Albanian Individual Taxpayers Perceptions and Determinants on Ethical Behavior Regarding Tax Compliance

Tax evasion and tax avoidance are among the most addressed topics in economic literature in recent years, as one of the most discussed issues in different countries. The research’s primary purpose is to present Albanian residents’ and taxpayers’ perceptions regarding tax evasion, tax avoidance, and tax compliance. The leading indicators used in this report, the attitude towards tax evasion and tax avoidance, rely on individual taxpayers’ perceptions and not on factual evidence such as the amount of income hidden from the tax authorities. Several studies have been done in different countries regarding the population’s perception regarding factors affecting evasion. In this paper, we investigated the following logical sequence: in the beginning, we provided an overview of the fiscal system and legislation, informal economy, and fiscal evasion in Albania. This analysis data was taken from reports from national and international organizations. After this, we analyzed data obtained from a survey issued to 387 taxpayer individuals in Albania. Our objective was to identify, using empirical analysis, factors that influence an individual’s ethical perception of tax avoidance and evasion. The statistical analyses we carried out in the paper were factor analyses and ordinal logistic linear regression analyses using the JMP statistical software. Based on the empirical research, we concluded that government policies positively correlate with taxpayers’ behavior regarding tax compliance. Among other determinants influencing tax evasion, we have evaluated that higher tax rates are an essential element. The results of the research can be helpful for governments and other policymakers’ institutions.

The Сoncept of Leadership is Always Engaging for an Elite Occupational Preeminence

The term ‘’Management and Leadership’’ are the very prime focus for any of the very enriching occupational steps to deal with most significant progress. Most importantly, both education and occupation are largely dependent upon the same because the term ‘’Management’’ shall be navigating the most legitimate avenues to accomplish the task with the finest objectives. On the other hand, the term ‘’Leadership’’ shall be focusing upon the methodology and best future consequences respectively. It is quite evident that both academic leaders and organizational leaders shall have to focus for the vivid progressions along with the radiant dimension of success in terms of best financial outputs, occupational vibrancy, global appreciations and undeniable good will at all. This is the primary need of those leaders to refine both education and organization in a befitting manner. This is how they may enrich the best occupational goal with momentous dexterity, where economical solidity is one of the significant measures consequently. Therefore, leaders are those very eminent personalities, who are here to execute their best through the stature of prime competency for leading the hierarchy of an organization without any second thought because their elite motive to ensure the comprehensive organizational success and the most rapid celerity with best available resources, indeed. That is how leaders do empower their followers who shall have to be well trained not only for the self enrichment within the stipulated time frame but to contribute a lot for the unbeaten occupational culmination in a conforming manner. Leaders have been finding some of the very dynamic objects through some outstanding organizations like “Indian Statistical Institute”. It a prime institute of ‘’National Importance’’. It is India based research institute which consists of all the scientific research which are of absolute elite class indeed. All the academic leaders are comprehensively seeking for the comprehensive innovations along with their global clarities and those are going to be the historic discoveries for the best consequential research soon. All the forthcoming researchers will be undoubtedly successful, and they shall have the exclusive vive to accept that exemplary methodologies of research in the end. Therefore, their conceptual depth would really be high, and they shall be able to implement those core concepts like departmental culmination, communal advocacy, collective perception, proclamation of ideas, elevation of various convictions and the amalgamation of multifarious exposures will definitely be determined. On the other hand, renowned institute like ISI finds the captivating solutions for the researchers through their insightful data and their comprehensive analysis respectively. So, each researcher can have the best analytical review not only to focus our extensive splendor of research but to refine our collective benefaction over a due course of time.

Digitalization of Economy and Education: Path to Business Leadership and National Security

The article summarizes the areas of research on the integration of digitalization of the economy and education with the areas of business leadership and national security. The main purpose of the study is to determine the contextual characteristics that accompany the development of digitalization of the economy and digitalization of education and their impact on business development and the formation of national security. Existing theoretical and empirical research demonstrates meaningful links between the digitalization of education and the economy, business leadership and national security. The analysis showed that scientific interest in studying the digitalization of education and the economy continues to grow at the present stage, while research on national security and business leadership is currently declining. Bibliometric analysis shows that the relationship between the digitalization of the economy and education with business leadership can be traced in functional areas. On the other hand, the impact of the digitalization of the economy and education on national security can be identified by structural components. One should note that the evolution of scientific research is characterized by the transition from the study of individual structural elements and the penetration of digital technologies into the economy to identify areas for efficiency through digital and information technology. The analysis results provide a scientific basis for further research on key determinants of the effectiveness of the implementation of digital technologies in the economy and education, as well as the study of national security.

