Market Orientation in a Small Scale Enterprise Environment: Importance of Product-Related Factors

This study uses the results of an evaluation programme to examine the value of a market orientation for small scale manufacturer in the mass retail market. Results show that an evaluator's assessment of a product's readiness for the marketplace and his/her recommendation for the type of market it should enter were better at predicting short-term and long-term performance than market orientation alone

A Critical Assessment of Environmental Impact on Workers Productivity in Nigeria

It is generally acknowledged that the productivity of Nigerian workers is rather low. A major challenge of this research therefore was to ascertain the extent to which the environment has influenced the productivity of worker in both the public and the private sector of the Nigerian economy. To this end, a descriptive survey research design was employed and, a sample of 300 employers was drawn from among many organisations in both sectors that are located in metropolitan Lagos. Investigation revealed that factors in both the external and internal work environment as well as employment policies as they currently obtain are llllfavourable to the enhancement oflabour productivity. It is therefore imperative for goverrunents at the federal and state levels to explore ways of improving and updating infrastructural facilities in order to make the work environment more conducive for enhancement oflabour productivity. Similarly, job and organisationally related factors and employment policies must be looked into by the respective employers for possible reviews so as to make them more favourable and thereby challenge workers to be more productive

An Exploration of Customer-Defined Perception of Market Orientation:Antecedents and Consequences

As universities worldwide are being required to be more responsive to the needs of their customers, the literature has focused on identifying exactly who is the customer in the higher education industry. It is common to view the student as the customer but this notion is not universally accepted. This paper reviews the debate in the education and marketing literature about students as customers and reveals the difficulty in using the word customer to describe the student/university relationship. The author argues that the debate must move away from identifying the customer and focus on the university as a service provider. An emerging perspective on market orientation suggest that strategic insights may be gained when firms take into account their customers’ view on the organization’s level of market orientation. Recent research offers evidence on the applicability of a customer- defined market orientation construct. This study extends this line of research by exploring the customer- defined orientation antecedents and outcomes in higher education institutions. This paper accentuates the subject by initially reviewing a number of theoretical viewpoints as to why a customer perspective should be sought when assessing organizational phenomena such as market orientation. Consequently, a number of hypotheses were put forward followed by the results of this study. Correlation analysis and regression analysis among other statistical tools were used in this study. The result using regression analysis showed that all the proposed relationship were significant. The result further demonstrated that service quality acts as a partial mediator where customer satisfaction was not derived completely by service quality. This paper eventually concludes by elaborating the various conclusions derived from the study

Performance appraisal systems in private Universities in Nigeria: A Study of Crawford University, Igbesa- Nigeria

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of performance appraisal system at private universities in Nigeria. The focus of the study was on the administrative staff of Crawford University. The study evaluated the purpose of performance appraisal in private universities and identifies relevant factors for achieving an effective performance appraisal. A cross- sectional survey was selected for this study because it was easy to undertake compared to longitudinal survey and the results from the same can be inferred to the larger population. The study population was for all the administrative staff of Crawford University. The whole populations of staff were selected as respondents. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data for analysis. The analysis of collected data was done by the help of SPSS and presented using descriptive statistics, frequency tables and percentages. The findings from the study have established that performance appraisal system is the only tangible metric way by which an organization can know the level of performance of its diverse members of staff. The effectiveness of performance appraisal systems in private universities are only based on training the members of staff involved in the rating/ appraising process and are multi- rating systems. Conclusively because the performance appraisal systems used in private universities are not effective and that they exist just as a matter of formalities, the private universities cannot measure members of staff performance, hence making it difficult to achieve the intended human resource management objective

Customers: Identifying the Needs in Higher Education

Many institutions of higher education are hesitant to consider themselves as customer-driven entities. It is common to view the student as the customer but this notion is not universally accepted. This paper reviews the debate in the education and marketing literature about students as customers and reveals the difficulty in using the word customer to describe the student/university relationship. The author argues that the debate must move away from identifying the customer and focus on the university as a service provider. An emerging perspective on market orientation suggest that strategic insights may be gained when firms take into account their customers’ view on the organization’s level of market orientation. Even the suggestion of the term customer can arouse many emotions, preconceptions, and misconceptions. The idea that students are partners in developing and delivering quality education threatens the historic, traditional academic role of faculty as purveyor of knowledge. Nevertheless, one fact has been proven over and over again. Customer-driven organizations are effective because they are fully committed to satisfying and anticipating customer needs. The future success of colleges and universities will increasingly be determined by how they identify and satisfy their various customers. This paper accentuates the subject by initially reviewing a number of theoretical viewpoints as to why a customer perspective should be sought when assessing organizational phenomena such as market orientation. The findings showed that all the proposed relationship were significant. The result further demonstrated that service quality acts as a partial mediator where customer satisfaction was not derived completely by service quality. This paper eventually concludes by elaborating the various conclusions derived from the stud

