Followership： The Forgotten Kingmaker for Effective Leadership

Extensive studies have been carried out and theories expounded on leadership, yet no agreement has been reached on both definition and standards of leadership. The researcher takes the view that all the effort put on the study of leadership should have been directed toward the study of＂followership＂. The characteristics and types of followers are central to the success of any leadership in the particular environment. In this study, followership is classified as voluntary and not coerced. The leadership would therefore depend on the nature of the followers and their expectations, meaning that followers predetermine the nature of leadership. Critical to this is the nature of the power used by the leader in relation to the power of the followers. A continuum of followership is constructed along the extremes of transactional and transformational leadership styles. The continuum is a useful tool and model for effective leadership, effective leadership is therefore dependent on the level of the maturity of the followers and the agreeableness and congruency between the leader and the followers. The article concludes that effectiveness of leadership is a direct result of the willingness of the followers to be led in that particular fashion. Broadly speaking, effective leadership styles are customised to meet the followers＇ demands and expectations.     

An empirical research on the leadership and effectiveness in public healthcare organizations： Lesson from transition economy

The aim of the paper is to examine leadership at the level of CEOs and effectiveness in healthcare setting. Previous studies suggest that there is relationship between leadership style, situation and circumstances. The relationship between leadership and performance is probably not straightforward and may be influenced by both environmental and contextual factors, yet no irrefutable support on this assumption can be found. In our paper we examine relationships between leadership, environment, organizational context and effectiveness in Polish healthcare organizations. Multifactor leadership questionnaire which has been used in a great number of researches relating to the public sector on leadership was employed in this research. Implications for practitioners and policy makers are given.     

Transformational Leadership and Organizational Outcomes Evidence From Vietnamese Workers

The purpose of this study was to investigate empirically the impact of transformational leadership on organizational outcomes （OCB---organizational citizenship behavior, OC---organizational commitment, and job satisfaction）, and the mediating role of trust in the leader in the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational outcomes in Vietnamese employees. The results showed that, first, transformational leadership had a significant relationship with organizational citizenship behavior, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. Second, there was a positive relationship between transformational leadership and trust in the leader. Third, trust in the leader was positively and significantly related to OCB, affective organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. Fourth, a moderating role of trust in the leader was identified in the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational outcomes. Finally, some practical recommendations for developing leadership competencies in Vietnamese managers are suggested.     

Integration period of e-learning in universities： A survey in Turkey

E-learning is an important subject for successful university education. It is known that during the integration period of e-learning, universities face difficulties and trade-offs that will discourage their adoption. This study concentrates on e-learning with benefits and problems faced throughout the integration period by stakeholders and finally the university as a new education program method. The study aims to look at the factors which affect the integration period of e-learning programs and measure the drivers that affect the adoption process The research method is based on quantitative analysis which generally searches information about the factors＇ effectiveness related to the integration level of e-learning. During the empirical analysis, factors are categorized and measured according to their effectiveness, and then questionnaire study has examined the factors＇ effectiveness related to the adoption success of e-learning by using statistical analysis methods. The information about the factors that is effective for e-learning integration provides considerable educational framework for universities, instructors, students and also for information technology experts and other decision makers that manage the electronic environment for e-learning.     

Correlation Between Employee Bonus and Company Performances＂ FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 Index Companies

In addition to examining the efl＇ect of employee compensation tools on its financial report, a public company should evaluate whether such tools could also retain or attract talent that can strengthen its competitiveness. This research aims to study how an employee reward system could impact on a company＇s performance, and develop a theory on how enterprises choose their employee reward plan. Taking into consideration that there is a lack of agreed objective of an employee reward plan, this paper attempts to evaluate the need for an employee reward system and its effectiveness from the perspective of how a system is implemented. In order to explore the relationship between an employee reward system and company performance, this research will compare in total the performance of 80 companies between 2002 and 2012：50 of them are from the FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 index that have a reward system and the other 30 are also listed companies but without a structured reward plan in place. The findings include that companies with an employee reward system generally perform better than those without one, and this is especially the case for those implementing a single employee bonus system than those with multiple systems. It is found that the employee reward tools can have a positive impact on a company＇s performance, particularly employee cash dividends and employee shares and bonuses.     