The International Descriptive Study of Effective Methods for the Recruitment and the Retention of Faculty in the United States

This qualitative descriptive study explored what community college administrators and faculty described as being effective recruitment and retention methods for faculty at community colleges in the Northeastern United States. This study answered two research questions: what recruitment methods do administrators and American faculty at community colleges describe as being effective in the recruitment of American faculty? Also, what retention methods do administrators and American faculty at community colleges describe as being effective in the retention of American faculty? The researcher applied critical race theory to form a framework for best practices in recruiting and retaining American faculty. Data were obtained by interviewing six American faculty and surveying seven community college administrators employed at Massachusetts community colleges who were selected using purposive sampling and community college online staff directories. Using MAXQDA data analysis software, the researcher initiated data analysis using thematic analysis. Data were organized and analyzed to identify codes, categories, and themes. Data analysis resulted in six themes: hiring processes, faculty diversity, recruitment strategies, work environment, student and faculty relationships, and retention strategies. The findings of this study can benefit community college personnel by recommending recruitment and retention strategies to effectively recruit and retain American faculty. There was limited research and data available related to the recruitment and retention of African American male faculty at community colleges. The faculty and administrator participants of this study provided rich data on effective recruitment and retention methods for African American male faculty at community colleges. The critical race theory theoretical framework was summarized. Theoretical and practical implications emerged. Based on the data and new insights, implications for future research were discussed.

Does Digitalization Lead to Better Transparency: Bibliometric Approach

In recent years, digitalization has been an important factor in developing political, economic, social, and cultural relations. The rapid growth of digital technologies in global and national contexts leads to significant quantitative and qualitative changes in the economic development of countries. Digitalization leads to better transparency and is also related to new damages to the national economy. Thus, this research deals with the identification of interconnectedness between digitalization and transparency. Fulfillment of this task is realized with the VOSviewer bibliometric tool based on the analysis of 320 Scopus articles on “transparency” and “digitalization” in 1999-2021. Analysis of the dynamic of publications on transparency and digitalization allows concluding that there were only several publications a year in 1999-2009. In 2010-2018 the number of relevant publications demonstrated considerable growth, while in 2019-2021, there was a boost of scientific interest to the cohesion between transparency and digitalization. The bibliometric analysis allows pointing out that there is a strong relationship between transparency and digitalization. Basically, under network analysis, six clusters of research were identified, which focused on the implementation of digital technologies in business, logistics, public governance, the financial sphere, information management, and personal privacy. Moreover, considering visualization results, it might be concluded that more recent publications on transparency and digitalization are focused on the research of blockchain technologies, supply technologies, and artificial intelligence. The density visualization showed that the most relevant keywords in publications on transparency and digitalization are digitalization, blockchain, and industry 4.0. These bibliometric results might create a theoretical background on clarification of scale up to which development of digital sphere does not damage national security.

A Constructivist Approach to Visualise Organisational Agility

The research question we would like to answer with this article is if agile related constructs or personal assessment criteria can be elicited from a personal construct system of employees and leaders by carrying out a repertory grid study in an organisation. The methodology of personal construct psychology was chosen to get an unbiased view of the corporate culture. In a plannable world an organisational structure with a hierarchy of executives and managers following a vertical top-down approach makes sense. A world that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) requires a different model to organisational design. Horizontal integration that fosters involvement and empowerment has proven to be an agile response to this new environment. Consequently, agile management methods are a key instrument for an organisation to prepare for future challenges in a competitive industry. But how can an organisation assess its own agile status quo? This research uses personal construct psychology (PCP) to visualize the agility status of an organisation. A range of recent empirical and practical research articles were studied to filter the most relevant practices and critical factors of organisational agility. The findings are compared to a data basis generated by 61 repertory grid interviews carried out in a SME to evaluate whether personal construct theory is a suitable approach to assess the agility status of an organisation. The findings are visualised with a repertory grid software using Generalised Procrustes Analysis (GPA). This methodology creates a 3D visualisation of the agile assessment criteria derived from the interviews. By comparing the spatial distances between construct clusters and elements the researcher and reader able to assess whether an organisation has incorporated agile practices and traits or can further advance to react more agile and flexible to external forces. Repertory grid structured interviews based on PCP generate simultaneously quantitative and qualitative results. As these are compared to the literature-based findings, it reflects a triangulation research approach.

Social and Eco-Friendly Enterpreneurship: The Keys to Sustainability

The article summarizes the arguments and counterarguments in the scientific discussion on the development of sustainable entrepreneurship. The main purpose of the study is to identify the essential characteristics and key determinants of success of sustainable entrepreneurship initiatives. Systematization of literature sources showed that the current stage of entrepreneurship is characterized by the transition from the concept of maximizing profitability to the formation of long-term sustainability. Existing theoretical and empirical research shows that sustainable entrepreneurship is an activity aimed at balancing economic, social and environmental challenges. The theoretical analysis of the results of basic research on sustainable entrepreneurship has identified a list of key internal and external determinants that contribute to the development of sustainable entrepreneurship. It is determined that the key internal characteristics of the entrepreneur are the level of his motivation and qualification. At the same time, among external factors, the education system, the availability of state environmental and social policy measures, as well as public perception and support of social and environmental initiatives play a significant role in promoting sustainable entrepreneurship. It is established that the existing empirical research revealed the differentiation of results for companies of different sizes and at different stages of operation, as well as depending on the form of ownership and sector of activity. The results of the analysis provide a scientific basis for further research on the key determinants of the effectiveness of sustainable entrepreneurship initiatives, the identification of the most promising sectors for social and environmental initiatives, and the study of links with social, environmental and economic parameters.

