Browsing by Author "Devadas, U.M."

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Comprehensive Literature Review on Human Capital Investments Theory: What’s in it?
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2015) Devadas, U.M.
‘Human Capital’ (HC) is being widely used in different fields: economics, human resource development, and national planning with different meanings in different fields. Seemingly, the term has, in some instances, been misused in the literature and in the practice. In such a context, it is worthwhile to investigate into the development of HC theory. This study has been dedicated to elaborate the evolution of human capital investment theory, the content of HC, the proxies of HC, the benefits of human capital investment, the causes of human capital investment, and the limits of human capital investment theory. This study, hence paves the way for positioning human capital investments theory in the literature and to strategies HC development practices consciously rather approaching to it with gut feeling.
Determinants of Work Alienation among Knowledge Workers in IT Firms
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2019) Karunarathna, D.I.M.,; Devadas, U.M.
There is a limited number of attempts, found about the alienation of knowledge workers’ in the Sri Lankan context. Thus, the primary purpose of the current study was to identify the determinants of work alienation to fill the gap. Drawing from on the extant literature, the researcher identified the main four determinants of work alienation; task factors, social support at work, organizational justice factors and organizational structural factors. This study was conducted as a cross-sectional, quantitative field study among a sample of 134 knowledge workers selected from three (03) main IT firms in Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected via a standard questionnaire that met the acceptable level of validity and reliability. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 26). Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, and simple regression were used for data analysis. Findings of the current study empirically provided answers for the research questions that structural factors, social support at work, and task factors are to be the strongest predictors of work alienation among knowledge workers. Further, it revealed that there is no impact of organizational justice on work alienation in knowledge workers in selected IT firms. Hence, it is recommended for practicing managers in IT industry to pay much attention to the job designing, team working, and have a long-term orientation aimed at fostering organizational commitment in order to reduce work alienation.
Does Malaysia Practice National Human Resource Development?
(2016) Devadas, U.M.
National Human Resource Development (NHRD) has been a critical national policy agenda in the development of recently developed countries. Malaysia as a progressing country seems to have adopted key national level human resource development (HRD) strategies in its development policies. Studying whether Malaysia has NHRD, understanding the nature of its NHRD, and defining Malaysia’s NHRD can provide new insights to the current knowledge base. This paper, thus investigated into understanding how Malaysia has adopted NHRD in its national policy planning context and then identified the meaning of Malaysia’s NHRD. A qualitative research design, using grounded theory method was employed in this investigation. It was found that Malaysia’s NHRD evolved gradually to Human Capital Development (HCD), currently in use, from population management mainly to cater to economic purposes and to resolve its prolonged key challenge of sustaining national unity.
ENTREPRENEURS’ SUCCESS IN THE SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE HOMESTAY TOURISM BUSINESS IN SRI LANKA
(International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 2021) Devadas, U.M.; Jayasooriya, S.S.W.
Home stay tourism is popular, specially, in the ASEAN region, and Sri Lanka is also benefiting a lot from this industry. In the literature, the importance given to homestay tourism is skeletal within the study context of Sri Lanka. On this premise, the researchers intended to: explore the nature of homestay entrepreneurs, factors affecting the homestay entrepreneurs’ success, and the current challenges, faced by the homestay entrepreneurs that are affecting the continuation of homestay businesses in the southern coastal area in Sri Lanka. Researchers designed this study as a qualitative grounded theory study, valuing constructionist research paradigm. Researchers defined homestay entrepreneurs after identifying their nature and a set of personal and impersonal factor that have been critical in determining homestay entrepreneurs’ success. The researchers further identified a set of challenges in the areas of government involvement, financial challenges, human resource development, destination development and competition. The researchers concluded the study by defining homestay entrepreneurs and developing a conceptual framework that explain the phenomenon of home stay tourism entrepreneurs’ success that can be used for educational and policy making purposes. Researchers identified a set of implications and recommendations in the development of entrepreneurs, homestay business process and its context, and collaborations.
Executive-level Employees’ Perception of the Impact of Participatory Management on Employees’ Trust in ABC Company
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2019) Jayasuriya, M.M.,; Devadas, U.M.
In earlier days, money was the primary reason to motivate an employee, but beyond a certain limit, it fails. Hence organizations have been trying out different methods to increase the level of motivation of its employees. Participatory management is such a new mechanism that companies use in the modern world as a solution to the above. Although the impact of participatory management on trust is well-established in western literature, very few studies have examined in the Sri Lankan setting. Accordingly, the purpose of this quantitative and cross-sectional research study was to examine the executive-level employees’ perception of the impact of participatory management on employees’ trust in ABC Company. This study explained the level of perception of executive-level employees about the participatory management, level of perception of executive-level employees about employees’ trust, and executive-level employees’ perception of the impact of participatory management on employees’ trust in ABC Company. The regressions test and Pearson correlation test used to analyze the data, while simple random sampling used as the sampling method. The study results indicated that the executives of ABC Company have a positive perception on participatory management and employees’ trust. Also, this study showed that the executive-level employees’ perception of the impact of participatory management on employees’ trust in ABC Company is positive. So it is recommended to use participatory management as a tool to enhance the employees’ trust, and organizations should introduce more practices to gain employees’ contribution to the decision making process as well.
