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Effect of camel model on bank performance: with special reference to listed commercial banks in Sri Lanka
No full textThe banking sector has become a rapidly growing sector in the world recently and its financial soundness and performance are essential to the stable and sustainable economic growth of a country. This study investigated the effect of CAMEL parameters on both market-based performance and accounting-based performance of eight listed commercial banks in Sri Lanka for the period 2014-2019. This study has used secondary data from audited annual financial statements of the listed commercial banks. CAMEL model is the most popular method that calculates and evaluates a bank's performance and it includes Capital Adequacy, Assets Quality, Management Efficiency, Earning ability, and Liquidity status. Return on Equity (ROE) is used as an accounting-based performance indicator and Tobin's Q ratio is used as a market-based performance indicator. The finding reveals that Capital adequacy, Assets quality, and Liquidity status have a positive significant impact on market-based performance while other CAMEL indicators have an insignificant impact on market-based performance. Furthermore, Management efficiency is negatively related to accounting-based performance, and earning ability is positively related to accounting-based performance at a significant level while other CAMEL indicators have an insignificant impact on the accounting-based performance of commercial banks in Sri Lanka. The finding of this study is helpful to the stakeholders of the commercial banks in making appropriate managerial decisions efficiently and effectively
A Comparative study of Sri Lankan and global retail banking customer behavior changes due to the Covid – 19 health crisis and responses by banks
No full textOrganizations and consumers worldwide were caught off guard by the COVID-19 pandemic and banks and banking customers have been no exception. Research surveys across the world address several changes in retail banking customer behavior due to the crisis. Notable among these is a sharp decline in bank branch visits and an increase in adoption of digital (internet and mobile banking) interactions with banks. Related to these behavioral changes are challenges faced by certain customers, especially the older and rural customers in adopting to digital interactions, attitudes towards internet based mobile banking, trust in banks, and concerns about privacy and security. In addition to addressing threats imposed by this crisis to banks’ liquidity and profitability, retail banks have also had to address above aspects of retail banking customer behaviors. Banks actions reported include redesigning their customer service to ensure business continuity, customer communication strategies, aiding customers in use of internet and mobile banking, enhancing cyber security, promoting customer trust, restructuring operations and staff scheduling (including work from home), and addressing employee morale and emotional issues, and organizational culture issues. This paper will report findings of a survey of 119 Sri Lankan retail banking customers to ascertain their behavioral changes and attitudes due to the COVID -19 health crisis. Then it will present a survey of top and/or Operational Managers of the 12 most prominent banks in Sri Lanka to ascertain how banks handled the COVID – 19 crisis. These findings will then be compared to findings on retail bank customer behavior changes and bank responses in 27 other countries based on recent research papers and industry reports. The findings from this study were that Sri Lankan retail banking customers reduced physical contacts, and increased digital interactions, with their banks. They also found the change useful and easy to handle, thus leading them to trust the banks with the privacy and security of information resulting in overall satisfaction with the change. These findings are consistent with findings across the globe. It was also found that Sri Lankan banks are sufficiently addressing service continuance and safety of customers and employees with administrative changes comparable to actions by banks across the world. However, Sri Lankan banks, compared to banks across the world, have not established formal cybersecurity policies or programs, communication and educational programs for customers, programs to enhance employee morale and emotional issues, and addressed organizational culture issues although they seem to be aware of the significance of these issues. The paper will finally present certain recommendations for bank Managers and areas for further research
Effects of child’s pester power in the parent’s purchase decisions in relation to fast moving consumer goods market in Sri Lanka.
No full textFor decades, the Pester Power of a Young Consumer has piqued interest, providing new areas of research for interested parties. The goal of this research is to look into the involvement of the kid in the decision-making process of parents in Sri Lanka's fast-paced consumer goods market. The study is based on a thorough review of the literature in the topic of interest, which included evaluating publications to find elements that contributed to the emergence of pester power. The exploratory discovery shows a concept indicator model that reveals three distinct factors: demographic, socio-psychographic, and informative. Due to the scarcity of factors being examined in the Asian region, notably in Sri Lanka, there is an empirical gap. More study is needed to validate the indicator model and learn more about the phenomenon's impact on parent purchasing behaviour. This is the first time a study like this has been carried out in the Sri Lankan market. Despite the fact that Sri Lanka has a very traditional culture that places a high value on group norms and social acceptance, confirming a collectivistic culture in which children are expected to be subservient, there is a new wave of incredibly energetic, more informed young children who make their own consumer decisions. The majority of empirical research focuses on children's increased participation in family purchases and their conversion into active consumers in a rapidly developing market in Southeast Asian countries
the case of Sri Lanka
No full textThe power system Sri Lanka is an islanded power system of a relatively small size. Other than
the coal power plants, combined cycle plants and gas turbines, a significant portion of
electricity requirement is supplied by large hydro, mini hydro and other non-conventional
renewable energy power plants. Accordingly, the power system of Sri Lanka can be identified
as a low-inertia power system.
