New Research Proposal of electronic and electrical waste management

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An analysis of the electronic and electrical waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Electronic and electrical waste management has become a major problem in the world and a major threat to the environment and has caused several health problems to the people. This research analyzes the different types of e-waste in selected companies and the harmful effects it causes. This study is done to reduce the pollution caused.

A significant literature review is considered and evaluated from other research papers prepared by several other researchers related to various independent factors such as environmental impacts, health impacts, waste minimization, imports and exports and legal framework.

The population in this research is the companies that provide supplementary activities and out of these a sample of organizations are chosen randomly for the purpose of this study according to the simple random sampling method. This research will provide the future researchers an idea to implement e-waste management in the future.

Chapter 01 – Introduction

1.1    Introduction of the study

Electronic and electrical waste (E-waste) is very dangerous and also contains valuable materials in it. There has been an increase in e-waste such as computers, laptops, mobile phones, entertainment electronics and other electrical items in the recent years which have led to many problems and has caused health problems. In 1994, it was estimated that approximately 20 million PCs (about 7 million tons) became outdated and this figure increased to 500 million PCs by the end of 2003 (Puckett and Smith, 2002 cited in Widmer et al, 2005). This is because the life period of electronic products are very less due to rapid advancements in technology. Manufacturing companies and hospitals need to continuously upgrade their electrical equipments in order to be efficient.

E-waste can cause harm to humans and the environment due to incorrect handling and treatment. E-waste management is a complex study and most developing countries lack in e-waste management systems due to limited infrastructure and technologies present in those countries.    Recycling the waste can avoid environmental pollution and helps to recover valuable metals and other reusable materials. E-waste represents one to three percent of global municipal waste production of 1636 million ton per year (OECD, 2008 cited in Mallawarachchi and Karunasena, 2012). Countries should try to minimize e-waste by implementing efficient waste management systems as e-waste is becoming a threat in many countries.

1.2    Problem Statement

What are the issues arising from electronic and electrical waste and how to minimize the issues?

1.3 Problem Justification

Electronic and electrical waste can cause many issues and problems. E-waste is a very complex study and it is very difficult to understand. It can cause many environmental and health impacts. When e-waste is dumped into the environment, it becomes degraded and the harmful chemicals in it start to pollute the environment. These chemicals can damage the soil and even affect the water if e-waste is dumped into rivers or lakes. It can also affect the health of the humans. The chemicals that are released from e-waste can cause several diseases to humans such as headaches, heart and kidney problems, hair loss and many more.

The major problem is that most of the people are unaware of the harmful effects that e-waste can cause. First of all awareness should be created to the people about e-waste. Then an effective e-waste management system should be implemented in Sri Lanka in order to reduce it and reuse the valuable resources found in it. The companies can set certain rules and regulations regarding e-waste to try to minimize it. However, it’s very difficult to implement an e-waste management system in Sri Lanka as there are not many facilities and due to several other challenges.

1.3    Objectives of the study

·   To find out the existing types of electronic and electrical waste in selected companies

·   To find out the major issues arising from electrical and electronic waste

·   To find out the relationship between waste management strategies and health of the organizational employees

1.5 Significance of the study

1.5.1 Environment authorities

The findings of this report can help the environmental authorities to understand how harmful e-waste can be and will give them a clear understanding to start an e-waste management system in Sri Lanka.

1.5.2 New investors          

The findings of the report will help the new investors and companies with high e-waste to realize the potential threats of e-waste. It will help them to understand the importance of e-waste management system in order to invest and implement it.

1.5.2 Employees

Findings of this report will help the employees to understand the effects of e-waste and the safety precautions they should follow in order to refrain from e-waste harmful effects that will affect their health.

1.5.3 Government

The findings of this report is very important for the government as it can implement an effective e-waste management system which will help them to set safety standards in order to reduce many likely problems arising from waste.

1.5.4 Companies

The companies can also benefit from this report. Most of the companies are the major reason for e-waste. This report will help the companies to understand the problems caused by e-waste so that next time they will try to avoid e-waste by recycling.

1.5.5 Society

The society does not have much knowledge about the harmful effects of e-waste. This report will provide the society knowledge about e-waste and also will help the society to avoid wastages. It will also help the society to stay away from e-waste.

