Master Of Business Administration Research Articles

How to Assess the Learning of Executives Enrolled in Your Managerial Communication Course

In this article, I provide you, the instructor of a graduate level communication course, with an example of a take-home comprehensive final exam, which for me has proved to be practicable, and enjoyable for students. I started using this assessment in fall 2013 because students enrolled in our Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program at Prairie View A&M University are seasoned executives, and would find routine lower-level multiple choice questions boring and mundane (See Bloom’s [1956] Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application vs. analysis, synthesis and evaluation). Therefore, the 20 questions featured in my take-home final exam, shown in the body of this article, are in-depth, higher-level cognitive questions, designed to assess learning at the synthesis and evaluative judgment levels concerning managerial communication literature. There are 26 items in the reference section, including classic books on management, which are the required readings from the course syllabus, to supplement the two course textbooks: Bell and Martin (2019a) “Managerial communication for organizational development; Bell and Martin (2019b) “Managerial communication for professional development.” Serious executives appreciate reading communication chapters from great books, for example, Barnard (1938); Hall (1971); Katz and Kahn (1966); Simon (1976); Drucker (1973); Mintzberg (1973); Peters and Waterman, (1982); Phillips (1985); Schein (1992); Bennis and Nanus (1985); Brown (1973); Daft, Bettenhausen, and Tyler (1993); Ulrich and Lake (1990); Zuboff (1988); and Deal and Kennedy (1999). Over the years, this type of exam has resulted in a rich learning environment for my students. By-the-way, students learn how to answer the 20 questions throughout an 8-week term, by means of various reading assignments and the Socratic approach.

Enhancing preclinical predictivity in I-O: what is going wrong between preclinical in vitro/in vivo and clinical settings?

Enhancing preclinical predictivity in I-O: what is going wrong between preclinical in vitro/in vivo and clinical settings?

Netflix in India: expanding to success

Learning outcomes After completing the case, students should be able to understand: the importance and uniqueness of the individual market and developing a suitable marketing strategy. The concept of value creation and learn the importance of developing the right value proposition to compete and succeed in a market. The target audience and how to create the right marketing mix. Competition in a digital landscape and the importance of developing an appropriate strategy to counter its rivals and position the brand effectively. Case overview/synopsis During his visit to India in December 2019, Netflix’s founder and chief executive officer Reed Hastings talked about a series of steps the company had taken in the recent past to successfully face stiff competition and move towards achieving its stated target of 100 million viewers. These steps involved significant changes in their marketing mix such as reworking their pricing, developing a rich portfolio of Indian content and building various partnerships. Since Netflix’s launch in India (December 2016), it faced fierce competition from players such as Hotstar and Amazon Prime, both of whom had developed a rich portfolio of Indian content and adopted a very aggressive pricing strategy thus, making these changes essential. At the time of their launch, Netflix had set a very ambitious target of gaining 100 million viewers within five years (by 2021) while adopting a premium pricing strategy and positioning themselves uniquely based on their international content. They quickly learned that they would have to reevaluate their approach if they wanted to achieve their target on time. The changes announced by Hastings were an effort in that direction. The moot question was whether these steps would help Netflix India reach its goal. This challenge was further compounded by an almost 40% hike in data tariffs by three major wireless carriers considering most Indians watched over-the-top media content on their mobile phones. Complexity academic level The case is designed for undergraduates, as well as for fundamental marketing courses in the Master of Business Administration and other graduate level programmes. It can be taught in the Principles of Marketing, Marketing Strategy and International Marketing courses. It is ideal for topics such as understanding the operation of a digital business in a new market, customer value creation and value drivers, brand and brand positioning, product promotion, strategies for business growth and expansion, fighting competition in a digital landscape. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing.

Jindal panther: the creation of a brand

Learning outcomes The case focuses on the importance of the brand-building process, which takes place in B2B companies. Commodity companies focus a lot on the sales and distribution aspect of their marketing strategies but do not emphasize the importance of developing their brands. At the end of the discussion, the participants would be able: to examine the steps involved in conceptualizing the brand identity for an existing product in a highly competitive B2B market, as per Kapferer’s Brand Identity Matrix. To understand the steps involved in the journey of internal and external brand-building processes in B2B. To analyze the various challenges and issues faced by large organizations dealing in the metals and commodity business. Case overview/synopsis The case discusses a marketing challenge faced by Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) in launching a new brand of thermomechanical treatment (TMT) products in the market. Traditionally, the company had focused on the sales and distribution aspect of their marketing strategies but did not emphasize the importance of developing their brands. This case is based upon the challenges faced in the creation of a new brand identity for JSPL’s TMT products by the protagonist, Mr Paras Sharma (who is the brand custodian and manager in this case). Complexity academic level Postgraduate/Masters in Business Administration (MBA), Masters in Management Studies, Executive MBA. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing.

