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Papers by Gayani Hewagama

New Zealand Journal of Applied Business Research

This paper empirically investigates the effectiveness of systematic use of Grievance Settlement P... more This paper empirically investigates the effectiveness of systematic use of Grievance Settlement Practices (GSP) and identifies the impact of the size of the firm on effectiveness of systematic use of GSP in apparel industry in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted relating to large and medium size apparel manufacturing firms in Colombo District. The unit of analysis of this study was at firm level. The sample of the study consist of four (04) large garment manufacturing firms and three (03) medium size garment manufacturing firms. A structured 7-point likert scale questionnaire was administered to collect data from a randomly selected sample of 70 executive level employees representing all firms. The effectiveness of the grievance settlement procedure was analyzed using seven characteristics: formal procedure, speedy settlement, acceptance, settlement at lower level, perceived justice, simplicity and training. The effectiveness of GSP was measured using arithmetic mean and effectivenes...

Abstract This study tests the argument that human resource management in hotels enhances service... more Abstract
This study tests the argument that human resource management in hotels enhances service-recovery performance and job satisfaction through empowering front-line employees to respond to service failures. After an initial phase of qualitative interviewing, dyadic data were gathered through a large-scale survey in thirty hotels in Sri Lanka. The results of structural equation modelling show that the HR practices and management styles adopted in this context help to develop job competence, which is then related to service-recovery performance and job satisfaction. However, they show that service recovery is carefully stage-managed and ‘staircased’ in this hotel context with empowerment strongly related to hierarchical level. Empowerment to address service failures is important in these hotels but it is deliberately graduated according to rank. While employee training shows benefits for both parties, greater job autonomy would enhance the well-being of these service workers.

Career success depends on individual and organizational variables. Personality is one of the dete... more Career success depends on individual and organizational variables. Personality is one of the determinants of career success and this study examined the impact of personality on career success. Personality can be split into Type A and Type B personalities and introversion and extraversion personalities. The objective of this research was to empirically investigate the impact of Type A and Type B personalities on career success and the impact of introversion and extraversion personalities on career success of top level managers. The unit of analysis of this study was at individual level. The sample of the study consists of 75 top level managers in seven Commercial Banks in Sri Lanka. A structured likert scale questionnaire was administered to collect data. The statistical techniques of Independent Sample t Test and Regression Analysis were used to analyze data. The highest number of individuals in the sample belongs to Type A personality and results of the independent sample t test pr...

This article conducts a systematic review of the literature on human resource management (HRM) in... more This article conducts a systematic review of the literature on human resource management (HRM) in the hotel sector in order to answer the following related questions: what human resource (HR) practices and strategies exist in the hotel sector and why do they exist? The paper discusses the challenges faced by the hotel industry and the relevant HR strategies and practices in this context. The findings reveal that there is a mix of HR strategies in the sector, with hotels blending numerical flexibility with externalized forms of labour, and functional flexibility with high-commitment HRM.

International Journal of Hospitality Management, 2019

This study tests the argument that human resource management in hotels enhances service-recovery ... more This study tests the argument that human resource management in hotels enhances service-recovery performance and job satisfaction through empowering front-line employees to respond to service failures. After an initial phase of qualitative interviewing, dyadic data were gathered through a large-scale survey in thirty hotels in Sri Lanka. The results of structural equation modelling show that the HR practices and management styles adopted in this context help to develop job competence, which is then related to service-recovery performance and job satisfaction. However, they show that service recovery is carefully stage-managed and 'staircased' in this hotel context with empowerment strongly related to hierarchical level. Empowerment to address service failures is important in these hotels but it is deliberately graduated according to rank. While employee training shows benefits for both parties, greater job autonomy would enhance the well-being of these service workers.

Proceedings of International Conference on Business Management, Feb 25, 2012

Dual commitment of union employees to their unions and also to their employing organizations is a... more Dual commitment of union employees to their unions and also to their employing organizations is a research area in which hardly any empirical research was carried out in Sri Lankan context. Therefore the research issue of the study was to empirically examine the association between industrial relations climate, dual commitment and intention to quit the organization and union of operational level employees in food and beverage industry in Sri Lanka. For the purpose of data collection three large scale highly unionized organizations in food and beverages industry were selected. A structured 7-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to collect data from a randomly selected sample of 135 operational level employees representing all firms. Unit of analysis was at individual level. Scores were obtained separately for organizational commitment, union commitment,industrial relations climate and intention to quit. Correlation coefficient was used to test the hypotheses of the study. A significant positive correlation between the organization commitment and union commitment was evident indicating the existence of dual commitment. Industrial relations climate was positively related with organization and union commitment. Both organization commitment and union commitment were negatively correlated with intention to quit the organization. These findings revealed that harmonious industrial relations climate is a vital factor for existence of dual commitment and will reduce employees’ intention to leave the organization. Key Words: Dual Commitment, Intention To Quit, Industrial Relations Climate For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk

Sri Lankan Journal of Human Resource Management, 2013

This study explores the relationship between various predictors of union participation namely; un... more This study explores the relationship between various predictors of union participation namely; union loyalty, union instrumentality, them and us attitude and workplace collectivism on employees' willingness to participate in union activities of public sector organizations in Sri Lanka. A structured questionnaire was distributed among randomly selected sample of 254 unionized employees in seven large scale highly unionized public sector organizations. The statistical results of the study revealed that member attitudes namely; union loyalty and union instrumentality were positively associated with union participation. However, union loyalty was the significant and most powerful predictor of union participation.

The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for tertiary education institutions worldw... more The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for tertiary education institutions worldwide. The crisis placed enormous pressure on educational institutions as they were required to pivot suddenly to teaching fully online. In New Zealand, Tertiary Education Organisations (TEOs) were forced to close on Wednesday 25 March 2020 after New Zealand moved to Alert Level 4, necessitating the sudden implementation of online teaching. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of pre-recorded instructional videos in three selected courses taught by a tertiary education institution, a member of the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) New Zealand.

Dual commitment of union employees to their unions and also to their employing organizations is a... more Dual commitment of union employees to their unions and also to their employing organizations is a research area hardly any empirical research carried out in Sri Lankan context. Therefore the research issue of the study was to empirically examine the association between industrial relations climate, dual commitment and intention to quit the organization and union of operational level employees in food and beverage industry in Sri Lanka. For the purpose of data collection three large scale highly unionized organizations in food and beverages industry have been selected. A structured 7-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to collect data from a randomly selected sample of 135 operational level employees representing all firms. Unit of analysis was at individual level. Scores obtained separately for organizational commitment, union commitment, industrial relations climate and intention to quit. Correlation was used to test the hypotheses of the study. A significant positive correlation between the organization commitment and union commitment was evidence the existence of dual commitment. Industrial relations climate positively related with organization and union commitment. Both organization and union commitment negatively correlate with intention quit the organization. These findings revealed harmonious industrial relations climate is a vital factor of existence of dual commitment and will reduce employees' intention to leave the organization.

Relationship. The objectives of the study are, to identify the effectiveness of the grievance set... more Relationship. The objectives of the study are, to identify the effectiveness of the grievance settlement procedure, to examine the Labour Management Relationship & to test the relationship between the grievance settlement procedure and its impact on Labour Management Relationship of the selected firms of apparel industry in Sri Lanka. The data was collected from a randomly selected sample of 60 executive level employees in six apparel firms located within Colombo District. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect data. Labour Management Relationship was assessed by using the four dimensions: cooperation, participation, understanding, and dispute settlement. The effectiveness of the grievance settlement procedure was analyzed using seven established characteristics, namely; formal procedure, speedy settlement, acceptance, settlement at lowest level, perceived justice, simplicity and training. The data was analyzed using Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Mean Values. The findings of the study reveal a positive significant impact of the effectiveness of the grievance settlement on Labour Management Relationship in apperal industry in Sri Lanka.

New Zealand Journal of Applied Business Research

International Journal of Hospitality Management, 2019

Proceedings of International Conference on Business Management, Feb 25, 2012

Sri Lankan Journal of Human Resource Management, 2013

Dual commitment of union employees to their unions and also to their employing organizations is a... more Dual commitment of union employees to their unions and also to their employing organizations is a research area hardly any empirical research carried out in Sri Lankan context. Therefore the research issue of the study was to empirically examine the association between industrial relations climate, dual commitment and intention to quit the organization and union of operational level employees in food and beverage industry in Sri Lanka. For the purpose of data collection three large scale highly unionized organizations in food and beverages industry have been selected. A structured 7-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to collect data from a randomly selected sample of 135 operational level employees representing all firms. Unit of analysis was at individual level. Scores obtained separately for organizational commitment, union commitment, industrial relations climate and intention to quit. Correlation was used to test the hypotheses of the study. A significant positive correlation between the organization commitment and union commitment was evidence the existence of dual commitment. Industrial relations climate positively related with organization and union commitment. Both organization and union commitment negatively correlate with intention quit the organization. These findings revealed harmonious industrial relations climate is a vital factor of existence of dual commitment and will reduce employees' intention to leave the organization.