Advances In Management

Indexed in SCOPUS, Chemical Abstracts Services, UGC, NAAS and Indian Citation Index etc.



Advances In Management






Vol. 5(1) January 2012

Research Articles:
Good Knowledge Management System, Bad Shared Knowledge: What happens to trust when experts share erroneous knowledge with novice KMS USERS?

Morrison Rodger

Expert locator systems are specialized forms of knowledge management systems used to create a social relationship between novice and expert users for the purpose of knowledge location, transfer and utilization. Ranging from simple directories of experts to complex systems that record entire conversations in a multimedia environment, they allow organizations to better capitalize on knowledge assets throughout their enterprise. These systems are especially useful in large organizations that utilize obsolete technologies, but have limited knowledge resources with which to maintain them. A key component of any successful system implementation project is user trust, which develops quickest in systems that provide routinely usable information. In this study, a research proposition is presented that the factuality of information provided by expert users to novice users has an effect on trust levels that novice users develop toward the expertise locator system itself.

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The Impact of Social Media Usage on Consumer Buying Behavior

Mathur Pooja, Black Jennifer E., Cao Jiangmei, Berger Paul D.* and Weinberg Bruce D.

The use of social media is growing rapidly. For marketing professionals, social media is a new outlet that can potentially be used to help increase the interest in a product or service. In this paper, we report, analyze and interpret the results of a survey that asked several questions concerning the relationship between social media use and the overall impact social-media marketing has on purchase behavior. In addition to demographics, key questions included the membership status in several social-media sites and the frequency of visit to these sites as well as the frequency with which selected opinions were expressed during these visits. Our analysis provides preliminary statistical evidence to help evaluate the impact of social-media usage on customer purchase. This has implications for customer lifetime value (CLV) considerations, as well as related interest for advertisers deciding whether investments in social-media are cost effective and if so, which ones?

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Employer Brand in India: A Strategic HR Tool for Competitive Advantage

Das Tulasi V. and Rao Hanumantha P.

Employer brand is about capturing the essence of an organization in a way that engages current and prospective talent. It expresses an organization’s ‘value proposition’ the entirety of its culture, systems, attitudes and employee relationships, providing a new focal point for the company. Today, an effective employer brand is essential for competitive advantage.

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Outsourcing Practices in the Indian Banking Sector:
Benefits and Risks

Mohapatra Suryanarayan

Outsourcing of activities and processes are the key outcomes of the large scale technology adoption in the banking sector during 1990s. The study found that majority of the banks in India are conservative in their approach towards outsourcing their business process and getting access to technology benefits is the main driver for outsourcing.

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Case Study:
Gap Analysis of Service Quality at a Curbside Restaurant: Case of Aunty’s Café, Jaipur

Sharma Smita and Sharma Shweta

This paper is based on the case study of a small curbside fast food joint called Aunty’s Café that has sustained tough times only because of its quality driven approach and the sheer dedication of its owner and women entrepreneur. Researchers attempt to explore in depth what makes the services different from others and the secret behind this place. Unlike the prescribed service models this fast food joint has been highly appreciated by its customers. This study attempts to analyze the service leadership and different practices of its owners. This case study based research is an attempt to understand the best practices of this small initiative taken by a women entrepreneur. This study reveals that though the restaurant does not follow any prescribed service models yet it has emerged and survived the test of times. Service quality is the prime factor the café has cling to and has successfully positioned itself in the minds of the customers as a quality driven place.

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Marketing Co-operatives and Attitude of Coconut Growers:
A Case Study in Kerala State in India

Ayoob C. P., Mohammed Usman and Suresh A.

Kerala state is the largest producer of coconut in India, even then marketing of this produce is not regulated in the state. Marketing co-operatives registered under the state government could channalise a meager amount of marketable surplus. In light of these circumstances, a research study was undertaken to examine the attitude of coconut growers towards the marketing co-operatives in Kerala. The study was conducted region-wise and affiliation-wise. 150 coconut growers from each region who are members of co-operative coconut marketing societies were selected based on proportionate random sampling procedure. Ranking Judgment, Chi-square test and Attitude index were used for the study and analyses. Findings of the study revealed that the attitude of growers towards the co-operative societies among the affiliations is significantly different. The attitude index showed that nine out of fourteen variables have not reached up to the level of positive attitude expected by the respondents.

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Forecasting Financial Ratios for Credit Lending in Banks using Artificial Neural Networks: A Case-study of HDFC Bank

Pradhan Roli

In times of economic and financial stresses, the need for effective failure prediction model to act as an early warning system for the corporate has always been looked upon. It first estimates the financial ratio for a firm from 2001-2008 to the train the BPNN and uses the estimates of the year 2009 and 2010 values in the validation process. Finally it dwells to draw predictions for the period 2011-2015 and emphasizes the growing role of BPNN application based prediction models for banking sector with a case study of HDFC bank. We conclude that integrating BNPP models can be used as a communication tool between credit risk analyst and policy makers and serve in credit risk policy decision context.

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Ethical Theories and the Incidence of Occupational Fraud

Saksena P.N.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has conducted studies on occupational fraud for over a decade. These reports cover various aspects of occupational fraud. The ACFE defines occupational fraud as, “[T]he use of one’s occupation for personal enrichment through the deliberate misuse of or misapplication of the employing organization’s resources or assets.” The purpose of this article is to discuss how occupational fraud has been committed in the past. A further purpose is to discuss various ethical principles and theories and to discuss how they can be used to help minimize fraudulent behavior.

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General Article:
Practical Approaches to Embedding Emotional Intelligence Training in the Curriculum of Professional Studies

Manjunath Suma

The work conducted in most organizations has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. Of course, there are now fewer levels of management and management styles are less autocratic. Naturally, the criteria for success at work are changing too. Staff is now judged by new yardsticks: not just by how smart they are, or by their training and expertise, but also by how well they handle themselves and one another. And that is strongly influenced by personal qualities such as perseverance, self-control and skill in getting along with others. Emotional intelligence may be the (long-sought) missing link that unites conventional “can do” ability. Those with strong emotional intelligence (EQ) have more productivity, creativity, self esteem and self confidence and make more effective business leaders but a problem with our current education system is over emphasis on IQ. It is important to realize that only academic excellence is not enough to do well. It is not only IQ that is important but the synergistic development of IQ, EQ and SQ is important If emotional intelligence is considered vital for success, it should be taught in schools.

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Luxury Marketing

Pughazhendi A. and Sudharani Ravindran D.

The world is developing significantly with huge industrialization all around and leaving behind a curse to the nature. People all around the globe are now aware about the environmental depletion which the industrialists have been serving along with the bundle of utilities. Newspapers, magazines and all media are also now a days enhancing consumer’s attention towards the environmental effects a product may have. This problem, thus, being not of a nation but of the whole globe, has increased the need of the marketer to focus upon. In order to survive in such an aware market, every marketer has to imperatively focus upon the green marketing. There is nothing new in the green product and green marketing but it only cares for the environment. Environment friendly products/raw mate-rials are the demand for both real consumers as well as the industrial buyers. Green marketing is a global concern and it is going to have a better future ahead. It can most profitably be used as a growth opportunity if the lag behinds are eliminated. The most important factor is to understand the consumer’s perception about the environment and to develop a better sense of moral obligation in every citizen.

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