M. Tech. Human resources Management / The retention of employees is very important for many organisations to survive and prosper in today's economy. While organisations invest in the training and development of their employees, return on investment cannot be guaranteed, as skilled employees continue to be lost to competitors. The need for a competitive advantage necessitates the development of employees and retaining them. The study examined the retention dynamics of bursary holders at the Department of Labour. The study's objective was to investigate bursary holders' intention to leave, and their reasons for considering leaving the Department of Labour, while testing whether these factors differ according to demographic variables, including gender, age, region, number of years at the Department of Labour, qualifications and level of position, thereby conducting an analysis of employee retention needs.

M. Tech. Organisational Leadership / The aim of this research to investigate the key factors impacting on retention of skilled employees in the public sector using the psychological contract as a framework in an emerging economy context. The focus of the study was on employees perspectives regarding elements of the employment relationship they consider valuable and how these inducements affect their commitment and loyalty to the organization.

Darbo tikslas nustatyti veiksnius, kurie padeda išlaikyti IT darbuotojus Lietuvos IT organizacijose. Pagrindiniai darbo uždaviniai: išnagrinėti darbuotojų išlaikymo modelius, išanalizuoti darbuotojų išlaikymo politikos formulavimo procesą ir darbuotojų išlaikymo strategijas, empiriškai ištirti veiksnius, susijusius su darbuotojų išlaikymu Lietuvos IT organizacijose, pasiūlyti priemones darbuotojų išlaikymo stiprinimui Lietuvos IT organizacijose. Darbe apžvelgti darbuotojų kaitos kaštai, svarbumas išlaikyti geriausius darbuotojus, darbuotojų išlaikymo politikos formulavimo procesas, darbuotojų išlaikymo strategijos bei darbuotojų išlaikymo teoriniai modeliai, sudarytas apibendrintas darbuotojų išlaikymo modelis. Empirinio tyrimo metu atliktas aprašomasis tyrimas pagal tyrimo tikslą ir kiekybinis tyrimas pagal informacijos pobūdį. Internetinė IT darbuotojų apklausa naudota gauti pirminius duomenis. Apklausti 123 darbuotojai iš 10 organizacijų. Baigiamojo darbo rezultatuose pateikiamas apibendrintas darbuotojų išlaikymo modelis, kurį sudaro 8 veiksniai. Nustatytos šių veiksnių sąsajos su darbuotojų išlaikymu. Pagal ryšio stiprumą darbuotojų išlaikymo veiksniai išsirikiavo sekančia tvarka: darbas, aplinka, darbo priemonės, vystymas ir karjeros galimybės, santykiai su vadovais, darbo ir laisvalaikio balansas, atlygis, santykiai su kolegomis. Analizuojant teorinius modelius, bei atlikto tyrimo rezultatus, praktikams pasiūlomos priemonės IT darbuotojų išlaikymo stiprinimui... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The goal of this thesis is to determine factors which help to retain IT employees in the IT organizations of Lithuania. The main tasks: to explore models of employees retention, to analyze employees’ retention policy formulation process and employees’ retention strategies, empirically investigate factors that are related with employees’ retention in IT organizations of Lithuania, to propose instruments to strengthen employees’ retention in IT organizations of Lithuania. In the thesis, costs of employees’ turnover, the importance to retain the best employees, the employees’ retention policy formulation process and employees’ retention strategies and the theoretical models of employees’ retention are reviewed. There is also generalized model of employees’ retention presented. The empirical quantitative research was accomplished. The Internet interview was used to collect primary data. 123 employees were interviewed from 10 IT organizations. In the results of this thesis the generalized model of employees’ retention what consists of 8 factors is being presented. The correlations were identified between retention factors and employees’ retention. The factors are listed from most to least correlated: the job itself, environment, work equipment, growth and career development, relationships with managers, work/personal life balance, compensation and rewards and relationships with colleagues. The instruments to strengthen employees’ retention in IT organizations of Lithuania are... [to full text]

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Master of Business Administration, Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2008. / South Africa is fast becoming the powerhouse of the African continent, due to its great technological advances in manufacturing, its rich diverse culture, sound business developments and stable economic policies that have seen the country shed the chains of apartheid that had plagued it for more than half a century. The need has become even greater in current economic times, for businesses to find new and innovative ways to improve production and their bottom line. Major corporations are investing heavily in upgrading the skills of their workforce in order to have a more productive workforce. Government legislation has now made it necessary, that all companies acknowledge the previously disadvantaged race groups and make sure that their workforce is fully represented as per the demographics of the country. The term affirmative action is being used more regularly in South African businesses and employees who do not comply with current legislation that seek to redress past disparities, are slapped with hefty fines. This study investigated the preferred as well as the existing culture and employee commitment levels at a South African company. The research reviewed the various types of culture, how culture is created and ways in which culture can be sustained or changed. Ways to cultivate employee commitment and retain skilled employees are also closely explored in this research study. The key results of the research findings revealed that there is a strong achievement culture prevalent at the company, with a good mix of the other culture types like, role culture, power culture and support culture. The employees at Riverview Paper Mill also strongly prefer an achievement and support type, culture. Employee commitment is very low and employees stay with the company out of necessity. Recommendations to improving the culture and commitment levels are also presented in this study.

