Empirical Investigation of Debt-Maturity Structure: Evidence from Pakistan

We examine the empirical determinants of debt-maturity structure of 266 firms listed on the KSE over the period 2000 to 2004 using several variants of dynamic panel data models. We find mixed support for the agency cost hypothesis as our results show that debtmaturity increases with the size of the firm; however, growth options do not have any significant influence on debt-maturity structure. Our results lend unambiguous support to the maturity-matching hypothesis as debt-maturity varies inversely with operating activities and directly with the maturity of long-lived assets. Finally, we find evidence that supports the taxbased hypothesis but no evidence to support the signaling hypothesis. Moreover, the results demonstrate that there is a significant dynamic component in the determination of optimal debt-maturity structure of the sampled firms. JEL classification: G32 Keywords: Debt Maturity, Capital Structure, Panel Data, GMM, Pakistan

CSR AS AN INVESTMENT OR AN EXPENSE: EVIDENCE FROM BANKING SECTOR OF PAKISTAN

If engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities costs at least in short run and it is beyond a firm’s legal obligation then why do firms especially financial services firms engage in CSR activities. This question urges us to investigate the role of CSR in Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) in the banking sector of Pakistan.  Therefore, data of 15 banks, listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange, have been collected from annual reports of respective banks’ websites and the State Bank of Pakistan for 6 years from 2009 to 2014. Correlation and regression analysis have been conducted through SPSS software.  Strong correlation between CSR and ROA, Firm Size as well as Firm Age was found out. On the hand, it was revealed that CSR did not have a significant impact on ROA as well as on ROE. The study contributes to the banking sector of Pakistan and gives insights to stakeholders including managers, leaders, investors and general public

Ticks in Cattle: Their Importance and Chemical and Treatment Control

Ticks transfer diseases to animals and humans. Ticks create major financial losses to livestock and have a variation of adverse special effects on cattle hosts. Tick working as possible vectors for helminth parasites and haemoprotozoa cause blood loss directly. Large numbers of tick’s drinking red blood induce anaemia and decreased living weight in cattle animals, even though their bites can damage the skins. Ticks, are answerable for important financial losses due to their potential to transmit rickettsial, viral infections and protozoan to cattles. Here are a variety of ticks-control tactics available, but then again each has its own set of problems. The importance of ticks and their control are the topic of this review. Ticks have controlled by the help of vaccine and spray or chemicals compounds etc

Weather effects on stock returns and volatility in South Asian markets

We study the effect of mood-proxy variables on index returns and volatility in six South Asian markets. Our mood-proxy variables include six weather (temperature, humidity, cloud cover, air pressure, visibility, and wind speed), three weather indicator variables (fog, thunder storm and rain or drizzle) and two biorhythmic variables (SAD and lunar phases). We adopt a robust approach and attempt to select the best parsimonious econometric model for each market. Our findings suggest that mood-proxy variables have some convincing influences in South Asian capital markets. In some instances, these variables are influencing returns while in other instances they are influencing volatility

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF COMMUNICATION & WORKS DEPARTMENT PESHAWAR.

Project management is a growing concept in public and private organizations of Pakistan. There are many obstacles in way of a successful project completion. The problem of Communication is of great importance in project management. A qualitative investigation was used to explore the importance of communication in project management. The interviews were conducted to explore the phenomena of communication among the ten project team members of Communications & Work department Peshawar. The data were collected and analyzed. The results shows that communication plays an important role in project management. Communication combines and coordinates different areas of project management phases. The findings of the study also illustrate that the communication skills of project managers and team members has a great impact on the project completion and its succes

The critical role of self-leadership’s in work engagement and organizational citizenship behaviors

This study discuss the relationships between self-leadership, organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, work engagement, Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, and perceived organizational commitment. Using a sample of 280 employees, it was found that self-leadership had a positive relationship with organizational citizenship behaviors. Further, through emotional exhaustion self-leadership had a significant relationship with work engagement. The findings further suggest that perceived organizational support moderated the relationships between self-leadership and both organizational citizenship behaviors and emotional exhaustion. This study filled a void in the literature by critically examining how emotional exhaustion may act as a mechanism in between self-leadership and work engagement/organizational citizenship behaviors

