Performance In India Research Articles

Reinterpreting the‘Bard’: Shakespearean Performances in India and (East)Germany


 This essay attempts to undertake a comparative study of the Shakespearean appropriations in late 19th century India under colonial rule on one hand, and in mid-20th century (East) Germany on the other. While 19th century Indian responses to Shakespeare carried a covert nationalist agenda against the British rulers who had made him complicit in the colonial project, the mid-20th century German adaptations found in him, a potent site for voicing their opposition against the governments, which had imposed censorship regulations upon newspapers, books and television. Within this framework and making use of the textual, performative and audience sensibility components, the paper would endeavor to: a) explore the nuances in the performance strategies of selected playwrights from both the countries, and understand the extent of divergences and departures from the English text; and b) scrutinise the location of these performances respectively within the overlapping currents of colonial modernity, nationality and regional identity in the 19th and 20th century India, and the post-war communist regimes operating in (East) Germany.

Theme: Macro and micro dimensions of manufacturing performance in India

Theme: Macro and micro dimensions of manufacturing performance in India

Foriegn Investment and Trade Performance in India in the Post Liberalization Period

Foreign investment in India, like in many other countries in the world, is viewed as a major growth stimulator and has been more so believed after the massive trade liberalization policies initiated in the nineties. India still being a capital deficient country would have been conceivably a big beneficiary of foreign investment that would have strengthened almost all the sectors of her economy. Our economic reforms in general and trade liberalization in particular are almost two decades old by now. At this crucial juncture, the question that arises is has foreign investment been playing a positive role in India's international trade sector? Has it been supporting growth of exports of the country? Has there been any significant impact of growth of foreign investment on the country's critical imports? The present paper is a careful investigation towards answering the above questions. Taking data on foreign investment, exports and imports for the period 1991-92 to 2009-10 an attempt has been made to examine the impact of foreign investment flow to India on the country's exports and imports with the help of simple linear regression models. The regression results have shown that in India over last eighteen years (commonly known as the post reform period) foreign investment has been significantly influencing both exports and imports. In the light of the regression results, the paper makes policy recommendations for more effective integration of India with the rest of the world in relation to foreign investment and trade.

Nation or State? Where Should We Look to Measure Democracy's Effects on Health?

The large body of research on regime effects on health primarily consists of cross-national studies and finds democracies to deliver better health than dictatorships. However, this research largely neglects the fact that state governments often have primary responsibility for social service provision. States matter and differ in their social policies. This is true for federal systems, which include populous nations such as China and India, as also countries which have experienced a ‘devolution revolution’. Based on a brief analysis of the health performance of India and its states and the findings of a small number of studies which have carried out subnational comparisons, the article calls for, following Richard Snyder, upgrading current research to include (1) within-nation comparisons and between-nation comparisons of subnational units from different countries or (2) using subnational comparisons in conjunction with cross-national comparisons. Until then, the validity of the democracy advantage thesis will remain in doubt.

Benefits of a registration policy for microenterprise performance in India

This paper evaluates the effects of a voluntary registration policy with government authorities on financial performance of urban microenterprises in the Indian manufacturing sector. Using data from the 2006 World Bank survey of Indian microenterprises and applying the semi-parametric propensity score matching technique, we find that being registered leads to significant gains in sales per employee and value added per employee. Large gains are also noted for male-owned firms, those operating with or without paid labor and those operating outside of the owner’s home.

Growth and spread of manufacturing productivity across regions in India

An expected outcome of economic reforms in India is enhanced pace of industrialization with manufacturing sector playing a crucial role by increasing its share in output via higher investments and increased productivity. This process of industrialization was also expected to usher in possibilities for the slow growing states to catch up with the fast growing ones. This paper assesses the extent of regional manufacturing performance in India by analyzing the trends in labour and total factor productivity for the organized manufacturing sector of 15 major Indian states. Data Envelopment Analysis is used to compute Malmquist total factor productivity index and its components. The results indicate that labour productivity diverges in the reform era and its growth and TFPG follow more or less a similar pattern. The study also finds that growth in productivity vary considerably across states and this variation in productivity growth can be explained, to a great extent, by differences in infrastructural development at the regional level.JEL ClassificationD24, O47, R11

Deviations in Institutional Investment: Who Leads in India?

In this study we explore the impact of different institutional investors on firm performance in India. We study the equity holdings by (1) Mutual Funds/ UTI; (2) Banks, FIs and Insurance companies; and (3) Foreign Institutional Investors over 2001-2011 using unbalanced panel data. We find that FIIs lead among the various groups of institutional investors and have a strong influence on firm performance as they possess greater capabilities in generating monitoring incentives. Our findings are robust using different models for FIIs and not so strong for other institutional investors. Hence the impact of reforms in attracting foreign investments has been effective in improving corporate governance among Indian companies.

