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Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Sample Proposal for Research Methods



A Study of the level of disclosure practices of Green Accounting of the Corporate Sector of Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT

Today many companies in the world show their corporate social responsibility by their duty to the environment. This can be identified as a positive measure towards a better place to live as during the past few decades the earth has been severely damaged by the rapid industrialization of the world. This study will analyze the amount of disclosure of Green Accounting practices in the corporate sector of Sri Lanka.
Green Accounting although an emerging trend in the worldwide arena of Accounting, is still a very novel concept in the infancy stage to the Sri Lankan Public. Only a handful of organizations can be identified as organizations which disclose green accounting data.
The disclosure of practices of Green Accounting practices will be tested against appropriate variables to incur an understanding about organization demographics relating to better disclosure of Green Accounting practices
Relevant research to Sri Lankan context haven’t been heard of, therefore this study will be a significant study for the government as well as corporate organizations

1. OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

1.1 Introduction to the study

Environmental protection is one of the most pressing concerns of this millennium and according to Dillard et al the widespread industrial growth and expansion through-out the world have resulted in environmental issues becoming major societal risk factors. As a result Government intermediaries, and communities in both developed, and developing nations have recently begun paying greater attention to environmental issues. Jahamani (2003) critically argues that developed nations such as the US and UK have greatly contributed towards its environment both theoretically and practically. However not all countries are equally environmental friendly and this is depicted through their environmental policies and regulations. Nevertheless, Alagan(2010) states that Sri Lanka makes a great effort to safeguard its environment in comparison to its South Asian neighbors.
Stanojevic, Vranes and Gokalp (2010) mentions that “The first step towards the widespread use of renewable energy   and preservation of our environment for the people of the future is to adopt the green accounting standards that translate socially and environmentally responsible behavior into monetary terms, the only language businesses understand”
“The Institute of Management Accountants in the USA defined environmental accounting as the identification, measurement, and allocation of environmental costs, the integration of these environmental costs into business decisions, and the subsequent communication of the information to a company’s stakeholders” (Jahamani, 2003). Hossain, Islam and Andrew (2006), in their study about the level of green accounting disclosures in the corporate sector in Bangladesh critically argues that corporate environmental disclosure may not apply universally to all organizations as one organization’s attitude and awareness towards environmental disclosure practices may differ from another.
 The purpose of this study is to analyze the existing level of disclosure of Green Accounting practices among the Corporate Sector in Sri Lanka. However it is important to understand the competitive nature of the corporate sector as all organizations operate in the market with the idea of gaining profits in their minds. Therefore each of these players follows a particular corporate strategy to achieve their own objectives. The correct implementation of Green Accounting is bound to boost one’s corporate image as the proper implementation of Green Accounting will create a positive impact on the country.
Rajapakshe (2003) in his study about the environmental reporting practices in Sri Lanka concluded that Green Accounting best practices were inconspicuous in Sri Lanka. However today following the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, many top Sri Lankan companies such as Dialog Telecom PLC, Aitken Spence Holdings, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, Hatton National Bank, Ceylon Tobacco Company and NDB Bank disclose environmental information in their Annual Reports where they disclose their policy and accountability towards the environment. Their commitment to the area of Green Accounting has been rewarded by the ACCA Sri Lankan Awards for sustainability reporting since year 2005. However the biggest challenge in implementing Green Accounting to the corporate sector lies in fact that there may be several barriers blocking such policies. The tension between the environmental protection and economic development may give rise to issues as changes Sri Lankans are believed to be very resistant towards changes in social attitudes.
“Although Sri Lanka has a good record in environmental education, the Asian region still lacks the political will and commitment to protect its environment.”(Alagan, 2010) Therefore it is mandatory that necessary measures should be followed to implement Green Accounting to the corporate sector of Sri Lanka as it may benefit the sustainable development of the country beyond measures.

1.2 Problem Statement


Green Accounting is the concept of recognizing the contribution of the environment to the country’s economic growth. It is considered to be allocation and identification of the environment costs used in business procedures, and the integration of these costs into business decisions while communicating such environmental information to company stakeholders. Although much practiced in the Western and American worlds, it is a considerably new concept to Sri Lanka.
Few top corporate organizations in Sri Lanka already practice Green Accounting to a very minor extent but on the other hand Green Accounting is still a novel concept which illustrates a sluggish nature. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Sri Lanka hasn’t declared any Green Accounting Standards as yet; hence Green Accounting practices will take many years to establish as a daily practice in the corporate world Therefore this report will identify the existing level of disclosure of green accounting practices in the corporate sector and will determine its impact on organizational performance.
Company annual reports derived from the conventional accounting framework don’t disclose any environmental information and gives prominence solely to the financial position of the organization. They do not at any point convey how the corporate wishes to serve the environment. But a good green accounting framework will reduce unnecessary pollution and provide better protection and preservation to the environment from the negative effects of urban and industrial development. Therefore it’s evident that Green Accounting is a must for the corporate sector as their daily activities such as manufacturing, transportation etc have made a great negative impact on the environment over the years and they should take every possible step to preserve the environment.