1.6 Scope of the study

·   The study will consider selected companies in Sri Lanka that deals with high electrical appliances

·   This study will discuss the types of e-waste

·   The proposed study will analyze the harmful effects of e-waste regarding health issues and pollution to the environment.

·   The study will also explain the ways to minimize e-waste.

·   The sample will be limited to a number of selected companies in Sri Lanka such as commercial banks, finance companies and telecommunication companies

Chapter 02 – Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

This chapter gives a clear view of the literature that has been collected on Electronic and Electrical waste management for selected companies through different research papers in order to create a good understanding. Many researchers such as Widmer et al, (2005),  Mallawarachchi and Karunasena (2012) and Sthiannopkao and Wong (2012) found that e-waste is a very harmful type of waste and many countries do not have efficient e-waste management systems.

Electronic and electrical appliances have a short product life cycle. This is due to the fact that technology is more advanced and these electronic products are upgraded with different features. Consumers tend to be updated with new technology and they buy new electronic products whereas the old one becomes a waste. The different types of e-waste are nonfunctioning or outdated TVs, computers, printers, photocopiers, cell phones, fax machines, home appliances, lighting equipment, games and such, when no longer wanted, become e-waste (Sthiannopkao and Wong, 2012).

E-waste produces valuable substances such as iron, steel, copper, aluminum, gold, silver, platinum and plastics and it also produces hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium and many other harmful chemicals that affects the environment (Wang et al, 2011). Effective e-waste management systems can help to reuse the valuable substances and get rid of the harmful ones. Implementing e-waste management systems are not easy as countries and organizations face many challenges and there are very less facilities in developing nations.

2.2 Literature Review and Hypothesis

The following study will examine the research that was carried out by several researchers on e-waste management in selected companies. The analysis shows that several researchers were frequently analyzing on environmental impacts, health impacts, waste minimization, imports and exports and legal framework. The following hypotheses produce an analysis on e-waste management.

2.2.1 Environmental Impacts

E-waste has several harmful substances that affect the environment in many ways. A discarded personal computer with a CRT monitor typically weighs 25 kg and consists of metal (43.7%), plastics (23.3%), electronic components (17.3%) and glass (15%) (Berkhout and Hertin, 2004). These waste materials become very harmful when exposed to the environment. E-waste contains more than 1000 different substances, many of which are toxic, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, hexavalent chromium, and flame retardants that create  harmful emissions to the environment when burned (Widmer et al, 2005).

E-waste is a major contributor of Carbon that is emitted into the environment annually (Bertram et al., 2002). These substances cause air, water and land pollution. Air pollution is very dangerous as it carries serious diseases with it than can affect humans when they breathe. Water and Land pollution affects many animals and sea life creatures. Land pollution causes soil contamination that affects plantations which can enter food chains (Yang et al, 2008). This could be very harmful as it can affect the human health. E-waste spreads into the air through dust and affects humans through ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption (Mielke and Reagan, 1998).

It could be concluded that e-waste has many hazardous affects to the environment that leads to problems which also affects the humans. Therefore, many researchers state that high attention should be paid in order to manage e-waste (Khetriwal et al., 2006; Nnorom and Osibanjo, 2007; Lee et al., 2007; Chancerel and Rotter, 2009).

2.2.2 Health Impacts

Electronic and electrical waste in countries can have a major impact on the health of the people. Nowadays most of the people have a lot of electrical appliances at home which they do not use. They have less knowledge about the harmful effect that these electrical waste components can cause. Most of the computer monitors and cathode ray tubes contain a highly toxic hazardous component that can damage central and peripheral nervous systems, cardiovascular systems and kidneys and cadmium, which causes cancers, kidney and bone diseases and neural damage (Ramachandra and Varghese, 2004 cited in Mallawarachchi and Karunasena, 2012). This statement proves that e-waste can cause major diseases to humans.

Harmful substances such as Lead and Mercury which contains in mobile phones, TVs, LCD panels, electrical keyboards and switches may even cause brain damage to the people (Sthiannopkao and Wong, 2012). It is also stated by Qiu et al. (2004) that high levels of e-waste can cause high incidences of skin damage, headache, and gastro-intestinal disorders. Some of the companies in Sri Lanka have a lot of e-waste which is a problem because it will affect their employees’ health and as a result the company will also be affected due to this.

