Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business Research

Author(s): Julie Crews

Abstract: This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that examines the nature and management of ethical dilemmas experienced by Australian senior executives. Seventy-eight (78) Australian executives, represented by diverse industry backgrounds from both the public and private sectors, participated in the study. The researcher conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews using Flanagan’s (1954) CIT (critical incident technique) in which participants were asked to recall a professional situation which they identified as an ethical dilemma and how they managed the situation. The participants’ responses were analysed with the assistance of NVivo (QSR International Pty Ltd, 2003), a qualitative data storage and retrieval program. The principal findings consisted of three themes which described the nature of respondents’ ethical dilemmas, namely; competing interests, relationship management and governance. The themes which described the management of these dilemmas were accountability, relationship-centredness, courage and withdrawal. This paper presents a background to the research including the methodology, data collection methods and participants’ background. This is followed by an overview of the literature, the findings and discussion relating to the nature and management of ethical dilemmas. It concludes with recommendations for further research.

Keywords: Ethics; Ethical Dilemmas; Values.

» Full Text (PDF)   » Permissions   [pp: 68-91]   Article first published online: 2016

• School of Business, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia

Author(s): Muhammad Usman,¹ Sohail Ahmed,² Tariq Mehmood,³ and Naveed ul Haq⁴

Abstract: Microfinance institutions contribute a lot in reduction of poverty by providing access to finance to the poor’s. The purpose of this paper is to identify those factors that have significant impact on financial sustainability of microfinance institutions in Pakistan. Panel data analysis is used as a technique to analyze the data of 49 MFIs in Pakistan. The results show that Size of MFIs, Capital to Asset ratio, Yield on Gross Portfolio, Operating Expense to Asset ratio and Portfolio at Risk are found to be important factors in determining financial sustainability of MFIs in Pakistan. However, Breadth of Outreach, Cost per borrower, Capital structure, Productivity and Debt to Asset ratio shows insignificant impact on financial sustainability that means these variables have no significant association with finacial sustainability of microfinance institutions in Pakistan.

Keywords: Microfinance Institutions; Financial Sustainability; Pakistan.

» Full Text (PDF)   » Permissions   [pp: 92-99]   Article first published online: 2016

• University of Central Punjab^1&2
• University of the Punjab³
• University of Management and Technology⁴