SELP JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE - issue 13

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Vol . III : Issue. 13 ISSN:0975-9999

SELP Journal of Social Science October - December 2012

IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION - A GANDHIAN PERSPECTIVEDr Anurodh Godha

Assistant Professor,Department of Commerce,

Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota, (Rajasthan), India.Dr. Prerna Jain

Lecturer,Department of Accounting and Business Statistics,

Government College, Ajmer, (Rajasthan), IndiaABSTRACT

The socio-economic and political scenario all over the world has undergone tremendous changesduring the past five decades. The world is shrunk in size and fast emerging as a global village.Traditional values, concerns and striving seem to have been replaced by a new culture and a newset of attitudes and life–style which are steeped in materialism and consumerism. Today we are notin a position to go back on globalization, so in this paper it is been tried to discuss and draw tha thow we can protect the interest of our economy, by removing unemployment and poverty through“going back to Gandhian economics /thoughts / concepts.’’Key Words: Globalisation, Poverty, Hunger, Terrorism

IntroductionIndia today seems very much in an age

of ‘diet Coke, flat screen televisions and superexpress highways’. It is not this that Gandhiwould have been against, but it is the automaticassumption of the superiority of anythingoriginating from the west that Gandhi wouldbe dissatisfied with.

Mahatma Gandhi has rarely written aboutstrictly modern process of globalization. Hecould not because today’s globalization was faraway from his own time. But Gandhi reflectedon related areas like..... world peace,exploitation of the weak by the stronger nation,

freedom, equality, international federation,dignity of the individual, primacy of theindividual in a socio-polit ical system,mechanization etcetera.

India is the largest democracy in theworld, something to be very proud of, but, doesthis democracy really offer average Indian thechoice that it ought to? Rapid economic growthover the past decade in India was the maindriver of poverty reduction, but, rising incomeand non income inequalities (e.g. inequalities inhealth, education, and economic assets such asland) could be an inherent by-product of globalgrowth process. In current scenario the majorchallenges of the twenty –first century are:

SELP Journal of Social ScienceISSN : 0975-9999Vol III : Issue. 13

October - December 2012

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Taming the monster of violence and keepingit within limits besides eliminating terrorism.

Ensuring equitable distribution of wealth andnatural resource.

Elimination of poverty and hunger. Increasing reliance of rulers and politicians

on religious fundamentalist elements andforces to capture power and sustainthemselves in power by exploiting religioussentiments, and Decline of moral spiritualand ethical considerations and the extendingtentacles of consumerism and materialism.

Concept of GlobalizationToday globalization became a magical word

and is being projected as the road to paradise.To state in simple terms, globalization means“global economic integration’’. Globalizationis defined as “free competition, free crossborder flow of goods, services, capital, labour,information, ideas, people and intellectualproperty around the globe”. In short,globalization means ….(a) Reduction of trade barriers with a view

allowing free flow of goods in (and from)the Country.

(b)Free flow of foreign capital in terms ofinvestment (direct and indirect) by ensuringconducive atmosphere and easy approval ofproposals.

(c) Free flow of technology; and(d)Free movement of labour and manpower.

Humanizing Globalisation and GandhiGandhi’s concept was practical-idealist

concept of globalisation. Gandhi has never writtenor said much about globalisation in particular asa term with specific meaning that is being attachedto it currently. Yet he had foreseen almost all majortrends and strands of globalisation today in apositive and creative mould. Let us look at someof the principles Gandhi believed are of paramountimportance. For him:

It is impossible for one to be aninternationalist without being a nationalist…Our nationalism can be no peril to othernations inasmuch as we will exploit nonejust as we will allow none to exploit us.

Mechanisation is good when hands are toofew for the work intended to beaccomplished. It is evil where there are morehands than acquired…

I entertain no fads in this regard [i.e., hisavowed opposition to mechanisation andcapital- intensive technology]. All that Idesire is that every able-bodied citizenshould be provided with gainfulemployment. If electricity and evenautomatic energy could be usedwithout…creating unemployment, I will notraise my little finger against it…. If theGovernment could provide full employmentto our people without the help of Khadihand-spinning and hand- weaving industries,I shall be prepared to wind up myconstructive programme in this regard.

To reject foreign manufactures merelybecause they are foreign, and to go onwasting national time and money on thepromotion in one’s own country ofmanufactures for which it is not suited wouldbe criminal folly, and a negation of theSwadeshi spirit.

Decentralisation of political and economicpower, reduction in the functions andimportance of State, growth of voluntaryassociations, removal of dehumanisingpoverty and resistance to injustice … willbring life within the understanding of manand make society and the Statedemocratic…..

I am not against all international trade,though imports should be limited to thingsthat are necessary for our growth but whichIndia — and for that matter any poorercountry — cannot herself produce andexport of things of real benefit to foreigners.

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Relevance of Selected Gandhian Concepts inGlobalised Economy

(A) Trusteeship ConceptThe concept of trusteeship was evolved

by Gandhi to economic equality. In his words,“economic equality did not mean thateverybody would literally have the sameamount. It simply meant that every one shouldhave enough for his or her wants..... the elephantwants thousand time more food than an ant, butthat is not an indication of inequality”.

Gandhi felt everyone should havesufficient and nutritious food to eat, propershelter to live in, adequate Khadi to wear, timelymedical relief and necessary facilities foreducation. Gandhi has presented philosophicalbase, for trusteeship. If we observed the presentsocio-economic scenario in India and also inthe world, we feel that it is very difficult to bringinto practice the trusteeship concept.

Peaceful removal of economicinequalities is possible if the rich, after meetingtheir reasonable needs, hold the surplus wealthin trust for the society. In this way, the rich manis not dispossessed of his surplus wealth, but heis required to use this wealth in the broaderinterest of the community and not in his personalinterest. The doctrine of trusteeship is based onthe idea that everything is from God and belongsto God. Therefore, it is for his people as a wholeand not for a particular individual. Thus, if anindividual possesses more than his proportionateshare, he becomes a trustee of that surplusamount for God’s people.

(B) Sarvodaya ConceptSarvodaya (well being of all) was a

philosophical position that Gandhi mentioned.He favoured a holistic approach to well-beingof an individual and a total approach to thecommunity. Hence his approach will be relevanttill the existence of the mankind.

(C) Village Self-relianceIt may appear at first glance that with

increasing globalization Gandhian emphasis onself-reliance of the village is losing itsrelevance. The reality is the significance of theself-reliance of village communities hasactually increased. Globalization broughtincreasing uncertainty and the threat ofinstability to rural India, if the community in avillage is self-reliant and the economy is ruralbased the further ensure the resilience andstability of a nation and its people even in theface of globalization trends.

This Global Village is very differentfrom the decentralised village-based economy.For Gandhi:· It is the individual(s) who compose a village,

town, city, municipality, metropolis, state,nation-state and international society ofnations.

· Real globalisation for Gandhi is possibleonly through Panch yama of Patanjali, i.e.,nonviolence, non-stealing, Truth, non-possession and chastity. Global thoughsectoral reformation programme forregeneration of every individual is neededfor balancing the negative effects of theprocess of globalisation.

· Gandhi begins with the individual in thevillage and ends up with the individual inthe comity of nations.The decentralized village economy should

provide full employment to all on the basis ofvoluntary cooperation and work for achievingself sufficiency in its basic requirements offood, clothing and shelter. People in villageswill not live in dirt and darkness as animals.The village community should take up theresponsibility for providing work to all ablebodied people. Everyone will have to contributehis quota of manual labour.

Mahatma Gandhi’s idea to make Indian

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villages prosperous and progressive is possiblethrough globalization. In a positive sense, thereare enormous possibilities and ways to makeagriculture, village economy, farmer’s life andrural areas prosperous if global trends of tradeare spread to villages. Corporate farming beintroduced, keeping the ownership of land inthe hands of the farmer. However he should begiven preference in employment in contactfarming. Government of India has to treatagriculture as industry so that all the facilitiesand exemptions extended to industry be givento agriculture. Trade and markets withreasonable price are the only way to makeagriculture profitable. Globalization has thiscapacity to make rural trade profitable throughretail outlets. Gandhi’s dream of making villagesself sufficient and independent economic unitscould be realized through globalization,provided positive strategy is followed bygovernment retaining full freedom and landownership with the farmer. Indian villages havebetter prosperous future through globalization.Conclusion

Our path to economic development hasnecessarily to be many fold. We have to developvillages, improve agriculture and agro-industriesand infrastructure in rural India; we have tocreate new opportunities in rural India. In ademocracy like India the r ising incomeinequalities leads to social unrest and it pose aclear and present danger to India’s sustainedprogress. It is the responsibility of the millionof people who were inspired by Gandhi to workout the middle way on the basis of his work andthe message he left for posterity. The major areasthat can be listed for its relevance are

Villages to be developed as village republics. Decentralization planning should be

implemented into and should train thepanchayat members in delivering the goodsto the public.

Khadi & Village industries should beencouraged and MNCs should not beallowed to produce products produced byKhadi & Village industries.

Capitalist and big businessmen should beencouraged to serve as trustees.

References1. Anurag Gangal on “Globalisation – A

Gandhian Analysis”2. S. C. Gangal, The Gandhian Way to World

Peace (Vora, Bombay: 1960), p. 90.3. Harijan, 16 November 1939.4. Ram K. Vepa, New Technology: A Gandhian

Concept (New Delhi: 1975), p. 170.5.Anurag Gangal, New International Economic

Order: A Gandhian Perspective (Chanakya,Delhi: 1985), Chapter – II, pp. 34 – 64. AlsoV. T. Patil and D. Gopal, op. cit., n. 1. pp. 07– 21.

S. R. Keshava on “Gandhi and Globalisation”A. Padmavathi and A. Ranga Reddy on “Peace

Universities for Sustainable Gandhism”P.A. Koli on “Trusteeship for Globalisation”P. Jagadish Gandhi on “Gandhian Economic

Order in the Globalism”

SELP PUBLICATIONSELP Trust established the publication division in the name of SELP Publication

devoted to education and research with the ISBN and published 20 educational booksand propose to publish 50 books in a calendar year 2012.So, if you have a proposal ormanuscript (Including edited volume) in your area of specialization, please contact orwrite to us. we are happy to publish your books with ISBN.

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GROWTH AND PROGRESS OF SUGAR INDUSTRY IN INDIADr.T.Aranganathan

Professor and Head,V.Kannan

Assistant Professor,Commerce Wing, DDE, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar - 608 002

ABSTRACT

Sugar industry is the second major industry that accounts for nearly 8 per cent of industrialinvestment and provides employment for about 7.4 per cent of the industrial working force. It isthe foremost agro-based rural industry providing direct employment to 4 lakh people. Besidesabout 35 lakh people are indirectly connected with this industry. A sugar mill of 1250 tonnescrushing capacity per day creates an employment potentiality of around 300 to 350 permanentworkers and equal number of seasonal workers. Besides this, for harvesting sugarcane, 5000 maleand female workers are required to be engaged during the crushing season.

Key Words: Sugar, Socio-Economic development, Moderisation

IntroductionWhere the sugar mills have been

working successfully, they have renderedconsiderable socio-economic services to therural community. They have opened schools,colleges, hospitals, etc. and they providednumerous other facilities to the farmers ingeneral. These activities and services are moreevident in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The sugarmills have brought about a far reaching social,economic and political transformation in therural areas by providing various facilities likemodernization of agriculture, extension of theirrigation, employment, infrastructural facilities,education, health and recreation facilities,changing cropping pattern, and have promoteddairy and poultry activities. Thus, the sugar mills

have acted as catalyst for the socio-economicdevelopment and these activities lead tobetterment of the economic conditions, not onlyof the farmers, but also of landless labourersand other people in the areas.Growth and Progress of Sugar Industry inIndia

The sugar industry plays a leading role inglobal sugar market being the world’s secondlargest producer after Brazil, producing nearly15 to 25 per cent of global sugar and sugarcane,respectively. In addition to traditional whitesugar about 6-8 MT alternative sweeteners arealso produced in the decentralized sectors.During the beginning of 20th century, the Indianfarmers woke up to the loss suffered by them



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and therefore, started devising ways and meansto avoid exploitation by middlemen. Theincentive to the farmer to produce more is thefair return to him of the produce. The processingof agricultural produce adds value to theproduce and increases the possibility of fairreturn of the produce to the farmers. Efforts tomanufacture sugar from sugarcane oncommercial lines were made only at thebeginning of the twentieth century and theindustry flourished in India during this centuryonly. The private sugar mills established as ajoint stock companies exploited the canegrowers in the region by taking their lands onlease basis for a long period on a nominal rentand by paying meager price for their sugarcane.Mostly the cane growers utilized their cane forthe production of jaggary in the early period,but instability in the price of the jaggarycompelled the farmers to sell their sugarcane toprivate sugar mills. The situation created bythese private sugar mills paved way forestablishment of the sugar factory in the co-operative sector. The Indian farmers felt thatcertain functions performed by the middlemencould jointly be performed by them and thisgave the birth to processing of agriculturalproduce on co-operative basis. The dawn ofindependence in 1947 brought its wake a changein the outlook and policy of the nation. One ofthe ways for achieving this objective is toencourage peasants to organize and manageprocessing industry, based on the cropsproduced by them.

The first co-operative sugar mill wasestablished in 1920 at Malegaon in BaramathiTaluk of Pune District. It survived hardly onlyfor two years. In the beginning four co-operative sugar mills came up, namely, Biswanin Uttar Pradesh and Thumapala, Etikoppakaand Vuyyuru in the Madras Presidency. For wantof organizational, managerial and financialsupport, three out of these four co-operativesugar mills except Etikoppaka co-operative mill

were sold off to private enterprise. Goodleadership, strong backing of co-operativebanks, gradual and cautious expansions, goodrelations with membership and payment ofhigher cane price however saved Etikoppakafactory. In 1919-20 the number of sugar millswas 19, but began to increase slowly. In 2009-10, there were 490 sugar mills in India. TheStates of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and TamilNadu occupy the first, second and third placesrespectively in having more number of sugarmills. Sugarcane is the main source fromwhich sugar is produced in India. Sugarcaneareas in India are broadly divided into twodistinct belts, subtropical and tropical. Thesubtropical belt comprises the States of UttarPradesh, Bihar, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam,Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Thetropical belt covers the States of Maharashtra,Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,Karnataka and Kerala. The two belts arecharacterized by the marked difference inclimate and agricultural conditions, more thanthree-fourth of the area under sugarcane in thecountry has long been in the subtropical belt.Area under Cultivation, Production andYield of Sugarcane in India

The area under sugarcane productionin India shows a progressive increase from 4316thousand hectares in 2000-01 to 5151 hectaresin 2006-07 and 4202 hectares in 2009-10. Theaverage area under sugarcane production forthe period from 2000-01 to 2009-10 was 4373hectares. The production of sugarcane in thecountry was 295.956 thousand tonnes in theyear 2000-01 and 277.750 thousand tonnes inthe year 2009-10. The highest production ofsugarcane was registered in the year 2006-07with 355.520 thousand tonnes. However, theyield of sugarcane per hectare showed a declinetrend from 68.60 tonnes in 2000-01 to 66.90tonnes in 2005-06. The yield of sugarcane forthe year 2009-10 was 66.10 tonnes per hectare.

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The average yield of sugarcane for the periodfrom 2000-01 to 2009-10 was 66.03 tonnes perhectare. The number of mills in operation,average duration and average capacity of thesugar mills in India. The number of sugar millsin operation in India has shown a progressiveincrease from 436 in 2000-01 to 455 in 2005-06 and 490 in 2009-10. The average durationdeclined from 138 days in 2000-01 to 125 daysin 2005-06 and to 109 days in 2009-10. At thesame time, the average capacity of the sugarmills showed a progressive increase from 3203tonnes in 2000-01 to 3619 tonnes in 2005-06and 3846 tonnes in 2009-10. The averagecapacity of the mills for the period of 10 yearsfrom 2000-01 to 2009-10 was 3519 tonnes.Production oSugar and Molasses in India

The production of sugar shows aprogressive increase from 18.511 million tonnesin 2000-01 to 19.267 million tonnes in 2005-06, and declined to million tonnes in 2009-10.The average sugar production for the periodfrom 2000-01 to 2009-10 was 1 million tonnes.There was an erratic change in the recovery ofsugar during the period from 2000-01 to 2009-10. The highest recovery (10.55%) wasregistered in the year 10.03%) erratic changeduring the period from 2000-01 to 2009-10. Theproduction of molasses was 7820 thousandtonnes in 2000-01, 8549 thousand tonnes in2005-06 and 8400 thousand tonnes in 2009-10.Consumption, Import and Export of Sugarin India

The consumption of sugar was 162.00lakh tonnes in 2000-01 and 189.45 lakh tonnesin 2005-06 and 210.00 lakh tonnes in 2009-10.The average consumption of sugar for the periodfrom 2000-01 to 2009-10 was 192.25 lakhtonnes. The export of sugar also shows anerratic change over the period of 10 years. Thehighest value of export (4684.554 thousandmetric tonnes) was registered in the year 2007-08 and the least (44.045 thousand metric tonnes)

was registered in the year 2009-10. The averageexport of sugar for the period of 10 years was1478.755 thousand metric tonnes. Likewise, theimport of sugar also shows an erratic change.The import of sugar was 30.404 thousandmetric tonnes in the year 2000-01, 558.770thousand metric tonnes in the year 2005-06 and2424.045 thousand metric tonnes in the year2009-10. The average import of sugar for theperiod of 10 years was 447.627 thousand metrictonnes.