Attitudes are commonly investigated in management research as they have predictive value to achievement and a positive attitude helps to produce desirable outcome. This thesis explores organisational commitment among academic staff in a Malaysian institution of higher learning. A thorough review of the literature revealed that there have been a number or previous studies of organisational commitment but none within this context. As the term organisational commitment is abstract it is operationally defined by simplifying it into observable characteristics. Organisational commitment is manifested in a) a strong belief in and acceptance of organisational goals and values; b) a willingness to exert considerable energy on behalf of the organisation; and c) a strong desire to maintain membership in the organisation. These elements can be measured using a questionnaire developed by Porter and Smith (1970). Factor Analysis is used to group responses into categories as dependent variables. Multiple Regression Analysis is then used to explore statistical relationships between organisational commitment factors derived from Factor Analysis and attitudes towards pay and promotion and to socio-demographic characteristics. The sample size of 818 respondents was derived from 2000 accessible academics from all schools and branches (except Sarawak) of the MARA Institute of Technology (ITM). A self administered questionnaire was selected as the mode of data collection. Overall organisational commitment among the academics towards their Institution was found to be high. Differences in levels of individuals' measured indicated organisational commitment could be statistically determined by demographic factors. However attitudes towards pay and promotion were found to be much more important as determinants of organisational commitment when they were included in the analysis and relationships tested with the use of Multiple Regression Analysis.

Försvarsmakten har nyligen ersatt värnplikten med ett personalförsörjningssystem där gruppbefäl och soldater anställs på samma villkor som på den civila arbetsmarknaden. En oväntad konsekvens av detta är en oönskat hög personalomsättning inom denna anställningskategori. Syftet med denna studie var att kartlägga faktorer som bidrar till intentionen att stanna kvar i eller lämna sin anställning hos kategorin gruppbefäl och soldater i Försvarsmakten. Ett konceptuellt ramverk utvecklades med grunden i den klassiska tvåfaktormodellen för arbetstillfredsställelse av Frederick Herzberg kombinerat med ett perspektiv på personalomsättning baserat på intentioner hos de anställda. Undersökningen har gjorts i form av en casestudie med kvalitativ, intervjubaserad ansats vid en enhet på Livgardet i Stockholm. Resultatet är ett antal olika faktorer som bidrar till de anställdas intentioner att stanna, motivationsfaktorer, och ett antal olika faktorer som bidrar till de anställdas intentioner att lämna sin anställning, hygienfaktorer. Motivationsfaktorerna som identifierades var: personlig utveckling, engagemang från chefer, erkännande & feedback, arbetsuppgifter samt gemenskap. Hygienfaktorerna var: ledarskap (inkluderat värnpliktstänk och kommunikation), arbetsgivarrollen, planering & ovisshet, arbetsmiljö samt övriga faktorer. Dessa faktorer stämde överlag överens med det konceptuella ramverket och tidigare studier, samt gav en fördjupad bild av fenomenet. / The Swedish Armed Forces have recently introduced an organisational change which entailed that squad leaders and soldiers are employed under the same contractual conditions that exist in the civilian job market. An unexpected consequence of this change has been an undesirable level of employee turnover within this occupational category, largely due to employees choosing to terminate their employment before the fulfilment of their contracted time. Therefore, the aim of this exploratory study was to uncover and map out factors that contribute to employees intentions to leave or to continue in their employment as squad leaders and soldiers within the Swedish Armed Forces. A conceptual framework was developed based on the classic two-factor model for job satisfaction presented by Frederick Herzberg combined with an intention-based perspective on the phenomenon employee turnover. The study utilised a qualitative, interview-based approach for a case study of a unit within the Lifeguard Regiment based in Stockholm, Sweden. The study yielded a set of factors that are indicated as contributing to the employees’ intentions to stay, herein termed motivational factors, and a different set of factors that are suggested to contribute to the employees’ intentions to leave, herein termed hygiene factors. The set of motivational factors were identified as personal development, manager engagement, acknowledgement & feedback, work tasks, and community & camaraderie. The set of hygiene factors were identified as leadership (including subcategories conscription attitude and communication), the employer role, planning & uncertainty, work environment, and other factors. Overall the results were consistent with previous findings, and also offered a more in-depth view of the phenomenon.

