Vathsala Wickramasinghe

Bio: Vathsala Wickramasinghe is an academic researcher from University of Moratuwa. The author has contributed to research in topics: Human resource management & Lean manufacturing. The author has an hindex of 22, co-authored 70 publications receiving 1460 citations.

Graduates', university lecturers' and employers' perceptions towards employability skills

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore employability skills that employers, university lecturers and graduates value to bring to the workplace, when graduates are applying for entry‐level graduate jobs in the field of computer science in Sri Lanka.Design/methodology/approach – A total of three samples were selected for this exploratory study, namely, graduates, employers, and university lecturers. Three self‐administered survey questionnaires were developed targeting the three groups. In addition to descriptive statistics, paired sample t‐test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and correlation analysis were used for the data analysis.Findings – The findings suggested that there are differences in the priorities given for employability skills by the four groups – male graduates, female graduates, employers, and university lecturers. Further, the findings suggest that employability skills are influenced by the gender of the graduates. Overall, the findings of the study could be used to assist universi...

Effects of interpersonal trust, team leader support, rewards, and knowledge sharing mechanisms on knowledge sharing in project teams

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of interpersonal trust, team leader support, rewards, and knowledge sharing mechanisms on voluntary knowledge sharing in software development project teams in Sri Lanka.Design/methodology/approach – Survey methodology was used and 150 software developers who were directly involved in developing and maintaining a software product from project teams responded. Regression analysis was used for data analysis.Findings – Interpersonal trust and rewards have significant positive effects on knowledge sharing. Although it was anticipated that the team leader support would be a significant predictor of knowledge sharing, the results did not provide evidence for a positive and significant relationship. “Work‐group communications” and “Personal interactions” had significant positive effects on knowledge sharing.Originality/value – It is expected that the findings of this study will provide useful information to better understand the predictors of the ex...

Implementation of lean production practices and manufacturing performance: The role of lean duration

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of lean production practices and lean duration (the duration for which lean production is in operation) on manufacturing performance.,The survey was used as the main method of data collection. In addition to survey data collected from 1,189 respondents from export-based textile and apparel firms operating in Sri Lanka, longitudinal data were collected over a period of seven months from a firm in the study sample to corroborate the survey findings.,The findings revealed that lean production practices significantly enhance manufacturing performance. Further findings revealed the importance of the duration of lean production in operation in achieving higher levels of manufacturing performance. This provides empirical support for the contention that the adoption of lean production can only be achieved through time.,Findings have implications for practices of export-based textile and apparel producing countries from Asia, Latin and Central America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and North Africa, which are competing intensively with each other for their market share in the global export-based textile and apparel production.,Manufacturing firms are adopting production methods and management practices to become leaner and fitter to create a new labour intensive production model that generate distinctive internal capabilities for survival and growth in international markets. Academics and practitioners in the field of manufacturing technologies will be interested in better understanding how lean production practices would enhance manufacturing performance from a non-western developing country context.

Impact of career plateau and supervisory support on career satisfaction: A study in offshore outsourced IT firms in Sri Lanka

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of career plateau (hierarchical plateau and job content plateau) and supervisory career support on career satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – A random sample of 119 IT professionals employed full‐time in offshore outsourced IT firms in Sri Lanka responded. Multiple regression was used for the data analysis.Findings – Supervisory career support significantly predicts career satisfaction. However, hierarchical plateau and job content plateau do not significantly predict career satisfaction.Originality/value – Although IT employees attached to the offshore IT firms may be identified as a unique population worthy of empirical investigation, details on how they actually manage their careers remain obscure. The findings of the study provide interesting implications for individuals' career satisfaction and will be a source of general guidance in stimulating future research in this area.

Perceived organisational support, job involvement and turnover intention in lean production in Sri Lanka

Abstract: The literature suggests that the bottom-line changes often cited in lean implementation success stories, such as reduced inventories and faster flow times, are not the only results that should be considered. The potential detrimental effects on employees should be considered as well, or turnover and morale problems may sabotage the effectiveness of such implementations. However, the ways in which lean production environment influence employee behaviour has received scant empirical attention. The aim of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of job involvement on the relationship between perceived organisational support and turnover intention in the lean production in Sri Lanka. A random sample of 616 shop-floor employees engaged full-time in export-apparel manufacturing firms that have implemented a formal lean production system in the whole manufacturing function and it has become the standard of operation for at least 1 year in Sri Lanka responded. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. It was found that job involvement partially mediates the relationship between perceived organisational support and turnover intention. The findings provide useful information to better understand employee perceptions toward lean production environment and the findings will be a source of general guidance in stimulating future research in this area.