1.3 Problem Justification

According to the Guardian (2009), American President Barack Obama’s Green Economy concept paved the way for the development of a Green Economy to become on top of America’s agenda.
With the introduction of these reforms there has been an emerging trend of going green all over the world. “With the growing green consumer awareness, companies are more than ever expected to align its business strategies with environmental initiatives. Environmentally conscious companies have already discovered that they can generate business strategies to help them reduce their carbon footprint, minimize their environmental impact, make the best use of natural resources, become more energy efficient, reduce costs, and exhibit social responsibility – all at the same time.” (Jhonson, 2009) The concept of Green Accounting is based on the principle of using environmental information to derive environmentally friendly decisions and business practices.
Nowadays companies seem to be very much concerned about the environment however the real challenge lies in applying these ideals in their day to day activities. However “in Sri Lanka there is neither a professional standard nor legal framework addressing the issue of environmental reporting”. (Pramanik et al, 2008) Consequently although some of the top corporate sector organizations reveal green accounting information in their annual reports, it is quite questionable whether environmental information is taken into consideration for their day to day activities and decision making. Hence before the implementation of such theories, it is viable to identify the barriers to execute such policies and how to overcome them to in order to boost the image of a corporate as well as the overall image of the country.

1.4 Objectives of the study

1.      To find out the existing level of disclosure practices of  green accounting among corporate sectors
2.      To determine the relationship of Green Accounting disclosure practices and organizational performance
3.      To evaluate the barriers of implementing green accounting practices to the corporate sectors
4.      To find out the relationship between demographic factors of the corporate sectors and Green Accounting Disclosure Practices
5.      To identify the managers’ perception of the degree of Green Accounting involvement in the corporate  sector
6.      To find out the future investment capacity to implement the Green Accounting practices in Sri Lankan Corporate Sectors

1.5 Significance of the Study

 Green or environmental accounting is the utmost effort to incorporate environmental benefits and expenses into sound economic decision making. Although a novel concept to Sri Lanka, the concept of Green Accounting is becoming an emerging trend in the world with more and more green concepts being swept in every day.  This concept can minimize environmental pollution and wastage while developing the corporate image of an organization in an effective manner. This study will suggest the importance of green accounting being implemented to the Sri Lankan Corporate sector and how it will become a solution to the nation’s most pressing environmental issues. This study will become beneficial for the Government as this will address the need for such a concept in Sri Lanka and how it will affect the living conditions of the country.
This study will bring about the perception that natural resources such as water, soil, air and forests need to be treated explicitly at both the Micro and Macro planning levels of the society. With the findings of this study the corporate sector will find the existing level disclosure practices of green accounting among the corporate sectors and the feasibility of introducing such concepts to their workplace which will help them to develop a better corporate image which will consequently lead to larger profits and stability in the long run.
The findings of this study will affect the listed companies at a bigger proportion as the sample for the study is based upon them and the success of such implementation will be determined by the vision and mission of a particular company.
When considering the Government point of view, they will be able to examine the role of natural resources in the sustainable development in the country and making the most of the natural resources while harming the nature as less as possible.
Finally when it comes to the community/society, they will be able to realize the impact of development on the environment and the earth that we live in and they will try to protect the environment with their maximum will.

1.6 Scope and limitations of the study

Scope of the study
This study is a comparative analysis based on the concept of Green Accounting. The proposed study will be conducted for a population derived from the Colombo Stock Exchange listed companies in Sri Lanka.
Limitations of the study
This study topic calls for a broader sample since The Colombo Stock Exchange is home to 238 companies. (CSE, 2010) However it isn’t practical to study Green Accounting practices in-relation to all 238 companies. Therefore the study will be conducted for the LMD top 50 companies for year 2008/2009 (LMD, 2010); with more than 3 companies in each sector. However after categorizing the LMD top 50 companies into industry sectors, it is evident that not all 20 sectors are represented. Hence the sample for the study will be limited to CSE listed companies in the six sectors of Banking Finance and Insurance, Beverage food and Tobacco, Diversified Holdings, Hotels and Travels, Manufacturing and Trading. Thereafter their level of disclosure of Green Accounting Practices will be measured through a questionnaire distributed among financial mangers as well as by analyzing the company annual reports.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