According to a survey done in India, only 16% of the respondents were highly aware of the problems caused by e-waste and the rest 83% were only limitedly aware of the harmful effects of e-waste (Dwivedy and Mittal, 2012). This is a major issue because the people lack the knowledge to understand the serious health problems e-waste can cause to them.

2.2.3 Waste Minimization

As discussed above, e-waste causes many serious problems to the nature as well as humans. It is a growing trend in the world and many people are unaware of the dangerous problems it causes. Also, necessary steps should be taken in order to minimize this waste. Most of the organizations have already come up with many ways to reduce e-waste. The 3R system introduced by Japan which is Reduce, Reuse and Recycle approach has been adopted by many organizations in order to minimize waste and improve product designs (Sthiannopkao and Wong, 2012;  Mallawarachchi and Karunasena, 2012). Another initiative introduced by the United Nations was the StEP system (Solving the E-waste Problem) to enhance and coordinate various efforts around the world (UNEP, 2007). The Head of Lighting Manufacturing agency said that “we use solid mercury for new CFL products without using mercury vapor, reducing mercury released to environment.”

When minimizing waste, companies face many challenges. These challenges include higher relevance of informal sector, uncontrolled customer behavior and lesser facilities to recycle and reuse (Mallawarachchi and Karunasena, 2012). Uncontrolled customer behavior cannot be handled by the companies as they have to cater products according to the customer needs and wants. Also, many developing countries like Sri Lanka that does not have the required facilities to minimize waste.

2.2.4 Imports and Exports

Imports and exports play a major role in e-waste management. Many developing countries tend to import a lot of electrical items and most of the developed countries tend to export these electrical appliances. Some developed countries dump their second-hand electronic items in to developing nations. As stated by Wang et al (2011) During the last decade, large amounts of e-waste have been rapidly piling up in emerging economies both from growing domestic consumption as well as imports. There are also products that have been brought in as private imports, and it is thus difficult to identify which product was imported by whom (Wang et al, 2011).

Another major problem is that business sectors are practicing illegal imports from developed countries where it is expensive to recycle the discarded electronics (Dwivedy and Mittal, 2012). When practices like this occur it becomes difficult to manage the waste. Imports and exports of e-waste are increasing steadily and there are no specific guidelines, specifications or procedures to evaluate the quality of electronic products in the existing e-waste management policy (Mallawarachchi and Karunasena, 2012).

It is also stated by Mallawarachchi and Karunasena (2012) “Sri Lanka is a tropical country electronic items become e-waste at a high rate due to humidity, dust and temperature. Although imported e-items are of high quality they cannot be durable if they are not tropicalised,” shows importance of such.

2.2.5 Legal Framework

The legal framework involves the standards, rules and regulations that the organizations have to follow to manage e-waste. Many studies found that organizations do not comply with laws and regulations of electronic waste management and there are no internal rules and regulations on electronic waste management that exist within these organizations (Mallawarachchi and Karunasena, 2012).

Many organizations do not follow the rules and regulations of e-waste management due to lack of knowledge about the hazardous effects e-waste. According to Mallawarachchi and Karunasena (2012) Though present electronic waste policy contains several provisions to ensure effective legal enforcement and due compliance within country, findings depict that organizations and people do not comply duly, mainly due to unawareness and less compliance with laws and regulations and unawareness of such laws are issues prevalent within existing legal framework of electronic waste management.

Chapter 03 – Research Methodology

3.1 Conceptual Framework

 3.2 Hypotheses

H1	Ho1 – There is no relationship between environmental impacts and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
	Ha1 – There is a relationship between environmental impacts and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
H2	Ho2 – There is no relationship between health impacts and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
	Ha2 – There is a relationship between health impacts and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
H3	Ho3 – There is no relationship between waste minimization and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
	Ha3 – There is a relationship between waste minimization and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
H4	Ho4 – There is no relationship between imports and exports and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
	Ha4 – There is a relationship between imports and exports and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
H5	Ho5 – There is no relationship between legal framework and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka
	Ha5 – There is a relationship between legal framework and e-waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka

Table 1 - Hypotheses

Source: Compiled by Author, 2013

 

3.3 Population

The population in this research will be the total number of commercial banks, registered finance companies and telecommunication companies in Sri Lanka. There are many commercial banks, finance and telecommunication companies operating in Sri Lanka.

