Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series

15

Authors: Ibrahim Nasibli

With the abandonment of the classical management approach and the adoption of the modern management approach in the enterprises, it has been emphasized by the managers that the workforce is as important as the technology for the success of the business. The prominence of people in businesses has led to the creation of the human resources department and, accordingly, the emergence of many systems that direct people and increase their productivity. At the beginning of these systems is the motivation and performance evaluation system. It is very difficult to keep employees in the company for a long time and encourage them to act in favour of the company. The main purpose of motivation methods is to ensure that employees act in accordance with the company's goals and achieve successful results. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the factors influencing the performance of employees and employers were rewarding factors, additional payment factors or psycho-social factors, and whether these factors were age, gender, marital status, education level, work experience, occupation, etc. is to investigate how it differs according to demographic factors.

18

Authors: Ajibola S. GBOTOSHO, Kolawole S. AJIBOLA

Regarding the vital role of school libraries in the educational system, there are issues around the qualified human resources, adequate facilities, and electricity supply among others. Another challenge is the proper attitudes towards the use of the available library information resources among library users. The trend which is not helpful to national development in any way if not curbed. To find out ways around the emerging attitudes, this study was motivated to investigate the appraisement of gateway and usage of library information resources among pupils in Osogbo Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), Osun State, Nigeria. The intentions of the study were to determine the level of satisfaction of pupils towards school library information resources including human resources, and other facilities; to investigate access and use of school library information resources, to find out the factors that pose problem to pupils in the use of school library and strategies to overcome such challenges. In a descriptive survey, simple random was habituated to select 40 respondents from each of the selected primary schools to make a sample size of 240 respondents in six primary schools purposively selected in the Osogbo Local Government Area of Osun State in Nigeria. The methods of data collection for the study were questionnaires, documentary review, personal observations and interview. Content analysis was espoused for qualitative data. Quantitative data were anatomised by using SPSS. The finding divulged that primary school pupils face many repressions in using the school library since there are no current library information resources but obsolete ones; inadequate of qualified and professional personnel. It was also found that books were the most frequently used library information resources. Furthermore, to effectively use the school’s libraries by the primary school pupils, there is need to address the above-mentioned constraints faced by the pupils in using the school library. The study recommended that provision of fund is necessary to execute all the school library needs. The study further recommended continuous training and retraining for the library human resources.

20

Authors: Vladimir RADIVOJEVIĆ, Bojan KRSTIĆ, Jelena STANOJEVIĆ

The rapid technological development of the last decades has affected practically all areas of the economy, society, and culture. Almost every aspect of life and work in the modern world to a greater or lesser extent depend on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The aim of this paper is to analize the ICT performance of ten Balkan countries and to highlight areas that need further improvement. The analysis is based on the data published by the International Telecommunication Union in annual Measuring the Information Society Report. The research is conducted through comparative analysis and benchmarking method. The ten best-positioned European countries in terms of ICT development represent the benchmark group. The analysis finds low level of national ICT performance of the Balkan countries compared to the selected European countries. The conclusions of this research may serve as guidelines for ICT policy makers in the observed economies.

22

Authors: Oladele ROTIMI, Dinatu Nna ALABADAN, Adediran Rasheed ADEKUNLE, Oladele Taiwo OLABODE, Lawal Adenike MORONKE

The study examined the impact of audit quality on tax compliance proxy as tax revenue in Nigeria. Specifically, the study investigated the relationship that exists between auditor independence, engagement performance and tax revenue knowing that many times, tax assessment is based on audited financial statement presented by the firms. Survey research design was adopted using primary data sourced from administration structured questionnaire on the respondents selected from among; the staff of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), academia (Accountants) and practicing accountants/auditors within Ondo State. The ordinary least square (OLS) model was used to analyze data so collected. The R2 adjusted predictive power of the study was 0.623 (62.3%) and the F-statistic at the 0.01 and 0.05 level of significance which are 4.79 and 3.07 and is less than 6.047 which was a clear indication that, auditor independence and engagement performance have a significant effect on audit quality with resultant effect on tax compliance (tax revenue) in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that auditors should embrace independence and strictly adhere to established standards and procedures laid down by the government, professional bodies when reporting to enhance audit quality at all times; it is believed this will foster tax revenue generation to argument dwindling revenues.

30

Authors: Joel ISABIRYE

This paper analyzes how firms respond to emerging economic crises. A firm’s response to crisis is a mechanism for survival. It normally evolves out of the impact of the crisis, and it is linked to the strategic goals and operational objectives of the firm. Firms normally pursue one or more of three lines of responses to crises; retrenchment, investment and ambidextrous responses. Responses of firms to crisis are far from predictable or systematic and usually vary from firm to firm. They are predetermined by specific contexts of the firm’s existence. These contexts range from the firm’s size, ownership, sector of operation, history in business, country dynamics and resource capabilities. There is also a tendency for firms to move from one type of response to another during the course of the crisis. Retrenchment is the most preferred form of response, although investment responses tend to have long-term advantages. The study recommends that firms consider ambidextrous responses to realize the synchronized benefits of retrenchment and investment responses to crises. It is also recommended that studies on firms’ responses to crisis should examine firms on a case-to-case basis, identify the particularities of their responses.

36

Authors: Godly OTTO, Eugene Abuo OKPE, Wilfred I. UKPERE

In recent times, rice production has become a topical issue in national discourse in Nigeria. Rice is a major staple food in all the regions of Nigeria. Over the years, Nigeria has imported rice from different countries to supplement local production, thereby putting pressure on the Nigeria foreign exchange. Since 2018, the Central Bank of Nigeria made policies aimed at curtailing the importation of some agricultural products including rice, by ordering the closure of land borders till further notice. The aim of the policy was to restrict the dumping of products such as rice into the country, which could generate an unfair competition with local rice producers. It is against this backdrop that this work investigated the effect of rice production and consumption on economic development in Nigeria, from 1986 to 2018. The data were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin. To establish the empirical nexus between rice production, consumption and economic development in Nigeria, the work used the following econometrics tools of data analysis OLS, Unit root test, Johansen Cointegration and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The findings of the study prove that there is a significant relationship between rice production, consumption and economic development in Nigeria. In addition, the OLS result established that the relationship between rice import and the gross domestic product in Nigeria is statistically significant. The unit root test results justifies that all the model variables were non-stable at levels but gained stationarity after first difference. The Johansen Cointegration test empirically established that there is a long run convergence between the variables in the model, while the VECM result attested that the model variables are jointly instrumental in eliciting long-run equilibrium. From the foregoing, government is encouraged to support the mechanization and modernisation of rice production in Nigeria, including the introduction of modern equipment, pesticides and improved seedlings needed by rice farmers to increase rice production. This may be achieved through the provision of cheap credits to rice farmers.