The role of educational strategies in human development： An example of using key word method in teaching Arabic as a second language in Malaysia

This paper is an attempt to discover and recognize the important role of educational strategies in developing human capital in which they become positive agents of human society, such as academic achievement, intellectual abilities, interpersonal skills and also self-esteem. These will be measured using a survey instrument that classifies learning performance via test scores, to test the hypothesis that learning a language will lead to comparable positive self-development, but indirected language learning will affect academic achievement negatively. Therefore, key word methods in learning Arabic language will be used as directed Arabic language learning to measure the significant correlation to both academic and non-academic development of the learners in which the effectiveness of mnemonic strategy in vocabulary memorization is associated with the self-consciousness and personal psyches of the learners. Consequently, they appreciate the knowledge and values they gained from their learning activities, which help them to perform better than students who did not use this type of learning strategy in learning Arabic language. Teachers, on the other hand, would also able to observe the important impact of Arabic language learning on learners＇ academic performance and personality development. Therefore, education is simply a process of acquiring a new knowledge in creating an environment in which students and teachers learn something for themselves.     

A road to institutionalization： China＇s corruption and struggle for political reform

This essay is a study of China＇s political corruption and countermeasure for it. The author will focus on the cultural factors and the incompleteness of the market economy because these show us the reason why the corruption became severe after the initiation of the economic reform. The author will move on to search a solution within the field of political reform. The author will deal with the problem by two approaches. The first one is to focus on the democratization and the second one is to focus on the political institutionalization. The goal of the author＇s analysis is to examine which approach will work as a proper solution. The author＇s argument is that institutionalization will be the better one. The author will outline the grounds briefly. Firstly, unlike democratization, this solution shows possibility of realization. Secondly, political institutionalization has its own value of political development which was not considered sufficiently before. And finally there are advantages of strengthened accountability and limit discretion. To consolidate the author＇s argument the author will use Hong Kong＇s case where have been successfully controlled the problem by political institutionalization.     

Preferred learning style： Gender influence on preferred learning style among business students

Past studies indicate that there was a correlation between gender and students＇ preferred styles of learning. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine the influence of gender on the learning style preferences of business students based on the VARK （Fleming, 2002b） learning style survey, consisting of the V（isual）, A（ural）, R（ead-Write） and K（inesthefic） learning styles. The sampling design used for this study was non-probability sampling and the sampling technique conducted was convenient sampling on 207 male students and 199 female students from the business school. The study found that gender only influences the V（isual） and A（ural） learning styles of business students. In addition to that, even though both male and female students exhibited a similar response towards both these learning styles, female students were found to demonstrate slightly higher preference for the V（isual） and A（ural） learning styles as compared to the male students. The findings draw attention to facets of learning that may exist in pre-university and tertiary classrooms with a combination of female and male students, which could have an impact on teaching and managing these students.     

Administrative Capacity Building of Public Administrations Under the European Financial Assistance

From a European perspective as referring to EU member states, which are receiving European financial assistance, the idea of assessment of the countries＇ administrative capacity represents a priority and an issue of concern not only for the new member countries but also for the all the member countries. Based on its functions, public institutions should perform an evaluation or measure their administrative and organizational capacity performance when significant changes occur, in order to facilitate the necessary improvements for their organizational and administrative capacity. Following these considerations, after studying the literature concepts about the administrative capacity and based upon an empirical research, this article aims： （1） to classify the European countries （EU27） according to their administrative capacity, based on some relevant identified indicators as following the European Commissions＇ reports from the official websites; and （2） to identify and analyze the influence and effects that strategic management and project management have on the administrative capacity of Romanian public administration using a survey which analyses the performance of the Romanian public administration.     

Maternal health care challenges within African immigrant communities

Historically, immigration has had a significant impact on the changing demographic of the Canadian society. Each year more newcomers enter the country. There are more than 45 ethno-cultural associations and more than 100 different ethno-cultural groups residing in Nova Scotia. In the recent past, social science researchers are becoming increasingly involved in identifying ways of effectively addressing the social and health needs of this culturally diverse Canadian population. There is very limited literature on the Nova Scotian experiences of immigrant women especially those of African descent. For the government to develop public policy that ensures the inclusion of vulnerable and high-risk populations in our society such as recent immigrants and black people, their perspectives should be considered. Some steps are being taken by individual researchers to illuminate these perspectives. The paper will discuss the findings of a project that examined the health care experiences of immigrant women in a Canadian province with a goal of illuminating health care needs of recent immigrant women and facilitating community capacity building to create positive change for more accessible health care. The data collection method was primarily focused group meetings and workshops held with the individual immigrant communities. Although the project was conducted with immigrants from five regions of the world, this paper will focus on the experiences of first generation immigrant women of African descent with emphasis on their perspectives on the process mothering in a multicultural society. The paper will discuss their childrearing needs and their attempt to address these needs within the spaces of multiculturalism, the two predominant ones being the Canadian culture and that of their countries of origin. The paper will conclude with some suggestions for change at both the practitioner and policy level in order to effectively address the social and welfare needs of this population.     

