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1 – 10 of 35Vimal Kumar, Ankesh Mittal, Alok Kumar Sharma and Ramli Ahmad
Stress is the most common emotional or mental state that employees experience during their work. The employees in academics and industry are facing increased levels of…
Abstract
Purpose
Stress is the most common emotional or mental state that employees experience during their work. The employees in academics and industry are facing increased levels of stress as they progress through their work. The study aims to investigate the relationship between academic and industry employees’ stress personalities. West Coast psychological consultants Mary Dempcy and Rene Tihista distinguish between the seven various types of stress and offer suggestions to deal with it.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors have built a survey questionnaire using a sample of 195 respondents from the industry and academic of North India and analysed their responses to find their stress personalities at work. The Independent sample t-test approach has been applied to analyse the employee stress personality.
Findings
The study finds out that stress is a sophisticated defence mechanism that is unique to each individual and varies depending on the environment. Using employee response of academic and industry, the study covers the essence of seven types of stress for individuals, and that lent good support to the framed hypothesis.
Research limitations/implications
These seven types of stress have importance and different levels to knowing their appropriateness to the individuals and suggest to take necessary action of plan. It shows the individuals feel about stress, how the bodies react to it and how to cope with it are all indicators of the personalities, attitudes and adaptability.
Originality/value
The novelty of this study is to apply Mary Dempcy and Rene Tihista’s stress personalities compared with the two respective categories.
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Vijaya Sherry Chand and Jayanti S. Ravi
The Commissionerate of Higher Education had motivated 55 science colleges to take up the Soil Health Card Project, a project of the Agriculture Department, under which…
Abstract
The Commissionerate of Higher Education had motivated 55 science colleges to take up the Soil Health Card Project, a project of the Agriculture Department, under which 740,000 soil samples were tested in 2010. In 2011, there was a delay in obtaining approvals. The Commissionerate took some remedial steps and is about to obtain an extension of the project. The Commissioner is wondering what lessons could be drawn from the first year's experience, so that the management of the innovation could be improved.
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Mukund Dixit and Vandana Dixit
This case describes the experience of Kanpur Confectioneries Private Limited (KCPL), a family managed company, in being a contract manufacturer for A-One Confectioneries…
Abstract
This case describes the experience of Kanpur Confectioneries Private Limited (KCPL), a family managed company, in being a contract manufacturer for A-One Confectioneries Private Limited. The alliance had worked to the advantage of KCPL. It had prospered as a profitable contract manufacturer. It had used the surplus to diversify into unrelated businesses. The family members, however had doubts regarding the employment opportunities provided by the move. They were not sure whether the progress was sustainable. Alok Kumar Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of KCPL, along with his brothers and son, is required to review the strategy and performance of his company and develop a course of action for the future.
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Alok Kumar Goel, Geeta Rana and Chitra Krishnan
Human resource management, Training and development, Competency development and team spirit.
Abstract
Subject area
Human resource management, Training and development, Competency development and team spirit.
Study level/applicability
The case is intended for MBA/PGDM level students as part of a human resource management curriculum. The case is more diagnostic in nature and should be discussed in the same spirit. The case is suitable for developing conceptual thinking and community orientation of professionals aspiring or pursuing a career in the area of human resource management.
Case overview
The case examines the imperatives behind Sterling Tools Limited (STL), a leading fasteners manufacturing Indian company's decision and strategy adopted to inculcate team spirit through outdoor experiential training (OET). The case explores in detail the process undertaken to execute the OET at STL. The case also briefly mentions the tangible benefits of OEL. The case is structured to enable readers to: understand the basic objectives of OET; understand the innovative approach adopted by STL; and understand how an organization responds to changes and challenges in the external environment.
Expected learning outcomes
This case is structured to enable students to: understand the meaning and significance of outdoor experiential training (OET); analyze the challenges faced by HR managers in modern day organizations; learn the conceptual framework and understand the principles of OET; examine the measures that can be taken by management to ensure a smooth induction and socialization process of employees; and understand the need of inculcating team spirit among employees.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available.
