Current Perspective to Economics and Management Vol. 2

Online Reservation Systems: A Tool for Enhancing Airline Performance in Nigeria

Geraldine N. Okeudo — 2019-08-19

Aims: The complexity posed by increased demand for air travel has occasioned a transition between manual reservation systems to online reservation systems. The development of these computerized reservation systems came as management solution to the increasing number of commercial airline companies which put more pressure on their management to continually seek profits, reduce cost, and increase revenues in a competitive environment that only provides marginal profit. Although empirical evidence indicates the ease of airline transaction such as ticket booking or travel planning for airline customers. However, clarity on the relationship between the level of usage of reservation systems and the associated revenue benefits to airlines are yet explored. Therefore, this chapter explores the relationship between the use of Airline Reservation System and the performance of an airline. It attempts to assess the impact of ICT enhanced reservation procedures on the performance of airline industries with a hope that the information provided will guide airline operators and policy makers in their bid to sustain productivity and maintain efficiency.

Study Design: The study adopts a positivist view to exploring phenomenon’s to assess the impact of Airline Reservation System on the performance of airline companies. It assumes possibility of an existing relationship between both variables, hence the proposition of hypothesis for confirmation or rejection of the claim.

Place and Duration of Study: Research was conducted in Imo State, a south-eastern city in Nigeria. The study target population represents the airlines which utilize the online reservation system have their offices located in Sam-Mbakwe International Cargo Airport Owerri, Imo state. Consequently, the airport in Imo State was selected as a suitable study location.

Methodology: Using survey data collected from airline staff, airline passengers and reservation agents of six airlines at the Sam-Mbakwe International Cargo Airport Owerri, Imo state, this study adopts a Pearson correlation analysis to ascertain the relationship between the number of users of airline reservation system and the performance viz a viz its returns on assets.

Results: The study result showed an R2 value of 0.8583 for hypothesis 1, which strongly expresses the trend component of the relationship and therefore supports the alternative hypothesis which states that there is a significant relationship between the use of airline reservation system and the performance viz a viz its returns on assets. Furthermore, the result from the SPSS coefficients analysis shows that for a one unit rise in the number of users of the airline reservation system there is a corresponding .961 rise in the returns on the assets which further indicates a greater performance level, hence accepting Ha2: which states that “the correlation between the performance of an airline (return on Asset) and the use of an Airline Reservation System is not zero” and rejecting Ho 2.

Conclusion: Based on the findings, the study encourages a wider adoption of ICT tools such as the online reservation systems by airlines because its adoption suggests a propensity for improved revenue generation as well as customer satisfaction. However, our suggestion for further studies focuses on the exploration of the challenges of adopting such ICT systems with respect to developing country contexts.

A Critical Review of Competitive Firm’s Theory

Fernando Antonio Noriega Ureña — 2019-08-19

Aims: In the first place, to demonstrate that economic behavior that neoclassical theory attributes to competitive firms is technically inefficient since it does not correspond to the highest possible internal rate of return, which implies the violation of the first theorem of welfare. Secondly, overcoming error in the economic behavior of competitive firms gives rise to the basic results of the theory of nonexistence of the labor market (TNLM), on which the theorem of superiority, a basic element of its construction, is finally proved.

Methodology: The demonstration is carried out through a theorem based on the free entry and exit criterion, fully respecting the initial conditions and hypotheses of neoclassical theory. For all these effects the mathematics of restricted maximization and some concepts of convex optimization are used.

Results: We show that with any internal rate of return higher than the one inherent to the maximization of profits and the same amount of resources determined by current walrasian prices, it is possible to produce more in a more competitive industry, which in turn means higher financing levels for consumers and therefore better situations in the sense of Pareto.

Conclusion: It thus implies that neoclassical theory explains the operation of a market economy in which firms operate inefficiently even though they could overcome their own results; that is acting irrationally. Since efficient theoretical explanations are a prerequisite to efficient predictions, and the latter, necessary to establish efficient criteria to control explained phenomena, the evidence of explanatory inefficiencies shown in this research, have exposed the need to build efficient explanations of the functioning of a market economy. To that end seeks to contribute the theory of nonexistence of the labor market, whose pillars are the criticism and reconstruction of the theory of producer. The demonstration that the inefficiency of the theory of firm in neoclassical tradition violates the first welfare theorem, injures the norm that guides all axiomatic deductions of this logical system, i.e. the perfectly competitive equilibrium. It then imposes the need to replace that norm by any other descriptive notion provided by a robust theory to orient the sense that the criteria of economic policy should follow, for the sake of a more desirable economic order than the current. Apparently, this concept should be to rethink the demonstrations of existence of a general competitive equilibrium, this time based on the correction of the analytical error of neoclassical theory.

Traditional Institutions Management: A Case Study of Pasturist Conflicts in Borno State, Nigeria

Makinta, Maina Mohammed — 2019-08-19

The study was conducted to assess the traditional institutions management: a case study of Pasturist conflict in three selected Local Government Areas (Damboa, Jere and Magumeri LGAs) of Borno state, Nigeria. Muti-stage sampling technique was used to select 225 sample size respondents which include farmers (150) and herders (75) respectively. A structured questionnaire and interview schedule were used to collect data for this study which was analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and PRA (Pair wise Ranking) tool. The results revealed that (89.3%) of the respondents are of the opinion that, the most preferred strategies for managing conflicts between farmers and herders in the study area are the traditional institutions. Results in Table 2 shows that the farmers ranked the resolution of conflict through the payment of compensation as the first while the herders (Table 3) ranked it second. However, the study recommend that the traditional rulers in conjunction with all the stakeholders at the village level should maintain routine or annual meetings with farmers and herders for the avoidance of conflict between the farmers and herders in the area. Also, traditional institutions should be strengthen through constitutional amendment, thus, to return their power to adjudicate conflict in the rural areas which had been taken away by the 1976 Local Government Reform. The study found that there are existing traditional institutions which are attempting to manage this conflict. The respondents expressed their satisfaction with the performance of the traditional institutions in managing the conflicts between farmers and herders in the localities. However, the results revealed that majority (89.3%) of the respondents are of the opinion that, the most preferred strategies for managing conflicts between farmers and herders in the study area are the traditional institutions. More so, the farmers ranked the resolution of conflict through the payment of compensation as the first, while the herders ranked it second.

Case Methodology as a Pivot of Strategic Management

Matthias O. Nkuda — 2019-08-19

This study examines the role of case methodology as a pivot to the pedagogy of business policy/strategic management. It briefly traces the roots of strategy and advocates the need to intensify the use of case methodology in the teaching and learning of strategic management in tertiary institutions and business schools where the course is tenable. The study adopts a post-positivist approach and employs descriptive and exploratory research design which relies heavily on secondary data and historical orientation. The study stresses that the use of case method based on proxies such as heuristics, simulation and case writing could have positive relationship with deepening and enriching the pedagogy of strategic management in-situ in the classroom context subject, of course, to empirical operationalisation. Specifically using general systems theory, complexity theory and chaos theory to anchor the study highlights the relevance of case methodology to all aspects of strategic management viz: strategic intent, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, strategy evaluation and control as it could assist students as future strategists to develop their competencies to fit answers to practical strategic problems in the future. Therefore, the study likening cases in strategic management to cadaver used for training in medical sciences, strongly recommends that sufficient time be allocated to lecture periods for strategic management to afford learners opportunity to find solutions to real-life strategic problems reported in specific cases. Schemas of interactive model, competitive profile matrix, and balanced scorecard were used to illustrate the respective concepts of strategic intent, business competitive strategy, evaluation and control. The recommendation lends credence to the hands-on experience students stand to gain with continued practice over time especially by institutions in the developing economies.

Savings for Retirement in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF): A Profile of Contributors and Their Views towards the EPF Scheme

Sallahuddin Hassan — 2019-08-19

Aim: The objectives of this explanatory study are to investigate the demographic profile of EPF contributors; current and past employees and analyse their views on Malaysia’s EPF scheme related to the social aspects.
Methodology: In this study, primary data were collected using a self-reported survey. A quantitative method and a snowball sampling procedure were employed resulting in a total sample of 300 respondents comprising both current and past employees.
Results: Among others, this study reveals that there are greater tendencies by employees to overuse various available pre-retirement withdrawals not specifically meant for retirement purposes during the period of employment.
Conclusion: A large number of past employees and an increasing number of current employees, who utilised different types of pre-retirement withdrawals of EPF scheme, respectively, are found to be exposed to the risk of not having adequate income at retirement. Therefore, the government and policymakers are recommended to increase the eligibility requirement for making pre-retirement withdrawals on employees as well as putting in place the necessary supervisions so that the pressing issue of the fast depletion of funds available at retirement can be mitigated.

Review of the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) and Its Infrastructure Development Project at Dolidoli Village: Solutions through Social Capital Adoption

Mavhungu Abel Mafukata — 2019-08-19

The main objective of this chapter was to review the performance of the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) and its infrastructure development projects. The study was conducted at Dolidoli Village in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Primary data were collected from Fifty-five (n=55) households using an open-ended questionnaire instrument. The study used field work, Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) to collect data. The results revealed that the CASP experienced numerous intertwined complexities. There were doubts with regard to the initiators of the programme in the village. The majority of the participants were of the view that the programme was imposed on the community from unknown persons. Poor infrastructure was supplied. The infrastructure was also being extensively vandalised. The participants resolved that community members could volunteer monitoring vandalism of infrastructure emanating from the programme. A follow-up study on the vandalism of the CASP built infrastructure in the area is crucially needed.

Inner Social Interactions Model of Big Data Impact on Economical Framework

A. Alatorre — 2019-08-19

Introduction: An inclusive model of economical-social interactions and its repercussions on Big Data analysis is presented. Many phenomenological topics are involved in this job, such as the idea of complexity, statistical human behavior and market structures. Complexity on social interactions is a polemic subject, and it is also a complicated phenomenon to deal with.
Aims / Objectives: This particular study is aimed to develop some proper mathematical model to justify the big data consuming economical framework with the proper social interactions. So that it can build some major key processes assessing several types of economical frames.
Study Design: Chain Phenomena Analysis.
Place and Duration of Study: University of Guadalajara, Physics Department, Data Science Group.
Results: Model exposition.
Conclusion: This study shows how, as long as time change currently, social interaction impact on economical framework has become bigger. Big Data tools to manipulate high volume levels of information from these interactions have been a strongest platform to analyse economical indicators, such as those which repercussions affects financial stock markets. This process is modelled in this article. A complete model could be a model that considers as social interactions more factors than just trading. Although we are working to applied this model and test it with concrete data bases and real examples. This set of scalar constants defined with κ might have empty entries waiting to be filled with experimental data and empirical tuning. Stock Markets one have a better option about predictions then a social interaction based model. We are not saying that this model puts aside regular methods for stock market predictions, but, perhaps this new approach would helps to this purpose.

The Relationship between Small Scale Farmers’ Attitude towards Maize Farming and Maize Yield in the Agricultural Reform Era: The Case of Western Region of Kenya

Adijah M. Ali-Olubandwa — 2019-08-19

Statement of the problem: The introduction of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) and trade liberalisation resulted in agricultural reforms in Kenya and other developing countries. Hence the Kenya government no longer gives incentives to small scale farmers. This may have affected the attitude of small scale farmers’ towards maize farming and hence maize yield.

Study Purpose: The study was concerned about maize production in Western Region of Kenya because maize is the main staple for most of the Kenyan population and Western Region is the food basket.

Research Design: The study used Ex-post facto research design via cross sectional survey.

Materials and Methods: Busia, Bungoma, Mt. Elgon and Lugari Counties were purposively selected to represent the Western Region of Kenya. Two sub-counties from each of the four Counties were selected by simple random sampling. For uniformity purposes 200 small scale farmers were selected from focal areas through systematic random sampling hence ensuring that they all had been exposed to extension staff. Four key informants were sampled purposefully based on their positions of authority. In addition, 52 extension staffs were sampled through systematic random sampling. The small scale farmers were interviewed with the help of interview schedule containing open and closed ended questions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: The study revealed that attitude towards maize farming correlated maximally to maize yield and that farmers’ attitude towards maize farming contributed to 17.4% of the variance in maize yield.

Conclusion: This means that the extension staff and change agents should improve the attitude of the farmers in order to improve maize yield.

Recommendation: The study recommended that the extension staff should teach the small scale farmers on the changes that have been brought about by Structural Adjustment Programmes and market liberalisation and how to take advantage of such opportunities such as form strong common interest groups. Research should develop innovations that would result in high maize yield at low farming costs.

Economic Valuation of Forest Conservation by Villagers in Ibadan Oyo State Nigeria

Oluyinka Christopher, Ariyo — 2019-08-19

Economic valuation of forest conservation by villagers living at the perimeter fence of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria was undertaken to describe socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, determine the total value of forest conservation using willingness to pay approach and assess the determinants of socio-economic characteristics of the respondents to their willingness to pay (WTP) for forest conservation. Multi stage sampling technique was adopted for the study, four hundred and eight respondents comprising of farmers, hunters, herbalists and herb sellers were randomly selected and interviewed using copies of well-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and Logistic regression model was used to analysed the data collected. The results showed that farmers and hunters had average age of 55 and 57 years while herb sellers and herbalists had average age of 43 and 63 years respectively. Majority of the respondents pooled together are male, married, having average age of 55 years and household size of 7 members. The highest percentage of them are closer to the forest by 1-3 km, native of the study area, not educated and not employed but had monthly income of 12,000-20,000 naira (US$33.38 to US$55.63). The mean willingness to pay for forest conservation was N114.38 (US$0.32) per month per household and the total value of forest was N3, 461,024.42 (US$9, 627.32) per month. The study further revealed that WTP was significantly impacted by several factors such as sex, educational level, occupation, income and bid amounts. The study therefore recommends that monetary value should be placed on the social, cultural, ecological and economic services generated by the forests for the forests to continue to provide goods and services on a sustainable basis. Also, the willingness to pay for forest conservation can be used as an alternative measure of displeasure against the conversion of the forests to other uses and as a supportive argument for the invaluable roles the forests play in sustaining the livelihood of the people. The estimated WTP values can be used in cost-benefit assessments of forest ecosystem protection programs in the study area.

Success Factors in Smallholders Farmers’ Organizations in Tanzani

Webster Miyanda — 2019-08-19

It is always vital to consider basic aspects of in any organization which cements its cohesion. This study pointed at selected aspects of FOs that are vital for its success. These include Leadership Type; Process of Decision Making; Process of Establishment of Governing Tools and Access to and Frequency of Information Sharing. In addition, the study highlighted the importance of marketing system, transparency, FO opportunities and member commitment in determining FO success; it also found that well performing FOs have multiple linkages including marketing, input and finance transparent business transactions. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyze the influence of (marketing system, transparency, FO opportunities and member commitment) independent variables (IVs) while MLRA methods were used to determine the significance of the same IVs on sustaining FOs. The findings recommend that FO facilitators and producers use strategies that encourage member commitment, create opportunities within the FO for members and service providers in terms of social economic and environmental advancements and enhance transparency in the organization’s operations. Transparent service linkages in FOs should be enhanced, while marketing and member commitment contribute to the overall sustainability of the organisation.

Trend and Overall Growth Analysis of Rubber Cultivation in Kerala

N. Karunakaran — 2019-08-19

In the present century also, agriculture is the main source of livelihood for majority of the people of Kerala. But agricultural sector is under the big threat of economic reforms like liberalization and modernization of economy. The agrarian economy of Kerala could not exclude from the drastic hitting of the liberalization, privatization and globalization reforms; farmers of the state began to think that there is no other way to sustain their life. The statistical profile of Kerala agriculture in the last five decades experienced agricultural transformation. In this change, plantation crops increased considerably. Changing cropping pattern in terms of acreage allocation among different crops is the integral feature of Kerala agrarian economy. The diversification of crops in terms of variation in acreage allocation has taken place due to price and non-price factors like agro-climatic conditions, labour availability, irrigation facilities, soil fertility, cost of cultivation, price levels, profitability, mechanisation, etc. The change has taken place largely in favour of non-food crops and recently it is towards rubber. The real growth of agricultural crop output has declined continuously since 1960-61 compared to monetary growth. In the case of rubber, the crop exhibited positive values in all the components in the decomposition analysis.