Sustainable Socio-Economic Development of Women : A Blueprint from Vulnerability to Empowerment

The major goals of women's empowerment are to improve earnings, the standard of living and to enable them to use the resources at their disposal to make decisions that will benefit their households and societies. As such, the socioeconomic empowerment of women is significantly captured in the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs of the United Nations UN. The purpose of the study is to look at women’s education, capabilities, decision-making power, access to financial resources, control over household resources, and ability to mobilize for economic rights to enable them to participate in the economic life of the household and the community in a sustainable way. Considering the research questions and recent past publications, this systematic review included relevant literature on socioeconomic empowerment from 2015 onwards. Both direct and summative qualitative content analysis research approach is used. Google Scholar was used as a tool to acquire relevant data from the significant databases made available by Elsevier, Emerald, Sage, Tailor and Frances, Springers, and ProQuest among others. The review of relevant literature found that the importance of the sustainable socioeconomic empowerment of women makes it an essential development intervention and a constituent of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It also discovered the necessity of prioritizing women's safety when creating programs for socioeconomic empowerment and closely observing the possibility of conflict and violence within households. It revealed themes of socioeconomic empowerment intervention for women to include labour force participation, agro-based entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion. These interventions are geared toward the improvement of participation in leadership and decision-making for sustainable empowerment. Therefore, the study suggests conducting a case study to examine culturally appropriate tactics that can be most effective in giving women economic empowerment in the conventional cultural and economic framework that is dominated by men

Women Career Development : A Study on Enablers and Barriers to Senior Leadership Positions

Women have struggled to gain their deserved place as senior organizational leaders, despite promising legislative frameworks and programs to eliminate gender disparities in the workplace. This paper is designed to comprehend the obstacles that stop women from assuming leadership positions and the driving forces behind their motivation for professional success. The writers thoroughly reviewed the academic and government (grey) literature on women's career development while considering Ghana's enablers and hurdles to senior leadership positions. The evaluation was arranged topically and concentrated on predetermined and newly emerging subjects, such as enablers and barriers to career development, gender, and leadership career development. The following academic databases were searched: Google Scholar, Springers, ScienceDirect, Emerald, ProQuest, Sage, and Web of Science. Keywords such as leadership roles, career development obstacles, facilitators, and others were used. It is revealed that social networking, personal considerations, work-life imbalance, and perceptions of women leaders by subordinates are the primary obstacles to women's professional advancement. On the other hand, continuous family and mentor support, a shift in employers' perspectives, and women leaders' capacity for leadership were found to be the driving forces behind career advancement for women leaders

Social Capital, Knowledge Acquisition and Value-Creation for Business Performance

This study examines the interrelationships among structural and relational dimensions of social capital, and patterns of knowledge acquisition and value-creation, using data collected from 208 managers and executives of Malaysian SMEs. Structural embeddedness is measured in terms of perceived ties, frequency of interactions, and time spent with networks. Relational embeddedness is evaluated with respect to closeness, personal familiarity, certainty, and confidence towards other network players. Both structural and relational embeddedness of social capital are related significantly to the extent of intra- and inter-organizational knowledge acquisition and value-creation, which in turn impact significantly on business performance. Findings suggest that employees of SMEs are emboldened by the provision of networking options that are relevant for creating and adding business value in the long term; and that organizational structures must be suitable for reaching external market contacts and absorbing external knowledge for organizational change

Behind the curtain of payday lending : revealing consumer insights and ethical challenges in Indonesia and the USA using web-scraping methods

Purpose This paper aims to explore the consumer insights and ethical concerns surrounding the online payday loan services available in the Google Play Store. This research was conducted to compare whether the presence or absence of debt collection protection acts in a country creates differences in consumer experiences regarding the ethics of payday loan collection. Specifically, the study compares customers’ experiences in both the Indonesian and US markets. Design/methodology/approach Indonesia and the USA were chosen because they have very different regulatory structures for the payday loan industry. The data was scraped using Python from 27 payday loan apps on the Indonesian Play Store, resulting in a total of 244,697 reviews extracted from the Indonesian market. For the US market, 446,010 reviews were extracted from 14 payday loan apps. The data was further analyzed using NVIVO. Findings The results suggest that consumers of payday loans in Indonesia and the USA hold positive views about the benefits of payday loan apps, as revealed by the word frequency and word cloud analysis. Notably, customers in both countries did not express any negative sentiments regarding the unethical interest rate charged by the payday loan, contradicting what is commonly reported in academic literature. However, a distinct pattern of unethical conduct was observed in both countries concerning marketing communication and debt collection practices. In the Indonesian market, payday loan companies were found to engage in unethical debt collection activities. In the US market, payday lenders exhibited unethical behavior in their marketing communication, particularly through deceptive advertising that makes promises to consumers that are not delivered. Originality/value The study aims to provide evidence on the various experiences of customers in the presence and absence of debt collection regulations using a novel methodology and a large sample, which strengthens the results and conclusions of the study. The study also intends to inform policymakers, particularly the Indonesian government, about the need for specific laws to regulate the debt collection process and prevent unethical practices. Ultimately, the study is expected to protect the rights of consumers from a deceptive marketing communication or unethical debt collection practices in both the Indonesian and US markets