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Vandana, Ruchi Jain Garg, Vinod Kumar and Alok Kumar Singh
Present research analyzes and evaluates the impact of e-resources usage factors (training modes, awareness, influencers, utilitarian benefits and ease of use) towards…
Abstract
Purpose
Present research analyzes and evaluates the impact of e-resources usage factors (training modes, awareness, influencers, utilitarian benefits and ease of use) towards satisfaction and intention to use these e-resources.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for present study were collected from postgraduate students of Delhi (India) and 248 valid responses were received through the survey. After reliability and validity tests, structural relationships between variables were studied.
Findings
The present study revealed that all five factors significantly affected satisfaction and intention to use e-resources. However, influencers were found to have the highest impact on satisfaction and intention to use e-resources.
Originality/value
The present study is a maiden attempt to explore the impact of e-resources usage factors on satisfaction and intention to use by postgraduate students at management schools in Delhi, India.
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Lata Bajpai Singh, Alok Kumar and Shalini Srivastava
This paper aims to assess the relationship between academic burnout-student engagement relationships on management students of the Delhi-NCR region of Northern India. It…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess the relationship between academic burnout-student engagement relationships on management students of the Delhi-NCR region of Northern India. It further attempts to study the moderating impact of internal locus of control and mediating impact of loneliness on the academic burnout-student engagement relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The data was collected using standardized instruments from 264 respondents. Descriptive statistics, correlation and moderated-mediated regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The study found a negative association between student engagement and academic burnout and loneliness. A positive association between academic burnout and loneliness and a moderating impact of internal locus of control on academic burnout and student engagement relationship. Loneliness acted as a partial mediator for the moderated relationship between the academic burnout-student engagement relationship.
Research limitations/implications
Sample size and sampling units are the limitations of the study.
Practical implications
The conclusion of the presented study offers different inferences including validating the self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000) and possible courses of actions to be taken by academic institutions and students themselves. It ranges from careful investigation of student’s behaviors, design and implements collaborative projects along with student’s involvement in social networking based groups for collaborations and help.
Social implications
With the help of the study, the society including parents, family, friends, officials and academicians at educational institutions can offer useful insights to students through recreational and social activities for behavior modifications.
Originality/value
The major contribution of the study is to understand the psyche of the budding professionals perceiving increased stress and pressure. Limited studies are found in the Indian context and no studies in the past have used the study variables together. Internal locus of control as a personality variable has not been studied with respect to student’s burnout and engagement. Furthermore, none of the studies done in the past have deliberated upon loneliness with respect to the student community.
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Alok Kumar Samanta, Varaprasad G. and Anand Gurumurthy
Health care organisations implement lean six sigma (LSS) methodology to achieve improved performance in terms of cost, quality and productivity. However, the way it gets…
Abstract
Purpose
Health care organisations implement lean six sigma (LSS) methodology to achieve improved performance in terms of cost, quality and productivity. However, the way it gets implemented differs between organisations. Hence, this paper deal with a review of case studies describing the implementation of LSS in health care organisations to understand the nuances of implementation and identify future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach
The journal articles indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus database were filtered out. In total, 154 articles were evaluated using specific structural dimensions to categorise the literature into various groups, and content analysis was performed to synthesise the same.
Findings
This review revealed that the number of articles publishing the application of LSS in health care has been increasing in the last five years. Academic hospitals play a pivotal role to bridge the gap between LSS theory and practice. Despite this fact, certain themes remain unexplored. Not many studies are available that document the application of LSS in non-clinical areas such as pharmacy, internal logistics, maintenance and medical records. Only 20% of articles mentioned the post-intervention data up to three years, thus questioning the sustainability aspect of the achieved improvements.
Research limitations/implications
Various research gaps were identified, which can be used by the researchers to build the body of knowledge in the domain of LSS in health care.