Sugar Industry in Tamil NaduThe agro based sugar mills play an important

role in the economic growth of rural areas withthe sole aim to generate large scale directemployment. Apart from that, a lot of indirectemployment to rural population is alsoprovided. Tamil Nadu sugar industry isresponsible for about 10% of the total sugarproduction in India. The sugar industry faced aboom in the 1980s but the crisis era started from1990, all after the economic liberalization. Withthe surge in the procurement price of sugarcane,surplus production and reduction in the openmarket sugar price, directed the industry andthe sugar factories, thereafter to have a glut ofstocks. In Tamil nadu the soil is suitable forgrowing sugarcane and it has a unique featureof sub-soil drainage, which is helpful tosugarcane cultivation. The favourable climaticconditions coupled with adoption of modernmethods of cultivation by farmers, hard workby them and development efforts by the sugarmills resulted in faster growth of sugar industryin Tamil Nadu. Sugar industry provides directemployment to 0.50 lakh people and about 25lakh people are indirectly connected with thisindustry in the Tamil Nadu.

Area under Cultivation, Production andYield of Sugarcane in Tamil Nadu

The area under sugarcane productionwas 315 thousand hectare in 2000-01, 232

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thousand hectare in 2004-05 and 314 thousandhectare in 2009-10. The average area undersugarcane production for the period from 2000-01 to 2009-10 was 305 thousand hectare. Theproduction of sugarcane was subject to anerratic change over the period of 10 years. Thehighest production of sugarcane (44 thousandtonnes) was in the year 2006-07 and the least(17656 thousand tonnes) was i31605 thousandtonnes. The yield of sugarcane per hectareshowed an erratic change. The yield ofsugarcane was 105.30 tonnes in 2000-01,101.20 tonnes in 2009-10. The average yieldof sugarcane was 103.10 tonnes per hectare.

No. of Sugar Mills in Operation, Productionof Sugar and Molasses in Tamil Nadu

The number of sugar mills in operation inTamil Nadu showed a progressive increase from37 in 2000-01 to 39 in 2009-10. The productionof sugar in Tamil Nadu shows an erratic change.The sugar production was 1781 thousandtonnes in 2000-01, 2142 thousand tonnes in2005-06 and 1270 thousand tonnes in 2009-10.The average sugar production for the periodfrom 2000-01 to 2009-10 was 1698 thousandtonnes. There was an erratic change in therecovery of sugar during the period from 2000-01 to 2009-10. The highest recovery wasregistered in the year 2(8.88%) erratic changeover the years. The production of molasses was12.65 thousand tonnes in 2000-01 and 18.16thousand tonnes in 2005-06 and 53.99 thousandtonnes in 2009-10.

ConclusionSugar is the second largest agro-based

industry in India and contributes significantlyto the socio-economic development of rural

population. In 2009-10, there were 490 sugarmills in India. The States of Uttar Pradesh,Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu occupy the first,second and third places respectively in havingmore number of sugar mills. There are 42 sugarmills in Tamil nadu, of which 37 mills are inoperation, which include 15 co-operative sugarmills, 2 public sector mills, and 20 privatesector mills. The year of commissioning,crushing capacity, area under sugarcanecultivation, sugar production, sugarcanecrushed and recovery sugar in the select co-operative sugar mills have been discussed inthis paper. Even though the sugar co-operativeshave made a significant progress and havespread its tentacles to every corner of thecountry and conceivable economic activity,especially with social content, they are stillmoving with traditional outlook.

References1. Andhale, G.B (1972). Study of Impact of Co-

operative Sugar Factory on the Lives ofFarmers with Special Reference to SangamerBhag Sahakari Sakhar Carkhana,Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis Submitted toMahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeet, Rahuri.

2. Jain, A.P (1956). Foreword to Growers ownCo-operative Sugar Factories, New Delhi:Ministry of Food and Agriculture,Government of India.

3. Kharche, R (1989). Sugar Co-operatives inDeveloping Economy, Aurangabad: ParimalPrakashan, pp.25-26.

4. Report of the All India Conference of Co-operative Sugar Factories,

Organized by National Co-operativeDevelopment Corporation, New Delhi, p.24.

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EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: A BEST PRACTICE FOR A COMPETITIVEADVANTAGE

K.Sreekanth,Research Scholar,Dr.A.R.Aryasri,

Professor & Director,School of Management Studies,

JNTU Hyderabad, Kukatpally, Hyderabad – 500085.ABSTRACT

In the present competitive world, the companies are facing lot of skill shortage, talent crunch andattrition. Of late the companies have been realizing that the internal customer is also more importantequally with external customer.This paper tries to review the practices of five best companies thathave world class practices of Employee engagement. Those companies are of Google, Vertex, HCLinfo systems, Sun micro systems and SAP Labs India.

Keywords: Employee Engagement, Organization, Practice, competitive advantage

IntroductionIn the Present competitive world what was

common Business practice 10 years ago is nowantiquated and what was once seen as groundbreaking is now viewed as the minimumstandard.

Innovative Business practices adopted byorganizations should build competencies andcapabilities for winning performances today.

When organizations think about designinga Best practice for competitive advantage,Organizations should focus on practice ofEmployee Engagement. Effectively engagingthe employees in the organization leads to acompetitive advantage for any organization.

Employee engagement means

motivating the employees so that they areenthusiastic about the work they do and as aresult they are more productive.

Managing the Organization can bedemanding, but when the finest Businesspractices like Employee engagement areimplemented, there will be lesser problems toface and the company will prosper.What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is a partnershipbetween an organization and its employeeswhere both of them works together to achievethe business objectives of the company and thepersonal aspirations of the employees.

The three basic aspects of employeeengagement are the employee, employer andthe interaction between them.



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Today most organizations realized that theemployee plays a key role in reaching the goalsof an organization. They need an ‘engagedemployee’ who is intellectually and emotionallybound with the organization, feels passionatelyabout its goals and is committed towards itsvalues. Thus Engagement is about motivatingemployees to do their best. An engagedemployee gives his full commitment andcontributes towards the organization goals.

Employee engagement is a barometer thatdetermines the association of a person with theorganization. An Engaged employeards theorganization goals.e develops a sense ofbelongingness and a strong bond with theorganization by which he creates wonders in theperformance and it will create a ripple effect thatresults in a positively charged atmosphere in theorganization. An Engaged employee goes theextra mile beyond the basic job responsibilityand takes responsibility on shoulders to takeorganization ahead.Why Employee Engagement?

Today Organizations are facingrevolutionary trends accelerating productchanges, technological changes, globalcompetition, deregulation, demographicchanges etc. These trends have dramaticallyincreased the degree of competition in virtuallyall industries and forcing organizations to copewith unprecedented product innovation andtechnological change. Organizations in such anenvironment need employee support andimplementation of certain best practices likeEmployee engagement for competitiveadvantage.

Employees who are fully engagedare deemed to be enthusiastic about their work,care about the future of the company and arewilling to do work for helping the organizationto achieve its goals. If followed, employeeengagement can pay real dividends for the

organization. Enhanced employee engagementcan favorably contribute to the achievement oforganization’s mission and goals.

Benefits of Employee Engagementpractice

Employee engagement is the level ofcommitment and involvement of an employeehas with the organization. An engagedemployee is completely aware of the businessin any context and has a positive attitudetowards other employees and the organization.

Money was a prime motivator for ‘starters’,but for those into their third or fourth jobs, theirvalue-addition to the organization was moreimportant. If the work is more challenging,responsible and enthusiastic, the employeeswill become more engaged towards theorganization.

Engagement demands that both employersand employees be fully engaged and commitfor mutual growth. The essence of engagementis that it provides a positive environment whereemployees can freely contribute their energy,efforts and processes in a way that it matchesthe goals of the organization.

The effects of employee engagement canbe mostly seen on employee productivity,retentions and recruitment policies. Accordingto studies, highly engaged employees are twiceas likely to be high performers. Some benefitsof Employee engagement are of following Right employees get recognized for their

performance. Increases job satisfaction Passion, commitment and alignment are

built with the organization’s strategies Attracts and retains the Talent employees Organizations better response to

opportunities and threats Enhanced out box thinking Trust will increase between employees and

Management.

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Reduces Employee turn over creates a Healthy competition Customer satisfaction levels will increase and Positive results will be reflected in the bottom

line, the value of shares, and the return oninvestment.

ConclusionThe study on the Employee engagement

practices in five best companies reveals thatevery organization need to devise Employeeengagement practices to attract and retain besttalent in the market . The Practices of theorganization will determine the fate of theorganization whether to run in the race or beleft behind in competition.

The study reveals that EmployeeEngagement is a best practice that helpsOrganizations to work towards achieving aperformance driven culture by creating apositive atmosphere where employees are ableto perform to their full potential for competitiveadvantage.

References: Jyothsna bhatnagar & Somendubiswas,”

Predictors and outcomes of employeeengagement: Implications for the resource-based view perspective,Vol.46, Indianjournal of Industrial relations,October,2010

Jackw.wiley,”The impact of effectiveleadership on Employee Engagement”,wileyperiodicals,2010

Theresa M .Welbourne,”Employee

engagement:Beyond the Fad and into theExecutive suite’, Spring,2007

Peterblausten,”Keep your focus onengagement”HR magazine,Janauary,2009

A.Shimazu,”Work engagement injapan:Validation of japan version of theUtrecht work engagement scale,”2008,Authors, Journal compilation

Reeshad s dalal, Bradely JBrummel,Sareena wee and Lisa L. Thomas,”Defining Employee engagement forproductive research and practice”, Industrialorganizational Pscyhology,2008

Angle H.L. and Perry J.L., “An EmpiricalAssessment of Organizational Commitmentand Organizational Effectiveness,”Administrative Science Quarterly, 26 (1), 1-13 (1981).

Beer M., Spector B., Lawrence P., QuinnM. and Walton R.E., Managing HumanAssets, New York, The Free Press (1984).

Buckingham M. and Coffman C, First BreakAll the Rules, What the World’s GreatestManagers Do Differently, Sydney,Australia,Simon & Schuster (1999).

Employee Engagement report 2011,Blessing white research

HRM in Global Scenario : Practices andStrategies for Competitive Success - S KBhatia

Management in action : motivatingemployees by Daniel kehoe, Tatamcgrawhill

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A CRITICAL STUDY ON ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INDIANFLORICULTURE INDUSTRY

T.ThamizhvananAssistant Professor of Economics,

Govt. Arts College (A), Kumbakonam. ABSTRACT

The floral industry today has grown too much larger proportions and offers a wide scopefor growth and profits. Worldwide more than 140 countries are involved in commercial Floriculture.The leading flower producing country in the world is Netherlands and Germany is the biggestimporter of flowers. In India, Floriculture industry comprises flower trade, production of nurseryplants and potted plants, seed and bulb production, micro propagation and extraction of essentialoils. Though the annual domestic demand for the flowers is growing at a rate of over 25% andinternational demand at around Rs.90,000 crore India’s share in international market of flowersis negligible.

Key Words: Floriculture, Liberalization, Trade, Government of India & CultivationIntroduction

India has an ancient heritage when itcomes to floriculture. It has grown flowers forvarious purposes ranging from aesthetic tosocial and religious. However, commercialfloriculture has been of recent origin. Aconsistent increase in demand for cut and pottedflowers has made floriculture as one of theimportant commercial trades in Indianagriculture. Emphasis has been shifting fromtraditional flowers to cut flowers for exportpurposes. The liberalization of economy since1991 has given an impetus to the Indianentrepreneurs for establishing export orientedfloriculture unit under controlled climaticconditions. Availability of skilled manpower arefactors that are beneficial for the growth anddevelopment of this sector in to a potential

earner of foreign exchange This paper isdiscussed in Economic impact of floricultureIndia in the view of various angle.

Objectives To study the present position of floriculture

development in india. To study the export constraints of

floriculture industry in india. To suggests certain remedial measures to

solve the problems of floriculture industryin india.

To analyses the employment & incomegeneration of floriculture buries

MethodologyThe study is mainly based on

secondary data taken from the reputed



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published sources like Economic surveyvarious books Reports, Journals, News Papers,Magazines and statistical hand book.

Production ScenarioIn 2001-02, the total area under

floriculture cultivation was estimated to be1,06,000 ha. With an estimated production of5,35,000 MT of loose flowers and about 2,565million (numbers) of cut flowers. Maharashtra,Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana haveemerged as major floriculture centres in recenttimes. Tamil Nadu is estimated to have thehighest area under floriculture productionfollowed by karnataka, West Bengal, AndhraPradesh and Maharashtra. The focused attentionto florticulture has resulted in an increasedproduction and export. Large areas werebrought under improved cultivation, withquality planting materials, training, andinnovative technology like drip irrigation, greenhouse cultivation.

Conducive ConditionsFloriculture cultivation and exports can

create sound economic future for India. Theprospects are good for floriculture trade becauseof the following reasons: Climatic conditions are ideal during the

winter months (October to April). Low cost of inputs including labour. Strategic location to cater to major flower

consumption centres like Europe, Japan andMiddle East Countries.

High foreign exchange earning capability,20 to 30 times higher than any otheragricultural product.

Export Oriented Floriculture DevelopmentA number of Export Oriented Units

have been set up in the floriculture segment inthe last decade and half. Liberalization andthe plant, Fruits and seeds Order, 1989, alsoknown as the New Seed Policy have already

made it feasible to import planting materialof international varieties. According toAgricultural and Processed Food ProductsExport Development Authority (APEDA),more than 170 EOUs have been approved inthe sector. But many of them operate at lessthan their capacity. These units export roses,carnations, orchids, gladioli and anthodium toJapan, Netherlands, USA, Germany and FranceIndia also exports seeds, bulbs, bulbs, driedflowers, ferns, leaves and grass. Indianproducers and traders are now also sendingflowers directly to the European countriesrather than through Netherlands. With thegrowing competitiveness and fall ininternational prices, floriculture units in Indiahave been facing constraints. With redressedof the problems, the industry may turn to be aviable one earning foreign exchange. Majorityof the floriculture units are based in Southzone mainly in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,and Tamil Nadu. The domestic flowerproduction goes on increasing annually.Technical collaborations with foreigncompanies have been approved for India, inorder to increase total share in the floricultureworld trade.

Exports From IndiaFloriculture has been identified as a

thrust sector for development of exports inthe post-liberalization era. The global marketsoffer a vast potential and advantages for India.

Table -1 India’s export of Floricultureproducts over the years.

The potential is enormous which canbe exploited scientifically with of propermanagement of resources and technology.Efforts by some successful growers have

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demonstrated the feasibility entering this tradeon a very large scale. Exhibit 1:1 shows thetrend values of Indian floriculture exports tomajor importing regions of the world. Europeis the largest destination for Indian floricultureexports followed by USA, Asia, the Middle-East, Oceania and Africa. India’s floricultureindustry is growing at a compounded annualgrowth rate of about 30%, and is likely tocross Rs.8,000 crore mark by 2015. Currently,the floriculture industry in India is poised atabout Rs.3,700 crore with a share of a meager0.61% in the globle floriculture industry whichis likely to reach 0.89% by 2015.

Employment opporunities in floriculture:Flor iculture has emerged as an

important agribusiness, providing employmentopportunities and entrepreneurship in bothurban and rural areas. During the last decadethere has been a thrust on export of cutflowers. The export surplus has found of its wayinto the local market influencing people in citiesto purchase and use of flowers in their dailylivers. It has been great employmentopportunity to farmers of income generationand extended to floriculture business the world.It also offers careers in production Marketing ,export at research. On this Hand, employmentin the floriculture industry as a farm manager,plantation expert, supervisor or project co-ordinator. In addition, floriculture also providescareer opportunities in services sector whichinclude such jobs floral designers, landscapedesigners Landscape architects.

Export ConstraintsIn spite of an abundant and varied

production base, India’s export of floriculturalproduct is not encouraging .The lowperformance is attributed to many constraintslike non-availability of air space in majorairlines. The Indian floriculture industry isfacing with a number of challenges mainly

related to trade environment, infrastructureand marketing issues such as high importtariff, low availability of perishable carriers,higher freight rates and inadequate refrigeratedand transport facilities. At the production levelthe industry is faced with challenges mostlyrelated to availability of basic inputsincluding quality seeds and planting materials,efficient ir rigation system and skilledmanpower. With regard to marketing, majorchallenges faced by the Indian flowerexporters are related to low level of productdiversification, lack of professional backup,unorganized domestic market and tediousphyto-sanitary certification. In order toovercome these problems, steps must be takento reduce import duty on planting materialand equipment, reduce airfreight to areasonable level, provide sufficient cargospace in major airlines and to establish modelnurseries for supplying genuine plantingmaterial. Training centres should beestablished for training the personnel infloriculture and allied areas Exporters shouldplan and monitor effective quality controlmeasures right from production to postharvesting , storage, and transportation.

Government Incentives InitiativesThe liberalization of industrial and

trade policies paved the way for developmentof export-oriented production of cut flowers.Commercial floriculture is becoming animportant segment from the export angle.It is being viewed as a high growth segment.Government of India acknowledges thepotential of the floriculture industry and hasconferred the industry a 100% export orientedstatus. Various incentives are being offered bythe government of India, which have enabledthe setting up of a number of floriculture unitsfor producing and exporting flowers. Mostof these are located near Mumbai, Bangaloreand Delhi. These units have obtained technical

15



know-how from Dutch and Israeli consultants.The new seed policy has already made itfeasible to import planting materia l ofinternational varieties. Tax benefits are offeredto new export oriented floriculture companiesin the form of incometax holidays andexemption from certain import duties. Importduties have been reduced on cut flowers,flower seeds and tissue – culture plants.Financial support upto 50% for the pre-coolingand cold storage units is available, as well asfinancial support for using improved packagingmaterial. The Agricultural and Processed FoodProducts Export Development Authority(APEDA), is responsible for export promotionand development of floriculture in India.

