Pragyaan : Journal of Managementpragyaanmanagement.iuu.ac/upload_dynamic_content/2010...Pragyaan: Journal of Management Volume 8: Issue 1. June 2010 CONTENTS Research Papers/Articles

MEMBERS OF EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Professor Pulin B NayakDelhi School of Economics Delhi

Professor T J KamlanabhanDMS, IIT Madras

Professor P K ChaubeyIndian Institute of Public Administration,New Delhi

Professor M AkbarIndian Institute of ManagementLucknow

Professor D L SunderIndian Institute of ManagementIndore

Professor Vipin GuptaRos Jaffe Chair Professor of Strategy, Simmons School of Management, Simmons College, Boston, USA .

Copyright @ 2010 Institute of Management Studies, Dehradun.

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The Editorial Board invites original, unpublished contributions in the form of articles, case studies, research papers, and book reviews.

The views expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and not necessarily of the Editorial Board or the Institute.

Although every care has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this journal is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the authors, editors, publishers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not, for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to Dehradun jurisdiction only.

Pragyaan : Journal of Management

Volume 8 : Issue 1. June 2010

Patron Shri Amit AgarwalSecretaryIMS Society, Dehradun

Chief Editor Dr Pawan K AggarwalDirectorIMS, Dehradun

Editor Dr. Shruti Nagar Assistant Professor IMS, Dehradun

Professor Arun P SinhaDepartment of Industrial & Management Engineering IIT, Kanpur

Professor Narendra K SharmaHead, Department of Industrial & Management Engineering IIT, Kanpur

Professor S P KalaH.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar

Professor V. NangiaIndian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

Professor D P GoyalChairperson Computer Centre Management Development Institute Gurgaon

Professor Bhagwati PrasadFormer Director, KIMS, Dharwad

Professor Rudra Prakash PradhanVinod Gupta School of ManagementIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Professor Himanshu RaiIndian Institute of Management, Lucknow

Professor GeetikaSchool of Management StudiesMotilal Nehru National Institute of Technology,Allahabad

Professor Susmita MukhopadhyayVinod Gupta School of ManagementIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Professor R K PandeyFMS, Banaras Hindu University,Varanasi

Professor Sita MishraInstitute of Management Technology, GZB.

Professor V NangiaHead, Department of Management StudiesIndian Institute of Technology Roorkee

Professor R C MishraDirector, IPSDRKumaun University, Nainital

Professor Zillur RahmanDepartment of Management StudiesIndian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

Professor Sheeba KapilIndian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi

Professor Ram SinghIndian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi

Professor V P S AroraCollege of Agribusiness Management G B Pant University of Agriculture &Technology, Pantnagar

Panel of Referees From the Chief EditorWe draw immense pleasure in presenting the June 2010 issue of Pragyaan: Journal of Management. Pragyaan : JOM continues to gain appreciation and accolades as it provides a platform that stimulates and guides the intellectual quest of management scholars. Under invulnerable patronage, with invaluable support of panel of referees and propitious contribution by authors , our Journal has attained three major land marks, viz.,

? Award of ISSN No. 0974- 5505 from NISCAIR, New Delhi.? Listing with prestigious Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory, USA.? Review by external referees comprising eminent scholars.

The articles presented in this issue address a variety of contemporary national and international issues. The focus areas include: GLOBE Cultural Practices Constructs, Collaborative Entrepreneurship, Consumer behaviour towards Mobile Phone Services and Online Shopping, Mutual fund industry, TV ads avoidance and Tourism Product Development.

We would like to express gratitude to esteemed contributors for their scholarly contributions to the Journal. Appreciation is due to the Editorial Advisory Board, the panel of Referees and the Management of the Institute for their constant guidance and support. Many faculty members from the Management Department of the Institute provided the necessary editorial support that resulted in enhanced reader friendliness of various articles. Dr. Shruti Nagar diligently prepared the manuscript for the press. We are extremely thankful to all of them. We are also thankful to those who facilitated quality printing of this Journal.

We shall continue our endeavour to harness intellectual capital of scholars and practitioners of Management and present the same to our valuable readers.

We have tried our best to put together all the articles, coherently. Suggestions from our readers for adding further value to our Journal are however, solicited.

Dr. Pawan K AggarwalDirector IMS Dehradun

Professor Rudra Prakash PradhanVinod Gupta School of ManagementIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Professor Himanshu RaiIndian Institute of Management, Lucknow

Professor GeetikaSchool of Management StudiesMotilal Nehru National Institute of Technology,Allahabad

Professor Susmita MukhopadhyayVinod Gupta School of ManagementIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Professor R K PandeyFMS, Banaras Hindu University,Varanasi

Professor Sita MishraInstitute of Management Technology, GZB.

Professor V NangiaHead, Department of Management StudiesIndian Institute of Technology Roorkee

Professor R C MishraDirector, IPSDRKumaun University, Nainital

Professor Zillur RahmanDepartment of Management StudiesIndian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

Professor Sheeba KapilIndian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi

Professor Ram SinghIndian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi

Professor V P S AroraCollege of Agribusiness Management G B Pant University of Agriculture &Technology, Pantnagar

Panel of Referees From the Chief EditorWe draw immense pleasure in presenting the June 2010 issue of Pragyaan: Journal of Management. Pragyaan : JOM continues to gain appreciation and accolades as it provides a platform that stimulates and guides the intellectual quest of management scholars. Under invulnerable patronage, with invaluable support of panel of referees and propitious contribution by authors , our Journal has attained three major land marks, viz.,

? Award of ISSN No. 0974- 5505 from NISCAIR, New Delhi.? Listing with prestigious Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory, USA.? Review by external referees comprising eminent scholars.

The articles presented in this issue address a variety of contemporary national and international issues. The focus areas include: GLOBE Cultural Practices Constructs, Collaborative Entrepreneurship, Consumer behaviour towards Mobile Phone Services and Online Shopping, Mutual fund industry, TV ads avoidance and Tourism Product Development.

We would like to express gratitude to esteemed contributors for their scholarly contributions to the Journal. Appreciation is due to the Editorial Advisory Board, the panel of Referees and the Management of the Institute for their constant guidance and support. Many faculty members from the Management Department of the Institute provided the necessary editorial support that resulted in enhanced reader friendliness of various articles. Dr. Shruti Nagar diligently prepared the manuscript for the press. We are extremely thankful to all of them. We are also thankful to those who facilitated quality printing of this Journal.

We shall continue our endeavour to harness intellectual capital of scholars and practitioners of Management and present the same to our valuable readers.

We have tried our best to put together all the articles, coherently. Suggestions from our readers for adding further value to our Journal are however, solicited.

Dr. Pawan K AggarwalDirector IMS Dehradun

Pragyaan: Journal of Management

Volume 8: Issue 1. June 2010

CONTENTS

Research Papers/Articles

1

Introduction:

A pervasive issue in survey research focuses on the validation of scales constructed using perceptual questionnaire items. A notable theme in assessing construct validity is the use of multiple methods, since some of the variance in scales may be a function of the measures. The purpose of the present article is to extend the research on construct validity of the scales to across cultural domains. There are two ways the present research adds to the small body of existing research. First, we use content analysis to develop unobtrusive measures of the cultural constructs. Survey-based cultural scales are derived from the perceptions of a specific group of sampled respondents. There is therefore a need to authenticate whether the responses of sampled subjects reflect the general characteristics of the society as a whole.

Unobtrusive measures belong to a class of research method that avoids obtrusive interaction between the investigator and the population being studied (Webb et al, 1966; 2000). They are non-reactive measures (Sechrest & Belew, 1983), because they do not require respondents to pay attention to specific purposes of an investigation, and they do not impose any burden on respondents for participating

in the research process. We evaluate unobtrusive measures of the cultural constructs and demonstrate their consistency with the survey-based scales of each society. Thus, we show that survey-based cultural scales, when interpreted with appropriate thematic lens, are broadly rooted in the societal fabric, and that they do capture, at least partly, the tacit manifestations of the cultural behavior within the society.

Second, we use the unobtrusive measures for examining the construct validity of the survey-based scales. We also show how unobtrusive measures can help clarify the domain of meaning of cultural scales, and thereby shed light on the unexpected relationships with prior research. A result confirmed by independent replication of scales is more credible than findings supported by survey method alone (Webb, Campbell, Schwartz & Sechrest, 2000, 1966).

Each construct is intended to measure a common domain of meaning. The degree to which researchers have representatively sampled from that domain of meaning connotes content validity of the scale. Construct validity may be assessed through testing the convergent hypothesis and the discriminant hypothesis (Rossi, Wright & Anderson, 1983). The convergent hypothesis is that items within

"Pragyaan : JOM" Volume 8 : Issue 1, June 2010

Validation of GLOBE Cultural Practices Constructs: An Unobtrusive Measures Approach 1 Dr. Vipin Gupta & Dr. Mary Sully de Luque (USA)

Collaborative Entrepreneurship for Value Additions in Coconut Farming 14Dr. P. Baba Ganakumar (India)

Consumer Buying Motives and Perceptions about Mobile Phone Services: 22A Study of Consumers of UttarakhandDr. D.S. Chaubey & Dr. SMT Zafar (India)

Factors Impacting Behaviour of Consumers Towards On-Line Shopping in India: 33A Factor Analysis ApproachDr. Richa Dahiya (India)

Scenario of Mutual Fund Industry in Nepal: A Discussion 41Dr. Narayan Prasad Paudel (Nepal)

Dividend Practices and Market Value of Pharma and Paper Industries- An Analytical Study 48Dr. T. Satyanarayana Chary & Mohammed Mujahed Ali (India)

Television Advertisement Avoidance: An Assertion for Consumer Justice 59Dr. Sandip Anand & Dr. Arpita Khare (India)

Organizational Effectiveness in Relation to Strategic Human Resource Management 65Bindu Sharma (India)

Case Study

Sikkim: Tourism Product Development with Reference to Seven P's Framework: 81A Case StudyDr.M.Prasanna Mohan Raj, Pooja Prasad, Rakesh Arumilli, Sambit Mohanty,Neeraj Raju and Shiwani (India)

Short NoteCompetency in an Organization 88Ranjit Kumar Sarmah (India)

Business Management Theories in Light of the Holy Qur'an 92Muhammed Shaduli Palackil (Qatar)

Validation of GLOBE Cultural Practices Constructs: An Unobtrusive Measures Approach

Dr. Vipin Gupta*Dr. Mary Sully de Luque**

* Ros Jaffe Chair Professor of Strategy, Simmons School of Management, Simmons College, Boston, USA . ** Assistant Professor of Management , Research Fellow in the Garvin Center for Cultures and Language, Thunderbird School of Global Management Glendale, USA.

ABSTRACT

A pervasive issue in empirical social science research focuses on the validation of research findings. It is well accepted, though infrequently practiced, that a result confirmed by independent replication of research methods is more credible than findings supported by a single method alone. In this article, we show how unobtrusive measure methodology can be extended to establish construct validity of cross-cultural scales; survey-based scales developed as part of the GLOBE program. The GLOBE's cultural scales were constructed using reports of the middle-level managers, aggregated to the societal level of culture in which these managers were embedded. These scales were designed to assess the prevalence of specific cultural practices and values of a society. We show how unobtrusive measures can help establish the extent and nature of society level behavior captured by these aggregated middle-level managerial responses.

Keywords: Unobtrusive measure, Cross-cultural scales, GLOBE's cultural scales, Content analysis design, Hofstede's scales.

The authors wish to thank Robert House, Klaus Krippendorff, Paul Hanges, and Peter Dorfman for their review and helpful comments. Additionally, we gratefully acknowledge the dedicated support provided by Sally Chan, James Zale, Danielle Rizk, Tom Spies and Julia Kang at various times during the preparation of this manuscript.Without their assistance this research would not have been possible.


Volume 8: Issue 1. June 2010

CONTENTS

Research Papers/Articles

1

Introduction:

A pervasive issue in survey research focuses on the validation of scales constructed using perceptual questionnaire items. A notable theme in assessing construct validity is the use of multiple methods, since some of the variance in scales may be a function of the measures. The purpose of the present article is to extend the research on construct validity of the scales to across cultural domains. There are two ways the present research adds to the small body of existing research. First, we use content analysis to develop unobtrusive measures of the cultural constructs. Survey-based cultural scales are derived from the perceptions of a specific group of sampled respondents. There is therefore a need to authenticate whether the responses of sampled subjects reflect the general characteristics of the society as a whole.

Unobtrusive measures belong to a class of research method that avoids obtrusive interaction between the investigator and the population being studied (Webb et al, 1966; 2000). They are non-reactive measures (Sechrest & Belew, 1983), because they do not require respondents to pay attention to specific purposes of an investigation, and they do not impose any burden on respondents for participating

in the research process. We evaluate unobtrusive measures of the cultural constructs and demonstrate their consistency with the survey-based scales of each society. Thus, we show that survey-based cultural scales, when interpreted with appropriate thematic lens, are broadly rooted in the societal fabric, and that they do capture, at least partly, the tacit manifestations of the cultural behavior within the society.

Second, we use the unobtrusive measures for examining the construct validity of the survey-based scales. We also show how unobtrusive measures can help clarify the domain of meaning of cultural scales, and thereby shed light on the unexpected relationships with prior research. A result confirmed by independent replication of scales is more credible than findings supported by survey method alone (Webb, Campbell, Schwartz & Sechrest, 2000, 1966).

Each construct is intended to measure a common domain of meaning. The degree to which researchers have representatively sampled from that domain of meaning connotes content validity of the scale. Construct validity may be assessed through testing the convergent hypothesis and the discriminant hypothesis (Rossi, Wright & Anderson, 1983). The convergent hypothesis is that items within


Validation of GLOBE Cultural Practices Constructs: An Unobtrusive Measures Approach 1 Dr. Vipin Gupta & Dr. Mary Sully de Luque (USA)

Collaborative Entrepreneurship for Value Additions in Coconut Farming 14Dr. P. Baba Ganakumar (India)

Consumer Buying Motives and Perceptions about Mobile Phone Services: 22A Study of Consumers of UttarakhandDr. D.S. Chaubey & Dr. SMT Zafar (India)

Factors Impacting Behaviour of Consumers Towards On-Line Shopping in India: 33A Factor Analysis ApproachDr. Richa Dahiya (India)

Scenario of Mutual Fund Industry in Nepal: A Discussion 41Dr. Narayan Prasad Paudel (Nepal)

Dividend Practices and Market Value of Pharma and Paper Industries- An Analytical Study 48Dr. T. Satyanarayana Chary & Mohammed Mujahed Ali (India)

Television Advertisement Avoidance: An Assertion for Consumer Justice 59Dr. Sandip Anand & Dr. Arpita Khare (India)

Organizational Effectiveness in Relation to Strategic Human Resource Management 65Bindu Sharma (India)

Case Study

Sikkim: Tourism Product Development with Reference to Seven P's Framework: 81A Case StudyDr.M.Prasanna Mohan Raj, Pooja Prasad, Rakesh Arumilli, Sambit Mohanty,Neeraj Raju and Shiwani (India)

Short NoteCompetency in an Organization 88Ranjit Kumar Sarmah (India)

Business Management Theories in Light of the Holy Qur'an 92Muhammed Shaduli Palackil (Qatar)


Dr. Vipin Gupta*Dr. Mary Sully de Luque**

* Ros Jaffe Chair Professor of Strategy, Simmons School of Management, Simmons College, Boston, USA . ** Assistant Professor of Management , Research Fellow in the Garvin Center for Cultures and Language, Thunderbird School of Global Management Glendale, USA.

ABSTRACT

A pervasive issue in empirical social science research focuses on the validation of research findings. It is well accepted, though infrequently practiced, that a result confirmed by independent replication of research methods is more credible than findings supported by a single method alone. In this article, we show how unobtrusive measure methodology can be extended to establish construct validity of cross-cultural scales; survey-based scales developed as part of the GLOBE program. The GLOBE's cultural scales were constructed using reports of the middle-level managers, aggregated to the societal level of culture in which these managers were embedded. These scales were designed to assess the prevalence of specific cultural practices and values of a society. We show how unobtrusive measures can help establish the extent and nature of society level behavior captured by these aggregated middle-level managerial responses.

Keywords: Unobtrusive measure, Cross-cultural scales, GLOBE's cultural scales, Content analysis design, Hofstede's scales.

The authors wish to thank Robert House, Klaus Krippendorff, Paul Hanges, and Peter Dorfman for their review and helpful comments. Additionally, we gratefully acknowledge the dedicated support provided by Sally Chan, James Zale, Danielle Rizk, Tom Spies and Julia Kang at various times during the preparation of this manuscript.Without their assistance this research would not have been possible.

"Pragyaan : JOM" Volume 8 : Issue 1, June 20102 "Pragyaan : JOM" Volume 8 : Issue 1, June 2010 3

Institute of Management Studies, Dehradun

the domain of meaning, although derived from different methods, correlate together because they all reflect the same underlying construct or 'true' score. The discriminant hypothesis is that items from one domain will not correlate with items from another domain (Rossi, Wright & Anderson, 1983: 100-101).

In this study, we rely on the constructs and data obtained from the GLOBE project, and contrast the GLOBE scales with the findings of another landmark study of societal cultures by Hofstede (1980, 2001). GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) is a major cross-cultural study that surveyed more than 15,000 middle level managers in 62 societies around the world. The managers were sampled from organizations in at least one of the following three industries: food processing, financial services, and telecom. The three industries were selected on the basis of their contrasting environmental contexts: food processing is quite mature, financial services sector is quite global, and telecom is quite regulated and localized in most societies. The survey items used a 7-point scale. The individual-level data from managerial respondents in each society were aggregated to obtain society-level scores.

Based on prior studies, as has been reported in House, Hanges, Dorfman, Javidan, Dickson, Gupta and Associates (1998), GLOBE identified nine

attributes of culture. These are: (1) Uncertainty Avoidance, (2) Power Distance, (3) Collectivism I (Institutional), (4) Collectivism II (In-group), (5) Gender Egalitarianism, (6) Assertiveness, (7) Future Orientation, (8) Performance Orientation, and (9) Humane Orientation. The first two dimensions are similar to the dimensions in Hofstede's (1980) study of national culture. The other two dimensions in Hofstede's (1980) study, Individualism-Collectivism and Masculinity were refined further. Collectivism is assessed as two constructs. Institutional Collectivism reflects emphasis on collective interests, and has some similarities to Hofstede's (1980) Individualism dimension. In-group collectivism reflects pride and loyalty to the family, and group cohesiveness. The Masculinity dimension was defined as two dimensions, Gender Egalitarianism and Assertiveness Orientation, for better conceptual clarity. Equally important, additional dimensions were established in the GLOBE study. The Performance Orientation dimension was derived from McClelland's (1961) Achievement Motive construct. The Future Orientation dimension was derived from Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's (1961) Past, Present and Future Orientation construct. Finally, the Humane Orientation dimension was derived, which may be related with Hofstede and Bond's (1988) Kind Heartedness. The definition of each of the GLOBE constructs is given in Table 1.

Table 1. Definitions of GLOBE's Culture Constructs

Uncertainty Avoidance is defined as the extent to which members of a society strive to avoid uncertainty by reliance on social norms, rituals, and bureaucratic practices to alleviate the unpredictability of future events.

Power Distance is defined as the degree to which members of a society expect and agree that power should be unequally shared.

Collectivism I reflects the degree to which societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action.

Collectivism II reflects the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their families.

Gender Egalitarianism is the extent to which a society minimizes gender role differences.

Assertiveness is the degree to which individuals in societies are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in social relationships.

Future Orientation is the degree to which individuals in societies engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future, and delaying gratification.

Performance Orientation refers to the extent to which a society encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence.

Humane Orientation is the degree to which individuals in societies encourage and reward individuals for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous, caring, and kind to others.

Content analysis refers to the process of making inferences based on objective coding of archival records (Krippendorff, 1980; Shaughnessy et al, 2000; Weber, 1990). There is no simple universally agreed upon method for conducting content analysis (Carley, 1994; Krippendorff, 1980; Weber, 1990). We formulated the following approach for a systematic content analysis:

1. Applying the framework for content analysis.

2. Searching for suitable data.

3. Searching for contextual knowledge.

4. Developing a strategy and defining measurements for analysis to allow coding of variables.

5. Testing the coding scheme.

6. Assessing quality of accuracy.

Applying the Framework for Content Analysis

In our content analytic study, we sought to identify and code societal level textual indicators of the nine GLOBE cultural practices dimensions, in an effort to assess the validity of the GLOBE dimension measures. Selected for this study is a content analysis design to compare different methods, where “two or more methods are applied to the same data or to different data obtained from the same situation to test whether the two methods yield comparable results” (Krippendorff, 1980; pp. 51). Sometimes known as multiple operationalism (Webb et al, 1966; 2000), this design shows that different research methods that purport to be measuring the same construct result in similar findings. Figure 1 shows this design.

Source: Krippendorff, personal communication (2002).

Searching for Suitable Data

Among of the most critical aspects of a scientific approach for content analysis is identifying the appropriate data source (Krippendorff, 1980; Weber, 1990). Many valid sources exist that could be used to conduct content analysis. We selected Culturgrams reports (1999) as our data text source in our content analyses. These reports are published by an academic research center (David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University), and provide comparable and consistent, four page descriptions of cultures of 170 societies around the world. These descriptions include daily customs and lifestyle, as well as historical events, and the political and economic structure of each culture1.

The construction of a Culturgram report is systematic and broad ranging. Generally, six to twelve months of research is required in the assessment of a society's culture. Initially, an expert with residential, educational, and professional knowledge is invited to write the first draft. Supplementary information is generated from volunteers in organizations such as the Peace Corps and International Red Cross; expatriate diplomats and businesspeople, as well as educators. Following this, an equally qualified panel reviews the draft to determine whether the expressed judgments and facts form a fair and accurate portrayal of the culture. Annually, an editorial staff reviews the text, and they periodically invite qualified reviewers to revise the text to keep it current. Culturgram reports did not exist for two of the countries covered in GLOBE study: Qatar and Kuwait. In the spirit of an

Fig. 1 Content Analysis Design to Compare Different Methods




the domain of meaning, although derived from different methods, correlate together because they all reflect the same underlying construct or 'true' score. The discriminant hypothesis is that items from one domain will not correlate with items from another domain (Rossi, Wright & Anderson, 1983: 100-101).

In this study, we rely on the constructs and data obtained from the GLOBE project, and contrast the GLOBE scales with the findings of another landmark study of societal cultures by Hofstede (1980, 2001). GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) is a major cross-cultural study that surveyed more than 15,000 middle level managers in 62 societies around the world. The managers were sampled from organizations in at least one of the following three industries: food processing, financial services, and telecom. The three industries were selected on the basis of their contrasting environmental contexts: food processing is quite mature, financial services sector is quite global, and telecom is quite regulated and localized in most societies. The survey items used a 7-point scale. The individual-level data from managerial respondents in each society were aggregated to obtain society-level scores.

Based on prior studies, as has been reported in House, Hanges, Dorfman, Javidan, Dickson, Gupta and Associates (1998), GLOBE identified nine

attributes of culture. These are: (1) Uncertainty Avoidance, (2) Power Distance, (3) Collectivism I (Institutional), (4) Collectivism II (In-group), (5) Gender Egalitarianism, (6) Assertiveness, (7) Future Orientation, (8) Performance Orientation, and (9) Humane Orientation. The first two dimensions are similar to the dimensions in Hofstede's (1980) study of national culture. The other two dimensions in Hofstede's (1980) study, Individualism-Collectivism and Masculinity were refined further. Collectivism is assessed as two constructs. Institutional Collectivism reflects emphasis on collective interests, and has some similarities to Hofstede's (1980) Individualism dimension. In-group collectivism reflects pride and loyalty to the family, and group cohesiveness. The Masculinity dimension was defined as two dimensions, Gender Egalitarianism and Assertiveness Orientation, for better conceptual clarity. Equally important, additional dimensions were established in the GLOBE study. The Performance Orientation dimension was derived from McClelland's (1961) Achievement Motive construct. The Future Orientation dimension was derived from Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's (1961) Past, Present and Future Orientation construct. Finally, the Humane Orientation dimension was derived, which may be related with Hofstede and Bond's (1988) Kind Heartedness. The definition of each of the GLOBE constructs is given in Table 1.

Table 1. Definitions of GLOBE's Culture Constructs

Uncertainty Avoidance is defined as the extent to which members of a society strive to avoid uncertainty by reliance on social norms, rituals, and bureaucratic practices to alleviate the unpredictability of future events.

Power Distance is defined as the degree to which members of a society expect and agree that power should be unequally shared.

Collectivism I reflects the degree to which societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action.

Collectivism II reflects the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their families.

Gender Egalitarianism is the extent to which a society minimizes gender role differences.

Assertiveness is the degree to which individuals in societies are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in social relationships.

Future Orientation is the degree to which individuals in societies engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future, and delaying gratification.

Performance Orientation refers to the extent to which a society encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence.

Humane Orientation is the degree to which individuals in societies encourage and reward individuals for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous, caring, and kind to others.

Content analysis refers to the process of making inferences based on objective coding of archival records (Krippendorff, 1980; Shaughnessy et al, 2000; Weber, 1990). There is no simple universally agreed upon method for conducting content analysis (Carley, 1994; Krippendorff, 1980; Weber, 1990). We formulated the following approach for a systematic content analysis:

1. Applying the framework for content analysis.

2. Searching for suitable data.

3. Searching for contextual knowledge.

4. Developing a strategy and defining measurements for analysis to allow coding of variables.

5. Testing the coding scheme.

6. Assessing quality of accuracy.

Applying the Framework for Content Analysis

In our content analytic study, we sought to identify and code societal level textual indicators of the nine GLOBE cultural practices dimensions, in an effort to assess the validity of the GLOBE dimension measures. Selected for this study is a content analysis design to compare different methods, where “two or more methods are applied to the same data or to different data obtained from the same situation to test whether the two methods yield comparable results” (Krippendorff, 1980; pp. 51). Sometimes known as multiple operationalism (Webb et al, 1966; 2000), this design shows that different research methods that purport to be measuring the same construct result in similar findings. Figure 1 shows this design.

Source: Krippendorff, personal communication (2002).

Searching for Suitable Data

Among of the most critical aspects of a scientific approach for content analysis is identifying the appropriate data source (Krippendorff, 1980; Weber, 1990). Many valid sources exist that could be used to conduct content analysis. We selected Culturgrams reports (1999) as our data text source in our content analyses. These reports are published by an academic research center (David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University), and provide comparable and consistent, four page descriptions of cultures of 170 societies around the world. These descriptions include daily customs and lifestyle, as well as historical events, and the political and economic structure of each culture1.

The construction of a Culturgram report is systematic and broad ranging. Generally, six to twelve months of research is required in the assessment of a society's culture. Initially, an expert with residential, educational, and professional knowledge is invited to write the first draft. Supplementary information is generated from volunteers in organizations such as the Peace Corps and International Red Cross; expatriate diplomats and businesspeople, as well as educators. Following this, an equally qualified panel reviews the draft to determine whether the expressed judgments and facts form a fair and accurate portrayal of the culture. Annually, an editorial staff reviews the text, and they periodically invite qualified reviewers to revise the text to keep it current. Culturgram reports did not exist for two of the countries covered in GLOBE study: Qatar and Kuwait. In the spirit of an

Fig. 1 Content Analysis Design to Compare Different Methods




unobtrusive approach, we investigated the history of these nations, and found that Qatar's culture is most similar to United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait's culture is most similar to Saudi Arabia. Therefore, we chose to use United Arab Emirates' report as a proxy for Qatar, and Saudi Arabia's report as a proxy for Kuwait.2

Searching for Contextual Knowledge

In content analysis, establishing empirical links connecting the qualitative data to the GLOBE cultural practice dimensions, and to inferences made based on the data are fundamental. We refer to this as the construct inference link (Krippendorff, 1980). Analyzing the literature on which the nine GLOBE cultural dimensions were based helped support the inference as we identified the content analysis constructs.

To achieve this construct-inference link, we conducted a review of the textual information of the Culturgrams report from a sample of ten societies not included in GLOBE study. Involving experts who are familiar with the theoretical linkages between the data and the concepts of study is suggested in this search for contextual knowledge (Krippendorff, 1980). Thus, two members of the research team inspected the text data, each developing construct-inference examples independently. From this we identified culturally relevant concepts related to each of the nine GLOBE constructs. The following is an illustration of our process of developing a rationale for constructs.

The construct of uncertainty avoidance is related to the need for security and information. The medical sector is one of the critical domains predicated on reliable and stabilizing domestic initiatives. This is so because many diseases tend to be climate and society-specific and are subject to mutation over time. Thus, home-based research focused on accumulation of information about the domestic context is essential to develop preventive and curative solutions. Based on this inference clarification process the item, “medical facilities are effective in keeping the society essentially healthy and disease-free," was formed to represent uncertainty avoidance.

Strategy Development and Defining Measurements

Developing Strategies

We chose conceptual analysis strategy for conducting content analysis. Conceptual analysis sometimes referred to as thematic analysis (Stone,

1997) commonly focuses on detecting occurrences of specific words or concepts, as well as identifying patterns or themes in the text. Carley (1994) defines a concept “as a single idea regardless of whether it is represented by a single word or phase” (p. 726).

Two ways of analyzing concepts have been noted in the research: explicit concept analysis and implicit concept analysis (Carley, 1994). Actual words and phrases that appear in the text represent explicit concepts. Implied words and phrases that occur in the text denote implicit concepts. By using explicit concepts alone, researchers may overlook more indirect nuances in content analysis. Implicit analysis allows greater ability to extract deep meaning from the text. Thus, we used both implicit and explicit concept analysis in our research.

Examining embedded concepts within the text proved an important advantage in this analysis. For example, when analyzing concepts for Humane Orientation, “visiting one another” was identified as an important indicator of this dimension. In the Culturgram text the implicit messages regarding visiting included such things as (1) whether the importance of visiting was the primary variable mentioned in the section on the topic, implying a more humane culture (2) whether the author was emphatic about the importance of visiting, implying a more humane culture (3) whether visiting was a warm and sincere gesture (more humane) or was an expected ritualistic act (less humane), and (4) whether other implicit or explicit concepts throughout the text contradicted or diminished the importance of visiting. Additionally, when analyzing concepts for Institutional Collectivism, group importance at the macro or societal level was a central feature of this dimension. Implicit concepts indicating institutional collectivism in the Culturgram text included such phenomena as (1) whether there were either highly prominent sub-groups or segmentation in the culture, both of which may imply lower institutional level collectivism and (2) whether the members of the culture engaged in more group oriented activities (such as high numbers of team sports) or individual oriented activities (such as hiking and gardening). These examples imply a form of institutional collectivism other than families. Examining implicit concepts allowed for non-obvious concepts to surface.

In conceptual analysis, two methodological tactics are used: the dictionary approach and a rules-

based approach (Carley, 1994). In the dictionary approach all concepts and phrases need to appear in the text precisely as is directed in the dictionary. Conventional dictionaries such as the Lasswell Value Dictionary (Namenwirth & Weber, 1987) often guide researchers in the creation of a customized dictionary comprised of major concepts and equivalent phrases. Commonly, both dictionaries and translations rules are used in conceptual analysis (Carley, 1994), and this combination was employed in our study.

Assessing one of the conceptual items of Gender Egalitarianism, we used a dictionary approach. We developed a customized dictionary definition designed to determine if most women were given rights and privileges in their societies to achieve their aspirations. The item, “Most women have access to resources that allow them to pursue personal goals as freely as men,” was coded very specifically using the United Nations human development indices reported in Culturgram texts. This information provides an indication of the overall level of resources and opportunities available for women in a particular society. This customized dictionary approach proved useful. However, a majority of the concepts required a set of guidelines or rules used to glean the information from the text.

Making implicit concepts explicit and then quantifying these concepts was important because it resulted in the construction of a translation rule. These rules established our confidence in the coding and ensured coding consistency throughout the text (Carley, 1994).

To illustrate, the construct of In-group Collectivism is related to a sense of group oriented integrity, responsibility, moral discipline (Triandis, 1995), as well as inhibited affective and intellectual autonomy that may destabilize the harmony within the group (Schwartz, 1994). One of the items devised to measure in-group collectivism, "The father usually plays the role of the family head” connotes a final decision-making authority that successfully assumes the role of breeding and enforcing group integrity within the family. This rules-based approach facilitated our gleaning of implicit concepts. The success of this process depended on the researchers' extensive background knowledge of the theory on which the cultural constructs were derived, except for the third coder who was naïve to the GLOBE questionnaire items and thus served as a check on the validity (and biases) of our final coding.

Defining Measurements

Concurrent with developing strategies for content analysis, it is important to formulate the units of analysis, which is sometimes called unitizing (Krippendorff, 1980). In our content analysis, the sampling unit was the four-page Culturgram report for each country that corresponded with the GLOBE project countries. The context units define the segment of the text to be examined in order to characterize a recording unit. In our study, the context units were sections of the text into which the Culturgram were divided. These sections of the text described aspects of the culture such as history, general attitudes, family and economy. For example, the Humane Orientation culture dimension evaluates such issues as concern for others, friendliness, sensitivity towards others, and generosity.

By contrast, recording units are seldom defined in terms of physical boundaries. The division between recording units is reached through a descriptive effort (Krippendorff, 1980). In this content analysis, the recording units were the theoretically driven ideas relating to the nine cultural dimensions. To illustrate, the Denmark Culturgram section on general attitudes among the statements were “Danes are known for their tolerance of other people and diverse points of view. They admire individuals with a friendly attitude, a sense of humor, intelligence, sociability, personal stamina, integrity and an open mind…A love for understatement, rather than exaggeration, prevails” (p.78). Thus, recording units in this section could be coded higher on Humane Orientation given the reference to friendliness and tolerance and lower on Assertiveness Orientation given the reference to non-assertive behavior. After designating these units, we then defined and delineated the actual coding of the units. Referential units were used in this analysis. Referential units indicate how a unit is represented, defining the ideas to which an expression refers. The referential unit denotes a similar expression in different ways, often defined by specific notions, events, persons, acts, or objects, (Krippendorff, 1980). For example, the Performance Orientation item, "The society maintains a diversity of religion” was coded in terms of the dominant religion, as well as openness to other religions such as in terms of state laws (secular or not), and recent growth of new religious ideologies in the society.

Defining Categories

It was necessary in this content analysis to take note




unobtrusive approach, we investigated the history of these nations, and found that Qatar's culture is most similar to United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait's culture is most similar to Saudi Arabia. Therefore, we chose to use United Arab Emirates' report as a proxy for Qatar, and Saudi Arabia's report as a proxy for Kuwait.2

Searching for Contextual Knowledge

In content analysis, establishing empirical links connecting the qualitative data to the GLOBE cultural practice dimensions, and to inferences made based on the data are fundamental. We refer to this as the construct inference link (Krippendorff, 1980). Analyzing the literature on which the nine GLOBE cultural dimensions were based helped support the inference as we identified the content analysis constructs.

To achieve this construct-inference link, we conducted a review of the textual information of the Culturgrams report from a sample of ten societies not included in GLOBE study. Involving experts who are familiar with the theoretical linkages between the data and the concepts of study is suggested in this search for contextual knowledge (Krippendorff, 1980). Thus, two members of the research team inspected the text data, each developing construct-inference examples independently. From this we identified culturally relevant concepts related to each of the nine GLOBE constructs. The following is an illustration of our process of developing a rationale for constructs.

The construct of uncertainty avoidance is related to the need for security and information. The medical sector is one of the critical domains predicated on reliable and stabilizing domestic initiatives. This is so because many diseases tend to be climate and society-specific and are subject to mutation over time. Thus, home-based research focused on accumulation of information about the domestic context is essential to develop preventive and curative solutions. Based on this inference clarification process the item, “medical facilities are effective in keeping the society essentially healthy and disease-free," was formed to represent uncertainty avoidance.

Strategy Development and Defining Measurements

Developing Strategies

We chose conceptual analysis strategy for conducting content analysis. Conceptual analysis sometimes referred to as thematic analysis (Stone,

1997) commonly focuses on detecting occurrences of specific words or concepts, as well as identifying patterns or themes in the text. Carley (1994) defines a concept “as a single idea regardless of whether it is represented by a single word or phase” (p. 726).

Two ways of analyzing concepts have been noted in the research: explicit concept analysis and implicit concept analysis (Carley, 1994). Actual words and phrases that appear in the text represent explicit concepts. Implied words and phrases that occur in the text denote implicit concepts. By using explicit concepts alone, researchers may overlook more indirect nuances in content analysis. Implicit analysis allows greater ability to extract deep meaning from the text. Thus, we used both implicit and explicit concept analysis in our research.

Examining embedded concepts within the text proved an important advantage in this analysis. For example, when analyzing concepts for Humane Orientation, “visiting one another” was identified as an important indicator of this dimension. In the Culturgram text the implicit messages regarding visiting included such things as (1) whether the importance of visiting was the primary variable mentioned in the section on the topic, implying a more humane culture (2) whether the author was emphatic about the importance of visiting, implying a more humane culture (3) whether visiting was a warm and sincere gesture (more humane) or was an expected ritualistic act (less humane), and (4) whether other implicit or explicit concepts throughout the text contradicted or diminished the importance of visiting. Additionally, when analyzing concepts for Institutional Collectivism, group importance at the macro or societal level was a central feature of this dimension. Implicit concepts indicating institutional collectivism in the Culturgram text included such phenomena as (1) whether there were either highly prominent sub-groups or segmentation in the culture, both of which may imply lower institutional level collectivism and (2) whether the members of the culture engaged in more group oriented activities (such as high numbers of team sports) or individual oriented activities (such as hiking and gardening). These examples imply a form of institutional collectivism other than families. Examining implicit concepts allowed for non-obvious concepts to surface.

In conceptual analysis, two methodological tactics are used: the dictionary approach and a rules-

based approach (Carley, 1994). In the dictionary approach all concepts and phrases need to appear in the text precisely as is directed in the dictionary. Conventional dictionaries such as the Lasswell Value Dictionary (Namenwirth & Weber, 1987) often guide researchers in the creation of a customized dictionary comprised of major concepts and equivalent phrases. Commonly, both dictionaries and translations rules are used in conceptual analysis (Carley, 1994), and this combination was employed in our study.

Assessing one of the conceptual items of Gender Egalitarianism, we used a dictionary approach. We developed a customized dictionary definition designed to determine if most women were given rights and privileges in their societies to achieve their aspirations. The item, “Most women have access to resources that allow them to pursue personal goals as freely as men,” was coded very specifically using the United Nations human development indices reported in Culturgram texts. This information provides an indication of the overall level of resources and opportunities available for women in a particular society. This customized dictionary approach proved useful. However, a majority of the concepts required a set of guidelines or rules used to glean the information from the text.

Making implicit concepts explicit and then quantifying these concepts was important because it resulted in the construction of a translation rule. These rules established our confidence in the coding and ensured coding consistency throughout the text (Carley, 1994).

To illustrate, the construct of In-group Collectivism is related to a sense of group oriented integrity, responsibility, moral discipline (Triandis, 1995), as well as inhibited affective and intellectual autonomy that may destabilize the harmony within the group (Schwartz, 1994). One of the items devised to measure in-group collectivism, "The father usually plays the role of the family head” connotes a final decision-making authority that successfully assumes the role of breeding and enforcing group integrity within the family. This rules-based approach facilitated our gleaning of implicit concepts. The success of this process depended on the researchers' extensive background knowledge of the theory on which the cultural constructs were derived, except for the third coder who was naïve to the GLOBE questionnaire items and thus served as a check on the validity (and biases) of our final coding.

Defining Measurements

Concurrent with developing strategies for content analysis, it is important to formulate the units of analysis, which is sometimes called unitizing (Krippendorff, 1980). In our content analysis, the sampling unit was the four-page Culturgram report for each country that corresponded with the GLOBE project countries. The context units define the segment of the text to be examined in order to characterize a recording unit. In our study, the context units were sections of the text into which the Culturgram were divided. These sections of the text described aspects of the culture such as history, general attitudes, family and economy. For example, the Humane Orientation culture dimension evaluates such issues as concern for others, friendliness, sensitivity towards others, and generosity.

By contrast, recording units are seldom defined in terms of physical boundaries. The division between recording units is reached through a descriptive effort (Krippendorff, 1980). In this content analysis, the recording units were the theoretically driven ideas relating to the nine cultural dimensions. To illustrate, the Denmark Culturgram section on general attitudes among the statements were “Danes are known for their tolerance of other people and diverse points of view. They admire individuals with a friendly attitude, a sense of humor, intelligence, sociability, personal stamina, integrity and an open mind…A love for understatement, rather than exaggeration, prevails” (p.78). Thus, recording units in this section could be coded higher on Humane Orientation given the reference to friendliness and tolerance and lower on Assertiveness Orientation given the reference to non-assertive behavior. After designating these units, we then defined and delineated the actual coding of the units. Referential units were used in this analysis. Referential units indicate how a unit is represented, defining the ideas to which an expression refers. The referential unit denotes a similar expression in different ways, often defined by specific notions, events, persons, acts, or objects, (Krippendorff, 1980). For example, the Performance Orientation item, "The society maintains a diversity of religion” was coded in terms of the dominant religion, as well as openness to other religions such as in terms of state laws (secular or not), and recent growth of new religious ideologies in the society.

Defining Categories

It was necessary in this content analysis to take note


of issues pertaining to the definition of categories. Two basic decisions are suggested when developing category definitions, (1) should the categories be mutually exclusive, and (2) should the categories be broad or narrow (Weber, 1990). Mutually exclusive categories were required in this analysis to ensure that our variables were not confounded. Recording units needed to be classified in a single category. Simultaneous classification in two or more categories would have resulted in violation of fundamental statistical assumptions and would have rendered unreliable results (Weber, 1990). This decision process is illustrated below.

In power distance category, Economic growth tends to go hand-in-hand with the unemployment, poverty and stratification of society by income, and

people derive little satisfaction from the work. While coding the information, we identified referent units relating to the effects of unequal distribution of income and private consumption expenditure in the society. Evidence of unemployment and poverty were found in the text regarding the economy, and occasionally these indications were embedded in the discussion, which required a thoughtful reading for discovering implicit information. To assess the stratification of society by income, we looked for references to gaps between rich and poor which were specific in the text and generally uncomplicated to code. A second decision in the development of category definitions involved how broad or narrow the categories should be. Decisions were made to code some concepts very specifically and some more broadly. For example,in the Collectivism category,

"Most people lack access to the opportunities for personal advancement” reflects a social system where intellectual autonomy is not facilitated. The Human Development Index value for each country was used as a narrowly defined category to assess the collectivism category. In contrast, the concept of Uncertainty Avoidance was defined broadly. This concept is related to the use of information technologies, for supporting ample feedback, and building capabilities for information technology usage. It should be noted that all initial decisions regarding strategy development and measurement defining issues were dependent on the information available in Culturgrams as identified at the time of exploratory analysis of non-GLOBE sample societies.

The unobtrusive items for each of the GLOBE society practices are presented in Table 2.

Testing a Coding Scheme

The next step in this content analysis process involved the actual coding of the text. Meticulous training was provided for the coders in the use of the rating scales to assure that the coders make appropriate qualitative judgments about the contents of the archival text.

All the items were rated on a 5-point scale, with 5 representing high scores on a dimension for a society. Using this type of scale required conceptualizing the source material on a continuum (Krippendorff, 1980). Two experts, each of whom had a Ph.D. in management, coded all societies independently. This enhanced the reliability of the study, since it promoted reproducibility of the findings through the use of multiple raters.

From the Culturgrams a sample of 10 countries not in the GLOBE sample was coded on each of the nine dimensions. The average initial results were compared across the ten societies and all unobtrusive items. In both the first and second round of preliminary coding, based on cultures not in the GLOBE study, items with lower coding agreement were discussed, and other discrepancies were sorted out, and recoding was conducted until an acceptable level of agreement was achieved. Thereafter, the coding rules for text analysis were applied to the sample of GLOBE countries represented in the Culturgrams.

Table 2. Content Analysis Measures of GLOBE Society Practices Constructs

Scale Content Analysis Measures

Performance People tend to emphasize all-round economic accomplishments

Orientation The society maintains a diversity of religion, indicating a lack of performance inhibiting dogmatism

Assertiveness People have forceful and expressive behaviors

Orientation People exhibit a toughness in their behavior

Dominant behavior is characteristic

Future People tend to arrange social and family visits in advance, and avoid spontaneous visits

Orientation Most people seek to learn and use English as an important language for communication in modern world

Humane Warm greetings are of the essence

Orientation Hospitality/visiting are very important and highly cherished

People show empathy in their interactions with others

Institutional Societal level group loyalties were important

Collectivism The culture engages in more group oriented activities

Highly prominent sub-groups or segmentation do not exist in the culture.

In-Group The father usually plays the role of the family head.

Collectivism Most people lack access to the opportunities for personal advancement, indicating a group think

Gender Most women have access to resources that allow them to pursue personal goals as freely as men

Egalitarianism It is proper for women to have a job

Power Distance Economic growth tends to go hand-in-hand with the unemployment, poverty and stratification of society by income

People derive little enjoyment from their work, indicating power barriers that inhibit effort-reward linkage.

Uncertainty Medical facilities are effective in keeping the society essentially.

Avoidance healthy and disease-free, indicating certainty enhancing reliability and breadth of home research initiatives.

The nation strives for an extensive and modern telecommunications system, indicating building of capability for the use of uncertainty absorbing information technology.

Table 3. Inter-rater Correlation and InternalConsistency Reliability Estimates for

Unobtrusive Measures

Inter-rater Reliability correlation estimate*

Performance Orientation .83** .90

Assertiveness .74** .86

Future Orientation .92** .96

Humane Orientation .69** .81

Institutional Collectivism .55** .70

In-Group Collectivism 1.00** 1.00

Gender Egalitarianism .91** .95

Power Distance .88** .93

Uncertainty Avoidance .95** .97

Assessing Quality and Accuracy

Issues of validity and reliability are fundamental to the use of unobtrusive measures (Lee, 1998; Weber, 1990). High-quality content analysis results depend on the reliability of the data, the analysts, and the process (Krippendorff, 1980). Reliability has been defined as the agreement between two efforts to assess the same trait through similar methods (Campbell & Fiske, 1959: pp. 83). In this study, reliability was assessed as the consistency with which multiple raters coded the Culturgram texts. Table 3 gives inter-rater correlation for each of the nine unobtrusive measure scales. The scale score for each dimension is comprised of scores from two raters. The average inter-rater correlation was 0.70 across nine unobtrusive measure scales, which is within the accepted reliability range (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1993). In addition, using the Spearman-Brown Prophecy formula we produced reliability estimates for the average unobtrusive score. These consist of the averaging of rater responses and are also provided in Table 3.

*Based on the Spearman-Brown Prophecy formula

** p<0.01

One way to assess validity of unobtrusive measures is to determine if the measured data are related to other analyses of the construct in ways predicted by the theory (Bowen and Bowen, 1999). Two primary aspects of validity are convergent


Institute of Management Studies, DehradunValidation of GLOBE Cultural Practices Constructs: An Unobtrusive Measures Approach

of issues pertaining to the definition of categories. Two basic decisions are suggested when developing category definitions, (1) should the categories be mutually exclusive, and (2) should the categories be broad or narrow (Weber, 1990). Mutually exclusive categories were required in this analysis to ensure that our variables were not confounded. Recording units needed to be classified in a single category. Simultaneous classification in two or more categories would have resulted in violation of fundamental statistical assumptions and would have rendered unreliable results (Weber, 1990). This decision process is illustrated below.

In power distance category, Economic growth tends to go hand-in-hand with the unemployment, poverty and stratification of society by income, and

people derive little satisfaction from the work. While coding the information, we identified referent units relating to the effects of unequal distribution of income and private consumption expenditure in the society. Evidence of unemployment and poverty were found in the text regarding the economy, and occasionally these indications were embedded in the discussion, which required a thoughtful reading for discovering implicit information. To assess the stratification of society by income, we looked for references to gaps between rich and poor which were specific in the text and generally uncomplicated to code. A second decision in the development of category definitions involved how broad or narrow the categories should be. Decisions were made to code some concepts very specifically and some more broadly. For example,in the Collectivism category,

"Most people lack access to the opportunities for personal advancement” reflects a social system where intellectual autonomy is not facilitated. The Human Development Index value for each country was used as a narrowly defined category to assess the collectivism category. In contrast, the concept of Uncertainty Avoidance was defined broadly. This concept is related to the use of information technologies, for supporting ample feedback, and building capabilities for information technology usage. It should be noted that all initial decisions regarding strategy development and measurement defining issues were dependent on the information available in Culturgrams as identified at the time of exploratory analysis of non-GLOBE sample societies.

The unobtrusive items for each of the GLOBE society practices are presented in Table 2.

Testing a Coding Scheme

The next step in this content analysis process involved the actual coding of the text. Meticulous training was provided for the coders in the use of the rating scales to assure that the coders make appropriate qualitative judgments about the contents of the archival text.

All the items were rated on a 5-point scale, with 5 representing high scores on a dimension for a society. Using this type of scale required conceptualizing the source material on a continuum (Krippendorff, 1980). Two experts, each of whom had a Ph.D. in management, coded all societies independently. This enhanced the reliability of the study, since it promoted reproducibility of the findings through the use of multiple raters.

From the Culturgrams a sample of 10 countries not in the GLOBE sample was coded on each of the nine dimensions. The average initial results were compared across the ten societies and all unobtrusive items. In both the first and second round of preliminary coding, based on cultures not in the GLOBE study, items with lower coding agreement were discussed, and other discrepancies were sorted out, and recoding was conducted until an acceptable level of agreement was achieved. Thereafter, the coding rules for text analysis were applied to the sample of GLOBE countries represented in the Culturgrams.

Table 2. Content Analysis Measures of GLOBE Society Practices Constructs

Scale Content Analysis Measures

Performance People tend to emphasize all-round economic accomplishments

Orientation The society maintains a diversity of religion, indicating a lack of performance inhibiting dogmatism

Assertiveness People have forceful and expressive behaviors

Orientation People exhibit a toughness in their behavior

Dominant behavior is characteristic

Future People tend to arrange social and family visits in advance, and avoid spontaneous visits

Orientation Most people seek to learn and use English as an important language for communication in modern world

Humane Warm greetings are of the essence

Orientation Hospitality/visiting are very important and highly cherished

People show empathy in their interactions with others

Institutional Societal level group loyalties were important

Collectivism The culture engages in more group oriented activities

Highly prominent sub-groups or segmentation do not exist in the culture.

In-Group The father usually plays the role of the family head.

Collectivism Most people lack access to the opportunities for personal advancement, indicating a group think

Gender Most women have access to resources that allow them to pursue personal goals as freely as men

Egalitarianism It is proper for women to have a job

Power Distance Economic growth tends to go hand-in-hand with the unemployment, poverty and stratification of society by income

People derive little enjoyment from their work, indicating power barriers that inhibit effort-reward linkage.

Uncertainty Medical facilities are effective in keeping the society essentially.

Avoidance healthy and disease-free, indicating certainty enhancing reliability and breadth of home research initiatives.

The nation strives for an extensive and modern telecommunications system, indicating building of capability for the use of uncertainty absorbing information technology.

Table 3. Inter-rater Correlation and InternalConsistency Reliability Estimates for

Unobtrusive Measures

Inter-rater Reliability correlation estimate*

Performance Orientation .83** .90

Assertiveness .74** .86

Future Orientation .92** .96

Humane Orientation .69** .81

Institutional Collectivism .55** .70

In-Group Collectivism 1.00** 1.00

Gender Egalitarianism .91** .95

Power Distance .88** .93

Uncertainty Avoidance .95** .97

Assessing Quality and Accuracy

Issues of validity and reliability are fundamental to the use of unobtrusive measures (Lee, 1998; Weber, 1990). High-quality content analysis results depend on the reliability of the data, the analysts, and the process (Krippendorff, 1980). Reliability has been defined as the agreement between two efforts to assess the same trait through similar methods (Campbell & Fiske, 1959: pp. 83). In this study, reliability was assessed as the consistency with which multiple raters coded the Culturgram texts. Table 3 gives inter-rater correlation for each of the nine unobtrusive measure scales. The scale score for each dimension is comprised of scores from two raters. The average inter-rater correlation was 0.70 across nine unobtrusive measure scales, which is within the accepted reliability range (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1993). In addition, using the Spearman-Brown Prophecy formula we produced reliability estimates for the average unobtrusive score. These consist of the averaging of rater responses and are also provided in Table 3.

*Based on the Spearman-Brown Prophecy formula

** p<0.01

One way to assess validity of unobtrusive measures is to determine if the measured data are related to other analyses of the construct in ways predicted by the theory (Bowen and Bowen, 1999). Two primary aspects of validity are convergent



Met

hod

1

A1

(.90)

B1.

.1

0(.8

6)

C1

.56*

*.0

1

(.96)

D1

.19

-.20

.19

(.81)

E1

.10

-.29*

.13

.44*

* (.7

0)

F 1-.3

3*-.0

9

-.47*

* -.0

8 -.0

5 (1

.0 )

G1

.23

.13

.3

8**

.18

.08

-.55*

* (.9

5 )

H1

-.50*

*-.0

5

-.72*

* -.0

7 -.0

8 .6

4**

-.32*

(.93

)

I 1.5

6**

.11

.7

2**

.11

.01

-.56*

* .3

9**

-.70*

*

(.97

)

A2

B2

C2

D2

E2

F 2G

2H

2I 2

(.80)

-.48*

*(.8

8)

A2

.56*

*-.0

6

.31*

.13

.10

.04

-.0

3 -.2

6* .35*

*

(.72

)

B2

.15

.59*

*

.04

.07

-.12

.26*

.0

3

.15

.09

.0

5

(.75

)

C2

.63*

*.1

1

.62*

* .2

6* .1

2 -.1

3

.15

-.4

6**

.4

7**

.6

2**

.0

8

(.80

)

D2

-.13

-.04

-.25

.51*

*

.03

.17

-.23

.08

-.30*

.2

5**

-.42*

*

.07

(.88

)

E

2.3

0*.2

0

.27*

-.06

.58*

*

-.11

.02

-.22

.26*

.4

2**

-.38*

*

.47*

*

.41*

*

(.67

)

F 2

-.47*

*-.1

7

-.59*

*

-.21

-.17

.58*

*

-.44*

*

.61*

*

-.62*

*

-.1

1

.13

-.40*

*

.27*

.11

(.77

)

G2

.10

.04

.10

.10

.03

-.27*

.65*

*.0

1.0

4-.3

0*-.1

0-.0

7-.1

4-.0

3-.2

3(.

66)

H2

-.49*

*-.0

9-.4

3**

-.26*

-.21

.37*

*-.2

6*.6

2**

-.36*

*-.3

3**

.21

-.44*

*-.1

5-.3

0*.6

1**

-.32*

I 2.5

1**

.15

.54*

*.2

2.0

8.3

0*.2

9*-.6

0**

.60*

*.5

8**

-.08

.75*

*.0

1.3

8**

-.59*

*-.0

6

Tab

le 4

.

GLO

BE

Var

iabl

es

Uno

btru

sive

Var

iabl

es

A1

B1

C1

D1

E1

F 1G

1H

1I 1

Met

hod

2

validity and discriminant validity (Campbell & Fiske, 1959; Weber, 1990). For this part of our study, convergent validity is represented as the agreement between the unobtrusive measures and the GLOBE measures to assess societal level cultural practices through text analysis and survey questionnaires respectively. A construct has discriminant validity when it is relatively distinct from other criteria variables. The issues of validity may best be clarified through the use of a multitrait-multimethod matrix, or MMTM (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). For this study, the multiple traits were comprised of the nine cultural dimensions, and the two methods comprised of the questionnaire-based method (GLOBE societal level practice scales) and the content coding method (unobtrusive measures of culture). Table 4 provides the multitrait-multimethod matrix.

Note. Letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I refer to statuses on the dimensions of culture, subscripts 1, 2, to refer to the 2 methods used in this study. Method 1 refers to the Unobtrusive items and method 2 refers to the GLOBE items. Validity coefficients are the diagonal set of boldface numbers; reliability coefficients are the numbers in parentheses along principal diagonal. For this study the reliability coefficient for the unobtrusive items was calculated by aggregating two raters to form the scores for the dimensions, then using Spearman-Brown Prophecy formula.

* A = Performance OrientationB = Assertiveness OrientationC = Future OrientationD = Humane OrientationE = Societal CollectivismF = In-Group CollectivismG = Gender EgalitarianismH = Power DistanceI = Uncertainty Avoidance

Convergent Validity

Convergent validity exists when the coefficients in the validity diagonal are high and statistically significant (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). As shown in Table 5, the coefficients in the validity diagonal range from 0.51 to 0.65, and all of them are significant at p<0.01, confirming convergent validity for each of the nine constructs.

Discriminant Validity

Discriminant validity exists when (1) the validity coefficients are higher than values lying in their column and row in the same heterotrait-heteromethod triangle. (2) the validity coefficients are higher than all coefficients in the heterotrait-monomethod triangles, and (3) the same pattern of trait interrelationship is seen in all triangles (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). These conditions are very restrictive because they seek to test not only discriminant validity, but also if the results are generalizable to other methods. Therefore, these conditions have been rarely applied in practice. Using a more practical approach, one appropriate for the task of testing discriminant validity, we adopted two modified conditions for testing the discriminant validity of the constructs using the matrix:

Condition 1

In the heterotrait-heteromethod triangles, we computed the average heterotrait-heteromethod (HTHM) correlation of each Unobtrusive Measure with the nine GLOBE variables, as given in column 2a in Table 5. These unobtrusive HTHM correlations range from -0.09 to 0.08, with an average of 0.00. Similarly, we computed the average correlation HTHM of each GLOBE variable with the nine Unobtrusive Measures, as given in column 2b in Table 5. These GLOBE correlations for the HTHM range from -0.26 to 0.19, with an average of 0.00. For discriminant validity, the coefficient in the validity diagonal, as given in column 1 in Table 5, should exceed both of these two HTHM correlations. This condition holds true for all the nine measures3.

