Based on a questionnaire survey and an interview, with additional support from reviews of literature and archival information, this paper examines the underlying causes of the NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) problem in Japan. Those who responded to the survey were senior-grade students from middle schools, high schools, junior college and university, and a group of opinion leaders, who have no direct experience as freeters or NEETs. Findings from the survey suggest that individual personality attributes such as dislike of and inability to adapt to things and situations, over-sensitivity etc. which arise from and are exacerbated by unfavorable family, school, social, and workplace related circumstances, with further negative influences from the economic environment and metamorphic social changes, have given rise to the problem of NEET. The issue has posed a severe challenge to the nation's labor market, and calls for an immediate solution. The paper offers some inductive and deductive suggestions to eradicate the underlying causes of the problem and arrest its further escalation and prevent recurrence.

This paper examines corporate governance in

This paper examines corporate governance in

Activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Bangladesh have gained momentum due to the failure of both governmental organizations (GOs) and for-profit organizations (FPOs) in achieving their mission and objectives, and thus their inability to fulfill needs of the beneficiaries/customers. Prima facie investigations show that little research has been done on the personnel management of NGOs in Bangladesh. In view of this situation, using a mixed method of survey of archival sources, quantitative review of job advertisements data, unstructured interview, and a case study, this research examines personnel management practice of NGOs, and explores basic characteristics in the three areas of personnel selection and recruitment, training and education, and compensation and motivation. The findings suggest that large NGOs implement systematic practices, possess adequate organizational structure, employ professional managers, and nurture pragmatic environments for their personnel management. The NGOs emphasize professionalism and career orientation and implement long-term, forward-looking approaches in their selection, recruitment, and remuneration. These management practices also follow national employment practices, attach importance to national wage and salary principles, policies, and scales for the GO/FPOs, but formulate their principles and systems keeping those in view. The international NGOs (INGOs) follow domestic practices, implement policies and practices of their own which is found to create confusion in the national job market. The small and mid-size NGOs, however, do not possess personnel management practices of their own, rather they follow and imitate larger members. The authors envision further research on this topic with a focus on both of its micro INTRODUCTIONBangladesh has turned into a nation of NGOs, and it is argued humorously that in terms of the number of NGOs for every ten thousand people, Bangladesh ranks number one in the world. NGO activities in this country have gained momentum due to the failure of both the GOs and FPOs to achieve their missions and objectives, which were to fulfill their responsibilities to their customers, beneficiaries, and stakeholders (Farrington & Bebbington, 1993;Nobusue, 2002;Ray, 1983;Siddiqui, 1996). Consequently, NGOs have emerged as an alternative solution to the needs of the market and society. NGO activities occur in economic development, and poverty alleviation through employment creation, micro-credit, gender disparity eradication, education, community building, human rights protection and advocacy, social and environmental development, marginally placed and outreach communities protection, and salvation from destitution, have generated enormous success as demonstrated by the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Grameen Bank and its founder in 2006 (Khondaker, Bhuiyan, Runa, Khanam, Nahar, Hossain, & Khoda, 2007;Holloway, 1998;Yunus, 2000;Potter & Ahmed, 2005). Consequent to this epoch-making incident, the activities of NGOs have gai...

Most industrialized and industrializing countries of the world were highly nervous about the spread effect of the surge of investment, industrialization and economic growth in China during early years of the 2000s. They were anxiously searching for ways and means to protect their economic interests from this effect. To describe this phenomenon eloquently the mass media used the term `China factor in world trade.' Against this backdrop the Japan-Malaysia free trade agreement (FTA) under an economic partnership agreement was signed in 2005 and implemented from 2006 with the expectation that it would be able to protect their bilateral trade from the sharp edge of the China factor and further enhance trade and investment relationships between the two countries. This study examines its effectiveness in influencing their bilateral trade growth in the face of this so called China factor. From analyses of the time series data on Malaysia's trade during 1986-2007 it is observed that the bilateral trade between Malaysia and Japan became stagnant during 2001-2005 with an average annual value of US$25.35 billion as a result of the impact of the China factor. However, during 2006-2007, the initial two years of its operation, the FTA was able to minimize the impacts of the China factor and revamp the growth of the bilateral trade at a modest rate. It is projected that their bilateral trade will grow marginally and reach to US$50.34 billion in 2010; but the growth rate will start declining from that year. This, in effect, indicates that the China factor's massive impact has blunted the sharp-edge of the Japan-Malaysia FTA's `tactical merit' for promoting bilateral trade growth. As a result, it is found to have only a modest and short lived influence on bilateral trade growth in the presence of China's increasing involvement in Malaysia's industrial growth. However, for a more reliable assessment a longer experience of FTA will be required.