 “After having witnessed countless ecological disasters and the progressive degradation of the earth’s eco-systems, society is beginning to ask for environmentally responsible behavior from both government and businesses”. (Stanojevic, Vranes and Gokalp, 2010:2)
Accepting this societal need today various companies in the world have already implemented Green Accounting Practices. Tilt (2000), in her study about environmental disclosure levels in Australian company’s reveal that The world famous UK based pharmaceutical company Glaxo has a strong commitment to its environment. However when it comes to the Asian Region, Yulon Nissan Motors is one such company which is successfully involved in green accounting. (Hwa-Rong and Mei-Lynn, 2004).
When measuring the level of disclosure of Green Accounting practices, many studies have considered the company annual report as a form of disclosure. (Moneva and Lena, 2000; Freedman and Jaggi, 1986; Staglino and Walden, 1998; Guthrie and Parker,1989; Roberts, 1992: Hossain, Islam and Andrew,2006). In the next chapter the author will be critically demonstrating the previous literature covering the topic of the level of disclosure of green accounting practices in corporate sector.
The relationship between the Organization size and the disclosure practices of Green Accounting
Andrew et al(1989) in their study of the disclosure practices in Singapore and Malaysia found out that a higher number of large and medium sized organizations revealed more information when compared to smaller sized companies. Consequently Staglino and Walden (1998) revealed positive association between the organization size and the quantity of disclosure of green accounting practices. Similarly Cormier and Magnan (1999), in their study about the determinants of corporate environmental reporting by Canadian firms subjected to water pollution regulations during the 1986-1993 era observed that larger companies with better financial performance were obliged to disclose environmental information. Additionally Lang and Lundlom, 1993, Nue et al, 1998, Bewley and Li,2000 have also proved the relationship between the company size and the level of disclosure of green accounting practices. (Magness, 2006)
Many researchers have proved a positive relationship between the size of the company and the amount of environmental disclosure in the annual reports of both developed and developing nations. (Hossain, Islam and Andrew, 2006)
“However, other researchers like Roberts (1992), Ng (1985) and Davey (1982) found that the size of the company did not significantly explain an association with the level of disclosure practices.” (Hossain, Islam and Andrew, 2006:4). Past studies done by Glaum and Street (2003), Street and Bryant (2000), Street and Gray (2001) and Tower et al. (1999) also support the above statement.(Lopes and Rodrigus,2005)
The independent variable of size has been measured in different aspects in different studies. Measures of size used by past researchers were number of employees, total asset value, total revenue etc. (Tilt, 2000: Hossain, Islam and Andrew, 2006:Lopes and Rodrigues,2005)
Nevertheless Tilt (2000) reveals that this doesn’t make a huge impact on the findings as the particular variable is selected to ensure the non-biasness of data.
The relationship between the Organization Industry/Sector and the disclosure practices of Green Accounting
The industry of the relevant organization is an independent variable which has been very minutely used in similar studies in the past. It is one of the explanatory variables for disclosure levels. (Hossain, Islam and Andrew, 2006)
Past researchers have been able to critically identify both positive relationships between the above stated variables; the findings have been summarized below.
ACCA (2010), in its study about environmental reporting in Singaporean companies identified the manufacturing sector as the main disclosing sector.
There are significant differences between industries in both the quantity and quality of environmental information reported (Adams et al., 1995; Gamble et al., 1995; Jaggi and Zhao, 1996 cited in Moneva and Llena, 2000).
Thus, it is viable to come to the conclusion that industries that do the most harm to the environment will engage in more green activities and disclose higher portions of green accounting practices. (Moneva and Llena, 2000 ; Ahmad, Sulaiman and Siswantoro,2003)
“Hackston and Milne(1996) report that disclosures are higher in, what they classify as, high profile industries. On the other hand, Cowen et al. (1987), Adams et al. (1995 and 1998) and Freedman and Jaggi (1988) find that specific areas of disclosure are related to industry sector.” (Gray et al, 2001: 330)
However it’s also vital to outline that there have been instances where studies have been able tro prove that there wasn’t any relationship between the two variables. Ahmad, Sulaiman and Siswantoro (2003) upon studying annual reports of listed Malaysian companies came to the conclusion that the level of disclosures regarding company CSR activities didn’t vary across industries
The relationship between the Organization Audit Firm and the disclosure practices of Green Accounting
Chalmers and Godfrey (2004), states High profile auditors are bound to demand high level of environmental disclosure from their respective clients as a method of protecting their reputation and status.
“Several studies have examined empirically the relation between the characteristics of the audit firm (size of audit firm or international link of the auditing firm) and the extent of social and environmental disclosure and found positive association between the audit firm size and the level of disclosure. It is believed to be an important responsibility of auditors to recommend their clients to practice socially responsible accounting practices”. (Choi,1998 cited in Hossain, Islam and Andrew, 2006:5).
However there have been both positive relationships and negative relationships between the two variables in the past studies. The findings of Hodgdon (2004), Glaum and Street (2003) and Street and Gray (2001) found a positive significant
Relationship while Chalmers and Godfrey (2004) and Abd-Elsalam and Weetman (2003) found mixed results regarding this variable. (Lopes and Rodrigues,2005)
 The relationship between the Organization Turnover and the disclosure practices of Green Accounting
“Fry and Mock (1976), Belkaoui and Karpik (1989) and Hackston and Milne (1996) find no relationship whilst Freedman and Ullmann (1986) and Freedman and Jaggi (1988) find either no relationship or an inverse relationship”. (Gray et al,2001:330)
Bowman (1978, cited in Gray et al, 2001) finds a positive relationship between environmental disclosure and financial performance whilst Roberts (1992, cited in Gray et al, 2001) cautiously concludes that a insulated relationship exists between these two variables.
A positive association between profitability and the extent of corporate social and environmental disclosure were empirically proved in work by Trotman and Bradley (1981), Roberts (1982), Belkaoui and Karpik (1989), Adams et al. (1995 and 1998) and Hackston and Milne (1996). (Hossain, Islam and Andrew, 2006 ; Gray et al, 2001:330)
The relationship between the Organization Culture (westernization) and the disclosure practices of Green Accounting
It is believed that “the more internationalized a company is the more it has to show its stakeholders (customers, suppliers, government) that it is a good company.” (Lopes and Rodrigues,2005: 11)
And when a company is international or rather has international ties, irrespective of the fact whether they import, export or have subsidiaries worldwide, it is quite clear that they have to acquire international standards in their day to day activities. Therefore they have to adhere to a certain set of standards since western countries have a very through framework for accounting where the standards are quite high. Although Green Accounting isn’t a day to day practice in Sri Lanka, it is an emerging trend in the world. Hence it’s clear that the Organization culture has an impact on the level of disclosure of green accounting practices.
However Lopes and Rodrigues (2005) could not pinpoint a clear relationship between the levels of internationalization and the disclosure of practices in the Portuguese stock exchange; consistently to the findings of Street and Gray (2001, cited in Lopes and Rodrigues, 2005)
The relationship between the Corporate governance and the disclosure practices of Green Accounting
Lopes and Rodrigues (2005:12) states that “Both agency and contingency theories conduct us to think that corporate governance structure of the company may be related to reporting practices, specifically to disclosure practices.”
However Haniffa and Cooke (2002, cited in Lopes and Rodrigues, 2005) declares that independent directors are needed on the boards to monitor and control the actions of the other executive managers.
“So, board composition may be an interesting variable to consider because it will reflect the role of independent directors. It can be expected more disclosure for companies with higher proportion of independent directors, once they are outside to the company and will force management to disclose. On the other hand, if the board has a high proportion of non-independent directors, it can be expected less disclosure, once they have access to inside information.” (Lopes and Rodrigues, 2005:12-13)
However the study conducted by Lopes and Rodriguez couldn’t show evidence on a positive relationship between corporate governance and disclosure of practices’. (Lopes and Rodrigues, 2005)

