Showing papers by "Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research published in 2015"

Leadership style, salesperson's work effort and job performance: the influence of power distance

Abstract: As multinational organizations increase operations in emerging economies, firms need to understand how cultural values prevailing in a host country can influence leadership practices developed and practiced in Western economies. This study explores the relationships among leadership styles and salespeople's attitudes and behaviours with data from salespeople in India with power distance measured at the individual level. Results suggest that for employees' instrumental leadership is more effective in promoting employee effort and increasing job performance. In addition, the relationship between satisfaction with supervisor and turnover intentions is weaker or insignificant, while the relationship between satisfaction with supervisor and effort is stronger for employees in higher power distance organizations. The study highlights cultural sensitivities that need to be considered in formulating an effective leadership style in emerging market contexts.

An assessment approach for enhancing the organizational performance of social enterprises in India

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to analyze the activities of Indian social enterprises, identify the reasons/causes for their shortcomings and suggest a networked model of donor and beneficiary pool so as to enhance the performance efficiencies of these social enterprises to result in a larger social development impact. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and social ventures together termed as social enterprises are perceived to be a panacea for all kinds of development in the social sector in the underdeveloped economies. In the past decade, the social enterprises in India have mushroomed and yet the sanctity of their operations and ability to deliver to expectations is questionable. Design/methodology/approach – The research design for pilot study was exploratory followed by descriptive design for the full study. The research adopted a two-phase approach. In Phase I, a loosely structured interview schedule was used to collate the insights from the social enterprises, developed as a survey questionnaire and ...

Management of Gen Y Employees Through Psychological Contract - 'An Exploratory Study in IT/ITES Companies'

Abstract: Globalization has led to diverse workforce for most of the multinational corporations. Today's workforce is highly diverse based on Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Nationality, Age, Physical capabilities at a surface level and values, attitudes, personality, education and religion at a deeper level. Diversity Management means valuing the differences in people. In India, Diversity mostly referred to gender related initiatives in the past. But today companies are moving to include national culture, age, physical ability and sexual orientation. In the context of generational diversity, four generations exist at workplace today namely the Veterans, Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. Gen Y is born between 1980 and 2000 make up 25% of the world population and nearly half the Indian population. They will soon form the largest employee base for organizations around the globe. However there is lack of substantial academic research on Indian Gen Y. Purpose: The study tries to explore and understand the important workplace expectations of Gen Y through the lens of psychological contract. 11 focus group discussions were held with 89 Gen Y employees currently working in IT/ITES companies. It further explores the unique expectations of Gen Y women and Gen Y differently-abled employees which may contribute to the unique elements in their psychological contract. Research Design/Methodology: Focus Group Discussions Exploratory study Findings: The study revealed that Salary, Career Growth, Opportunities at work, Job Satisfaction and Work Life Balance emerged as the top expectations of Gen Y as a whole. However it was interesting to note that when comparison was made between men, women and differently-abled employees within Gen Y, the expectations were completely different with only challenging work being common to all the three groups. Research Limitations: This study is an exploratory study with focus groups and qualitative data. A further large scale cross sectional study needs to be done with quantitative analysis to confirm the important workplace expectations of Gen Y. Study is limited to IT/ITES employees in Bengaluru. Only three specific employee groups under Gen Y namely men, women and differently-abled were explored due to time constraints. Studies in the future can include more employee groups like ex-army employees, employees from rural and urban background, LGBT etc. Practical Implication: If IT/ITES organizations want to attract engage and retain young Gen Y employees, they must proactively understand the needs and expectations of these youngsters. It is also critical that specific needs of various employee groups within Gen Y are also understood and met. Originality: Until now most organizations have had a reactive approach to managing diversity either as a response to a minority discrimination case or legal compliance. The paper argues for a more proactive approach to managing Generation Y expectations using psychological contract framework which has never been proposed before.