Customer Service in Banks: An Empirical Study

-- R K Uppal and Rimpi Kaur

The banking industry in India has undergone radical changes due to the liberalization and globalization measures undertaken since 1991. Today, Indian banking industry is one of the largest in the world. There has been a great surge in efficient customer services. A highly satisfied and delighted customer is a vital non-financial asset for the banks in the emerging IT era. Courtesy, accuracy, and speed are important factors in the efficient functioning of a bank. This study is based on the responses of 768 customers of public sector banks, Indian private sector banks, and foreign banks (each one from these groups) operating in Amritsar district of Punjab; and in the case of e-bank, three banks, one from each bank group, have been taken into consideration. The study infers that there is a significant difference among these three bank groups with regard to the time customers have to spend to transact a business. The e-banks were found to be more efficient with respect to the time factor. This is a very important reason as to why customers switch to e-banking. The chi-square test is used to check the level of significance difference among the various bank groups, and the coefficient of contingency among various bank group customers' responses is also calculated.

© 2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

Assessment of Management Training Needs of Agricultural Research Managers

-- P Manikandan and M M Anwer

Today, management has been recognized as a serious concern of virtually all segments of human endeavors. With agriculture becoming globally competitive in the post-WTO era and with the advent of intellectual property protection, planning and management of agricultural research have gained more urgency and importance than ever before. Experience has shown that management capability becomes a limiting factor in getting the full benefits from an agricultural research system. In order to design and develop a need-based management training program for the agricultural research managers that would help them plan, manage, and execute research programs and institutional activities more effectively with the available human, natural, and financial resources, a systematic training needs assessment was undertaken. Information on the management-training needs was collected through a questionnaire. The results of the study indicate that the five themes that are needed to be covered in the training program included research project management, human resource management, administration and finance management, institution management, and information and communication managementin that order of importance. Under each of the themes, information was elicited on the individual topic requirement. The requirement index for various topics in each of the identified five themes was worked out, which indicated the relative importance of these topics, as perceived by the respondents. The present study highlights the importance of management training for agricultural research managers. The results of the study are expected to facilitate planning, organizing, monitoring, controlling, and evaluating a need-based management training program for the agricultural research managers.

© 2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

A Study on Social Entrepreneurship and the Characteristics of Social Entrepreneurs

-- Vasudha Vasakarla

Social entrepreneurs identify the problems in society, trace the root causes of the problems and endeavor to solve them. Through this approach, they try to apply their entrepreneurial abilities to bring about social change. They gauge their success in terms of the impact of their efforts on society. This paper presents a study on social entrepreneurship, the social entrepreneurs in particular, and highlights the behavioral traits possessed by these rare breed of leaders. The study first introduces the concept of social entrepreneurship and then gives a brief introduction to the sample social entrepreneurs and the activities of their organizations. Finally, it presents an analysis of the opinions drawn on the listed traits which a social entrepreneur is expected to possess.

© 2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

High Cost of Finance in Microcredit Business in Andhra Pradesh (India): Problems and Possible Solutions

-- Anand

The microfinance industry has recently been criticized for their oppressive style of functioning which allegedly has caused hardships to credit seekers in some districts of Andhra Pradesh, where in some cases some of the clients even committed suicide. These resulted in speculations from various quarters, suggesting curbing of Microfinance Institutions' (MFIs') operational freedom which, MFIs contested, would force them out of the business. The main reason for such incidences was said to be the high rates of interest and the marketing (especially collection) tactics adopted by MFIs. In turn, MFIs argued that they themselves get funds at a very high rate of interest, and when one adds the operating expenses of MFIs the final credit rate would come up to what MFIs are generally charging. And if they do not ensure repayment of their loans by their clients, the cost of funds will go even higher. With this backdrop, this study has been carried out to find the actual reasons behind the hardships of MFIs' clients, reasons for the high cost of capital, causes of inefficiency in operations which have increased the cost of credit further, and problems with the current marketing strategy and other related areas. This study encompasses all aspects of microfinance as present in Andhra Pradesh (India) and suggests possible solutions.

© 2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

A Conceptual Model of Transformational Leadership, Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness for Ngos in the Indian Context

-- M S A Mahalinga Shiva and Santanu Roy

Transformational leadership and organizational culture are crucial components for the effective functioning of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). But the interplay among transformational leadership, organizational culture, and organizational effectiveness is not well understood and very little research has been conducted to explore the relationships among these concepts. This study proposes a conceptual model that tries to portray the relationships among the concepts of transformational leadership, organizational culture, and organizational effectiveness in the context of NGOs working in India.

© 2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.