Hussin Hejase | Al Maaref University (original) (raw)

Papers by Hussin Hejase

Saudi Journal of Business and Management Studies, 2020

Providing a clear statistical analysis of news media confidence levels in a nation adds value to ... more Providing a clear statistical analysis of news media confidence levels in a nation adds value to the integrity to the reported news as well as a basis for comparison among sources and the outcome may influence on the population's approach and attitude towards the current happenings. Lebanon, a Middle Eastern nation, is under continuous scrutiny by other nations due to its continuous and recurring conflicts being political, social or armed conflicts related events which may influence its surrounding geopolitical environment. Although the United States of America, in particular, has been a leading country in what relates to news media and press accuracy and fairness studies, countries like Lebanon lack such assessments and reports. This study, exploratory in nature, using both parametric and nonparametric statistical testing assessed the news media in Lebanon by relying on a previously run poll questionnaire that was administered on nine time intervals along a time frame of four years. Its purpose was to assess and quantify the Lebanese news media and press accuracy and fairness. One important implication of the research was that it showed how parametric and non-parametric tests converge to offer a common assessment of the topic in question. This paper followed a streamlined research process capitalizing on a first hand treatise of the descriptive outcomes of 4850 questionnaires. Moreover, the paper presented reliability, validity and dependence analysis specific to the existing sample data. Results obtained match their reported counterparts mainly in the USA, where the percentage of negative news media assessment in Lebanon is estimated to be 64% which matches the 63% reported in the USA. Findings of this work add new insights to the academic community, academicians and researchers, policy makers in the private as well as the public news media institutions.

Journal of international business research, 2020

Leadership is an art and a science that is creative, propelling and disciplined; Leadership under... more Leadership is an art and a science that is creative, propelling and disciplined; Leadership underlines relationships at work and in organizations and involves the acceptances of responsibility (Capezio and Morehouse, 1997; Amabile & Khaire, 2008). Further, Ross and Oferman (1997) found that transformational leadership was positively related to levels of pragmatism, nurturance, and feminine attributes, and Adler (2000) felt that in view of changes in leadership roles and organizational practices, female leaders have come to symbolize a new type of leadership that connotes greater effectiveness and synergy than leadership of the past. Appointments of women in leadership roles signal an organization's departure from past practices and help it to capture the symbols of innovation and progressive change. Many female executives believe that they must meet a higher standard of performance than their male counterparts. In order for women to approach the highest level, women are expected to have more strength and fewer faults than their male counterparts. Additionally, most women in executive roles feel that developing a style with which male managers are comfortable is critical (Graves & Elsass, 2005). Because of gender roles, women on the rise in organization must make crucial choices. Women must question whether they should strive to beat men at their own game or develop and value alternative leadership styles of their own. However, the quest here, are there constraints to tap on the feminine human capital? What is the status quo of women leaders in organizations?

Agriculture is considered an important energizer of a country’s economic growth and poverty allev... more Agriculture is considered an important energizer of a country’s economic growth and poverty alleviation efforts. However, this sector is underperforming especially in developing countries in part because women, who are often a crucial human resource in agriculture and the rural economy, face difficulties that reduce their productivity and their effective involvement. This paper sheds light on the gender pay gap in Lebanon, in general, and the agriculture sector of South Lebanon, in particular. Exploratory quantitative analysis is applied using a convenient sample of 385 agricultural employees chosen from the Lebanese agricultural institutions in South Lebanon. The paper objectives include the assessment of the wage gap in the agricultural sector in South Lebanon, analyzing opinions towards the wage gap in South Lebanon, quantifying the impact of the gender pay gap on women, identifying the causes that lead to the existence of a wage gap, and the exploration of the existence of wage ...

