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ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON WORK ENGAGEMENT AND TURNOVER INTENTIONSIN IT COMPANIES
Organizational justice is very important because it has been linked to critical organizational processes such as commitment, job satisfaction, citizenship and performance (Colquitt et al.,2001, 2002; Greenberg, 1993; Tatum et al., 2002).Literature suggested that there is an intimate link between leadership style, decision-making, and organizational justice (Bradberry and Tatum,2002; Tatum et al., 2002). Organizational justice is concerned with the ways in which employees determine if they have been treated fairly in their jobs and the ways in which those determinations influence other work-related variables [Moorman, 1991, p. 845]. The research is done to analyze organizational justice and its influence on work engagement and intentions to stay in IT firms. The major objectives of the study: To find out the fairness perception of distributive and procedural justice (organizational justice)of employees in IT organizations, to find out the level of work Engagement of employees in IT Organizations, to find out the turnover intentions of IT employees, to find out if organizational justice influences work engagement and turnover intentions, to find out differences across demographics and organizational justice ,work engagement and turnover intentions. Hypothesis was tested and results discussed. 338 employees of an IT Firm were involved in the present study. The judgmental sampling technique was adopted. Employees with a minimum of two years of experience in the organization was administered the questionnaire. The sample was drawn from the IT industries. The tools adopted for present study were: Perceptions of distributive justice were measured with the Distributive Justice Index, developed by Price and Mueller (1986). This five-item scale measures the degree to which rewards received by employees are perceived to be related to performance inputs. Perceptions of procedural justice were measured using 15 items developed by Niehoff and Moorman (1993), because the scale consists of two factors: systematic and informational justice. Utrecht Work Engagement Scale(Version 1.1 2004,Schaufeli,W.and Bakker, A.)was used to measure work engagement and for turnover intentions the questionnaire was adopted from Dilys Robinson. The major findings of the study were 1. The level of Organizational justice was found to be moderate among the IT professionals. 2. IT Employees perceive procedural justice moderately. They feel that Decisions made by their organizations are to some extent based on certain norms or protocols or system driven which are followed. 3. IT employees perceived Informational procedural justice fairly low. Respondents felt that their concerns were not addressed nor perceived as a serious matter by the organizations. 4.Systematic procedural justice is fairly high in IT companies. There is high consistency in procedures and decisions when they are applied. 5. IT Employees perceive distributive justice fairly moderate. Employees feel that rewards, recognitions, and career opportunities are moderately proportional to their inputs. 6. The level of work engagement was found to be fairly high among the employees in IT organizations. 7. From the dimensions of work engagement, the level of Absorption is fairly high across the IT employees. 8. The level of dedication was found to be moderate among the levels of IT employees. 9. IT employees perceived vigor fairly low which says that the energy level towards the work was pretty down comparing to other dimensions. 10. The most of the respondents were from the age group between 26-30 and among all 338 Reponses, male respondents were higher. CONCLUSION The results of present study indicated that fairness perceptions play a vital role in IT Organizations in terms of increasing Work engagement and lowering their intention to leave their organization. The success of a company depends on the quality, productivity and dedication of an employee and the dedication can be improved by organizations fair treatment. When rewards and recognition are perceived to be systematic, the work engagement increases. Whereas systematic justice influences intention to stay which implies that organizations should drive their policies to be flexible to a certain extent. Fair treatment and justice at the workplace in turn will increase work engagement and lower turnover intentions. -
Critical analysis of inventory management with reference to garments in retailing
The Major focus of this empirical research is to find out the relationships between various factors of inventory management in medium format garment retail shops that affect the sales. Samples of 100 retail shops were surveyed and the data collected was analyzed. Garment retailing is broadly classified under Men??s garment, women??s garments and Kids garments. The garment retail segment has seen good growth in recent years, thanks to the good economic environment in the country. This study is concentrated on medium format garment retailers who are facing lot of problems. Some of the problems are tremendous competitive pressure from large format stores & international brands, increasing overheads and high rentals. To counter these pressures, the medium format retailers must try to consolidate their operations, reduce their overheads like high inventory, faster inventory turnover The empirical results shows that the medium format garment retailers are having a positive outlook even though they are having tough competition. This may be because of the good economy and surge in disposable incomes of the urban population. The study also shows that by managing inventory in a tight manner and using latest technology to manage the store will ensure minimal losses and maximize customer satisfaction leading to higher sales realization. Majority of the retailers placed extra orders to take care of demand uncertainties and errors in forecasting. The average number of customers lost due to non availability of right garment was three customers per day. The study found that there is a mismatch between order