Commerce and Management
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/140
Browse
5152 results
Search Results
Item Factors Influencing on Career Choice of Management and Commerce Undergraduates in National Universities in Sri Lanka(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2020) Saranapala, I. S.; Devadas, U. M.Selecting one’s career wisely and rightly is a core factor for performance, individual satisfaction and societal wellbeing. Identifying what determines career choice among undergraduates can have many a benefit. This study, therefore, aims at exploring the influence of various factors on career choice decision among management and commerce undergraduates in national universities in Sri Lanka. The existing literature in this regard, within the study context, is skeletal, and that this study, having explained about the socio-demographical composition of management and commerce undergraduates, achieved three research objectives; to assess the level of career choice among Sri Lankan national university management and commerce undergraduates; to identify the priorities of factors affecting career choices; and thirdly, to assess the influence of such career choice factors on level of career choices among Management and Commerce undergraduates in the national universities in Sri Lanka. This study designed as a postpositivist study, taking all national universities that have commerce and management streams as the population while using systematic random sampling. Data were collected using self reported questionnaire from 371 final year management and commerce, undergraduates in six Sri Lankan national universities. Correlation and regression analysis were used in analyzing data. Survey results revealed that personal factors and Job-related factors are the most influential factors on determining graduates’ career choice. Researchers concluded that, personal factors highly influence on career choices that implicate graduates be choosier in deciding their careers rather accepting available and demanded careers in the country. Further, it was concluded that majority of the graduates, concerned have moderately level career awareness. That implicates that graduates may not find their rightly matching career at their earliest, instead, they may realize it, after starting work. The identified implications guided the authors to recommend strong career development activities by the universities through their curricula and out of curricula activities to create career awareness of the most demanding and prioritized careers while motivating the graduates to accept such available careers.Item Protean Career Orientation and Career Success: Does Career Planning Mediate the Relationship? Study of the Employees in HEIs in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2020) Aloysius, S. M.; Velnampy, T.Employees’ career orientation is considered as one of the major determinants of career satisfaction. The present study has twin aims to examine the relationship between protean career orientation and career success as well as measuring the mediation of career planning on the relationship between protean career orientation and career success. 154 Employees from higher education institutions in the Jaffna district were selected to get the responses. A self-administrated five-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect the required data. Two hypotheses were formulated and subsequently tested using the Partial Least Squares method. The study found that there is a significant relationship between protean career orientation and career success. Career planning partially mediates the relationship between protean career orientation and career success. The study will support top-level management in the sample organizations to understand the importance of protean career orientation in determining the career success of their employees.Item Impact of Personality Traits on Online Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Social Media among University Undergraduates(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2020) Nishanthi, H. M.; Munasinghe, O.As a part of the learning culture today, undergraduates use social media for educational purposes. Many scholars have investigated the impact of using social media by university students to share knowledge. However, most of the studies investigated the effect of personality traits on knowledge-sharing behaviour in social media in the Western context. However, there is a shortage of studies in a non-western context. To fill this gap, the current study is conducted to investigate the impact of personality traits on knowledge-sharing behaviour in social media among undergraduates in the Sri Lankan context where the mediating role of interpersonal trust is also explored. This study was conducted as a cross-sectional survey. Stratified random sampling techniques were used to select the sample of 322 university undergraduates, which were used in the final analysis. The data were gathered through a standard questionnaire that was distributed via google form and a paper-pencil survey. An individual is a unit of analysis of this study. Regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses with support from SPSS 26. It was found that the big five personality traits are associated with the online knowledge-sharing behaviour among university students. Further, it was found that personality traits (extraversion, openness, emotional stability, consciousness) lead to knowledge-sharing behavior and undergraduates did not consider trustworthiness as a significant factor in online knowledge-sharing behaviour. It was suggested that even though, undergraduates are keen on knowledge sharing irrespective of the reliability