Out of the Crisis

Abstract: According to W. Edwards Deming, American companies require nothing less than a transformation of management style and of governmental relations with industry. In Out of the Crisis, originally published in 1982, Deming offers a theory of management based on his famous 14 Points for Management. Management's failure to plan for the future, he claims, brings about loss of market, which brings about loss of jobs. Management must be judged not only by the quarterly dividend, but by innovative plans to stay in business, protect investment, ensure future dividends, and provide more jobs through improved product and service. In simple, direct language, he explains the principles of management transformation and how to apply them.

Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community

Abstract: The present historical moment may seem a particularly inopportune time to review Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam's latest exploration of civic decline in America. After all, the outpouring of volunteerism, solidarity, patriotism, and self-sacrifice displayed by Americans in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks appears to fly in the face of Putnam's central argument: that \"social capital\" -defined as \"social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them\" (p. 19)'has declined to dangerously low levels in America over the last three decades. However, Putnam is not fazed in the least by the recent effusion of solidarity. Quite the contrary, he sees in it the potential to \"reverse what has been a 30to 40-year steady decline in most measures of connectedness or community.\"' As an example of how the current \"war on terrorism\" could generate a durable civic renewal, Putnam points to the burst in civic practices that occurred during and after World War II, which he says \"permanently marked\" the generation that lived through it and had a \"terrific effect on American public life over the last half-century.\" 3 If Americans can follow this example and channel their current civic

The Oxford Handbook of Innovation

Abstract: This handbook looks to provide academics and students with a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the phenomenon of innovation. Innovation spans a number of fields within the social sciences and humanities: Management, Economics, Geography, Sociology, Politics, Psychology, and History. Consequently, the rapidly increasing body of literature on innovation is characterized by a multitude of perspectives based on, or cutting across, existing disciplines and specializations. Scholars of innovation can come from such diverse starting points that much of this literature can be missed, and so constructive dialogues missed. The editors of The Oxford Handbook of Innovation have carefully selected and designed twenty-one contributions from leading academic experts within their particular field, each focusing on a specific aspect of innovation. These have been organized into four main sections, the first of which looks at the creation of innovations, with particular focus on firms and networks. Section Two provides an account of the wider systematic setting influencing innovation and the role of institutions and organizations in this context. Section Three explores some of the diversity in the working of innovation over time and across different sectors of the economy, and Section Four focuses on the consequences of innovation with respect to economic growth, international competitiveness, and employment. An introductory overview, concluding remarks, and guide to further reading for each chapter, make this handbook a key introduction and vital reference work for researchers, academics, and advanced students of innovation. Contributors to this volume - Jan Fagerberg, University of Oslo William Lazonick, INSEAD Walter W. Powell, Stanford University Keith Pavitt, SPRU Alice Lam, Brunel University Keith Smith, INTECH Charles Edquist, Linkoping David Mowery, University of California, Berkeley Mary O'Sullivan, INSEAD Ove Granstrand, Chalmers Bjorn Asheim, University of Lund Rajneesh Narula, Copenhagen Business School Antonello Zanfei, Urbino Kristine Bruland, University of Oslo Franco Malerba, University of Bocconi Nick Von Tunzelmann, SPRU Ian Miles, University of Manchester Bronwyn Hall, University of California, Berkeley Bart Verspagen , ECIS Francisco Louca, ISEG Manuel M. Godinho, ISEG Richard R. Nelson, Mario Pianta, Urbino Bengt-Ake Lundvall, Aalborg

Toward a Unifying Framework for Exploring Fit and Flexibility in Strategic Human Resource Management

Abstract: This paper presents a framework for studying the concepts of fit and flexibility in the field of Strategic Human Resource Management (Strategic HRM) focusing on HRM practices, employee skills, and employee behaviors and reviews past conceptual and empirical work within that framework. A model of Strategic HRM is presented and this model is used to explore the concepts of fit and flexibility as they apply to Strategic HRM. The concepts of resource and coordination flexibility are applied to Strategic HRM, and the implications of the framework for both the practice of and research on Strategic HRM are discussed.