Education and Economic Growth in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

The declining level of economic growth in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been attributed to the poor level of educational development in the bloc. Consequently, this study aims to assess the effect of primary, secondary and tertiary educational development on economic growth in the ECOWAS bloc. The study adopted an extended literature review/ desktop research methodology to address three research questions. Findings based on the extended literature review indicated negative and insignificant relationships between primary educational development and economic growth in the ECOWAS bloc. Secondly, findings also established largely positive relationships between secondary educational development and economic growth in the bloc. Lastly, the relationship between tertiary educational development and economic growth was largely mixed in the ECOWAS bloc. The three specific conclusions were, therefore, validated by both the institutional fitness theory and the new theory of growth. Consequently, to improve the contributions of primary, secondary and tertiary educational development to economic growth in the ECOWAS bloc, the present study recommends the promotion of enhanced social programs, integration of existing policies and creation of societal culture executed within a sound institutional framework, reduction in unemployment, regional disparities, defining the active role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other independent institutions, as well as even distribution of political and financial power, especially in Nigeria, the largest country in the bloc

Policy and Non-Policy Factors: What Determines Foreign Direct Investments in Africa?

Studies have been conducted on the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) destinations. However, there seem to be few studies on determinants in African countries. This paper evaluates the determinants of FDI inflows, by examining specific relationships between the determinants (policy and non-policy factors) and FDI inflows to Africa, using a panel dataset from 1980 to 2016. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) were used as the estimation techniques. The dependent variable, FDI inflows, was represented by the ratio of FDI flows to GDP, while the independent variables were agglomeration effects, trade openness, fiscal balance-macroeconomic condition, market size, economic instability, exchange rate, foreign aid, human capital development, corporate tax, and natural resource endowment. First-year lag of FDI (agglomeration effects), trade openness, market size, economic instability, foreign aid, human capital development, and natural resources (oil and metals) endowment have positive and significant effects on FDI inflows to Africa, while there is a negative relationship between FDI inflows to the continent and fiscal balance (public debt), exchange rate, and corporate tax. Consequently, government policies and non-policy factors played significant roles in facilitating FDI inflow into Africa during the study period. The p-value of the estimation (0.0001) further attests to the statistical significance of the results. Consequently, African countries must improve their regulatory framework to be able to attract more inflow of FDI. Efforts should also be made to reform and improve macroeconomic policies, institutional quality, and natural comparative advantages

Total Quality Management and Organizational Performance: A Study of Commercial Banks in Bamako, Mali

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of total quality management on organizational performance among selected banks in Bamako, Mali. This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. The target population was 160 respondents and the sample size was 114 respondents. The study questionnaire was the main instrument of data collection. Frequency and percentage distribution were used to determine the profile of the respondents. Mean and Standard deviations were used as descriptive statistics for the independent (total quality management constructs) and dependent variables (organizational performance). Linear and multiple regression analyses were used to determine the effect. The study found a significant effect of total quality management on organizational performance (R2=0.832, p<0.01). Specifically, the study found a significant effect of all the measures of total quality management on organizational performance. Lastly, the study found that there was a positive significant correlation between total quality management and organizational performance among banks in Bamako, Mali. The study concluded that the promotion of total quality management principles is relevant in enhancing organizational performance in the Malian Banking Industry. The study recommended that: the management of the banks should enhance human resource focus to increase reliability and timely delivery of the products/services. Moreover, effective human resources focus during the process of total quality management thus enhancing banks' performance. The management of banks should focus on the improvement of market target blend and customer care. The banks should also focus on the provision of quality services to the customer and promoting their brand

Credit Accessibility and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Bujumbura, Burundi

