R. Lalitha S. Fernando, H. D. M. Kaushalya Geethamali, E. Achini Indrachapa Kularathna
{"title":"Enhancing Employability of Management Graduates of State Universities in Sri Lanka: An Examination of Job Market Requirements","authors":"R. Lalitha S. Fernando, H. D. M. Kaushalya Geethamali, E. Achini Indrachapa Kularathna","doi":"10.31357/vjm.v9ii.6372","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v9ii.6372","url":null,"abstract":"Higher education helps in enhancing the human resources required for development. Universities and higher education institutes play a vital role in disseminating and creating knowledge through teaching and research, contributing to the development of any country. The quality and relevance of the output (graduates) of higher education institutes need to be enhanced to increase graduates’ employability. Graduate unemployment has become a significant problem in Sri Lanka. If graduates are unemployed, this will directly and negatively influence economic development. The main objectives of this study are to identify job market requirements of the industry and factors affecting the success of the graduates’ interviews. This study used qualitative research methods as a mono method. Data were collected using advertisements from two selected leading English and Sinhala weekend newspapers published from October 2019 to January 2020, and in-depth interviews were conducted with selected Human Resource managers. Newspaper analysis and job market requirement analysis were done using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Five core skills were identified as the job market requirements, namely, problem-solving skills, communication skills, numeracy skills, computer skills, and interpersonal skills. Leadership qualities, communication and presentation ability, teamwork, interpersonal relations, practical knowledge, positive attitudes, hardworking characteristics, well-preparedness at the interview, and a clear understanding of the graduate's career path mainly affect the graduate interview's success. The study proposes policy measures to improve the employability of management graduates of state universities in Sri Lanka. \u0000 Keywords: Employability, Management Graduates, State Universities, job market requirements, Sri Lanka","PeriodicalId":301618,"journal":{"name":"Vidyodaya Journal of Management","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123950816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of the extended version of Technology Acceptance Model on predicting learners’ adoption to synchronous online learning in Sri Lanka","authors":"Arthika Rajaratnam","doi":"10.31357/vjm.v9ii.6374","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v9ii.6374","url":null,"abstract":"Synchronous online learning has played the prime role in controlling the spread of the COVID-19 throughout the world. Despite the technological advancement, the immediate shift towards the synchronous online learning has challenged availability and accessibility to the quality learning due to the over-reliance on the class-room based teaching and learning. Thus, this study focuses on investigating the impact of factors affecting adoption to synchronous online learning amidst the COVID-19 in Sri Lanka. As the consequence, institutions can pay attention on the essential factors to enhance the adoption to synchronous online learning. In this study, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has extended with the external variable of perceived self-efficacy and tested its impact on all other core constructs of TAM. This study used online questionnaire to collect the data from undergraduates of Sri Lankan state universities. Consequently, the study received 382 valid responses. For the data analysis, IBM SPSS statistics 25 and SmartPLS 4 were used and hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM. The study has identified five variables namely perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, perceived self-efficacy and behavioral intention to use. Based on the statistical evidence, all the proposed relationships were supported except attitude and perceived usefulness towards behavioral intention to use. Notably, this study has both theoretical and practical implications. To the best of author’s knowledge, this study firstly attempted to investigate the adoption synchronous online learning with the extended version of TAM using PLS-SEM. Most of the previous studies explored the online learning in general. Furthermore, the findings can be used to establish policies to make synchronous online learning more effective, specifically if the any pandemic occurs in future. \u0000Keywords: Synchronous online learning; TAM; Sri Lanka; Adoption to synchronous online learning; Intention to use","PeriodicalId":301618,"journal":{"name":"Vidyodaya Journal of Management","volume":"53 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121010974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Behavioral Factors Affecting Household Over-Indebtedness: A Systematic Review","authors":"B. P. U. K. Biyanwila, P. A. N. S. Anuradha","doi":"10.31357/vjm.v9ii.6373","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v9ii.6373","url":null,"abstract":"Household over-indebtedness is a significant issue in many parts of the world and has extremely detrimental socioeconomic effects. Separate studies have found that macroeconomic, demographic, and behavioral factors account for the majority of the variance in household over-indebtedness; however, behavioral components have received less attention. The purpose of this study is to review the behavioral factors that affect household over-indebtedness. To identify relevant empirical studies on household over-indebtedness, databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, Emerging