3.4 Sample

3.4.1 Sampling Method

The simple random sampling method will be used as a method of sampling in this research. This method of sampling considers every item in the population defined in the research has an equal chance of being selected.

3.4.2 Sample size

The sample size is chosen according to the simple random sampling method. The total number of commercial banks, finance companies and telecommunication companies in Sri Lanka will be chosen as the population and the sampling size is chosen randomly.

The selected companies for this research are as follows:

·         Commercial Banks – 22

·         Financial Companies – 31

·         Telecommunication Companies – 8

The number of the population will be calculated as per the weighted average method in order to gain the sample. The total population is 61 and the sample chosen will be 30 for the calculation.

The sample population is 30 companies and the amount will be divided using the weighted average method and the calculation is done below:

Commercial Banks – 22/61*30 = 11

Financial Companies – 31/61*30 = 15

Telecommunication Companies – 8/61*30 = 4

Figure 2 – Population and Sample size Chart

Chapter 04 – Conclusion

This research is clearly focused on electronic and electrical waste management in selected companies in Sri Lanka. The explanation of the problem is the issues that have led the some of the companies in Sri Lanka to create e-waste.

The research done is based on the evidence of the previous literature review that have a relationship between e-waste management and other independent variables for instance environmental impacts, health impacts, waste minimization, imports and exports and legal framework.

Currently there is an increase in e-waste in most of the developing countries rather than the developed countries. Sri Lanka is also facing the same situation with an increase in e-waste in some of the selected companies. As there is an increase in e-waste in Sri Lanka, some of the companies have planned to implement e-waste management systems in order to reduce their waste. Most of the developed countries have successfully implemented the e-waste management system which has provided favorable results causing less pollution to the environment and reduction in health issues.

References

Dalrymple, N. Wright, R. Kellner, N. Bains, K. Geraghty, M. Goosey, L. Lightfoot, (2007), "An integrated approach to electronic waste (WEEE) recycling", Circuit World, Vol. 33 Iss: 2 pp. 52 – 58

Dwivedy M. and Mittal R.K.(2012). An investigation into e-waste flows in India. Mechanical Engineering Department, BITS, Vidya Vihar, Pilani 333 031, Rajasthan, India. BITS Pilani Dubai, Dubai International Academic City, P. O. Box No. 345055, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Georgina Davis, Malcolm Wolski, (2009),"E-waste and the sustainable organisation: Griffith University's approach to e-waste", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 10 Iss: 1 pp. 21 – 32

Kahhat R. (2008). Exploring e-waste management systems in the United States. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA

Mallawarachchi H. Karunasena G. (2012). Electronic and electrical waste management in Sri Lanka: Suggestions for national policy enhancements. Department of Building Economics, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

Martin Goosey. (2004)."End-of-life electronics legislation - an industry perspective", Circuit World, Vol. 30 Iss: 2 pp. 41 – 45

Nnorom I.and Osibanjo O. (2007). Overview of electronic waste (e-waste) management practices and legislations, and their poor applications in the developing countries. Department of Industrial Chemistry, Abia State University, Nigeria. Basel Convention Regional Coordinating Center for Africa for Training & Technology Transfer, Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Ongodo F. et al. (2010). How are WEEE doing? A global review of the  management of electrical and electronic wastes. School of Civil Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Lanchester Building, University Rd., Highfield, Southampton, Hampshire SO17 1BJ, UK

Ramzy K. and Eric W. (2012). Materials flow analysis of e-waste: Domestic flows and exports of used computers from the United States. Department of Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru. Golisano Institute for Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA

Robinson B. (2009). E-waste: An assessment of global production and environmental impacts. Department of Soil and Physical Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, Canterbury, New Zealand.

