Purpose of the study: The current study aimed to examine the impact of employee empowerment on reaching a better level of competitive edge through the mediating influence of ethical leadership.
Methodology: Dimensions of competitive edge were employed, including (quality, responsiveness, innovation, and efficiency). A quantitative approach was adopted to attain the main objective of the study. A questionnaire was employed to collect data from 258 individuals' of Pakistani commercial banks. SPSS/ AMOS was used to screen and analyze the gathered data. Cronbach's Alpha was used to test the reliability of the study tool. Multiple regression analysis was performed to test the hypotheses of the study. Preacher and Hayes model was deployed to test the mediation effect.
Principal Findings: The study's results indicated that ethical leadership mediates the relationship between empowerment and competitive edge. Besides, the study highlighted that ethical leadership influences empowerment in a way that leads to better efficiency and service quality, launching from leaderships' role in increasing awareness of service quality importance and leading employees towards being more creative and innovative.
Application of this Study: The study recommended that workers in the bank sector should submit proposals that affect skills training and the expansion of their fields of empowerment in comparison with the previous stage and offer workers with proven skills a chance to engage in decision making to strengthen their skills and provide them with the ability to learn further in the field of banking.
Novelty/Originality of this study: This is the first study that has analyzed the mediating role of ethical leadership between employees' empowerment and competitive edge in the context of listed Pakistani commercial Banks.
The key aim of current research is to investigate the influence of CG on financial performance (FP) and capital structure (CS) of cement companies listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). To accomplish this purpose, twenty cement firms listed on the PSX was deployed from 2005 to 2014. Auto-correlation and heteroscedasticity were tested and Regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. SPSS 21 is conducted to perform the analyses.CG is analyzed via board size, board independence, and institutional ownership while, return on assets and return on equity are employed to analyze FP, whereas CS is calculated via debt to equity. The outcomes document that CG positively affects FP, however, negatively impact CS. This research not only contributes to examining the impact and association between CG, FP, and CS but also prove the outcomes of previous studies that have presented a significant influence and association between CG, FP, and CS.
Diabetes mellitus is one of a major worldwide concerns, regulated by either defects in secretion or action of insulin, or both. Insulin signaling down-regulation has been related with over activity of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) enzyme, which has been a promising target for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Herein, activity guided separation of methanol extract (95%) of Dodonaea viscosa aerial parts afforded nine (1-9) polyphenolic compounds, all of them were identified through spectroscopic data including 2D NMR and HREIMS. Subsequently, their PTP1B inhibitory potentials were evaluated, in which all of the isolates exhibited significant dose-dependent inhibition with IC50 13.5–57.9 μM. Among them, viscosol (4) was found to be the most potent compound having IC50 13.5 μM. In order to unveil the mechanistic behavior, detailed kinetic study was carried out, in which compound 4 was observed as a reversible, and mixed type I inhibitor of PTP1B with inhibitory constant (Ki) value of 4.6 μM. Furthermore, we annotated the major metabolites through HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS analysis, in which compounds 3, 6, 7, and 9 were found to be the most abundant metabolites in D. viscosa extract.
Micro finance is used to support individual and small businesses across the globe. This research is conducted to investigate the impact of micro finance on women empowerment (participation rate, mobility, freedom of expression of thoughts, and decision making approach towards flexible life) and social development (social status and living standards) in Afghanistan. For accomplishment of research objective, data was collected from 110 respondents (home based and non-home based individual/businesswomen) in Jalalabad, Laghman, Kunar, Kama, Khogyani, and Kot, Afghanistan through structured open and closed ended questionnaire. The hypotheses were tested by deploying multiple linear regression model. Data was analyzed through SPSS version 22. Data reliability was checked through Cronbach's Alpha test. The outcomes indicated that micro financing have positive impact on women empowerment and social development. The outcomes documented that micro financing is a significant tool that maximize women empowerment in all dimensions. Furthermore, micro financing enhance social development of women. Micro finance is a significant element of financial institution that instill women confidence in decision making: both in domestic activities and in business & social activities that further leads to economic contributions in support of families which is considered as a step towards prosperity. This research is useful for the government and policy makers of Afghanistan as it documents the importance of micro financing in empowering women and social development.
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