Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Performance of the Agro-allied Enterprises in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

It is widely recognized that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the major drivers of sustainable economic growth, sources of income generation and panacea for poverty reduction in developing countries. Unfortunately, they are faced with numerous challenges that threaten their existence and survival. This precarity of small entrepreneurial organizations in entrepreneurial ecosystem has prompted widespread attention by scholars and researchers. Hence, it is critical to take into consideration examining the performance of the enterprises. This study analyzed the effect of entrepreneurial orientation dimensions, personal and institutional characteristics on the performance of small and medium agro allied enterprises. Through the multistage sampling procedure, a total of 198 SMEs were selected for the study and data were collected with the aid of questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results revealed that among the entrepreneurial orientation dimensions, only risking taking and innovativeness significantly and positively affected the performance of SMEs agro allied enterprises. Furthermore, findings showed that except for size of business which was negatively related to the growth of SMEs, educational level of entrepreneurs, managerial and business experience positively and significantly impacted on the performance of SMEs. Policies to encourage SMEs invest in risky investments and create new product and services should be pursued.

Critical Study of Instructional Topics and Their Effectiveness in the Subject of Education Taught in Colleges at Graduate Level in Karachi

We are living in an age characterized by challenges where nations must not only accept the challenges of today but also make through foundation to confront those expected to come in future. To meet these challenges and realize ideas, our education system has to work at full potential, providing services of highest quality. The utmost contribution of the system in this regard is to develop a curriculum that is comprehensive, rigorous, futuristic and consistent with the needs of the nation. However a critical analysis of the prevailing curriculum tells a sorry tale. The course designed almost two decades back had the set characteristics but much development has occurred in various domains of knowledge and needs of societies have changed during the time. The curriculum on the other hand remained unchanged and has become dysfunctional. This research is a critical study of instructional topics and their effectiveness in the subject of Education taught in colleges at graduate level vis-à-vis our current needs and the advancements in this field through research in all over the world. It also emphasized the importance of curriculum review and revision to explore the obstacle in the process of curriculum amendments. The methodology of this study is a survey based or enquiry into the need and scope of subject of Education in our society. Secondly the existing curriculum has been analyzed form data interpretation. The target population for this study is the teachers and the students of all those colleges in Karachi that offer Education as a subject at graduate level. Out of those, 24 government colleges and 7 private colleges have been selected for the survey questionnaire. The collected data will be interpreted and evaluated through various statistical tools. In the light of results researcher will present some suggestions and recommendations to update the curriculum and adjust to the changing trends of this modern and growing world.