|
This
issue covers topics ranging from the importance of retail
service attributes, to evaluating performance through human
resource accounting information, and consumer schools of thought
in management research.
Organized
retail has been spreading its roots in the Indian market for
the past one decade and is gradually making a mark on all
sections of the society. In the paper, "Importance of
Retail Service Attributes: A Study on Indian Consumers",
the authors, Mridula S Mishra and Umakant Dash, explore the
way organized retail has dramatically changed not only the
Indian traditional retailing structure but also the consumption
behavior, which was examined with the help of a structured
questionnaire. The results also reveal that consumers cite
price and convenience as reasons for not buying certain goods
in traditional retail outlets.
The
opening up of Indian economy in 1991 has triggered intense
competition among business enterprises. In the present knowledge-driven
economy, the key source of real competitive advantage is the
people of the organization. In this challenging situation,
while measuring the performance of an organization, it is
imperative to assess the performance of that resource in which
the real strength of the organization lies. Debhasish Sur
and Amir Jafar, in the paper, "Evaluating Performance
of Human Resources Through Human Resource Accounting Information
in NTPC Limited During the Pre- and Post-Liberalization Periods:
A Comparative Study", evaluate the position and performance
of human resources of NTPC Limited with the help of its human
resource accounting information both before and after liberalization
and also make a comparison between them.
P
R Brinda Kalyani, in the paper, "Problems Faced
by Small Scale Entrepreneurs of the Industrial Estates of
Madurai Region", focuses on the problems faced
by the entrepreneurs of the SIDCO Industrial Estates of Madurai
region. Problems faced by the entrepreneurs are analyzed from
various angles—production, marketing, finance, labor,
and infrastructural. The paper also studies the factors which
motivate an individual to become an entrepreneur.
The
Indian mobile market is primarily dominated by the youngsters
who account for 32 percent of the total market. Understanding
the youth's preference is essential for handset manufacturers
to sustain or create a competitive advantage in the emerging
market. In the paper, "Analysis of Functional Aspects
of Mobile Handset Among College-Going Students", the
author, Subhash Jha, evaluates the factors that motivate youth
to own mobile handsets. The author explains the relative importance
of the reasons for the purchase and the attributes that college-going
students generally look for while buying a handset.
The
theory of consumer behavior has a large impact on management
research. Since 1900, management schools of thought have dealt
with different perspectives of consumer behavior. Atanu Adhikari,
in the paper, "Consumer Schools of Thought in Management
Research: A Theoretical Perspective", studies the consumers'
perspective in management and covers three main areas, namely,
Behavioral theory, Activist's theory, and Systems theory.
The author tracks the development of these three schools of
thought, explaining the critical issues, development in research
area, and their contribution to the understanding of management
as a theory.
Siva
V Gabbita, in the paper, "Extrospection: A New Strategy
for Conflict Resolution When Process Adherence Mars Operational
Effectiveness", opines that a firm's process itself could
interfere with the process of executing individual transactions.
This tends to happen when operational energies are focused
on process adherence rather than achieving customer outcomes.
When these exceptions occur, a firm that can proactively,
actively and reactively realign its processes can differentiate
itself through successful execution. He professes that firms
should design and incorporate exception handling mechanisms
to provide guidelines to address transactions that are not
routine.
-
T R K Rao
Consulting
Editor
|