Condition 2

In the heterotrait-monomethod triangles, we computed heterotrait-monomethod (HTMM) correlations of each Unobtrusive Measure with the other nine Unobtrusive Measures, as given in column 4a in Table 5. These HTMM correlations ranged from -0.23 to 0.11, with an average of 0.01. Similarly, we computed HTMM correlation of each GLOBE measure with the other eight GLOBE measures, as given in column 4b in Table 5. These HTMM correlations ranged from -0.16 to 0.15, with an average of 0.01. For discriminant validity, the coefficient in the validity diagonal, as shown in column 1 in Table 5, should exceed the two HTMM correlations respectively. This condition holds true for all the nine measures.



Met

hod

1

A1

(.90)

B1.

.1

0(.8

6)

C1

.56*

*.0

1

(.96)

D1

.19

-.20

.19

(.81)

E1

.10

-.29*

.13

.44*

* (.7

0)

F 1-.3

3*-.0

9

-.47*

* -.0

8 -.0

5 (1

.0 )

G1

.23

.13

.3

8**

.18

.08

-.55*

* (.9

5 )

H1

-.50*

*-.0

5

-.72*

* -.0

7 -.0

8 .6

4**

-.32*

(.93

)

I 1.5

6**

.11

.7

2**

.11

.01

-.56*

* .3

9**

-.70*

*

(.97

)

A2

B2

C2

D2

E2

F 2G

2H

2I 2

(.80)

-.48*

*(.8

8)

A2

.56*

*-.0

6

.31*

.13

.10

.04

-.0

3 -.2

6* .35*

*

(.72

)

B2

.15

.59*

*

.04

.07

-.12

.26*

.0

3

.15

.09

.0

5

(.75

)

C2

.63*

*.1

1

.62*

* .2

6* .1

2 -.1

3

.15

-.4

6**

.4

7**

.6

2**

.0

8

(.80

)

D2

-.13

-.04

-.25

.51*

*

.03

.17

-.23

.08

-.30*

.2

5**

-.42*

*

.07

(.88

)

E

2.3

0*.2

0

.27*

-.06

.58*

*

-.11

.02

-.22

.26*

.4

2**

-.38*

*

.47*

*

.41*

*

(.67

)

F 2

-.47*

*-.1

7

-.59*

*

-.21

-.17

.58*

*

-.44*

*

.61*

*

-.62*

*

-.1

1

.13

-.40*

*

.27*

.11

(.77

)

G2

.10

.04

.10

.10

.03

-.27*

.65*

*.0

1.0

4-.3

0*-.1

0-.0

7-.1

4-.0

3-.2

3(.

66)

H2

-.49*

*-.0

9-.4

3**

-.26*

-.21

.37*

*-.2

6*.6

2**

-.36*

*-.3

3**

.21

-.44*

*-.1

5-.3

0*.6

1**

-.32*

I 2.5

1**

.15

.54*

*.2

2.0

8.3

0*.2

9*-.6

0**

.60*

*.5

8**

-.08

.75*

*.0

1.3

8**

-.59*

*-.0

6

Tab

le 4

.

GLO

BE

Var

iabl

es

Uno

btru

sive

Var

iabl

es

A1

B1

C1

D1

E1

F 1G

1H

1I 1

Met

hod

2

validity and discriminant validity (Campbell & Fiske, 1959; Weber, 1990). For this part of our study, convergent validity is represented as the agreement between the unobtrusive measures and the GLOBE measures to assess societal level cultural practices through text analysis and survey questionnaires respectively. A construct has discriminant validity when it is relatively distinct from other criteria variables. The issues of validity may best be clarified through the use of a multitrait-multimethod matrix, or MMTM (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). For this study, the multiple traits were comprised of the nine cultural dimensions, and the two methods comprised of the questionnaire-based method (GLOBE societal level practice scales) and the content coding method (unobtrusive measures of culture). Table 4 provides the multitrait-multimethod matrix.

Note. Letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I refer to statuses on the dimensions of culture, subscripts 1, 2, to refer to the 2 methods used in this study. Method 1 refers to the Unobtrusive items and method 2 refers to the GLOBE items. Validity coefficients are the diagonal set of boldface numbers; reliability coefficients are the numbers in parentheses along principal diagonal. For this study the reliability coefficient for the unobtrusive items was calculated by aggregating two raters to form the scores for the dimensions, then using Spearman-Brown Prophecy formula.

* A = Performance OrientationB = Assertiveness OrientationC = Future OrientationD = Humane OrientationE = Societal CollectivismF = In-Group CollectivismG = Gender EgalitarianismH = Power DistanceI = Uncertainty Avoidance

Convergent Validity

Convergent validity exists when the coefficients in the validity diagonal are high and statistically significant (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). As shown in Table 5, the coefficients in the validity diagonal range from 0.51 to 0.65, and all of them are significant at p<0.01, confirming convergent validity for each of the nine constructs.

Discriminant Validity

Discriminant validity exists when (1) the validity coefficients are higher than values lying in their column and row in the same heterotrait-heteromethod triangle. (2) the validity coefficients are higher than all coefficients in the heterotrait-monomethod triangles, and (3) the same pattern of trait interrelationship is seen in all triangles (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). These conditions are very restrictive because they seek to test not only discriminant validity, but also if the results are generalizable to other methods. Therefore, these conditions have been rarely applied in practice. Using a more practical approach, one appropriate for the task of testing discriminant validity, we adopted two modified conditions for testing the discriminant validity of the constructs using the matrix:

Condition 1

In the heterotrait-heteromethod triangles, we computed the average heterotrait-heteromethod (HTHM) correlation of each Unobtrusive Measure with the nine GLOBE variables, as given in column 2a in Table 5. These unobtrusive HTHM correlations range from -0.09 to 0.08, with an average of 0.00. Similarly, we computed the average correlation HTHM of each GLOBE variable with the nine Unobtrusive Measures, as given in column 2b in Table 5. These GLOBE correlations for the HTHM range from -0.26 to 0.19, with an average of 0.00. For discriminant validity, the coefficient in the validity diagonal, as given in column 1 in Table 5, should exceed both of these two HTHM correlations. This condition holds true for all the nine measures3.

Condition 2

In the heterotrait-monomethod triangles, we computed heterotrait-monomethod (HTMM) correlations of each Unobtrusive Measure with the other nine Unobtrusive Measures, as given in column 4a in Table 5. These HTMM correlations ranged from -0.23 to 0.11, with an average of 0.01. Similarly, we computed HTMM correlation of each GLOBE measure with the other eight GLOBE measures, as given in column 4b in Table 5. These HTMM correlations ranged from -0.16 to 0.15, with an average of 0.01. For discriminant validity, the coefficient in the validity diagonal, as shown in column 1 in Table 5, should exceed the two HTMM correlations respectively. This condition holds true for all the nine measures.



Thus, we conclude that the GLOBE societal practice constructs have convergent as well as discriminant validity.

Assessing Generalizability and Unexpected Relationships

Another important aspect in assessing a research measure is the extent to which it is generalizable across similar domains of meaning in different studies. Table 6 shows the relationship between GLOBE practice scales the scales developed by Hofstede (2001). Similarly, the correlation of the Unobtrusive Measures with the Hofstede scales is given.

Both the GLOBE practice scale as well as the Unobtrusive Measure for Power Distance is significantly and positively correlated with Hofstede's Power Distance. Similarly, both the GLOBE practice scale as well as the Unobtrusive Measure for In-group Collectivism is significantly and negatively correlated with Hofstede's Individualism. On the other hand, Hofstede's Individualism Scale is not correlated with either GLOBE practice scale or the Unobtrusive Measure for Institutional Collectivism. Indeed, Ho f s t e d e ' s In d i v i d u a l i s m c a p t u r e s t h e disembeddedness of individuals from various groups, as opposed to the individuals not showing collective solidarity. The unobtrusive measure analysis helps better understand the unexpected relationships between the Hofstede measures and the GLOBE measures of societal cultures. Societal Uncertainty Avoidance Practices in GLOBE are negatively correlated with Hofstede's measure of Uncertainty Avoidance. Also, Societal Uncertainty Avoidance practices are positively correlated with the use of information and medical technology-which is negatively related with Hofstede's construct of Uncertainty Avoidance [r=-.29; p<0.05]. This negative correlation can be explained as follows: Hofstede's Uncertainty Avoidance reflects reactive behaviors of stress, anxiety, and paralysis in the face of uncertainty; however, GLOBE's Uncertainty Avoidance reflects proactive behaviors of using information, expertise, and creativity to manage and absorb debilitating uncertainty.

Further, Hofstede's Masculinity scale is significantly and positively related with GLOBE Assertiveness scale, but not with GLOBE Gender Egalitarianism scale. This suggests that Hofsetde's Masculinity scale reflects masculine and assertive behaviors, rather than gender role differentiation.

However, the unobtrusive measure for Assertiveness is not correlated with Hofstede's Masculinity measure. It would be useful in future research to examine the correlation of both GLOBE Assertiveness and Hofstede's Masculinity with other data measures to discover their shared domain of meaning. For instance, GLOBE Assertiveness is related with the low share of natural resources in the exports of a nation, reflecting assertion of rights to add value to natural resources.

Summary and Conclusions

We examined two major issues in this article pertaining to the construct validity of survey-based culture scales. The first issue addressed relates to the sampling, questioning whether the responses of the middle-level managers in some organizations and industries could yield valid data concerning the general characteristics of the society as a whole. Our findings are that the content analysis of the societal culture information contained in the Culturgram reports yielded scores that were consistent with the GLOBE societal cultural practice scales. These findings imply that the cultural dimensions are broadly rooted in the societal fabric, and that they do capture, at least partly, the tacit manifestations of the cultural behavior within the society. Put differently, this suggests that the managerial responses reflect the society in which they are embedded, not merely the culture of managers.

The second issue addressed was interpretive in nature, leading to a better understanding of the insider's perspectives for cross-cultural comparative analysis. The above methodology also helped to address this issue of interpretation. The findings confirm that the GLOBE scales are indeed constructs that capture information and knowledge about the culture going beyond the items used to measure those scales in the GLOBE study. The content analysis of archival anthropological data supported and helped clarify the interpretations.

Each research method employed to study culture has its strengths and limitations. The use of an unobtrusive measure such as post hoc behavior data can highlight general psychological tendencies and show how these tendencies vary across different cultural contexts. However, several intervening variables may be missing in post hoc behavior data, which may affect the relationships and their interpretations. For instance, a



Note: Discriminant validity exists when values in column (1) exceed those in other columns.* Based on averages of raw correlations**Based on averages of absolute correlations

Table 5. Discriminant Validity Summary for Societal Practice Scale Scores

1 2a 2b 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b

Validity HTHM* HTHM* HTHM HTHM HTMM* HTMM HTMM HTMM coefficients (Unobtrusive) (GLOBE) **(Unob- **(GLOBE) *(Unob- *(GLOBE) (Unob- **(GLOBE)

trusive) trusive) trusive)

Performance Orientation 0.44 0.08 0.07 0.35 0.16 0.11 0.15 0.32 0.33Assertiveness 0.39 0.02 0.08 0.11 0.11 -0.04 -0.06 0.12 0.18Future Orientation 0.58 0.00 0.14 0.32 0.29 0.10 0.14 0.40 0.36Humane Orientation 0.70 0.03 -0.08 0.16 0.15 0.10 0.04 0.18 0.22

Institutional Collectivism 0.34 -0.02 0.08 0.11 0.18 0.04 0.14 0.15 0.31

In-Group Collectivism 0.50 0.08 -0.26 0.21 0.41 -0.19 -0.03 0.35 0.31

Gender Egalitarianism 0.51 -0.06 0.02 0.18 0.09 0.07 -0.16 0.28 0.16Power Distance 0.48 -0.09 -0.22 0.30 0.31 -0.23 -0.15 0.39 0.36Uncertainty Avoidance 0.83 -0.01 0.19 0.31 0.34 0.08 0.06 0.40 0.37Average 0.53 0.00 0.00 0.23 0.23 0.01 0.01 0.29 0.29

Table 6. Correlation of Hofstede's Scales with GLOBE questionnaire-based scales and Unobtrusive measures

Hofstede Scales GLOBE Questionnaire-based Scales Unobtrusive Measures

Power Distance Practices (As Is) Power Distance Practices (As Is)

Power Distance .61** .64**

Uncertainty Avoidance Practices (As Is) Uncertainty Avoidance Practices (As Is)

Uncertainty Avoidance -.61** -.29*

Institutional Collectivism Practices (As Is) Institutional Collectivism Practices (As Is)

Individualism .15 .14

In-Group Collectivism Practices (As Is) In-Group Collectivism Practices (As Is)

Individualism -.82** -.47**

Gender Egalitarianism Practices (As Is) Gender Egalitarianism Practices (As Is)

Masculinity -.16 -.14

Assertiveness Practices (As Is) Assertiveness Practices (As Is)

Masculinity .42** -.03

NOTE: ** = p < .01;

Thus, we conclude that the GLOBE societal practice constructs have convergent as well as discriminant validity.

Assessing Generalizability and Unexpected Relationships

Another important aspect in assessing a research measure is the extent to which it is generalizable across similar domains of meaning in different studies. Table 6 shows the relationship between GLOBE practice scales the scales developed by Hofstede (2001). Similarly, the correlation of the Unobtrusive Measures with the Hofstede scales is given.

Both the GLOBE practice scale as well as the Unobtrusive Measure for Power Distance is significantly and positively correlated with Hofstede's Power Distance. Similarly, both the GLOBE practice scale as well as the Unobtrusive Measure for In-group Collectivism is significantly and negatively correlated with Hofstede's Individualism. On the other hand, Hofstede's Individualism Scale is not correlated with either GLOBE practice scale or the Unobtrusive Measure for Institutional Collectivism. Indeed, Ho f s t e d e ' s In d i v i d u a l i s m c a p t u r e s t h e disembeddedness of individuals from various groups, as opposed to the individuals not showing collective solidarity. The unobtrusive measure analysis helps better understand the unexpected relationships between the Hofstede measures and the GLOBE measures of societal cultures. Societal Uncertainty Avoidance Practices in GLOBE are negatively correlated with Hofstede's measure of Uncertainty Avoidance. Also, Societal Uncertainty Avoidance practices are positively correlated with the use of information and medical technology-which is negatively related with Hofstede's construct of Uncertainty Avoidance [r=-.29; p<0.05]. This negative correlation can be explained as follows: Hofstede's Uncertainty Avoidance reflects reactive behaviors of stress, anxiety, and paralysis in the face of uncertainty; however, GLOBE's Uncertainty Avoidance reflects proactive behaviors of using information, expertise, and creativity to manage and absorb debilitating uncertainty.

Further, Hofstede's Masculinity scale is significantly and positively related with GLOBE Assertiveness scale, but not with GLOBE Gender Egalitarianism scale. This suggests that Hofsetde's Masculinity scale reflects masculine and assertive behaviors, rather than gender role differentiation.

However, the unobtrusive measure for Assertiveness is not correlated with Hofstede's Masculinity measure. It would be useful in future research to examine the correlation of both GLOBE Assertiveness and Hofstede's Masculinity with other data measures to discover their shared domain of meaning. For instance, GLOBE Assertiveness is related with the low share of natural resources in the exports of a nation, reflecting assertion of rights to add value to natural resources.

Summary and Conclusions

We examined two major issues in this article pertaining to the construct validity of survey-based culture scales. The first issue addressed relates to the sampling, questioning whether the responses of the middle-level managers in some organizations and industries could yield valid data concerning the general characteristics of the society as a whole. Our findings are that the content analysis of the societal culture information contained in the Culturgram reports yielded scores that were consistent with the GLOBE societal cultural practice scales. These findings imply that the cultural dimensions are broadly rooted in the societal fabric, and that they do capture, at least partly, the tacit manifestations of the cultural behavior within the society. Put differently, this suggests that the managerial responses reflect the society in which they are embedded, not merely the culture of managers.

The second issue addressed was interpretive in nature, leading to a better understanding of the insider's perspectives for cross-cultural comparative analysis. The above methodology also helped to address this issue of interpretation. The findings confirm that the GLOBE scales are indeed constructs that capture information and knowledge about the culture going beyond the items used to measure those scales in the GLOBE study. The content analysis of archival anthropological data supported and helped clarify the interpretations.

Each research method employed to study culture has its strengths and limitations. The use of an unobtrusive measure such as post hoc behavior data can highlight general psychological tendencies and show how these tendencies vary across different cultural contexts. However, several intervening variables may be missing in post hoc behavior data, which may affect the relationships and their interpretations. For instance, a



Note: Discriminant validity exists when values in column (1) exceed those in other columns.* Based on averages of raw correlations**Based on averages of absolute correlations

Table 5. Discriminant Validity Summary for Societal Practice Scale Scores

1 2a 2b 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b

Validity HTHM* HTHM* HTHM HTHM HTMM* HTMM HTMM HTMM coefficients (Unobtrusive) (GLOBE) **(Unob- **(GLOBE) *(Unob- *(GLOBE) (Unob- **(GLOBE)

trusive) trusive) trusive)

Performance Orientation 0.44 0.08 0.07 0.35 0.16 0.11 0.15 0.32 0.33Assertiveness 0.39 0.02 0.08 0.11 0.11 -0.04 -0.06 0.12 0.18Future Orientation 0.58 0.00 0.14 0.32 0.29 0.10 0.14 0.40 0.36Humane Orientation 0.70 0.03 -0.08 0.16 0.15 0.10 0.04 0.18 0.22

Institutional Collectivism 0.34 -0.02 0.08 0.11 0.18 0.04 0.14 0.15 0.31

In-Group Collectivism 0.50 0.08 -0.26 0.21 0.41 -0.19 -0.03 0.35 0.31

Gender Egalitarianism 0.51 -0.06 0.02 0.18 0.09 0.07 -0.16 0.28 0.16Power Distance 0.48 -0.09 -0.22 0.30 0.31 -0.23 -0.15 0.39 0.36Uncertainty Avoidance 0.83 -0.01 0.19 0.31 0.34 0.08 0.06 0.40 0.37Average 0.53 0.00 0.00 0.23 0.23 0.01 0.01 0.29 0.29

Table 6. Correlation of Hofstede's Scales with GLOBE questionnaire-based scales and Unobtrusive measures

Hofstede Scales GLOBE Questionnaire-based Scales Unobtrusive Measures

Power Distance Practices (As Is) Power Distance Practices (As Is)

Power Distance .61** .64**

Uncertainty Avoidance Practices (As Is) Uncertainty Avoidance Practices (As Is)

Uncertainty Avoidance -.61** -.29*

Institutional Collectivism Practices (As Is) Institutional Collectivism Practices (As Is)

Individualism .15 .14

In-Group Collectivism Practices (As Is) In-Group Collectivism Practices (As Is)

Individualism -.82** -.47**

Gender Egalitarianism Practices (As Is) Gender Egalitarianism Practices (As Is)

Masculinity -.16 -.14

Assertiveness Practices (As Is) Assertiveness Practices (As Is)

Masculinity .42** -.03

NOTE: ** = p < .01;

study of recycling behavior across cultures using post hoc behavior data could overlook the fact that in some societies there tends to be considerable in-home recycling, such as use of empty bottles and cans for storage purposes. By focusing on specific manifestations of recycling behavior (such as commercial recycling), it might be difficult to obtain a true and appropriate appraisal of environmental and waste sensitivity, which could be argued as a proxy for future orientation, across cultures.

Other limitations of using archival data are notable. Among the most important to note is that archival data are often gathered for alternative purposes, which tend to define the scope of samples and the choice of variables. These data can help infer specific sociological trends and relationships for each culture, and across cultures. However, the specific inferences derived from secondary analysis may not be relevant for each sub-group within a culture, or across cultures. Another limitation of unobtrusive measures relates to selective recording of data. Researchers with various interests, biases and experiences may focus on certain objects and relationships. For instance, female observers of men may document different features of communication, gestures and clothing than male observers of women, and vice verse (Kellehear, 2001). Accordingly, unobtrusive measures are best used in conjunction with other scientific approaches to research, with more objective or neutral recording of information.

Notwithstanding the above limitations, this study makes a significant contribution to the field of cross-cultural research methodology. It demonstrates that content analysis may be used to develop unobtrusive measures to clarify the thematic interpretations of the cultural constructs, and to validate the content and the convergent and discriminating properties of the cultural constructs. The present study also highlights that the aggregated managerial measures of cultural dimensions do not reflect merely managerial perceptions. Rather, managerial perceptions about societal practices are embedded in the broader societal culture, and are reliable measures of the cross-culturally comparable domain of meanings associated with the societal culture.

References:

? Bowen, W.M. & Bowen, C.C. (1999). "Typologies, Indexing, Content Analysis, Meta-Analysis, and Scaling as Measurement Techniques," pp. 51-86, Handbook of Research Methods in Public Administration, G.J. Miller and M.L. Whicker, (eds.), New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc.

? Campbell, D.T., & Fiske, D.W. (1959). Convergent and discriminate validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56(2): 81-105.

? Carley, K. (1994). Content analysis. In R.E. Asher (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Edinburgh: Pergamon Press.

? Culturgrams (1999) A Publication of Brigham Young University, 1998-99 edition, 2 volumes.

? Hofstede, G.; (1980). Culture's Consequences. Beverly Hills: Sage.

? Hofstede, G. (2001); Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. Second Edition. CA: Sage Publications.

? Hofstede, G. and Bond, M.H. (1988); The Confucius Connection: From Cultural Roots to Economic Growth. Organizational Dynamics, 16(4): 4-21.

? House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Ruiz-Quintanilla, S. A., Dorfman, P. W., Javidan, M., Dickson, M. W., Gupta, V., & Associates. (1999). Cultural Influences on Leadership and Organizations: Project GLOBE. Advances In Global Leadership, 1(1), 171-233.

? Kellehear, A. (2001). "Unobtrusive Methods: An Introduction," http://www.al len-unwin.com/Academic/unobtrus.pdf

? Kluckhohn, F., & Strodbeck, F. 1961. Variations in value orientations. Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson.

? Krippendorff, K. (1980). Content Analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

? Lee, T.W. (1998). Using Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

? Mc Clelland, D.C. (1961). The Achieving Society. NJ: D.Van Nostrand Co.

? Namenwirth, J.Z., & Weber, R.P. (1987). Dynamics of Culture. Boston, MA: Allen and Unwin

? Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric Theory, (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

? Rossi, P.H., Wright, J.D., Anderson, A.B. (1983) Handbook of Survey Research. New York, NY: Academic Press.

? Schwartz, S.H. (1994). Beyond individualism and collectivism: New cultural dimensions of values. In U. Kim, H.C. Triandis, C. Kagitcibasi, S-C Choi, and G. Yoon (eds.) Individualism and Collectivism: Theory, Method, and Applications, pp. 85-122, CA: Sage.

? Sechrest, L., & Belew, J. (1983). Nonreactive measures of social attitudes. Applied Social Psychology Annual, vol 4, 23-63.

? Shaughnessy J.J., Zechmeister E.B., & Zechmeister J.S. (2000). Research Methods in Psychology, 5th Edition, NY: The McGraw-Hill Co.

? Stone, P.J. (1997). Thematic text analysis: New agendas for analyzing text content. In C.W. Roberts (Ed.), Text analysis for the social sciences: Methods for drawing statistical inferences from texts and transcripts. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

? Triandis, H.C. (1995). Individualism and Collectivism. CO: Westview Press.

? Webb, E., Campbell, D.T., Schwartz, R.D. and Sechrest, L. (1966), Unobrusive Measures: Non-Reactive Research in the Social Sciences. Rand McNally & Co., Chicago

? Webb, E., Campbell, D.T., Schwartz, R.D. and Sechrest, L. (2000), Unobtrusive Measures. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

? Weber, R.P. (1990). Basic Content Analysis (2nd Edition). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.



study of recycling behavior across cultures using post hoc behavior data could overlook the fact that in some societies there tends to be considerable in-home recycling, such as use of empty bottles and cans for storage purposes. By focusing on specific manifestations of recycling behavior (such as commercial recycling), it might be difficult to obtain a true and appropriate appraisal of environmental and waste sensitivity, which could be argued as a proxy for future orientation, across cultures.

Other limitations of using archival data are notable. Among the most important to note is that archival data are often gathered for alternative purposes, which tend to define the scope of samples and the choice of variables. These data can help infer specific sociological trends and relationships for each culture, and across cultures. However, the specific inferences derived from secondary analysis may not be relevant for each sub-group within a culture, or across cultures. Another limitation of unobtrusive measures relates to selective recording of data. Researchers with various interests, biases and experiences may focus on certain objects and relationships. For instance, female observers of men may document different features of communication, gestures and clothing than male observers of women, and vice verse (Kellehear, 2001). Accordingly, unobtrusive measures are best used in conjunction with other scientific approaches to research, with more objective or neutral recording of information.

Notwithstanding the above limitations, this study makes a significant contribution to the field of cross-cultural research methodology. It demonstrates that content analysis may be used to develop unobtrusive measures to clarify the thematic interpretations of the cultural constructs, and to validate the content and the convergent and discriminating properties of the cultural constructs. The present study also highlights that the aggregated managerial measures of cultural dimensions do not reflect merely managerial perceptions. Rather, managerial perceptions about societal practices are embedded in the broader societal culture, and are reliable measures of the cross-culturally comparable domain of meanings associated with the societal culture.

References:

? Bowen, W.M. & Bowen, C.C. (1999). "Typologies, Indexing, Content Analysis, Meta-Analysis, and Scaling as Measurement Techniques," pp. 51-86, Handbook of Research Methods in Public Administration, G.J. Miller and M.L. Whicker, (eds.), New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc.

? Campbell, D.T., & Fiske, D.W. (1959). Convergent and discriminate validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56(2): 81-105.

? Carley, K. (1994). Content analysis. In R.E. Asher (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Edinburgh: Pergamon Press.

? Culturgrams (1999) A Publication of Brigham Young University, 1998-99 edition, 2 volumes.

? Hofstede, G.; (1980). Culture's Consequences. Beverly Hills: Sage.

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? Webb, E., Campbell, D.T., Schwartz, R.D. and Sechrest, L. (2000), Unobtrusive Measures. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

? Weber, R.P. (1990). Basic Content Analysis (2nd Edition). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.



Collaborative Entrepreneurship for Value Additions in Coconut Farming

*Head, Department of Commerce Sri Krishna Arts and Science College, Coimbatore. Tamil Nadu.India

Dr. P.Baba Ganakumar*

ABSTRACT

India occupies the premier position in the world for coconut production overtaking Indonesia and the Philippines, the other two prominent coconut-growing countries. The research explored the integrated entrepreneurial skills needed for the entrepreneurs in coconut farming. The co-integration between self-values and functional values of farmers are studied with an aim of identifying the new tactical skills needed for the evolving coconut farmers. The expectation of the non-cultivators but aggregators in the coconut farming community are also included in the study to find out the optimum skills needed for coconut cultivators in emerging new innovations and technologies.

The co-integration among functional and inter-personal skills was identified. The research strongly favours vertical integration in creating skill-based self values. Hence the research can be useful for the policy makers in providing need-based training to the farming community.

Keywords: GIPS, Vertical integration



Introduction

Coconut is grown in more than 86 countries worldwide, with a total production of 54 billion nuts per annum. India occupies the premier position in the world with an annual production of 13 billion nuts, overtaking Indonesia and the Philippines, the other two prominent coconut-growing countries. The Central and State governments spend crores of rupees for research and development in coconut sector, but the coconut farmers are deprived of a remunerative price all these years except for a limited period at some intervals. As a result, coconut farmers continue to be a distressed lot. For over a year now, the prices of copra are ruling far less than the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 3,590 a quintal. The open market prices are dwindling between Rs 3,000 and Rs 3,300 a quintal. Direct involvement of farmers in marketing could be viable measure. This will improve farm-market linkage.

The conservative method of farming is changing towards innovative methods. Social farmers and new growers were more successful than other farmers. According to economic theories, they also seemed to meet the "demands" of "real" entrepreneurship better than other farmers because they can be called "movers of the market,” innovators," and/or "discoverers of profit opportunities." Integrated farming aims at achieving optimum productivity on an enduring basis by

stimulating the underlying productivity of the soil. The promotion of integrated farming in coconut holdings with emphasis on resource conservation holds promise for the growth of the agricultural economy of the country by generating marketable surplus of organically grown foods which enjoy considerable consumer demand in other countries.

Review of Literature

Saide (2006) analyzed the role of community building that could establish common values, and to develop collective goals and actions. Such strengthening of organizational leadership and entrepreneurship capacities and skills could significantly contribute to attaining economic self-reliance, poverty alleviation and sustainable development, if the community building approach were to be adequately applied. Mary( 2004) research revealed that there is a significant differences in the views of institutions and entrepreneurs as to whether the developmental programmes were responsive to the needs of the entrepreneur; whether they encouraged entrepreneurship and helped in the success of a firm. The analyses also revealed that the programmes had indeed encouraged entrepreneurship and helped in the success of the firm. Wolf (2007) examined the socio-economic and cultural factors hindering or stimulating the development of entrepreneurial skills of farmers in Europe. The functional entrepreneurial skills needed by the coconut farming community are discussed in the present study. The co-integration between self-values

and functional values of farmers are studied with an aim of identifying the new tactical skills needed for the evolving coconut farmers. The expectation of the non-cultivators but aggregators in the coconut farming community are also included in the study to find out the optimum skills needed for coconut cultivators in emerging new innovations and technologies.

Objectives of the Study

The primary objectives of the study is to identify the integrated entrepreneurial skills needed to achieve following criteria,

? To create opportunities for enhancing on-farm income of the cultivators and producers of coconut and its allied products.

? To strengthen marketing infrastructure for domestic and export marketing,

? To enhance information access and dissemination of research information.

? To promote efficient product and bye product utilization &

? To implement and make aware of research on various improvement for higher output of primary products from coconut and technology.

Methodology

The average productivity of coconut in India is 6898 nuts per ha. Among the four major coconut growing states, Tamil Nadu has the highest productivity (11 620 nuts/ha), Andhra Pradesh has a productivity of 8296 nuts/ha, followed by Kerala (5793 nuts/ha) and Karnataka (5204 nuts/ha). Hence the primary data were collected from 300 coconut cultivators a in Tamil nadu. Cluster analysis is done to group the respondents according to their functional skills. To filter the variables, factor component analysis was done and only five factors were identified. Analysis of variance is used to find out the variations among the inter-personal skills and functional skills. MDS procedure is used to find out the co-integration between the inter-personal skills and functional skills. In the second stage, based on the findings from the cultivators' responses, interview schedule was

Table 1. Input-Process-Output Chart


*Head, Department of Commerce Sri Krishna Arts and Science College, Coimbatore. Tamil Nadu.India

Dr. P.Baba Ganakumar*

ABSTRACT

India occupies the premier position in the world for coconut production overtaking Indonesia and the Philippines, the other two prominent coconut-growing countries. The research explored the integrated entrepreneurial skills needed for the entrepreneurs in coconut farming. The co-integration between self-values and functional values of farmers are studied with an aim of identifying the new tactical skills needed for the evolving coconut farmers. The expectation of the non-cultivators but aggregators in the coconut farming community are also included in the study to find out the optimum skills needed for coconut cultivators in emerging new innovations and technologies.

The co-integration among functional and inter-personal skills was identified. The research strongly favours vertical integration in creating skill-based self values. Hence the research can be useful for the policy makers in providing need-based training to the farming community.

Keywords: GIPS, Vertical integration



Introduction

Coconut is grown in more than 86 countries worldwide, with a total production of 54 billion nuts per annum. India occupies the premier position in the world with an annual production of 13 billion nuts, overtaking Indonesia and the Philippines, the other two prominent coconut-growing countries. The Central and State governments spend crores of rupees for research and development in coconut sector, but the coconut farmers are deprived of a remunerative price all these years except for a limited period at some intervals. As a result, coconut farmers continue to be a distressed lot. For over a year now, the prices of copra are ruling far less than the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 3,590 a quintal. The open market prices are dwindling between Rs 3,000 and Rs 3,300 a quintal. Direct involvement of farmers in marketing could be viable measure. This will improve farm-market linkage.

The conservative method of farming is changing towards innovative methods. Social farmers and new growers were more successful than other farmers. According to economic theories, they also seemed to meet the "demands" of "real" entrepreneurship better than other farmers because they can be called "movers of the market,” innovators," and/or "discoverers of profit opportunities." Integrated farming aims at achieving optimum productivity on an enduring basis by

stimulating the underlying productivity of the soil. The promotion of integrated farming in coconut holdings with emphasis on resource conservation holds promise for the growth of the agricultural economy of the country by generating marketable surplus of organically grown foods which enjoy considerable consumer demand in other countries.


Saide (2006) analyzed the role of community building that could establish common values, and to develop collective goals and actions. Such strengthening of organizational leadership and entrepreneurship capacities and skills could significantly contribute to attaining economic self-reliance, poverty alleviation and sustainable development, if the community building approach were to be adequately applied. Mary( 2004) research revealed that there is a significant differences in the views of institutions and entrepreneurs as to whether the developmental programmes were responsive to the needs of the entrepreneur; whether they encouraged entrepreneurship and helped in the success of a firm. The analyses also revealed that the programmes had indeed encouraged entrepreneurship and helped in the success of the firm. Wolf (2007) examined the socio-economic and cultural factors hindering or stimulating the development of entrepreneurial skills of farmers in Europe. The functional entrepreneurial skills needed by the coconut farming community are discussed in the present study. The co-integration between self-values

and functional values of farmers are studied with an aim of identifying the new tactical skills needed for the evolving coconut farmers. The expectation of the non-cultivators but aggregators in the coconut farming community are also included in the study to find out the optimum skills needed for coconut cultivators in emerging new innovations and technologies.


The primary objectives of the study is to identify the integrated entrepreneurial skills needed to achieve following criteria,

? To create opportunities for enhancing on-farm income of the cultivators and producers of coconut and its allied products.

? To strengthen marketing infrastructure for domestic and export marketing,

? To enhance information access and dissemination of research information.

? To promote efficient product and bye product utilization &

? To implement and make aware of research on various improvement for higher output of primary products from coconut and technology.

Methodology

The average productivity of coconut in India is 6898 nuts per ha. Among the four major coconut growing states, Tamil Nadu has the highest productivity (11 620 nuts/ha), Andhra Pradesh has a productivity of 8296 nuts/ha, followed by Kerala (5793 nuts/ha) and Karnataka (5204 nuts/ha). Hence the primary data were collected from 300 coconut cultivators a in Tamil nadu. Cluster analysis is done to group the respondents according to their functional skills. To filter the variables, factor component analysis was done and only five factors were identified. Analysis of variance is used to find out the variations among the inter-personal skills and functional skills. MDS procedure is used to find out the co-integration between the inter-personal skills and functional skills. In the second stage, based on the findings from the cultivators' responses, interview schedule was

Table 1. Input-Process-Output Chart

Table 3. Entrepreneurship Variables



prepared for collecting the data from non-cultivators but engaged in coconut farming/marketing activities. Conjoint analysis was done to find out the expectations from the non-cultivators. Then cultivators and non-cultivators opinion were integrated. The gap in skills was identified. Table1 shows the tools used in the research.

Functional Values

Enhancing On-Farm Income

The coconut palm exerts a profound influence on the rural economy of the many states where it is grown extensively and it provides sustenance to more than 10 million people. The export earnings derived by India from coconut are around Rs.3000 million, mainly through the export trade in coir and coir goods. The processing and related activities centred on the crop generate employment opportunities for over two million people in India. The contribution of coconut oil to the national edible oil pool is 6 %. In addition, the crop contributes Rs.7000 crores annually to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). On an average, a coconut farmer has in possession 50 cents of land. The yield would at best be 200 coconuts. Of these, 20 to 30 coconuts are taken by the farmer for his own use. What is remaining is abysmally low for entering a competitive market.

Marketing Infrastructure

India, which accounted for 22.34 per cent of the world's coconut production, was facing tough competition in the global market from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Ivory Coast and Philippines. The domestic coconut market was influenced by the price behaviour of coconut oil and, hence, the price of coconut oil determined the prices of the coconut and its products. In recent years, the coconut oil market had suffered a setback following availability of palm oil and groundnut oil at lower prices.

Information Accessibility

The research on coconut in India is being carried out by the institutions under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the State Agricultural Universities located in different coconut growing states. Research on post harvest processing of coconut is also undertaken by the institutions under the CSIR. Coconut development programmes in India are mainly carried out by the Coconut Development Board, which was established in 1981.

The board's schemes are either implemented directly or through the Department of Agriculture/ Horticulture of the states and union territories.

Efficient Product and By-Product Utilization

Of the total production of coconuts, about 5 % is consumed in the tender form for drinking purposes. The rest is utilised as mature nuts for household and religious purposes and for the production of edible copra, milling copra and desiccated coconut. Coconut oil production in the country is nearly 4.5 lakh tonnes. Of this 40 % is consumed for edible purposes, 46 % for toiletry uses and 14 % for industrial uses. It also produces coconut cream, coconut milk, spray dried coconut milk powder, tender coconut water, shell charcoal, coconut water based vinegar and coir.

Technology

The awareness and adoption of improved coconut farming technologies among farmers in other coconut-growing countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are comparatively high when compared to Indian farmers. The diverse coconut-based products in these countries enhance the farm income, and farmers should take the lead from them. The technology mission initiated by the Coconut board two years ago has started showing results with 24 integrated processing units across the country, some even coming out with four products, having a capacity to absorb nearly 95 million nuts.

Collaborative Venturing

Union Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, has appealed to coconut growers to opt for contract farming through tie-ups with agribusiness firms to increase yield and income. However, no firm had engaged in contract farming for coconut cultivation in the country so far. The Calicut district in Kerala has come up with a comprehensive integrated coconut development project to give boost to the coconut production. An outlay of Rs 52 lakh has been earmarked in the district budget for the project during 2006-07. It was introduced in 600 hectares in the district and 44 clusters with 25 hectares each will be formed in each village.

Variables Identified in the Research

To identify the attitudinal values affecting the coconut farming entrepreneurship, ten variables were identified based on the objectives of the study. To

match the functional relationship two independent variables were identified in the research. Table 2 portrays the variables used in the research.

Cluster Procedure

Since the size of the sample is large, cluster analysis was done to stratify the respondents (customers) who are relatively homogeneous in terms of the entrepreneurship proposition values. Ten basis of stratification was determined to establish

Table 2. Variables List

entrepreneurship variables. The bases of cluster are based on knowledge, technology adoption, marketability, promotion, pricing, place, supply chain networking, collaborative venturing, customisation and business strategy formulation. The clustering criterion was the Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC). The number of clusters was determined based on the minimum five-cluster solution. The comparison of cluster centroids is measured to formulate the results. The interview schedule was designed to measure these variables with fifty questions. Agglomerative clustering method is used to group the respondents views based upon the different entrepreneurship values. Based upon the group centroid five clusters are established for each values. The highest group centroid cluster is named as the impressive cluster and lowest group centroid is named as unimpressive cluster. The reliability test was carried out to find the inter-item covariance matrix. The variation among the functional values is 12.39 and it is significant at 5% level. Table 3 shows the entrepreneurship variables clusters.

13%

16%

36%

19%

16%Impressive

Stirring

Striking

Modest

Unimpressive

Exhibit 1. Self-Values-Cluster Combination

Inter-personal Skills

Since the entrepreneurial activities are based on the self characteristics of an individual, the self values of the cultivators are included in the research. The positive personal characteristics (self-criticism, leadership, creativity, perseverance, and initiative) affected agricultural entrepreneurship positively, and negative personal characteristics (love of ease and passivity) are studied in this research. Semantic differential scaling with five points was constructed to measure the self values of the cultivators. Then the results are grouped with cluster analysis. Exhibit 1 shows the cluster combination created for the inter-personal skills.


Table 3. Entrepreneurship Variables



prepared for collecting the data from non-cultivators but engaged in coconut farming/marketing activities. Conjoint analysis was done to find out the expectations from the non-cultivators. Then cultivators and non-cultivators opinion were integrated. The gap in skills was identified. Table1 shows the tools used in the research.

Functional Values

Enhancing On-Farm Income

The coconut palm exerts a profound influence on the rural economy of the many states where it is grown extensively and it provides sustenance to more than 10 million people. The export earnings derived by India from coconut are around Rs.3000 million, mainly through the export trade in coir and coir goods. The processing and related activities centred on the crop generate employment opportunities for over two million people in India. The contribution of coconut oil to the national edible oil pool is 6 %. In addition, the crop contributes Rs.7000 crores annually to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). On an average, a coconut farmer has in possession 50 cents of land. The yield would at best be 200 coconuts. Of these, 20 to 30 coconuts are taken by the farmer for his own use. What is remaining is abysmally low for entering a competitive market.

Marketing Infrastructure

India, which accounted for 22.34 per cent of the world's coconut production, was facing tough competition in the global market from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Ivory Coast and Philippines. The domestic coconut market was influenced by the price behaviour of coconut oil and, hence, the price of coconut oil determined the prices of the coconut and its products. In recent years, the coconut oil market had suffered a setback following availability of palm oil and groundnut oil at lower prices.

Information Accessibility

The research on coconut in India is being carried out by the institutions under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the State Agricultural Universities located in different coconut growing states. Research on post harvest processing of coconut is also undertaken by the institutions under the CSIR. Coconut development programmes in India are mainly carried out by the Coconut Development Board, which was established in 1981.

The board's schemes are either implemented directly or through the Department of Agriculture/ Horticulture of the states and union territories.

Efficient Product and By-Product Utilization

Of the total production of coconuts, about 5 % is consumed in the tender form for drinking purposes. The rest is utilised as mature nuts for household and religious purposes and for the production of edible copra, milling copra and desiccated coconut. Coconut oil production in the country is nearly 4.5 lakh tonnes. Of this 40 % is consumed for edible purposes, 46 % for toiletry uses and 14 % for industrial uses. It also produces coconut cream, coconut milk, spray dried coconut milk powder, tender coconut water, shell charcoal, coconut water based vinegar and coir.

Technology

The awareness and adoption of improved coconut farming technologies among farmers in other coconut-growing countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are comparatively high when compared to Indian farmers. The diverse coconut-based products in these countries enhance the farm income, and farmers should take the lead from them. The technology mission initiated by the Coconut board two years ago has started showing results with 24 integrated processing units across the country, some even coming out with four products, having a capacity to absorb nearly 95 million nuts.

Collaborative Venturing

Union Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, has appealed to coconut growers to opt for contract farming through tie-ups with agribusiness firms to increase yield and income. However, no firm had engaged in contract farming for coconut cultivation in the country so far. The Calicut district in Kerala has come up with a comprehensive integrated coconut development project to give boost to the coconut production. An outlay of Rs 52 lakh has been earmarked in the district budget for the project during 2006-07. It was introduced in 600 hectares in the district and 44 clusters with 25 hectares each will be formed in each village.

Variables Identified in the Research

To identify the attitudinal values affecting the coconut farming entrepreneurship, ten variables were identified based on the objectives of the study. To

match the functional relationship two independent variables were identified in the research. Table 2 portrays the variables used in the research.

Cluster Procedure

Since the size of the sample is large, cluster analysis was done to stratify the respondents (customers) who are relatively homogeneous in terms of the entrepreneurship proposition values. Ten basis of stratification was determined to establish

Table 2. Variables List

entrepreneurship variables. The bases of cluster are based on knowledge, technology adoption, marketability, promotion, pricing, place, supply chain networking, collaborative venturing, customisation and business strategy formulation. The clustering criterion was the Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC). The number of clusters was determined based on the minimum five-cluster solution. The comparison of cluster centroids is measured to formulate the results. The interview schedule was designed to measure these variables with fifty questions. Agglomerative clustering method is used to group the respondents views based upon the different entrepreneurship values. Based upon the group centroid five clusters are established for each values. The highest group centroid cluster is named as the impressive cluster and lowest group centroid is named as unimpressive cluster. The reliability test was carried out to find the inter-item covariance matrix. The variation among the functional values is 12.39 and it is significant at 5% level. Table 3 shows the entrepreneurship variables clusters.

13%

16%

36%

19%

16%Impressive

Stirring

Striking

Modest

Unimpressive

Exhibit 1. Self-Values-Cluster Combination

Inter-personal Skills

Since the entrepreneurial activities are based on the self characteristics of an individual, the self values of the cultivators are included in the research. The positive personal characteristics (self-criticism, leadership, creativity, perseverance, and initiative) affected agricultural entrepreneurship positively, and negative personal characteristics (love of ease and passivity) are studied in this research. Semantic differential scaling with five points was constructed to measure the self values of the cultivators. Then the results are grouped with cluster analysis. Exhibit 1 shows the cluster combination created for the inter-personal skills.




Factor Analysis

To identify the factors that contribute significantly to the entrepreneurship values in coconut farming, the variables clustered are filtered through factor-component analysis. The variables are appropriately measured through cluster values. The null hypothesis, that the population correlation matrix is an identity matrix, is rejected by the Bartlett's test of sphericity. The approximate chi-square statistic is 83.035 with 45 degrees of freedom, which is significant at the 0.05 level. The value of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin statistic (0.682) is also large (> 0.5).

Thus factor analysis may be considered an appropriate technique for analyzing the correlation matrix. Principal component analysis is used to determine the four factors. It can be revealed that the communality for each variable, V1 to V 10, is 1.0 as unities were inserted in the diagonal of the correlation matrix. The number of factors is determined based on percentage of variance and eigen values. Only factors with eigen values greater than 1.0 are retained. The cumulative percentage of variance extracted by four factors is 64.231 and these factors have eigen value greater than one.

Based on the variable combinations, the factors are named. The factor 'innovation' accounted for 21% variance. The entrepreneurial values needed for coconut farming are filtered to five variables ie., innovation, push strategy, tactical positioning, shared values and geographical positioning. All these values are needed for the successful entrepreneur.

Table 4. Factor loading

Self values and Entrepreneurial values

The co-integration between the individual values and functional values (created by factor analysis) are studied through the variance analysis. ANOVA tables are prepared. Table 5 shows the significance of 'f' values between independent variables and functional variables at 95% confidence limits at degrees of freedom 4/ 295.

Table 5. ANOVA Table-Functional Values Vs Interpersonal Values

The result clearly indicates that there is a significant variation between 'innovation', 'tactical planning', 'shared values' and 'self values'. There is a significant variation between 'innovation', 'push strategy', and 'tactical planning'. However there is no significant variation between 'geographical positioning' and functional values. The results are displayed in Exhibit 2.

Exhibit 2 Co-integration of functional Values

Hence it may conclude that the functional relationships between different values are not horizontal, but vertical and integrated with inter-personal variables.

Multi Dimensional Scaling (MDS)

To study the nature of dimensions of value propositions of cultivators used to perceive different entrepreneurial values, multidimensional scaling procedure (MDS) was adopted. The perception data about the entrepreneurial values were collected by inputting the factor values. The reliability of the analysis was measured by stress value and R- square. The stress index is 0.0103, which indicates a perfect fit. The R-square is 0.934, which indicates the desirable level of fit.

Exhibit 3 Euclidean distance model

Two dimensions were established with the MDS procedure. Dimension 1 is named as 'self values'. Dimension 2 is named as 'experience'. Based upon the results of the variance analysis, the dimensions were named. The labeling of two dimensions was tested with the variation among the functional variables and attitudinal variables. If self values and experience are high for the entrepreneur, he is able to position their product well. This supports the conservative theory. However, the persons having high self values and little experience are able to identify innovative practices. To have collaborative ventures (shared values) there is no need for high experience. This is a major deviation from the conservative theory.

Non-cultivators Values

After getting the conclusion from the data collected from the cultivators, primary data were collected from non-cultivators involved in marketing the coconut products. The sales volume is considered as the independent variable. The functional variables are 'innovation', 'push strategy', 'tactical positioning', 'shared values' and 'geographical positioning' Attitude scaling technique is used to measure the functional variables. To determine the comparative importance of attributes among the five entrepreneurial values, conjoint analysis was carried out. The reliability of using conjoint analysis was measured by R square. Since R-square was 0.666, conjoint analysis was appropriate one. Exhibit 4 shows the relative emphasis on entrepreneurial values to be given by cultivators.

Exhibit 4. Relative Importance factors (Non-cultivators)




Factor Analysis

To identify the factors that contribute significantly to the entrepreneurship values in coconut farming, the variables clustered are filtered through factor-component analysis. The variables are appropriately measured through cluster values. The null hypothesis, that the population correlation matrix is an identity matrix, is rejected by the Bartlett's test of sphericity. The approximate chi-square statistic is 83.035 with 45 degrees of freedom, which is significant at the 0.05 level. The value of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin statistic (0.682) is also large (> 0.5).

Thus factor analysis may be considered an appropriate technique for analyzing the correlation matrix. Principal component analysis is used to determine the four factors. It can be revealed that the communality for each variable, V1 to V 10, is 1.0 as unities were inserted in the diagonal of the correlation matrix. The number of factors is determined based on percentage of variance and eigen values. Only factors with eigen values greater than 1.0 are retained. The cumulative percentage of variance extracted by four factors is 64.231 and these factors have eigen value greater than one.

Based on the variable combinations, the factors are named. The factor 'innovation' accounted for 21% variance. The entrepreneurial values needed for coconut farming are filtered to five variables ie., innovation, push strategy, tactical positioning, shared values and geographical positioning. All these values are needed for the successful entrepreneur.

Table 4. Factor loading

Self values and Entrepreneurial values

The co-integration between the individual values and functional values (created by factor analysis) are studied through the variance analysis. ANOVA tables are prepared. Table 5 shows the significance of 'f' values between independent variables and functional variables at 95% confidence limits at degrees of freedom 4/ 295.

Table 5. ANOVA Table-Functional Values Vs Interpersonal Values

The result clearly indicates that there is a significant variation between 'innovation', 'tactical planning', 'shared values' and 'self values'. There is a significant variation between 'innovation', 'push strategy', and 'tactical planning'. However there is no significant variation between 'geographical positioning' and functional values. The results are displayed in Exhibit 2.

Exhibit 2 Co-integration of functional Values

Hence it may conclude that the functional relationships between different values are not horizontal, but vertical and integrated with inter-personal variables.

Multi Dimensional Scaling (MDS)

To study the nature of dimensions of value propositions of cultivators used to perceive different entrepreneurial values, multidimensional scaling procedure (MDS) was adopted. The perception data about the entrepreneurial values were collected by inputting the factor values. The reliability of the analysis was measured by stress value and R- square. The stress index is 0.0103, which indicates a perfect fit. The R-square is 0.934, which indicates the desirable level of fit.

Exhibit 3 Euclidean distance model

Two dimensions were established with the MDS procedure. Dimension 1 is named as 'self values'. Dimension 2 is named as 'experience'. Based upon the results of the variance analysis, the dimensions were named. The labeling of two dimensions was tested with the variation among the functional variables and attitudinal variables. If self values and experience are high for the entrepreneur, he is able to position their product well. This supports the conservative theory. However, the persons having high self values and little experience are able to identify innovative practices. To have collaborative ventures (shared values) there is no need for high experience. This is a major deviation from the conservative theory.

Non-cultivators Values

After getting the conclusion from the data collected from the cultivators, primary data were collected from non-cultivators involved in marketing the coconut products. The sales volume is considered as the independent variable. The functional variables are 'innovation', 'push strategy', 'tactical positioning', 'shared values' and 'geographical positioning' Attitude scaling technique is used to measure the functional variables. To determine the comparative importance of attributes among the five entrepreneurial values, conjoint analysis was carried out. The reliability of using conjoint analysis was measured by R square. Since R-square was 0.666, conjoint analysis was appropriate one. Exhibit 4 shows the relative emphasis on entrepreneurial values to be given by cultivators.

Exhibit 4. Relative Importance factors (Non-cultivators)




The non-cultivators are giving much more importance to geographical positioning of coconut products.

Integrating the Need Based Values

There is a wide gap between the expectation of non-cultivators and cultivators values. This phenomenon leads to de-motivate the entrepreneurial skills of the cultivators. The non-cultivators expect

'geographical positioning' as a strategic variable, whereas cultivators are not giving importance to geographical positioning. Hence, the integrating strategy should focus on 'geographical positioning'. The functional values such as innovation, push strategy, tactical positioning and shared values should aim for geographical positioning. Otherwise, there will be a miss-match between demand and supply. The supply chain process of value added products

from coconut should be positioned according to the demands in different geographical location. The integration needed for the cultivators from Tamil Nadu is depicted in Exhibit 5.

Under the Geographical Indication and Positioning System, three layers of management information system were established. The bottom layers are integrated between the value added products of coconut with place utility. Hence the manufacturers of value added products in the state of Tamil Nadu have to be position their product with other states. The second layer was established by the marketers/intermediaries. The top level layers were integrated by the cultivators and aggregators of

Exhibit 4 Geographical Indication Positioning System (GIPS)

coconut products. The integrator ie, entrepreneur has to establish vertical link with all the persons involved in the entire process of cultivation to end usage. Based on the research findings, the vertical integration is proposed for the farm-based entrepreneurship.

Findings and Conclusion

Innovation, push strategy, tactical positioning, shared values and geographical positioning are the functional entrepreneurial skills needed for the integrated coconut farmers. High self skills and experience leads achieve the functional goals such as innovation and tactical positioning of value added products from coconut. Shared values are related with

the self values of the entrepreneurs. Experience is needed to push the value added coconut products to the markets. Most of the cultivators need not worry about the geographical positioning of the value added products from coconut. But the aggregators of coconut products are giving importance to geographical positioning. Hence, if the cultivators themselves take the risk in geographical positioning of the coconut products, they are able to achieve the integrated farming objectives. Input management has become vital to make the coconut sector more competitive. The strategy suggested is to go in for cluster approach or group farming. Groups of farmers can involve in cultivation and generate a surplus (marketable supply in value chain of the coconut). If group farming is followed with vertical integration among different activities, the entrepreneur is able to position their product in different geographical locations and create a societal equilibrium.

References:

? Agrawal, R C (2000): “Perspectives for Small Farmers in Developing Countries: Do they have a Future?” Forum zur Gartenkonferenz 2000, http://userpage.fu.berlin html. Retrieved on October 15, 2009.

? Batugal, P, Serdang, Coronel, R.E, (2004) Poverty reduction in coconut growing communities, Volume II: mobilizing for action, h t t p : / / a g r i s . f a o . o r g / a g r i s -search/search/display.do?f=2008/QJ/QJ0801.xml;QJ2005000066.

? Bayes, A and M. S Ahmed (2003):'Agricultural diversification and self-help group , http://www.visionri.net/cv_detail.asp?cvid=113.

? Dash, M (2004): “Political Economy of Contract Farming”, Mainstream, 42(52), Dec, 2004.

? Deshingkar, P, U Kulkarni, L Rao and S Rao (2003):“Changing Food Systems in India: Resource Sharing and Marketing Arrangements for Vegetable Production in Andhra Pradesh,” Development Policy Review, 21(5-6): 627-639.

? Eaton, C and A W Shepherd (2001): Contract Farming: Partnerships for Growth, FAO, Initiatives in Bangladesh', Paper presented at t h e I F P R I - F I C C I Wo r k s h o p o n http://hdl.handle.net/10019/1187 Retrieved on 1st September, 2009

? Mary Jesselyn Co (2004), The Formal Institutional Framework of Entrepreneurship in the Philippines: Lessons for Developing Countries, Vol. 13, No. 2, 185-203.

? Pieter De Wolf A1, Gerard McElwee A2, Herman Schoorlemmer A3(2007), The European farm entrepreneur: a comparative perspective, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Volume 4, Number 6, 679 692.

? Pieter De Wolf, Gerard McElwee, Herman Schoorlemmer (2007); The European farm entrepreneur: a comparative perspective, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and small business, Volume 4, Number 6 , pp 679 - 692 Rome.

? Saíde, Eusébio. M(2006), Community building for economic empowerment in rural Mozambique: An exploratory study in the Maganja da Costa District, Vertical Integration in Agriculture in South Asia, Nov 3, New D e l h i / h t t p : / / e t d . s u n . a c . z a / handle/10019/1187

? Winson, A (1990): “Capitalist Coordination of Agriculture: Food Processing Firms and Farming in Central Canada”, Rural Sociology, 55(3), 376-394.


Aggregator

Activated carbon

Desiccated coconut

Shell charcoal

Spray dried milk powder

Coconut oil

Tender coconut water

Shell powderVinegar

Kerala

Karnataka

Andhra Pradesh

Gujarat

Madhya Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Jammu & Kashmir

Cultivators

Marketers



The non-cultivators are giving much more importance to geographical positioning of coconut products.

Integrating the Need Based Values

There is a wide gap between the expectation of non-cultivators and cultivators values. This phenomenon leads to de-motivate the entrepreneurial skills of the cultivators. The non-cultivators expect

'geographical positioning' as a strategic variable, whereas cultivators are not giving importance to geographical positioning. Hence, the integrating strategy should focus on 'geographical positioning'. The functional values such as innovation, push strategy, tactical positioning and shared values should aim for geographical positioning. Otherwise, there will be a miss-match between demand and supply. The supply chain process of value added products

from coconut should be positioned according to the demands in different geographical location. The integration needed for the cultivators from Tamil Nadu is depicted in Exhibit 5.

Under the Geographical Indication and Positioning System, three layers of management information system were established. The bottom layers are integrated between the value added products of coconut with place utility. Hence the manufacturers of value added products in the state of Tamil Nadu have to be position their product with other states. The second layer was established by the marketers/intermediaries. The top level layers were integrated by the cultivators and aggregators of

Exhibit 4 Geographical Indication Positioning System (GIPS)

coconut products. The integrator ie, entrepreneur has to establish vertical link with all the persons involved in the entire process of cultivation to end usage. Based on the research findings, the vertical integration is proposed for the farm-based entrepreneurship.

