@Research Paper
<#LINE#>Do Board Independence Carry Value? A Case Study of Pakistani Banks<#LINE#>AmmarAli@Gull,Akram@Toquer,Bilal@Muhammad,Muzaffar@Zeeshan<#LINE#>1-5<#LINE#>1.ISCA-RJMS-2013-030.pdf<#LINE#> School of Banking and Finance, GC University Faisalabad, PAKISTAN  <#LINE#>13/3/2013<#LINE#>22/4/2013<#LINE#> This study examines the influence of board independence on baking performance of Pakistan over the period of 2007 to 2011. This particular study is conducted by employing publically available data from the websites of Karachi stock exchange and Central bank of Pakistan. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis are used as most appropriate techniques to find out the results. Outcomes of study revealed a positive impact of board size and independent board members on return on assets and earnings per share. On the basis of outcomes it is suggested that banks with independent boards will perform better than banks having dependent boards.  <#LINE#> @ @  Butt S.A., Corporate Governance: An introductory book for Pakistan. Lahore, Pakistan: Azeem Academy, (2011) @No $ @ @  Choi J.J., Park S.W. and Yoo S.S., The value of outside directors: Evidence from Corporate Governance reform in Korea. Journal of Financial and Quantitative analysis, 42(4), 941-962 (2007) @No $ @ @  Adams R.B. and Mehran H., Corporate Performance, board structure, and their determinants in the banking industry (Research Report No. 330). United States of America: Federal reserve bank of New York, (2011) @No $ @ @  Khan A. and Dr. Awan S.H., Effect of board composition on firm performance: A case study of Pakistani listed companies. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3(10), 853-863 (2012) @No $ @ @  Kutubi S. S., Board of director’s size, independence and performance: An analysis of private commercial banks in Bangladeshi. World Journal of Social Sciences, 1(4), 159-178 (2011) @No $ @ @  Bhagat S. and Black B., Board independence and long term firm performance. Retrieved from http://web.law.columbia.edu/law-economic-studies/ working-papers /working-papers-author#8376 (2000) @No $ @ @  Rashid A., Zoysa D.A., Lodh S. and Rudkin K., Board composition and firm performance: Evidence from Bangladesh. Australasian Accounting Business and Finance Journal, 4(1), 76-95 (2010) @No $ @ @  Duchin R., Matsusaka G.J. and Ozbas O., When Are Outside Directors Effective? USC Center in Law, Economics and Organization, Research Paper No. C07-13, Retrieved from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1026488 (2008) @No $ @ @  Koerniadi H. and Tourani-Rad A., Does board independence matter? Evidence from New Zealand, Australasian Accounting Business and Finance Journal, 6(2), 3-18 (2012) @No $ @ @  Gani L. and Jermias J., Investigating the effect of board independence on performance Across different strategies, The International Journal of Accounting, 41, 295-314 (2006) @No $ @ @  Lwu-Egwuonwu R.C., Some empirical literature evidence on the effects of independent directors on firm performance, Journal of Economics and International Finance, 2(9), 190-198 (2010) @No $ @ @ Ararat M., Orbay H. and Yurtoglu B.B., The Effects of Board Independence in Controlled Firms: Evidence from Turkey, Retrieved from http://www.researchgate.net /publication/228122810. (2012) @No $ @ @  Mishra K.A., Harsha G.S., Anand S. and Dhruva N.R., Analyzing Soundness in Indian Banking: A CAMEL Approach, Research Journal of Management Sciences, 1(3), 9-14 (2012) @No $ @ @  Uadiale O.M., The impact of board structure on corporate financial performance in Nigeria, International Journal of Business and Management, 5(10), 155-166 (2010) @No $ @ @  Arosa B., Iturralde T. and Maseda, A., Board of directors and firm performance in Spanish non-listed family firms. Retrieved from Google scholar, (2012) @No $ @ @  Ponnu C.H. and Karthigeyan R.M., Board independence and corporate performance: Evidence from Malaysia. African Journal of Business Management, 4(6), 858-868 (2010) @No $ @ @  Mishra K.A., Gadhia J.N., Kar B.P., Patra B. and Anand S., Are private sector banks more sound and efficient than public sector banks? Assessments based on Camel and Data Envelopment analysis approaches. Research Journal Recent Sciences, 2(4), 28-35 (2013) @No