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Conceptual Framework


 Independent Variable                                                                           Dependent Variable

 






  

3.2 List of Hypothesis formulated

 


Hypothesis
1

Ho 1-There is no relationship between the organization size and the level of disclosure practices of green accounting
Ha 1-There is a relationship between the organization size and the level of disclosure practices of green accounting
2
Ho 2-There is no relationship between the organization culture and the level of disclosure practices of green accounting
Ha 2-There is a relationship between the organization culture and the level of disclosure practices of green accounting
3
Ho 3-There is no relationship between the organization industry and the level of disclosure practices of green accounting
Ha 3-There is a relationship between the organization industry and the level of disclosure practices of green accounting
4
Ho4-There is no relationship between the Corporate Governance of the organization and the level of disclosure practices of green accounting
Ha 4-There is a relationship between the Corporate Governance of the organization and the level of disclosure practices in green accounting
5
Ho 5-There is no relationship between the organization turnover and the level of disclosure practices of green accounting
Ha 5-There is a relationship between the organization turnover and the level of disclosure practices in green accounting
6
Ho 6-There is no relationship between the audit firm for the organization and the level of disclosure practices of green accounting
Ha 6-There is a relationship between the audit firm for the organization and the level of disclosure practices in green accounting


3.3 Population

This study will be conducted for 238 CSE listed companies (CSE, 2010) covering 20 sectors. However since the population is broad, it will be further narrowed down to a target population of Top 50 LMD companies for year 2008/2009 (LMD, 2010).

3.4 Sample

The sampling method for the study will be stratified systematic simple random sampling. The top 50 LMD companies will be categorized into groups according to the relevant sectors. (Based on the CSE companies- list by industry/ sector) (Refer appendix A)
Furthermore after categorizing the companies into the relevant sectors, each sector with three or more companies will be selected for the sample. (Refer appendix B for the list of the companies) Therefore the sample for the study will consist of 40 organizations covering six sectors.
Selected number of companies from each sector
Sector
Number of Organizations
Bank, Finance and Insurance
13
Beverage, food and Tobacco
07
Diversified Holdings
07
Hotels and Travels
03
Manufacturing
06
Trading
04

Total = 40
 
 


  
Table 2- sectors selected for the study
Source: Author’s work
However in the process of data collection, a questionnaire based on the objectives and the conceptual framework of the study will be developed to evaluate the independent and dependent variables and will be distributed among the finance managers of the 40 companies in the sample. (Refer Appendix C) Parallel to this, the annual reports of the companies from year 2005-2010 will be analyzed in order to attain an understanding about their disclosure practices of green accounting.
Population and Sample


3.5 Operationalization of Variables


Type of the variable
Name of the Variable
Definition
Measurement of data
Independent Variable
Organization size

