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Purpose: The oil and gas industry is a crucial economic sector for both developed and developing economies. Delays in extraction and refining of these resources would adversely affect industrial players, including that of the host countries. Supplier selection is one of the most important decisions taken by managers of this industry that affect their supply chain operations. However, determining suitable suppliers to work with has become a phenomenon faced by these managers and their organizations. Furthermore, identifying relevant, critical and important criteria needed to guide these managers and their organizations for supplier selection decisions has become even more complicated due to various criteria that need to be taken into consideration. With limited works in the current literature of supplier selection in the oil and gas industry having major methodological drawbacks, the purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated approach for supplier selection in the oil and gas industry. Design/methodology/approach: To address this problem, this paper proposes a new uncertain decision framework. A grey-Delphi approach is first applied to aid in the evaluation and refinement of these various available criteria to obtain the most important and relevant criteria for the oil and gas industry. The grey systems theoretic concept is adopted to address the subjectivity and uncertainty in human judgments. The grey-Shannon entropy approach is used to determine the criteria weights, and finally, the grey-EDAS (evaluation based on distance from average solution) method is utilized for determining the ranking of the suppliers. Findings: To exemplify the applicability and robustness of the proposed approach, this study uses the oil and gas industry of Iran as a case in point. From the literature review, 21 criteria were established and using the grey-Delphi approach, 16 were finally considered. The four top-ranked criteria, using grey-Shannon entropy, include warranty level and experience time, relationship closeness, supplier's technical level and risks which are considered as the most critical and influential criteria for supplier evaluation in the Iranian oil and gas industry. The ranking of the suppliers is obtained, and the best and worst suppliers are also identified. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the results using the proposed methodology are robust. Research limitations/implications: The proposed approach would assist supply chain practicing managers, including purchasing managers, procurement managers and supply chain managers in the oil and gas and other industries, to effectively select suitable suppliers for cooperation. It can also be used for other multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) applications. Future works on applying other MCDM methods and comparing them with the results of this study can be addressed. Finally, broader and more empirical works are required in the oil and gas industry. Originality/value: This study is among the first few studies of supplier selection in the oil and gas industry from an emerging economy perspective and sets the stage for future research. The proposed integrated grey-based MCDM approach provides robust results in supplier evaluation and can be used for future domain applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to categorise the approaches to knowledge management (KM) by companies. In the literature, there is no consensus on a universal or "best" approach to KM. Especially, this paper singles out and discusses the variegated features that characterise the implementation of KM by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) having different characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: A cluster analysis was used to detect the possible distinct traits of companies that have different approaches to KM. The unit of analysis is represented by small- and medium-sized knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) firms. Data were collected by means of an extensive survey of 223 companies in different European countries and sectors. Findings: Three clusters were identified: Companies showing a relative "unconscious" attention to KM and implementing KM practices without particular awareness; Companies adopting a more conscious approach and using a significant number of KM practices; and companies with a marginal propensity towards KM. Research limitations/implications: This study considers only KIBS, and future research should include other economic sectors. In addition, a convenience sample was used. Practical implications: This paper improves awareness of managers of small companies concerning different KM approaches that can be adopted. It highlights that a conscious adoption of a KM strategy involves the introduction of a set of consistent practices. Originality/value: The topic of KM approaches by small companies is still underdeveloped in the literature. Also, the paper proposes a multi-contextual investigation that makes it possible to highlight the transversality of KM approaches across different countries or sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a paper which summarizes the literature on global financial crisis by emphasizing the glut of savings globally and the demand for financial resources in developed countries. It states the it seeks to answer two key questions such as one on the cause of the financial crisis and one on the reason why the spillover effects is so destructive to various industrial countries. It also mentions that the crisis rapidly spread across economies, economic sectors and in equity markets.

