General Management
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Item A Comparative Study of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Developed and Developing Countries(2011) Welmilla, I.; Armstrong, A.; Heenatigala, K.; Tilakasiri, K.This exploratory study examines the theoretical and practical comparison of the concept of CSR between the developed and developing countries with CSR definitions, frameworks and concepts being considered. In reviewing CSR literature on developed and developing world specially this study concerned the CSR practices and theoretical understanding between the two world. However, it is argued that the business and society in these countries have been rather misrepresented in their historical perceptions of CSR, and are now being misrepresented as having intentions other than philanthropic. To understand the CSR benefits, measurements and definitions also add to the concept of CSR. However, the major limitation of the study is that there is a dearth of research in CSR in the developing world which is still in its primary stage.Item A Multivariate Cointegration Analysis of Inflation in Sri Lanka(2011) Kesavarajah, M.This study attempts to analyze the experience of inflation in Sri Lanka for the period 1978 to 2010 using the econometric framework of Johanson and Juselius cointegration approach, vector error correction model(VECM) and Granger causality analysis. The Annual time series data drawn from various annual reports of Central Bank of Sri Lanka were used in this study. The empirical results of the study indicate the existence of long run dynamic relationships among the variables. Vector error correction model shows that money supply growth, budget deficit, and exchange rate depreciation have significant positive effects on inflation. Evidence from Granger causality analysis suggests the existence of unidirectional causality from money supply to inflation, exchange rate to inflation and budget deficit to inflation is significant, while the causal relationship from inflation to money supply, exchange rate and budget deficit is insignificant. Hence, the results of this study emphasize the need to put in place a stable macroeconomic policy environment relating to these variables in an effort to maintain price stability, since low inflation would enhance economic growth.Item A Strategy on Competitive Intelligence for the Sri Lankan Rubber Industry to Generate Potential Value(2011) Ekanayake, S.; Abeysinghe, D.The competitive intelligence (CI) is analyzed knowledge and foreknowledge having effective decision making powers to empower business innovative performance for evolution of market advantage and potential value. The competitive intelligence reins with power of knowledge: knowledge management influence business performance to protect intellectual capital vulnerable to competitor incursions, to receive intellectual benefits and appropriation to extract potential market value. The concept of ?competitive intelligence? came to light during an empirical investigation in the Sri Lanka rubber industry. The industry had developed its market advantage as ?latex crepe rubber?, but, had stagnated thereafter by trading it as a commodity. Nonexistence of industrial strategy and committed regulatory role for knowledge management in pursuance of competitive market intelligence had immobilized industrial innovation performance; thus preventing promotion of technological superiority and attainment of intellectual benefits for market advantage to extract potential market value. A qualitative inquiry to understand industry environmental phenomenon from industry practitioners and a quantitative inquiry on industrial performance and value generation was undertaken to arrive at conclusions. A strategic management focus in combination with competitive intelligence needs understanding by industry practitioners and academics to gather insights for potential value generation.Item A Study on Consequences of Poverty : A Case Study in Vavuniya District of Sri Lanka(2011) Phillip, P.G.; Arulrajah, J.A.In 21st century, poverty still remains as the greatest challenge and threat to the first goal of the Development Goals (MDG) ?Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger?. The result show that the poverty head count index dropped down to 7.6 in 2009 (Department of Census and Statistics). But it is not only one dimension of poverty, there are many dimensions contributing to the people to becoming poor. Vavuniya District of northern Province was selected to analyze the Consequences of poverty. This study depends on primary and secondary data. Descriptive statistic analysis was used to analyze the result using SPSS 11.0. The results represent that the 75% of households among the 100 sample, major livelihood is the labor. 89% families? monthly income is between Rs 5000 to Rs 10000. This reflects the income poverty and deprivation. 71% of families? monthly spending is Rs 5000 to Rs 10000. This represents the less saving habit among the poor. 95% of families are do not own any paddy lands. Regarding to the education 92% of heads of the family has only primary education. 57% families haven?t got the electricity facilities and 100% of the sample facing problem with hospital accessibility. According to the cross checking among these variables, 75% labour families about 93% of them earning is between Rs 5000 ? 