Crisis leadership: The new imperative for MBA curricula

Given the increasing frequency of and high risk inherent in crises, Masters of Business Administration (MBA) should include crisis leadership as part of their core program offerings. This study aims to explore if leadership courses are taught as either a core or elective course in Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited MBA programs, and if any of these programs teach crisis leadership courses specifically. Based on a web-based search of AACSB schools offering MBA programs, crisis leadership is minimally represented across MBA programs, with 3.2% of business schools examined including a crisis leadership course as part of their curricula. Leadership courses are more commonly included as part of MBA programs’ curricula, with 64.8% of business schools offering these courses. These leadership courses could set a foundation for MBA programs to begin embedding crisis leadership content specifically into their core curricula.

Candibod: building an online fitness brand through Instagram communities in the southern hemisphere

Study level/applicability The primary target audience for this teaching case is postgraduate business students, especially students of digital marketing, strategy and e-commerce, social media marketing, entrepreneurship and sports marketing. This teaching case is intended to be used as a case study in postgraduate business programmes such as Master of Business Administration, a specialist masters programme such as MM (entrepreneurship), postgraduate diploma in management, as well as selected executive education programmes. Subject area This case can be used in the subject areas of digital marketing, strategy and e-commerce, social media marketing, entrepreneurship and sports marketing. Case overview This case looks at South African fitness Instapreneur Candice Bodington and how her business trajectory unfolded at the same time of the successful Australian Kayla Itsines. The case begins with Bodington considering options for her brand in January 2020. Following her business, Candibod’s, fast initial growth via Instagram, the case tracks its development while also glancing at the enormous success of Itsines and her Sweat with Kayla app. However, as Bodington faces her own health care, the future and next steps of a brand built on social media becomes less certain. The case ends just a few months later with the unfolding effects of Covid-19 and a whole new host of uncertainties, especially in the fitness industry and Bodington having to reconsider her brand’s options. Expected learning outcomes The learning outcome of this paper is as follows: to understand the challenges of building an online brand. To evaluate the effect of brand communities as a growth strategy. To analyse the impact of social media platforms as a brand-building tool. To critically assess the effect of changing industry dynamics and technology on consumer behaviour. To evaluate how brands can navigate the negative implications of social media. To understand brand differentiation. To understand the strategic decisions associated with brand repositioning. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing. Keywords Digital marketing, Brand building, Social media marketing, Strategic marketing

Post acquisition brand identity: acquisition of Flipkart group by Walmart Inc.

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: factors to be considered in devising the best post-acquisition brand identity and outline market research techniques, which can be used to identify the best-suited post-acquisition brand identity strategy. Case overview/synopsis The case study discusses the brand strategy, which Walmart Inc needs to adopt post its acquisition of Flipkart Pvt. Ltd (Flipkart) Group in India. Flipkart had acquired Myntra Designs Pvt. Ltd (Myntra) and Novarris Fashion Trading Private Limited (Jabong), but had kept their brand identity intact; Walmart Inc was faced with the decision on moving ahead with the brand strategy of keeping individual brand identities or merging all of these into a single brand identity. The study aims to provide valuable insights into the decision-making process adopted by Walmart Inc. It includes also the role of cause-related marketing in the positioning of Myntra as a socially responsible brand. The case study opted for an exploratory research design study using the qualitative research method of in-depth interviews. In total, 10 experts in the area of marketing, market research and marketing communication were interviewed. The qualitative data were analyzed using a template approach, which analyzes the text using a codebook or an analysis guide. The analysis guide already has clearly defined themes or categories. As the qualitative interviews progress, these themes get revised. These themes are analyzed qualitatively rather than statistically. The case study suggests to the management of Walmart Inc that they need to merge Myntra and Jabong based on the degree of similarity of consumer demographics, income/social class of buyers, brand identity and buying behavior. Myntra needs to retain as opposed to Jabong, as Myntra is perceived to be a socially responsible brand that creates a purchase disposition in the minds of the consumers. A more extensive quantitative study would offer better generalizability. It was not feasible to conduct a quantitative study due to time constraints. This research would have used advanced brand imagery assessment techniques such as multi-dimensional scaling to suggest if an overlap exists between consumer segments of Myntra and Jabong. The case study provides a decision-making framework to firms and individuals who are part of organizational teams to create a post-acquisition brand strategy in the e-commerce market. The case study fulfills a need for many academicians and practitioners to understand the decision-making process followed in devising a post-acquisition brand strategy in India. Complexity academic level Senior undergraduates; Master of Business Administration; Executive Master of Business Administration. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing.

