Integration of the rational, political and justice models of performance appraisals: The case of the Sri Lankan public sector

In recent times there have been urgent calls for reforms in the public sector, and thereby certain private sector management techniques have been advocated to be implemented in the public sector. Special emphasis has been placed on performance management and thereby performance appraisals in this regard. However, research and observation show that performance appraisals have failed in their duty in both the private sector and the public sector in their design as well as their implementation. Performance appraisals literature speaks of three models, namely, the rational, political and justice models. However, they have been researched in isolation and conclusions drawn..

The challenges in Business Process Improvement training transfer: An exploration of empirical evidence from Australia

This paper is about the issues in Business Process Improvement (BPI) training transfer. There is ongoing training provided for BPIs. However, industry reports and research shows that the number of implementation failures in BPI have been substantial and the problem still remains unsolved. This paper places special emphasis on the transfer of BPI training. An exploratory and inductive approach was taken where the findings indicate various issues around eight main themes, the main being that of resistance. Our research: - 1) unearths the issues around BPI training transfer; - 2) informs BPI training literature on the importance of understanding the issues around BPI training transfer and; - 3) informs the practice on ways of overcoming the issues related to BPI training transfer

Conceptualizing the change-stability paradox in training transfer: The case of training for business process improvement

Annually millions of dollars are spent on formal and informal training activities across the globe. However, the return on investment of these training activities is in question. Training transfer needs to occur if the training is to yield a return on investment. Training transfer generally refers to the use of trained knowledge and skills back on the job (Burke and Hutchins, 2007). The manner in which any training is transferred in situations of conflict or tension, especially those in situations of paradoxes such as change and stability is yet to be explored. A paradox is a contradictory yet interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time (Smith & Lewis, 2011). This paper presents a conceptualization of training transfer that occurs in situations of paradoxes such as change and stability. Our research employs a multi phased approach in developing the conceptual model which was both empirically and theoretically grounded for more unchartered domains of research. Our results 1) inform training transfer theory on the importance of understanding the impact of paradoxical tensions on training transfer; 2) offer a framework to study training transfer in situations of paradoxical tensions that emanate from contentious change and; 3) informs future research on multi-phased and hybrid approaches to conceptualizations

Training transfer in environments of tensions: An organisational routines perspective

This thesis is an exploration into how training transfers in environments of tensions. The study takes place within the context of process-improvements and conceptualises the notion as ‘routine disruption’. The transfer of the trainings provided for routine actors to cope with routine changes are impacted by various strategic and defensive responses used by routine actors during a routine disruption. Peer, market and time pressures also affect the extent of training transfer in environments of tensions. A framework to study training transfer in situations of routine disruptions and tensions that emanate from contentious change is provided via this study

Employee Engagement and its crossover from superiors to subordinates: An exploratory study of licensed commercial banks of Sri Lanka

Emphasizing the importance of the human resource as a competitive asset for modern organizations, this paper investigates how Employee Engagement has become an emerging concept in the field of mana gement in Sri Lanka. Drawing insights from the discipline of Human Resource Management, this study was conducted to explore the perceptions of Sri Lankan managers within Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs) on the concept of employee engagement and the crossov er impact of employee engagement from superiors to their subordinates. Both the quantitative and the qualitative approaches were utilized within the study. Exploring the concept of Employee Engagement was done through the Literature Review and the qualita tive element of the study, to better understand it and to identify its relevance within the context of Sri Lanka. A dyadic approach was adopted focusing on the HR managers of the selected LCBs and selected direct reports of them. The findings suggest that there is a growing understanding among the managers about the importance about the concept of employee engagement and that their awareness on it is significant. However, the findings also gave rise to the fact that they lacked the ability to distinguish be tween the concept of employee engagement as a unique concept which is different to other concepts such as extra role behavior, personal initiative, job involvement, job satisfaction and work holism. There needs to be more discussion and understanding about the concept and the importance of achieving it by organizations in the country. It was also established that there is a clear crossover impact from the role of superiors on the Engagement of their subordinates. Implications are drawn from these findings and directions for future research are discussed

Integration of the rational, political and justice models of performance appraisals: The case of the Sri Lankan public sector

In recent times there have been urgent calls for reforms in the public sector, and thereby certain private sector management techniques have been advocated to be implemented in the public sector. Special emphasis has been placed on performance management and thereby performance appraisals in this regard. However, research and observation show that performance appraisals have failed in their duty in both the private sector and the public sector in their design as well as their implementation. Performance appraisals literature speaks of three models, namely, the rational, political and justice models. However, they have been researched in isolation and conclusions drawn..