10000 and among the total agriculture families more than 93% of them earning the first range of income. 92% of the parents with primary education 83% of them earning is between the income range of Rs 5000 ? Rs 10000. Direct transfer benefits from the Food Stamp Program are progressive and have a greater impact on poverty than uniform allocations from the same budget. Economic growth could reduce poverty considerably. Development strategies should first focus on household level. Second is at the community level. Third is at the level of the state through provision of various welfare measures.Item A Study on Customer Relationship Management Practices in Banking Sector- With Special Reference to Salem District, Tamil Nadu, India(2011) Jayakumar, A.; Sathiya, N.Banks play a vital role in the socio-economic development of our country. Banks offer several facilities to enhance the standard of living of our citizens. In the past, owing to lack of information and proper guidance, the general public could not avail the full benefits from the banking industries to improve their standard of living. It is now undeniable that the face of the Indian consumer is changing. This is reflected in the change in the income pattern of the urban household. The direct fallout of such a change will be the consumption patterns and hence, the banking habits of Indians, which will now be skewed towards retail-products. At the same time, India compares pretty poorly with the other economies of the world that are now becoming comparable in terms of spending patterns with the opening up of our economy. Customer service management is a key component of business today. The concept is very crucial as it incorporates customer, customer service, customer satisfaction, customer value, customer loyalty, customer retention, etc. In one word, it is linked to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Customer Experience Management (CEM). So far as jargons are concerned, more or less relationship Marketing, CRM and customer service management are interchangeably used. Relationship Marketing attracts maintains and enhances customer relationshipItem A STUDY ON INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISEMENT IN CONSUMER BRAND PREFERENCE (SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SOFT DRINK MARKET IN MANMUNNAI NORTH D.S DIVISION BATTICALOA)(2010) Vivekananthan, V.Measuring the influence of Advertisement in Consumer Brand Preference is very essential for every marketer. If advertisement does not create any positive change in consumers? brand preference, all the resources such as money, time and efforts spent on advertisement will go in vain. Most of the marketers use Advertisement as a tool to attract substantially new customers and to retain the existing customers. This research studies about the ?Influence of Advertisement in Consumer Brand Preference in the Soft Drink Market?, which is one of the most competitive markets in Batticaloa. Every Brand in this market use Advertisement as a major weapon to overcome the fierce Competition. There are numerous Advertisements of different Soft drink brands exposed in Television. But, the main thing here is, the marketer want to identify that, do all these advertisements positively influencing the consumers? brand preference. In order to study the influence of Advertisement in Consumer Brand Preference, three main variables are considered with appropriate dimensions. They are; Information, Communication and Comprehension. The structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 200 respondents. The study found that all three variables indicate high influence of Advertisement in consumer brand preference. Even though it has high influence in overall view, the advertiser wants to consider the indicators, which have low and moderate influence in their future developments of the Advertisements to maintain its position in the market in the long-run. Eventually, this study recommends some actions for improving the influence of Advertisement in consumer brand preference.Item A Study on the factors that affect establishment of businesses by rural entrepreneurs(2008) Siri, J.G.S.; Jayalal, S.In Sri Lanka, as in other developing countries community development is considered as the development of the rural poor. It is estimated that 88% of the poor communities live in rural areas in Sri Lanka. Rural entrepreneur is a crucial entity of the rural community. As far as the economic development is concerned it is important to address their needs and problems when bridging the gap between poor and rich. A policy strategy recognizing the challenges facing rural entrepreneurs could do much to reduce the regional disparities and rural poverty in Sri Lanka. Rural entrepreneurship is one of the newest areas of research in the entrepreneurship field. It has become one of the significant supportive factors for rural economic development. This study which explored the factors that affect rural entrepreneurs was carried out in selected villages of seven districts namely Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Nuwara Eliya, Kegalle, Kaluthara, Puttalam and Ratnapura. The study covered