Managing natural monopolies: interplay of the regulator and telecom companies in India

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this paper are as follows: to understand the characteristics of a natural monopoly such as telecommunications sector and impact of “network externality”; to understand the role of a regulator in maintaining a balance between competition and consolidation of telecom sector; to understand the importance of first-mover advantage in telecom sector and coping mechanism of late entrants; to understand different pricing mechanisms of “natural monopolies” that can be adopted to remain profitable; to understand social cost of price floor in telecommunications sector. Case overview/synopsis Indian telecom sector is going through a downturn where most of the private sector telecom service providers have reported huge losses, failed to pay adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues and reported decline in average revenue per user over a period of 3–4 years. Fierce competition in the sector leads to rock bottom calling and data charges. Bharti Airtel benefitted for being the first mover in terms of market share but with entry of JIO in 2016, the service providers have entered a price war. As a result, service providers have requested Mr. R.S. Sharma, Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to come up with a floor on calling charges and requested the government for a bailout package. Currently, Mr. R.S. Sharma, Chairman TRAI is facing a dilemma whether to regulate and come up with a floor on calling and data charges or leave the sector for market correction. Mr. Sharma can also recommend to amend the definition of AGR. Telecommunications sector exhibit the characteristics of a natural monopoly where there is a need of a regulator to introduce “competition for the sector” and “competition in the sector.” In India, TRAI is the regulatory body responsible for introducing “competition for the sector” by auction and “competition in the sector” by deregulating calling and data charges, maintaining at least three private and one public service provider, decreasing “switching cost” of the customers, etc. The case deals with the issues of why there is a need of a regulator in natural monopolies, how different chairmen of TRAI have successfully introduced competition “for” and “in” the sector, and how Indian telecom sector went through a downturn? What should TRAI do to maintain competition in the sector? Complexity academic level The case deals with the issue of managing telecommunications sector (a natural monopoly) by a regulator in the context of India. The regulator had successfully introduced “competition in the sector” and “competition for the sector.” This led to sharp increase in subscriber base and decrease in calling and data charges. Presently, fierce competition in the sector has left the service providers cash crunched. The case deals with the dilemma faced by the chairman of the regulatory body in India on whether the regulator should come up with a price floor or market correction. Study level: MBA, Executive MBA. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 10: Public sector management.

Impact of Work Family Conflict on Job and Life Satisfaction for Female Executive MBA Students

Work family conflict is an established phenomenon of modern economies. It becomes more intense for female labour force performing multiple roles in the society. This study was conducted to answer the research questions of impact of Work Family Conflict on Job Satisfaction and affect of job satisfaction on life satisfaction of female executive students who are working as well as studying. Purpose of the study was to identify areas of conflict, for the female students to enhance their qualification as future labour force, and examine the association between Work Family Conflict, Job Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction. The study worked on three hypotheses. The data was collected from a sample of 200 population of executive MBA students during semester from four business universities in Karachi. Questionnaire also included demographic survey questions information regarding age and marital status. The results of the survey reported negative correlation between work family conflict and job and life satisfaction. Family support, value system of traditional societies like Pakistan and individual interpretation of self-reporting method were the reasons ascertained for the results.

