Journal of Contemporary Research in Management (JCRM)

Extreme Poverty and Food Insecurity as sources of Entrepreneurial Orientation among Food Traders in a Rural Community of Chisamba

Collins Mudenda, Isaac N Simate, Mwape Chileshe — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The study was conducted in order to establish if poverty and food insecurity can be sources of entrepreneurial orientation among food traders. Poverty and food insecurity represent the two major challenges faced many communities, for which the United Nations target to eradicate poverty and eliminate hunger as envisioned in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The study was conducted using a mixed research design were both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data, and was prepared using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). Data were collected from 95 food traders, utilizing a census approach. Data were analysed using descriptive statistical functions such as means and frequencies as well as arithmetic calculations.

The results indicate that all the respondents live in extreme poverty, measured through cut-off line of living under US $2.15 per person per day. Specifically, 40.6% live under US $0.81, 23% live under US $1.81 and 15% live under US $1.35. Further, the respondents eat a variety of food stuff as and when available but were still food insecure because they usually eat same type of food, adults and children skip meals and have reduced food portions when food is available, food doesn’t last and it runs out often.

Therefore, the households are forced to engage in farming so as to produce food crop for home consumption and sale the excess at designated trading areas and roadside markets. The respondents were found to exhibit entrepreneurial orientation characteristics of competitiveness, aggression, proactivity and autonomy. Based on this finding, it can be concluded that poverty and food insecurity are a source of entrepreneurial orientation

Cashless Economy…..India

Roshandass Ramesh Swami, Dr. Kumara Pillai K — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

India is constantly speeding up its operations to achieve its objective of being an economy which is cashless, digital and transparent. In recent years, the Regulatory body of Indian banking system (RBI) have started to gear up with various initiatives, to make India on par with countries like Norway, Finland, Sweden and The Netherlands to grow its cashless economy and choose the way of digital payments. This study performs an analysis on the growth of digital payment system in India. The study evaluates the contribution of each digital payment system to the cashless ecosystem in India. It focuses on different cashless transaction system like Real time gross settlement (RTGS), Unified Payment Interface (UPI), National electronic toll collection (NETC), National electronic fund transfer (NEFT) and eleven more. The study takes into account the past seven financial years (2015-16 to 2021-22) to trace the growth trajectory of digital payments. The results show there is a constant growth in the digital payment ecosystem of India both in terms of value and volume among which UPI (Unified Payments Interface) ranks first when it comes to volume (number of transactions at a given period of time) and Real time gross settlement (RTGS) ranks first in terms of the value (the amount of money transferred). The cumulative result suggests that the percentage growth of the volume (312.64%) is significantly higher than the percentage growth of Value (73.07%) between the year 2015 and 2022 respectively. And as there is increase in the digital payment systems, the analysis shows that the usage of the paper-based instruments gets reduced from 15.59% contribution to just 0.96% contribution towards the total payment systems. These results indicate to the potential growth of digital and cashless economy with the help of banks as well as the contribution done by the Fintech (Financial technology) companies.

Examining the Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Job Performance: A Study of Employees in Private Sector Banks in Coimbatore City

Dr. Narendra Rathnaraj S, Dr. Shalini Prieya A.D — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Emotional intelligence (EI) has emerged as a critical construct in contemporary organizational settings, with profound implications for employee job performance. This study aims to empirically examine the influence of emotional intelligence on job performance among employees in private sector banks operating within Coimbatore City. The research is motivated by the growing recognition of EI as a valuable tool for enhancing organizational performance, stress management, and job satisfaction. The study employed a quantitative research design, utilizing a structured questionnaire to collect data from a representative sample. The questionnaire incorporated validated scales to measure the various dimensions of emotional intelligence, including self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, as well as job performance indicators. The findings reveal that the private sector bank employees in Coimbatore City possess a significant level of emotional intelligence skills in their workplace. Furthermore, the study unveils that the dimensions of emotional intelligence differ significantly across gender and age groups among the respondents. However, no association was found between emotional intelligence skills and the demographic profiles of the employees in their working environment. Notably, the research demonstrates a strong positive correlation among the dimensions of emotional intelligence, suggesting that self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills are interrelated and collectively contribute to overall emotional intelligence. The study provides valuable insights into the pivotal role of emotional intelligence in enhancing job performance and offers practical implications for human resource management practices within the private sector banking industry.

Risk Appetite of Youngsters: A Study with Special Reference to Investment Risk

Dr. Sudhahar M, Maivadivu T — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Risk plays a pivotal role in influencing investment decisions, with many individuals preferring to avoid it altogether in favor of safer options, aiming for a comfortable life. However, it’s commonly understood that higher risk can potentially lead to higher returns. Thus, this study aims to investigate the risk appetite of young adults aged 18-29 to ascertain their willingness to embrace risk in investment decisions. The research employs primary data collected through questionnaires from a sample of three hundred respondents. Analysis of the collected data utilizes descriptive statistics and chisquare analysis techniques.