Findings and Conclusion

Innovation, push strategy, tactical positioning, shared values and geographical positioning are the functional entrepreneurial skills needed for the integrated coconut farmers. High self skills and experience leads achieve the functional goals such as innovation and tactical positioning of value added products from coconut. Shared values are related with

the self values of the entrepreneurs. Experience is needed to push the value added coconut products to the markets. Most of the cultivators need not worry about the geographical positioning of the value added products from coconut. But the aggregators of coconut products are giving importance to geographical positioning. Hence, if the cultivators themselves take the risk in geographical positioning of the coconut products, they are able to achieve the integrated farming objectives. Input management has become vital to make the coconut sector more competitive. The strategy suggested is to go in for cluster approach or group farming. Groups of farmers can involve in cultivation and generate a surplus (marketable supply in value chain of the coconut). If group farming is followed with vertical integration among different activities, the entrepreneur is able to position their product in different geographical locations and create a societal equilibrium.

References:

? Agrawal, R C (2000): “Perspectives for Small Farmers in Developing Countries: Do they have a Future?” Forum zur Gartenkonferenz 2000, http://userpage.fu.berlin html. Retrieved on October 15, 2009.

? Batugal, P, Serdang, Coronel, R.E, (2004) Poverty reduction in coconut growing communities, Volume II: mobilizing for action, h t t p : / / a g r i s . f a o . o r g / a g r i s -search/search/display.do?f=2008/QJ/QJ0801.xml;QJ2005000066.

? Bayes, A and M. S Ahmed (2003):'Agricultural diversification and self-help group , http://www.visionri.net/cv_detail.asp?cvid=113.

? Dash, M (2004): “Political Economy of Contract Farming”, Mainstream, 42(52), Dec, 2004.

? Deshingkar, P, U Kulkarni, L Rao and S Rao (2003):“Changing Food Systems in India: Resource Sharing and Marketing Arrangements for Vegetable Production in Andhra Pradesh,” Development Policy Review, 21(5-6): 627-639.

? Eaton, C and A W Shepherd (2001): Contract Farming: Partnerships for Growth, FAO, Initiatives in Bangladesh', Paper presented at t h e I F P R I - F I C C I Wo r k s h o p o n http://hdl.handle.net/10019/1187 Retrieved on 1st September, 2009

? Mary Jesselyn Co (2004), The Formal Institutional Framework of Entrepreneurship in the Philippines: Lessons for Developing Countries, Vol. 13, No. 2, 185-203.

? Pieter De Wolf A1, Gerard McElwee A2, Herman Schoorlemmer A3(2007), The European farm entrepreneur: a comparative perspective, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Volume 4, Number 6, 679 692.

? Pieter De Wolf, Gerard McElwee, Herman Schoorlemmer (2007); The European farm entrepreneur: a comparative perspective, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and small business, Volume 4, Number 6 , pp 679 - 692 Rome.

? Saíde, Eusébio. M(2006), Community building for economic empowerment in rural Mozambique: An exploratory study in the Maganja da Costa District, Vertical Integration in Agriculture in South Asia, Nov 3, New D e l h i / h t t p : / / e t d . s u n . a c . z a / handle/10019/1187

? Winson, A (1990): “Capitalist Coordination of Agriculture: Food Processing Firms and Farming in Central Canada”, Rural Sociology, 55(3), 376-394.


Aggregator

Activated carbon

Desiccated coconut

Shell charcoal

Spray dried milk powder

Coconut oil

Tender coconut water

Shell powderVinegar

Kerala

Karnataka

Andhra Pradesh

Gujarat

Madhya Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Jammu & Kashmir

Cultivators

Marketers

Consumer Buying Motives and Perceptions about Mobile Phone Services: A Study of Consumers of Uttarakhand

*Director, Omkarananda Institute of Management and Technology Rishikesh,Uttarakhand.India**Director Roorkee College of Pharmacy, Roorkee, Uttarakhand. India

Dr. D.S. Chaubey*Dr. SMT Zafar**

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the adoption of mobile phones has been exceptionally rapid in many parts of the world, and especially in India where cellular phones are nowadays almost as common as wrist watches. While mobile phone usage is rather an unexamined field in academic literature, this exploratory study attempts to investigate consumer purchasing motives in cellular phone markets. This paper surveyed more than 300 consumers of mobile phone users in Uttarakhand state and looked at their motives to purchase new mobile phones on the one hand and factors affecting the operator choice on the other. The results indicate that the price and extra services offered in the same price were the most influential factors affecting the purchase whereas price, connectivity and friends' experience with the operator were regarded as the most important in the choice of the mobile phone operator. It is also observed that different factors affecting their decision are associated with their level of education and income. This paper concludes with a discussion of contributions and proposes ideas for future studies in this under researched area.

Keywords: Convergence Point, Consumer Behaviour, Mobile Phone Usage, Mediating Factors, Determining Factors, Usage Intensity

Introduction

The Telecommunication services in India have witnessed a phenomenal change over the last few years. The craze for mobile services in India is increasing substantially. Keeping the high consumer demand into consideration, many big players like Reliance, Airtel, Aircel, Vodafone, BSNL, Tata Indicom, Virgin Mobile etc. have launched their services in the market. Information technology has brought tremendous change in day-to-day activities of common man to entrepreneurs. Number of mobile subscriber went up from 10.4 million at the end of 2002 to 545.05 million in Feb. 2010. The mobile as a medium is growing fast with its easy accessibility and reach. It is not just telecom centric. From a communication tool, it has emerged as a device for all purposes. In many countries, mobile phones now outnumber land-line telephones, as now it has also been used by youth as a necessary items. The mobile phone itself has also become a totemic and fashion object, with users decorating, customizing, and accessorizing their mobile phones to reflect their personality. In the rationale of modern marketing, the firm's existence is dependent on customer's satisfaction. Therefore, the knowledge of “what the customer thinks” and “what consequently would contribute to his satisfaction” is at the requirement of the marketer. The present study aims to identify the factors affecting mobile phone

users' behaviour. It also intends to know the consumer's satisfaction with the different services and its future impact on socio economic changes.

After becoming the second most populated country in the world, India is set to achieve another record of having half a billion wireless connections, thus becoming the second largest group of mobile phone users after China. In fewer than twenty years ago, mobile phones were considered to be rare and expensive pieces of equipment used by businesses to a pervasive low-cost personal item but now it has become a common household item. Building trust and adapting to the individual and local needs of the community are critical success factors for the diffusion and success of cutting-edge information and communication technology. With the introduction of private sector telecom service provider in the state the competition in the telecom industry has increased significantly. The aim of study was to objectively understand the behaviour of mobile phone users in Uttarakhand and further capture their satisfaction level, which is influenced by various technical and non technical factors. The specific aspects to be studied were usage pattern in terms of the purpose for which mobile phones are generally used by various categories of consumers, level of the satisfaction of users, reasons for dissatisfaction, if any, level of satisfaction with gadgets and added services provided, liking for various

attributes of the mobile phone instrument and usage pattern of functionalities and added services.


Better understanding of consumers' behavioral patterns related to the acceptance, use and purchase of advanced mobile services is critical to ensure their successful uptake in the market. Regarding the consumer buying behaviour for a mobile phone, in addition to traditional marketing claim, that a consumer's purchasing motivation will be influenced directly by the phone and service related factors including: new technology, phone design and appearance, the relative price, and the associated calling plan, consumer behaviour research on consumers' social and interpersonal environment has indicated that the mobile phone consumer's final purchasing decision will also be influenced by reference groups (such as friends, family, work associates and etc.) on whether to buy a specific product and which brand or model to choose among competing alternatives (Moschis, 1976). In his paper, Liu (2002) studied factors affecting the brand decision in the mobile phone industry in Asia. It was found that the choice of a cellular phone is characterized by two distinct attitudes: attitudes towards the mobile phone brand on one hand and attitudes towards the network on the other. While price and regularity of service were found to dominate choices between network providers, choices between mobile phone brands were affected by new technology features such as memory capacity and SMS-options, more than size. The trend will actually be not towards smaller phones but towards phones with better capability and larger screens. In another study, Riquelme (2001) conducted an experiment with 94 consumers to identify the amount of self- knowledge consumers have when choosing between mobile phone brands. The study was build upon six key attributes (telephone features, connection fee, access cost, mobile-to- mobile phone rates, call rates and free calls) related to mobile phone purchasing and importance given to offered rates and plans. The research shows that consumers with prior experience about a product can predict their choices relatively well but customers tended to overestimate the importance of features, call rates and free calls and underestimate the importance of a monthly access fee, mobile-to- mobile phones rates and the connection fee. According to a recent report by In-Stat/MDR (2002) research institute, colour displays are now driving consumers into stores to purchase new mobile

phones and related devices such as PDAs. The finding that colour display is considered more important choice criteria for consumers than for example higher data rates or new features, is quite interesting owing to the fact that other studies reviewed have not mentioned the importance of colour display. The report also indicates that there is real demand for colour display handsets and by the year 2008 it is expected that all mobile phones and PDAs are equipped with a colour display. Jiaqin Yang, Xihao He, Huei Lee (2007) in their study on title “Social reference group influence on mobile phone purchasing behaviour: a cross-nation comparative study” highlighted the comparative study investigating the influence of different reference group on consumer purchasing behaviour between the mobile phone users of USA and China. The study reveals that among the three reference group influence examined, only the utilitarian influence has resulted in statistically significant difference between China and US mobile phone buyers, and another two reference group influences, informational and value-expressive, have relatively insignificant impacts. Based on the results of this study, managerial insights and practical implications for marketing strategies in the mobile phone market are recommended accordingly

The advance s i n in fo rma t i on and communication technology are affecting many aspects of the economy in developed as well as developing nations. Muthumani S. and Thangavel N. (2008) in their study on consumer behavior towards mobile phone services highlighted the perception and expectation of urban and semi urban customers towards mobile service providers in Tamil Nadu. Aisha Khan and Ruchi Chaturvedi (2005) explain that as the competition in telecom area intensified, service providers took new initiatives to customers. Prominent among them were celebrity endorsements, loyalty rewards, discount coupons, business solutions and talk time schemes. The most important consumer segments in the cellular market were the youth segment and business class segment.

Aggarwal Vir, Bala and Kumar Anil (2008) from the Department of Mass Communication, HPU, Shimla, have done their study on the mobile usage behaviour of students of Himachal Pradesh University. The study indicates that mobile phone has converted the whole world in to a global village. Their study reveals that among the different mobile service



Consumer Buying Motives and Perceptions about Mobile Phone Services: A Study of Consumers of Uttarakhand

*Director, Omkarananda Institute of Management and Technology Rishikesh,Uttarakhand.India**Director Roorkee College of Pharmacy, Roorkee, Uttarakhand. India

Dr. D.S. Chaubey*Dr. SMT Zafar**

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the adoption of mobile phones has been exceptionally rapid in many parts of the world, and especially in India where cellular phones are nowadays almost as common as wrist watches. While mobile phone usage is rather an unexamined field in academic literature, this exploratory study attempts to investigate consumer purchasing motives in cellular phone markets. This paper surveyed more than 300 consumers of mobile phone users in Uttarakhand state and looked at their motives to purchase new mobile phones on the one hand and factors affecting the operator choice on the other. The results indicate that the price and extra services offered in the same price were the most influential factors affecting the purchase whereas price, connectivity and friends' experience with the operator were regarded as the most important in the choice of the mobile phone operator. It is also observed that different factors affecting their decision are associated with their level of education and income. This paper concludes with a discussion of contributions and proposes ideas for future studies in this under researched area.

Keywords: Convergence Point, Consumer Behaviour, Mobile Phone Usage, Mediating Factors, Determining Factors, Usage Intensity

Introduction

The Telecommunication services in India have witnessed a phenomenal change over the last few years. The craze for mobile services in India is increasing substantially. Keeping the high consumer demand into consideration, many big players like Reliance, Airtel, Aircel, Vodafone, BSNL, Tata Indicom, Virgin Mobile etc. have launched their services in the market. Information technology has brought tremendous change in day-to-day activities of common man to entrepreneurs. Number of mobile subscriber went up from 10.4 million at the end of 2002 to 545.05 million in Feb. 2010. The mobile as a medium is growing fast with its easy accessibility and reach. It is not just telecom centric. From a communication tool, it has emerged as a device for all purposes. In many countries, mobile phones now outnumber land-line telephones, as now it has also been used by youth as a necessary items. The mobile phone itself has also become a totemic and fashion object, with users decorating, customizing, and accessorizing their mobile phones to reflect their personality. In the rationale of modern marketing, the firm's existence is dependent on customer's satisfaction. Therefore, the knowledge of “what the customer thinks” and “what consequently would contribute to his satisfaction” is at the requirement of the marketer. The present study aims to identify the factors affecting mobile phone

users' behaviour. It also intends to know the consumer's satisfaction with the different services and its future impact on socio economic changes.

After becoming the second most populated country in the world, India is set to achieve another record of having half a billion wireless connections, thus becoming the second largest group of mobile phone users after China. In fewer than twenty years ago, mobile phones were considered to be rare and expensive pieces of equipment used by businesses to a pervasive low-cost personal item but now it has become a common household item. Building trust and adapting to the individual and local needs of the community are critical success factors for the diffusion and success of cutting-edge information and communication technology. With the introduction of private sector telecom service provider in the state the competition in the telecom industry has increased significantly. The aim of study was to objectively understand the behaviour of mobile phone users in Uttarakhand and further capture their satisfaction level, which is influenced by various technical and non technical factors. The specific aspects to be studied were usage pattern in terms of the purpose for which mobile phones are generally used by various categories of consumers, level of the satisfaction of users, reasons for dissatisfaction, if any, level of satisfaction with gadgets and added services provided, liking for various

attributes of the mobile phone instrument and usage pattern of functionalities and added services.


Better understanding of consumers' behavioral patterns related to the acceptance, use and purchase of advanced mobile services is critical to ensure their successful uptake in the market. Regarding the consumer buying behaviour for a mobile phone, in addition to traditional marketing claim, that a consumer's purchasing motivation will be influenced directly by the phone and service related factors including: new technology, phone design and appearance, the relative price, and the associated calling plan, consumer behaviour research on consumers' social and interpersonal environment has indicated that the mobile phone consumer's final purchasing decision will also be influenced by reference groups (such as friends, family, work associates and etc.) on whether to buy a specific product and which brand or model to choose among competing alternatives (Moschis, 1976). In his paper, Liu (2002) studied factors affecting the brand decision in the mobile phone industry in Asia. It was found that the choice of a cellular phone is characterized by two distinct attitudes: attitudes towards the mobile phone brand on one hand and attitudes towards the network on the other. While price and regularity of service were found to dominate choices between network providers, choices between mobile phone brands were affected by new technology features such as memory capacity and SMS-options, more than size. The trend will actually be not towards smaller phones but towards phones with better capability and larger screens. In another study, Riquelme (2001) conducted an experiment with 94 consumers to identify the amount of self- knowledge consumers have when choosing between mobile phone brands. The study was build upon six key attributes (telephone features, connection fee, access cost, mobile-to- mobile phone rates, call rates and free calls) related to mobile phone purchasing and importance given to offered rates and plans. The research shows that consumers with prior experience about a product can predict their choices relatively well but customers tended to overestimate the importance of features, call rates and free calls and underestimate the importance of a monthly access fee, mobile-to- mobile phones rates and the connection fee. According to a recent report by In-Stat/MDR (2002) research institute, colour displays are now driving consumers into stores to purchase new mobile

phones and related devices such as PDAs. The finding that colour display is considered more important choice criteria for consumers than for example higher data rates or new features, is quite interesting owing to the fact that other studies reviewed have not mentioned the importance of colour display. The report also indicates that there is real demand for colour display handsets and by the year 2008 it is expected that all mobile phones and PDAs are equipped with a colour display. Jiaqin Yang, Xihao He, Huei Lee (2007) in their study on title “Social reference group influence on mobile phone purchasing behaviour: a cross-nation comparative study” highlighted the comparative study investigating the influence of different reference group on consumer purchasing behaviour between the mobile phone users of USA and China. The study reveals that among the three reference group influence examined, only the utilitarian influence has resulted in statistically significant difference between China and US mobile phone buyers, and another two reference group influences, informational and value-expressive, have relatively insignificant impacts. Based on the results of this study, managerial insights and practical implications for marketing strategies in the mobile phone market are recommended accordingly

The advance s i n in fo rma t i on and communication technology are affecting many aspects of the economy in developed as well as developing nations. Muthumani S. and Thangavel N. (2008) in their study on consumer behavior towards mobile phone services highlighted the perception and expectation of urban and semi urban customers towards mobile service providers in Tamil Nadu. Aisha Khan and Ruchi Chaturvedi (2005) explain that as the competition in telecom area intensified, service providers took new initiatives to customers. Prominent among them were celebrity endorsements, loyalty rewards, discount coupons, business solutions and talk time schemes. The most important consumer segments in the cellular market were the youth segment and business class segment.

Aggarwal Vir, Bala and Kumar Anil (2008) from the Department of Mass Communication, HPU, Shimla, have done their study on the mobile usage behaviour of students of Himachal Pradesh University. The study indicates that mobile phone has converted the whole world in to a global village. Their study reveals that among the different mobile service



providers, the government is a better and preferred service provider.

The general communication habits of mobile phone users in today's society vary depending on the location, time and individual circumstances of the user, as would be expected. Another aspect of mobile communications that would benefit from further investigations by Hoflich(2004) and Katz(2003) in the “Urban Environment'' effects of its uses in public question concerning this physical performance of public communication, and its impact on the way others in the environment behave in an areas not well developed.

Objective of the Study and Methodology

The purpose of research was to discuss the various factors affecting the mobile phone user behavior in the Uttarakhand State. The methodology to conduct the study was composed of different tasks such as review of literature on consumer satisfaction in telecom industry, empirical research based on a stratified random sample survey, a series of structured interviews and few focus group discussions and analytical framework aimed at getting an insight in to the behaviour of consumer by analyzing the data /information gathered through empirical research.

The survey was based on in-depth interviews and the questionnaires distributed among the targeted population that included mobile users and individuals from the internet and mobile business sectors. The questionnaire was pre-tested on 10 individuals to assess its design and clarity and was then redesigned and distributed among 306 individuals of the targeted population which consists respondents from students to services category, business person to farmers as well as housewives. However, faced by a number of constraints, an exploratory research was conducted whereby a non-probability sampling technique was utilised. It is important not to generalise the findings where authors recommend that further quantitative analysis be conducted through random sampling to confirm the study findings. The objective of the questionnaire was to investigate and demonstrate the relationship between the research variables by measuring the salient beliefs and intentions of mobile users in Uttarakhand towards technology-based mobile services. Moreover, the questionnaire was measuring the level of awareness among customers. All questionnaires were handed in person

to the respondents during an interview session with a motive to explain the purpose of the research and to guide them through the questionnaire. Most of the results of the questions in both the questionnaire and the interviews were of a quantitative nature with the intent to measure each of the research variables and to understand the relationships between them. On the basis of review of literature, a null hypothesis was also formulated. It was hypothesized that factors influencing consumers in their purchase decision are no t a s soc i a t ed w i th the i r demograph ic characteristics. To attain these objectives and test the hypothesis, a random survey of 306 respondents located in Uttrakhand state were administered. To collect the necessary information, various parameters were developed with the help of literature. The responses to these parameters were gathered, coded, tabulated and analyzed. To measure the intensity of parameters open ended and close ended questionnaire was used. To test the hypothesis various statistical techniques like mean, standard deviation, factor analysis and two tests were applied. The Table 1. demonstrates the breakdown of the sample by demographic categories.

Table 1. Demographic Characteristic of Respondents

Categories Count Percentage

Gender Female 49 16.0Male 257 84.0upto 20Years 43 14.121 to 25 Years 175 57.2

Age 25to 35 years 36 11.835 to 50 years 28 9.2above 50 years 24 7.8

Upto Matric 35 11.4

Education Level Intermediate 92 30.1Upto Graduation 69 22.5Post Graduate 110 35.9 and others

Monthly Income Upto Rs.8000PM 17 5.6Rs. 8000 to 168 54.9Rs15000PM

Rs.15000PM to 91 29.7 Rs.25000 PM

Above Rs. 25000P 30 9.8

The data presented in the above table indicates that sample is dominated by male respondents as it is indicated by 84% respondents in the sample. Age analysis of respondents indicates that most of respondents fall in the age group of 21-25 years as it was indicated by 57.2 percent respondents in the sample. The information related to educational qualifications of the respondents indicates that majority of the respondents fall in those categories who are educated upto post graduation or having professional degree to their credit. Information pertaining to level of education of respondents sample is dominated by those respondents who are having monthly income ranging from Rs. 8000 to Rs. 15000 per month.

Table 2. Classification of Customer on the Basis of Subscription of Particular Mobile Services

S.No. Name of service No. of PercentageProviders Respondents

A Vadafone 14 4.6

B Airtel 59 19.3

C Reliance 55 18.0

D BSNL 56 18.3

E Idea 23 7.5

F Tata Indicom 29 9.5

G Virgin Mobile 29 9.5

H Aircel 41 13.4

Total 306 100.0

Over the last few years the competition in the mobile services industry has increased significantly as these services started as one dominated by private sector enterprises and the government honestly followed a policy of “managed competition” by licensing more than one service provider in a telecom circle. Almost all service providers are based on new technologies that are state-of-the art and supposed to be having the cheapest mobile telecom tariffs in the world. Since all the service providers were new and had the same vintage of technology, their competition was more in terms of price and conditions of sale. Keeping this into consideration an attempt was made to know the market share of mobile telecom service providers on the basis of customer subscription of mobile services by the customers of Uttarakhand state. It is seen that Airtel, Reliance and BSNL have neck to neck competition with 19.3%, 18% and 18.3% customers with them. Aircel was indicated by 13.4% respondents. Tata Indicom and Virgin mobile were indicated by 9.5% respondent each. Idea and

Vodafone services were indicated by 7.5% and 4.6% respondents respectively.

Table 3. Purpose of Having Mobile

S.No. Purpose No. of PercentageRespondents

A Official 17 5.6

B Flaunt 46 15.0

C Internet 41 13.4

D To be in touch with family and friends 120 39.2

E Passion 17 5.6

F Dissatisfaction with 19 6.2 the services of Land Lines

G STD Calls 12 3.9

H Security 11 3.6

I SMS 12 3.9

J Others uses 11 3.6

Total 306 100.0

The economy of the country is growing at the fast rate. The uses of motivational needs in identifying mobile phone uses and related features have been the focus of study for many researchers. Research studies show that over the years, the expenditure on non-food items has grown faster than the expenditure on food items. India is witnessing a great change in the lifestyles and buying patterns of consumers. The number of modern gadgets like telecommunication and its accessories and other machines in the number of households is now on the increase. Yesterday's luxuries are now becoming today's necessities. Keeping these into consideration an attempt was made to assess the purpose of possessing a mobile phone from the respondents. The survey indicates that most of the respondents keep mobile to be in touch with their family and friends as it was indicated by 39.2% respondents in the sample. Official and for the purpose of accessing internet was indicated by 5.6% and 13.4% respondents respectively. Another 5.6%, 6.2%, 3.9%, 3.6%, 3.9%, 3.6%, respondents respectively indicated that they were having mobile phone services for Passion, Dissatisfaction with the services of Land Lines, STD Calls, Security, SMS, Others uses. It is significant to note that a large number of respondent indicated that they were having mobile phone services for making flaunt in the social circle.


Institute of Management Studies, DehradunConsumer Buying Motives and Perceptions about Mobile Phone...

providers, the government is a better and preferred service provider.

The general communication habits of mobile phone users in today's society vary depending on the location, time and individual circumstances of the user, as would be expected. Another aspect of mobile communications that would benefit from further investigations by Hoflich(2004) and Katz(2003) in the “Urban Environment'' effects of its uses in public question concerning this physical performance of public communication, and its impact on the way others in the environment behave in an areas not well developed.

Objective of the Study and Methodology

The purpose of research was to discuss the various factors affecting the mobile phone user behavior in the Uttarakhand State. The methodology to conduct the study was composed of different tasks such as review of literature on consumer satisfaction in telecom industry, empirical research based on a stratified random sample survey, a series of structured interviews and few focus group discussions and analytical framework aimed at getting an insight in to the behaviour of consumer by analyzing the data /information gathered through empirical research.

The survey was based on in-depth interviews and the questionnaires distributed among the targeted population that included mobile users and individuals from the internet and mobile business sectors. The questionnaire was pre-tested on 10 individuals to assess its design and clarity and was then redesigned and distributed among 306 individuals of the targeted population which consists respondents from students to services category, business person to farmers as well as housewives. However, faced by a number of constraints, an exploratory research was conducted whereby a non-probability sampling technique was utilised. It is important not to generalise the findings where authors recommend that further quantitative analysis be conducted through random sampling to confirm the study findings. The objective of the questionnaire was to investigate and demonstrate the relationship between the research variables by measuring the salient beliefs and intentions of mobile users in Uttarakhand towards technology-based mobile services. Moreover, the questionnaire was measuring the level of awareness among customers. All questionnaires were handed in person

to the respondents during an interview session with a motive to explain the purpose of the research and to guide them through the questionnaire. Most of the results of the questions in both the questionnaire and the interviews were of a quantitative nature with the intent to measure each of the research variables and to understand the relationships between them. On the basis of review of literature, a null hypothesis was also formulated. It was hypothesized that factors influencing consumers in their purchase decision are no t a s soc i a t ed w i th the i r demograph ic characteristics. To attain these objectives and test the hypothesis, a random survey of 306 respondents located in Uttrakhand state were administered. To collect the necessary information, various parameters were developed with the help of literature. The responses to these parameters were gathered, coded, tabulated and analyzed. To measure the intensity of parameters open ended and close ended questionnaire was used. To test the hypothesis various statistical techniques like mean, standard deviation, factor analysis and two tests were applied. The Table 1. demonstrates the breakdown of the sample by demographic categories.

Table 1. Demographic Characteristic of Respondents

Categories Count Percentage

Gender Female 49 16.0Male 257 84.0upto 20Years 43 14.121 to 25 Years 175 57.2

Age 25to 35 years 36 11.835 to 50 years 28 9.2above 50 years 24 7.8

Upto Matric 35 11.4

Education Level Intermediate 92 30.1Upto Graduation 69 22.5Post Graduate 110 35.9 and others

Monthly Income Upto Rs.8000PM 17 5.6Rs. 8000 to 168 54.9Rs15000PM

Rs.15000PM to 91 29.7 Rs.25000 PM

Above Rs. 25000P 30 9.8

The data presented in the above table indicates that sample is dominated by male respondents as it is indicated by 84% respondents in the sample. Age analysis of respondents indicates that most of respondents fall in the age group of 21-25 years as it was indicated by 57.2 percent respondents in the sample. The information related to educational qualifications of the respondents indicates that majority of the respondents fall in those categories who are educated upto post graduation or having professional degree to their credit. Information pertaining to level of education of respondents sample is dominated by those respondents who are having monthly income ranging from Rs. 8000 to Rs. 15000 per month.

Table 2. Classification of Customer on the Basis of Subscription of Particular Mobile Services

S.No. Name of service No. of PercentageProviders Respondents

A Vadafone 14 4.6

B Airtel 59 19.3

C Reliance 55 18.0

D BSNL 56 18.3

E Idea 23 7.5

F Tata Indicom 29 9.5

G Virgin Mobile 29 9.5

H Aircel 41 13.4

Total 306 100.0

Over the last few years the competition in the mobile services industry has increased significantly as these services started as one dominated by private sector enterprises and the government honestly followed a policy of “managed competition” by licensing more than one service provider in a telecom circle. Almost all service providers are based on new technologies that are state-of-the art and supposed to be having the cheapest mobile telecom tariffs in the world. Since all the service providers were new and had the same vintage of technology, their competition was more in terms of price and conditions of sale. Keeping this into consideration an attempt was made to know the market share of mobile telecom service providers on the basis of customer subscription of mobile services by the customers of Uttarakhand state. It is seen that Airtel, Reliance and BSNL have neck to neck competition with 19.3%, 18% and 18.3% customers with them. Aircel was indicated by 13.4% respondents. Tata Indicom and Virgin mobile were indicated by 9.5% respondent each. Idea and

Vodafone services were indicated by 7.5% and 4.6% respondents respectively.

Table 3. Purpose of Having Mobile

S.No. Purpose No. of PercentageRespondents

A Official 17 5.6

B Flaunt 46 15.0

C Internet 41 13.4

D To be in touch with family and friends 120 39.2

E Passion 17 5.6

F Dissatisfaction with 19 6.2 the services of Land Lines

G STD Calls 12 3.9

H Security 11 3.6

I SMS 12 3.9

J Others uses 11 3.6

Total 306 100.0

The economy of the country is growing at the fast rate. The uses of motivational needs in identifying mobile phone uses and related features have been the focus of study for many researchers. Research studies show that over the years, the expenditure on non-food items has grown faster than the expenditure on food items. India is witnessing a great change in the lifestyles and buying patterns of consumers. The number of modern gadgets like telecommunication and its accessories and other machines in the number of households is now on the increase. Yesterday's luxuries are now becoming today's necessities. Keeping these into consideration an attempt was made to assess the purpose of possessing a mobile phone from the respondents. The survey indicates that most of the respondents keep mobile to be in touch with their family and friends as it was indicated by 39.2% respondents in the sample. Official and for the purpose of accessing internet was indicated by 5.6% and 13.4% respondents respectively. Another 5.6%, 6.2%, 3.9%, 3.6%, 3.9%, 3.6%, respondents respectively indicated that they were having mobile phone services for Passion, Dissatisfaction with the services of Land Lines, STD Calls, Security, SMS, Others uses. It is significant to note that a large number of respondent indicated that they were having mobile phone services for making flaunt in the social circle.



The time we are living is may be one of the most fascinating to study mobile phone purchasing motive and perception of next mobile phones services. The current trend in the mobile phone industry is that we are experiencing a shift from second generation mobile to third generation. This means mobile phone will not be device used for speaking but a hand set that allows customer a variety of new different services like Internet services, Calculator, Message recording, Photography, Banking and other related services, MMS, SMS, Call Diverting, WAP, Contact Number backup, FM Facilities etc. It is seen from the survey that there is high degree of awareness about Internet se r v ices , Ca lcu la tor, Message recording , Photography, and SMS services available on phone as it was indicated by almost all respondents in the sample. However, customer awareness about the feature such as Banking and other related services on phone, Call Diverting, WAP, Contact Number backup, FM Facilities are very low as presented in the Table 4.

Awareness with Different Service Features

100 99 99 98

71

53

99

80

52 52

28

51

Inte

rnet

serv

ices

Calcu

lato

r

Mes

sage

reco

rdin

g

Photo

grap

hy

g

r

d

Bankin

and

other

elat

ese

rvices

MM

SSM

S

Call D

iver

ting

WAP

Con

tact

No.ba

ckup

FMFac

ilitie

s

Oth

ers fe

atur

es

Service Features

%A

wa

reness

Series1

In earlier days the mobile phone being viewed as an expensive luxury only affordable to the powerful and rich in India, But today, not only in urban areas, but also in smaller towns and remote rural farms, the mobile phone has become a common, affordable, and convenient communication device. Reduction in the tariff has made it affordable to all and increased its uses significantly. An attempt was made to know the number of call made per day by the respondents. The analysis indicates that 19.3 percent respondents make average 5 calls per day. 27.8 percent respondents make 5 to 10 calls per day. 53 % respondents are equally divided among those who make 10-15 calls in a day or more than 15 calls per day respectively (See Table 5).

Table 5. Number of Call Made in a Day

S.No. Name Of Service No. Of Percentage Providers Respondents

A 0-5 Calls in a Day 59 19.3

B 5-10 Calls in a Day 85 27.8

C 10-15 Calls in a Day 81 26.5

D More Than 15 Calls in a Day 81 26.5

Total 306 100.0

Views regarding connectivity of Reliance, Idea, Vodafone, Tata Indicom , and Virgin mobile are not so positive. Connectivity is one of the most important aspects to increase the customer satisfaction with telecom services. According to TRAI report, only one out of 128 cellular licensees across the country has managed to meet the customer satisfaction benchmarks including network performance and customer care services in a survey conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The only operator who met TRAI's benchmark of over 95% consumer satisfaction was Airtel in the Mumbai circle. Survey indicates that 46.1% respondent were of opinion that BSNL gives the better connectivity. It is followed by the Airtel which was indicated by 40.5 percent respondents (See Table 6).

Table 6. Better Connectivity

S. No. Name of service No. of PercentageProviders Respondents

A Vodafone 6 2.0B Airtel 124 40.5C Reliance 19 6.2D BSNL 141 46.1E Idea 8 2.6F Tata Indicom 3 1.0G Virgin Mobile 5 1.6

Total 306 100.0

Telecommunication markets have changed dramatically in recent years. Customers in many countries who used to have only one service provider now have a wide variety to choose from. The availability of wide variety of service features and high technological product and fast changing technology has forced companies to attract and retain existing customer. The telecom companies on expanding the relationship with existing customers. The purchase decision of products such as mobile phone, which are used publicly, is strongly influenced by various tangible and intangible factors like Price, Mobile Handset Compatibility, Mobile services of Friends and relatives, Free Extra services and Others technological and non technological issues. The analysis indicates that free extra services offered by the service provider is one the most important factor that customer look into while selecting a particular mobile services provider. It was indicated by 42.2% respondent in the sample. Economic factors like price of the product and tariff rate etc are the second important factor considered by 18.6% respondents in the sample. Factor like Mobile Handset Compatibility and Mobile services of Friends and relatives were considered by 14.7 and 11.1% respondents in the sample (See Table 7).

Table7. Factors Responsible for using Particular Mobile Service.

S. No. Factors No. of Percentage

Respondents

A Price 57 18.6

B Mobile Handset 45 14.7Compatibility

C Mobile services of 34 11.1Friends and relatives

D Free Extra services 129 42.2

E Others 41 13.4

Total 306 100.0

Table 8. indicates the degree of association between different factors motivating the customers in favour of particular service provider with their level of education The calculated value of Chi Square test statistics (? 2 ) = 107.507(a) at 5 percent level of

significance is greater than the tabulated value (18.307) with 12 degree of freedom . Hence the hypothesis is rejected indicating that different factors motivating the customer in favour of particular service provider are associated with their level of education.



Table 4. Awareness about the different Features or Services provided by Mobile Service Providers

S. No. Different Features No. of Percentageof Services Respondents

A Internet services 305 99.67 B Calculator 302 98.69 C Message recording 303 99.01 D Photography 301 98.36 E Banking and other 217 70.91

related services F MMS 161 52.61 G SMS 303 99.01 H Call Diverting 246 80.39 I WAP 159 51.96 J Contact No. backup 160 52.28 K FM Facilities 86 28.10 L Others features 157 51.30

Total 100.0

Table 8. Association between Education and other factors influencing use of Particular Mobile (Cross Tabulation)

Important factor of using particular mobile Total

Education Price Mobile Mobile Services Free Extra Others Qualification Handset of Friends Services

Compatibility and Relatives

Upto Matrics 9 0 0 26 0 35

Intermediate 34 15 17 26 0 92

Upto Graduation 1 9 14 23 21 68

Post Graduate 13 20 3 54 20 110and others

Total 57 44 34 129 41 3052 Pearson ( ) 107.507(a)

Chi-Square

The time we are living is may be one of the most fascinating to study mobile phone purchasing motive and perception of next mobile phones services. The current trend in the mobile phone industry is that we are experiencing a shift from second generation mobile to third generation. This means mobile phone will not be device used for speaking but a hand set that allows customer a variety of new different services like Internet services, Calculator, Message recording, Photography, Banking and other related services, MMS, SMS, Call Diverting, WAP, Contact Number backup, FM Facilities etc. It is seen from the survey that there is high degree of awareness about Internet se r v ices , Ca lcu la tor, Message recording , Photography, and SMS services available on phone as it was indicated by almost all respondents in the sample. However, customer awareness about the feature such as Banking and other related services on phone, Call Diverting, WAP, Contact Number backup, FM Facilities are very low as presented in the Table 4.

Awareness with Different Service Features

100 99 99 98

71

53

99

80

52 52

28

51

Inte

rnet

serv

ices

Calcu

lato

r

Mes

sage

reco

rdin

g

Photo

grap

hy

g

r

d

Bankin

and

other

elat

ese

rvices

MM

SSM

S

Call D

iver

ting

WAP

Con

tact

No.ba

ckup

FMFac

ilitie

s

Oth

ers fe

atur

es

Service Features

%A

wa

reness

Series1

In earlier days the mobile phone being viewed as an expensive luxury only affordable to the powerful and rich in India, But today, not only in urban areas, but also in smaller towns and remote rural farms, the mobile phone has become a common, affordable, and convenient communication device. Reduction in the tariff has made it affordable to all and increased its uses significantly. An attempt was made to know the number of call made per day by the respondents. The analysis indicates that 19.3 percent respondents make average 5 calls per day. 27.8 percent respondents make 5 to 10 calls per day. 53 % respondents are equally divided among those who make 10-15 calls in a day or more than 15 calls per day respectively (See Table 5).

Table 5. Number of Call Made in a Day

S.No. Name Of Service No. Of Percentage Providers Respondents

A 0-5 Calls in a Day 59 19.3

B 5-10 Calls in a Day 85 27.8

C 10-15 Calls in a Day 81 26.5

D More Than 15 Calls in a Day 81 26.5

Total 306 100.0

Views regarding connectivity of Reliance, Idea, Vodafone, Tata Indicom , and Virgin mobile are not so positive. Connectivity is one of the most important aspects to increase the customer satisfaction with telecom services. According to TRAI report, only one out of 128 cellular licensees across the country has managed to meet the customer satisfaction benchmarks including network performance and customer care services in a survey conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The only operator who met TRAI's benchmark of over 95% consumer satisfaction was Airtel in the Mumbai circle. Survey indicates that 46.1% respondent were of opinion that BSNL gives the better connectivity. It is followed by the Airtel which was indicated by 40.5 percent respondents (See Table 6).

Table 6. Better Connectivity

S. No. Name of service No. of PercentageProviders Respondents

A Vodafone 6 2.0B Airtel 124 40.5C Reliance 19 6.2D BSNL 141 46.1E Idea 8 2.6F Tata Indicom 3 1.0G Virgin Mobile 5 1.6

Total 306 100.0

Telecommunication markets have changed dramatically in recent years. Customers in many countries who used to have only one service provider now have a wide variety to choose from. The availability of wide variety of service features and high technological product and fast changing technology has forced companies to attract and retain existing customer. The telecom companies on expanding the relationship with existing customers. The purchase decision of products such as mobile phone, which are used publicly, is strongly influenced by various tangible and intangible factors like Price, Mobile Handset Compatibility, Mobile services of Friends and relatives, Free Extra services and Others technological and non technological issues. The analysis indicates that free extra services offered by the service provider is one the most important factor that customer look into while selecting a particular mobile services provider. It was indicated by 42.2% respondent in the sample. Economic factors like price of the product and tariff rate etc are the second important factor considered by 18.6% respondents in the sample. Factor like Mobile Handset Compatibility and Mobile services of Friends and relatives were considered by 14.7 and 11.1% respondents in the sample (See Table 7).

Table7. Factors Responsible for using Particular Mobile Service.

S. No. Factors No. of Percentage

Respondents

A Price 57 18.6

B Mobile Handset 45 14.7Compatibility

C Mobile services of 34 11.1Friends and relatives

D Free Extra services 129 42.2

E Others 41 13.4

Total 306 100.0

Table 8. indicates the degree of association between different factors motivating the customers in favour of particular service provider with their level of education The calculated value of Chi Square test statistics (? 2 ) = 107.507(a) at 5 percent level of

significance is greater than the tabulated value (18.307) with 12 degree of freedom . Hence the hypothesis is rejected indicating that different factors motivating the customer in favour of particular service provider are associated with their level of education.



Table 4. Awareness about the different Features or Services provided by Mobile Service Providers

S. No. Different Features No. of Percentageof Services Respondents

A Internet services 305 99.67 B Calculator 302 98.69 C Message recording 303 99.01 D Photography 301 98.36 E Banking and other 217 70.91

related services F MMS 161 52.61 G SMS 303 99.01 H Call Diverting 246 80.39 I WAP 159 51.96 J Contact No. backup 160 52.28 K FM Facilities 86 28.10 L Others features 157 51.30

Total 100.0

Table 8. Association between Education and other factors influencing use of Particular Mobile (Cross Tabulation)


Education Price Mobile Mobile Services Free Extra Others Qualification Handset of Friends Services


Upto Matrics 9 0 0 26 0 35

Intermediate 34 15 17 26 0 92

Upto Graduation 1 9 14 23 21 68

Post Graduate 13 20 3 54 20 110and others

Total 57 44 34 129 41 3052 Pearson ( ) 107.507(a)

Chi-Square

Table 9. indicates that Chi Square test calculated at 5% level of significance with 12 degree of freedom

2( )=51.590 (a) is greater than the tabulated value (18.307). So, the null hypothesis is rejected indicating that different factors motivating the customer in favour of particular service providers are associated with their level of income of respondents.

Table 10. Most Preferred Brands of Mobile Services

S. No. Factors No. of PercentageRespondents

A Virgin 16 5.2 B Reliance 54 17.6 C Tata indicom 23 7.5 D Airtel 140 45.8 E Vodafone 22 7.2 F Idea 16 5.2 G Don't know 35 11.4

Total 306 100.0

The competition in the telecommunication industry has increased significantly. With the rising costs of getting a new product or service ready for the market, it has become even more important to cut through the effective branding. Today the entire telecommunication firms are doing their best to build the brand through adapting marketing strategy. In the

Table 10. research indicates that 45.8% respondent is of the opinion that Airtel is their most preferred brand. It is followed by the reliance which was indicated by 17.6% respondents in the sample. Virgin, Tata indicom, Vodafone, and idea were indicated by 5.2%, 7.5%, 7.2% and 5.2% respondents respectively. 11.4% respondents expressed their inability to decide best brand (See Table 10).

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis is a method of data reduction. It does this by seeking underlying unobservable (latent) variables that are reflected in the observed variables .The purpose of factor analysis is to discover simple patterns in the pattern of relationships among the variables. In particular, it seeks to discover if the observed variables can be explained largely or entirely in terms of a much smaller number of variables called factors. In our case suppose each of 306 people, who are all familiar with different kinds of motivating factor in selecting a particular mobile service provider, rate each of 12 variables on the question. We could ask about the number of dimensions on which the ratings differ

In order to accurately capture the respondent's perception reliability analysis is carried out. So first reliability analysis was carried out with the help of Reliability Test (Table 11) Here, the reliability is shown to be good using all 12 items because alpha is. 607 (Note that a reliability coefficient of. 60 or higher is

considered "acceptable" in most social science research situations).

Table 11. Reliability StatisticsCronbach's Cronbach's Alpha No. of Items

Alpha Based on Standardized Items

Alpha = .607 Standardized item alpha = .6088 12

Table 12 indicates KMO and Bartlett's test of sphericity. This measure varies between 0 and 1, and values closer to 1 are better. The Bartlett's Test of Sphericity tests the null hypothesis that the

correlation matrix is an identity matrix. These tests provide a minimum standard which should be passed before a factor analysis (or a principal components analysis) should be conducted.

Table 12. KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure 520 of Sampling Adequacy.

Bartlett's Test Approx. of Sphericity Chi-Square 436.457 df 66 Sig. .000

N Mean Std. Deviation

Call Rate 306 3.5098 1.25772

Proximity of Service Center 306 4.1863 .92751

Delivery Point User friendly 306 3.4216 1.05678

Satisfaction With Time gap Between 306 3.3758 1.25421 Service sought and Delivered

Relationship with vendor/Sales Person 306 3.3333 .97173

Trust in Company/Brand Name 306 3.8529 .97910

Accessibility to the customer care on phone 306 3.6471 1.16208

Responsiveness of Customer care 306 3.8039 1.10770

network quality 306 3.4575 1.04009

Overall satisfaction level with the service 306 3.1536 1.06167

quality of mobile service provider

Accountability towards customers 306 3.5719 .96312

Advance feature provided in services 306 3.2484 1.04195

Valid N (list wise) 306

Table 13. Descriptive Statistics

This section analyzes the comparative mean score of various factor which influence employees to remain wi th the present organization.

Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation of various variables influencing selection of mobile phone service provider Table 13. indicates that Proximity of Service Center scored highest mean (M=4.1836) it was followed by Trust in Company/Brand Name with mean (M=3.8529). Consumer are of the opinion that Responsiveness of Customer care is most helpful to them in selecting

particular service provider as it scored mean 3.8039. The Accessibility to the customer care on phone has also found place in customer preference as it has score mean of 3.6471. The higher standard deviation of variables like Call Rate, Satisfaction With Time gap Between Service sought and Delivery, Accessibility to the customer care on phone, Responsiveness of Customer care, indicates that customer response to such variables is inconsistent implying that some of the customers give high preference to such factors whereas some give very low preference to such factors.




Income Price Mobile Mobile Services Free Extra OthersClassification Handset of Friends Services


Upto Rs.8000PM 0 5 8 4 0 17

Rs. 8000 to 37 23 15 75 18 168Rs15000PM

Rs. 15000PM to 10 10 7 43 21 91Rs.25000 PM

Above Rs. 10 6 4 7 2 2925000PM

Total 57 44 34 129 41 305

Pearson Chi-Square 51.590(a)

Table 9. Income Level and other factors influencing use of Particular Mobile (Cross Tabulation)

28

Table 9. indicates that Chi Square test calculated at 5% level of significance with 12 degree of freedom

2( )=51.590 (a) is greater than the tabulated value (18.307). So, the null hypothesis is rejected indicating that different factors motivating the customer in favour of particular service providers are associated with their level of income of respondents.

Table 10. Most Preferred Brands of Mobile Services

S. No. Factors No. of PercentageRespondents

A Virgin 16 5.2 B Reliance 54 17.6 C Tata indicom 23 7.5 D Airtel 140 45.8 E Vodafone 22 7.2 F Idea 16 5.2 G Don't know 35 11.4

Total 306 100.0

The competition in the telecommunication industry has increased significantly. With the rising costs of getting a new product or service ready for the market, it has become even more important to cut through the effective branding. Today the entire telecommunication firms are doing their best to build the brand through adapting marketing strategy. In the

Table 10. research indicates that 45.8% respondent is of the opinion that Airtel is their most preferred brand. It is followed by the reliance which was indicated by 17.6% respondents in the sample. Virgin, Tata indicom, Vodafone, and idea were indicated by 5.2%, 7.5%, 7.2% and 5.2% respondents respectively. 11.4% respondents expressed their inability to decide best brand (See Table 10).

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis is a method of data reduction. It does this by seeking underlying unobservable (latent) variables that are reflected in the observed variables .The purpose of factor analysis is to discover simple patterns in the pattern of relationships among the variables. In particular, it seeks to discover if the observed variables can be explained largely or entirely in terms of a much smaller number of variables called factors. In our case suppose each of 306 people, who are all familiar with different kinds of motivating factor in selecting a particular mobile service provider, rate each of 12 variables on the question. We could ask about the number of dimensions on which the ratings differ

In order to accurately capture the respondent's perception reliability analysis is carried out. So first reliability analysis was carried out with the help of Reliability Test (Table 11) Here, the reliability is shown to be good using all 12 items because alpha is. 607 (Note that a reliability coefficient of. 60 or higher is

considered "acceptable" in most social science research situations).

Table 11. Reliability StatisticsCronbach's Cronbach's Alpha No. of Items

Alpha Based on Standardized Items

Alpha = .607 Standardized item alpha = .6088 12

Table 12 indicates KMO and Bartlett's test of sphericity. This measure varies between 0 and 1, and values closer to 1 are better. The Bartlett's Test of Sphericity tests the null hypothesis that the

correlation matrix is an identity matrix. These tests provide a minimum standard which should be passed before a factor analysis (or a principal components analysis) should be conducted.

Table 12. KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure 520 of Sampling Adequacy.

Bartlett's Test Approx. of Sphericity Chi-Square 436.457 df 66 Sig. .000

N Mean Std. Deviation

Call Rate 306 3.5098 1.25772

Proximity of Service Center 306 4.1863 .92751

Delivery Point User friendly 306 3.4216 1.05678

Satisfaction With Time gap Between 306 3.3758 1.25421 Service sought and Delivered

Relationship with vendor/Sales Person 306 3.3333 .97173

Trust in Company/Brand Name 306 3.8529 .97910

Accessibility to the customer care on phone 306 3.6471 1.16208

Responsiveness of Customer care 306 3.8039 1.10770

network quality 306 3.4575 1.04009

Overall satisfaction level with the service 306 3.1536 1.06167

quality of mobile service provider

Accountability towards customers 306 3.5719 .96312

Advance feature provided in services 306 3.2484 1.04195

Valid N (list wise) 306

Table 13. Descriptive Statistics

This section analyzes the comparative mean score of various factor which influence employees to remain wi th the present organization.

Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation of various variables influencing selection of mobile phone service provider Table 13. indicates that Proximity of Service Center scored highest mean (M=4.1836) it was followed by Trust in Company/Brand Name with mean (M=3.8529). Consumer are of the opinion that Responsiveness of Customer care is most helpful to them in selecting

particular service provider as it scored mean 3.8039. The Accessibility to the customer care on phone has also found place in customer preference as it has score mean of 3.6471. The higher standard deviation of variables like Call Rate, Satisfaction With Time gap Between Service sought and Delivery, Accessibility to the customer care on phone, Responsiveness of Customer care, indicates that customer response to such variables is inconsistent implying that some of the customers give high preference to such factors whereas some give very low preference to such factors.




Income Price Mobile Mobile Services Free Extra OthersClassification Handset of Friends Services


Upto Rs.8000PM 0 5 8 4 0 17

Rs. 8000 to 37 23 15 75 18 168Rs15000PM

Rs. 15000PM to 10 10 7 43 21 91Rs.25000 PM

Above Rs. 10 6 4 7 2 2925000PM

Total 57 44 34 129 41 305

Pearson Chi-Square 51.590(a)

Table 9. Income Level and other factors influencing use of Particular Mobile (Cross Tabulation)

28

To reduce the total number of variables to a manageable number, factor analysis was carried out through SPSS 15 version. For convenience we have shown variance table which is as follows (Table 14 & 15):

Table 14. Total Variance Explained

Comp- Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squaredonent Loadings Loadings

% of Cumu- % of Cumu- % of Cumu-Total Variance lative % Total Variance lative % Total Variance lative %

1 1.984 16.537 16.537 1.984 16.537 16.537 1.943 16.189 16.189 2 1.673 13.944 30.481 1.673 13.944 30.481 1.593 13.279 29.468 3 1.361 11.342 41.823 1.361 11.342 41.823 1.414 11.781 41.249 4 1.314 10.953 52.776 1.314 10.953 52.776 1.252 10.433 51.682 5 1.117 9.307 62.083 1.117 9.307 62.083 1.248 10.401 62.083 6 .929 7.742 69.825 7 .861 7.177 77.002 8 .708 5.900 82.902 9 .628 5.231 88.134 10 .552 4.603 92.737 11 .543 4.526 97.263 12 .328 2.737 100.000

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Table 15. Rotated Component Matrix(a)

Component

1 2 3 4 5

Call Rate -.087 -.108 .229 .533 -.511Proximity of Service Center -.006 .850 -.011 .184 -.088Delivery Point User friendly .060 .091 .785 .061 -.070Satisfaction With Time gap .011 -.025 .167 .139 .841Between Service sought and DeliverRelationship with vendor/Sales Person -.112 .642 -.058 -.264 .261Trust in Company/Brand Name .848 .111 .052 -.051 -.042Accessibility to the customer care on phone .805 -.022 -.077 .139 -.011Responsiveness of Customer care -.093 -.106 .692 -.031 .304Network quality .725 -.109 .037 -.004 .066Overall satisfaction level with the service 101 .005 -.070 .893 .165quality of mobile service provider .Accountability towards customers .128 .563 .473 -.128 -.223Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.a Rotation converged in 8 iterations.

After careful examination of the factor loadings, the 12 variables were associated with the respective dimensions as shown in Table 16.

Table 16. Principal Components and Associated Variables

Brand Factors Convenience Service Economic Technological Factors Factors Factors Factors

Trust in Company/ Proximity of Responsiveness Satisfaction Overall satisfaction Brand Name Service Center of Customer care With Time gap level with the

Service sought service quality of and Deliver mobile service

provider

Accessibility to the Accountability Delivery Point Call Rate Advance feature customer care on phone towards customers User friendly provided in services

Network quality Relationship with vendor/Sales Person.

Principal components & associated variables indicate that first factor indicating the customers preference in favour of particular service provider is the combination of Trust in Company/Brand Name, Accessibility to the customer care on phone and Network quality accounting 16.537% variance of the total variances. The second Factor is the combination Proximity of Service Center, Accountability towards customers, Relationship with vendor/Sales Person which accounts 13.944% variance of total variance. Third factor is the combination Responsiveness of Customer care and Delivery Point User friendly which account 11.342 % variance of the total variances. Fourth factor is the Satisfaction with Time gap Between Service sought and Deliver, and Call Rate which accounts 10.953% of total variance. Fifth factor is the combination of Overall satisfaction level with the service quality of mobile service provider and Advance feature provided in services which accounts 9.307% of total variance.

Findings

In the present fast moving commercial world, the facts and finding change in short period of time. There is no concrete parameter to judge and conclude the authenticity of market trend and consumer behavior. The present study revealed that Government is playing parental role in communication industry and opened the telecommunication sector for active private sector participation. This ultimately became beneficial for consumers. It is found that Airtel, Reliance and BSNL are having neck to neck competition. Tata Indicom, Virgin mobile, Idea and Vodafone services are struggling for having better

control and to become top competitors.

The study revealed that due to globalization India is witnessing a drastic change in the lifestyles and buying patterns of consumers. Status symbols in the past are now common requirements. The number of modern gadgets like telecommunication, its accessories and other electronic equipments are part of every household and are increasing day by day. The survey reveals that most of the respondents keep mobile to be in touch with their family and friends and marginal percentage for passion, dissatisfaction with the services of land lines, STD calls, security, SMS and others uses. But the study acknowledges some astonishing views of respondent that they were having mobile phone services for flaunting and are also ready to shift from second generation to third generation mobile for various hi-tech additional services like Internet services, Calculator, Message recording, Photography, Video recording, Banking and other related services, MMS, SMS, Call Diverting, WAP, Contact Number backup, FM Facilities etc. The analysis indicates that 19.3 percent respondents make average 5 calls per day. 27.8 percent respondents make 5 to 10 calls per day. 53 % respondent is equally divided among those who make 10-15 calls in a day or more than 15 call per day respectively.

The study revealed that under global competition, telecommunication markets in recent years have changed dramatically. Customers, who used to have only one service provider now have a wide variety to choose from. The competition has forced companies to develop new models and new offerings at cheap cost for their survival. Connectivity plays the



To reduce the total number of variables to a manageable number, factor analysis was carried out through SPSS 15 version. For convenience we have shown variance table which is as follows (Table 14 & 15):

Table 14. Total Variance Explained

Comp- Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squaredonent Loadings Loadings

% of Cumu- % of Cumu- % of Cumu-Total Variance lative % Total Variance lative % Total Variance lative %

1 1.984 16.537 16.537 1.984 16.537 16.537 1.943 16.189 16.189 2 1.673 13.944 30.481 1.673 13.944 30.481 1.593 13.279 29.468 3 1.361 11.342 41.823 1.361 11.342 41.823 1.414 11.781 41.249 4 1.314 10.953 52.776 1.314 10.953 52.776 1.252 10.433 51.682 5 1.117 9.307 62.083 1.117 9.307 62.083 1.248 10.401 62.083 6 .929 7.742 69.825 7 .861 7.177 77.002 8 .708 5.900 82.902 9 .628 5.231 88.134 10 .552 4.603 92.737 11 .543 4.526 97.263 12 .328 2.737 100.000

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Table 15. Rotated Component Matrix(a)

Component

1 2 3 4 5

Call Rate -.087 -.108 .229 .533 -.511Proximity of Service Center -.006 .850 -.011 .184 -.088Delivery Point User friendly .060 .091 .785 .061 -.070Satisfaction With Time gap .011 -.025 .167 .139 .841Between Service sought and DeliverRelationship with vendor/Sales Person -.112 .642 -.058 -.264 .261Trust in Company/Brand Name .848 .111 .052 -.051 -.042Accessibility to the customer care on phone .805 -.022 -.077 .139 -.011Responsiveness of Customer care -.093 -.106 .692 -.031 .304Network quality .725 -.109 .037 -.004 .066Overall satisfaction level with the service 101 .005 -.070 .893 .165quality of mobile service provider .Accountability towards customers .128 .563 .473 -.128 -.223Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.a Rotation converged in 8 iterations.

After careful examination of the factor loadings, the 12 variables were associated with the respective dimensions as shown in Table 16.

Table 16. Principal Components and Associated Variables

Brand Factors Convenience Service Economic Technological Factors Factors Factors Factors

Trust in Company/ Proximity of Responsiveness Satisfaction Overall satisfaction Brand Name Service Center of Customer care With Time gap level with the

Service sought service quality of and Deliver mobile service

provider

Accessibility to the Accountability Delivery Point Call Rate Advance feature customer care on phone towards customers User friendly provided in services

Network quality Relationship with vendor/Sales Person.

Principal components & associated variables indicate that first factor indicating the customers preference in favour of particular service provider is the combination of Trust in Company/Brand Name, Accessibility to the customer care on phone and Network quality accounting 16.537% variance of the total variances. The second Factor is the combination Proximity of Service Center, Accountability towards customers, Relationship with vendor/Sales Person which accounts 13.944% variance of total variance. Third factor is the combination Responsiveness of Customer care and Delivery Point User friendly which account 11.342 % variance of the total variances. Fourth factor is the Satisfaction with Time gap Between Service sought and Deliver, and Call Rate which accounts 10.953% of total variance. Fifth factor is the combination of Overall satisfaction level with the service quality of mobile service provider and Advance feature provided in services which accounts 9.307% of total variance.