CEB, the power transmission operator of Sri Lanka, adheres to N-1 reliability in the
transmission network. They are not expected to keep N-1 reliability in generation according to
the current practice. It means that the internationally practiced power system reliability levels
do not exist in the power system Sri Lanka.
Even before Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE) additions, the power system was
largely dependent on under-frequency load shedding (UFLS) after large generator
disconnection. Introducing NCRE to the power system has worsened the situation further.
The aim of the study was to identify the behavior of the power system of Sri Lanka during and
after generation disconnection and study possible methods to improve the power system
performance after generation disconnection event. The impact of battery energy storage
systems on frequency response was studied for the power system of Sri Lanka. A cost analysis
on battery energy storage system was performed. Increase in costs was also calculated if an
internationally practiced level of spinning reserve is maintained in the power system Sri Lanka.
Suggestions to improve the performance of the system are included in the thesis, based on the
findings of the research
A Model to assess the maintenance leanness of apparel industry buildings in Sri Lanka
No full textEscalating needs of availability in built environments have pursued maintenance to be recognized with the strategic importance notwithstanding the conventional belief of necessary evil. Nevertheless, it absorbs the three-quarters of whole building lifecycle cost. Studies proved that proportion significantly contributed by inefficiencies owing to poor maintenance, lack of reliability focus, poor management commitment, technical and human resources-related issues. Consequently, Sri Lankan buildings opted to adopt numerous strategic management approaches such as Lean, Six-Sigma to acquire the higher status of efficiency and effectiveness in their operations. Simultaneously, adherence to lean concepts was apparent in Sri Lankan manufacturing context, relatively fewer attempts were made on establishing assessment procedures to distinguish the degree of leanness. Hence, research was focused on developing an assessment model to address the leanness levels in maintenance operations. Lean quantification metric “Leanness” in maintenance is defined through identified parameters in literature and those were narrowed down into seven (7) leanness criteria and further expanded into forty-two (42) leanness attributes paving a pathway to the formation of a theoretical assessment model. For the investigation, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted from three identical cases. The derived data were analysed using the manual content analysis technique. Empirical findings revealed satisfactory adherence scoring the thirty-eight (38) attributes accomplishment as the highest and twenty-five (25) as the least. Findings point out significant gaps in lack incorporation of planned maintenance programs with maintenance inventory-related aspects, lack of undertakings on extensive reliability analysis efforts for maintenance activities. The outcomes will mark valuable insights for building practitioners to engage in maintenance operations in a versatile manner to acquire a waste-free, quality, stakeholder-driven maintenance environment
Accuracy of traditional contingency estimation in the construction industry
No full textContingency amounts are allocated in the construction projects to deal with uncertainties arising during the projects. Contingency amounts are usually estimated traditionally by simply adding a percentage of the estimated contract amount. However, the traditional system of contingency estimation is heavily criticised as ineffective due to several reasons. Therefore, this research focuses on evaluating the level of accuracy of current contingency estimation techniques in the Sri Lankan context. This study adopted a mixed-method research approach. Empirical data were collected using expert interviews and questionnaire survey. Data collected from the expert interviews were analysed using manual content analysis. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the questionnaire survey data. Findings revealed that inexpensiveness is the highly motivating factor for the rigid usage of the traditional method to estimate contingency in the Sri Lankan context. Estimated contract amount, procurement method, payment method, and type of client were identified as highly influencing factors in contingency estimation. Finally, the hypothesis test of this study revealed that the traditional contingency estimation is ineffective. Since the traditional contingency estimation proved ineffective and highly inaccurate, experts in the industry should consider a flexible alternative approach in contingency estimation to improve the accuracy of the contingency amount
Key performance indicators in upholding scope creep management in road projects
No full textScope creep has been a day-to-day occurrence in almost every major road project causing a considerable cost overrun with no early dimple. This paper offers a critical appraisal on the dominant causes behind scope creep in the road projects. A comprehensive literature survey was undertaken to explore the factors specifically contributing scope creep and various control measures that are adopted, among other purposes, in at least reducing the impact due to scope creep in the final delivery of road projects. The study included interviews with 15 experts to identify major issues and add their hands-on experience. A questionnaire survey was subsequently administered among 100 industrial personnel having a cost management background in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the key performance indicators (KPIs) in terms of taming scope creep. Results from the study showed that concomitant client instructions on additional features, unclear scope and incremental changes cause scope creep throughout the project. Among 53 KPIs identified, the most effective KPI that enables adequate control of scope creep in road projects is the cost efficiency ratio. The results enable comprehending the causes of scope creep and its resultant net effect on cost control