the rural areas in each district. The Vidatha Resources Centers1, initiated by the government is facilitating technology transfer with a view to promote rural entrepreneurship. Even though many resources have been spent through the Vidatha Resources Centers, the majority of existing and potential entrepreneurs are yet to realize the way to run their business successfully. The main objective of this study was to identify the factors influencing rural entrepreneurs when establishing and expanding their business with a view to fill the knowledge gap in real problems of rural entrepreneurs to be addressed during the process of planning and thereby to maximize output from rural entrepreneurship development programmes. The research process was divided into two phases. In the first phase, secondary document analysis and informal interviews with key entities were carried out. The second phase was characterized by in-depth interviews with female and male entrepreneurs in rural villages, Science and Technology Officers and Field Officers at the Vidatha Resources Centers. The hypotheses tested were that, whether the level of education, age of the entrepreneur and a marketing plan at the beginning influence the success of the establishment and the level of income from the enterprise.Key findings of this study were that the level of education, age of the entrepreneur and a marketing plan at the beginning influence the success ofthe establishment and the level of income from the enterprise. Most of the entrepreneurs who had a marketing plan at the beginning (before establishing the enterprise) have been able to carry out their business successfully and withstand the market forces. It was found that previous experience in the relevant business field, gender of the entrepreneur, availability of new technology, limited access for micro-credits, availability of training programmes and lack of business development for service providers at rural level do not have a significant influence on the success or failure of the enterprise. Since majority of them have utilized their own savings to start up the enterprise, there is no significant influence of limited access to sources of micro credit at the point of establishing the business. However, it was observed that they face difficulties due to limited access to sources of micro-credits when they are going to expand their business further. The reasons for failure of enterprises were also surfaced in this study. Lack of training,difficulty to find a market, inability to find micro-credits and market competition are some of the reasons for failure as given by the entrepreneurs.Item An automated system to provide precise information for effective keyword-based advertising(2010) Gamage, K.Keyword-based advertising is vital in online advertising as it is a significant technique that extends the business horizons. This technique helps to advertise in a timely and accurate manner by eliciting information about what potential consumers are interested in. However, keyword advertising is still in its development stage and many advertisers fail to use this effectively due to lack of experience and unawareness of related tools. This reduces the economic benefit advertisers can derive from this advertising channel. Thus, market research is seen as the most vital component on which the decisions should be based for effective keyword advertising. The research of this study consists of personal interviews, offline and online surveys and background reading. These techniques helped the author to come up with the best effective solution which fits the real need of keyword advertisers. The Unified Software Development Process (USDP) methodology is been used in this research as it is more beneficial and easy to capture and elicit requirements.The project uncovered that search advertisers should engage with search advertising related tools and cost effective, in developing online presence particularly focusing on how those tools facilitates technology towards achieving advertising objectives. The author?s project concept was based on a web based keyword advertising support tool which provides precise information for effective keywordbased advertising. The objective of this research is to support keyword advertisers to be effective and efficient in their advertising campaigns by providing the advertisers with past and present information relating to competitor keyword advertising and projecting information with a view of enhancing search advertising strategy and then to expand the presence n the online market.Item An Empirical Study of the Relationship between Organizational Stress and Emotional Intelligence on Organizational Commitment: With Reference to Bank Branch Managers in the Western Province of Sri Lanka(Proceedings of the Annual Research Symposium 2005-Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2005) Jayaweera, A.T.Item An Integrative Sales Growth Model for Small Manufacturing Enterprises in Sri Lanka: Path Analysis Approach(2011) Nishantha, B.enterprises are increasingly playing an important role in Sri Lanka. However, little is known about the determinants of small enterprise growth in this context. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the factors in different dimensions influencing small enterprise growth in Sri Lanka. Based on an analysis of data from 97 owner-managers of small manufacturing enterprises located in Colombo district, the researcher developed an integrative sales growth model that suggests how human capital, social capital, access to external resources and internal capabilities & business structure directly and/ or indirectly influence the sales growth of small enterprises. Results of path analysis suggested that three human capital variables namely: training with work experience in same field, technical and professional education and education with experience in government sector indirectly affect small enterprises sales growth through other intermediate variables. Three social capital variables namely: organizational network with network maintenance and resources sharing with SEs and supportive network with financial institutes have significant direct positive effect on sales growth. The direct and indirect effects of access to external resources variables on sales growth are not so strong. Only one variable in internal capabilities & business structure dimension, namely innovation and imitation has positive direct effects on sales growth.Item An investigation of dividend policy behavior and information content of dividends in selected countries(2006) Peter, P.L.S.; Bamunuarachchi, G.K.Any company that essentially exists with the objective of maximizing the wealth of its shareholders is faced with the choice of either paying dividends now or reinvest now to pay later. This choice forms the background for the dividend policy decision that defines the time pattern of dividend payout.Numerous theoretical and empirical publications have kept dividend policy in its prominent status in corporate finance literature. Studies on dividend policy have been applied on companies listed in stock markets of both developed and developing countries.Employing meta-analysis that combines the results of several studies conducted on capital markets of a selected sample of countries, this paper analyses the dividend policy behavior of countries around the world in terms of dividend policy stability and the information content of dividend announcements. The paper concludes that the state of development of the country does have an impact on the dividend policy stability as companies in more matured markets in developed countries tend to maintain dividend stability although companies in emerging markets of developing countries have been unable to do so. On the other hand with respect to information content of dividend announcements it is evident that dividends have significant information content in all share markets and that on average all markets react negatively to surprise decreases in dividends which is more than proportionate to the positive reaction to surprise increases in dividends. Further it can be concluded that emerging markets take considerable time to fully incorporate information contained in dividend announcements while in mature markets it is less so. Mature markets tend to be more inline with the market efficiency hypothesis with respect to dividend announcements. As future research an investigation of dividend policy behavior and information content of dividends in a Sri Lankan context is to be conducted.Item Analysis of the Perception of Social Enterprises Held by high School Students in Korea(2011) Ryou, Y.J.; Lee, D.E.Currently, an active discussion on social, political, and academic aspects of social enterprises is taking place. Yet, the level of knowledge and interest of social enterprises from teenagers is still low. This should be fixed in order to foster the development of social enterprises which are now in a growing state. Thus, this paper is a preparatory and exploratory research that examines how much and how well high school students in Republic of Korea know and understand about social enterprises. The paper also compares the traits and characteristics of social enterprises in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Republic of Korea, and suggests solutions to the problems related to the Korean social enterprise market based on the awareness of students.Item Attitudes, Awareness and Environmental Management Practices of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka(2011) Zhengang, Z.; Weerasiri, R.A.S.; Dissanayake, D.M.R.The main objective of this paper was to investigate whether there is an association between SMEs? attitudes, awareness on environmental issues and their environmental management practices. A questionnaire based survey was chosen to obtain the information on attitudes, awareness and environmental management practices of SMEs. The questionnaire was developed to find out SMEs? current environmental management practices as well as their attitudes and awareness on environmental issues. The associations between attitudes, awareness and environmental practices for waste, energy, and the environment were investigated by calculating correlation coefficient. These analyses revealed that there is no significant association between attitudes and awareness or attitudes and environmental management practices. Attitudes appear to be remaining positive even where awareness is limited. Managers/owners who expressed rather more positive