ConclusionFloriculture activity has a tradition

of attracting newer participants. However, onlyalert market participants are witnessingsuccess, as the product is highly perishable.The participants need to be tolerant with pricefluctuations, including intra-day pricefluctuations. Producers must invest in labour-saving techniques in order to continue makingprofits. They need to consistently deliver anattractive product of consistent quality. Qualityis paramount in the international trade offloriculture products. Many small units arefacing problems due to uneconomic returnsand high overheads leading to reorganizationand restructuring of product portfolios byentrepreneurs. However, there is ample scopefor even small and marginal entrepreneurs toexploit the global demand of flowers withimprovements in quality of planting material,infrastructure, tra ining programmes inproduction, harvesting and post – harvestmanagement techniques backed by adequatemarketing support.

References:Abraham, V.K, (2002). The International

Conference on Commercial Floriculture,Summary Report, 11-12 August, Bangalore.

Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd.(1999). Development of Horticultural ExportsFrom Karnataka. Mumbai: AFC SouthRegional Office.

Agarwal, K.G. and D.D. Duhijod (1997). AnEconomic Analysis of Winter FloricultureGrown in the Vicinity of Nagpur City ofMaharashtra. Indian Journal of AgriculturalEconomics, 52(3): 622-23.

Ajjan, N. and N. Raveendran (2002).Economics of Production and Marketing of Cutflower – Gladiolus in Nilgiri Distr ict,Tamilnadu. Plant Horti Tech, 2(4): 68-70.

Ajjan, N. and N. Raveendran (2001). AnEconomic Analysis of Production andMarketing of Cut Flowers – Carnation and inNiligiri District, Tamil Nadu. Plant Horti Tech,2(5): 53-58.

Alagumani, T.M. Anjugam and R. Rajesh(1997). Performance of Flower Crops vis-à-visField Crops in Madurai District, Tamil Nadu.Indian Journal of Agricultural

Economics, 52(3): 620-21.Ali Md. Hasrat and B.N. Banerjee (2000).

An Economic Analysis of Marketing Aspectsof Bela Flower in West Bengal – A Case Study.Agricultural Marketing, Vol. XLIII(3): 5-8.

Anonymous (1998). AP Plans Model Farmto Keep Flor iculture Units in the Pink.Economic Times, Bangalore, July 14.

Floriculture Today, July: 38. APEDA(1996). Formulation of Ninth Plan, WorkingGroup on Agricultural Exports. New Delhi:

16



A STUDY ON THE PERCEPTION OF CHILDREN TOWARDSINNOVATIVE LEARNING METHODS INCORPORATED BY KIRIYA

PUSHPA, FAMILY HELPERS PROJECT, MYSORESandhyarani, M.C

Research Scholar, DOS in Social Work, Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, Mysore.Laxmi

Associate Professor, DOS in Social Work, Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, Mysore.C.Usha Rao

Assistant Professor, DOS in Social Work, Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, Mysore.Chandramouli,H.S

Assistant Professor, DOS in Social Work, PBMM PG Centre, Mysore.ABSTRACT

Innovation is a new method introduced in learning or a creation (a new process) resultingfrom study and experimentation. It is the process by which an idea or invention is translated intoa good or service for which people will pay, or something that results from this process. Innovationinvolves deliberate application of information, imagination and initiative in driving greater ordifferent value from the resources and encompasses all processes by which new ideas are generatedand converted into useful product. This particular study focuses on the different innovative practices,which have been adopted as school intervention for the age group between 4 to 15 years as educatedand confident children, with special reference to Kiriya Pushpa Family Helpers Project, Mysore.

Key Words: School, Good Governance, Innovation, Downtrodden, knowledge base

IntroductionThere is increasing evidence that

education is a powerful instrument towardsdeveloping intellectual skills for betteradaptations and living. True education shoulddeepen our insight, widen our horizon and createa meaningful outlook, says Shri.SarvapalliRadhakrishnan, the great educationalist andphilosopher. Innovation is a new methodintroduced in learning or a creation (a newprocess) resulting from study andexperimentation. Innovation involves deliberate

application of information, imagination andinitiative in driving greater or different valuefrom the resources and encompasses allprocesses by which new ideas are generated andconverted into useful product.

Concept of Innovation:Innovation is something new, fresh and

improvement in the old view point and way ofdoing things in a new manner. Oxford EnglishDictionary (1970) defines innovation as a



17



change made. Change, however, can beincidental or accidental or planned anddeliberate and is for the better. Innovation refersto the second category of change. It may,therefore, be stated that all innovations are forchanges but all changes are not innovations. Itis an idea perceived as new by a person or agroup of persons who initiate and adopt it onthe basis of planned and deliberates efforts forthe qualitative improvement of the systemthough it may not be very new for others.According to Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary(2002) “Innovation is a new idea or method thatis being tried for the first time or the use of suchideas or methods in the latest innovations ineducation”.

Need for Innovation in EducationEducation, by and large, suffers

basically from the gap between its content andthe living experience of its pupils. Educationin its real sense should prepare pupils to facethe multifarious challenges that they are boundto face in the society. The growing complexityof the world demands education to provide mapsof a world in constant turmoil and compassesthat will enable people to find their way in it.

In this view of the future, traditionalresponses to the demand for education that areessentially quantitative and knowledge-basedare no longer appropriate. It is not enough tosupply each child early in life with a store ofknowledge to be drawn on from then on. Eachindividual must be equipped to seize learningopportunities throughout life, both to broadenher/his knowledge, skills and attitudes and toadapt to a changing, complex andinterdependent world.

Profile of Kiriya Pushpa, Family HelpersProject, Mysore:

The Kiriyapushpa a Non-Governmentalorganization started its work as early as in 1982and focused on the upliftment of children of

slum areas. The main objective is to achievethe economic independence of women livingin slum areas as well as to make their childrenliterate. Kiriyapushpa has covered 1674children from 18 slums in Mysore city.Children living in the slum areas are vulnerablein every aspect of life. Focusing on the wellbeing of these children the Kiriyapushpaconducts many activities for slum children.They are Skill Improvement & ReadingImprovement Program (SIP & RIP), ChildClub, Dream Corner and Holiday Camps arethe platform where the various activities areconducted.

Skill Improvement in Mathematics &Reading Improvement Programme (SIM& RIP):

Kiriyapushpa conducts SIP & RIPprogrammes in identified schools whichincludes both private and Government schoolssituated in and around slum areas. 20 schoolswith 520 children from these schools werecovered under this programme till date. It alsoidentified school drop outs and brought themback to the schools through counseling. TheRI Programme covers the activities like wordcard, sentence card and stray card readingprogrammes which will be given to thechildren. The children who are not able to readand identify the word, sentence in the card willbe given special classes after the school hour.Permission from the school was obtained toidentify these students. The classes will betaken up in the premises of the school from 2pmto 3pm. There are special teachers recruitedby the kiriyapushpa with qualification of B.Edand D.Ed to teach the slow learners.

Child Club:The child club is another program

which aims at bringing out the hidden talentsof children. The club conducts activities likeQuiz, pick and speech, and other competitions

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to showcase the ta lents of children.Kiriyapushpa has started 20 child clubs in itsworking areas covering nearly 394 childrenbelonging to the age group up to 16 years. Thechild club works on weekly and holds meeting.The children select their own leader and nametheir club. In the club they identify and discusstheir own area or community problems as wellas they try to find out the solution throughbringing this problem to the notice ofPanchayath leaders seeking necessary action.

Dream CornerDream corner is one of the effective

programs run by the Kiriyapushpa covering 20centers with 204 children. Dream corner worksduring evening from 5pm to 7pm, weekly 5days.This is a place for extracurricular activities forthe children to explore their talents. Childrendo attend Dream Corner regularly the due tovarious reasons. Since these children from slumareas and no support by the parents regardingtheir education, disturbance by the drunkenfather, lack of electricity power at home, societaldisturbance are the some of the problems thatforce the children to attend the Dream Corner.In the dream corner, children will be given withnewspapers, story books, drawing - painting andtraining on sports and games to develop theirknowledge as well as physical activity. The aimof building this dream corner is to meet thedream of the child. Each child will be havingits own potential, and this potential has to bemet as early as possible. So dream corner isone of such centre where the dream of each childwill be flourished through nourishment by theteachers. Through the activity the confidencelevel of the children will develop.

Guest lecture was organized for thebenefit of these children on the topic ChildRights Act 2005. Competition was also tookplace on greeting card making, painting - threadpainting, rangoli, crafts and drawing. Childrenwere engaged with indoor and outdoor games.

Indoor games and outdoor games like carom,chess, business games, police and thief, hit andrun and cricket respectively. These indoorgames develop the IQ level of the children.They are engaged with other cultural activitieslike dance, singing, folk songs, dancing withsticks, drama all these help them to developconfidence.

Holiday campsHoliday camps work during summer

holidays. These camps cover 556 children. Inthe holiday camps children will be providedwith entertainment and fun through TV shows– cartoons, story plays etc. It includes indoorand outdoor games, dance, singing, drawing andpainting. It works from 10am to 3pm childrenenjoy themselves with all these activities.

Objectives of the study To analyze the learning methods practiced

by the Kiriya Pushpa for children To study the effectiveness of these

innovative practices on the children

Research methodologyThe researcher has used descriptive research

design. The aim is to describe the innovativelearning methods practiced for the benefit ofthe children. The universe of the study is KiriyaPushpa, Family Helpers Project, Mysore whichcovers the total number of children around 1674children. Out of 1674 children 165 wereselected for the study which constitutes 10%of the universe (both male and female children).Stratified random sampling technique was usedto identify the sample. A self prepared interviewschedule was used to collect pertinent data fromthe children. Secondary data was collectedthrough books, journals and website.

Analysis and InterpretationThe data has been tabulated,

interpreted and presented in the tabular. Thedata have been drawn from the interview

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schedules which were used as testing tools. Thevariables covered include age, gender and theirinterest in different learning methods.

Table 1 Age Wise Cross Tabulation of theChildren according to activities

Source: Field Survey Note: Numbersin brackets represent percentage.

The above table presents the age distributionof children according to the activities. It wasfound that out of 165 children, more numbersof children (between 10 to 12 years) wereinvolved in all the activities compared to 7 to 9years and 13 to 15 years of the children.

Table 2 Gender wise and school type Crosstabulation of children according to the activities

Source: Field Survey Note: Numbers inbrackets represent percentage.

The above table presents the gender and thetype of school. The above table shows that morenumbers of children were engaged fromgovernment schools compared to privateschools. It is also clear from the above tablethat more number of females were involved inall the activities compared to males.

Table 3 Cross tabulation showing changesbefore and after joining SIM & RIP


The above table gives responses of the

impact of the program on the children beforeand after joining SIM & RIP. It was found thatout of 50 children (respondents) 94% said thattheir academic performance was average beforethey joined SIM & RIP compared to 3 % whosaid that their performance was good. It wasalso found that 88% of them said that theiracademic performance is good after joiningSIM & RIP compared to 12%

Table 4 Cross tabulation for methods usedto teach difficult subject under SIM andRIP

Source: Field Survey Note: Numbers in brackets representpercentage.

The above table shows various methodsused to teach difficult subjects under SIM &RIP. The above table shows that more numberof students said that most of the teachers usedor use word card compared to stones and sticks.

Table 5 The table showing the issuesdiscussed and solution brought


The above table presents responsesregarding issues discussed by the respondentsand the solution sought. Out of 40 respondents 58%of the respondents said that they discussed area/

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community problem as well as they have broughtpossible measure to overcome problems comparedto the respondents who said that they have notdiscussed area/community problem as well as theyhave brought possible measure to overcomeproblems

Major Findings Majority of the respondents (74%) between

the age group of 10 yrs to 12 yrs are part ofthe program.

Majority of the respondents (77%) are fromGovernment school

Majority of the respondents (65%) areFemale children

Majority of the respondents (88%) have saidthat they have become good after attendingto the classes.

Majority of the respondents (36%) said thatmathematics found to be more difficult thanany other subject

Majority of the respondents (55%) said thatthe teacher use word card to make themunderstand the difficult subject easily.

Majority of the respondents (58%) said thatthey discuss the problems of their owncommunity in the club and brought possiblesolution to it.

Majority of the respondents (45%) said thatthey have chosen dream corner which issuitable place for accomplishing their dreamsand academic achievement due todisturbance at home.

Majority of the respondents (41.8%) havepreferred holiday camp to enjoy all theactivities.

Suggestion Involving the trained teacher or imparting

refresher course to the teachers at least oncein a year to become more efficient and tomake the children to understand the difficultsubject

Introducing more and more innovativelearning methods and learning through them

Covering more number of children to discussthe problem of their own community in thechild clubs so that enhancing the problemsolving capacity among them.

Appointment of Special teachers to teach thechildren activities like drama, singing, crafts,

sports, drawing to make the children sustainat least in their own fields.

Compulsory follow-up to the school by thementors, to check the performance of thechildren

Appointment of social workers to avail thecounseling services to the children who areslow learners.

ConclusionAs far as human beings are concerned

there is a creative urge in all human beings, buta child is more creative than an adult becausehe/she is curious, imaginative and original.This originality has to be identified by theteachers through intervention strategies foroverall development of the children, stressingtheir specific skills and needs.References Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary (2002): Cambridge

University Press. D.C Joshi (1980): Management of an Innovation: A case

of school for a planned change. Journal of IndianEducation, 5 (2), 8-14.

H.S Bhola, (1980): Ibid J. Adair, (1990): The Challenge of Innovation.

England: the Talbot Adair Press. M.T Richard, (1965): Seminar and conference for all

the implementation of educational innovations. SantaMonica – California System Development

Miles, M.B (1964): Innovations in Education. NewYork: Teacher College Press.

P.S Balasubramanian., (1979): A Critical Study of theStrategies adopted for the installation of Innovationsin High Schools in Vellore (Tamil Nadu), Ph.D. Edu.M.S.University of Baroda.

Pant, Madhu., (1994): Creativity and teaching theYoung Child”, Journal of Indian Council ChildWelfare, I (3&4), 60-65

S. Pathak. (2004): Innovations towards InstructionalSetting for Development of Creativity in SchoolChildren, GCERT, Gandhinagar.

Subbarao (1967): An enquiry into the factors thatcontribute to the promotion/inhibition of educationalinnovations. Ph. D Edu. S.P.University

Verma, Anjali., (2012): Innovative TeachingStrategies – The Role of a Pre-School Teacher,Navtika Journal, VIII (1) 62-68.

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A STUDY ON CUSTOMERS’ EXPECTATION IN POSTAL SERVICESREFERENCE TO SALEM DISTRICT

Dr.G.Thangapandi,Associate Professor of Commerce,

Muthayammal College of Arts & ScienceRasipuram, Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu

ABSTRACT

The Indian economy has moved on to a high economic growth trajectory involving an averageannual growth rate of about 6% over the last 16 years with further acceleration in recent years.As the courier services are managed by private people, they work with a competitive spirit. Theymanage to attract the attention and confidence of the common man and at present various courierservices are thriving very well at the cost of government postal services. The India Post which tillrecently reigned supreme throughout India is now undergoing setbacks not because of itsincompetence but because of so many other reasons.

Key words: Postal, Expectation,Friendly approach, Communication, IT enabled.Introduction

An efficient and reliableCommunication network is the lifeline of thenation which plays a crucial role in the socio –economic development and the integration ofthe country. For nearly a century and half, thepostal system has been the main component ofthe communication infrastructure for thecountry. The Indian economy has moved on toa high economic growth trajectory involving anaverage annual growth rate of about 6% overthe last 16 years with further acceleration inrecent years. India post requires a new policyframework because of the emergence of severalsignificant trends such as liberalization andGlobalization, demographic shift towardsurbanization leading to increasing internal and

external migration requiring to be serviced.Given the need for a strong communication andfinancial infrastructure, India post will meetboth challenges and avail of the opportunitiespresented by current market conditions

As the courier services are managed byprivate people, they work with a competitivespirit. They manage to attract the attention andconfidence of the common man and at presentvarious courier services are thriving very wellat the cost of government postal services. Oneadvantage of the courier services is that theycan modify their rules, regulations and chargesto suit the needs of the time and persons.Because of the severe competition posed by thecourier services, the postal department hasstarted incurring revenue losses. Therefore



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there is an urgent necessity to undertake a studyof this nature. More over, the impact ofInformation and Communication Technologyon India Post is another area of concern.

Statement of the ProblemThe India Post which till recently

reigned supreme throughout India is nowundergoing setbacks not because of itsincompetence but because of so many otherreasons. The Indian postal services have beendoing a wonderful service to the society,particularly to the common man as the onlymeans of cheap communication. Post cards,envelopes, money orders etc., were deliveredpromptly at cheap rates. It enjoyed monopolyin the sale of post cards, envelopes and stamps.But, during the course of the last 10 years, manyprivate courier services have sprung up andthese pose great challenge to India Post.

Objectives of the Study The study has been made with the

following set of objectives: To analyse the opinion of the customer

expectation regarding postal services. To offer suggestions for the improvement

of postal services offered by India post.

