Year 2014 , Volume  3, Issue 2, Part 1 1 Subjective Probability and Consumer Behavior JAHANGIR YADOLLAHI FARSI, AMIR EMAMI and MAHSA MOLAIE Pages: 557-570 Details (1278) The theory of subjective probability was independently and almost simultaneously discovered in 1926 by Frank Ramsey in Cambridge and Bruno de Finetti in Italy and was later developed in an interdisciplinary form by the researchers in the fields of psychology and economics such as Tversky and Kahneman who were awarded the Noble Prize in Economics in 2002 upon presenting his prospect theory in the field of economics. This theory is today used on an applied basis in all fields from medicine and treatment to politics and economics. In this paper, after describing the literature on subjective probability both from mathematical and cognitive views, the relation between this phenomenon and consumer behavior in the marketing field will be explained by using qualitative research method. Our commentary highlights the need for future research to study the relationship between competitors messages and consumers subjective value. Key Words: Subjective Probability, Behavioral Economics, Mental Accounting, Consumer Behavior. 2 Determinants of Debt Cost Financing of Tunisian Companies: Bivariate Analysis between 2000 and 2011 SAMI BACHA Pages: 571-582 Details (1209) This paper studies the effect of corporate governance and audit quality on the debt cost financing of Tunisian listed companies. When, banks and other financial institutions dont participate in corporate governance structures (such as boards of directors for example), they might pay attention to overall quality of monitoring tool set up within companies and to financial reportings quality. So, we may expect an inverse relation between the debt cost and the quality of governance and auditing structure. Using a pooled sample of large, nonfinancial listed Tunisian companies over the years 2000 to 2011, the empirical findings reveal that corporate governance quality has a significant reducing effect on the cost of debt, whereas audit quality does not. Specifically, multivariate analyzes document an inverse relation between the ex post cost of debt and (1) the Board size, (2) the part of independent directors, (3) the presence of institutional shareholders, and (4) the international auditor network membership. Key Words: Audit quality ? governance ? board - Monitoring ? Debt cost ? Tunisian listed companies. 3 Decentralized Budget Impact on Managerial Performance: Evidence from Private Jordanian Universities OSAMA MAHD Pages: 583-594 Details (1313) The study aims at explaining the impact of devolving the budget decision to the lowest level of management on managerial performance in higher education institutions. The study uses the questionnaire to achieve this objective. It distributes 131 to department heads in five private Jordanian universities. 77 valid questionnaires were used in this research. The study splits the sample into two main groups. Centralized group and decentralized group based on the existence of budget accountant and budget committee. Kruskal-Wallis has been employed to test the differences between the groups. It tests the differences between the centralized, moderated and decentralized groups. The results show that managerial performance in the decentralized group is different with the centralized one. The results show that decentralized group performs better than centralized. Key Words: Budget, Managerial Performance, Private Universities and Jordan. 4 Impact of Training on Productivity of Employees: A Case Study of Electricity Supply Company in Pakistan RAJA IRFAN SABIR, NAEEM AKHTAR, FARASAT ALI SHAH BUKHARI, JWARIA NASIR and WAQAR AHMED Pages: 595-606 Details (3679) To find the relationship of different variables, training, compensation, feedback, and job involvement on productivity of employees in electric supply company in Pakistan. The aim of this research is to find out the impact of variables on employee productivity. The researcher is use the quantitative approach of research. The population for this research are the employees of electricity supply companies of Pakistan. Researcher uses the non-probability sampling technique and random sampling. For this research sample size is 150 employees of electricity supply companies of Pakistan. Researcher uses the survey method for collection of data with instrument of questionnaire. Results indicate that the relationship of various variables is positive impact on employee productivity. Results also indicate that reliability of instrument and variables is creating positive impact on employees of Electricity Supply Company in Pakistan. In order to ensure that employees adopt the training it must be efficient and quick as well as easy to satisfy. The study supports the hypothesis that various factors of training has the most significant and strong impact on employee satisfaction. The study supports the research finding that there is a positive relationship between feedback factors which is associated with the employees of Electricity Supply Company. Key Words: Training, Feedback, Compensation, Job Involvement, Employee Productivity. 