Human Resource Management

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The electronic human resource management in the role of impact of human resource managers
(2010) de Alwis, A.C.
This study examined the impact of the adoption of electronic Human Resource Management (e-HRM) on the Human Resource Management function and how much it has affected to change the role of Human Resource Managers. In addition to that, it was intended to study the level and types of technologies that are used in HR in Sri Lanka and the drivers of adoption of technology in the Sri Lankan context. The study was initially supported through relevant literature in relation to e-HRM. This research was conducted on a sample of 30 large companies randomly selected across various industries and the primary technique of data collection was through a descriptive questionnaire distributed through e-mail or personal visits to companies. Out of the sample, 70 % of the companies have a moderate knowledge and usage of e-HR and a 30 % have a very high knowledge .The role played by HR professionals also changed from “Administrative Expert” to “Strategic Agent”. There were several reasons for driving organizations towards the adoption of e-HRM in Sri Lanka and the most common of which was the desire to be the leading edge. The critical success factors behind the successful implementation were employee attitudes, organizational culture, characteristics and the way of collaborating those with HR and IT. This adoption should not be done in an ad hoc way and it should be planned and implemented in a proper manner. Organization should identify the suitability of the selected software through proper evaluation, because it critically affects the post-performance of the whole system.
A Critical Analysis of The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Education and Training in Vocational Education Sector in Sri Lanka
(2011) Perera, T.; Thelijjagoda, S.
The main objective of this research study is to investigate the usefulness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) education in vocational education and training sector in Sri Lanka. It is at high importance that vocational education and training in Sri Lanka, both as a vital part of our education system and for its industrial competitiveness. The research critically analyses the present structure and process of ICT education on vocational education and training sector in Sri Lanka. According to the research findings the factors; quality of the ICT education, qualifications and competencies of the academic staff, ICT education facilities, and timely updated course syllabus are highly effecting the usefulness of ICT education on Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector. To achieve higher growth in the ICT education in vocational education and training sector, in future years, this paper concludes with a set of recommendations.
E-Learning in Information Management Education in Sri Lanka: Discussion of a research model
(2011) Suraweera, S.A.D.H.N.; Liew, C.L.; Cranefield, J.
This is a part of a PhD research. This research project aims to explore and understand the contextual factors that have significant impact on the use of e-learning in tertiary level Information Management (IM) education in Sri Lanka. The Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council of Sri Lanka recommended that one of the IM education providers should ?take necessary step to commence e-learning? with the goal of increasing equality of access to IM education. However, it is unclear what the necessary step might be, and what factors have significant impact on the use of e-learning. This will be an interpretive case research study using qualitative data collection techniques. A preliminary model of factors has been developed based on literature review and relevant theories and will be used to guide the proposed research. That model will be modified based on data from fieldwork to assist IM educators in Sri Lanka to guide the use of e-learning in tertiary level IM education in Sri Lanka.
A study on measuring return on investment of a key account management training program
(2011) de Alwis, A.C.; Rajaratna, W.D.H.M.
Measuring the return on investment (ROI) in training and development and performance improvement has consistently earned a place among the critical issues in the Human Resource Development (HRD) field. HRD plays a significant role in supporting and driving a continuous improvement culture. Training can be a powerful building block in allowing a business to achieve its goals, indicating that it must be seen as a strategy and not an event. The research problem will be evaluating the return on investment of a training program conducted at one of the main garment exporter in Sri Lanka. The study followed a cost-effective conceptual framework of training evaluation developed by Doucouliagos and Sgro [3]. The model is consisted by four sequential steps, commencing with collecting data, pre- and post training exploration of performance, linking performance outcomes to training and, finally, the calculations of return on investment (ROI). The final research findings indicate that the training program has given significantly high ROI and has led to better customer satisfaction and enhancing other key business performance measures. Also it is found that quality of the training program led to better acquisition of the skills relevant to the training program. Major limitations of this study are identified as calculating the monetary value of benefits, Impact of other uncontrollable factors, Time constraints and Availability of data.
