There is a growing tendency in recent times for rejuvenating the business
operations based on good behavior patterns in the organization, for which
many attempts have been made in the academic research as well. Many studies do show that if you want to create and spread excellence, eliminating the negative is the first order of business. Some of the researchers have discovered that negative interactions with bosses and co-workers have five times more impact on employees’ moods than positive interactions. No exaggeration to say that the destructive behavior—selfishness, nastiness, fear, laziness and dishonesty—packs a far bigger wallop than constructive behavior. Hence, most of the management gurus do prescribe employee-centric policy frameworks for achieving excellence in various directions which could be measured on a scale acceptable to all.
Work-life balance has been the subject of discussion and debates for quite some time among corporates and many studies are being conducted in the direction by taking into consideration many variables of significance. Be it academics or industry, the need for balancing employee’s family interests with that of organization’s business agenda gains paramount importance, and the first paper, “A Study on the Work-Family Balance and Job Performance of Academics in
Sri Lanka”, by Vidyanee Vithanage and Bhadra J H Arachchige, is an attempt to explore the depth and breadth of applying the concept of work-life balance in higher education sector of Sri Lanka with specific reference to universities. Interestingly, it is found that there is a positive and significant relationship between work-life balance and job performance by the employees.
It is a well-known fact that there is a growing attraction for Indian religious places and shrines, and the advent of advanced transport and communications systems has further added a new dimension to this phenomenon in the name of cultural tourism. Underscoring the business angle behind pilgrim tourism, the second paper, “A Study of Cultural Tourists’ Perceptions of Three Sacred Destinations of Eastern Uttar Pradesh Region, India”, by Amitabh Mishra and Nisha Kant Ojha, brings to light the changing perceptions of tourism among the public. The paper, besides highlighting the need for strengthening the physical infrastructure relating to Uttar Pradesh’s pilgrim places, recommends making tourism the most happening area of service industry.
What role an HR occupies in terms of projecting the image of a company through a prescribed policy framework is drawing the attention of management practitioners, leading to a new era of employer branding. The space given to HR practices in the realm of annual reports in the form of voluntary disclosure and inclusion has been the outcome of this employer branding. The context of multinational companies in terms of disclosure of HRM practices has been discussed widely in the next paper, “Analyzing HRM Inclusion/Disclosure in Annual Reports: A Context-Based Approach”, by Shalini Shukla. The paper goes a long way in shedding light on how to bring parity between financial and non-financial parameters of business excellence with a prospective viewpoint of employer branding.
The growing number of management institutes and business schools across the country is an indication of increasing space for private sector employability in the management arena and this has led to a new perspective on how to improve the quality of selection methods followed by the companies. It is found that the strength of hiring processes needs to be rejuvenated further in tune with the changing preferences of the new breed of management graduates which gets reflected in the last paper, “A Strategy Designed for Selection Using AHP Approach: A Study of B-School Students’ Perception and Hiring of Best Minds” by Shilpi Gupta. The invention of Analytic Hierarchy Approach (AHP) as a solution to hire the best minds from institutes, balancing various preferences of student community, is the focus of this paper. The advent of mathematical models in complex decision-making process is highlighted in this paper in the specific context of hiring phase.
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.
