International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science

This study reviews the challenges and opportunities encountered by Qatar because of the blockade imposed by the neighboring countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt. It endeavors to highlight potential scenarios of the crisis. This paper employs a secondary source of information to achieve the objectives, such as books, articles, reports, and academic research, which were later subjected to thematic analysis. The findings of this research reveal that crisis management was an effective strategy implemented by the Qatari Government. It helped Qatari officials to change and transfer the negative impacts to a positive force. The crisis management strategy encouraged Qatar to rely on their local industries, improve education and media institutes, and use Qatar’s soft power internationally. Although 2017 was a challenging year for Qatar due to the crisis, yet the national economy showed an accelerated growth of 5% in the second half of the same year. 

The role of Omani diplomacy is visible in promoting its foreign policy and fulfilling the Sultan’s vision. Since 1970, Oman adopted a different foreign policy in both regional and international arenas characterized by independence, pragmatism, and moderation. This approach was reshaped after Sultan Qaboos bin Said seized rule. His first order of business was to accelerate the steps towards modernizing the Sultanate by adopting a nation-wide social, educational, and cultural reform often referred to as the Omani Renaissance. To translate the Sultan’s vision to reality, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has adopted a well-structured mechanism that will enhance diplomatic relations with various countries of the world. This research highlights Oman’s diplomacy strategy post-1970. It focuses on Oman’s foreign policy doctrine and examines the different categories of diplomacy that have been practiced in achieving Oman's foreign policy. The research includes the following types of diplomacy: official, mediation, tolerance and co-existence, economy, cultural, water, poet, aviation, and non-governmental diplomacy. This paper attempts to contribute to academia by providing a comprehensive outlook on Oman’s diplomacy, focusing on this topic from a practical point of view. It presents Omani diplomacy through dialogue and negotiations. It assembles a clear direction for the reader based on information, including personal communication with Omani diplomats. Since 1970, Oman adopted a different foreign policy in both regional and international arenas characterized by independence, pragmatism, and moderation. This approach was reshaped after Sultan Qaboos bin Said seized rule. His first order of business was to accelerate the steps towards modernizing the Sultanate by adopting a nation-wide social, educational, and cultural reform often referred to as the Omani Renaissance. To translate the Sultan's vision to reality, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has adopted a well-structured mechanism that will enhance diplomatic relations with various countries of the world. This research highlights Oman's diplomacy strategy post-1970. It focuses on Oman's foreign policy doctrine and examines the different categories of diplomacy that have been practiced in achieving Oman's foreign policy. The research includes the following types of diplomacy: official, mediation, tolerance and co-existence, economy, cultural, water, poet, aviation, and non-governmental diplomacy.  

This study examines the influence of macroeconomic factors, namely Inflation, Gross Domestic Production (G.D.P.) and changes in oil price and Bank-Specific Factors such as capital, asset size, liquidity risk, loan and deposit on bank profitability as measured by return on equity (R.O.E.) and net profit ratio (NPR) during the period of oil price decline, 2013-2017. The top 7 commercial banks were chosen as a sample of the study based on the availability of the data and the possible influence it can contribute to representing Oman's banking industry. The quantitative approach utilized appropriate statistical tools to analyze and interpret the secondary data gathered, including descriptive statistics, panel regression, Pearson correlation, and correlation matrix. Key findings of the study revealed no significant relationship between macroeconomic factors and the return on equity. There is also no significant relationship between macroeconomic factors and the net profit ratio. On the other hand, bank-specific factors significantly correlate return on equity and the net profit ratio. The study's findings contribute to the bank's management, economic policymakers, a research body, and academia in distinguishing the best indicator for a bank's profitability influenced by macroeconomic and bank-specific factors.

The aim of this study was to identify the impact of HR activities on competitive advantage in private schools. The study uses primary data collected with the help of a well-structured questionnaire that was developed and distributed among a sample of 92 respondents (49 female and 43 male), questionnaire results were statistically analyzed to test the hypotheses that were developed to identify the impact of HR activities on competitive advantages. Multiple regression analysis was used as a statistical tool and technique to identify five key elements: recruitment and reward system, training and skill development activities, organization climate, employee participation and empowerment; and effective communication system to determine competitive advantage in private schools in Jordan. The results indicated that there is a statistically significant effect of HR activities on the competitive advantage; On the other hand, there is no impact of other variables.

