http://repository.rjt.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5 2026-04-06T00:10:24Z http://repository.rjt.ac.lk/handle/123456789/7763 Effect of Organizational Cynicism on Job Performance: Evidence from the Rubber Manufacturing Industry in Sri Lanka Kavindi, I.A.D.; Kularathne, H.M.R.D. Human capital serves as a beacon of any organization in the 21st century. Organizational cynicism, a pervasive negative attitude towards one's workplace, has been recognized as a significant factor influencing employee behavior and outcomes. In the last two dec ades, the global market has embraced Sri Lanka’s Rubber industry for its value-added products. Since the Sri Lankan context is obsessed with an empirical in exploring the organizational cynicism in the Rubber manufacturing sector, this research aims to ex amine the impact of organizational cynicism on the job performance of operational-level employees within the rubber manufacturing industry, focusing on Gampaha District. This study is deductive and quantitative, deploying a sample consisting of 170 opera tional level employees in the rubber manufacturing industry in the Gampaha District, selected through the stratified sampling technique. Data were collected using an online structured survey questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS (version 21). By deploying Pearson Correlation analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis, four hypotheses of the study were tested and three hypotheses were accepted. The thorough investigation of these hypotheses collectively confirms the detrimental influence of organizational cyni cism on the job performance of operational-level employees in Sri Lankan Rubber man ufacturing firms. Two facets of cynicism—cognitive, and behavioral—exerts a distinct yet interconnected role in mitigating job performance while the affective component was removed from the model. These revelations advocate for a paradigm shift in organiza tional strategies, urging managers to not only address the visible symptoms but also delve into the root causes of cynicism 2024-09-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.rjt.ac.lk/handle/123456789/7762 Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude and Behavior of Employees in Star Grade Hotels: Reference to Western Province of Sri Lanka Samaradiwakara, R. P.V.; Senevirathne, K.S.B.; Manzino, A.R.M. Food safety is a critical aspect of public health that significantly impacts various sectors, particularly the hospitality industry. Despite the high importance of food safety in the tourism sector, instances of foodborne illnesses continue to occur, posing health risks and threatening the industry's economic contributions. In a quantitative approach, this study investigates the relationships between food safety knowledge, attitude, and behavior among employees in the above three star hotels in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine the measurement and struc tural models. The study was conducted using the convenient sampling method and data was collected from 51 respondence working in the kitchen departments of above 3-star hotels in Western province, Sri Lanka. The findings reveal a strong positive correlation between attitude and behavior, emphasizing that fos tering a positive attitude through training and awareness campaigns can signifi cantly enhance food safety behaviors. Conversely, the relationship between knowledge and behavior is found to be slightly negative and statistically insig nificant, suggesting that knowledge alone does not directly influence behavior. However, a moderate positive relationship between attitude and knowledge indi cates that a positive attitude can facilitate the acquisition and retention of food safety knowledge. This study contributes to the broader understanding of food safety in the hospitality sector and offers practical recommendations for policy and training interventions to mitigate foodborne illnesses and enhance the repu tation and sustainability of hotels. 2024-09-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.rjt.ac.lk/handle/123456789/7761 Empowering Investors: Reducing Herd Bias through Financial Literacy and Self-reflective Thinking Shantha, K.V.A. Herd behavior, where investors mimic the trades of others rather than relying on their own information or analysis, is a widespread phenomenon that can lead to suboptimal investment decisions and market inefficiencies. Hence, understanding how to reduce this behavior is crucial for improving individual investment outcomes and sustainable market performance. Though the literature suggests that self-reflection and financial literacy have potential to mitigate herd bias, it is unclear as to how these two perspectives interact to minimize this irrational behavior. By drawing on insights from the adaptive market hypothesis, transformative learning theory, concept of bounded rationality and dual process theory, this study attempts to enhance the understanding of this phenomenon by introducing a conditional mediation model that promotes self directed learning. It predicts that investors can reduce their herd bias through self reflection on their past stock trading experiences, which they can practice by engaging intuitive logical thinking and strengthen further through their financial literacy. Since herding is generally predicted to be more prevalent in frontier stock markets, the study was conducted in a frontier market - the Colombo Stock Exchange. The data was obtained through a self-administered questionnaire from 253 active individual investors, and analyzed by applying the PROCESS procedure. The findings reveal the significance of self-reflection as a mediating variable across its antecedents, which provides strong evidence for its central role in reducing herd bias. Notably, the findings indicate that self-reflection has a stronger effect on reducing herd bias of investors with lower level of financial literacy. It implies that investors with low financial literacy are more susceptible to herd bias, and self-reflection facilitates them to recognize and minimize their herd bias. Accordingly, the study concludes that promoting self-reflection can empower individual investors to become more financially literate and thereby mitigate their herd bias. 2024-09-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.rjt.ac.lk/handle/123456789/7760 Impact of Personal and Socio-Economic Factors on the Entrepreneurial Intention Among the Differently Abled Young Crowd with Special Reference to Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka Thisera, W.M.S.D.; Bandara, A. Intention for entrepreneurship has received considerable attention unquestionably, as it has a substantial positive personal, economic, and social impact in responding to unem ployment in developing countries. Sri Lanka is a country that appreciates democracy; even though all related to the age limit of 15-29 years should be included in the employ ment rates without discrimination, the contribution of people with impairments has reached a significant minimum level in Sri Lanka. This study examines the impact of personal and socio-economic factors on the entrepreneurial intention of the differently abled young crowd in Sri Lanka. The explanatory research method was used on 134 differently-abled youngers from the Kurunegala district using the convenience sampling technique. The data was collected using a self-administrated questionnaire and analyzed using Pearson's correlation and multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The results highlighted that self-efficacy, self-employment, the role of family support, entre preneurial education, and skill development significantly positively impact entrepre neurial intention. The practical value of this research holds significance for scholars and governmental and non-governmental decision-makers, as it encourages entrepreneurial endeavors among differently abled youngers. 2024-09-01T00:00:00Z