attitudes appear no more likely introduce environmental management practices for their organizations than managers/owners with less or negative attitude.Item Can Foreign Direct Investments Influence Sri Lankan Economic Growth? An Econometric Analysis(2011) Deyshappriya, N.P.R.According to the early economics literature, factor accumulation was the key component of economic growth, but in this respect he recent economic history had highlighted additional factors such as total factor productivity, international trade and foreign direct investment. As a whole, the economic integration of developing countries has increased dramatically in 1990s, consequently most of the developing countries concern about the foreign direct investment (FDI) as a tool of economic growth, since it provides more job opportunities, technological transfers and foreign reserves in order to achieve a higher level of economic growth. In the context of Sri Lanka, especially prior to 1970?s FDI was not seen as an instrument of economic growth. The period of 1970-1977 was characterized by a highly regulated economy although FDI was encouraged by the White paper in 1972, the climate for such foreign investment or any private investments were not congenial. Since 1977, the country has practiced the open economy policy, therefore has vigorously promoted foreign capital inflows where FDI particulars are viewed as a necessary condition to accelerate the growth. In this setting therefore, it has a timely importance to examine the effects of FDI on economic growth. In this study, I attempt to identify the relationship between FDI and Sri Lankan economic growth. The current study is basically based on time series data during the period of 1990 ? 2009 which have been collected from the various issues of Central Bank annual reports. In accordance with the theory macroeconomics time series data follow the unit root process, Augmented Dicky Fuler test was employed to check the stationary of the variables. After checking the stationary of the variables by employing ADF test, the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model has been employed to identify the short run dynamics, followed by the Granger Causality Test. According to the results, though FDI positively related to economic growth of Sri Lanka, the magnitude of contribution is quite low compared to the other determinants of economic growth. Hence, it is very crucial to provide and maintain the encouraging vicinity for FDI, in order to enhance the contribution of FDI by getting the optimum benefit of the FDI inflows.Item Changing Trends of Taxes and Public Debts in India(2011) Singh, A.; Mehta, S.; Soni, T.A Review of India?s Future Tax System is under consideration for over last twelve months. Replacing the half century old Income Tax Act, the Central Government is aiming to revolutionize the existing taxation system in India, by ushering in changes in the domains of personal and corporate tax structures. The new tax code is expected to come into effect by 2011 fiscal year. The objective of this paper is to study the impact of the Direct taxes on the public debt position of the economy. The sample consists of time series data for four variables namely Direct Tax revenue, Public Debt, Gross Domestic Product at Factor Cost (GDP) and Yield on Government Securities (IRY) from 1981 to 2009. The data was collected from Indian Public Finance Statistics 2009 and Reserve Bank of India handbook of Statistics. The rationale of this paper is to absorb the trend of changing tax revenue and public debt position in India. Further the public debt and direct tax structure of the BRIC nations is also studied.Item Conducting Research in South Asian Small and Medium Enterprises: Questions about Methods(2011) Wijesinghe, J.C.; Foreman, J.; Elijido-Ten, E.South Asia, comprising of more than eight emerging economies, is the second poorest region in the world. Among the many challenges commonly found within this region, poverty is one of the biggest. The literature reveals that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in achieving economic development. Recognising the importance of this sector, the governments of the South Asian region, attempt to provide more SME support in their quest to secure a sustainable growth particularly during this turbulent time. Consequently, more researchers are studying the practices and activities of these enterprises. The main objective of this paper is to propose suitable research methods for SME related research projects based on Sri Lankan experience. Our study reveals that face-to-face surveys are more suitable for collecting quantitative data while in-depth-interviews-based case studies provide a useful way to capture qualitative data which help to improve the reliability and validity of research.Item Content Marketing Is an Interactive Way of Reaching Out a Technology Savvy and the Internet Era Customers: A Literature Review(2011) Mallawaarachchi, C.Purpose of this paper to present findings on content marketing that was carried based on a literature review. The aim of the review is to see how content marketing is serving a technology savvy and the Internet era customers to acquire the needed knowledge from contents on products and services of marketers. The concept of