5 A Framework of Measuring the impact of Market Orientation on the outcome of Higher Education Institutions mediated by innovation ABDULLAH MOHAMMED M ALGARNI and NORAINI ABU TALIB Pages: 607-624 Details (1525) Higher education in Saudi Arabia witnesses unprecedented evolution in number of students, faculty members and institutions. Although, the government of Saudi Arabia invest noticeable amount of its resources to develop an international standards education in the country, the outputs of education system are not fitting with different stakeholders? demand. That manifested, for example, in high rate of unemployment among degree holders, unbalance of students number in different disciplines and lack of research alignment with society needs. Market orientation as operationalization of marketing concept seen as vital practice that influences organizations profitability and stability through satisfying its stakeholders. Higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia could benefit of market orientation to improve their ability to fill the gap between their output and market demand. The purpose of this research is to review and synthesize the literature on market orientation in the context of higher education to build a model that include internal and external market orientation in the context of higher education in Saudi Arabia. In addition, this study will Use a synthesized approach to the most significant perspectives of market orientation, namely behavioral and cultural perspectives. Behavioral perspective of market orientation implicitly embedded in internal and external sub-constructs of this study. This review hypothesized that employee orientation affect the external element of market orientation namely, student orientation, employer of graduates orientation and competitor orientation with inter-functional coordination. In addition, the study hypothesize direct positive influence of market orientation on higher education institutions? perceived performance. Moreover, the study hypnotized that innovation mediate the relationship between market orientation and performance. Finally, four aspect of perceived performance of Higher education institution considered as dependent variables. Key Words: Market orientation, internal market orientation, higher education, innovation, Saudi Arabia, perceived performance. 6 Delivering a Mega Construction Project Successfully During a National Crisis: Lessons Learned From The Aswan High Dam Construction Project ESKANDER HOWSAWI, DAVID EAGER, RAVINDRA BAGIA and KLAUS NIEBECKER Pages: 625-647 Details (1219) Project success is a key topic in project management research. This study contributes to this topic by presenting how projects succeed during difficult circumstances of national crises. The occurrence of a crisis leads to the emergence of new dynamics and constraints that affect projects. Success strategies pursued then are different from those employed during peacetime. This research takes the Aswan High Dam project in Egypt in the 1960s as a case study and reveals four strategies supporting ten success factors that helped that project to succeed during a period of national crises. Links to contemporary projects are presented, together with recommendations to enhance the understanding and likelihood of successful project delivery during a national crisis period. Key Words: Project Management, Project Success, National Crisis, Aswan High Dam, Project Context. 7 Mobile Computing: Opportunities for Improving Civil Constructions Productivity LUIS ARRUDA, SERGIO FRANCA and OSVALDO QUELHAS Pages: 648-655 Details (1182) The actual paradigm of competitiveness in enterprises has been its ability to innovate. Researches on the topic Mobile Computing in Construction has gained importance in the international academic literature and this fact is justified because that construction projects occur in various locations, and the professionals who work in them, have more difficulties of access to information systems conventional. Thus, ineffective communication can lead to neglect of important issues that require quick decisions. This study identifies applications of mobile technologies in the construction industry, from reading the international academic production. The method used is qualitative, went applied bibliometric techniques to identify the relevance of journals, articles and authors to the study. The results indicate opportunities for productivity improvements in construction due to the dynamic flows and amounts of information that can be managed by mobile technologies among professionals dealing with the construction of the projects. This study are also related points of attention in the introduction of these originated in implementation costs, ease of access and speed of data transmission technologies. Key Words: Mobile Computing, Mobile Devices, Civil Construction, Information Technology, Management of construction. 8 Supreme Laws of Performance Management CONSTANTA IACOB, MIHAELA CRISTINA GHEORGHE and RALUCA MIHAELA DRACEA Pages: 656-667 Details (1194) The current economic crisis facing yet business environment is a challenge for managers to identify the systems and processes that allow them to respond positively to this pressure. Analysis of key factors that define the performance allows understanding its role and functions in decision making. Performance criteria have diversified and nuanced as needed, which there is necessary to connect the space microeconomic to the macroeconomic requirements. Connecting business analysis results to new judgments, subordinate the concept of performance, we can draw the following ideas : focus on management performance and risk arising from it, enforce management decisions based on intuition and awareness in the management, the primary focus on planning, implementation and monitoring strategy avoids bottlenecks arising from decisions based on retrospective analysis and the creation of flexible structures, focusing on promoting joint efforts in business development, creates a culture of generating performance commitments. The validation of these ideas to practice business law turns them into informal accepted and associated to the performance management process. Key Words: Management, Performance, Action, Success, Perenniality. 