bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adjusting to the Law
Authors: Dubin Kenneth A.
Published: February 2012

Firms may find competitive adjustment difficult because they are hamstrung by rigid labor market rules. However, such difficulties may also be caused by conflicts between strategic choices in the management of human capital and the opportunities and limitations created by a given regulatory framework. This latter possibility has been almost totally ignored in the debate regarding the urgency and content of labor market reforms in countries whose labor market institutions have been labeled as “rigid” by international experts. This article uses the results of qualitative interviews with Spanish employers to suggest that strategic choices may be far more important in determining the consequences of labor market institutions than is generally recognized. I show that these choices are often the result of beliefs about how labor market institutions should work. These findings suggest that supposedly “neutral” calls for greater efficiency in labor market institutions are really arguments about the relative appropriateness of different expectations regarding how firms should pursue adjustment, expectations that are directly related both to the relative balance of power between employers and workers and to the structure of their relationship. In other words, the phrase “politics of labor market reform” should be understood to refer not only to the political consequences of reforms but also to the inherently political nature of the reforms themselves.
Virtue in Business: Alliance Boots and an Empirical Exploration of MacIntyre’s Conceptual Framework
Authors: Moore Geoff
Published: February 2012

This paper contextualizes before summarizing a conceptual framework for virtue ethics in organizations that has been developed by drawing upon the work of the moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre. Conducting empirical work with this framework is at an embryonic stage and so, having discussed methodological issues, the paper reports on findings from a longitudinal case study-based research project into the private equity-owned organization Alliance Boots. It demonstrates the applicability of the conceptual approach and hence the presence of practices and virtues even within capitalist business organizations. It makes theoretical advances particularly in the relationship between internal and external goods. It proposes a mapping for virtue in organizations and uses this to conduct an organizational analysis of Alliance Boots and its predecessor organizations. The paper thus makes both theoretical and empirical contributions to our knowledge in the area of applied virtue ethics.
Boundaryless Careers: Bringing Back Boundaries
Authors: Inkson Kerr , Gunz Hugh , Ganesh Shiv , Roper Juliet
Published: February 2012

Boundaryless career theories are increasingly prominent in career studies and management studies, and provide a new ‘status quo’ concerning modern careers. This paper contextualizes the boundaryless careers literature within management studies, and evaluates its contributions, including broadening concepts of career and focusing interorganizational career phenomena. It acknowledges the considerable stimulus given to career studies by this literature, but also offers a critique based on five issues: inaccurate labelling; loose definitions; overemphasis on personal agency; the normalization of boundaryless careers; and poor empirical support for the claimed dominance of boundaryless careers. Because these problems render the boundaryless career concept increasingly obsolete as a ‘leading edge’ construct in career studies, we offer new directions for theory and research. In particular we re-examine the role of career boundaries, and suggest the development of new, boundary-focused careers scholarship based on boundary theory, to facilitate studies of the processes whereby career boundaries are created, and their effects in constraining, enabling and punctuating careers.
Extended Osteocartilaginous Spreader Graft for Reconstruction of Deviated Nose
Authors: Sadooghi Mahmood , Ghazizadeh Matin
Published: February 2012

Objective

Correction of a deviated nose is a challenging problem for which different approaches may be considered. This study was designed to introduce a new technique for correction of a deviated nose with a high success rate.

Study Design

The study was a prospective follow‐up of 59 patients with deviated nose who had undergone corrective surgery.

Setting

An extended osteocartilaginous spreader graft was harvested from the quadrangular septum and the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid. After a medial osteotomy that was performed on the concave side, the nasal bone was lateralized and an extended osteocartilaginous spreader graft was inserted between the nasal bone and the septum to prevent further retraction of the concave side due to fibrotic scar tissue. On the contralateral side, a low lateral osteotomy was done as routine.

Subjects and Methods

The operation was done on the 59 cases with deviated nose. The subjects were followed up during a period of 8 months to 4 years. According to physical examination, postoperative photography, and patients’ satisfaction, the final results were categorized as excellent, fair, or poor.

Results

Forty‐eight patients (81.3%) were categorized as having excellent results. Eight patients (13.6%) showed fair improvement, while the results of surgery in only 3 patients (5.1%) were classified as poor.

Conclusion

An extended osteocartilaginous spreader graft, with medial osteotomy and lateralization of the nasal bone on the concave side, is a new technique with a high success rate for correction of deviated nose.
Mastoidectomy Cavity Obliteration with Bioactive Glass
Authors: Silvola Juha Tapio
Published: February 2012

Objective

To show that mastoid cavities with continuous infections and cleaning problems can be obliterated with bioactive glass (BG) and to present results of a pilot study for 16 operations on adults.