MethodologyThe study is both a descriptive and

analytical one and it was carried out throughsampling. The primary data have been collecteddirectly from the post offices of Salem westdivision in Salem District and the customers ofpost offices through a pretested interviewschedule. The Secondary data have beencollected from the published documents like,Annual reports, Information booklets, Handbook of postal products and services, Handbooks of postal Training College and otherrelevant books and journals. The sampling wasdone in customers, 15% of the total number ofpost offices was chosen. This comes to around

38 post offices which were rounded off to 40for arithmetic convenience. In the third stage,out of the 40 post offices identified, 10customers from each post office were randomlychosen. The field work of this study wasconducted during the period of January 2012and April 2012. The data were collectedthrough a pre-tested interview schedule. Forthe study, descriptive statistics namely,Percentages, Mean and standard deviation wereused to understand the nature of the sample.Kendall’s co-efficient was used for ordinal typeof data (ranked data) to find out the similarityamong the respondents in ordering the item.

Customers’ ExpectationCustomer satisfaction, a business term, is a

measure of how products and services suppliedby a post office to meet or surpass customerexpectation. The following table 4.6 describesthe customers’ expectation from the post office.

Table – 1 Customers’ Expectation - Ranks

Source: Primary dataThe table indicates the customers’

expectation. 91 percent of the postmaster gavefirst rank for ‘Friendly Approach’ followed by83.5 percent of them gave second rank for‘Immediate Response’, 92 percent of them gavethird rank for ‘ Quality’, Timings (fourth rank)and IT enabled services (fifth rank) were theother expectations of the customers.

Kendall’s Coefficient of ConcordanceKendall’s Coefficient of concordance

(W) was applied to find out the extent ofsimilarity among the respondents in assigning

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the ranks to the given items. The value of Wvaries between 0 and 1. Higher the value of Whigher will be the similarity among respondentsin assigning the ranks.

Table – 2 Customers’ Expectation - Kendall’s W

Source: Primary data

Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance

Kendall’s W .787

Looking at the above table, it was seen that,there was higher level of similarity among therespondents in assigning the ranks to the fiveitems for finding the customers’ expectation.The respondents were asked to assign ranks bygiving rank 1 to the most preferred item andrank 2 to the next most preferred item and likewise the least preferred item, a rank of 5.Looking at the mean ranks, it could beunderstood that the highest preference was givento the ‘Friendly approach’ and the lowestpreference was given to ‘IT enabled services’and ‘Timing ’. The moderate level ofpreferences was given to ‘Quality’ and‘Immediate Response’.

Suggestions Any institution will not be able to

function effectively if required minimum man-power is not available. At present, in the postaldepartment, dearth of man power is great. Thiscondition should be corrected by appointingsuitable qualified persons.

The customer should be consideredthe most valuable element in the business planfor individual postal products. Ensuring timely

and quality service to the customers is the pre-requisite for retaining the present market shareof the India Post. For this, certain servicestandards have to be fixed and monitoring ofdelivery has to be ensured. Networked hand-held digital devices could be developed to becarried by Postmen/Postal staff to enable notonly delivery of articles and intimation of theirstatus in real time, but also for booking ofarticles. A policy of allotting exclusive pincodes to bulk mailers could also be followedwhich will increase the customer base inaddition to cutting cost for Department of post.

Conclusion The study found that, for India Post,

there is no alternative than to leverage itsinfrastructure, trust and related services into amuch larger role in e-commerce and e-government. To be successful in Competitionwith other (private) competitors, it must beready to offer high-quality IT – related services.

Reference1. Avadhani V.A, “Investment Management”

Himalaya Publishing House, First, Edition,New Delhi, 1996.

2. Grolier incorporation, EncyclopediaAmericana, Volume 22. USA, 1984.

3. Charles Bravo, “United States PostalService’s Environmental Strategy ofLeadership and Compliance”,Environmental Management Policy,Engineering, United States Postal Service,75L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC20260-2810, USA, 2008.

4. Chris Nicholson, “Access Pricing incompetitive postal services”, mnoGo search,2008.

5. Crew, Michael A & Kleindorfer, Paul R &Smith, Marc A, “Peak-Load Pricing in PostalServices”, mnoGo Search, 1990.

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APPLICATION OF RS AND GIS FOR LAND USE/LAND COVERMAPPING& ENVIRONMENT CHANGE DETECTION IN MADURAI

DIST,TNS.Muthu Meenakshi,

Research ScholarDr .A.Sundram

Senior Professor & Head ,Department of Solar Energy/Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai-625021

ABSTRACT

The present study was focused on demarcating boundaries of different land use/land cover unitsfrom an analysis of different types of color registrations of land use/land cover units from satelli teimagery. Based on visual image interpretation techniques, author divides the study area into forest,Land under cultivation, Land not suitable for cultivation, Land not available for cultivation classes.This study evaluates the effectiveness of High-Resolution satellite data and computer aided GIStechniques in assessing the land use change dynamics with in the study area Madurai District,from 1995 to 2005. Satellite images were used for the year 1995 and 2005 at scale 1:50000.

Key Words: Land Cover Mapping, Land Form, Topography, Geomorphic

IntroductionLand use and land cover change means

quantitative changes in areal extend (increase ordecrease) of a given type of land use or land coverrespectively. The detection and measurement ofchange depends on the spatial scale; higher thespatial level of detail, larger the changes in arealextent of land use and land cover which can bedetected and recorded. In case of land cover as wellas land use, the meaning and conceptualization ofchange is much broader. Change could be becauseof conversion or modification. In case of land coverchange, conversion involves. Conversion from onetype of use to another i.e. changes in the mix andpattern of land uses in an area.

Major Sectors for Land use and Landcover change

The “determinants” or “driving forces”or “Sectors” of land use change are in generalbelonging either to bio-physical or socio-economic categories. The bio-physical sectorsinclude characteristics and processes of thenatural environment such as weather and climatevariables, landform, topography, geomorphicprocesses, volcanic eruptions, plant succession,soil types and processes, drainage patterns,availability of natural resources. The socio-economic sectors comprise demographic, social,economic, political and institutional factors andprocesses such as population, population



25



change, industrial structure and change,technology and technological change, thefamily, the market, various public sector bodiesand the related policies and rules, values,community organization and norms, propertyregime.It is important to note that bio-physicaldrivers do not cause land use change directly.They do cause land cover change which, in turn,may influence land use decisions. Land usechange may result in land cover changes. In thiscontext, human driving forces, human mitigatingforces and proximate driving forces are of muchimportance. Proximate driving sources are theaggregate final activities that result from theinterplay of human driving and mitigating forcesto directly cause environmental transformationseither through the use of natural resources,through the use of space, through the output ofwaste or through the out put of products that inthem affect the environment. Some of theexamples of proximate sources of change arebiomass burning, fertilizer applications, speciestransfer, plowing, irrigation, drainage, livestock,pasture improvement etc.

Aims:(1) Analysis and Management of Evaluating

Resource and impact of human dimensionon land use land cover change.

(2) Projecting future land use / land coverscenarios using appropriate models.

Objectives:In order to arrive at the above aims, following

objectives have been set three:1. To generate land use / land cover database

with uniform classification scheme for 1995and 2005 using satellite data at 1: 250,000scale.

2. To create database on demographic, socio-economic, infrastructure parameters.

3. To integrate demographic, socio-economic,infrastructure parameters and minimum coreclimate.

Study area location:The District lies between 10°25’ and 9°65’

north latitude and 77 ° 48’ and 78° 35’ eastlongitude. The total geographical area of thedistrict is about 3715sq.km. Madurai Districtconsists of Seven Taluks, namely 1.Madurainorth, 2.Madurai south, 3.Vadipatti, 4.Melur,5.Thirumangalam, 6.Peraiyur and .Usilampatti.The Madurai District is divided into 13 Blocks.

Materials and MethodsImage interpretation can be carried out in

two most popular ways e.g. Digital Analysisand Visual interpretation.During digitalclassification process training areas for differentclasses are defined on to the satellite imageryon spectral response pattern in different spectralbands is generated. Based on these trainingareas satellite imagery is classified into differentclasses using parametric or non parametricclassifiers. Digital analysis is fast and outputimage is raster, which simpler in structure butbig in size. Masks are often used for improvingthe classification of known areas.

This portion details the description ofdifferent steps need to be followed duringanalysis of Land Use Land Cover using twotemporal data of LISS -I and LISS -III. Themethodology essentially is based on on-screenI head’s up interpretation using imageinterpretation keys. Semi automated approachcan also be considered while analyzing fewcategories at local level.

In onscreen visual interpretation theimagery is displayed onto a computer screen(normally as FCC) and intended classes aredelineated based on image interpretationelements, ancillary and legacy data. Resultantoutput from this will be vector format, whichsupports complex GIS analysis and has smallerfile size.

MethodologyThe geo-corrected satellite data of IRS-

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LISS-I and IRS-LISS-III for pre monsoon theperiod 1995 and 2005 will be utilized in orderto understand the determination of land use/ landcover change. The land use / land cover mapsgenerated for the period 2005 at 1:50,000 scaleswill be harmonized at 1: 250, 000 scales. Duringthe process of harmonization, the polygons inthe vector layer of master map (LULC map forthe period 2005 at 1: 50,000 scale) will beresample in view the minimum mapable area at1: 250,000 scale which is 56.25 ha. Thus,polygons smaller than 56.25 ha will be dissolvedwith the adjoining polygons so as to generatethe map at 1: 250,000 scale.Land Use/Land Cover:

Land use refers to ‘man’s activities andthe various uses which are carried on land’.Land cover refers to ‘natural vegetation, waterbodies, rock/soil, etc. Although land use isgenerally inferred based on the cover,yet boththe terms are related and interchangeable.

Categories that are enlisted under Level 1contain broad land use/land cover classes thatcan be delineated using a coarser resolutionsatellite image with minimal assistance fromsupplemental information, at 1:1000000 scale.

Such information is useful for general planningpurposes when detailed information is notmandatory. Built-up land, agricultural land,forest, wasteland, water bodies coastal landsand others comprise the land use/land covercategories.

Classification scheme :Land use and land cover are not

equivalent although they may overlap. Landcover is the physical state of the earth’s surfaceand immediate subsurface. In other words,Land cover describes the physical state of theland surface: as cropland, mountain or forests.

Moser (1996) noted that the term – landcover originally referred to the type ofvegetation that covered land surface, but hasbroadened subsequently to include humanstructures, such as buildings or pavement, andother aspects of the physical environment, suchas soils, biodiversity, surfaces and groundwater. Briefly, land use denotes the humanemployment of land. Activities which aredirectly related to land, making use of itsresources or having an impact on them.

International Geosphere-BiosphereProgram (IGBP) has accordingly released a

LANDUSELANDCOVER 2005(HA) 1995(HA) 2005% 1995% ChangeBarren Land 1391 2298 0.62 0.37 0.25Built-up 13615 5406 3.66 1.45 2.21Crop Land 99675 94738 26.83 25.50 1.33Dense Forest 9985 13025 2.69 3.51 -0.82Evergreen Forest 6203 2770 1.67 0.75 0.92Fellow Land 68423 111897 18.42 30.12 -11.7Moderate Forest 3661 6476 0.99 1.74 -0.75Plantation 98542 30299 26.52 8.15 18.37Scrub Land 43942 70506 11.83 18.98 -7.15Water Bodies 23485 22926 6.32 6.17 0.15Waste Land 1724 12120 0.46 3.26 -2.8TOTAL 370714 370714 100.00 100.00

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classification scheme for Land Use Land coverChange studies. The classification schemeadopted for the present paper is in the IGBPscheme for implementation at 1:250,000 scale.Table1.Gives the LULC classification schemefor the paper.

Table1.Area covered by various - Land Useand Land Cover classes during 1995 &2005

Accuracy assessment: In order to knowhow accurate the map is for use, the accuracyof the map generated can be determined in thefollowing manner after collecting the groundsurvey. While conducting the ground survey,care must be taken to ensure that the groundmeasurements are based on the entire mappedpolygon or some subset of that polygon withthe understanding that the subset will be usedas a surrogate for the entire mapped polygon.At this point in the analysis, we will have samplepoints with ground reference data and originalmap. The sample point observations can beintegrated in the following ways, so as to findout that the real world observation is similar tothe mapped observations.

The calculation of Kappa coefficient is asfollows:

Table2. Variation Land Use and LandCover classes

The Methodology followed for thispaper is described in the previous chapter.Multispectral satellite data for 1995 (IRS-1BLISS-1) and 2005 (IRS P6 LISS-III). MajorClassification of 2005 data for 6 major land useand land cover types have been carried out usinga combination of unsupervised classificationfollowed by on screen interpretation of the variousclasses for correct representation of the variousland use and land cover boundaries. This has beendone to ensure that all the land cover classes inthe study area is taken care of while interpretationof the region. using 1995 and 2005 images landuse and land cover vector layer is prepared.

Modeling land use and land cover change:The two time period data has been use to

model the land use change in ThindivanamTaluk. The 1995 and 2005 vector layer data hasbeen used to modeling.The land use changemodel used was CA- Markof model which givesa Markof’s probabilistic model of the probableland use change.The land use change from 1995to 2005 has been a result of var iousanthropogenic as well as climatic factors. Tilldate there has been little work towardsquantitative assessment of the various sectorsof land use changes. Since the assessments ofvarious socio-economic factors are qualitative,there has been at the onset to select the sectorswhich will lend themselves to statisticalevaluation. We have selected the followingsocio-economic and the environmental sectorsfor their identification and quantification

Analytical result:The Land Use and Land Cover change

which have occurred in the Madurai District aswell as the ongoing change are influenced bymainly two sectors, i.e. the anthropogenic aswell as the bio-geo-climatic sectors. Since thebio-geo climatic sectors sector are at a verycoarse spatial scale when we into account thespatial extent of a study area, so it is theanthropogenic sector which are playing a majorrole in the spatial variability in the land use andland cover changes in the region. This is doesnot means that the bio-geo –chemical factorsare non-existent, in fact bio-geochemicalfactors in association with the anthropogenic

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factors have solely responsible for the changesin the land use and land cover in the region. Asan indicator of bio-geo-chemical sector we havetaken the rainfall as the representative of sectorand the total population as the representativeof the anthropogenic pressure. It has beenobserved that in 1995 the waste lands, saltaffected area, scrub land have shown the highestlevel of correlation coefficient with respect tothe combined influence of the anthropogenicinfluence where as in 2005 the highest for cropland and built up followed by waste land scrubland and salt affected land. This is an interestingpiece of information as it gives a clear impactof the various developmental policies whichhave caused the changes in various land useand land cover.Conclusion:

During the 50yrs, demand for food bya wealthier and 50% of layer global populationwill be the major driver of global environmentalchange. Earth observations have the potentialto respond to the growing and urgent demandfor timely and accurate land cover informationover large areas. In the recent past, land covermapping form satellites has come of age.Through research on various issues regardingdata pre-processing, classification and accuracyassessment .the future research in LU/LCchange studies need to address the best way oftaking advantage of satellite derived land coverdatabases through LU\LC change modelingtechniques which provide important for studiesin the emerging areas of environmentalmonitoring, global warming climate change andhazards managements.

References: ERDAS, ERDAS Field Guide, Fourth

Edition, Revised and Expanded, ERDAS,Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, p. 35, p. 152, 153.

Congalton, R. G., 1991. A Review ofAssessing the Accuracy of Classification ofRemotely Sensed Data, Remote Sensing.Environ. 37: 35-46.

Aplin, P., Atkinson, P. M., and Curran, P. J.,1999. Fine Spatial Resolution SimulatedSatellite Sensor imagery or Land coverMapping in the UK, Remote Sensing.Environ., 68: 206-216.

S.N.Das,R.Inoke, B.R. M Rao and B.M.Singh - Journal of the Indian Society ofRemote Sensing VOL 16,NO;2,June 1988.

M Kudrat and A.K.Tiwari Journal of theIndian Society of Remote Sensing VOL18, NO; 4.

Anjireddy [2001], Remote sensing and GISBSP publication , Hydrabad

Lillsand, Thomas, Ralph. W.Kiefer[1994],Remote sensing and Image

Interpretation, 3 rd edition john widely sourNew York.

Nithya Kalyani M[1999] development ofrural settlement in Madurai Area Sabins, FF.Floyed.K [1986] ,Remote SensingPrinciples.

Interpretation 2nd edition, W.H. Freeman andCO, New

R.E.Hourseasa, D.C. Hoshale, S.S.Dhaliwal,Minakshe, P.K. Sharma,

29



INTERNET ADDICTION AND RELATIONSHIP BEHAVIOUR OFMARRIED IT PROFESSIONALS

Robin Mathew JohnMSc Applied Psychology

Dr. K. ManikandanAssociate Professor

Department of Psychology,University of Calicut , Calicut University (P.O) Kerala

ABSTRACTNowadays, many individuals are working with software industry or computer assisted works wherethey are forced to meet their target within the time limit, which makes them internet addicts. Thisinternet addiction affects family or individual relationships positively or negatively which mayleads to problems in human relation especially in family life. The purpose of this study was to findout the internet addiction and relationship behavior of IT professionals. The participants of studyconsist of 140 IT professionals. Internet Addiction Scale and Relationship Quotient Inventorywere used for data collection.Keywords: Internet Addiction, IT Professionals, Relationship Behavior.

IntroductionInternet addiction is a problematic computer

use or excessive computer use that interferes ortroubles with the daily life of internet users.Goldberg in 1995 first described thephenomenon of internet addiction. Accordingto Gawel (1998), internet addiction is definedas “when the individual using computer forpleasure, gratification or relief from stresses;feeling irritable and out of control or depressedwhen not using it and neglecting work, school,or family obligations”. Some internet users maydevelop emotional attachments to online friendsand enjoy aspects of the internet that allow themto meet, socialize and exchange ideas throughthe use of chat rooms or virtual communities,

which resulting in impairments of real liferelationships, family, academic, financial andoccupational problems.