Asian Business Research, 2021

The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Lebanon have been heavily impacted since the COVID-19... more The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Lebanon have been heavily impacted since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The majority of the institutions had to react to the sudden decision to go online. In fact, they had to develop unplanned E-learning programs to assure the academic year’s survival. In Lebanon, the Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MEHE) has ordered all educational institutions, public and private, to stop physical learning and start implementing E-learning through various online platforms. Because of Lebanon’s unprepared infrastructure, students in universities struggled to continue their studies and to keep pace with others who have better situations. The purpose of this study is to assess the factors that may impact the success of E-learning in Lebanese universities and that affect students’ satisfaction in adapting to this unplanned phase. The study is quantitative, explorative, descriptive and causal. A questionnaire was designed to collect primary data f...

Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 2020

The continuous awareness campaigns about Colorectal Cancer (CRC) directed towards the Lebanese po... more The continuous awareness campaigns about Colorectal Cancer (CRC) directed towards the Lebanese population in order to foster preventive medicine are on the rise. The impact has been positive and reported in previous research, although the number of victims is still high. This paper aims to perform a recent cross-sectional study of Lebanese residents' CRC awareness by comparing the findings of two studies carried out in the years 2016 and 2018. The samples of the current study include 1140 (2016) and 993 (2018) participants who completed a simple structured questionnaire directed to assess their knowledge of colon cancer and the behavioral intentions of obtaining CRC screening. Upon comparing results, the percentage of those who know about CRC has increased significantly from 40.4% in 2016 to 78.7% in 2018, the proportion of respondents who believed that family history is the major risk factor for CRC did increase significantly from 47.7% in 2016 to 90.8% in 2018. Likewise, the proportions of respondents who believed that overweight, age, and stress are among the major risk factors for CRC increased from 26.9%, 26.7% and 11.3% in 2016 to 86.2%, 52.1% and 21.51% in 2018, respectively. On the other hand, the proportions for the risk factors related to alcohol and smoking have dropped from 37.7% and 37.3% to 27.4% and 24.2%, respectively. Moreover, the most important source of information for CRC was friends (18.4% in 2016 versus 73.8% in 2018), followed by family (18.7% in 2016 versus 56.7% in 2018), and then physicians (18.9% in 2016 and 40.2% in 2018). In fact, the efforts of the non-governmental organization (NGO) SAID (118 different major activities in the span of 3 years) did make a signif

International Review of Management and Business Research, 2018

Today, marketing has become highly competitive across the industry, and understanding consumers' ... more Today, marketing has become highly competitive across the industry, and understanding consumers' behavior has become a challenging task for the marketers. In strategic marketing planning, consumer behavior is an integral part of said process as the consumer plays the role of the user, the buyer and the payer. The behavior of the consumers changes as the factors that affect the consumer's behavior change. The goal of this research is to examine the effect of education on consumers' impulsive buying behavior. Data is collected using a 30-question questionnaire to test the respondents' impulsive buying behavior, their attitude to impulsive buying, and their education level and Emotional Intelligence. The sample size is 200, of which 184 are valid. Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) is used to analyze the acquired data to discern the correlation between the level of education and impulsive buying behavior.

The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 2018

Lebanon, like other countries, has a special interest in conserving the integrity, quality, and f... more Lebanon, like other countries, has a special interest in conserving the integrity, quality, and fairness of its higher education, especially that it serves approximately 200,000 students registered in the scholastic year 2017-2018; these students injected millions of dollars into the private institutions. Students are seen as customers whose satisfaction and comfort jump to the front and prevail as the main doctrine that governs the educational process. The student-as-customer concept is a fundamental factor that plays a major role in educational institutions, even the traditional non-profit ones that basically depend on tuition fees incurred by the number of enrolled students in order to cover their inflated budgets; hence, the need to have satisfied stakeholder-students. This orientation has made the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) a key criterion to evaluate the teaching process; especially since SET is currently used to assess and improve teaching and learning processes. Faculty members who are considered by the students, non-lenient, serious, strict, and highly demanding are put under pressure, if not penalized, irrespective if it is fair or not, hence leading to the former being frustrated. This research provides an insight into the frustration state of the faculty members at certain Lebanese universities due to the importance which is given to SET and its effects on the educational procedure and their careers per se. This research is exploratory and quantitative using a survey questionnaire distributed to 146 faculty members. Data is analyzed using SPSS software. Findings reveal that the majority of the said faculty members have a negative view of the SET evaluation process in terms of format, and the content of the corresponding questionnaires; results are seen as being ineffective and inappropriate means of evaluation. The SET evaluation process is complicated and the assessment survey differs from one university to another. Outcomes of this paper serve policymakers at the higher education institutions when setting the institution's mission and vision and purpose; it may direct the continuous efforts to create agreed upon teaching and learning quality standards.