Strategic Marketing Management in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry:a Theoretical Framework

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on strategic marketing management .. This study adopted a expost facto research methodology to examine the strategic marketing management literature in an attempt to attain their desired level of performance. The overall findings suggest that strategic marketing is a driver of organizational positioning in a dynamic environment, and that it helps to enhance the development of new product/service for existing markets. These findings, along with other interesting findings of the study, are discussed. From the empirical and anecdotal managerial evidence as well as from the literature implications are drawn for the efficient and effective strategic marketing practices in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Based on the findings of the study, the concepts and principles of total quality management within a holistic framework it is recommended that (i) efforts should be made by organizational marketers towards understanding the relevant economic factors that affect both clients’ behaviour and the strategic options that may be adopted to cope with such behaviours; ((ii) in a constantly changing business environment, firms can adopt different strategic marketing practices since the yardstick is the enhancement of business performance

Gender Difference and Church Member Satisfaction: An Appraisal

This paper tries to determine both male and female church- attendance trends and to study gender effect, that is, differences between males and female regarding church attendance. It also considers churches as non-profit organizations contending with a mounting problem of male disinterest and disengagement. Based on reports originating in the popular press as well as expert opinion, men are falling away from church involvement in record numbers. A Survey study in Lagos – Nigeria determined that 61% of today's church members are women (Murrow 2005). A number of practitioner books, web-sites, and lay-leader seminars have appeared in recent years with the intent of addressing this issue while offering multiple theories to explain this trend. However, empirical evidence and systematic development of male member profiles that would aid in the development of marketing strategies to better target this group are lacking. This paper begins to address this shortcoming by exploring gender differences in general and male characteristics in particular as they pertain to church satisfaction and involvement

Strategic Marketing and Firms Performance:a Study of Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of strategic marketing and firms performance of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. This study adopted a survey research methodology to examine strategic marketing and firms performance of Nigerian oil and gas marketing companies in an attempt to attain their desired level of performance. One hypothesis was formulated from the statement of research problem. Analysis of Variance, Pearson Moment Correlation Analysis, Factor Analysis among other statistical tools were used in testing the hypotheses. The overall results suggest that strategic marketing is a driver of organizational positioning in a dynamic environment, and that it helps to enhance the development of new product/service for existing markets. These findings,along with other interesting findings of the study, are discussed. From the empirical and anecdotal managerial evidence as well as from the literature implications are drawn for the efficient and effective strategic marketing in the Nigerian oil and gas industr

Impact of Strategic Planning on Organizational Performance and Survival

The study examined the impact of strategic planning on organizational performance and survival. The effectiveness of strategic planning can be measured in terms of the extent to which it influences organizational performance, which affects its survival rate. The main objective of this study is to re-evaluate the planning-performance relationship in organization and determine the extent to which strategic planning affects performance in an organization, of which First Bank of Nigeria, Plc (FEN) will be used as case study. Based on the above objective, relevant literatures were thoroughly reviewed and three hypotheses were formulated and tested in this study. A survey technique was used with the administration of questionnaires to 100 respondents (of which 80 was retrieved) comprising of both the senior and junior staff in various First bank branches in Lagos metropolis. The data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Also,T -Test and Chi-square statistical methods were used in testing the hypotheses using the SPSS. The three hypotheses were confirmed. For the purpose of testing for reliability of the instnnnent, 'The Split-HalfTechnique' from SPSS was used. The implication of this study is that Strategic planning enhances better organizational performance, which in the long nm has impact on its survival and that strategic planning intensity is determined by managerial, environmental and organizational factors

Aid to Children of Imprisoned Mothers: An Ethnographic Study

In the context of the developing generational divide in contemporary African-American social life, this study examines the not-for-profit organization, Aid to Children of Imprisoned Mothers (AIM), and its successes and challenges in transitioning youth to leadership. I examine AIM's organizational culture and its ability to transition youth -- its staff, volunteers and clients -- into leadership in partnership with the adult leadership of the organization. The mission of AIM is, "To inspire hope and empower children of incarcerated mothers through programs and services that lessen the impact of the mother's incarceration." Implicit in this mission is the development of leadership and decision-making skills of the participants in the program as essential to breaking the cycle of poverty and incarceration in the families and communities of the participating individuals. While the generation gap within the African-American community is one specific issue in the contemporary social context in which AIM operates, other issues such as negative social forces that reinforce a cycle of incarceration and poverty, as well as the educational and socio-economic gap between service providers and clients, also challenge its goal of meeting its mission. Children of incarcerated parents generally live in environments where substance abuse and criminal activity are common. With an incarcerated parent, the family unit is weakened in its ability to shield the child from factors that negatively the child's social development. AIM attempts to provide guidance and social support for the participants in its program to break the cycle of incarceration in the family and the community