Search

This study examines variations in employees’ locus of control (LOC) across the demographic variables of gender, educational background and respondents’ age. The study is based on data collected from 565 employees, using an adapted version of the Rotter Internal–External Locus of Control Scale. Based on a survey of literature, three hypotheses were formulated relating the demographic variables of gender, educational background and age with LOC. The results of this study yielded evidence of variations based on all the three demographic parameters. T-tests and analyses of variance suggest that there is no uniform LOC across different groups of employees. Men, ‘Gen X’ and people with higher educational levels (postgraduates) demonstrate higher internal LOC when compared with counterpart demographic groups. Implications of the findings for organization and management practice are discussed.

We present a DC-DC converter for photovoltaic (PV) applications that is suitable for distributed power conversion obtained by transferring part of the electronics from the inverter to the module. The proposed circuit implements a high-efficiency four-phase interleaved boost converter employing relatively low-valued inductive and capacitive components. Its compact realization is made possible thanks to the innovative design of a dedicated integrated circuit (IC) embedding the power MOS switches and performing the converter control section as well as the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm. The solution is designed for a maximum delivered power of 300 W and to work with an MPPT voltage between 9 V and 36 V, with maximum allowed panel current of 9 A. The area of the complete printed-circuit board is 4 cm\,\times\,7 cm. Experimental measurements show that the average power conversion efficiency is between 93% and 99% and that the MPPT efficiency is always greater than 99.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this feature a caselet with rich policy implications is presented to a panel of academics and practitioners. The panelists diagnose the problem or problems, analyse their causes and make policy-level recommendations that go beyond the immediate situation presented in the case.Readers are requested to send interesting caselets for possible use by Vikalpa. Kindly send three copies to the Editor, Vikalpa.

“The whole in a nutshell!” That is Frontiers of management research abroad. To expose Indian readers to management research abroad we present in this feature jargon free summaries of recent research published in some of the world's leading management journals. These capsule summaries would, We hope, lead the enthusiastic readers to still wider reading. And also to contribute to this feature themselves.Readers are requested to send condensed articles and their publication details to Professor Samir Barua.

Organizations have an important role to play as agents of social change and developement, particularly in developing countries in which changes in social conditions are often prerequisites for growth. This paper suggests a framework for conceptualizing the social role of organizations. Four archetypes of organizational management policy orientations—“commercial,” “entrepreneurial,” “philanthropic,” and “missionary”—are derived based on two underlying dimensions of altruism and social change orientation. The determinants of these two dimensions, the conditions favouring the emergence of each archetype and its management and design aspects are discussed. Each archetype may be relevant to a society under particular environmental conditions.