Improving competitiveness and profitability in the Namibian retail-banking sector

Multiple financial institutions are struggling to survive in the current business environment, due to the challenges that arose due to outbreak of COVID 19 and subsequent economic contraction in Namibia. The outbreak of war in Ukraine where Russia is attacking Ukraine has made the business operating environment more challenging in Namibia. The contemporary economic challenges require different types of leadership that are able to accurately assess the business environment, and then initiate innovative and creative approaches to addressing them. This research was motivated by the need to explore a leadership style that would be able to help banks to cope with the harsh business environment and also to suggest innovative approaches and strategies that could lead to profitability and competitiveness of the banking sector in Namibia. The study employed a quantitative research approach to analyse the relationship between leadership style and bank profitability and competitiveness. Four branches were selected in Namibia from two regions, to take part in the study, with a population of 164 employees and management. A sample size that represented more than 60% of the population was selected utilizing, using a stratified sampling method. The data analyses were done usingKruskal Wallis Test and the Mann-Whitney Test, as well as the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and regression analysis.The findings of the study demonstrated that bank profitability and competitiveness in Namibia was linked to leadership styles such as transformational leadership and authentic leadership. The study also noted that organizational style can improve by embracing transformational and authentic leadership style. The study recommended that financial institutions must invest more in developing leadership styles that can lead to more productivity and profitability.

Following the trail: a covariance plotting of the crippling effect of COVID-19 on small and medium sized-SMEs firms in the UK’s Construction Industry

This article analyses the impact of the coronavirus pandemic among Construction Small-Medium Enterprises (CoSMEs) in the UK. A global and UK effect context-analysis is given and contrasted using a multivariate scrutiny of factors determining success or failure and the extent of covariance among contributory factors leading to closure as well as survival of the CoSMEs. Firstly, it reveals that within the UK, government interventional measures had a mixed effect. In most cases, the measures were deemed to be inadequate and too late in stopping the failure of most CoSMEs, though a substantial number survived due to government interventional measures such as the furlough schemes. Secondly, an inventory of the specific and multidimensional measures, attributed to mitigate total failure of CoSMEs is drawn including a review of the perceived benefits such as minimizing extent of total closure or declared volume of bankruptcies. Thirdly, it is observed that government decisive decisions contributed to the slowdown of the economy, and in particular construction activities. However, ranked among the interventional measures is the ‘bouncebackability’ driven measures which offered a soft landing for many CoSMEs. The study concludes that crisis-mitigating policy measures (CMPM), are necessary for the short and long-term recovery and performance of the UK economy. Understanding the composition of these measures and their rank order is critical to UK economic recovery. © IEOM Society International.

India in 2021: At the Crossroads

A positive start to 2021 ended abruptly when the Delta variant of COVID-19 swept over India, killing millions. Since peaking in May, the pandemic has abated, and the government has vaccinated a large share of the population. The Bharatiya Janata Party continues to dominate the country’s politics, having centralized power further despite a lackluster performance in state elections. The economy recovered vigorously from its COVID-induced recession of 2020, but it is unclear whether growth will return to the 8–9% annual rates witnessed in the 2000s. India is more bogged down in its neighborhood than before: it has been unable to retrieve the territory it lost to China last year, and the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban threatens an increase in terrorism in Kashmir. The country is at a crossroads, and much will depend on how the relatively unfettered senior leadership of the BJP responds to these challenges.

Economic Contraction from COVID-19 in the Pacific: Implications for Health Financing.

Pacific Island countries (PIC) have emerged as among the most at-risk globally from the collateral economic damage resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, despite being largely spared its direct health effects so far. Current projections indicate that all PIC will experience an economic contraction in 2020, ranging from -1.0% in Tuvalu to -21.7% in Fiji, worse than most countries globally on average. Given that more than 80% of financing for health in the Pacific comes from domestic and external public sources, the net impact of the economic contraction on resources for health will depend on whether overall public spending can offset the decline in economic activity and how health will be prioritized in government budgets relative to other sectors. Without active reprioritization, most countries could see a slowdown or even decline in per capita levels of public spending for health in the region, risking gains made in advancing universal health coverage in recent years. If health ministries do not act quickly and in consort with other ministries (particularly ministries of finance), including by taking active steps to improve the efficient use of existing resources and other measures to mitigate the economic effects of the crisis on resources for health, it is likely that current economic circumstances will result in unplanned changes. These changes may not deliver the health outcomes that the health ministries would select themselves and may result in a reversal of hard-fought health gains.