Sthiannopkao S. Wong M. (2012). Handling e-waste in developed and developing countries: Initiatives, practices, and consequences. Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Dong-A University, 37 Nakdong-Daero 550 beon-gil Saha-gu, Busan, Republic of Korea.  Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China

Wang F. et al. (2011). The Best-of-2-Worlds philosophy: Developing local dismantling and global infrastructure network for sustainable e-waste treatment in emerging economies. United Nations University, Institute for Sustainability and Peace, Hermann-Ehlers-Strasse 10, Bonn 53113, Germany

Widmer et al. (2005). Global perspectives on e-waste. Technology and Society Lab, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Lerchenfeldstr. 5, CH-9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland

A STYLE OF GROWTH OF COMPUTER AND INTERNET SECURITY BREACHES IN SRI LANKA

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Background

This paper represents the views towards the Computer & internet Security Breaches . Internet Security Breaches has Become the Trend in Modern Society .For this study  I Refer the “An analysis of the Growth of Computer and Internet Security Breaches” As the Base Article  regarding the Analyze of the Computer & internet security breaches. 

Methods

This paper surveys recent literature and in the field of Cyber crime, intending to find out the computer & internet security breaches . In order to gather primary data it is expected to use the Questioner.

Results

In this paper, researchers find that recent literature and the objectives of analysis computer & internet security breaches, and limitation of the cyber crime. and finally analyze the A style of growth of computer & internet Security breaches.

Discussion and Conclusion

This exploratory study investigates the usefulness of the budgets, limitation of the budgets and how to enhance the usefulness of the budgets.

Of the four propositions explored in this study, three (Propositions 1-3) were strongly confirmed while the remaining one (Proposition 4) was partially confirmed. In summary, the results of this study led us to conclude that

·         Relative increase in net instigation rate is related to relative increase in inhibition rate which implies that the increasing attack incidences will force organizations and governments to come up with means of preventing or reducing them

·         For computer and Internet-related attacks (bad innovations), the values of net         instigation rate is higher than values of inhibition rate, implying more efforts and resources need to be applied toward inhibiting attacks;

·         Different computer crimes and security breaches grow at different rates, which implies that all these crimes should not receive the same level of attention because some crimes are likely to spread more rapidly than others;

·         Real world practice does not always follow the common notion that as more attac incidents occur, more security technologies are used. This finding may imply that organizations and governments do not necessarily spend money on security measures in proportion to the frequency of attack incidences. Ninety percent of respondents in the  2002 survey, for example, used anti-virus software; however, at least 10-15% of  respondents did not detect any virus, due probably to non-use or ignorance [Power,  2002]. Viruses are among those attack incidents that caused financial losses.

 This article is a first attempt to identify the nature of growth of various computer and  Internet related crimes, using a sparse set of data. First, a model was selected for bad innovation modeling which can represent both imitative and inhibitive behaviors in attacks. Next, the model was used to derive and compare various types of attack statistics with a sparse set of data

An analysis of the legitimate coverage to minimize the cybercrimes in Sri Lanka

The purpose of this study is to find out the legitimate rules and regulations to minimize the cybercrimes in Sri Lanka and to find out the existing weaknesses of the cybercrime law and the level of minimization of cybercrimes.

The research study first analyses what is really meant by cybercrimes and the reasons for the emergence of cybercrimes. Then the study closely looks at how cybercrimes can be categorized under different sub units and cybercrime examples for each of such sub units.

The latter part of the research study highlights the importance of cyber rules and regulations in a situation where there is an increasing trend towards cybercrimes. Within this part it first looks at the current level of internet security in Sri Lanka. Subsequently it examines the level of awareness of the cybercrime laws and the level of strangeness of such laws. Finally the research study evaluates the behavior of cybercrimes in terms of changes in the current level of internet security; the level of awareness of the cybercrime laws and the level of strengthens of such laws.

The research findings emphasize that there is a strong relationship between the level of internet security in Sri Lanka, the level of awareness of cyber laws and the level of strength of such laws separately with the number of cybercrimes in Sri Lanka and it also evidences that there is an influential effect of aggregate impact of the three independent variables on the number of cybercrimes in Sri Lanka.

Based on the research findings, the level of existing weaknesses of cyber laws in Sri Lanka have been identified and suggestions to minimize such crimes have been provided accordingly.

 Suggestions to mitigate cybercrimes in Sri Lanka

 

Therefore as emphasized by the research findings, it is important to focus on increasing the level of internet security, the level of awareness regarding cyber laws and regulations and the level of strength of cyber laws in Sri Lanka as a solution to the increasing number of cybercrimes occurring within the country and across countries.