The number of employees working in the company
Ratio
Type of Industry/Sector

What sort of operations does the company engage in
nominal
Organization culture

Behavior patterns of the employees
Interval
Corporate Governance

Number of Independent Directors
ratio
Organization turnover

Income generated by the organization
ratio
Audit Firm
The number of employees working for the Audit Firm
ratio
Dependent variable
Level of disclosure practices of Green Accounting
To what extent do they reveal Green Accounting practices
Interval

Table 3- Operational Table
Source- Author’s work

3.6 Proposed Statistical Method


When considering the variables used in the conceptual Framework, it can be identified that ANOVA (analysis of variances) is the best method to analyze the statistics. Similar studies done by Lopes and Rodrigues (2005),   and Moneva and Llena (2000) have used the same statistical method. Therefore the author will be using the same method to analyze statistics.

REFERENCES


Cormier, D. and Magnan, M. (1999), “Corporate environmental disclosure strategies:
determinants, costs and benefits”, Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, pp. 429-51.
Jahamani,Y.F,(2003), Green Accounting in Developing Countries: The
Case of U.A.E. and Jordan, Accounting Journal, Vol.29, No.08, pp. 29-38

Stanojevic,M.Vranes,S and GokalP, I. (2010), Green accounting for greener energy, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,pp 30

Hossain,M. Islam,K. and Andrew,J.(2003), Corportae Social Environmental Disclosure in Developing Countries:Evidence from Bangaldesh, Faculty of Commerce Papers,

Staglino,A. and Walden,D.(1998), assessing the quality of Environmental Disclosure Themes.USA

Rajapakse, B. (2003). Environmental Reporting Expectation Gap: Evidence from Private Sector Organizations in Sri Lanka. IWE Journal, 3, 99 -199.

Pramanik,A.Shil,N. Das,B., (2008). Corporate Environmental Reporting:An emerging issue in the corporate. International Journal of business management, Vol 3, No.12

Tilt,C., (1998). Corporate The content and disclosure of Australian corporate environmental policies: Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal.,PP 90 -120

Lopes,P and Rodrigues,L. (2005). ACCOUNTING FOR FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DETERMINANTS OF DISCLOSURE IN THE PORTUGUESE STOCK EXCHANGE.

Chalmers, K. and J. Godfrey (2004), "Reputation Costs: The Impetus for Voluntary
Derivative Financial Instrument Reporting", Accounting, Organizations and Society,
Vol. 29, 2, pp. 95-125.
                                  
Gray,R, Javad,M., Power,D and Sinclaire C (2001). Social and Environmental
Disclosure and Corporate Characteristics: A Research Noteand Extension. Journal of Business Finance &" Accounting, vol 28(3) & (4).pp 327-356

Ahmad,N. Sulaiman,M and Siswantoro,D. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DISCLOSUREIN MALAYSIA: AN ANALYSIS OF ANNUAL REPORTS OF KLSE LISTED COMPANIES. IIUM Journal of Economics and Management.Vol 11,1

 Moneva, J and Llena, F (2000) Environmental disclosures in the
annual reports of large companies in Spain. The European Accounting Review 2000, 9:1, pp7-29

Glaum, M. and D. Street (2003), "Compliance with the Disclosure Requirements of
Germany's New Market: IAS versus US GAAP", Journal of International Financial
Management & Accounting, Vol. 14, 1, pp. 65-100.

Street, D. and S. Bryant (2000), "Disclosure Level and Compliance with IASs: A Comparison of Companies With and Without US Listings and Fillings", The International Journal of Accounting, Vol. 35, 3, pp. 305-329.

Street, D. and S. Gray (2001), Observance of International Accounting Standards: Factors Explaining Non-compliance, ACCA Research Report nº 74, ed.: London Certified Accountants Educational Trust.

Tower, G., P. Hancock and R. Taplin (1999), "A regional study of listed companies'
compliance with international accounting standards", Accounting Forum, Vol. 23, 3,
pp. 293-305.

Cormier,D and Magnan, M(1999) orporate Environmental Disclosure Strategies: Determinants, Costs and Benefits.
Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, Vol 14, No 4

Freedman, M. and Jaggi, B. (1988), “An analysis of the association between pollution disclosures and economic performance”, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 1, pp. 43-58.