Individual factors and student involvement in extracurricular activities
(12th Annual Research Symposium, University of Kelaniya - 2011, Sri Lanka. p.192., 2011) Wijewantha, P.
Universities are not only places of knowledge creation and dissemination but they have a broad mission: developing and molding a “whole student”. Extracurricular activities are activities performed by students, outside the realm of the normal curriculum of university education. A deep investigation using available sources of literature indicates that there is a knowledge gap especially in the Sri Lankan context, with respect to factors affecting student involvement in extracurricular activities within the university. Primary data for the study were collected through a self developed, personally administered structured questionnaire. Circumstances justified that this study should be conducted among the 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates when considering the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya. The sampling technique t used could be identified as Systematic Sampling, which is a Complex or Restricted Probability Sampling Method. A sample of 100 undergraduates was selected for the study. Based on the study, it was concluded that there is no association between the individual factors of gender, ethnicity, religion, school attended, location of home town and family income level, whereas there is an association between the relationship status of undergraduates and their involvement in extracurricular activities. Further this creates the need to investigate whether the extracurricular activities available for students at university will develop the employable undergraduate required by the world of work.
The Challenges of Sri Lanka Becoming an IT-BPO Destination
(2011) Jayaweera, M.; Thelijjagoda, S.
This research study attempts to find the actual challenges faced by Sri Lanka becoming an IT-BPO global destination. Sri Lanka is renowned for its tea, rubber, tourism and apparel exports and is rising to become the next best global destination for IT- BPO. The emerging destinations have a competitive and tough challenge to be on the top, so that they will attract global companies to setup BPO ventures in their respective countries. The countries that have reached this status have taken every step to ensure that infrastructure, human capital, government policies are in place and are well planned with open policies to ensure that foreign investment is challenged in. There are two specific objectives of this research; first to seek the challenges faced by Sri Lanka to become an IT-BPO destination and second to provide suggestions to overcome the identified challenges by evaluating how other countries such as India, China and Egypt have overcome such challenges when entering the IT-BPO business domain.
IT Driven Banking Services in Sri Lanka: Customer Acceptance and Service Quality
(2011) Suraweera, T.; Kahingala, S.; Batepola, A.; Punchihewa, M.G.; Senevirathne, K.; Kahandawaarachchi, C.
This research investigates the factors associated with the customer acceptance of information technology driven banking services (ITDBS) in Sri Lanka. Structured and unstructured interviews with over 180 customers and 23 bank managers and a questionnaire survey were employed as primary data collection methods in this study. The results indicate that although ATM services are extensively used, the usage of other IT driven services such as online banking, mobile banking, internet payment gateway and telephone banking is almost insignificant. Although this study was initially conceptualized with the view to developing a model that explains the customer adoption of ITDBS, the aim of research was later altered to examine the factors behind non-acceptance of these services (apart from the ATMs). Accordingly a comprehensive model that identifies the factors behind the customer reluctance to use ITDBS in Sri Lanka is developed. This customer reluctance model demonstrates that there are number of significant factors for Sri Lankan customers to refrain from using such ITDBS. Some of them can be attributed to customer behaviour ad perception, on one side, and to the banks as the service provider, on the other. However, the service providers have the ultimate responsibility to get the support of customers to adopt a service that they initiate. This model may be an eye opener for banking professionals who design, develop and market new IT driven banking services. Researchers can use the model to further investigate and understand issues related to adoption of these very important IT applications in Sri Lanka
Reasons for Unionization and Politicization of Trade Unions in Sri Lanka
(University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. p.01-02, 2011) Wijewantha, P.; Gamage, P.
