Vol. 10 No. 3 (2018)

The role of HRM in improving business competitiveness is recognized. The scientific literature has several theoretical approaches through which some authors have attempted to validate this hypothesis. The objective of this study is to verify if the companies most successful in Morocco are distinguished by their HR practices under the Universalist approach. We quantitatively analyze the returns of a panel of 92 national and multinational companies in Morocco. A context far unexplored by management researchers. These companies operate, since the 80s, in a context of strong competition due to the globalization of markets. The results are used to validate the Universalist perspective and argue the scope of certain HR practices in this context.

Recommender systems are very useful in assisting users to reduce the complexities involved in their decision making processes. It is particularly difficult for people to make decisions on housing choices because different options exist with different facilities, in different locations and with varied cost implications. This paper proposes a hybrid user-centric housing recommender system that is implemented to assist potential house buyers and tenants to generate house listings based on their preferences with the aid of fuzzy logic and item-based collaborative filtering. A virtual tour of the houses is also provided for better choice making.

The study examined financial management practices using four components: working capital management practices, capital structure management, accounting information and financial reporting practice, and the use of capital budgeting techniques and fixed assets management. Performance of SMEs was examined from the context of profitability measured by Return on Assets and of growth. The study sampled 100 SMEs from Accra with data collected through the administration of a questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. The results of the descriptive statistics revealed that working capital management practices had the highest mean score, followed by accounting information and financial reporting practices, capital structure management and finally, the use of capital budgeting techniques and fixed assets management, in that order. The Pearson correlation analysis showed a positive association between the four components of financial management practices and between SMEs profitability and growth. The results emphasize the need for SMEs to improve on their financial management practice to improve the profitability and growth of these firms. It is recommended that the use of capital budgeting techniques be improved, as this area of financial management, even though it impacts positively on the performance of SMEs had the least score. Most importantly, the managers of SMEs should use discounted cash flow techniques to evaluate investment and projects before committing the resources of the company. SMEs are encouraged to adopt IFRS for SMEs to enhance their financial reporting practices. This will also improve their decision making and access to capital which will allow these SMEs to expand.

This paper examined the micro-finance services towards empowerment of unprivileged women in the southwestern part of Bangladesh. A sample of 300 low profile unprivileged micro-finance service receiving women equally from rural and urban areas of Khulna district were surveyed during May, 2018. Data were collected on the usage and effectiveness of micro-finance services and were analyzed using STATA 12. Multiple regression model and descriptive statistics were used to interpret data. Economic empowerment, social empowerment, interpersonal empowerment and political empowerment were considered to measure women empowerment. The study found that proper use of microcredit, marital status of women, educational status of women and their husbands, personal income and their position in the family were the main determinants of women empowerment. Women empowerment score remained higher in urban areas than in rural areas. The availability of micro-finance services improved the status of unprivileged low profile suburban women in terms of income generation, saving mobilization, the creation of household assets and overall poverty reduction of rural women. Thus, microfinance has been a useful tool for women empowerment and economic development in both areas but more effective in urban areas.

The purpose of the study is to develop a framework beyond the technology acceptance model (TAM) whereby the study aims to understand the slow adoption of M-learning approach in HEIs. For this purpose, this study carries out an extensive review of the literature in order to design a conceptual framework to investigate how to enhance the utilization of this technology among lecturers and learners/students. The investigation was carried out using a deductive approach to examine the proposed hypothesizes. The findings from this study suggest a wide range of factors such as cultural dimension (i.e. uncertainty avoidance), psychological factors (i.e. perceived risk, self-efficacy) technical skills (i.e. digital literacy). These factors are regarded to be relevant towards enhancing the utilization of M-learning in HEIs. This study has the originality of ideas by providing insights into M-learning utilization beyond the conventional TAM. These identified factors require to be substantiated in this context.