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of credit accessibility on the growth of small and medium enterprises in Bujumbura, Burundi. The study was guided by the following objectives: i) to determine the effect of creditworthiness to credit accessibility on the growth of SMEs in Bujumbura; ii) to establish the effect of business characteristics to credit accessibility on the growth of SMEs in Bujumbura, and iii) to examine the effect of information available to credit accessibility on the growth of SMEs in Bujumbura. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The target population was 347 and the sample size determined using the Slovenes formula was 186, but 167 respondents participated successfully in the study. The research instrument was a questionnaire and data were analyzed using frequency and percentage tables, mean and standard deviations, and linear and multiple regression analyses. The study found that creditworthiness to access credit had a significant effect on the growth of SMEs (Adjusted R2=0.059, p=0.001). In addition, the study revealed that business characteristics to access credit had a significant effect on the growth of SMEs (Adjusted R2=0.242, p=0.000). Furthermore, the study revealed that information available to access credit had a significant effect on the growth of SMEs (Adjusted R2=0.116, p=0.000). The study concluded that credit accessibility significantly affects the growth of SMEs. Thus, the study recommended that the owners of SMEs should strive to ensure that they have collateral security and proper documentation before they seek credit from financial institutions, SMEs should also form and register an association that is recognizable by law in Burundi. Likewise, the owners of SMEs should seek the support of professional auditors to audit their books of accounts at least every year

Conceptual Model of Conflict Resolution for Personal Assistants of Nigerian National Assembly Members

The paper investigated the major conflicts of interests existing between the assembly members and the people they arerepresenting and suggested possible ways in which the personal assistants of the national assembly members could help themto resolve such conflicts and foster good relationship. It was shown that the people and the assembly members may differ inopinions because of the varying levels of sensitivity of the assembly members to certain issues, however, the personalassistants of the assembly members could help by adopting conflict resolution and management techniques and take somedefinite steps in addressing such issues. The steps to be taken have been well enumerated and a model was suggested

Global Energy Poverty: Nigeria as a Case Study

The deplorable condition of energy supply and distribution, generally called vitality neediness has been distinguished as one noteworthy failure militating against the satisfaction of Nigeria's objective of achieving financial improvement. The objectives of this study are to identify the challenges that limit the development and accentuate the stagnancy and near decline in Nigeria's energy sector. AmartyaSen's Capability approach was the theory that provided the framework for the study. The comfort examining the system, purposive inspecting procedure and the arbitrary determination method were utilized. The purposive examining strategy was utilized to choose five (5) respondents from the best administration staff of the power segment for the inside and out meetings, while the random sampling technique was utilized in selecting discussants for the Focus Group Discussions. Findings revealed that that the pervading challenges that impede the development of the electricity sector in the country are the insufficient financial capacity to purchase huge power generating sets or maintain the existing ones, the commercial unavailability of the electricity sector that renders it unattractive to prospective investors, consumers' unwillingness to pay for electricity units at cost-reflective prices. In conclusion, the findings of research indicate that energy poverty possesses an adverse effect on both individual and economic well-being of the nation. The study recommends that more funding, both from private individuals and government is required to enhance electricity generation, transmission and distribution in the country. It also recommends a revitalization of the country's electricity sector, to make it more commercially viable and attractive to an investor

Technology Transfer, Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth: A Comparative Analysis of Asian and African Economies

This paper evaluates the intensity of international technology transfer in selected Asian and African economies through import of machinery and FDI from 1970 to 2006; it also investigates the long-run equilibrium relationships among the international factors and economic growth, as well as, assessing the short-term impact of inward FDI, trade and economic growth on international technology transfer to the selected countries. This research revealed that, the technology transfer intensities across the selected countries vary substantially, with Malaysia leading in attracting FDI, both in quantity and quality of diffusing most modern technological knowledge and skills, among the three selected countries, followed by Thailand, and Nigeria. A multivariate cointegration technique developed by Johansen & Juselius (1990) was employed to investigate the long-run equilibrium relationships among the international factors and economic growth. The results of the analysis affirmed the existence of cointegrating vectors in the systems of these countries during the study period. While the variables in Malaysia and Thailand models have a long-run equilibrium relationship with one another and were adjusting in the short-run via three identified channels, the variables in the system of Nigeria did the same adjustment through four channels (Lee and Tan, 2006). Furthermore, since the existence of cointegrating vectors (cointegration) in the system of a countries only presumed the presence or absence of Granger-causality, which does not indicate the direction of causality between the variables, hence, the short-term impact of inward FDI, trade and economic growth on international technology transfer to the selected countries was tested via Granger Causality test based on Vector Error-Correction Model. The results of the test revealed a short-run causal effect either running unidirectionally or bidirectionally among the variables for each country. Finally, all the variables in the systems of the selected countries were adjusting to equilibrium in the long run, with the exception of domestic investment (DI) in both Malaysian and Nigerian systems, which failed to do the adjustment in the long run