Refugees/Displaced people in the workplace

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency there were 80 million forcibly displaced individuals worldwide as of the middle of the year 2020. Sharon L. Segrest ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3693-8565 Ph.D. in Management from Florida State University;Master of Business Administration from Meredith College;Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;Professor of Management in the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL - USA;She was elected to serve on the board of directors of the Southern Management Association;She serves on the board of ReBootKamp, an immersive code bootcamp which helps train refugees and others in Jordan, Palestine, and Tunisia. Cristina M. Giannantonio ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0784-1892 Ph.D. in Human Resource Management from the University of Maryland;Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland;Bachelor of Science in Personnel and Labor Relations from the University of Maryland;Professor of Human Resource Management in the George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University, Orange, CA - USA;She is the co-author of Autism in the Workplace Creating Positive Outcomes for Generation A published in 2020 as part of the Palgrave Explorations in Workplace Stigma series;She is the series editor of Emerald Studies in Workplace Neurodiversity.

The dual degree orthopedic surgeon: A survey of the trends, motivations, and perceived value of the master of business administration degree.

Orthopedic surgeons are obtaining Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees at an increasing rate. This study aimed to identify the motivations, trends, and perceived value of the MBA degree for these dual degree surgeons. A total of 157 orthopedic surgeons with both MD and MBA degrees were surveyed with a 19-item questionnaire to identify surgeons' motivations for obtaining an MBA degree and the perceived value of the degree. A total of 66 responses (42%) were received. Most respondents (89.4%) viewed the MBA degree as either extremely valuable or valuable. Prior to obtaining an MBA, 71.9% of dual degree surgeons dedicated time to administrative duties outside of the clinic. This number increased to 98.4% after receiving an MBA (p < 0.001). With the growing number of surgeons pursuing MBA degrees, there is a decrease in the time spent in the clinical role suggesting that either the non-clinical burden is increasing, or surgeons choose to re-allocate their time. Despite the high direct costs of an MBA, a majority of orthopedic surgeons perceived the MBA degree as a valuable investment they would pursue again.

Panasonic life solutions: anchoring its future growth strategy

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this paper is as follows: to explain the importance of rationalizing business operations to achieve efficiencies. To explain the importance of constantly re-inventing the product portfolio and the business for the survival and growth of the business. To discuss the use of product-market expansion strategies as used by businesses for growth and sustainability. To evaluate the internal challenges faced by a company as they adopt business strategies for business growth. To discuss a firm’s strategy to exploit significant opportunities in an evolving business environment. Case overview/synopsis Panasonic Life Solutions India Limited (PLSIND) an electrical products company with operations in India – an emerging market has set a Vision 2022 to achieve INR 69.21bn revenue target by the year 2022. PLSIND is marketed through the distributor business to consumer sales channel. To achieve the new growth targets, it was imperative for them to expand the product portfolio and explore marketing through the new business to business (B2B) and business to government (B2G) sales channels. Dinesh Aggarwal the Joint Managing Director of PLSIND was tasked with this responsibility. Both propositions depicted attractive business potential but at the same time came with additional risks of a longer sales/revenue cycle. PLSIND to a certain extent had ventured into new business projects with the launch of home automation, solar solutions for industries and smart street lighting business projects. In 2019, they also made a modest beginning by achieving revenues of INR 3.4bnn (constituting 10% of their aggregate revenues of INR 34bn) from B2B/B2G sales channels. Aggarwal believed that this was a good beginning. However, to achieve 2022 growth targets, they had to aggressively move forward with the new business strategy. Aggarwal had to work with the management team to gain acceptance and then to manage these additional risks for growth that came with this new business strategy. How could he win the confidence of the management team? How could he best reorganize the business teams and processes internally to enhance the required operational efficiencies for business growth? Complexity academic level This case is designed for business students at the MBA or executive MBA level courses. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

Computational Statistics and Machine Learning Techniques for Effective Decision Making on Student’s Employment for Real-Time