content marketing, however has been influencing in particular the ground situation of marketing in general because content marketing is increasing targeting audience knowledge instead of disturbing them that was not done by traditional marketers. To meet said purposes the literature review mainly concerned to find out how to create content in content marketing, the ways of structuring content, content delivering platforms and communication channels, and designing of content marketing communication strategies, are highlighted.Item DAIRY MARKET TRENDS IN VAVUNIYA: IDENTIFYING POTENTIALS AND CHALLENGES IN A POST-CONFLICT SETTING(2010) Thampoe, M.; Gnanaseelan, J.; Morais, N.Vavuniya is primarily an agricultural district. Milk production is an important secondary source of livelihood for the rural people. The aim of this study is to map the potentials and challenges of dairy market in Vavuniya district. This study inquires whether milk and milk based products have a good market opportunity and what challenges are faced in marketing milk and milk based products in Vavuniya. Questionnaire survey, interviews and focus group discussion were used to collect primary data from a cross section of dairy consumers, producer groups, institutional representatives and key informants. The research team obtained response from 265 households in four DS divisions. Narrative and statistical analysis methods were used to analyse the primary data. This study is significant in finding out that there exists considerable demand for fresh milk. However,the lack of availability, accessibility, and quality of local fresh milk, and locally processed milk based products have made the consumers resort to seeking more imported powdered milk and milk based products. The study also found that there is considerable willingness to buy or switch to local products when these constraints are addressed. The study concludes that it is a positive trend in developing dairy market in Vavuniya,particularly in a post-conflict setting.Item Determinants of Cross-Company Differences in Capital Structures in Sri Lankan Hotel Industry: An Opinion Survey(2011) Fernando, C.S.P.; Rajini, P.A.D.; Reha, R.The capital structure is the composition of a company?s sources of funds, which is determined by the proportion of the debt-equity mix. Determination of capital structure of a firm is very important because it affects cost of capital. Firm?s capital structure is one of the most widely researched topics in corporate finance world. However, in the Sri Lankan context, only a few researches have been carried out on capital structure in service industry and hardly any in the hotel industry. Therefore, a need has been identified to find out the factors that determine capital structure of hotel industry. Hence, this research examines the effect of different company specific variables including liquidity, information asymmetry, agency cost, dividends, profitability, business risk, growth rate and bankruptcy costs on the capital structure of the Sri Lankan hotels. In achieving the aim of this research, an empirical investigation was conducted using survey questionnaires. In order to identify the overall explanatory power of variables, a multiple regression analysis was carried out and a simple linear regression was conducted to ascertain individual contributions of the determinants in explaining cross firm capital structure differences. The results revealed that the business risk variable is the only determinant that has a significant influence on proportion of debt in the capital structure.Item DETERMINING WORKING CAPITAL SOLVENCY LEVEL AND ITS EFFECT ON PROFITABILITY IN SELECTED INDIAN MANUFACTURING FIRMS(2010) Singh, K.; Asress, F.C.A well designed and implemented working capital management has a significant contribution for firms? profitability as well as to maintain liquidity powers. The purpose of this study is to assess working capital adequacy and its impact on profitability; to investigate the relationship between profitability and liquidity of firms. Natural logarithm of total current liabilities and Relative Solvency Ratio (RSR) are taken as dependent variables to measure the required size of current liabilities and firm?s solvency level respectively. Independent variables are sales, return on assets, current ratio, and cash conversion cycles. These are included in the panel data regression to assess for 250 firms for the period of 10 years. The regression result indicated that sales and cash conversion cycle have highly positive significant effect to determine required current liabilities (short term debt) whereas return on assets and current ratio have highly negative significant effect to determine required current liabilities. The result of negative association between profitability and liquidity is statistically insignificant. With the help of student t-test, the study also revealed that firms with adequate working capital achieved better performance than those firms which have less working capital in related to their operational sizes. Therefore, the null hypothesis that there is no difference between firms which have adequate working capital and less working capital in relation to their operational size on profitability is rejected as the p value is less than 0.05.