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This study investigates the effect of continuous improvement initiatives in streamlining HRM practices in Sri Lanka.

Survey methodology was used and 217 respondents who fulfilled the selection criteria set for the study responded. Structural equation modelling was performed to examine the hypothesized relationships.

The analysis supported the hypotheses that continuous improvement initiatives significantly positively influence to streamline HRM practices of performance management, job-related training, employee involvement and team work.

Continuous improvement initiatives that are aligned with the strategic direction of firms guide to design and implement better focused HRM practices.

The failure to streamline HRM practices in accordance with continuous improvement initiatives has been identified as a key barrier for the effective utilization of human resources. Although continuous improvement initiatives demand changes in the way HRM is practiced, so far, little empirical attention has been paid to understand the implications of continuous improvement initiatives for HRM practices.

The purpose of this paper is to present empirical findings of the effect of continuous improvement (CI) on shop-floor employees’ job performance in the Lean production system-implemented textile and apparel firms.

A random sample of 657 shop-floor employees engaged full-time in Lean production systems-implemented textile and apparel firms in Sri Lanka responded to the survey. Statistical methods were used for data analysis.

It was revealed that CI significantly and positively influences shop-floor employees’ job performance, and the duration of Lean production in operations (termed as Lean duration) moderates this relationship.

Investigations on the ways in which CI initiatives influence employees is important in creating an environment to sustain the improvement efforts over a longer period. Such lessons would be valuable for academics and practitioners alike worldwide.

The purpose of this study is to investigate conditions that facilitate shop-floor operators to fulfil their needs to carry out job roles and whether the need fulfilment affects their job performance in lean-implemented textile and apparel firms in Sri Lanka.

The data were collected from 922 shop-floor employees and their immediate supervisors. Statistical methods were used for the data analysis.

The results of the analysis imply the importance of managerial autonomy support and need fulfilment for enhanced job performance; the duration of lean production in operation moderates job performance in such a way that the longer the duration, the higher will be job performance.

It could be expected that academics and practitioners alike are motivated by a desire to clearly apprehend work systems in lean-implemented textile and apparel firms.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of lean production practices and lean duration (the duration for which lean production is in operation) on manufacturing performance.

The survey was used as the main method of data collection. In addition to survey data collected from 1,189 respondents from export-based textile and apparel firms operating in Sri Lanka, longitudinal data were collected over a period of seven months from a firm in the study sample to corroborate the survey findings.

The findings revealed that lean production practices significantly enhance manufacturing performance. Further findings revealed the importance of the duration of lean production in operation in achieving higher levels of manufacturing performance. This provides empirical support for the contention that the adoption of lean production can only be achieved through time.

Findings have implications for practices of export-based textile and apparel producing countries from Asia, Latin and Central America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and North Africa, which are competing intensively with each other for their market share in the global export-based textile and apparel production.

Manufacturing firms are adopting production methods and management practices to become leaner and fitter to create a new labour intensive production model that generate distinctive internal capabilities for survival and growth in international markets. Academics and practitioners in the field of manufacturing technologies will be interested in better understanding how lean production practices would enhance manufacturing performance from a non-western developing country context.

The purpose of this paper is to review historical developments in higher education in Sri Lanka, and review issues faced and strategies adopted to improve higher education in state universities in the country. The paper also reviews national and international forces that influenced to modernise and improve higher education in state universities in the country.

The paper reviews available published documents from the last two decades to present and discuss key national and international forces transforming the higher education of the country and strategies adopted to modernise and improve higher education in state universities in the country.

Historical development in general and higher education together with key characteristics of the Sri Lankan education system are discussed. The governing bodies of the state university education, donor agencies and strategies adopted for the development of higher education in the country during the recent history have been reviewed. Conclusions and challenges for the future are also presented.

The higher education of the country underwent rapid transformations over the past seven decades with the aim of strengthening the wider relationship between university, industry and society. A review on higher education in Sri Lanka could provide lessons valuable for academics and practitioners alike worldwide.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of pay satisfaction of executive-level employees in public sector of Sri Lanka, which follows an open pay system.

The perceptions of equity, love of money, justice and seven individual and socio-demographic characteristics were investigated as the determinants of pay satisfaction. The survey methodology is used for data collection.

The findings showed equity, love of money, justice, the years of work experience in public sector, the number of income earners in the family and the number of dependents in the family as the significant predictors of pay satisfaction. Gender is identified as a significant predictor of love of money.

This study investigated the dynamics of pay satisfaction in a novel research context – i.e. public sector, an open pay system, gender equality in the pay system and an Asian developing country.

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study that investigated workplace learning activities and drivers that enhanced learning as experienced by employees in Sri Lanka.

This study was conducted in the knowledge process outsourcing sector, where employees perform knowledge work in flatter team-based structures with information technology-enabled work environments. From the 17 firms that volunteered to participate in the study, 239 technical/professional employees volunteered for the survey. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify the association between drivers of workplace learning and learning activities experienced by employees and whether individual demographic characteristics and the number of employees in the firm are associated with workplace learning activities experienced by employees.

This study found that organisation-related, individual-related and team-related drivers significantly influence workplace learning activities experienced by employees. In addition, employees’ age, firm-specific experience and the number of employees in the firm significantly influence the same.

This paper presents learning activities experienced by employees in the completion of work-related job tasks at hand and drivers experienced by employees in the new normal that has existed since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The study aims to investigate organization interventions experienced by employees during the lockdown for Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), and the effect of these organization interventions on hope.

The respondents for the study were employees in full-time white-collar or professional job positions; they performed their job roles by way of work from home (WFH) in Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 lockdown. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.

Results showed that employees maintained high levels of hope while working from home. The study identified four organization interventions that (a) promote collaborative and coordinated work, (b) promote meaningful goals and a sense of social support, (c) alleviate psychological strain and (d) assist in maintaining physical health. These four organization interventions increased hope during the COVID-19 lockdown while working from home.

The literature calls for research on intervention studies explaining the promotion of hope. The present study was built on the theories of positive organizational behaviour, conservation of resources theory and hope theory. The findings support that these three traditional theories have lasting theoretical resonance in explaining present-day phenomena with unique applications.

This study aims to explore the differences between science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM disciplines in terms of the changes to teaching and research practices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The paper analyses survey responses collected between July and November 2020 from 241 academics (excluding library staff) from the five oldest state universities in Sri Lanka. The analysis focuses on the differences between STEM and non-STEM faculty using multiple linear regression to control for demographic characteristics such as age, gender and designation as well as university-specific factors.

The paper finds significant differences in the teaching practices of STEM and non-STEM academics, both in terms of preparation time for teaching and tools used for online delivery. Significant differences are also observed in research practices, with STEM faculty being significantly more likely to engage in research collaborations, obtain research funding and be involved in more research projects. The authors do not find any evidence of the pandemic having differential impacts on research productivity between the broad disciplines.

This research provides insights into the differences between STEM and non-STEM disciplines in online teaching and research practices adopted since the onset of the pandemic, which are important for formulating appropriate policy responses to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on both students and staff. The contribution is particularly significant for developing countries where the creation of a skilled workforce is a key driver of the development process.