Study Design

Case series with planned data collection.

Setting

Päijät‐Häme Central Hospital, Finland—a single ear, nose, and throat (ENT) hospital department serving a population of 216,000.

Subjects and Methods

Fourteen patients had a large open radical cavity with recurrent infections. Two ears had discharge and pain after simple mastoidectomy. A re‐mastoidectomy included support of the cavity skin and obliteration with BG. The mean follow‐up time was 2.2 years.

Results

All ears became dry. One reoperation was needed as the fascia support to the ear canal (EC) skin was too weak, and part of the BG leaked into the EC. The ear stayed dry, and the missing BG was replaced in a reoperation. A slightly short musculoperiosteal flap supported the EC skin in 1 ear. A minor amount of BG leaked into the EC. The ear stayed dry. The aim was an ample ear canal. One ear was overfilled and required meatoplasty. Simple mastoid cavities were isolated from the middle ear and become asymptomatic.

Conclusions

In this pilot study, BG works safely and with success as an obliteration material in problematic open radical cavities. Bioactive glass seems to tolerate chronic infection in the mastoid and prevent postoperative infections.
Malpractice in Head and Neck Surgery
Authors: Simonsen Andrew R. , Duncavage James A. , Becker Samuel S.
Published: February 2012

Objective

To examine the sources of litigation related to the practice of head and neck surgery.

Study Design

Analysis of malpractice claims directly related to the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck disease provided by 16 medical liability insurance companies.

Setting

Not applicable.

Subjects and Methods

Data were obtained from 16 members of the Physician Insurers Association of America. All claims were either filed or closed between 1978 and 2007. Claims were evaluated for patient age, the cause for the claim, any surgical complications, and indemnity paid.

Results

Three hundred fifteen claims were identified between 1978 and 2007. The mean patient age was 48 years (median, 47 years). The greatest number of claims came from the 36‐ to 45‐years age group (n = 68, 24.6%). Perioperative complications represented the largest cause of claims (n = 169, 53.7%), followed by delay of or missed diagnosis (n = 109, 34.6%) and persistence or recurrence of disease (n = 21, 6.7%). Among perioperative complications, nerve injuries were the largest group (n = 64, 20.3%), followed by airway‐related claims (n = 27, 8.6%), esophageal injuries (n = 14, 4.4%), poor cosmetic results (n = 14, 4.4%), vessel injuries (n = 11, 3.5%), and postoperative infections (n = 2, 0.6%). Overall, mortalities resulted in 62 (19.7%) claims.

Conclusions

Four important risks for malpractice litigation in head and neck surgery were identified: young patient age, perioperative complications, delay of or missed diagnosis, and persistence or recurrence of disease.
Qualitative and Quantitative Differences between 2 Robotic Thyroidectomy Techniques
Authors: Terris David J. , Singer Michael C.
Published: February 2012

Objectives

Two distinct remote access robotic thyroidectomy techniques were implemented in a high‐volume endocrine surgery practice. Important technical and clinical differences were observed and are described.

Study Design

Cross‐sectional study with planned data collection.

Setting

Thyroid center.

Subjects and Methods

A panel of demographic and clinical parameters was captured in a series of patients undergoing 1 of 2 robotic thyroidectomy techniques (robotic axillary thyroidectomy [RAT] or robotic facelift thyroidectomy [RFT]). Particular attention was paid to time of surgery, ease of dissection, complications, use of drains, and length of stay.

Results

Fifteen robotic hemithyroidectomies were accomplished by either RAT (n = 5) or RFT (n = 10). The duration of surgery for RAT averaged 196 ± 38.1 minutes, with no clear downward trend observed. The mean time of surgery for RFT was 156.9 ± 16.3 minutes, with a steady trend toward shorter surgical times. All 5 RAT patients were managed with drains and as inpatients (length of stay = 1.0 days); 9 of 10 RFT patients were managed without drains and on an outpatient basis (the first patient had a drain and was observed for 1 night in the hospital; P <. 001). Ease of surgery, familiarity with anatomic dissection planes, and surgeon comfort level all favored RFT.