The research has found that internetaddiction is a type of impulsive control problemand Young (1999) claims as internet addictioncan be categorized as cyber sexual addiction,cyber- relationship addiction, net compulsion,information overload and computer addiction.There have been several needs such as sexualneeds, need for altered state of consciousness,need to belong and need for relationship, thatevoke understanding of internet addictivebehaviour (Young, 1996).

For some people, the cyberspace supplementto in-person relationships. They try out with



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new ways to express themselves and types ofrelationships. For those who rely too heavilyon cyber companions to the exclusion of in-person socializing, the outcome can be lesssatisfying, disappointing, and even destructive.Internet addiction occurs when the person failsto see these problems. The excessivepreoccupation with cyberspace relationshipsoften is a preoccupation with one’s own psyche.The anonymous text-only communication ofchat and e-mail can draw out powerfultransference reactions. Transference reactionsalso can be amplified by a lack of response.

Interpersonal or intimate relationship is anassociation between two or more people thatmay range from fleeting to enduring. Arelationship is normally viewed as a connectionbetween two individuals which usually involvessome levels of interdependence. Because ofwhich, most things that impact one member willhave some level of impact on the other member.

Objectives1. To find out the correlation between internet

addiction and relationship behaviour.2. To find out the influence of internet addiction

on relationship behavior.3. To find out the association of demographic

variables with the variables under study.

Hypotheses1. There will be significant correlation between

internet addiction and relationship behavior.2. There will be significant influence of internet

addiction on relationship behavior.3. There will be significant association between

internet addiction, relationship behavior anddemographic variables.

Method

ParticipantsThe participants of this study consisted

of 140 married IT professionals working insoftware industries situated inside and outside

Kerala. To select the participants’ incidentalsampling method was used. The age of theparticipants ranged from 21-50 years. Thesample comprises of male (62.14%) andfemales (37.86%) among them 25.70% are ofage 25 and below, 45.70% are of age 26-30,17.10% are of age 31-35, 7.10% are of age 36-40 and 4.30% are of age 41 and above. Amongthe participants 55 (39.30%) are of first born,55 (39.30%) are of second born and 30participants (21.40%) are of later born. Out of140 participants 100 (71.4%) are having theirspouse employed and 40 (28.6%) withunemployed spouse. Regarding marital life 69(49.3%) participants having below 2 years ofmarried life and 71 (50.7%) with above 2 yearsof married life.

InstrumentsTo collect data from the participants,

Student Internet Addiction Test-SIAT(Sandheesh & Sam Sananda Raj, 2009) andRelationship Quotient Inventory (Jayan &Sreelatha, 2012) were used and details of theinstruments are discussed separately.1. The Student Internet Addiction Test: This

instrument consisted of 18 statements with5 possible responses for each. It is aneffective measure to assess the severity andchange over time on symptoms of Internetaddiction. The response categories of thistest is Strongly disagree (A), Disagree (B),Uncertain (C), Agree (D), Strongly agree (E)respectively. The SIAT have an inter raterreliability of .92. Cronbach Alphacoefficient was found to be .84. Theconcurrent validity of SIAT with InternetAddiction Test is 0.88. The SIAT consistedof both positive and negative statements.For positive items the scores run: 1, 2, 3, 4& 5; and 5, 4, 3, 2, & 1 for negative items.

2. Relationship Quotient Inventory: Thisinventory is measuring the relationshipbehavior of subjects and consists of 20 items

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with 6 response categories as A, B, C, D, E,and F denoting Strongly disagree, Neutral,Mildly agree, Moderately agree, Agree, andStrongly agree. Higher scores indicate highrelationship behavior and lower scoreindicates low relationship behavior. Theinventory has a Cronbach alpha coefficientof .96 and claimed to have face validity. TheRQI had a 6 point response format in which0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 scores were given for theresponse categories A, B, C, D, E, and F,respectively. The minimum possible scoreis 0 and the maximum score is 100.

ProcedureAfter getting consent from the managers of

human resource department and employees; theinstruments were distributed to the participantsthen the purpose, nature and importance of thestudy were clarified. The managers arranged afavorable environment for data collection.Assurance was given to each participant thatthe information gathered from them would beused only for research purpose and their identitywould be kept confidential. After completion,the instruments were collected back andchecked for any omissions, then scoredaccording to the scoring scheme given in themanual. The data were entered into statisticalsoftware for analysis. The statistical techniquesused in this study are correlation, one-wayANOVA and Scheffe’s F test.

Results and DiscussionTo test the first hypotheses Pearson product

moment correlation was calculated and it wasfound to be -0.36 (p<.01), implying that thereexist a negative significant correlation betweeninternet addiction and relationship behavior andindicates that when internet addiction of thesubjects increased it will result in decreasedinterpersonal/intimate relationship patterns orrelationship behavior. The result supports thefindings of Young, O’Mara and Buchanan

(1999) who reported that powerful potential toromantic and sexual relationships on-linewhich negatively impact one’s stablemarriages. Young (1996) who reported thataddictive use of the internet have a significantimpairment to family life, thus affecting theirrelationship. Blais, Craig, Pepler and Connolly(2008) found that Internet activity choiceinfluenced later relationship quality in both bestfriendships and romantic relationships. Chou,Condron and B2lland (2000) found that thehigh communication pleasure score to be a highpredictor of dependence and, aspects ofrelationship did correlate with Internetaddiction. But Grov, Gillespie, Royce andLever (2010) provides finding that men whoused the Internet moderately, and men andwomen who reported being light users, statedthat engaging in tandem online sexual activityfostered better sexual communication withpartners.

To find out the relationship pattern ofinternet addiction and relationship behavior formales and females, separate correlationbetween internet addiction and relationshipbehavior for males and females were computedand found that there exists no significantcorelation between internet addiction andrelationship behavior for male subjects. Ko,Chih-Hung, Ju, Chung, Huei, and Cheng-Fang(2005) examined gender differences and relatedfactors affecting online gaming addictionamong Taiwanese adolescents and they foundthat lower self-esteem, and lower satisfactionwith daily life were associated with moresevere addiction among males, but not amongfemales. But among females participants thecorrelation coefficient was significant (r = -.50,p< .01). Alonzo (2005) suggests that there isa significant positive relationship between thelevel of internet use and sexual intimacy asexperienced by the wife and there was asignificant negative relationship between

32



husband’s internet use and intimacy experiencedby the couples.

Influence of Internet Addiction onRelationship Behavior

To find out the influence of internet addictionon relationship behavior, the variable internetaddiction was classified into three groups as lowinternet addiction, average internet addiction andhigh internet addiction based on the principle ofMean ±1SD. This has yielded 29 (20.7%)participants to low internet addiction, 90 (64.3%)participants to average internet addiction and 21(15%) participants to high internet addictioncategory. One-way ANOVA was carried out toknow the influence of internet addiction onrelationship behavior and the results arepresented in table 1.

Table 1Summary of one-way ANOVA of

relationship behavior by internet addiction

**p<.01From the table 1, it can be seen that there is

a significant difference exist among the threegroups of internet addiction on relationshipbehavior (F(2, 137) = 8.56, p<.01). To knowwhich group makes the difference onrelationship behavior, multiple comparisons ofmeans (Scheffe’s procedure) were calculatedand presented in table 2.

Table 2Comparisons of mean scores of relationship

Behavior (Scheffe’s procedure) by internetaddition.

The results of comparisons of mean scoresof relationship behavior (Scheffe’s procedure)by internet addiction revealed that the level ofinternet addiction affects the relationshipbehaviors of high and low internet addictiongroups (F = 15.98 p < .01) and average andlow internet addiction (F = 9.83, p< .01). Thecalculated mean score of low internet addictionis 79.55, for the high internet addiction meanscore is 65.90 and for the average internetaddiction is 71.57 respectively on theirrelationship behavior. Since, the subjects areIT professional they are working with internetwhich helps them to meet their targets, so thatthey become addicted to internet which badlyaffects their relationship.

Internet Addiction, Relationship Behaviorand Demographics

To know how the demographic variables likesex, education, and duration of marriage areassociated with internet addiction andrelationship behavior, t-test and one-wayANOVA was computed separately for eachdemographic variable on internet addiction andrelationship behavior. The results are presentedin the following tables.

Table 3Mean, Standard deviation, and t value of

Relationship Behavior and Internet Addictionby Sex and Employment status

*p< .05The above table gives Mean, Standard

Deviation, and t value of internet addiction andrelationship behavior by sex and employmentstatus. From the result it can be inferred that

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there is no significant mean difference existbetween males and females on their internetaddiction (t = 1.87), and also no significantdifference between males and females onrelationship behavior (t = 1.54). The ‘t’ valueof internet addiction and relationship behaviorby employment status of their spouses indicatedthat there exist a significant mean difference inthe relationship behavior between spouseemployed and spouse unemployed (t = 2.09, p<.05) of IT professionals. At the same time, inresponse to internet addiction, there is nosignificant difference exist between spouseemployed and spouse unemployed (t = 1.36).When comparing the mean scores ofrelationship behavior of spouse employed ITprofessionals (Mean 70.94) and spouseunemployed (Mean 75.74), it can be seen thatspouse unemployed IT professionals showshigher mean score on relationship behavior thanspouse employed. This may be due to the reasonthat, the spouse employed focuses more to theircarrier than their relationship.

To know whether educational status has anysignificant influence on relationship behavior andinternet addiction, one-way ANOVA was carriedout and the results are presented in table 4.

Table 4Summary of one-way ANOVA of

Relationship Behavior and Internet Addictionby Educational Status

*p < .05One-way ANOVA revealed that there is no

significant mean different exists among the threeeducational groups (B. Tech, MBA and Others)on the relationship behavior of IT professionals.Whereas, educational status was found to be

significantly influencing the internet addictionof the IT professionals (F= 3.30, p< .05). Thismeans that educational status of the ITprofessionals is an important aspect incontrolling internet use.

To know which educational status groupmakes the difference in the internet addictionof the IT professionals, Scheffe’s ‘F’ test wasemployed and the results are presented in thetable 5.

Table 5Comparison of Mean score of Internet

Addiction (Scheffe’s procedure) by EducationalStatus

*p< .1Comparison of mean score of internet

addiction (Scheffe’s procedure) by educationalstatus, revealed that B. Tech group scored higherinternet addiction (Mean 51.59) than the other twogroups and this may be due to the reason that ITprofessionals with B.Tech qualification has moreprone to internet use while working to meet theirfixed targets. When comparing the groups meanscores of B.Tech and MBA, there existsignificant difference between B. Tech and MBAgroups on internet addiction (F=5.73, p < .1).

To know whether there is any role forduration of marriage on relationship behaviorand internet addiction of IT professionals, t-testwas employed. For this the duration of marriagewas categorized into two groups, i.e., below 2years and above 2 years groups. Then the meanscores on internet addiction and relationshipbehavior was compared between these groupsand results are presented in table 6.

Table 6Mean, SD, and t value of Relationship

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Behavior and Internet Addiction by Durationof Marriage

*p< .05The table 6 gives Mean, Standard Deviation,

and t value of internet addiction and relationshipbehavior of groups based on duration ofmarriage, and the analyses revealed that thereexist a significant mean difference (t = 1.96, p< .05) between the groups on relationshipbehavior. But there is no significant meandifference between these groups on internetaddiction. When comparing the mean scoresof relationship behavior among of the twogroups, the above 2 years (Mean = 74.39) ishigher when compared to below 2 years group(Mean = 70.29). Hence, the results indicatesthat if the marital duration is above 2 years, theirintimacy or the relationship is morestrengthened thus higher in relationshipbehavior.

ConclusionThe purpose of this study was to find out

the internet addiction and relationship behaviorof IT professionals. Hundred and forty ITprofessionals participated in this study. Internetaddiction scale and Relationship quotientinventory were used to collect data from thesubjects. The study revealed that: 1) a negativeand significant correlation between internetaddiction and relationship behavior, 2) asignificant mean difference among the threegroups (low internet addiction, average internetaddiction and high internet addiction) onrelationship behavior, and found that theaverage and low internet addiction and low andhigh internet addiction groups significantlydiffer among the categories of internet addictionon relationship behavior, 3) no significant

difference between males and females oninternet addiction and relationship behavior,4) a significant difference in the relationshipbehavior between employment status of thespouse, 5) educational status was found to besignificantly influencing the internet addictionof the IT professionals, and 6) a significantdifference between marital duration onrelationship behavior. The findings of thestudy will definitely help the counselors, ITorganization which is concerned about themental health and performance of theiremployees.

ReferencesAlonzo, A. T. (2005). A pilot study

considering the impact of husbands’ internetbased pornography use upon maritaladjustment, satisfaction and intimacy.Brigham: Brigham Young University.

Blais, J. J., Craig, W. M., Pepler, D., &Connolly, J. (2008). Adolescents Online: TheImportance of Internet Activity Choices toSalient Relationships, Journal of YouthAdolescence, 37, 522–536.

Chou, C., Condron, L., & Belland, J. C.(2000). A Review of the Research on InternetAddiction, Educational Psychology Review,17,363-388.

Gawel, G. (1998). Internet Addiction. NewJersey: Blackwell publishers.

Giordano, P. C. (1995). The wider circle offriends in adolescence. The American Journalof Sociology, 101, 661–697.

Grov, C., Gillespie, B. J., Royce, T., &Lever, R. (2010). Perceived Consequences ofCasual Online Sexual Activities onHeterosexual Relationships: A U.S. OnlineSurvey, American Sex Behavior, 40, 429–439.

Holmes, J. G. (1991). Trust and theappraisal process in close relationships,Advances in personal relationships. London:Jessica Kingsley.

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Jayan, C., & Sreelatha, N. (2009).Relationship Quotient Inventory. University ofCalicut, Department of Psychology.

Ko., Hung, C., Ju, Y., Chung, C., Huei, C.S., & Fang, C. (2005). Gender Differences andRelated Factors Affecting Online GamingAddiction among Taiwanese Adolescents,Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 193,273-277.

Levinger, G., & Snoek, J. D. (1972).Attraction in relationships: A new look atinterpersonal attraction. Morristown: GeneralLearning Press.

Niels, V., Overbeek, G., Regina, J. J. M., &Eijnden, V. (2009). Daily and compulsiveinternet use and well-being in adolescence: adiathesis-stress model based on big fivepersonality traits, Journal of youth adolescence,38, 765–776.

Niels, V., Overbeek, G., Rutger, M., &Engels, L. (2008).Daily and compulsiveinternet use and well-being in adolescence,Journal of youth adolescence, 38, 755-765.

Sandheesh, P. T., & Sam Sananda Raj, H.(2009). Students Internet Addiction Test.Trivandrum: Department of psychology,University of Kerala.

Young, K. S. (1996). Psychology ofcomputer use, Psychological Reports, 79, 899-902.

Young, K. S. (1999). Internet Addiction:Symptoms, Evaluation, and Treatment,Innovations in Clinical Practice, 17.

Young, K. S., O’Mara, J., & Buchanan, J.(1999). Cyber sex and Infidelity Online:Implications for Evaluation and Treatment,Retrieved from http://www.netaddiction.com/articles/ cyberaffairs.htni on 26/11/2011.

RESEARCH EXPLORER(A refereed Bi Annual International Research Journal on multidisciplinary)

ISSN: 2250-1940

Articles are invited from the academician, research scholars and subject expertsfor the next issue of the RESEARCH EXPLORER (July –December 2012) which will bepublished in the month of October 2012.

RESEARCH EXPLORER is an official publication of the SELP Trust. It features theoriginal research in all branches of Commerce, Business Management and othercognate branches of sufficient relevance. The manuscripts should be submittedthrough mail to the Managing Editor to [email protected] .

To facilitate an editorial decision on the acceptabi lity, or otherwise, of theirmanuscript, and to speed-up subsequent publication, authors are strongly advised toconsult the format of papers in a recent issue of Research Explorer.

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AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE PURPOSE OF LOAN ANDEMPOWERMENT OF SELF HELP GROUP MEMBERS IN THE NILGIRIS

Dr. K.Kumatha DeviHead of the Department of Commerce,Karpagam University, Coimbatore-21

Jacqueline Mary LambournePh.D. Scholar, Department Of Commerce,

Karpagam University, Coimbatore-21.ABSTRACT

The Women Self Help Groups of The Nilgiris are a success story of achievement mainly because ofthe loan factor. Internal Loans, Bank loans or Bank credit linkage, Subsidy loans and RevolvingFund loans are easily available to SHG members who take advantage of this facility to pullthemselves and their families out of dire poverty. As the role of the money lender diminishes wefind the role of the Self Help Groups rising to meet the needs of women. Women Empowerment isfast replacing suppression of women

Key words: Self Help Group, Internal Loan, Bank credit linkage, Subsidy loan, Revolving Fundloan, Empowerment.Introduction:

Micro credit is the key factor that attractsand stabilizes women members to the Self HelpGroups like bees to nectar. The SHGmembership comprises mainly of women fromthe middle and lower income groups. Thefamilies in these groups generally face afinancial struggle to meet their daily needs,education expenses, medical bills, socialrequirements and so on.

The money lenders played a dominantrole, discharging these needs with instant creditbut very high interest rates, so much so, themajor part of their earnings went straight awayto the money lender and thus followed a rotationprocess of further borrowings and repayment.

With the emergence of the Self Help GroupScheme in The Nilgiris in the 1990s, womenjoined these groups mainly to avail of the creditfacility that was easily available at cheaper ratesof interest. Self Help Group membershipensured that women also had to contributesomething in order to be shareholders in theloans that were offered to them. First of all theywere compelled to attend the trainingprogrammes that were skill oriented and thenthey were required to put their training topractice. The women got involved in the SHGway of life and slowly became entrepreneurs andgained empowerment. It is interesting to notethat empowerment is not got without hard work.