WORK-LIFE CONFLICT AND FEMALE STAFF TURNOVER INTENTIONS: A CASE OF BANKING INDUSTRY OF PESHAWAR PAKISTAN

Employees’ turnover is a substantial challenge faced by every organization and that of the banking industry is of no exemption. Previous researches primarily focused on investigating the single-level analysis of employees’ turnover intentions in the banking industry of Pakistan, but this study seeks to investigate the multi-dimensional work-life conflict effect on turnover intentions particularly amongst females working at banks of Peshawar. The data gathered through structured questionnaires from a total of one fifty female staff primarily working at private, public, and foreign banks of Peshawar, Pakistan. The study concludes that an increased multi-dimensional effect in terms of social, family and personal life and work-life conflict ultimately leads to the greater female staff’s turnover intentions in banking industry Peshawar. This study proposes some valuable recommendations for human resource managers and policymakers to retain female workers in banks. Â

MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE AYUBIA NATIONAL PARK KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA PAKISTAN

The notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development (SD) has recently gained increased attention in the business and management literature. There has been a growing realization that businesses may contribute to sustainable development by adopting socially responsible practices into their core operations. However, very few studies have explored the relationship between corporate social responsibility and sustainable development in the national parks context, and thus, it lacks empirical validity. To bridge up this knowledge-gap, the current study endeavors to explore the prevailing perceptions of CSR and the relationship between CSR and sustainable development by capitalizing on the Carroll’s (1991) model and Sustainability theory in the context of Ayubia National Park Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews from key stakeholders including wildlife management, local community and tourists. The data was then analyzed through capitalizing on thematic analysis as suggested by Braun and Clarke (2006). The findings revealed that the very conceptualization of CSR is relatively at infant level within the context of Ayubia national Park Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Most of the respondents highlighted the importance of economic and legal responsibilities whereas the ethical and philanthropic responsibilities were ignored. However, in relation to sustainability most of the respondents mentioned that CSR is indeed a significant tool which may lead to sustainable development of the Ayubia National Park. The study nevertheless provides important managerial as well as practical implications for the future endeavors

MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE AYUBIA NATIONAL PARK KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA PAKISTAN

The notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development (SD) has recently gained increased attention in the business and management literature. There has been a growing realization that businesses may contribute to sustainable development by adopting socially responsible practices into their core operations. However, very few studies have explored the relationship between corporate social responsibility and sustainable development in the national parks context, and thus, it lacks empirical validity. To bridge up this knowledge-gap, the current study endeavors to explore the prevailing perceptions of CSR and the relationship between CSR and sustainable development by capitalizing on the Carroll’s (1991) model and Sustainability theory in the context of Ayubia National Park Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews from key stakeholders including wildlife management, local community and tourists. The data was then analyzed through capitalizing on thematic analysis as suggested by Braun and Clarke (2006). The findings revealed that the very conceptualization of CSR is relatively at infant level within the context of Ayubia national Park Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Most of the respondents highlighted the importance of economic and legal responsibilities whereas the ethical and philanthropic responsibilities were ignored. However, in relation to sustainability most of the respondents mentioned that CSR is indeed a significant tool which may lead to sustainable development of the Ayubia National Park. The study nevertheless provides important managerial as well as practical implications for the future endeavors

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF COMMUNICATION & WORKS DEPARTMENT PESHAWAR.

Project management is a growing concept in public and private organizations of Pakistan. There are many obstacles in way of a successful project completion. The problem of Communication is of great importance in project management. A qualitative investigation was used to explore the importance of communication in project management. The interviews were conducted to explore the phenomena of communication among the ten project team members of Communications & Work department Peshawar. The data were collected and analyzed. The results shows that communication plays an important role in project management. Communication combines and coordinates different areas of project management phases. The findings of the study also illustrate that the communication skills of project managers and team members has a great impact on the project completion and its succes