Observations indicate that, the majority of both private and public sector organizations in Sri Lanka have trade unions and a higher percentage of the workforce has some form of trade union membership. Majority of the trade unions in these organizations are branches of main trade unions affiliated to leading political parties. As it is found in this study on reasons for unionization and impact of their politicalization, a multiplicity of trade unions is in operation in the selected state organizations. This has been mainly due to people having various motives to fulfil through trade unions and in addition due to their affiliation to achieve objectives of political parties. Situations prevailing in the selected organizations are not for the wider interests of the workers and are also harmful in considering the objectives of the trade union movement in general. This has created a negative feeling among the workers about the trade unions and it is implied when looking at their reasons for unionization. As such it has become necessary to pioneer efforts in bringing the trade union activities to the right track especially in the South Asian context, for the trade unions to be contributory to the employee welfare and national development. The study proposes certain measures based on the observations in bringing the country’s trade union movement to the right path.
Motivation for buying branded items: a cross country application of Maslows hierarchy of needs in consumer decision making
(2011) De Alwis, A.C.; Chovancova, M.; Asamoah, M.E.; Samarakoon, S.A.K.A.; Guo, Y.
The brand is a pledge to buyers about the quality and prestige of a product or service. The main objective of this study is to analyse the importance of branding in the decision making of buyers and to examine the motives that drive consumer decisions when buying branded items. The conceptual framework of this study groups the hierarchy of needs according to Maslow into two main motives. The motives are risk reduction and social demonstrance. In this study, the non-probability sampling method was used to select respondents from four different countries namely, the Czech Republic, China, Ghana and Sri Lanka and a semi-structured questionnaire was administered. A total of 979 valid responses from the respective countries were used in the analysis. Findings from the study are that, among the selected countries, brands play an important role in consumer buying behaviour and risk reduction, social demonstrance are motives that drive consumer purchases.
Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Work-Life Balance with the Moderating Effect of Coworker Support
(Proceedings of the Annual Research Symposium 2012, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2012) Sangarandeniya, Y.M.S.W.V.; Wijewantha, P.
In the modern day employment context, with extensive demands placed on professionals, they are facing the challenge of striking a balance between their personal life and work-life, irrespective of whether they work in the state or the private sector. With the strenuous nature of the job and the limited amount of research tapping this area it was identified as appropriate to look at how the medical doctors strike a balance between their work and personal life. Accordingly, this study fills that gap in knowledge by looking at how Emotional Intelligence (EI) competency of doctors impact on their ability of striking a Work-Life Balance (WLB). EI is a cross-section of emotional and social competencies that determine how well people understand and express themselves, understand and relate with others, and cope with their daily demands and pressures. Further, it was tested whether the perceived co-worker support which is a key construct associated with work in the health sector is moderating this relationship between the independent and the dependent variable. EI was measured using the Trait Meta-mood scale whereas WLB was measured using the scale adopted by Rangreji (2010). Items measuring perceived co-worker support were adapted from the perceived organizational support scale used by Wayne, Shore, and Liden (1997). Data were collected from a sample of 244 doctors working in teaching hospitals using a self-administered questionnaire. The impact of EI on WLB was tested using simple regression analysis, whereas the impact of the moderating variable on this relationship was tested using the moderated multiple regression analysis. Results indicated that EI has a significant predicting effect on WLB of medical doctors and that relationship was significantly moderated by perceived co-worker support. Finally theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Transactional, transformational leadership and employee performance: the mediating effect of union commitment
(2012) Dhammika, K.A.S.; Ahmad, F.B.; Sam, T.L.
Protean Career Attitude And Organizational Commitment A Study Among Mid- Career MBAs
(University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2012) Wijewantha, P.