Conclusions

In an early experience of a small series of patients, a more rapid learning curve reflected by shorter operative times was observed with robotic facelift thyroidectomy compared with robotic axillary thyroidectomy. Furthermore, the vast majority of patients could be managed as outpatients, which represents one of several apparent advantages.
Tribals and Joint Forest Management in India
Authors: Ezhakunnel A.
Published: February 2012

Forests have been the lifeline of indigenous people in India. However, the British government and, subsequently, the government of independent India have caused the severance of the people's centuries old relationship with the forest. Deprived of the right of access to the forests and devoid of other means of livelihood, the people began to exploit the forests. Gradually it dawned on the government that the protection of the forests would be well-nigh impossible without the active participation of user groups. This led to the concept of Joint Forest Management, which began in West Bengal in the Jharkhand area. After a study of the problems involved, the paper concludes that JFM policies and practices based on the need of the tribals, could be successful. However, the government's apathy towards any genuine involvement of local communities is the obstacle.
Market Capitalism in the New Millenium
Authors: Mathias T A
Published: February 2012

Market Capitalism is today the universally followed economic system. Is this situation likely to continue much longer into the 21st. century? Does this economic system have certain inherent weaknesses which make it virtually certain to be profoundly modified by a dose of “socialism”? These are the questions which this article strives to answer.
Developments in Financial Regulation in India
Authors: Patel Bhavesh M
Published: February 2012

Buy back of its own shares by a company has recently been permitted by a central government ordinance. This article studies the significance of buy-back, the abuses to which it is open, and the provisions of the ordinance. It points out the defects of the ordinance and suggests that a “treasury share” mechanism would be a good means to help both the firms and their shareholders.
Managing Service Industries in the New Millennium
Authors: Agrawal Mohan Lal
Published: February 2012

“Evidence” is the key to the success of all efforts at service marketing. What is evidence? How is it provided? What are the advantages of different kinds of evidence that can be supplied for a service that is being marketed? These and other key issues are treated in the article.
Health Care Services in the New Millenium
Authors: Reddy Pratap C
Published: February 2012

Papers presented at the Conference of the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) held in XLRI, Jamshedpur. These papers point out the extraordinary advances achieved by modern medicine and also the enormous costs involved. Looking at the Indian situation, they seek for means to satisfy the needs of a majority of the people, while providing reasonably good health care to all.
Innovations in Customer Service: The Key to Business Success
Authors: Ghodeswar B M
Published: February 2012

In today's competitive business environment, organizations gain success through innovative customer service, the one that is difficult for competitors to imitate. Managing customer service spans the entire organization and focuses on the customers' value expectations. With rapid developments in information technology and telecommunications, customer service is getting increasingly differentiated with the prime aim not only to match but to exceed customer expectations. The paper highlights issues and suggests new ways to gain service differentiation, so as to succeed despite the aggressive competition.
Rural Marketing: The Relevance, Challenges and Strategies
Authors: Patro Sanjay K
Published: February 2012

With the opening of the Indian economy, the sombre market place has become intensely competitive. The domestic big players which had smooth going for years in a sellers' market are forced to develop new trajectories of growth. For the last several years, Corporate India has overlooked the rural areas where 72% of the population live. Certain products were available there, but that was by default and not by design. Today firms have realized that in the case of many consumables the rural market accounts for 60–80 percent of the total sales and this quantum of sales gets generated with very low levels of penetration. The article analyses the factors for increased attention to rural markets, the challenges and some of the strategies deployed by firms in developing appropriate marketing programmes to tap the vast potential of the rural markets.
Emotional Labour in the Family: The Case of Family Caregiving
Authors: D'Cruz Premilla
Published: February 2012

Who cares for the elderly and infirm in families? Increasingly in both East and West, it is the families themselves and in particular the female members. What are the stresses and rewards of such care-taking and what are the economic consequences for society? These and other questions related to the role of caregiver are studied.
Values, the Bedrock of Successful Business
Authors: Mathias T A
Published: February 2012

That a company should be known as value-based is essential for its credibility with the public, among its employees and in the market. In a competitive world, a company or a nation which bears the label of untrustworthiness or unreliability is doomed to stagnation. What are values and what does it take to build a value-based organization?
Lessons for India from the Recent Financial Crisis in Southeast Asia
Authors: Rishi Meenakshi , Kulkarni Kishore G
Published: February 2012

Though the financial crisis recently suffered by several Southeast Asian countries has already been extensively studied, this article views the crisis as an object lesson for India. An analysis of the World Debt Tables, published by the World Bank indicates that, on the whole, India's indebtedness has been more carefully managed. However, there are clear danger signals which show that the government must give priority to the management of external debt.
Customer Focus in the Liberalized Era of Marketing
Authors: Agrawal Mohan Lal
Published: February 2012

The decade just ended will be most remembered in India for forcing a sea change in the mindset of Indian marketers. Traditionally engaged in rationing, distributing or selling their wares, they now have to market products and face fierce competition. They need to redefine themselves and dig out the concept of customer focus afresh. Their very survival depends on how swiftly and effectively they incorporate the customer in business plans.