Enhancing Business Integrity as a Mechanism for Combating Corruption and Shadow Schemes in the Country

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the relationship between business integrity and corruption in the country. The main purpose of the research is to analyze the mechanism of the business integrity impact on combating corruption and shadow economy in the country and identify key triggers for violating the business integrity principles. The relevance of this scientific problem is that corruption is gradually turning from a domestic problem into a global threat, which requires changing the combating and detecting corruption instruments. Investigation of the relationship between the corruption level in the country and the shadow economy scale in the paper is carried out in the following logical sequence: at first, scientific publications on corruption and integrity in the corporate sector are monitored, then, current and retrospective levels of corruption in Ukraine and the world are assessed and triggers of breach the business integrity principles are identified. Methodological tools of the research methods were empirical (observation, description) and theoretical (grouping, synthesis, abstraction) research methods. A comprehensive analysis of corruption from the standpoint of the diachronic relationship between wrongdoers and recipients has shown that bribery costs will outweigh the benefits to the entity in the long run. According to the results of the study, it is established that breach of the integrity principles by business representatives arise due to gaps in the regulatory framework and unregulated by law certain aspects of the enterprise; non-transparent procedure of interaction with public authorities; low working conditions for state regulation, supervision and control bodies; lack of a formalized procedure for lobbying the interests of stakeholders in public authorities; high level of oligarchization in society. The article substantiates that the creation of a culture of business integrity will have a synergistic effect on the development of the national economy by increasing transparency and transparency of public authorities, increasing foreign investment, increasing the competitiveness of domestic products at the international level, implementing innovative projects, improving welfare.

Ethics in Financial Service Industry as Panacea for Organizational Performance in Osogbo and Iree Metropolis, Osun State, Nigeria

The study investigates the argument and counterargument within the scientific discussion on ethics as the panacea to organizational performance in the financial service industry using ethical leadership, organizational ethical culture and public perception on ethics to measure organizational performance. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational performance in Osogbo and Iree United Bank of Africa. Secondly, this study aimed at determining the relationship between organizational ethical culture and organizational performance in Osogbo and Iree United Bank of Africa. Thirdly, the study intends to establish the relationship between public perception of organizational ethics and organizational performance in Osogbo and Iree United Bank of Africa. The research questions formulated to guide this study are: What is the effect of ethical leadership on organizational performance in Osogbo and Iree United Bank of Africa; How does organizational ethical culture impacts organizational performance in Osogbo and Iree United Bank of Africa? What is the relationship between public perception of organizational ethics and organizational performance in Osogbo and Iree United Bank of Africa? This study adopted the survey research design and obtained its data from primary sources. The primary data were obtained through a questionnaire administered on 100 respondents of United Bank for Africa Plc, Iree and Osogbo branches. A simple random sampling technique was also used to conduct a personal interview on 50 customers of the bank. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The study showed a positive and significant relationship between ethical leadership and organizational performance, organizational ethical culture and organizational performance, and public perception of ethics and organizational performance. The study, therefore, recommends that management should not only communicate organizational ethical values to employees in words but also in action; they should lead by example, proper attention should be placed on organization’s culture to ensure that it is ethical as employees are willing to do more in an organization with ethical culture and also, service industries in Nigeria must ensure that their organizations are managed in a way that will enhance a positive public perception.

Task and Relationship Orientation of Professionals in Afghanistan and Thailand

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the leadership styles and approaches that are linked to Afghan and Thai respondents by exploring their task and relationship orientations to glean best practices for application in the war-torn nation of Afghanistan. To continue gathering more data, we have consistently been using Northouse’s Style Questionnaire to collect responses from different cultures over the past two decades. More specifically, for this latest study, we compared the leadership orientations of working adult respondents from Thailand and Afghanistan based on their nationality and socialization in each culture on the task and relationship-orientation continuum of leadership. To gain practical insights across these two Asian cultures, we reflect and explore the Afghan orientation and compare it with the cultural practices of people in Thailand, where politicians have managed their political affairs more peacefully with their neighbors. Both Afghanistan and Thailand’s cultures are rooted in thousands of years of Asian philosophies, and both are high-context and collective; therefore, people are presumed to be more relationship-oriented, and this study found statistically significant support for this presumption. While respondents from both countries do have a stronger focus on their relationships, data shows that their task orientation is significantly lower. Analysis, recommendations for inclusion training, dealing with societal / workplace mobbing, and the study’s limitations are presented toward the end of the paper. The findings are useful for training purposes with managers, political leaders, and expatriates working in these two South and East Asian countries. For example, currently the political leaders in Afghanistan are working with the international community to unite all Afghans so they can become less dependent on foreign forces to keep the country peaceful. As such, they can capitalize on their task and relationship orientation skills to work on this gigantic task. Similarly, as of May 2021, Thailand has been experiencing another wave of the Covid-19 coronavirus, with about 10,000 infection cases on some days; as such, Thai leaders have to build strong relationships with everyone in the country to effectively manage this task of limiting the spread of this deadly infection through strict quarantine rules and quick vaccination of their large population.