ABSTRACT
The study examined the influence of
human resources strategies on employee self- report performance, a study
of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, ikeja, Lagos.
It geared towards exploring some
predicting variables of human resources strategies on employee self-
report performance among employee of Cadbury Nigeria Plc. 122 Cadbury
Plc employees, which comprises of 62 males and 60 females from different
department completed the questionnaire.
100% respondents duly participated in
the survey. A well- developed questionnaire was designed to elicit
information from the respondents.
The data collected were analyzed using
the descriptive statistics technique and the analysis of variance
(ANOVA) was employed to test the stated hypotheses at 0.05% significance
level.
Result from the study indicated that
compensation strategy, recruitment and selection strategy, training and
development strategy and strategic human resources alignment are key
variables of human resources strategies that significantly influence the
employee self-report performance.
Also companies with sound the human
resources strategies naturally tend to perform better than their peers
from small and large enterprises.
Findings were discussed and relevant recommendations were made for further studies.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Contemporary organizations are
constantly undergoing the pressure to improve their service delivery and
productivity. The precariousness of the external environment and the
rapid rate of technological advancement increasingly requires innovative
means of improving business performance in totality and as well as
having a competitive advantage over rival firms. People are recognized
as the core determinants of competitive advantage and the need for
effective manpower management has become more important than ever
before.
The task of effective human resource management in the 21st
century has gone beyond the HR department of an organization alone. The
task of exploring and harnessing the potentials of people in an
organization for maximum performance is now being faced by senior
managers, line managers and HR professionals. However, organizations are
facing the challenges of providing an ideal occasion for diverse HR
practices to prove its ability to contribute towards organizational
performance and to particularly enhance the performance of human
resource (employees).
HR in organizations in this present
century is seen has been a vital component in the enhancement and
sustenance of employees’ performance (Bowen, 2004). HR is believed to
affect knowledge, skills, attitudes, abilities and behaviour of
employees, which further affects the performance of an organization.
Research has showed that human element is important asset organizations
must possess to gain competitive advantage in the industry they are
operating in. Research further evidenced that HR plays a decisive role
in employees performance (Dietz and Boon, 2005; Coonway and Shanna,
2003).
Two factors have been identified to as
important factors to explaining the linkage between HR and employees’
performance. Firstly, the alignment of HR with organization strategy
(strategic fit) and secondly, the alignment of various HR practices,
such as career opportunities, training and appraisal within the
organization (internal fit). When HR within an organization is well
aligned and employees know what is expected of them, they will
invariably act similarly and have uniform expectations about work and
behaviour (Barons & Kreps, 1999).
Innovative HR practices according to
Soms (2006) is the intentional introduction or change of HR programs,
policies, strategies, practice or system designed to influence and adapt
employees’ skill, behaviour and interaction of employees and have the
potential to provide the foundation for strategy formulation and the
means for its implementation that is perceived to be new and create
current capabilities and competencies. Scholars have suggested various
HR design system to achieve organizational goals as well as determining
the best set of complementing HR practices that will indeed boos the
performance of employees. However, several limitations ranging from
different levels of analysis, size of firm, union status of organization
and business environment has impeded the acceptability of several
advancements.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
With the increasing significance of the
‘human factor” in an organization, HR issues have become important to
organization that identifies people as their most essential advantage in
achieving organizational goals, inclusive of the enhancement of
employees’ performance.
A set of issues deeply in need of
concentration is the identification of strategic HR practices.
Steadiness in the classification or determination of HR practices is
very low. An evaluation of the universal perspective of theorizing HR
employees’ performance shows there is still much to be learnt about the
combination of HR practices that will boost the performance of
employees. The impression given by Becker and Gehart (1996) reveal that
studies greatly as to the HR practices and strategies identified as the
“best” and sometimes even as whether HR practices and strategies is
likely to positively or negatively affect employees’ high performance.
Little is known about how and through
which HR strategies influences employees’ performance. Intermediate
processes that ultimately affect performance outcomes are referred to as
the “black-box” of the HR outcome link (Soms, 2006). Unlocking the
“black-box” means identifying the HR strategies that are relevant to
employees’ performance. This remark is concerned with the explanation of
the mechanism linking HR strategies to key aspects of employees’
performance in particular and organizational performance in general.
Several authors identified the lack of theoretical models to decipher
this shortcoming. It is however pertinent to give attention not only to
traditional performance outcomes but also to intermediate and
process-related criteria that shows the path towards achieving sound
employees’ performance.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study is to
examine the influence of human resources strategies on employees’ self
report performance using Cadbury Plc, Lagos state as case study.
The specific objectives of the study are
- To examine the influence of compensation strategy on employees’ self report performance in Cadbury Plc.
- To examine the influence of recruitment and selection strategy on employees’ self report performance in Cadbury Plc.
- To examine the influence of training and development strategy alignment on employees’ self report performance in Cadbury Plc.
