Over the past decade companies have become more global and employee groups more diverse than ever

before. Organizations are less hierarchical and more

collaborative. And today’s offices are full of once unimaginable

technological distractions. We asked experts in cross-cultural

communication, information networks, and the science of

attention what skills executives should cultivate to tackle these

new challenges. Molinsky thinks that managers must overcome

psychological barriers in order to act in ways that other cultures find appropriate. Davenport and Iyer

explain why the devolution of hierarchy has increased the value of building and wielding influence

through digital networks and offer tips for how to do it. And Davidson tells managers to get over their

fears about distraction and embrace the brain’s natural tendency to divide attention.

Vol. 07, Issue 11

November 2017

Wisdom Window A P u b l i c a t i o n of the Library

INSIDE THE ISSUE

Thought Window

- Page 2

News Window

- Page 3 - 7

Column Window

- Page 8-13

Article Window

- Page 14-16

Leading Journals Window

- Page 17-19

New Acquisitions Window

- Page 20

E-Journals Window

- Page 21

Andrew L. Molinsky, Thomas H. Davenport and Bala Iyer : HBR

Tought window

2

3

Senior public officials join PIM’s latest program

in Hong Kong

The Postgraduate

Institute of

Management (PIM)

conducted its

inaugural

international

management program with the University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong. The program was conducted in

November. This is the sixth destination added to the sought-after international management programs of

PIM.

The program focused on key areas of public sector management including leadership, conflict resolution,

big data and macro-economic areas related to the public sector. The participants while learning the

conceptual and theoretical aspects in the lecture room sessions, were also brought into contact with public

and private sector management experts in Hong Kong. Participants had the opportunity to visit the Hong

Kong Trade Development Council, Independent Commission Against Corruption, Hong Kong Monetary

Authority and Cyberport. The program was coordinated by Management Consultant Dilhan Goonetilleke.

IPM enriches HR landscape with 650 new

graduands at 2017 graduation ceremony

IPM Sri Lanka – the nation’s leader in

human resource management, held its

graduation ceremony on Tuesday 31

October at the BMICH in Colombo

amidst a large gathering which

included the Chief Guest University of

Moratuwa Vice Chancellor Prof.

Ananda Jayawardane, Guest of Honour

Union Assurance PLC Chief Executive

Officer Dirk Pereira, IPM Sri Lanka

President Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri,

IPM Sri Lanka Hony. Secretary Ken

Vijayakumar, IPM Sri Lanka

Immediate Past President Rohitha

Amarapala, IPM Sri Lanka Chief Operations Officer P.G. Tennakoon, IPM Sri Lanka Director of Studies

Arosh Yahampath, IPM Sri Lanka Business School Committee Chairman Jayantha Amarasinghe, IPM

Council Members, IPM faculty, graduands and their parents/spouses, and other distinguished invitees.

Over 650 graduands representing IPM’s flagship qualification PQHRM (Professional Qualification in

Human Resource Management) and NDTHRD (National Diploma in Training and Human Resource

Development)receivedtheir graduation certificates at the ceremony.

News Window (II) November 10,2017

News Window (I) November 28,2017

4

PIM’s Samantha Rathnayake to address

international conference in India on Future Work

Organizations

Management Consultant Samantha Rathnayke from the Postgraduate

Institute of Management of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura is to

address an international conference on ‘Future Work Organizations:

Perspectives, Issues and Challenges’ organised by the Sona School of

Management on 29 and 30 December at Goa University, India.

In addition to the address, he is to chair research and other parallel sessions

during the conference.

The keynote speaker of the conference will be Prof. Kishore Kulkarni -

Distinguished Professor of Economics at Metropolitan State University of

Denver, the US. Ratnayake is to make his contribution under the theme of

‘Future workforce: yesterday to tomorrow’. Eminent speakers representing diverse fields are to address

the sessions such as Thyagu Valliappa - Founder and CEO of SAM-Bangalore; Dr. Gour Gobinda

Goswami - Treasurer, North South University, Bangladesh; Prof Nikunj Dalal - Oklahoma State

University, the US; Debabrat Dash - GM HR, Tata Steel-Odisha; Somick Goswami - Partner,

PricewaterhouseCoopers, India; Prof. Debu Mukerji - Management, Consultant/Director, Independent

Leadership and Management Consulting, Sydney; Prof. Anil Rao Paila - Senior Dean, Welingkar,

Institute of Management, Bengaluru; Mita Dixit - Program Head, Lead to Transform Family Business,

S.P Jain-Mumbai; Prof. Swarup. K. Mohanty - Director, Sona School of Management-Salem; Chocko

Valliappa - Founder and CEO, Vee Technologies, Bangalore; Prof. K.B. Akhilesh - DOMS, Indian

Institute of Science-Bangalore; Sai Kavitha – Vice President and Country Head, Innovatia Canada and

India and Prof. Sabur Khan - Chairman, Daffodil International University, Banglades.