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Significance of the Study: The purpose for which SHG members

take loans is of prime importance to all creditinstitutions. It will be useful for the allocationof funds for different purposes. It will alsoprove useful for fixing interest rates. IndianBanking with its own significant history hasemerged as a dynamic system of promotingeconomic development to the Self Help Groups.The credit deployment of purpose orientedpriority sector credit covers:

(i) Credit Planning(ii) Credit Monitoring and(iii) Credit EvaluationThis empirical study can be a source for

Credit Planning, Credit Monitoring and CreditEvaluation in The Nilgiris District. TheNational Bank for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (NABARD) has been playing acatalystic role in promoting the flow of microcredit to the Self Help Groups. This study canhelp in initiating efforts to improve creditlinkage programmes in the district with bankslike the Indian Bank which has continued toremain in the forefront of the SHG credit linkagemovement and the ICICI Bank which iscommitted to promoting gender equality,empowerment and poverty alleviation throughpublic-private partnerships.

Statement of the Problem:Women have proved to be better borrowers

and re-payers of loans than men, therefore, it issad but true that women have to depend on loansfor family upliftment purposes. The SHGmovement facilitates easy loan schemes thatwomen can depend on from time to time fortheir needs. If the loan is in the name of thewoman of the house, then repayment of the loanis her problem. The man forgets about the loanas soon as the loan money reaches his hand andthe burden of repayment is the woman’sheadache. The purpose for which loans are

taken by the SHG women has been classifiedinto four – domestic needs, re-payment of debts,productive purpose and group needs. It isevident from the table given below thatdomestic needs was the highest purpose forwhich loans were taken - 638 respondents outof 1000 felt the need for loans for domesticpurpose, followed by productive purpose with243 respondents out of 1000. Domesticpurpose may include food and clothing,education, medical, housing, emergency etc.This shows that women have to depend on loansfor the family’s basic needs.

Women are traditionally suppressed.They need the awareness and support toovercome these issues to stand on par with men.Many of the women especially in tribal familieshave never handled cash or financialtransactions. Being illiterate, they have the fearof being cheated. They don’t feel secure toinvest their savings in a bank or to mobilizetheir savings. They are not allowed to voicetheir opinion or their opinion is never askedfor or their opinion does not matter.Empowerment is only a dream!

Objectives of the Study:(i) To find out the purpose for which loans were

taken by women(ii) To find out the relationship between the

purpose of loans and empowerment levelof the SHG women.

(i) To determine the socio-economic status ofthe SHG members.

Methodology:Primary data has been collected by way of

Interview Schedule Method. A sample size ofone thousand respondents has been taken fromSelf Help Group members spread over the fourtaluks of The Nilgiris District, i.e., Coonoor,Udhagamandalam, Kotagiri and Gudalur. A bi-lingual format was used and Random SamplingTechnique followed. Percentage Analysis has

38



been done along with Chi Square and Annovatools.

Problems Encountered:Illiteracy was one of the general problems.

It involved a lot of time to make the respondentsunderstand the questions. Some of them werereserved with their answers and gave falseanswers. The fear that their replies would betold to others or printed with photographs wasyet another fear of the women.

Findings:

The Purpose of Loan has been divided intofour - (a) Domestic needs, (b) Repayment ofdebts, (c) Productive purpose and (d) Groupneeds. The Empowerment level score has beenrated as Poor – 20-45; Fair – 46-60, Good 61-80 and Excellent – 81-100. The number ofrespondents was 1000 SHG members of TheNilgiris District from the four taluks of Coonoor,Udhagamandalam Kotagiri and Gudalur.

Table: purpose of loan and empowermentlevel of SHG members

The highest purpose of loan was forDomestic needs with 638 respondents out of1000 followed by Productive purpose with 243respondents out of 1000. From the above table,for the Purpose of loans taken – Domestic needs,22.6 percent had poor level, 44.2 percent hadfair, 27.1 percent had good and 6.1 percent hadexcellent level of empowerment. AmongPurpose of loans taken – Re-payment of debts,

16.7 percent had poor level, 50.0 percent hadfair level, 31.0 percent had good level and 2.4percent had excellent level of empowerment.Among Purpose of loans taken – Productivepurpose, 17.3 percent had poor level, 30.5percent had fair level, 41.2 percent had goodlevel and 11.1 percent had excellent level ofempowerment. Among Purpose of loans taken– Group needs, 11.7 percent had poor level, 49.4percent had fair level, 23.4 percent had goodlevel and 15.6 percent had excellent level ofempowerment.

Chi-Square TestHypothesis: There is no significant

relationship between the Purpose of loan andEmpowerment level of the respondent.

Result: Chi-square test was applied to findout whether there is any significant relationshipbetween Purpose of loan and Empowermentlevel of the respondent. The calculated valueof Chi-square is 41.845 which is greater thanthe table value of 21.666 at 1 percent level ofsignificance. Since the calculated value isgreater than the table value it is inferred thatthere is significant relationship between thePurpose of loan and Empowerment level of therespondent. Hence the hypothesis is notaccepted.

Anova (F-Test)Hypothesis: There is no significant

difference between the Purpose of loan and theEmpowerment level score.

Result: ANOVA test was applied to findwhether there is any significant differencebetween the Purpose of loan and theEmpowerment level score. The ANOVA resultshows that the calculated F-ratio value is 5.086which is greater than the table value of 3.801at 5 percent level of significance. It is inferredthat there is significant difference between thePurpose of loan and the Empowerment levelscore. Hence the hypothesis is not accepted.

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Suggestions:(i) Interest rates should be low for loans for

domestic needs as most women need theloans for domestic purpose.

(ii)The credit plan outlay for domestic purposeand productive purpose should be increasedto facilitate more loans for SHG women.

(iii) The Subsidy loan process can besimplified.

Conclusion: Loans are an important part of many

people’s lives and therefore, micro credit is aneffective economic catalyst for a favourableparadigm change. It is a known fact that womenare better borrowers and repayers of loans thanmen. Most number of loans taken by womenare for domestic purposes. The easy andfrequent loan schemes available to SHGs havehelped the women and families to cross overthe poverty line. Women are empowered – theyknow when and how to apply for loans, the rateof interest and the micro-credit schemes thatare available to them as SHG members. There

is Hope for millions of the vulnerable sectionsof the population and being a member of a SelfHelp Group is an added advantage for them tohave easy access to loans in times ofemergency. Loans definitely strengthen theSHGs and their empowerment process. Mostof the tribal groups said that they are self-sufficient and do not depend on loans. A lessonindeed!

Reference:“Women’s Own” – The Self Help

Movement of Tamilnadu – C.K.Gariyali andS.K.Vettivel

Devaki Jain, 2006, Women and Plans,Yojana, Vol.51, No.-12, pp.61-63

Kumar, S.S.(2011) Women Empowermentthrough Self Help Groups, Indian StreamsJournal, II(2)1-4.

www.nilgiris.nic.in/w w w . e n . w i k i p e d i a . o r g / w i k i /

Nilgiris_districtwww.nabard.orgwww.microfinance.ordwww.tn.gov.in/dtp/shg.htm

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40



INVESTOR KNOWLEDGE AND PREFERENCE TOWARDSMUTUAL FUND

Dr. M. SumathyAssociate professor in Commerce

E. Nixon AmirtharajPh.D Research Scholar,

School of Commerce, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore.ABSTRACT

India becomes the fastest growing economy of the world. Insurance and Mutual fund become importantpart of financials services in India. Mutual fund is a product for small investors, middle class peoplewho are intimidated by the stock market and also get the benefits of stock market investing. With thisinformation the researcher has made an attempt to analyse the preference of investors towards Mutualfund and the factors which are affecting the interest of the investors also.

Key words: Investor’s Preference, Mutual Fund, Investor’s Behaviour

IntroductionFor any nation saving is the important factor

for development. So many options are availablein the country. Before going to investment action,the investor must analyse the various types ofinvestments available in the market. This dependson investment policy, investment analysis,valuation of securities, Portfolio management.Investment is made up of funds collected frommany people for investing in various securities.A mutual funds’ portfolio is structured andmaintained to match the investment objectivesstated in its perspectives. The main advantageof mutual funds is that they give small investorsaccess to professionally managed, diversifiedportfolio of equities, bonds and other securities.Each shareholder participates proportionally inthe gain or loss of the fund.

Objectives Of The Study1. To identify the scheme preference of

investors2. To identify the factors those influence the

investor’s fund/scheme selection3. To identify the source of information that

influences the fund/scheme selection decision.

MethodologyThe researcher has selected 100 respondents

by convenient sampling method from in andaround Coimbatore City. The researcher has usedboth Primary and Secondary data. The Primarydata were collected from the respondents throughInterview schedule and the secondary data werecollected with the help of books, journals andwebsites. The collected data were analyzed byPercentage and Ranking method.



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Table 1 Investor’s Preferred Schemes InMutual Fund

Most of the respondents preferred EquityFund (52%) followed by Balanced Fund. Equityfunds are considered to be the more risky fundsas compared to other fund types, but they alsoprovide higher returns than other funds. Soinvestors preferred equity funds.Table 2 Investor’s Preference On VariousTypes Of Mutual Funds

From the selected respondents 26% of therespondents preferred SBI mutual fund followedby ICICI, HDFC, Reliance and FranklinTempleton.Table 3 Factors Affecting The Selection OfSchemes In Mutual Fund

Table 3 reveals that Mutual Fund industryis part of a well-regulated investmentenvironment where the interests of the investorsare protected by the regulator.Table 4 Factors Considered On SchemeSelection

Table 4 reveals that the sample respondentshave selected the scheme on the basis ofprevious performance of that particular scheme.Brand Name, Withdrawal facilities and Taxbenefits are also important factorTable 5 Sources Of Information

Table reveals that Newspapers/Magazine arethe most important source followed byWebsites. TV channels were the third preferredsource of awareness followed by Brokers.Table 6 Investor Knowledge

Table 7 represents that majority of therespondents (71%) had a moderate level ofknowledge and only 29% of the respondentshad high level of knowledge.’Conclusion

The Association of Mutual Funds in Indiahas started the investor’s awareness programmein various cities. In these programmes, financialadvisors and distributors are also being trained.UTI, ICICI Prudential, Birla Sun Life amongothers have started these kinds of awarenessprogrammes. UTI mutual fund has startedSwatantra for creating awareness about theconcepts of financial planning and benefits ofinvesting in mutual funds all over the country.References1. Chandra, Prasanna, “The investment Game”

Tata Mc.Graw-Hill publishing,2. New Delhi3. Gordon J. Alexander and Jeffrey V. Bailey,

“Investments”, (Sixth Edition, with), Prentice-Hall, 1999.

4. Gordon J. Alexander and Jeffrey V. Bailey,“Fundamentals of Investments”, (ThirdEdition, with), Prentice-Hall, 2000

5. http://www.investopedia.com6. http://www.business-standard.com7. http://www.mutualfundsindia.com

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DEVELOPMENT OF MALADJUSTMENT INVENTORYRekha B. Raveendran

Research scholar,Dept. Of Psychology, University of Calicut

Dr. S.VinodkumarCourse Director,

School of Behavioural Sciences, University of KannurABSTRACT

Maladjustment is the failure to deal adequately with problems of adaptation to physical, emotional,social, economic or occupational circumstances, events or experiences, generally leading to copingdifficulties or symptoms of stress. Maladjusted persons are always found to be isolated from others andsometimes they may become the problem makers. Development of ‘maladjustment inventory’ aimed totrace out the maladjustment from individuals and which will help them to take further actions for reducingtheir problems. This ‘maladjustment inventory’ consists of 10 variables –depression, sensitiveness,inferiority complex, anger, anxiety, ambivalence, hypochondriasis, self discrepancy, fear and frustration.This each variable consists of 15 items and thus a total of 150 items.Key words: Development, Inventory and MaladjustmentIntroduction

In this twenty-first century, it isimpossible to live without adjustment from birthto death; it is continuous with the flow of time.Every person has to adjust to changes incircumstances such as a new job, marriage,children, financial setbacks, losses, etc.Thusadjustment refers to the psychological processesthrough which people manage or cope with thedemands and challenges of everyday life(Weiten, 2004).When we fail to adjust, it meansthe failure in life. One of the recent studies ofMitrofan and Bentu (2012) also discussed aboutthe intensity of maladjustment and its influencein daily life.

Maladjusted persons are always found to be

isolated from others and sometimes they maybecome the problem makers. Development of‘maladjustment inventory’ aimed to trace outthe maladjustment from individuals and whichwill help them to take further actions forreducing their problems. According to Colman(2006), maladjustment is the failure to dealadequately with problems of adaptation tophysical, emotional, social, economic oroccupational circumstances, events orexperiences, generally leading to copingdifficulties or symptoms of stress.

Theories are very important they serve thefunction of binding together knowledge andproviding a frame work upon which moreknowledge can be built. The major models



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reviewed are moral model; which represents theoldest view-point about adjustment ormaladjustment. According to this view,adjustment or maladjustment should be judgedin terms of morality. The second model was themedico – biological model, which holds thegenetic physiological and biochemical factorsresponsible for a person being adjusted ormaladjusted to his self and his/her environment.The other models reviewed are - the psychoanalytic model, the socio genic or culturalmodel, the socio – psychological behaviouristicmodel, etc. According to a recent study ofSchatz, Smith, Borkowski, Whitman andKeough (2008), maladjustment is starting fromthe childhood itself.

Item Preparation / SelectionThere were 250 items in the primary scale;

each 10 section consisted of 25 questions, whichincludes both positive and negative items. Thescale was presented in both English andMalayalam languages. The inventory was selfadministrating in nature, in which theinstructions are printed on the first page of thescale.

AdministrationThe ‘maladjustment inventory’ was

administrated to a sample of 200 subjectsincluding both males and females belonging todifferent religions. Age specifically subjectsranged from 17-35years.

The subjects were requested to follow theprinted instructions given in the scale. Theinstructions were as given below:

“Some statements are given below. Indicatehow much you agree with each statement. Thereare five response categories. Viz., A, B, C, Dand E are given in the response sheet. ‘A’denotes ‘strongly agree’, ‘B’ denotes ‘agree’;‘C’ denotes ‘undecided’, ‘D’ denotes ‘disagree’and ‘E’ denotes ‘strongly’ disagree’. Afterreading each statements, indicate your response

with a ‘X’ mark in the response sheet at theappropriate space. Please note: select C, onlywhen you can’t say clearly whether you eitheragree or disagree with a statement. Do not omitany statement. Your response will be keptconfidential and will be used for researchpurpose only”. The inventory was selfadministering in nature.

Item Analysis‘Mathew Item Analysis Table’ (Mathew,

1982) used for item analysis. The table givesphi-coefficients (item criterion correlations)and P values (the percentage of testees makingthe keyed answer) from P values at the tails ofdistribution according to the criterion. The totalscore obtained by each individual was foundout. The answer sheets were arranged in theorder of criterion score, so as to select the top50 and bottom 50 subjects, who represent thehigh and low groups respectively.

The 50 answer sheets which have the highestscores were selected and they constitute theupper tail similarly, colleted 50 answer sheetshaving the lowest score, which formed thelower tail. For each item, counted the numberof testees who keyed the answer and calculatedthe percentage of individuals who got theanswer in each of the tail. The final percentageneeded for reading the item indices from the‘Mathew item Analysis Table’ were PU(percentage of individuals in the upper tailmaking the keyed answer and PL (percentageof individuals in the lower tail marking thekeyed answer).

By using the Mathew Item Analysis Table,phi –coefficient and P – value for each itemwas found out. The phi –coefficients of theitems varied from – 42 to 64 and P values variedfrom, -79 to 94

ScoringFor a positive item, a score of 5,4,3,2, or 1

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was given for the response A, B, C, D, or Erespectively; and for a negative item, the scoringwas in the reverse order, i.e., a score of 1, 2, 3,4, or 5 given for the response A, B, C, D, or Erespectively.

The Final ScaleItems having highest Phi coefficients and

medium P values were selected for the finalscale. The final scale included 150 items 15items in each subscale. The procedure foradministration and scoring of the final scalewere same as that of the first scale.

ReliabilityTo estimate the reliability of the test, split

half reliability method was used. The scale wasadministered to a sample of 100 subjects. Thescores obtained for odd items and even itemsobtained by each subjects were taken separatelyand its correlation was calculated. Then using‘Spearman – Brown Formula’, for correctionfor attenuation, the reliability coefficients ofeach the 10 sections of the scale were estimated.

Table.1 split-half reliability coefficients ofthe subscales of maladjustment inventory

ValidityTo test validity of the scale, the method of

‘test – retest validity’ was used. For this purposethe ‘Mathew Maladjustment Inventory’ (MMI)given to 50 of the samples of the previous testingusing ‘Maladjustment inventory’

Table.2 validity coefficients of thesubscales of maladjustment inventory

StandardisationThe standardization works done after

collecting data from samples of same age group,(17-35) which was used for the previous datacollection. After scoring, the scores werearranged according to its intervals and find outits cumulative percentages and percentiles.Percentiles of males and females were foundout separately .The percentiles were groupedinto 4, as I- group, II-group, III-group, IV-group.

The first group consist of percentiles 0-25,the individuals come under this group are highlyadjusted people, who have perfect adjustment,with highly successful and satisfactoryadaptation to their life environments.