The Impact of Cross-Cultural Differences on Project Performance: A Study of Power Sector Development Operation and Electricity Sector Development Project in Uganda

The purpose of this research was to establish a relationship between people’s cultural attributes, multinational project management processes, project technologies and project performance in Uganda’s energy sector concerning the practice during the implementation of the Power Sector Development Operation (PSDO) and Electricity Sector Development Project (ESDP) as case studies. The study employed a comprehensive survey design which mostly quantitative thus requiring the collection and analysis of data. It tangled both analytical and descriptive research designs. The research targeted 136 project beneficiaries or ‘project clients’ spread across the various target areas. The simple random sampling method was employed. Data compiled was reviewed to fill any gaps for incompleteness and inconsistency. This was to make ensure the exactness of the material provided acquired from the participants, through the continued reviews and comments provided by the Supervisor. Data was re-organized and software called the Statistical package. For social scientists (SPSS) was used to enter the data and analyze it, the results indicated a strong positive correlation people’s cultural attributes and project performance, multinational project management processes and project performance and between project technologies and project performance(r = .535** p ? 0.01, r = .758** p ? 0.01 and r = .656** p ? 0.01) correspondingly. It was concluded that people’s culture attributes, multinational project management and project technologies are pre-requisites for effective project performance in the Power Sector Development Operation Project and Electricity Sector Development project in Uganda and that Project technologies are a better predictor of project performance. The suggestion or recommendation for project managers to ensure that they progress implementation of their projects, peoples culture attributes, multinational project management and project technologies need to be enhanced through training of project staff and effective involvement of the communities

An assessment of Key Success Factors for Construction Projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The success of the Government's construction projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2011 has been anchored on the potential of construction firms in completing these projects based on the planned timeframe as well as the budget. Consequently, from a project management viewpoint, the main objective of the present study was to assess the critical success factors in developing countries' construction projects and to examine the impact of risk management, leadership, experience and expertise, and project size on construction projects in DRC. Data was gathered from respondents in the construction projects in DRC using quantitative methods. A statistical software program, SPSS version 25, was subsequently used to analyze the collected quantitative data. The findings emanating from this study contribute to the body of knowledge on key success factors in construction projects in DRC as a developing country. It was revealed from the study that the success of construction projects in DRC could be boosted through effective and efficient risk management. In addition, effective and efficient leadership mainly transactional leadership would affect construction project success. Further, the more the experience and expertise of construction project staff, the more likely the project success criteria would be met, and the more likely the project would be successful. And lastly, smaller-sized and medium-sized construction projects may be more successful, whereas mega projects may not be very successful due to insufficient and limited experience and expertise

Corporate Social Responsibility in Cameroon: Practices and Environmental Impact

The purpose of this study is to examine how CSR is practiced by local businesses and their influence on environmental protection and sustainable growth in Cameroon. Grounded on the stakeholder theory, a multi-method data collection tool was used to collect data for qualitative analysis. A thematic content analysis was approached was used in this study to examine the CSR practices of 20 local businesses in Cameroon. Findings from the study revealed that the concept of corporate social responsibility is relatively new and local corporations are not fully equipped to address the needs of their stakeholders. Also, environmental concerns and community issues were not areas of concern to companies when adopting CSR strategies. Additionally, government intervention to enforce existing laws and regulations on environmental and social issues was lacking. The study implies that by neglecting environmental concerns local businesses are endangering the environment and failing to plan for sustainable growth. Besides expanding knowledge about the level of CSR awareness and practice in Cameroon by exposing the limitations of local companies in adopting CSR and the laxity of the government in enforcing the relevant laws and legislation. It is recommended, that to plan for sustainable development and environmental protection, the government should be more proactive in upholding laws and regulations related to environmental protection and businesses, being more ethical in their daily practices. CSR policies should also be codified to encourage and compel businesses on the need for environmental protection by requesting businesses produce mandatory CSR disclosures