The new U.S.-China rapprochement： A view from Africa

The U.S. and China recently held a ＂dialogue＂ at the behest of policy makers in Washington for the mutual benefit of their governments and people and ostensibly the rest of humanity as well. Coming at a time of increasing quest for natural resources by many countries including China and Chinese obviously bourgeoning influence in Africa, that Washington decided to engage Beijing certainly, not only betrays U.S. apprehension over the emergence of a strong competitor for Africa＇s resources but also an attempt to whittle down China＇s growing international stature especially on the African continent. While the Chinese will not likely succumb to the U.S., this new found rapprochement between the two will certainly intensify the resource scramble in Africa. Whether the ＂severe＂ interest for African resources will benefit the continent or not depends on how African countries are able to manage the ensuing resource race between the U.S. and China.     

The effects of global crisis on the Albanian economy

East European countries, including Albania aren＇t totally immune from the troubles of the international financial trade, although they will not have direct influence on their finances system. These effects of the global economy crisis have begun to be felt even in Albania. The poor classes will be much more and faster effected from this crisis. This article will treat the effects of the crisis into these classes, and the risks that this crisis brings to their finances. Important factors for this will be the decrease of the monetary incomes in the country, the emigrant remittance and foreign investments decrease and as a result they will influence in a decrease of the income for person in the country, which will have much influence at this level. The intention of the article is to treat the policies that should be taken by the government to protect them. The government of these countries should be concentrated in the social protection of the poor classes and in the ways of overcoming the crisis for them.     

PTSD and female military returnees from Iraq and Afghanistan： What does the evidence tell us？

In the United States of America, women make up almost 15% of active duty forces, while they form 11% of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is also the first time in history that women have been directly involved in torturing men, with sexual identity and gender being used as instruments of torture. This paper focuses on post-traumatic stress disorder （PTSD） and female veterans by reviewing the available literature. Studies examining the psychological and physical health of women veterans as well as women＇s working and living conditions in the army are presented. The paper highlights the psychological processes women marines go through to establish themselves in the male dominated army environment and the implications such processes may have on their perception of female identity and on their psychological well-being. Studies on deployment experiences in relation to the emergence of PTSD in female military personnel are presented. Finally, the effects of veterans＇ PTSD on their familial relationships and psychological adjustment of family members are also considered, stressing the lack of relevant research with female veterans. In this new historical reality and as these women are called on, upon their return home, to resume female care giver roles, to become the primary caregivers to children, the elderly and those who are ill, we conclude by highlighting the urgent need for further research into the emergence of PTSD in female military returnees from and on their families. Iraq and Afghanistan and the effects this may have on them and on their families.     

The diffusion of e-government innovations in Turkey： A conceptual framework

This paper aims to draw a conceptual framework about combining the diffusion of innovations literature with the use of e-government applications that are being used newly in Turkey. In recent years, their development still continues to grow rapidly. Thus, these applications can be accepted as innovations. In order to understand the patterns of diffusion that depend on a time process, we argue that the characteristics of e-government applications have effects on diffusion and rate of diffusion itself. With the combining efforts of literature and characteristics of e-government applications, some propositions are suggested with the help of diffusions of innovations literature and the validity of the conceptual framework that is drawn by the study that is aimed to be tested empirically for Turkey in further studies.     

（Re）Integrating spirituality into higher education

This article examines the issue of accountability and governance among higher learning institutions in discharging their duties to inculcate good behaviour and mould their graduates into human business leaders. In order to appreciate the role of higher education and the requirement of the market place for graduates, we go backward in origin into the past to learn the education philosophy that has shaped today＇s vocation. The distinctiveness of this article is that we review the advances in the science of quantum physics to understand the current worldview of reality. The way forward for higher learning institution to reintegrate spirituality in molding young generation who actualize authentic leadership and rightness-of-action founded upon the interconnectedness model of the universe is deliberated.     

The archive and community system for preserving traditional culture in rural areas

Rural areas in Japan are facing many problems such as aging, depopulation. Japanese traditional cultures in rural areas will be lost because of their flame keeper shortages. Rural residents and researchers take the problem seriously and are trying to archive all of them. In this study, we focused on their archiving activities and designed the web-based digital archiving system, which encourage the process of creating the virtual community that enhances the discussion and communication based on the traditional cultures. Furthermore, we researched the effects on rural community formation by their activities in rural area. In conclusion, we understood the trigger to lead rural areas to revitalize through the archiving activity.     

