General Management
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/4235
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Item Attitudes, Awareness and Environmental Management Practices of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka(2011) Zhengang, Z.; Weerasiri, R.A.S.; Dissanayake, D.M.R.The main objective of this paper was to investigate whether there is an association between SMEs? attitudes, awareness on environmental issues and their environmental management practices. A questionnaire based survey was chosen to obtain the information on attitudes, awareness and environmental management practices of SMEs. The questionnaire was developed to find out SMEs? current environmental management practices as well as their attitudes and awareness on environmental issues. The associations between attitudes, awareness and environmental practices for waste, energy, and the environment were investigated by calculating correlation coefficient. These analyses revealed that there is no significant association between attitudes and awareness or attitudes and environmental management practices. Attitudes appear to be remaining positive even where awareness is limited. Managers/owners who expressed rather more positive attitudes appear no more likely introduce environmental management practices for their organizations than managers/owners with less or negative attitude.Item Owner- Manager Values and Business performance: An Empirical Analysis of Manufacturing SMEs in Sri Lanka(2011) Pushpakumari, M.D.Small and medium sized sector is increasingly recognized as the prime vehicle for economic development in both developed and developing nations. In most of the countries in the world, the level of economic dependence on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) has increased in recent years. Therefore, every government of a country emphasizes more the importance of the SME sector and at the same time this scenario has also led the government to place emphasis on enterprise assistance programs and policies to develop this sector. However, the effectiveness of these policies and programs depend on a thorough understanding of owners/managers and how they operate. Particularly, within this context owner-managers? personal values are considered very important. The literature in this area shows that a considerable attention has been devoted to the personal traits of owner-managers/entrepreneurs of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Nonetheless less attention has been given to their values, particularly outside of a western context. However, as values are instrumental in the decision making and have implications for the owner-manager?s behavior and approach to managing the organization, the aim of this research is to empirically investigate the relationship between personal values and the business performance of SMEs. The research also fills gaps in empirical research on values and business success in SMEs within the Asian context. Data for the research were obtained from a mail survey using a questionnaire distributed to owner-managers of SMEs of the manufacturing industry in a developing Asian country - Sri Lanka. Analyzing data employing non-parametric statistical techniques (Kruskal-Wallis test) it is found that there is a significant relationship between the personal values of owner-managers and business performance of SMEs. The findings and implications of this study could provide some useful insights to fill the gap in contemporary research and contribute to literature which can be useful to owner-managers and managers of SMEs.Item Position of SMEs in the Country That Is One Step To The European Union: Case Study Republic of Croatia(2011) Devcic, A.Republic of Croatia is in situation that the last chapter in negotiations for approaching to the European Union soon will be closed, and the referendum of approaching to the European Union will be announced. In this period different stakeholders on the field have many challenges in conducting of their daily business, but at the same time they are in opportunity to use available European Union funds. Through this paper is presented the research of the position of small and medium enterprises in Croatia, with special overview on those in Pozega Slavonia County. Position of the enterprises is researched from an aspect of readiness and ability of using the European Union funds, from the aspect of their own potential and (non)used opportunities. Briefly, it is aim to identify situation, to define both: challenges that enterprises are facing and concrete guidelines to cope with that challenges. The research is primarily based on the interview with representatives of all the companies that have visited the Regional Development Agency in Pozega Slavonia County in the period of 18 months. Beside that, with help of the Chamber of Commerce was made survey about perception of the European Union funds from the local SMEs. Also, with intention to better define position of the SMEs, different relevant statistics sources and official reports were used. The conclusion of the research is that the SMEs want and need money from the European Union funds, but or they have not clear strategy in sense how to reach to this money, or they don't have recourses, or in the worst case, they don't have nor strategy nor resources. The paper concludes with guidelines which are telling to the owners and managers of these enterprises what changes do they need and should do, in order to take the highest possible funding from the EU funds, and thereby improve its position and the position of the whole socio-economic environment in which they work and live.Item Conducting Research in South Asian Small and Medium Enterprises: Questions about Methods(2011) Wijesinghe, J.C.; Foreman, J.; Elijido-Ten, E.South Asia, comprising of more than eight emerging economies, is the second poorest region in the world. Among the many challenges commonly found within this region, poverty is one of the biggest. The literature reveals that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in achieving economic development. Recognising the importance of this sector, the governments of the South Asian region, attempt to provide more SME support in their quest to secure a sustainable growth particularly during this turbulent time. Consequently, more researchers are studying the practices and activities of these enterprises. The main objective of this paper is to propose suitable research methods for SME related research projects based on Sri Lankan experience. Our study reveals that face-to-face surveys are more suitable for collecting quantitative data while in-depth-interviews-based case studies provide a useful way to capture qualitative data which help to improve the reliability and validity of research.