STRATEGIC ORIENTATION OF HR MANAGERS IN MOBILE COMMUNICATION COMPANIES IN SOUTH ASIA

The research problem was formulated as: “With the increased emphasis on human capital as a global trend, what is the extent of strategic orientation of Human Resource Managers in South Asia?” The objectives were to identify the personal factors as well as organizational factors that contribute to the strategic orientation of HR Managers and to identify the interactional effects of personal and organizational factors. The scope of the research was limited to selected mobile communication companies from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A mixed methodology involving a predominantly qualitative approach supported by a quantitative component was adapted. In depth interviews were conducted with the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Finance Officer, and the Head of HR of each company. The key personal factors emerged were tacit knowledge, conceptual skills, and business awareness. Leader’s recognition of HR, conducive organizational environment and performance orientation emerged as key organizational factors. Key Words: HR Managers, Strategic Orientation, Competency Deficit, Opportunity Deficit, Mobile Communication Companies For full paper: [email protected]

PERCEPTIONS ON STRATEGIC ORIENTATION OF HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONALS IN SRI LANKA

Senior managers’ perspectives on the strategic orientation of the HR professionals in the Sri Lankan corporate sector was the focus of this study. Strategic orientation was considered as thinking and action of a person, reflecting the long term plans of the organisation he/she works for. The objectives of the study were to investigate the relationship between the perception of senior managers and the HR professionals on the strategic orientation of HR Professionals and to identify the patterns and trends emerging in relation to such perceptions. The research was carried out on a sample of 46 senior managers selected using a convenient sampling technique.  A structured questionnaire consisting of two parts, one to be filled by the senior managers and the other to be filled by their respective Head of HR was administered. Validity and reliability of the structured questionnaire were  established. Based on the analysis of data, a typology involving senior manager’s perception and the HR professional’s perception was formulated, with appropriate labelling of four quadrants. Two cases were selected representing, both perceptions being “high”, and both perceptions being “low”, for a qualitative investigation. Accordingly, two organizations were selected for in-depth interviews with the Head of HR, CEO and other selected managers. Based on the qualitative findings, patterns emerging in relation to the strategic orientation of HR professionals were discussed in detail with recommendations for the enhancement of the strategic orientation of HR professionals.   Keywords: HR Professionals, Perception Typology, Strategic Orientation, Senior Managers For full paper: [email protected]

FACTORS IMPEDING EFFECTIVE USE OF HRIS IN LOCAL BANKS OF SRI LANKA

As the effective use of HRIS is climbed, that would intend to minimize the recurring costs, improve efficiency and quality of information on decision making. However, there had been little research carried on measuring the effective use of HRIS in Sri Lanka and as a part of a broad study carried out in final year of an MBA study, this article built upon how effective use of HRIS ought to be measured and what the factors impeding for effective use are. Research methodology was predominately quantitative supported by qualitative methodology and an analytical survey was done through a structured questionnaire alone with five in-depth interviews. The strategic intention and system satisfaction was the most significant factors which affected the HRIS usage and leadership focus was on HRIS implementation process was adequate according to the survey results. The study arrived at some definitive conclusions that leadership focus were inadequate to effective use of HRIS and the system satisfaction was the most intense factor for user satisfaction. Later the researchers pointed out the managerial implications on related issues by proposing management practices should co-op with the HRIS implementation and should be tighten the strategic bond of HRIS output to the strategic management. Secondly, proposed to develop a framework to measure ROI on Information Systems and thirdly proposed to consider the “agile project management method” in implementation process for eliminating communication gap and uncomforting requirements.Keywords: HRIS, Human Resources Management, Local Banks in Sri LankaFor full Paper: [email protected]

FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERCEIVED TEAM EFFECTIVENESS OF OFFSHORE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT TEAMS IN SRI LANKA

Teams becoming increasingly popular within organizations and now it has become building blocks of any organizations. This research focus on the perceived team effectiveness of offshore Software development projects teams and addresses the issue of why some of the Software development teams are effective and why not other teams are not effective. A theoretical framework was formulated and a questionnaire was administrated to collect data from the Software engineers in offshore development companies in Sri Lanka. The research study found that there is a significant relationship between cognitive factors and perceived team effectiveness and no significant relationship between demographic factors and perceived team effectiveness. It is recommended to pay more attention to team member’s cognitive similarities than demographic similarities when forming offshore Software development project teams in Sri Lanka.   Key Words: cognitive similarities , demographic similarities , team effectiveness , Software engineering project Teams For full paper: [email protected]

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MONETARY REWARDS IN MOTIVATING POLICE OFFICERS

The research problem examined in this research is low effectiveness of monetary incentive schemes in the Sri Lanka Police Department. The main argument of the research is that perceived opportunities for gaining higher monetary rewards motivate police officers with higher ability towards higher performance. In the conceptual model for the study efforts- reward expectancy, influenced by ability of the employees, an employee perception on fairness of reward system, and value placed on reward are considered as critical factors affecting the effectiveness of the reward scheme. The study was carried out by administering a questionnaire and focus group interviews with a sample of 100 police officers. The study recommends measures to minimize perceived unfairness and delay of reward payment and to improve the transparency, which are of significance to policy makers to review reward policies and make it instrumental to improve the efficiency of the police service. key words : Effectiveness, Monetary Incentives, Motivation, Police Department, Rewards For full paper: [email protected]

Societal-Level vis-à-vis Individual-Level Work Values in the 21st Century Businessworld: An Empirical Analysis of 51 Countries

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