Factors Influencing Corporate Environmental Performance in India

Swept along by the winds of change, corporations are now moving towards environmentally friendly production processes partly to ensure compliance with rules and regulations, and partly to reduce potential liabilities, exploit opportunities in new and emerging markets, and to respond effectively to competitive pressures. Today companies tend to be ranked not only on the basis of their financial performance but also on the basis of their environmental track record. Thus, while a defi nite trend in the direction of greening of corporate activities is clearly apparent, the present study seeks to identify the organizational factors which infl uence and contribute to the environmental performance of companies. Environmental performance for this purpose was evaluated with respect to the company's track record vis-à-vis the following components: existence of a separate environmental policy, concrete environmental action plan in the areas of energy saving, air pollution control, effluent treatment before discharge, solid waste management, ongoing environmental education programs for employees, giving priority to environmental impact in the selection of new technology, conducting life cycle analysis study on products, disclosure of environmental information relating to its products and services, availability of emission and material usage data, practice of environmental accounting, green supply chain management, green procurement policy and involvement of the company in local community activities.

Measurement of corporate social performance: an Indian perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to: design a comprehensive, review‐based and statistically tested corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) index; measure item‐wise and theme‐wise the social performance of the top 82 companies in India; and investigate item‐wise and theme‐wise the variations in CSRD.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents an empirical study of CSRD in 2009‐2010, using content analysis, Cronbach's α, the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov and Shapiro‐Wilk tests of normality and a six point scale (0‐5), mean, skewness, kurtosis, and Levene's, Kruskal‐Wallis's and Mood's median tests for analysis and interpretation.FindingsCSRD shows less satisfactory social performance, mainly narrative, and varies significantly among items and themes. Community development, with a mean score of 14.30, is the most disclosed theme, followed by HR, with a score of 11.20. The human element is the center of social performance in India. More than equal focus should be given to the environment and to emissions, which impact the greater interests of the world. Some burning global issues like water usage, alternative sources of energy, product safety and innovation have not received adequate attention.Research limitations/implicationsThe study offers ample scope for the further studies as each and every theme and item considered in the model/index requires individual focus to serve the future generations of mankind. Longitudinal/transnational studies in the area of CSR could be carried out to set the scene for further studies.Practical implicationsThe paper recommends mandatory CSR norms leading to improved disclosure, the sharing of innovative knowledge, cost reductions and enhanced effectiveness in managing scarce resources.Originality/valueThe paper evaluates social performance in the economic, social, religious environment and highlights the emerging philanthropic attitude. The paper improves an existing model by incorporating an emerging dimension, i.e. “Emissions of carbon and other harmful gases”. The CSEEE index designed here is highly appropriate for developing economies like India. The paper measures CSRD using six‐point scales for the first time.

Analyzing power in health systems: the case of medical dominance in India

Description of the problem Power underpins relationships between different actors in health systems and is exercised (or resisted, or subverted) directly by way of coercion and inducement, or indirectly by controlling the ideas and environments that influence other actors to make decisions. Increasingly, abuse and misuse of power have been implicated as key determinants of poor health systems performance in low-income contexts. However the ephemeral nature of power makes it a difficult subject to study, as do the political connotations of such analysis. Methods We present case studies from three separate research projects conducted in varied settings in India. The studies draw from “bottom-up” theories of policy implementation analysis, which help to locate intangible themes such as power in real life events and processes. i) A qualitative analysis of implementation of global guidelines for HIV testing in five cities (n = 46 medical practitioners, health administrators, policy-planners and donors) ii) A policy analysis of factors influencing the performance of regulatory institutions for health care, in two states (n = 32 health administrators and regulators) iii) A health systems ethnography exploring the decision-making processes of doctors working in remote rural areas in Chhattisgarh state (n = 37 medical practitioners) All three studies utilized qualitative research methodology, including in-depth interviews and document review, and the ‘interpretive’ approach of analysis to understand the experiences of health systems actors. Main findings i) The analysis of implementation of global guidelines for HIV testing revealed that doctors widely resisted pressures to follow the guidelines, yet could rarely play a role in influencing policy change. A combination of this paradoxical balance of power, conflicts between different actors’ (policy-makers, administrators, practitioners) interpretation of policies, and lack of avenues for the exchange of ideas, contribute to the rift between written policies and field level practices. ii) The second study describes how medical political interests are embedded into the functioning of regulatory institutions, and delineates how they influence these institutions’ interpretation of regulatory actions, and obstruct the performance of their mandated functions. iii) The final case study highlights how doctors performing crucial roles in providing health care in remote rural areas face adversity not only from poor working and living conditions, but also in the form of unsupportive administrative structures, unaccountable promotion and transfer policies, and poor access to continued education. Discussion These three studies present a heterogeneous picture of the power of medical professionals in the context of national health systems. While medical professionals continue to hold sway over key administrative and regulatory institutions, this power tends to be directed to the protection of pecuniary and petty political interests, rather than to the upliftment of medical practice. Even as rural doctors struggle to perform under the yoke of unjust administrations, there is evidence that doctors in cities may also be failing to influence the policies that guide the norms of their practice. The case studies collectively highlight the crucial role of medical professional power and interests in influencing health systems performance in India, and also demonstrate that a closer appreciation of doctors’ vulnerabilities is necessary in order to confront the problem of medical dominance. At the same time they draw attention to the embeddedness of health systems in society – societal norms, structures and balances of power – and consequently of the necessity of societal reforms favouring justice and equity, for improving health systems performance. More evidence on the sociology of health systems is called for, as India moves towards sweeping health sector reforms.