…………………………..

High powered delegation to represent IPM SL at

APFHRM in Hong Kong IPM Sri Lanka, the nation’s leader in human resource

management, will be represented by a high powered

delegation comprising of Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri –

President IPM Sri Lanka and Vice President Asia

Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management

(APFHRM), Rohitha Amarapala - immediate past

president/co-chairman of the IPM Sri Lanka External

Affairs Committee and Board Member, APFHRM and

Dhammika Fernando – Council Member/co-chairman

of the IPM Sri Lanka External Affairs Committee and

Board Member, APFHRM at the forthcoming board

meeting of APFHRM to be held in Hong Kong from

21st – 22nd November. The delegation will also participate in the 40th Annual HR Conference &

Exhibition of the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM).

"IPM Sri Lanka maintains very close links with APFHRM and other regional and international

professional HR entities in order to strengthen our capacity to develop globally competitive HR

professionals. Our participation at the APFHRM Board Meeting will be an ideal opportunity for Sri

Lanka to showcase our HR infrastructure and expertise to the global HR community" said Prof. Ajantha

Dharmasiri-president, IPM Sri Lanka.

News Window (IV) November 14,2017

News Window (III) November 28,2017

5

Oman PIM batch photograph with Dr.Wickrama

Weerasooria

IPM Great HR Quiz 2017 to be held on

November 15

Winners of the Great HR Quiz 2016

Trophy - Sanasa Development Bank

with Minister Eran Wickramaratne,

President IPM SL Prof. Ajantha

Dharmasiri and Chairman of the Great

HR Quiz 2016 Organizing

Committee/Council Member of IPM,

Prasad Piyadigama

IPM Sri Lanka, the Nation’s leader in

human resource management,

announced that their popular corporate

HR quiz “IPM Great HR Quiz 2017” will be held on November 15, 2017 at the Cinnamon Grand,

Colombo.

The IPM Great HR Quiz, held for the fourth consecutive year, is the only corporate quiz that is dedicated

to the field of HR. IPM invites companies to register their teams comprising five members per team at

this exciting event which is expected to attract over 50 teams this year. Applications will close on October

31, 2017.

Companies can register their teams for the Great HR Quiz 2017 in the industry categories of Banking,

Finance/Insurance, IT/Software/Telecom/BPO, Apparel & Textile, Manufacturing/FMCG, Food &

Beverages as well as under a Special Category.

“The primary objective of the Great HR Quiz event is to improve HR knowledge while encouraging

knowledge sharing amongst the HR fraternity and business community in Sri Lanka,” said Ken

Vijayakumar, Secretary, IPM Sri Lanka and Chairman - Great HR Quiz 2017 Organizing Committee.

News Window (VI) November 07,2017

News Window (V) October 29,2017

6

Supply Chain Management in Sri Lanka:

Promising prospects

I had the opportunity to chair a session in

the international seminar recently

organised by the Institute of Supply and

Materials Management (ISMM) with the

fitting theme ‘Leveraging Supply Chain

Management to Enhance Sustainability’.

It showcased the increasing significance

of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in

the Sri Lankan context. Today’s column

is a reflection on the vibrancy and the

vitality of SCM for Sri Lanka.

Overview

Several hundred years ago, Napoleon made the remark, “An army marches on its stomach.”

Napoleon was a master strategist and a skilful general and this remark shows that he clearly

understood the importance of what we would now call Supply Chain Management. Unless the soldiers are

fed, the army cannot move.

The term logistics is closely associated with the SCM. It comes from the Greek logos, meaning “speech,

reason, ratio, rationality, language, phrase”, and more specifically from the Greek word logistiki meaning

accounting and financial organisation.

From logistics to SCM

SCM is a term that has emerged in recent past that captures the essence of integrated logistics and even

goes beyond it. SCM emphasises the logistics interactions that take place among the functions of

marketing, logistics, and production within a firm and those interactions that take place between the

legally separate firms within the product-flow channel.