frequency and supply frequency leading to higher safety stocks. This must be bridged and suppliers must increase their response time to match retailers order cycles. Shrinkage data was not available with majority of retailers. Medium format retailers are not tracking shrinkage with frequent audits and analysis. Some branded retailers who had some data attributed shrinkage on employee theft and shoplifting as the major cause of shrinkage. Most of the sourcing was done locally since Bangalore is a big manufacturing hub for garments. The mode of transport used was by road using LCVs because of traffic restrictions within the city for HCVs. Almost all retailers had bar code and scanner with offline point of sale software for billing and tracking sales. Latest technologies like radio frequency identification, online software with features like online ordering & tracking were not being used by retailers. The average turnover of medium format retailers was good and their main overhead was the high rentals. Rents in prime locations were exorbitant but unavoidable because these locations were the main shopping areas. Garment retailers must use technology to keep track of their customers, their needs and match tem with right inventory to succeed in this competitive era. -
STUDY ON SENSE OF HUMOR AND WORK CULTURE IN HOTEL INDUSTRY IN BANGALORE
This research focuses two fundamental aspects of sense of humor and work culture in a hotel setting. Work culture is a complex construct in hotels, consisting of different attitudes, perceptions, values and beliefs and plays a significant role in moderating the relationship between sense of humor and work culture. The present investigation was carried out on 156 employees (managers, middle and front line staff)of different private sector hotels in Bangalore. Participants age range was 21 years to 50 years. The major objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between sense of humor and work culture among in hotel industry. Work opinion survey scale developed by Zeynep Aycan (2000) and for sense of humor a seven point scale developed by Paul Mc Ghee was administered. This research concludes that even though the interest in sense of humor by employees has been sporadic, sense of humor remains a pervasive and important topic and has potential of providing significant insights into management and work culture. Keywords: sense of humor, work culture, hotel industry -
Effectiveness of Working Capital Management in Maximizing Profitability of Construction Companies in Bangalore.
Working capital in any organizations has a significant role in driving the business forward.Hence,there is an imminent need for the management of the working capital.The efficiency with which working capital is managed in a business or organization determines the health of the business or the organization.On having an effective working capital management firms tend to be successful and while ineffective working management leads to the failure of the business. Hence, the management of working capital is of great importance. The research study is to evaluate the effectiveness of working capital management in maximizing the profitability of construction companies in Bangalore. The research will analyze the construction companies to establish an understanding of the significance of effective WCM for maximizing the profitability. The working capital is the life blood of a business and an important function of finance that defines and deals with the liquidity of the firm. Also, profitability of firms is another major aspect of business. The research explores the correlation between the working capital and profitability to understand the effectiveness of working capital management in maximizing the profitability. The construction industry is the second largest industry of the country after agriculture. Construction activity is an integral part of a countrys infrastructure and industrial development. It includes hospitals, schools, townships, offices, houses and other buildings; urban infrastructure (including water supply, sewerage, drainage); highways, roads, ports, railways, airports; power systems; irrigation and agriculture systems; telecommunications etc. Covering as it does such a wide spectrum, construction becomes the basic input for socio-economic development.The construction industry generates substantial employment and provides a growth impetus to other sectors through backward and forward linkages. It is, essential therefore, that, this vital activity is nurtured for the healthy growth of the economy. With the present emphasis on creating physical infrastructure, massive investment is planned during the Tenth Plan. The construction industry would play a crucial role in this regard and has to gear itself to meet the challenges.In order to meet the intended investment targets in time, the current capacity of the domestic construction industry would need considerable strengthening. The construction sector has major linkages with the building material industry since construction material accounts for sizeable share of the construction costs these include cement,steel,bricks/tiles,sand/aggregates,fixtures/ fittings, paints and chemicals, construction equipment, petro-products, timber, mineral products, aluminum, glass and plastics. The construction sector is one of the largest employers in the country. In '99-2000, it employed 17.62 million workers, a rise of 6 million over 1993-94. The sector also recorded the highest growth rate in generation of jobs in the last two decades, doubling its share in total employment. -
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A Study of retail service quality expectation of electronic retail stores with reference to Bangalore shoppers