Sources Citation Index, and Social Sciences Citation Index were reviewed. During this search, 267 articles were initially screened, but the PRISMA framework (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) was applied to select the most appropriate, well-cited, and recent 52 articles. The most significant behavioral factors of household over-indebtedness are financial literacy, risk perception, materialism, and emotions. This review reveals that behavioral factors have not been well established in many developing economies whereas the empirical findings in developed countries are consistent with behavioral theories. Further, this paper discloses that interaction of macroeconomic, demographic, and behavioral determinants on household over-indebtedness still needs further study. According to Keynes' general theory, individual financial decisions are influenced by macroeconomic circumstances. Moreover, Ando and Modigliani's life cycle hypothesis contends that demographic factors significantly influence individuals’ financial behavior. Our suggested conceptual model contains macroeconomic and demographic factors as mediators and moderators, respectively, between behavioral factors and household over-indebtedness. Once this model is tested, the findings may greatly aid governments, central banks, financial institutions, bank managers, credit officers, and other policymakers in their quest to discover answers to the problem of household over-indebtedness. \u0000Keywords: Household Over-Indebtedness, Financial Literacy, Risk Perception, Materialism, Emotions, Macroeconomic and Demographic Factors","PeriodicalId":301618,"journal":{"name":"Vidyodaya Journal of Management","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128632103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“Tell me what I should watch”: A customer value perspective of YouTube metadata","authors":"S. D. K. Wickramasinghe, Dinuka Wijetunga","doi":"10.31357/vjm.v9ii.6379","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v9ii.6379","url":null,"abstract":"YouTube is increasingly being considered a lucrative means of earning money in addition to becoming popular among viewers. To gain these benefits YouTube content creators (YouTubers) need to first attract viewers’ attention to their videos and then persuade them to watch. YouTube metadata, such as the title, thumbnail, description, and keywords, can assist in achieving both objectives. This has been established in the current literature which shows, for example, that metadata optimizing can increase view counts. While these studies have demonstrated the end result of metadata optimization, they do not indicate why viewers respond to different characteristics of metadata in different ways. We contribute to the literature on marketing and consuming YouTube videos by examining, using Holbrook’s (1999) value typology for theorisation, how viewers experience the metadata and how these experiences contribute to the overall value creation process of watching YouTube videos. We employed an interpretive, qualitative research design in conducting the study, using focus group discussions with 21 young YouTube viewers as the data collection method. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Key findings were that metadata can both deliver value (efficiency) and provide signals about values delivered through the video (excellence and aesthetics). Further, the play value viewers get from interacting with the video is indirectly influenced by the metadata. We also identified that although viewers commonly expect some characteristics in the title and thumbnail, irrespective of their purpose of using YouTube, the importance of each differs when they seek information or entertainment gratification. Further, when value promises made by the metadata are not delivered through the videos, viewers respond negatively. \u0000Keywords: Entertainment gratification, Information gratification, Metadata optimization, Value, YouTube","PeriodicalId":301618,"journal":{"name":"Vidyodaya Journal of Management","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132260771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Implementation Challenges of ICT in the Public Sector in Upazila Region of Bangladesh: An Empirical Study","authors":"Mohammad Rezaul Karim, Shamim Hosen","doi":"10.31357/vjm.v9ii.6376","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v9ii.6376","url":null,"abstract":"Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a pivotal role in achieving Digital Bangladesh's vision of making the government accountable, transparent and effective in providing services to the citizens. The ICT-based governance (e-governance) in service delivery mechanism has become essential and time worthy. However, the implementation of e-governance is not up to the mark and the government is not getting the full benefits of e-governance due to the structural, organizational, and behavioral barriers. The dilemma between the service providers (agent) with numerous problems and the recipients’ viewpoints (principal) has been analyzed how the problem lies and the principal faces problem to get services. The objective of this study is to analyze the current situation of ICT-enabled Public Service Delivery; implementation challenges of ICT at the Upazila level of Bangladesh and come up with an evidence-based solution. To achieve the objectives, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed. Purposive random sampling was used to collect data through offline and online questionnaire surveys. Besides, interview and observation methods were also employed for strengthening the study findings. The study found that strong policy supports of the government i.e. ICT policy, and digital