Open Journal of Business and Management, 2020

The process of change in organizations is usually triggered by business-related environmental fac... more The process of change in organizations is usually triggered by business-related environmental factors which if not managed adequately result in uncertainty and volatility leading to a situation where an organizations may lose competitive advantage especially if its response is reactive. Consequently, organizations' preparedness and pro-activeness across all functional departments are key success factors in terms of the wise use of resources/capabilities. Of particular significance is the human resource (HR) function whose role is fundamental in the change process necessary to accommodate change. This research aims to assess the role of HR in the ongoing process of change in organizations by identifying the change process, the functions and roles of HR in this process and how these interrelate. Exploratory qualitative research is used based on primary data obtained from semi-structured interviews. A willing small sample of HR experts and practicing professionals is selected. The research outcomes shed light on the HR practitioners role in the process of change, and an assessment of the nature of the intertwining effect to develop appropriate response policies in a more effective and efficient manner. Findings, though pertinent to a small group and may not be generalizable, act as an eye opener to organizational policy makers as well as HR managers.

The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 2017

Background: The current fierce market environment obliges corporations to strive for success with... more Background: The current fierce market environment obliges corporations to strive for success with every business strategy or tool to secure sustainability in the market. One approach that companies use is to operate and at the same time contribute to the well-being of the surrounding community, to safeguard the natural environment under which they operate, and to enhance the work force opportunities for growth. Such an approach has developed with time and is known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR strategy is one of the roadmaps that corporations may use, including the possible activities corporations' implementation, which may impact consumers' choice and decisions to deal with the said corporations. Nowadays, in Lebanon, the use of CSR strategy is moderately on the rise. Objective: The current research aims to assess the extent that CSR strategy really affects consumers' decision making, and to determine which one of the CSR activities or tools involving social, economic, or environmental dimensions carries the highest impact on changing consumers' decision. Furthermore, this research will shed light on the Lebanese consumers' perception and attitude towards CSR, and to assess which applied activities/tools carries the highest impact on their decision-making process to buy a product or a service. Materials and Methods: This research is exploratory, comparative and quantitative in nature, and uses a survey questionnaire distributed to 200 Lebanese consumers selected conveniently to study their perception of CSR strategy, and to identify which CSR tool they perceive as to be more effective in affecting their decision to buy a specific product/service. Results: Results show that 74.3% of the respondents are aware of CSR activities and agree on the fact that CSR is beneficial to society, corporations, and individuals. Also, 83.5% of the respondents agreed that CSR impacts their decision to buy products, and 60.3% showed that it may even initiate a purchase not planned previously. Furthermore, results show that 46.2% of the respondents will buy more as of quantity and 76% may go into the substitution of products because of CSR. 75.2% of the respondents mentioned that CSR also may impact their feelings towards products and will increase their loyalty to CSR-applying corporations. Conclusions: The outcomes of the research are used to support recommendations for Lebanese corporations to implement CSR strategy and the adequate activities needed to attract the Lebanese consumer.

