Anwar Halari, Christine Helliar, David M. Power and Nongnuch Tantisantiwong
Studies on Islamic calendar anomalies in financial markets tend to apply quantitative analysis to historic share prices. Surprisingly, there is a lack of research investigating…
Abstract
Purpose
Studies on Islamic calendar anomalies in financial markets tend to apply quantitative analysis to historic share prices. Surprisingly, there is a lack of research investigating whether the participants of such markets are aware of these anomalies and whether these anomalies affect their investment practice. Or is it a case that these practitioners are completely unaware of the anomalies present in these markets and are missing out on profitable opportunities? The purpose of this paper is to analyse the views of influential participants within the Pakistani Stock Market.
Design/methodology/approach
The study documents the findings for 19 face-to-face semi-structured interviews conducted with brokers, regulators and high-net-worth individual investors in Karachi.
Findings
The paper’s major findings indicate that the participants believed that anomalies were present in the stock market and market participants were actively attempting to exploit these anomalies for abnormal gains. Interviewees suggested that predictable patterns can be identified in certain Islamic months (Muharram, Safar, Ramadan and Zil Hajj). The most common pattern highlighted by the interviews related to the month of Ramadan. Furthermore, interviewees mentioned the influence of the “Memon” community in the Pakistani Stock Market. Respondents also suggested that investor sentiment played an important role in influencing the stock market prices and trading patterns.
Originality/value
Because all the prior studies investigating Islamic calendar anomalies in Muslim-majority countries adopted quantitative method using secondary data, the current investigation is of particular value, as it focuses on the qualitative analyses and reports the views of market participants. This allows to fully explore the topic under investigation and to draw robust conclusions.
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Misunderstanding and harmful stereotyping have become commonplace amongst people in the United States and the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region since 2001, if not earlier. If…
Abstract
Misunderstanding and harmful stereotyping have become commonplace amongst people in the United States and the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region since 2001, if not earlier. If universities are the locus of transformative education, work remains towards remedying these issues.One non-profit organisation, “Natafaham (pseudonym, Arabic for « we understand each other”), works to undo this negativity student by student. It brings participants from the MENA and Europe/North America into dialogue via Zoom each week. The inter-cultural dialogue availed to participants is empowering to actors, including the dialogue facilitator. This narrative is an autoethnographic exploration of my experience as an intercultural dialogue facilitator. Yet reviewing contemporaneous notes and reflections revealed structural aspects of this programme that empower voices from the MENA region, while facilitating learning amongst participants on both sides of the Atlantic. Such aspects include the format and the location of the programme, its focus on individuals rather than institutions or groups, its mixed top-down and bottom-up approach, and the opportunities it avails for ascension to positions of authority. This narrative analyses these aspects through several lenses and academic traditions, including those of global citizenship, critical internationalisation, (reciprocal) global service learning, and socio-cultural frameworks of second language acquisition. The chapter urges that these aspects are recognised as key catalysts of (more) equal relationships between youth in the MENA region and the United States, which merit widespread replication. It concludes by envisioning a still more equal relationship predicated upon more equitable language usage.
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Kazi Abrar Hossain, Syed Abul Basher and A.K. Enamul Haque
The purpose of this study is to quantify the impact of Ramadan on both the level and the growth of global raw sugar price.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to quantify the impact of Ramadan on both the level and the growth of global raw sugar price.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a dummy and a fractional variable to capture Ramadan to overcome the asynchronicity of time between Ramadan fasting (which is based on the Islamic lunar calendar) and the movement in prices (which follows the Gregorian solar calendar). To capture the seasonality of sugar production, the data on sugar price span 34 years so that the Islamic calendar makes a complete cycle of the Gregorian calendar. The empirical model is estimated using both autoregressive integrated moving average model and unobserved components model.
Findings
The results show that monthly raw sugar prices in the global market increases by roughly 6.06 per cent (or $17.78 per metric ton) every year ahead of Ramadan.
Practical implications
The study illustrates the implications of the results for the consumption of imported sugar in Bangladesh.
Originality/value
The study uses a broader set of Ramadan indicators in its empirical models and checks the robustness of its baseline model using the unobserved components model. It also performs seasonal unit root tests on the global raw sugar prices.