Bangladesh vision enable the e-government services to benefit the citizen. However, it is evident that the dearth of IT physical infrastructure, unstable internet connection, shortage of skilled manpower, and technology fear of public employees create obstacles to provide ITC-enabled services. Sometimes people’s unawareness also serves as barrier to receive e-government services. The study recommends improvement of internet speed, supply of continuous electricity supply, training of public employees, providing upgraded technology, and developing user-friendly softwares to address those problems and enhance ICT-induced public service delivery system. Keywords: E-governance, Readiness, Public Service Delivery, Barriers, Way forward","PeriodicalId":301618,"journal":{"name":"Vidyodaya Journal of Management","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131180845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is Political Instability an Obstacle to Economic growth? Evidence from South Asia","authors":"Ananda Rathnayake","doi":"10.31357/vjm.v8iii.6095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v8iii.6095","url":null,"abstract":"The nexus existing between the growth rate of countries and political instability has been subjected to increasing interest among academic scholars and policymakers in different contexts all around the globe. The current study examined the relationship between political instability and economic growth in both short and long-run, employing the Panel Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (PARDL) model. Through the efforts taken via the study to redefine the political instability and growth nexus in South Asia, it could be stated that despite the insignificant impact of political instability on economic growth in the short run, countries gain the capability in elevating the growth level by maintaining stable political regimes in the long run. The results suggested that there is an overall negative and also a significant linkage between political instability and the long-run growth rate. The holistic analysis highlighted that regulatory quality and civil liberties needed to be well ensured to attain economic growth in the long run as they showed a significant positive relationship with the growth of the South Asian region. The short-run analysis of the variables depicted that there is no strong linkage between the growth and instabilities in the political arena, as the majority of the proxies of political instability exhibited an insignificant relationship with economic growth except regulatory quality. \u0000Keywords: Economic growth; PARDL model; Political Instability; South Asia","PeriodicalId":301618,"journal":{"name":"Vidyodaya Journal of Management","volume":"84 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128565940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohammad Rezaul Karim, Byomkesh Talukder, Afia Rahman
{"title":"Efficacy and Concerns of Technical Project in Bangladesh: An Assessment of the Managing at the Top 2 (MATT2) Project","authors":"Mohammad Rezaul Karim, Byomkesh Talukder, Afia Rahman","doi":"10.31357/vjm.v8iii.6094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v8iii.6094","url":null,"abstract":"Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) and developing countries receive various supports for their development and technical projects from developed nations and development partners. Bangladesh is no exception. Managing at the Top 2 (MATT2) is a technical development project that was designed in collaboration with the governments of the UK and Bangladesh and carried out in Bangladesh with funding of the UK. The primary aim of the project was to provide practical training for approximately 2000 top-level officials of the Bangladesh Civil Service to enhance their efficiency in developing and implementing innovative projects to deliver public services. In this paper, the purpose, process and results of the project are analyzed using a qualitative approach to understand the benefits and barriers of the project. It was found that MATT2 produced remarkable success, with 305 performance improvement projects (PIPs) were developed and implemented by the participating bureaucrats. Government employees were benefitted from practical knowledge on project preparation, skill development and the citizens were benefited from the outputs. Although the project claims 100% success in terms of implementation, projects were influenced by some bottlenecks that include unsuitability of PIPs, lower reform value, monetary motivation and selection of project area out of the participants’ jurisdiction. The authors suggest considering the intended and unintended consequences of the MATT2 to undertaking similar projects in the future. \u0000Keywords: Bangladesh; Civil servants; Development; Experiential learning; PIPs; Skill development","PeriodicalId":301618,"journal":{"name":"Vidyodaya Journal of Management","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127496824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
W.M.M.G.H.K. Walisundara, N. Thevanes, A. Anton Arulrajah