Pengurusan Organisasi Pasca Pandemik dari Perspektif Islam

Aktiviti dalam organisasi dikaitkan dengan pentadbiran dan konsep pengurusan yang mencakupi tiga elemen utama iaitu: manusia, organisasi (struktur) dan sumber. Dalam konteks organisasi, manusia memainkan peranan penting. Pengurusan dilihat sebagai tunggak asas yang menyelaras dan mengkoordinasi kepelbagaian sumber manusia, pengetahuan dan kepakaran, dan kewangan untuk digembleng menjadi faktor keupayaan yang saling berkesinambungan. Dalam keadaan persekitaran yang stabil, pendekatan pengurusan dirancang dan diatur dengan matlamat pencapaian objektif secara optima. Namun begitu, pengurusan juga harus mengambilkira pelbagai kemungkinan perubahan yang melanda, di mana ia akan memerlukan penelitian dan pengubahsuaian ke atas sistem pengurusan yang direncanakan. Bencana alam dan wabak pandemik adalah antara perkara luar jangka yang boleh berlaku bila-bila masa dan memberi impak besar kepada seluruh masyarakat

Pengurusan Organisasi Pasca Pandemik dari Perspektif Islam

Aktiviti dalam organisasi dikaitkan dengan pentadbiran dan konsep pengurusan yang mencakupi tiga elemen utama iaitu: manusia, organisasi (struktur) dan sumber. Dalam konteks organisasi, manusia memainkan peranan penting. Pengurusan dilihat sebagai tunggak asas yang menyelaras dan mengkoordinasi kepelbagaian sumber manusia, pengetahuan dan kepakaran, dan kewangan untuk digembleng menjadi faktor keupayaan yang saling berkesinambungan. Dalam keadaan persekitaran yang stabil, pendekatan pengurusan dirancang dan diatur dengan matlamat pencapaian objektif secara optima. Namun begitu, pengurusan juga harus mengambilkira pelbagai kemungkinan perubahan yang melanda, di mana ia akan memerlukan penelitian dan pengubahsuaian ke atas sistem pengurusan yang direncanakan. Bencana alam dan wabak pandemik adalah antara perkara luar jangka yang boleh berlaku bila-bila masa dan memberi impak besar kepada seluruh masyarakat

Pengurusan Organisasi Pasca Pandemik dari Perspektif Islam

Aktiviti dalam organisasi dikaitkan dengan pentadbiran dan konsep pengurusan yang mencakupi tiga elemen utama iaitu: manusia, organisasi (struktur) dan sumber. Dalam konteks organisasi, manusia memainkan peranan penting. Pengurusan dilihat sebagai tunggak asas yang menyelaras dan mengkoordinasi kepelbagaian sumber manusia, pengetahuan dan kepakaran, dan kewangan untuk digembleng menjadi faktor keupayaan yang saling berkesinambungan. Dalam keadaan persekitaran yang stabil, pendekatan pengurusan dirancang dan diatur dengan matlamat pencapaian objektif secara optima. Namun begitu, pengurusan juga harus mengambilkira pelbagai kemungkinan perubahan yang melanda, di mana ia akan memerlukan penelitian dan pengubahsuaian ke atas sistem pengurusan yang direncanakan. Bencana alam dan wabak pandemik adalah antara perkara luar jangka yang boleh berlaku bila-bila masa dan memberi impak besar kepada seluruh masyarakat

The Impact of Nationalism of Consumers Loyalty : A Case Study of Multinational Retail Firms in China

Contradictory ideas about China as a country and a state are being marketed to the public by promoting nationalism and transnationalism regarding multinational businesses. Thus, using a case study approach with Multinational Retail Companies in China, this research aims to examine the effect of nationalism on brand allegiance among Chinese customers. This phenomenon has been regarded as a metaphor for China’s uncertainty and fear of its cultural heritage and global capitalism. On the one hand, Chinese commercials peddle pride by highlighting the country’s rich past, current events, and illustrious dynasties. Conversely, Chinese commercials use Western icons and ideals to glamorize their wares. As part of their effort to integrate “Chineseness” with global capitalism, Chinese marketers also peddle a form of nationalism that combines elements of both transnationalism and the traditional nationalist ideology. Nationalism and transnationalism emerge as competing conceptual frameworks for understanding China in an industrialized world characterized by unequal relationships of power between both China and the West. This study shows that the business strategies, ownership structures, years in China, and capital expenditures of U.S. MNCs in China all vary significantly because of trademark royalties. This, in turn, affects how businesses evaluate political risk and decide among available responses to the trade dispute. The research in this paper shows that economic nationalism has a negative impact on the operation of multinational retail enterprises in China. This paper analyzes the factors and ways of influence through case studies. On the one hand, it helps multinational companies to provide suggestions for better localization strategies in China, and on the other hand, it can provide a reference for Chinese enterprises to go global

Smart Parking System (SPARKS)

Public parking facilities is a crucial component of transportation system as it provides site accessibility to other public areas and facilities such as banks, shops, restaurants and other activity centers. Even more so in Malaysia, where an efficient public transportation system is lacking, thus making usage of private vehicle a necessity in reaching destinations. Issues relating to parking facilities therefore is a matter of public importance, not only due to its importance to transportation system, but also its wider implication towards land use and economic development. With the number of private vehicles continue to grow, it is expected that issues such as insufficient parking spaces among others, will become worse in the future. In addition, through interviews with parking operator and observation, it is found that the current operation is heavily reliant on manual processes, especially during vehicle parking inspection and back-end operation (data entry etc.)

Exploring the Role of Universities in the Sustainability of Malaysian Bumiputera Technology-Based Firms

Previous studies suggest that academics and researchers working in universities and other institutions of higher education play an important role in ensuring the sustainability of technology entrepreneurship. The intent of this exploratory qualitative study is to extend our understanding of the roles of universities in assisting Malaysian Bumiputera technology-based firms (TBFs) to sustain their business. Based on an inductive qualitative approach, this study has uncovered three main roles of university academics in the sustainability of Bumiputera TBFs: 1) cultivating entrepreneurial cultures, 2) commercialising university research, and 3) strengthening university-industry linkages