Factors Affecting Employee Turnover Intention of Operational Level Employees in ABC Apparel (Pvt) Limited
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2019) Kaushalya, N.M.A.V.,; Devadas, U.M.
The export of textile and apparel products is one of the biggest industries in Sri Lanka, which plays a leading role in advancing the country’s economy. In the current situation of the world, employee turnover is one of the significant burning issues faced by the apparel industry. Many factors affect employee turnover intention and this study aimed at finding out whether job satisfaction (JS), organizational commitment (OC), and leader-member exchange (LMX) have an impact on Employee Turnover Intention (ETI) of operational level employees in ABC Apparel (Pvt) Ltd. The study used the survey method and data collected through a structured questionnaire from a sample of 112 operation level employees of ABC Apparel (Pvt) Ltd. This study used the multiple regression analysis to show the impact of independent variables (JS, OC and LMX) on the dependent variable (ETI). For the statistical analysis of the respondent’s data, the researcher used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The findings indicated that leader-member exchange significantly and negatively impacts on turnover intention of operation level employees in ABC Apparel (Pvt) Ltd. while job satisfaction and organizational commitment had no significant negative impacts on turnover intention of operation level employees in ABC Apparel (Pvt) Ltd. However, the outcome of this study confirmed that leader member exchange could affect employee turnover intention in ABC Apparel (Pvt) Ltd as well. Accordingly, the organizations should work to increase the relationship between the leader and members so that they may understand each other and quit their turnover intentions. If the relationship between leader and members is weak, the employee’s turnover intention will be motivated. Therefore, it is recommended to pay more attention to leader-member exchange and reduce employee turnover intention.
Factors Affecting Generation ‘Y’ Employees’ Retention among Front Line Employee Category in the ABC Healthcare Company
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2019) Karunanayaka, H.R.,; Devadas, U.M.
Retaining the key talent pool of employees is a vital aspect for every organization to maintain sustainability in the business world. Most of the researchers evidenced that the generation Y category employees have a quick intention to leave rather than the previous generations. Hence, the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of significant factors which affect the generation ‘Y’ front line category employees’ retention in the healthcare industry. In reaching this, initially, the factors that are leading to generation Y employees’ retention were identified from the literature. The selected sample of this study consisted of 120 generation Y category front line employees in ABC healthcare company, and the data were collected through the prevalidated standard questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis by using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. The findings of the study showed that all three factors of Compensation, Working Environment, and Career Development in the study have a significant positive impact on generation ‘Y’ employee retention in the healthcare industry. Accordingly, the researcher recommended a well-designed working environment, equitable compensation package and effective career development practices to be implemented within organizations to maintain generation ‘Y’ employee retention in the healthcare industry.
Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Work from Home among the Middle-Level Employees of Manufacturing Industry
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2020) Thirimanna, T.H.B.M.; Devadas, U.M.
Work from Home (WFH) concept gained much popularity and importance than earlier with the quarantine period during global pandemic COVID 19 as many countries applied physical distancing strategy to avoid the pandemic. The current study was initiated to identify the factors affecting work effectiveness from home among middlelevel employees in the manufacturing industry using individual-level data from 136 middle-level employees randomly selected from three (03) manufacturing companies. In studying that, four main research objectives; identifying the level of effectiveness of WFH, identifying the factors that affect the effectiveness of WFH, identifying the relationship between factors and effectiveness of WFH, and identifying the impact of factors on WFH, were raised. Hence, this was conducted as a cross-sectional, quantitative field study. Primary data were collected via a standard questionnaire that met the acceptable level of validity and reliability. The data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics to assess the level of effectiveness, Pearson correlation coefficient analyses to assess the relationship among variables, regression analyses to assess the degree of impact, and independent sample T-Test. The study results revealed a high level of effectiveness of WFH among middle-level employees of selected manufacturing companies and management support, technical support, employee training, task identity, feedback, and job autonomy significantly correlates with the effectiveness of WFH and significantly impact the effectiveness of WFH. According to the results, all four research objectives were achieved. Hence it is recommended for practicing managers to pay much attention to these factors that affect the effectiveness of WFH when allowing employees to WFH.
Factors Influencing on Job Performance of Executive Level Employees’ in XYZ Glove Manufacturing Company
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2019) Kalhari, K.H.I.,; Devadas, U.M.
