Building Stakeholders’ Relations in Open and Distance Learning: The Quality Challenges at Play (Published)
Building stakeholders’ relations in ODL has the potential to release untapped potential and transfer of expertise through collaboration. However, there are some sticking challenges at play and this study examined these challenges to building stakeholder’ relations in ODL. This was a qualitative study. Information was collected through a survey of four regional campuses informed by a purposive sample of 284 students and sixty members of staff. Some very glaring challenges in the way of building stakeholders’ relations in ODL were unearthed. Suppressed voices working to scare away potential partners were seen as inhibitors and silent assassins of efforts to building stakeholders’ relations in ODL. There were far more damaging attitudes to ODL stakeholder relations than those that promote it. Some of the manifestations of these damaging attitudes were seen through the otherness of ODL institutions and their students, the low status accorded to ODL and the inherent belief that learning equals face-to-face teaching. The invisible hand of power from a close knit highly conservative old boys’ clique from conventional universities was visible in this study. The study concluded that ODL cannot therefore fulfil its purpose of building stakeholders’ relations without reference to these challenges some of which are inflicting shock and injury to the staff and students. The study thus, recommended a re-thinking on conditions building stakeholders’ relations in ODL considering that this issue is more than an academic argument about definitions of meaning. It is the question of who gets what from the paymaster’s limited pot and why (Doherty, 2008).
Keywords: Education, Open and Distance Learning, Quality control, Stakeholder
International Standards As Corporate Governance Mechanisms And Credibility Gap In Jordan Financial Managers’ Point Of View (Published)
This study aimed to examine what financial managers think about auditors implementation in relation with corporate governance mechanisms and credibility gap, by using an inferential descriptive statistical analysis. Corporate governance has shown flaws; where part of it was done to the weakness of financial managers activism, and since auditing is a very important avenue of faithful representation (credibility gap) of financial statements, and since shareholders depend on auditors’ reports, this article utilized primary data by distributing a questionnaire to the financial managers in Jordanian industrial companies regestered in Amman Stock Exchange to study the effect of implementation. The paper focused on the affect and relationship of the auditors’ implementation of International Audit Standards and International Standards on Quality Control; on the credibility gap by using regression analysis, and the demographic factors by using one way anova. Results showed a positive relationship between auditors’ implementation of International Audit Standards on the credibility gap as well as to the International Standards on Quality Control, and results also showed that respondants elder than 45 years were more realizable of the credibility gap than the younger ones, as well as to the PhD degree holders and those above 15 years of experience.
Keywords: Corporate Governance, Credibility Gap, International Audit Standards, International Standards, Quality control
Factors Affecting Value Addition in the Leather Industry in Kenya (Published)
The leather industry holds a significant position in the agricultural sub-sector in Kenya. The industry has a high potential to make products of high quality that can address socio economic problems, and create employment and wealth. The success of the industry depends on value addition, which unfortunately has been minimal, and most of Kenya’s exports have been in the form of unprocessed raw hides and skins. As a result, the industry has not realized its full potential. The objective of this study was to investigate factors affecting value addition in the leather industry in Kenya. Adopting a case study design, the study focused on the influence of capacity building, technology, finance and quality control on value addition. The study population consisted of both incubatees and graduate incubatees of Leather Development Centre in Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute. The findings show that the industry is characterised by low capacity building, and unskilled employees take long to upgrade their skills on the job. The industry uses old technology, does not practice expeditious machine upgrade; and repairs and maintenance are quite slow. Further, the leather industry is inadequately financed, and quality is compromised because of unavailability of affordable chemical inputs. The study recommends that in order to increase value addition, manufacturers need to invest resources with a view to upgrading their human capital and technology. The different players in the industry should analyse weaknesses in the present national policy framework, and address the loopholes that exist.
Keywords: Capacity building, Finance, Quality control, Technology, Value addition