The annual growth rate of Retail sector in India is 46.64 percent. Over the past few years, the Retail sales in India are covering around 30 ?? 35 percent of GDP compared to around 20 percent in US. In the last few years immense growth by this sector was witnessed, the key factors were changing consumer profile and demographics, increase in number of international brand in Indian market, economic implications of the Government increasing urbanization, credit availability, improvement in the infrastructure, increasing investment in technology and real estate building world class environment for consumers. The consumer durables market can be divided into consumer electronics comprising of TV sets, audio systems, VCD players and others; and appliances like washing machine ,microwave ovens, air conditioners. The existing sector stands at an estimated US $ 4.5 Billion with organized retailing being at 5 percent. Due to the growth of this sector and increased demand for the durables that is electronics the need was felt to know what are the customer expectations towards the electronic retail store so that the customers expectation gets fulfilled and this can improve the economic development as a whole. The study attempts to find the shoppers expectation towards retail service quality of electronic retail store in Bangalore. -
WORK LIFE BALANCE: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR
Major issues and challenges in work life balance is the impact of work life balance (WLB) on quality of life (QOL). Work-life balance has always been a concern of those interested in the quality of working life and its relation to broader quality of life. Some other issues and challenges are work-family conflict, impact of work and family stressors and conflicts on the mental health, stress and work life balance etc. Quality of life refers to the favourableness or unfavourableness of a total environment for people. QOL programs are another way in which organisations recognise their responsibility to develop jobs and working conditions that are excellent for people as well as for economic health of the organisation. Work ?? Life Balance is a challenging issue for IT leaders, managers and has also attracted the attention of researchers. Work/life balance, in its broadest sense, is defined as a satisfactory level of involvement or ??fit between the multiple roles in a persons life. In this climate managing the boundary between home and work is becoming more challenging. This study is an attempt to contribute afresh with a new perspective to the field of human resources with special reference to QOL in relation of employees work ?? life balance in IT organizations. It is also an earnest attempt to bridge the gap especially in this area by highlighting the relevance and importance of work ?? life balance and QOL to leadership, senior management, individual and organizations and hoping this study will initiate a series of serious and productive discussion on the subject. The findings and outcome of this research will be beneficial to the IT organizations in India, which is a flourishing industry and contributes significantly to the GDP of the country and the talent pool of the world The sample consisted of 350 IT employees from Bangalore city. The sample consisted both male and female married IT employees. The major findings of the study were: i.Work life balance is having positive correlation with quality of life. ii.It was found that the PLIW has a significant influence on the overall stress of the employees. The other variable does not seem to significantly influence the overall stress of the employees. iii.It was found that there was no significant influence of the work life balance on the life enjoyment of the employees. iv.It was found that there was a significant influence of WIPL and WPLE on the overall quality of life. v.There is no significant influence of work life balance on the overall impression of the employees. vi.There is no significant difference of the dimensions of work life balance and quality of life across age groups. vii.It was found that there was significant difference across age groups for the work/personal life enhancement dimensions. viii.It was found that there was no significant difference across gender for the overall quality of life dimensions. ix.Work life balance is having positive correlation with quality of life. CONCLUSION IT organizations should come up with effective and efficient work ?? life balance policies and programs, this will help reduce the work ?? life conflict for IT employees. Further IT leaders should take initiative to improve the quality of life of their employees as it plays a significant role in the organization to improve individual and organizational performance. -
STUDY ON ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN RELATION TO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN HOTEL INDUSTRY IN BANGALORE
This research focuses and examines the relationship between organizational culture and human resource management practices in hotel industry in Bangalore. Organizational culture is palpable in any organization which has a diversified work force. Hotel industry is built with employees with various values and beliefs. These factors reflect in the culture and are related with the various human resource management practices. There is a significant relationship between organizational culture and human resource management practices in the hotel industry in Bangalore. There were eleven dimensions of organizational culture and thirteen dimensions of human resource management practices that were considered for examining the relationship between organizational culture and human resource management practices. The sample for the study was 135 mid-level managers of different category of hotels in the geographical location of Bangalore. Organizational culture survey scale developed by Pareek, U. (2003) and human resource management practices scale developed by Sebastian, S., & Patrick, H. A. (2010) was administered for this study. This research concludes by the finding fact that there is significant relationship between organizational culture and human resource management practices in the hotel industry. The study also shows that the culture in hotel industry is narcissistic. Keywords: Organizational culture, Human resource management practices, hotel industry -
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The Impact of Changes in Monetary Variables on Stock Prices of Commercial Banks in India