The main objectives of this research were to assess the factors that are influencing job performance and investigate the impact and relationship between determinant factors affecting executive-level employees’ job performance in XYZ Company. Accordingly, the training, motivation, leadership, organizational culture and working environment were the independent variables of this study, while the dependent variable was the job performance of executive-level employees. This study is a quantitative research work, and a questionnaire was used as a tool to collect data from the sample. To conduct this research, the researcher used the stratified random sampling technique, and a sample of 132 executives was selected from the target population of 175 executives based on the Mogan Table. In this study, SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) was used to analyze the data, and the results indicated that there are a positive impact and the relationship between training and job performance, motivation and job performance, leadership and job performance, organizational culture and job performance and working environment and job performance. However, the level of each factor and job performance showed a neutral level. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended to the management to take necessary actions to improve such practices and increase the level of job performance while maintaining the current level of performance without letting it decrease.
Impact of Employer Brand on Employer Attractiveness as Perceived by Employees in Insurance Industry
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2020) Madhurangi, R.P.S.; Devadas, U.M.
There is a war for attracting the best employees toward the organizations, so managers have to pay attention to attracting employees. Employer brand is grounded in the resource-based view and human resource theory and focuses on developing organizations’ brands' potential employers (Backhaus & Tikoo, 2004). The current research initiated to assess the impact of employer brand on employer attractiveness. According to the literature, the researcher found a gap in identifying the relationship between the employer brand and employer attractiveness. Therefore this study assesses employer brand level, access the level of employer attractiveness, and identifies the impact and relationship between employer brand and employer attractiveness. The study is limited to the identification of the results of employees in a selected insurance company. The research is carried out as an exploratory crosssectional study, and a self-completion questionnaire is administered to gather relevant data from the participants. The size of the sample is 123, and only 123 students responded effectively. Simple random sampling methods were used to design the sample from the total number of employees in a leading insurance company. Frequency descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were used to achieve the study's objectives. The current study concludes by declaring that high employer attractiveness is made through the employer brand. Further researcher identifies that there is a significant and moderate relationship between employer brand and employer attractiveness. To be competitive within the market place and to achieve organizational strategic goals, it is recommended that organizations must have a specific concern over the organizational brand identified through this study, which will permit to attract the best breed towards the particular employer.
Impact of Job Stress on Job Performance among Executive-Level Employees in the People’s Bank Head Office
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2020) Madhushani, D.M.C.; Devadas, U.M.
This study’s ultimate purpose was to assess the impact of job stress on job performance among executive-level employees in people’s bank head office in Sri Lanka. The main objectives were to examine the level of stress and level of executivelevel employees’ job performance and the relationship between the selected employees’ stress and job performance. The study was quantitative, and a crosssectional survey design was followed. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and a simple random sampling technique was applied to select the sample, and the final sample consisted of 106 Executive-level employees from the people’s bank head office. The data were analyzed using correlation and regression with the aid of SPSS. According to the empirical analysis of the study, researchers found a significant negative impact of stress on job performance in executive-level employees. According to the correlation analysis, the researchers found that stress and job performance were moderately and negatively correlated. This research concludes that there is a slightly higher level of stress among executive-level employees, lower level of job performance among executive-level employees, moderate negative relationship between the job stress and executive-level employees’ performance, and significant negative impact of job stress on job performance among executive-level employees. This implies that companies with high job stress have a high tendency to emerge from many problems, and employee performance is always negative due to factors such as high work pressure. Thus, the researchers recommend adopting an effective management process to reduce stress and increase employee job satisfaction and job performance.
The Impact of Perceived Organizational Support on Employee Engagement of Sewing Machine Operators of Polytex Garments (Pvt) Ltd at Ja- Ela in Sri Lanka
(5th HRM Student Research Symposium 2018, Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) De Alwis, R. A. S. J. N.; Devadas, U.M.
The purpose of this study was to test identify the impact of perceived organizational support on employee engagement of sewing machine operators in apparel industry with special reference Polytex garments (Pvt) Ltd. In deciding the sample size of this research the researcher used 70 operational level employees for the sample. Primary data were used to test the hypothesis of this study. Primary data were collected through standard questionnaire given to sewing machine operators. The data which collected from the questionnaire, analyzed descriptively using tables, frequencies and percentages. Simple linear regression analysis was used for data analysis. Results indicate that there is a positive impact of perceived organizational support on employee engagement. An engaged employee cares about their work and about the performance of the company and they want to feel that their efforts could make a difference. Based on these findings it is recommended to improve relationship through manager support as well as team mate’s support which will improve the social network of employee to coordinate effective leadership and build up physical environment for enhance employee engagement through organization support
The Impact of the Effectiveness of Training on Job Performance of Operational Level Employees in Bank of Ceylon
(Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2019) Karunarathne, W.L.S.A.D.,; Devadas, U.M.