Correlations in Party Performance in State Legislative Assembly and Subsequent National Parliamentary Elections in India, 1980–2009

Using a panel data estimation technique, this article examines correlations in party performance in India for political parties that contested legislative assembly and federal parliamentary elections held within the following eighteen months during the period between 1980 and 2009. The results are analysed according to a range of variables, including type of party and voter turnout. The study's finding that, across party types, there is a strong and statistically significant correlation in party performance between the two elections provides empirical corroboration of prior studies that have suggested the existence of enduring linkages between politics at the state and federal levels. It also offers some validation for the popular media's and others' preoccupations with the outcome of legislative assembly elections as indicators of subsequent parliamentary polls.

Overseas trade vis-a-vis overseas shipping: Growth and performance in India (1999–2009)

Maritime trade has been and even continues to account for about a lion's share of India's total cargo volumes. Despite the growth of multimodal transport (by land, water and air), shipping still continues to be the major mode of transport in the bulk carriage of country's overseas trade. In view of this vital role of shipping, in the first four decades of independence, under the initiative of planned development and active government support, India's shipping and port sector saw dramatic growth in their performance to build adequate national fleet, in keeping up with the transport of overseas cargo. However, the onset of economic liberalization in 1991 has given rise to many new dimensions in the development of the shipping and port sector of the country with a significant redefinition of shipping and port services, in response to the new global trend patterns. For instance, it has also established the new era of containerization in the mode of cargo delivery from the dominance of the era of bulk and break-bulk trade during the decade of sixties and seventies. Moreover, as global competition increases, in response to this emerging trade patterns within this country, India's volume of traffic growth also increases manifold. So, India's shipping and port sectors need, significantly, to build up and furnish their capacity by increasing the frequency of this mode of transport i.e. the growth of the national overseas fleet to meet this surging demand. This paper, therefore, have focused on this role of shipping in such rising overseas trade, with a view to examine the shipping performance (the growth of overseas fleet) in response to the growing overseas trade at all ports of India during the period (1999–2000 to 2008–2009), in terms of both a mathematical model and a graphical representation. Finally, it concludes that the absolute overseas trade, being highly import dependent, have led to a more or less stagnant performance in overseas shipping, owing to the lack of the adequate growth of absolute overseas exports during this period.

Corporate Governance and Firm Performance: An Empirical Analysis from Indian Manufacturing Sector

Corporate governance has become the latest buzzword in India triggered by the series of scandals and failures in the corporate world. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of corporate governance on firm performance for a large representative sample of Indian manufacturing firms for the period 2001-2010. For the analysis purposes, we use five different but alternative measures of firm performance i.e., Return on Assets, Return on Equity, Net Profit Margin, Adjusted Tobin’s q and Stock Returns. We also utilize several alternative specifications and estimation techniques to test the robustness of estimation results. Results of the analysis show that corporate governance has a significant and sizable impact on Tobin’s q but its relationship with other firm performance measures does not seem to be very robust. The findings indicate that corporate governance improves the industrial performance in India but the linkage is not very strong as of now. This research can alert policy makers in the developing countries to the need for increasing the awareness of board in the context of corporate governance reforms.

Benefits of a Registration Policy for Microenterprise Performance in India

This paper evaluates the effects of a voluntary registration policy with government authorities on financial performance of urban microenterprises in the Indian manufacturing sector. Using data from the 2006 World Bank survey of Indian microenterprises and applying the semi-parametric propensity score matching technique, we find that being registered leads to significant gains in sales per employee and value added per employee. Large gains are also noted for male-owned firms, those operating with or without paid labor and those operating outside of the owner’s home.