African Journal of Business Management, 2016

Information technology (IT) Governance is relatively a new topic in Lebanon whereby executives an... more Information technology (IT) Governance is relatively a new topic in Lebanon whereby executives and board directors institute the appropriate leadership, organizational structure and processes so that the enterprise's IT sustains and extends the organisation's strategies and objectives. It has a well-defined process and specific components that enable organizations to effectively attain competitive advantage. This research aims to assess how Lebanese top management deal with IT Governance by assessing the level of maturity of the implementation of the said concept, and sheds light on the drivers and barriers behind IT Governance implementation. The research adopts a deductive, quantitative and comparative approach where data is gathered from different organizations and then analyzed in order to formulate a general proposition on the said status of IT Governance. The chosen research technique is survey questionnaire and the research statistical tool is statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). Detailed results are depicted using descriptive analysis as well as inferential analysis. Inferential analysis includes crosstabs and regression analysis. All the analyses are used as basis for the findings and to formulate a general proposition regarding the variables upon which implementation of IT Governance depends on. The research is concluded with lessons learned and future research recommendations.

International Journal of Cyber-Security and Digital Forensics, 2015

Many believe that the coming war is a cyberwar that revolves around cyber weapons; to many others... more Many believe that the coming war is a cyberwar that revolves around cyber weapons; to many others, the world is already at the core of this war. Names like Stuxnet, Duqu, Gauss and Flame have become familiar, malware projects known to experts in the field of cyber weapons. One asks: what type of awareness and preparation students need to deal with the cyber warfare challenges and threats? Countries have prepared for the aforementioned challenges and threats, while Lebanon is not. This research investigates current status of cyber warfare awareness and clarifies what changes may be incorporated into the Lebanese sectors, including the educational one. This study is exploratory and uses a survey distributed to 635 students, educators and managers. Findings reveal that in Lebanon, the educated community not only lacks awareness but also knowledge of what is happening in the arenas of cyber warfare, cyber weapons and cyber security.

Reality T.V programs are now invading the Arab world and are attracting viewers of all ages, most... more Reality T.V programs are now invading the Arab world and are attracting viewers of all ages, most specifically Arab teenagers. Being live programs taken from real life situations, Reality TV shows feature and monitor the emotions and behaviors of those who are usually involved for the purpose of winning a prize. However, the question to be asked is to what extent such programs are affecting teenagers, being the most susceptible audience. This paper has many objectives including: assessing the authenticity of the television programs; probing the extent the image reflected by talent-contestant shows, namely Star Academy, is affecting teenagers' life; and, assessing what major role Star Academy plays in motivating and influencing the teenage audience. This research is exploratory and uses a quantitative approach; it relies on the use of a survey questionnaire addressed to a convenient sample of 300 teenagers. Findings are to help educators and policy makers to plan for mediations to reduce the negative influences of such programs, and to capitalize on the opportunities that result from free-will decisions.

Lebanon is a small country with a total area of 1.01 million hectares, out of which 20% is classi... more Lebanon is a small country with a total area of 1.01 million hectares, out of which 20% is classified as arable land by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) of the United Nations (UN) .One fifth of the four million populations are engaged directly or indirectly in agriculture, 80% of which are small farmers operating an average irrigated farm size of 5 hectares. The agricultural activity in Israel includes agriculture, forestry and fishing as defined in the Standard Classification of Economic Activities. Plant crops, forestation and gardening, raising livestock, and livestock products make up the agriculture in Israel. This paper casts a comparative economic assessment of the Lebanese and Israeli agricultural sectors by utilizing price and cost values. Crops with lower cost of production and lower market prices constitute the main basis for a comparative advantage determination. The most dreadful competition bet...