Guthrie, J. and Parker, L. (1989), “Corporate social reporting: a rebuttal of legitimacy theory”, Accounting and Business Research, Vol. 19, pp. 343-52.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

LMD Top 50 companies categorized into the relevant industry sectors

Sector
Company
Bank, Finance and Insurance
1.      Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC
2.      Hatton National Bank PLC
3.      Seylan Bank
4.      Sampath Bank
5.      Ceylinco Insurance PLC
6.      Central Finance Company PLC
7.      Nations Trust Bank
8.      Lanka Orix Leasing Company
9.      DFCC Bank
10.  National Development Bank PLC
11.  AVIVA NDB Insurance PLC
(Eagle insurance)
12.  Union Assuarance PLC
13.  Janashakthi Insurance Company PLC
Beverage, food and Tobacco
1.      Cargills Ceylon PLC
2.      Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC
3.      Nestle Lanka
4.      Ceylon Cold Stores PLC
5.      Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC
6.      Ceylon Brewery PLC
7.      Ceylon Tea Services PLC

Sector
Company
Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals
1.      Chemical Industries Colombo PLC (CIC)
Construction and Engineering
1.      Colombo Dockyard PLC
Diversified Holdings
1.      John Keels Holdings PLC
2.      Ceylon Theatres PLC
3.      Hayleys PLC
4.      Aitken Spence PLC
5.      Richard Pieris and Company PLC
6.      Hemas Holdings PLC
7.      Sunshine Holdings PLC
Footware and Textile
1.      Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills PLC
2.      Kuruwita Textile Mills PLC
Hotels and Travels
1.      Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC
2.      John Keels Hotels PLC
3.      Asian Hotels and Properties PLC
Manufacturing
1.      Tokyo Cement Company PLC
2.      Dipped Products PLC
3.      Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC
4.      ACL Cables PLC
5.      Ceylon Grain Elevators PLC
6.      Lanka Ceramic PLC
Motors
1.      Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO)
2.      United Motors Lanka PLC
Sector
Company
Oil Palms
1.      Bukit Darah PLC
Power and Energy
1.      Lanka IOC  PLC
Telecommunication
1.      Sri Lanka Telecom PLC
2.      Dialog Axiata PLC
Trading
1.      Singer Sri Lanka PLC
2.      Brown and Company PLC
3.      C.W.Mackie PLC
4.      Haycarb PLC

Table 4-LMD Top 50 categorized into sectors
Source: Author’s work based on LMD (2010) and CSE (2010)




APPENDIX B

Selected sample of 40 companies based on the LMD top 50 ratings
This sample includes every sector with more than three organizations in the LMD top 50 list.

Sector
LMD Top 50 companies belonging to the selected sectors
(turnover is in descending order)
Bank, Finance and Insurance
1.      Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC
2.      Hatton National Bank PLC
3.      Seylan Bank
4.      Sampath Bank
5.      Ceylinco Insurance PLC
6.      Central Finance Company PLC
7.      Nations Trust Bank
8.      Lanka Orix Leasing Company
9.      DFCC Bank
10.  National Development Bank PLC
11.  AVIVA NDB Insurance PLC
(Eagle insurance)
12.  Union Assuarance PLC
13.  Janashakthi Insurance Company PLC
Beverage, food and Tobacco
1.      Cargills Ceylon PLC
2.      Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC
3.      Nestle Lanka
4.      Ceylon Cold Stores PLC
5.      Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC
6.      Ceylon Brewery PLC
7.      Ceylon Tea Services PLC

Diversified Holdings
1.      John Keels Holdings PLC
2.      Ceylon Theatres PLC
3.      Hayleys PLC
4.      Aitken Spence PLC
5.      Richard Pieris and Company PLC
6.      Hemas Holdings PLC
7.      Sunshine Holdings PLC

Hotels and Travels
1.      Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC
2.      John Keels Hotels PLC
3.      Asian Hotels and Properties PLC
Manufacturing
1.      Tokyo Cement Company PLC
2.      Dipped Products PLC
3.      Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC
4.      ACL Cables PLC
5.      Ceylon Grain Elevators PLC
6.      Lanka Ceramic PLC
Trading
1.      Singer Sri Lanka PLC
2.      Brown and Company PLC
3.      C.W.Mackie PLC
4.      Haycarb PLC

Table 5- Sample for the study
Source: Author’s work based on CSE (2010)





APPENDIX C


Questionnaire to be distributed among the financial managers of the selected 40 organizations
1.      Name of the Organization-
2.      Name of the Respondent-
3.      Position Held-
4.      Relevant Industry-
5.      Number of employees in your division/department
6.      Number of employees in the organization-
7.      The turnover for the past year
8.      Name of the company audit firm
9.      For how long has the company been using this auditor
















Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with the Sales Force Automation System (SFA)


Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with the Sales Force Automation System (SFA)

Abstract

      This study has been carried out to explore the application of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with the Sales Force Automation System (SFA) of Darley Butler & Co., Limited. Darley Butler mainly being a distribution company island-wide had a system of manual re-distribution tracking via company employed sales force. Due to many limitations with the system it was automated with an introduction of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) to the sales force. Along with the selection of proper devices i.e. PDA unit and printing solutions, technology acceptance among the uses had been a major challenge. However, with its usefulness, ease of use and extensive training the company was able to make it a success.  

