http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10475 2026-01-07T04:29:09Z 2026-01-07T04:29:09Z Dewasiri, N.J. Abeysekara, N Samarasinghe, G.D. http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10488 2022-03-09T08:45:09Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Book Review: A Guide to Academic Writing and Research Reports by Senior Prof. Dr. Mangala Fonseka and Dr. Athula Manawaduge Dewasiri, N.J.; Abeysekara, N; Samarasinghe, G.D. Scholarly or academic writing is clear, concise, planned, coherent, and backed up by evidence. Its purpose is to aid the reader’s understanding. Hence, it consists of a formal style and tone. Further, it does not require the use of long sentences and instead uses clear and concise language with simple vocabulary. Research report writing is an integral part of academic writing. Hence, both academic and research report writing play a vital role in developing a multitude of researchers across the globe. The authors of the book entitled “A Guide to Academic Writing and Research Reports” identified such a role to develop prolific researchers amongst the student community both within and outside the university in Sri Lanka.

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z Gunathilaka, D Gunawardana, K.D. http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10487 2022-03-09T08:46:11Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Environmental Management Practices on Financial Performance: With special reference to the Rubber Industry in Sri Lanka Gunathilaka, D; Gunawardana, K.D. This study investigates the relationship between environmental management practices (EMPs) on financial performance (FP) using the data from thirty rubber manufacturing organizations by building panel models for the sample during the period of 2012-2016. The study has considered the three different EMPs of energy reduction (amount of furnace oil use per day), waste (amount of waste water generates), and recycle (amount of recycle raw material) in capturing the effect of EMPs on FP. In addition, to elucidate how financial performance is dealing with EMPs, the study used Return on Assets (ROA) as a determinant of financial performance. It is more difficult to identify the general relationship between EMPs and FP of firms due to its heterogeneity during the growth of firms.’ The estimation results suggested that the recycling of waste material had significant negative driving forces on FP. However, waste water treatment and furnace oil consumption had no significant impact on FP. Therefore, it is critical to investigate the relationship between FP and EMPs which is yet to be resolved in order to build up a scope for companies to implement better environmental practices in the organizations.

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z Faris, M.F.S. Chandralal, K.P.L. http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10486 2022-03-09T08:46:47Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Relative Importance of Packaging Elements of Baby Care Products in Sri Lanka: Do Demographic Factors Matter? Faris, M.F.S.; Chandralal, K.P.L. Baby care category has been profitable throughout the years and gained the interest of global players in Sri Lanka amidst the emergence of several local companies. Previous research on FMCG products identified that a 1% shift in packaging will result in 88.9% shift in consumer purchase intention, signifying the role of packaging in buying behavior. But there is mild research done with regards to the Baby Care Category and especially in the Sri Lankan context. This research focuses on the gap of identifying the importance of the different packaging elements of baby care products along with buyers’ demographic factors. A field survey was conducted with an internet questionnaire to obtain data from a sample of Colombo residents. The results revealed that a weak positive importance was laid on “Graphics” (Color and Artwork) and on “Dimensions” (Design and Shape) of the package. The dimension of “Information” was placed relatively a higher importance in the buying decision. These findings aligned with the insights from buyers and retailers; buyers being more concerned on baby’s safety prioritized ensuring product reliability. Certifications, labels, precautions, and instructions on the package guide them, which evidently is part of the dimension of Information. The results further revealed that the identified importance laid on the three dimensions of packaging elements did not significantly vary on any of the demographic factors; gender, income, and level of education. Baby care, being a sensitive area for parents (unlike generic products), the importance placed on information was much higher due to its role played in assurance, consequently comparative lesser importance was placed on how colorful, big and stylish the packaging is, as the priority was absolute amongst buyers across diverse demographic differences.

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z Rathwatta, H Samudrage, D. N. http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10484 2022-03-09T08:47:23Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Generic Strategy and Strategic Management Accounting Practices: Case Study of a Sri Lankan Telecommunications Company Rathwatta, H; Samudrage, D. N. Organizations depend on different generic strategies to gain competitive advantage (Porter, 1980). Usage of a particular generic strategy is always associated with a set of rules, practices, and procedures within an organization. Amongst them, Strategic Management Accounting (SMA) practices play a vital role in supporting and monitoring the performance of the generic strategy pursued by an organization.However, organizations may change the generic strategies they use over the time due to various changes taking place in the environment including the changes in business environment,technology, competitors, regulation and the global economy (Wickramasinghe & Alawattage, 2007).A change in the strategy is expected to lead to changes in existing policies and practices to match the new strategy (Langfield – Smith, 2007).Thus SMA practices used by the organization should be no exception. Such changes in practices are important for effective implementation of the new strategy. Otherwise, the new strategy is expected to fail. However, studies, which examine the changes in generic strategy and associated changes in SMA practices are scarce in the Sri Lankan context. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether the change in generic strategy leads to changes in SMA practices used in Alpha Telecom PLC, which is a leading telecommunications company in Sri Lanka. Also, the study expects to recognize other factors contributing to the changes in SMA practices in this company. This study adopted the qualitative research methodology and used the single case study method to conduct an in depth analysis of SMA practices of Alpha Telecom. The data were collected through semi- structured interviews with senior managers and a questionnaire was distributed among middle level executives. Management Accounting (MA) reports and annual reports of the company were used as secondary sources. The study has used new institutional theory as the theoretical lens. The study found that when generic strategy moved from cost leadership to differentiation, the traditional MA practices based on costing shifted to SMA practices such as Balanced scorecard (BSC), Competitor analysis, Quality costing etc. Further, it was found that changes in ownership, culture of parent company, and nature of competition also had an impact towards the usage of new SMA practices within the company. Coercive and mimetic pressures affected for the usage of SMA at Alpha PLC.

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z