{"title":"Green Manufacturing Practices and Sustainable Performance of Organization in Selected Manufacturing Companies in Kegalle District of Sri Lanka","authors":"W.M.M.G.H.K. Walisundara, N. Thevanes, A. Anton Arulrajah","doi":"10.31357/vjm.v8iii.6090","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v8iii.6090","url":null,"abstract":"This study aims to examine the impact of green manufacturing practices on sustainable performance of organization. In order to achieve the study objective, primary data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey among 70 manufacturing companies which are operating in Kegalle district of Sri Lanka. This study has used the convenience sampling (availability sampling) method and the unit of analysis was individual firms. The simple regression analysis was used to test the research model. The findings of the study revealed that there is a moderate level of green manufacturing practices implemented in the selected manufacturing companies and sustainable performance of surveyed companies was recorded at in moderate level. And the findings of the study also suggested that green manufacturing practices have a significant and positive impact on sustainable performance of organization. This study suggested that manufacturing organizations need to focus more on the implementation of green manufacturing practices to ensure organizational sustainability. \u0000Keywords: Green manufacturing, sustainable performance, Sri Lanka","PeriodicalId":301618,"journal":{"name":"Vidyodaya Journal of Management","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125457851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Qualitative Case Study of the Barriers faced by Bancassurance Managers due to the Covid-19 Pandemic","authors":"Bhagya Dewmini Fernando","doi":"10.31357/vjm.v8iii.6088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v8iii.6088","url":null,"abstract":"Bancassurance is an expanding, significant, yet a highly understudied area. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic had a critical impact on many industries, including bancassurance, which is defined as a collaborative format to sell insurance products through partnering banks. In the light of this context, this research study identifies and explores the barriers faced by bancassurance managers amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Following a qualitative approach, a case study strategy has been used to explore the barriers faced by bancassurance managers in the context of Diriya[1] life insurance company. The findings were bracketed under two main themes, namely, a) increased pressure to achieve sales targets from both insurance company and the partnering bank and b) the work-life imbalance caused by the additional workload during the Covid-19 pandemic. The first theme explored the pressure and consequences faced by the bancassurance managers through the insurance company and the partnering bank, while the second theme explored agent-manager engagement, shouldering additional workload and the unique burdens faced by the married, female bancassurance managers. As Covid-19 is an ongoing phenomenon, this study contributes in terms of advancing literature by making knowledge more explicit, in addition to policy formulation and application. Finally, the novelty of this study would be a foundation for further research conducted on barriers faced by bancassurance managers in managing agents amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. \u0000 Keywords: Bancassurance, Covid-19, Qualitative, Case Study","PeriodicalId":301618,"journal":{"name":"Vidyodaya Journal of Management","volume":"125 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121542392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Organizational Environmental Support on Organizational Sustainable Performance: The Mediating Role of Employee Green Behaviour in selected Commercial banks in Batticaloa Region of Sri Lanka","authors":"Neruja Sivalingam, A. Anton Arulrajah","doi":"10.31357/vjm.v8iii.6093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v8iii.6093","url":null,"abstract":"Sustainability is a major global concern and there has been increased pressure on organizations from the stakeholders to broaden the focus of business performance beyond financial performance. Companies should have a balance among financial, social and environmental performance in order to be competitive and survive in the long term. Committed employees are the key asset of every organization and organizations can engage employees in improving their sustainable performance. This paper aims to provide empirical evidence of the associations between organizational environmental support and organizational sustainable performance with the mediating role of employee green behaviour within the selected commercial banks in the Batticaloa Region of Sri Lanka. Data collection was made from 173 employees who are working in commercial banks in the Batticaloa Region of Sri Lanka. Univariate, bivariate, and multi-step mediation analyses have been used to analyze the data. The results indicate that there is a significant positive association between organizational environmental support, employee green behaviour and organizational sustainable performance. It is also concluded that employee green behaviour significantly mediates the relationship between organizational environmental support and organizational sustainable performance. The research concerns the understanding of various environmental support initiatives and sustainable performance from the viewpoint of employees in the banking sector at imparting employee green behaviour as one of the important factors to meet challenges relevant to environmental sustainability in the dynamic banking sector. This study contributes to the field by bringing together the concepts of employee green behaviour with organizational environmental support and organizational sustainable performance in the context of the Sri Lankan banking sector and suggests the banks provide resources and a supportive environment for the employees to implement eco-initiatives. \u0000Keywords: Employee Green Behaviour, Organizational Environmental Support, Organizational Sustainable Performance","PeriodicalId":301618,"journal":{"name":"Vidyodaya Journal of Management","volume":"122 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128165427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}