The national governing body of the country has a major role to implement actions in preventing and mitigating such internet related crimes. In doing so, assisting the rule makers to deal with cybercrimes and digital evidence is essential. Sri Lanka’s justice system must provide an effective framework for investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes. In addition to that the Computer crimes act enacted in Sri Lanka need to essentially reflect the society’s requirements by appropriately criminalizing the offences and providing adequate punishment mechanisms. It is mostly required by the national government to facilitate adequately to reforms in cyber laws to take account of more complex situations emerging on cyber related matters.

0n the other hand it is also important to enhance the capabilities and capacities of the cyber related agencies in Sri Lanka such as Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) etc… to perform their duties in a more efficient manner.

Another key suggestion to the national government in Sri Lanka is to educating the community to protect themselves against internet related crimes. The government should be able to assist the internet users to understand the protective actions and to recognize the possible warning messages. This may be highly effective specially in mitigating financially motivated cybercrimes.

It is also suggested to partnering with the private sector industries to tackle the shared issues of cybercrimes by providing an adequate level of education and resources to such industries. This will lead the private sector to take responsibility for its own protection and to assist their clients to do the same.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES OF E-LEARNING TO MANAGERS IN THE CORPORATE SECTOR EDUCATION

AN ANALYSIS OF THE BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES OF E-LEARNING TO MANAGERS IN THE CORPORATE SECTOR EDUCATION

E-learning is a global phenomenon and is central to many industries in the corporate sector as an additional method of training that complements more traditional methods of learning. E-learning can be considered in its infancy stage in local context and as such barriers must be identified so that corporate sector managers receive a successful implementation for their courses. This investigates that barriers are not only internal but also external through social, economic and political causes.

This paper aims to deal with what the barriers and challenges are when implementing E-learning the main barriers were cost, computer literacy and support from Human Resource (HR). To identify the attitudes towards implementing E-learning, where attitudes impact perception and positive attitudes are downgraded by intergroup rivalries. Also the merits and demerits of E-learning were identifies which were mainly reduction in costs and improvement in coordination process for merits but considered a less effective tool for managerial level and finally what solutions can be identified that will overcome these barriers and challenges namely HR, support mechanisms and government involvement.

 1.0     INTRODUCTION

Learning has taken a whole new meaning in the 21^st century. No more are learners confined to traditional methods of learning through text books and lecture rooms, but can access learning material and courses from places that aren’t remotely close to the learning centre. This is E-learning, where knowledge and skills could be gained electronically, through the use of computers and software. This information society promises an essential change in education, business practices and social interaction to name a few.

E-learning has increased in importance in recent times. With time scarce in the modern corporate world, effective and efficient methods need to be available to train employees especially managers. With the success of e-commerce, e-learning would be beneficial when dealing with the market. Managers of corporate sectors have to react fast to the volatile environment and cannot waste time by travelling to lectures. They must learn and apply it immediately to their respective jobs.

Globally, E-learning has seen an accelerated adoption in both public and private sectors. The increase in growth and accessibility of the internet has made it possible for its success. Developed countries have enhanced their operations and training process by capturing the advantages and potential opportunities of E-learning. It has become an accepted means of increasing skills and knowledge across the organization.

Developing countries however faces several barriers. Serious measures have yet to be taken in the corporate sector education to make them prepared for the volatile global economy. The digital gap is extremely high. Hence there are challenges in the awareness, acceptability and conduction of E-learning within the corporate sector employees and as such this analysis needs to be carried out so that this digital gap can become digital opportunities.  The study is based on What are the barriers and challenges of E-learning implementation to managers in the corporate sector

The benefits of E-learning aren’t seen by most companies in the corporate sector due to lack of proper implementation hence the identification of barriers is vital. Especially the managers of corporate sectors have no time to set work aside and attend traditional courses. E-learning’s needed so that that they can learn on their own time and apply it faster depending on the situation. The corporate sector organizations face high costs in training and must respond faster in comparison with competitors in the market.  These problems can be met if E-learning is implemented properly.