The Obstacles to energy saving in residential buildings in Nigeria : stakeholders’ perspectives
No full textOver the past three decades research on energy use in buildings has become significant due to increasing scientific and political pressure on issues concerning global warming and climate change. As part of the impact by climate change, tropical nations are faced with several challenges in achieving energy savings, particularly the energy consumption behaviour of building occupants, with very little research coming from Africa. Previous research has shown that variations due to occupant behaviour is substantial. To address these challenges in line with the objectives of some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (namely, clean and sustainable energy, as well as climate action) in residential buildings, this paper explores the perceptions of stakeholders by identifying the barriers which affect energy use from different cultural perspectives. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured telephone interviews with experts in the energy and construction fields in Nigeria. The purpose of the interviews was to provide an insight into residential energy consumption behaviour and the barriers faced in the adoption of sustainable energy sources. The results were analysed using an energy cultural framework. An analysis of the results shows that continuous awareness of energy saving behavioural change, government subsidies for renewable energy, government checks, and the standardization of energy-efficient appliances imported into the country can improve people’s trust regarding sustainable choices and can promote efficient energy use. The outcome from this work is expected to give a better understanding of energy use behaviour and inform future energy policies and interventions related to household energy saving
Customer loyalty towards sustainable hotels: case studies in Sri Lanka
No full textThe hotel sector is directly combined with customer loyalty as it has become increasingly obvious by incorporating its’ antecedents with customer satisfaction and trust. Customer loyalty is influenced by customer satisfaction of hospitality service when it is significantly related to service quality. Sustainability is an important concept that can adapt to achieving customer loyalty in the Sri Lankan hotel sector. Indeed, most conventional hoteliers in Sri Lanka do not have the idea of success in achieving customer loyalty through the sustainability concept. Also, despite the abundance of research on the concept of sustainability, a gap in literature could be identified, when it comes to analysing the customer loyalty aspects toward sustainable hotels in Sri Lanka. This study is therefore aimed to bridge the gap that exists in the literature to prove the success of adopting the concept of sustainability in achieving customer loyalty. A qualitative research approach with two case studies was used to achieve the aim of the study. The selected cases include two green-certified five-star hotels which are under the topmost sustainable hotels in Sri Lanka according to Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. A total of 10 interviews were conducted from both cases. The collected data were analysed using content analysis. The customer loyalty aspects were identified on the deriving basis of self-influence factors of customers and their consideration of benefits in sustainable hotels. The study unveils an analysis of the interconnection between sustainable hotels and customer loyalty. The findings provide the path to conventional hotels to identify the success of implementing sustainability concept in achieving customer loyalty
Ensuring health and safety in petroleum built environment : the case of Sri Lanka
No full textThe petroleum-built environment is an important area of concern, which mainly includes refinery and storage facilities. Since its hazardous nature leading unexpected accidents and disasters, the safety of petroleum-built environment has become a vital requirement to eliminate the hazards associated with the petroleum process. However, a comprehensive study on safe handling of petroleum products in Sri Lanka is not reported so far. Hence, this study aimed at enhancing the health and safety in handling process of petroleum products in refinery and storage facilities. A comprehensive literature review was initially conducted on the petroleum products handling process, and national and international safety guidelines. Case study method was used since this study requires an in-depth investigation. Two prominent cases for refinery and storage facilities were studied to collect the data. Content analysis technique was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that Factories Ordinance, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Guideline, Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) standard, and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Guideline are commonly considered in ensuring health and safety of petroleum-built environment. Further, the chronic deceases in lungs and heart, cancers, high noise generation, unwillingness to use personal protective equipment (PPE), bowser and wagon accidents, fuel fire risk, pipeline leakages, and water and soil pollution were highlighted as common health and safety issues in refinery and storage. Finally, various strategies were proposed to overcome the identified health and safety issues ensuring the health and safety of petroleum-built environment