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Steven H. Appelbaum, Heidi Gunkel, Christina Benyo, Said Ramadan, Fadi Sakkal and Damian Wolff
The purpose of this paper is to study and provide a large national publicly traded company with realistic solutions for succession planning. The name of the actual company where…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study and provide a large national publicly traded company with realistic solutions for succession planning. The name of the actual company where all data were collected has remained anonymous and been replaced with Millennium Dynamics, Inc. As a large number of their workforce consists of “Baby Boomers”, 50 percent of their employees will be of retirement age within the next five years. Having acknowledged the company's concerns about efficiency of new employees and the loss of morale in senior employees, this two‐part article sets out to provide motivational tools for management and suggest solutions to restructure and reorganize in a way to prevent the inevitable – loss of corporate knowledge via succession planning.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey and individual interviews were conducted within the company to measure current job satisfaction and company culture as well as how the different generations of employees view each other and themselves. Employees were also questioned about their legacy in the organization and their thoughts about transferring corporate knowledge from one generation to another. This is a two‐part article. Part 1 covers the background to the case under investigation, a review of relevant literature and the hypotheses to test the problem to be studied and solved. Part 2 will describe the methodology and data related to demographics, the testing of the hypotheses and conclusions and recommendations.
Findings
The study found a correlation between job satisfaction and effective communication and a negative correlation between pre‐retirees and their lack of motivation as they approach retirement. Also, it was found that senior employees possess a willingness to share and transfer knowledge to younger generations.
Research limitations/implications
The article relies on limited survey and interview data of one particular regional department within a large organization. Certain demographic questions were omitted to preserve confidentiality. The selected department and interview subjects were chosen by the organization and therefore the occurrence of a sampling error is possible.
Practical implications
This study monitored the impact that recent retirees will have on the remaining staff of a company. The act of effective succession planning is of paramount importance since the “Baby Boomer” generation is comprised of 76 million North Americans and the threat of the loss of corporate knowledge will inevitably increase as the population ages. This article offers recommendations as to how an organization can better manage the impact of a large number of retirees on the remaining workforce and what it can do to maximize efficiency.
Originality/value
The article offers practical solutions for dealing with the impact of retiring Baby Boomers and identifies models for a proactive approach in dealing with an issue that will affect the North American economy within the next five years.
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Keywords
Naser Muja, Steven H. Appelbaum, Tara Walker, Said Ramadan and Tolu Sodeyi
Global corporate strategies are revealing the boundaries of organizational capabilities and the limits of the natural resource capacity that is needed to sustain business…
Abstract
Purpose
Global corporate strategies are revealing the boundaries of organizational capabilities and the limits of the natural resource capacity that is needed to sustain business operations. Sustainability has emerged as a strategic response adopted by many corporations to reduce resource dependency and consumption costs. The purpose of this paper is to secure existence as a going concern while also demonstrating corporate citizenship.
Design/methodology/approach
This two-part paper will present a review of recent findings relevant to sustainability and change management was performed in order to develop a better understanding of factors that may hinder corporate adoption of sustainability, the role of sustainability in transformational change, and the change management challenges involved in integrating sustainability within corporate culture.
Findings
For a growing number of organizations, sustainability has recently been elevated from “doing” to the level of “being”, which involves integration into their mission, vision and shared values. Corporate leaders and governing bodies play a critical role as champions in the implementation of sustainability for organizational transformation.
Research limitations/implications
The limited number of examples of organizations fully embracing sustainability at a vision level stems from the fact that most executives do not fully understand the issues and do not know how to devise the governance or strategies needed to adopt a more sustainable path. However, the research points to the fact that there is a recognized shortage of empirical research work specifically focussed on sustainability change and effective business cases.
Practical implications
Organization development practitioners have a significant role in helping firms implement sustainability-focussed transformations.
Social implications
Given the economic, ecological and social imperatives, there is urgency for firms around the world, both big and small, to adopt effective sustainability strategies that add value for stakeholders while reducing resource demand.
Originality/value
The research points to the fact that there is a recognized shortage of empirical research work specifically focussed on sustainability change including limited examples of effective business cases.