<#LINE#>Do quality and Environmental Management Systems help Hotels to Achieve their Financial Goals? :Evidences from the Egyptian Hotel Industry<#LINE#>M.S.@AbouKamar<#LINE#>6-13<#LINE#>2.ISCA-RJMS-2013-031.pdf<#LINE#>  Department of Hotel Studies, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Menoufiya University, EGYPT  <#LINE#>16/4/2013<#LINE#>24/4/2013<#LINE#> The relationship between quality and environmental management systems and corporate financial performance has always been an important topic in the management literature. However, only few studies have mutually analyzed these two management systems. Most of these studies have focused on the industrial and business sectors (such as banks and insurance companies), but these studies have ignored the hotel and tourism sector, with a few exceptions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the level of commitment of Egyptian 4 and 5-star hotels to implement quality and environmental management systems and to evaluate the impact of this commitment on the financial performance of these hotels. The study grouped hotels according to their commitment to quality and environmental systems, and a two-stage cluster analysis was used to identify the significant differences between groups of hotels. Then, ANOVA and regression analysis were used to test the relationship between the commitment levels and hotel financial performance. The results determined three levels of quality and environmental commitment. These three levels have been classified as proactive, committed, and reactive. Moreover, the results indicated that 5-star hotels can increase their investments in quality and environmental management systems to enhance both short-term and long-term financial performance. For 4-star hotels, however, results showed that quality and environmental management systems have no simultaneous or particular effect on their financial performance. This supports the findings related to this issue in other literature on quality management in the hotel industry.   <#LINE#> @ @  Álvarez J., de Burgos J. and Céspedes J., An analysis of environmental management, organizational context and performance of Spanish hotels, Omega, (29), 457-471 (2001) @No $ @ @  Kaynak H., The relationship between TQM Practices and their effects on firm performance, Journal of Operations Management, 21(4), 405-435 (2003) @No $ @ @ Pereira-Moliner J., Claver-Cortés E., Molina-Azorín F. and Tarí L., Quality management, environmental management and firm performance: direct and mediating effects in the hotel industry, Journal of Cleaner Production, (37), 8292 (2012) @No $ @ @  York K. and Miree C., Causation or variation: An empirical re-examination of the link between TQM and financial performance, Journal of Operations Management, (22), 291-311 (2004) @No $ @ @  Zeng S., Shi J. and Lou G., A synergetic model for implementing an integrated management system: an empirical study in China, Journal of Cleaner Production, (15), 17601767 (2007) @No $ @ @  Kimes S., How product quality drives profitability, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 42(3), 25-28 (2001) @No $ @ @  Antony J., Antony F. and Ghosh S., Evaluating service quality in a UK hotel chain: A case study, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16(6), 380-384 (2004) @No $ @ @  Claver-cortés E., Molina-azorín J., Pereira-moliner J. and Tarí J., Quality management, environmental management and firm performance in the Spanish hotel industry, International Journal of Management Reviews, 11(2), 197-222 (2008) @No $ @ @  Wilkins H., Merrilees B. and Herington C., Towards an understanding of total service quality hotelsm, International Journal of Hospitality Management, (26), 840853 (2007) @No $ @ @  Chan W., Partial analysis of the environmental costs generated by hotels in Hong Kong, Tourism Management, (24), 517-531 (2005) @No $ @ @  McNamara K. and Gibson C., Environmental sustainability in Practice? A macro-scale profile of tourist accommodation facilities in Australia’s coastal zone, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16(1), 85-100 (2008) @No $ @ @  Ayuso S., Adoption of voluntary environmental tools for sustainable tourism, analyzing the experience of Spanish hotels, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 13(4), 207-220 (2006) @No $ @ @  Bohdanowicz P., Environmental awareness and initiatives in the Swedish and Polish hotel industries-survey results. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 25(4), 662-682 (2006) @No $ @ @  Melnyk S., Stroufe R., and Calantone R., Assessing the impact of environmental management systems on corporate and environmental performance, Journal of Operations Management, 21(3), 329-351 (2003) @No $ @ @  Sila I. and Ebrahimpour M., Critical linkages among TQM factors and business results, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, (25), 11231155 (2005) @No $ @ @  Bou-Llusar J., Escrig-Tena A., Roca-Puig V. and Beltrán-Martín I., An empirical assessment of the EFQM Excellence Model: evaluation as a TQM framework relative to the MBNQA Model, Journal of Operations Management, (27), 122 (2009) @No $ @ @  Heras-Saizarbitoria I., Molina-Azorín J. and Dick G., ISO 14001 certification and financial performance: selection-effect versus treatment-effect, Journal of Cleaner Production, (19), 112 (2011) @No
