This study considers the role of leadership within the hospitality sector as a key tool in raising performance levels. Hospitality is unique in its service-based approach, which relies on employees to ensure effective service. Post-COVID-19 and Brexit, the hospitality sector has seen a shift in reliance towards a home workforce, and as such, retention has become an area of greater importance. This case study investigation adopted a qualitative approach to consider the perceptions of six managers within a UK-based luxury hotel. Semi-structured interviews were used to draw out their experience of approaches used to ensure effective delivery in their areas of responsibility. The research concludes that a shift in leadership approach (from autocratic to democratic) is a necessity to retain staff, particularly as the shift to a greater reliance on a home workforce due to COVID-19 and Brexit starts to impact the sector. There does, however, remain a need to be more autocratic in certain situations to ensure the quality of service. Subsequently, communication becomes critical in the building of relationships. The research considers leadership approaches from a managerial perspective and is based on individual perceptions. Traditionally, research has been conducted from an employee perspective.

This research was conducted with the intention of investigating and analyzing the factors that influence the views that consumers have of advertising on social media platforms. The goal of this study is to look at the many ways that new media ads affect consumers’ purchasing behavior. An evaluation of the validity and reliability of the measures has been carried out with the assistance of confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, the quantitative research approach makes use of both simple random sampling and statistical sampling. The information was gathered via the use of a questionnaire that was issued to fans of new media. Using a Likert scale with five points, the questionnaire’s questions were evaluated to ensure that they were appropriately worded. The total sample size that is employed is 359. The purchase behavior of consumers of new media has been evaluated based on five variables, including the ability to attract attention, provide amusement, establish legitimacy, emphasize creative character qualities, and evoke emotional appeal. The objective of this study paper is to investigate the impact that advertisements broadcast via new media have on consumers’ decision-making processes regarding the acquisition of goods and services. The research’s findings show that when consumers are weighing their options for purchase, advertisements having the largest impact on their purchasing decisions in new media. With the goal of offering important insights into the new media advertising industry, the author seeks to link these results with pertinent ideas from the theoretical framework.

As digital technologies continue to shape the economy, countries are faced with increasing scrutiny in the use of digital transformation to aid productivity and improve performance. In South Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated Small and medium-sized businesses’ (SMEs’) uptake of digital technologies, as many businesses had to shift their operations online and adopt new digital tools and technologies to solve the challenges posed by the pandemic. This has led to an increased focus on digital transformation mechanisms among South African firms. Therefore, the study examines the effect of digital transformation on the productivity of firms using cross-sectional data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) (2020). The survey was based on firms and is a representative sample of the private sector in the South African economy and covers a wide variety of business environment themes, such as infrastructure, competitiveness, access to finance, and performance indicators. We found that digital transformation improved productivity of South African firms. Furthermore, empirical findings are reassuring robust to the IV-2SLS and quantile regression model, size of business, sectoral and provincial analysis. Finally, we recommend that policy makers should develop and implement initiatives to improve digital infrastructure, including high-speed internet access and reliable connectivity, especially in rural and underserved areas.

Metal iodide materials as novel components of thermal biological and medical systems at the interface between heat transfer techniques and therapeutic systems. Due to their outstanding heat transfer coefficients, biocompatibility, and thermally activated sensitivity, metal iodides like silver iodide (AgI), copper iodide (CuI), and cesium iodide (CsI) are considered to be useful in improving the performance of medical instruments, thermal treatment processes, and diagnostics. They are examined for their prospective applications in controlling thermal activity, local heating therapy, and smart temperature-sensitive drug carrier systems. In particular, their application in hyperthermia therapy for cancer treatment, infrared thermal imaging for diagnosis, and nano-based drug carriers points to a place for them in precision medicine. But issues of stability of materials used, biocompatibility, and control of heat—an essential factor that would give the tools the maximum clinical value—remain a challenge. The present mini-review outlines the emerging area of metal iodides and their applications in medical technologies, with a special focus on the pivotal role of these materials in enhancing non-invasive, efficient, and personalized medicine. Over time, metal iodide-based systems scouted a new era of thermal therapies and diagnostic instrumentation along with biomedical science as a whole.