Sharmistha Banerjee

Benchmarking environmental performance: five leading steel mills in India

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review general applications of the ISO14001 certification process and show how limitations such as ensuring minimum environmental performance standard, public access to performance information, and peer benchmarking may be overcome by voluntary commitment to attainable standards by association of specific industries.Design/methodology/approach – A replicable environmental performance (weighted) index was developed by the authors. Secondary data obtained from five (public and private) steel mills provided technical data under voluntary compliance standards. Primary data on non‐technical items of performance index were collected. The index was tested to demonstrate peer benchmarking process.Findings – ISO 14001 certification cannot serve as an end in itself for industries as peer companies under voluntary compliance may exceed environmental performance. Minimum acceptable environmental standards could be enforced through industry‐wide consensus. Public access to per...

Impact of Social Capital on Small Firm Performance in West Bengal

Formal and informal networks empower small firms to generate social capital by forging network ties, building on trust and sharing a vision among stakeholders. It enables them to obtain necessary resources, support, information and knowledge, which may be otherwise inaccessible to them. This study analyses the impact of social capital on firm performance through the constructs of network ties, trust and shared vision while drawing a comparison between firms associated with formal and informal networking. An empirical study was conducted via a structured questionnaire on a sample of 100 small firms in West Bengal with 50 firms having membership in industry/trade associations as the experimental group and another 50 firms having only informal connections as the control group. Findings of the multiple regression analysis reveal that the impact of social capital on firm performance is significantly greater in firms engaged in formal and informal networking in contrast to firms embedded only in the informal network.

Ownership Patterns and Ethical Practices of Small Enterprises in Kolkata

The modern business environment is characterised by increased scrutiny of ethical practices. Given the ubiquitous role of small businesses and their expanding realm in the globalised era, it is becoming imperative that these enterprises reckon with the ethical dimension of business on a much more stringent basis. The issues of business ethics, which were primarily addressing problems of large corporations, are gradually encompassing the small enterprises. The objective of this research was to scrutinise the extent to which SMEs conform to ethical norms. With the use of empirical data, we tested whether proprietorship/partnership firms in the Kolkata district of West Bengal are more inclined to indulge in unethical practices in comparison with limited companies. There is clear support for the hypothesis that proprietorship and partnership firms tend to be more ethically infractious than the limited companies.

Social Capital and Information Sharing: Impact on Firm Performance

SMEs forge relationship with actors in their environment to obtain necessary resources, support and information which they may be unable to generate by themselves. These relationships are born out of linkages through formal and informal networks. Social capital of SMEs evolves out of these networks and generates scarce benefits. Literature provides that information sharing is widely regarded as one of the key returns of social capital which has a significant impact on firm performance (Wu 2008). Various dimensions of social capital in the form of network ties, trust and shared vision in strategic alliances and social alliances of SMEs have unique influences on information sharing among their exchange partners. This study attempts to examine the effects of the dimensions of social capital on information sharing advantages of the SMEs and its influence on firm performance, while drawing a comparison between firms engaged in strategic and social alliances. Analyzing the data from 100 small firms in West Bengal largely support the hypothesis that social capital contributes significantly towards information sharing, the effect of which is consequently translated into firm performance. The influence is found to be more pronounced for firms embedded in strategic alliances as compared to other firms.

Distribution and Abundance of Macrozoobenthic Species in Some Tropical Brackishwater Wetlands of West Bengal, India

Benthos inhabiting brackishwater ecosystems is subjected to transitional environment of freshwater and saltwater conditions. In the present paper the effects of environmental variables were studied along with anthropogenic activities, selecting two man-made fishery systems (bheri) and one natural estuarine system at Canning town, West Bengal, India. 11 water parameters and five sediment parameters were studied. Qualitative study of macrozoobenthos indicates that natural estuarine ecosystem harbours 57 species of nine groups while brackishwater impoundments are inhabited by 17–20 species only. The population density of the commonly occurring macrobenthic species reveals variation with respect to season and sites. Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis and canonical correspondence analysis results suggest that more than 15 macrozoobenthic species bear significant correlation with one or more water and sediment parameters, within which 12 species showed significant correlation in estuarine ecosystem indicating more environmental stress in impoundments than estuary.