Commercial banks in India, as agents of the reserve bank of India, are key players in the implementation of exchange rate and interest rates and have huge role to control the inflation in the country. The purpose of this study is to examine impact on banking stocks because of frequent changes in important monetary variables. The concern is whether or not current economic indicators, as reflected in interest rates exchange rates and inflation, can explain banking stock returns. This study considered NSE bank nifty index as banks stocks representative because this bank index consist of all major banks listed in the Indian capital market The explanatory variables in this study considered the three important monetary variables namely foreign exchange rates ,long-term interest rates and inflation rates. This paper tries to find the impact of changes in monetary variables on bank nifty. Also the relationship (long run and short run) between bank nifty and monetary variables has been analysed. Different econometric tools have been applied in the study to attain the objectives. The econometric tools like unit root test, ordinary least squares, Johansen-Juselius (1990) Multivariate Co integration test and Vector error correction model (VECM). Based on the unit root test, it is found that all the variables are used in the study are non stationary at level and become stationary at first differences. Johansen cointegration test prove that there is long run relationship between bank nifty and three monetary variables. Based on the result of Ordinary least squares on vector error correction equation this study find that monetary variables have significant impact on bank stock return, but major portion of the bank nifty movement is explains by its own innovations. And also this study find that changes in foreign exchange rates and long term interest rates are affecting the bank nifty movement negatively. But the whole sale price index or inflation rates does not affect the bank nifty or banks stock price movement significantly. Among the three monetary variables are used in this study foreign exchange rates have high influence on bank stock prices. -
Study on Effect of Overdraft facility on market liquidity and income of private banks in Bangalore
This Dissertation depicts about the use of overdraft facility by the business men/women as customers of the private banks and how it affects the liquidity status and income of those private banks in Bangalore. This study helps the private bankers to identify the financial changes in the annual reports supported by statistical tools depicting the significant changes in relation to market liquidity and the income of the private banks. An overdraft allows an individual to continue withdrawing money even if the account has no funds in it and the bank will cover the checks which would otherwise bounce. The interest on the outstanding balance of an overdraft loan often is lower than credit cards. Market Liquidity is an asset's ability to be sold without causing a significant movement in the price and with minimum loss of value. Referring this meaning to the banks, overdraft plays a small part in changing the interest rates and also incurring a very minimal expense to maintain the OD account for the customers among the banks compared to cash credits and loan repayable on demand which are the major reasons for the influence on bank rates. In order to provide for the overdraft facility to the customers, even though for period of 22 days up to 45 days depending on the respective banks policies, banks must maintain a ready source to compensate the customers demand to withdraw beyond a nil balance. Thus Total Deposits are considered to represent the market liquidity of the banks. Income of private banks mainly in connection to the topic of the study considers only the interest earned on the overdraft for approximate comparison between the overdraft balance and interest earned on it. Thus giving no grounds for confusions as to why net profit or income earned through other sources is not considered. Reason for taking the liquidity and income to compare it with overdraft is that all three factors are of shorts terms in nature. It gives a common ground for significant comparison. It also provides appropriate data for correct statistical analysis giving accurate result. While increase in overdraft balance increases the interest amount earned on it or the banks have to increase the deposits to provide for the increasing overdraft balances. Other than the problem of the study, smooth or turbulent financial periods, behaviour of funds rate in response to declining required reserves, political scandals, bad cheques etc. are the various factors practically influencing the overdraft to affect the private banks market liquidity and income The scope of the study reckons to give the results as an answer for various queries of not only to the selected sample private banks but also to other banks that are providing the overdraft facility. It also helps the other researchers to carry on the further study. The hypothesis is to prove whether or not the overdraft affects the market liquidity and income. Sample size N=20 taken for data analysis includes the five years of the three variables of the study from 17 NSE Listed and 3 non listed private banks located in Bangalore which are available from annual reports the websites of sample banks, pay sites like report junction and CMIE-business beacon. This sample size is accumulated through convenient sampling of non-probabilistic sampling technique. Mainly Correlation is used as Statistical Technique for analysis and other than that, financial analytical tools are also employed i.e. Growth analysis, Peer group comparison and Industrial benchmarking. Through correlation analysis, findings are drawn that the effect of overdraft on market liquidity and as well as the effect of overdraft on income of the 20 banks are highly significant (p<0.01). Thus, the null hypothesis 1 and 2which shows that overdraft does not affect the market liquidity and income is proved otherwise. Increase in overdraft does affect the market liquidity and income positively. -
Cross border Mergers and Acquisitions originating from India: An evaluation of long term post-merger performance of acquiring firms.