   BACKGROUND LITERATURE

 2.1 DEFINITION OF E-LEARNING

Its ways of combining work and learning strategies enhanced through technology and internet which offers a logical solution to company’s learning objectives as it can be accessed anywhere, anytime, by anyone (Vaughan et al, 2004).

2.2 HISTORY OF E-LEARNING

During the 1980’s and 1990’s there was a significant growth in students studying part time and through distance learning. There was a dramatic growth in non traditional learners beyond 18-24 age categories for instance women returning to work after child bearing. Flexible delivery became a mantra for tertiary educational institutions to satisfy these non traditional students while tapping into new national and global opportunities. (Williams and Goldberg, 2005)

Williams and Goldberg (2005) stated that the first signs of change emerged in the late 1970’s. Private enterprises rose in importance. State funded tertiary education faced cuts in government spending and there was pressure on universities to be creative on their funding sources. Hence e-learning was touted to be an economical and effective medium for courses. In the earlier days it was called Computer-based Teaching (CBT). This then shifted to Learning management systems in the mid 1990’s, operating almost exclusively on a local area network (LAN).

The dotcom boom and the unlimited promise of the World Wide Web followed. E-learning providers quickly sprung up with cheap and limitless efficient access to the internet. However this soon turned to dotcom crash as most returned to brick and mortar. E-learning turned out to be evolutionary than revolutionary, so as long as an institute has a strategy founded on quality it is possible to evolve. Finally E-learning delivery trend has accentuated since the turn of the century due to the emergence of the latest ICT where bandwidth and technology have reached new heights making it easier for E-learning to succeed. (Williams and Goldberg, 2005)

2.3 E-LEARNING IN DEVELOPED & DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

There is a wide digital gap that exists when comparing the level of e-learning in a developed and developing country.

Most developed countries have experienced the digital opportunities that are made available from E-learning. In U.S.A and Europe growth continues, with increased investment. Participation and involvement is increasing and the use of technology and intranets is at a mature stage (Newton, 2003). However certain Italian companies’ state e-learning is a non-effective training tool and didn’t consider it a positive experience in spite of adoption. Adoption still continues due to bandwagon pressures as competitors adopt to have an advantage (Comacchio and Scapolan, 2004). Gunawardana, (2005) states that even in the developed world, the predominance of English poses a serious obstacle to universal access.

Developing countries such as Nigeria are behind in adoption and there’s a low rate of diffusion of e-learning and usage. This is due to inadequate finance policy in engineering and technology (Folorunso et al, 2006). In Lebanon little has been done to widen access thereby widening the digital, social, economic and cultural gaps with the global information society, also supported by Gunawardana, (2005).

There’s lack of policies in recognizing e-learning degrees and language barriers exist (Abouchedid and Eid, 2004). Also in Nigeria the awareness level of a computer-based technology is a major determinant on the acceptability of certifications from e-learning organizations. Folorunso et al (2006)

Folorunso et al (2006) found that vendor issues, poor internet service, software quality and piracy are factors that continue to bridge the digital gap. Abouchedid and Eid (2004) stated that there’s restriction of internet connectivity as it’s given to one provider hence high priced bandwidth results. Also present in developing countries are the geographically limitations within city limits (Gunawardana, 2005)

2.4 E-LEARNING ADOPTION

There are certain factors that affect E-learning adoption. Comacchio and Scapolan (2004), whose objective was to understand implications of the diffusion process of e-learning in Italy, stated companies will adopt due to fear of competitive bandwagon pressures. Bandwagons occur if potential adopters perceive the risk that innovation is a success and if they don’t adopt, their performance will fall below the average performance of adopters. Their research was questionnaires for two sectors: 20 Pharmaceuticals, both Multinationals and Italian (large and medium firms) and 22 banks both large and small. Due to small sample in each sector, findings may not be as accurate

Therefore it can be said that if the industry is large with several competitors, E-learning is more likely to be adopted.

In the education industry cost seems to also be the underlying factor for the acceptability and adoption of e-learning in developing countries. Folorunso et al (2006) found cost affects acceptability of e-learning and is the underlying factor that’s responsible to the effects caused by all other factors found.

