Leadership in Higher Education: A qualitative study

The study reports and documents an analysis of responses of three leaders in a tertiary institution in Australia. An interview schedule was prepared to obtain responses from the leaders on various aspects of leadership, which were exam­ined in the context of RAMSDEN's conceptual framework of leadership in higher education. The study finds that the responses of the three leaders were close to the theoretical model of RAMSDEN in many respects. However, some differences were found in the style of leadership of the three leaders. The study finds that academic leadership poses problems that are distinctly different than leadership in business or government agencies. Academic leaders need to stay close to teaching, learning, research and scholarship to bring out the best among academics. The study could help leaders in tertiary institutions to reflect on their own qualities as academic leaders and such reflection may help improve their leadership style to achieve positive outcomes. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs040326

MOBILE VALUE ADDED SERVICES FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH: A STUDY OF WOMEN MICRO-ENTREPRENEURS IN FIJI

Though it is contended that mobile value added services (MVAS) can help growth of small and microenterprises, few empirical studies have investigated the drivers of MVAS adoption particularly by women entrepreneurs. Our study fills this important gap in the literature by specifically focusing on women micro-enterprises (WMEs) in a Pacific island country - Fiji. The study aims to investigate the effect of organisational and individual characteristics of the entrepreneurs on the decision to adopt mobile value added services. We also identify the supply-side constraints in the uptake of MVAS. We interviewed 74 women micro entrepreneurs and 10 providers of mobile phone services and policy makers. Age of respondents and mobile network operator used had significant positive association with the decision to adopt MVAS. Many policy barriers, infrastructure constraints and interoperability issues were found to hinder the growth of MVAS in Fiji. Access to finance, insurance, and capital were the three major challenges faced by respondents who desired that business mentoring and information needs to be made available through mobile phones as a top priority. We conclude that appropriate policy framework backed by supporting infrastructure to build high equilibrium ecosystem would help rapid adoption of MVAS in Fiji

Financial developments in India: should India introduce capital account convertibility?

The objective of this paper is to examine whether India has reached a stage of financial development when full capital account convertibility could be introduced. In its report on capital account convertibility the Tarapore Committee provided a succinct and subtle definition: capital account convertibility is the freedom to convert local financial assets into foreign financial assets and vice-versa at market determined rates of exchange. It is associated with changes of ownership on foreign/domestic financial assets and liabilities and embodies the creation and liquidation of claims on or by the rest of the world. Capital account convertibility can be, and is, coexistent with restrictions other than on external payments. It also does not preclude the imposition of monetary/fiscal measures relating to foreign exchange transactions, which are of a prudential nature. (Reserve Bank of India, 1997) The issue is important because until the Asian crises of 1997-98, there was a growing consensus that free global financial flows were positive for all and more so for the developing countries. This was based on the proposition that it would help improve global allocation of financial resources. As the returns on capital were higher in developing countries, finance would flow, in general, from the developed countries to developing countries. In the aftermath of the Asian and other developing country crises, however, there has been some rethink and recognition that financial deregulation cant run ahead of prudence (Stiglitz, 2002). There is also the issue of the sequencing of financial liberalisation. Even the leading proponent of financial repression and its associated costs, McKinnon (1973, 1991) has argued that capital account convertibility should come at the end of this process. Though there was support for financial liberalization, opinions differed about the pace at which it could proceed. Some countries like Thailand abolished the controls quickly and opened up their economies while countries like India continued to proceed at slow pace. Until 1991, the Indian economy was subject to a high degree of financial repression and national and international controls. These controls were being lifted slowly when the Asian economic crisis struck. Though, India didnt experience the shock and contagion as some South East Asian countries did, rethinking began whether or not controls should continue to be lifted and the pace at which this should be done. It was feared that lifting of all controls and thus making rupee fully convertible could expose India to shocks and contagion such as those experienced by Asian countries. At the same time, lack of full convertibility on capital account was acting as an impediment for free flow of capital resources. India is now in race with China and hence has to weigh the pros and the cons in taking a decision about full convertibility of its currency. Thus, India provides a good case to analyze. We answer the question posed above within the framework provided by McKinnon (1973) on financial repression and thereafter use the relevant financial development indicators developed by Goldsmith (1969) to assess whether India has reached a of stage financial development when full convertibility of rupee could be introduced. The paper is organized as follows: the next section provides an overview of relevant literature on liberalization of financial flows. In section 3, we assess the financial developments in India against the financial development indicators developed by Goldsmith. Section 4 concludes

Bank Interest Rate Margin, Portfolio Composition and Institutional Constraints

This study empirically examines how the bank specific factors, macro-economic, and institutional variables impact interest margins in China's banking sector. A panel data analysis of bank data for the period 1988–2015 was carried out. We found a significant association between credit quality, risk aversion, liquidity risk, and the proportion of corporate and industrial loans and the adjusted interest spread (AIS). GDP growth rate, inflation, and the proportion of national savings to the GDP were found to have significant association with the AIS. Furthermore, institutional variables were found to have a significant moderating effect on the AIS. We contribute to the literature by examining a unique context and a more accurate measure of bank interest margin not used in prior studies

Malaysian DNFBPs’ Perceptions on Awareness, Perceived Impact and Views on the AML/CFT Requirements

AbstractMoney laundering and terrorism financing (ML/TF) continues to be an on-going threat which has the potential to adversely affect the country's reputation and investment climate which may lead to economic and social consequences. A 2004 amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (AMLATFA), 2001 has redefined “Reporting Institutions” (RIs) to include accountants, auditors, lawyers and other selected professionals. Previous studies on the AML/CFT in Malaysia (e.g. Mohamed & Ahmad, 2012 and Shanmugam & Yhanasegaran, 2008) in general did not specifically address the issue of DNFBPs’ awareness, perceived impact and views on the AML/CFT requirements. Our study is the first in our knowledge to evaluate the understanding on the AML/CFT requirements in Malaysia from the perspective of the accountants

Mobile Phone Banking Usage Behaviour: An Australian Perspective

While the use of mobile phones in financial transactions is witnessing phenomenal growth at the international level, its growth has been relatively slow in Australia. Drawing on the theory of reasoned action and technology adoption framework, this paper reports the results concerning a survey of mobile phone users for banking transactions in Australia. The paper specifically identified the factors affecting usage behaviour when mobile phone banking services were engaged. The findings broaden and deepen our understanding of the usage of mobile-based banking in the information age. This paper contributes to the knowledge of this subject by including identification and testing of constructs of predictors regarding mobile phone banking, which are additional to those employed in the extant theories indicated above. The findings of this paper have important policy implications for banks in terms of understanding the underlying factors that drive customers’ mobile banking for financial transactions. Accordingly, design strategies have been developed to promote mobile phone banking – a cost effective channel for delivering financial services

Efficiency of banks in a developing economy: the case of India

The objective of this paper is to measure the productive efficiency of banks in a developing country, that is, India. The measurement of efficiency is done using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Two models have been constructed to show how efficiency scores vary with change in inputs and outputs. The efficiency scores, for three groups of banks, that is, publicly owned, privately owned and foreign owned, are measured. The study shows that the mean efficiency score of Indian banks compares well with the world mean efficiency score and the efficiency of private sector commercial banks as a group is, paradoxically lower than that of public sector banks and foreign banks in India. The study recommends that the existing policy of reducing non-performing assets and rationalization of staff and branches may be continued to obtain efficiency gains and make the Indian banks internationally competitive which is a declared objective of the Government of India