Articles

  • Article 1 in this issue

    Corporate Social Responsibility in Cameroon: Practices and Environmental Impact

    • Author: Peter Fofuh, Olawumi Dele Awolusi

    The purpose of this study is to examine how CSR is practiced by local businesses and their influence on environmental protection and sustainable growth in Cameroon. Grounded on the stakeholder theory, a multi-method data collection tool was used to collect data for qualitative analysis. A thematic content analysis was approached was used in this study to examine the CSR practices of 20 local businesses in Cameroon. Findings from the study revealed that the concept of corporate social responsibility is relatively new and local corporations are not fully equipped to address the needs of their stakeholders. Also, environmental concerns and community issues were not areas of concern to companies when adopting CSR strategies. Additionally, government intervention to enforce existing laws and regulations on environmental and social issues was lacking. The study implies that by neglecting environmental concerns local businesses are endangering the environment and failing to plan for sustainable growth. Besides expanding knowledge about the level of CSR awareness and practice in Cameroon by exposing the limitations of local companies in adopting CSR and the laxity of the government in enforcing the relevant laws and legislation. It is recommended, that to plan for sustainable development and environmental protection, the government should be more proactive in upholding laws and regulations related to environmental protection and businesses, being more ethical in their daily practices. CSR policies should also be codified to encourage and compel businesses on the need for environmental protection by requesting businesses produce mandatory CSR disclosures.

    Pages 1-18

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  • Article 2 in this issue

    Number Manipulation Strategy: A Model of Experiential Instruction and Interest in Arithmetic Learning of Pupils of Lower Basic Level in Enugu State, Nigeria

    • Author: Sochima Stanislus Unodiaku

    The study investigated the efficacy of the number manipulation strategy (NUMAS) as a model of experiential instruction and interest in arithmetic learning for pupils of lower basic levels. The population of the study consisted of 1205 lower basic III level pupils of the 2018/2019 session in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area (L.G.A.) of Enugu State. A sample of 121 primary five pupils from 4 schools out of 53 primary schools in the study area was randomly sampled. The 121 pupils were composed of 42 males and 79 females used for the study. The study was guided by four research questions and four hypotheses. The hypotheses were tested at a p<.05 level of significance. The instruments used for the study were Arithmetic Test (ART) and Mathematics Interest Inventory Questionnaire (MIIQ) developed by the researcher. The ART and MIIQ instruments were faces validated by experts and their reliability indexes were 0.85 and 0.79 respectively, established using Cronbach alpha and split-half methods respectively. The data obtained with the instruments were analyzed using mean, standard deviations (SD), t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) statistics. Mean and SD was used in answering the research questions, while t-test and ANCOVA statistics were used in testing the hypotheses at P<.05 level of significance. The findings of the study showed that NUMAS is effective in teaching arithmetic, especially in enhancing the addition and subtraction skills acquisition of the pupils. Gender was found not to be a significant factor of variance in arithmetic achievement when the teaching of arithmetic is NUMAS based. The use of NUMAS was recommended to teachers, lower basic mathematics textbook authors and stakeholders in education, to ensure that NUMAS is adopted and adapted for use in Mathematics classroom instruction and learning.

    Pages 19-29

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  • Article 3 in this issue

    The Effect of Risk and Uncertainty Factors on Managerial Decision Making

    • Author: Mian Numan Raheem, M. Adrees

    This study evaluated the effect of risk and uncertainty factors on financial decision making. The long-term goals and ways for achievement are constantly attached with uncertainty since we don’t know the circumstances, either positive or negative, which happen later. Uncertainty is a key logical factor that influences the dynamic. The reason for this investigation is to check how risk and factors of uncertainty impact the financial aspects of a firm. The risk factors incorporate, financial risk, market fluctuations hazards, fluctuation of unfamiliar and loan costs. Uncertainty factors incorporate political, monetary and environmental uncertainty. The results reveal that management knowledge and expertise related to these factors are utmost important for effective decision making and sustainable growth.

    Pages 30-37

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  • Article 4 in this issue

    Staff Assignment Rotation and Project Sustainability in South Sudan

    • Author: Abraham Ansu Kanneh, Olawumi Dele Awolusi

    The primary objective of this study was to determine the existence of a causal relationship between Staff Assignment Rotation vis-à-vis Project Sustainability in South Sudan. The research followed the qualitative methodology predicated on the “philosophical dimensions” of constructivism and interpretivism. The participants for the research consisted of 50 individuals drawn from four population groups: Refugees as the primary beneficiaries, humanitarian workers and project staff. Qualitative data collection was chosen as the research methodology and in-depth interview and focus group discussion as the research techniques in the data collection. Narrative analysis was the method of data analysis. The study revealed that 81 percent of the respondents indicated security as the single most important factor that impacts project sustainability. Staff assignment rotation followed with 16 percent. Data analysis was compartmentalized and looked at the profile of the respondents to see any noticeable variance from the functional perspective. Contextualizing the data helped to balance any perceived unbiased in the responses based on their functional affinity. In addition to Security as the prominent factor that impacts project sustainability, staff rotation, government regulation, and funding could also impact significantly depending on the context. The study recommends a comprehensive review of the current mandatory policy to align the operation management cycle; encompassing the project initiation, planning, implementation, monitoring and closure to the standard assignment length of staff assigned to implement these projects.

    Pages 38-56

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  • Article 5 in this issue

    The Role of Communication in the Process of Forming Market-Oriented Party (Mop): Its Importance and Approaches

    • Author: Koay Hean Wei, Khairiah Salwa Mokhtar

    This paper discusses the role of communication in the process of market-oriented political modeling. Our theoretical framework benefits from the idea of Lees-Marshment’s model, there are three types of parties that can help meet voters’ needs: product-oriented party (POP), sales-oriented party (SOP) and market-oriented party (MOP). The focus here is MOP, which means developing political policies on the ground of voters’ needs to gain from the voter “market”. The MOP approach relies heavily on effective partyvoter communication, before, during and after an election. Specifically, the communication aspect in the process of the MOP approach is discussed, which covers political marketing as a social or communication process in image-building and different approaches in such communication. Various communication modes in gathering voter information are compared in terms of advantages and disadvantages, especially in trustbuilding and two-way (both verbal and non-verbal) communications. Lastly, a section related to political canvassing is also presented.

    Pages 57-66

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