Commitment is an attitude reflecting an employee's loyalty to the organization, and an ongoing process through which organization members express their concern for the organization and its continued success and well being. With the increasing mobility of employees especially the mid careers, the HR Departments are highly concerned about maintaining the level commitment and loyalty of employees towards their organizations. Given this continuing importance of organizational commitment, this study examines the impact of mid career manager’s protean career attitude on organizational commitment with the moderation effect of developmental opportunities. Despite the growing concern on protean career attitudes in the international research domain little empirical evidence is available with regard to it in the Sri Lankan context and this study attempts to fill that knowledge gap. Affective, continuance and normative commitment are identified as the dimensions of organizational commitment where as self-directed career management and values-driven career management are identified as the dimensions of protean career attitude. Data was collected from a convenience sample of 92 part-time MBAs using a self administered questionnaire. Meyer and Allen’s 24 item Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) was used to measure organizational commitment where as the protean career attitude was measured using the 14 item Protean career attitude scale of Briscoe and Hall. Data collected were analyzed using correlation, regression, or moderated multiple regression. Perceived organizational and supervisor support, organizational culture and leadership style of the supervisor are controlled for in the data analysis. There exists a negative relationship between protean career attitude of mid career managers and organizational commitment, where the development opportunities moderated this relationship. This means higher developmental opportunities resulted in higher commitment even for those with higher levels of protean career attitude. Finally the practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
Mediating effect of union commitment on the relationship between transactional and transformational leadership and organizational commitment: an empirical investigation
(2012) Dhammika, K.A.S.; Ahmad, F.B.; Sam, T.L.
The new mechanism for the performance evaluation of cooperatives
(2012) De Alwis, A.C.
Co-operatives are exceptional type of organization because of their purpose for existence. They are running business based on predetermined norms called “Co-operative value and principles”. In point of fact, if they depart from this so-called value system, there is no cooperative continuation hereafter. One of the special features behind this body is the owner (member) plays dual role with it, as an owner and the foremost customer segment. Because of those surroundings they cannot construct profit maximization as an organizational objective. But really, they have to earn some profits for the survival and long term advancement of the unit. Because of this foundation and special purpose for existence, they can be recognizing as “Co-operative business” by combing the purpose of the entity and its operation. Thus performance of this special entity must be measured through unique mechanism appropriate to the specialty. This article suggests new mechanism for the performance evaluation named “Co-operative performance matrix” by combining business and co-operative valueperformances.
Successor’s satisfaction on business succession process
(2013) de Alwis, A.C.
Purpose of the article Post succession performance of family owned businesses has become ineffective. Literature specifies that inter-generational succession is the prime cause for succession failures. Due to this, current family owned businesses focus attention on finding alternative, profitable succession modes. The foremost purpose of this research was to compare performances of family and non-family successors. Methodology/methods The study comprises two stages: Exploratory study was used to develop the conceptual framework and hypotheses, and also formal study was used. Sample units were selected through simple random sampling. The data collection modes were a mail survey and in-depth discussions. Scientific aim of the study is to compare family member successors with unrelated manager successors based on the successors’ initial satisfaction with the business succession process.. Findings According to study findings, not all successors are completely satisfied with the business succession process. Unrelated manager successors have higher satisfaction the family member successors, but neither group exceeds the moderate level. All successors recorded lower performance than the incumbent but unrelated manager successors had better results the family member successors in both indicators Conclusions If family members are not available or unprepared for business succession, unrelated manager successors are a viable alternative.
Moderating effect of union politicization on leadership and employee outcomes relation: An empirical study on public sector organizations in Sri Lanka
(2013) Dhammika, K.A.S.; Ahmad, F.B.; Sam, T.L.
Individual Factors And Student Involvement In Extra Curricular Activities
(University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. p.01., 2013) Wijewantha, P.
The study focuses on how individual factors affect students’ involvement in Extra Curricular activities at the university. Primary data are collected through a Questionnaire from 100 undergraduates selected using Systematic Sampling from 2nd & 3rd Years of the Management Faculty, University of Kelaniya. Hypotheses are tested using the critical value approach and the p-Value approach using the PHStat software of MS Excel. It is concluded that there is no association between the individual factors - gender, ethnicity, religion, school attended, home town and family income level, where as there is an association between relationship status of undergraduates and involvement in extracurricular activities. Further, it is needed to investigate whether extracurricular activities available at university develop the employable undergraduate required by the world of work. As otherwise it is no point in continuing student engagement in them as they do not develop anything for the benefit of them and the society.
Effects of Glass Ceiling on Women Career Development in Private Sector Organizations – Case of Sri Lanka
(2013) de Alwis, A.C.; Bombuwela, P.M.