Searching for sustainable competitive advantage --From tangibles to intangibles

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize on the growing importance of the intangible assets for a firm＇s sustainable competitive advantage--by considering both the features that a strategic asset must meet and the high potential of the intangible assets to fulfill those features. First, we outline the changing environment finns are operating in--at global and industry＇s level as well; second, we emphasize on the evolving theory of the resource-based view of the firm--as the main framework integrating all the assets of a firm and its relationships with the environment; third, we underline the need for organizational and managerial change and development by making the shift from tangibles to intangibles. We find that the theory in the field evolved within last years, but the conceptual framework is far from being exhaustive and unitary. The paper may be continued with the developing of a conceptual framework which is able to identify the specific intangible assets that may become strategic, their determinants, the interconnections between them, and their integration into successful competitive strategies. The practical implications of the paper consist in offering some guidelines for firms in the search of global competitiveness through the valorization of there intangible assets. The paper emphasizes that, in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, strategic management must develop a comprehensive, dynamic and innovative resource-based model--unique for each firm.     

Factors that affect training effectiveness at semiconductor wafer fabrication industry in Malaysia

One of the key issues for Malaysian companies is about developing and retaining its resources. This is the fact that rapid changes in the organizations need to develop a more focused and coherent approach to develop and manage people （Kirkpatrick, 1979）. The fast-changing business environment and increasingly intense competitive environment require the ability on the part of human resource （HR） professionals to adapt to more challenging environment. Specifically, the human resource management practice of organizations needs to develop the appropriate role behavior and yet develop the necessary amount of flexibility to respond to change （Schuler, 1989; Hiltrop, Despres ＆ Sparrow, 1995）. The senior management must consider the importance of providing training to the people by understanding and believing that training is one of the important factors in organizational effectiveness. For technological based industry such as in wafer fabrication, the technical training for technical staff is very crucial. Hence, the HR manager must really outline the required training programs that focus to the outcomes as well as measure the effectiveness of the training. Factors that contribute to the training effectiveness must be put into serious consideration so that the amount invested into training is benefited. As such, the objectives of this paper are to review and reveal the factors that affect the training effectiveness. The scope of this research covers the Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication Companies in Malaysia.     

Sustainable Design and Social Entrepreneurship A Common Path Toward Social Innovation？

The purpose of this article is to introduce the connection of social entrepreneurship （SE） and sustainable design （SD） as a successful strategy for social innovation. Design is increasingly recognized by different stakeholders as an important contribution to social innovation. However, research linking SD and SE as a tool to sustain these social ventures is limited. This article takes an international approach to viewing SE. It presents concepts and main characteristics of both SE and SD, and discusses its similarities and differences of these concepts, based on a literature review and the analysis of two case studies addressing SE. The case studies presented in Norway and the United States are evaluated based on the role that SD strategies played in their establishment and implementation phase. Finally, this article seeks to contribute to the discussion of SE challenges and benefits, in addition to furthering research on the connection of SE and SD. Analyzing this connection means exploring uncharted paths toward sustainability and socially responsible growth.     

Influence of public administration and environmental management performance of cement manufacturing in Malaysia

Environmental issues have become critical concerns of businesses worldwide where environmental obligations have grown substantially and companies have to be environmentally responsible. Malaysia has enacted the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and subsidiary Environmental Quality （Clean Air） Regulations 1978, Environmental Quality （Sewage and Industrial Effluent） Regulations 1979, Environmental Quality （Prescribed Activities） Order 1987 and Environmental Quality （Scheduled Waste） Regulation 2005. ISO 14001 environmental management system （EMS） standard designed to introduce environmental improvement into every aspect of a company＇s operations. ISO 14001 assists companies in creation of structured mechanisms for continuous improvement in environmental performance. There is a complex and dynamic relation between profitability and environmental concerns. The paper evaluates how ISO 14001 aids cement companies in operating continuous environment protection programs to minimize significant environmental impacts. This study analyzes the relationship between adoption of ISO 14001 to business performance and competitive advantage of Malaysian companies that provides insights into motivations and results. ISO 14001 has a positive impact on companies＇ performance, specifically on perceived environmental impacts. The companies recognized the need for ISO 14001 as an internal tool to maintain operations and management competitiveness. To adopt the ISO 14001 environment elements, it is necessary to have corporate culture that support complex operational activities in line with the top management commitment of the ISO 14001 policy and regulatory-compliant. ISO 14001 implementation was crucial in bringing about reduction of damage to the environment at operational level, and effective environmental management at management level, as well as improvement of the company＇s image and competitiveness at strategic level. Companies that export their products are expected to implement the ISO 14001 in order to maintain their competitive edge in the global market place.