The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 2017

Nowadays, balancing work and family is getting more demanding, finding time for oneself is diffic... more Nowadays, balancing work and family is getting more demanding, finding time for oneself is difficult, and the demands of work are overwhelming; life is becoming more stressful. Stress has become one of the factors that decisionmakers must contend with in most life-or-death situations. In business, stress can be detrimental to the success of managers when making key decisions. This paper presents an exploratory study on the effect of stress on decision makers. It focuses on the impact of stress throughout the decision-making process and not only at the time of decision. It also highlights the importance of mitigating stress in order to reach an effective decision. The impact of stress is studied from two perspectives, one of the decision makers themselves and another of their subordinates. The findings of the research give a holistic view on stress and its impact on decision makers, and an insight into business stress mitigation strategies. The research adopts a quantitative approach where data is gathered from different conveniently selected employees, through survey questionnaires that are used to gather insight into the employees' perception of managers' performance under stress. Detailed results of the survey questionnaires are stated and are analyzed using the software SPSS for quantitative data. This research suggests that a better understanding of the interplay between stress and an individual's judgment and decision-making activities may yield a better understanding of how people reach the choices they make under stress.

The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 2017

Trauma is considered nowadays a leading cause of death worldwide. It is a known fact that tens of... more Trauma is considered nowadays a leading cause of death worldwide. It is a known fact that tens of millions of people are injured or disabled every year; children, pedestrians, cyclists and the elderly are among the most vulnerable of road users. However, research supports the fact that a better management of ‘Trauma’ patients leads to an increase in the survival rates and a decrease in morbidity and mortality. In an effort to lessen the burden of death and disability from injury, a spectrum of activities needs to be considered, ranging from surveillance and basic research to prevention programs, to ‘Trauma’ management, among which prevention is the most prominent and vital. Furthermore, efforts are exerted to encourage the preventability of road traffic injuries and promote good practices related to helmet and seatbelt wearing, no drinking while driving, no speeding, and being visible in traffic. This paper elaborates on the importance of the primary care of the injured patients and more importantly, awareness and appropriate training of the health care providers. The purpose of this research is to assess the Lebanese healthcare providers’ knowledge and opinion on ‘Trauma’ education and training towards increasing the awareness of ‘Trauma’ care in Lebanon, improving the education of the health care providers and standardizing the management of ‘Trauma’ patients. A quantitative exploratory research is used utilizing a survey questionnaire as a basis for quantitative analysis using descriptive statistics and causal regression techniques. Research outcomes are to be used as a foundation for recommendations to the Lebanese public sector as well as to the private healthcare institutions so as to promote them to introduce better policies into ‘Trauma’ management principles, and guidelines for more effective practices. To cite this article [Hejase, H. J., El Skaff, D. Hamdar, B. & Hejase, A. J. (2017). Trauma Awareness and Education in Lebanon: An Exploratory Study. The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 3(10), 8-31]. (P-ISSN 24129763) (e-ISSN 2412-8937). www.jomenas.org. 2

Background: The interest in the topic of academic research has drawn much attention in the last t... more Background: The interest in the topic of academic research has drawn much attention in the last two decades especially in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region; though this region has undergone violence, and many wars that have led to the loss of lives of hundreds of thousands, many within the university age category. However, whenever events calm down, universities become crowded with individuals seeking both quality education and research competencies. This is the case reflected in Lebanon as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran), for both have somehow parallel tracks where unrest, wars, and conflicts have left their toll on the population and the youth in specific. Nevertheless, both nations have shown perseverance, self-determination and strong national pride in overcoming the aggressive eco-system surrounding them as they seek continuous progress, improvement, giving special attention to higher education and academic research in particular. Although Iran has been...

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, 2014

Maximizing performance is considered an ultimate goal at business and country levels. Consequentl... more Maximizing performance is considered an ultimate goal at business and country levels. Consequently human talent, viewed as an essential organizational asset, is sought after to fit organizational needs to build best practices in performance. However, researchers have found that culture plays a vital role and isconsidered the most dominant and life-long affecting variable on human outcomes. Although culture-oriented applications is becoming a management trend in developed countries, very little or no research is focused on cultural backgroundofhuman resources performance in Lebanon. This paper sheds light on the aforementioned issue and analyzes current cultural attitudes as gleaned from a sample of universities HR in Lebanon.The methodology used is quantitative descriptive. The research tool is a closed-end, five-scale Likert-type questionnairedesignedbased on Hofstede and GLOBE cultural constructs, and used for surveying purposes.The questionnaire is answered by universities HR rep...