Logistics is considered to have originated in the military’s need to supply themselves with arms,

ammunition and rations as they moved from their base to a forward position. In ancient Greek, Roman

and Byzantine empires, military officers with the title Logistikas were responsible for financial and

supply distribution matters. Having crushed the world’s most ruthless terrorists, the Sri Lankan armed

forces showed the world, how they used logistics for goal accomplishment.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines logistics as “the branch of military science having to do with

procuring, maintaining and transporting materiel, personnel and facilities”. Another dictionary definition

is “the time-related positioning of resources”.

The Council of Logistics Management (CLM), a professional organisation of logistics managers,

educators and practitioners formed in 1962 for the purpose of continuing education and fostering the

interchange of ideas. It defines logistics as:

Logistics is that part of the supply chain process that plans, implements and controls the efficient,

effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information from the point of origin to the point

of consumption in order to meet customer requirements.

The Supply Chain (SC) encompasses all activities associated with the flow and transformation of goods

from the raw materials state to the end user, as well as the associated information flows. Materials and

information flow both up and down the supply chain. SCM is the integration of these activities, through

improved supply chain relationships, to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. ……………………

Column Window (I) October 31 ,2017

7

Embracing the new world of work

I had the opportunity of

participating in one of the

largest HR conferences in

the world last week. The

70th annual conference of

the Chartered Institute of

Personnel and Development

(CIPD), UK, was held in

Manchester Conventions

Centre on 8 and 9

November. Today’s column is a recollection and reflection of the reminiscences of CIPD 2017

conference with the theme ‘Embracing the New World of Work’.

IPM delegates with CIPD, UK CEO Peter Cheese

Overview The CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition is the one event in the year that HR professionals around

the world look forward to. There were more than 50 sessions on key HR topics with learnings from

leading organisations across all sectors with the associated exhibition providing latest HR solutions from

more than 180 industry suppliers.

I attended the CIPD conference representing the Institute of Personnel Management (IPM) Sri Lanka, in

the capacity of Honorary President. Priyankara Senevirathe, Chairman, National HR Conference (NHRC)

2018, and Sanath Palliyaguru, a Council Member, were also with me. It is customary for CIPD to invite

the IPM President and other delegates on an annual basis.

Key theme

According to CIPD, the digitalisation of work, the impact of technology on jobs, the macro socio-political

changes around us, and the increased pace of organisational transformation are examples of a new world

of work that is already upon us. As such, a new world which presents major challenges and opportunities

for business leaders and the people profession is around us.

With a compelling call for action for organisations, leaders and professionals to champion good work and

more ethical decisions, the conference programme was intended to empower the participants to become a

driving force for the good of organisations, individuals and the wider society.

Through a wide variety of topic areas and learning formats, the conference provided an opportunity to

look at how we need to change and modernise our people practices not only to succeed in a new reality of

work, but also to shape a fairer future that will benefit everyone.

Highlights CIPD CEO Peter Cheese welcomed the gathering in highlighting the key features of the event. “At the

CIPD, we have great ambitions to build a profession for the future,” said he. “This year’s event pulls

together the practitioners and thinkers who are already leading the way, to help us all shape that future.”

He further went on to say: “You’ll find sessions providing insight on the contextual factors shaping our

world of work, together with sessions looking at how to develop evidence-based HR strategies that

deliver real business value. You’ll also find practical guidance on maximising the capabilities of your

own HR and learning functions, alongside cutting edge thinking and practice which draws on the latest in

the science of human behaviour.”

“These are exciting times for the profession globally,” he added. “Whatever you’re looking for, we have

something for you – from practical case studies to big-picture context, or from the inspiration to build

your capability, to the science that will shape the future of our profession.” ………………………

Column Window (II) November 13,2017

8

World HR Congress in Sri Lanka: Opportunities

galore

It was a rigorous yet rewarding process that we went

through in competitive bidding towards hosting the most

prestigious global event in the field of human resource

management (HRM) in 2020. Today’s column conveys

thoughts on the relevance of it to Sri Lanka with multiple

implications to diverse spheres such as tourism, education,

management and leadership.

Overview There is a World HR Congress initiated by the World

Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA).

Reflecting on its international origins and concerns, the meeting location moves among its member

countries. The World Congress has been held since 1986 in 12 different countries. The next one is

scheduled to be held in Chicago, US in 2018 and they will hand over the organising reins to Sri Lanka

thereafter to host it in 2020.

The World HR Congress aptly enables HR professionals to build a global community of peers to discuss

new developments in HRM and to network with colleagues from around the world who face similar

complex challenges in HRM. It is a glamorous event which brings in HR professionals for a refreshing

reflection collectively done through a mega event rich in both the intellectual and interactive dimensions.