<#LINE#>Marketing Strategies for Standalone Hotels: With Reference to Mayur Aaditya Resort, Dharwad, India<#LINE#>Prasanna@Kalaskar<#LINE#>14-19<#LINE#>3.ISCA-RJMS-2013-033.pdf<#LINE#> Aatreya Education Systems Pvt. Ltd., GL 13, Krishna Mansion, UB Hill, Dharwad, Karnataka State, INDIA  <#LINE#>19/4/2013<#LINE#>28/4/2013<#LINE#> The hospitality sector is one of the fastest growing sector in India, hence it is marked by intense competition. Under this backdrop the stand alone hotels has to sustain and grow amidst of big hotel chains both nationally and internationally. Implementing traditional marketing strategies which focus on acquisition does not serve the purpose of withstanding this competition. Hence more emphasis is on retaining the customer rather than finding the new ones is the need of the hour. In order to achieve this the hotels must develop innovative and competitive marketing strategies which seek new ways to acquire, retain and increase customers thereby sustaining and developing in this competitive era. This article focuses on a single unit of the hospitality industry that is Mayur Aaditya Resort, a hotel located in Dharwad city of North Karnataka. The objective is to identify the various marketing strategies used by the hotel and determine if the present marketing strategy of the hotel can be improved upon. Hence the main purpose of this study is to formulate different marketing strategies for this standalone hotel by providing different plans that help in enhancing the hotels visibility. As a result of this study outlining of the strategic marketing plan and action plans for the hotel was possible.<#LINE#> @ @  Tourism and Hospitality Industry in India, Retrieved from http://www.ibef.org/industry/tourism-hospitality-india.aspx (accessed on 12th March 2012) @No $ @ @ Dewan P. N. Chopra, The Indian Tourism and Hospitality Industry – An Overview, Dewan P.N.Chopra Consultants Private Limited. (2008) Retrieved from http://www.dpncindia.com/news/Hospitality%20Industry.pdf. (accessed on 15th March 2012) @No $ @ @ Ankit Shrivastava, Dezan Shira and Associates, FDI in India’s Tourism Industry India Briefing, Feb.14.2011. Retrieved from http://www.india-briefing.com/news/fdi-indias-tourism-industry-4657.html/ (accessed on 15th March 2012) @No $ @ @ Annual Report Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, Annual Report 2010-11, (2011) @No $ @ @  Marketing and the 7 Ps The Chartered Institute of Marketing (2009) @No $ @ @ Neil H. Borden, The Concept of the Marketing Mix Science in Marketing George Schwartz (Ed.), New York: John Wiley, 1964 Journal of Advertising Research. Cambridge University Press, UK (1964) @No $ @ @ Jonathan Z. Bloom (2005),Market Segmentation a Neural Network Application, Annals of Tourism Research, 32(1), 93–111 (2005) @No $ @ @ Maarit Karppinen Strategic Marketing Plan for a Hotel Hotel and Restaurent Business, Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (2011) @No $ @ @ Malin Hammer Acquiring and Retaining Customers through Traditional- and Relationship Marketing- Case- Study on the Quality Hotel Burke and Wills University of Gavle, (2009) @No $ @ @  Suryakant Lasune Marketing strategies and quality management of five star hotels in order to improve its revenue with special reference to selected five star hotels in Mumbai Abhinav National Monthly Refereed Journal of Research In Commerce and Management, 1(4), (2012) @No $ @ @ Jed Heller Measurable Marketing Strategies for the Small Hotel Owner The Hotel Business Review Journal.www.HotelExecutive.com12. Retrieved from http://click-labs.com/101-online-hotel-marketingstrategies/(accessed on 13th March 2013) @No
<#LINE#>Modeling a Small Farm Livelihood System using Linear Programming in Bindura, Zimbabwe<#LINE#>Felix@Majeke,Judith@Majeke,Mufandaedza@Jonathan,Munashe@Shoko<#LINE#>20-23<#LINE#>4.ISCA-RJMS-2013-004.pdf<#LINE#> Department, Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, ZIMBABWE<#LINE#>30/1/2013<#LINE#>15/2/2013<#LINE#> A livelihood system is the full range of activities available to an individual farmer. Communal farmers are often faced with the problem of how to select the optimal cropping patterns that significantly contribute to sustainable production. In this study, a linear program that reflects these choices by selecting a combination of farm activities that is feasible given a set of fixed farm constraints and that maximizes income while achieving other goals such as food security is developed. Results obtained by using linear programming and traditional methods are compared. The results obtained by using the linear programming model are more superior. The difference in gross income is 44.65%.  <#LINE#> @ @ Alsheikh S.M. and Ahmed A.M., Development of Mixed Farming System in a Newly Reclaimed Area in Egypt. Session No. LMP3.12. Abstract No. 107 (2002) @No $ @ @ Hazell P.B.R., Norton R.D., Mathematical Programming for Economic Analysis in Agriculture. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company (1986) @No $ @ @ Winston W., Introduction to Mathematical Programming (Applications and Algorithms), California: Duxbury Press (1995) @No $ @ @ Annetts J.E. and Audsley E., Multiple Objective Linear Programming for Environmental Farm Planning, Journal of the Operational Research Society, .53, 933-943 (2002) @No $ @ @ Mohamad N.H.J. and Said F., A Mathematical Programming Approach To Crop Mix Problem. African journal of Agricultural Research,  6(1), 191-197 (2011) @No $ @ @  Butterworth K., Practical Application of Linear/Integer Programming in Agriculture, Journal of Operational Research Society,  36(2), 99-107 (1985) @No $ @ @  Igwe K.C., Onyenweaku C.E. and Nwaru S., Application Of Linear Programming To Semi-Commercial Arable And Fishery Enterprises In Abia State, Nigeria, International Journal of Economics And Management Sciences, 1(1), 75-81 (2011) @No $ @ @ Riddler B.J., Rendel J.M. and Baker A., Driving Innovation of Linear Programming to Improving Farm  Systems. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association. 63, 295-298 (2001) @No $ @ @  Möhring A. and Zimmermann A., Construction and Application of an LP Farm Model with an Integrated Life Cycle Assessment for Determination of Sustainable Milk ProductionSystems,  European Association of Agricultural Economics, 24-25 (2005) @No $ @ @  Salimu K.K., Falusi A.O., Okoruwa V.O. and Yusuf S.A., Modeling Efficient Resource Allocation Patterns for Food Crop Farmers in Nigeria: An Application of T-MOTAD Analysis, International Journal of Agricultural Economics andRural Development ,  1(1) (2008) @No $ @ @  Scarpari M.S. and Beauclair E.G.F., Optimized Agricultural Planning Of Sugarcane Using Linear Programming, Revista Investigacion Operacional, 31(2), 126-132 (2010) @No $ @ @  Musundire V., Focus on The Mashonaland Central Market Brief , Zimtrade, (2011) @No $ @ @  Hilderbrand P.E. and Cabrera V.E., Modeling and Analyzing Small Farm Livelihood Systems with Linear Programming. Staff Paper Series: Food and Resources Economics Department, University of Florida, Gainesville (2003) @No
<#LINE#>Market Potentials of Mewar Wall Paintings Inspire Sarees Designs<#LINE#>Sudha@Babel,Meenaxi@Tiwari,Jayamala@Dave<#LINE#>24-27<#LINE#>5.ISCA-RJMS-2012-059.pdf<#LINE#> Deptt. of Textiles and Apparel Designing, College of Home science, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan, INDIA <#LINE#>26/12/2012<#LINE#>21/4/2013<#LINE#> “A style of virile intensity characterized by glowing passionate colour, deft rhythm and robust simplifications” is mewar style. Indian art Mewar is distinguished not only for its lovely landscape and romantic architecture but also for a series of distinguished rules who were not only valiant warriors but also patrons of art and culture. Mewar was the most important centre of early Rajasthani painting the “Golden Age of mewar”. Indian culture and its rich heritage of tradition are reflected in many of the various regions of this country and Rajasthan is famous for its profile art treasures. Even since the dawn of civilization man has felt the urge to decorate textile by the means of weaving, printing, dyeing and embroidery. Most of the India’s folk arts have been a great source of inspiration and ideas for the textiles as well as designers. Now-a-days fashion trends are fragile and the consumers constantly demand innovative changes over existing fields. Since the Mewar paintings currently do not find much usage on textiles, except as a few decorative painted wall panels, greeting cards etc. This folk art and traditional ideas that are the glitters of our culture, these applied on apparels by a commercial aspect is gaining popularity day by day through the innovation of designer ideas that are performed into tangible products, though constant development in any field is essential. So it is with the field of traditional textiles. Indian folk art and embroidery play an important role in the present-day fashion world. Therefore a study was done to explore the market potential of designer sarees developed from traditional wall paintings of mewar. The idea was that the study would help in popularizing the traditional folk art and could be adopted by small –scale industries. and in this study. Total 30 Mewar painting were collected from various places and total number of 50 motifs were developed or modified from eleven best mewar paintings selected by the researcher. A rating Performa was developed by the researcher to select 15 modified motif for saree design. Further the selected fifteen modified motifs were used to develop 15 saree designs on computer to select the best five placements and its folk embroidery, prior to actual embroidery on sarees. A five point rating Performa and questionnaire was given to 60 respondents (20 Textile and fashion design,20 Housewives and 20 marketing personnel) selected purposively to find out the acceptability and market potential on embroidered sarees.<#LINE#> @ @  Vashistha R.K., Mewar Ki Chitrankan Parampara, Unique Traders, Jaipur (1984) @No $ @ @  www.ritukumar.com (2012) @No $ @ @  Vijayvargiya R. Rajasthani Paintings-Paintings of Udaipur, Vigayvargiy Kala Mandal, Jaipur, First Edition, 19-21 (1953) @No $ @ @  Verma P., Vatsra Vigayan Avam Paridhan, Madhya Pradesh Hindi granth Akadmi, 331-335 (2000) @No