Pharmaceutical firms all over the globe have aggressively embarked on research and development of... more Pharmaceutical firms all over the globe have aggressively embarked on research and development of new medicines whose ultimate aim is to eradicate well known chronic diseases, and relieve humans’ suffering. Parallel to the aforementioned process, firms are seeking to support their human capitalwho is the driver ofinnovation, taking into consideration factors like employees’ satisfaction, working conditions, organizational support, respect, and continuous development, which, among other factors, are considered determinants of behavioral intention that propels employees working at the pharmaceutical companies to stay. However, although pharmaceutical companies have worked hard on the retention of their human capital, which is considered a core competency in their declared endeavors, turnover rates are rising. This paper aims at exploring and assessing the different factors which are considered influential in retaining of employees working at Lebanese pharmaceutical companies.This rese...

Publons reviews and discussion, 2018

Saudi Journal of Business and Management Studies, 2020

Journal of international business research, 2020

Asian Business Research, 2021

Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 2020

International Review of Management and Business Research, 2018

The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 2018

Open Journal of Business and Management, 2020

The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 2017

African Journal of Business Management, 2016

International Journal of Cyber-Security and Digital Forensics, 2015

The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 2017

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, 2014

Publons reviews and discussion, 2018

Higher education institutions are on the guard when asked about what competencies their students ... more Higher education institutions are on the guard when asked about what competencies their students are armed with to face the employers' requirements in the different job market sectors. This presentation sheds light on competencies from two different angels, the first is the spirituality dimension which leads to certain competencies to be utilized in every day life and the competencies generated through research which are identified by experts as well as exploratory research. The outcome is a nice triangulation which shows that every institution may review its curricula and pedagogy used and incorporate competencies pertaining to the specific cultural requirements.

The interest in the topic of academic research has drawn much attention in the last two decades e... more The interest in the topic of academic research has drawn much attention in the last two decades especially in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Knowingly that this specific region has undergone violent events and turmoil beside the many wars fought with the loss of lives of hundreds of thousands, many in the university age category. However, whenever events calmed down universities became crowded with higher education individuals seeking both quality education and research competencies. In particular, Lebanon as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran have somehow parallel tracks where unrest, wars, and conflicts have their toll on the population and the youth in specific. However, both nations have shown perseverance, self-determination and strong national pride to overcome the aggressive eco-system surrounding them and seek continuous progress, improvement and special attention to higher education and academic research in particular. Although the Islamic Republic of Iran was subject to severe sanctions affecting the full potential of their economy, the strategic agenda to seek world quality higher education and producing research of national benefit has grown exponentially in the last decade. On the other hand Lebanon which was subject to tremendous pressures and burdens of the wars from the surrounding countries, also found its way to improve its performance along higher education and research. This paper aims at exposing the different factors that may contribute to foster the academic and research relationship between Lebanon and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The analysis relies on collected data from secondary sources as well as primary data based on interviews with academics and experts from both countries, therefore this research is exploratory, explanatory and qualitative. The outcomes of the research shall shed light on the shared common interests between the two countries pertaining to higher education and research collaboration opportunities. Moreover, results shall support intended policies to regulate the future relationships.

Sexual harassment is a problem that presents itself wherever the workforce is diverse, not becau... more Sexual harassment is a problem that presents itself wherever the workforce is diverse, not because of diversity, rather human intentions. This problem although has gotten attention worldwide, Lebanon is one of the countries that is addressing this problem in the last five years and NGOs are pushing forward to make the Lebanese legal system take action. This presentation is a brief summary of what Sexual Harassment is and intended to raise awareness.