While conceptualizing customer focus for such marketers, the paper tracks the evolving instruments of customer focus from a pre-historic period of marketing to the present era of post-modern marketing. With a case illustration from Bajaj Auto, the paper suggests multiple ways in which marketers can discover customer focus and come out leaders in the postmodern era of marketing.
Developing Competencies for the New Human Resources Management
Authors: Mankidy Jacob
Published: February 2012

The advent of the information revolution has transformed what companies will look like in the years to come. To suit the needs of these new companies, a new system of Human Resource Management is urgently required stressing strategic involvement, employee empowerment, team working and continuous learning.
Qualifications and Emoluments of Research Personnel Employed in India's Science and Technology Sectors: A Cross-Section Study
Authors: Chadha Vikram
Published: February 2012

A country's economic advancement depends to a good extent on the continuous creativity displayed by its scientific and technical personnel. This, in turn, depends on the qualification and motivation of the personnel. An analysis of conditions prevailing in India is somewhat discouraging. Though the growth in the number of personnel is satisfactory, both their qualifications and their emoluments (an important element in their motivation) leave much to be desired.
Human Functional States: An Exploratory Study of Performance and Role Stress in a Power Plant
Authors: Misra Rajnish Kumar , Pattnayak Biswajeet , Misra Akhilesh Kumar
Published: February 2012

The present study attempts to understand the functional competence of employees by developing a measure of and analyzing the factors affecting competence. A narrative inquiry method was used. Suggestions are made for a Human Resources Development strategy to improve the functional competence of the employees in a Power Plant in Sonebhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Economic Reforms – Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Parekh Deepak
Published: February 2012

Optimists see the 21st century as the “Indian Century”. Realizing this goal will be possible, if we establish a thriving market economy which is based on a nimble financial sector and an efficient infrastructure. Despite our dismal record in these areas in the past, there is reason for optimism for the future, owing to the rapid pace of reforms now taking place. These areas offer greater and greater scope for efficient managers, as the reforms gather pace.
Child Labour in a Rural Non-Farm Sector – A Study of the Silk Reeling Industry
Authors: Reddy Y. Gangi
Published: February 2012

Child labour must not be tolerated in any form and must be prevented and eliminated. It is imperative to abolish the most exploitative and intolerable forms of child labour as a first priority.

- The UN System in India

Silk reeling is one of those small scale hazardous industries in which child labour is dominant in India. A detailed study made in Ramanagaram, a reeling centre in Karnataka, shows that about 50 per cent of the workers are children below 14, working for a pittance, a major human tragedy. The responsibility for this tragedy lies both with the parents and the owners of the reeling units. Most of the children are eager to go to school and with the help of the state government and some NGOs, a bridge course has been started to help them fulfil their desires. Some live case studies document the facts uncovered.
Changing Power Dynamics in the Emerging Industrial Relations Scenario
Authors: Srivastava KBL
Published: February 2012

The world-wide, competitive market economy of today has completely changed the industrial relations scene. For their very survival, industries have to downsize, subcontract and attend to the demands of the consumer. All this has brought management and employees closer and bypassed trade unions. A change in the IR Act is urgent which will help managements, workers and unions deal with each other like partners not opponents.
The Customer-Quality Link Through a Quantum Quality Approach: The “Indcoserve” Study
Authors: Mulky Vidya P.
Published: February 2012

The Indian tea industry is the largest producer of tea in the world and, till recently, also the largest exporter. The political and social conditions in the world have, however, changed while the Indian tea industry has made no change in its product or its marketing strategy. This article on the Nilgiris small gardens cooperative “Indcoserve” deals with the need for a coordinated approach, involving organizational development, product, quality and marketing strategy.
Can the Indian Worldview Facilitate the Emergence of Transformational Leaders?
Authors: Krishnan Venkat R.
Published: February 2012

Several studies have highlighted the importance of transformational leadership in enhancing organizational performance and follower commitment. This paper outlines four basic components of the Indian worldview—an understanding of the real nature of this world (theory of Maya), preference for action over inaction, perceiving the potentially divine nature of oneself and others, and visualizing freedom as the supreme goal of human existence—and presents propositions relating those components to transformational leadership. An argument is made for teaching Indian philosophy in schools and colleges in India to facilitate the emergence of a greater number of transformational leaders who could lift people to higher levels.
Green Consumer: An Initial Study
Authors: Verma Harsh V.
Published: February 2012

Marketing philosophy was crystallized in 1950s. But the real business practices remained tar from what marketing proposed. The result was the growth of customer dissatisfaction. This led to the rise of the first ‘ism’ viz., consumerism. During the 1970s the West saw the emergence of another ‘ism’. This time it was the concern and care for the environment. It was environmentalism. Environmentalism is a major force in the developed markets of the world. It has impacted the business through enaction of various laws and the rejection of companies and their products which behaved in ecologically inconsistent fashion.