Findings

In the present fast moving commercial world, the facts and finding change in short period of time. There is no concrete parameter to judge and conclude the authenticity of market trend and consumer behavior. The present study revealed that Government is playing parental role in communication industry and opened the telecommunication sector for active private sector participation. This ultimately became beneficial for consumers. It is found that Airtel, Reliance and BSNL are having neck to neck competition. Tata Indicom, Virgin mobile, Idea and Vodafone services are struggling for having better

control and to become top competitors.

The study revealed that due to globalization India is witnessing a drastic change in the lifestyles and buying patterns of consumers. Status symbols in the past are now common requirements. The number of modern gadgets like telecommunication, its accessories and other electronic equipments are part of every household and are increasing day by day. The survey reveals that most of the respondents keep mobile to be in touch with their family and friends and marginal percentage for passion, dissatisfaction with the services of land lines, STD calls, security, SMS and others uses. But the study acknowledges some astonishing views of respondent that they were having mobile phone services for flaunting and are also ready to shift from second generation to third generation mobile for various hi-tech additional services like Internet services, Calculator, Message recording, Photography, Video recording, Banking and other related services, MMS, SMS, Call Diverting, WAP, Contact Number backup, FM Facilities etc. The analysis indicates that 19.3 percent respondents make average 5 calls per day. 27.8 percent respondents make 5 to 10 calls per day. 53 % respondent is equally divided among those who make 10-15 calls in a day or more than 15 call per day respectively.

The study revealed that under global competition, telecommunication markets in recent years have changed dramatically. Customers, who used to have only one service provider now have a wide variety to choose from. The competition has forced companies to develop new models and new offerings at cheap cost for their survival. Connectivity plays the



Factors Impacting Behaviour of Consumers Towards On-Line Shopping in India: A Factor Analysis Approach

Dr. Richa Dahiya*

ABSTRACT

On-line shopping is a recent phenomenon in the field of e-business and is definitely going to be the future of shopping in the world. Most of the companies are running their on-line portals to sell their products/services on-line. Though online shopping is very common outside India, its growth in Indian market, which is a large and a strategic consumer market, is still not in line with the global market. The potential growth of on-line shopping has triggered the idea of conducting a study on on-line shopping in India. The present research paper has used factor analysis approach to depict and highlight the various categories of factors and variables impacting the behavior of consumers towards on-line shopping in India. The data was collected through questionnaires on a sample of 580 respondents from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The results of the study show that on-line shopping in India is basically impacted by five categories of factors i.e. Demographic factors, Psychographics factors, Online shopping feature and policies, Technological factors and Security factors. The results of the study are used to present a comprehensive model of on-line shopping which could be further used by the researchers and practitioners for conducting future studies in the similar area. Finally, practical implications of the study are also elucidated.

Key words: On-line shopping, Psychographics factors, Demographic factors, Technological factors, Security factors.

* Faculty Bhagwan Mahaveer Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sonepat Haryana. India

key role in increasing the customer satisfaction with telecom services. Further it is found that only Airtel has managed to satisfy its customers in Mumbai circle. Rest are below the required status. It is also found that still people have highest faith in government company BSNL followed by Airtel.

The study also realizes that buying behavior and decisions are strongly influenced by various tangible and intangible factors like price, mobile handset, compatibility, mobile services of friends and relatives, free extra services and others technological and non technological issues. The study also indicates that free extra services offered by the service provider is one of the most important factor that customer look into while selecting. After that, economic factors play effective role like price of the product and tariff rate etc., the factor like mobile handset, compatibility and mobile services of friends and relatives.

Conclusion

Information technology has changed the world into a small orbit and brought tremendous change in the present socio-economic environment. Due to ever-growing services in telecommunication, economy, trade and commerce have increased their horizon. The craze for mobile services in India has grown tremendously and will continue in a same passion with growing awareness and stable economy. With formation of new state of Uttarakhand, economic activities have increased multifold. With the entry of private sector in the field of communication industry, competition has intensified drastically. Large number of companies are operating and offering different services and service packages. Therefore, the knowledge of “what the customer thinks” and “what consequently would contribute to his satisfaction”, is of prime importance to the marketer. It is observed that there is poor awareness about advance features provided in the mobile phone services. It is also observed that different factors affecting their decision are associated with their level of education, income and background. References: ? Berry, L.L. (1995), “Relationship marketing of

services: growing interests, transaction Vol.23, No.4, pp.236-45.

? David Loudon and Albert J. Della Bitta, Consumer behaviour: Concept and Cases, Mc Graw-Hills Pvt Ltd., New Delhi, third Edition, 1988.

? Gupta, S.P.( 1997,), Stastical Methods, S, Chand & Sons, 9th Revised Edn., New Delhi

? In-Stat/MDR (2002). The worldwide PDA market: the next generation of mobile computing. Research Report, (Accessed November 5). http://www.economicswebinstitute.org/essays/mobilefin.pdf

? Liu, C.M. (2002). The effects of promotional activities on brand decision in the cellular telephone industry. The Journal of Product & Brand Management, 11(1), 42-51.

? James E. Katz: (1999) Connection: social and cultural studies of telephone in America life Brunswick.NJ:

? Kothari C.R., Research Methodology, Vishwa Prakashan Ltd., 2nd edition.

? Morris. D. (1977), Man watching: A field guide to human behaviour; Harry N. Abram. www.alibris.com/search/Books/qwork.

? Moschis, G.P. (1976) 'Social comparison and informal group influence', Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 13, pp.237244.

? Phillip Kotler, Marketing Management, Millinium Edition, PHI, 2000.

? Preet Kanwal( 2007) An Empirical Study Of Trust And Commitmentin Cellular Users Of Selected Telecom Service Providers University Bus ine s s Schoo l ,Pan j ab Unive r s i t y, C h a n d i g a r h ( P u b l i s h e d T h e s i s ) ? www.puchd.ac.in/phd/preetkanwal.pdf

? Yang, J., He, X. and Lee, H. (2007) 'Social reference group influence on mobile phone purchasing behaviour: a cross-nation comparat ive s tudy' , Int . J . Mobi le Communications, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp.319338.

? Muthumani. S, and Thangavel. N.(2008) “Consumer Behavior Towards Mobile Phone Services (A Comparative Study Between Urban And Semi Urban Mobile Phone Users In Tamilnadu)” International Journal on Information Sciences and Computing, Vol.2, No.1, July 2008.

? Aggarwal Vir, Bala, and Kumar, Anil, (2008), “Students' behaviour towards cellular phone: A study of Himachal Pradesh University students” Mass Communicator,Volume : 2, Issue:4http://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:mcomm&volume=2&issue=4&article=002

Introduction

The Internet and worldwide web (www) have dramatically changed the way in which consumers seek and use information. The Internet, which was earlier conceptualized as a tool for chasing information, has become an important tool to conduct business these days. Internet provides the business platform with enormous opportunities for everyone. Users of internet are no more limiting themselves to only mailing, chatting and information retrieval, rather they are using internet for buying information, shopping for goods and services. Internet has made almost everything just one click away from the customers.

Due to exponentially rising business opportunities, there are a number of services being offered on the internet. On-line shopping has emerged as one of the most prominent services available through internet. It has numerous advantages for the customers as well as for business houses. Through on-line shopping, business houses have been able to reach out to more customers at less cost. They have been able to reach out to customers living in remote areas. In-fact these are acting as stepping-stones to the concept of global village. Moreover, the inventory management cost has also decreased significantly through online shopping.

The online shopping concept has not only benefited the business houses, it has also proved to be evenly beneficial for the customers. The online shopping provides an opportunity to the customers to shop from any place without physically visiting the shops/outlets. Therefore, irrespective of the location of the customer, he/she has an easy access to his/ her desired product/ service through internet. The online shopping does not provide time bound market with limited choice of products. It offers 24 hours open market with availability of variety of products/services. This also helps the customers in saving time and energy.

As everything bears cost, on-line shopping is no exception to it. No doubt, the customer has an unlimited choice but he/she can fall a victim to over choice. Customer may spend a good amount of time in searching the plethora of products just to get more and more perplexed. The second biggest disadvantage is that there is no “touch and feel factor” involved in on-line shopping. Apart from item/product cost, transaction cost is also very important. It is very much possible that customer may go for online shopping just by looking at price, but ultimately may land up paying more due to transaction cost. Thus, these extra costs need to be considered during online shopping. Other important issue is concerned with the security of the


Consumer Buying Motives and Perceptions about Mobile Phone...

Factors Impacting Behaviour of Consumers Towards On-Line Shopping in India: A Factor Analysis Approach

Dr. Richa Dahiya*

ABSTRACT

On-line shopping is a recent phenomenon in the field of e-business and is definitely going to be the future of shopping in the world. Most of the companies are running their on-line portals to sell their products/services on-line. Though online shopping is very common outside India, its growth in Indian market, which is a large and a strategic consumer market, is still not in line with the global market. The potential growth of on-line shopping has triggered the idea of conducting a study on on-line shopping in India. The present research paper has used factor analysis approach to depict and highlight the various categories of factors and variables impacting the behavior of consumers towards on-line shopping in India. The data was collected through questionnaires on a sample of 580 respondents from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The results of the study show that on-line shopping in India is basically impacted by five categories of factors i.e. Demographic factors, Psychographics factors, Online shopping feature and policies, Technological factors and Security factors. The results of the study are used to present a comprehensive model of on-line shopping which could be further used by the researchers and practitioners for conducting future studies in the similar area. Finally, practical implications of the study are also elucidated.

Key words: On-line shopping, Psychographics factors, Demographic factors, Technological factors, Security factors.

* Faculty Bhagwan Mahaveer Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sonepat Haryana. India

key role in increasing the customer satisfaction with telecom services. Further it is found that only Airtel has managed to satisfy its customers in Mumbai circle. Rest are below the required status. It is also found that still people have highest faith in government company BSNL followed by Airtel.

The study also realizes that buying behavior and decisions are strongly influenced by various tangible and intangible factors like price, mobile handset, compatibility, mobile services of friends and relatives, free extra services and others technological and non technological issues. The study also indicates that free extra services offered by the service provider is one of the most important factor that customer look into while selecting. After that, economic factors play effective role like price of the product and tariff rate etc., the factor like mobile handset, compatibility and mobile services of friends and relatives.

Conclusion

Information technology has changed the world into a small orbit and brought tremendous change in the present socio-economic environment. Due to ever-growing services in telecommunication, economy, trade and commerce have increased their horizon. The craze for mobile services in India has grown tremendously and will continue in a same passion with growing awareness and stable economy. With formation of new state of Uttarakhand, economic activities have increased multifold. With the entry of private sector in the field of communication industry, competition has intensified drastically. Large number of companies are operating and offering different services and service packages. Therefore, the knowledge of “what the customer thinks” and “what consequently would contribute to his satisfaction”, is of prime importance to the marketer. It is observed that there is poor awareness about advance features provided in the mobile phone services. It is also observed that different factors affecting their decision are associated with their level of education, income and background. References: ? Berry, L.L. (1995), “Relationship marketing of

services: growing interests, transaction Vol.23, No.4, pp.236-45.

? David Loudon and Albert J. Della Bitta, Consumer behaviour: Concept and Cases, Mc Graw-Hills Pvt Ltd., New Delhi, third Edition, 1988.

? Gupta, S.P.( 1997,), Stastical Methods, S, Chand & Sons, 9th Revised Edn., New Delhi

? In-Stat/MDR (2002). The worldwide PDA market: the next generation of mobile computing. Research Report, (Accessed November 5). http://www.economicswebinstitute.org/essays/mobilefin.pdf

? Liu, C.M. (2002). The effects of promotional activities on brand decision in the cellular telephone industry. The Journal of Product & Brand Management, 11(1), 42-51.

? James E. Katz: (1999) Connection: social and cultural studies of telephone in America life Brunswick.NJ:

? Kothari C.R., Research Methodology, Vishwa Prakashan Ltd., 2nd edition.

? Morris. D. (1977), Man watching: A field guide to human behaviour; Harry N. Abram. www.alibris.com/search/Books/qwork.

? Moschis, G.P. (1976) 'Social comparison and informal group influence', Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 13, pp.237244.

? Phillip Kotler, Marketing Management, Millinium Edition, PHI, 2000.

? Preet Kanwal( 2007) An Empirical Study Of Trust And Commitmentin Cellular Users Of Selected Telecom Service Providers University Bus ine s s Schoo l ,Pan j ab Unive r s i t y, C h a n d i g a r h ( P u b l i s h e d T h e s i s ) ? www.puchd.ac.in/phd/preetkanwal.pdf

? Yang, J., He, X. and Lee, H. (2007) 'Social reference group influence on mobile phone purchasing behaviour: a cross-nation comparat ive s tudy' , Int . J . Mobi le Communications, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp.319338.

? Muthumani. S, and Thangavel. N.(2008) “Consumer Behavior Towards Mobile Phone Services (A Comparative Study Between Urban And Semi Urban Mobile Phone Users In Tamilnadu)” International Journal on Information Sciences and Computing, Vol.2, No.1, July 2008.

? Aggarwal Vir, Bala, and Kumar, Anil, (2008), “Students' behaviour towards cellular phone: A study of Himachal Pradesh University students” Mass Communicator,Volume : 2, Issue:4http://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:mcomm&volume=2&issue=4&article=002

Introduction

The Internet and worldwide web (www) have dramatically changed the way in which consumers seek and use information. The Internet, which was earlier conceptualized as a tool for chasing information, has become an important tool to conduct business these days. Internet provides the business platform with enormous opportunities for everyone. Users of internet are no more limiting themselves to only mailing, chatting and information retrieval, rather they are using internet for buying information, shopping for goods and services. Internet has made almost everything just one click away from the customers.

Due to exponentially rising business opportunities, there are a number of services being offered on the internet. On-line shopping has emerged as one of the most prominent services available through internet. It has numerous advantages for the customers as well as for business houses. Through on-line shopping, business houses have been able to reach out to more customers at less cost. They have been able to reach out to customers living in remote areas. In-fact these are acting as stepping-stones to the concept of global village. Moreover, the inventory management cost has also decreased significantly through online shopping.

The online shopping concept has not only benefited the business houses, it has also proved to be evenly beneficial for the customers. The online shopping provides an opportunity to the customers to shop from any place without physically visiting the shops/outlets. Therefore, irrespective of the location of the customer, he/she has an easy access to his/ her desired product/ service through internet. The online shopping does not provide time bound market with limited choice of products. It offers 24 hours open market with availability of variety of products/services. This also helps the customers in saving time and energy.

As everything bears cost, on-line shopping is no exception to it. No doubt, the customer has an unlimited choice but he/she can fall a victim to over choice. Customer may spend a good amount of time in searching the plethora of products just to get more and more perplexed. The second biggest disadvantage is that there is no “touch and feel factor” involved in on-line shopping. Apart from item/product cost, transaction cost is also very important. It is very much possible that customer may go for online shopping just by looking at price, but ultimately may land up paying more due to transaction cost. Thus, these extra costs need to be considered during online shopping. Other important issue is concerned with the security of the


Consumer Buying Motives and Perceptions about Mobile Phone...

sensitive information related to customers as the payments are made through credit cards which may be hacked or stolen by other means.

On-Line Shopping Trends In India

India has not been far behind the online sales trends seen across the globe. The e-commerce sales were Rs.2300 crores in 2006-07 as compared to 1200 crore in 2005-06(Economic Times, Oct 2007). It shows a significant increase of around 100%. While significant, those sales numbers still represents less than 1% of total retail sales in India. Online travel retail market in India is expected to get a boom over the next five years, with Internet-based travel retail transactions increasing by a whopping 271% between 2005 and 2010 (Euro monitor International, 2005).

Furthermore, a recent study by AC Nielsen (2009), covering 38 markets and over 21,100 respondents across the globe has revealed that more Indians are taking to shopping online. A significant observation of this study was that India beat the global counterparts in number of purchases per month, with a mean of 5.2 purchases against the global average of 4.9. In India, around 35% of the citizens buy airline reservations through online services. Nearly 24% of the citizens have bought electronic items and more than 20% of them have purchased items such as apparel, music and electronic entertainment such as movies, DVDs and games through internet. The most favoured mode of payment for online purchases in India is the use of credit cards followed by cash-on-delivery. Online shopping in India is poised for greater acceleration as more manufacturers and providers integrate the internet into their sales model. As personal computer (PC) and internet penetration grows, the increase in online purchases is bound to increase in leaps and bounds.


Consumers and firms are conducting a substantial and rapidly increasing amount of business on the internet. Web will generate consumer and business-to-business sales in excess of US $ 1000 billion by 2010 (Forrester research Inc. 2002). This clearly shows the relevance of online shopping in future.

Identification of factors and variables affecting consumer behaviour has been quiet newh area of research throughout the globe. Initial

research result in this area shows that willingness to buy is most influenced by trustworthiness of the suppliers (Jarvenpaa et al 1998). Some studies have focused on the consumers' attitudes towards Internet shopping while others have focussed on the factors affecting those attitudes towards internet shopping. For example, Poel and Leunis (1999) suggested that the consumer's adoption of the Internet for retail purchases focused on three main attributes, money back guarantees, price reductions, and well-known brands. Regan (2002) examined that the factors enhancing online shopping significantly would be: (1) an increase in major catalogue retailers taking steps to convert customers into web buyers, and (2) overcoming the tactile needs of online shoppers to make them more comfortable in buying clothing without first touching or trying on the garment.

Research on the Internet shoppers has typically included demographic questions of age, education and household income. Over time the Internet buyers, once considered the innovator or early adopter, has changed. Against the past trends when online shoppers used to be a young, professional males with higher educational levels, incomes, tolerance for risk, social status and a lower dependence on the mass media or who needs to patronize established retail channels, But today's internet buyers show a diversity of income and education (Citrin, et al 2000; Mahajan, et al., 1990; Palmer & Markus, 2000).

From the customer's point of view, the Internet offered the potential advantages of reducing shopping time and money spent. It allowed twenty-four hours a day access, provided better service, and gave the consumers a perception of control over the shopping experience (Mehta & Sivadas, 1995).

The consumer factor was suggested as an important factor for online shopping and items included under this were privacy, security, time saving, ease of use, convenience, enjoyment, previous experience, company reputation and tactility (Udo, 2001). According to Komiak & Benbasat (2004) privacy in a communications system or network is defined as a protection given to information to conceal it from others' access by the system or network. However, privacy concern was the most frequent reason cited by consumers for not making online purchases.

Becker (1965) noted that the efficient use of time was a critical issue for the modern time-scarce consumer. Internet shopping can be viewed as a time saver for the shopper and the buyer. As such, time positively influences internet shopping as it can eliminate trips to the store and the long lines and delays when at the store. Bhatnagar, Misra & Rao (2000), have found that more years of computer experience and use had a positive, direct effect on the user's acceptance of information technology. This suggests that consumers with more years of computer use would be more likely to adopt the internet for purchasing.

Having a positive company reputation can reduce the consumer's perceived risk of trying a new means of distribution. Such a reputation is developed over time through long-term relationships with the consumer. A retailer's reputation is partially built on the customer's ability to have direct face-to-face contact with the store and its management (Srinivasan, Anderson, & Ponnavolu, 2002). Online stores, by not having direct contact with the consumer, may have a more difficult time of establishing a reputation, thus decreasing the likelihood of online buying (Schiffman & Sherman, 2003). The last consumer issue is the ability to test, in terms of touch and sight, a product before buying. Consumers express apprehension when buying a product without a tactile examination (Bhatnagar, Misra, & Rao, 2000).

According to Blattberg & Wisniewsk (1989), product promotions attempt to influence the consumers' purchasing behaviour. Like other retail methods, online channels have various promotional tools such as corporate logos, banners, pop-up messages, e-mail messages, and text-based hyperlinks to web sites. These types of promotions have positively affected Internet buying.

The separation of buyer and seller noted above also plays a role in the consumer's level of comfort in regard to product returns. Today, businesses often respond to a customer's request to return a product by offering to repair, substitute, or refund the customer's money. In the case of online shopping, where the majority of products have been delivered through some third-party means, the customer is now faced with utilizing a similar service in the return process, an additional inconvenience and potential expense. These issues negatively affected online shopping behaviour of consumers (Kunz, 1997).

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Institute of Management Studies, DehradunFactors Impacting Behaviour of Consumers Towards On-Line...

sensitive information related to customers as the payments are made through credit cards which may be hacked or stolen by other means.

On-Line Shopping Trends In India

India has not been far behind the online sales trends seen across the globe. The e-commerce sales were Rs.2300 crores in 2006-07 as compared to 1200 crore in 2005-06(Economic Times, Oct 2007). It shows a significant increase of around 100%. While significant, those sales numbers still represents less than 1% of total retail sales in India. Online travel retail market in India is expected to get a boom over the next five years, with Internet-based travel retail transactions increasing by a whopping 271% between 2005 and 2010 (Euro monitor International, 2005).

Furthermore, a recent study by AC Nielsen (2009), covering 38 markets and over 21,100 respondents across the globe has revealed that more Indians are taking to shopping online. A significant observation of this study was that India beat the global counterparts in number of purchases per month, with a mean of 5.2 purchases against the global average of 4.9. In India, around 35% of the citizens buy airline reservations through online services. Nearly 24% of the citizens have bought electronic items and more than 20% of them have purchased items such as apparel, music and electronic entertainment such as movies, DVDs and games through internet. The most favoured mode of payment for online purchases in India is the use of credit cards followed by cash-on-delivery. Online shopping in India is poised for greater acceleration as more manufacturers and providers integrate the internet into their sales model. As personal computer (PC) and internet penetration grows, the increase in online purchases is bound to increase in leaps and bounds.


Consumers and firms are conducting a substantial and rapidly increasing amount of business on the internet. Web will generate consumer and business-to-business sales in excess of US $ 1000 billion by 2010 (Forrester research Inc. 2002). This clearly shows the relevance of online shopping in future.

Identification of factors and variables affecting consumer behaviour has been quiet newh area of research throughout the globe. Initial

research result in this area shows that willingness to buy is most influenced by trustworthiness of the suppliers (Jarvenpaa et al 1998). Some studies have focused on the consumers' attitudes towards Internet shopping while others have focussed on the factors affecting those attitudes towards internet shopping. For example, Poel and Leunis (1999) suggested that the consumer's adoption of the Internet for retail purchases focused on three main attributes, money back guarantees, price reductions, and well-known brands. Regan (2002) examined that the factors enhancing online shopping significantly would be: (1) an increase in major catalogue retailers taking steps to convert customers into web buyers, and (2) overcoming the tactile needs of online shoppers to make them more comfortable in buying clothing without first touching or trying on the garment.

Research on the Internet shoppers has typically included demographic questions of age, education and household income. Over time the Internet buyers, once considered the innovator or early adopter, has changed. Against the past trends when online shoppers used to be a young, professional males with higher educational levels, incomes, tolerance for risk, social status and a lower dependence on the mass media or who needs to patronize established retail channels, But today's internet buyers show a diversity of income and education (Citrin, et al 2000; Mahajan, et al., 1990; Palmer & Markus, 2000).

From the customer's point of view, the Internet offered the potential advantages of reducing shopping time and money spent. It allowed twenty-four hours a day access, provided better service, and gave the consumers a perception of control over the shopping experience (Mehta & Sivadas, 1995).

The consumer factor was suggested as an important factor for online shopping and items included under this were privacy, security, time saving, ease of use, convenience, enjoyment, previous experience, company reputation and tactility (Udo, 2001). According to Komiak & Benbasat (2004) privacy in a communications system or network is defined as a protection given to information to conceal it from others' access by the system or network. However, privacy concern was the most frequent reason cited by consumers for not making online purchases.

Becker (1965) noted that the efficient use of time was a critical issue for the modern time-scarce consumer. Internet shopping can be viewed as a time saver for the shopper and the buyer. As such, time positively influences internet shopping as it can eliminate trips to the store and the long lines and delays when at the store. Bhatnagar, Misra & Rao (2000), have found that more years of computer experience and use had a positive, direct effect on the user's acceptance of information technology. This suggests that consumers with more years of computer use would be more likely to adopt the internet for purchasing.

Having a positive company reputation can reduce the consumer's perceived risk of trying a new means of distribution. Such a reputation is developed over time through long-term relationships with the consumer. A retailer's reputation is partially built on the customer's ability to have direct face-to-face contact with the store and its management (Srinivasan, Anderson, & Ponnavolu, 2002). Online stores, by not having direct contact with the consumer, may have a more difficult time of establishing a reputation, thus decreasing the likelihood of online buying (Schiffman & Sherman, 2003). The last consumer issue is the ability to test, in terms of touch and sight, a product before buying. Consumers express apprehension when buying a product without a tactile examination (Bhatnagar, Misra, & Rao, 2000).

According to Blattberg & Wisniewsk (1989), product promotions attempt to influence the consumers' purchasing behaviour. Like other retail methods, online channels have various promotional tools such as corporate logos, banners, pop-up messages, e-mail messages, and text-based hyperlinks to web sites. These types of promotions have positively affected Internet buying.

The separation of buyer and seller noted above also plays a role in the consumer's level of comfort in regard to product returns. Today, businesses often respond to a customer's request to return a product by offering to repair, substitute, or refund the customer's money. In the case of online shopping, where the majority of products have been delivered through some third-party means, the customer is now faced with utilizing a similar service in the return process, an additional inconvenience and potential expense. These issues negatively affected online shopping behaviour of consumers (Kunz, 1997).

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purpose of descriptive design in the present study was to describe the phenomenon of online shopping by identifying interrelations and dependencies among the various factors and variables selected for the current study.

In exploratory research, review of existing literature was done to collect and compile the final list of factors and variables. For descriptive research, a cross-sectional survey of respondents was done using a structured questionnaire.

The primary data for the present study was collected through questionnaires. Whereas the secondary data mainly includes literature review conducted through journals, national and international publications, internet, books etc.

The sample size for questionnaire was 598. Questionnaire was pilot-tested on a sample of 35 to ensure the validity of the survey instrument. However, post elimination of incomplete responses, unreturned questionnaire and invalid answers, the final sample size used for analysis was 580. The sample for questionnaire was selected from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The sample was mainly collected from metros and big cities assuming the high internet diffusion rate.

In the present study non-probabilistic sampling technique was used. Judgmental and snowball sampling technique were used in respondent selection for questionnaire. Judgemental sampling was based on the following parameters:

? The sample comprised of people who have done online shopping.

? Only those people having credit cards were part of the sample.

? The sample comprised of people whose minimum qualification was at least graduation.

? The sample was taken from metropolitan cities assuming high internet diffusion rate.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

The data collected through survey was analysed through quantitative data analysis technique. To validate the constructs identified for the questionnaire, factor analysis was done. After that,

reliability test was done to ensure the scale reliability. The descriptive statistics were calculated to get an approximate understanding of the constructs.

Data Examination

Data was checked for coding errors and corrected by consulting the original questionnaire. Questionnaires were then checked for missing values. The percentage of missing values was less than .5 % for any of the variables. The demographic profile of the respondents was checked. Demographic details of the respondents are the following:

Total Respondents: 580

o Male respondents: 331 and Female respondents: 249.

o Married: 352 and Single: 228

o Graduate: 373 and Post-graduate: 207

o Nuclear family: 193, Family with two children: 257, and Extended Family: 130

Reliability and Construct Validity for Other Variables

For reliability and validity of constructs, was used. The first step involved analyzing the construct validity of observed measures used to measure latent measures. This usually takes the form of convergent validity and discriminant validity.

Convergent validity represents how well the item measures relate to each other with respect to a common concept, and is exhibited by the existence of significant factor loadings of measures on hypothesized constructs. Convergent validity of the individual first order constructs was analyzed using SPSS software. Item measures with insignificant factor loadings were removed from the scale if content validity was not sacrificed. All factor loadings for the constructs are significant. This establishes the convergent validity of the scales.

Discriminant validity represents how well an item measure relates to its hypothesized construct versus other constructs in the model. Since each construct was analyzed separately, discriminant validity of the constructs was tested with a series of pair wise factor analysis of the factors.

Results of factor analysis are shown as below:

Component Matrix : Time, Effort and Convenience

Item Loading

Time .976

Effort .976

Ease .873

Component Matrix : Security and Safety

Item Loading

Trust .892

Personal information .785

Safety .889

Privacy .834

Component Matrix : Information About the Products

Item Loading

Information of products .873

Information of brands .873

Component Matrix : Promotion

Item Loading

Internet promotion .918

Online advertisements .918

Component Matrix : Return Policies

Item Loading

Easy returns .880

Overall return policy .880

Component Matrix : Enjoyment

Item Loading

Enjoyment .756

Leisure time .756

Component Matrix : Innovation

Item Loading

New product information .802

New product experience .967

Opportunity to use new product .877

Component Matrix : Value for money

Fashion leader .867

Item Loading

Value for money .930

Quality against money .930

Reliability represents the systematic variance of the constructs. Any measurement instrument can have an unacceptable within-method convergent validity and still be reliable; reliability was assessed after having examined the convergent validity of the constructs. Typically reliability is assessed using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. All of the measurement models in this study have reliabilities that exceed the level of 0.60 as shown in Table1. Since all the constructs operationalized in this study are fairly broad in nature, and each exceed practical lower bound of 0.60, they are judged to possess acceptable reliability. Results of reliability analysis are shown in Table 1.

Concluding, the measures in the study provide strong evidence of Uni-dimensionality, convergent validity, reliability and discriminant validity, they can be used for evaluation of its structure.

Table1. Results of Reliability Analysis

Factor Cronbach Alpha Coefficient

Time, Effort and Convenience .93

Security .87

Return policies .70

Information Availability .69

Enjoyment .74

Innovation .94

Value for money .84

Promotion .81

Results of the Study

A detailed literature review was conducted to identify the most critical factors impacting online shopping. However, the objective was to identify the various categories of factors impacting online shopping in the context of Indian Market. Therefore, survey was conducted on a sample of 580 respondents to ascertain the validity of critical factors (identified through literature review) in the context of Indian Market Scenarios. The respondents were asked to discuss the various categories of critical factors and



purpose of descriptive design in the present study was to describe the phenomenon of online shopping by identifying interrelations and dependencies among the various factors and variables selected for the current study.

In exploratory research, review of existing literature was done to collect and compile the final list of factors and variables. For descriptive research, a cross-sectional survey of respondents was done using a structured questionnaire.

The primary data for the present study was collected through questionnaires. Whereas the secondary data mainly includes literature review conducted through journals, national and international publications, internet, books etc.

The sample size for questionnaire was 598. Questionnaire was pilot-tested on a sample of 35 to ensure the validity of the survey instrument. However, post elimination of incomplete responses, unreturned questionnaire and invalid answers, the final sample size used for analysis was 580. The sample for questionnaire was selected from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The sample was mainly collected from metros and big cities assuming the high internet diffusion rate.

In the present study non-probabilistic sampling technique was used. Judgmental and snowball sampling technique were used in respondent selection for questionnaire. Judgemental sampling was based on the following parameters:

? The sample comprised of people who have done online shopping.

? Only those people having credit cards were part of the sample.

? The sample comprised of people whose minimum qualification was at least graduation.

? The sample was taken from metropolitan cities assuming high internet diffusion rate.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

The data collected through survey was analysed through quantitative data analysis technique. To validate the constructs identified for the questionnaire, factor analysis was done. After that,

reliability test was done to ensure the scale reliability. The descriptive statistics were calculated to get an approximate understanding of the constructs.

Data Examination

Data was checked for coding errors and corrected by consulting the original questionnaire. Questionnaires were then checked for missing values. The percentage of missing values was less than .5 % for any of the variables. The demographic profile of the respondents was checked. Demographic details of the respondents are the following:

Total Respondents: 580

o Male respondents: 331 and Female respondents: 249.

o Married: 352 and Single: 228

o Graduate: 373 and Post-graduate: 207

o Nuclear family: 193, Family with two children: 257, and Extended Family: 130

Reliability and Construct Validity for Other Variables

For reliability and validity of constructs, was used. The first step involved analyzing the construct validity of observed measures used to measure latent measures. This usually takes the form of convergent validity and discriminant validity.

Convergent validity represents how well the item measures relate to each other with respect to a common concept, and is exhibited by the existence of significant factor loadings of measures on hypothesized constructs. Convergent validity of the individual first order constructs was analyzed using SPSS software. Item measures with insignificant factor loadings were removed from the scale if content validity was not sacrificed. All factor loadings for the constructs are significant. This establishes the convergent validity of the scales.

Discriminant validity represents how well an item measure relates to its hypothesized construct versus other constructs in the model. Since each construct was analyzed separately, discriminant validity of the constructs was tested with a series of pair wise factor analysis of the factors.

Results of factor analysis are shown as below:

Component Matrix : Time, Effort and Convenience

Item Loading

Time .976

Effort .976

Ease .873

Component Matrix : Security and Safety

Item Loading

Trust .892

Personal information .785

Safety .889

Privacy .834

Component Matrix : Information About the Products

Item Loading

Information of products .873

Information of brands .873

Component Matrix : Promotion

Item Loading

Internet promotion .918

Online advertisements .918

Component Matrix : Return Policies

Item Loading

Easy returns .880

Overall return policy .880

Component Matrix : Enjoyment

Item Loading

Enjoyment .756

Leisure time .756

Component Matrix : Innovation

Item Loading

New product information .802

New product experience .967

Opportunity to use new product .877

Component Matrix : Value for money

Fashion leader .867

Item Loading

Value for money .930

Quality against money .930

Reliability represents the systematic variance of the constructs. Any measurement instrument can have an unacceptable within-method convergent validity and still be reliable; reliability was assessed after having examined the convergent validity of the constructs. Typically reliability is assessed using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. All of the measurement models in this study have reliabilities that exceed the level of 0.60 as shown in Table1. Since all the constructs operationalized in this study are fairly broad in nature, and each exceed practical lower bound of 0.60, they are judged to possess acceptable reliability. Results of reliability analysis are shown in Table 1.

Concluding, the measures in the study provide strong evidence of Uni-dimensionality, convergent validity, reliability and discriminant validity, they can be used for evaluation of its structure.

Table1. Results of Reliability Analysis

Factor Cronbach Alpha Coefficient

Time, Effort and Convenience .93

Security .87

Return policies .70

Information Availability .69

Enjoyment .74

Innovation .94

Value for money .84

Promotion .81

Results of the Study

A detailed literature review was conducted to identify the most critical factors impacting online shopping. However, the objective was to identify the various categories of factors impacting online shopping in the context of Indian Market. Therefore, survey was conducted on a sample of 580 respondents to ascertain the validity of critical factors (identified through literature review) in the context of Indian Market Scenarios. The respondents were asked to discuss the various categories of critical factors and



variables, as perceived by them, during the surveys. To validate the constructs identified for the Questionnaire, factor analysis was done. After that, reliability test was done to ensure the scale reliability.

The overall demographic profile of respondents with Mean and Standard Deviation is given in Table 2.

The final results of the study are shown in Table 3 that shows the various categories of factors and variables under each factor category identified from the study. The results show that on-line shopping in India is influenced by five categories of factors namely demographic, psychographics, on-line shopping features, technological and security factors. In demographic factor age, education, family size, income, marital status and ability to use internet influence the behavior of on-line shoppers towards on-line shopping. Psychographics factor includes variables like innovativeness of consumer, enjoyment of shopping, convenience, interaction with people and touch and feel factor. In On-line shopping feature: promotion, delivery policy, product return policy, detailed information of product, option of comparison impact on-line shoppers.In technological factor: quality, representative pictures of product and value for money impact the behaviour of consumers towards on-line shopping. In security factor: privacy and safety influence the on-line shopping behaviour of Indian consumers.

Table2. Demographic Profile of the Respondents

Mini- Maxi- Mean Standardmum mum Deviation

Age 21 48 31.83 2.37

Family 2 7 3.56 1.50 Size

Income 10,000- 50,000+ 3.72 1.1820,000

Ability to Skillful Extremely 3.72 .75 use Internet Skillful

Conclusions of the Study

The final outcome of the study is a model that incorporates all the identified factors that impact on-line shopping in India. If all the output variables converge into one broad factor of online shopping, the final model could be interpreted as:

Figure 1 On-line shopping Model

Source: Compiled from Results of the Study.

The model given by the study shows that in India on-line shopping is basically impacted by psychographics and demographic variables of consumers vis-a-vis on-line shopping features, technological, and safety variables of on-line shopping mode.

Implications of the Study

The results of the study can be utilized by practitioners in re-looking or revamping their strategies for online shopping. Customer shop through online shopping because of time and effort saving, hence the online retailers should design their website in such a way that the customers can reach out to his/her desired product in the minimum time. To save time and effort of the customers the online retailers should also give an option to the customers to store and compare their choices before the actual purchase. Online retailers should focus on better positioning and representation of their products in online shopping. Websites/e-tailors should also ensure that all the relevant details regarding the quality and features are provided to the online shoppers on the website. Online shopping companies could also look into the possibility of spreading and promoting security and privacy related information on the Internet. Delivery policy of the online product should also include a defined trial period to assure that the customer does not miss the touch and feel experience. Online retailers should also look into the possibility of running call centres which could ensure that the customer get a chance to formally interact with the other party before the actual purchase.

References:

? AcNielsen (2009), “Indians beat world in cyber s h o p p i n g ” , A v a i l a b l e at:http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/izone1/izone_fullstory.asp?section_id=4&news_id=19136&tag=13863

? Akhter, S. (2002), “Digital divide and purchase intention: Why demographic psychology matters”, Journal of Economic Psychology, Vol. 24, pp. 321-327.

? Becker, G.S. (1965), “A theory of allocation of time”, The Economic Journal, Vol. 229, pp. 493-517.

? Bell, G., and Gemmell, J. (1996), “On ramp prospects for the information super highway

dream”, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 37.

? Bhatnagar, A., Misra, S., and Rao, H. R. (2000), “On risk, convenience, and Internet shopping behavior”, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 43, No. 11, pp. 98-105.

? Blattberg, R. and Wisniewsk, K. (1989), “Price-induced patterns of competition”, Marketing Science, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 291-309.

? Citrin, A.V, Sprott, D.E., Silverman, S.N. and Stem, D.E. (2000), “Adoption of Internet shopping: the role of consumer innovativeness”, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 100, No. 7, pp. 294-300.

? Ducoffe, R. H. (1996), “Advertising value and advertising on the web”, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 36, No. 5, pp. 21-35.

? Eroglu, S., Machleit, K., and Davis, L. (2003), “Empirical testing of a model of online store atmospherics and shopper responses”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 139-150.

? Euro monitor International (2005), “A survey report on internet-based travel retail transactions”, [On -line Document]. Available from: http://www.dance withshadows.com/travel/india-online-travel-asia.asp.

? Forrester Research Inc. (2002), “NRF/ Forrester online research index.” Cambridge, MA: Forrester Research, Inc. [Online document]. Available from: http://www.forrester.com.

? Jarvenpaa, S.L and Todd, P.A. (1998), “Consumer reactions to electronic shopping on the World Wide Web”, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 59-88.

? Komiak, S.X. and Benbasat, I. (2004), “Understanding customer trust in agent-mediated electronic commerce, web mediated electronic commerce and traditional commerce”, Information Technology and Management, Vol. 5, pp. 181-207.

? Mahajan, V., Muller, E and Bass, F.M. (1990), “New product diffusion models in marketing: A review and directions for research”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, pp. 1-26.



Table 3. Categories of Factors and Variables Identified from the Study

S.No. Category of factor Variables under factor category

1 Demographic factor Age, Gender, marital status, income/salary, family size, education, ability to use internet

2 Psychographics factor Innovative, enjoyment, convenience, interaction with people, touch and feel

3 Online shopping feature and policies Promotion, delivery policy, product return policy, detailed information of product, option of comparison.

4 Technological factor Quality, representative picture of product, value for money

5 Safety factor Security, privacy

Source: Compiled from the results of the study

Online Shopping

cs Factor

Psychographi Technological Factor

Demographic FactorFactor

Online shopping Features

Security actorF

variables, as perceived by them, during the surveys. To validate the constructs identified for the Questionnaire, factor analysis was done. After that, reliability test was done to ensure the scale reliability.

The overall demographic profile of respondents with Mean and Standard Deviation is given in Table 2.

The final results of the study are shown in Table 3 that shows the various categories of factors and variables under each factor category identified from the study. The results show that on-line shopping in India is influenced by five categories of factors namely demographic, psychographics, on-line shopping features, technological and security factors. In demographic factor age, education, family size, income, marital status and ability to use internet influence the behavior of on-line shoppers towards on-line shopping. Psychographics factor includes variables like innovativeness of consumer, enjoyment of shopping, convenience, interaction with people and touch and feel factor. In On-line shopping feature: promotion, delivery policy, product return policy, detailed information of product, option of comparison impact on-line shoppers.In technological factor: quality, representative pictures of product and value for money impact the behaviour of consumers towards on-line shopping. In security factor: privacy and safety influence the on-line shopping behaviour of Indian consumers.

Table2. Demographic Profile of the Respondents

Mini- Maxi- Mean Standardmum mum Deviation

Age 21 48 31.83 2.37

Family 2 7 3.56 1.50 Size

Income 10,000- 50,000+ 3.72 1.1820,000

Ability to Skillful Extremely 3.72 .75 use Internet Skillful

Conclusions of the Study

The final outcome of the study is a model that incorporates all the identified factors that impact on-line shopping in India. If all the output variables converge into one broad factor of online shopping, the final model could be interpreted as:

Figure 1 On-line shopping Model

Source: Compiled from Results of the Study.

The model given by the study shows that in India on-line shopping is basically impacted by psychographics and demographic variables of consumers vis-a-vis on-line shopping features, technological, and safety variables of on-line shopping mode.

Implications of the Study

The results of the study can be utilized by practitioners in re-looking or revamping their strategies for online shopping. Customer shop through online shopping because of time and effort saving, hence the online retailers should design their website in such a way that the customers can reach out to his/her desired product in the minimum time. To save time and effort of the customers the online retailers should also give an option to the customers to store and compare their choices before the actual purchase. Online retailers should focus on better positioning and representation of their products in online shopping. Websites/e-tailors should also ensure that all the relevant details regarding the quality and features are provided to the online shoppers on the website. Online shopping companies could also look into the possibility of spreading and promoting security and privacy related information on the Internet. Delivery policy of the online product should also include a defined trial period to assure that the customer does not miss the touch and feel experience. Online retailers should also look into the possibility of running call centres which could ensure that the customer get a chance to formally interact with the other party before the actual purchase.

References:

? AcNielsen (2009), “Indians beat world in cyber s h o p p i n g ” , A v a i l a b l e at:http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/izone1/izone_fullstory.asp?section_id=4&news_id=19136&tag=13863

? Akhter, S. (2002), “Digital divide and purchase intention: Why demographic psychology matters”, Journal of Economic Psychology, Vol. 24, pp. 321-327.

? Becker, G.S. (1965), “A theory of allocation of time”, The Economic Journal, Vol. 229, pp. 493-517.

? Bell, G., and Gemmell, J. (1996), “On ramp prospects for the information super highway

dream”, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 37.

? Bhatnagar, A., Misra, S., and Rao, H. R. (2000), “On risk, convenience, and Internet shopping behavior”, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 43, No. 11, pp. 98-105.

? Blattberg, R. and Wisniewsk, K. (1989), “Price-induced patterns of competition”, Marketing Science, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 291-309.

? Citrin, A.V, Sprott, D.E., Silverman, S.N. and Stem, D.E. (2000), “Adoption of Internet shopping: the role of consumer innovativeness”, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 100, No. 7, pp. 294-300.

? Ducoffe, R. H. (1996), “Advertising value and advertising on the web”, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 36, No. 5, pp. 21-35.

? Eroglu, S., Machleit, K., and Davis, L. (2003), “Empirical testing of a model of online store atmospherics and shopper responses”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 139-150.

? Euro monitor International (2005), “A survey report on internet-based travel retail transactions”, [On -line Document]. Available from: http://www.dance withshadows.com/travel/india-online-travel-asia.asp.

? Forrester Research Inc. (2002), “NRF/ Forrester online research index.” Cambridge, MA: Forrester Research, Inc. [Online document]. Available from: http://www.forrester.com.

? Jarvenpaa, S.L and Todd, P.A. (1998), “Consumer reactions to electronic shopping on the World Wide Web”, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 59-88.

? Komiak, S.X. and Benbasat, I. (2004), “Understanding customer trust in agent-mediated electronic commerce, web mediated electronic commerce and traditional commerce”, Information Technology and Management, Vol. 5, pp. 181-207.

? Mahajan, V., Muller, E and Bass, F.M. (1990), “New product diffusion models in marketing: A review and directions for research”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, pp. 1-26.



Table 3. Categories of Factors and Variables Identified from the Study

S.No. Category of factor Variables under factor category

1 Demographic factor Age, Gender, marital status, income/salary, family size, education, ability to use internet

2 Psychographics factor Innovative, enjoyment, convenience, interaction with people, touch and feel

3 Online shopping feature and policies Promotion, delivery policy, product return policy, detailed information of product, option of comparison.

4 Technological factor Quality, representative picture of product, value for money

5 Safety factor Security, privacy

Source: Compiled from the results of the study

Online Shopping

cs Factor

Psychographi Technological Factor

Demographic FactorFactor

Online shopping Features

Security actorF

Scenario of Mutual Fund Industry in Nepal: A Discussion

ABSTRACT

Mutual funds are becoming one of most popular investment avenues for small and risk aversive investors. Mutual funds have become mainstream investments around the globe, but it's presence is trifling in the Nepalese market. In Nepal the market for mutual funds is very lean and mutual fund as a most preferable instrument for investment is yet to be accepted by investors. The operation of mutual funds in Nepal is very limited in its scope and size.

The Nepalese mutual fund industry has not performed well in gaining the small individual investors' confidence and trust by offering better product, process, and services. Mutual fund is required to become popular either among high and middle income class people of urban zones. The current study has attempted to examine these problems in mutual funds operation in Nepal and it also attempts to identify impediments and prospects of mutual funds in Nepal. Mutual funds operation can be an integral part of the Nepalese financial system. Existing mutual fund institutions have to improve quality of service by using better technology and more focus on quick dissemination of information. Investors in Nepal can take mutual funds as a substitute of fixed deposits in banks rather than as an investment avenue in security market.

Keywords: Mutual Funds, Mainstream, Subscription, Portfolio, Regulation

Dr. Narayan Prasad Paudel*

*Assistant Professor School of Management, Kathmandu University, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal

? Mehta, R and Sivadas, E. (1995), “Direct marketing on the Internet: Ann empirical assessment of consumer attitudes”, Journal of Direct Marketing, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 21-32.

? Palmer, J. W and Markus, M. L. (2000), “The performance impacts of quick response and strategic alignment in specialty retailing”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 11, No. 3.

? O'Keefe, R. M., O'Connor, G and Kung, H. J. (1998), “Early adopters of the Web as a retail medium: Small company winners and losers”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 38-43.

? Poel, D. V and Leunis, J. (1999), “Consumer acceptance of the Internet as a channel of distribution”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 249-256.

? Regan, K. (2002), “How bricks conquered the Ne t” E - C o m m e rc e Ti m e s , [ o n l i n e d o c u m e n t ] A v a i l a b l e at:http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/16631.html.

? Kunz, M.B. (1997), “On-line customers: identifying store, product and consumer attributes which influences shopping on the Internet”. Published doctoral dissertation. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

? Schiffman, L.G., Sherman, E and Long, M.M. (2003), “Toward a better understanding of the

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Introduction

Mutual fund emerged as one of the most popular financial instruments for investment in the stock market worldwide during the period of twenty first century. In Nepal, the market for mutual funds is very lean and mutual fund as a most preferable instrument for investment is yet to be accepted by investors. The operation of mutual funds in Nepal is very limited in scope and its size. The effective institutional investment mechanism in Nepal is yet to be developed, to support the financing of large scale infrastructure project. The current study has attempted to examine these problems in mutual funds operation. The Nepalese mutual fund industry has not performed well in gaining the small individual investors confidence and trust by offering better product, process, and better services. Mutual fund is yet to become popular among high and middle income class people of urban zones. Foreign investors are yet to enter in the Nepalese market. Individual investors lack the sophistication or the information they need to make certain investment decisions. In this context, mutual funds can be an attractive avenues of investment in Nepalese capital market.

People could find the mutual fund investment so much interesting because of its high rate of return and diversification of risk associated with the

investment. But, in reality this scope of high rate of returns is just one side of the coin. On the other side, there is the harsh reality of highly fluctuating rate of returns. For the purpose to overcome the existing deficiency of mutual fund in Nepal there is an urgent need to establish effective institutional investment mechanism. Mutual fund can be the best solution to address the financial need of infrastructure projects. Yet the availability of research that offers a professional opinion of what may lie ahead for a mutual fund investment in the future is lacking until now in Nepalese context.


The broad objective of the study is to examine the current status of Mutual funds and their prospects in Nepal. The specific objective of the study is to examine and analyze current status and performance of NCM mutual fund and Citizen Unit Scheme in Nepal. The current study has attempted to explore current problems of mutual funds in Nepal. Further, the study attempted to identify impediments and prospects of mutual funds in Nepal. The policy implications of the study are also devised. The study further aims to examine existing regulatory and operational mechanism of mutual funds in Nepal.


Factors Impacting Behaviour of Consumers Towards On-Line...

Scenario of Mutual Fund Industry in Nepal: A Discussion

ABSTRACT

Mutual funds are becoming one of most popular investment avenues for small and risk aversive investors. Mutual funds have become mainstream investments around the globe, but it's presence is trifling in the Nepalese market. In Nepal the market for mutual funds is very lean and mutual fund as a most preferable instrument for investment is yet to be accepted by investors. The operation of mutual funds in Nepal is very limited in its scope and size.

The Nepalese mutual fund industry has not performed well in gaining the small individual investors' confidence and trust by offering better product, process, and services. Mutual fund is required to become popular either among high and middle income class people of urban zones. The current study has attempted to examine these problems in mutual funds operation in Nepal and it also attempts to identify impediments and prospects of mutual funds in Nepal. Mutual funds operation can be an integral part of the Nepalese financial system. Existing mutual fund institutions have to improve quality of service by using better technology and more focus on quick dissemination of information. Investors in Nepal can take mutual funds as a substitute of fixed deposits in banks rather than as an investment avenue in security market.

Keywords: Mutual Funds, Mainstream, Subscription, Portfolio, Regulation

Dr. Narayan Prasad Paudel*

*Assistant Professor School of Management, Kathmandu University, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal

? Mehta, R and Sivadas, E. (1995), “Direct marketing on the Internet: Ann empirical assessment of consumer attitudes”, Journal of Direct Marketing, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 21-32.

? Palmer, J. W and Markus, M. L. (2000), “The performance impacts of quick response and strategic alignment in specialty retailing”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 11, No. 3.

? O'Keefe, R. M., O'Connor, G and Kung, H. J. (1998), “Early adopters of the Web as a retail medium: Small company winners and losers”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 38-43.

? Poel, D. V and Leunis, J. (1999), “Consumer acceptance of the Internet as a channel of distribution”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 249-256.

? Regan, K. (2002), “How bricks conquered the Ne t” E - C o m m e rc e Ti m e s , [ o n l i n e d o c u m e n t ] A v a i l a b l e at:http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/16631.html.

? Kunz, M.B. (1997), “On-line customers: identifying store, product and consumer attributes which influences shopping on the Internet”. Published doctoral dissertation. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

? Schiffman, L.G., Sherman, E and Long, M.M. (2003), “Toward a better understanding of the

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Introduction

Mutual fund emerged as one of the most popular financial instruments for investment in the stock market worldwide during the period of twenty first century. In Nepal, the market for mutual funds is very lean and mutual fund as a most preferable instrument for investment is yet to be accepted by investors. The operation of mutual funds in Nepal is very limited in scope and its size. The effective institutional investment mechanism in Nepal is yet to be developed, to support the financing of large scale infrastructure project. The current study has attempted to examine these problems in mutual funds operation. The Nepalese mutual fund industry has not performed well in gaining the small individual investors confidence and trust by offering better product, process, and better services. Mutual fund is yet to become popular among high and middle income class people of urban zones. Foreign investors are yet to enter in the Nepalese market. Individual investors lack the sophistication or the information they need to make certain investment decisions. In this context, mutual funds can be an attractive avenues of investment in Nepalese capital market.

People could find the mutual fund investment so much interesting because of its high rate of return and diversification of risk associated with the

investment. But, in reality this scope of high rate of returns is just one side of the coin. On the other side, there is the harsh reality of highly fluctuating rate of returns. For the purpose to overcome the existing deficiency of mutual fund in Nepal there is an urgent need to establish effective institutional investment mechanism. Mutual fund can be the best solution to address the financial need of infrastructure projects. Yet the availability of research that offers a professional opinion of what may lie ahead for a mutual fund investment in the future is lacking until now in Nepalese context.


The broad objective of the study is to examine the current status of Mutual funds and their prospects in Nepal. The specific objective of the study is to examine and analyze current status and performance of NCM mutual fund and Citizen Unit Scheme in Nepal. The current study has attempted to explore current problems of mutual funds in Nepal. Further, the study attempted to identify impediments and prospects of mutual funds in Nepal. The policy implications of the study are also devised. The study further aims to examine existing regulatory and operational mechanism of mutual funds in Nepal.


Factors Impacting Behaviour of Consumers Towards On-Line...

Research Methodology

This study primarily has adopted descriptive research method. The study has undertaken the use of statistical tools including mean, standard deviation and correlation. The main goal of the current research is to describe the data (i.e. facts and figures) and its characteristics. The idea behind this research is to analyze and explore the current status of mutual fund investment in Nepal. The Descriptive research design has applied to explain the facts and gain a better understanding of a mutual fund in Nepal. The current study is entirely based on the secondary data and review of the related reports, articles and other publications. This paper has used the required data and literature from the annual reports and other publications of Citizen Investment Trust (CIT), NIDC Capital Markets, annual report of Security Board of Nepal, publications of Securities Board of India (SEBI), National Investment Trust Limited Pakistan and Unit Trust of India (UTI). Investment company institute, European fund and asset management association were also consulted as a source of secondary data Articles published in national and international journals were reviewed and examined. The study has reviewed and examined the various governmental and non governmental reports published in between 1965 to 2010. Nepalese mutual fund industry data were colleted from FY 2004/05 to 2008/09 and data on Asia /Pacific and global mutual funds were available till the date of June 30, 2006.

Literature Review

The empirical study on mutual funds is yet to be initiated in Nepal. Some of the empirical studies shed light on different dimension of mutual funds across the globe. McDonald (1974) examined the performance of funds, during the period from 1960 to 1969, and found that the fund objectives did explain a portion of performance as measured by excess returns over the market return. However, he also found large overlaps in performance from objective to objective. The performance measures of Treynor (1965), Sharpe (1966), and Jensen (1968) also ranked the objectives in the same order. Martin, Keown, and Farrell (1982) concluded that fund objectives explained only about 15 percent of the total variation in returns that was due to extra-market factors. The studies by Reints and Vandenberg (1973), Klemkosky (1976), and Woerheide (1989) showed mixed results for the strength of the relationship between performance

measures and the objective classifications, but in general there appeared to be a significant relationship. Davanzo and Nesbitt (1987), conducted study on the performance fees for investment management and observed that, the manger receives bonuses as the portfolio return begins to rise above an agreed-upon benchmark return. Baumol et al. (1990) noted that the primary service supplied by mutual fund advisors under advisory contracts was portfolio management. Daniel et al. (1997) found evidence that aggressive growth and growth fund advisors have some ability to generate excess returns. They found that, fund managers could generate additional performance if size, book to market, or momentum strategies had time varying expected returns that the manager could exploit by changing portfolio weights to exploit those styles when they are the most profitable. Edelen (1999) argued that better informed advisors majorly engage in information motivated trading. Khorana (1996) found that equity funds are more volatile than debt funds and the foreign funds are more volatile than domestic funds. Lu Zheng, (1999) summarized his findings that, investors do display fund selection ability, because the evidence shows that the positive portfolios outperform the negative portfolios.

Regulatory and Operational Mechanism of Mutual Funds in Nepal

Current provision of collective investment scheme has been mentioned in the Section 71 of Securities Act, 2007. It has clearly been stated in the Securities Act that no collective investment scheme shall be operated without obtaining a permission of SEBON. Some provision has further been stated in the Act that SEBON can grant permission to operate collective investment scheme if following conditions prevail, (Securities ACT 2007). A scheme manager shall, prior to operating the collective investment scheme to be managed and operated by him/her, make an application to the Board in such format and accompanied by such details and fees as may be prescribed in order to register such scheme with the Board and obtain permission to operate the same. Section 71 of the Act further stated that if, in conducting an inquiry in relation to the registration of a collective investment scheme and granting a permission to operate it, Board can demand notice, description, information or documents from the concerned scheme manager. The Board shall not grant permission to operate the collective investment scheme unless it receives the notice, description, information or documents so demanded. In addition, section 73 of the

Act states about the operation of collective investment scheme. The scheme manager may, with a view to operate a collective investment scheme, and having regard to the needs and interests of participants, operate the collective investment scheme of one or several types and by one or several names as prescribed, (securities Act 2007). The provision of collective investment scheme in the securities Act 2007, has granted authority to operate the existing mutual fund scheme in Nepal. Globally mutual fund is evolving as a separate industry, considering the above facts recently SEBON has formulated the drafts of Mutual Fund Regulation 2066. Ministry of Finance need to rethink giving the final shape to the Trust Act as well as Central Depository Act as soon as possible to operate the up coming Central Depository System (CDS) in Nepalese Capital Market. Trust Act and Central Depository Act must come into effect before any company can operate mutual funds in Nepal, The provision of Mutual Fund Regulation 2066 intends to avoid four-decade long restriction on Nepali investors going abroad. The government is currently shaping the draft of Mutual Fund Regulation to permit Nepalese mutual funds to be invested in the foreign capital market. When the mutual fund regulation materialized, institutional investors from Nepal can invest in foreign capital markets. According to the proposed regulation, a maximum of 25 percent of the paid-up capital of mutual funds can be invested in foreign capital markets. This can be a way forward in the Nepalese history of international portfolio investment.