We approached a multinational manufacturing company that wants to reduce its employee turnover among white collars workers. Thailand's current labour shortage requires an ability to retain employees and a quantitative survey is conducted to measure the perceived job satisfaction. Job Satisfaction is a key component in strive for employee retention. The study identifies and analyzes organizational reasons that contribute to job satisfaction and that can contribute to increased employee retention. By investigating perceived job satisfaction amongst white collar worker, aims the study to find factors that are central to employee retention and how the most central factors can be strengthen and developed by the organization. The study creates an understanding of the benefits of employee retention strategies and the results may support the organization in the development of these. The conclusion is that organizational effort within work design, leadership, social support; development, compensation & benefits, and work-life balance are essential for employee retention. The study indicates that employees‘ annual development, competitiveness within compensation & benefits and a leader that lives up to the employee's expectations have an influence on the perceived job satisfaction. A continuous effort to increase job satisfaction reduces employee desire of movement. The pros of staying and the risks of leaving the organization increases and the result is an increased opportunity for employee retention / Vi kom i kontakt med ett multinationellt tillverkningsföretag som vill minska sin personalomsättning bland tjänstemän. Thailands rådande arbetskraftbrist ställer krav på en god förmåga att behålla personal och en kvantitativ undersökning genomförs för att mäta den upplevda arbetstillfredsställelsen. Arbetstillfredsställelse ses i tidigare studier som en nyckelkomponent för arbetet med personalbehållning, och vår studie fortsätter i samma riktning. Syftet är att finna och analysera organisatoriska grunder i arbetstillfredsställelse som kan bidra till ökad personalbehållning. Genom att undersöka tjänstemännens upplevda arbetstillfredsställelse kan vi besvara vilka faktorer som är centrala för personalbehållning och hur de mest centrala faktorerna kan stärkas och utvecklas av organisationen. Resultatet ökar förståelsen av fördelarna med personalbehållningsstrategier och kan stödja organisationen i utvecklingen av dessa. Slutsatsen är att organisationens arbete med Arbetsdesign, Ledarskap, Socialt stöd, Utveckling, Kompensation &Förmåner samt Balansen mellan privat- och arbetslivs är centrala för deras personalbehållning. Studien indikerar även att årlig utveckling hos de anställda, konkurrenskraftiga kompensationer & förmåner och en ledare som lever upp till de anställdas förväntningar har en stark inverkan på arbetstillfredsställelsen. Ett kontinuerligt arbete för ökad arbetstillfredsställelse minskar de anställdas önskan om att byta arbete. Fördelarna med att stanna kvar samt riskerna med att lämna organisationen ökar och resultatet blir en förbättrad möjlighet till personalbehållning

Employer branding is a strategic activity that has grown in popularity over the past two decades. Much progress has been made in investigating aspects of employer branding; however, many facets of the process, as it has been conceptualised in the research literature, remain empirically unexplored. The aim of this thesis is to get a deeper, more grounded understanding of employer branding based on an investigation of employer branding processes in practice. Four papers are presented, each providing a new perspective. In the first paper, industry experts??? perceptions of the characteristics of successful and unsuccessful employer brands are used to arrive at a typology of employer branding success. The typology is managerially relevant, providing a means by which firms may assess their employer branding success qualitatively and quantitatively (based on metrics commonly used in practice). Further, theoretical contributions are made by establishing employer branding as a context distinct from corporate and consumer branding, and by providing a basis for assessing variance between employer brands. In the second and third papers, the mechanisms that shape and perpetuate employer brands are explored. Individual (employee) and firm-related mechanisms drawn from the literature are empirically validated in the second paper using qualitative within-case analysis of four employer brands. The firms are from a broad range of industries and are characteristically successful (a pharmaceuticals and a financial services firm) and unsuccessful (a transport firm and a semi-government public utility). The case analysis results in the discovery of additional mechanisms relating to industry-level factors, not previously documented. These findings are built on in the third paper, where cross-case analysis of the same firms is used to establish a set of conditions that support or erode employer branding success. Importantly, theory perspectives outside the traditional domain of marketing (i.e., human resources, organisational behaviour and strategy) are shown to be critical for understanding the process in practice. A taxonomy of generic market segmentation types is used in the fourth paper to investigate the application of market segmentation to employer branding. Market segmentation is shown to provide a useful link between employer branding and broader strategic planning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.