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Importance
of Retail Service Attributes: a Study on Indian Consumers
-- Mridula
S Mishra and Umakant Dash
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. This paper explores the way organized
retail has dramatically changed not only the Indian traditional
retailing structure but also the consumption behavior. The
consumption behavior was examined with the help of a structured
questionnaire, and the results reveal that for consumers the
shopping malls or variants of organized retail formats are
the preferred type of retail store due to the convenience
and variety they offer.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Evaluating
Performance of Human Resources through Human Resource Accounting
Information in NTPC Limited During the Pre- and Post-Liberalization
Periods: A
Comparative Study
-- Debasish Sur
and Amir Jafar
The
opening up of Indian economy in 1991 has injected tremendous
competition among business enterprises. The expectations from
business as a whole ,including from those of public sector,
have changed. In today's knowledge-driven economy, the key
source of real competitive advantage is the people of the
organization. Therefore, 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. This paper evaluates the
position and performance of human resources of National Thermal
Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited with the help of its human
resource accounting information both during the pre- and post-liberalization
periods and makes a comparison between them. The study reveals
that the company achieved a very high profile in the performance
of its human organization in the post-liberalization period,
combating efficiently, in the process, all the obstacles that
emanated as a result of liberalization, globalization, and
competitiveness.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Problems
Faced by Small Scale Entrepreneurs of the Industrial Estates
of Madurai Region
-- P
R Brinda Kalyani
This
paper deals with the problems faced by the entrepreneurs of
the SIDCO Industrial Estates of Madurai region. Problems of
these entrepreneurs are analyzed from various angles—production,
marketing, finance, labor, and infrastructural. While the
challenges are effectively tackled by the entrepreneurs, the
results, in terms of profits, need to be more rewarding. While
absenteeism of the lower level employees is a unique feature
in the industrial estates of Madurai, other problems are industry-specific.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Analysis
of Functional Aspects of
Mobile Handset Among College-Going Students
--
Subhash Jha
India
has emerged as the fastest growing mobile handset market in
the world. 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 a prerequisite
for handset manufacturers to sustain or create a competitive
advantage in the emerging market. This paper throws light
on the factors that motivate the youth to own mobile handsets.
The paper mainly explores the functional aspects of owning
a handset and focuses on understanding the relative importance
of the reasons for the purchase and the attributes that college-going
students generally look for while buying a handset. Data were
collected from a sample of 208 handset owners aged between
20 and 29. The findings indicate that there is a significant
difference in the importance of the reasons (ease of use and
physical appearance) for purchase and that of the attributes
(SMS, calendar, and calculator) of handset between two groups
of youngsters (high group and low group). The study also provides
leads for carrying future research in the area.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Consumer
Schools of Thought in Management Research: A theoretical Perspective
-- Atanu
Adhikari
The
theory of consumer behavior has a large impact on management
research. Since the beginning of 1900, management schools
of thought have dealt with different perspectives of consumer
behavior. During the period 1950-75, consumers' schools of
theory assumed a leading role and pushed it to the forefront
of discussion. Consumers' perspective in management covers
three main areas—Behavioral theory, Activist's theory
and Systems theory. This paper discusses 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.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Extrospection:
A New Strategy for Conflict Resolution When
Process Adherence Mars Operational Effectiveness
-- Siva V Gabbita
Different
studies suggest that organizations do not experience process
problems due to an inefficient design but from an inability
to handle "exceptions" to the rule. Process problems
occur either when the individuals and groups executing the
processes fail to adapt appropriately to the unexpected situations
or when a creation, change or replacement of the existing
processes is required to address a new strategy. If the firm
does not address exceptions, customers may discern a gap between
the expected and perceived service leading to customer dissatisfaction
and customer switching which can erode competitive advantage.
Studies have shown that walking the fine line of skillfully
adapting the system as opposed to mindlessly following a script
provides customer satisfaction. Since exceptions make the
rule, the robustness of a process can be tested by analyzing
how the process handles exceptions. Extrospecting for root
causes of failed transactions holds the key to improving operational
capabilities.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
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