The 2008‐2009 crisis had no significant impact on the Turkish banking system (TBS), with the TBS achieving a record level of profitability in 2009. The strong position of Turkish…
Abstract
Purpose
The 2008‐2009 crisis had no significant impact on the Turkish banking system (TBS), with the TBS achieving a record level of profitability in 2009. The strong position of Turkish banks against the global crisis is attributed generally to the good regulation and risk management in the TBS. The measures implemented by The Turkish Central Bank, and The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, e.g. high capital adequacy ratio, played a significant role. But, this judgment does not take into consideration the high profitability and some inefficiency of TBS in his role of financial intermediation. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the TBS's performance in the face of the global crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper compare the measures against the global crisis and the performances of banking systems by public supports to financial sector, measures taken vis‐à‐vis the crisis, ratios as deposits/loans, loans to non‐financial sector and return to assets.
Findings
The paper explains that the performance of TBS against the crisis is, to some extent, due to the high profitability and low efficiency in financial intermediation.
Practical implications
Financial regulation and policy particularly in emerging or underdeveloped economies should find equilibrium between the soundness and efficiency of banking system.
Originality/value
In full financial crisis the majority of scientific work focuses on the prudential regulation of the banking system and the problem of moral hazard. In fact, countries such as Turkey are still far from having the same problems and concerns. The paper shows that in spite of the global crisis, the TBS continued to obtain very raised profits: it can be said that the banking system soundness improved with the detriment the non‐financial sector.
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The aim of this study is to determine the context of short‐ , medium‐ and long‐term functional strategies of small‐ and middle‐sized family businesses carrying on activities in…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to determine the context of short‐ , medium‐ and long‐term functional strategies of small‐ and middle‐sized family businesses carrying on activities in different sectors, as well as to discuss the findings from the point of view of the strategic orientations required by global competition.
Design/methodology/approach
The data of this research, having explorative characteristics, were gathered from the 36 owners‐managers (from 111 people) who were leaders in constituting the strategies of their businesses. The survey used in the study consists of 32 items regarding management/human resource management, marketing, production, and finance functions. The data were evaluated with the descriptive and variance analyses.
Findings
The paper finds that the enterprises participating in this study apply or plan to apply, in the short term, institutionalism and customer‐focused strategies. However, financial problems limit the attempts for developing and growing, which creates a risk for the life cycle of the businesses which cannot grow up to the right scale in the right time. Another major concern pointed out in this study is that the enterprises whose owners/managers are the members of any commercial and social organization respond to innovations and change more rapidly.
Research limitations/implications
One of the main limitations of the study is that the owner/manager perceptions were the only source of data. The lack of a measure of the efficiency level of functional strategies and practices or performance of enterprises is the second limitation. On the other hand, the small sample size does not allow generalizations to be made.
Originality/value
This study evaluates the potential of strategic management of small and medium‐sized family businesses
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The EU harmonisation has created changes in the military's formal and informal influence in the directions of decreased formal and informal military influence in civilian…
Abstract
The EU harmonisation has created changes in the military's formal and informal influence in the directions of decreased formal and informal military influence in civilian politics. The EU reforms have created changes in the mindset of the citizens, by creating changes in the security culture of the citizens and in the civil-military related political culture. The desired level of alignment has not been reached. Therefore, the study examines the areas where further alignment is required. Moving from Rebecca L. Schiff's concordance theory, the article examines the relationship between the Turkish military, the civilian politics and the society before and after the EU harmonisation process. It examines the effects of the EU harmonisation process on the changes in the civil-military balance of power, and on the related security culture and political values. The analysis focuses on: (i) increased civilian control and consequent changes in the policy of accountability; (ii) transparency building in the defence sector; (iii) parliamentary oversight; and (iv) the change in the political culture related to the civil-military issues. It also investigates the extent the EU harmonisation has achieved in building democratic civil-military relations in order to align with the EU standards.