WFPMA in a nutshell It is noteworthy to discuss the details of the WFPMA. WFPMA is an organisation representing more than

700,000 people management professionals in over 950 national personnel associations around the world.

It was founded in 1976 to aid development and improve the effectiveness of professional people

management all over the world.

The founding members of WFPMA were the European Association for People

Management (EAPM), Inter-American Federation of Personnel Administration

(FIDAP), Inter-American Federation of Human Resource People Management

Associations (FIDAGH] and American Society for Personnel Administration (now

SHRM – the US Society for Human Resource Management).

Subsequently the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management (APFHRM)

joined as a full member in June 1980.

Further, the North American Human Resource Management Association (NAHRMA)

was established and admitted as a full member in April 1997. Also, the African Human

Resources Confederation - AHRC (formerly African Federation of Human Resources

Management Associations – AFHRMA) was established and admitted as a full member

in March 2004. The AHRC members are AFHRMA and the Federation Africaine des

Formateurs et Directeurs du Personnel (AFDIP).

The six main objectives of the WFPMA have been stated as:

To facilitate improvement in the quality and effectiveness of professional people

management to foster a positive impact on business results.

To promote the importance of the HR role in all organisations, by sharing

experiences and disseminating selected member best practices amongst member

countries and federations.

To stimulate and assist in the establishment and development of regional and

national people management associations in those parts of the world where a

continental or regional association does not exist.

To create and maintain contacts and networks with all WFPMA member associations as well as

with other organisations which have some activity in the same or similar field. ………………..

Column Window (III) November 27,2017

9

Going for inflation targeting: ‘Yes’ but free

the Central Bank from Ministry of Finance

first

Government’s promise to lower inflation The Vision 2025 released to the public in August as

well as the Economic Policy Statement delivered in

Parliament in October has reiterated the Government’s

commitment to maintaining a low inflation regime in

the country. This is not unusual since all governments

have made the same promise to the electorate since

independence in 1948. But what is important in the

present case is that the Government has elaborated on

the strategy to be followed in delivering this promise

to the people. That is to give a free hand to the Central

Bank to push the inflation rate to a low level through a strategy

known as ‘Inflation Targeting’ or in short, IT.

Government to improve supply The Economic Policy Statement has pronounced a two-pronged strategy to keep the prices down. One is

to manage the supply of foods to the market in abundant quantities by improving the domestic supply

chains and, whenever there is a shortage due to poor local production, fill the gap by importing foods

while cutting import duties on same. This is a strategy to improve supply to ease the cost of living of

people. Though the statement has not explicitly said so, it requires the Government to exit the strategy

once the conditions in the availability of foods become normal. And also, it is a measure which the

Government should take to address the question of temporary increases in prices due to shortages in

supply.

Central Bank to cut the demand The other is to allow the Central Bank to pursue a policy of inflation targeting. This is how it has been

explained in the Economic Policy Statement: “However, the Government will provide the space to the

Central Bank to carry out its monetary policy independently to maintain price stability on a sustainable

basis. The Central Bank is moving towards a new monetary policy framework targeting a flexible

inflation. The aim of this framework is to maintain a low inflation continuously while supporting the

economic activities. With this change of policy, our people will get the opportunity to live comfortably

with the security of stable prices.”

The same strategy of the Government had been pronounced earlier in Vision

2025 as well. It had said that the Government would introduce necessary

legislation to facilitate the Central Bank to adopt an inflation targeting

policy.

Government and the Central Bank assuming different responsibilities Thus, the two-pronged approach of fighting inflation is for the Government

to manage the cost of living in the short run, while allowing the Central

Bank to check inflation in the long run. The Government would do so by

increasing supply; the bank would do so by curtailing demand. This is in

fact a sound policy strategy.

Monetary policy to check on the growth of total demand Keeping inflation at low levels in the long run is a responsibility of the Central Bank. The bank does so

by managing the credit levels and interest rates – a measure known as adopting monetary policy.

Accordingly, when inflation is raising its head, the bank will cut credit levels and increase interest rates to

force the Government, companies and people to consume and invest less. The objective of this measure is

to allow the total demand – known as aggregate demand – to rise in line with the total supply or aggregate

supply. This is known in economic parlance as restrictive or contractionary or tight monetary policy. …

Column Window (IV) November 06,2017

10

Promising and committed, but his Cabinet

colleagues have to walk the talk

Mangala’s ‘Mangala Budget’ – Part I

Finance Minister Mangala

Samaraweera presenting

Budget 2018

A budget is a short-term

financial plan

Finance Minister Mangala

Samaraweera’s Mangala Budget

(Maiden Budget) was presented to

Parliament last week. A budget is

simply a one year financial plan of

the government. But modern

budgets have become a medium-

term enterprise for governments in

the sense that they are linked to the government policy a few years before and a few years hence.