The article explores the nationwide debate in Cuba on two policy papers, the theoretical framework "Conceptualizacion del Modelo Económico y Social Cubano de Desarrollo Socialista" and the "Plan Nacional de Desarrollo Económico y Social." It highlights the ideological and political statements contained by the policy papers, along with the principles they feature. Other topics include the concepts of property and the key economic sectors .

Even though the concepts and observations underlying sustainability are not a novelty, sustainable development was given impetus and made popular in 1987 by the Brundtland Report. This report introduced development policies and strategies that acknowledged the importance of resource and environmental constraints and the limitations imposed on growth patterns. Although sustainable development proved difficult to define and make operative, the concept was progressively applied to those economic sectors which had major detrimental effects on income, employment and wealth. Sustainable tourism was effectively one part of the effort to take full account of the current and future economic, social and environmental impacts of the sector, addressing the needs of visitors, industry, environment and host communities. After reviewing the main questions referring to the environmental, economic and social aspects of tourism development, this paper tries to identify a balanced indicator showing the impact of tourist accommodation facilities and related infrastructure in Sicily in terms of the three fundamental pillars of sustainability. Based on this indicator, the ranking of the nine Sicilian provinces is provided. In a wider perspective, the proposed approach is applied to make a comparison of tourism sustainability in Sicily and in other Italian regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a data science approach based on Benford's Law to analyse tourist flows – being tourism a relevant economic sector in Sicily. In particular, we are interested in detecting irregular patterns in the numerical data that may represent manipulations, inaccuracies or biases in the self-reported data from tourism organisations. The analysis is carried out by using monthly data for arrivals and overnight stays in hotels, B&Bs, and complementary accommodations in the seven provinces of the island from January 2016 to December 2019. We perform the analysis by employing several statistical tests and through a visual inspection of the difference between the empirical distributions and the theoretical Benford's. Conformity to Benford's distribution is mostly confirmed for the total number of overnight stays and the data considered on a yearly basis. On the contrary, we found evident deviations from Benford's Law in the empirical distribution of data broken down by nationality of tourist and accommodation type. Some comments on possible motivations for such deviations are also advanced, even though a detailed exploration of them deserves a devoted study. • We discuss data validity through compliance with Benford's Law. • We employ a wide set of statistical tests for testing the compliance. • We consider the empirical case of touristic flows in Sicily for a quadrennium. • We discuss deviations and regularities of the data from Benford's Law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With the global outbreak of COVID-19 that has made the economic activities standstill, countries have taken immediate measures to safeguard not only the human lives but also the economies. This study investigates empirically the lockdown impact of current pandemic on the Saudi economy. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs inoperability input–output model (IIOM) on the input–output table (IOT) of Saudi Arabia for the analysis. Findings: Findings show that with the closure of few sectors for the period of two months, the GDP declined to 6.49%. Findings also show a negative impact on consumption, investments and exports. Research limitations/implications: One limitation of current study is that it uses IOTs which lack primary and secondary income distribution that is vital for presenting complete interindustry connections in the analysis. The interindustry structures relate to the consumption structures which ultimately lead to the income distribution and affect the consumption behaviors of economic agents. Hence, the complete income circular flow is not incorporated in IIOM using IOT. The findings of current study would be well grounded if it endogenized the primary and secondary income distribution. Practical implications: The practical implication of this study is the use of IIOM for anticipating the potential loss against the backdrop of catastrophes and pandemics. The IIOM has the capability to predict the economic effects of disruptive events and hence the policy-makers can better predict and devise prudent policies to avoid the likely threats to the economy. Originality/value: The current situation is unprecedented, and it is challenging for governments to forecast the economic repercussions. Several economic sectors have been inoperative due to lockdown implemented by the governments. This study empirically estimated the inoperability produced by the current pandemic. The findings are consistent with other estimated statistics, thereby proving the efficacy of IIOM to anticipate the economic repercussions of natural hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the present scenario of globalization, and increasing interdependence among various sectors, Human Resource Development is expected to perform a very crucial role. HRD intrinsically recognizes that 'people' are the organization's singularly important and valuable resources and that they need to be developed in terms of their knowledge, skill and attitude for achieving their personal as well as organizational goals. HRD must concentrate on moving up the value chain and focus on value creation and value addition. This paper focuses on the importance of HRD in service sector with special reference to banking sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the economic outlook of India in 2009. It states that deepening the country's global meltdown, slowing domestic economy and eventually the terror attacks in Mumbai had a devastating impact on the sector. It adds that there is no expected recovery in realizations, especially with new capacities being created and the tourism industry reeling under the terrorist attacks.