Also whether E-learning will be adopted and persisted depends on the how dynamic and volatile that industry is which results in scarce time. Hence time is a major impediment. Park and Wentling (2007) found that due to lack of time, if the system is not easy and efficient, courses aren’t completed and no return on training investment. Managers would feel too busy to participate as it required time off from their main stream of work because traditionally training does not occur during working hours. Hence fast paced industries may face a failure in E-learning.

2.5 CLASSIFICATION OF E-LEARNING

Classification	Presence*	E-Communication	Alias
Type I	Yes	No	Face to face
Type II	No	No	Self-Learning
Type III	No	Yes	Asynchronous
Type IV	Yes	Yes	Synchronous
Type V	Occasional	Yes	Blended/Hybrid-asynchronous
Type VI	Yes	Yes	Blended/Hybrid-synchronous

* Presence is defined as real-time presence where both instructor and learner are present at the time of content delivery; it includes physical and virtual presence.

According to Negash and Wilcox (2008), the above six types of classifications can be explained as follows:

• Face to Face – this is the traditional classroom setting but with the prevalence of E-learning tools used to support instruction. Both the instructor and learner are physically present. E.g. usage of power points.
• Self-learning – learners receive the content media and learn on their own. There is no physical or virtual presence and no e-communication. E.g. content on a CD.
• Asynchronous – The instructor prerecords the content and the learner accesses it at a later time. E-communication is not there at time of delivery but communicate frequently using e-learning technologies. E.g. e-mailing
• Synchronous – Instructor and learner do not physically meet but virtually meet therefore there is presence. E.g. live audio
• Blended/hybrid asynchronous – content is delivered through occasional physical meetings and via E-learning technologies the rest of the time. A combination of face to face and asynchronous learning.
• Blended/hybrid synchronous – E-communication is used extensively. Presence alternates between physical and virtual. E.g. classroom half the time and live audio for the rest.

Management Competence and Science graduates: A selected sample analysis

Management Competence and Science graduates: A selected sample analysis

This paper attempts to estimate the required level of management competence for a science undergraduate and expectation from the industry who have recruited science graduates for their companies for management jobs.

There are at least two different approaches used to conceptualize management competence. The first approach concerns the identification of characteristics that differentiate effective managers from less effective managers. The second approach concentrates on measuring the actual performance of managers in order to be effective. That mean simply, what managers actually do rather than what they can do. One advantages of the management competence approach is that the correct identification and explicit definition of competence statements and their underlying components reflect the complete domain of management. (Row, 1998) Boyatsis (1982) differentiate between the basic competence, including a generic knowledge, motive, trait, self-image, social role or skill required to perform a job satisfactorily and optimal competence that result in superior performance. Burgoyne (1988) advocates a model whereby situation-specific and basic analytical decision making skills. Rush and Evens (1993) provide another model with their skills pyramid. They emphasize the importance of literacy and innumeracy skills as being the most basic skills required for competency development.

Management education based upon the management competence approach have several components. Rush and Evers (1993) indicate that basic literacy and numerical skills should be acquired before the development of core competence. They also argue that technical skills may remain redundant without the development of core competence. The last few years have seen a rapid expansion in the number of courses offered by Sri Lankan universities, like management and accountancy studies. In 1980 to 1985 period there were 20 management related courses, now it is estimated that figure has grown to approximately 250 . Although the context and emphasis pf these course differ, they are usually combined with other subject areas and offered as with management or and management related subjects of their degree programs.

The most popular combination subjects include the science, (eg, Mathematics, Computing, Chemistry, Physics) Arts (economics, Sociology) and engineering degree.

This mixed degree format suggests that the study of management is viewed as being complementary if not supplementary to these traditional subject areas. The introduction of these courses could be viewed as an attempt to meet the needs of industry and commerce. Further courses containing management components pear to be highly attractive to potential students.

The quantitative data analyzed in this research were obtained through the use of competence. Statements incorporated into a questionnaire. The questions were connected to the relevant the management subjects which were very useful to the development of the companies 25 employers were contracted and directly questioned about the skills, knowledge and understanding requirements of science graduates. Very simple technique was used during interviews with very senior managers of the companies. 10 to 15 graduates from both science and management were worked  under these managers. First asked from them to mark the propriety numbers (1 to 10) of the list in order to make a efficiency of the organization. Then after that again asked from them to mark the property numbers according to same list what skills present science graduate in development of the organization.