The present study accentuated a hybrid approach to evaluate the impact, association and discrepancies of demographic characteristics on a student’s job placement. The present study extracted several significant academic features that determine the Master of Business Administration (MBA) student placement and confirm the placed gender. This paper recommended a novel futuristic roadmap for students, parents, guardians, institutions, and companies to benefit at a certain level. Out of seven experiments, the first five experiments were conducted with deep statistical computations, and the last two experiments were performed with supervised machine learning approaches. On the one hand, the Support Vector Machine (SVM) outperformed others with the uppermost accuracy of 90% to predict the employment status. On the other hand, the Random Forest (RF) attained a maximum accuracy of 88% to recognize the gender of placed students. Further, several significant features are also recommended to identify the placement of gender and placement status. A statistical t-test at 0.05 significance level proved that the student’s gender did not influence their offered salary during job placement and MBA specializations Marketing and Finance (Mkt&amp;Fin) and Marketing and Human Resource (Mkt&amp;HR) (p &gt; 0.05). Additionally, the result of the t-test also showed that gender did not affect student’s placement test percentage scores (p &gt; 0.05) and degree streams such as Science and Technology (Sci&amp;Tech), Commerce and Management (Comm&amp;Mgmt). Others did not affect the offered salary (p &gt; 0.05). Further, the χ2 test revealed a significant association between a student’s course specialization and student’s placement status (p &lt; 0.05). It also proved that there is no significant association between a student’s degree and placement status (p &gt; 0.05). The current study recommended automatic placement prediction with demographic impact identification for the higher educational universities and institutions that will help human communities (students, teachers, parents, institutions) to prepare for the future accordingly.

Managing inventory at GoUNESCO

Learning outcomes This case calls out the following inventory management learning objectives in a project context: to understand the project categories of inventories and their drivers for planning purposes, to learn how to manage different categories of inventory and to learn the importance of effective allocation of inventory at different project locations. Case overview/synopsis GoUNESCO is a start-up formed with the objective of providing a platform for laypersons to engage with places of heritage value. Among others, one of the key components of this platform is “go heritage runs,” in short GHR. In the past three years, the popularity of runs organized under the brand GHR has been increasing, both in terms of locations and the number of participants in each location in successive years. Inventory planning and management for projects is tricky. Different categories of inventory have different implications of shortages or excesses. The case dwells into inventory planning and management of t-shirts and medals, to drive home this point. Complexity academic level The case can be positioned in service operations management or supply chain management courses while covering inventory management topics for both Master of Business Administration (MBA) and executive MBA students. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

Who could have seen this coming? The Kenya red cross society and the drought appeal of 2019

Learning outcomes The case will be useful in helping learners: to appreciate concepts in and develop the necessary understanding to apply relevant theories in crisis communications; to identify communications issues along with the evolution of a crisis; to understand the importance and role of a crisis communications team; and to develop skills in writing a crisis communications plan. Case overview/synopsis The case is a narration of the experiences of the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) as it launched the Kenya drought appeal in March 2019, and the unexpected media and public backlash that ensued. The background is that of an unusual-yet-previously-predicted dry spell, consequent drought and famine, alleged famine-related deaths, mixed signals from the national and county government and a hitherto well-regarded institution (the KRCS) coming in to launch an appeal aimed at raising funds to help alleviate the effects of the prolonged drought and consequent famine in the northern parts of the country. Unfortunately, a major media and public backlash that was not foreseen by KRCS ensued, and it threatened the reputation and very existence of the organization. Drawing on interviews and secondary material in the public domain, the case focuses on how the KRCS navigates the media and public backlash that ensued following the funding appeal. The case is interesting because of the type of organization involved (a not-for-profit institution set up as auxiliary to the government and of good repute), the nature of the problem (reputational crisis and attendant risk management), the setting (a LMIC in sub-Saharan Africa) and the level of analysis (organizational rather than individual decision-making).[AQ1] Complexity academic level Masters level – MBA, Executive MBA, Master’s in Public Management, Master’s in Communication and/or similar courses. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

GoUNESCO: achieving strategic growth

Learning Outcomes The case provides learning opportunities in strategy, planning and control in a social entrepreneurial setting. Following are the learning objectives of this case discussion: learn to develop a Strategic Service Vision (SSV) framework ; appreciate scalability challenges specific to service organizations; evaluate franchising model as a growth enabler; and understand the approach to internationalization as a growth strategy. Case Overview/Synopsis GoUNESCO is a not-for-profit startup formed in January 2012, with an objective of providing platform for laypersons to engage with places of heritage value. Eight years into existence, in February 2019 GoUNESCO was experiencing substantial growth and faced need for pursuing alternate growth models that do not demand a lot of organizational bandwidth. Ajay Reddy, the founder of GoUNESCO was piloting “franchising” as a domestic growth strategy. He was keen on evaluating fitment of “franchising” (both for domestic and international expansion) in his strategic service vision. He wanted to understand what would be changes required in the strategic service vision on account of ‘franchising’, and decide whether those changes were acceptable or not. Complexity Academic Level The case can be positioned in strategy, service and/or operations management introduction courses for both full-time or Executive MBA students. This case is also quite relevant in Entrepreneurship (or Social Entrepreneurship in particular) courses. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy

Enhancing experiential education in an MBA coaching program

During this global pandemic, it is more important than ever for institutions of higher education who have distinguished themselves by their small classes and interactive approaches to focus on ways to distinguish themselves from their peers with online means of instruction. The authors detail a means of enhancing a master of business administration (MBA) coaching program using the National Society of Experiential Education’s eight principles of experiential education. The authors offer five themes from detailed reflections of MBA students and participants in a leadership certificate course to highlight the value of structuring MBA programs. Our findings may benefit program directors and coaches who wish to enhance their value propositions.

Understanding emotional empathy at postgraduate business programmes: what does the use of EEG reveal for future leaders?

PurposeThis paper focusses on the leaders' ability to recognise and empathise with emotions. This is important because leadership and particularly transformational leadership are principally focussed on an individual's social interactions and their ability to identify emotions and to react empathetically to the emotions of others (Psychogios and Dimitriadis, 2020). Many leadership theorists suggest the ability to have and display empathy is an important part of leadership (Bass, 1990; Walumbwa et al., 2008).Design/methodology/approachTo examine the extent to which those who work in jobs with a significant element of leadership education can recognise and empathise with emotions, 99 part-time postgraduate executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) students took part in an emotional recognition test. First, all participants were shown a sequence of pictures portraying different human facial expressions and the electrical activity in the brain as a result of the visual stimuli were recorded using an electroencephalogram (EEG). The second stage of the research was for the participants to see the same seven randomised images, but this time, they had to report what emotion they believed they had visualised and the intensity of it on a self-reporting scale.FindingsThis study demonstrated that the ability to recognise emotions is more accurate using EEG techniques compared to participants using self-reporting surveys. The findings from this study provide academic departments with evidence that more work needs to be done with students to develop their emotional recognition skills. Particularly for those students who are or will go onto occupy leadership roles.Originality/valueThe use of neuroscientific approaches has long been used in clinical settings. However, few studies have applied these approaches to develop the authors’ understanding of their use in social sciences. Therefore, this paper provides an original and unique insight into the use of these techniques in higher education.

Investment Literacy, Risk Tolerance and Mutual Fund Investments: An Exploratory Study of Working Adults in Kuala Lumpur

Financial literacy empowers consumers to make more informedfinancial decisions,including investing in mutual funds. In thisstudy,thesociodemographic profile of working adultswith low investment literacyvis-à-vis high investment literacyare examined first. Next, the impact of investment literacyand risk toleranceon the likelihood of investing in mutual fundsare explored. Among a sample of 260 working adults comprising mainly of Masters of Business Administration(MBA) studentsfrom a leading public higher institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the study showsthat those withBusiness/Economics education backgroundshave the highest investment literacyand are more likely to invest in mutual funds compared to individuals from the Arts and other miscellaneous backgrounds. Although Muslims are the least literatein investment matters, they are more likely to hold mutual fundinvestments relative to those who profess Christianity and Hinduism. Individuals with relatively high income and occupational levels have relatively higher investment literacy. Risk tolerance does not influence the likelihood of investing in mutual fund investments.Policymakers should focus on females, those with Arts education background, Muslims, and those from the lower income/employment ranks to increase their investment literacythrough financial education workshops. Mutual fund companies may consider embarking an aggressive knowledge sharing videos related to mutual funds via non-mainstream mediasuch as social mediato increase the penetration of mutual fund investments, among the untapped markets.

An Interview with the Ottawa Hospital’s Chief of Staff Dr. Virginia Roth

Dr. Virginia Roth is an infectious disease physician who has been the Ottawa Hospital’s Chief of Staff since 2018 and was the first woman to hold this position at TOH. An alumnus of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, she has also worked as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and as Director of Infection Control at TOH. She also holds an Executive MBA from the Telfer School of Management. We sat down with Dr. Roth in late-September to talk more about her career path and professional roles, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and any advice for medical students as they navigate their own education and careers.