This paper reports the findings of an initial study done to explore some aspects related to the greenness of consumers. The data were collected on the constructs like perception of environmental problems, perceived consumer effectiveness in solving problems, and environmentally-conscious consumer behaviour. The consumers do perceive various listed problems as serious. But their concern level is not much with these problems. The study of the behaviour reveals the consumers do not behave in environmentally conscious manner. At present, only early signs of greening are visible. It would take some more time for the consumers to become green. Once that happens taking cognizance of this development would become a necessity for any business.
Management Education: A Framework for Grading
Authors: Venugopal Pingali , Kakani Ram Kumar
Published: February 2012

“As a business school activity, grading is understood to include the process of making judgments about the knowledge or lack of it among students. Generally a domain of faculty, grading has always been a big issue both among faculty and students, and also at the institutional level. Based on a focus group discussion and utilizing insights of the qualitative characteristics and the conventions of accounting theory, this paper presents a framework for grading in management education. This framework suggests that strategies for correct grading should also take into consideration the institutional viewpoint and students perspective, apart from making grading a reliable and relevant exercise in itself.”
Globalisation, Multinational Corporation and Regional Development
Authors: RathaKrishnan L. , Santhy K.
Published: February 2012

Economic reforms introduced in India during 1991–92 had triggered the process of economic development in the country. It is from this period a structural shift occurred in Indian industry. The liberalization has also facilitated the Indian industries to sell their products throughout the world market. As the multinational Corporation normally own, manage, and control production, they can sell their products all over the world without much difficulty. After the announcement of globalization in India, the number of multinational corporation had increased from 389 (1981) to 2303 (1996), about six fold increase in 15 years period. The present paper examines how multinational corporations help regional development. A case study approach was followed. Both primary and secondary data were collected from the Whirlpool India Limited for a period of 18 years, starting from 1983–84 to 2000–01. By using simple growth rate and regression analysis this study found that there is a favourable shift in employment and infrastructure development in the region. After the establishment of the MNC, the region has received various benefits, namely employment, better road and transportation, local markets, hospitals, street lights, drinking water and other infrastructural facilities. Further more, this MNC has not harmed the growth of tiny and small scale industries in the region. In fact, the MNC has helped many small-scale industries to establish their industries in the region.
Organisational Commitment: A Study of Employees Responses from Select NGOs
Authors: Sekhar S. F. Chandra , Anjaiah P.
Published: February 2012

Organizational commitment as an important employee attitude has received much popularity since many of the outcomes of it are useful to the organisations. Evidences show that this aspect of HRM is not studied much in non-governmental organisations. This study of 112 employees from 20 select NGOs reveal that employees significantly vary in their commitment scores according to their sex, designation and years of experience. Thus, the hypothesis tested in this study is partially supported. Implications are also drawn for the management of NGOs for improving the commitment levels of their employees.
Workforce Reduction and Survivors' Psyche: A Review
Authors: Waraich Sushmita Biswal , Bhardwaj Gopa
Published: February 2012

The global economic slowdown has necessitated strategies such as downsizing, restructuring, etc. This has widely affected the employees, whether they are the victims or survivors. While the victims have always been a matter of concern, the present paper examines the psychological status of the survivors. The review of literature takes into account recent empirical findings on dimensions such as motivation, commitment, etc of the survivors. Along with interpretation of existing dimension we present the possible impact on behavioral outcomes as communication, leadership, etc. These empirical studies have shown evidences contrary to commonsense rationale and linkages. While workforce reduction has become inevitable, if certain processes are taken care of, the transition becomes smoother or else the whole exercise of cutting costs might backfire.
A Critical Inquiry into a Justification of Teaching Ethics in the Business Schools
Authors: Guha Debashis
Published: February 2012

Any attempt at teaching Ethics in disciplines other than Philosophy should be well justified. One justification is that through ethics teaching across the curriculum, pre-professionals and professionals get well equipped to apply ethical theories to resolve moral crises in practical life. One example is popular enough, i.e., through ethical teaching we prepare competent professionals in our business schools, who may further apply this knowledge in their field as well as assume the role of ethics consultants to resolve moral crisis in the field of management. I have tried to show why such a justification is completely unfounded. A critique of this justification leads us to know what applying ethics consists in and, in what sense teaching ethics across the curriculum, for instance, in business management curriculum may be useful.
Understanding and Managing Workforce Diversity
Authors: Sia Surendra Kumar , Bhardwaj Gopa
Published: February 2012

