Efficiency is indicative of the performance level that describes a process that uses the lowest amount of inputs to create the greatest amount of output. Many studies have been conducted on analyzing the effect of corporate governance on the performance and efficiency of industrial firms. However, the impact of corporate governance on the technical efficiency of financial institutions like banks has not been much investigated. In this context, the first paper, “The Impact of Corporate Governance on the Technical Efficiency of Banks in Pakistan”, authored by, Muhammad Ali Khan and Yasir Bin Tariq, examines the relationship between corporate governance and technical efficiency of listed commercial banks of Pakistan over the period 2008-2015. The study employs a two-stage methodology. In the first stage, Data Envelopment Analysis has been used to compute the technical efficiency of banks. In the second stage, random-effect Tobit regression is used to examine the impact of corporate governance (measured through board size, board independence, board diligence, ownership concentration and ownership type) on the technical efficiency of banks. Except during 2008-2010, the period marked by the global financial crisis, it has been observed that average technical efficiency of banks has increased reflecting that the banks have been recovering steadily. Among the control variables, bank’s age was found to be positively and significantly and bank’s size was found to be negatively and significantly related to technical efficiency. The study concludes that ownership concentration has a positive and significant impact on technical efficiency. The firms with presence of foreign ownership are more efficient than local firms.
Every business functions in society and hence its actions impact the environment. Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of every business organization to take good care of the society and its environment and work for the betterment of the society. In this context, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focuses on an organization’s relationship with the society and motivates the organization to do well in favor of the society beyond what is being mandated by the law. CSR is slowly and gradually getting merged into companies’ Corporate Governance (CG) practices. In the second paper, “The Interrelationship Between Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility in Indian Companies”, the authors, Mohd Sarim, Mohd Shamshad and Javaid Akhter, make an attempt to discover the interrelationships between CG practices and CSR of Nifty 50 companies for the year ended 2015-2016. The paper explores various propositions on the relationship between CG and CSR through content analysis by developing a coding scheme. The findings provide clear indications that CG and CSR hugely overlap; the linkage between them is complementary to each other and hence should not be considered and sustained independently.
Moving on to the last paper, “Glass Ceiling: Virtual Reality or Mythical Truth? A Study with Reference to Select Companies Listed on BSE 30”, presented in the form of a research note, the authors, Anindya Ganguly, Jasmine Rao and Sumanta Dutta, seek to examine the degree of the existence of glass-ceiling in the leading Indian corporate entities included in the BSE 30 index over a period of four years starting from 2013-14. Glass ceiling is described as artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevents qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organization into management-level positions. In the context of this paper, the word ‘ceiling’ signifies that women are blocked from advancing in their careers and the term ‘glass’ is used because the ceiling is not always obvious. The glass prevents women from advancing in their careers. The present study examines the extent of glass ceiling by analyzing the data of 24 leading corporate entities of India enlisted in BSE 30 index for the presence of women on their board. From this descriptive study based on content analysis, it can be inferred that even though the times are altering and the responsibilities are being channeled from male to a shared gender-diverse hierarchy, only a tiny percentage of women have been seen actualizing the situation. The study also reveals that there is a need to increase female presence in the role of key managerial personnel as most of the companies have male dominance. Although after the Amendment of Companies Act, 2013 under Section 149(1), which mandates at least one woman director on board, gender diversity has considerably improved, still there underlies a huge need to change the overall managerial structures too.
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs): The Changing Face of Banking in India
Bank Management
Information and communication technology has changed the way in which banks provide services to its customers. These days the customers are able to perform their routine banking transactions without even entering the bank premises. ATM is one such development in recent years, which provides remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the development of this self-service banking in India based on the secondary data.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is playing a very important role in the progress and advancement in almost all walks of life. The deregulated environment has provided an opportunity to restructure the means and methods of delivery of services in many areas, including the banking sector. The ICT has been a focused issue in the past two decades in Indian banking. In fact, ICTs are enabling the banks to change the way in which they are functioning. Improved customer service has become very important for the very survival and growth of banking sector in the reforms era. The technological advancements, deregulations, and intense competition due to the entry of private sector and foreign banks have altered the face of banking from one of mere intermediation to one of provider of quick, efficient and customer-friendly services. With the introduction and adoption of ICT in the banking sector, the customers are fast moving away from the traditional branch banking system to the convenient and comfort of virtual banking. The most important virtual banking services are phone banking, mobile banking, Internet banking and ATM banking. These electronic channels have enhanced the delivery of banking services accurately and efficiently to the customers. The ATMs are an important part of a bank’s alternative channel to reach the customers, to showcase products and services and to create brand awareness. This is reflected in the increase in the number of ATMs all over the world. ATM is one of the most widely used remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the growth of ATMs of different bank groups in India.
International Scenario
If ATMs are largely available over geographically dispersed areas, the benefit from using an ATM will increase as customers will be able to access their bank accounts from any geographic location. This would imply that the value of an ATM network increases with the number of available ATM locations, and the value of a bank network to a customer will be determined in part by the final network size of the banking system. The statistical information on the growth of branches and ATM network in select countries.
Indian Scenario
The financial services industry in India has witnessed a phenomenal growth, diversification and specialization since the initiation of financial sector reforms in 1991. Greater customer orientation is the only way to retain customer loyalty and withstand competition in the liberalized world. In a market-driven strategy of development, customer preference is of paramount importance in any economy. Gone are the days when customers used to come to the doorsteps of banks. Now the banks are required to chase the customers; only those banks which are customercentric and extremely focused on the needs of their clients can succeed in their business today.
