Human Resource Management Practices of Egyptian Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: an Exploratory Investigation

Small and medium sized enterprises (SME) are seen to have a great importance in a number of nations due to their important role in economic growth. Given their significance, SMEs have attracted a great number of management researchers, economists, and social scientists. A great number of academic studies have been trying to explore the SME management aspects; in particular, the practices adopted for human resource management (HRM). This paper investigates the determinants behind the HRM decision taken by the SME owners and managers in the Egyptian context and how this influences affect the prioritization of certain HRM key function over another. The findings of this study indicated that there exist several newly unexplored factors that influence the HRM decisions in Egyptian SMEs. Additionally, there seem to be a strong relation between the determinants and the level of importance of each HRM function perceived by the SME owner. Finally, the paper demonstrates how these findings have an impact on the field of Human Resource Management studies

Human Resource Management Practices of Egyptian Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: an Exploratory Investigation

Small and medium sized enterprises (SME) are seen to have a great importance in a number of nations due to their important role in economic growth. Given their significance, SMEs have attracted a great number of management researchers, economists, and social scientists. A great number of academic studies have been trying to explore the SME management aspects; in particular, the practices adopted for human resource management (HRM). This paper investigates the determinants behind the HRM decision taken by the SME owners and managers in the Egyptian context and how this influences affect the prioritization of certain HRM key function over another. The findings of this study indicated that there exist several newly unexplored factors that influence the HRM decisions in Egyptian SMEs. Additionally, there seem to be a strong relation between the determinants and the level of importance of each HRM function perceived by the SME owner. Finally, the paper demonstrates how these findings have an impact on the field of Human Resource Management studies

Nanoreinforced Cast Al-Si Alloys with Al2O3, TiO2 and ZrO2 Nanoparticles

This study presents a new concept of refining and enhancing the properties of cast aluminum alloys by adding nanoparticles. In this work, the effect of adding alumina (Al2O3), titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zirconia (ZrO2) nano-particles (40 nm) to the aluminum cast alloy A356 as a base metal matrix was investigated. Alumina, titanium dioxide and zirconia nano-powders were stirred in the A356 matrix with different fraction ratios ranging from (0%–5%) by weight at variable stirring speeds ranging from (270, 800, 1500, 2150 rpm) in both the semisolid (600 °C) and liquid (700 °C) state using a constant stirring time of one minute. The cast microstructure exhibited change of grains from dendritic to spherical shape with increasing stirring speed. The fracture surface showed the presence of nanoparticles at the interdendritic spacing of the fracture surface and was confirmed with EDX analysis of these particles. The results of the study showed that the mechanical properties (strength, elongation and hardness) for the nanoreinforced castings using Al2O3, TiO2 and ZrO2 were enhanced for the castings made in the semi-solid state (600 °C) with 2 weight% Al2O3 and 3 weight% TiO2 or ZrO2 at 1500 rpm stirring speed

Effect of Carbon Nano-Tubes, Micro and Nano Dispersions of SiC and Al2O3 on the Mechanical and Physical Properties of Pure Copper

 Reviews on Advanced Materials Science 52(1):126-133 · December 2017This paper studies the physical and mechanical properties of pure copper powder with various reinforcement materials at different volume fractions. The used reinforcement materials are carbon nanotubes CNT (0.5-2 wt.%) as nano particles, Al2O3 (1-4 wt.%), and SiC (1-4 wt.%) as micro particles. Various characteristics were evaluated on the composite specimens such as microstructures, density, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, hardness, and compression properties to investigate the suitable reinforcement percentage that achieves the best physical and mechanical properties. The micron-sized Al2O3 and SiC and nano sized CNT has shown an enhancement on the mechanical and physical properties of the composite. The electrical and thermal conductivities were evaluated and the results have shown positive enhancements

Effect of holding time, thickness and heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of compacted graphite cast iron

The effect of holding time, thickness and annealing heat treatment on the microstructure and some mechanical properties of compacted graphite iron (CGI) are studied. Samples of CGI are produced in Helwan factory for casting by using GGG 70 as base metal in a medium frequency induction furnace. The mechanical properties (tensile strength, and hardness) of the as-cast and after heat treatment samples are determined and the microstructure of the samples is examined using optical microscope. The results show that the mechanical properties and microstructure of CGI depend on holding time, thickness and annealing heat treatment; it is found that increasing the holding time from 10 min to 17 min results in lowering the Mg content from 0.031% to 0.021% and as a result lower nodularity was obtained. Lowering the thickness from 20 mm to 5 mm increases the tendency of dendritic structure as a result of increasing the cooling rate. The annealed samples with mainly ferritic matrix gave the lowest tensile strength and hardness value compared with the as-cast conditions. Keywords: Compacted graphite iron (CGI), Heat treatment, Microstructures, Mechanical propertie

Production of reduced iron from mill scale waste using tilting rotary furnace

The production of steel in steel mills generates undesired scales of oxidized iron on the surface of the hot steel. Although several attempts have been made to transform mill scale into valuable products, the low porosity of the oxides and the presence of oil contamination have been the main limitations in pelletizing the scales. In our recent research, we were able to produce reduced iron in the form of spheres with a 93% metallization degree using only mill scale as a source of iron without the need for any agglomeration or cleaning steps. The main equipment used in the production process was a tilting rotary furnace. We also examined the relationship between fuel consumption and the metallization degree of the reduced iron, as well as the effect of furnace RPM on the cross-sectional diameter of the produced spheres. By adjusting the process parameters, we were able to produce spheroidal iron with a cross-sectional diameter ranging from 10 mm to 400 mm. This high-quality reduced iron can be directly used as a replacement for DRI or scrap in traditional steel production methods

Funktionelle Ergebnisse nach lasermikrochirurgischer Abtragung gutartiger Stimmlippenbefunde

Hintergrund: Insbesondere bei gutartigen Stimmlippenbefunden steht der Erhalt oder die Verbesserung der Stimmqualität im Focus des chirurgischen Vorgehens.Material und Methoden: Alle 173 Eingriffe fanden mit dem CO2-Laser unter phonochirurgischen Gesichtspunkten statt.Die Funktionsdiagnostik erfolgte präoperativ und 8 bis 12 Wochen postoperativ. Hierbei wurden die Stimmqualität und die Stimmleistung mit dem Göttinger Heiserkeitsdiagramm (GHD) sowie dem Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI) evaluiert und die Selbst-Einschätzung der Patienten mit dem Voice Handicap Index (VHI) bestimmt.Ergebnisse: Bei 106 Frauen und 67 Männern mit einem durchschnittichen Alter von 56 (±15) Jahren (min. 07 Jahre, max. 91 Jahre) wurden diverse gutartige Kehlkopfbefunde (Reinke-Oedeme, Polypen, Hyperkeratosen, Zysten, Laryngozelen, Papillome, Granulome, Stimmlippenknötchen, und seltene Befunde) operiert. Die histologische Befundsicherung erfolgte in allen Fällen.Unabhängig von den Ausgangsbefunden konnte die Stimmqualität in allen Fällen erhalten oder gebessert werden. Sowohl die Messwerte des GHD als auch des DSI und VHI stellen im Mittel die Befundbesserung dar.Diskussion: Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass auch in der Phonochirurgie der CO2-Laser ein geeignetes Instrument ist. Die verwendeten Instrumente zur Evaluation der Stimmqualität und -leistung erlaubten die Quantifizierung der klinischen Befunde