Organizations in India ought to have diversity in the composition of their workforces. It's multicultural heritage, constitutional provisions, liberal atmosphere, economic globalisation and liberalisation have provided substantial support for this diversity. However, there is no conscious effort on the part of these organisations for diversity management. The academicians can play an important role by creating an awareness regarding this. The authors, keeping Indian organisational scenario in view, have discussed the following things in the present article-sources of diversity, classification of workforce diversity, need for managing diversity, diversity management scenario in India and approaches for effective management of diversity.
HRD in Public Sector Undertakings: New Directions
Authors: Singh Sheela
Published: February 2012

“Government Culture” is an area to which any government servant aware of Human Resource Development will have to pay particular attention. Over the years, systems might have been developed which discouraged creativity. The constant pressure of rules and fear of audit may encourage doing things correctly rather than doing the correct things. Human Resources Development may be broadly taken to include Management Education, Leadership, Training, Management Development and the problems of mobilizing the gross-roots, the lay worker, for meeting the challenges of change and innovation. Everyone should feel responsibility to carry on HRD activities in his/her existing capacity.
Group Dynamics in Anonymous Virtual Classrooms
Authors: Pani Ashis K. , Agrahari Amit
Published: February 2012

Information technology (IT) can bridge geographical gap and create anonymity for effective group process. However, IT has not been utilized to its maximum potential in virtual classrooms. The problem in virtual classrooms is more social and psychological rather than technical. This paper analyses social processes in virtual classrooms. It also looks into one of the major hindrances in effective utilization of virtual classrooms, namely “flaming”. A model is proposed to control flaming in virtual classroom, A few cases have also been discussed in light of this model.
Language Education for the Problem Solving Behaviour of Industrial Personnel
Authors: Panchanatham N.
Published: February 2012

Language education is considered to be an ever-continuing business of Linguists. Even today industrial organisations do depend on English, a foreign language for their operations in various functional fields. Training is considered to be an important means for industrial development. However, trainers' dependency on a foreign language for most of the functional terminologies and components gives hardship for both the trainers and trainees. Instead of solving certain industrial problems, non-availability and/or non-familiarity of such terminologies or jargons create new problems in industrial training sessions. The major objective of this paper is to identify and discuss language related training problems and provide strategies to solve such problems. Review of suitable literature and the experience of the author as a trainer has provided the input for writing this paper. The outcome and discussions on the contents of this paper would throw more light on the additional directions for language education in India. Bringing out more and more information related to language education in general and training related language education in particular would add strength to the process of industrialisation.
Sexual Harassment at Workplace: A Socio-Legal Analysis
Authors: Padhi P. K. , Gujral Aditi
Published: February 2012

It is the policy of all workplace that all employees will enjoy a work environment free from all forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment. No employee, either male or female, shall be subjected to discrimination. Any employee who believes he or she has been the subject of discrimination, including sexual harassment, should report the alleged incident immediately not only to his or her supervisor but also to the Director of Personnel. An investigation will be undertaken immediately, and any employee who has been found by the company to discriminate against another employee will be subject to appropriate sanctions. Prevention is the best tool for the elimination of sexual harassment. An employee should take all steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring, such as affirmatively raising the subject, expressing strong disapproval, developing appropriate sanctions, informing employees their right to raise and how to raise the issue of harassment under the existing rules and regulations of the country, and developing methods to sensitize all concerned.
Workforce Reduction and the Need for Outplacement Services
Authors: Waraich Sushmita Biswal , Bhardwaj Gopa
Published: February 2012

Employee reduction due to reasons such as merger & acquisitions, restructuring etc. has become a reality now. So it is important to ensure that the victims are treated in a just way. This reduces the chances of the survivors, the remaining employees, to perceive the management as insensitive. Providing outplacement assistance for existing employees is a critical part of managing the transition process. Outplacement is a process through which the counsellor helps the concerned employee in engaging oneself with new opportunities and giving directions for the same. In other words, it is a career continuation programme, where the outplacement counsellor's help is taken to smoothen the transition from the last job to the next career. At the same time, it goes a long way in strengthening the organization — society interface, even during such unpleasant times.
HR Service Role Imperative for Knowledge Workers
Authors: Bhatnagar Jyotsna , Sharma Anuradha
Published: February 2012

Indian organizations are witnessing a change in the role of HR. There is a movement towards the customerization of the role, with special emphasis on the knowledge sector. The current study analyses the trend of this service role, drawing upon Indian ethos. In the second part of the paper an analysis of the best employers of India in the Knowledge sector is undertaken to draw upon the new and evolving role of HR.
Occupational Diseases and Their Determinants
Authors: Sarkar Debasish , Husain Zakir , Bhattacharya Rabindra N , Kanjilal Barun
Published: February 2012

In recent years theoretical and empirical are focussing on occupational health hazards in industries that deal with gemstone, lime, etc. In this paper the focus is on one such industry – coal.

