General Business Procedures and Practices Standardization as an Instrument for Ensuring Business Survival: An Empirical Based Proposition

The worst state of a business is that of failure that may result into liquidation. A business owner or other business stakeholders never pray to experience such state. It, however, occurs very frequently, most especially, to small businesses and sometimes to big businesses and it is usually with enormous consequences. Whether an endeavor prospers or fails is, generally, a big function of the way and manner of the procedures and operations of that endeavor. It, therefore, implies that business procedures and practices should be executed in such a manner that they ensure prosperity. The general objective of this study was to investigate if business procedures and practices standardization can help businesses and consequently reduce business failure rate. Primary data were collected through a well-structured questionnaire, administered to stakeholders of business organizations in Nigeria. The responses were analyzed using the mean and standard deviation and the results were tested using the ‘Z’ statistics which was revalidated with ANOVA. The study revealed that stakeholders are of the opinion that business practices and procedures can be standardized and are in support of it. The study, consequently, recommended that existing standard setting agencies, that are related to business, should come together with other related and experienced experts, at national and international levels, to develop, on a continuous basis, standards that can guide and regulate relevant, yet standardized, activities of business organizations

Sustainable Development and Performance, Financial Position and Market Value of Nigerian Quoted Companies

The study is against the background that sustainable development practices may involve financial outflows and hence, may be an unattractive investment to managers. This study evaluated the impact of corporate compliance with accounting standards that are deemed to enforce sustainable development practices and can, therefore, imply sustainable development practices by companies, on profitability, financial position and market value of companies. Forty-four companies that have existed since standardization began in Nigeria in 1984 were studied over five years, using Pearson product moment and spearman's rank correlation statistical techniques. The correlations compared compliance to financial reporting standards on the one hand with financial performance, financial position and market value on the other. Results showed that sustainable development practices of companies are rarely associated with profitability. The practices are, however, shown to associate a little with better asset worth and improved market values

Environmental degradation problems caused by human activities in Nigeria: enforced (taxation) versus voluntary (social responsibility) solution

The result of some activities leaves the ecosystem worse-off comparatively. Most of such activities come through the release of waste as well as the extraction of environmental resources. Although benefits may accrue to some immediately, the consequences outweigh the benefits and those who benefit from environmental degradation, usually ignore these problems. This study evaluates the current method of handling environmental degradation problems and examines the possibility of using taxation or social responsibility in tackling the problems. Perception and observation of stakeholders on the data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation, which were also tested using 'Z scores' statistics. The study reveals stakeholders' support for a change in the current system and imposition of tax for degradation problems. Consequently, the introduction of a special tax for organisations that cause damages to the ecosystem was recommended, among others.environmental degradation; human activities; taxation; social responsibility; Nigeria; environmental pollution; environmental damage; ecosystems.

Entrepreneurship in Underdeveloped Economies: A Study of Nigeria

W artykule zbadano możliwość osiągnięcia wzrostu i rozwoju dzięki przedsiębiorczości w gospodarkach słabo rozwiniętych w kontekście znaczenia przedsiębiorczości dla wzrostu i rozwoju gospodarczego. W szczególności analizie poddano istnienie odpowiednich warunków i zakres, w jakim jednostki i grupy są w stanie rozpoznać/stworzyć możliwości dostarczania towarów i usług, a także stopień, w jakim są one w stanie wykorzystać takie możliwości. W ramach badania zebrano podstawowe dane o środowisku dla rozwoju przedsiębiorczości w Nigerii, zakresie i charakterze tworzonych możliwości oraz perspektywach wprowadzania innowacji w kraju. Dane zebrano od przedsiębiorców i specjalistów ds. przedsiębiorczości przy wykorzystaniu odpowiednio ułożonego kwestionariusza skierowanego do próbki 360 respondentów wybranych spośród grup. Odpowiedzi zostały przeanalizowane za pomocą testu Kruskala Wallisa i testu Wilcoxona dla par obserwacji. Badanie wykazało, że Nigeryjczycy są innowacyjni i przedsiębiorczy, jak również, że źródłami znaczących utrudnień są infrastruktura, finansowanie i edukacja w zakresie przedsiębiorczości. Badanie pokazało, że wzrost przedsiębiorczości wpływa na wzrost gospodarczy w Nigerii, a zatem powolny rozwój przedsiębiorczości w tym kraju przyczynił się do tego, że gospodarka nigeryjska jest słabo rozwinięta. W badaniu wskazano konkretne rozwiązania różnych zidentyfikowanych problemów dotyczących przedsiębiorczości.Against the background of the importance of entrepreneurship to economic growth and development, this paper investigates the potential for achieving growth and development through entrepreneurship in underdeveloped economies. Specifically, the study investigated the availability of the environment for and the extent to which individuals and groups are able to recognize/create opportunity for providing goods and services; and the extent to which they are able to utilize such opportunities. The study collected primary data about the environment for entrepreneurship development in Nigeria, the extent and nature of opportunity creation and the prospect for carrying through innovations in the country. The data were collected from entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship professionals, using a well-structured questionnaire administered to a sample of 360 respondents, drawn from among the groups. The responses were analyzed using Kruskal Wallis and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests. The study revealed that Nigerians are innovative and enterprising. It also revealed that infrastructural facilities, funding, and entrepreneurship education are significant impediments. The study also showed that economic growth in Nigeria is influenced by entrepreneurship growth, therefore the slow growth in entrepreneurship development in Nigeria contributed to the underdeveloped status of the economy. The study recommended specific solutions to the different entrepreneurship problems identified in the study