- To examine the influence of strategic human resources alignment on employees’ self report performance in Cadbury Plc.
- To examine the influence of job rotation strategy on employees’ self report performance in Cadbury Plc.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study attempts to provide satisfactory answers to the following research questions.
- What is the influence of compensation strategy on employees’ self-report performance in Cadbury Plc?
- What is the influence of recruitment and selection strategy on employees’ self-report performance in Cadbury Plc?
- What is the influence of training and development strategy on employees’ self-report performance in Cadbury Plc?
- What is the influence of strategic human resources alignment on employees’ self-report performance in Cadbury Plc?
- What is the influence of job rotation strategy on employees’ self-report performance in Cadbury Plc?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
Five (5) hypotheses are developed based on the specific objectives of the study.
- H1: Compensation strategy has no significant influence on employees’ self-report performance in Cadbury Plc.
- H02: Recruitment and selection strategy has no significant influence on employees’ self-report performance in Cadbury Plc.
- H03: Training and development strategy has no significant influence on employees’ self-report performance in Cadbury Plc.
- H04: Strategic human resources alignment has no significant influence on employees’ self-report performance in Cadbury Plc.
- H05: Job rotation strategy has no significant influence on employees’ self-report performance in Cadbury Plc.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Employees are the most important asset
any organization can have to achieve its stated targets. The performance
and productivity of employees greatly depends on the kind of HR
policies and strategies adopted in such an organization. When an
organization practices friendly and attractive HR strategies, employees
will exude greater performance in their work, which will lead to the
overall accomplishment of the organization’s vision and mission
statement.
This study through its findings will be
use to the management team, board of directors, chief executive
officers, general and line managers, HR officers of various
organizations in the private sector as they will be informed with the
best HR strategies that they can adopt to ensure greater performance and
productivity of their employees, with the overall aim of achieving
their stipulated objectives. Government at various levels (federal,
state and local) will equally benefit ascertaining and implementing the
effective HR strategies to enhance civil servants’ performance.
Future researchers will find this study useful in their prospective research undertakings.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study is delineated to examine the
influence of human resources strategies on employees’ self-report
performance in Cadbury Plc, Ikeja. The human resources strategies
considered in the study are but not limited to strategic human resources
alignment, recruitment and selection, training and development,
performance appraisal, compensation, career planning, employee
participation and job rotation.
1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
During the course of carrying out the study, several limitations were encountered. They were:
Financial Constraint: Due
to limited funds, the study only covered Cadbury Plc in Lagos state as a
case study. Other organizations could not be considered.
Time Constraint: The
time frame given to conduct this study is relatively short considering
the other academic commitment and dedication of the researcher.
Difficulty in obtaining Data from Respondents: The
respondents who were employees of Cadbury Plc were quite reluctant to
participate in the survey because they felt they might be disclosing the
secrets of their organization.
1.9 METHODOLOGY
The study employed the survey research
design in conjunction with the simple random sampling technique to
select 350 employees of Cadbury Plc. A questionnaire was constructed by
the researcher and validated by two HR professionals, was administered
to the respondents. The data generated was analyzed using the
descriptive statistics (tables, frequencies and percentages).
Furthermore, a model was specified in
which employee self-report performance was taken as the dependent
variable. The independent variables incorporated in the model are
strategic human resources alignment, recruitment and selection, training
and development, compensation, performance appraisal, employee
participation, job rotation and career planning. The multiple regression
analysis was then used to empirically estimate the influence of the
stated independent variables on the dependent variable at 5%
significance level.
1.10 ASSUMPTIONS
The study is based on the following assumptions:
- All the respondents that participated in the study are employees of Cadbury Plc.
- All the information obtained from the respondents is true, accurate and genuine.
1.11 DEFINITON OF TERMS
Career Planning: This refers to the strategy adopted by an organization to encourage employees to pursue their personal development.
Compensation: This
refers to salaries, commission, fringe benefits, allowances, bonuses and
other financial and non-financial rewards, employees are entitled to.
Employee Participation: This refers to the organizational programs that encourage joint decision making by employees and their superiors.
Employee Self-Report Performance:
This refers to the personal assessment of the employees by themselves.
Here, employees rate and judge their performance personally.
Human Resource Strategy:
This refers to any intentional introduction or change of HR program,
practice or system to influence the skills, abilities and behaviour of
employees, thereby achieving the stated objectives of the organization.
Job rotation: This
refers to a work system adopted by organization in which employees are
rotated among different jobs within an organization.
Performance Appraisal: This refers to the measurement of employees’ performance on the basis of objective and quantifiable results.
Recruitment and Selection: This refers to the inflow of chosen skill aimed at enhancing the human resources capabilities of an organization.
Strategic Human Resources Alignment: This
refers to the extent at which the human resources strategies adopted by
an organization align with its stated vision and mission.
Training and Development: This refers to the tool to develop the knowledge and skills of employees with the aim of improving their performance.