This research follows the enhanced M&A activity in the Indian market to trace the impact of outbound international Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) by Indian firms on the acquiring firm??s shareholders. The research makes a unique contribution in evaluating the long-term financial performance of acquiring firms in cross-border M&As and to detecting the strategic factors of their long-term success. The research used a sample of 91 events covering the period of deals occurring from 2004 to 2009 inclusively. The research used the Buy and Hold Abnormal Returns (BHAR) control firm method to evaluate the performance of firms. The research evaluated BHARs for 1-month, 3-months, 6-months and 12-months post the announcement of the acquisitions. The results obtained for the analysis showed significant negative returns for firms performing a cross border acquisition over a period of 12-months post the acquisition announcement. Hence the research concluded that cross-border acquisitions by firms from India generate negative effects on shareholder value for the acquiring firm??s shareholder, as on 12 months post the acquisition announcement. The above conclusion implies that the firms that perform cross border acquisitions actually perform worse than their counterparts that did not perform a cross border acquisition in the same period The research identified factors of long-term success for cross-border M&As. The results obtained suggest that acquiring firms engaged in cross-border M&As are able to realize efficiency gains and create value for their shareholders, under certain conditions: one when they possess high levels of R&D and secondly when the firm makes an acquisition in a related industry. These results were in accordance with the internalization theory of Buckley and Casson (1976) and Rugman (1981), which state that cross-border M&As help create value for acquiring firms by tapping into their expertise and know-how on international markets. While, Buy and Hold Returns were found to be substantially negative for the subgroup of firms that were larger in size as compared to firms that were relatively smaller in size. The size of the firm was negatively associated with performance of firms post an acquisition announcement and hence larger firms were more likely to fail in an acquisition as compared to smaller firms. Dissertation Layout: The first chapter of the dissertation titled ??Introduction?? primarily covered the conceptual framework, statement of problem and the objectives of the research. The second chapter ??Review of Literature?? covered the review of earlier literature on M&A performance and conclusions and gaps observed in the literature. The third chapter titled??Research Methodology?? covered the hypothesis, data collection and sample description and the methodology for data analysis. The fourth chapter ??Results and Findings?? covering results of the data analysis for the long term returns, strategic factors of M&A success, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The last chapter of the research ??Summary and Conclusions?? covered the summary of all the chapters, major findings of the study, the implications, limitations of the study and the conclusions drawn from the research. Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), cross border acquisitions, post-merger, Abnormal returns and Buy and Hold Abnormal Returns (BHAR), -
IMPLICATIONS OF ALLOWING FDI IN INDIAN MULTI- BRAND RETAIL
The retail industry in India has often been hailed as one of the sunrise sectors in the economy.The Indian government is mulling about allowing FDI in multi- brand retailing. While some people welcome this move, others oppose it. The study tries to identify the opinion of retailers towards this move. The study examines the issues related to various aspects of FDI including, product related, place related, process related, promotion related, people related, price related issues, physical evidence and environmental related issues. Survey research method was followed in this study. Questionnaire was used for collecting primary data. Secondary data is collected from selective sources of data like journals, websites, text books, company brochures, magazines and newspapers. The convenience sampling technique was used. A sample of 200 retailers was selected from the Bangalore city. The statistical techniques which are used in the study include descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages, reliability test, chi- square test, one- way ANOVA, two- way ANOVA and Correlation. The following were the hypotheses in the study: H1 ?? Agreement on FDI in retail is dependent on the duration of business among the retailers H2 ?? Agreement on FDI in retail is dependent on the level of investment among the retailers H3 ?? There is statistically significant difference on perception on agreement of FDI in retail by various levels of agreed and non- agreed retailers H4 ?? There is statistically significant difference on perception on agreement of FDI in retail by various levels of investments of business among retailers H5 ?? There is statistically significant influence on