The second group comprises of percentilesfrom 26 to 50, the individuals come under thisgroup are adjusted people. i.e., they are able toadjust to the demands of inter personalrelationships and the stresses of daily living.

The III group consists of percentiles 51-75;this group includes maladjusted individuals.i.e., people with bad or unsatisfactoryadjustment, which is inadequate for daily life.

The last group includes percentiles 76-100,which includes the highly maladjustedindividuals who are failures to deal withproblems of adaptation to physical, emotional,social, economic or occupationalcircumstances, events or experiences generallyleading to coping difficulties or symptoms ofstress.

Thus the ‘Maladjustment inventory’ tries tofind out the intensity of adjustment ormaladjustment totally and in each 10 variablesseparately and to give an overview about one’sown behaviour.

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ReferenceColman, A. M. (2006). Oxford Dictionary

of Psychology. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress.

Ehrmann, L.C. & Svanum, S. (1993).Screening for Maladjustment in CollegeStudents Assessment. 38, 381-389. ThousandOaks: Sage.

Gates, A. S. & Jerslid, A.T.(1970).Educational Psychology. New York: MCMillan.

Higgins, E.T. (1989). Social Cognition &Social Perception. Annual Review ofPsychology, 38, 369-425.

Mathew, V.G. (1975). Manual ofMaladjustment Inventory. Thiruvananthapuram:University of Kerala.

Mathew, V.G. (1982). Mathew Item AnalysisTable. Thiruvananthapuram: ThePsychology Institute.

Mitrofan, N & Bentu, D. (2012). Predictionmodels for maladjustment behavior withtemporary abandoned children, Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences,33, 348–352.

Pradeep, T. (1981). Adjustment Problemsof University Students. Calicut: University ofCalicut.

Schatz, J. N., Smith, L. E., Borkowski, J.G.,Whitman, T. L. & Keough, D. A. (2008).Maltreatment risk, self-regulation, andmaladjustment in at-risk children, Child Abuseand Neglect, 32, 972-982.

Weiten, W. (2004). Psychology Applied ToModern Life. California: Wordsworth.

Wong, S. S. (2012). Negative thinkingversus positive thinking in a Singaporeanstudent sample: Relationships withpsychological well-being and psychologicalmaladjustment, Learning and IndividualDifferences, 22, 76-82.

SELP AWARDScientist and academicians with outstanding contribution in their

academic and social service fields are honoured by the trust by confirmingthem awards on the recommendation of the experts. Resume should besubmitted to the president of the trust in the concerned application forms.SELP- Young Social Scientist Award

Academician and researchers in the field of social sciences belowthe age of 40 are motivated in their field.SELP - Best Faculty Award

To motivate the college teachers belong to the social sciencessubject with the age of below 35 years are eligible to apply.Ambethkar Social Service Award

Those who are contributing outstanding performance in the fieldof upliftment of weaker sections are eligible to apply.Periyar Social Reformer Award

Those who are contributing outstanding performance in the field of intercaste marriage, abolition of caste and religions are eligible to apply.

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MODALITY OF INCLUSIVE GROWTH: ROLE OF PUBLIC SECTORBANKS FOR FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN INDIA

Dr. Nanjunda,UGC-CSSEIP,

University of Mysore, Mysore-06Jyothi lakshmi S

National Center for Inclusive growth and Development ResearchMysore –Karnataka

ABSTRACTFinancial inclusion is a process of which provide easily and accessible banking service to eachand every person of the society. Nationalization of Banks in India was a major step towards activefinancial inclusion of a common man. This led in creation of more branches at nuke and corner ofthe country to reach the grassroots effectively. Financial inclusion is an effective tool for the rapidinclusive growth. Recent report says Banks could cover only 74,199 villages, with 2,000 or abovepopulation, under the Banking network up to 2011 census. Still, there is a need of covering remainingpart of the country. After the creation of Financial Stability and Development Council the focushad shifted in providing modern Banking service at the door step. Even today, we can witness for alarge chunk of the population are out of various banking services in the country. In-order to providerapid inclusive growth, expert felt we should focus on speedy financial inclusion.Key words: Financial inclusion, economic growth, urban populations, inclusive growthIntroduction

India is basically a rural dominated country.Agriculture is still remains a main occupation.This agricultural sector has huge potential forgrowth which needs a lot of continuousinvestments. However, still major portion ofIndia formers are having only small lands. Inthe same way urban India has also major povertyridden region. Recent report says more than 27%of urban populations are living under poverty.Even though trickledown theory effect ofeconomic growth works in a long run expertshave felt need to focus on rapid inclusive growthof the poor. Indian GDP is normally and

basically depending on manufacturing andservice sector. More demand for manufacturingand service sector is coming from the rural endonly. A report says consumption expenditureis more in urban India than rural. Hence wehave to take policy decision to increase thegrowth in agriculture, secondary and servicesector in rural areas. If agriculture growth israpid one; manufacturing price will be reducedand inflation will be under controlled. In thesame way non-form sector also is a majorpotential sector which absorbs most of thelabour force. However it requires infusion ofmodern technology, huge capital, and skilled



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man power. Also large scale investment isrequired on infrastructure, communication,roads, power, etc. One of the main hurdles inthe rapid inclusive growth of the poorpopulation is lacuna in their financial inclusion.(Roy,2011).

Recent RBI(2011) report says public Bankscould cover only 74,199 villages, with 2,000 orabove population, under the Banking networkup to 2011 census so far. Without easier andaffordable access to various public financialservices we cannot expect any speedy inclusivegrowth. Various measures of financialdevelopment are directly or indirectly relatedto an economic growth. Even today the formalfinancial sector includes mainly the bankingsystems. However this banking system is

access-able only to the middle class or uppermiddle class population of the rural and urbancountry. Nationalization of Banks in India wasa key step towards active financial inclusionof a common man. This led in creation of morebranches at nuke and corner of the country toreach the grassroots effectively. Financialinclusion is an effective tool for the rapidinclusive growth. However it is found that eventoday a larger part of the country is left withoutany banking service. After the creation ofFinancial Stability and Development Councilthe focus had shifted in providing modernbanking service at the door step. Indian ReserveBank also taken concrete steps in providingvarious guidelines to the Public Banks for clientfriendly service to the common person.

Table-1 Total Achievements – Last Year’s and Targets for Next 2 years

Banking Sectors and Financial Inclusion.Financial Inclusion may be termed as the

delivery of financial services to all the peoplein a fair, transparent and equitable manner at

affordable cost. Even today we have only 28nationalized Banks across the country. Pooror marginal section of the society has lessaccess to any type of financial services. Henceeither they have to have their own sources or

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informer sources of finance which are normallyat high lost. Report says formal financial sectorsin India serve relatively a small segment oftennot more than 25 to 28 % of the population.Poor and low income households in both urbanand rural India have not yet access to any kindof formal financial services. The formalfinancial sector in India has been dominated bythe few nationalized banks, Co-operative banks,also cons cutes and contributes to the Indianfinancial system. The first ever inclusivebanking was started some time in 1992 byNABARD through self-help groups and banklinkage programmes. This programme becomepopular when RBI allowed SHG’s to opensavings accounts. Also government steppedahead by creating rural infrastructuredevelopment fund in NABARD. This fund wasbasically meant to land loans to stategovernments for creation of rural infrastructure.Similarly fund was up in SIDBI Bank to aidstate governments to support their rural welfareprogrammes.

(Syndicate Bank Report)Financial inclusion is a gateway between the

people and the Banking system. A highlydecentralized strategy has been followed forensuring financial inclusion. Financialinclusion is a phenomena in which the last manof the society should also get some kind ofbenefits from the banks. As a first step ReserveBank advised all types of banks to adopt no fillsaccounts. No fills means low or nil minimumbalance to open a Bank account in both ruraland urban part. Also for the benefit of the poor,KYC (Know your customers) rules have been

also simplified . Further, the Reserve Bank hasasked other Banks to issue a general purposecredit cart facility upto 25,000 both at rural andsemi urban branches. Beneficiaries can alsoget loan through this card. As a significant step,the Government has initiated comprehensiverecapitalization package for the rural Co-operative Banks. Also fund had been allottedto upgrade and to extend the network of Co-operative banks in any given state. MoreoverReserve Bank has framed regulatory andsupervisory process to keep an eye in themanagement of the Co-operative Banks.Reserve Bank has initiated inter-me diariesincluding NGO’s in providing financial andbanking services through the use of businessfacilitator. This allows the rural people to gofor cash in-cash out transaction at convenientlocations.

Banks are a lso facing a lot ofconstrains/problems. Shortage of humanresource is also a problem for Banks. Now aday’s all Banks have been computerized butskilled human power is not available easily. Onother hand highly skilled people are joiningprivate Banks for better payment becauseprivate banks are offering good salary and otherthings. Even after 60 years Banks could notextend more branches in the rural part of thecountry. In many rural parts we can see somebranches here and there only. Next, Banks arefacing autonomous problem. Always Bankshave to stick on to the guidelines giving by theReserve Bank time to time. Scheduled Banksare not so independent to work without theinfluence of the government monetary policies.Some time Banks have to pay the profitsearned to the Government for various schemes.Hence, Banks may not have more sufficientmoney to take over any good financialprogramme on time. Without having enoughbranches Banking service may not reach to alarge section of people. Some time national

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Banks have to face stiff fight from the privateBanks and agencies. Banking infra structure isalso a bigger problem. Some time they mayhave to work in a rented/leased house withminimum infra structure. This is one of themajor problem Banks are facing in india.Behavior of the Banking staff also plays a vitalrole. Now a day’s strikes by the Bank employsfor various reasons has become a commonphenomena. Even some time Banks may nothave enough capital funds to take over anyfinance inclusion activities. Banks customer-relation management will also play a vital rolein attracting people for good quality service.

ConclusionIt is know that Banks have a chief role in

extending banking facilities to rural areas forinclusive growth and accessibility of financialfacilities to common man across the country.Even Private Banks can play a major role inreaching the needy through various measuresusing newly available technologies. To caterthe financial services and products to the poorpeople, emergences of micro financeinstitutions have done major impacts in reachingthe needy. Micro finance institutions havesurvived even in the unstable political, culturaland economic growth of the country. Also bankscan do some wonder like banks shall recognizea place in the village for the Ultra Small Branch.

Since such a branch shall function only on fixedday and time, local bodies may be requestedto supply such place free of cost till such timethe business grows with a quality service to aviable level extenuating setting up of a regularbranch in due course of time.

References1. Chakravarti A,K. e-Financial inclusion:

Towards Accelerating Inclusive SocietyGoals using ICT” (website article )

2. Devlin J. F., Gregor M., 2008, From Accessto Inclusion: An evaluation of the role ofBasic Bank Accounts in promoting financialinclusion, Toynbee Hall

3. Debesh Roy, 2011 Financial Inclusion inIndia Emerging Profitable Models (websitearticle)

4. Chakrabarty, K.C. 2011 Financial inclusion,(website article; Keynote address)

5. Anita Gardeva Elisabeth Rhyne (2011)(report of Center for Financial Inclusion)

6. RBI Report, September 2010, “FinancialInclusion by Extension of Banking Services

7. Kempson E., Atkinson A., Pilley O., 2004,Policy level response to financial exclusionin developed economies: lessons fordeveloping countries , Report for theFinancial Sector Team, Policy Division,Department for International Development,Bristol:

CALL FOR PAPERSWe have the great pleasure to inform you that we are bringing out an Edited Book on titled “EMERGING

TRENDS IN FINANCIAL SYSTEM”. The Book will be published by a Delhi based reputed publisher withISBN Number. We would like invite you to share your ideas, thoughts, and initiatives taken on the abovetopic. Hence, we are requesting the learned researchers like you to send research paper(s) on any topic(s)in these areas.

Please intimate this invitation to other colleague’s /staff/ friends and Research Scholars who havemade significant contribution in these areas and notify the same in the academic notification for widepublicity. We request you to kindly send your article to be included in this book. You may send your articleto [email protected]

Look forward for your contribution on or before 31st December 2012 . Editor

50



MANGO PRODUCTION IN TAMILNADUDr. G. Azad Basha

Assistant Professor in CommerceVivekanandha College of Arts and Sciences for women, Thiruchengode

ABSTRACT

Mango, a fruit that originated in India, has admirers all over the globe. It found in the Vedas too.Mango undoubtedly deserves to be the national fruit of India. In area of production, nutritivevalue and popularity, no other fruit can compete with it. Its cultivation in India dates back to 6000years old. It is the king among the fruits in India. In India’s horticultural crops, production ofmango is about 60 per cent. Mango contains various neutering namely B, carotene, carbohydrates,Vitamin ‘C’ fibre and energy. It is one of the cheapest fruits in India, which can be even bought bythe poor.

Key words : Mango, horticultural crops, tropical rainforest

IntroductionDomestication of mango probably started at

different times and in different places on theIndian subcontinent and elsewhere in SoutheastAsia. Mango cultivated in India can be datedback to 4000 BC. Today the mango tree and itsfruit remain important Indian religious andcultural symbols. It is believed that Portugueseis introduced vegetative propagation methodsin India when they established trading outpostsalong the west coast of India in the 15th century.During the region of Akbar, the Great, the mostimportant mango tree varieties bearing fruitssuch as Alphonsa, Dashehari and Langara hadbeen produced by selective breading. Since then,these mango cultivators have been propagatedvegetative for several hundred years in India.But it is uncertain when cultivation ofpolyembryonic mangoes originated in Southeast

Asia. However, it was learned from a linguistwho analyzed the various common names forMango in Southeast Asia that polyembryonicmango was probably domesticatedindependently by several indigenous culturesin this region. ’Arumanis’ in Indonesia and‘carabao’ in the Philippines were the traditionalmango cultivators of South Asia.

The Tree of MangoMango is one of the most productive

tropical plants. It contains protein, fat,carbohydrate, minerals, vitamins A, B, C,amino acids, resins, natural sugars, and acidssuch as amino, citric, tartaric and malic acids.Its tree is believed to have evolved as a canopylayer or emergent species of the tropicalrainforest of Southeast Asia. The trunk of thetree is covered by a dark grey, cracked bark,



51



when old. The young plant, to be sure, has agreen outer skin called epidermis, like annualherbs. Mature trees can attain a height of 40meter or more and can survive for severalhundred years.

Distribution of Minerals and Vitamins inMango

Every mango fruit is rich with Mineralsand Vitamins, Which the human body needs tokeep its health intact. It acts as one of the bestdietary supplements for man. It has 86 percentof water, 0.3 percent mineral salt, 0.01 percentCalcium 0.02 percent Phosphorus and 5 mg ironin its every 100 grams. Besides it containsminerals such as Silica, Magnesium, Sodium,Zinc, Copper and Manganese. It also becomes

a wholesome and nourishing good because ofits Vitamin C. Vitamin A with a highconcentration of beta Carotene and provitaminB1 and B2. If the mango fruit is takenregularly, it will be of great benefit to manbecause of its Mineral and Vitamin contents.

Area under Mango Cultivation in TamilNadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the largest mangocultivation centers in India. It occupies sixthposition under mango cultivation compared toother States of India. The major mango growingdistricts in Tamil Nadu are Salem, Dharmapuri,Krishnagiri, Madurai, Dindigul, Theni,Thiruvalluvar and Vellore. The area under mangocultivation in Tamil Nadu is presented in Table 1

Table 1 Area under Mango Cultivation in Tamil Nadu

Source: National Horticulture Board.It could be observed from this table there

has been a study expansion of area coveredunder mango cultivation since 1990-2000. Butthere is one exception in 2001-2002 duringwhich there has been a slight fall in the areacovered. As per the table, the area coveredduring 2008-2009 stands as the highest, becausethe total area comes to 148.80 thousandhectares. However the area covered during1999-2000 is less than that of the year of all theyears of the table. Hence the year 1999-2000record the lowest, because the area comes to

only 107.90 thousand hectares.

Mango Production in Tamil NaduMango, the king of the fruits happens to be

an attractive farm growing occupation in TamilNadu, since Tamil Nadu enjoys the requisiteclimatic condition for growing this fruit.Therefore, Tamil Nadu has occupied 6th rankin dimension of area under this fruit cultivation.The production of mango in Tamil Nadu isexhibited in the following table.

Table 2 Production of Mango in TamilNadu

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Source: Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.2406, Dated 15.12.2008.

From the above table it could be inferred thatthere has been an erratic change in the productionof mango in Tamil Nadu during the years from2004-05 to 2007-08. The production of mangohas decreased from 539.40 metric tonnes in 2004-05 to 537.80 metric tonnes in 2005-06. Theproduction of mango has gone up from 537.80metric tonnes in 2005-06 to 753.60 metric tonnesin 2007-08. Over the years, there has been ahighest production in the year 2007-08registering 753.60 metric tonnes.

Production of Mango in Tamil NaduAs per world production, India has ranked

second in production of fruits and vegetablesafter China. In fruits, India stands first in theglobal production of mangoes and banana,fourth in guava, fifth in pine apple, sixth inoranges, tenth in apples and seventh in grapes.The average yield of mango in metric tonnesin Tamil Nadu is presented in the followingtable.

Table 3 Productivity Of Mango InTamil Nadu

Source: National Horticulture Board.From the above table it could be inferred that

the productivity of mango in Tamil Nadu hadhas erratic change during the years from 1999-2000 to 2008-09. The productivity of mango perhectare has strongly decreased from 6.80 metrictonnes per hectare in 2002-03 to 4.30 metrictonnes per hectare in 2006-07. Over the years,there has been a highest productivity in the year2002-03 registering 6.80 metric tonnes perhectare.

