CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: A STUDY OF LISTED FIRMS IN NIGERIA

This study investigated the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices of Nigerian quoted companies and their determinants. A checklist of 20 attributes was developed to capture the social and environmental disclosures from the annual reports of 45 companies from 8 sectors quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange over a two-year period (2013 to 2014). The determinants of disclosure were proxied by company size, profitability and auditor type. Company size was measured by total assets, profitability was measured by return on equity (ROE), and auditor type was measured by a dummy variable, ‘1‘ for Big 4 and ’0‘ for otherwise. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression. The findings revealed that, the level of CSR was 44%, made up of social disclosure (68%) and environmental disclosure (6%). Findings also revealed that CSR was influenced by company size and auditor type; but not by profitability. This paper recommends a mandatory CSR reporting framework in line with international best practice for all listed companies in Nigeri

ACHIEVING ZERO WASTE OPERATION IN A PRIVATE ORGANISATION THROUGH EXTENDED STAKEHOLDERS CONSULTATION: A CASE IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION, NIGERIA

This paper focused on addressing the effects of operational issues on the stakeholders to a private organisation. The findings show that the implementation of stakeholders’ involvement lent support to effective zero waste practice in this research. It is an action research, carried out in a case study of a commercial livestock farm, using workshop and interviews as key data collection methods. The research considered the interest of the affected and involved stakeholders in identifying and deliberating on key operational issues such as live-stock waste management and mortality. Suggestions and decisions result in effective approach to addressing stakeholders’ marginalisation through a participatory research process, which led to a zero-waste operational practice. The research concludes with the suggestion for a mixed method to explore the topic in future research in a private sector organisation

PREDICTING THE IMPACT OF JOB SATISFACTION LEVEL IN BOLSTERING TURNOVER INTENTIONS OF FRONTLINE HEALTH WORKERS: EVIDENCE FROM SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Improvement in health care delivery requires a deliberate focus on quality of health services. Nigeria is among the 57 countries worldwide considered by The World Health Organization (WHO) to experience a critical shortage of health workers. While it is evident that there is high turnover among frontline health workers (i.e. frontline health workers, midwives, nurse/midwives, community health officers and community health extension workers), the magnitude of or reasons for turnover is complex, challenging and unknown. Their intention to leave their jobs in the next 5 years has not also been investigated. Hence, this study assessed the key enablers and drivers of turnover intention of frontline health workers in Nigeria. The study used a quantitative approach to address the research questions. This research is directed at managing job satisfaction levels of frontline health workers in Nigeria. Four hospitals were purposively selected and adjudged to be among the best private hospitals in Nigeria based on their standard and popularity, length of existence, standard medical equipment and high customer patronage. Data were collected from 782 frontline health workers and analyzed with descriptive statistics, Structural and Measurement models. The findings indicated that 56% of frontline health workers planned to leave the hospital next year, and 66% said they would look for another work if the situation at the hospital become progressively unsatisfactory. Salary satisfaction, promotion satisfaction, and job satisfaction all influence turnover intentions. The majority of nurses want to move, thus hospital management should re-evaluate the wage and incentive scheme. Promotions must be offered honestly and equitably, and training and education programs must be established to help frontline health workers advance in their careers. Implementation of friendly healthcare strategies that reflect the needs of frontline health workers is imperative to reduce turnover intention and improve health service outcome

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Identification of Antiangiogenic Phytochemicals in Aframomum danielli K. Schum: An In silico Study

Aframomum danielli is one of the African spices used in folklore medicine for the management of several diseases. This study identified the phytochemical components present in the n-hexane seed extract of the A. danielli by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and also evaluated the antiangiogenic potential of the identified phytochemicals by performing molecular docking against human Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) using Molegro Virtual Docker. The GC-MS analysis identified the presence of phytochemical components β-Caryophyllene (RT: 18.479), α-Caryophyllene (RT: 19.189), (4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)ethyl methyl ketone (RT: 22.976), N-Acetyl-m-aminobenzoic acid (RT: 31.651) and 3-Pyridineacetic acid (RT: 32.446). (4-Hydroxy- 3-methoxyphenyl)ethyl methyl ketone were the strongest binding ligand (-65.744 kcal/mol for VEGF) and (- 99.7836kcal/mol for MMP) while β-Caryophyllene was the weakest binding ligand. These compounds showed relative strong docking to VEGF with docking energies comparable to an anticancer drug, bevacizumab (-77.883kcal/mol for VEGF) and (-109.021kcal/mol for MMP). This in silico molecular docking study has shown that these phytochemical components could be responsible for antiangiogenic properties of A. danielli