We seek to examine the nature and magnitude of occupational diseases in coal-mining. The socio-economic and technological factors determining the incidence of occupational diseases on workers is also identified using a Tobit model. Finally, the implications of the findings of this paper for designing an optimal health care strategy have been stated.

The work is based on a survey of three coal mines in the state of West Bengal, India.
Purchase Decision Involvement: An Exploratory Study on Consumer Values
Authors: Misra Rajnish K. , Agrawal Richa
Published: February 2012

Every consumer day in and day out is faced with taking decisions while purchasing various products. How far they are involved in their decisions is dependent on many factors. One such factor is the personal values or preferences that an individual has in one's life. These values guide the consumer in making purchase decisions about various categories of products. The present paper attempts to understand the relationship between purchase decision involvement and personal values among 200 respondents belonging to two age groups (18-24 years) and (30-35 years) respectively.
The Influence of Leader Member Exchange and Voice on Perceived Justice at the Workplace
Authors: Gulati Namrata , Bhal Kanika T.
Published: February 2012

Researchers have suggested that LMX and Voice are important determinants of perceived justice at the workplace. Following the theoretical developments on justice perceptions, we investigated the effect of LMX and Voice constructs on workplace justice in various software organizations in India. Organizational justice was studied by means of three dimensions: distributive, procedural and interactional and LMX was assessed on two dimensions: perceived contribution and affect. Voice was conceptualized as a unidimensional construct. In a questionnaire survey, 310 executives of software organizations perceived LMX (Contribution currency) and Voice influenced the three justice dimensions. Results revealed that though perceived contribution and voice predicted perceived justice, affect did not.
A Study of Corporate Social Responsiveness
Authors: Chacharkar D. Y. , Shukla A. V.
Published: February 2012

Geographic distribution of industries in India has been an unbalanced one leading to lop sided regional growth. Thus, far the efforts of the GOI and the State Governments to remedy the situation have not met with much success. This is mainly due to the lack of desire on the part of business houses to enter into economically non-viable areas just to take care of balanced regional development.

This paper attempts to present the picture in a slightly changed setting. It is reasoned that corporates should become increasingly socially committed not on the call of philanthropy but on sound business sense. A socially committed business house, to begin with, gains only on a few visible benefits but in the long run this business unit stands to gain in a number of ways. This is due to the Iceberg effect of social responsibility, it is felt.

The paper presents a model of social responsibility, which enable business houses to sharpen their marketing tools. Besides guidelines to develop corporate – government partnership aimed at rapid growth and development leading to mutual benefits for all are also presented.
Changing Paradigms, Competitive Strategies and Role of “Integrated Marketing Communication in Building Brands in Indian Market”
Authors: Panda Tapan K
Published: February 2012

Building Brands in Indian market is on an evolutionary process. The behavior of Indian consumer can not be simply grouped as emerging market behavior. The demand level in the emerging market is flat at the base and the consumption is more commodities centric. The customers choose products and brands that satisfy the basic needs than for reasons of emotion or pleasure seeking behavior. Hence brands those deliver price value are more successful in the market. While building a brand the brand manager spends every media pie in talking about this basic proposition. Horizontally large chunks of the population do not have purchasing power in an emerging market and do not qualify to be customers of brand centric marketing. Though brands exist in these segments but they only play the identification and differential function; they are not delivery vehicles of brand value to the customers. The researches conducted on Indian market speak a different story. Segments, which are assumed to have no purchasing power, were found to be using quite a good number of product categories including the consumer durable.

The Indian marketers avoided entering in to the rural markets due to poor purchasing power parity with urban customers, abysmal infrastructure network and lesser avenue for brand promotion. It is observed that the rural customer has started using the up market and urban brands faster and started using products and brands almost similar to the urban customers. Most of the FMCG majors and consumer durable companies are looking at rural markets as the growth drivers of the future. So this typicality in brand penetration and acceptance across demographics and geographic segments have brought unique attempts and experiments in building brands in Indian market. This paper is an attempt to conceptually evaluate the alternate brand paradigms and see how they contribute towards building brands as a competitive advantage. The author has also made an attempt to develop an alternative brand building model through the use of effective integrated marketing communication and advertising in particular in Indian market. This paper highlights situations where the brand manager can use alternate platform and copy formats in building brands.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Organisational Effectiveness (OE)
Authors: Rajagopal N. , Rekha K. N.
Published: February 2012

Emotion has been traditionally viewed as a ‘mental state devoid of reason’. A common perception is that ‘Intelligent Quotient’ is the only sure fire predictor of success. But researchers have an integrated view of balancing the rational and emotional facets of the human mind for prediction of sure success. A person, who is aware of the benefits of EI, would consciously react to the stimuli in a positive way to draw out the best results from that situation and eventually emerge as a winner.