9 The Impact of Strategic Management on the Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Organizations Business Performance ABDEL AZIZ AHMAD SHARABATI and SAED JAMAL FUQAHA Pages: 668-687 Details (1735) The current study aimed at investigating the effect of strategic management by using Balanced Scorecard (BSC elements) on Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (JPM) organizations business performance. To approach the aim of the study, practical data were collected from 13 companies out of 16 companies, by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was delivered to about 140 managers out of 250, only 95 questionnaires were completed, out of 95 questionnaires only 90 were suitable for further analysis. Statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA test, correlation, simple and multiple regressions were employed. To confirm the suitability of data collection instrument, a Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test, Cronbachs Alpha and factor analysis were used. The result of the study shows there is a significant implementation of the balanced scorecard variables among JPM Organizations, the learning and growth perspective rated highest average, followed by internal processes perspective, then financial perspective and customer perspective, respectively. Result also indicates that there is a high relationship among balanced scorecard variables and between balanced scorecard variables and JPM Organizations business performance is strong. The result of the simple regression and the multiple regressions analysis shows that strategic management (balanced scorecard elements) has a direct impact on Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Organizations business performance. Finally, the result shows that the customer perspective has the highest effect on JPM organizations business performance, followed by internal processes perspective, then learning and growth perspective and financial perspective, respectively. Key Words: Balanced Scorecard (BSC), Financial Perspective, Customer Perspective, Internal Processes Perspective, Learning and Growth Perspective, Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (JPM) organizations, Business Performance. 10 Impact of Managers Skills Profile on His Managerial Behavior A Case Study of Jordan Kuwait Bank KAMEL M. MOGHRABI, ABDEL-AZIZ AHMAD SHARABATI and MAHMOUD KHADER Pages: 688-704 Details (3136) The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of managerial skills on managerial behavior at Jordan Kuwait Bank (JKB), by using Wilsons skill profile classification (Technical, Teambuilding and Drive). Practical data were used in the empirical analysis collected from 143 out of 947 employees working at JKB, by means of a questionnaire. Statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA test and correlation were employed. To confirm the suitability of data collection instrument, validity and reliability tests were used. The results of the study indicated a positive significant relationship between managerial skills and JKB managerial behavior. The results also indicated that the teambuilding skills were practiced by managers in JKB at moderate level, while the drive skills and technical kills were presented and practiced at high level. However, multiple regressions showed that the drive skills indicators were having the highest effect on managerial behavior, followed by technical skills, while still they have a lot of work to improve teambuilding skills. Furthermore, empirical results indicated that there are strong inter-relationships and interactions among the three components of managerial skills. The use of one organization and a single industry study design limits its generalization to other organizations and industries. The data is also limited to Jordanian setting; therefore, further research on other organizations, industries is highly recommended. The research results might help both academicians and practitioners to understand the components of managerial skills profile and provide them with insight into developing and increasing them within their organizations. JKB should coordinate different perspectives of managerial skills to improve managerial behavior and assign appropriate scales for each of the three components of managerial skills profile. This study also extends prior researches viewpoint about the linear relationship between managerial skills and managerial behavior with empirical evidence. Key Words: Jordan Kuwait Bank (JKB), Managerial Skills, Managerial Behavior, Drive Skills, Technical Skills, and Teambuilding Skills. 11 Herding Behavior and Trading Volume: Evidence from the American Indexes MOUNA JLASSI and AHMED BENSAIDA Pages: 705-722 Details (1421) This paper examines the existence of behavioral bias labeled Herding in the U.S. market. We studied the turnover effect on herding movement by modifying the Cross Sectional Standard Deviation (CSSD) model and the Cross Sectional Absolute Standard Deviation (CSAD) model. The results indicate that herding is present and is a long-lived phenomenon in the American financial market. We find also that herding is stronger in the S&P 100 index than in the DJIA index. We also find that trading volume contributes in increasing asymmetric herding. By applying VAR and Granger causality test, we find causal link of herding ? trading volume. More particularly, we find that trading volume cannot generate herding behavior, except for liquid market. However, contemporaneous herding is a deterministic factor for increasing trading volume. Over the sample period, we examine the herd behavior during Subprime crisis. We find that herding is more intensified during subprime crisis, which contributes to accentuate and elongate it. Key Words: Trading volume; Herding; Cross Sectional Standard Deviation; Cross Sectional Absolute Standard Deviation. 