efficiency

Technology innovation affects both the public and private non-financial sectors, the zakat institution (Islamic social finance) included. The institution uses an online system to communicate with zakat payers and zakat recipients to ensure its effectiveness in terms of collection and distribution. This research focuses on the adoption of a technique known as AD/AC and ZP/ZR, which is mainly utilized by partially and non-privatized State zakat institutions in Malaysia. To this end, three (3) techniques pertaining to appraising the performance of Malaysia’s Zakat institutions in managing Zakat funds were established. The analysis also includes the adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the performance of zakat collection of the respective zakat institutions in Malaysia. In this relation, a quantitative approach was adopted using the primary and secondary data collected from JAWHAR and various states’ zakat institutions. By utilizing a technique of online data collection and applying the AD/AC as well as ZP/ZR methods, the performance of Malaysia’s zakat institutions is appraised. Furthermore, with the help two (2) ratios and eight (8) scenarios the performance of the innovative technique of AD/AC and ZP/ZR for zakat collection and disbursement, efficiency and sustainability of zakat institutions in Malaysia were evaluated. The results show that most zakat institutions, particularly those that deal with zakat payments, have begun to use the technique AD/AC and ZP/ZR within their organizations. The performance of zakat institutions in all states in terms of zakat distribution and disbursement do not have a consistent trend for the period 2016-2020. However, there is still a dearth of technology being used for zakat disbursements and fund reporting. From the observed data, with 2016 being the exception, for each remaining year, a state in Malaysia is ranked as the best technology performer or the most efficient. Selangor - fully privatized state (2017), Pulau Pinang - fully privatized state (2018), Federal Territory - partially privatized state (2019) and Negeri Sembilan-partially privatized state (2020) are the most efficient for the respective year. The sustainability of each zakat institution in Malaysia in the presence of Covid-19 pandemic was ascertained as well. Interestingly, contrary to the efficiency result, all non-privatized states (Kedah, Sabah and Kelantan) and one partially privatized state (Negeri Sembilan) were sustainable in coping with Covid-19 pandemic, while all fully privatized states (Selangor and Pulau Pinang) were not. Overall, it was conjectured that the technique AD/AC as well as ZP/ZR would help to improve the operations of zakat institutions to become more efficient and successful in distributing zakat fund to the poor. However, as zakat collecting and distribution involved millions of records, its management is still debatable by all parties.

The governance gap is an important one and somewhat unknown. Although there is a lot of talk about how and why, but so far it has not been addressed in detail. This gap is the result of non-compromise and agreement on principles and foundations and arising from the atmosphere of conflict that arose in the years after 1997 between the two discourses of reformism and fundamentalism. In this research, using the method of discourse, while examining the discourse of the Islamic Revolution as well as the two discourses of reformism and fundamentalism, the two issues of the relationship between the conflict and the gap between the two with the category of "efficiency "and then" political stability "have been considered. This study seeks to answer the question: "What effect has the governance gap in the Islamic Republic of Iran had on the efficiency of the system in the years after 1997?" And its main finding is that the governance gap, by creating instability in the political system, has provided grounds for inefficiency in some areas. In a way, if this rift and conflict did not exist, the political system would have functioned better.

This paper examines the effectiveness of implementing artificial intelligence (AI) in the Google Ads advertising service. The study analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of AI integration, focusing on attribution models and end-to-end analytics. The findings show that traditional metrics, such as CTR, CPC, and ROI, used to evaluate advertising campaign performance, exhibit significant statistical errors when AI tools are applied, with errors reaching up to 35%, exceeding typical business margins. A comparative analysis in the construction industry highlights discrepancies of 10% to 35% between traditional and AI-driven models. The study concludes that universal AI algorithms often fail to account for industry-specific dynamics, leading to inaccurate evaluations. The practical significance of this research lies in proposing an alternative approach that combines traditional evaluation methods with AI-based tools, offering a more reliable framework for assessing campaign effectiveness

After assessing the efficiency of the units under evaluation, determining their ranking becomes a critical concern for decision-making. Ranking methodologies rely on specific unit inputs and outputs, but some variables affecting unit performance are not directly observable and are termed contextual variables. Thus, the primary objective of this research is to introduce a ranking methodology that incorporates these variables. To achieve this, a two-step approach is employed. Firstly, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique calculates efficiency scores for each Decision-Making Unit (DMU), considering its unique inputs and outputs. Subsequently, the linear regression method is applied to assess the impact of contextual variables on efficiency. Finally, efficiency scores are modified by removing the impact of contextual variables, enabling unit ranking. To illustrate this proposed methodology, we conducted a performance evaluation of provincial gas companies in Iran. The evaluation covered four periods, from 2013 to 2016.