Factors That Affect the Academic Results of Students in MBA Program in Gujarat, India

--Ritesh Patel and Mitesh Patel

The study was carried out to analyze how various factors (student-related, faculty-related, exam-related and other factors) have an influence on the results of the students. To check the normality of the data, a normality test was carried out on demographic variables of the respondents. For determining the reliability of the data, Cronbach’s Alpha was used. Further, mean score analysis and factor analysis were done on various factors. After carrying out this study, it was found that student-related factors, faculty-related factors and exam-related factors are important for the results of students in MBA program. The results of students can be improved by focusing on these factors.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Decision Making in Relation to Personality Types and Cognitive Styles of Business Students

--Ambrien Ahmed, N Hasnain and M Venkatesan

The present study was designed to examine the relation of personality and cognitive styles with the decision-making style of future managers. For this purpose, a sample of 130 postgraduate students of management were selected through incidental sampling. The tests used in the study were decision making style inventory by Rowe and Mason, Myers Briggs type indicator by Myers Briggs and cognitive style inventory by Jha. The results showed that intuitive personality type had a significant relationship with the conceptual decision style. The personality type ‘thinking’ showed positive correlation with directive decision style, but negative correlation with behavioral. However, the personality type, ‘feeling’ showed positive correlation with behavioral decision style. Personality type, ‘judging’ had a significant relationship with analytical decision style, whereas, personality type, ‘perceiver’ had an inverse relationship with it. Further, it was found that systematic and intuitive cognitive styles had an inverse relationship with behavioral decision style. Though systematic cognitive style had a significant relationship with analytical decision style, the study concludes the need for the inclusion of training programs on decision making for management students.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Efficiency of Marketing Channels for Mango in Mahabubnagar District of Andhra Pradesh

--Gopi Muralidhar, P Radhika, Seema and M H V Bhave

India is a country with varied agroclimatic conditions which enable the cultivation of different crops. India stands amongst the top producers of fruits, and mango is produced in abundance in India. Lack of suitable marketing avenues and channels decreases the margin for the growers. This study was undertaken to know the existing marketing channels and the problems associated with these marketing channels in the Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. The study revealed four marketing channels used by farmers, of which the pre-harvest contractor was the most prevalent, because it involved low risk. The intermediaries in various channels faced many problems, of which, high transportation charges, high commission agent charges and syndicating of the wholesalers are the major ones.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

The US Hispanic Consumers’ Perception Towards Buying Country of Origin Labeled Ethnic Produce

--Ramu Govindasamy, Venkata Puduri and James E Simon

Hispanic population is the fastest growing minority group in the US. The growing Hispanic immigrant population also brings a niche demand for familiar foods from their homeland. This community is diverse, coming from many different countries and regions, each with their unique foods, spices and flavors. The rapid expansion of Hispanic ethnic population presents significant opportunities for country of origin produce. The paper attempts to document the socioeconomic characteristics of Hispanic ethnic consumers and their preferences for Country of Origin Labeled (COOL) produce.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

A Study on the Emerging Dimensions of Strategic HRM in Different Subsectors of IT Industry

--A Shameem and Bilal Mustafa Khan

In today’s turbulent environment, the key to competitiveness lies in the ability to lead change and depends on how organizations build change leadership that enables them to capitalize and master change. This is where strategic thinking lies for management in general and for Human Resource (HR) in particular. Many authors have maintained that Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is directly linked to organizational performance. However, despite the increasing popularity of SHRM, there have been very few systematic evaluations of the claims that it is linked to performance, and doubts regarding its theoretical foundations remain. It should also be noted that HR does not distinguish HR professionals in high-performing firms from those in low-performing firms. The external knowledge (not internal knowledge) of HR is the key differentiator. Most HR professionals have a low level of external business reality—customers, competitions, stakeholders, industry structures, globalization and all the things that make business what it is. There are two starting points for thinking on this line. First, HR should aspire to be a business partner; and second, to be a business partner, it needs to create a line of sight to the outside. The Information Technology (IT) revolution has brought about a situation in which knowledge workers are replacing blue-collar workers. In such a scenario, an organization needs to invest more in human assets in order to gain a competitive advantage over other organizations. The purpose of this research is to make a comparative study of emerging dimensions in SHRM in the different subsectors of the Indian IT industry.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Impact of Group-Based Microfinance on Rural Households in India

-- S Chandrakumarmangalam and S C Vetrivel

The present study is empirical in nature and was carried out to assess the impact of group-based microfinance on income, assets position, savings, employment, literacy and migration of the household. A quasi-experimental design was made where the target and control groups were randomly sampled from the population. The target group was compared with the control group across various variables and the mean difference was found. The results were validated by statistical test for significance and econometric models. The test of significance between the mean for target and control groups was tested through a paired t-test. Models like Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), logistic regression and probit regression were employed to measure the impact of group-based microfinance intervention. Household was taken as the unit of analysis. The study concluded that the group-based microfinance impacted the client household positively in the increase of income, assets position, savings and literacy, and in the reduction of migration.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.