12 Management of Change and Operational Excellence in the Electrical and Electronics Industry OON FOK-YEW and HARTINI AHMAD Pages: 723-739 Details (1554) The study reveals the influence of change management (hard and soft systems) on operational excellence in Electrical and Electronics (E&E) Industry. The hard systems consist of technology, structure, and strategy, and soft systems include leadership, human resource, and culture. A survey of a sample of Malaysias manufacturing leading sector, E&E industry was conducted. Among the key findings, there was a positive relationship between organic structure, operations strategy, transformational leadership style and human resource practices on achievement of operational excellence. The results showed that organic structure and operations strategy have effect on the achievement of operational excellence. Conversely, the manufacturing technology has not effect on operational excellence of Malaysian E&E manufacturing companies in which the hypotheses was not supported. Similarly, transformational leadership style and human resource practices were found to have an effect on the achievement of operational excellence for Malaysian E&E manufacturing companies. In contrast, the analysis showed that involvement cultural trait has no significant relationship with operational excellence, therefore, hypotheses was not supported.The implications of the findings promote better understanding of the operational excellence in E&E industry. In addition, the application of various factors in the area managing change, henceforth, adds value to both change management and operational management domains. The originality in terms of the model reflects a growing interest in extending operational management paradigms to emerging in developing country context. Key Words: Operational management, Operational excellence, Change management, Electrical and Electronics, Malaysia. 13 Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory Reporting Corporate Sustainability: A Case Study in a Power Generating Company WINICYUS DIHL, DIOGO JOSE HORST, LUIS FILIPPE SERPE, ANTONIO CARLOS DE FRANCISCO and JOAO LUIZ KOVALESKI Pages: 740-752 Details (1225) This study presents features regarding the Organizational Knowledge Creation (OKC) theory during the elaboration of a corporate sustainability reporting, following the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The theory was grounded by the creation, coding and transference of knowledge, the conversion of tacit and explicit knowledge, shared contexts (Bas), enabling conditions, and the SECI process (Spiral of Knowledge). A case study was conducted in the ITAIPU Binacional, the worlds largest hydroelectric power generating facility. The survey was conducted using three questionnaires and a Likert scale was utilized for data treatment. From results, we evidenced that during each stage of reporting elaboration, occurrences of features related to the OKC theory were observed. Indeed, the sustainability report was mainly developed through the creation, decoding and transfer of knowledge among all phases analyzed. Highlighting the conversion mode Internalization, the context Dialoguing Ba and the enabling condition Autonomy. The SECI process was related to their predominant Ba, sustained by specific enabling conditions and permeating all stages of OKC theory always following the GRI guidelines. Concluding, the sustainability report is a useful tool in formulating new strategies of management, thereupon creating and disseminating new and useful knowledge. Furthermore, when companies begin to publishing their reports, they create knowledge, transmit transparency and environmental commitment; consequently bringing competitive advantage for the organization, thereby reaching new markets and attracting green consumers. Key Words: Sustainability Report, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Knowledge Management, Industrial Engineering, Social Responsibility, Corporate Citizenship, Globalization. 14 Asymmetric Information and Payout Policy: Dividend or Share Repurchase EL HOUCINE RIM and BOUBAKER ADEL Pages: 753-761 Details (1376) This paper studies the nature of the relationship between the share repurchase and dividend payout in the presence of asymmetric information. The study focuses on the French context over the period from 2003 to 2008. The results show that: when there is an asymmetry, the choice of managers is oriented towards stock repurchase and the reduction of dividends. It appears that the share repurchasing has a strong power signal compared to dividends. This explains the positive relationship between the asymmetry of information and the choice of repurchase and negative one related to the distribution of dividends. In the presence of asymmetry, both ways seem to be more complementary than substitutable hence the negative relationship. Key Words: Stocks repurchase, dividend, asymmetry, complementary, substitutable.