In the case of the present Government, the Budget for 2018 is a midpoint financial plan that would take

forward its policy from August 2015 till about 2020. If the Government is successful in getting re-elected

in 2020, as per the policy document Vision 2025, the policy package presented in the Budget 2018, will

be a part of a long-term enterprise continued till 2025.

Challenge of satisfying many diverse groups Presenting a budget at this point in time would have been a difficult task for Mangala. That is because

there had been three constraining factors that had limited his freedom of coming up with a prudent

budget. One is that his Government will have to face at least three elections in the next three-year period.

Hence, the Budget should satisfy the ordinary citizenry.

Another is that it should satisfy the two main coalition partners of the Government, the UNP section and

the SLFP section, which harbour two different visions about the future of the economy. The UNP follows

an economic policy based on knowledge, competition and seamless integration to the world economy to

deliver prosperity to Sri Lankans. The SLFP, on the other hand, follows a policy that would first look

after the national economic interests and think of global integration only later. Keeping these two factions

satisfied through a single budget is obviously a Herculean task.

The third constraining factor is to keep the opposition criticisms of the Budget at a manageable level. The

basic criticisms will come from JVP and the group that calls itself the Joint Opposition or JO. JVP has

already condemned the Budget as being a neoliberal one and JO has labelled it as an IMF copycat.

The difficulty for Mangala would be to field speakers from his side to effectively defuse these ideological

positions. That cannot be and should not be done by humiliating the critics as is being done in Parliament

today. Such arguments should be countered by solid facts as was done by Senior Minister Sarath

Amunugama in his speech in Parliament recently (available at:

https://www.facebook.com/100010230071841/videos/539506386400359/?id=100010230071841&hc_ref

=ARTIMiQ-

YpLn8ufFOFITZbMULhkMi6v_F1NVhN9Dgv8ISzQ0R9JMDPVChbGGEIl_3wM&pnref=story).

The Blue-Green Economic System

When presenting the Budget, unlike his predecessors, Mangala exuded confidence in what he was

reading. It did not appear to viewers that he was reading a text prepared for him by someone else. It was

short and to the point. Both offensive bashing of the previous administration and colourful eulogising of

the achievements of the present administration had been kept to a minimum. ……………………….

Column Window (V) November 13,2017

11

Central Bank’s move to flexible inflation

targeting: Wide public education is needed

Central Bank of Sri Lanka Senior Deputy

Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe

Going for inflation targeting in full

strength

Delivering the Henry Steel Olcott Memorial

Oration 2017 in Colombo

recently, the Central Bank’s Senior Deputy

Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe

outlined the change of the game plan of

conducting monetary policy by the bank in

the years to come (available at:

http://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/02_prs/_docs/speeches/speech_20171120e.pdf). That was to control

inflation directly instead of controlling intermediate factors that contribute to inflation.

This novel method – known as inflation targeting or IT – has been adopted by at least 28 central banks,

according to IMF, in the globe since late 1990s. The main proponents have been the Bank of Canada,

Bank of England, Reserve Bank of Australia, Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Bank of Korea from the

developed world and Bank of Thailand and Reserve Bank of South Africa from among emerging

economies.

Attaining virtual price stability Central banks throughout the world have been mandated by people to maintain a stable

general price level – or in other words, an inflation-free world – in their respective

countries. However, in practice, the goal being pursued is not the attainment of a

completely stable general price level or zero inflation rate. It is simply the maintenance

of a ‘more or less stable general price level’ or a ‘virtually inflation free world’.

What is meant by ‘more or less stable prices’ is that prices could change but in small

paces, say, at a rate of about 2% annually. That increase in 2% is viewed as necessary

to reflect the improvement in quality of goods and services for which consumers are

prepared to pay more. Thus, when that 2% is removed, it is practically an inflation free

world.

Price stability will build confidence

If the change in the general price level from year to year is within this region, people

will trust their Central Bank, and hence the Government above it as well, that together

they would not disappoint them at the end. Such confidence would create all the

incentives for them to take a long-term view of the economy and make appropriate

choices on both consumption and investment.