Status of Mutual Funds in Nepal

In Nepal, the institutional investor base is small. At the same time, individual investors lack the sophistication to make some investment decisions and the amount and quality of information available to them is limited. NCM Mutual Fund is the only mutual fund in the country. It had been unable to expand because the government had not come out with the necessary laws. NIDC Capital Markets Ltd issued Nepal's first and only mutual fund namely NCM mutual fund, at a subscription price of Rs.10 per unit, which was extremely popular among the investors. The fund also played dominant role in the secondary capital market, buying and selling various stocks. During that period market capitalization of NCM mutual fund were Rs. 280,000,000, while closing market price of the unit was Rs. 28, (www.nepalstock.com). Concentrating on credit quality, sector selection, relative value and strategic duration management, NCM Capital formulates fixed income portfolios to satisfy clients'

investment objectives and internal policy guidelines. Each fixed income discipline aims to outperform its benchmark over a three- to five-year period. Between March1 to April 30, 2010, NCM Mutual Fund (NCMMF) traded the highest number of shares amongst all the finance companies whose shares were traded in Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) during the period (www.nepalstock.com). Citizen Investment Trust Act 1990 gave birth to the Citizen Investment Trust (CIT). The areas of activities of CIT are the operation of retirement schemes, unit trust schemes (a prospective mutual fund scheme) and the capital market services. Currently, there are two relatively small investment funds that are available to mobilize the savings of small investors. CIT, in addition to funds collected through the Citizen Unit Scheme, collects funds from other plans. It is operating the Increment Approved Retirement Fund, Gratuity Fund Scheme, Investor Accounts Scheme, Insurance Fund Scheme, Defined Contribution Pension Plan etc. The total fund collected during the first nine months of FY2007/08 stood at Rs. 9.168 billion. Unit Trust Schemes (UTS) has invested additional amount of Rs. 4.985 billion in the FY 2008/09, making its total loan portfolio management reach to Rs.14.011 billion. UTS portfolios consists of 11.63 percent in the Government Treasury Bonds and other fixed interest bearing instruments; 10.45 in periodic loans; 1.89 percent in share investment of companies; 9.45 percent in preference shares and debentures of companies; 11.0 percent on participants lending and home loans; and the remaining 55.57 in the fixed deposit accounts, (CIT Annual Report, 2008/09). Employees Provident Fund and was established under the Employees' Provident Fund Act of 1962. The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is an autonomous corporate body with perpetual succession. If utilised in an effective manner, the pool of savings available to the EPF could serve as an engine for economic growth. At the present time, most of the assets of the EPF are invested in deposits with state-owned banks and Government bonds. About 60 percent of fund assets are invested in bank deposits, 30 percent in Government bonds while the remaining 10 percent is in other investments, including syndicated bank loans with maturities of up to eight years. Thus the Funds still has not been an important source of long-term capital mobilization for private sector development. EPF can think of working as a prospective mutual fund institution in Nepal and can mobilize its large amount of idle deposits.


Institute of Management Studies, DehradunScenario of Mutual Fund Industry in Nepal: A Discussion


This study primarily has adopted descriptive research method. The study has undertaken the use of statistical tools including mean, standard deviation and correlation. The main goal of the current research is to describe the data (i.e. facts and figures) and its characteristics. The idea behind this research is to analyze and explore the current status of mutual fund investment in Nepal. The Descriptive research design has applied to explain the facts and gain a better understanding of a mutual fund in Nepal. The current study is entirely based on the secondary data and review of the related reports, articles and other publications. This paper has used the required data and literature from the annual reports and other publications of Citizen Investment Trust (CIT), NIDC Capital Markets, annual report of Security Board of Nepal, publications of Securities Board of India (SEBI), National Investment Trust Limited Pakistan and Unit Trust of India (UTI). Investment company institute, European fund and asset management association were also consulted as a source of secondary data Articles published in national and international journals were reviewed and examined. The study has reviewed and examined the various governmental and non governmental reports published in between 1965 to 2010. Nepalese mutual fund industry data were colleted from FY 2004/05 to 2008/09 and data on Asia /Pacific and global mutual funds were available till the date of June 30, 2006.

Literature Review

The empirical study on mutual funds is yet to be initiated in Nepal. Some of the empirical studies shed light on different dimension of mutual funds across the globe. McDonald (1974) examined the performance of funds, during the period from 1960 to 1969, and found that the fund objectives did explain a portion of performance as measured by excess returns over the market return. However, he also found large overlaps in performance from objective to objective. The performance measures of Treynor (1965), Sharpe (1966), and Jensen (1968) also ranked the objectives in the same order. Martin, Keown, and Farrell (1982) concluded that fund objectives explained only about 15 percent of the total variation in returns that was due to extra-market factors. The studies by Reints and Vandenberg (1973), Klemkosky (1976), and Woerheide (1989) showed mixed results for the strength of the relationship between performance

measures and the objective classifications, but in general there appeared to be a significant relationship. Davanzo and Nesbitt (1987), conducted study on the performance fees for investment management and observed that, the manger receives bonuses as the portfolio return begins to rise above an agreed-upon benchmark return. Baumol et al. (1990) noted that the primary service supplied by mutual fund advisors under advisory contracts was portfolio management. Daniel et al. (1997) found evidence that aggressive growth and growth fund advisors have some ability to generate excess returns. They found that, fund managers could generate additional performance if size, book to market, or momentum strategies had time varying expected returns that the manager could exploit by changing portfolio weights to exploit those styles when they are the most profitable. Edelen (1999) argued that better informed advisors majorly engage in information motivated trading. Khorana (1996) found that equity funds are more volatile than debt funds and the foreign funds are more volatile than domestic funds. Lu Zheng, (1999) summarized his findings that, investors do display fund selection ability, because the evidence shows that the positive portfolios outperform the negative portfolios.

Regulatory and Operational Mechanism of Mutual Funds in Nepal

Current provision of collective investment scheme has been mentioned in the Section 71 of Securities Act, 2007. It has clearly been stated in the Securities Act that no collective investment scheme shall be operated without obtaining a permission of SEBON. Some provision has further been stated in the Act that SEBON can grant permission to operate collective investment scheme if following conditions prevail, (Securities ACT 2007). A scheme manager shall, prior to operating the collective investment scheme to be managed and operated by him/her, make an application to the Board in such format and accompanied by such details and fees as may be prescribed in order to register such scheme with the Board and obtain permission to operate the same. Section 71 of the Act further stated that if, in conducting an inquiry in relation to the registration of a collective investment scheme and granting a permission to operate it, Board can demand notice, description, information or documents from the concerned scheme manager. The Board shall not grant permission to operate the collective investment scheme unless it receives the notice, description, information or documents so demanded. In addition, section 73 of the

Act states about the operation of collective investment scheme. The scheme manager may, with a view to operate a collective investment scheme, and having regard to the needs and interests of participants, operate the collective investment scheme of one or several types and by one or several names as prescribed, (securities Act 2007). The provision of collective investment scheme in the securities Act 2007, has granted authority to operate the existing mutual fund scheme in Nepal. Globally mutual fund is evolving as a separate industry, considering the above facts recently SEBON has formulated the drafts of Mutual Fund Regulation 2066. Ministry of Finance need to rethink giving the final shape to the Trust Act as well as Central Depository Act as soon as possible to operate the up coming Central Depository System (CDS) in Nepalese Capital Market. Trust Act and Central Depository Act must come into effect before any company can operate mutual funds in Nepal, The provision of Mutual Fund Regulation 2066 intends to avoid four-decade long restriction on Nepali investors going abroad. The government is currently shaping the draft of Mutual Fund Regulation to permit Nepalese mutual funds to be invested in the foreign capital market. When the mutual fund regulation materialized, institutional investors from Nepal can invest in foreign capital markets. According to the proposed regulation, a maximum of 25 percent of the paid-up capital of mutual funds can be invested in foreign capital markets. This can be a way forward in the Nepalese history of international portfolio investment.

Status of Mutual Funds in Nepal

In Nepal, the institutional investor base is small. At the same time, individual investors lack the sophistication to make some investment decisions and the amount and quality of information available to them is limited. NCM Mutual Fund is the only mutual fund in the country. It had been unable to expand because the government had not come out with the necessary laws. NIDC Capital Markets Ltd issued Nepal's first and only mutual fund namely NCM mutual fund, at a subscription price of Rs.10 per unit, which was extremely popular among the investors. The fund also played dominant role in the secondary capital market, buying and selling various stocks. During that period market capitalization of NCM mutual fund were Rs. 280,000,000, while closing market price of the unit was Rs. 28, (www.nepalstock.com). Concentrating on credit quality, sector selection, relative value and strategic duration management, NCM Capital formulates fixed income portfolios to satisfy clients'

investment objectives and internal policy guidelines. Each fixed income discipline aims to outperform its benchmark over a three- to five-year period. Between March1 to April 30, 2010, NCM Mutual Fund (NCMMF) traded the highest number of shares amongst all the finance companies whose shares were traded in Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) during the period (www.nepalstock.com). Citizen Investment Trust Act 1990 gave birth to the Citizen Investment Trust (CIT). The areas of activities of CIT are the operation of retirement schemes, unit trust schemes (a prospective mutual fund scheme) and the capital market services. Currently, there are two relatively small investment funds that are available to mobilize the savings of small investors. CIT, in addition to funds collected through the Citizen Unit Scheme, collects funds from other plans. It is operating the Increment Approved Retirement Fund, Gratuity Fund Scheme, Investor Accounts Scheme, Insurance Fund Scheme, Defined Contribution Pension Plan etc. The total fund collected during the first nine months of FY2007/08 stood at Rs. 9.168 billion. Unit Trust Schemes (UTS) has invested additional amount of Rs. 4.985 billion in the FY 2008/09, making its total loan portfolio management reach to Rs.14.011 billion. UTS portfolios consists of 11.63 percent in the Government Treasury Bonds and other fixed interest bearing instruments; 10.45 in periodic loans; 1.89 percent in share investment of companies; 9.45 percent in preference shares and debentures of companies; 11.0 percent on participants lending and home loans; and the remaining 55.57 in the fixed deposit accounts, (CIT Annual Report, 2008/09). Employees Provident Fund and was established under the Employees' Provident Fund Act of 1962. The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is an autonomous corporate body with perpetual succession. If utilised in an effective manner, the pool of savings available to the EPF could serve as an engine for economic growth. At the present time, most of the assets of the EPF are invested in deposits with state-owned banks and Government bonds. About 60 percent of fund assets are invested in bank deposits, 30 percent in Government bonds while the remaining 10 percent is in other investments, including syndicated bank loans with maturities of up to eight years. Thus the Funds still has not been an important source of long-term capital mobilization for private sector development. EPF can think of working as a prospective mutual fund institution in Nepal and can mobilize its large amount of idle deposits.



Status of Mutual Funds in India

Viswanadham (2007) stated that mutual fund is a mechanism for pooling the resources by issuing units to the public and investing funds in securities in accordance with objectives as disclosed in the offer document. The concept of mutual funds was introduced in India with the formation of Unit Trust of India in 1963. The government of India set up Unit Trust of India (UTI) in 1963 by an act on parliament, (www.utimf.com). UTI functioned under the regulatory and administrative control of the Reserve Bank of India till 1978. In 1995, the RBI permitted private sector institutions to set up Money Market Mutual Funds (MMMFs). Private institutions can invest in treasury bills, call and notice money, commercial paper, commercial bills accepted/co-accepted by banks, having unexpired maturity up to one year. The mutual funds industry in India has steadily grown over the decade. The mutual fund collects money directly or through brokers from investors. The money is invested in various instruments depending on the objective of the scheme. UTI Mutual Fund adopted approach of giving and equal importance to asset allocation and sectoral allocation, in security selection while managing any fund, as an investment strategy. Top-down and bottom-up approaches are combined by UTI to enable the portfolios/funds to adapt to different market conditions so as to prevent missing an investment opportunity.

Status of Mutual Funds in Pakistan

As stated in the study of Sohai Yaqoob (2006), government of Pakistan established National Investment Trust Limited (NITL) in 1962 which launched first Open End Equity Fund in Pakistan NIT. The National Investment (Unit) Trust is Pakistan's largest and oldest Mutual Fund, having approximately 56,000 unit holders. NIT's distribution network comprises of 19 NIT branches, various authorized bank branches all over Pakistan and Arab Emirates Investment Bank (AEIB) in Dubai (UAE). The National Investment (Unit) Trust is Pakistan's largest and oldest Mutual Fund. As on June 30, 2009, NIUT had funds under management of around Rs. 28 billion invested in over 430 listed companies, (www.nit.com.pk). Government of Pakistan established Investment Corporation of Pakistan (ICP) in 1966, which launched series of Closed End Funds. During the period of 1994-95 many more funds launched in private sector. As of 2006 the size of mutual fund industry was of 171 billion of Pakastani Rupees, (Yaqoob, 2006).

Table 1 . Analysis of Status of Asia/Pacific Mutual Fund Industry ,

As on June 30, 2006, Value at Million US $

Asia Pacific No of Total Total % of Mutual Fund FundsAssets US $ Total Assets

Australia 762724 34.62

Japan 2678 514024 23.33

Hong Kong 1067 545181 24.75

Republic 7653 228277 10.36

of Korea

Taiwan 458 57301 2.60

India 467 50280 2.28

Malaysia 372 30068 1.36

New Zealand 586 10844 0.49

Pakistan 53 2833 0.12

Philippines 34 1116 0.05

Total 13368 2202648 100

Source: Investment Company Institute, European Fund and Asset Management Association

Table 1 reveals that the Mutual Fund Industry size of Asia/Pacific is growing rapidly. Larger proportion (i.e. 34.62 percent) of mutual fund assets was owned by Australia.And Japan was the second largest country which owned 23.33 percent of mutual fund assets followed by Hong Kong. Despite of large sized economy of India it holds only 2.28 percent of assets of Asia/Pacific Mutual Fund Industry. This reveals that India is yet to gain its momentum on mutual fund industry.

Analysis of Worldwide Mutual Fund Industry

Gurusamy (2004) stated that mutual funds in Japan and the Far East have been showing good performance, probably as a result of growth and performance of economies of these countries and their capital markets. Similarly, countries in the Pacific like Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, and Korea have also entered this field in a big way. Mauritius and the Netherlands are emerging as tax heavens for offshore mutual funds. Mutual funds are thus a global financial culture. First modern day mutual fund was opened in North America in 1924, The great depression of 1930s in USA has stalled the growth of mutual funds sector, like many other economic activities. Yet it was, 1990s that mutual funds became mainstream investments in the USA and around the globe. At the end of June, 2006, total mutual

fund assets all over the world were of US $ 19.413 trillion.

Table 2 . Status of World Wide Mutual Fund Market As on June 30, 2006, Value at Million US $

World Mutual No of Total Percentage Fund Assets Funds Assets of Total Assets USA 7992 9337218 48.00 Europe 31541 6866033 35.36 Asia Pacific 12943 2169139 11.11 Africa 679 63480 3.20 Other America 6230 977709 5.00 Total 59385 US $ 19413579 100.00Source: Investment company institute, European fund and asset management association and other national fund association

Empirical Analysis of Mutual Funds in Nepal

Table 3 presents the operational performance during the period of FY 2005/06 to 2008/09, of Citizen Unit Scheme in column A and NCM Mutual Fund in column B.



Column A of above table reveals the size of investment of CUS in government bond, bank deposit, shares and debenture and loans and advances. Of the total investment of CUS, bank deposit holds the larger portion of investment followed by government bonds and loans and advances. Investment in shares and debenture has got least priority. The above trend of investment of CUS fund indicates that shares and debenture investment in Nepal is yet to be attractive, which may be due to absence of professional portfolio management, tax implications and inadequate government regulations. Column B of above table reveals that the larger proportion of investment of NCM fund is invested in shares and debenture, loan and advances holds second preference, followed by bank deposit and government bond. This reveals that NCM fund is more risky in comparison to CUS. NCM was allowed to begin its operation in 1991 on a contractual basis without any specific regulations. It can be said that NCM is unable to expand its scope of operation because the government is yet to come out with the necessary laws.

Table 3. Operational performance of Citizen Unit Scheme and NCM Mutual Fund

A. Citizen Unit Scheme (CUS) B .NCM Mutual Fund Rs. In Million Rs. In Million

Details \ Fiscal Year 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09

Investment 657.5 752.2 804.78 670 210.71 198.3 194.78 151.53

(a) Government Bond 173.9 93.2 93.2 70 10 10 10 10

(b) Bank Deposit 317.5 490.6 529.5 392.84 13.68 93.3 81.93 16.34

(c) Share / Debenture 26.5 28.9 42.59 67.6 183.53 86 88.95 90.8

(d) Loan & Advances 139.6 139.5 139.56 139.56 0 0 0 0

Net Income 50.4 49 65 42.7 13.89 23.2 47.68 34.25

Dividends (%) 7 6.25 6.25 6.25 8 8 15 15

Number of Unit Holders 2840 2840 2426 205 2481 2417 2950 2951

(a) Individual 2747 2747 2323 1947 2461 2397 2930 2931

(b) Institutional 93 93 103 103 20 20 20 20

Total amount of units sold 148.63 170.23 1980.03 2262

Total amount of units 82.9 100.41 200.22 173.6 repurchased

Net Assets Value 189.14 314 488.88 536.85

Net Asset Value per unit (Rs.) 18.91 31.4 48.89 53.69

Per unit Market Price (Rs.) 11 24 24

Source: CIT and NCM Annual Report 2005/06- 2008/09

Status of Mutual Funds in India

Viswanadham (2007) stated that mutual fund is a mechanism for pooling the resources by issuing units to the public and investing funds in securities in accordance with objectives as disclosed in the offer document. The concept of mutual funds was introduced in India with the formation of Unit Trust of India in 1963. The government of India set up Unit Trust of India (UTI) in 1963 by an act on parliament, (www.utimf.com). UTI functioned under the regulatory and administrative control of the Reserve Bank of India till 1978. In 1995, the RBI permitted private sector institutions to set up Money Market Mutual Funds (MMMFs). Private institutions can invest in treasury bills, call and notice money, commercial paper, commercial bills accepted/co-accepted by banks, having unexpired maturity up to one year. The mutual funds industry in India has steadily grown over the decade. The mutual fund collects money directly or through brokers from investors. The money is invested in various instruments depending on the objective of the scheme. UTI Mutual Fund adopted approach of giving and equal importance to asset allocation and sectoral allocation, in security selection while managing any fund, as an investment strategy. Top-down and bottom-up approaches are combined by UTI to enable the portfolios/funds to adapt to different market conditions so as to prevent missing an investment opportunity.

Status of Mutual Funds in Pakistan

As stated in the study of Sohai Yaqoob (2006), government of Pakistan established National Investment Trust Limited (NITL) in 1962 which launched first Open End Equity Fund in Pakistan NIT. The National Investment (Unit) Trust is Pakistan's largest and oldest Mutual Fund, having approximately 56,000 unit holders. NIT's distribution network comprises of 19 NIT branches, various authorized bank branches all over Pakistan and Arab Emirates Investment Bank (AEIB) in Dubai (UAE). The National Investment (Unit) Trust is Pakistan's largest and oldest Mutual Fund. As on June 30, 2009, NIUT had funds under management of around Rs. 28 billion invested in over 430 listed companies, (www.nit.com.pk). Government of Pakistan established Investment Corporation of Pakistan (ICP) in 1966, which launched series of Closed End Funds. During the period of 1994-95 many more funds launched in private sector. As of 2006 the size of mutual fund industry was of 171 billion of Pakastani Rupees, (Yaqoob, 2006).

Table 1 . Analysis of Status of Asia/Pacific Mutual Fund Industry ,

As on June 30, 2006, Value at Million US $

Asia Pacific No of Total Total % of Mutual Fund FundsAssets US $ Total Assets

Australia 762724 34.62

Japan 2678 514024 23.33

Hong Kong 1067 545181 24.75

Republic 7653 228277 10.36

of Korea

Taiwan 458 57301 2.60

India 467 50280 2.28

Malaysia 372 30068 1.36

New Zealand 586 10844 0.49

Pakistan 53 2833 0.12

Philippines 34 1116 0.05

Total 13368 2202648 100

Source: Investment Company Institute, European Fund and Asset Management Association

Table 1 reveals that the Mutual Fund Industry size of Asia/Pacific is growing rapidly. Larger proportion (i.e. 34.62 percent) of mutual fund assets was owned by Australia.And Japan was the second largest country which owned 23.33 percent of mutual fund assets followed by Hong Kong. Despite of large sized economy of India it holds only 2.28 percent of assets of Asia/Pacific Mutual Fund Industry. This reveals that India is yet to gain its momentum on mutual fund industry.

Analysis of Worldwide Mutual Fund Industry

Gurusamy (2004) stated that mutual funds in Japan and the Far East have been showing good performance, probably as a result of growth and performance of economies of these countries and their capital markets. Similarly, countries in the Pacific like Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, and Korea have also entered this field in a big way. Mauritius and the Netherlands are emerging as tax heavens for offshore mutual funds. Mutual funds are thus a global financial culture. First modern day mutual fund was opened in North America in 1924, The great depression of 1930s in USA has stalled the growth of mutual funds sector, like many other economic activities. Yet it was, 1990s that mutual funds became mainstream investments in the USA and around the globe. At the end of June, 2006, total mutual

fund assets all over the world were of US $ 19.413 trillion.

Table 2 . Status of World Wide Mutual Fund Market As on June 30, 2006, Value at Million US $

World Mutual No of Total Percentage Fund Assets Funds Assets of Total Assets USA 7992 9337218 48.00 Europe 31541 6866033 35.36 Asia Pacific 12943 2169139 11.11 Africa 679 63480 3.20 Other America 6230 977709 5.00 Total 59385 US $ 19413579 100.00Source: Investment company institute, European fund and asset management association and other national fund association

Empirical Analysis of Mutual Funds in Nepal

Table 3 presents the operational performance during the period of FY 2005/06 to 2008/09, of Citizen Unit Scheme in column A and NCM Mutual Fund in column B.



Column A of above table reveals the size of investment of CUS in government bond, bank deposit, shares and debenture and loans and advances. Of the total investment of CUS, bank deposit holds the larger portion of investment followed by government bonds and loans and advances. Investment in shares and debenture has got least priority. The above trend of investment of CUS fund indicates that shares and debenture investment in Nepal is yet to be attractive, which may be due to absence of professional portfolio management, tax implications and inadequate government regulations. Column B of above table reveals that the larger proportion of investment of NCM fund is invested in shares and debenture, loan and advances holds second preference, followed by bank deposit and government bond. This reveals that NCM fund is more risky in comparison to CUS. NCM was allowed to begin its operation in 1991 on a contractual basis without any specific regulations. It can be said that NCM is unable to expand its scope of operation because the government is yet to come out with the necessary laws.

Table 3. Operational performance of Citizen Unit Scheme and NCM Mutual Fund

A. Citizen Unit Scheme (CUS) B .NCM Mutual Fund Rs. In Million Rs. In Million

Details \ Fiscal Year 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09

Investment 657.5 752.2 804.78 670 210.71 198.3 194.78 151.53

(a) Government Bond 173.9 93.2 93.2 70 10 10 10 10

(b) Bank Deposit 317.5 490.6 529.5 392.84 13.68 93.3 81.93 16.34

(c) Share / Debenture 26.5 28.9 42.59 67.6 183.53 86 88.95 90.8

(d) Loan & Advances 139.6 139.5 139.56 139.56 0 0 0 0

Net Income 50.4 49 65 42.7 13.89 23.2 47.68 34.25

Dividends (%) 7 6.25 6.25 6.25 8 8 15 15

Number of Unit Holders 2840 2840 2426 205 2481 2417 2950 2951

(a) Individual 2747 2747 2323 1947 2461 2397 2930 2931

(b) Institutional 93 93 103 103 20 20 20 20

Total amount of units sold 148.63 170.23 1980.03 2262

Total amount of units 82.9 100.41 200.22 173.6 repurchased

Net Assets Value 189.14 314 488.88 536.85

Net Asset Value per unit (Rs.) 18.91 31.4 48.89 53.69

Per unit Market Price (Rs.) 11 24 24

Source: CIT and NCM Annual Report 2005/06- 2008/09



Table 4. Statistics of CUS and NCM Mutual Fund

Result of FY 2005/06 to 2008/09

Citizen Unit Scheme NCM Mutual Fund CUS and NCM

Mutual fund Details SD Mean SD Mean Correlation

Investment 69.82 721.12 25.78 188.83 0.2419

(a) Government Bond 45.54 107.57 0 10 NA

(b) Bank Deposit 95.88 432.61 42.18 51.31 0.9166

(c) Share / Debenture 18.85 41.39 47.51 112.32 0.4925

(d) Loan & Advances 0.04 139.55 NA NA NA

Net Income 9.43 51.77 14.56 29.75 0.5734

Dividends (%) 0.37 6.43 4.04 11.50 0.5773

Source: Compiled with the help of CIT and NCM Annual Report 2005/06- 2008/09.

Standard deviation as a proxy for risk, although it is really something slightly different: a measure of volatility, the variability of CUS investment has ranged from a low of 0.41 % (loans and advances) to a high of 95.88 % (Bank Deposit). The variability of NCM investment has ranged from a low of 0 % (Government bond) to a high of 47.51 % (shares and debentures). From the analysis of correlation coefficient of CUS and NCM investment during the period of 2005 to 2009 we can see that bank deposit holds the highest positive correlation coefficient (i.e. 0.9166), shares and debenture investment are also positively correlated at lower rate (i.e. 0.4925). This indicates that the investments of CUS and NCM in Bank deposits are moving in tandem. It reveals that investment in bank deposits are increasing for both the NCM and CUS. As an implication, the growing trends of investment in bank deposit may discourage investment in shares and debentures. Thus, higher return could be foregone accepting a reasonable level of risk.

Policy Implications for Nepal

Lack of awareness among the investors, prevailing too high interest rate in the Nepalese financial market, inadequate level of education of prospective investors, lower level of savings of households and involvement of inadequate number of institution as a mutual fund operator are the major challenges for Mutual funds in Nepal. The existing tax laws should be improved to expand the existing level of operation of mutual fund. The government needs to think of rationalizing the existing

inconsistencies on capital gains tax on individual and institutional investments. The government should allow mutual funds to invest some of their money in the global financial market in order to encourage them to diversify their investment across the global portfolio. Existing mutual fund institutions have to improve quality of service using better technology, more focus on quick dissemination of information. Existing banking and other related industries can utilize their network for mutual fund distribution across the country and expand the scope of operation. The current policy of the Nepal government to allow foreign investment through mutual funds is expected to attract many investors to mutual funds and widen the scope for investment in mutual funds in Nepal.

Conclusion

Mutual funds became mainstream investments around the globe. Mutual funds can provide an opportunity for the risk -aversive investors to share their risk and go for high return securities in the capital market. Mutual Funds investors' investment is diversified by spreading the investment across a wide range of stocks, bonds and other securities. The successful management of investment funds requires a proper understanding of the market and investment principles. NIDC Capital Markets provided mutual fund schemes to the public in Nepal, in line with its objective of providing investment opportunities for sound economic development of the country. Larger proportion of investment of NCM fund is invested in shares and debenture, loan and advances holds second preference, followed by bank deposit and government

�b�o�n�d�s�.� �I�n�v�e�s�t�o�r�s� �i�n� �N�e�p�a�l� �c�a�n� �t�a�k�e� �m�u�t�u�a�l� �f�u�n�d�s� �a�s� �a� �s�u�b�s�t�i�t�u�t�e� �o�f� �f�i�x�e�d� �d�e�p�o�s�i�t�s� �i�n� �b�a�n�k�s� �r�a�t�h�e�r� �t�h�a�n� �a�s� �a� �s�u�b�s�t�i�t�u�t�e� �f�o�r� �i�n�v�e�s�t�m�e�n�t� �i�n� �s�e�c�u�r�i�t�i�e�s�.� �I�n� �a�d�e�q�u�a�t�e� �r�e�g�u�l�a�t�o�r�y� �p�r�o�v�i�s�i�o�n� �c�a�n� �b�e� �c�o�n�s�i�d�e�r�e�d� �a�s� �a� �m�a�j�o�r� �i�m�p�e�d�i�m�e�n�t� �o�f� �d�e�v�e�l�o�p�m�e�n�t� �o�f� �m�u�t�u�a�l� �f�u�n�d�s� �i�n� �N�e�p�a�l�.� �M�u�t�u�a�l� �f�u�n�d�s� �o�p�e�r�a�t�i�o�n� �c�a�n� �b�e� �a�n� �i�n�t�e�g�r�a�l� �p�a�r�t� �o�f� �t�h�e� �N�e�p�a�l�e�s�e� �f�i�n�a�n�c�i�a�l� �s�y�s�t�e�m�.� �P�r�o�v�i�s�i�o�n� �o�f� �s�e�p�a�r�a�t�e� �f�u�n�d�s� �f�o�r� �v�a�r�i�o�u�s� �i�n�v�e�s�t�o�r�s�'� �s�e�g�m�e�n�t�s� �c�a�n� �b�e� �f�o�r�m�u�l�a�t�e�d� �t�o� �a�t�t�r�a�c�t� �d�i�v�e�r�s�i�f�i�e�d� �g�r�o�u�p� �o�f� �i�n�v�e�s�t�o�r�s� �h�a�v�i�n�g� �d�i�v�e�r�g�e�n�t� �n�e�e�d�s� �a�n�d� �p�r�e�f�e�r�e�n�c�e�s�.� � �S�E�B�O�N� �c�a�n� �p�r�e�s�c�r�i�b�e� �a�n�d� �p�r�o�m�o�t�e� �s�t�a�n�d�a�r�d�i�z�e�d� �p�e�r�f�o�r�m�a�n�c�e� �m�e�a�s�u�r�e�m�e�n�t� �p�r�o�c�e�d�u�r�e�s� �f�o�r� �N�e�p�a�l�e�s�e� �M�u�t�u�a�l� �F�u�n�d� �I�n�s�t�i�t�u�t�i�o�n�s�.

�R�e�f�e�r�e�n�c�e�s�:

Baumol, William J., Stephen M. Goldfeld, Lilli A. Gordon, and Michael F. Koehn, (1990), “The economics of Mutual Fund Markets: Competition versus Regulation", Kluwer Academic publishers, Boston, MA.

Edelen, Roger(1999), “Investor flows and the assessed performance of open-end mutual funds”, Journal of Financial Economics,53, 439-466.

J. Treynor (1965), “How to rate Management of Investment Funds”, Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb, 63-65

Jensen, M.C ( 1968) , “The Performance of Mutual Funds in the Period 1954-1964”, The Journal of Finance 23 (2), 389- 416.

John G. McDonald, ( 1974), “Objective and Performances of Mutual Funds”, Journal of Financial and Objective analysis,.

Kent Daniel, Mark Grinblatt, Sheridan Titman and Russ Wermers, (1997), Measuring Mutual Fund Performance with Characteristic Based Benchmarks, The Journal of Finance, Vol. LII, No 3,

Khorana, Ajay (1996), Top management turnover: An empirical investigation of mutual fund managers, Journal of financial economics, 40, 403-427.

Klemkosky, R.C., January(1976), Additional Evidence on the Risk Level Discriminating Powers of Wiesenberger Classifications, Journal of Business, 48-50.

Lawrence E Davanzo and Stephen L Nesbitt, Jan-Feb(1987), Performance fees for

investment management, Financial Analysts Journal, 14-17.

Lu Zheng, June(1999), Is money smart? A study of mutual fund investors' fund selection ability, The Journal of Finance, Vol. LIV, No. 3, 901-932.

Martin, J.D., Keown, A.J., Jr., and Farrell, J.L., Winter(1982), “Do Fund Objectives Affect Diversification Policies? The Journal of Portfolio Management 8 (2), 19-28.

N. Viswanadham, (2007), Mutual Funds in Current Economy, Pydah College of Engg. & Te c h . h t t p : / / w w w. i n d i a n m b a . c o m / Faculty_Column/FC644/fc644.html , September 8, 2007.

Reints, W.W. and Vandenberg, P.A., (1973), A Comment on the Risk Level Discriminatory Powers of the Wiesenberger Classifications, Journal of Business, April, 278-283.

S Gurusamy (2004), Finanical Services and System, Vijay Nicole Imprints Private Limited, Chennai, India. ISBN 981254853x.

Securities Act(2007), Security Board of Nepal, Publication January 14, 2007

Sharpe, W.F. January(1966), Mutual Fund Performance, Journal of Business, 119-138.

Sohail Yaqoob (2006), Marketing of Mutual Funds in Pakistan: Opportunities & Challenges.

Woerheide, W.J., and Warren, R.V(1989), Do Wiesenberger Categories Matter? Paper presented at the 1989 Annual Meeting of the Mid-West Finance Association, Cincinnati, Ohio.

www.appuonl ine .com/mf/knowledge/industry

http://businessjournalist.blogspot.com/2010/03/cabinet-appoints-dr-khatiwada-as.html

http://www.ekantipur.com/np/business/

http://www.ifc.org/publications/

http://in.reuters.com/finance/mutual-funds

http://www.mof.gov.np/publication/

www.nepsennews.com

http://www.utimf.com/

www.nit.com.pk



Table 4. Statistics of CUS and NCM Mutual Fund

Result of FY 2005/06 to 2008/09

Citizen Unit Scheme NCM Mutual Fund CUS and NCM

Mutual fund Details SD Mean SD Mean Correlation

Investment 69.82 721.12 25.78 188.83 0.2419

(a) Government Bond 45.54 107.57 0 10 NA

(b) Bank Deposit 95.88 432.61 42.18 51.31 0.9166

(c) Share / Debenture 18.85 41.39 47.51 112.32 0.4925

(d) Loan & Advances 0.04 139.55 NA NA NA

Net Income 9.43 51.77 14.56 29.75 0.5734

Dividends (%) 0.37 6.43 4.04 11.50 0.5773

Source: Compiled with the help of CIT and NCM Annual Report 2005/06- 2008/09.

Standard deviation as a proxy for risk, although it is really something slightly different: a measure of volatility, the variability of CUS investment has ranged from a low of 0.41 % (loans and advances) to a high of 95.88 % (Bank Deposit). The variability of NCM investment has ranged from a low of 0 % (Government bond) to a high of 47.51 % (shares and debentures). From the analysis of correlation coefficient of CUS and NCM investment during the period of 2005 to 2009 we can see that bank deposit holds the highest positive correlation coefficient (i.e. 0.9166), shares and debenture investment are also positively correlated at lower rate (i.e. 0.4925). This indicates that the investments of CUS and NCM in Bank deposits are moving in tandem. It reveals that investment in bank deposits are increasing for both the NCM and CUS. As an implication, the growing trends of investment in bank deposit may discourage investment in shares and debentures. Thus, higher return could be foregone accepting a reasonable level of risk.

Policy Implications for Nepal

Lack of awareness among the investors, prevailing too high interest rate in the Nepalese financial market, inadequate level of education of prospective investors, lower level of savings of households and involvement of inadequate number of institution as a mutual fund operator are the major challenges for Mutual funds in Nepal. The existing tax laws should be improved to expand the existing level of operation of mutual fund. The government needs to think of rationalizing the existing

inconsistencies on capital gains tax on individual and institutional investments. The government should allow mutual funds to invest some of their money in the global financial market in order to encourage them to diversify their investment across the global portfolio. Existing mutual fund institutions have to improve quality of service using better technology, more focus on quick dissemination of information. Existing banking and other related industries can utilize their network for mutual fund distribution across the country and expand the scope of operation. The current policy of the Nepal government to allow foreign investment through mutual funds is expected to attract many investors to mutual funds and widen the scope for investment in mutual funds in Nepal.

Conclusion

Mutual funds became mainstream investments around the globe. Mutual funds can provide an opportunity for the risk -aversive investors to share their risk and go for high return securities in the capital market. Mutual Funds investors' investment is diversified by spreading the investment across a wide range of stocks, bonds and other securities. The successful management of investment funds requires a proper understanding of the market and investment principles. NIDC Capital Markets provided mutual fund schemes to the public in Nepal, in line with its objective of providing investment opportunities for sound economic development of the country. Larger proportion of investment of NCM fund is invested in shares and debenture, loan and advances holds second preference, followed by bank deposit and government

�b�o�n�d�s�.� �I�n�v�e�s�t�o�r�s� �i�n� �N�e�p�a�l� �c�a�n� �t�a�k�e� �m�u�t�u�a�l� �f�u�n�d�s� �a�s� �a� �s�u�b�s�t�i�t�u�t�e� �o�f� �f�i�x�e�d� �d�e�p�o�s�i�t�s� �i�n� �b�a�n�k�s� �r�a�t�h�e�r� �t�h�a�n� �a�s� �a� �s�u�b�s�t�i�t�u�t�e� �f�o�r� �i�n�v�e�s�t�m�e�n�t� �i�n� �s�e�c�u�r�i�t�i�e�s�.� �I�n� �a�d�e�q�u�a�t�e� �r�e�g�u�l�a�t�o�r�y� �p�r�o�v�i�s�i�o�n� �c�a�n� �b�e� �c�o�n�s�i�d�e�r�e�d� �a�s� �a� �m�a�j�o�r� �i�m�p�e�d�i�m�e�n�t� �o�f� �d�e�v�e�l�o�p�m�e�n�t� �o�f� �m�u�t�u�a�l� �f�u�n�d�s� �i�n� �N�e�p�a�l�.� �M�u�t�u�a�l� �f�u�n�d�s� �o�p�e�r�a�t�i�o�n� �c�a�n� �b�e� �a�n� �i�n�t�e�g�r�a�l� �p�a�r�t� �o�f� �t�h�e� �N�e�p�a�l�e�s�e� �f�i�n�a�n�c�i�a�l� �s�y�s�t�e�m�.� �P�r�o�v�i�s�i�o�n� �o�f� �s�e�p�a�r�a�t�e� �f�u�n�d�s� �f�o�r� �v�a�r�i�o�u�s� �i�n�v�e�s�t�o�r�s�'� �s�e�g�m�e�n�t�s� �c�a�n� �b�e� �f�o�r�m�u�l�a�t�e�d� �t�o� �a�t�t�r�a�c�t� �d�i�v�e�r�s�i�f�i�e�d� �g�r�o�u�p� �o�f� �i�n�v�e�s�t�o�r�s� �h�a�v�i�n�g� �d�i�v�e�r�g�e�n�t� �n�e�e�d�s� �a�n�d� �p�r�e�f�e�r�e�n�c�e�s�.� � �S�E�B�O�N� �c�a�n� �p�r�e�s�c�r�i�b�e� �a�n�d� �p�r�o�m�o�t�e� �s�t�a�n�d�a�r�d�i�z�e�d� �p�e�r�f�o�r�m�a�n�c�e� �m�e�a�s�u�r�e�m�e�n�t� �p�r�o�c�e�d�u�r�e�s� �f�o�r� �N�e�p�a�l�e�s�e� �M�u�t�u�a�l� �F�u�n�d� �I�n�s�t�i�t�u�t�i�o�n�s�.


Baumol, William J., Stephen M. Goldfeld, Lilli A. Gordon, and Michael F. Koehn, (1990), “The economics of Mutual Fund Markets: Competition versus Regulation", Kluwer Academic publishers, Boston, MA.

Edelen, Roger(1999), “Investor flows and the assessed performance of open-end mutual funds”, Journal of Financial Economics,53, 439-466.

J. Treynor (1965), “How to rate Management of Investment Funds”, Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb, 63-65

Jensen, M.C ( 1968) , “The Performance of Mutual Funds in the Period 1954-1964”, The Journal of Finance 23 (2), 389- 416.

John G. McDonald, ( 1974), “Objective and Performances of Mutual Funds”, Journal of Financial and Objective analysis,.

Kent Daniel, Mark Grinblatt, Sheridan Titman and Russ Wermers, (1997), Measuring Mutual Fund Performance with Characteristic Based Benchmarks, The Journal of Finance, Vol. LII, No 3,

Khorana, Ajay (1996), Top management turnover: An empirical investigation of mutual fund managers, Journal of financial economics, 40, 403-427.

Klemkosky, R.C., January(1976), Additional Evidence on the Risk Level Discriminating Powers of Wiesenberger Classifications, Journal of Business, 48-50.

Lawrence E Davanzo and Stephen L Nesbitt, Jan-Feb(1987), Performance fees for

investment management, Financial Analysts Journal, 14-17.

Lu Zheng, June(1999), Is money smart? A study of mutual fund investors' fund selection ability, The Journal of Finance, Vol. LIV, No. 3, 901-932.

Martin, J.D., Keown, A.J., Jr., and Farrell, J.L., Winter(1982), “Do Fund Objectives Affect Diversification Policies? The Journal of Portfolio Management 8 (2), 19-28.

N. Viswanadham, (2007), Mutual Funds in Current Economy, Pydah College of Engg. & Te c h . h t t p : / / w w w. i n d i a n m b a . c o m / Faculty_Column/FC644/fc644.html , September 8, 2007.

Reints, W.W. and Vandenberg, P.A., (1973), A Comment on the Risk Level Discriminatory Powers of the Wiesenberger Classifications, Journal of Business, April, 278-283.

S Gurusamy (2004), Finanical Services and System, Vijay Nicole Imprints Private Limited, Chennai, India. ISBN 981254853x.

Securities Act(2007), Security Board of Nepal, Publication January 14, 2007

Sharpe, W.F. January(1966), Mutual Fund Performance, Journal of Business, 119-138.

Sohail Yaqoob (2006), Marketing of Mutual Funds in Pakistan: Opportunities & Challenges.

Woerheide, W.J., and Warren, R.V(1989), Do Wiesenberger Categories Matter? Paper presented at the 1989 Annual Meeting of the Mid-West Finance Association, Cincinnati, Ohio.

www.appuonl ine .com/mf/knowledge/industry

http://businessjournalist.blogspot.com/2010/03/cabinet-appoints-dr-khatiwada-as.html

http://www.ekantipur.com/np/business/

http://www.ifc.org/publications/

http://in.reuters.com/finance/mutual-funds

http://www.mof.gov.np/publication/

www.nepsennews.com

http://www.utimf.com/

www.nit.com.pk

Television Advertisement Avoidance: An Assertion for Consumer Justice

*Assistant Professor Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, India**Associate Professor in LDC Institute of Management, Allahabad. India

Dr. Sandip Anand, * Dr. Arpita Khare**

ABSTRACT

A very high degree of television (TV) ad avoidance is a fact recognized by various research studies. There are various reasons observed for this behaviour worldwide. There have been attempts to understand the relationship of ad avoidance with the product used. However, there is lack of holistic understanding of ad avoidance in the specific context of a product. In the given context, this study was done to understand the reasons for ad avoidance in the context of fabric care category. The study shows that there is no significant relationship between brand usage and ad recall. It has been found that consumers are neither receiving 'information value' nor 'entertainment value' from T.V. advertisements. This necessitates the incorporation of the consumer demand into the ad creation and delivery model. It should lead to creating the incorporation of consumer's voice to create efficiency in information exchange providing consumer justice for the consumers. This is also likely to create a Meta organization, where consumers become integral part of the organization and influence the process of ad creation and delivery.

Key words: Ad Avoidance, Consumer Justice, Meta Organization

Introduction

“Advertisers and their agencies strive to develop creative advertising” (Tellis, 2004). The purpose of advertising is to capture the attention of the audience and create effective learning regarding the product or service. With the insurge of technology and availability of different kinds of media, capturing the attention of the web-linked consumer has become a challenge. Competition has propelled the growth of different kinds of media. The importance of selecting any media lies in its appropriateness to target the audience. Proliferation of variety of media creates a situation where advertising fails to deliver its objective. And it is leading advertising campaigns not delivering what they were expected to deliver. “Advertisers face an increasingly cynical generation of new consumers who are skeptical of sales messages from big corporations” (Wells, Burnett & Moriarty, 2004). The research done on consumers' attitudes towards the products and services are being advertised in the advertisements. The findings also illustrate that consumers hold a negative attitude towards advertising and do not consider the information transmitted through ads as viable and authentic (Hoch & Ha, 1986). Consumers are more inclined to trust the information given to them by their friends about products (Burnett, 1996). This kind of distrust on the message of advertising leads to avoidance of advertisements, by consumers while watching T.V. programme.

In a comparative study across various media, including radio, television, magazines, newspapers and direct mail, Speck and Elliott (1998) found greater level of ad avoidance in television compared to the other media. People are increasingly developing negative attitude towards advertising for the reasons of rise in consumerism, perceived deception, offensive stereotypes and higher clutter. In India, ad avoidance has gone up to the extent of 70% (Source: Agencyfaqs). It is clearly indicated from earlier researches that ad clutter can have a detrimental impact on ad recall or recognition (Webb and Ray, 1979; Mord and Gilson, 1985).

According to Tellis (2004) there are several reasons for consumers' wish to avoid advertisements on television. First reason may be, the products advertised are low priced and frequently purchased items, for which they do not seek any information. Second reason may be that as they are engrossed in the program they are watching, they find ads distracting. Third they may not wish to get any information about any new brand as they are loyal towards another brand. Fourth reason may be that they find ads unexciting with no creativity and repetitive in nature.

Print media has an advantage over broadcast media as consumers could not avoid ads. Research studies show that 20% to 33% of a television audience leaves the room during commercial breaks (Saley,

"Pragyaan : JOM" Volume 8 : Issue 1, June 2010 59

Authors acknowledge the help received from Arvind Shatdal (IIM, Ahmedabad), Suchita Dikshit (XIMB), Rajeev Roy (XIMB), Dr. Ibha Kumar (XIMB) and Sarika Srivastava, during various stages of this study.


*Assistant Professor Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, India**Associate Professor in LDC Institute of Management, Allahabad. India

Dr. Sandip Anand, * Dr. Arpita Khare**

ABSTRACT

A very high degree of television (TV) ad avoidance is a fact recognized by various research studies. There are various reasons observed for this behaviour worldwide. There have been attempts to understand the relationship of ad avoidance with the product used. However, there is lack of holistic understanding of ad avoidance in the specific context of a product. In the given context, this study was done to understand the reasons for ad avoidance in the context of fabric care category. The study shows that there is no significant relationship between brand usage and ad recall. It has been found that consumers are neither receiving 'information value' nor 'entertainment value' from T.V. advertisements. This necessitates the incorporation of the consumer demand into the ad creation and delivery model. It should lead to creating the incorporation of consumer's voice to create efficiency in information exchange providing consumer justice for the consumers. This is also likely to create a Meta organization, where consumers become integral part of the organization and influence the process of ad creation and delivery.

Key words: Ad Avoidance, Consumer Justice, Meta Organization

Introduction

“Advertisers and their agencies strive to develop creative advertising” (Tellis, 2004). The purpose of advertising is to capture the attention of the audience and create effective learning regarding the product or service. With the insurge of technology and availability of different kinds of media, capturing the attention of the web-linked consumer has become a challenge. Competition has propelled the growth of different kinds of media. The importance of selecting any media lies in its appropriateness to target the audience. Proliferation of variety of media creates a situation where advertising fails to deliver its objective. And it is leading advertising campaigns not delivering what they were expected to deliver. “Advertisers face an increasingly cynical generation of new consumers who are skeptical of sales messages from big corporations” (Wells, Burnett & Moriarty, 2004). The research done on consumers' attitudes towards the products and services are being advertised in the advertisements. The findings also illustrate that consumers hold a negative attitude towards advertising and do not consider the information transmitted through ads as viable and authentic (Hoch & Ha, 1986). Consumers are more inclined to trust the information given to them by their friends about products (Burnett, 1996). This kind of distrust on the message of advertising leads to avoidance of advertisements, by consumers while watching T.V. programme.

In a comparative study across various media, including radio, television, magazines, newspapers and direct mail, Speck and Elliott (1998) found greater level of ad avoidance in television compared to the other media. People are increasingly developing negative attitude towards advertising for the reasons of rise in consumerism, perceived deception, offensive stereotypes and higher clutter. In India, ad avoidance has gone up to the extent of 70% (Source: Agencyfaqs). It is clearly indicated from earlier researches that ad clutter can have a detrimental impact on ad recall or recognition (Webb and Ray, 1979; Mord and Gilson, 1985).

According to Tellis (2004) there are several reasons for consumers' wish to avoid advertisements on television. First reason may be, the products advertised are low priced and frequently purchased items, for which they do not seek any information. Second reason may be that as they are engrossed in the program they are watching, they find ads distracting. Third they may not wish to get any information about any new brand as they are loyal towards another brand. Fourth reason may be that they find ads unexciting with no creativity and repetitive in nature.

Print media has an advantage over broadcast media as consumers could not avoid ads. Research studies show that 20% to 33% of a television audience leaves the room during commercial breaks (Saley,

"Pragyaan : JOM" Volume 8 : Issue 1, June 2010 59

Authors acknowledge the help received from Arvind Shatdal (IIM, Ahmedabad), Suchita Dikshit (XIMB), Rajeev Roy (XIMB), Dr. Ibha Kumar (XIMB) and Sarika Srivastava, during various stages of this study.


1. To study if there exists a TV advertisement avoidance for fabric care category amongst the consumers.

2. If yes, what are the causes of ad avoidance for fabric care products in India?

3. What could be the triggers for other media?


The methodology followed was sample-survey. The questionnaire used for survey consisted of only close ended questions. The target audiences were housewives viewing TV program at least for 2 hours a day. The study was undertaken in urban areas of Bhubaneswar. First, for sampling purpose, the city Bhubaneswar was divided into four zones namely: North Bhubaneswar, South Bhubaneswar, East Bhubaneswar and West Bhubaneswar. Then, in each zone 5 starting points were identified. There were total of 20 starting points, and then 10-12 interviews were taken in and around each starting point. The households were selected randomly. The sample consisted of 220 housewives in Bhubaneswar. The data thus collected was used for analysis.

Findings of the Study

Table 1. No. of. Housewives Who View Ads

View Adsn (No. of. Housewives) 220

Never 15%

Rarely 35%

Sometimes 30%

Often 15%

Always 5%

There is approximately 50% ad avoidance noticed in the ad avoidance for fabric care products.

Table 2. The Various Ways to Avoid Ads

Ways to avoid Ads.

n (No. of. Housewives) 220

Leave the room 30%

Channel Surfing 25%

Flip through some other media 20%

Talk to somebody 15%

Switch off the television 10%

Table 2 clearly indicates that there is plurality of behaviour expressed to avoid the television ads according to the weights given to specific reason on the scale of 10. Poor quality of ads, availability of other TV programs and high frequency and long duration of ads are the main reasons to avoid the ads.

Table 3.Reasons for Ad Avoidance

Reasons for avoidance

n(No. of. Housewives) 220

Poor quality of ad 85

Programme on other TV channels 75

High frequency of ads 60

Long duration of ads 60

No gain 35

Pressure of other work 25

Table 4. Impact of Ads on Buying

Felt impact of ads on buying


Never 20%

Rarely 20%

Sometimes 20%

Often 10%

Always 30%

Table 5. Fabric Care Usage

Use a particular Do not use fabric care that particular brand usage brand

n (No. of. 143 77Housewives)

Ad recall for 54% 43% those brands

No Ad recall 46% 57%for those brands

1984). Another study estimates that many people pay very little attention to ads even while watching them. It showed that only 31% of viewers pay full attention to a commercial even when they may be watching it (Clancey, 1994).

Several early in-home observational studies in controlled conditions report that viewers spend relatively less time watching ads than watching programs (Gunter, et al 1995); Steiner (1966). Danaher (1995) found that television ratings drop during commercial breaks. The practice of switching channels during ad breaks is referred to as zapping. New technologies have presented the consumer with the access to remote control. This has enabled him with zipping and zapping during the commercial breaks (Sidharth & Chattopadhya, 1998). For consumers, advertisements are devoid of any important information that would help them in selecting a product or service. Advertising avoidance has been observed in the form of channel switching during broad casts. The studies of what people do during advertising have revealed other behaviour leading to ad avoidance, such as reading, talking or leaving the room (Yorke and Kitchen, 1986). Moriaty and Everett (1994) found that inattention and avoidance increased tremendously during advertising breaks: muting increased by 700%, ignoring by 400 % leaving the room by 100% and talking by 40%.

Danahar (1995) found that the drop in television viewing varies by program's type and length; movies were the biggest audience losers during advertising breaks while soaps barely change their ratings. Danahar (1995) also observed that the characteristics of the commercial breaks have an affect on ad viewership. Characteristics like the number of ads in the break and length of ads were important determinants of ad avoidance. Also, viewers appear to sense the timing pattern of ad breaks and their ad avoidance behaviour is influenced by this patterning. Siddharth and Chattopadhya (1998) found that the probability of avoiding an advertisement is lower for households who make more purchases in the product category. Research has proved that there are two types of advertisement avoidance in consumers, active avoidance including “channel surfing” putting television on mute and leaving the room while advertisement are on, or passive avoidance in form of reading, talking or engaging in some other work while the advertisement run(Riebe & Hammer, 2006). The o t h e r m e a n s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d

information/entertainment are growing stronger day by day. These include media like internet, mobiles, pagers etc. These may have been instrumental in diverting the attention of the consumers from the television, thus causing advertisement avoidance specifically in the context of T.V.

The advantage of media like internet is that consumers can access websites at their leisure and watch the advertisements when they desire. In case of television as indicated by Stern (1995) “television is a linear, passive, time constrained medium”. The television is time-constrained, unless your viewer has carefully videotaped your commercials for playback at a more convenient time. Accessing the World Wide Web can be done at any time”. This also leads to consumer wishing to avoid ads. They feel that they are engaging in an unproductive activity, because they may not be in a mood to watch the advertisements. The new media such as Internet has made consumer participation possible. Williams, Rice, & Rogers(1988), have stated that interactivity, demassification and asynchronicity are the features of the new media. 'Demassification' of the new media has made the consumer an active participant in the communication process This is leading to a new phenomenon in marketing. The consumer instead of being a passive recipient of information through televisions becomes actively be involved in commercials through internet. The reach to the internet and mobile is not restricted only to home. This kind of flexibility offered by new technology is changing the consumer behaviour. As the consumer finds most of the information broadcasted through commercials irrelevant to his/her needs sets, ad avoidance becomes predominant. Even while watching televisions the consumer engages in some other activity while ads are being broadcasted. According to a study conducted by Statistical Research Incorporation (Coffey & Stipp, 1997), over 40 percent of computer owners had both a television and a computer in the same room which allowed them to use both media simultaneously. This kind of behaviour demonstrates the inability of ads to be effective in delivering their objective.

Research Objectives

The broad objective of the research was to find out the causes of T.V. ad avoidance behaviour amongst consumers.

The specific objectives of the research were to :




1. To study if there exists a TV advertisement avoidance for fabric care category amongst the consumers.

2. If yes, what are the causes of ad avoidance for fabric care products in India?

3. What could be the triggers for other media?


The methodology followed was sample-survey. The questionnaire used for survey consisted of only close ended questions. The target audiences were housewives viewing TV program at least for 2 hours a day. The study was undertaken in urban areas of Bhubaneswar. First, for sampling purpose, the city Bhubaneswar was divided into four zones namely: North Bhubaneswar, South Bhubaneswar, East Bhubaneswar and West Bhubaneswar. Then, in each zone 5 starting points were identified. There were total of 20 starting points, and then 10-12 interviews were taken in and around each starting point. The households were selected randomly. The sample consisted of 220 housewives in Bhubaneswar. The data thus collected was used for analysis.

Findings of the Study

Table 1. No. of. Housewives Who View Ads

View Adsn (No. of. Housewives) 220

Never 15%

Rarely 35%

Sometimes 30%

Often 15%

Always 5%

There is approximately 50% ad avoidance noticed in the ad avoidance for fabric care products.

Table 2. The Various Ways to Avoid Ads

Ways to avoid Ads.


Leave the room 30%

Channel Surfing 25%

Flip through some other media 20%

Talk to somebody 15%

Switch off the television 10%

Table 2 clearly indicates that there is plurality of behaviour expressed to avoid the television ads according to the weights given to specific reason on the scale of 10. Poor quality of ads, availability of other TV programs and high frequency and long duration of ads are the main reasons to avoid the ads.

Table 3.Reasons for Ad Avoidance

Reasons for avoidance

n(No. of. Housewives) 220

Poor quality of ad 85

Programme on other TV channels 75

High frequency of ads 60

Long duration of ads 60

No gain 35

Pressure of other work 25

Table 4. Impact of Ads on Buying

Felt impact of ads on buying


Never 20%

Rarely 20%

Sometimes 20%

Often 10%

Always 30%

Table 5. Fabric Care Usage

Use a particular Do not use fabric care that particular brand usage brand

n (No. of. 143 77Housewives)

Ad recall for 54% 43% those brands

No Ad recall 46% 57%for those brands

1984). Another study estimates that many people pay very little attention to ads even while watching them. It showed that only 31% of viewers pay full attention to a commercial even when they may be watching it (Clancey, 1994).

Several early in-home observational studies in controlled conditions report that viewers spend relatively less time watching ads than watching programs (Gunter, et al 1995); Steiner (1966). Danaher (1995) found that television ratings drop during commercial breaks. The practice of switching channels during ad breaks is referred to as zapping. New technologies have presented the consumer with the access to remote control. This has enabled him with zipping and zapping during the commercial breaks (Sidharth & Chattopadhya, 1998). For consumers, advertisements are devoid of any important information that would help them in selecting a product or service. Advertising avoidance has been observed in the form of channel switching during broad casts. The studies of what people do during advertising have revealed other behaviour leading to ad avoidance, such as reading, talking or leaving the room (Yorke and Kitchen, 1986). Moriaty and Everett (1994) found that inattention and avoidance increased tremendously during advertising breaks: muting increased by 700%, ignoring by 400 % leaving the room by 100% and talking by 40%.

