Relocation Trauma: Fact or Fiction?

Jean M. McEnery Eastern Michigan University, USA Neal P. Kulick Corporate Human Resources at Ameritech, USA

ABSTRACT The relocation attitudes and experiences of 420 mid and upper-level Ameritech managers were examined using data on such variables as financial consequences, effects on family, and marital status. Managers were also asked to recommend specific elements of a relocation program. As a result of these actions, Ameritech adopted several enhancements to the relocation plan, significantly increasing support for the spouse and elder care assistance in order to provide more overall support and increased flexibility for relocating managers.

Tax Structure in National Budget 2011-12 and Changes in the Indirect Tax Laws by the Finance Act 2011
Swapan Kumar Bala University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT The paper has analyzed the tax structure as envisaged in the National Budget of 2011-12 and also portrayed the various aspects of statutory amendments made under the Finance Act 2011 in the indirect tax laws. Our tax structure has been slowly improving towards a better tax-GDP ratio and less dependency on indirect taxes. Under the Customs Act, prohibition on imported goods violating intellectual property right has been introduced and the provision on levy of transit fee has been withdrawn. Under the VAT Act, the VDS (VAT deduction at source) has been rationalized by bringing back the long practice. Some truncated rates have been prescribed which can be helpful to those entities not working under standards VAT system. The mandatory introduction of VAT accounting through software from January 1, 2012 might be a good step towards the formation of Digital Bangladesh.

Vessel Scrapping IndustryIts Future in Bangladesh

Subrina Mahmood UBS, USA Roy L. Nersesian Monmouth University, USA Golam M. Mathbor Monmouth University, USA

ABSTRACT Vessel scrapping is a growing activity in developing countries to acquire much needed steel and to create jobs. The industry is constantly moving from one region to another with a continuing degradation of working conditions, and with no mechanism to prevent severe environmental damage. Bangladesh has one of the largest vessel scrapping industries in the world where approximately 150 ships are dismantled every year on the beaches of the port city of Chittagong. This conceptual paper discusses the saga of vessel breaking, the scope of its operations, the absence of public policy framework to guide its operations, and finally, suggests the measures to be taken to address vessel scrapping in Bangladesh.

An Empirical Study on the Corporate Governance and Timeliness of Financial Reporting by Indian Public Sector Companies
B. Charumathi Pondicherry University, India R. Murali Krishnan Pondicherry University, India Arvind Jain Axis Bank, India

ABSTRACT When the global economic crisis affected many countries around continents, Indian economy posed a strong resilience to its effect. This is due to the reason that most of the big banks operating in India are public sector band and have strong regulatory setup and are backed by guidelines of RBI. Also the recovery happened in India in a stable and faster manner backed by the whole Indian economy. The Indian economy is projected to grow at 8.6% in 2010-11 though inflation remains a main concern. And the indicators are positive regarding the foreign reserves and foreign direct investments. But, it has to make some progress in transparency and governance issues. As Corporate governance became the subject of attention in recent times, its presence is like a backbone for any corporate that emphasizes its role for survival and sustainable growth in the long run. It ensures transparency. Transparency includes the following eight concepts, namely accuracy, consistency, appropriateness, completeness, clarity, timeliness, convenience, and governance & enforcement. Out of these, Timeliness of financial reporting is one of the attributes of good corporate governance identified by the OECD and World Bank. Shareholders and other stakeholders need information while it is fresh and with high relevance. This paper examines the timeliness of financial reporting by 58 Indian public sector companies which constitute the Public Sector Undertaking Index (PSU Index) of Bombay Stock Exchange and compares their reporting patterns for the financial years 2006-2010. Timeliness was measured by counting the number of days that lapsed between year-end and the date of the auditors report of the concerned companies. The reliable data were drawn from the Prowess (a Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy [CMIE]database) and the Annual reports of the respective companies for the years 2006-2010. This study used Chi-square test and Anova to analyze the data. There is a significant difference among the Indian public sector companies in their reporting patterns.

An Investigation on Cell Phone Subscribers of Dhaka City, BangladeshAre They Happy and Loyal?
Md. Munir Hossain Independent University, Bangladesh Md. Amlan Jahid Haque Independent University, Bangladesh Abdullah Al Aabed Independent University, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT This research intends to investigate the relationships of variables under consideration in two different steps. First, it examines the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction and second, it sheds light on the relationship between service quality, switching cost, trust and customer loyalty in the telecom industry of Bangladesh. Several hypotheses are extracted from the research framework and are tested using regression and correlation analysis. A sample of 200 respondents (subscribers of mobile phone operators) participated and convenience sampling method was used. The correlation and regression analysis in the research provided full support for hypotheses related to reliability, responsiveness, switching cost and trust. The findings suggest that managers of these mobile operating companies should put more focus on escalating switching cost and analyze more carefully, the activities to grow trust among clients to increase loyalty. Moreover, service quality was seen to affect customer satisfaction but its impact on customer loyalty was not significant to a greater extent.

An Empirical Investigation of Cash Conversion Cycle of Manufacturing Firms and its Association with Firm Size and Profitability
Nusrat Jahan Independent University, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT The purpose of this empirical study is to investigate Cash Conversion Cycle of thirty manufacturing firms listed in Dhaka Stock Exchanges under six different categories, which are, Food and allied, Pharmaceuticals and chemical, Cement, Textile, Engineering and Miscellaneous. This paper sets industry average Cash Conversion Cycle for these six industries and examines the relationship of Cash Conversion Cycle with firm size and profitability. This study did not find statistically significant differences among the Cash Conversion Cycle of varying manufacturing industries. The result of this study indicates a statistically significant negative relationship between the Cash Conversion Cycle and profitability, especially in terms of Return on Equity. The result also shows that the Cash Conversion Cycle of manufacturing firm also has significant negative relationship with firm size, when measured in terms of net sales.