habitat types with probability of detection greatest in the forest&ndash;savanna transitional habitat with a relatively low canopy and an open understorey. Forest clearance in sub-Saharan Africa potentially threatens wintering habitat for Wood Warblers