Microfinance and Human Development: A Cross-Generation Study

Microfinance has been accepted as a potent instrument to improve the living standards of the ultra-poor women in developing and least developed countries in the world. Most of the research studies inferred that participation in microfinance initiatives has a positive impact on female labor force participation rate, which in turn improve their initial consumption and empowerment. A relatively more empowered woman is expected to exercise agency and make strategic life choices in a context, where women’s ability to set their own goals and pursue them is seriously constrained by an in egalitarian gender system. These strategic life choices normally include their children’s schooling and education, their own healthcare options, and ability to earn and spend according to their own will. Thus, involvement in income-generating activities using microfinance which leads to improving/enhancing decision making of women may not only improve their own lives but is expected to improve the quality of human development over generations. It would be thus interesting to explore how far a mother with long-term engagement in microfinance can take progressive steps to reduce early dropouts of her daughters from educational institutions and also to give freedom to her daughter-in-law to pursue career choices, as manifestations of comprehensive long-term development. Given this backdrop, the chapter aims to capture the impact of microfinance use on 1200 middle-aged women on the overall human development of women of their next generation. The specific objective of the study is to assess the impact of microfinance on education and career choice of the second generation of microfinance users, daughters and daughters-in-law, compared to the original microfinance borrowers and non-borrowers. Using propensity score matching techniques of impact evaluation, the chapter does not identify that among the second-generation women of microfinance borrowers, education nor financial inclusion appears to be statistically higher compared to that of non-borrowing control groups. Thus, the impact of microfinance seems to fizzle out without sustainability, representing a sure sign of mission drift.

Macrozoobenthic Community and Assessment of Aquatic Ecosystem Health of three Waterbodies of East Calcutta Wetlands, India

The present study was aimed to understand the diversity, abundance and distribution of macrozoobenthic community of three selected fishponds differing in sewage intake and culture practices of East Calcutta Wetlands of Kolkata, India, as well as the aquatic ecosystem health of these waterbodies considering benthos as the best indicator of pollution. One year seasonal samplings were done to study the diversity and distribution of macrozoobenthos along with 12 water quality parameters to reflect the ecological conditions and aquatic ecosystem health of these waterbodies through biodiversity indices and statistical analysis (SPSS 10). A total of 27 species of macrozoobenthic organisms belonging to 18 families under four phyla comprising eight major groups viz. Polychaeta, Oligochaeta, Hirudinea, Diptera, Odonata, Gastropoda, Bivalvia and Pisces have been recorded. The diversity of macrozoobenthic fauna of these three waterbodies revealed that Ruby wetland had the highest representation of 24 species followed by Sukantanagar pond (17 species) and Sukantanagar bheri (16 species). The result of Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed that amongst the collected macrozoobenthos the gastropod species, Bellamya bengalensis and Lymnaea acuminata were wetland site-wise significant. The total benthic population and biomass have positive correlation with water transparency and organic enrichment of the waterbody. Shannon Weiner and Margalef’s indices have revealed higher values for Ruby wetland. Biodiversity indices and BMWP Score System designated to benthic organisms, suggested Ruby wetland is healthier than the other two waterbodies, differing in sewage intake and culture practices.

Synergistic Effects of Microfinance Through SHGs: A Study of Basic Health and Primary Education Indicators

Traditionally, money-lending institutions such as banks, lent funds only to people who had property, steady earnings, and a credit history. In the last few decades, however, the concept of banking for the poor has become a reality, and popular parlance terms it ‘micro-finance’. Often, microfinance is extended to groups of people rather than to individuals as a means of ensuring greater security to the lending institution through the vehicle of ‘peer pressure’ among the group members. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to study the grass root reality in the functioning of microfinance mechanism through self-help groups in West Bengal and their developmental influences on the health and primary education. Group-based microfinance, through the mechanism of self-help groups, provides a good opportunity to provide awareness about the need for primary education and basic health care, through their meetings and peer consultations. The chapter’s first section provides a brief description of microfinance and highlights the positive impacts on client, their families, and the community at large. Then it discusses the issue of positive externalities (health and education), resulting from microfinance interventions. The discussion revolves around the success of SHGs in implementing microfinance strategies to accomplish better health and education. The case study of microfinance initiatives by way of grade improvement in self-help groups in West Bengal, and their impact on basic parameters of health and primary education is deliberated upon. The analysis in this chapter is meant to provide policy making bodies a better understanding of client needs and how to (re)structure programs to increase their impact in addressing multiple needs.