The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effects of organizational commitment on the relationship between transformational leadership style and employees’ job performance in the Divisional Secretariats in Jaffna District. 287 employees were selected for this study. Leadership styles were measured using MLQ Rater Form 5-x, employee performance was measured using job performance Scale and organizational commitment was measured using Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to get factor structure and confirmatory factor analysis performed to confirm the validly and reliability of the study instruments. The results revealed that transformational leadership has a positive impact on job performance and on organizational commitment. It was also found that organizational commitment doesn’t have a mediating effect in the impact of transformational leadership on employee performance. The findings also revealed that organizational commitment doesn’t have impact on employee performance. This study recommends that the leaders should pay more attention in their leadership style as a way to improve employee performance. This study further suggests that future researchers should cover larger samples and the other public sector organizations to better understand the relationship between the variables.

The business researchers are interested in identifying what leadership styles result in positive outcomes in organizations. From the work of the researchers, many theories and approaches have been developed time to time. This paper provides a literature review of transformational and transactional leadership styles and its impact on employee performance. The review outlines the major leadership theories and provides a framework for understanding the body of knowledge. Transformational and transactional leadership theories are discussed in detail in order to provide a specific leadership theoretical framework for this study. Empirical findings related to the study variables are discussed based on the literature. The review of literature shows that the leaders are perceived effective when they use transformational and transactional leadership styles together. Further several studies identified that, compared to transactional leadership, transformational leadership has more impact on employee performance. However, there is a gap in the current literature examining the effects of transformational and transactional leadership styles on employee performance in the Sri Lankan context. The review results would bring a platform for the future researchers to concentrate on the applicability of the theory in various sectors in Sri Lanka.

Performance appraisal is an integral part of any organization as it helps organizations ensuring employees are working hard to contribute to achieving the organization’s mission and objectives. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of performance appraisal system on job performance of employees of Bank of Ceylon in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. The study was conducted with a sample of 173 employees who are working in Bank of Ceylon in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. The study employed a survey method and questionnaires were used to collect data. The type of investigation was explanatory in nature and cross sectional according to time horizon. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses. There are many dimensions to measure the quality of performance appraisal system, however, the current study focused on four dimensions namely fairness of appraisal, appraisal satisfaction, relationship with peers and superiors and appraisal accuracy. The results of the study revealed that perceived quality of performance appraisal system has a positive impact on perceived degree of job performance. Multiple regression analysis revealed that fairness of appraisal and appraisal satisfaction have significant positive impact on job performance whereas relationship with peers and supervisors and appraisal accuracy do not significantly impact job performance. The finding of this study gives an insight to the banking sector to promote the performance of employees through quality of appraisal system.

Sri Lankans continue to rely on public service to satisfy most of their needs, however, they are increasingly distrustful of its performance. If the managers and leaders better manage the employees, it is possible to move toward a productive workforce and to meet the common expectations of the people. There is a need to adopt appropriate style in order to promote psychological empowerment among employees and to improve employee performance. In the Sri Lankan public sector, it is very rare to come across studies which have been conducted on the impact of leadership style on employees’ performance, particularly in the Northern Province. Thus, the current study aims to examine the association between transformational leadership style and employees’ job performance and the potential mediating effect of psychological empowerment in the effect of transformational leadership on employee performance in the public sector organizations in Jaffna District. The study employed survey method and 287 employees participated in this study. Leadership style was measured using MLQ Rater Form 5-x, employee performance was measured using Job Performance Scale and psychological empowerment was measured using Empowerment Scale. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to get factor structure and confirmatory factor analysis was performed to confirm the validity and reliability of the study instruments. The results revealed that transformational leadership has a positive impact on job performance and on psychological empowerment. It was also found that psychological empowerment has a mediating effect in the impact of transformational leadership on employee performance. This study recommends that the leaders should pay more attention in their leadership style as a way to improve employee performance. This study further suggests that future researchers should cover other public sector organizations to better understand the relationship between the variables. Keywords: Public sector, job performance, psychological empowerment and transformational leadership

The present study sought to investigate the relationship between locus of control and stress among school teachers. Teaching job is regarded as one of the most stressful occupation, but so far, no study explored the association between locus of control and stress of school teachers in Jaffna. Although previous research results have indicated that there is an association between personality and behavioral outcomes, there has been little attention paid to some of the personality factors that may impact these relationships. The purpose of this study is to examine the job stress, internal and external locus tendencies and the relationship between the two construct. Subjects were drawn from randomly selected schools from Jaffna Zone. 186teachers participated in this study. Locus of control was measured using Locus of Control Scale and stress level was measured using Perceived Stress Scale. The result indicates that individuals with a higher external locus of control are more likely to have higher levels of job stress.