Danahar (1995) found that the drop in television viewing varies by program's type and length; movies were the biggest audience losers during advertising breaks while soaps barely change their ratings. Danahar (1995) also observed that the characteristics of the commercial breaks have an affect on ad viewership. Characteristics like the number of ads in the break and length of ads were important determinants of ad avoidance. Also, viewers appear to sense the timing pattern of ad breaks and their ad avoidance behaviour is influenced by this patterning. Siddharth and Chattopadhya (1998) found that the probability of avoiding an advertisement is lower for households who make more purchases in the product category. Research has proved that there are two types of advertisement avoidance in consumers, active avoidance including “channel surfing” putting television on mute and leaving the room while advertisement are on, or passive avoidance in form of reading, talking or engaging in some other work while the advertisement run(Riebe & Hammer, 2006). The o t h e r m e a n s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d

information/entertainment are growing stronger day by day. These include media like internet, mobiles, pagers etc. These may have been instrumental in diverting the attention of the consumers from the television, thus causing advertisement avoidance specifically in the context of T.V.

The advantage of media like internet is that consumers can access websites at their leisure and watch the advertisements when they desire. In case of television as indicated by Stern (1995) “television is a linear, passive, time constrained medium”. The television is time-constrained, unless your viewer has carefully videotaped your commercials for playback at a more convenient time. Accessing the World Wide Web can be done at any time”. This also leads to consumer wishing to avoid ads. They feel that they are engaging in an unproductive activity, because they may not be in a mood to watch the advertisements. The new media such as Internet has made consumer participation possible. Williams, Rice, & Rogers(1988), have stated that interactivity, demassification and asynchronicity are the features of the new media. 'Demassification' of the new media has made the consumer an active participant in the communication process This is leading to a new phenomenon in marketing. The consumer instead of being a passive recipient of information through televisions becomes actively be involved in commercials through internet. The reach to the internet and mobile is not restricted only to home. This kind of flexibility offered by new technology is changing the consumer behaviour. As the consumer finds most of the information broadcasted through commercials irrelevant to his/her needs sets, ad avoidance becomes predominant. Even while watching televisions the consumer engages in some other activity while ads are being broadcasted. According to a study conducted by Statistical Research Incorporation (Coffey & Stipp, 1997), over 40 percent of computer owners had both a television and a computer in the same room which allowed them to use both media simultaneously. This kind of behaviour demonstrates the inability of ads to be effective in delivering their objective.

Research Objectives

The broad objective of the research was to find out the causes of T.V. ad avoidance behaviour amongst consumers.

The specific objectives of the research were to :




consumer groups and communicates the required information effectively. The following framework well articulates this need for creating information exchange efficiency.

Technological Factors Civil Society/Online Communities (cause social change)(creating demand on organization)

Vulnerability of consumers

Power Structure (Govt./ Control Corporate/NGOsReligion/ (Policing )Patriarchy etc) Defining

meaning of fabric care products

Demand for Just communication Conflict and Alienation(Need for Efficiency of (From the

Exchange in Fabric Care Ads) products/advertisement)

Figure 1 Framework for Consumer Justice (Source: Anand, Patra, and Kumar, 2007)

In advertisement, justice needs to be given in the form of capturing consumers' concerns, by creating transparency related to product, by integrating it with other things (programs etc) so that consumers may derive meaning of it . Here justice refers to cognitive justice. It has been argued that a farmer's or consumer's voice is as strong as a dictum from scientist. Creativity for cooking is as important as an innovation from a CSIR laboratory, “Sensory or intuitive knowledge as of Cooking evolves in one's life through encounters with information which one processes according to one's cultural context and then assimilates. Cognitive justice ensures the acceptance of alternative knowledge, and the right of many forms of knowledge to exist, as all knowledge is seen as partial and complementary, with each bit containing incommensurable insights “(Visvanathan, as quoted in Anand, 2006).

In this form only, there can be genesis of meta-organization where integration of consumer community happens by creating of information exchange efficiency (Anand, S and Parashar, V. 2006). Genesis of meta organization, integration of consumers in the process of advertisement creation and delivery is likely to ensure that the voice of public is incorporated. This incorporates consumers voice in the process of value co-creation and co-delivery (Prahalad, and Ramaswamy, 2004). Though the need may have been created for expansion of market by incorporating bottom of the pyramid but it is likely to

facilitate consumer justice by creating the need for information efficiency even through advertising (Prahlad, 2004). It appears that like computer, TV also can be used for programming code for consumer justice which is democratic in nature (Van der Velden, 2005). Ad avoidance is likely to create a meta organization which are likely to be self regulatory in nature as it incorporates diversity of knowledge and plurality by incorporating consumers' views (Shiva, 2007).

References:

? Anand, S. and Parashar, V. (2006), 'Integrating Local and Global Knowledge through ICT :Implications for Rural Business and Development'. IIMB Management Review, March .

? Anand, Sandip; Patra, B.P.;Kumar, Ibha( 2007), “Cognitive Justice for Consumers: Mediation through Efficiency of Information Exchanges”, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode . Conference Proceedings. International Conference on Marketing and Society.

? Clancey, Maura (1994), “The Television audience examined”, Journal of Advertising Research, 34, 4 (July/August), pp 38-39.

? Coffey, Steve & Stipp, Horst (1997), 'The

Table 6. Expectations from Ads Expectation from

Ads on the basis of distinct parameters

n (No. of. Housewives) 220 Good story 9.0 New Idea 6.0 For likeable products 3.0 Stars 4.5 Suitable tone which I like 8.5 (of any sound in the ad) Social message in the ad 4.5 Good personality of characters in the ad 5.5

# The weights given on the scale of 10.

Table 7. The Evaluation of Other mediums of Advertisement

Humorous Sentimental/ Informative With a Emotional Social

Message n (No. of. 220 Housewives) FM (Radio) 45% 4% 23% 28% Print 0% 55% 34% 11% Internet 0% 0% 89% 11% Hoardings 13% 36% 39% 12% Word of mouth 0% 15% 85% 0% Point of sale 0% 0% 93% 7% Cell phones 21% 22% 57% 0% Railway/metro 67% 12% 0% 0% hoardings

DiscussionFrom the above findings it becomes very clear

that the content of the advertisement was the most important criteria for the person to judge whether she wanted to see the advertisement or not. As companies are spending huge sums of money in creating advertisements to lure the consumers; it becomes important for them to realize that ads are not generating the desired impact. This is reflected in high percentage for poor quality of advertisement as stated reasons for ad avoidance. Consumers are finding ads uninteresting as it fails to evoke any emotion as interest in the consumers' mind. The basic features that need to be strengthened in the advertisement are meaningfulness and sense of humor. As a consumer we seek some value in the ads that we watch, and if the message is missing the purpose gets lost. Similarity in the depiction of the situation in terms

of themes, creative strategy in the ads broadcasted is also creating disinterest in consumers. Increasingly ads are using similar appeals and spokespersons which lead to confusion regarding dissimilar brands advertised by different companies. Currently it appears that consumers are neither receiving expected information value nor the entertainment value. Engagement of the consumer with advertisement has been weakened. It can be inferred that advertisement experience and product experience are likely to be related. The findings also show that the longer duration of advertisements are generally not preferred by the viewers because the required information may get distorted or diluted.

Advertisements were always recognized as the medium that transmitted information regarding product or service to the customer. If that relevant information is not being communicated adequately, then consumers' are not interested in watching ads. It is indicated in the research that people try to avoid the advertisement because they think the main purpose of television advertisements is to convey information to the customers. This explains that according to them its their right to get the information about the product they are using currently or they use in future and advertisement are not just to push the product in the market they have an important purpose of revealing the important features of the product . This will help the customers to compare their needs with the purpose solved by the product. The second reason of avoiding the advertisements is the frequency with which they occur and the length of the advertisements. The time consuming ads are unattractive and monotonous. People do try to avoid such advertisements which are long because they are unable to serve the purpose of the customer of extracting maximum information in minimum time.

Strategic Framework

This research has very clearly indicated that ad avoidance is result of social changes. One of them is increasing consumer consciousness, that means , consumers are seeking information even from advertisements in various forms. This has led to various changes in the advertising format. Today information like news, next program details are being given on T.V. screen while advertisement is being aired. In the process, advertisers are trying to create efficiency of information exchange. This reiterates the fact that the marketers need to integrate themselves with the emerging consumer consciousness being manifested in the form of emerging




consumer groups and communicates the required information effectively. The following framework well articulates this need for creating information exchange efficiency.

Technological Factors Civil Society/Online Communities (cause social change)(creating demand on organization)

Vulnerability of consumers

Power Structure (Govt./ Control Corporate/NGOsReligion/ (Policing )Patriarchy etc) Defining

meaning of fabric care products

Demand for Just communication Conflict and Alienation(Need for Efficiency of (From the

Exchange in Fabric Care Ads) products/advertisement)

Figure 1 Framework for Consumer Justice (Source: Anand, Patra, and Kumar, 2007)

In advertisement, justice needs to be given in the form of capturing consumers' concerns, by creating transparency related to product, by integrating it with other things (programs etc) so that consumers may derive meaning of it . Here justice refers to cognitive justice. It has been argued that a farmer's or consumer's voice is as strong as a dictum from scientist. Creativity for cooking is as important as an innovation from a CSIR laboratory, “Sensory or intuitive knowledge as of Cooking evolves in one's life through encounters with information which one processes according to one's cultural context and then assimilates. Cognitive justice ensures the acceptance of alternative knowledge, and the right of many forms of knowledge to exist, as all knowledge is seen as partial and complementary, with each bit containing incommensurable insights “(Visvanathan, as quoted in Anand, 2006).

In this form only, there can be genesis of meta-organization where integration of consumer community happens by creating of information exchange efficiency (Anand, S and Parashar, V. 2006). Genesis of meta organization, integration of consumers in the process of advertisement creation and delivery is likely to ensure that the voice of public is incorporated. This incorporates consumers voice in the process of value co-creation and co-delivery (Prahalad, and Ramaswamy, 2004). Though the need may have been created for expansion of market by incorporating bottom of the pyramid but it is likely to

facilitate consumer justice by creating the need for information efficiency even through advertising (Prahlad, 2004). It appears that like computer, TV also can be used for programming code for consumer justice which is democratic in nature (Van der Velden, 2005). Ad avoidance is likely to create a meta organization which are likely to be self regulatory in nature as it incorporates diversity of knowledge and plurality by incorporating consumers' views (Shiva, 2007).

References:

? Anand, S. and Parashar, V. (2006), 'Integrating Local and Global Knowledge through ICT :Implications for Rural Business and Development'. IIMB Management Review, March .

? Anand, Sandip; Patra, B.P.;Kumar, Ibha( 2007), “Cognitive Justice for Consumers: Mediation through Efficiency of Information Exchanges”, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode . Conference Proceedings. International Conference on Marketing and Society.

? Clancey, Maura (1994), “The Television audience examined”, Journal of Advertising Research, 34, 4 (July/August), pp 38-39.

? Coffey, Steve & Stipp, Horst (1997), 'The

Table 6. Expectations from Ads Expectation from

Ads on the basis of distinct parameters

n (No. of. Housewives) 220 Good story 9.0 New Idea 6.0 For likeable products 3.0 Stars 4.5 Suitable tone which I like 8.5 (of any sound in the ad) Social message in the ad 4.5 Good personality of characters in the ad 5.5

# The weights given on the scale of 10.

Table 7. The Evaluation of Other mediums of Advertisement

Humorous Sentimental/ Informative With a Emotional Social

Message n (No. of. 220 Housewives) FM (Radio) 45% 4% 23% 28% Print 0% 55% 34% 11% Internet 0% 0% 89% 11% Hoardings 13% 36% 39% 12% Word of mouth 0% 15% 85% 0% Point of sale 0% 0% 93% 7% Cell phones 21% 22% 57% 0% Railway/metro 67% 12% 0% 0% hoardings

DiscussionFrom the above findings it becomes very clear

that the content of the advertisement was the most important criteria for the person to judge whether she wanted to see the advertisement or not. As companies are spending huge sums of money in creating advertisements to lure the consumers; it becomes important for them to realize that ads are not generating the desired impact. This is reflected in high percentage for poor quality of advertisement as stated reasons for ad avoidance. Consumers are finding ads uninteresting as it fails to evoke any emotion as interest in the consumers' mind. The basic features that need to be strengthened in the advertisement are meaningfulness and sense of humor. As a consumer we seek some value in the ads that we watch, and if the message is missing the purpose gets lost. Similarity in the depiction of the situation in terms

of themes, creative strategy in the ads broadcasted is also creating disinterest in consumers. Increasingly ads are using similar appeals and spokespersons which lead to confusion regarding dissimilar brands advertised by different companies. Currently it appears that consumers are neither receiving expected information value nor the entertainment value. Engagement of the consumer with advertisement has been weakened. It can be inferred that advertisement experience and product experience are likely to be related. The findings also show that the longer duration of advertisements are generally not preferred by the viewers because the required information may get distorted or diluted.

Advertisements were always recognized as the medium that transmitted information regarding product or service to the customer. If that relevant information is not being communicated adequately, then consumers' are not interested in watching ads. It is indicated in the research that people try to avoid the advertisement because they think the main purpose of television advertisements is to convey information to the customers. This explains that according to them its their right to get the information about the product they are using currently or they use in future and advertisement are not just to push the product in the market they have an important purpose of revealing the important features of the product . This will help the customers to compare their needs with the purpose solved by the product. The second reason of avoiding the advertisements is the frequency with which they occur and the length of the advertisements. The time consuming ads are unattractive and monotonous. People do try to avoid such advertisements which are long because they are unable to serve the purpose of the customer of extracting maximum information in minimum time.

Strategic Framework

This research has very clearly indicated that ad avoidance is result of social changes. One of them is increasing consumer consciousness, that means , consumers are seeking information even from advertisements in various forms. This has led to various changes in the advertising format. Today information like news, next program details are being given on T.V. screen while advertisement is being aired. In the process, advertisers are trying to create efficiency of information exchange. This reiterates the fact that the marketers need to integrate themselves with the emerging consumer consciousness being manifested in the form of emerging



Organizational Effectiveness in Relation to Strategic Human Resource

Bindu Sharma*

ABSTRACT

Each organization has its own strategic style and each style requires a unique system for managing people. Its core capability is the consistent application of procedures that is, its focus is on efficiency and effectiveness. The author has tried to throw light on the strategic human resource management which is the results of linkage between business strategy and HR strategy and its significance for the management with the help of suitable diagrams.

Keywords: Strategic human resource management, Human resource management, HRP, Strategic management, Business strategy, HR strategy.

* Faculty , in management studies ,Advanced Group of Institutions, Palwal, Haryana, India

EVALUATE HR SYSTEM FROM COST-BENEFIT

AND LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

EFFECTIVE INTERACTION BETWEEN HR

SPECIALIST STAFF AND HR

CONSULTANT

SHRM

ALIGNMENT OF HR SOLUTIONS WITH

BUSINESS STRTEGY

Introduction In the context of Strategic Human Resource

Management, (SHRM) its practices are classified into three rational areas i.e. Alignment of HR solutions with business strategy, Evaluation of HR system from a cost-benefit and legal perspective and Effective interaction between HR specialist staff and HR consultant.

The outcome which are reasons for measuring HR's effort and develop a frame for assessing HR are as follows :-

? Organization would be able to utilize the information to determine how particular HR practices correlate with better business results.

? Determine the potentialities: Investment, Expansion, Reduction

? Efficient utilization of resources.

? Develop strategy for creating competitive advantage.

SHRM LEADS TO ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

What is a Organization?

Organizations are tools used to achieve goals. Organizations create value through a cyclic process, likewise.

What is an Organizational Theory?

Organizational study is the study of how organizations function and their relationship with their environment.

Components of theory involve

WHAT IS AN

ORGANIZATION?

WHAT IS AN ORGANIZATIONAL

THEORY?

WHAT IS AN

EFFECTIVENESS?ORGANIZATIONAL

INPUTSCONVERSION

PROCESS OUTPUT

ENVIRONMENT

ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Interactions between computer and television usage,' Journal of Advertising Research, 37 (2),pp 61-66.

? Elliott, M. T, Speck P. S. (1998), Consumer Perceptions of Advertising Clutter and Its Impact across Various Media Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 38.

? Gunter, B. (1995) Television and gender representation. London, UK: John Libbey.

? Hammer, P., E. Riebe( 2006), Broadening the Empirical Generalisation: the Impact of Brand Usage on Memories of Advertising. ANZMAC. Brisbane, Australia.

? Hammer, P., T. Green, E. Riebe( 2006), How light TV viewers respond to advertising. ANZMAC. Brisbane, Australia.

? Hart, Stuart L, and T London( 2005), 'Developing Native Capability: What Multinational Corporations Can Learn from the Base of the Pyramid', Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer.

? Hoch Stephen J., & Ha Young-Won(1986). “Consumer learning and ambiguity of product experience”, Journal of Consumer Research (September, 1986): 221-233.

? Mord, M. S., & Gilson, E. (1985), Shorter units: Risk responsibility- reward. Journal of Advertising . Vol. 25 No.4, pp9-19.

? Moriarty, S. E.; Everett, S.L( 1994), Commercial Breaks : A viewing Behaviour Study. Journalism Quarterly. Vol. 71 No. 2 pp346-55.

? PJ Kitchen, DA Yorke( 1986) ,Commercial Television Breaks, Consumer Behaviour and New Technology : An Initial Analysis . European Journal of Marketing. Vol 20 Issue 2

? PJ Danaher (1995), What Happens to Television Ratings during Commercial Breaks? Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 35.

? Prahalad, C K( 2004), The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits', Wharton School Publishing.

? Prahalad, C.K and Ramaswamy, V( 2004), The future of competition : Co creating Unique value with customers. Havard Business School Press.

? Shiva, V ( 1997),Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge, Cambridge: South End Press.

? Soley, Lawrence C. (1984), “Factors Affecting Television Attentiveness: A Research Note”, Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 1, 141-148.

? Stern, Jim (1995), 'World Wide Web Marketing', New York, Wiley.

? Siddarth, S. and Chattopadhyay, A (1998), “To Zap or Not to Zap: A Study of the?Determinants of Channel Switching During Commercials,” Marketing Science Vol. 17 No. 2: pp124-138.

? Steiner, G.A( 1966), The People Look at Commercials: A Study of Audience Behavior. The Journal of Business, Vol. 39, No. 2 pp. 272-304.

?Tellis Gerard J (2004) ,“Effective Advertising: understanding when, how and why advertising works” pp 29. Response Books, A Division of Sage Publications, India.

? Visvanathan, Shiv( 2001), 'Knowledge and Information in a Network Society', Seminar, July, p. 503.

? Van der Velden, M(2005), 'Programming for Cognitive Justice Towards an Ethical Framework for Democratic Code', Interacting with Computers, Vol. 17, pp. 105 120.

? Webb, P. H., & Ray, M. L (1979),Effects of TV clutter. Journal of Advertising Research, 19, 7-12.

? Wells William; Burnett, John; & Moriarty Sandra (2003), “Advertising: principles & Practice” pp 163. Pearson Education, New Delhi.

? Williams, Fredrick, Rice Ronald E., Rogers Everett M. (1988), 'Research Methods and new media', New York: Free Press.

http://www.afaqs.com/perl/news/index.htm




Bindu Sharma*

ABSTRACT

Each organization has its own strategic style and each style requires a unique system for managing people. Its core capability is the consistent application of procedures that is, its focus is on efficiency and effectiveness. The author has tried to throw light on the strategic human resource management which is the results of linkage between business strategy and HR strategy and its significance for the management with the help of suitable diagrams.

Keywords: Strategic human resource management, Human resource management, HRP, Strategic management, Business strategy, HR strategy.

* Faculty , in management studies ,Advanced Group of Institutions, Palwal, Haryana, India

EVALUATE HR SYSTEM FROM COST-BENEFIT

AND LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

EFFECTIVE INTERACTION BETWEEN HR

SPECIALIST STAFF AND HR

CONSULTANT

SHRM

ALIGNMENT OF HR SOLUTIONS WITH

BUSINESS STRTEGY

Introduction In the context of Strategic Human Resource

Management, (SHRM) its practices are classified into three rational areas i.e. Alignment of HR solutions with business strategy, Evaluation of HR system from a cost-benefit and legal perspective and Effective interaction between HR specialist staff and HR consultant.

The outcome which are reasons for measuring HR's effort and develop a frame for assessing HR are as follows :-

? Organization would be able to utilize the information to determine how particular HR practices correlate with better business results.

? Determine the potentialities: Investment, Expansion, Reduction

? Efficient utilization of resources.

? Develop strategy for creating competitive advantage.

SHRM LEADS TO ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

What is a Organization?

Organizations are tools used to achieve goals. Organizations create value through a cyclic process, likewise.

What is an Organizational Theory?

Organizational study is the study of how organizations function and their relationship with their environment.

Components of theory involve

WHAT IS AN

ORGANIZATION?

WHAT IS AN ORGANIZATIONAL

THEORY?

WHAT IS AN

EFFECTIVENESS?ORGANIZATIONAL

INPUTSCONVERSION

PROCESS OUTPUT

ENVIRONMENT

ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Interactions between computer and television usage,' Journal of Advertising Research, 37 (2),pp 61-66.

? Elliott, M. T, Speck P. S. (1998), Consumer Perceptions of Advertising Clutter and Its Impact across Various Media Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 38.

? Gunter, B. (1995) Television and gender representation. London, UK: John Libbey.

? Hammer, P., E. Riebe( 2006), Broadening the Empirical Generalisation: the Impact of Brand Usage on Memories of Advertising. ANZMAC. Brisbane, Australia.

? Hammer, P., T. Green, E. Riebe( 2006), How light TV viewers respond to advertising. ANZMAC. Brisbane, Australia.

? Hart, Stuart L, and T London( 2005), 'Developing Native Capability: What Multinational Corporations Can Learn from the Base of the Pyramid', Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer.

? Hoch Stephen J., & Ha Young-Won(1986). “Consumer learning and ambiguity of product experience”, Journal of Consumer Research (September, 1986): 221-233.

? Mord, M. S., & Gilson, E. (1985), Shorter units: Risk responsibility- reward. Journal of Advertising . Vol. 25 No.4, pp9-19.

? Moriarty, S. E.; Everett, S.L( 1994), Commercial Breaks : A viewing Behaviour Study. Journalism Quarterly. Vol. 71 No. 2 pp346-55.

? PJ Kitchen, DA Yorke( 1986) ,Commercial Television Breaks, Consumer Behaviour and New Technology : An Initial Analysis . European Journal of Marketing. Vol 20 Issue 2

? PJ Danaher (1995), What Happens to Television Ratings during Commercial Breaks? Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 35.

? Prahalad, C K( 2004), The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits', Wharton School Publishing.

? Prahalad, C.K and Ramaswamy, V( 2004), The future of competition : Co creating Unique value with customers. Havard Business School Press.

? Shiva, V ( 1997),Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge, Cambridge: South End Press.

? Soley, Lawrence C. (1984), “Factors Affecting Television Attentiveness: A Research Note”, Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 1, 141-148.

? Stern, Jim (1995), 'World Wide Web Marketing', New York, Wiley.

? Siddarth, S. and Chattopadhyay, A (1998), “To Zap or Not to Zap: A Study of the?Determinants of Channel Switching During Commercials,” Marketing Science Vol. 17 No. 2: pp124-138.

? Steiner, G.A( 1966), The People Look at Commercials: A Study of Audience Behavior. The Journal of Business, Vol. 39, No. 2 pp. 272-304.

?Tellis Gerard J (2004) ,“Effective Advertising: understanding when, how and why advertising works” pp 29. Response Books, A Division of Sage Publications, India.

? Visvanathan, Shiv( 2001), 'Knowledge and Information in a Network Society', Seminar, July, p. 503.

? Van der Velden, M(2005), 'Programming for Cognitive Justice Towards an Ethical Framework for Democratic Code', Interacting with Computers, Vol. 17, pp. 105 120.

? Webb, P. H., & Ray, M. L (1979),Effects of TV clutter. Journal of Advertising Research, 19, 7-12.

? Wells William; Burnett, John; & Moriarty Sandra (2003), “Advertising: principles & Practice” pp 163. Pearson Education, New Delhi.

? Williams, Fredrick, Rice Ronald E., Rogers Everett M. (1988), 'Research Methods and new media', New York: Free Press.

http://www.afaqs.com/perl/news/index.htm




Each organization has its own strategic style and each style requires a unique system for managing people. Its core capability is the consistent application of procedures that is, its focus is on efficiency and effectiveness.

Strategic human resource management is the results of linkage between business strategy and HR strategy.

The word strategy means 'the determination of long-term goals and objectives of an organization, and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals.'

Strategic human resource management

= Business strategy + Human resource strategy

SHRM signifies that different business strategies emphasize different role requirements and employee behaviors, while a firm's business strategy sets the stage for selecting, designing and implementing people management systems, other contextual factors also are at work.

Howe ve r, t h e c o n n e c t i o n b e t we e n strategic/technological context and HRM is a connection that passes through the behavioral/role requirements of targeted job.

HR systems can be designed to maximize the likelihood that the right people accept job offers and that these employees contribute to meeting business objectives.

HR professionals could talk generally and conceptually about employee morale, turnover, and employee commitment as outcomes of HR efforts but with this, the HR function is often viewed as an expense-generator and an administrative function and not as a value added partner.

The paper examines the strategic role of HR and its main practices, describes the outcomes of respective category of HR practices, explains the critical reasons for measuring HR's efforts, and proposes a framework for assessing HR. This framework has proven its effectiveness at many organizations showing how HR creates value, utilized the information collected to increase investments in specific HR strategies and eliminates ineffective investments, and is used as a critical resource in the strategic business planning and budget allocation.

Understanding the Strategic Role of HR

In today's business environment, organizations need to be constantly evaluating their internal and external environment for challenges and opportunities to remain competitive and to sustain growth. Political, economical, social and even psychological changes within our societies create significant impact on organizations. Many factors are driving changes in organizations today including the use of technology, globalization, and changes in workforce demographics, el iminating the bureaucracies in organizational structures, and balancing work-family issues. Understanding the potential of an organization's resources and optimizing the output of such resources given the changes, provides the impetus for HR being the key source of creating the competitive advantage for the organization.

To create value and deliver results, HR professionals must begin not by focusing on the work activities of HR but by defining the deliverables of that work. HR's roles in building a competitive organization include effective SHRM, management of transformation and change, management of firm's infrastructure and management of contribution.

As a strategic business partner,

HR professionals should understand the nature of the business from strategic, operational, financial, and other aspects necessary to be part of an effective team managing an organization.

As an innovator,

HR profess ionals are chal lenged to continuously search for strategies that will create value for the organization and not merely function in a reactionary mode.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

TECHNOLOGY

ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN/WORK

PROCESSES

/

BehavioralRole

Requirements

LABOUR MARKET

LEGAL ENVIRONMENT

HUMAN RESOURCE

SYSTEM



INNOVATION

EXTERNAL RESOURCES APPROACH

INTERNAL SYSTEM

APPROACH

TECHNICAL APPROACH

CONTROL

EFFICIENCY

This evaluates the organisation ability to secure, manage and control scarce and valued skills and resources which lead to measure effectiveness in terms of:-

• Lower cost of

This evaluates the organisation ability to innovate and function quickly and responsively which leads to measure effectiveness in terms of:-

•

Internal decision

This evaluates the organisation ability toconvert skills and resources into goods and services efficiently which leads to organizational effectivenessthrough

:-

• Increased

Organizational Effectiveness Can Be Evaluate On The Basis Of Three Different Approaches

Organizations Set Two Types Of Goals Used To Evaluate Organizational Effectiveness

OFFICIAL GOALS

OPERATIVE GOALS

These are guiding principles that the organization states, often in public documents.

These are specific long term short term goals that guide managers and employees.

Raw Material and


Each organization has its own strategic style and each style requires a unique system for managing people. Its core capability is the consistent application of procedures that is, its focus is on efficiency and effectiveness.

Strategic human resource management is the results of linkage between business strategy and HR strategy.

The word strategy means 'the determination of long-term goals and objectives of an organization, and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals.'

Strategic human resource management

= Business strategy + Human resource strategy

SHRM signifies that different business strategies emphasize different role requirements and employee behaviors, while a firm's business strategy sets the stage for selecting, designing and implementing people management systems, other contextual factors also are at work.

Howe ve r, t h e c o n n e c t i o n b e t we e n strategic/technological context and HRM is a connection that passes through the behavioral/role requirements of targeted job.

HR systems can be designed to maximize the likelihood that the right people accept job offers and that these employees contribute to meeting business objectives.

HR professionals could talk generally and conceptually about employee morale, turnover, and employee commitment as outcomes of HR efforts but with this, the HR function is often viewed as an expense-generator and an administrative function and not as a value added partner.

The paper examines the strategic role of HR and its main practices, describes the outcomes of respective category of HR practices, explains the critical reasons for measuring HR's efforts, and proposes a framework for assessing HR. This framework has proven its effectiveness at many organizations showing how HR creates value, utilized the information collected to increase investments in specific HR strategies and eliminates ineffective investments, and is used as a critical resource in the strategic business planning and budget allocation.

Understanding the Strategic Role of HR

In today's business environment, organizations need to be constantly evaluating their internal and external environment for challenges and opportunities to remain competitive and to sustain growth. Political, economical, social and even psychological changes within our societies create significant impact on organizations. Many factors are driving changes in organizations today including the use of technology, globalization, and changes in workforce demographics, el iminating the bureaucracies in organizational structures, and balancing work-family issues. Understanding the potential of an organization's resources and optimizing the output of such resources given the changes, provides the impetus for HR being the key source of creating the competitive advantage for the organization.

To create value and deliver results, HR professionals must begin not by focusing on the work activities of HR but by defining the deliverables of that work. HR's roles in building a competitive organization include effective SHRM, management of transformation and change, management of firm's infrastructure and management of contribution.

As a strategic business partner,

HR professionals should understand the nature of the business from strategic, operational, financial, and other aspects necessary to be part of an effective team managing an organization.

As an innovator,

HR profess ionals are chal lenged to continuously search for strategies that will create value for the organization and not merely function in a reactionary mode.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

TECHNOLOGY

ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN/WORK

PROCESSES

/

BehavioralRole

Requirements

LABOUR MARKET

LEGAL ENVIRONMENT

HUMAN RESOURCE

SYSTEM



INNOVATION

EXTERNAL RESOURCES APPROACH

INTERNAL SYSTEM

APPROACH

TECHNICAL APPROACH

CONTROL

EFFICIENCY

This evaluates the organisation ability to secure, manage and control scarce and valued skills and resources which lead to measure effectiveness in terms of:-

• Lower cost of

This evaluates the organisation ability to innovate and function quickly and responsively which leads to measure effectiveness in terms of:-

•

Internal decision

This evaluates the organisation ability toconvert skills and resources into goods and services efficiently which leads to organizational effectivenessthrough

:-

• Increased

Organizational Effectiveness Can Be Evaluate On The Basis Of Three Different Approaches

Organizations Set Two Types Of Goals Used To Evaluate Organizational Effectiveness

OFFICIAL GOALS

OPERATIVE GOALS

These are guiding principles that the organization states, often in public documents.

These are specific long term short term goals that guide managers and employees.

Raw Material and


HRP Process

HRP process involves matching the internal and external supply of people with the organizational demand for human resources over a specified period of time. Organizational goals and objectives are translated into HR objectives by determining the job categories and types of people required to be able to accomplish business plans successfully. HRP involves establishing HR objectives and assessing the extent to which the current employees of the firm meet these objectives.

Major activities of HRP process

? Stating HR objectives? Forecasting? Inventorying? Anticipating? Action plans? Control and evaluation

HRP process begins with strategic plans. They are then translated into HR plans. Whether, the planning range is short term, medium term and long term, certain data is intrinsic to a firm's activity of forecasting its HR requirements.

THE HRP PROCESS

Long term corporate plans and objectives

Short term plans of the firm

HUMAN RESOURCE OBJECTIVES

HUMAN RESOURCE INVENTORY

ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING

FORECAST

SUPPLY FORECAST

DEMAND FROECAST

Compare demandsupply to

determine gaps, if any

ACTION PLANS

Acquitions of Employees

With the increase in globalization and the struggle to create sustainable competitive advantages, organizations are continuously evaluating their strategies to ensure that they have the expertise needed to help achieve the mission of the organization. To fully understand the value and effectiveness of the selection process, one has to analyze the impact of the employee's contribution to the organization not only in terms of a cost factor, but also in terms of the value addition through the performance in the short-term and long-term. HR planning involves the process that specifies the activities that a firm must use in order to develop its HR to improve its overall practices. The process entails determining how many employees the organizations need to be performing at its optimum and where the employees should be working in the organization, given the external and internal challenges and opportunities.

Firms and HR managers are faced with the prospect of a shortfall of qualified managerial talent because there are not likely to be enough people available to replace retiring managers. With HR becoming central to business success, it is important for firms to ensure that they have the right talent in place for today as well as for the future. As firms compete to meet their talent needs successfully, they wage what is commonly referred to as a 'war for talent'. Acquisition of HR is the process by which a firm hires employees to ensure that the required number and types of employees are available to perform organizational activities and accomplish organizational objectives successfully.

The process of finding, attracting, and hiring new employees is called 'staffing'. This function is concerned with 'seeking and hiring qualified employees'. HR planning should involve the skills and competencies currently available within the organization and what other intellectual capital would be needed in the future to adequately meet the needs of the stakeholders. Another aspect of the acquisition process involves the advertising and recruitment sources, like advertising in newspapers, internet websites, journals, employment agencies, etc. In assessing the effectiveness of recruitment and advertisement sources an organization uses to recruit its employees, it is imperative to relate the actual performance of the incumbent to the advertising and recruitment.

As a collaborator,

HR professionals will also serve as collaborators with senior leaders and all employees to implement business strategies forming the strategic link throughout the organizations.

As a facilitator,

HR professionals function as the change agent by providing rationale, support, and readiness for planned changes designed to support the business strategies.

At last the fundamental role of HRM is essentially ensuring profitability, quality of work life and profits through effective management of people etc.

HR's Activities and Outcomes

There are several classifications or groupings of HR activities, as being most strategic and influential in realizing the strategic business objectives of the organization. Today's economy dictates that organizations continually assess the external and internal environment and make relevant changes in order to remain competitive. Each of the clusters are examined a description of its importance in achieving the business strategy, and how it can be measured to determine its effectiveness.

Strategic Planning

The role of HR function has changed tremendously over the past few years. Previously, HR functions were merely viewed as administrative functions of the organization, whereas, today, HR practitioners are not only considered business partners, but also as integral part of the core business activities. Being a business partner, the ideal situation would be the inclusion of the HR leader in the strategic business planning (SBP). Now the thing is to be considered that what product to produce, where should the product be sold, how many to make available, how the products and services differ from that of competitors etc.Business strategy can also be defined as the “process by which the basic mission and objectives of the organization are set and the process by which the organization uses its resources to achieve the objectives”.

It is important for HR professionals that they have to be involved in SBP process. The HR function has the most experience and knowledge in addressing

the critical issues. Strategic planning seeks to identify those organizational decisions and actions, which yield the greatest advantage under various assumptions about the organization and its environment. The integration of HR function into the organizational strategy provides the basis to enable the HR function to support and implement the strategic plan to achieve a competitive advantage. This strategy provides for the maximization of human capital, reduction of waste inefficient labor, other financial investment, and eventually maximizing profitability.

Indicators of a successfully crafted strategic plan include creating advantages that are sustainable over a long period of time and whether the planning has resulted in:-

? The attainment of the organization's goals and objectives,

? Financial profitability,

? Positioning to create advantages for short-term and long-term,

? The creation of a sense of social responsibility.

In essence, this process determines the decisions and actions an organization will undertake to create and sustain competitive advantages.

Business Strategy and Human Resource Planning

An organization achieves its goals and objectives through its employees or human resources. Organization must ensure that it has the appropriate number of employees with the required skills so that it may achieve its goals. The quality of HR and their contribution to the organization is of strategic importance for bringing about competitive advantage for the firm.

HR STRATEGY

• Job and COST LEADERSHIP

• Cost control

DIFFERENTIATION

• Long term focus• Shorter HR

• Internal promotions

• External staffing

BUSINESS STRATEGY FOCUS

HRP ACTIVITIES



D


HRP Process

HRP process involves matching the internal and external supply of people with the organizational demand for human resources over a specified period of time. Organizational goals and objectives are translated into HR objectives by determining the job categories and types of people required to be able to accomplish business plans successfully. HRP involves establishing HR objectives and assessing the extent to which the current employees of the firm meet these objectives.

Major activities of HRP process

? Stating HR objectives? Forecasting? Inventorying? Anticipating? Action plans? Control and evaluation

HRP process begins with strategic plans. They are then translated into HR plans. Whether, the planning range is short term, medium term and long term, certain data is intrinsic to a firm's activity of forecasting its HR requirements.

THE HRP PROCESS

Long term corporate plans and objectives

Short term plans of the firm

HUMAN RESOURCE OBJECTIVES

HUMAN RESOURCE INVENTORY

ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING

FORECAST

SUPPLY FORECAST

DEMAND FROECAST

Compare demandsupply to

determine gaps, if any

ACTION PLANS

Acquitions of Employees

With the increase in globalization and the struggle to create sustainable competitive advantages, organizations are continuously evaluating their strategies to ensure that they have the expertise needed to help achieve the mission of the organization. To fully understand the value and effectiveness of the selection process, one has to analyze the impact of the employee's contribution to the organization not only in terms of a cost factor, but also in terms of the value addition through the performance in the short-term and long-term. HR planning involves the process that specifies the activities that a firm must use in order to develop its HR to improve its overall practices. The process entails determining how many employees the organizations need to be performing at its optimum and where the employees should be working in the organization, given the external and internal challenges and opportunities.

Firms and HR managers are faced with the prospect of a shortfall of qualified managerial talent because there are not likely to be enough people available to replace retiring managers. With HR becoming central to business success, it is important for firms to ensure that they have the right talent in place for today as well as for the future. As firms compete to meet their talent needs successfully, they wage what is commonly referred to as a 'war for talent'. Acquisition of HR is the process by which a firm hires employees to ensure that the required number and types of employees are available to perform organizational activities and accomplish organizational objectives successfully.

The process of finding, attracting, and hiring new employees is called 'staffing'. This function is concerned with 'seeking and hiring qualified employees'. HR planning should involve the skills and competencies currently available within the organization and what other intellectual capital would be needed in the future to adequately meet the needs of the stakeholders. Another aspect of the acquisition process involves the advertising and recruitment sources, like advertising in newspapers, internet websites, journals, employment agencies, etc. In assessing the effectiveness of recruitment and advertisement sources an organization uses to recruit its employees, it is imperative to relate the actual performance of the incumbent to the advertising and recruitment.

As a collaborator,

HR professionals will also serve as collaborators with senior leaders and all employees to implement business strategies forming the strategic link throughout the organizations.

As a facilitator,

HR professionals function as the change agent by providing rationale, support, and readiness for planned changes designed to support the business strategies.

At last the fundamental role of HRM is essentially ensuring profitability, quality of work life and profits through effective management of people etc.

HR's Activities and Outcomes

There are several classifications or groupings of HR activities, as being most strategic and influential in realizing the strategic business objectives of the organization. Today's economy dictates that organizations continually assess the external and internal environment and make relevant changes in order to remain competitive. Each of the clusters are examined a description of its importance in achieving the business strategy, and how it can be measured to determine its effectiveness.

Strategic Planning

The role of HR function has changed tremendously over the past few years. Previously, HR functions were merely viewed as administrative functions of the organization, whereas, today, HR practitioners are not only considered business partners, but also as integral part of the core business activities. Being a business partner, the ideal situation would be the inclusion of the HR leader in the strategic business planning (SBP). Now the thing is to be considered that what product to produce, where should the product be sold, how many to make available, how the products and services differ from that of competitors etc.Business strategy can also be defined as the “process by which the basic mission and objectives of the organization are set and the process by which the organization uses its resources to achieve the objectives”.

It is important for HR professionals that they have to be involved in SBP process. The HR function has the most experience and knowledge in addressing

the critical issues. Strategic planning seeks to identify those organizational decisions and actions, which yield the greatest advantage under various assumptions about the organization and its environment. The integration of HR function into the organizational strategy provides the basis to enable the HR function to support and implement the strategic plan to achieve a competitive advantage. This strategy provides for the maximization of human capital, reduction of waste inefficient labor, other financial investment, and eventually maximizing profitability.

Indicators of a successfully crafted strategic plan include creating advantages that are sustainable over a long period of time and whether the planning has resulted in:-

? The attainment of the organization's goals and objectives,

? Financial profitability,

? Positioning to create advantages for short-term and long-term,

? The creation of a sense of social responsibility.

In essence, this process determines the decisions and actions an organization will undertake to create and sustain competitive advantages.

Business Strategy and Human Resource Planning

An organization achieves its goals and objectives through its employees or human resources. Organization must ensure that it has the appropriate number of employees with the required skills so that it may achieve its goals. The quality of HR and their contribution to the organization is of strategic importance for bringing about competitive advantage for the firm.

HR STRATEGY

• Job and COST LEADERSHIP

• Cost control

DIFFERENTIATION

• Long term focus• Shorter HR

• Internal promotions

• External staffing

BUSINESS STRATEGY FOCUS

HRP ACTIVITIES



D


Training and Development

Employee training and development is defined as the process of systematically developing expertise in individuals for the purpose of improving performance. The argument as to whether T & D helps to create a competitive advantage has shown that conceptually it can be a source of competitive advantage. Developing a framework for assessing the financial benefits of T & D, three questions have been listed that provide the variations on the assessment of HRD, of which T & D is a major category.

? What is the forecasted financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention?

? What is the actual financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention?

? What is the approximate financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention?

The framework describes three perspectives to assess the benefits including positive benefits, relative benefits, and return on investment. The positive benefits are those indicators that show the benefits exceeding the costs. The key issue in this perspective is to determine that the benefits at least equal the costs. It may also mean the inability of the measurement to show a financial benefit, but demonstrate the benefit for example, strengthening the culture and maintaining the tradition of the organization. Return on investment is a ratio that expresses the relationship of every dollar of performance value to every dollar spent to achieve that value.

In understanding the impact of the training, it is imperative to determine what difference, if any, the investment made in supporting the business strategy of the organization. The assessment of the training should focus on the difference of the performance of the employees, the department, the process, and the overall performance of the organization. Measuring the impact of a training initiative regardless of the scope, size of investment, and number of employees involved, there is the imperative need to determine the purpose of doing the training and if the goals have been met at various intervals after the intervention had been completed. To determine the benefit, ROI, or whatever terminologies we choose to describe the outcome, one has to consider the direct costs of developing and implementing the intervention, in addition to the indirect and opportunity costs. It is, therefore, imperative to address the following questions that are critical need to understand the impact of the intervention:

? Has the employee's attitude changed since the training?

? Did the employee acquire knowledge and expertise in an area that would enable him/her to perform more effectively on the job?

? Has the employee's performance changed after the training?

? How the change in the employee's performance affected the business strategy and performance of the organization as well as HR strategy of the organization?

These are all areas to be integrated in assessing the impact of training and development in today's economy and competitive environment.

EMPLOYEE SELECTION METHODS

Employment Interviews

Employment Tests

Application blanks

Work Sampling

Reference Checks and Recommendations

Assessment Centers

Physical Examination

JOB OFFER

Environmental factors

External factors Internal factors

- Labor market

conditions

- Govt. rules &

regulations

Organizational

policies, image,

Job attractiveness

etc.

ACQUISITION OF EMPLOYEES PROCESS

Recruitment

The recruitment is the process of generating a qualified pool of applicants for actual or anticipated job vacancies. The objectives of this process are :-

? Making large numbers of qualified applicants aware of employment opportunities available in the organization.

? Attracting the attention of qualified candidates.

? Generating enough interest among qualified candidates so that they apply for the job and accept the job if it is offered to them.

? Creating a positive image of the organization among those who come in contact with the firm to increase the success rate of organizational staffing activities.

Selection

Selection is the process of gathering information on job applicants and making the hiring decision based on the information.

The objectives of selection process are:-

? Gathering information about job applicants by using a combination of selection methods.

? Predicting which job applicants will perform the job successfully, if hired.

? To be able to discriminate between job applicants likely to be successful or unsuccessful on the job.

Recruitment Methods

• Organizational

• Direct Applicants

Human Resource Planning

RECRUITMENT

Internal sources

External sources

Internal methods of Recruitment

APPLICATION POOL

External methods of Recruitment

Initial Screening

Selection methods

Rejected Candidates

JOB OFFER

Organizational Goals And Objectives

Selected Candidates




Training and Development

Employee training and development is defined as the process of systematically developing expertise in individuals for the purpose of improving performance. The argument as to whether T & D helps to create a competitive advantage has shown that conceptually it can be a source of competitive advantage. Developing a framework for assessing the financial benefits of T & D, three questions have been listed that provide the variations on the assessment of HRD, of which T & D is a major category.

? What is the forecasted financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention?

? What is the actual financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention?

? What is the approximate financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention?

The framework describes three perspectives to assess the benefits including positive benefits, relative benefits, and return on investment. The positive benefits are those indicators that show the benefits exceeding the costs. The key issue in this perspective is to determine that the benefits at least equal the costs. It may also mean the inability of the measurement to show a financial benefit, but demonstrate the benefit for example, strengthening the culture and maintaining the tradition of the organization. Return on investment is a ratio that expresses the relationship of every dollar of performance value to every dollar spent to achieve that value.

In understanding the impact of the training, it is imperative to determine what difference, if any, the investment made in supporting the business strategy of the organization. The assessment of the training should focus on the difference of the performance of the employees, the department, the process, and the overall performance of the organization. Measuring the impact of a training initiative regardless of the scope, size of investment, and number of employees involved, there is the imperative need to determine the purpose of doing the training and if the goals have been met at various intervals after the intervention had been completed. To determine the benefit, ROI, or whatever terminologies we choose to describe the outcome, one has to consider the direct costs of developing and implementing the intervention, in addition to the indirect and opportunity costs. It is, therefore, imperative to address the following questions that are critical need to understand the impact of the intervention:

? Has the employee's attitude changed since the training?

? Did the employee acquire knowledge and expertise in an area that would enable him/her to perform more effectively on the job?

? Has the employee's performance changed after the training?

? How the change in the employee's performance affected the business strategy and performance of the organization as well as HR strategy of the organization?

These are all areas to be integrated in assessing the impact of training and development in today's economy and competitive environment.

EMPLOYEE SELECTION METHODS

Employment Interviews

Employment Tests

Application blanks

Work Sampling

Reference Checks and Recommendations

Assessment Centers

Physical Examination

JOB OFFER

Environmental factors

External factors Internal factors

- Labor market

conditions

- Govt. rules &

regulations

Organizational

policies, image,

Job attractiveness

etc.

ACQUISITION OF EMPLOYEES PROCESS

Recruitment

The recruitment is the process of generating a qualified pool of applicants for actual or anticipated job vacancies. The objectives of this process are :-

? Making large numbers of qualified applicants aware of employment opportunities available in the organization.

? Attracting the attention of qualified candidates.

? Generating enough interest among qualified candidates so that they apply for the job and accept the job if it is offered to them.

? Creating a positive image of the organization among those who come in contact with the firm to increase the success rate of organizational staffing activities.

Selection

Selection is the process of gathering information on job applicants and making the hiring decision based on the information.

The objectives of selection process are:-

? Gathering information about job applicants by using a combination of selection methods.

? Predicting which job applicants will perform the job successfully, if hired.

? To be able to discriminate between job applicants likely to be successful or unsuccessful on the job.

Recruitment Methods

• Organizational

• Direct Applicants

Human Resource Planning

RECRUITMENT

Internal sources

External sources

Internal methods of Recruitment

APPLICATION POOL

External methods of Recruitment

Initial Screening

Selection methods

Rejected Candidates

JOB OFFER

Organizational Goals And Objectives

Selected Candidates



Organizational Change and Development

With continious changes in the global economy, demands of customers, preferences and values of employees, it is necessary for the HR practitioners to ensure that the organization is adapting itself to the external and internal variables it currently faces and would likely to face in the future in order to meet its stakeholders expectations. The pace of global, economic, and technological development makes change an inevitable feature of organizational life. A growing importance and competency expected from the HR professionals, therefore, is his or her ability to plan and implement the necessary changes for the purposes of improving performance. Organization development (OD) is considered as the process of developing and implementing changes in organizations for the purpose of improving performance.

Many OD practitioners may argue that OD is not a measurable effort, at least quantitatively.

The challenge arises again as to what value do the change efforts really have on the bottom-line of the organization.

? Should OD be excluded from quantitative measurement?

? Crisis in the economy may result in reducing the labor cost?

? Are OD practitioners able to justify their worth to the organization?

For these, it is necessary to examine the outputs of OD which results in improving the performance of individuals, process, and structure at organizational levels. OD can be measured through productivity, quality, service, responsiveness, development, and survival. These factors are indeed critical in assessing the effectiveness of OD's efforts and therefore, should be part of the process of making changes in organizations. Some of the key measurements can be derived from the following questions:

? What is the quality of the output and does it meet the customer's expectations?

? Does the service offered by the organization provide a competitive advantage as compared to its competitors?

? How effectively does the system respond to changes in the external environment?

? Does the organization allow for maximum sharing of information, leveraging each

employee and work unit, and resolving any internal or external challenges?

? Are the values and ethics of each employee and work unit representative of the overall culture of the organization and supportive of the business strategy?

The responses to these questions based on the respective organization provide the basic

measurements in assessing the readiness of the organization to function effectively in its current and anticipated internal and external environments.

Performance Management

“Performance management systems make clear to employees what is expected of them and assure line mangers and strategic planners that employee behavior will be in line with the company's or organizational goals”.

In today's economy managing performance is of utmost importance to create a competitive advantage. The thinking of HR practitioners and other business leaders, that an annual performance appraisal is performance management, which must get obsolete. Effective performance management entails a process where each employee is fully aware of his or her role in the organization, what type of output is expected, and how the output will be measured.

ABILITY

KNOWLEDGE EXPEREIENCE

MOTIVATION

ATTITUDE SITUATION

OPPURTUNITIES

BY CHANCES

ABILITY MOTIVATION OPPORTUNITIES

Performance = A X M X O

LEARNING

Relatively permanent change

in behavior that results

from practice or experience

EXPERIENCE

Learning on the job that takes place informally and without planning

TRAINING

Change in KSA’s in order to

improve performance on currently held job.

DEVELOPMENT

Provide learning experience

to help employees acquire

KSA’s for future jobs.

EDUCATION

Developing KSA’s

that will be applicable

across several situations.

STRATEGIC LINKAGE BETWEEN BUSINESS AND HR STRATEGY IN TRAINING PROCESS

ORGANIZATIONAL

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Training Need Assessment

- Organizational analysis

- Task analysis

- Person analysis

Gap between skills required and skills available

NEED FOR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Programme Design and Development

-

-

-

-

Training goals and objectives Selection of trainees Selection of trainers Selection of T & D methods

IMPLEMENTATION

Evaluation of Training

Programme

Other actions

Selection of trainees

Criteria for evaluation

Monitoring process

Phase 3

Phase 4

Phase 2

Phase 1


Organizational Effectiveness in Relation to Strategic Human Resource Institute of Management Studies, Dehradun

• ReactionsLearningBehaviorResults

Organizational Change and Development

With continious changes in the global economy, demands of customers, preferences and values of employees, it is necessary for the HR practitioners to ensure that the organization is adapting itself to the external and internal variables it currently faces and would likely to face in the future in order to meet its stakeholders expectations. The pace of global, economic, and technological development makes change an inevitable feature of organizational life. A growing importance and competency expected from the HR professionals, therefore, is his or her ability to plan and implement the necessary changes for the purposes of improving performance. Organization development (OD) is considered as the process of developing and implementing changes in organizations for the purpose of improving performance.

Many OD practitioners may argue that OD is not a measurable effort, at least quantitatively.

The challenge arises again as to what value do the change efforts really have on the bottom-line of the organization.

? Should OD be excluded from quantitative measurement?

? Crisis in the economy may result in reducing the labor cost?

? Are OD practitioners able to justify their worth to the organization?

For these, it is necessary to examine the outputs of OD which results in improving the performance of individuals, process, and structure at organizational levels. OD can be measured through productivity, quality, service, responsiveness, development, and survival. These factors are indeed critical in assessing the effectiveness of OD's efforts and therefore, should be part of the process of making changes in organizations. Some of the key measurements can be derived from the following questions:

? What is the quality of the output and does it meet the customer's expectations?

? Does the service offered by the organization provide a competitive advantage as compared to its competitors?

? How effectively does the system respond to changes in the external environment?

? Does the organization allow for maximum sharing of information, leveraging each

employee and work unit, and resolving any internal or external challenges?

? Are the values and ethics of each employee and work unit representative of the overall culture of the organization and supportive of the business strategy?

The responses to these questions based on the respective organization provide the basic

measurements in assessing the readiness of the organization to function effectively in its current and anticipated internal and external environments.

Performance Management

“Performance management systems make clear to employees what is expected of them and assure line mangers and strategic planners that employee behavior will be in line with the company's or organizational goals”.

In today's economy managing performance is of utmost importance to create a competitive advantage. The thinking of HR practitioners and other business leaders, that an annual performance appraisal is performance management, which must get obsolete. Effective performance management entails a process where each employee is fully aware of his or her role in the organization, what type of output is expected, and how the output will be measured.

ABILITY

KNOWLEDGE EXPEREIENCE

MOTIVATION

ATTITUDE SITUATION

OPPURTUNITIES

BY CHANCES

ABILITY MOTIVATION OPPORTUNITIES

Performance = A X M X O

LEARNING

Relatively permanent change

in behavior that results

from practice or experience

EXPERIENCE

Learning on the job that takes place informally and without planning

TRAINING

Change in KSA’s in order to

improve performance on currently held job.

DEVELOPMENT

Provide learning experience

to help employees acquire

KSA’s for future jobs.

EDUCATION

Developing KSA’s

that will be applicable

across several situations.


ORGANIZATIONAL

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Training Need Assessment

- Organizational analysis

- Task analysis

- Person analysis

Gap between skills required and skills available

NEED FOR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Programme Design and Development

-

-

-

-

Training goals and objectives Selection of trainees Selection of trainers Selection of T & D methods

IMPLEMENTATION

Evaluation of Training

Programme

Other actions

Selection of trainees

Criteria for evaluation

Monitoring process

Phase 3

Phase 4

Phase 2

Phase 1



• ReactionsLearningBehaviorResults


-Inception

-Growth -Maturity

ORGANI-

ZATIONAL

LIFE

CYCLE

-Weak

-Strong -Stable

COMPE

TITVE

ADVAN

TAGE

-Value creation

-Value accumulation

-Value maintenance

STRAT

EGIES

ORGANI-

ZATIONAL

operative

-Innovative

-Risk taking

-Flexibility - Co-

-Efficiency -Results with low level of risk

EMPLOYEE CHARACTER

ISTICS

-Exploratory

knowledge

-Exploitative

knowledge

-Harvesting

HR

STARTEGY

-Qualitative methods

-Quantitative methods

PERFOR

MANAGE

-Qualitative meth

ods

ALIGN

MANCE

MENT

Different dimensions of HR practices are important at various stages of the organizational life cycle. Since performance appraisal is an HR activity, it should also be aligned with business strategies.

HR's ROLE IN DRIVING PERFORMANCE

Rewards System

Effective rewards system can significantly increase the motivation of individuals to increase their performance. By understanding where the organization is positioning itself for various intervals in the future, an organization could design the reward system to provide incentives specifically designed to foster behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes among the workforce that directly correlate with the strategic agenda of the organization.

GLOBALIZATION

TECHNOLOGY

ECONOMIC & POLITICAL

INSTABILITY

DIVERSE WORKFORCE

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

WORK/FAMILY BALANCE

HRM

The fundamental intent of rewards in organizations is to provide incentives to achieve individual and organizational behaviors that would enable the organization to create competitive advantages and maximize the value of the shareholder's investment.

A core outcome of an effective reward system is the role in assisting in attracting and retaining critical employees. In measuring the effectiveness of the rewards system, the following factors should be considered:

? Does the current rewards system represent and provide incentives that reward behaviors to support the business strategy?

? Are new employees accepting offers with the organization based in part to the rewards system?

? How does the rewards system reflect the employee's personal values and overall culture of the organization?

? What percentage of employees and role within the organization does the reward system assist in retaining?

? What is the overall satisfaction level of the workforce with the reward they are offered?

How would one determine the effectiveness of the performance management system in creat ing competit ive advantages for the organization? The following areas are to be considered:-

? Ensuring that job descriptions are developed through timely and effective job analysis.

? Job descriptions are updated on a regular basis to reflect to changing business environment.

? Feedback is shared continuously among all shareholders.

? Every employee is fully aware of his or her role in the organization, which can easily be accomplished in the performance planning phase of the process.

? There are measurable outcomes assigned to every task reflecting the role of the position and incumbent in achieving the goals and objectives of the organization.

? T h e r e m u s t b e c o n g r u e n c y a n d consistency in performance measures across the entire organizational and performance standards should always be measured consistently.

? The process and the system must be viewed as credible, fair, valid, and reliable.

? An aggregate of the responses produces an a s s e s s m e n t o f t h e p e r f o r m a n c e management system and its effectiveness in improving individual and organizational performance.

One of the critical strategies in performance management is to understand the fundamental role of each employee in achieving the mission of the organization. By mapping a process through the identification of the purpose and role of each incumbent, one is easily able to identify where the deficiencies may exist and to develop corrective actions, identify the strengths of each individual and to maximize each employee's potential and hence their contribution to the financial contribution to the bottom-l ine of the organization.