of the sources, precautions should be taken to avoid data theft issues and personality problems. To encourage online knowledge sharing, policymakers should be created trustworthy social media platforms among university undergraduates.Item Sustainable Engagement of University Students in E- Learning during the Post-pandemic of Covid-19: Evidence from Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2020) Ekanayake, E. M. H. L.; Weerasinghe, T. D.Bridging the lacuna in the context of higher education in Sri Lanka and up-to-date research literature, this study was carried out to recognize the key determinants of sustainable engagement of university students in e-learning during the post-pandemic of Covid-19. This was carried out as a cross-sectional field study, predominantly applying the hypothetico-deductive approach, in which the researchers’ interference on the study sample was minimal. Final sample consists of 590 respondents selected randomly from the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected through a survey questionnaire developed based on the standard measurement scale; ‘sustainable engagement in e-learning’ which was administered to the respondents directly via on-line mode, as a google form. Data analysis were done with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Excel employing descriptive statistics, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and One-way ANOVA. Moreover, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five senior lecturers randomly selected from each academic department in the Faculty. Students in the sample have shown a higher degree of engagement in e-learning. Among them, 87.8% of the respondents were highly engaged in e-learning during the post-pandemic of Covid-19. Except the academic department to which the student is attached, relationship of other factors with engagement in e-learning were found to be statistically not significant. Further, it is found that number of assignments per course, nature of those assignments, online lecture time, learning activities designed for students other than lecturing and the level of monitoring of student engagement through LMS are different among the academic departments. Further, the conduct of live-lectures via zoom or any other possible virtual platform is emphasized more effective to get a higher level of student engagement than merely uploading a recorded lecturer into LMS. Building on such, the present study strongly suggests to re-install a ‘hybrid mode of blended learning’ to get the engagement of students in the long-run instead of mere concept of ‘learn from home’.Item Empirical Investigation of Knowledge Management on Organizational Performance: Evidence from Financial Industry of Sri Lanka(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2020) Janadari, M. P. N.Even though the world of work has been energized by the growing aspects of the arena of the information technology, yet it is believed to be the focus and the emphasis of the knowledge factors has increasingly proven its swelling importance to every individual, organization, and to every nation. Believing this, the current organizations strive to put a valuable emphasis on the knowledge resources as a means of nurturing their individuals’ performance with the view of enhancing the overall organizational performance. The present study aims to explore how the knowledge management drives on the organizational performance especially with special reference to the financial institutions in Sri Lanka. Researcher adapted epistemological philosophy with deductive and explanatory approach and conducted to find the impact between Knowledge Management and organization performance by using survey strategy. This research was quantitative in nature which was data collected through the questionnaires from the management of top 12 financial companies in the finance industry by using stratified sampling method and analyzed using correlational and regression analysis techniques. The findings revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between knowledge management and the organizational performance of the organizations in finance industry in Sri Lanka. Thus, the study would provide a valuable insight for every organization especially the organizations in the financial industry to re-think about the effective ways that can ensure the knowledge management in their organization.Item Impact of Big Five Personality Factors on Career Success: A Study Based on Staff-level Employees in A Leading Apparel Firm in Sri Lanka(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2020) Kariyawasam, J. D.; Welmilla, I.Success and failure of any organization mostly depend on the people and their behaviors. Most of the employees are more concerned about their career success in the apparel sector. Past researchers explained that career success two different viewed such as objectively (extrinsic) and subjectively (intrinsic). The present study attempted to investigate the impact of big five personality factors on employee’s career success, and it limits its investigation into a selected apparel firm in Srilanka. A questionnaire survey was conducted to gather data from staff-level employees of a leading apparel firm in Sri Lanka. There were 120 responses were obtained. The correlation and regression analysis were used in analyzing data. The results of the study indicated that all big five factors were a significant relationship with career success. Further, all big five factors, except neuroticism, have a positive impact on career success. Neuroticism has a significant negative impact on career success. Hence, this study provides better understandings and the results for the big five personality factors