perception on agreement of FDI in retail based on both agreed level and level of investments H6 ?? There is statistically significant relations among the perceived factors of agreement on FDI in retail among retailers. The major findings of the study was that there is a mixed reaction among the retailerstowards allowing FDI in multi- brand retail, a majority of them seems to directly or indirectly prefer the entry of foreign players. However the respondents prefer a calibrated and cautious approach towards the introduction of FDI thereby safeguarding the interests of small retailers. If FDI is allowed in retail, there could be a multi ?? sector growth. India Inc. can expect a path of growth to achieve its target of 9 per cent GDP growth rate. The new firms that enter the market will get new technology and can acquire competitiveness. . It is estimated that FDI in multi- brand retail will create nearly 10 million job opportunities in the next three to four years. This will help in reducing the countrys unemployment to a large extent. The creation of more jobs will enhance the standard of living of farmers as they would get better returns on their yields by selling directly to the retailers rather than selling it in the intermediaries. FDI will also help in bringing food inflation under control. Key Words: Multi- brand Retailing, FDI, Organized Retailing, Unorganized Retailing -
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Reading Psychedelic Aesthetics in Kafkas Works
Franz Kafka has been discussed as an existentialist, a Zionist, a Marxist and also a philosopher. While most of the twentieth century studies centred around reading Kafka on the content plane, the contemporary Kafka studies show a change in trend where scholars and critics alike have shifted focus on re-reading Kafkas works on the expression plane??from the Hegelian school to the Kantian school of art without a concept. But it is interesting that even such studies only deal with the form??use of metaphor and the typical Kafkaesque expressions in writing, syntax and use of minimal narrative, not delving deeper to realize the aesthetic potential of his works in totality. It was Milan Kundera who first noted that most Kafka readings negate the presence of aesthetics. On reading Kafka from the aesthetic perspective, readers would be bound to reflect on its semblance with psychedelic aesthetics?? a field of aesthetics which itself has been much debated. The research involved an analysis of the Kafkan texts and works which fall under the umbrella term psychedelic art??music, painting and literature. A close study revealed that indeed there is a similarity in form, expression and representation in Kafkas works and psychedelic art. This research will provide a new perspective of reading Kafka and partially explain Kafkas use of hallucinatory descriptions, grotesque images and nightmarish scenarios. -
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CHILDREN INFLUENCE ON FAMILY PURCHASE DECISION
There are various aspects of the children influence on family purchase decision and it depends on a lot of parameters and situations. The children exercise various methods to influence parent??s decision. The children influence varies from products to products. It also depends on parent??s education, profession, income, single parent working or both parent working, number of working hours per week and type of family. The pocket money also contributes in the children??s influence. This research considers the children in the age group of 8-12. The Descriptive statistics is used to summarize variables in terms of central tendency and measure of dispersion. The Reliability test has been done using Cronbach??s alpha. Pearson??s Product correlation, one way ANOVA, Two-way ANOVA has been done using SPSS for Windows (version 18.0). The Linear regression is used to prove the causality between Independent variables on Dependent variable. The strategy adopted by children is mostly persuasive. The children??s influence is maximum for products bicycle, Ice Creams/chocolates/Juice and CDs/DVDs. There are few products like CDs/DVDs, video games and hobby activities which are used by the whole family and still children influence is higher than their parents on family purchase decision. It is the unanimous opinion from both parents and children that the children influence depend on profession as well as on the products. The ANOVA analysis on parent??s perception on children influence indicates that parent??s income impacts the children??s influence. The ANOVA analysis on parent??s perception on children influence indicates that parent??s working hour impacts the children??s influence. The relation between children influence and How many hours a week do you work average, Total Family Income and Amount you get from your parent on spending is linear. The pocket money, children get, is having highest impact on children influence. The second most influential parameter is the number of hours the parents work per week. -
A Study on Foreign Direct Investment in Multi-Brand Retail to Develop a Business Model for Domestic Supermarkets in the Convenience Stores Format.