Establish performance standards

Communicate performance

expectations to employees

Measure actual performance

Compare actual performance with standards

If necessary, initiate corrective action

Organization should follow the one of the strategy that is appraisal process for managing the performance of an individual and organization itself.

Rather than this they should calculate the potential score of an individual working in an organization as motivating potential score.



X Autonomy X Job Feedback Skill variety + Task identity

+ Task significance

3

MOTIVATING POTENTIAL SCORE

=


-Inception

-Growth -Maturity

ORGANI-

ZATIONAL

LIFE

CYCLE

-Weak

-Strong -Stable

COMPE

TITVE

ADVAN

TAGE

-Value creation

-Value accumulation

-Value maintenance

STRAT

EGIES

ORGANI-

ZATIONAL

operative

-Innovative

-Risk taking

-Flexibility - Co-

-Efficiency -Results with low level of risk

EMPLOYEE CHARACTER

ISTICS

-Exploratory

knowledge

-Exploitative

knowledge

-Harvesting

HR

STARTEGY

-Qualitative methods

-Quantitative methods

PERFOR

MANAGE

-Qualitative meth

ods

ALIGN

MANCE

MENT

Different dimensions of HR practices are important at various stages of the organizational life cycle. Since performance appraisal is an HR activity, it should also be aligned with business strategies.

HR's ROLE IN DRIVING PERFORMANCE

Rewards System

Effective rewards system can significantly increase the motivation of individuals to increase their performance. By understanding where the organization is positioning itself for various intervals in the future, an organization could design the reward system to provide incentives specifically designed to foster behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes among the workforce that directly correlate with the strategic agenda of the organization.

GLOBALIZATION

TECHNOLOGY

ECONOMIC & POLITICAL

INSTABILITY

DIVERSE WORKFORCE

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

WORK/FAMILY BALANCE

HRM

The fundamental intent of rewards in organizations is to provide incentives to achieve individual and organizational behaviors that would enable the organization to create competitive advantages and maximize the value of the shareholder's investment.

A core outcome of an effective reward system is the role in assisting in attracting and retaining critical employees. In measuring the effectiveness of the rewards system, the following factors should be considered:

? Does the current rewards system represent and provide incentives that reward behaviors to support the business strategy?

? Are new employees accepting offers with the organization based in part to the rewards system?

? How does the rewards system reflect the employee's personal values and overall culture of the organization?

? What percentage of employees and role within the organization does the reward system assist in retaining?

? What is the overall satisfaction level of the workforce with the reward they are offered?

How would one determine the effectiveness of the performance management system in creat ing competit ive advantages for the organization? The following areas are to be considered:-

? Ensuring that job descriptions are developed through timely and effective job analysis.

? Job descriptions are updated on a regular basis to reflect to changing business environment.

? Feedback is shared continuously among all shareholders.

? Every employee is fully aware of his or her role in the organization, which can easily be accomplished in the performance planning phase of the process.

? There are measurable outcomes assigned to every task reflecting the role of the position and incumbent in achieving the goals and objectives of the organization.

? T h e r e m u s t b e c o n g r u e n c y a n d consistency in performance measures across the entire organizational and performance standards should always be measured consistently.

? The process and the system must be viewed as credible, fair, valid, and reliable.

? An aggregate of the responses produces an a s s e s s m e n t o f t h e p e r f o r m a n c e management system and its effectiveness in improving individual and organizational performance.

One of the critical strategies in performance management is to understand the fundamental role of each employee in achieving the mission of the organization. By mapping a process through the identification of the purpose and role of each incumbent, one is easily able to identify where the deficiencies may exist and to develop corrective actions, identify the strengths of each individual and to maximize each employee's potential and hence their contribution to the financial contribution to the bottom-l ine of the organization.

Establish performance standards

Communicate performance

expectations to employees

Measure actual performance

Compare actual performance with standards

If necessary, initiate corrective action

Organization should follow the one of the strategy that is appraisal process for managing the performance of an individual and organization itself.

Rather than this they should calculate the potential score of an individual working in an organization as motivating potential score.



X Autonomy X Job Feedback Skill variety + Task identity

+ Task significance

3

MOTIVATING POTENTIAL SCORE

=

It is necessary to pay attention to certain issues to understand the linkage between compensation strategy and organizational strategy. It is also likely that compensation strategy may differ for different functional areas such as marketing, finance, or R & D. Similarly, payments and reward system for professionals, semi-skilled, and unskilled employees can be quite different.

Summary of Framework For Assessing HR In Today's Global And Competitive Environment.

With the importance of showing how HR contributes to the business strategy and understanding the how to determine the level of HR's effectiveness in contributing to financial profitability of the organization, it is intended that these strategies be used to enhance the profession in creating higher levels of value for organizations. The following summary lists and briefly describes the respective HR

STRATEGIC COMPENSATION PATTERNS

cluster, its outcomes, and possible measurement to determine its effectiveness in creating value:

At last keeping in view the cost of human resource, an organization accounted for all HR-related budgets, such as salaries, employee training and development etc. as expenses in the balance sheet that resulted in no returns for the organization. Human skills and knowledge are crucial to everything that is produced including goods and services. Investment in human resources is necessary to :

? Attain competitive advantage

? Develop new product and services

? Determine optimal type and quality of physical and capital assets

? Analyze the cost and benefits and extent of risk involved

MECHANISTIC COMPENSATION

STRATEGIES

ORGANIC COMPENSATION STRATEGIES

•

Make routinepay decisions

•

More responsive to changing

BASICS FOR PAY BASICS FOR PAY

DESIGN TO PAY DESIGN TO PAY

ADMINISTRATIVE ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORKFRAME

? Is the reward system flexible enough to be changed if there are external challenges and opportunities that would create a need for changing the system?

? What is the overall cost of the reward system as compared to i ts overal l benefits?

Organizations whose reward systems are linked to business strategy to a great extent have higher returns than those with less of a linkage.

Along with this, if organizations strategically designed pay systems perform better than the traditional pay counterparts based on financial objectives such as earnings per share, return on assets, profits per employee, and cash flow.

INTRINSIC EXTRINSIC

•

Participate in

FINANCIAL NON FINANCIAL

IMPLIED MEMBERSHIP

BASED

EXPLICIT MEMBERSHIP

BASED

PERFORMANCE BASED

STRUCTURE OF REWARDS SYSTEM

STRUCTURE OF REWARD SYSTEM



It is necessary to pay attention to certain issues to understand the linkage between compensation strategy and organizational strategy. It is also likely that compensation strategy may differ for different functional areas such as marketing, finance, or R & D. Similarly, payments and reward system for professionals, semi-skilled, and unskilled employees can be quite different.

Summary of Framework For Assessing HR In Today's Global And Competitive Environment.

With the importance of showing how HR contributes to the business strategy and understanding the how to determine the level of HR's effectiveness in contributing to financial profitability of the organization, it is intended that these strategies be used to enhance the profession in creating higher levels of value for organizations. The following summary lists and briefly describes the respective HR

STRATEGIC COMPENSATION PATTERNS

cluster, its outcomes, and possible measurement to determine its effectiveness in creating value:

At last keeping in view the cost of human resource, an organization accounted for all HR-related budgets, such as salaries, employee training and development etc. as expenses in the balance sheet that resulted in no returns for the organization. Human skills and knowledge are crucial to everything that is produced including goods and services. Investment in human resources is necessary to :

? Attain competitive advantage

? Develop new product and services

? Determine optimal type and quality of physical and capital assets

? Analyze the cost and benefits and extent of risk involved

MECHANISTIC COMPENSATION

STRATEGIES

ORGANIC COMPENSATION STRATEGIES

•

Make routinepay decisions

•

More responsive to changing

BASICS FOR PAY BASICS FOR PAY

DESIGN TO PAY DESIGN TO PAY

ADMINISTRATIVE ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORKFRAME

? Is the reward system flexible enough to be changed if there are external challenges and opportunities that would create a need for changing the system?

? What is the overall cost of the reward system as compared to i ts overal l benefits?

Organizations whose reward systems are linked to business strategy to a great extent have higher returns than those with less of a linkage.

Along with this, if organizations strategically designed pay systems perform better than the traditional pay counterparts based on financial objectives such as earnings per share, return on assets, profits per employee, and cash flow.

INTRINSIC EXTRINSIC

•

Participate in

FINANCIAL NON FINANCIAL

IMPLIED MEMBERSHIP

BASED

EXPLICIT MEMBERSHIP

BASED

PERFORMANCE BASED

STRUCTURE OF REWARDS SYSTEM

STRUCTURE OF REWARD SYSTEM




ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND

DEVELOPMEN

Positive responses in meeting customers’ needs.Organization culture reflects the organization and supports the business strategy.

ACQUISISTION OF EMPLOYEES

effectively contribute to the implementation of the business strategy.

The planning process, advertising and recruitment sources support the business strategy.

Interviewers are effective in selecting

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Analysis, decisions, and actions needed to create and sustain competitive advantages

EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

attitude of participants.

Increased expertise.

Opportunities for newly acquired employees.Support from peers, supervisors and others in utilizing knowledge gained in training.

Ability to compete.Quality of output.Ability of the system to respond to the changes.Organization allows for maximum sharing of information and resolving any internal or external challenges.

Adequate number of qualified incumbents, reduced cost per hire, increased applicant pool, reduced employee turnover ratio, higher performance output from incumbents.

Financial profitability, social responsibility, integrated of all areas of organization, efficiently utilizes the resources

Improvement in the performance of the individual, process, and the organization.

T

Higher productivity, quality and service.

New employees

the right candidates.

Positive change in

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Job descriptions Feedback is shared among all.Each one is fully aware of his role.Measureable outcomes.The process and system viewed as credible, fair, valid, and reliable.

Each position and task performed by the employees adequately supports the strategic business objectives of the organization.The process is effective in maximizing employee performance.

REWARD SYSTEM

New employees accept offers with the organization based on the rewardsystem.Reward system

sreflect the employees personal values and overall culture of the organization

Rewards system viewed as motivating for employees to increase their performance.Provide incentives to achieve individual and organizational behaviors alignment with business strategies and investments. Outcomes are cost

effective.


UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF MEASUREMENT IN ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HR PRACTICES

ME

A

S

U

R

E

M

E

N

T

S

STRATEGIC PLANNING

ACQUISITION OF EMPLOYEES

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

ORGANIZATION CHANGE & DEVELOPMENT


REWARDS SYSTEM

FINANCIAL PROFITABILITY

COMPETITVE ADVANTAGE


ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND

DEVELOPMEN

Positive responses in meeting customers’ needs.Organization culture reflects the organization and supports the business strategy.

ACQUISISTION OF EMPLOYEES

effectively contribute to the implementation of the business strategy.

The planning process, advertising and recruitment sources support the business strategy.

Interviewers are effective in selecting

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Analysis, decisions, and actions needed to create and sustain competitive advantages

EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

attitude of participants.

Increased expertise.

Opportunities for newly acquired employees.Support from peers, supervisors and others in utilizing knowledge gained in training.

Ability to compete.Quality of output.Ability of the system to respond to the changes.Organization allows for maximum sharing of information and resolving any internal or external challenges.

Adequate number of qualified incumbents, reduced cost per hire, increased applicant pool, reduced employee turnover ratio, higher performance output from incumbents.

Financial profitability, social responsibility, integrated of all areas of organization, efficiently utilizes the resources

Improvement in the performance of the individual, process, and the organization.

T

Higher productivity, quality and service.

New employees

the right candidates.

Positive change in


Job descriptions Feedback is shared among all.Each one is fully aware of his role.Measureable outcomes.The process and system viewed as credible, fair, valid, and reliable.

Each position and task performed by the employees adequately supports the strategic business objectives of the organization.The process is effective in maximizing employee performance.

REWARD SYSTEM

New employees accept offers with the organization based on the rewardsystem.Reward system

sreflect the employees personal values and overall culture of the organization

Rewards system viewed as motivating for employees to increase their performance.Provide incentives to achieve individual and organizational behaviors alignment with business strategies and investments. Outcomes are cost

effective.


UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF MEASUREMENT IN ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HR PRACTICES

ME

A

S

U

R

E

M

E

N

T

S

STRATEGIC PLANNING

ACQUISITION OF EMPLOYEES

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

ORGANIZATION CHANGE & DEVELOPMENT


REWARDS SYSTEM

FINANCIAL PROFITABILITY

COMPETITVE ADVANTAGE

Sikkim: Tourism product development with reference to seven P's framework: A CASE STUDY

*Assistant Professor-Marketing, Alliance Business School Anekal, Bangalore ,Karnataka, India.** Students of PGDM Programme of Alliance Business School Anekal, Bangalore ,Karnataka, India.

Dr.M.Prasanna Mohan Raj*Pooja Prasad, Rakesh Arumilli, Sambit Mohanty, and Neeraj Raju Shiwani**

ABSTRACT

A tourism product can be defined as the sum of the physical and psychological satisfaction which it provides to tourists during their travelling and route to the destination. It aims at enhancing visitor experience by having strategic alliances with business stakeholders like hotels, airlines, travel agencies etc. Countries have taken brand building initiatives to promote their destinations as a 'brand' to attract more tourists. In 2002, India adopted its most successful marketing campaign “Incredible India” with the objective of revamping brand India as a tourist attraction with an integrated marketing communication effort. Some of the places in India are worldwide famous but there are others which deserve better promotions. North eastern states in India are not successfully marketed despite its splendid natural beauty. This paper explores the concept of tourism destination brand identity from the services marketing perspective. The primary objective of this case is to develop the marketing mix (Seven P's) framework for Sikkim to make it as one of the best destinations in the India. The case study also develops new brand name , logo, tagline for Sikkim tourism. This case study deals with marketing of Sikkim through seven marketing mix elements: Service product, pricing, promotion (communication), place (distribution), service processes, people and physical evidences.

Keywords: Destination branding, Tourism, Marketing Mix for services (7 P's)

The authors acknowledge the assistance of Ms.Somaasri, visualizer, Living colourez - Chennai, in designing the Logo.

Background

Indian tourism industry is witnessing a strong period of growth, at the stage of speeding up economic empowerment and the transformation. As India opened its gates towards a more open economy, tourism has evolved into a highly structured industry with the potential to earn immense revenues. Tourism has a multiplier effect on people involved in catering, transportation, shops, travel agencies, proprietors of tourist business and entrepreneurs supporting the tourism industry.

Tourism contributes more than 6.23% to India's GDP of $1 trillion, and provides employment to 53 million people directly or indirectly. Foreign tourist arrivals to India were 522,000 in December, 2008. According to World Tourism Organization estimates, India will lead in South Asia with 8.9 million arrivals by 2020. India witnessed more than 5 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 562 million domestic tourism visits as per the travel and tourism competitiveness report 2009 released by the World Economic Forum. India is ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd in overall, moving up three

places on the list of the world's attractive destinations. The report also states that real GDP growth for travel and tourism economy is expected to achieve an average of 7.7 per cent per annum over the next 10 years and the export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate US$ 51.4 billion (nominal terms) by 2010. The travel and tourism sector which accounted for 6.4 per cent of total employment in 2009 is expected to generate 40,037,000 jobs i.e. 7.2 per cent of total employment by 2019.

India has been ranked the "best country brand for value-for-money" in the Country Brand Index (CBI) survey conducted by FutureBrand, a leading global brand consultancy. India also claimed the second place in CBI's "Best Country Brand for History", as well as appears among the top 5 in the best country brand for authenticity and art & culture, and the fourth best new country for business. According to World Travel and Tourism Council, India will be one of the tourism hotspots in future. The Indian travel and tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019. The tourism industry

Conclusion

Here, it is proved that HRM is a critical driver in an organization's performance, it is imperative for HR and other leaders to understand the critical nature and utmost importance of understanding the effectiveness of all HR activities in creating value for the organization. It is only through measuring of HRM that one can really gain the benefits of HR strategies in achieving the organization's business strategy and in the process enhance the credibility of HR profession.

The HR profession is at a juncture where measuring HR's efforts is not just a nice thing to do, but should be an integral part of an HR department's efforts. There will be practitioners that would naturally resist this important aspect of HR, but through coaching, training, and practice, expertise will be developed and ultimately improve the performance and the effectiveness of the HR function. It is only through such efforts that HR can validate its claims that it is a strategic business partner and a value-added department within the

References:

? Agarwala, Tanuja, ( 2007),Strategic Human R e s o u r c e M a n a g e m e n t , O x f o r d http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Business/Management/StrategicManageme

nt/?view=usa&ci=9780195683592

? Bhargava, A., (2004), 'BPO express: fast track or slow coach?', The Economics Times, November 15, 2004. New Delhi .

? http://economictimes. indiat imes.com/ retrieved on November 15, 2004.

? Campbell, DJ., KM. Campbell and H. Chia. (1998). "Merit Pay, Performance Appraisal, ... "Improving Employee Acceptance Toward Performance Appraisal and Merit Pay Systems: ... In Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management,

? h t tp : / /www.a l l bu s in e s s . com/human-resources/compensation-bonuses/1089635-1.html

? h t t p : / / b u s i n e s s t o d a y. i n t o d a y. i n / ?http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/articlelist/913168846.cm

? http://epaper.timesofindia.com/index1.asp

? www.hrmguide.net/

? www.hrm.com/

? www.compensation.com



Sikkim: Tourism product development with reference to seven P's framework: A CASE STUDY

*Assistant Professor-Marketing, Alliance Business School Anekal, Bangalore ,Karnataka, India.** Students of PGDM Programme of Alliance Business School Anekal, Bangalore ,Karnataka, India.

Dr.M.Prasanna Mohan Raj*Pooja Prasad, Rakesh Arumilli, Sambit Mohanty, and Neeraj Raju Shiwani**

ABSTRACT

A tourism product can be defined as the sum of the physical and psychological satisfaction which it provides to tourists during their travelling and route to the destination. It aims at enhancing visitor experience by having strategic alliances with business stakeholders like hotels, airlines, travel agencies etc. Countries have taken brand building initiatives to promote their destinations as a 'brand' to attract more tourists. In 2002, India adopted its most successful marketing campaign “Incredible India” with the objective of revamping brand India as a tourist attraction with an integrated marketing communication effort. Some of the places in India are worldwide famous but there are others which deserve better promotions. North eastern states in India are not successfully marketed despite its splendid natural beauty. This paper explores the concept of tourism destination brand identity from the services marketing perspective. The primary objective of this case is to develop the marketing mix (Seven P's) framework for Sikkim to make it as one of the best destinations in the India. The case study also develops new brand name , logo, tagline for Sikkim tourism. This case study deals with marketing of Sikkim through seven marketing mix elements: Service product, pricing, promotion (communication), place (distribution), service processes, people and physical evidences.

Keywords: Destination branding, Tourism, Marketing Mix for services (7 P's)

The authors acknowledge the assistance of Ms.Somaasri, visualizer, Living colourez - Chennai, in designing the Logo.

Background

Indian tourism industry is witnessing a strong period of growth, at the stage of speeding up economic empowerment and the transformation. As India opened its gates towards a more open economy, tourism has evolved into a highly structured industry with the potential to earn immense revenues. Tourism has a multiplier effect on people involved in catering, transportation, shops, travel agencies, proprietors of tourist business and entrepreneurs supporting the tourism industry.

Tourism contributes more than 6.23% to India's GDP of $1 trillion, and provides employment to 53 million people directly or indirectly. Foreign tourist arrivals to India were 522,000 in December, 2008. According to World Tourism Organization estimates, India will lead in South Asia with 8.9 million arrivals by 2020. India witnessed more than 5 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 562 million domestic tourism visits as per the travel and tourism competitiveness report 2009 released by the World Economic Forum. India is ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd in overall, moving up three

places on the list of the world's attractive destinations. The report also states that real GDP growth for travel and tourism economy is expected to achieve an average of 7.7 per cent per annum over the next 10 years and the export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate US$ 51.4 billion (nominal terms) by 2010. The travel and tourism sector which accounted for 6.4 per cent of total employment in 2009 is expected to generate 40,037,000 jobs i.e. 7.2 per cent of total employment by 2019.

India has been ranked the "best country brand for value-for-money" in the Country Brand Index (CBI) survey conducted by FutureBrand, a leading global brand consultancy. India also claimed the second place in CBI's "Best Country Brand for History", as well as appears among the top 5 in the best country brand for authenticity and art & culture, and the fourth best new country for business. According to World Travel and Tourism Council, India will be one of the tourism hotspots in future. The Indian travel and tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019. The tourism industry

Conclusion

Here, it is proved that HRM is a critical driver in an organization's performance, it is imperative for HR and other leaders to understand the critical nature and utmost importance of understanding the effectiveness of all HR activities in creating value for the organization. It is only through measuring of HRM that one can really gain the benefits of HR strategies in achieving the organization's business strategy and in the process enhance the credibility of HR profession.

The HR profession is at a juncture where measuring HR's efforts is not just a nice thing to do, but should be an integral part of an HR department's efforts. There will be practitioners that would naturally resist this important aspect of HR, but through coaching, training, and practice, expertise will be developed and ultimately improve the performance and the effectiveness of the HR function. It is only through such efforts that HR can validate its claims that it is a strategic business partner and a value-added department within the

References:

? Agarwala, Tanuja, ( 2007),Strategic Human R e s o u r c e M a n a g e m e n t , O x f o r d http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Business/Management/StrategicManageme

nt/?view=usa&ci=9780195683592

? Bhargava, A., (2004), 'BPO express: fast track or slow coach?', The Economics Times, November 15, 2004. New Delhi .

? http://economictimes. indiat imes.com/ retrieved on November 15, 2004.

? Campbell, DJ., KM. Campbell and H. Chia. (1998). "Merit Pay, Performance Appraisal, ... "Improving Employee Acceptance Toward Performance Appraisal and Merit Pay Systems: ... In Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management,

? h t tp : / /www.a l l bu s in e s s . com/human-resources/compensation-bonuses/1089635-1.html

? h t t p : / / b u s i n e s s t o d a y. i n t o d a y. i n / ?http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/articlelist/913168846.cm

? http://epaper.timesofindia.com/index1.asp

? www.hrmguide.net/

? www.hrm.com/

? www.compensation.com




Table 1. Tourists Arrival In Sikkim

Source:http://sikkimtournet.com/WebForms/General/TouristArrivalStats.aspx

Product

A tourism product can be defined as sum of the physical and psychological satisfaction it provides to tourists during their traveling and route at the destination. Tourism Product is the tourism activity or experience that a tourist participates in.

? Destination branding:

Travellers' images of destinations play an important role in destination choice. According to Baloglu and Brinberg (1997) Image differentiates tourist destinations from each other and is an integral and influential part of the traveller's decision making process. Destination branding is a process used to develop a unique identity and personality that is different from all competitive destinations. Destination branding is the act of selecting a consistent brand element mix to identify and distinguish a destination through positive image building.

Destination branding is a strategic approach to public relations, stating that a change of image is an ongoing, holistic, interactive and wide-scale process, requiring much more than a quick change of logo or slogan. Successful destination-brand management can be seen as an exercise of coordination of tourism product elements; such as tourism infrastructures, quality of local services, and ancillary services need to be managed in order to achieve a coherent and desired

destination-brand identity.

There are two significant factors which determine the powerful destination brand:

1. Awareness about the destination

2. Attractiveness of the destination.

The destination should score high on both parameters of awareness and attractiveness. Kerala, Goa and Agra are the destinations which score high on both these parameters. There are few destinations which are well recognized as the paramount tourist places, but have less celebrity value to attract people. Although, Jammu and Kashmir is a renowned tourist place, but it could not attract people because of the menace of terrorism. Similarly, Sikkim is the place which is high on celebrity value i.e. more attractive with spectacular natural beauty encircled with snow-capped Himalayas, but it has not been marketed well in the tourism market.

? Brand name for Sikkim: “Serene Sikkim”

A great brand name is one of the most powerful assets in branding and advertising. It is what makes one place different from competitive places and the emotional tug that connects destination brand with the tourists.

Since Sikkim lies in the lap of Himalayas, it has an atmosphere which is pollution free and pure thus justifying the adjective “serene” in the brand name. With its spellbinding natural beauty and its vividness in culture, it can be one of the most favourite tourist destinations. Thus branding of Sikkim as 'Serene Sikkim' will position its radiance in the best possible way. (Serene Sikkim' brand name is coined by the authors for Sikkim tourism. Logo and Tag line also designed by the authors).

? Brand positioning statement for Sikkim:

“Where Tradition Meets Eternity”.

Figure 1 New logo and Tagline for Sikkim Tourism

Logo

in India generated revenue about US$100 billion in 2008 and it is expected to increase to US$275.5 billion by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate.

Countries have taken brand building initiatives to promote their destinations as a 'brand' to attract more tourists. During 1990s, Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore took up the task of promoting tourism in their countries through destination branding strategies.

In the late 1990s, India realized the significance of branding initiatives and took structured branding exercises. In 1997, India launched the campaign of “Eternally yours”. Print Media was extensively used to execute the campaign and the campaign was designed by Oasis advertising agency. In 2002, The 'Incredible India' campaign was launched by the Government of India, to promote India as a tourist destination. This campaign was designed by Ogilvy & Mather. The major objective of this campaign is to revamp brand India as tourist attraction with 360 degree marketing campaign. The 360 degree marketing concept looks holistically at all of the touch points surrounding the consumer.

In India, the most popular tourist destinations were:

1. The Golden Triangle Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

2. Goa- Beach destination.

3. Kerala- Destination for natural gifts.

The above destinations attracted most of the foreign and domestic tourists. Branding campaigns of those places were the key instrumental in attracting the tourists. Those places have crafted marketing strategies through careful execution of brand building exercises. Branding slogans were designed for those places. The excellent examples of destination branding campaigns are Kerala Tourism`s “God`s Own Country” and Goa Tourism's “Go Goa”. Destination branding campaigns have largely facilitated in increasing the brand equity and knowledge about those places. Destination branding is the process of developing favourable brand image of the place through selection of brand element (logo, tagline, color etc) mix which will give the unique identity. The objective of the destination branding is to capture the essence of the destination, in a unified manner, and can be consumed simultaneously at a symbolic

and experiential level. Countries have taken brand building initiatives to promote their destinations as a 'brand' to attract more tourists.

Objective of the Study

Some of the places in India are very well known and popular while there are others that deserve better promotions. Northeastern states in India are not successfully marketed despite its splendid natural beauty. The primary objective of this case is to develop the Marketing mix (Seven P's) framework for Sikkim to make it as one of the best destinations in India. This case study deals with marketing of Sikkim through seven marketing mix elements: Service product, pricing, promotion (communication), place (distribution), service processes, People and Physical Evidences.

SIKKIM: Glory of Himalayas

Sikkim is situated in north eastern parts of India. It is the least populous state in India and the second-smallest in area after Goa. The thumb-shaped state borders Nepal in the west, the Tibet autonomous region of China to the north and the east and Bhutan in the southeast. It was once a Himalayan monarchy and part of the fabled silk route to China. Its merger with India in 1975 offered a window to the world to discover the treasures of this hidden land. The state has the steepest rise in altitude over the shortest distance and has within its 7,096 sq.kms the entire climatic range, from tropical to temperate to alpine, bestowing on the land an intense natural heritage.

It is a mystical wonderland of impressive natural beauty. The panoramic perfection of the heady scent of flower-bedecked meadows, the vibrant culture and joyous festivals, the countless varieties of its flora and fauna gives fascinating holiday experience. The crowning glory of Sikkim is Mt. Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world. With magnificent snow and ice scenery it is often regarded as the undoubted monarch among the peaks of the world. The sacrosanct mountain can be viewed from every corner of Sikkim and remains an intrinsic part of the consciousness of the people. Tourism is the main thrust for state development for Sikkim. Hence, Sikkim is a prospective tourist destination owing to its culture, scenic beauty and biodiversity. The arrivals of both international and domestic tourists have been showing upward trends for the past 10 years.


Sikkim: Tourism product development with reference ...


Table 1. Tourists Arrival In Sikkim

Source:http://sikkimtournet.com/WebForms/General/TouristArrivalStats.aspx

Product

A tourism product can be defined as sum of the physical and psychological satisfaction it provides to tourists during their traveling and route at the destination. Tourism Product is the tourism activity or experience that a tourist participates in.

? Destination branding:

Travellers' images of destinations play an important role in destination choice. According to Baloglu and Brinberg (1997) Image differentiates tourist destinations from each other and is an integral and influential part of the traveller's decision making process. Destination branding is a process used to develop a unique identity and personality that is different from all competitive destinations. Destination branding is the act of selecting a consistent brand element mix to identify and distinguish a destination through positive image building.

Destination branding is a strategic approach to public relations, stating that a change of image is an ongoing, holistic, interactive and wide-scale process, requiring much more than a quick change of logo or slogan. Successful destination-brand management can be seen as an exercise of coordination of tourism product elements; such as tourism infrastructures, quality of local services, and ancillary services need to be managed in order to achieve a coherent and desired

destination-brand identity.

There are two significant factors which determine the powerful destination brand:

1. Awareness about the destination

2. Attractiveness of the destination.

The destination should score high on both parameters of awareness and attractiveness. Kerala, Goa and Agra are the destinations which score high on both these parameters. There are few destinations which are well recognized as the paramount tourist places, but have less celebrity value to attract people. Although, Jammu and Kashmir is a renowned tourist place, but it could not attract people because of the menace of terrorism. Similarly, Sikkim is the place which is high on celebrity value i.e. more attractive with spectacular natural beauty encircled with snow-capped Himalayas, but it has not been marketed well in the tourism market.

? Brand name for Sikkim: “Serene Sikkim”

A great brand name is one of the most powerful assets in branding and advertising. It is what makes one place different from competitive places and the emotional tug that connects destination brand with the tourists.

Since Sikkim lies in the lap of Himalayas, it has an atmosphere which is pollution free and pure thus justifying the adjective “serene” in the brand name. With its spellbinding natural beauty and its vividness in culture, it can be one of the most favourite tourist destinations. Thus branding of Sikkim as 'Serene Sikkim' will position its radiance in the best possible way. (Serene Sikkim' brand name is coined by the authors for Sikkim tourism. Logo and Tag line also designed by the authors).

? Brand positioning statement for Sikkim:

“Where Tradition Meets Eternity”.

Figure 1 New logo and Tagline for Sikkim Tourism

Logo

in India generated revenue about US$100 billion in 2008 and it is expected to increase to US$275.5 billion by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate.

Countries have taken brand building initiatives to promote their destinations as a 'brand' to attract more tourists. During 1990s, Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore took up the task of promoting tourism in their countries through destination branding strategies.

In the late 1990s, India realized the significance of branding initiatives and took structured branding exercises. In 1997, India launched the campaign of “Eternally yours”. Print Media was extensively used to execute the campaign and the campaign was designed by Oasis advertising agency. In 2002, The 'Incredible India' campaign was launched by the Government of India, to promote India as a tourist destination. This campaign was designed by Ogilvy & Mather. The major objective of this campaign is to revamp brand India as tourist attraction with 360 degree marketing campaign. The 360 degree marketing concept looks holistically at all of the touch points surrounding the consumer.

In India, the most popular tourist destinations were:

1. The Golden Triangle Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

2. Goa- Beach destination.

3. Kerala- Destination for natural gifts.

The above destinations attracted most of the foreign and domestic tourists. Branding campaigns of those places were the key instrumental in attracting the tourists. Those places have crafted marketing strategies through careful execution of brand building exercises. Branding slogans were designed for those places. The excellent examples of destination branding campaigns are Kerala Tourism`s “God`s Own Country” and Goa Tourism's “Go Goa”. Destination branding campaigns have largely facilitated in increasing the brand equity and knowledge about those places. Destination branding is the process of developing favourable brand image of the place through selection of brand element (logo, tagline, color etc) mix which will give the unique identity. The objective of the destination branding is to capture the essence of the destination, in a unified manner, and can be consumed simultaneously at a symbolic

and experiential level. Countries have taken brand building initiatives to promote their destinations as a 'brand' to attract more tourists.

Objective of the Study

Some of the places in India are very well known and popular while there are others that deserve better promotions. Northeastern states in India are not successfully marketed despite its splendid natural beauty. The primary objective of this case is to develop the Marketing mix (Seven P's) framework for Sikkim to make it as one of the best destinations in India. This case study deals with marketing of Sikkim through seven marketing mix elements: Service product, pricing, promotion (communication), place (distribution), service processes, People and Physical Evidences.

SIKKIM: Glory of Himalayas

Sikkim is situated in north eastern parts of India. It is the least populous state in India and the second-smallest in area after Goa. The thumb-shaped state borders Nepal in the west, the Tibet autonomous region of China to the north and the east and Bhutan in the southeast. It was once a Himalayan monarchy and part of the fabled silk route to China. Its merger with India in 1975 offered a window to the world to discover the treasures of this hidden land. The state has the steepest rise in altitude over the shortest distance and has within its 7,096 sq.kms the entire climatic range, from tropical to temperate to alpine, bestowing on the land an intense natural heritage.

It is a mystical wonderland of impressive natural beauty. The panoramic perfection of the heady scent of flower-bedecked meadows, the vibrant culture and joyous festivals, the countless varieties of its flora and fauna gives fascinating holiday experience. The crowning glory of Sikkim is Mt. Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world. With magnificent snow and ice scenery it is often regarded as the undoubted monarch among the peaks of the world. The sacrosanct mountain can be viewed from every corner of Sikkim and remains an intrinsic part of the consciousness of the people. Tourism is the main thrust for state development for Sikkim. Hence, Sikkim is a prospective tourist destination owing to its culture, scenic beauty and biodiversity. The arrivals of both international and domestic tourists have been showing upward trends for the past 10 years.




By Air : The nearest airport Bagdogra, near Siliguri in West Bengal, is connected by air to New Delhi, Kolkata and Guawahati. Travellers can also commute by helicopter from Silliguri to Sikkim. By Rail: Siliguri (114 kms) and New Jalpaiguri (125 kms) are the two closest railway stations connecting Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati and other important cities in India with Sikkim.By Road: The state is connected by road to Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Siliguri. Bus service is offered by the Sikkim Nationalised Transport (SNT) from all major cities and towns in North Bengal to Gangtok.

People

The people interact with customers and their behaviour determines how customers evaluate a tourist destination. The people of Sikkim are very down to earth who believe in the values of honesty and integrity. Sikkim people do believe in “Athithi Devo Bhava” i.e. guest is God. The Sikkimese have an impeccable behaviour and are soft in nature, thus giving a homely feel to the tourists. The People of Sikkim consist of three ethnic groups, that is, Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepali. Communities of different hues intermingle freely in Sikkim to constitute a homogenous blend. Hindu Temples coexist with Buddhist Monasteries, Churches, Mosque and Gurudwara. These myriad Cultures have produced a quintessential Sikkimese Culture that encompasses all ways and walk of life, but has also managed to maintain their own identity. These can also be seen in various places of worship, festivals and cultural dances that are celebrated throughout the year.

The travellers will not face any difficulty as the people of Sikkim are very cooperative, be it a rickshawala, ghodawala or even a tourist operator. Sikkim tourism department should conduct training programs on customers' service and service excellence for travel agents, hotel service personnel and tourist guides who are at the front end to interact with the tourists. This will add credibility to Sikkim tourism and will gain trust especially among international tourists.

Process

The actual procedures, mechanisms and flow of activities by which the service is delivered are called service processes. In tourism, the service processes may have longer time frame and involve multiple steps.

Process will include the entire plan of gathering information about Sikkim and how to reach Sikkim, choosing the tour package, booking tickets, travel, stay and return journey. Based on the service blueprint, demand of tourist arrival and human resources requirements can be effectively estimated.

Physical Evidence

In tourism services, Physical evidence involves the tangible aspects of destination like hotels, places with rich heritage, health clubs, etc. Virtual Servicescape carries the significance to create first impression in the minds of tourists. Virtual Servicescape means experiencing the services through internet. Virtual tours can be offered through interactive website to allow customers to preview a service experience and provides tangible evidences of the services. It will communicate the experiential aspects of the services even before the real experience. The website may be made more attractive and user friendly by including the following aspects:

? Scenic beauty

? Culture

? Tradition

? Adventure sports etc.

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Plan For Promoting Sikkim

Integrated Marketing communications (IMC) is the process of integrating and coordinating communications tools (Advertising, Sales promotion, Direct Marketing, Personal selling and public relations) to deliver a clear, consistent and compelling message about the place or product.

Advertising Plan

All media channels should be effectively used to communicate the essence of the brand. Priority should be given to the niche channels which are widely viewed by world travelers like Discovery channel, National Geographic and Travel & leisure. Similarly, the advertisements can be placed in special magazines which focus on tourism like Traveler and discover India. The advertisement should be placed in In-flight magazines which have more sway and frequency to attract more international tourists.

This positioning statement explains the unexplored tradition and natural beauty of Sikkim and its propensity to welcome tourists across the world.

The Logo of the place should be noticeable and meaningful. The new logo depicts Sikkim's natural richness and Himalayan heritage. The new logo also portrays its unique gift of nature, Mt. Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world. The new tagline says “Where Tradition Meets Eternity” which relates to the eco-tourism which is one of its unique destination propositions. The logo explains the picturesque beauty of the Himalayas and the rivers breaking out from them. The bright colours in the logo signify the vivacious and open-minded approach of the people of the Sikkim. The tagline can further be extended to “Where Tradition Meets Eternity And Adventure Meets You”.

Tourism Products :

Sikkim can develop unique destination proposition based on two tourism products:

1) Eco Tourism 2) Adventure tourism.

Eco Tourism

An ecotourism is the guided tour that consists of conservation and preservation of natural resources and educates the travellers something about the nature and culture of the area in which they are located. The main objective of ecotourism is to “promote responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." Sikkim is the smoke free zone and also banned the usage of plastic bags. Sikkim tourism educates the visitors through its interactive website and also through brief session about the significance of preservation of natural resources.

Adventure Tourism

Sikkim is one of the best adventure destinations in India with its varied and undulating landscape. Trekking, Mountaineering and River Rafting are the most popular adventure sports experienced in Sikkim. Tourists can also experience the thrill of white water rafting in river Teesta that definitely will be a hair rising experience. There are no better place other than Sikkim to indulge in trekking and mountaineering. There are trek routes at altitudes as high as 14000 feet above sea level that set visitors pulse racing. Sikkim is a house for

many adventurous sports comprising of river rafting, trekking, rock climbing, skydiving etc. which makes Sikkim stand ahead of other Indian tourist spots in adventure tourism.

The ideal time to go trekking is mid February to late May and between October and mid December. The monsoon period is between June and September and the cold and harsh winter months are between December and February. No technical climbing experience is necessary as most of the treks are between 6000 and 14000 feet. All one needs is to be in fit shape. Camping and trekking equipment are available on hire from the tourism department and from reputed travel agents.

Price

Price of the tourist package has to take into account the costs involved in transportation, boarding, lodging, charges for entry to various tourist sites etc.Price bundling technique can be used to develop various tour packages which includes all other support services. Price bundling is the practice of marketing two or more services (viz. travel, Hotels etc) in a single package at a single price. Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) could develop the combo pricing plan of Darjeeling and Gangtok (Sikkim) tour packages as Darjeeling is the nearest popular tourist attraction.

Place

In the context of services, the place denotes how and where the services are delivered and consumed by the customers. There are three options to distribute the services :

a) The consumer has to go to service provider (e.g through Tourism services, Spa, and medical etc).

b) Service provider has to approach the customer (e.g through Repair and maintenance and interior decoration etc.).

c) Service provider and customer meets through online (e.g , booking tour packages through online).

The interactive website could be designed by STDC which will include the online booking facility. As the state is surrounded by Himalayan hills, there are no airports or railway stations in Sikkim. The only way to enter Sikkim from rest of India is by road using bus or jeep from West Bengal.




By Air : The nearest airport Bagdogra, near Siliguri in West Bengal, is connected by air to New Delhi, Kolkata and Guawahati. Travellers can also commute by helicopter from Silliguri to Sikkim. By Rail: Siliguri (114 kms) and New Jalpaiguri (125 kms) are the two closest railway stations connecting Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati and other important cities in India with Sikkim.By Road: The state is connected by road to Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Siliguri. Bus service is offered by the Sikkim Nationalised Transport (SNT) from all major cities and towns in North Bengal to Gangtok.

People

The people interact with customers and their behaviour determines how customers evaluate a tourist destination. The people of Sikkim are very down to earth who believe in the values of honesty and integrity. Sikkim people do believe in “Athithi Devo Bhava” i.e. guest is God. The Sikkimese have an impeccable behaviour and are soft in nature, thus giving a homely feel to the tourists. The People of Sikkim consist of three ethnic groups, that is, Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepali. Communities of different hues intermingle freely in Sikkim to constitute a homogenous blend. Hindu Temples coexist with Buddhist Monasteries, Churches, Mosque and Gurudwara. These myriad Cultures have produced a quintessential Sikkimese Culture that encompasses all ways and walk of life, but has also managed to maintain their own identity. These can also be seen in various places of worship, festivals and cultural dances that are celebrated throughout the year.

The travellers will not face any difficulty as the people of Sikkim are very cooperative, be it a rickshawala, ghodawala or even a tourist operator. Sikkim tourism department should conduct training programs on customers' service and service excellence for travel agents, hotel service personnel and tourist guides who are at the front end to interact with the tourists. This will add credibility to Sikkim tourism and will gain trust especially among international tourists.

Process

The actual procedures, mechanisms and flow of activities by which the service is delivered are called service processes. In tourism, the service processes may have longer time frame and involve multiple steps.

Process will include the entire plan of gathering information about Sikkim and how to reach Sikkim, choosing the tour package, booking tickets, travel, stay and return journey. Based on the service blueprint, demand of tourist arrival and human resources requirements can be effectively estimated.

Physical Evidence

In tourism services, Physical evidence involves the tangible aspects of destination like hotels, places with rich heritage, health clubs, etc. Virtual Servicescape carries the significance to create first impression in the minds of tourists. Virtual Servicescape means experiencing the services through internet. Virtual tours can be offered through interactive website to allow customers to preview a service experience and provides tangible evidences of the services. It will communicate the experiential aspects of the services even before the real experience. The website may be made more attractive and user friendly by including the following aspects:

? Scenic beauty

? Culture

? Tradition

? Adventure sports etc.

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Plan For Promoting Sikkim

Integrated Marketing communications (IMC) is the process of integrating and coordinating communications tools (Advertising, Sales promotion, Direct Marketing, Personal selling and public relations) to deliver a clear, consistent and compelling message about the place or product.

Advertising Plan

All media channels should be effectively used to communicate the essence of the brand. Priority should be given to the niche channels which are widely viewed by world travelers like Discovery channel, National Geographic and Travel & leisure. Similarly, the advertisements can be placed in special magazines which focus on tourism like Traveler and discover India. The advertisement should be placed in In-flight magazines which have more sway and frequency to attract more international tourists.

This positioning statement explains the unexplored tradition and natural beauty of Sikkim and its propensity to welcome tourists across the world.

The Logo of the place should be noticeable and meaningful. The new logo depicts Sikkim's natural richness and Himalayan heritage. The new logo also portrays its unique gift of nature, Mt. Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world. The new tagline says “Where Tradition Meets Eternity” which relates to the eco-tourism which is one of its unique destination propositions. The logo explains the picturesque beauty of the Himalayas and the rivers breaking out from them. The bright colours in the logo signify the vivacious and open-minded approach of the people of the Sikkim. The tagline can further be extended to “Where Tradition Meets Eternity And Adventure Meets You”.

Tourism Products :

Sikkim can develop unique destination proposition based on two tourism products:

1) Eco Tourism 2) Adventure tourism.

Eco Tourism

An ecotourism is the guided tour that consists of conservation and preservation of natural resources and educates the travellers something about the nature and culture of the area in which they are located. The main objective of ecotourism is to “promote responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." Sikkim is the smoke free zone and also banned the usage of plastic bags. Sikkim tourism educates the visitors through its interactive website and also through brief session about the significance of preservation of natural resources.

Adventure Tourism

Sikkim is one of the best adventure destinations in India with its varied and undulating landscape. Trekking, Mountaineering and River Rafting are the most popular adventure sports experienced in Sikkim. Tourists can also experience the thrill of white water rafting in river Teesta that definitely will be a hair rising experience. There are no better place other than Sikkim to indulge in trekking and mountaineering. There are trek routes at altitudes as high as 14000 feet above sea level that set visitors pulse racing. Sikkim is a house for

many adventurous sports comprising of river rafting, trekking, rock climbing, skydiving etc. which makes Sikkim stand ahead of other Indian tourist spots in adventure tourism.

The ideal time to go trekking is mid February to late May and between October and mid December. The monsoon period is between June and September and the cold and harsh winter months are between December and February. No technical climbing experience is necessary as most of the treks are between 6000 and 14000 feet. All one needs is to be in fit shape. Camping and trekking equipment are available on hire from the tourism department and from reputed travel agents.

Price

Price of the tourist package has to take into account the costs involved in transportation, boarding, lodging, charges for entry to various tourist sites etc.Price bundling technique can be used to develop various tour packages which includes all other support services. Price bundling is the practice of marketing two or more services (viz. travel, Hotels etc) in a single package at a single price. Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) could develop the combo pricing plan of Darjeeling and Gangtok (Sikkim) tour packages as Darjeeling is the nearest popular tourist attraction.

Place

In the context of services, the place denotes how and where the services are delivered and consumed by the customers. There are three options to distribute the services :

a) The consumer has to go to service provider (e.g through Tourism services, Spa, and medical etc).

b) Service provider has to approach the customer (e.g through Repair and maintenance and interior decoration etc.).

c) Service provider and customer meets through online (e.g , booking tour packages through online).

The interactive website could be designed by STDC which will include the online booking facility. As the state is surrounded by Himalayan hills, there are no airports or railway stations in Sikkim. The only way to enter Sikkim from rest of India is by road using bus or jeep from West Bengal.




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Brand Ambassador

Baichung Bhutia could be selected as brand ambassador to represent Sikkim on both national and international arena. He could be chosen because of his north-eastern origin and his achievements in sports and other reality programs.

Strategic Alliance in Promotion

Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) can have strategic alliances with airlines and hotels who are key players in tourism business and devising special sales promotional programs .Such as:

? Tie up with Google: to create a buzz about the state as an amazing tourist destination.

? Tie up with Twitter ('shoot & tweet Contest'): Contest can be conducted for tourists to take pictures of the place, upload it on the Twitter and win exciting prizes

? Tie up with Network service providers: having tie-up with Airtel to promote Sikkim through promotional SMS(M-marketing)

Public Relations

Public relations are the most credible source than advertising. Many events/programs related to adventure tourism can be conducted. Traditional Sikkim dress like Angora Shawls and Woolen Carpets, Thonga paintings may be given to tourists as gifts to have memorable experience about the place. Choktse, the foldable table from Sikkim is one of the well known products in India and abroad. Traditional sports like archery & bamboo fight can be conducted as events and it could be promoted. The success of public relations program largely depends on the target audience (internal public and external public). Tourism events can be conducted to promote the place by targeting specific segments

Sikkim Tourism Season

It will be celebrated twice a year during months of March-May & Sept-Oct. This campaign basically will target the international tourists.

Celebrate Sikkim

This campaign will target the national tourists and the domestic tourists with special offers on traditional items. This campaign will aim at promoting the small handloom industries and

products. Huge sales can be expected from the target tourist customers leading to significant rise in economic conditions for these small firms.

Sikkim should also promote its brand by participating in the key events like International Tourism Bourse (Berlin 11-15th March 2011) and World Travel Mart (London 9-12th November 2011) which will generate great awareness.

Publicity

? Sikkim government can arrange for a holiday trip to Sikkim for the Indian cricket team which will generate huge publicity among both domestic and international tourists.

? Commonwealth games 2010 will attract a large chunk of international tourists to India. STDC could arrange a holiday trip for international sports personnel will also be a great idea.

Conclusion

Destinations need to establish a strategic vision and market-orientated strategic planning process, and to adopt a marketing perspective towards their consumers. Destinations are composite products consisting of different components (the destination mix) with diverse range of organizations and partners involved in crafting and delivering the value to the tourists. With all possible means of communication the message has to be delivered consistently across the target market. Thus proper marketing of the destinations as well as of services is required. Destination branding helps to create a unique identity for a place with clear and strong values, appealing with both rational and emotional motivations. Sikkim is indeed one of the finest places in India with virtues of rich homogenous culture and of course a truly enchanting place to visit which has huge untapped market potential. Sikkim is a place which does not have any terrorist threat and has rich natural beauty. The seven elements of the marketing mix play an important role in creating an image of the tourist destination, building awareness of the services, increasing revenues for the industry etc. This case study suggested the framework to develop a destination's brand image based on seven P's.

References:

? Baloglu, S., Brinberg, D. (1997), "Affective images of tourism destinations", Journal of




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Brand Ambassador

Baichung Bhutia could be selected as brand ambassador to represent Sikkim on both national and international arena. He could be chosen because of his north-eastern origin and his achievements in sports and other reality programs.

Strategic Alliance in Promotion

Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) can have strategic alliances with airlines and hotels who are key players in tourism business and devising special sales promotional programs .Such as:

? Tie up with Google: to create a buzz about the state as an amazing tourist destination.

? Tie up with Twitter ('shoot & tweet Contest'): Contest can be conducted for tourists to take pictures of the place, upload it on the Twitter and win exciting prizes

? Tie up with Network service providers: having tie-up with Airtel to promote Sikkim through promotional SMS(M-marketing)

Public Relations

Public relations are the most credible source than advertising. Many events/programs related to adventure tourism can be conducted. Traditional Sikkim dress like Angora Shawls and Woolen Carpets, Thonga paintings may be given to tourists as gifts to have memorable experience about the place. Choktse, the foldable table from Sikkim is one of the well known products in India and abroad. Traditional sports like archery & bamboo fight can be conducted as events and it could be promoted. The success of public relations program largely depends on the target audience (internal public and external public). Tourism events can be conducted to promote the place by targeting specific segments

Sikkim Tourism Season

It will be celebrated twice a year during months of March-May & Sept-Oct. This campaign basically will target the international tourists.

Celebrate Sikkim

This campaign will target the national tourists and the domestic tourists with special offers on traditional items. This campaign will aim at promoting the small handloom industries and

products. Huge sales can be expected from the target tourist customers leading to significant rise in economic conditions for these small firms.

Sikkim should also promote its brand by participating in the key events like International Tourism Bourse (Berlin 11-15th March 2011) and World Travel Mart (London 9-12th November 2011) which will generate great awareness.

Publicity

? Sikkim government can arrange for a holiday trip to Sikkim for the Indian cricket team which will generate huge publicity among both domestic and international tourists.

? Commonwealth games 2010 will attract a large chunk of international tourists to India. STDC could arrange a holiday trip for international sports personnel will also be a great idea.

Conclusion

Destinations need to establish a strategic vision and market-orientated strategic planning process, and to adopt a marketing perspective towards their consumers. Destinations are composite products consisting of different components (the destination mix) with diverse range of organizations and partners involved in crafting and delivering the value to the tourists. With all possible means of communication the message has to be delivered consistently across the target market. Thus proper marketing of the destinations as well as of services is required. Destination branding helps to create a unique identity for a place with clear and strong values, appealing with both rational and emotional motivations. Sikkim is indeed one of the finest places in India with virtues of rich homogenous culture and of course a truly enchanting place to visit which has huge untapped market potential. Sikkim is a place which does not have any terrorist threat and has rich natural beauty. The seven elements of the marketing mix play an important role in creating an image of the tourist destination, building awareness of the services, increasing revenues for the industry etc. This case study suggested the framework to develop a destination's brand image based on seven P's.

References:

? Baloglu, S., Brinberg, D. (1997), "Affective images of tourism destinations", Journal of



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required/preferred competencies, in order to create an Individual Development Plan.

Many organizations today are using the process of 360 degree feedback to compare an individual's self assessment of his/her own performance against key position and organization competencies. The 360 feedback received is then used as input to the Individual Development plan. David McClelland takes the position that “definitions for various competencies, which contain real-life examples of more competent behavior, provide specific guideposts as to how to develop the competency. The feedback information also provides a basis for career counseling or explaining why a person should or should not be promoted.” (McClelland, 1994, p. 10)

Claudette Nowell-Philipp, organizational career consultant, offers strong philosophical argument for the importance of an individual knowing and mapping his/her competencies as part of ongoing career planning inside an organization. Nowell-Philipp says that, in today's organizations, especially those going through fundamental changes, it is essential to be able to “articulate your value-add and who you are, as a person and as a professional, in language that is common and accepted in the organization” (Nowell-Philipp, 2002). That prerogative implies the importance of competency-based self presentation: in one's resume, in interviews, and in public functions where introductions and credibility are important.

Categories of Competencies in an Organization

There are two broad categories of competencies in an organization: -

? Personal functioning competencies .

? Functional / Technical competencies.

Personal functioning competencies include broad success factors not bound to a specific work function or industry and often focus on leadership or emotional intelligence behaviors.

Functional/technical competencies include specific success factors within a given work function or industry.

It is seen that a basic set of four competencies which would differentiate the top performers from the rest in most organizations are Initiative, Influence, Result orientation and Concern for quality.


Introduction

Competency is the combination of knowledge, skills, attitude and personality of an individual as applied to a role or job in the context of the present and future environment, that accounts for sustained success within the framework of the organizational values. The characteristics of competencies are motives, traits, self-concept, knowledge and skill; however a person for performing different jobs may require different competencies. Similarly, to perform the same job by different people individually may not exactly require similar competencies since individuals use different methods / means to accomplish the given task.

Steve Garrett, a Senior Management Consultant of Career Systems International, defined that “Competencies include the collection of success factors necessary for achieving important results in a specific job or work role in a particular organization. Success factors are combinations of knowledge, skills and attributes (called as KSAs) that is described in terms of specific behaviors and are demonstrated by superior performers in those jobs or work roles. Attributes include personal characteristics, traits, motives, values or ways of thinking that impact an individual's behavior”.

Davis D Dubois Ph.D., LPC, President of Dubois and Associates, Rockville, Maryland, consulting in the area of competency-based human resource practices, defined competencies as the tools that individuals use for successful or exemplary performance. Competencies are the traits or characteristics including an individual's knowledge, skills, thought

Competency in an Organization

Ranjit Kumar Sarmah*

* Sr. Assistant Director, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), New Delhi, Imdia

patterns, aspects of self esteem and social roles that they use to achieve successful or exemplary performance of any type.

Objectives of Competency

? To understand the concept of competency and competence based HR practices.

? To understand the various approaches towards building Competency Model.

? To design Competency Model Structure.

? To create Scales and its Range for competencies in the Model.

? To understand and select Data Collecting Methods.

? To build Competency Model.

? To carry out the integration of the applications of Competency Model in Recruitment & Selection, Performance Management, Training & Development, Deployment, Promotion etc.

? To automate the Competency Model.

? To learn how to develop mapped competencies.

Relation between Competencies and Individual Career Development

First and foremost, competencies must be demonstrated by individuals. Perhaps the most common place where they are demonstrated is within the scope of a particular job. However, competencies are also developed and demonstrated by individuals in volunteering roles in the community, professional


ABSTRACT

Competencies based relationship between employees and organisation tends to maximise profits to both internal as well as external environment. The paper attempts to discuss the attributes of the competencies, its significance for the development of an employee as well as of an organisation. The prerequisites for an effective competency model have also been discussed.

Keywords : Competency, Individual Career Development, Organisational Developement.

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required/preferred competencies, in order to create an Individual Development Plan.

Many organizations today are using the process of 360 degree feedback to compare an individual's self assessment of his/her own performance against key position and organization competencies. The 360 feedback received is then used as input to the Individual Development plan. David McClelland takes the position that “definitions for various competencies, which contain real-life examples of more competent behavior, provide specific guideposts as to how to develop the competency. The feedback information also provides a basis for career counseling or explaining why a person should or should not be promoted.” (McClelland, 1994, p. 10)

Claudette Nowell-Philipp, organizational career consultant, offers strong philosophical argument for the importance of an individual knowing and mapping his/her competencies as part of ongoing career planning inside an organization. Nowell-Philipp says that, in today's organizations, especially those going through fundamental changes, it is essential to be able to “articulate your value-add and who you are, as a person and as a professional, in language that is common and accepted in the organization” (Nowell-Philipp, 2002). That prerogative implies the importance of competency-based self presentation: in one's resume, in interviews, and in public functions where introductions and credibility are important.

Categories of Competencies in an Organization

There are two broad categories of competencies in an organization: -

? Personal functioning competencies .

? Functional / Technical competencies.

Personal functioning competencies include broad success factors not bound to a specific work function or industry and often focus on leadership or emotional intelligence behaviors.

Functional/technical competencies include specific success factors within a given work function or industry.

It is seen that a basic set of four competencies which would differentiate the top performers from the rest in most organizations are Initiative, Influence, Result orientation and Concern for quality.


Introduction

Competency is the combination of knowledge, skills, attitude and personality of an individual as applied to a role or job in the context of the present and future environment, that accounts for sustained success within the framework of the organizational values. The characteristics of competencies are motives, traits, self-concept, knowledge and skill; however a person for performing different jobs may require different competencies. Similarly, to perform the same job by different people individually may not exactly require similar competencies since individuals use different methods / means to accomplish the given task.

Steve Garrett, a Senior Management Consultant of Career Systems International, defined that “Competencies include the collection of success factors necessary for achieving important results in a specific job or work role in a particular organization. Success factors are combinations of knowledge, skills and attributes (called as KSAs) that is described in terms of specific behaviors and are demonstrated by superior performers in those jobs or work roles. Attributes include personal characteristics, traits, motives, values or ways of thinking that impact an individual's behavior”.

Davis D Dubois Ph.D., LPC, President of Dubois and Associates, Rockville, Maryland, consulting in the area of competency-based human resource practices, defined competencies as the tools that individuals use for successful or exemplary performance. Competencies are the traits or characteristics including an individual's knowledge, skills, thought


Ranjit Kumar Sarmah*

* Sr. Assistant Director, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), New Delhi, Imdia

patterns, aspects of self esteem and social roles that they use to achieve successful or exemplary performance of any type.

