bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An Islamic capital asset pricing model
Authors: Selim Tarek H. 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the application of the Islamic financing method based on direct musharakah to the conventional capital asset pricing model yielding several interesting hypotheses.Design/methodology/approachTheoretical methodology, with maximin criteria, and rational economic optimization.FindingsThere are four major findings. First, an Islamic financing partnership based on complementary capital is proven to necessarily yield a lower beta‐risk of investments than that compared to the market. Second, in order for the above conclusion to hold, capital lenders (such as banks) must abide by a maximum partnership share inversely proportional to project risk and increasing with opportunity cost of capital. Third, the sum of lender's share and relative risk level balances to unity at equilibrium. Hence, tradeoffs exist in risk‐shares and not in risk‐returns. Fourth, without accounting for inflation, and in contrast to predetermined fixed interest, a maximin strategy of financing partnerships (maximum return with minimum risk) imply an existence of an optimum zero risk‐free rate.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper's findings are limited to a Direct Musharakah Partnership.Originality/valueA comparison between Islamic risks and returns to conventional risk management is deduced. Several implications on the conduct of Islamic financing are discussed.
Imperative of economic integration among Muslim countries
Authors: Raimi L. , Mobolaji H.I. 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe paper was written to highlight the advantages of initiating economic integration among Muslim countries across the globe, drawing special lessons from Europe's experience; its successful economic integration and challenges which trailed the process.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology is basically descriptive and analytical. Theoretical construct and model on economic integration was developed for adoption by the Muslim countries. The model seeks to enhance their economic strength through intra and inter trade relations and reduces their weaknesses through specialization. Secondary data from Organization of the Islamic Conference and Islamic Development Bank member countries were exhaustively used in the study.FindingsThe paper found out that integration is plausible and beneficial, however, a concerted effort must be made in promoting technological development, raise human capital, and improve the product diversification among Muslim countries while developing stable institutions and infrastructures. Two, the potential benefits of integrating exceed the costs. The emphasis needs to be, not in cutting costs/inputs (reductionist approach), but on generating more wealth/revenue/income (incrementalist approach) that results in reducing the huge external debt, poverty, diseases, frustration, and corruption in most Muslim countries. Three, key to Muslims' socio‐economic happiness is through mutual cooperation for growth and development (Qur'an 42:38, Q3:159).Research limitations/implicationsThe major contributions of this paper are three, firstly, the paper explores a faith‐based integration effort, and secondly, it identifies reasons for low success in the integration efforts among Muslim countries and finally suggests an econometric model based on faith that neglects the artificial geographical barrier.Practical implicationsThe practical implication of the paper is the recommendation to establish a Muslim Economic Bloc because Muslim countries are economically heterogenous group, with uneven development and growth pattern.Originality/valueThe paper is major contribution in the field of Islamic economics and applied economics. Contrary to what we know in the conventional economics, this paper advocates a faith‐based economic model and bloc in a globalised world economy. It is a contribution to existing literature.
A comparative study of financing small and cottage industries by interest‐free banks in Turkey, Cyprus, Sudan and Bangladesh
Authors: Alam Mohammed N. 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a comparative study of financing small and cottage industries (SCIs) by interest‐free banks in different countries like Turkey, Cyprus, Sudan and Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachThe objectives are achieved by analyzing data based on an “institutional network” theoretical frame of references. The methodological approach used in the research is of a qualitative nature.FindingsThe research result shows that the lender–borrower network relationship, especially in case of financing rural‐based SCIs by interest‐free banks, differ from one country to the other even though the basic principles of interest‐free financing remains the same.Originality/valueThe ideas of interest‐free financing system (IFS) and its specific mode of lending funds towards rural‐based SCIs. The research is useful to both financing organizations based on interest‐free principles also small and cottage industry owners in developing as well as developed nations, where the Shariah‐based IFS is working.