Practical implications
This review provides a diversified view regarding the utility of LSS in the health care scenario. The findings will provide valuable insights for the health care practitioners regarding tools, techniques, drivers and performance measures.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to review only the case studies that describe the implementation of LSS in the health care sector.
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Alok Kumar Goel and Geeta Rana
The purpose of this paper is to identify the steps taken by human resource (HR) managers at India’s Yes Bank to enhance employee retention and to create an environment…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the steps taken by human resource (HR) managers at India’s Yes Bank to enhance employee retention and to create an environment conducive to growth.
Design/methodology/approach
Information gathered from semi-structured interviews has been presented.
Findings
This paper reveals how Yes Bank has transformed its working environment through innovative HR practices.
Practical implications
The approach adopted by an emerging Indian bank to address various HR issues has been detailed, and it is shown how the bank responded to changes and challenges in the internal and external environments.
Social implications
This paper explains that Indian banks are about to come under increasing competitive pressure, as limits on foreign direct investment are relaxed.
Originality/value
This paper provides plenty to interest practicing managers, researchers and students in HR management, organizational behavior and industrial relations.
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Electric cars have very little market share in developing countries despite their environmental benefits. Thus, governments have started promoting electric cars by…
Abstract
Purpose
Electric cars have very little market share in developing countries despite their environmental benefits. Thus, governments have started promoting electric cars by providing financial incentives to consumers. The current article aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of government financial incentives on consumer electric car adoption in India.
Design/methodology/approach
The study followed a quantitative research method that employed a self-administered survey questionnaire. Structural Equation Modelling and Multi-Group Analysis were followed for data analysis.
Findings
The study revealed that financial incentives have an indirect effect on electric car adoption intention rather than a direct effect. In addition, financial incentives were found to have a direct effect on attitude and Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC). Attitude and PBC positively influenced consumer adoption intention.
Practical implications
The insights and implications from the present study would help policymakers and marketers to formulate better incentive policies and market strategies to increase consumer acceptance of electric cars in developing countries.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature by analysing the underlying mechanism that links government financial incentives to electric car adoption intention. This study also explored the direct effect of financial incentives on attitude and PBC, which are less investigated in electric vehicle literature. In addition, the present article also assessed the moderating role of age in electric car adoption, which has mixed evidence in the literature, and such studies are scarce in the Indian context.
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Swati Alok, Navya Kumar and Sudatta Banerjee
COVID-19 placed millions of employees under work-from-home/telework. Employers intend extending telework for the long-term, anticipating business benefits. But the…
Abstract
Purpose
COVID-19 placed millions of employees under work-from-home/telework. Employers intend extending telework for the long-term, anticipating business benefits. But the benefits are impacted by employees' well-being/ill-being, which is affected by the satisfaction of psychological needs. In turn, need satisfaction is influenced by employees' personal/job attributes. As work-from-home's blended environment disrupts routines, the satisfaction of the psychological need for structure or routines was examined in this study, along with the effect of personal/job attributes.
Design/methodology/approach
Cross-section primary data were collected from 500 teleworking information technology employees from India and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Vigour and exhaustion represented well-being and ill-being. Telework self-efficacy, standardised job, technology assistance and supervisor social support were the determinants or personal/job attributes. Need for structure satisfaction was the mediator.
Findings
Telework self-efficacy, technology assistance and supervisor social support were positively associated with structure satisfaction. In turn, structure satisfaction was related positively with vigour and negatively with exhaustion, and thus mediated between personal/job attributes and vigour/exhaustion. Standardised job did not affect vigour, exhaustion or structure satisfaction.
Originality/value
Need for structure is mostly studied as a trait, with implications of greater/lesser preference for structure examined. However, this work acknowledges structure as a basic ubiquitous need. Everyone needs some structure. Hence, need for structure is researched from the novel perspective of its satisfaction. This paper also uniquely combines job demands–resources model which identifies personal/job attributes, with concepts of epistemic which posit the need for structure.
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