Journal of Research Administration

Tengetile P. Dlamini, Prof. Joseph Kwasi Agyemang PDF

Public sector financial accountability is fundamental to good governance, transparency and efficient use of public money. Weak monitoring, poor money management, and poor governance in Eswatini have raised concerns about the need to strengthen accountability frameworks in public institutions. The study investigated the effects of internal control systems on financial accountability of the government ministries in Eswatini with particular reference to control activities, control environment, monitoring controls, risk assessment and information and communication systems. The study employed a quantitative technique by using a cross-sectional research design to measure the effect of internal control systems on financial accountability in government ministries. The results showed that the control environment was the significant predictor of financial accountability. The results of the study established the importance of ethical leadership, institutional culture, and governance frameworks in promoting transparency and effective financial accountability. Other components of the internal control system have also been found to positively affect public sector financial accountability, but the effects were insignificant, mainly because of implementation, monitoring capability, technological constraints and poor integration into operational procedures. The study indicates that to strengthen financial accountability in the public sector in Eswatini, there is a need for an integrated, well-established, and coordinated internal control system, which should be supported by strong leadership commitment. Based on the findings, it is recommended that government ministries should give priority to enhancing the control environment by supporting ethical leadership, establishing standards of responsibility, and developing a culture of transparency and compliance across public institutions.  

Prof. Jose M. Frantz, (PhD); Pearl Erasmus; Carin Hector; Dr Lumka Magidigidi-Mathiso, (PhD); Kago Moganane; Jamie Saulse PDF

At higher education institutions, research administration has become a strategic function. It has been found to contribute to research productivity and impact, institutional sustainability, compliance, postgraduate development and funding competitiveness. In the context of African universities, historical inequities, resource constraints and capacity gaps remain a challenge. Aligned to the increased demand for research excellence, strengthening the leadership capacity of research administrators becomes critical. Existing research administration scholarship tends to highlight the importance of institutional policies, research management infrastructure and capacity building initiatives. However, there has been less focus on interpersonal and behavioural dimensions of leadership within research administration teams. This article presents a personality-informed institutional case study conducted within the research administration environment of a South African higher education institution.The study used the Insights Discovery model, grounded in Jungian personality theory, to profile forty research administration staff members across four personality colour energies, namely Green, Blue, Red and Yellow. A mixed-methods case study design was adopted, combining the descriptive personality profile with qualitative analysis of participants’ reflections on the colour profile. The findings revealed Green and Blue traits as being dominant, which indicated a team culture strongly oriented toward collaboration, relational support, empathy, quality assurance, process rigour, and analytical decision-making. Six cross-cutting themes emerged: self-awareness in leadership roles, communication preferences, team contribution and value, leadership development needs, decision-making approaches, and adaptability and flexibility. The findings suggest that personality-informed leadership development may offer a useful approach to strengthening research administration capacity. The study contributes to research administration scholarship by extending existing work on research productivity, research units, and institutional research cultures toward the internal leadership capabilities of research administration teams. The findings have implications for staff development, succession planning, team composition, communication strategy, and the professionalisation of research administration in African higher education institutions.

Dr. Ahmed Khalaf Hussain PDF

The bank letter of guarantee is one of the most important pillars of banking work at the present time, as it is a legal innovation for a modern means within the framework of protecting trust and credit in the field of commercial work at the local and international levels. This study has dealt with the details of the nature of that letter, by stating what is meant by it and the goals for which it was legislated to achieve, as well as distinguishing between its different types and determining the legal nature that characterizes it, in addition to detailing the legal problems that the creation of such a guarantee was a reason for falling into, especially in terms of its independence as a legal system from the legal system of the basic contracts for which the letter itself exists in order to enhance guarantees for its implementation, which leads to the emergence of a network of legal relations that involve mutual obligations that may appear to the observer to be overlapping obligations in reality despite the independence of their sources. Therefore, the study has dealt with the details of those relations and the obligations resulting from each of them, in addition to addressing the cases of expiry of the bank letter of guarantee.  

Marwan Taher Abdo Saif Al-mekhlafi & Abdulaziz Mohammed Ahmed Al-mekhlafi PDF

 The study aimed to know the impact of organizational factors in its dimensions (administrative leadership, organizational culture, human resources) in achieving sustainable institutional excellence in Yemeni private universities. The descriptive analytical approach was adopted, and the questionnaire was a study tool. The study community consisted of (10) Yemeni private universities that were established more than (10) years ago and whose main center is the capital, Sana’a, and they represent more than 50% of the community, which is (18) universities. They were selected using a simple random sample method. The study targeted (321) individuals working in these universities, and they were selected using a regular random method from the study community, which numbered (660) individuals. Key findings: The effectiveness of organizational factors and the level of achieving sustainable institutional excellence in Yemeni private universities are high. The results also revealed a statistically significant positive impact of organizational factors and their dimensions on achieving sustainable institutional excellence in Yemeni private universities, with the most influential being the Leadership dimension. The results also revealed that there were no statistically significant differences between the average responses of the study sample regarding (organizational factors, sustainable institutional excellence) in Yemeni private universities attributable to the variable of university age. Recommendations: Enhancing the sustainability of the effectiveness of organizational factors (administrative leadership, organizational culture, human resources), and paying attention to achieving sustainable institutional excellence in Yemeni private universities, given its importance in providing added value, ensuring their continued survival, and increasing their clientele.

Hilal Mohammed Mohammed Al-Bahri, Dr. Mohammed Abdullah AL-Ashwal PDF

Introduction: In light of the increasing competition in the healthcare sector, particularly within the private hospital environment in the Republic of Yemen, this study was conducted to examine the role of strategic orientation in achieving competitive advantage through the mediation of organizational capabilities. Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative study design was adopted using a descriptive analytical approach. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire distributed to a convenience sample of 354 individuals across various administrative levels in private hospitals (including hospital directors, deputy directors, heads of technical and administrative departments). Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS, involving descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Results: The findings demonstrated that both strategic orientation and organizational capabilities significantly contribute to enhancing competitive advantage in private hospitals. A strong positive correlation was observed between the study variables, with organizational capabilities mediating the relationship between strategic orientation and competitive advantage. Conclusion: Strategic orientation indirectly influences competitive advantage through its impact on organizational capabilities. Strengthening these capabilities, especially in material and human resources, and enhancing responsiveness to patient needs are essential for sustaining a competitive edge.