Training is a learning experience, and it seeks a relatively permanent change in an individual that will improve his/her ability to perform on the job. For training to be effective the training design, training content, training delivery and training materials should be effective. Even though the effectiveness of training is the main factor that effects employee job performance, only a few researches have conducted on the banking sector of Sri Lanka. Thus, to bridge the gap in the context, the current study focused on identifying the impact of the effectiveness of training on job performance of operational level employees in Bank of Ceylon. A sample of 183 employees from the management trainees and other officers were selected using simple random sampling. The primary data was collected using a standard questionnaire distributed via google forms, covering four dimensions of an independent variable of the effectiveness of training, namely, training design, training content, training delivery and training material. The dependent variable of employees’ performance was measured using three dimensions of task performance, adaptive performance and contextual performance. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software employing descriptive statistics, correlation and regression. The study found that the training design, training content, training delivery and training material have significant positive relationships with employees’ job performance and it was found that the training design, training content and training delivery individually has a significant impact on employee job performance. However, the training material individually does not have an impact on job performance. Ultimately, the study found that the effectiveness of training has a significant positive impact on employees’ job performance of operational level employees at the Bank of Ceylon. Accordingly, it is recommended to invest more in training to enhance employee job performance.
Impact of Training Effectiveness on Employee Engagement of Non-Executive Level Employees in Central Bank of Sri Lanka
(Department of of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2020) Madumalee, P.V.W.; Devadas, U.M.
In today’s challenging and competitive environment, organizations and institutes make continuous effort to improve their employees’ employee engagement. This study analyzed the relationship between training effectiveness and employee engagement. The study’s objectives were to assess the level of training effectiveness, assess employee engagement level, and identify impact and relationship between training effectiveness and employee engagement of Non-executive level employees in Central bank of Sri Lanka. The study is limited to identifying the factors of Non-executive level employees in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. This study followed a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional field study. Usable questionnaires were received from 109 respondents, and the data were analyzed using correlation and regression with the aid of SPSS. According to regression analysis, results indicated that training effectiveness significantly impacts on employee engagement by 41.7%. Correlation analysis results indicate a significant positive relationship between training effectiveness and employee engagement by 64.6%. In concluding, it can be said that the training effectiveness positively impacts on employee engagement. This conclusion implicates that managers and employees can increase the banking sector’s employee engagement level through practical employee training. Thus, it is recommended to facilitate employees with proper quality training that will eventually enhance employee engagement.
Quality of Qualitative Research: A Grounded Theory (GT) Approach with Special Reference to Straussian GT.
(8th International Conference on Business & Information ICBI – 2017, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Devadas, U.M.
This review was dedicated to discuss the core measures established evaluating the quality of Grounded Theory (GT) that have been highlighted by the main authors of GT with special reference to Straussian GT. Sraussian GT includes the work of Strauss and Corbin (1990 &1998); Corbin and Strauss (2008); and Charmaz (2006). Glaser alone develops the Glasarian GT approach. First, I explained the concept of evaluation of research in relation to its quality discussing some rigorous methods of establishing quality in qualitative research. Second and finally, the specific canons and procedures established especially in the Straussian GT methodology in establishing quality were discussed. Here, the related content in the ground breaking research of Glaser and Strauss in 1967 has been first referred following the Glaser’s (1998) views in this regard before discussing the Straussian perspective on quality in GT research.
Social Identity of Leadership as an Antecedent of Innovation Readiness
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2021) Shanmuganathan, A.; Devadas, U.M.; Wickramasinghe, C.N.
Innovation is constantly a hot topic in the business world and is essential for any business to prosper. The innovation index in Sri Lanka is significantly low compared to other Asian countries. The lack of innovation readiness in firms is one of the main reasons for the lower innovation. Hence it is essential to check the innovation readiness of a firm to predict the industry's future. The social identity perspective is mainly ignored and overshadowed by popular leadership theories such as leadership styles, leadership traits and characteristics, leadership demographics, and innovative work behavior. This study aims to fill the research gap identified by studying and investigating the impact of leadership's social identity on innovation readiness. Few studies have looked at the influence of leadership's social identity viewpoint on the firm's innovation readiness in the past. The researcher took a quantitative approach by taking the entire population of the listed companies of Sri Lanka using a self-administrated questionnaire. Descriptive analysis, Structural Equation Modelling and Importance-Performance Mapping were the primary data analytic methods; SPSS and SmartPLS3 were used in the study. The researcher identified that categorization has the highest impact followed by the positive attitude while the sense of belonging has a minor influence on innovation readiness. The study's findings demonstrated that leaders should be more effective in the long-term organizational behavior, specifically in task-oriented and employee-oriented leadership; they also provide group-oriented leadership about a shared social identity. The study suggests a framework for organizations and supports managers in the companies to uplift the innovation readiness of the firm.