An Exploratory Study on Job Hopping in Sri Lanka: A Study on Generation ‘Y’ Employees

Job Hopping is a major challenge that can be observed in the today’s labor market, with the new generation working in the modern world of work. The researcher sheds light on this matter from the employees’ and employers’ point of view, with the intention of identifying the reasons, challenges and consequences of job hopping. This study concentrates on the Sri Lankan context as the studies in the western organizational contexts regarding Job Hopping, may not be applicable to organizations in Sri Lanka, due to economic, social and cultural differences. As per the findings related to Sri Lankan context, the first five reasons for employees to job hop are, pay package, career growth, working environment and culture, reputation of the organization and job security. The researcher also found differences in the nature of job hopping with regard to gender, level of education, industries the employees are employed in, and also the uncertainty avoidance behavior of employees in Sri Lanka. However, both employees and HR managers see the pros and cons of job hopping, and accept employee behavior of job hopping

The challenges in Business Process Improvement training transfer: An inductive exploration from the Australian context

This paper is about the issues in <i>Business Process Improvement (BPI)</i> training transfer. There is ongoing training provided for BPIs. However, industry reports and research shows that the number of implementation failures in BPI have been substantial and the problem still remains unsolved. This paper places special emphasis on the transfer of BPI training. An exploratory and inductive approach was taken where the findings indicate various issues around eight main themes, the main being that of resistance. Our research:\ud \ud - 1) unearths the issues around BPI training transfer; \ud \ud - 2) informs BPI training literature on the importance of understanding the issues around BPI training transfer and; \ud \ud - 3) informs the practice on ways of overcoming the issues related to BPI training transfer

Honey, How Can I Help? Gender and Distribution of Unpaid Labour during COVID-19

Societies’ ideologies on the distribution of unpaid labour seem to have remained stagnant despite dramatic shifts in the worlds of work and society. The distribution of unpaid labour has implications for the wellbeing of individuals and the sustainability of their various personal and professional relationships. Our study addressed the less-researched “what” and “why” of the distribution of unpaid labour among dual-earner couples during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a qualitative approach, conducting 32 semi-structured interviews with individuals belonging to dual-earner couples in Sri Lanka. Interview data were thematically analysed using social role theory. Six major findings emanated from our study; (1) the pandemic did not drastically change the distribution of unpaid labour in most dual-earner couples, confirming traditional gender norms; (2) there was a change in the contribution of men towards unpaid labour when the woman was at home (working from home or during maternity leave), or had other means of support from domestic aid or extended family; (3) three clusters of men were identified as “sharing”, “chipping-in”, and “not-my-problem” types, depending on their involvement in unpaid labour; (4) “chipping-in” and “not-my-problem” type men reinforced the notion of gendered distribution of unpaid labour; (5) three clusters of women were identified as “sharing”, “asking-for-help”, and “bearing-the-cross” types; and (6) these couples, and women specifically, endured the unequal division of unpaid labour with the assistance of parents, in-laws, or paid domestic help. Our study has implications for the sustainability of individuals, as well as their wellbeing, families, organisations, and society

Honey, How Can I Help? Gender and Distribution of Unpaid Labour during COVID-19

Societies&rsquo; ideologies on the distribution of unpaid labour seem to have remained stagnant despite dramatic shifts in the worlds of work and society. The distribution of unpaid labour has implications for the wellbeing of individuals and the sustainability of their various personal and professional relationships. Our study addressed the less-researched &ldquo;what&rdquo; and &ldquo;why&rdquo; of the distribution of unpaid labour among dual-earner couples during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a qualitative approach, conducting 32 semi-structured interviews with individuals belonging to dual-earner couples in Sri Lanka. Interview data were thematically analysed using social role theory. Six major findings emanated from our study; (1) the pandemic did not drastically change the distribution of unpaid labour in most dual-earner couples, confirming traditional gender norms; (2) there was a change in the contribution of men towards unpaid labour when the woman was at home (working from home or during maternity leave), or had other means of support from domestic aid or extended family; (3) three clusters of men were identified as &ldquo;sharing&rdquo;, &ldquo;chipping-in&rdquo;, and &ldquo;not-my-problem&rdquo; types, depending on their involvement in unpaid labour; (4) &ldquo;chipping-in&rdquo; and &ldquo;not-my-problem&rdquo; type men reinforced the notion of gendered distribution of unpaid labour; (5) three clusters of women were identified as &ldquo;sharing&rdquo;, &ldquo;asking-for-help&rdquo;, and &ldquo;bearing-the-cross&rdquo; types; and (6) these couples, and women specifically, endured the unequal division of unpaid labour with the assistance of parents, in-laws, or paid domestic help. Our study has implications for the sustainability of individuals, as well as their wellbeing, families, organisations, and society