Sedat Gümüş and Mehmet Şükrü Bellibaş
There is an extensive body of contemporary educational literature concerning teachers' professional development (PD), but little attention has been paid to the PD of principals…
Abstract
Purpose
There is an extensive body of contemporary educational literature concerning teachers' professional development (PD), but little attention has been paid to the PD of principals, despite their vital role in improving student learning outcomes. The available literature on principals' PD deals with content and quality while mostly ignoring whether and how PD activities have an impact on leadership practices. In our study, we wanted to examine the extent to which principals perform learning-centred leadership practices and whether and how their practices are influenced by the PD programmes they have engaged in during the past twelve months.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 130 Turkish principals participated in the study. Using the SEM model, we examined the direct and indirect links between principals' PD and their self-perceived learning-centred leadership practices, with self-efficacy as the mediating variable.
Findings
We found a positive, statistically significant yet weak relationship between principals' PD and their leadership practices, with self-efficacy playing a considerable mediating role.
Originality/value
We argue that traditional types of PD activities can contribute to the leadership practices of principals, at least in countries where school principals are not adequately prepared for principalship positions. We suggest that such activities can contribute by providing newly appointed school principals with certain basic knowledge regarding effective leadership that many principals in developing countries are missing due to the lack of pre-service training. These activities can also strengthen principals' belief in their ability to overcome school problems and improve student learning. This, in turn, could motivate them to focus more on learning-centred leadership practices.
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Mehmet Şükrü Bellibaş and Sedat Gümüş
While the current knowledge in the field of educational leadership and management (EDLM) has been primarily based on research produced in English-speaking Western societies, there…
Abstract
Purpose
While the current knowledge in the field of educational leadership and management (EDLM) has been primarily based on research produced in English-speaking Western societies, there have been significant efforts by other societies to contribute to the knowledge production, especially during the past decade. The purpose of this paper is to identify the contribution of Turkey to the international EDLM literature by investigating the topical focus, conceptual frameworks and research designs of papers published by EDLM scholars from Turkey.
Design/methodology/approach
Descriptive content analysis method was employed to examine 315 empirical, review, conceptual and commentary papers published by Turkish scholars in core educational administration and Web of Science journals. The time period of the review left open-ended. However, in practical terms, it begins in the year 1994 when the first article from Turkey was published in any of the selected sources and ends at the end of 2018. Information relevant to the research was extracted from each article and was coded to facilitate quantitative analysis. Using Excel software, descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages were provided for each research question.
Findings
Results show that Turkish EDLM scholars mostly rely on survey based quantitative research approach, employing advanced statistical techniques in the analysis of the data. However, mixed method and qualitative studies are relatively less common. Organizational behavior, school leadership and emotions stand out as most frequently used topics, while Turkish scholars are not interested in analyzing the educational outcomes such as student achievement and school improvement. Consistent with the findings related to topical foci, a large number of those who were interested in correlational studies examined the relationship between leadership roles and organizational behaviors.
Research limitations/implications
The data set only included journal articles and excluded conference proceedings, books and theses/dissertations. Nevertheless, the authors believe this review adds significantly to previous reviews of local EDLM journals conducted by Turkish scholars. The authors concluded that the Turkish scholars should direct their future research to exploring and better understanding the practices of Turkish principals in schools by: diversifying their research topics; incorporating more qualitative and mixed-method designs; and taking into account specific features of the culture and educational system in Turkey.
Practical implications
Based on the current higher education context, reducing scholars’ teaching load, diversifying research funding opportunities, and modifying access to tenure tracks seem necessary interventions to support EDLM research with strong ties to practice and to the sociocultural context. In addition, policy changes aiming professionalization of administrative positions and establishing some forms of formal training for school principalship are needed. Such changes can help transfer the knowledge produced by the Turkish EDLM researchers to the practice and provide solutions to problems related to school administration.
Originality/value
This paper will add to recent effort to identify how a developing nation outside Western perspective approaches the field, and contributes to the global knowledge base.