Advancement in information communication technology (ICT) is an important driver in achieving competitive advantage for organizations in today’s fast moving world. Though it is vital and inevitable the adoption and diffusion of ICT could be seen as a major challenge faced by the nations/organizations.
The user acceptance of technology could be viewed as the demonstrable willingness within a user or a group to employ information technology for the tasks it is designed to be supported. Thus, the concept is not being applied to situations in which users claim they will make use of it without providing evidence of use, or to the use of a technology for the function which is unintended by the designers or procurers (for instance using an internet connection for personal work within a work situation). Obviously there is a degree of uncertainty here since actual usage is always likely to deviate to certain extent from idealized, intended usage, but the essence of acceptance theory is that such deviations are not significant, i.e. the process of user acceptance of any information technology for intended purposes can be modeled and predicted.
Lack of user acceptance is a significant impediment to the success of new information systems. Indeed, users are often reluctant to use information systems which, if used, would result in extraordinary performance gains. Therefore, user acceptance has been viewed as the pivotal factor in determining the success or failure of any information system project.
Thus, this assignment is focused towards evaluating the application of ICT and its acceptance at Darley Butler & Co., Ltd. during the execution of Sales Force Automation System (SFA). Though the system had enormous in built advantages in terms of productivity and accuracy obtaining user acceptance has been a huge challenge.     
Darley Butler & Company Limited is established way back in 1848. Then business activities were diversified, and covered estate agencies, commission agents, imports/exports, ship chartering, etc. In 1920 the partnership was converted to a limited liability company, and continued its business of being a primary exporter of tea and local produce. However with the decline in the export business, the company shifted its focus to imports, local sales and distribution of consumer products. With the acquisition in 1967, the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of E B Creasy & Company PLC, which is listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Today the Company's core business is marketing a range of FMCG categories that are well known brands in the country like, NINJA, DENTA, BIC, COW & GATE, AMRITHA, HACKS, CANDYMAN, LAXAPANA etc. To maximize distribution of these products, the company relies on its key strength which is its current distribution infrastructure consisting of 132 professionally trained Consumer Sales Representatives, and 20 Sales Management and Supervisory staff and the services of 65 long-standing Distributors located throughout the country. In order to successfully market the brands, the company has a team of Brand Managers who have hands-on experience in handling FMCG categories, and are well-versed in the sphere of brand management.
The company which has gone through several phases of evolution has today emerged as an aggressive marketing organization. The medium and long-term strategic goals of the company are to identify opportunities in high growth mass market consumer categories, and enter those markets offering high quality and reasonably priced products.
Darley Butler is the sole distributor of all the products manufactured and imported of the group. Before 2005, the distribution process was based on a manual system. Distributors island-wide collects the goods from head office either on cash or credit. Thereafter the company’s Sales Representatives raise manual invoices to the retailers and wholesalers in order to re-distribute the goods all over the island. All the manual invoices are required to be forwarded to the head office weekly. Then the data entry operators were manually feeding all sales records to the computer system for the purpose of providing management information.
The process of system feeding of sales data and providing management information took 3-4 weeks. Simply the last month’s sales information was provided for the management decision making at the end of the next month. Due to this decision making delay, human errors and late detection of the malfunctions during the selling process, it was decided to automate the re-distribution process island-wide.