But, on the other hand, if inflation is higher than what had been promised initially, they would experience

an erosion of the real value of all the financial assets they hold – cash, bank deposits, bonds, debentures

and so on. To protect them from the imminent losses, they would increase consumption, reduce

investment or convert their financial assets to unproductive real assets such as land, real estate, gold or

precious stones or go for a combination of all these three options. They are called unproductive real assets

because they are held not for creating wealth but temporarily as a hedge against inflation. ……………

Column Window (VI) November 27,2017

12

The role of women in Sri Lanka’s shipping and

logistics sector

Striving for greater gender equality has been a core

development objective across countries, as a matter of

smarter economics, productively enhancement, and

achieving better socio-economic outcomes. The maritime

and shipping

industry in

particular has

identified the

need to advance

women’s role in

the sector, and for good reason.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation estimates

that only 2% of the world’s maritime workforce is made up of women. With Sri Lanka’s goal of

becoming an international maritime and shipping hub, how does the country’s maritime and shipping

industry perform in terms of female representation? What are the opportunities and challenges for women

in the industry? What can corporates do to increase female representation?

To discuss this Shenali de Silva, Research Associate of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, sat down with

Gayani de Alwis, Co-Founder of Women In Logistics and Transport and Vice Chairperson of the

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson, Managing Director of the Hemas Logistics

and Maritime Cluster. These two eminent personalities in the maritime and shipping industry are both

members of the Chamber’s National Agenda Committee on Logistics and Transport.

Preconceived notions about the logistics industry are limiting female participation; however, ample

opportunities exist for women and the unique skills they posses

At the outset of the discussion, both Gayani and Kasturi observe that, while participation in the industry is

low, the industry’s drive to evolve and become a competitive logistics hub is opening up the opportunity

for greater female participation. The lack of representation however, is largely due to preconceived

notions of the industry and the perception that the roles the industry has to offer are not a “woman’s job”.

Changing these notions, and paving the way to becoming an international shipping and logistics hub,

requires educating women about the opportunities available in the industry. Both interviewees agree that

ample opportunities exist and women are indeed capable of taking on the demands of these roles.

Gayani highlighted that “We need to create greater awareness, we need to show them the opportunities

available across different verticals, and what the jobs and their roles entail. Some roles are dismissed as

they believe that they entail only physical labour, however with technological advancements there are

more analytical roles where women would thrive.” The transition of Sri Lanka from a traditional haulage

logistics country to a third-part logistics provider requires a workforce with a unique skillset. These skills

would largely be required for process re-engineering, understanding the impact to customers and

extensive analysis of data. This in turn is creating a need for a new breed of employees with analytical

skills, collaborative skills, negotiation skills and an empathetic work ethic, all of which are inherently

possessed by women. Women are thereby increasingly becoming an integral part to the industry and have

a key role to play in the transformation of the industry.

Is there equal opportunity and equal pay? While observing that there is in fact equal opportunity for women, especially in larger and better

structured organisations, Kasturi also notes that as an industry women are less favoured due to the

commitments they would have in the other roles that they play, such as that of a mother or a caregiver.

She emphasised on creating a conducive culture – “But does the culture allow the woman to perform

there? I see that as a bigger challenge even though we give equal opportunity, I find women who come

into the Maritime and Logistics cluster find it difficult to adjust to the environment.” ………………

Column Window (VII) November 2 ,2017

13

Article Window (I) October 2017

14

Some Perspectives on Broadening the Strategic Leadership Agenda By Mr. Samantha Rathnayake Abstract

This article explores a new theme of testing the ability to shift from our

knowledge

domains to wisdom domains in organizational affairs. The new era of

information age

is different to the industrial age which requires 'new paradigms' or 'mental models' to

foster strategic leadership thinking. In this context, the strategic organizational

transformation is all about being able to transform itself to ensure long-term survival

from mere mediocre existence. Thus, the article argues that the thinking paradigm of

transformational change requires strategic leaders to actually rethink the very purpose

of organizations even as to why they exist. Therefore transformation in organizations

calls for learning towards making sense of the potential of a 'deeper meaning' of

organizational life. In fact, many studies in the USA and Europe have shown that

consistent and enduring policies give long-term profitable results provided that companies

show continuity, and are sensitive to their customers, employees, suppliers and the

communities in which they live. Finally, the change does not mean just 'frame-breaking'

exercise rather it is more deeper endeavor to enhance organizational survival and

sustainability in an increasingly competitive world - making it 'strategic'.