that affect an employee’s career success in a leading apparel firm in Sri Lanka.Item Dimensions of Entrepreneurial Orientation and SME Performance: Moderating Effect of Absorptive Capacity of the Firm(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2020) Herath, H. M. A.This paper investigates a model of SME performance based on the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and absorptive capacity of the firm. The model tested the direct effects of innovativeness, risk-taking and proactiveness on firm performance and the moderating role of absorptive capacity on the relationship between the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Structural equation modelling with multi group analysis was used to test the model in the context of small and medium scale hotel and restaurant industry in Sri Lanka. Results indicate that highly entrepreneurial-oriented SMEs with high level of absorptive capacity achieve higher level of performance.Item Impact of Employee Engagement on Turnover Intention: Study of Third Space Global (Pvt) Limited(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2020) Naufer, F. Z.; Kumar, P. D. A. S.This study was carried out with the purpose of examining the importance of employee engagement to retain staff in a service providing industry and examining the relationship between the various factors that affect employee engagement as well as the intention to turnover. This study was carried out based on the non-executive level staff at Third Space global PVT Ltd. The sample size is one hundred non -executive level employees out of the population of two hundred and fifty. In determining the sample size, the table introduced by Sekaran (2006) was used. The questionnaire was developed by the researcher using different standard questionnaires depending on each variable and the questions were designed with Likert scale ranking strongly agree to strongly disagree. Findings revealed that the rate of attrition was quite high within the non-executive staff in the company. Further the research recommends to research on a new set of factors that aid in building employee engagement towards the company. Finally, the researcher presents his recommendations to renew the existing engagement techniques implied by the company, and the organization should focus on the salary based on the years of experience as well as their educational level.Item Investigation of Performance Management System and its Effectiveness with Special Reference to Garment Factories in Katunayake Export Processing Zone in Sri Lanka(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2020) Rathnakara, K. A. K. S.; Arachchige, B. J. H.Performance management deals with identifying, measuring and developing performance of individuals, groups and teams and aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organization with the ultimate objective of improving organizational performance. This research was conducted with special reference to large scale garment factories in the Katunayake Export Processing Zone in Sri Lanka. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of the performance management system with the implications of a systematic process of managing employee performance. Data were collected from managerial and executive level employees of the selected garment sector organizations. A structured questionnaire developed by the researcher was used to collect data the sample was selected using convenient sampling method. Hypotheses testing was used to complete the research study and Sixty seven participants have responded with a forty two percent response rate. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 21) was utilised as the statistical tool to analyse data. Findings of the research suggested that the effectiveness of the performance management system is at an effective level and the components of the performance management system; planning performance, monitoring performance, reviewing performance, improving performance and managing unsatisfactory performance are positively related with the effectiveness of the performance management system. Furthermore, it was found that monitoring and reviewing performance are the most critical variables which determine the effectiveness of performance management system. In addition to these findings, slight variations between managers and executive employees were found in terms of perception on the same performance management system.Item Do Human Care and Knowledge Management Practices Really Matter in Determining Worker Productivity? Perceptions of Supervisory Level Employees in Tea Plantation Sector in Sri Lanka(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2020) Gamage, A. T.; Wickramaratne, W. P. R.The tea industry is still one of the dominant industries in Sri Lanka due to its vast impact on the economic and socio-cultural environment. However, this significance is gradually declining mainly because of lowering worker productivity. This current study explored whether the decreasing productivity in Sri Lankan Tea industry can be turned around and sustained by implementing human care and knowledge management practices that enhance tea estate workers' quality of life and quality of work life. Un-structured interviews with a random sample of 75 supervisory level managers of well-established tea plantation companies reported that a range of human care and knowledge management practices contribute to enhance worker productivity via enhanced quality of life and quality of work life. The findings provide implications to the social exchange and psychological contract theories whereas policy makers should implement proposed knowledge management and human care practices for enhancing the worker productivity.