Browsing by Author "Muhammad Ashraf"
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Item The existential face of organization: a literature review(European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 2011) Rana Zamin Abbas; Ahmad Raza; Muhammad Ashraf; Naveed Yazdani; Abdur Rahman Malik; Zulfqar AhmadThe notion of existential meaning has its roots in the literature and insights of existentialist philosophy and existential phenomenology. Many figures – Erasmus, Luther, Rousseau, Newton, Decartes, Vico, Goethe, Emerson, Netizche – cried out for a deep psychological understanding. This study brings together the thoughts of philosophy, thinking of literary figures and business thinkers and presents them in the form of literature review, for highlighting the humanistic and existential context in business organizations.Item Exploring the link between foreign direct investment, multinational enterprises and spillover effects in developing economies(CCSE, 2012) Abdur Rahman Malik; Chaudhry Abdul Rehman; Muhammad Ashraf; Rana Zamin AbbasMultinational enterprises exist because they hold certain competitive advantages over their local counterparts and affect local economies through their spillover effects. Research streams exploring the raison d’ etre and consequences of MNEs are quite distant and remote. This paper analyzes and integrates these two streams of literature, i.e. the competitive advantages that MNEs hold and their spillover effects in developing countries. The paper proposes a relationship and predicts the nature of spillover effects on the basis of competitive advantages of MNEs. This paper can guide the policymakers of developing countries to differentiate between the FDI that is good for their countries and FDI that weakens the already fragile economies of developing countries. The paper also opens a new avenue for the researchers by pointing towards a potential connection between MNEs’ competitive advantages and their spillover effects for the local economies. The relationship between FDI and competitive advantages of MNEs has rarely been researched previously and thus this paper contributes significantly to the existing literature.Item Gandhi�s ahimsa- a critical review at the critical time of war against terrorism(International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2011) Rana Zamin Abbas; Abdur Rahman Malik; Muhammad Ashraf; Abdul Chaudhry Rehman; Zulfqar AhmadThis paper will seek to understand what is meant by the term that Gandhi refers to as Ahimsa. This research will also seek to evaluate the term from both theoretical and practical angles and will establish that Ahimsa is not possible in its virtual meanings. The critique on Ahimsa and Gandhi’s ideology will also be discussed. Finally this paper will propose that the concept of Ahimsa can be of any use for humanity only if it is defined in a broader framework.Item Measuring the attitude towards science in Pakistan: a study of secondary school student(International Journal of Contemporary Business Research, 2011) Rana Zamin Abbas; Usman Khalil; Muhammad Ashraf; Maqsood Ahmad; Zulfqar AhmadThis study was carried out to assess the attitude of students of secondary classes towards science. The data was collected from seven secondary schools situated in Model Town and Kahna area of Lahore. The sample consisted of 600 students, both male and female drawn from science as well as humanities streams. The instrument used for collection of data was a modified version of Modified Fennema-Sherman Attitude Scales by Diana Doepken, Ellen Lawsky and Linda Padwa1. It consisted of 28 items questionnaire to be responded on a 5-point Likert Scale. The analysis of the data was done by using t-test, ANOVA and LSD test. The study revealed that all students of secondary classes had positive attitude towards science. Attitudes of females are even more positive. Similarly students of Science Group have more positive attitude than those of Humanities Group. The study further revealed that parental attitude and school type also contribute towards development of positive attitude of students towards science. Keywords: Measuring , Attitude , Science , Pakistan, Secondary School StudentsItem Measuring the learning organization�s construct in Pakistan: a case of public sector educational institutes(European Journal of Social Sciences, 2011) Rana Zamin Abbas; Hasan Sohaib Murad; Abdul Ghaffar Ghaffari; Ahmed F. Siddiqi; Zulfqar Ahmad; Zia Ur Rehman; Muhammad AshrafPurpose: This paper focuses upon assessing the learning levels of Pakistani organizations1 particularly on those aspects which are prominent and verifiable in Pakistani context. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper in hand first reviews all the relevant literature for distilling the main features of learning organization’s construct which are used in the questionnaire. The research used Marsick & Watkins, (2003) questionnaire as an instrument. Research findings: Factor analysis after survey filters five dimensions of the construct learning organization. namely; learning climate, employees’ participation, systematic employee development, leadership, and incentives of most positive kinds (rewards), for learning which are found in different proportions in public sector organizations.Item Mirror up to leadership and strategic management: an exploratory account(2011) Rana Zamin Abbas; Muhammad Ashraf; Hassan Mobeen Alam; Abdul RafayThis paper focuses upon exploring the contribution of constructionism and existential perspective for the strength and value of subjective perspective of leadership as well as strategy. It also advocates the value of subjective perspective when we give due status to this approach. It invites the reconsideration of objectivist approach to leadership on logical grounds. Methodology This paper begins by considering the valuable input of an existentialist perspective and then explores the worth and value of social constructionist approach in leadership studies and also highlights the importance of strategy making from humanistic/ existential approach. Findings This paper takes a new and fresh approach about reconsidering the objectivist approach to leadership and discusses the worth of subjective approach for the value of leadership as well as humanistic/ existential approach to strategy. Originality / Value The real worth of this paper shines out when we strategically combine the two perspectives into one i.e. social constructionist and existential perspectives. These two perspectives act like two head lights of the vehicle of leadership from which rays of light come out for illuminating the concept of leadership. Moreover, it also presents humanistic/ existential approach to strategy. From this paper long term future implications will be beneficial both for practice and it will also provide an opportunity of understandings how people view leadership. Moreover, this paper highlights ideas that might be explored in near future.Item New horizons of debate environment - selects or selected: an exploratory account(Research Journal of Internatıonal Studıes, 2011) Rana Zamin Abbas; Muhammad Ashraf; Abdur Rahman Malik; Zulfqar AhmadPurpose The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the assumptions underlying the population ecology theory, to point out its major weaknesses and also to suggest a solution. Design / methodology / approach This study reviews the literature from the fields of political economy, organizational research and international management and identifies common threads pointing towards the fallacy of basic ecological assumptions. Findings The literature from different fields suggests that not only organizations are being selected by the environment, but the environment is also being intentionally controlled, shaped or selected and even created by the organizations. Generalizing this argument, it is proposed that all such unidirectional approaches that fail to account for the multi directional influences should be replaced with a multidirectional approach in which all of the concerned variables are given some causal authority. Originality / value The paper provides some insights into the unwarranted and taken for granted assumptions underlying the popular approach to organizational theorizing. It offers a guideline for organizational theorists to critically evaluate existing theories and to formulate balanced theories in futureItem Ultrasonic distance measurement system(University of Management and Technology, 2012) Syed Masoom Abbas; Faran Ahmad; Muhammad AshrafUltrasonic distance measurement has received considerable attention in the recent past, several distance measurement algorithms have been proposed as means to get distance of different objects precisely. With the advancement of technology several methods and techniques has been proposed i.e. TOF (time of flight), TFCW etc. In this project, we used MFCW Multiple Frequency Continuous Wave ultrasonic range system, medium of waves is air. This system is based on Radio Frequency distance measurement rather than air based TOF method. The method presented here is based on comparative phase shifts generated by the three different frequency continuous waves but closely spaced. It is high resolution low cost effective and precise technique with a precision up to ±0.05m.Item Ultrasonic distance measurement system(UMT.Lahore, 2013) Syed Masoom Abbas; Faran Ahmad; Muhammad AshrafUltrasonic distance measurement has received considerable attention in the recent past, several distance measurement algorithms have been proposed as means to get distance of different objects precisely. With the advancement of technology several methods and techniques has been proposed i.e. TOF (time of flight), TFCW etc. In this project, we used MFCW Multiple Frequency Continuous Wave ultrasonic range system, medium of waves is air. This system is based on Radio Frequency distance measurement rather than air based TOF method. The method presented here is based on comparative phase shifts generated by the three different frequency continuous waves but closely spaced. It is high resolution low cost effective and precise technique with a precision up to ±0.05m.