The study was entirely designed by centering the focal problem of the effect of Glass Ceiling on Women Career Development. The overall study was structure based on the conceptual framework built up using the information of literature survey. The study was conducted with the aim of obtaining the following objective. That is “To find out the Effect of Glass Ceiling on Women Career Development with regard to female executive level employees who are working in private sector organizations.” At the same time, hypotheses are developed to find out whether there is a significant effect of Individual Factors, Family Factors, Organizational Factors and Cultural Factors on Women Career development. Merely this study has been completed with an empirical survey which was thoroughly conducted using a self-administered questionnaire and the sample consisted of 150 women executives. For presenting and analyzing the data both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The findings reveal that the Glass Ceiling and Women Career Development have a moderate negative relationship, and also show that Individual Factors, Organizational Factors and Cultural Factors have a significant effect on Women Career Development whereas Family Factor has effects on the Glass Ceiling. Following the study results, a conclusion was eventually made that there are significant effects of the Glass Ceiling on Women Career Development of Executive level female employees working in private sector organizations in Sri Lanka. By taking all these facts into consideration, better recommendations have been made in this study. Finally, the most valuable suggestions for further studies and limitations of the study have been outlined.
Impact Of Perceived Work-Life Benefit Usefulness On Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB): The Mediating Role Of Perceived Organizational Support (POS)
(11th International Conference on Business Management - 2014, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. p.361., 2014) Wijewantha, P.
This study proposed and tested a model that links perceived work-life benefit usefulness with OCB based on the Social Exchange Theory (SET), and it also proposes that the direct relationship is mediated by Perceived Organizational Support (POS). SET supports the possibility that perceived usefulness of work-life benefits would promote employee OCBs as workers may feel obligated to exert „extra‟ effort in return for „extra‟ useful benefits. The study was designed to investigate why the female school teachers of international schools do not demonstrate desired OCBs. A significant positive relationship was found between perceived work-life benefit usefulness and OCB and that relationship was partially mediated by POS. The study is done among 212 female teachers of international schools located in the Western province of the country. Data were collected using an anonymous selfadministered questionnaire filled by the teachers and their respective officers-in-charge. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0 where simple regression analysis was used to test the direct relationship and four step three regressions approach was used for the mediator test. This study is of immense significance for the managements of non-governmental schools as they require high levels of employee commitment to ensure quality of service to the satisfaction of students and their parents to face the competition amidst the large number of such schools in the country at present. Though the potential to produce the desired effects is obvious, research is yet to address the issue in the present context, and this study fills that void in research.
Impact of Reward Management and Decision Making on Job Satisfaction: Case of Sri Lanka
(IJSER, 2014) Jayarathna, S.M.D.Y.
Job Satisfaction is one of the most significant attitudes of the employees of an organization. Job satisfaction used to describe whether the employees are happy, asserted and fulfilling their desires and needs at work. The organizations are challenged, as they have to make the employee’s satisfied in their Job. So they will perform better and consequently organization will achieve their competitive edge. Thus achieving Job Performance of the employees has been significant for both Private and Public Organizations. Basically organizational practices affect the job satisfaction in a considerable extent. Hence there is a need to investigate the how the organizational practices affect the Job Satisfaction of the employees. Therefore the objective of this research was to identify the impact of Reward Management and Decision Making on Job Performance. The Independent Variables were Reward Management, Decision making, and the Dependent Variable was Job Satisfaction. The reliability of the instruments was tested against the data. This study was engaged in hypothesis testing and it was corelational. This research was conducted in the natural environment where work proceeds normally, with less interference of the researchers (noncontrived). Data was collected from each individual: an employee of the public banks, and the study was cross sectional. The analysis was based on the information collected using a self administered questionnaire. Data used for analysis were totally based on primary data which was collected using a questionnaire developed by the researcher. According to the results, there is an impact on reward management, decision making on job satisfaction, and there is a relationship between reward management, decision making and job satisfaction which is significant. Based on that it can be concluded employee’s job satisfaction have been impacted by reward management and decision making.