Strategy, Structure and Performance in India

Indian economy is on a growth trajectory and one study after another is projecting India among the leading economies of future. The role and significance of India in the global economy is continuously increasing. Following the seminar work of Chandler, strategy and structure research has made a lot of progress and is one of the major research issues in strategy. This paper studies the strategy and structure in the top 100 companies in India. We find that more companies are focusing on it as they have started facing competition and also started reaping the fruits of this aspect.

The strategic fit between “competitive strategy” and “supply chain strategy” in Indian manufacturing industry: an empirical approach

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the state of strategic fit between “competitive strategy” (CS) and “supply chain strategy” (SCS) in the Indian manufacturing industry by investigating the mediating role of supply chain strategy between competitive strategy and performance of company/supply chain.Design/methodology/approachThis aim is accomplished by using a survey questionnaire that was answered by 185 respondents from various sectors of Indian manufacturing industry. These sectors included automobile, electrical and electronics, process, machinery, textile, food, aviation and footwear sectors. The state of strategic fit is explored based on research framework of “matrix of strategic fit”.FindingsThe major findings revealed existence of a causal relationship between CS and SCS with CS as independent variable and SCS as dependent variable. It was also found that choice of CS and SCS affects business and supply chain performance. The other finding was establishment of the existence of strategic fit in Indian manufacturing industry, which was explained by analyzing the interaction effect between CS and SCS. It was also found that a major hurdle in implementing SCM practices in Indian manufacturing industry is “overcoming traditional practices”.Originality/valueIndian manufacturing industry is growing by leaps and bounds, but to date there is no study that has explored the mediation effect of supply chain strategy between competitive strategy and performance in India. This paper provides a research framework to study and assess these dimensions of strategy on “matrix of strategic fit”.

Rain, rain, go away? The investment climate, state business relations and firm performance in India

It is commonly argued that a better investment climate reform – i.e., lower distortions in the institutional, policy and regulatory environment in which firms operate – lead to discernible improvements in firm performance. In this paper, we argue that effective State?Business Relations (SBRs) condition better investment climate outcomes and that the deeper institutional determinants of firm performance are the former. We examine the effect of effective SBRs of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) for formal sector firms in India for the years 2000–2001 and 2004–2005 and find support for this hypothesis.

Price of Gold and Light: Power and Politics in Hey Ananta Punya

Hey Ananta Punya, a dance-drama adapted and choreographed by the Bangladeshi choreographer Warda Rihab was performed in Kolkata, India, in December 2009. Rihab plays the main character Srimoti, a dancer at the court of King Ajatashatru. Srimoti embraces Buddhism but is not allowed to practice since Ajatashatru decrees Hinduism to be the state religion. In the narrative, Hinduism, the predominant religion of India, represses Buddhism, which is a minority religion in the subcontinent. Even though on the surface the dance-drama deals with Hinduism and Buddhism, the performance is complicated by the knowledge that the choreographer and most of the performers are Bangladeshi Muslims. In the context of Hindu-Muslim conflicts and India's political and economic hegemony in South Asia, the performance can be considered as a critique of India's policies. In considering the choreographer's background and the dance-drama's narrative, aesthetics, and location of performance, I analyze the various structures of power that a Bangladeshi female choreographer operates within during her training and performance in India. Hey Ananta Punya is significant because it points to the complex web of issues involving politics, history, and religion that have been a part of dance in Bangladesh for the past few decades because of India's influence in the field, particularly through Indian-government scholarships for advanced dance training. In the paper, I use Michel Foucault's theory of power as systems of interrelated networks and knowledge as a system of power to show how dance as a form of embodied knowledge can function as a tool in shaping, disseminating, and expressing ideology.

Influence of 3PL service offerings on client performance in India

This paper examines, in the context of outsourcing, the effects of improving the performance indicators of a client to the services offered by a 3PL provider. A research model has been developed and four research hypotheses are analyzed empirically using multiple regression analysis. The results point out that there is a positive influence in the performance indicators for clients who are in association with a 3PL provider. It is proved that the clients distinguish a 3PL provider as providing them with a potential pathway to a more innovative business model. The theoretical, managerial and research implications are also highlighted.

Measuring efficiencies in Indian public road transit: a data envelopment analysis approach

Efficiency evaluation is an important managerial tool for assessing the degree of resource utilization so as to give the desired outputs. The various approaches for this evaluation can be econometric or parametric by using a well defined productivity function or non-parametric by using Data Envelopment Analysis. This paper focuses on the performance of India’s Public Road Transport Undertakings. Data Envelopment Analysis is used to measure the technical scale and managerial efficiencies of Inter-state buses in India. Data was collected from the publication of Central Institute of Road Transport for 25 Transport undertakings that are run by the government departments or corporations. The private operators have been excluded from the study. The paper highlights certain important issues such as efficiency rankings and potential improvements for inefficient units. The undertakings have a great potential for efficiency improvement.