Competitive Strategies and Corporate Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Lagos and Ogun States

A good competitive strategy is a major tool needed by any organization to achieve its desired objective in the world of increasing competition. Small and medium enterprises compete with business enterprises of the same size as well as companies that are bigger in size and capacity. The study, therefore, examined the influence of the competitive strategies adopted by small and medium enterprises in Nigeria on their performance. A total of 125 respondents were sampled using the judgmental sampling technique. The Student t-test analysis was used to test the four hypotheses. The study reveals that competitive strategies have a positive impact on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria. The study recommends that Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria should select the appropriate strategy that will suit the business and the environment in which it operates

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identification of anticancer phytochemicals in Aframomum danielli (LB579)

Aframomum danielli is one of the African spices used in folklore medicine for the management of several diseases. This study identified the phytochemical components present in the n-hexane seed extract of the A. danielli by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and also evaluated the anti-cancer potential of the identified phytochemicals by performing molecular docking against human Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) using Molegro Virtual Docker. The GC-MS analysis identified the presence of phytochemical components caryophyllene (RT: 18.479), humulene (RT: 19.189), 2-butanone (RT: 22.976), benzenesulfonamide (RT: 31.651) and 2-pyridine acetic acid (RT: 32.446). 2-Butanone was the strongest binding ligand (-65.744 kcal/mol) while caryophyllene was the weakest bind lingand (-56.311 kcal/mol). These compounds showed relative strong docking to VEGF with docking energies comparable to an anticancer drug, bevacizumab (-77.883 kcal/mol). This in silico molecular docking study has shown that these phytochemical components could be responsible for anti-cancer properties of A. danielli

Envisaging the Impact of Entrepreneurial Culture on Venture Creation among Undergraduate Students of Selected Universities in Nigeria

Entrepreneurship is critical to the development of modern complex societies, not just for their survival but also for their long-term viability. Knowing the importance of entrepreneurship to the development of an economy brought about the introduction of entrepreneurship education into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. However, the restricted way entrepreneurship education is usually taught and practised has not helped undergraduates to imbibe an entrepreneurial culture and create a venture while at university. To close these gaps, the current study envisaged the impact of entrepreneurial culture and venture creation among undergraduate students of selected public universities in the South West region of Nigeria. Specifically, the purposive sampling technique was adopted to select the participants from selected universities in the SouthWest region of Nigeria that offers entrepreneurship as a degree programme. A total of 450 questionnaires were administered. A total of 396 copies of questionnaires were returned valid and confirmed as fit for analysis, representing an 88% response rate. The data collected were analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings from this study concluded that students who exhibit entrepreneurial attributes, values, and mindset are more likely to be entrepreneurs than students who do not. This study recommends that universities work harder to promote entrepreneurial culture by focusing entrepreneurship education more on practical application

Demystifying learning culture and innovation performance of professional firms in Nigeria

The need for organisations to constantly create learning culture and adapt to change that will enable the employees have the opportunities to develop new skills have become worrisome. This has made firms, especially the professional firms to be faced with challenges of learning culture complexities. Therefore, this study assessed the role of learning culture on innovation performance of the selected professional firms in Nigeria. This study was descriptive in nature. The study adopted a mixed method to get information from 328 employees among the professional firms that were conveniently and purposively selected. The use of questionnaire was adopted. The quantitative data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) to obtain result. The findings indicated that the selected professional firms applied new learning in their jobs. Based on the above, the selected firms should have opportunities to apply new learning in order to keep up with changes within the organisation