In Syria, there is not expected to break out of the revolution of this magnitude. Most people of Syria before others did not expect that the revolution breaks out originally because the regime governs Syria in an oppressive security manner. The regime controls the situation that making it difficult of any popular movement. Political life is not existent in the country. There are no civil society organizations and trade unions are not real and not real parties or political groupings, making it difficult with the outbreak of the revolution in the country in such a dictatorship, security control, which controls everything in people's lives. So Syria was apparently outside the US and global thinking. It has been stated by some officials in America and has had their expectations outbreak of the revolution in Syria minimal because the global system was not ready to abandon the Assad regime because the regime is better for them. However, the revolution in Syria broke out, caught and swept across the country, confusing international systems that were not planning to substitute for the Syrian regime. The Syrian regime is no doubt that one of the major hubs in the region.

This research aims to determine the level of implication of COVID-19 on the demand for masks and hygiene products in the Jordanian markets. The researchers found that the demand and usage of masks and hygiene products have increased, also the lifestyle and daily-living purchasing of Jordanians have been affected by this pandemic. This research depends on three ways online questionnaires, physical interviews, and phone calls to collect data. The Jordan government takes into consideration the implications of this pandemic on the social, health, and economic situations. It has facilitated to the construction of mask factories in the country, and it has made strategic collaborations in import and export with different countries around the world. This research describes both two sides of the economic and market situation of the masks and hygiene products in Jordan. A mixed method approach was adopted to achieve the objectives of the study, consisting of an online survey questionnaire followed by semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data from the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS 25 software and the qualitative data of each interview have been analyzed using thematically and textual analysis. The findings revealed that the demand for masks and hygiene products is affected by COVID-19 from 2020-2021.

This study examines the influence of macroeconomic factors, namely Inflation, Gross Domestic Production (G.D.P.) and changes in oil price and Bank-Specific Factors such as capital, asset size, liquidity risk, loan and deposit on bank profitability as measured by return on equity (R.O.E.) and net profit ratio (NPR) during the period of oil price decline, 2013-2017. The top 7 commercial banks were chosen as a sample of the study based on the availability of the data and the possible influence it can contribute to representing Oman's banking industry. The quantitative approach utilized appropriate statistical tools to analyze and interpret the secondary data gathered, including descriptive statistics, panel regression, Pearson correlation, and correlation matrix. Key findings of the study revealed no significant relationship between macroeconomic factors and the return on equity. There is also no significant relationship between macroeconomic factors and the net profit ratio. On the other hand, bank-specific factors significantly correlate return on equity and the net profit ratio. The study's findings contribute to the bank's management, economic policymakers, a research body, and academia in distinguishing the best indicator for a bank's profitability influenced by macroeconomic and bank-specific factors.

The aim of this study was to identify the impact of HR activities on competitive advantage in private schools. The study uses primary data collected with the help of a well-structured questionnaire that was developed and distributed among a sample of 92 respondents (49 female and 43 male), questionnaire results were statistically analyzed to test the hypotheses that were developed to identify the impact of HR activities on competitive advantages. Multiple regression analysis was used as a statistical tool and technique to identify five key elements: recruitment and reward system, training and skill development activities, organization climate, employee participation and empowerment; and effective communication system to determine competitive advantage in private schools in Jordan. The results indicated that there is a statistically significant effect of HR activities on the competitive advantage; On the other hand, there is no impact of other variables.

This study reviews the challenges and opportunities encountered by Qatar because of the blockade imposed by the neighboring countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt. It endeavors to highlight potential scenarios of the crisis. This paper employs a secondary source of information to achieve the objectives, such as books, articles, reports, and academic research, which were later subjected to thematic analysis. The findings of this research reveal that crisis management was an effective strategy implemented by the Qatari Government. It helped Qatari officials to change and transfer the negative impacts to a positive force. The crisis management strategy encouraged Qatar to rely on their local industries, improve education and media institutes, and use Qatar’s soft power internationally. Although 2017 was a challenging year for Qatar due to the crisis, yet the national economy showed an accelerated growth of 5% in the second half of the same year. 

The participation of private and military contractors in armed conflicts is the contemporary phenomenon that concerned policymakers and military strategists, particularly Russian contractors. This phenomenon attracts most politicians to set up initiatives and to draw international guidelines to all concerned parties. The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the condition of Russian private military and security companies (PMSCs) in recent armed conflicts. The research is based on the realism approach, which will help explain Russian state behavior towards PMSCs, while the neoliberalism approach will help to explore this phenomenon from the Russian economic perspective. This research applies inductive, exploratory, and qualitative approaches, which solely based on secondary resources and media contents. The main finding of this research shows that those contractors have obligations under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), but the only limitation is the state’s obligation to endorse them.  Besides, it seems that an international treaty between countries could be a practical step towards having a useful regulatory framework.