ConclusionAgriculture is the backbone of Indian

economy. It provides the raw materials to theagro-based and allied industries. It contributestwenty-six per cent to the national income.India is basically an agrarian society where soledependence has been on agriculture since timeimmemorial. In the olden days, the agriculturalproduce was fundamentally barter one bynature where farmers exchanged goods forgoods and also against services.

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The mango, which combines utility withbeauty, has the status of the national tree ofIndia and is very rightly considered, ‘king’among fruits grown in the country. The naturalspread of the genus is limited to the Indo-Malaysian region. Many studies indicate thatthe mango is indigenous to Northeast India andNorth Burma, in the foothills of the Himalayas.It is said to have originated in the Indo-Burmaregion. The mango was found throughoutSoutheast Asia in the early days. The Chineseliterature of the seventh century describes it asan important fruit in the warmest part of Chinaand Indo-China.

ReferencesRam Prakash Srivastava (1998). Mango

Cultivation, International Book DistributingCompany, Lucknow, p.7.

Bal, J.S (1997). Fruit Growing, KalyaniPublishers, Ludhiana, pp.8-9.

Room Singh and Sharma, R.R (2002). A Futurefor Mango Export, Journal of IndianHorticulture, April-June, p.26.

Anand Singh, A and Srinivas, E (2000). Controlof Leaf Webber in Mango, Kissan World,October, p.46.

Chandha, K.L (2002). Hand Book ofHorticulture, Indian Council of AgriculturalResearch, New Delhi, June, p.39

Atul Chandra and Anju Chandra (1996).Production and Post- Harvest Technologyof Fruits, NBS Publishers, Bikaner, p.86.

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SELP Journal of social science invites articles from acadamicians,research scholars and students in the field of social science for specialissue on CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN MARKETING for puplication inDecember 2012.

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Managing Editor

54



TRAINING: AN IDEAL HRM FUNCTIONK.Angammal

Associate professor of Commerce,Periyar EVR College, Tiruchirappalli.

ABSTRACTTraining as an organizational intervention may be defined as a well thought of set of activitiesaimed to facilitate learning of knowledge, attitude and skills among its people in the organizationto improve their current job performance and contribute to the achievement of organization goals.On the other hand, development pertains to long-term planned efforts to enhance the total growthof human resource that will lead to the fulfilment of personal and organizational goals.

Key words: Training Needs Analysis , Training design , Training Implementation , TrainingEvaluation

IntroductionTraining is indispensable and becomes

strategic if it takes in to account long – termorganizational goals and objectives. Havinggoals such as development of new and betterproducts expanding to a global market, anddeveloping a workforce with core competenciesare strategic (Lyton and Pareek 2000)

Training processTraining as a systematic process of

intervention to improve current knowledge,abilities and skills of the workforce involves anumber of stages as shown in Figure 2. Itinvolves tra ining need analysis (TNA),designing of training program, implementationof the training and evaluation of the training.

Training Needs Analysis (TNA)It involves the determination of the types and

specific training necessary to improve current

knowledge, abilities and skills of theworkforce. This can be done through personal,task and organizational level of analysis. Thedata can come from target participantsupervisor’s management, and even fromcustomers, using multiple data gatheringmethods like survey, interview, observation atwork, and performance appraisal results. Otherpossible sources of training needs are the long-range human resource plans of the company,practices of other organizations, requests for



55



training of affiliate / subsidiary companies andlegislation requirements. The TNA results serveas important inputs in designing the training

program. TNA should be done regularly toensure that training would respond to the needsof the trainees.

Table 1 Training Methodologies

Training designThis pertains to the planning of the entire

training program. It starts with the identificationof the goals and objectives that should beachieved. The topics or contents to be covered

and the appropriate training methodologies foradult learning are then determined. Thecorresponding visual aids and learningmaterials are also specified. The training designand the TNA are usually done by the training

56



staff of the organization and sometimes byoutside consultants. The services of the trainingconsultants are usually availed of the largecompanies for this purpose. A typical trainingdesign will contain these parts.

Training TitleVenueDateGoalSpecific ObjectivesSequences of TopicsTime Allocation Per TopicMethodologyResources NeededEvaluationThe training design is a critical element that

should be written properly to be able to decideon the contents, methodology and the durationof tacking the topics. The preset objectives alsobecome the basis for evaluating the success ofthe program. The standard criteria for objectiveformulation is SMART. Whether the trainingwill facilitate the learning of cognitive,affective psychomotor skills, it is important thatthe objectives are specific, measurable /observable, attainable, relevant to training goalsand time – bound.

On the other hand the choices of any (or) acombination of the following trainingmethodologies will largely depend on theobjectives type of participants and the durationof the training.

Training ImplementationImplementation covers the logistical aspects

like venue, food. Budget, equipment resourcepersons transportation and participants. Theseshould be properly attended to during the actualconduct of the training. Therefore, trainingprograms are done within the company oroutside depending on the nature of the program

and the financial capability of the organization.It cases where the organization has earmarkeda sufficient budget for major training programespecially for managers these are done outsideof the company with external consultants astrainers.

Based on the above – mentioned importanceof training, specific training conducted by theorganizations may be classified as technicalor behavioural training. The skills / technicaltype focuses on facilitating the learning ofcompetencies related to the workforce attitudesand habits. Specific examples of trainingclassified according to these two categories areas follows.

Training EvaluationThis last phase of the training process

requires the assessment of the conducts of thetraining activity. The evaluation is concernedwith the measurement of the training successor effectiveness to establish whether aninvestment in a particular training has paid off.The training effectiveness is usuallydetermined based on the achievement of thepreviously set objectives and results,considering the needs, methods, and other areasof training administration. According toKirkpatrick (1998), there are four levels ofevaluating training programs. These are the (1)reaction; (2) learning; (3) behavioural change;and (4) impact to organization. The reactionlevel measurers the participants’ feedback rightafter the conduct of the training. Feedback aretaken related to attainment of objectivesProcesses. Methodologies, methodologies,time, reading materials, resource persons /facilitators and other logistics of the training.On the other hand, participants’ learning leveldetermines what specific skills, knowledge oreven what specific skills, knowledge or evenwhat they learned is commonly asked at theend of the training period.

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ConclusionThe behavioural change level assesses

he changes on the attitude and or habits of thetrainees after the training that is usuallyobservable at the workplace. This will involvea follow up of the trainees in coordination withthe immediate supervisor. Examples ofbehavioural indicators are attendance,promptness, courtesy, cooperation and level ofparticipation. The impact to organization levelmeasures the effect of the training on the unitwhere the trainees belong and on the entireorganization. This level can focus onproductivity sales profits and customersatisfaction.

References:The Asian Sources Media Group. (1997). Great

Ideas on Management. “Learning as a Wayof Being” by Peter Vaill. Singapore : World

Executive Digest.Hargreaues, P and Jaruis Jaruis P. The human

Resource Handbook, London : Kogan PageLTD.

Kirpatick. DL (1998). Evaluating Trainingprograms: The Four Levels. San Francisco: Berrette – Kocher.

Lyton, R.P. and Pareek, U. (2000). The HumanResource Development Handbook Landon,UK: Kogan page Ltd.

Noe, R.A. Hollenback, J.R. Hollenbeck.,Gerhart, B. and Wright, P.M. (2000). HumanResource Management : Gaining acompetitive Advantage 3rd Ed). Boston: McGraw Hill.

Silberman, M. and Whiteling, V. (1992).Twenty Active Training Programs. SanDiego California, USA: Pfeiffer &Company.

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NEWS AND EVENTS

58



HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN ORGANIZEDRETAILINGDr.A.Morarji,

Assistant Professor, Department of Corporate Secretaryship,Alagappa University, Karaikudi

ABSTRACT

Retailing displayed its significance in India’s market with tremendous contribution to the Indianeconomy. The development in the organized retail sector has showed the perfect platform to theIndian companies to enter into this sector. The entry of global players in retailing business hascreated huge challenges to the Indian companies. The organized retailer’s in order to respond tothe competition, started to realize the need for efficient man power. The paper will provide a clearpicture on the issues related to the HR practices and its impact on employees. It will also focus onthe various problems and challenges faced by the HR department in procuring and retaining theemployees of organized retailing companies.

Keywords: HRM, special tellers, GDP, attrition.

Introduction Human resource management (HRM)

practices are most effective when matched withstrategic goals of organizations. HRM”s role inthe company s success is growing rapidly withthe growth in many sectors in the presentglobalized era. HRM is a vital function inorganizations and becoming more importantthan ever. The HRM practices are crucial indesigning the structure for man power, staffing,performance appraisal, compensation, andtraining and development. HRM practices are aprimary means for defining, communicating andrewarding desired role behaviours and desiredrole behaviours are a function of organizationalcharacteristics. Innovative HRM practices canplay a crucial role in changing the attitude of

the companies and its employees in order tofacilitate the entry and growth in the markets.The HRM practices in service sector especiallyin the area of retailing have found significantimportance in the present scenario. Theretailing is one of the service sectors where theneed of qualitative human resources is highlyexpected.

Retailing is an important element ofbusiness around the globe. Retailing consistsof all activities that result in the offering forsale of merchandise to consumers for their ownuse. Retailing is the final step in bringing goodsto consumer. They sell both goods and services.Retailing is the process of “Sale of goods ormerchandise, from a fixed location such as adepartmental store or kiosk, in small or



59



individual lots for direct consumption by thepurchaser.

Retailing may include services, such asproduct delivery. Buyers may be individuals orbusinesses; a retailer buys goods or products inlarge quantities from manufacturers orimporters, either directly or through awholesaler, and then sells in smaller quantitiesor lots to the end –users or consumers. Retailersare the end links of the supply chain as animportant part of manufacturing/marketeroverall distribution strategy

Overview of Indian Retail IndustryRetailing is one of the pillars of economy

because of its 13% contribution to GDP. Thoughthe Indian retail sector is dominated byunorganized sector with 90% share, it isproviding immense opportunities for large scaleretailers to set-up their operations. Theorganized retailing sector is steadily increasingwith the entry and operations of departmentalstores, hyper markets, supermarkets andspecialty stores which are replacing thetraditional formats dramatically altering theretailing landscape in India. India is the thirdmost attractive retail market for global retailersamong the 30 largest emerging markets,according to US consulting group AT Kearneys report published in June, 2010. The total retailsales in India will grow from US $ 395.96 billionin 2011 to US $ 786.12 billion by 2015,according to the BMI India Retail report fromthe third quarter of 2011.

Robust economic growth, high disposableincome with the expansion in middle and upperclass consumer because, the report identifiespotential in India s tier-II and tier-III cities aswell. The greater availability of personal creditand a growing vehicle population providingimproved mobility also contribute to a trendtowards annual retail sales growth of 12.2percent. An increasing number of people inIndia are turning to the services sector for

employment due to the relative lowcompensation offered by the traditionalagriculture and manufacturing sectors. Theorganized retail market is growing at 35 percentannually while growth of unorganized retailsector is pegged at 6 percent. Though theretailing sector is growing rapidly, some of theconstrains are restricting its growth. Apart fromthe regulations and approval for Foreign DirectInvestments (FDIs), the sector is stronglylacking the effective human resource practices.The problems of lack of trained work force,low skill level for retailing management, lackof development programmes to the existinghuman resources and problems in retainingqualitative manpower are some of the obstaclescreating huge challenges to the Indian retailsector. At present, to overcome some of thechallenges faced by retail, the companies areinvesting heavily in training and recruitmentof qualitative work force

In the present competitive scenario, therole of retailing is increasing rapidly with theentry of global players. Many Indian companiesstrongly keeping their aim on entering in retailindustry. With increasing globalization, firmsare entering a dynamic world of internationalbusiness that is marked by liberalization ofeconomic policies in a large number ofemerging economies like India. To face thechallenge of increasing competition that hasresulted from liberalization, Indianorganizations have initiated adoption ofinnovative human resource managementpractices both critically and constructively tofoster creativity and innovation amongemployees. The huge opportunities in organizedretailing encouraging the companies to enterin retail industry. The last 2 decades haswitnessed the tremendous potential fororganized retailing. The growing needs of retailindustry can be matched up with the aggressivehuman resource practices. The present retail

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organizations which are performing organizedretailing are facing huge challenges in procuringand retaining and maintaining qualitative humanresources. Hence, an attempt was made toanalyze the various human resource practicesfollowed in select retailers in organizedretailing.

Problems & Challenges AheadHuman resources people are the backbone

of any company and the success of retailbusiness depends a lot upon the kind of humanresource strategies it is following and howpeople are managed. Because of increasingcompetition between organized retailers, theretail industry is facing the challenges andhurdles from different areas. From the surveyon select organized retailers, the followingobservations were made.

High attrition: Employee retention and motivation of staff

has become the major concern for HRdepartment in the organized retailing sector.Because of the strenuous schedules and tasksinvolved in the retail industry, it becomesimperative for HR staff to take good care oftheir employees who form the building blocksof their retail chain. The undercurrents amongthe employees regarding company policies aremany and they must be felt from time to time tosustain the quality crowd and reduce the attritionrate. From the report of Retailer, it is found thatthe attrition rates are comparatively high whenit comes to the retail industry in India. Theattrition rate in the Indian retail industry is 30-35 percent. The main reasons found to be thetypical nature of job where a particularemployee of an organized retail company needto work on his feet the whole day and the job isreaction intensive and the business is mainlytransactional.

Training for competition:The need for efficient trained sales team is

of great importance in the organized retailingat present. For every retail organization, thesecret behind the success of their business isto keep the list of their loyal consumers interact.The need for a well designed HR practices aregreatly needed for proper training to the newlyrecruited people to the retail organization.Providing training to the sales staff plays asignificant role in every business operation.Nowadays, the organized retailers are lookingat a sales training company to help the salesstaff gain more proficiency and expertise intheir respective field.

Stressing Upon Benefits Of Advertising: The HR managers and trainers are

emphasizing upon making the sales people tothink and act innovatively in designing theretail out let and as well as attracting thecustomers through innovative promotionalstrategies. The trainers are focusing on makingthe staff to effectively use advertising as a toolto enhance sales, promote growth, and attractnew consumers.

Counting the customers:In this, the retail firms and the trainers are

making the staff of the retail organization toincrease the customer relationshipmanagement. Through effective training, thetrainers are working on highlighting thecomponents of marketing strategies which thesales people should perform activities ofpromotion, product development, relationshipmanagement, distribution and pricing. Thetrainers are making the retail staff whichinclude sales staff and supporting staff toidentify the firm s marketing goals, and areexplaining about how the goals can beachieved.

Online Training The trainers of HR department are showing

the visuals of well designed and successfully

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running retail organization s outlets to theemployees in order to make them to realize theimportance of the design of retail outlet. Apartfrom that, from the survey it was also realizedthat the trainers are focusing on online trainingwhich include web based support to enhancethe abilities of the staff of the retail outlets.

High labour costs and complex nature oflabour laws:

Because of the increasing competition andthe complex nature of the work, the retail outletsare facing the problems of labour costs. Apartfrom that, various labour laws are givingrestrictions to the HR department to achievedesired objectives of the retail organizations.From the survey, it was found that the HRdepartment is facing with the problems likelengthy leisure hours and frequent absenteeismof the employees to the duties. Even, it wasfound that the existing labour laws in Indiaforbid employment of staff on a contractualbasis that makes it difficult to manage employeeschedule. Especially, when retail organizationsare performing 365- day operation, the problemsin encouraging and motivating the employeesto perform well is a tough challenge for the HRdepartment.

ConclusionThe human resource management practices

are vital for the development of any businessor sector. The HRM practices have inevitabledependence on the organized retailers. From thestudy it was found that, right from new hire toorientation period, there are many differencesin the implementation of HR practices in theselected organized retailers. The satisfactionlevels of various performance appraisalmeasures adopted in the selected retail outletsshowed that the employees are not onlyfavoured to the incentive plan but also thehealthy environment and close relat ionsbetween the peers are playing vital role for their

performance. Further, the supervisor has thekey role in taking initia tive in theimplementation of performance appraisal at theselect organized retail outlets. The employeefacilities in the select organized retail outletsfound to be not satisfactory to the employeesof the retail outlets.

ReferencesA CII – A.T. Kearney report, “Retail in India:

Getting organized to drive growth”.Ashok Som, “Bracing for MNC Competition

through innovative HRM Practices: the Way aheadfor Indian Firms”, Thunderbird InternationalBusiness Review, Wiley Inter Science, Vol.48(2)207-237, March-April,2006., Pg.No.207-211

Barry Berman & Joel R. Evans(2007), “RetailManagement – A strategic approach”, 10th Edition,Eastern Economy Edition, New Delhi.

Derek C.Jones, Panu Kalmi & Antti Kauhanen,“How Deos Employee Involvement Stack Up? Theeffects of Human Resource Management Policieson Performance in a Retail Firm, Working Papers ,Cornell University.

James R. Ogden & Denise T. Ogden (2008),“Integrated Retail Management”, Biztantra, AnImprint of Dreamtech Press, Reprint Edition 2008,New Delhi.

Michael Levy & Weitz(2007), “RetailingManagement”, Tata McGraw-Hill PublishingCompany Limited, New Delhi.

Susan E.Jackson & Randall S. Schuler, “HRMPractices in Service-based organizations: A roletheory perspective”, Advances in ServicesMarketing and Management, Vol.1, Pages:123-157.

U.C. Mathur(2010), “ Retail Management - Textand cases”, I.K. International Publishing House Pvt.Ltd., New Delhi.

Wharton, “How will competition changeHuman Resource Management in Retail banking?A Strategic Perspective”, Working Paper Series,Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Pg.No.1-29.

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