According to Daniel Goleman(1998),” Emotional Intelligence is the capacity for recognising our own feelings and those of others, motivating ourselves and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in your relationships”. Emotional Intelligence plays an important role in Organisational Effectiveness. Different literatures have highlighted the importance of emotional intelligence at work place and its importance in improving organizational efficiency. The major emotional intelligence factors contributing to organizational effectiveness are Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Self-motivation, Social awareness, Social skills and Behavioral aspect. An empirical analysis can probably corroborate the importance of these. This study is an attempt in this direction.

This study has been carried out in BILT Industrial Packaging Company Ltd.(BICO), Coimbatore, which is one of the leading business conglomerates in India with diversified interests. The study has been conducted among the managerial staff of BILT. A total sample of 70 has been taken from 171 employees.

This study highlights the relationship between ‘Emotional Intelligence and organizational effectiveness’ at BIPCO. The findings of the study signify the fact that it is important for an organisation to test the emotional level of persons before their selection.
Activity-Based Costing at Castrol India Limited
Authors: Anand Manoj
Published: February 2012

Difficult time has it's own merits. This is as much true for an individual as much it is for an organization. During this time the entire organization gets an opportunity to display it's resilience through it's innovative skills and creative abilities which otherwise would decay in dark anonymity in the brightness of prosperity. CIL has passed through the ‘survival phase’, ‘chasing capacity and chasing growth phase’, and ‘cost effectiveness phases’ during the last one and a half decade. Further, British Petroleum (BP) acquired 71% equity stake in CIL in March 2000. The cost management systems of CIL have undergone a sea change during this period.
From Total Quality to Total Eco-Effective Management
Authors: Sarkar Subrat , Singh Munmun
Published: February 2012

Today we are faced with a whole series of global problems, which are harming the biosphere and human life in alarming ways that may soon become irreversible. We have ample documentation about the extent and significance of these problems. A number of writers have discussed the central role of business in global environmental destruction and, at the same time, the unique opportunity for business to become the driving force of ecological restoration. After a thorough review of a series of ecological catastrophes we face, Paul Hawken reaches a devastating conclusion, which highlights, our current business practices and its destructive effects on life, on earth. According to Hawken, every living natural system on the planet is disintegrating before our eyes. In the present era it is not only profit maximizing strategy and ensuring survival that matter, but social and environment obligations are equally important. It is in this context the paper examines the concept of total eco-effective management and its close links with total quality management.
Quality Circle Movement
Authors: Rao A. Srinivasa
Published: February 2012

As we have moved into the twenty first Century, we see the world as a global market for all the companies. The post liberalization economic scenario1 has brought new challenges of corporate restructuring for the Indian companies.

With a view to bring quality culture and thereby to enhance productivity in the organizations, Quality Circle movement in India is fast catching up.

This activity has been successfully implemented in Japan; in fact, the phenomenal growth of the Japanese industry, and its high quality and high reliability products are largely due to quality circle's ability to impart high morale and team spirit in an organisation, culminating in the improved productivity.1 This paper discusses how the Quality Circle movement in Grasim Industries has brought significant improvements in terms of quality, cost & productivity.
International Migration and its Impact: Some Perspectives
Authors: Paul Justin , Subash S
Published: February 2012

This paper focuses on positive dimensions and possibilities in the migration-development relationship. It highlights the links between migration, development and conflicts from the premises that to align policies on migration and development, migrant and refugee diasporas. The present study is an attempt to review the literature on the impact of migration on the development of the economy and state with emphasis on Kerala state in India. Also, an attempt has been made to analyse the trends in the monetary remittances of the migrants from foreign countries.
Psychographics of Singles: Implications for Marketers
Authors: Hundal B. S. , Anand
Published: February 2012

This paper identifies a series of marketing-specific psychographic variables in singles. Singles possess a unique life style. Being educated and earning good salaries, they only have themselves as financial burden. They aim at self-sufficiency and for this; they fill their free time with a variety of self-based activities. They tend to lead a very active life style. Singles have a set of psychographic characteristics which make them most appropriate targets for certain products. These characteristics have distinct and significant implications for advertisers and marketers. These and other phenomenon unique to single consumer are discussed in an effort to better understand these singles as an emerging market segment.