Business, Management and Economics Research

Online ISSN: 2412-1770
Print ISSN: 2413-855X

Quarterly Published (4 Issues Per Year)





Archives

Volume 3 Number 7 July 2017

Forecasting the Demand for Petroleum Products: A Guide to Long Term National Strategic Planning in Ghana


Authors: Joseph Kofi Nkuah ; Eric Berko ; Abraham Mensah Acquah
Pages: 92-116
Abstract
Forecasting is the process of using the patterns contained in past data to predict future values. Forecasts are numerical estimates of the future levels of sales, demand, inventories costs, imports, exports and prices among others; for a firm, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the total economy. The objective of forecasting is to assist management to plan requirements for marketing efforts, materials, personnel, production, services, capital acquisition, construction and finances. The data for the petroleum products were obtained from National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and that of inflation rates as well as the exchange rates were obtained from Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). The data were analysed using statistical software such as Minitab, Excel or SPSS. The main approach to the analysis was exploratory data analysis. Various techniques in times series such as moving averages, exponential smoothing etc were used to model and forecast the demand for Petroleum Products from 1999 – 2007 and also how inflation,  exchange rates, population etc may impact on the economy of Ghana. Two Econometric models were actually developed and comparison with regard to their R2, Adjusted R2, t-statistics were made using non-natural and natural logarithms for the models. Based on the analysis carried out it was found out that, the best model to be used in forecasting was the model without the natural logarithms. Another finding that came to light was that, some of the independent variables were not quite significant which might impact on the demand for the various petroleum products when analysing with respect to the their R2 and t-statistics values. The results of the R2, Adjusted R2, Predicted values clearly again showed that LPG was the petroleum product which was more demanded, followed by the Gasoil etc. The study also revealed that, Inflation, Exchange Rate, Expump Price and Urban Population could affect the demand for the various product and consequently on the Economy of Ghana. From the study, the irregular nature of the variation of the demand for the petroleum products may be attributed to the problem of under production therefore; there is the need to step up production in order to ensure constant supply of the products for economic activities to be pursued.

The Role of Big Data Management and Analytics in Higher Education


Authors: Adalia  L. Martin ; Fawaz Ali Thawabieh
Pages: 85-91
Abstract
Higher education institutions now a days are operating in an increasingly complex and competitive environment. The application of innovation is a must for sustaining its competitive advantage. Institution leaders are using data management and analytics to question the status quo and develop effective solutions. Achieving these insights and information requires not a single report from a single system, but rather the ability to access, share, and explore institution-wide data that can be transformed into meaningful insights at every level of the institution. Consequently, institutions are facing problems in providing necessary information technology support for fulfilling excellence in performance. More specifically, the best practices of big data management and analytics need to be considered within higher education institutions. Therefore, the study aimed at investigating big data and analytics, in terms of: (1) definition; (2) its most important principles; (3) models; and (4) benefits of its use to fulfill performance excellence in higher education institutions. This involves shedding light on big data and analytics models and the possibility of its use in higher education institutions, and exploring the effect of using big data and analytics in achieving performance excellence. To reach these objectives, the researcher employed a qualitative research methodology for collecting and analyzing data. The study concluded the most important result, that there is a significant relationship between big data and analytics and excellence of performance as big data management and analytics mainly aims at achieving tasks quickly with the least effort and cost. These positive results support the use of big data and analytics in institutions and improving knowledge in this field and providing a practical guide adaptable to the institution structure. This paper also identifies the role of big data and analytics in institutions of higher education worldwide and outlines the implementation challenges and opportunities in the education industry.

Is Remittance Changing the Consumption Patterns of Migrant Families?


Authors: Horas Djulius ; Nurul Qomariah ; Iwan Sidharta
Pages: 78-84
Abstract
The existence of migrants abroad can increase family income and create capital, which can be used in productive economic activities, through their remittances. This presumption needs to be examined from an economic perspective to determine whether differences exist in their consumption patterns, which result in the productive behavior of migrants upon their return from abroad. To test this hypothesis, a survey was conducted among migrant families in Cirebon Regency, Indonesia. In-depth interviews and observations were conducted to determine the changes in household expenses. Results suggest that migrants and their families consume more, lack concern about human investment, and exert minimal effort toward capital accumulation.

The Impact of Microcredit on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Sector in Cross River State (CRS), Nigeria


Authors: Ignatius Ahmed Atsu
Pages: 69-77
Abstract
The thrust of this study was to determine the impact of micro credit on the MSMEs sector in CRS, Nigeria. Three hypotheses were formulated from the research questions and tested by using chi-square statistic to validate the truth or otherwise of the hypotheses. Ex-post factor research design was adopted and a sample size of 158 respondents was selected and used for the study. A structured questionnaire was used in obtaining the data. In testing the hypotheses, all the calculated chi-square values were greater than the critical chi-square value at the given level of significance and degree of freedom. This resulted in rejecting the null hypotheses while the alternate hypotheses were retained. The results indicated that micro credit programmes have significant effect on MSMEs in CRS. Equally, credit administration has a significant effect on the performance of microcredit programmes and that collateral requirements on MSMEs have significant effect on obtaining credit from microfinance institutions in CRS. Arising from the findings, the study recommends that government should make more microcredit programmes available for the development of MSMEs in CRS. There should be efficiency in credit administration on the part of both government and the private sector so as to enhance the performance of microcredit programmes in CRS and also collateral requirements should be minimized, while low interest rate should be charged on micro, small and medium enterprises so as to enhance obtaining of credit facilities from microfinance institutions in the State.