Capital Budgeting Practices: The Case of Qatar

The purpose of this project was to investigate the capital budgeting practice in the largest firms in Qatar. A survey was conducted of the 170 largest firms and corporations. A total of 55 completed surveys were received, for a response rate of 34 percent. The results showed that Qatari companies in general tend to adopt the discounted cash flow methods, with Net Present Value (NPV), Profitability Index (PI) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) being the most widely used methods. Capital asset Pricing Model (CAPM) including some extra “risk factors” was used to estimate the cost of capital in more than half of the companies. Companies tend to use the cost of debt plus some premium as the discount rate, and they frequently reviewed and adjusted that rate, mainly as to the expected changes in the project’s risk. The terminal value was commonly estimated using the present value of future cash flow in perpetuity and multiples of terminal earnings

Computer Literacy: Implications for Teaching a College-Level Course

The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions of computer literacy skills they had obtained prior to enrolling in a university and to develop implications and recommendations for teaching a college-level computer course. One hundred twenty-five students who were currently enrolled in a required university computer literacy course completed a questionnaire. Students were asked to identify their skill level in various types of software and their exposure to computer concepts and issues. Results showed that students perceived themselves to be better prepared in word processing than they did in spreadsheet and database applications and that they had not received extensive coverage of ethical, social, legal and global issues. In determining the content of a university computer literacy course, consideration needs to be given to nontraditional students who have not been exposed to computers as well as those students who enter the university with a variety of skill levels. Additionally, an improved and extended coverage of database and spreadsheets might be warranted in a college level computer course. Since required computer literacy competencies are continually changing for high school graduates, it is imperative that universities monitor design and content of the curriculum to provide an adequate computer literacy background for university students

Is There a Place for Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Pandemics? A Tale of Two Countries

This research examines the considerations of responsible Artificial Intelligence in the deployment of AI-based COVID-19 digital proximity tracking and tracing applications in two countries; the State of Qatar and the United Kingdom. Based on the alignment level analysis with the Good AI Society’s framework and sentiment analysis of official tweets, the diagnostic analysis resulted in contrastive findings for the two applications. While the application EHTERAZ (Arabic for precaution) in Qatar has fallen short in adhering to the responsible AI requirements, it has contributed significantly to controlling the pandemic. On the other hand, the UK’s NHS COVID-19 application has exhibited limited success in fighting the virus despite relatively abiding by these requirements. This underlines the need for obtaining a practical and contextual view for a comprehensive discourse on responsible AI in healthcare. Thereby offering necessary guidance for striking a balance between responsible AI requirements and managing pressures towards fighting the pandemic

An Analysis Of Student XBRL Project Teams: Value-Adding Educational Experiences Using Emerging Technology

Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a new approach that offers great promise for a fundamental improvement to the way in which financial information is maintained and reported.  With every innovation, comes the need to educate.  Because of the overarching aspects of XBRL and its implications, a team learning approach is appropriate.  This paper presents a case study of three student projects that resulted in the development of XBRL applications.  An analysis is provided of the teams, the projects, and important lessons learned

An examination of assessment practices in colleges of business at various Middle East countries compared to the USA

This study reports the results of a survey conducted during 2007 which was mailed to deans of schools of business at institutions of higher education located within the USA and the Middle East. Schools of business are now more engaged in assessment activities than a few years ago. Assessment activities are more costly and more emphasis seems to be placed on assessing communication skills, critical thinking, and professional knowledge. Colleges of business are relaying heavily on course-embedded measures, followed by indirect measures of assessment. Curriculum and instructional changes were the top-ranked uses of assessment results. Although almost the same percentage of colleges of business in 2007 has specific curriculum/programme objectives as they did in 1999 (92% in 2007 and 88% in 1999), significantly more US colleges actually assess their objectives. While 65% of the US institutions reported assessment activities annually, only 25% of Middle Eastern universities assessed their curriculum annually

The role of knowledge management strategies and task knowledge in stimulating service innovation

Are service firms that enact strategies to manage their new service development (NSD) knowledge able to generate a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA)? Based on analysis of data from a large survey of service companies, the answer is yes. We find that companies employing the knowledge management strategies of codification and personalization reflect higher levels of NSD knowledge. However, the two strategies vary in their individual performance outcomes, with codification promoting NSD proficiency (an ability to execute NSD activities) and personalization promoting greater NSD innovativeness (market perception of the company as novel and as an innovator). When used together, the two strategies magnify NSD knowledge, which when combined with NSD proficiency and NSD innovativeness, promote a SCA. Therefore, companies planning to invest in a knowledge management system should heed the outcomes desired from their NSD process. A system based on documentation exemplifies a codification strategy and will drive NSD proficiency; a system emphasizing interpersonal communication exemplifies a personalization strategy and will drive NSD innovativeness. A system that blends the two strategies appears the most advantageous for service companies’ NSD efforts aiming to build a long-term sustainable competitive advantage

Assessment practices in accounting departments of U.S. Colleges and Universities

The new AACSB Eligibility Procedures and Standards for Business Accreditation and for Accounting Accreditation, as of January 31,2007, place much greater emphasis on assurance of learning. It requires colleges of business and accounting departments to utilize direct and indirect measures to assure learning. This study reports the results of a survey of accounting departments at U.S. institutions of higher education. The study determines the purposes of assessment, assessment approaches and instruments used by accounting departments, and usages of assessment activities. Most accounting departments (68 percent) had formal assessment programs and department chairs were responsible for assessment processes at the department level. Overwhelming majority of accounting departments continue to utilize indirect measures (e.9. surveys) of assessment, followed by course-embedded direct measures of assessment. Accounting departments perceive monitoring of the effectiveness of the program and guide planning and improvements efforts to be the major purposes of assessment

Management accounting system application in banks in the State of Qatar

The importance of management accounting systems (MAS) in measuring the non-financial performance is increasing, especially in the service sector. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the nature of MAS in service sector, mainly in banks as this sector is critical for future economy of the State of Qatar. This study surveyed the top management team in finance and accounting departments in banks about their prospective of MAS usefulness, the critical driving or resisting factors, and the financial and non-financial indicators that are affecting the implementation of the MAS in their banks. Surveys were distributed to 16 banks operating in Qatar. In addition, interviews were conducted with individual senior management and executive managers. The results of this study demonstrate that the highest demographic factor affecting the critical driver factors in implementing MAS is the experience of the employee in the organisation, because each experience category had different view in the importance of these factors which would eventually affect the design and the implementation of MAS in their banks. In addition, interviews conducted found that most of the participating banks were paying more attention to improvement and measurement financial performance rather than non-financial performance. © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

The transformation of Qatar economy into industrialisation era

This study reports the results of a survey distributed to business professionals, educators and students at the State of Qatar. The most important industry in Qatar, according to our respondents, is oil and gas, followed by banking, followed by manufacturing. The least important industries were insurance, services and education. This is a major concern, as industrialisation requires investment in education. The most important skills/competencies needed to promote manufacturing sector in Qatar were communication skills, technology/computer usage, professional knowledge, interpersonal skills, professional integrity/ethics and problem solving. Copyright © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd