Amir Ikram

Determinants of Productivity in the Ready-made Garments SMEs of Lahore, Pakistan

The study has been undertaken to investigate the determinants of productivity in the readymade garments SMEs of Lahore. It’s a survey whereby 55 SMEs of Lahore were contacted by employing Stratified Random Sampling technique. For data analysis, various quantile regression techniques along with its diagnostic analyses have been used to identify the association and its significance between the organizational variables and firm productivity. Firms’ productivity has been measured through output per labor of each SME. The significant determinants of productivity are found out to be ambition and motivation, age of the enterprise, installation of generator facility, bank facility, and working capital management. Implications of law of diminishing marginal returns were also examined; increase in number of machines leads to augment productivity up to a certain level and then starts a diminishing return. The findings of this study have good implications for the policy makers and the entrepreneurs alike.

Pakistan's persistent energy crisis and performance of private power producers

The study examines the linkage between profitability and working capital management of private sector power producers of Pakistan. The energy crisis resulted in increased reliance on independent power producers (IPPs), which lead to various financial irregularities. Data for a period of seven years (2008-2014) was collected from 11 IPPs listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange descriptive analysis, ANOVA, and regression analysis, along with trend analysis and other diagnostic tests, were deployed to examine the association between five working capital ratios and net operating profit. Net trading cycle, current assets and current liabilities were found to exhibit significant relationship with profitability of IPPs. The findings suggest that the persistent problem of circular debt can be minimised through supply chain excellence, which can be realised through vigilant selection of suppliers and vendors on the part of private power producers. Since working capital management significantly influences the performance of IPPs, the study persuades undertaking of taking corrective measures before pursing long-term goals of installing new units. Dynamic business model is recommended that enhances collaboration and brings financial viability to the power sector.

How to Save the Saviors?: Relationship between Organizational Justice and Citizenship Behavior

On the worldwide level, young physicians are facing organizational conflict and are not exhibiting desired level of organizational citizenship behavior. The ethical dilemma of young doctors merits a thorough analysis of work practices and behavioural studies; work related attitudes are affected by organizational citizenship behaviour and organizational justice. There is hardly any study examining organizational conflict with respect to medical and health sector of an emerging economy. Hence the paper investigates the impact of organizational justice (procedural justice, distributive justice, and interactional justice) on the organization citizenship behaviour (altruism and courtesy). The public health sector is more prone to the problem of perceived organizational injustice, as private health sector has become highly commercialized and accordingly doctors are enjoying handsome extrinsic benefits. Considering this incongruity between private and public sector, primary data was collected through structured survey instrument, based on 22 questions, from 250 young doctors belonging to 5 public sectors hospitals in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire was authenticated by Cronbach’s alpha. Regression model exhibits the operationalization of the dependent and independent variables, organizational citizenship behaviour and organizational justice respectively. Descriptive statistics, correlation matrix, multiple regression analysis were deployed to test hypotheses. The study endorses the viewpoint that young doctors perceive widespread organizational injustice, which is causing lack of citizenship behaviour among them. The commercialization aspect of private hospitals is also augmenting perceived organizational injustice as ambitious young doctors make implied comparisons. Results depict the positive relationship between the two dimensions of organizational behaviour, and suggest that prevalence of organizational justice can minimize depression symptoms among young physicians. The most significant types of organizational justice are found out to be procedural and distributive justice, which is understandable as young doctors often complain of procedural loopholes and unfitting service structure. Consequently, the root cause of the problem perhaps lies with the complexity and observed unfairness of the system. Thus a wide-ranging governance approach and intensified attention towards this sector can take care of the procedural and distributive injustices. The study addresses an intriguing and contemporary issue pertaining to behavioural facet of medical professionals, and the main practical implication of the study is the provision of framework based on organizational justice and commitment. Broader policy implications and recommendations for the betterment of medical sector are also discussed.

Cluster strategy and supply chain management: The road to competitiveness for emerging economies

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the characteristic role of specialized markets and traders in the internationalization of emerging economies by examining the linkages between supply chain management (SCM) and industrial clustering in China.,Multi-method approach was employed as primary data were collected from a case study of Shaoxing textile cluster, and was supplemented with secondary data to triangulate the findings. The proposition that competitive advantages of industrial clusters facilitate effective SCM was explored.,The authors reveal that China’s cost advantage is manifested in the entire value chain. The provision of business friendly amenities as a result of synergetic benefits of vertical and horizontal integration of supply clusters promotes competitiveness of SMEs and region as a whole. Moreover, specialized markets and international traders found to play significant role in sustainable cluster development.,As with fieldwork and case studies, generalization should be drawn with care. Systematic synthesis of relevant case studies is recommended.,The study endorses the construction of local supply chains and suggests implementation of cluster strategy by focusing on environment-specific execution of triple helix model.,The article elaborates the linkages between cluster theory and SCM both within cluster and between interspersed clusters. It also explains how specialized markets and global players are enabling concentrated supply networks. The paper recommends extension of “Triple helix + 1 model” by making local community part of the underlying framework.

Big data in enterprise management: Transformation of traditional recruitment strategy

Technological advancements and growth of social media prompted organizations to deploy better ways of doing business. Social big data analytics provide a platform to facilitate the job seekers and job providers. The study highlights the significance of social networking sites and its role in transforming traditional recruitment strategy. The transitioning to e-recruitment signifies the importance of social networking sites as a source of recruitment mix. Primary data was collected through questionnaire from 110 employees of commercial banks operating in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. Simple random sampling technique and willingness to participate on the part of respondents generated productive findings. Cronbachs alpha, descriptive statistics, correlation matrix, and regression analysis were used as data analysis tools to endorse reliability of data collection and test hypotheses. Information quality, popularity, and security of social media found to have significant impact on the effectiveness of e-recruitment. The findings of the research suggest that big data applications not only results in better business performance management, but also enhances accessibility and reputation of the enterprise through cyber-social media. Management issues of social network big data with respect to HR managers, IT professionals and academia are also discussed.