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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between factors that influence conducting business and the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Sub-Saharan African (SSA) and Asian countries. Design/methodology/approach -The factors of business climate defined by the World Bank in 2006 as ease of doing business were correlated with FDI flows to SSA and Asian countries. Findings -Two factors, "registering property" and "trading across borders", were found to be related to FDI over all six years of the study (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) for the combined sample. Also, several factors were found to be related to FDI received by SSA and Asian countries during various years. Research limitations/implications -A limitation of the study is that the sample included only SSA and Asian countries. Practical implications -The findings may help SSA and other countries to improve the business climate in terms of the factors of ease of doing business, in order to attract more FDI. Originality/value -The paper provides empirical support to the hypothesis that FDI is related to some of the factors of the business climate. It advances understanding of the determinants of the inflow of FDI to African and Asian countries and may be particularly useful to international organizations seeking to do business in SSA and Asian countries.

The research on the factors that influence foreign direct investment (FDI) has ignored the role of population of a country. Such neglect seems to be motivated by the theoretical support for the assumption that large population is likely to be negatively related to economic growth. Based on a review of the latest research on the role of population in economic growth and the determinants of FDI, it was hypothesized that a country's population would be positively related to FDI. The data from 56 African and Asian countries supported the hypothesis.

The hypothesis of a relationship between Machiavellian behavior and sales performance of Christie and Geis was tested with a sample of 110 stockbrokers. Scores on a measure called the Machiavellian Behavior scale were positively and significantly correlated with two self-reported measures of sales performance of the stock-brokers. Present results together with those of two earlier studies supported the hypothesis that salespeople with a Machiavellian orientation are likely to be more sucessful. Analysis of the data also indicated predictive validity and acceptable internal consistency of the Machiavellian Behavior scale. Limitations of the present study and a need for further research are discussed.

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The correct placement of fertilisers is critical, as losses can be very significant especially in regions of high and frequent rainfall, non-terraced slopes, sandy textured soils and peat. To maximise uptake efficiency, fertilisers should be evenly broadcast over the soil surface area that contains the highest density of feeder roots. In order to determine the latter, an investigation was undertaken to ascertain the biomass and distribution of roots of various ages of mature oil palms planted in both mineral and second generation peat soils. Results of the study indicate that if site factors are not limiting, palm age and past fertiliser placement history are two major factors influencing oil palm root development and distribution. In mature well decomposed peat, although roots could be found growing 4 m from palm bole, actual root biomass per unit volume of soil was low. Only 21 per cent of the feeder roots of 8-year-old palms were found growing outside the weeded palm circles (WPC). Even within the latter, approximately 50 per cent were concentrated within a radius of 1 m from the palm bole. The low bulk density and high porosity of peat appears to discourage roots from growing beyond this distance. In mineral soils, there was a consistent and gradual increase in root spread beyond the WPC, with palm age. Feeder root distribution beyond a 2 m radius ranged from as low as 26 per cent in 6-year-old palms planted on terraces to 41 per cent for 8-year-old palms established in non-terraced soils. Only palms older than 10 years of age had root biomass greater than 50 per cent beyond this radius. In all sites, there was an increase in primary and secondary root biomass with soil depth and a linear decrease in feeder root biomass down the soil profile. Soil chemical analysis indicated that apart from palm age, the horizontal and vertical distribution of feeder roots was strongly influenced by soil fertility gradients created by past fertiliser placement history. As fertilisers were previously applied entirely in the WPC for younger palms (<8 years), there was a significant decline in soil fertility with increasing distance from the palm bole and increasing soil depth. The majority of feeder roots were concentrated within the 2 m radius from the palm bole and in the top 20 cm of soil, where nutrient levels were the highest. In older palms (>10 years) where fertilisers had been broadcast over frond heaps in the interpalm spaces and interrows, feeder root biomass was higher outside the WPC, as soil fertility gradients were less apparent. Taking into account the root distribution patterns of oil palm in relation to palm age, specific recommendations on fertiliser placement for oil palm grown on mineral and peat soils are made, so as to improve fertiliser uptake and utilisation.

This study explored timeshare sales executive characteristics as measured by a relatively wellknown personality profile among social psychologists, the Machiavellian Scale. The researchers administered a Machiavellian (Mach-B) Scale to the entire sales force of a US resort timeshare company for the purposes of testing the relationship of sales executives Mach scores with individual sales performance measures. The results of the study failed to support the hypothesis that timeshare salespeople with a Machiavellian orientation are likely to be more successful. In this tightly structured sales environment, sales representatives with lower scores on the Mach scale outperformed those with higher scores.

Data from two samples (ns=37 and 35) of real estate agents showed a significant positive correlation of .37 between Machiavellianism (Mach-B scores) and self-reported sales volume. Present findings support earlier results from samples of stockbrokers and automobile salespersons showing Mach-B scores to be positively related to sales performance.