Pedagogic implications of anxiety and loss of agency in public services managers and leaders
Authors: Ahmad Yusuf , Broussine Mike 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to report on the results of an inquiry into the possible reasons why many public service managers and leaders across six European countries report a loss of personal agency and suggests a possible pedagogic response to this.Design/methodology/approachThe nature of agency is explored with reference to theory, and the methodology for the study – heuristic action inquiry – is outlined. The paper argues that spaces within postgraduate education are needed to facilitate managers' critical reflection and working with anxiety, and the article goes on to outline how public services leadership programmes can seek to achieve this.FindingsThe paper suggests that programmes need to work both with the cognitive and affective domains, and to find ways of exploring within the curriculum how managers may begin more to see their roles as potentially key actors in the policy‐making process rather than as passive recipients of policy imperatives received from above. The loss of agency experienced by public servants in several European countries suggests that MPA programmes and the like need to work with students' anxieties in a contained way.Originality/valueSome trends within contemporary public services that lie behind anxiety and loss of agency are identified, including high emphasis on performance targets, centrally driven change, financial stringency, loss of professional and organisation identities, a perpetuation of a “private is best” governmental ideology, and contradictory accountability structures.
Why not teach “diversity” to public sector managers?
Authors: Page Margaret , Oldfield Chrissie , Urstad Birgit 
Published: May 2008

PurposeEquality and diversity are generally positioned as special interests, marginal to the mainstream of social policy teaching and learning. The purpose of this paper is to make the case for shifting equality and diversity out of the margins and into the centre of education for mid career public managers, and offers practical methods for doing so.Design/methodology/approachThe current EU policy framework requires public services to go beyond eliminating discrimination, and to promote equality. The paper suggests that while this offers great opportunities for advancing the cause of social justice, the cultures that predominate in public policy may lead to loss and failure. Academic research and experience demonstrate that these changes are highly complex, touching on issues that are integral to our sense of who we are, and how we relate to each other as educators and students, and as enforcers, beneficiaries and implementers of these policies. The paper touches on deeply held emotions, showing that more exploration of appropriate pedagogical methods is needed.FindingsThe paper finds that only by raising issues of equality and diversity to mainstream social policy teaching and learning is there likely to be a shift in thinking and commitment that will encourage integration of equality measures within management and leadership of public.Originality/valueThe paper offers three dimensions of pedagogy for enabling public service managers to engage with diversity and the equality agenda within educational contexts, and offers three illustrations of pedagogic processes that support this learning.
Innovation, design and delivery of MPA programmes for public leaders and managers in Europe
Authors: Benington John , Hartley Jean , Ry Nielsen J.C. , Notten Ton 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse three innovative Master's programmes designed for public and voluntary sector managers across three EU countries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper compares similarities and differences between the programmes in order to shed light on the “innovation journey” which the authors took in establishing these programmes, and on the distinctive pedagogies which have been designed and developed to help address the complex dilemmas and challenges facing public and voluntary sector managers in the three countries.FindingsThe paper draws on theories of innovation and entrepreneurship to illustrate how these programmes were created, and how both new curriculum content and new approaches to pedagogy had to be developed.Originality/valueThe paper addresses the current and future learning needs of these public and voluntary service managers.
Learning‐centred public management education
Authors: Nygaard Claus , Bramming Pia 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to give concrete ideas to the development of MPA programmes in the light of the changing public sector. Following the introduction of ideas and practices from New Public Management, public managers face new requirements. The paper aims to deal with some of them and argues that in order to be a competent manager in the public sector today, one needs to be able to self‐develop four types of competence‐in‐practice: methodological competencies; theoretical competencies; meta‐theoretical competencies; and contextual competencies.Design methodology/approachThe approach in the paper is explorative and normative. The paper explores the changes and challenges in the public sector based on the aforementioned four types of competence‐in‐practice. Following that the paper presents a normative model for curriculum design and exemplify the development and possible processes of learning‐centered MPA programmes.FindingsThe paper finds that learning‐centred MPA programmes are fruitful for the development of said the types of competence‐in‐practice.Practical implicationsWith its particular focus on public sector management education this article may be relevant to curriculum developers, academics and practitioners interested in education and employability of public managers.Originality/valueThe paper shows that building on theories about learning, competencies, and curriculum development suggests a processual model for curriculum development that can inspire faculty members to develop learning‐centred MPA programmes where focus is learning and competence development.