Further to the decision of SFA system, selecting the appropriate infrastructure was one of the critical factors. A suitable device i.e. a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) had to be selected complying with requirement and the budgetary allocations. The main purpose of the PDA is to act as an electronic organizer/tool or day planner that is portable and capable of sharing information in respect of the tasks performed with PC or software in respect of re-distribution. It's considered to be an extension of the PC, not a replacement. Finally the brand PALM was selected initially for a price of Rs. 18, 000/= for the process.  
Battery life (power) of the PDA was another main concern since it required at least 10 hours battery life. The PALM TOP has been able to survive for average 12 hrs, after fully being charged before the beginning of the session.
As the process required a bill or an invoice to be issued to the retailer/wholeseller, decision of selecting a printing solution was required. A dot-matrix printer was selected instead of a thermal printer and the printing was made via Bluetooth.
Finally the training of staff of both the company and the distributors towards the acceptance of technology were to be made. All staff involved was made groups of 10 each and an intensive training was made on the system and handling the PDA. Finally it was executed along with on the job training and monitoring on regional basis.
The system required some prerequisites to be met before starting up the day for sales re-distribution. The IT department of the company forwards the data in respect of the days’ plan to each distribute point, where the Sales Representative require to synchronies the PDA before leaving to the route. Then the Sales Representative carryout his days work as per the plan downloaded and when winding up the day he require to synchronies the PDA again in order to upload the day’s data to the system. Thereafter the IT department is carrying out the necessary data processing to provide management information.    
   Application of TAM with Darley Butler SFA and  its Critical success factors in terms of Ease of use and usefulness    
As indicated above the main challenges faced by the IT department is the selection of the device/PDA with adequate power throughout the process, printing solution and obtaining user acceptance towards the system from members involved. Out of which managing staff resistance towards the system has been the major challenge. The entire field staff from top to bottom was reluctant to accept initially due to the failure of Unileves’ during their automation process by that time. Further the Sales Representatives were quite averse on the system on top of its ease of use and usefulness, as the avenues available to manipulate the selling system will be minimal during process of monthly target achievement. Therefore in order to build the confidence towards its ease of use and usefulness, the IT team had to conduct intensive training to all users including company and distributors. Finally they were able to make it a reality by realizing and being convinced its positive attributes.   
§  Storage of Information
PDA is able to store all the selling information that is required to proceed the re-distribution for the day. When the daily data is being synchronized it gives all information of the route to be covered for the day to achieve its daily target. Sales Representatives does not require to manually go through their route plan, previous visits, last selling records, credit terms, previous credits to be collected, amount of free issues and discounts to be extended to retailers, terms in accepting stock returns, authorized and unauthorized retailers etc. This makes life easy in performing the daily sales and collection.
§  Make to-do lists
PDA contains data that are required from the beginning of the day to end from each point. It makes life easy in re-distribution.
§  Take notes
It allows to note- down remarks and concerns during the day’s process to be referred during the next visit allowing the staff to organize their future plans.
§  Track appointments (date book, calendar) and Remind appointments (clock, alarm functions)
PDA allows tracking the special appointments made to other outlets and drop alerts during the days’ process and acts as a diary/calendar.
§  Perform calculations
PDA allows auto calculations. When the order is feed in to the PDA it automatically calculates the amounts payable, discounts allowed and the free issues to be granted. Representatives do not require to manual calculations or refer any memos on discount structures and free issues. This makes re-distribution faster and free of manual calculation errors.      
§  Quality of work life
PDA carries a personality. Representatives were carrying manual bill books, pens, calculators and carbon copies etc. in performing their duties before. When the PDA is being introduced, it carries only the devise and transactions are made using the stylus. This certainly carries a personality to the company representatives and enhances work quality.   
   Management reports and reviews
When the day’s sales/data are synchronized back to the system at the day end, it allows the management to review the information for decision making by the next day morning. This allows fast decision making and obtaining corrective measures if any deviations or errors were made during the re-distribution process. Further this enhances the data accuracy and making the monthly targets feasible.     
§  Monitoring malfunctions and obtaining corrective measures
As indicated above, the system allows analyzing the previous day’s data and is available in the next day for reviewing. With the previous method, the company couldn’t identify any malfunctions during the re-distribution process unless being visited the retailers and wholesalers personally and by checking the bills raised manually. With the introduction of the PDA as data are available on the next day, it allows the management to review the same and identify errors and take corrective measure immediately.     
§  Easy mentoring by field managers
Other than the management located in head office the Field Managers also given the facility to monitor re-distribution data and this makes further easy monitoring and decision making.
 Easy in reviewing monthly performance
Unlike the previous method, the data on re-distribution will be finalized by the month end, will be processed for the provision of management information by the first week of the next month. Whereas in the previous manual invoicing systems, the information was available for management decision making only at the end of the next month. This could be considered as one of the main advantage of the implementation of the SFA and gaining the user acceptance towards technology.
   
§  Easy of updating information and information circulation
SFA system could be made available with the latest information, decisions or the changes affected towards the re-distribution process. For instance if any prices changes, discount and free issue structure changes could be updated as soon as decisions are made and dispatched to the field staff through the process of synchronizing. This keeps the system live, realistic and accurate to meet the market competition.  
§  Internally developed software
The SFA system software is maintained by the IT department of the company. Therefore any changes could be effected immediately. Also the information requirement and report structures could be always modified and tailor maid as per the specific needs of the management to make the decision making process more effective.
   Top management commitment
The top management commitment offered throughout the process was a blessing. As the perceived usefulness they realized is highly positive, the implementation process was a success.
 Proper selection of tools and devices
Due to the proper selection of the devices the SFA system was perceived as easy to use by the users. Though the users were reluctant toward the new system initially, after being properly trained before to the implementation and on the job they were made positive towards accepting the technology.    
§  Extensive on the job training
Intensive and well organized training given to all the users of the company and the distributors had a high impact toward the perceived usefulness and the ease of use. Whereby they realized that, it is more beneficial to enhance the quality of work life.

§  IT field staff in trouble shooting
Further company deployed its own team in order to the trouble shoot while it is running. This helping hand was able to build more confidence among the users, thus making the technology being accepted by them.   
§  Simplicity of technology
The simplicity of the technology and the easy of handling the devise was a great help. The Sales Forces being employed by the company are mainly G.C.E O/L qualified and also from all over the island. Thus some do not have a proper education of the computer technology. The touch system and handling via stylus made the life easy of the user. As a result the newcomers were trained on the system within 3-5 days before being deployed to the field, thus perceived ease of use in the mind of the user was made positive.         
 To provide a better life and to create competitive during the re-distribution process the Darley Butler & Co., Limited, took the initiative of introducing the Sales Forces Automation System with the unvalued talent and the commitment of its IT team and the rest of the support services. Thus they were able to make it a reality and are well performing since today.  
In light of the TAM model, the main factors that contributed immensely towards its success are discussed in part 3. It is clearly evident that the success of any system implementation is heavily depends on the how the user is accepting the same. Thus in technology acceptance the perceived usefulness and the ease of use acts as main two variables that affects the attitude towards same.    


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