Presents an update on the condition of the U.S. credit market in line with the forthcoming Republican convention of U.S. President George W. Bush in 2004. Information on the floating rate deal closed by CIT Group; Increase in volume for floating rate paper for the first eight months of the year; Update on other sectors such as the automobile, telecommunication, and media industries.

The article talks about the declining number of commercial banks in the U.S. The findings of the paper "Explaining the Decline in the Number of Banks since the Recession" by authors Roisin McCord, Edward Simpson Prescott and Tim Sablik and published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond are discussed. The paper indicates the impact of the decline on credit allocation to different economic sectors in the country.

A recent study conducted by the Lithuanian Energy Institute explores the importance of import diversification in ensuring a country's supply security. The research focuses on the economic sector and aims to fill a literature gap by analyzing import diversification methods and measures. The study provides a ranking of these methods and measures based on an analysis and assessment. The findings highlight the need for import diversification in a globalized world that is prone to supply disruptions. For more information, readers can refer to the journal article published in Acta Montanistica Slovaca. [Extracted from the article]

Several charts and tables that list the production indicators, leading indicators and prices, of various sectors including automobiles, stock prices, and gold, of the U.S. economy for December 1984 are presented.

The article explores business opportunities in Jamaica. It offers a look at the country's economic growth, as well as the government's structural reform programs. It discusses the efforts by the Jamaican government to achieve economic liberalization and stabilization. The state of the country's key economic sectors such as tourism, mining, agriculture and manufacturing are described. It outlines the several advantages that Jamaica offers to foreign investors, including a free zone expansion, tax breaks, excellent market access, diverse economic sectors and a quality infrastructure.

Presents information on the economic and political conditions in Nicaragua. Discussion of the case involving Enrique Bolanos, the cotton grower and former guerrilla, Interior Minister Tomás Borge; Absence of any sign that Nicaraguan business class is ready to pack up and flee en masse, despite bullying from the Sandinistas; Disenchantment of Nicaraguan private enterprise with the Somozas.

Focuses on the efforts of the Sri Lankan government to reduce poverty by stimulating economic growth. Actions taken by the government and the domestic private sector to create a flexible market; Importance of the approval of The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; Changes sought for the Termination of Employment of Workmen Act and the Industrial Disputes Act.

The article presents research which examined the welfare of horses and donkeys in Europe. Topivs covered include the adaptability of the animals to various activities in the equine industry and importance of their adaptability to the economic sector. Also mentioned is the Animal Welfare Indicators project to launch on-farm welfare assessment protocol for equines.

The article discusses the application of a solutions focused approach in addressing problems in the voluntary sector. It highlights the challenges faced by voluntary sector organizations and the pressures on the people within those organizations. It also describes the author's own experience in using a solution-focused approach.

The article focuses on the economic aspects of the software industry. It says that open-source systems providers have been able to survive the technology freeze during the economic downturn and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers bounced back early and strong. AMI Partners Inc. forecasts an annual growth rate of 18% for this sector through 2015. It provides list on the best-of-breed software vendors which include A3 Solutions Inc., Acorn Systems Inc., and Actuate Corp.