The art and dilemmas of assessment
Authors: Raine John W. , Rubienska Annie 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on issues of assessment in leadership and management programmes for mid career public managers. Drawing on experiences of such programmes from across Europe, the paper examines the potential conflict between traditional perspectives on academic study, with the typically‐associated focus on testing what has been learned, and the expectations and needs for competence and relevance for the work‐place.Design/methodology/approachThe paper aruges that two key distinctions are crucial – on the one hand, between formative and summative assessment (i.e. between assessment and feedback during a programme to help participants learn, as opposed to assessment at the end of a programme to judge and determine if they have met the grade), and on the other, between participant‐centred and institution‐centred approaches (i.e. between commitment to collaborating with individual participants to ensure that their personal learning and development objectives are met, and a more traditional perspective reflecting a culture of “the institution knows best” and of concern to protect academic standards).FindingsFrom the evidence gathered the conclusion is reached that, despite the claims made about the developmental objectives of such programmes, mostly, the assessment processes tend to accord with traditional academic perspectives, and give only limited weight to learning and skills for the workplace.Originality/valueThe paper argues for more emphasis on formative assessment and participant‐centredness and also for greater clarity about purposes in such management programmes. It advocates more imaginative and innovative learning and development approaches to mirror better the diverse realities and requirements of a public service organisational context.
Linking the knowledge creation process to organizational theories
Authors: Chen Chung‐An 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe author aims to provide a macro (organization‐environment) view for knowledge creation (KC), a study traditionally considered to be a micro (individual‐organization) management issue.Design/methodology/approachLiterature review and literature integration are the main approaches used in this paper. Instead of providing a critique, the author reviews recent KC process studies and integrates them into a “process heuristic,” in which different phases of KC activity are embedded. The author then discusses how each phase of KC interacts with the change of an organization's external environment (the integration of change theories and the KC process heuristic).FindingsThe author found that an organization needs the function and balance of three different momenta – imitation, rationality, and inertia – to proceed with KC when confronted with pressure from external environments. Knowledge feedback, prompted by the synergy of these momenta, ensures the fitness of an organization and its environment. However, knowledge feedback falls short if organizations fail to process ambiguous information in a turbulent environment.Research limitations/implicationsThe author provides five propositions based on the literature review. One may need more qualitative or quantitative evidence to test these propositions.Practical implicationsIn addition to the traditional micro view, managers can diagnose their KC problems from a macro view.Originality/valueThis paper is the first one to address the importance of environment‐organization fitness in terms of KC studies.
Builders and cleaners
Authors: Leijon Svante , Söderbom Arne 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this research paper is to contribute to strategy theory by differentiating different types of top management narratives and trying to understand the interplay between them as well as the dynamics over time.Design/methodology/approachThe study was designed from an interpretative narrative approach. Narratives were produced from deep interviews and organisational documents covering a period of more than 25 years.FindingsTwo kinds of narratives were detected – builders and cleaners. The builders' narratives illustrate how personal life‐stories are embedded in the strategic development processes but the cleaners' narratives are organisational stories without personal life‐stories and cover no actual development. The concept meta‐narrative helped to understand strategic changes over time and was embedded in the myth‐periods involved. The meta‐narrative identified was built on an idea of a going concern and on the role to produce physical large objects for long‐term use.Research limitations/implicationsOwing to the longitudinal design of the study a cyclical pattern with related managerial narratives were produced. The dichotomy builders and cleaners could be developed studying other longitudinal business strategies and also by connections to meta‐narratives derived from more general economic theories.Practical implicationsBuilders and cleaners focus on either business or organisational/financial aspects but neither of both. Awareness of this, learning strategic management requires co‐operation between different actors.Originality/valueThe longitudinal design describes and analyzes a cyclical pattern of managerial patterns, while other studies based on narratives cover more limited organisational events in time and space.
All change? Managers' experience of organizational change in theory and practice
Authors: Andrews Jane , Cameron Helen , Harris Margaret 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the usefulness of organizational change theory for management practice.Design/methodology/approachThe authors present an exploratory, empirical study of managers who were taught organizational change theory as part of a postgraduate degree. Building on the study findings, they analyse managers' subsequent experiences of organizational change; of how they use change theory in practice and the impact on their practice of their earlier formal study.FindingsThe paper finds that the complexities of managing change in practice reflect distinctive organizational environments and cultures. The skills and knowledge which managers found most useful were those that enabled them to “make sense” of the organizational change they subsequently experienced. The main impact of their earlier studies was to prompt informative, discursive and reflective approaches to change management.Practical implicationsThe paper discusses the implications for future teaching of organizational change and the development of organizational change theory.Originality/valueThe qualitative findings of the study add to, and help to explain, earlier research findings on the questions of how managers' experience change, how they use organizational change theory and its impact on their practice.