The new era relates to the knowledge era or information age is drastically different to

the industrial age. The environment of our organisations is so much more multifaceted,

chaotic, uncertain, fast changing, interconnected and global today. This requires 'new

paradigms' or 'mental models' to foster strategic leadership thinking. Some argue that

this is indispensable because we are experiencing a time of living on the blurred-line

between stability and chaos. As Human Resource professionals, we have alluded to on-

going sweeping business demands and we are expected to become 'learning organizations'

where knowledge-sharing portray the corporate culture and executive life. In this context,

author attempts to gear up and challenge the leaders who are involving in strategic

decision making of today and tomorrow to think about organisations as 'higher order'

learning organisations. This encounter is called as the sphere of transformational change

where human resource professionals need to play that vital role of bringing structural

learning (explicit learning) into organizational learning (tacit execution).

Article Window (II)

Volume. XXXVIII. No. 1

15

Definitional and Conceptual Muddling: Identifying the Positionality of

Employee Engagement and Defining the Construct

Numerous entangled definitions, words, measurements, and frameworks have been proposed

when referring to employee engagement, as well as other engagement typologies. Consequently,

researchers have routinely drawn atheoretical conclusions about the meaning of employee

engagement, limiting the applicability of employee engagement in theory building and practice.

The focal point of our work was to detail an explicit definition of employee engagement and

juxtapose our definition alongside several existing frameworks and definitions. First, we detail

and position an operational definition of employee engagement ground in seminal literature.

Second, we systematically examine the engagement literature, highlighting both dominant types

of engagement and alternative typologies. Third, we conclude by making meaning for the human

resource development field, distinguishing the use of employee engagement in the literature as

an outcome, psychological state, and process, and synthesize our findings through a brief

discussion of implications for research and practice.

Shuck Brad, Osam Kobena, Zigarmi Drea, Nimon Kim; Definitional and Conceptual Muddling:

Identifying the Positionality of Employee Engagement and Defining the Construct; Human Resource

Development Review. September 2017, Vol.16 Num. 03, p.263

Conceptual Organization and Identity of HRD: Analyses of Evolving

Definitions, Influence, and Connections

The rapid expansion and diversification of human resource development (HRD) research and

practices is a welcoming sign for HRD scholars, who are interested in improving a social system

through developing human resources. At the same time, however, it raises questions about the

core identity and boundary of the field and desirable future directions. This study aims to trace

the significant thematic periods, called the wave in the evolution of HRD, from its early

development days to the present. In doing so, we present how “the body of HRD knowledge is

evolving through the intellectual evolutionary process” based on analyses of widely cited

definitions, influential work, and connections among co-appearing research topics. As the

finding, we identified three distinctive waves of evolutionary phases of HRD research: (a)

developing definition of disciplinarity, (b) competition and selection between major paradigms,

and (c) divergence and expansion of topics. Major characteristics of each period and the

influence between periods were also described.

HAN Seung-hyun, Chae Chungil, Han Soo Jeoung, Yoon Seung won; Conceptual Organization and

Identity of HRD: Analyses of Evolving Definitions, Influence, and Connections; Human Resource

Development Review. September 2017, Vol.16 Num. 03, p.294

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Absorptive Capacity, Innovativeness and the Performance of Micro-

enterprises in Malaysia

This study examines the effect of the entrepreneur’s innovativeness and absorptive capacity on

micro-enterprise innovativeness and the performance of micro-enterprises owned and managed

by women micro-entrepreneurs in Peninsular Malaysia. This study adopted a cross-sectional

design and stratified sampling methods, and collected complete data from 417 micro-

entrepreneurs. Findings of this study reveal that women micro-entrepreneurs’ innovativeness and

absorptive capacity have a significant positive effect on micro-enterprise innovativeness and the

performance of micro-enterprises. The development programmes and policies on innovation and

SMEs should therefore emphasize on promoting innovativeness and improving the absorptive

capacity among the women micro-entrepreneurs to improve the performance of micro-

enterprises.