Details
Keywords
Steven H. Appelbaum, Christina Benyo, Heidi Gunkel, Said Ramadan, Fadi Sakkal and Damian Wolff
The focus of the paper is a large, national, publicly traded company. As a large number of its workforce consists of “baby boomers”, 50 percent of its employees will be of…
Abstract
Purpose
The focus of the paper is a large, national, publicly traded company. As a large number of its workforce consists of “baby boomers”, 50 percent of its employees will be of retirement age within the next five years. Having acknowledged the company's concerns about efficiency of new employees and the loss of morale in senior employees, this two‐part article sets out to provide motivational tools for management and to suggest solutions to restructure and reorganize in a way to prevent the inevitable – i.e. the loss of corporate knowledge – via succession planning.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey and individual interviews were conducted within the company to measure current job satisfaction and company culture as well as how the different generations of employees view each other and themselves. Employees were also questioned about their legacy in the organization and their thoughts about transferring corporate knowledge from one generation to another. This is a two‐part article. Part 1 covers the background to the case under investigation, a review of relevant literature and the hypotheses to test the problem to be studied and solved. Part 2 describes the methodology and data related to demographics, the testing of the hypotheses and conclusions and recommendations.
Findings
The study found a correlation between job satisfaction and effective communication and a negative correlation between pre‐retirees and their lack of motivation as they approach retirement. Also, it was found that senior employees possess a willingness to share and transfer knowledge to younger generations.
Research limitations/implications
The article relies on limited survey and interview data of one particular regional department within a large organization. Certain demographic questions were omitted to preserve confidentiality. The selected department and interview subjects were chosen by the organization and therefore the occurrence of sampling error is possible.
Practical implications
This study monitored the impact that recent retirees will have on the remaining staff of a company. The act of effective succession planning is of paramount importance since the “baby boomer” generation is comprised of 76 million North Americans and the threat of the loss of corporate knowledge will inevitably increase as the population ages. The article offers recommendations as to how an organization can better manage the impact of a large number of retirees on the remaining workforce and what it can do to maximize efficiency.
Originality/value
The article offers practical solutions for dealing with the impact of retiring baby boomers and identifies models for a proactive approach in dealing with an issue that will affect the North American economy within the next five years.
Details
Keywords
Naser Muja, Steven H. Appelbaum, Tara Walker, Said Ramadan and Tolu Sodeyi
Global corporate strategies are revealing the boundaries of organizational capabilities and the limits of the natural resource capacity that is needed to sustain business…
Abstract
Purpose
Global corporate strategies are revealing the boundaries of organizational capabilities and the limits of the natural resource capacity that is needed to sustain business operations. Sustainability has emerged as a strategic response adopted by many corporations to reduce resource dependency and consumption costs in an effort to secure existence as a going concern while also demonstrating corporate citizenship. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This two-part paper will present a review of recent findings relevant to sustainability and change management was performed in order to develop a better understanding of factors that may hinder corporate adoption of sustainability, the role of sustainability in transformational change, and the change management challenges involved in integrating sustainability within corporate culture.
Findings
For a growing number of organizations, sustainability has recently been elevated from “doing” to the level of “being”, which involves integration into their mission, vision and shared values. Corporate leaders and governing bodies play a critical role as champions in the implementation of sustainability for organizational transformation.
Research limitations/implications
The limited number of examples of organizations fully embracing sustainability at a vision level stems from the fact that most executives do not fully understand the issues and do not know how to devise the governance or strategies needed to adopt a more sustainable path. However, the research points to the fact that there is a recognized shortage of empirical research work specifically focused on sustainability change and effective business cases.
Practical implications
Organization development practitioners have a significant role in helping firms implement sustainability-focused transformations.
Social implications
Given the economic, ecological and social imperatives, there is urgency for firms around the world, both big and small, to adopt effective sustainability strategies that add value for stakeholders while reducing resource demand.
Originality/value
The research points to the fact that there is a recognized shortage of empirical research work specifically focused on sustainability change including limited examples of effective business cases.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to consider in broad terms how employers may respond to different forms of religious expression by employees in the workplace, within the discretion…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider in broad terms how employers may respond to different forms of religious expression by employees in the workplace, within the discretion afforded to them by law.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a discussion of relevant legislation and case law, and a review of relevant literature, it seeks to identify the legal constraints within which employers must operate when determining policy and practice in this area and gives consideration to how they should respond.
Findings
It is observed that employers enjoy considerable freedom either to impose restrictions or to encourage religious expression.
Originality/value
The paper considers some of the over-arching principled arguments both for and against encouraging religious freedom at work, whilst concluding that support for religious expression may be the better option, not least for the positive benefits for employee well-being, commitment and engagement which, it is argued, may result.