Between structuration and translation: an approach of ICT appropriation
Authors: Hussenot Anthony 
Published: May 2008

PurposeAppropriation of information communication technology (ICT) drags tools and actors into a sociotechnical process. ICT, practices, and organizations are strongly modified. Only an interplay approach can reveal the complexity of relations between technology and work practices. The paper aims to focus on this.Design/methodology/approachFrom the structurational model of technologies and Actor Network Theory, the author's approach of ICT appropriation in organizations is based on structuration and translation dynamics.FindingsCombining these two dynamics, the paper sheds light on the appropriation paths. Through an implementation of management tool in the teaching world for one year, it focuses on the emergence of appropriation dynamics of pedagogic software by the teachers. This approach shows that actors and ICT changed around compromises in the network.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper is in the coupling of the structuration and translation dynamics of appropriation to identify the appropriation paths.
Organizational knowledge and discourse of diversity in employment
Authors: McVittie Chris , McKinlay Andy , Widdicombe Sue 
Published: May 2008

PurposeEvidence suggests that the notion of diversity in employment has failed to meet expectations of increased inclusion and organizational competitiveness in an ever‐changing and globalizing economic context. This paper aims to consider the use of language of diversity in an organizational context.Design/methodology/approachUsing discourse analysis, the paper examines data obtained from semi‐structured interviews conducted with human resources managers and personnel managers. Participants' descriptions of diversity in relation to one particular group of (potential) employees, namely older jobseekers, are analysed for their function and effects in relation to organizational knowledge and practices.FindingsDiversity in employment provides organizational managers with a resource that can more usefully be viewed as linguistic than as knowledge based. Its use offers organizations a means of accounting for existing practices and should not be taken to signal commitment to organizational change.Originality/valueWork that has treated discourse of diversity as evidence of efforts to promote inclusion and competitiveness has failed to consider fully the effects of language use. A focus on language as action in its own right shows how diversity in employment as used accomplished outcomes that are totally divergent from the usually assumed benefits of diversity.
A model to explore the mystery between organizations' downsizing strategies and firm performance
Authors: Tsai Cheng‐Fei , Yen Yu‐Fang 
Published: May 2008

PurposeDownsizing in organizations is a popular management strategy. However, in the field of organization change, the question of whether downsizing practices eventually improve performance is frequently asked and is never satisfactorily answered. The consequences have not always materialized over these years. On the negative side, downsizing harms employees, their families, and at the same time causes social chaos. The possible answers could be the ignorance of some important mechanisms between them. The paper aims to explain this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe paper applies the dynamic strategy capabilities concept from the strategy research field and strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices concept from the SHRM research field.FindingsA consolidated model is established to explain the relationships among these variables.Originality/valueThe model is expected to provide significant implications for thought leaders to reflect on the topics regarding organizations' changes, firm's strategies and SHRM system and social issues.
Effects of control mechanisms on positive organizational change
Authors: Tat Wai Yu Billy , Wai Ming To 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to describe an application of key concepts in agency theory to organizational development. Specifically, it seeks to highlight that formal control systems, the ways to regulate employees' performance, are associated with an important factor for organizational development – the capacity for improvement.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a literature review on organizational development and agency theory, and an empirical examination of the relationships between bureaucratic control systems, task programmability and the organization's capacity for improvement. The hypotheses of interrelationships among different control systems, task programmability and the capacity for improvement were tested with a sample of 237 employees in the service industry.FindingsResults indicate that input control is a significant factor in determining an organization's capacity for improvement, and task programmability moderates the relation between a bureaucratic control and the organization's capacity for improvement.Research limitations/implicationsThe results are based on a cross‐sectional self‐report study. It is advisable to include managers' assessment of subordinates' capacity of improvement in further research.Originality/valueThe effect of formal controls on organizational performance was controversial. This paper reveals the moderating role of task programmability in a control‐performance relationship. In doing so, this paper sheds light on how a manager can enhance his/her subordinates' performance on organizational improvement through different control tactics.