Presents a chart of Standards & Poor's (S&P) 500 sector performances in the U.S. from 1959 to 1999. Sectors by which investment was favorable in the 1970s; Increase in the S&P 500-stock index during the entire 10-year span; Industries which showed the strongest performances; Decrease in the stock and investment performance of the services and waste management industries during the 1990s.

Several charts are presented that rank corporations within each industry according to their total revenue including the aerospace and defense industry, the energy industry, and the health care industry.

The article discusses and examine the millennium survey on the issues and directions that human resource (HR) management is facing characterized by the migration from production to knowledge worker. Topics mentioned include the findings from the phase one millennium survey, the findings from the interviews, and the discussion on centralization and decentralization. Among the findings on the millennium survey include the topics on sector analysis, labor unions, and self-service.

The article presents information on the increase in gross domestic product (GDP) in Azerbaijan from January through July 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, according to the State Statistics Committee. Topics discussed include the shares of the agricultural industry and other sectors in the structure of country's GDP, net tax revenue from imports of products, and the volume of industrial production in the country.

The article discusses the changes in the allocation of official development assistance (ODA) to developing countries by donor countries as of December 2014. Also tackled are such topics as the bilateral aid, the multilateral development organisations, the trend of allocating aid from other sectors to the social and administrative sector in 1987-2012 due to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), as well as the commodity aid and programme assistance.

The article refers to the Monthly Azerbaijan Business Monitoring Report for September 2019. Topics include eurasian country's economic growth in gross domestic product (GDP); growth in all sectors including information and communications, agriculture, forestry & fisheries, tourism and catering; and decline in the construction sector.

The article offers the borrower's and bookrunners' comments on the bond issue by public sector borrowers in Ireland, amounting to €4 billion, launched on November 4, 2008 and will mature on November 11, 2011. The bookrunners' believe that the shorter option suited Ireland as it does not have a 2011 benchmark. They think that the selling point for Irish debt at the moment is that the country has a debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of only 25% compared with the European Union (EU) average of 44%.

The article suggests that the reclassification of institutional units can have a significant effect on public sector employment estimates in Great Britain. It mentions the most significant reclassification that took effect from October 9, 2007, which saw Northern Rock PLC being reclassified from the private to the public sector. It cites the implications of the decision to include the Bank of England in public sector employment.

The article focuses on the growing conflict between Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO. As reported, Stern has been highly critical of the AFL-CIO and has spearheaded the creation of a new organization, the New Unity Partnership (NUP), to pressure the AFL-CIO to reform. Stern reportedly has been taking steps to form a new CIO-type federation if the NUP's campaign to shake up the AFL-CIO fails. Stern's criticisms of the AFL-CIO have made him unpopular with some union presidents. The SEIU's success, they argue, has largely been among public-sector workers, not aggressively anti-union private-sector employers, whom unions must prevail against if the labor movement is to succeed.

A table is presented which lists several supersectors based on an employer survey of Minnesota nonfarm payroll Jobs, hours and earnings including financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and educational and health services.

The article presents quotes from Nomura Securities Co. Ltd.'s economist Zach Pandl regarding decline in payroll employment as reported by ADP forecast, Goldman Sachs & Co.'s economist Terry Darling enlisting several sectors covered by Goldman Sachs in the first half of 2010 and BNP Paribas SA's economists Jean-Marc Lucas reporting an improvement in Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI) in December 2009.

The article reports on the impact of the rally in public sector secondary spreads on sovereign, supranational, and agency (SSA) issuers. The rally is said to lead to a complete reversal of fortunes for SSA issuers in the second half of 2009. The drop in supply dynamics are expected to give issuers the ability to dictate pricing levels in the second half of the year.

Discusses the expectations of credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) on corporate earnings in 2004 despite the volatile U.S. stock prices over the past weeks of March 2004. Economic outlook of S&P in real gross domestic product in 2004; Services which were projected to show decline in 2004; Expected economic conditions in the U.S. in 2004; Sectors projected to have earnings per share growth for the year 2004.