The main focus of this research is in the area of organised retail specifically in the convenience stores format in India. The Indian organised retail is growing rapidly but is still in the nascent stage. There are many challenges in terms of infrastructure, supply chain efficiencies, cost structure and customer adaptability to the emerging retail formats. India is perceived to be a lucrative destination for retail and with opening up of foreign direct investment imminent many multinational giants are eyeing India. Indian companies are grappling with many challenges and experimenting with many formats in retail. This study attempts to understand the present scenario and the preparedness of domestic companies in consolidating their existing position to evolve a business frame work model for domestic companies to not only consolidate their existing position but also counter threats from multinationals entering into India. The research revealed that there are not many integrated business models, though there are models on different components of supply chain and retail, Indian companies will certainly benefit from creation of integrated business model which can assist them in taking strategic decisions in terms of managing cost and revenue structure and expansion plans. Scope of this study is Grocery and staples and fruits and vegetables business as food contributes to almost 63% in the organised retail business and was bifurcated into back end and front end operations. This study is intended to understand the drivers and factors influencing the back end operations in the area of supply chain efficiencies and the front end operations particularly in respect of costs, revenues and key drivers to create an integrated business model frame work to drive optimisations at all levels. Sample of this study was two major organised retail companies in Bangalore catering to about seventy outlets in Bangalore and having distribution centres. Tools used in this study was data observation sheets for all the key parameters for both back end and front end operations, in addition to unstructured in depth interview with expert group. However the protocol for the interview was predetermined to capture all key data and elements and involved some qualitative aspect and Linear programming for simulation and trying out various permutation combinations. Some of the major findings were: Stock keeping units, cost of procurement and secondary freight emerged as significant drivers to be controlled for efficiency and optimisation link in the back end grocery and staples. Cost of procurement, net sales value and operations cost emerged as the key drivers of efficiency and optimisation link in the back end Fruits and Vegetables. Rentals, Sales, Cost of goods sold, Total personnel cost and Total facilities cost had significant influence on EBIDTA in the front end super market. Break even point for same size stores differed depending upon the location and other cost drivers. Sensitivity analysis revealed that manpower, rent and total facilities cost had significant impact on EBIDTA in the front end. Limitations and future areas of research have also been discussed. -
A Comparative Study on Work Engagement in Relation to Leadership in Private and Public sector Undertakings in Bangalore
Employee contribution becomes a critical business issue because in trying to produce superior output, companies have no choice but to try and engage not only the body but the mind and soul of every employee. Most organizations today realize that a satisfied employee is not necessarily the best employee in terms of loyalty and productivity. The best employee is really an engaged employee, one who is intellectually and emotionally bound with the organization, who feels passionate about its goals and committed towards its values. This employee goes the extra mile beyond the basic job requirements. Leadership in organizations ought to be authentic in order to be effective and successful over the long term. Philosophers, religious leaders, and thinkers from ancient times have given emphasis on the importance of authenticity and ethicality for leaders, if they are to attain effective governance in any circumstances. Leaders are obliged to demonstrate the highest moral standards and ethical demeanour in their everyday talk, actions, decision, and behaviours, so that others in their organizations can follow suit. The most recent financial crisis has originated from failed corporate leaders who believed in manipulations of accounts and indulged into obvious unethical corporate practices. Engaging employees of an organization is critical to the organizations success. Work Engagement is often the most significant differentiator between private and public organizations. This is true particularly for service based companies as revenues are directly proportional to number of workforce engagement in the organization. Based on the review of literatures and identified the gap, the investigator felt an imperative need to pursue with the current research. The sample consisted of 240 employees from both private and public sector organizations. The judgmental sampling technique was adopted for selecting the respondents. Two standard tools were used to measure the variables of the study- 1.The measuring instrument used for the independent variable (Leadership) is the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) (Form 5X) (Bass & Avolio, 1997). The reliability of the scale was 0.701 2.The measuring instrument used for the dependent variable (Work engagement) is the Schaufeli & Bakker (2003). The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The reliability of the scale was 0.783 The major findings of the study were- 1. The dimensions of work engagement viz. vigor, absorption, dedication are found to have no significant relations with participative and democratic leadership style. 2. The dimensions of work engagement viz. vigor, absorption, dedication are found to have significant relations with autocratic leadership style. 3. For the dimension of Vigor, the difference between private and public organization on Vigor is statistically significant. It was found that the private sector employee scored high value(5.51) than the public sector employees(5.12) on the dimension of vigor.