http://www.digital.lib.esn.ac.lk//handle/1234/16119 2026-04-21T12:44:04Z http://www.digital.lib.esn.ac.lk//handle/1234/16200 Employee retention strategies for Clerical staff in Sri Lankan Apparel Sector Jayasekara, L.M.S; Wicktramasooriya, I.L. Organizations today face challenges in retaining skilled employees due to the impacts of globalization and digitalization. This led to a growing emphasis on employee retention strategies, particularly through rewards and recognition. This study investigates how reward management practices influence employee retention within the Expectancy Theory (ET) framework. The research examines a sample of 140 clerical-level employees in the apparel manufacturing sector at the Mawathagama BOI Zone in Sri Lanka. Through a structured questionnaire, the study evaluated key variables including career development, promotion opportunities, remuneration, and their impact on employee retention. These variables were measured on a 5-point Likert scale, and the data were analyzed using statistical methods in SPSS Statistics, Version 26 ensuring the reliability and validity of the instruments used. This study provides new insights into employee retention in Sri Lanka's apparel sector by examining the specific impact of reward management practices through the lenses of Expectancy Theory. The results reveal that career development, promotion, and remuneration significantly influence employee retention, with career development demonstrating the most substantial impact, while remuneration has the least effect. These findings underscore the critical importance of prioritizing career development and promotion within HR policies and organizational strategies. By emphasizing these aspects, organizations can foster a more supportive work environment, which in turn enhances employee retention and satisfaction. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.digital.lib.esn.ac.lk//handle/1234/16199 IMPACT OF REWARDS SYSTEM ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE Hansamali, H. G. C.; Francis, S.J.; Sirikumar, T.; Ganeshamoorthy, S. The study provides an extensive review of the impact of various reward mechanisms on employee performance at People's Insurance PLC. Its primary objective is to assess how different components of the reward system such as monetary incentives, recognition programs, and opportunities for career advancement affect employee performance within the organization. The study uses a cross-sectional approach to collect data in the third quarter of 2024, focusing on all 568 employee-level workers at Peoples Insurance PLC in Sri Lanka. Random sampling ensures an unbiased representation, with a calculated sample size of 61 employees selected at a 90% confidence level using purposive sampling techniques. The findings indicate statistically significant positive correlations between various elements of the reward system and employee performance. Salaries, bonuses, and incentives exhibited strong positive correlations, accounting for a considerable portion of the variance in performance outcomes. Recognition initiatives and flexible work arrangements were also found to positively influence performance, albeit to a lesser extent. The study finds that a comprehensive reward system, which includes competitive remuneration, bonuses, incentives, recognition, flexible work arrangements, and healthcare benefits, can significantly enhance employee performance and productivity. It explores theoretical and practical implications, underscoring the importance of monetary and non-monetary rewards in employee motivation. Recommendations to improve the reward system at People's Insurance PLC include establishing transparent pay structures, aligning bonuses with performance metrics, offering a variety of incentive options, and strengthening recognition programs. Additionally, the paper highlights the value of flexible work arrangements and comprehensive healthcare benefits. Future research directions are suggested, emphasizing the need for larger sample sizes, including a broader range of organizations, and investigating the interactions between reward systems and other influencers such as corporate culture and leadership style. Longitudinal studies and advanced statistical methodologies are recommended to deepen the understanding of the relationship between reward systems and employee performance. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.digital.lib.esn.ac.lk//handle/1234/16198 Influence of Managerial and Firm Characteristics on the Internationalization of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka Zameem, P.M.M.; Bhavan, T. Sri Lanka’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) find it exporting as a simple way for their internationalization. They contribute less to the value of exports than large companies as they face several challenges that obstruct their export performance during internationalization. These challenges are linked to managerial and firm characteristics. This research attempts to identify the challenging factors that would influence Sri Lanka’s SME internationalization. Data for this research were collected from 165 Sri Lanka’s SMEs exporting processed food and beverage products through a structured questionnaire. Various techniques were employed to analyze the collected data. The internationalization of SMEs is the dependent variable, measured by export sales performance. Managerial characteristics such as the manager’s age, education, international experience, foreign language skills, and entrepreneurial orientation, and firm characteristics such as the firm’s age, size, export experience, and ownership are the two independent variables in this study. The findings indicate that SME managers with postgraduate education in Sri Lanka positively influence their export growth during internationalization. However, the entrepreneurial attitudes of SMEs negatively impact their internationalization. Therefore, postgraduate education of SME managers greatly improves the export performance of their respective companies during internationalization, whereas the perceived challenges of the entrepreneurial attitudes of SMEs decline the export performance. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies to overcome these challenges in the processed food and beverage industry in order to sustain both SMEs and the economy of Sri Lanka. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.digital.lib.esn.ac.lk//handle/1234/16197 Determinants of accounting practices of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka Wijerathna, J.M.K.G.T.G; Vajra, M.; Weerasinghe, W.T.D. Accounting practices are employed to generate accurate and timely financial statements for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), facilitating the performance of accounting reports. However, the use of accounting practices in the SME sector cannot be widely seen in developing countries like Sri Lanka. Hence, this research aims to identify the factors that are affecting the accounting practices of SME in Sri Lanka. Researchers have mainly identified variables such as the firm’s size, technology, level of education, and government regulations. The objective of this study is to identify the relationships among accounting practices and identified independent variables. A total of 100 respondents were selected through a convenient sampling technique and the data was collected through a questionnaire. The findings of the descriptive analysis, correlation and regression analysis confirmed that the level of education and firm size only impact the accounting practices of the SME in Sri Lanka. The researchers recommend that there is an increasing need to take necessary actions and policy formulations to enhance the literacy of SME owners, especially regarding the need to adhere to accounting practices in ensuring sustained business existence. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z