Objectives of Competency

? To understand the concept of competency and competence based HR practices.

? To understand the various approaches towards building Competency Model.

? To design Competency Model Structure.

? To create Scales and its Range for competencies in the Model.

? To understand and select Data Collecting Methods.

? To build Competency Model.

? To carry out the integration of the applications of Competency Model in Recruitment & Selection, Performance Management, Training & Development, Deployment, Promotion etc.

? To automate the Competency Model.

? To learn how to develop mapped competencies.

Relation between Competencies and Individual Career Development

First and foremost, competencies must be demonstrated by individuals. Perhaps the most common place where they are demonstrated is within the scope of a particular job. However, competencies are also developed and demonstrated by individuals in volunteering roles in the community, professional


ABSTRACT

Competencies based relationship between employees and organisation tends to maximise profits to both internal as well as external environment. The paper attempts to discuss the attributes of the competencies, its significance for the development of an employee as well as of an organisation. The prerequisites for an effective competency model have also been discussed.

Keywords : Competency, Individual Career Development, Organisational Developement.

Competency Model

A competency model is a model that describes the requirements and attributes for competent human performance in one or more roles or performance settings. As such, the elements of a competency model communicate the circumstances and conditions of performance.

The elements of a competency model depend upon the purpose the model is to serve. Therefore, to have the most forceful impact upon the user, every competency model should have the following characterstics :

(i) The significance of the competency model should meet the organization's strategic business objectives.

(ii) It must include the expected outputs or results of the performance.

(iii) It must mention clearly the roles that performers will assume while performing duties.

(iv) The model should include the competencies that must be used for fully successful performance.

(v) In the model, for each competency, behavioural indicators are included which indicated if the competency is appropriately being used for performance.

References:

? Sanghi, Seema (2004), The Handbook of Competency Mapping, http://www.flipkart. com/handbook-competency-mapping-seema-sanghi-book-076199842x

? Naik, G.Pandu & Rahman Ur ,Siraj “Competency Mapping,Assessment & Development”. IHRD Publication.

? Armstrong, Michael & Baron, Angela, Performance Management. Jaico Publishing House . h t tp : / / shopon l ine . in /books / product/books_&_magazines/business_&_management/human_resources//139464

? Dubois. D. David & Richmond J Lee(1994) , Competency Models- A Roadmap to Exemplary Performance. http://blog. lumbungbuku.com/2009/12/text-book-bg.html


In addition, research on the importance of “emotional intelligence” to organization success is starting to identify a number of emotional intelligence competencies in particular four categories i.e. Self Awareness, Self Management, Social Awareness and Relationship Management.

Based on performance outcomes, competencies can be classified into

? Threshold competencies .

? Differentiating competencies.

People with threshold competencies show normal performance results like achieving the assigned targets etc, whereas people possessing differentiating competencies perform exceptionally well above the assigned targets by fixing their own benchmark standards.

Again, based on universality, competencies can be classified as :

? Generic competencies .

? Specific competencies.

Ability to communicate effectively is a generic competency used across several vocations and at different levels whereas ability to code instructions into computer language is a specific competency used only by computer programmers.

Competencies can also be classified as

Higher order competencies.

? Lower order competencies.

For managerial people in leadership roles, the motives, attitudes, traits and self-concept (higher order) are more important than competencies (lower order) like knowledge and skills because managerial work involves getting the work done through people. Whereas for workmen in assembly line who work under strict supervision, the knowledge and skills become higher order competencies and the rest are in lower order. However, in either case, knowledge and skills are easier to develop by training and development and identify and assess than motives, traits, attitudes and self-concept.

In 2003, T V Rao, Chairman, TVRLS and Former Professor of IIMA and Founder, National HRD Network has classified the competencies into

four groups namely :

? Technical i.e. dealing with the technology associated with the function, role and task.

? Managerial or organizational i.e. dealing with managerial aspects, organizing, planning, mobilizing resources, monitoring and systems use.

? Human or behavioral i.e. competencies that are personal, interpersonal and team related.

? Conceptual or theoretical i.e. competencies like visualizations and model building.

Benefits for the organization by using competencies

Competency based human resource systems ensure that the people who get hired have the potential to succeed. It has been estimated that the wrong hiring costs 1.5 times that person's annual salary. And that does not take in to account the frustration of an individual trying to succeed in the wrong job. Competency-based systems can also be used to provide appropriate development to help employees realize their potential and to provide appraisal, feedback and coaching to improve productivity. Improvements in productivity directly contribute towards maximization of wealth of the organization. In addition, competencies provide employees with an objective, define target for development and realistic career goals.

Competencies can be the basis of individual selection and career development. Demonstrating appropriate competencies can help candidates get hired and position them for future opportunities. Demonstrating a desire to improve related competencies generates development on the job and makes performance management meaningful. Competencies are increasingly being used to select and develop leaders and for succession management. Competency-based internal selection makes career mobility across functions easier and helps individuals overcome any discriminatory practices in the organization. A validated competency model is an objective way to integrate and ensures fairness of talent management initiatives within the organization. In short, knowing and demonstrating competencies provide substantial benefits to individuals who want to be seen as qualified and valued accordingly.



Competency Model

A competency model is a model that describes the requirements and attributes for competent human performance in one or more roles or performance settings. As such, the elements of a competency model communicate the circumstances and conditions of performance.

The elements of a competency model depend upon the purpose the model is to serve. Therefore, to have the most forceful impact upon the user, every competency model should have the following characterstics :

(i) The significance of the competency model should meet the organization's strategic business objectives.

(ii) It must include the expected outputs or results of the performance.

(iii) It must mention clearly the roles that performers will assume while performing duties.

(iv) The model should include the competencies that must be used for fully successful performance.

(v) In the model, for each competency, behavioural indicators are included which indicated if the competency is appropriately being used for performance.

References:

? Sanghi, Seema (2004), The Handbook of Competency Mapping, http://www.flipkart. com/handbook-competency-mapping-seema-sanghi-book-076199842x

? Naik, G.Pandu & Rahman Ur ,Siraj “Competency Mapping,Assessment & Development”. IHRD Publication.

? Armstrong, Michael & Baron, Angela, Performance Management. Jaico Publishing House . h t tp : / / shopon l ine . in /books / product/books_&_magazines/business_&_management/human_resources//139464

? Dubois. D. David & Richmond J Lee(1994) , Competency Models- A Roadmap to Exemplary Performance. http://blog. lumbungbuku.com/2009/12/text-book-bg.html


In addition, research on the importance of “emotional intelligence” to organization success is starting to identify a number of emotional intelligence competencies in particular four categories i.e. Self Awareness, Self Management, Social Awareness and Relationship Management.

Based on performance outcomes, competencies can be classified into

? Threshold competencies .

? Differentiating competencies.

People with threshold competencies show normal performance results like achieving the assigned targets etc, whereas people possessing differentiating competencies perform exceptionally well above the assigned targets by fixing their own benchmark standards.

Again, based on universality, competencies can be classified as :

? Generic competencies .

? Specific competencies.

Ability to communicate effectively is a generic competency used across several vocations and at different levels whereas ability to code instructions into computer language is a specific competency used only by computer programmers.

Competencies can also be classified as

Higher order competencies.

? Lower order competencies.

For managerial people in leadership roles, the motives, attitudes, traits and self-concept (higher order) are more important than competencies (lower order) like knowledge and skills because managerial work involves getting the work done through people. Whereas for workmen in assembly line who work under strict supervision, the knowledge and skills become higher order competencies and the rest are in lower order. However, in either case, knowledge and skills are easier to develop by training and development and identify and assess than motives, traits, attitudes and self-concept.

In 2003, T V Rao, Chairman, TVRLS and Former Professor of IIMA and Founder, National HRD Network has classified the competencies into

four groups namely :

? Technical i.e. dealing with the technology associated with the function, role and task.

? Managerial or organizational i.e. dealing with managerial aspects, organizing, planning, mobilizing resources, monitoring and systems use.

? Human or behavioral i.e. competencies that are personal, interpersonal and team related.

? Conceptual or theoretical i.e. competencies like visualizations and model building.

Benefits for the organization by using competencies

Competency based human resource systems ensure that the people who get hired have the potential to succeed. It has been estimated that the wrong hiring costs 1.5 times that person's annual salary. And that does not take in to account the frustration of an individual trying to succeed in the wrong job. Competency-based systems can also be used to provide appropriate development to help employees realize their potential and to provide appraisal, feedback and coaching to improve productivity. Improvements in productivity directly contribute towards maximization of wealth of the organization. In addition, competencies provide employees with an objective, define target for development and realistic career goals.

Competencies can be the basis of individual selection and career development. Demonstrating appropriate competencies can help candidates get hired and position them for future opportunities. Demonstrating a desire to improve related competencies generates development on the job and makes performance management meaningful. Competencies are increasingly being used to select and develop leaders and for succession management. Competency-based internal selection makes career mobility across functions easier and helps individuals overcome any discriminatory practices in the organization. A validated competency model is an objective way to integrate and ensures fairness of talent management initiatives within the organization. In short, knowing and demonstrating competencies provide substantial benefits to individuals who want to be seen as qualified and valued accordingly.



possible efficiency, which is nothing but Jihad in Arabic.

Just-in-Time (JIT) System for Inventory Management

The concept of Just-in-Time which was invented by Toyota has revolutionized the Inventory Management Systems in the manufacturing organizations throughout the world. It is based on the golden principle of keeping only that much amount of inventory that is needed and that too in continuous movement in order to avoid in-process buffer inventory as much as possible until it is completely transformed into the finished goods.

The Holy Quran instructs mankind that they should spend on himself only as much as he needs and to give away the excess in the way of Allah.” They ask thee how much they are to spend in the way of Allah Say: What is beyond your needs.''(2:219).”The men on the heights will call to certain men, whom they will know from their marks, saying: Of what profit to you were your hoards and your arrogant ways”(10:58). What the Holy Quran intends as a whole is to create a specific mindset, or a worldview. Once, this mindset or the worldview is created, these rules automatically become a part of a lifestyle and ceases to be a task. As a result a believing businessman will never accumulate large amount of inventories as prescribed by the economics of scale' philosophy because it will go against his ingrained core beliefs. He will know that accumulation of inventories (wealth) to gain economic benefits by deterring the forces of demand and supply is discouraged by the Holy Quran in 9:34, and so will refrain from doing such a thing. “O ye who believe Those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah” [9:34], announce unto them a most grievous penalty.' JIT was pioneered by Toyota and it is an important part of Toyota Production System (TPS). Toyota believed that accumulation of inventory of any kind, be beginning, in-process, or finished goods, is a kind of wastage in the form of Material Holding Cost which is being added during the time material is kept idle within the premises of the manufacturing facility.

Japanese Five 'S 'Process (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke)

Seiri-(Tidiness- Dispose of all unrelated and useless materials and items): The first step of the 5-S' process, Seiri, refers to the act of discarding all unwanted,

unnecessary, and unrelated materials from any place of concern. It could be the workplace or home or even a town. The idea is to ensure that everything left is of use only. Even the number of necessary items must be kept to its absolute minimum.

The Holy Quran instructs:” They ask thee how much they are to spend in the way of Allah; Say what is beyond your needs.''[2:219] the added advantages of discarding unnecessary materials from any place is that it simplifies task, makes effective use of space, and careful purchase of items needed. It also helps the person to increase his efficiency at home and at work as he has to handle items and maintain them with minimum wastage of time and energy.

Seiton-(Orderliness- Set everything in proper place for quick retrieval and storage): A mindset of a believer evolves after learning, implementing, and benefiting from Seiri' towards Seiton,' or orderliness, which is all about efficiency. This golden principle relates with putting everything in an assigned place so that it can be accessed or retrieved quickly, as well as returned to that same place without delays. The logic is that if everyone has quick access to an item or material, workflow becomes efficient and less time is wasted in locating it.

Seiso-(Clean the workplace): everyone should be a janitor. Seiso consists of cleaning up the workplace and giving it shine.' Cleaning must be done by everyone in the organization, from operators to managers.

The Holy Quran understands the importance of cleanliness and instructs its believers to keep themselves clean at all times, and sets about to describe how this can best be achieved. The entire system of Salat (Prayer) is a perfect example and an exercise to ensure that believer obey and follow this golden rule at least five times a day, every day, throughout their lives. A believer offers his Salat in a Masjid behind an Imam. He first performs ablution which not only purifies him physically but also spiritually. He then stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his brothers irrespective of any social and economic status behind an Imam, and follows his instructions. Similar should be the scenario in a workplace as well where everyone should feel responsible to work passionately (worship in Salat), respect each other (stand shoulder to- shoulder), keep his surroundings clean (ablution and cleanliness of Masjid), and follow the instructions of their superiors (Imam) without any resistance or laziness. Needless to

Introduction

Achievement and prosperity is the result of commitment to a certain principles, and are not based on coincidence and fate. Those Principles should be readily available to make reality, universally applicable to socio-economic and political systems.The Holy Quran is capable to provide independent and universal principles which are capable of building a man competent enough to achieve his potential either through own business or as an employee. This study attempts to show the linkage of the teachings of the Holy Quran with the contemporary business management theories.

Concept of Management

Management today is defined as getting things done through others.' Following this concept, a Manager is now understood as the person who works through others. A good manager, therefore, is a person who not only knows what is to be done but exactly how to get it done. The Holy Quran confirms: “We raise some of them above others in ranks, so that some may command work from others” (43:32)

This verse of the Holy Quran reveals in a nutshell as to why God raised some people over others in ranks, so that they can get work done through them. This verse (43:32) encompasses the entire philosophy and wisdom of modern management. It emphasizes, in essence, the creation of appropriate hierarchies and the division of responsibilities subject to individual capabilities. It basically implies the creation of organizational charts from the top management to the lower management.

Business Management Theories in light of the Holy Qur'an

Muhammed Shaduli Palackil*

*Financial Analyst Alkhor & Dakira Schemes and Services, Alkhor, Doha, Qatar.

Kaizen: The Management Practice Against Inefficiency

Kaizen is a Japanese word which means continuous improvement. To implement Kaizen, the management continuously seeks to identify areas where wastage is being done. Once identified, they, then set out to analyze the problem, suggest a solution, plan its implementation, implement it, and finally reviews the change for success or failure. This is not as easy as implementation of Kaizen sometimes lead to minor or major changes in the system which are not always welcomed, and are resisted by the stakeholders of the status quo environment. Therefore, the management then also has to struggle against the resistance and make the change acceptable by different means.

The Holy Quran says” 'You who believe Have fear of Allah and seek the means of drawing near to Him, and strive in His Way, so that hopefully you will be successful”[5:35].

A believer must also strive to eliminate any wastage around him, at home, workplace, or in society even when faced with resistance. A very common example would be to control the use of water, food, and electricity according to the needs. Wastage of resources such as material in the workplace, man-hours, machine-hours, human potential, and time should also be minimized. While hundred percent elimination is not possible we should still try to get as close to it as possible, and this can only be achieved through continuous struggle (Jihad). Continuous striving to the excellence is the only way available to achieve minimum possible wastage or maximum



ABSTRACT

In the Holy Quar'an there are thousands of things which have thrown light on the significance of science, philosophy, economics, astronomy and so on. This study shows a relevance of business management theories from the Holy Quar'an perspective.

Keywords : Management theories, JIT, Optimum capacity utilization, Quality management system.

possible efficiency, which is nothing but Jihad in Arabic.

Just-in-Time (JIT) System for Inventory Management

The concept of Just-in-Time which was invented by Toyota has revolutionized the Inventory Management Systems in the manufacturing organizations throughout the world. It is based on the golden principle of keeping only that much amount of inventory that is needed and that too in continuous movement in order to avoid in-process buffer inventory as much as possible until it is completely transformed into the finished goods.

The Holy Quran instructs mankind that they should spend on himself only as much as he needs and to give away the excess in the way of Allah.” They ask thee how much they are to spend in the way of Allah Say: What is beyond your needs.''(2:219).”The men on the heights will call to certain men, whom they will know from their marks, saying: Of what profit to you were your hoards and your arrogant ways”(10:58). What the Holy Quran intends as a whole is to create a specific mindset, or a worldview. Once, this mindset or the worldview is created, these rules automatically become a part of a lifestyle and ceases to be a task. As a result a believing businessman will never accumulate large amount of inventories as prescribed by the economics of scale' philosophy because it will go against his ingrained core beliefs. He will know that accumulation of inventories (wealth) to gain economic benefits by deterring the forces of demand and supply is discouraged by the Holy Quran in 9:34, and so will refrain from doing such a thing. “O ye who believe Those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah” [9:34], announce unto them a most grievous penalty.' JIT was pioneered by Toyota and it is an important part of Toyota Production System (TPS). Toyota believed that accumulation of inventory of any kind, be beginning, in-process, or finished goods, is a kind of wastage in the form of Material Holding Cost which is being added during the time material is kept idle within the premises of the manufacturing facility.

Japanese Five 'S 'Process (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke)

Seiri-(Tidiness- Dispose of all unrelated and useless materials and items): The first step of the 5-S' process, Seiri, refers to the act of discarding all unwanted,

unnecessary, and unrelated materials from any place of concern. It could be the workplace or home or even a town. The idea is to ensure that everything left is of use only. Even the number of necessary items must be kept to its absolute minimum.

The Holy Quran instructs:” They ask thee how much they are to spend in the way of Allah; Say what is beyond your needs.''[2:219] the added advantages of discarding unnecessary materials from any place is that it simplifies task, makes effective use of space, and careful purchase of items needed. It also helps the person to increase his efficiency at home and at work as he has to handle items and maintain them with minimum wastage of time and energy.

Seiton-(Orderliness- Set everything in proper place for quick retrieval and storage): A mindset of a believer evolves after learning, implementing, and benefiting from Seiri' towards Seiton,' or orderliness, which is all about efficiency. This golden principle relates with putting everything in an assigned place so that it can be accessed or retrieved quickly, as well as returned to that same place without delays. The logic is that if everyone has quick access to an item or material, workflow becomes efficient and less time is wasted in locating it.

Seiso-(Clean the workplace): everyone should be a janitor. Seiso consists of cleaning up the workplace and giving it shine.' Cleaning must be done by everyone in the organization, from operators to managers.

The Holy Quran understands the importance of cleanliness and instructs its believers to keep themselves clean at all times, and sets about to describe how this can best be achieved. The entire system of Salat (Prayer) is a perfect example and an exercise to ensure that believer obey and follow this golden rule at least five times a day, every day, throughout their lives. A believer offers his Salat in a Masjid behind an Imam. He first performs ablution which not only purifies him physically but also spiritually. He then stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his brothers irrespective of any social and economic status behind an Imam, and follows his instructions. Similar should be the scenario in a workplace as well where everyone should feel responsible to work passionately (worship in Salat), respect each other (stand shoulder to- shoulder), keep his surroundings clean (ablution and cleanliness of Masjid), and follow the instructions of their superiors (Imam) without any resistance or laziness. Needless to

Introduction

Achievement and prosperity is the result of commitment to a certain principles, and are not based on coincidence and fate. Those Principles should be readily available to make reality, universally applicable to socio-economic and political systems.The Holy Quran is capable to provide independent and universal principles which are capable of building a man competent enough to achieve his potential either through own business or as an employee. This study attempts to show the linkage of the teachings of the Holy Quran with the contemporary business management theories.

Concept of Management

Management today is defined as getting things done through others.' Following this concept, a Manager is now understood as the person who works through others. A good manager, therefore, is a person who not only knows what is to be done but exactly how to get it done. The Holy Quran confirms: “We raise some of them above others in ranks, so that some may command work from others” (43:32)

This verse of the Holy Quran reveals in a nutshell as to why God raised some people over others in ranks, so that they can get work done through them. This verse (43:32) encompasses the entire philosophy and wisdom of modern management. It emphasizes, in essence, the creation of appropriate hierarchies and the division of responsibilities subject to individual capabilities. It basically implies the creation of organizational charts from the top management to the lower management.

Business Management Theories in light of the Holy Qur'an

Muhammed Shaduli Palackil*

*Financial Analyst Alkhor & Dakira Schemes and Services, Alkhor, Doha, Qatar.

Kaizen: The Management Practice Against Inefficiency

Kaizen is a Japanese word which means continuous improvement. To implement Kaizen, the management continuously seeks to identify areas where wastage is being done. Once identified, they, then set out to analyze the problem, suggest a solution, plan its implementation, implement it, and finally reviews the change for success or failure. This is not as easy as implementation of Kaizen sometimes lead to minor or major changes in the system which are not always welcomed, and are resisted by the stakeholders of the status quo environment. Therefore, the management then also has to struggle against the resistance and make the change acceptable by different means.

The Holy Quran says” 'You who believe Have fear of Allah and seek the means of drawing near to Him, and strive in His Way, so that hopefully you will be successful”[5:35].

A believer must also strive to eliminate any wastage around him, at home, workplace, or in society even when faced with resistance. A very common example would be to control the use of water, food, and electricity according to the needs. Wastage of resources such as material in the workplace, man-hours, machine-hours, human potential, and time should also be minimized. While hundred percent elimination is not possible we should still try to get as close to it as possible, and this can only be achieved through continuous struggle (Jihad). Continuous striving to the excellence is the only way available to achieve minimum possible wastage or maximum



ABSTRACT

In the Holy Quar'an there are thousands of things which have thrown light on the significance of science, philosophy, economics, astronomy and so on. This study shows a relevance of business management theories from the Holy Quar'an perspective.

Keywords : Management theories, JIT, Optimum capacity utilization, Quality management system.

? ”O my people! Worship Allah. Ye have no other god but Him. And give not short measure or weight : I see you in prosperity, but I fear for you the penalty of a day that will compass (you) all round. ? And O my people! give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due : commit not evil in the land with intent to do mischief.” [11:84-85]

? “Give full measure when ye measure, and weigh with a balance that is straight: that is the most fitting and the most advantageous in the final determination”. [17:35]

? “Give just measure, and cause no loss (to others by fraud). And weigh with scales true and upright.”[26:181-182]

? And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), In order that ye may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance.'[55:7-9]

? Woe to those that deal in fraud,- Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure, But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due. Do they not think that they will be called to account?' [83:1-3]

For a believing businessman, there is no alternative but to satisfy his customer, even if the market and economic forces are making it difficult for him to do so. It is his obligation to God that he resists these forces and struggle and strive (wage Jihad) to fulfil the above-mentioned commandments, even if he has to compromise on some profit or put up some extra effort (up to his capacity). For him, profit is only a means' to keep his business alive and to satisfy his customer. The wisdom behind the golden rule is that the welfare and well being of the customers and the society is far more important than the profitability of a single entrepreneur. Yes, by preferring customers over profit, a business will reduce its income in the short-term but will surely improve its sustainability in the long run.

Obedience & Respect for Authority

Obedience and respect for authority is the basic fundamental requisite for taking work from others and getting it done. Working through people actually presupposes the willingness of people to obey. It is therefore necessary for those people who are given the

job to complete a task to obey all legal and reasonable orders and perform it responsibly, as Holy Quran instructs: “Obey Allah and His Messenger and those in position of authority among you”'[4:59]. This verse is a commandment and not a plea. To be a good believer, it is incumbent upon the believer to observe the ruling with willingness and honesty. When this spirit of voluntary obedience is instilled in the mind of an employee, the scope of the hierarchy as envisaged by the verse is strengthened [43:32]. Needless to say, without the spirit of voluntary obedience among those who work, the creation of hierarchy will not serve any purpose.

Joint Consultation and Team-Work

The modern world realized the importance of joint consultation (Shura) and team-work when the Japanese based its management style on it and proved to the world of its effectiveness. The Holy Quran advocates this concept: [42:83] ...and those who do their work through mutual consultation.' [3:159] pass over (their faults), and ask for (God's) forgiveness for them; and consult them in affairs (of moment) Then, when you have taken a decision put your trust in God, for God loves those who put their trust (in Him).'

Principle of Equal Opportunities

The principle of equal opportunities postulates that all members of an organization shall have equal and fair chances to grow, contribute, and be rewarded accordingly. The Holy Quran emphasises this golden rule: [49:13] O people We created you from a single male and female couple and then divided you in nations and tribes so that you may recognize one another. Verily the most honorable among you in the sight of Allah is he who is most righteous of you.' Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) expounded the verse for us on the occasion of Hajat-ul-Widaa, in the following words: In the light of this Quranic verse no Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab nor does any non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Neither black is superior to white nor white is superior to black. Of course, if there is any criterion of superiority and respectability in the sight of Allah, it is Taqwa (righteousness).' These words suggest that despite the fact that we are all equal, human beings can excel over one another in certain aspects of life. One such aspect could be in terms of righteousness. There can be no better pattern for equal opportunities than the one

say, it is a perfect system.

Seiketsu (Standardization- Standardize the way of maintaining cleanliness): The fourth step of 5-S is Seiketsu which more or less translates into standardized clean-up.' What it consists of is definition of standards against which people must measure and maintain cleanliness. Seiketsu encompasses both personal and environmental cleanliness. Visual management is an important ingredient of Seiketsu.

The Holy Quran also provides us with a standardized yet very comprehensive set of rules to obtain and maintain cleanliness at all physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual levels. One such standard is the five-time obligatory Salat which is also considered as the Pillar of Islam. Another is ablution, the standards of which are clearly stated in Islamic Fiqh. How the state of intellectual and spiritual cleanliness is achieved and maintained is a very comprehensive subject in Islam.

Shitsuke (Discipline daily makes it a way of life; this also means commitment): The last step of 5-S is Shitsuke which literally means Discipline.' This golden rule denotes commitment to maintain orderliness and to practice the first 4 S's as a way of life. The emphasis of Shitsuke is on the elimination of bad habits and constant practice of good ones. Once a person achieves the state of Shitsuke, cleanliness and orderliness is then voluntarily and at times subconsciously observed at all time, without the need of reminders or motivation. Shitsuke is the most evolved state of mind that incorporates all the previous golden rules. It is too obvious for any rational mind to conclude how natural it should be for a believer to have this state of mind.

Optimum Capacity Utilization

The following verse from the Holy Quran reveals another golden rule that a businessman should learn from and practice in his daily life. No soul shall have a burden laid on it greater than it can bear [2:233] “On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear (Pray) Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear”[2:286]. This principle is emphasizing on the fact that physical, emotional, and intellectual capacity of an individual is limited and not exhaustive. Additionally, since every person is unique in his talents and temperament, and in his skills, it is important not to burden someone with a task that is beyond his scope to deal with it. This

is an important principle of modern business management. If we add another verse to the above mentioned ones, we will come across a set of very comprehensive principles for business management and personal life.

? “And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), in order that ye may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance” [55:7-9] .

? “For the wasteful are the brothers of Satan; and Satan is ungrateful to his Lord”'[17:27].

? “O Children of Adam Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters”[7:31].

Quality Management System

A business cannot flourish in the long run if it doesn't give its customer what it promises to. Being a customer it is easy to understand this but for a business it is usually not. The main focus of a businessman is to make profits and not necessarily to satisfy the customer. This has been realized the hard way by the western organizations that customer satisfaction is vital for their survival and growth. So, in order to achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction, they have put in considerable amount of research on the concept what is now known as Quality Management Systems including its various tools and methodologies such as the Six-Sigma and TQM. The same golden rule has mentioned in the Holy Quran.

The Holy Quran Commands:

? “And come not nigh to the orphan's property, except to improve it, until he attain the age of full strength; give measure and weight with (full) justice ;- no burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can bear;-whenever ye speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned; and fulfil the covenant of Allah. Thus doth He command you that ye may remember” [6:152]

? “Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due ; and do no mischief on the earth after it has been set in order: that will be best for you, if ye have Faith.”(7:85).


Institute of Management Studies, DehradunBusiness Management Theories in light of the Holy Qur'an ...

? ”O my people! Worship Allah. Ye have no other god but Him. And give not short measure or weight : I see you in prosperity, but I fear for you the penalty of a day that will compass (you) all round. ? And O my people! give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due : commit not evil in the land with intent to do mischief.” [11:84-85]

? “Give full measure when ye measure, and weigh with a balance that is straight: that is the most fitting and the most advantageous in the final determination”. [17:35]

? “Give just measure, and cause no loss (to others by fraud). And weigh with scales true and upright.”[26:181-182]

? And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), In order that ye may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance.'[55:7-9]

? Woe to those that deal in fraud,- Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure, But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due. Do they not think that they will be called to account?' [83:1-3]

For a believing businessman, there is no alternative but to satisfy his customer, even if the market and economic forces are making it difficult for him to do so. It is his obligation to God that he resists these forces and struggle and strive (wage Jihad) to fulfil the above-mentioned commandments, even if he has to compromise on some profit or put up some extra effort (up to his capacity). For him, profit is only a means' to keep his business alive and to satisfy his customer. The wisdom behind the golden rule is that the welfare and well being of the customers and the society is far more important than the profitability of a single entrepreneur. Yes, by preferring customers over profit, a business will reduce its income in the short-term but will surely improve its sustainability in the long run.

Obedience & Respect for Authority

Obedience and respect for authority is the basic fundamental requisite for taking work from others and getting it done. Working through people actually presupposes the willingness of people to obey. It is therefore necessary for those people who are given the

job to complete a task to obey all legal and reasonable orders and perform it responsibly, as Holy Quran instructs: “Obey Allah and His Messenger and those in position of authority among you”'[4:59]. This verse is a commandment and not a plea. To be a good believer, it is incumbent upon the believer to observe the ruling with willingness and honesty. When this spirit of voluntary obedience is instilled in the mind of an employee, the scope of the hierarchy as envisaged by the verse is strengthened [43:32]. Needless to say, without the spirit of voluntary obedience among those who work, the creation of hierarchy will not serve any purpose.

Joint Consultation and Team-Work

The modern world realized the importance of joint consultation (Shura) and team-work when the Japanese based its management style on it and proved to the world of its effectiveness. The Holy Quran advocates this concept: [42:83] ...and those who do their work through mutual consultation.' [3:159] pass over (their faults), and ask for (God's) forgiveness for them; and consult them in affairs (of moment) Then, when you have taken a decision put your trust in God, for God loves those who put their trust (in Him).'

Principle of Equal Opportunities

The principle of equal opportunities postulates that all members of an organization shall have equal and fair chances to grow, contribute, and be rewarded accordingly. The Holy Quran emphasises this golden rule: [49:13] O people We created you from a single male and female couple and then divided you in nations and tribes so that you may recognize one another. Verily the most honorable among you in the sight of Allah is he who is most righteous of you.' Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) expounded the verse for us on the occasion of Hajat-ul-Widaa, in the following words: In the light of this Quranic verse no Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab nor does any non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Neither black is superior to white nor white is superior to black. Of course, if there is any criterion of superiority and respectability in the sight of Allah, it is Taqwa (righteousness).' These words suggest that despite the fact that we are all equal, human beings can excel over one another in certain aspects of life. One such aspect could be in terms of righteousness. There can be no better pattern for equal opportunities than the one

say, it is a perfect system.

Seiketsu (Standardization- Standardize the way of maintaining cleanliness): The fourth step of 5-S is Seiketsu which more or less translates into standardized clean-up.' What it consists of is definition of standards against which people must measure and maintain cleanliness. Seiketsu encompasses both personal and environmental cleanliness. Visual management is an important ingredient of Seiketsu.

The Holy Quran also provides us with a standardized yet very comprehensive set of rules to obtain and maintain cleanliness at all physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual levels. One such standard is the five-time obligatory Salat which is also considered as the Pillar of Islam. Another is ablution, the standards of which are clearly stated in Islamic Fiqh. How the state of intellectual and spiritual cleanliness is achieved and maintained is a very comprehensive subject in Islam.

Shitsuke (Discipline daily makes it a way of life; this also means commitment): The last step of 5-S is Shitsuke which literally means Discipline.' This golden rule denotes commitment to maintain orderliness and to practice the first 4 S's as a way of life. The emphasis of Shitsuke is on the elimination of bad habits and constant practice of good ones. Once a person achieves the state of Shitsuke, cleanliness and orderliness is then voluntarily and at times subconsciously observed at all time, without the need of reminders or motivation. Shitsuke is the most evolved state of mind that incorporates all the previous golden rules. It is too obvious for any rational mind to conclude how natural it should be for a believer to have this state of mind.

Optimum Capacity Utilization

The following verse from the Holy Quran reveals another golden rule that a businessman should learn from and practice in his daily life. No soul shall have a burden laid on it greater than it can bear [2:233] “On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear (Pray) Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear”[2:286]. This principle is emphasizing on the fact that physical, emotional, and intellectual capacity of an individual is limited and not exhaustive. Additionally, since every person is unique in his talents and temperament, and in his skills, it is important not to burden someone with a task that is beyond his scope to deal with it. This

is an important principle of modern business management. If we add another verse to the above mentioned ones, we will come across a set of very comprehensive principles for business management and personal life.

? “And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), in order that ye may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance” [55:7-9] .

? “For the wasteful are the brothers of Satan; and Satan is ungrateful to his Lord”'[17:27].

? “O Children of Adam Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters”[7:31].

Quality Management System

A business cannot flourish in the long run if it doesn't give its customer what it promises to. Being a customer it is easy to understand this but for a business it is usually not. The main focus of a businessman is to make profits and not necessarily to satisfy the customer. This has been realized the hard way by the western organizations that customer satisfaction is vital for their survival and growth. So, in order to achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction, they have put in considerable amount of research on the concept what is now known as Quality Management Systems including its various tools and methodologies such as the Six-Sigma and TQM. The same golden rule has mentioned in the Holy Quran.

The Holy Quran Commands:

? “And come not nigh to the orphan's property, except to improve it, until he attain the age of full strength; give measure and weight with (full) justice ;- no burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can bear;-whenever ye speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned; and fulfil the covenant of Allah. Thus doth He command you that ye may remember” [6:152]

? “Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due ; and do no mischief on the earth after it has been set in order: that will be best for you, if ye have Faith.”(7:85).


Institute of Management Studies, DehradunBusiness Management Theories in light of the Holy Qur'an ...

? Ali, Mohammed Mujahed; Assistant Professor, Department of Business Management, Mohaboobia Panjetan P G College, Warrangal, India.

? Anand, Sandip; Assistant Professor, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, India.

? Chary, Dr. T. Satyanarayana ; Associate Professor & Chairman of Board of Studies, Department of Commerce, Telangana University,Dichpally, Nizamabad, India.

? Chaubey, D.S; Director, Omkarananda Institute of Management and Technology Rishikesh,Uttarakhand, India.

? Dahiya, Richa; Faculty, Bhagwan Mahaveer Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sonepat , Haryana, India.

? Ganakumar, P. Baba; Head, Department of Commerce, Sri Krishna Arts and Science College,Coimbatore Tamil Nadu, India.

? Gupta, Vipin; Ros Jaffe Chair Professor of Strategy, Simmons School of Management, Simmons College, Boston, USA .

? Khare , Arpita; Associate Professor, LDCITS, Allahabad, India.

? Palackil, Muhammed Shaduli; Financial Analyst,Alkhor & Dakira Schemes and Services,Alkhor, Doha, Qatar.

? Paudel, Narayan Prasad; Assistant Professor, School of Management , Kathmandu University, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal .

? Raj, M.Prasanna Mohan; Assistant Professor ,Alliance Business School Anekal, Bangalore ,Karnataka, India .

? Sarmah, Ranjit Kumar; Sr. Assistant Director, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), New Delhi, India.

? Sharma, Bindu; Faculty , in management studies ,Advanced Group of Institutions, Palwal, Haryana, India.

? Sully de Luque, Mary; Assistant Professor of Management , Research Fellow in the Garvin Center for Cultures and Language, Thunderbird School of Global ManagementGlendale, USA.

? Zafar. SMT ; Director, Roorkee College of Pharmacy, Roorkee , Uttarakhand, India.

Our Contributors spelled out by the above Quranic Ayat. In the realm of management, it would mean that the criteria for entitlement to any benefit, reward, position, or status shall be such that any one having requisite qualifications and experience should have equal opportunity to achieve it. This will obviously go a long way towards maintaining the requisite degree of harmony in the work environment conducive to the smooth working of the management process

Motivation and Commitment

Making people what they are supposed to do requires a certain degree of commitment which can only be achieved through motivation. It is an established fact that the way a manager behaves or deals with the subordinates determines the level and vitality of their motivation and commitment to a great extent. The Holy Quran too speaks about this golden rule: [3:159] ?(telling the Prophet) If you had been stern and fierce of heart they (the companions and followers) would have disappeared from around you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the conduct of affairs' This beautiful ayat emphasizes upon two aspects: one, that compassionate and sympathetic behavior towards companions and followers, and second, the adoption of participatory approach when dealing with them i.e. consulting them, is the most effective way of

�m�a�n�a�g�e�m�e�n�t�.� �I�f� �t�h�i�s� �g�o�l�d�e�n� �r�u�l�e� �i�s� �n�o�t� �o�b�s�e�r�v�e�d� �t�h�e�n� �t�h�e�y� �w�i�l�l� �d�i�s�a�p�p�e�a�r� �f�r�o�m� �y�o�u�'� �i�.�e�.� �t�h�e�y� �w�o�n�'�t� �p�a�y� �a�t�t�e�n�t�i�o�n� �n�o�r� �a�n�y� �i�n�t�e�r�e�s�t� �i�n� �y�o�u� �o�r� �w�h�a�t� �y�o�u�r� �w�o�r�k� �e�n�t�a�i�l�s�.� �B�o�t�h� �t�h�e�s�e� �g�o�l�d�e�n� �r�u�l�e�s� �p�l�a�y� �v�i�t�a�l� �r�o�l�e� �i�n� �t�h�e� �m�o�t�i�v�a�t�i�o�n� �o�f� �s�u�b�o�r�d�i�n�a�t�e�s� �a�n�d� �i�n�c�u�l�c�a�t�i�n�g� �i�n� �t�h�e�m� �t�h�e� �s�p�i�r�i�t� �o�f� �c�o�m�m�i�t�m�e�n�t� �a�n�d� �p�a�s�s�i�o�n� �f�o�r� �w�o�r�k�.


The Holy Quran.

www.academon.com/Essay...Concept-of-Management/61433.

http://www.trcb.com/business/management/business-management-astaught-by-the-holy-quran-10103.htm

http : / /en.wik ipedia .org/wiki / Jus t - in-time_(business)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/21663294/The-5-s-Process-Seiri-Seiton-Seiso-Seiketsu-Shitsuke

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_management_system

http://www.scribd.com/doc/10926231/Management-in-Islam


Business Management Theories in light of the Holy Qur'an ...

? Ali, Mohammed Mujahed; Assistant Professor, Department of Business Management, Mohaboobia Panjetan P G College, Warrangal, India.

? Anand, Sandip; Assistant Professor, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, India.

? Chary, Dr. T. Satyanarayana ; Associate Professor & Chairman of Board of Studies, Department of Commerce, Telangana University,Dichpally, Nizamabad, India.

? Chaubey, D.S; Director, Omkarananda Institute of Management and Technology Rishikesh,Uttarakhand, India.

? Dahiya, Richa; Faculty, Bhagwan Mahaveer Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sonepat , Haryana, India.

? Ganakumar, P. Baba; Head, Department of Commerce, Sri Krishna Arts and Science College,Coimbatore Tamil Nadu, India.

? Gupta, Vipin; Ros Jaffe Chair Professor of Strategy, Simmons School of Management, Simmons College, Boston, USA .

? Khare , Arpita; Associate Professor, LDCITS, Allahabad, India.

? Palackil, Muhammed Shaduli; Financial Analyst,Alkhor & Dakira Schemes and Services,Alkhor, Doha, Qatar.

? Paudel, Narayan Prasad; Assistant Professor, School of Management , Kathmandu University, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal .

? Raj, M.Prasanna Mohan; Assistant Professor ,Alliance Business School Anekal, Bangalore ,Karnataka, India .

? Sarmah, Ranjit Kumar; Sr. Assistant Director, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), New Delhi, India.

? Sharma, Bindu; Faculty , in management studies ,Advanced Group of Institutions, Palwal, Haryana, India.

? Sully de Luque, Mary; Assistant Professor of Management , Research Fellow in the Garvin Center for Cultures and Language, Thunderbird School of Global ManagementGlendale, USA.

? Zafar. SMT ; Director, Roorkee College of Pharmacy, Roorkee , Uttarakhand, India.

Our Contributors spelled out by the above Quranic Ayat. In the realm of management, it would mean that the criteria for entitlement to any benefit, reward, position, or status shall be such that any one having requisite qualifications and experience should have equal opportunity to achieve it. This will obviously go a long way towards maintaining the requisite degree of harmony in the work environment conducive to the smooth working of the management process

Motivation and Commitment

Making people what they are supposed to do requires a certain degree of commitment which can only be achieved through motivation. It is an established fact that the way a manager behaves or deals with the subordinates determines the level and vitality of their motivation and commitment to a great extent. The Holy Quran too speaks about this golden rule: [3:159] ?(telling the Prophet) If you had been stern and fierce of heart they (the companions and followers) would have disappeared from around you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the conduct of affairs' This beautiful ayat emphasizes upon two aspects: one, that compassionate and sympathetic behavior towards companions and followers, and second, the adoption of participatory approach when dealing with them i.e. consulting them, is the most effective way of

�m�a�n�a�g�e�m�e�n�t�.� �I�f� �t�h�i�s� �g�o�l�d�e�n� �r�u�l�e� �i�s� �n�o�t� �o�b�s�e�r�v�e�d� �t�h�e�n� �t�h�e�y� �w�i�l�l� �d�i�s�a�p�p�e�a�r� �f�r�o�m� �y�o�u�'� �i�.�e�.� �t�h�e�y� �w�o�n�'�t� �p�a�y� �a�t�t�e�n�t�i�o�n� �n�o�r� �a�n�y� �i�n�t�e�r�e�s�t� �i�n� �y�o�u� �o�r� �w�h�a�t� �y�o�u�r� �w�o�r�k� �e�n�t�a�i�l�s�.� �B�o�t�h� �t�h�e�s�e� �g�o�l�d�e�n� �r�u�l�e�s� �p�l�a�y� �v�i�t�a�l� �r�o�l�e� �i�n� �t�h�e� �m�o�t�i�v�a�t�i�o�n� �o�f� �s�u�b�o�r�d�i�n�a�t�e�s� �a�n�d� �i�n�c�u�l�c�a�t�i�n�g� �i�n� �t�h�e�m� �t�h�e� �s�p�i�r�i�t� �o�f� �c�o�m�m�i�t�m�e�n�t� �a�n�d� �p�a�s�s�i�o�n� �f�o�r� �w�o�r�k�.


The Holy Quran.

www.academon.com/Essay...Concept-of-Management/61433.

http://www.trcb.com/business/management/business-management-astaught-by-the-holy-quran-10103.htm

http : / /en.wik ipedia .org/wiki / Jus t - in-time_(business)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/21663294/The-5-s-Process-Seiri-Seiton-Seiso-Seiketsu-Shitsuke

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_management_system

http://www.scribd.com/doc/10926231/Management-in-Islam


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To The EditorPragyaan : Journal of Management,Institute of Management Studies,Makkawala Greens, Mussoorie- Diversion Road,DehradunPin- 248001, UttarakhandPh: (M) 09897910917Fax: +91-0135-2738005

Sir,

Sub: Assignment of Copyright

I/We, _____________________________________________________________________, author(s) of the

article entitled ____________________________________________________________________________

do hereby authorize you to publish the above said article in PRAGYAAN: JOURNAL OF

MANAGEMENT.

I/We further state that:

1) The Article is my/our original contribution. It does not infringe on the rights of others and does

not contain any libelous or unlawful statements.

2) Wherever required I/We have taken permission and acknowledged the source.

3) The work has been submitted only to this journal PRAGYAAN: JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT

and that it has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere for publication.

I/We hereby authorize you to edit, alter, modify and make changes in the Article in the process of

preparing the manuscript to make it suitable for publication.

I/We hereby assign all the copyrights relating to the said Article to the Institute of Management

Studies, Dehradun.

I/We have not assigned any kind of rights of the above said Article to any other person/Publications.

I/We agree to indemnify the Institute of Management Studies, Dehradun. against any claim or

action alleging facts which, if true, constitute a breach of any of the foregoing warranties.

First author Second author Third author

1. Name: 2. Name: 3. Name:

Signature: Signature: Signature:

Invitation and Guidelines for Contributors

PRAGYAAN : Journal of Management, is a biannual publication of IMS, Dehradun. Its objective is to create a platform, where ideas, concepts and applications related to Management can be shared. Its focus is on pure and applied research on emerging issues in management.

The articles are invited from academicians, practicing managers and research scholars.

Guidelines for Contributors

1. Manuscripts should be submitted preferably through email or in duplicate and should not ordinary exceed 5000 words. These must be typed on one side of the page only, with double spacing and a margin of 1.5 inches on both sides.

2. Articles which are published should not be reproduced or reprinted in any from either in full or in part without the prior permission of the editor.

3. Wherever copyrighted material is used, the author(s) should be accurate in reproduction and obtain permission from the copyright holders if necessary.

4. Papers submitted or presented in a seminar must be clearly indicated at the bottom of the first page.

5. Notes should be consecutively numbered and references alphabetically arranged and presented at the end of the article on separate sheets of paper, and not at the foot of each page.

6. The articles can fall into any one of the following types research based articles on management (with executive summaries), case studies, book reviews, letters to the editors, and interviews with academicians / senior corporate managers or CEOs.

7. The format of references should be as follows:a) Journal article : Saravanan, T (2005). "Cyber Laws in India: A case of the IT", SERLS Journal of

Information management, 42 (3), 281-284.b) Books : Moore, David S. et. al. (2003). Practice of Business Statistics, NY : Freeman.c) Internal : Basu, I. (2004). India's thorny FDI rule under scrutiny. Asia Times May 28.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FE28Dfo3.html.

8. Present each figure and table on a separate sheet of paper. All figures and tables must be consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals with appropriate titles.

9. Write numbers in figures (rather than words) for exact measurement and series of quantities, including percentage. Use thousands and millions rather that lakhs and crores.

10. Book review must contain the name of the author and the book reviewed, place of publication and publisher, date of publication, number of pages and price.

11. A brief resume of the author/s should accompany the research articles.

All manuscripts should be addressed to :

Dr. Shruti NagarEditorPRAGYAAN : Journal of Management

Institute of Management StudiesMakkawala GreensMussoorie Diversion RoadDehradun - 248009 Uttarakhand (India)Phones: 0135-2738000, 2738001, 6454003 E-mail : [email protected] [email protected]

12. Authors are required to send a duly signed copyright undertaking by post after sending the soft copy of their manuscript.

To The EditorPragyaan : Journal of Management,Institute of Management Studies,Makkawala Greens, Mussoorie- Diversion Road,DehradunPin- 248001, UttarakhandPh: (M) 09897910917Fax: +91-0135-2738005

Sir,

Sub: Assignment of Copyright

I/We, _____________________________________________________________________, author(s) of the

article entitled ____________________________________________________________________________

do hereby authorize you to publish the above said article in PRAGYAAN: JOURNAL OF

MANAGEMENT.

I/We further state that:

1) The Article is my/our original contribution. It does not infringe on the rights of others and does

not contain any libelous or unlawful statements.

2) Wherever required I/We have taken permission and acknowledged the source.

3) The work has been submitted only to this journal PRAGYAAN: JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT

and that it has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere for publication.

I/We hereby authorize you to edit, alter, modify and make changes in the Article in the process of

preparing the manuscript to make it suitable for publication.

I/We hereby assign all the copyrights relating to the said Article to the Institute of Management

Studies, Dehradun.

I/We have not assigned any kind of rights of the above said Article to any other person/Publications.

I/We agree to indemnify the Institute of Management Studies, Dehradun. against any claim or

action alleging facts which, if true, constitute a breach of any of the foregoing warranties.

First author Second author Third author

1. Name: 2. Name: 3. Name:

Signature: Signature: Signature:

Invitation and Guidelines for Contributors

PRAGYAAN : Journal of Management, is a biannual publication of IMS, Dehradun. Its objective is to create a platform, where ideas, concepts and applications related to Management can be shared. Its focus is on pure and applied research on emerging issues in management.

The articles are invited from academicians, practicing managers and research scholars.

Guidelines for Contributors

1. Manuscripts should be submitted preferably through email or in duplicate and should not ordinary exceed 5000 words. These must be typed on one side of the page only, with double spacing and a margin of 1.5 inches on both sides.

2. Articles which are published should not be reproduced or reprinted in any from either in full or in part without the prior permission of the editor.

3. Wherever copyrighted material is used, the author(s) should be accurate in reproduction and obtain permission from the copyright holders if necessary.

4. Papers submitted or presented in a seminar must be clearly indicated at the bottom of the first page.

5. Notes should be consecutively numbered and references alphabetically arranged and presented at the end of the article on separate sheets of paper, and not at the foot of each page.

6. The articles can fall into any one of the following types research based articles on management (with executive summaries), case studies, book reviews, letters to the editors, and interviews with academicians / senior corporate managers or CEOs.

7. The format of references should be as follows:a) Journal article : Saravanan, T (2005). "Cyber Laws in India: A case of the IT", SERLS Journal of

Information management, 42 (3), 281-284.b) Books : Moore, David S. et. al. (2003). Practice of Business Statistics, NY : Freeman.c) Internal : Basu, I. (2004). India's thorny FDI rule under scrutiny. Asia Times May 28.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FE28Dfo3.html.

8. Present each figure and table on a separate sheet of paper. All figures and tables must be consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals with appropriate titles.

9. Write numbers in figures (rather than words) for exact measurement and series of quantities, including percentage. Use thousands and millions rather that lakhs and crores.

10. Book review must contain the name of the author and the book reviewed, place of publication and publisher, date of publication, number of pages and price.

11. A brief resume of the author/s should accompany the research articles.

All manuscripts should be addressed to :

Dr. Shruti NagarEditorPRAGYAAN : Journal of Management

Institute of Management StudiesMakkawala GreensMussoorie Diversion RoadDehradun - 248009 Uttarakhand (India)Phones: 0135-2738000, 2738001, 6454003 E-mail : [email protected] [email protected]

12. Authors are required to send a duly signed copyright undertaking by post after sending the soft copy of their manuscript.

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The Subscription rates for each of our three journals, viz., Pragyaan: Journal of Management, Pragyaan: Information Technology and Pragyaan: Mass Communication are as follows:

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(4 Issues)

45,000/-

(6 Issues)

Single Insertion (1 Issue) (Inside B/W Page) - Rs.5000/-

Please cut out and mail along with your cheque/DD to: The Registrar, Institute of Management Studies, Makkawala Greens, Mussorrie Diversion Road, Dehradun 248009, Uttarakhand , India

Phone No. 0135-2738000, 2738001, 6454003

Date: ____________ Signature (individual/authorized signatory)

Please send the amount by DD/Local Cheque favouring Institute of Management Studies Dehradun, for timely receipt of the journal. Outstation cheques shall not be accepted.

A bank draft/cheque bearing no ________________ dated_____________ for Rs. ________ Drawn in favour

of Institute of Management Studies, Dehradun towards the subscription is enclosed. Please register me/us for

the subscription with the following particulars:

Name ____________________________________________________________ (Indiviual/Organisation)

Address_______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

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Pragyaan: Information Technology

Pragyaan: Mass Communication

SUBSCRIPTION FORM

I wish to subscribe to the following journal(s) of IMS, Dehradun:

Name of Journal No. of Years Amount

Total

S. CHAND BOOK'S OF COMMERCE AND MANAGEMENT(Useful for MBA, BBA, MIB, PGDBM)

Title Author

Logistic Management Dr. S.K. BhattacharyyaAdvanced Accounts M.C. Shukla/ T.S. GrewalFinancial Accounting Jawahar Lal / S. SrivastavaAdvanced Management Accounting Jawahar LalAccounting for Management N.P. Srinivasan/ M. Sakthivel Murugan Financial Accounting N. Vinayakam / B. CharumatiManagement Accounting R.S.N. Pillai / V. BagavathiA T.B. of Company Law P.P.S. GognaBusiness Law R.S.N. Pillai/ V. BagavathiA T.B. of Mercantile Law P.P.S. GognaStatistics R.S.N. Pillai / V. BagavathiComprehensive Statistical Methods P.N. Arora, Sumeet AroraStatistics for Management P.N. Aroa/ S. AroraComputer Application in Business R. ParameswaranBasics of Marketing Management R.B. RudaniModern Marketing R.S.N. Pillai/ BagavathiServices Marketing & Management B. BalajiInvestment Management V.K. BhallaProduction Management Martand T. TelsangManagement Information Systems A.K. GuptaConsumer Behaviour in Indian Indian Context P.C. Jain & Monika BhattEntrepreneurial Development S.S. KhankaOrganization Behaviour S.S. KhankaManagerial Economics H.L. AhujaBusiness Economics H.L. AhujaPrinciples of Management R.N. GuptaBusiness Communication Dr. V.K. Jain/ Dr. Omprakash BiyaniIndustrial & Business Management Martand T. TelsangMarketing Management R.S.N. Pillai/ BagavathiManaging Carrer By Discovering Your Personality R.M. OnkarFinancial Management Dr. P.C. TulsianComputer Fundamentals D.P. Nagpal

S. C H A N D & C O M P A N Y L T D.BranchOffice : Corporate Office :20, New Road 7361, Ram NagarNear Diwarka Store Qutab RoadDehradun -248001 New Delhi- 110055Ph: 0135- 2711101, 2710861 Ph: 011- 23672080, 81

SUBSCRIPTION/ADVERTISEMENT RATES

The Subscription rates for each of our three journals, viz., Pragyaan: Journal of Management, Pragyaan: Information Technology and Pragyaan: Mass Communication are as follows:

Advertisement Rates (Rs.)

1 Year 3 Years 5 YearsCategory Domestic

Rates(Rs.)

Foreign Rates (US $) (US $)(US $)

Domestic Rates(Rs.)

Foreign Rates

Domestic Rates(Rs.)

Foreign Rates

Academic Institutions

500 30 1200 75 2000 120

Corporate 1000 60 2500 150 4000 240Individual Members

400 25 1000 60

1600 100

Students 300 20 700 40 1200 75

Location/Period 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years B/W (Inside Page) 10,000/- (2 Issues) 18,000/- (4 Issues) 25,000/- (6 Issues)Colour (Inside Back Cover)

17,000/-

(2 Issues)

30,000/-

(4 Issues)

45,000/-

(6 Issues)

Single Insertion (1 Issue) (Inside B/W Page) - Rs.5000/-

Please cut out and mail along with your cheque/DD to: The Registrar, Institute of Management Studies, Makkawala Greens, Mussorrie Diversion Road, Dehradun 248009, Uttarakhand , India

Phone No. 0135-2738000, 2738001, 6454003

Date: ____________ Signature (individual/authorized signatory)

Please send the amount by DD/Local Cheque favouring Institute of Management Studies Dehradun, for timely receipt of the journal. Outstation cheques shall not be accepted.

A bank draft/cheque bearing no ________________ dated_____________ for Rs. ________ Drawn in favour

of Institute of Management Studies, Dehradun towards the subscription is enclosed. Please register me/us for

the subscription with the following particulars:

Name ____________________________________________________________ (Indiviual/Organisation)

Address_______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

Phone__________________ Fax _________________ E- mail___________________________________


Pragyaan: Information Technology

Pragyaan: Mass Communication

SUBSCRIPTION FORM

I wish to subscribe to the following journal(s) of IMS, Dehradun:

Name of Journal No. of Years Amount

Total

S. CHAND BOOK'S OF COMMERCE AND MANAGEMENT(Useful for MBA, BBA, MIB, PGDBM)

Title Author

Logistic Management Dr. S.K. BhattacharyyaAdvanced Accounts M.C. Shukla/ T.S. GrewalFinancial Accounting Jawahar Lal / S. SrivastavaAdvanced Management Accounting Jawahar LalAccounting for Management N.P. Srinivasan/ M. Sakthivel Murugan Financial Accounting N. Vinayakam / B. CharumatiManagement Accounting R.S.N. Pillai / V. BagavathiA T.B. of Company Law P.P.S. GognaBusiness Law R.S.N. Pillai/ V. BagavathiA T.B. of Mercantile Law P.P.S. GognaStatistics R.S.N. Pillai / V. BagavathiComprehensive Statistical Methods P.N. Arora, Sumeet AroraStatistics for Management P.N. Aroa/ S. AroraComputer Application in Business R. ParameswaranBasics of Marketing Management R.B. RudaniModern Marketing R.S.N. Pillai/ BagavathiServices Marketing & Management B. BalajiInvestment Management V.K. BhallaProduction Management Martand T. TelsangManagement Information Systems A.K. GuptaConsumer Behaviour in Indian Indian Context P.C. Jain & Monika BhattEntrepreneurial Development S.S. KhankaOrganization Behaviour S.S. KhankaManagerial Economics H.L. AhujaBusiness Economics H.L. AhujaPrinciples of Management R.N. GuptaBusiness Communication Dr. V.K. Jain/ Dr. Omprakash BiyaniIndustrial & Business Management Martand T. TelsangMarketing Management R.S.N. Pillai/ BagavathiManaging Carrer By Discovering Your Personality R.M. OnkarFinancial Management Dr. P.C. TulsianComputer Fundamentals D.P. Nagpal

S. C H A N D & C O M P A N Y L T D.BranchOffice : Corporate Office :20, New Road 7361, Ram NagarNear Diwarka Store Qutab RoadDehradun -248001 New Delhi- 110055Ph: 0135- 2711101, 2710861 Ph: 011- 23672080, 81

Documents

Pragyaan : Journal of Managementpragyaanmanagement.iuu.ac/upload_dynamic_content/2010...Pragyaan: Journal of Management Volume 8: Issue 1. June 2010 CONTENTS Research Papers/Articles