Al Mamun Abdullah, Muhammad Nik Maheran Nik, Ismail Mohammad Bin; Absorptive Capacity,

Innovativeness and the Performance of Micro-enterprises in Malaysia; Vision. September 2017, Vol.21

Num. 03, p.243

FX Volatility Impact on Indian Stock Market: An Empirical Investigation

Examining the interrelationship between currency market volatility and stock market volatility

will create abundant trading opportunities to the investors irrespective of whether the return of

one market is moving up or down. This research work intended to examine how the exchange

rate volatility between Indian rupee and foreign currencies, such as US dollar, euro, Japanese yen

and British pound, can influence the return and volatility of the Indian stock market. The

research data extensively cover daily price observations of foreign currencies as well as Nifty

index for 1500 days. The generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) is

used for modelling foreign exchange (FX) rates volatility and its impact across Indian stock

market. The mean equation of the model confirms that any appreciation in Indian rupee will lead

to channelization of more funds towards stock market. Further, it is validated that the volatility

shocks between the stock market and currency market are quite persistent. Besides the model

also points that the volatility attributes are very strong between US dollar and Nifty. The Granger

causality test wrap up with a finding that the volatility shocks of British pound have a causal

relation with Nifty return. The result of this study will help the domestic as well as foreign

investors in favour of portfolio diversification decisions. The study also spots that the

policymakers can indirectly intervene into stock market through monitory policy measures.

Aravind M.; FX Volatility Impact on Indian Stock Market: An Empirical Investigation; Vision. September

2017, Vol.21 Num. 03, p.284

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Muddling Through the Passage of Qualitative Research: Experiences of a

Novice Researcher

The article is written as a travelogue by the author while exploring the passage of qualitative

research in her maiden independent research work—her dissertation. The author describes in the

article how her journey of qualitative research took shape right from the take-off point: the

choice of topic and methodology to the data collection, analysis and presentation of the findings.

The article also throws light on the various experiences of the researcher during the journey

including the issues and challenges faced by her in different stages of the study like the research

proposal stage, data collection stage and the data analysis stage. The objective of the article is to

familiarize the qualitative researchers, who are currently at the beginner stage, with the possible

issues and pitfalls of qualitative research process. For that the author has used her own

experiences to explain the nuances of the process. In the article, the author also highlights that

irrespective of the challenges faced in the process how the research study helped her in

developing herself as a better researcher and a wiser person, making her efforts fruitful and

providing her a sense of achievement.

Saxena Richa; Muddling Through the Passage of Qualitative Research: Experiences of a Novice

Researcher; Vision. September 2017, Vol.21 Num. 03, p.314

Role of Organizational Learning and Innovation in between High-

performance HR Practices and Business Performance: A Study of

Telecommunication Sector

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of the organizational learning (OL) and

innovation as mediators between high-performance human resource practices (HPHRPs) and

business performance (BP) in telecommunication sector. Census method has been used for data

collection from employees working in telecommunication organizations in Jammu and Kashmir

(North India). Reliability and validity have been proven with the help of confirmatory factor

analysis. Structural equation modelling has been used for hypotheses testing. The results indicate

that OL mediates the relationship between HPHRPs and innovation, whereas innovation does not

mediate but moderates the relationship between OL and BP. So the final model evaluated the

mediated-moderation effect of OL and innovation in between HPHRPs and BP. The theoretical

and managerial implications have also been discussed.

Jyoti Jeevan, Chahal Hardeep, Rani Asha; Role of Organizational Learning and Innovation in between

High-performance HR Practices and Business Performance: A Study of Telecommunication Sector;

Vision. September 2017, Vol.21 Num. 03, p.259

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Journal of Service Management Volume 28 Issue 5

The role of customers in co-creating m-services in the O2O model

Jung-Kuei Hsieh

Measuring customer experience in physical retail environments

Juan Carlos Bustamante, Natalia Rubio

Toward a public service management: past, present, and future directions

Ian R. Hodgkinson, Claire Hannibal, Byron W. Keating, Rosamund Chester Buxton, Nicola Bateman

World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and

Sustainable Development Volume 13 Issue 4

Entrepreneurial intentions: the role of family factors, personality traits and self-efficacy

Muhammad Farrukh, Azeem Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Shahid Khan, Sara Ravan Ramzani, Bakare

Soladoye Akeem Soladoye

Moderating relationship of institutions for opportunity entrepreneurship and economic

development: Literature review and proposed conceptual framework

Hasan Ghura, Xiaoqing Li, Arezou Harraf

Needs assessment of international capacity building using a Delphi technique

Kenneth David Strang

American Journal of Business Volume 32 Issue 3/4

Executive influence on invention and commercialization: The moderating role of innovation

radicalness

Barton M. Sharp, Dinesh N. Iyer, Thomas H. Brush

Assurance of learning: moving from a compliance to an improvement culture

Misty M. Bennett, Karl L. Smart, Anil Kumar

Corporate social responsibility and firm financial performance: Comparison analyses across

industries and CSR categories

Mingming Feng, Xiaodan Wang, Jerry Glenn Kreuze