Introduction
This paper entails a critical analysis of an article titled Employee turnover: bad attitude or poor management. The choice of this article arises from the authors’ adherence to best practices in conducting a particular research study. A comprehensive analysis on the concept of employee turnover is conducted by taking into account the demographic, controllable, and non-controllable causes of employee turnover. Additionally, the paper is based on a number of hypotheses, which are tested effectively. The analysis is organised into five main sections, which include introduction, summary of purpose, rationale and related literature, research methodology, findings, and conclusion.
Summary of purpose, rationale and related literature
According to Khatri, Budhwar, and Fern (n.d, p.2), the purpose of the empirical study is to evaluate the causes of employee turnover in organisations. The study is guided by one main research question, viz. ‘what is the impact of bad employee attitude and poor management practices on employee turnover?’
The empirical study focuses on a number of issues associated with employee turnover. One of the issues evaluated in the paper relates to the difference between the employees’ turnover intentions and job-hopping. Gopal (2009, p.49) is of the opinion that employee turnover ‘is the ratios of the number of organisational members who have left during a particular period divided by the average number of people in that organisation within the period under consideration’.
One of the major gaps identified in the study relates to the view that most of the previous studies conducted have mainly focused on western countries. Subsequently, employee turnover in the Eastern organisational context has largely been ignored. The authors appreciate the cultural, economic, social, and environmental differences between Eastern and Western countries. Consequently, the findings of the studies on employee turnover amongst Western countries cannot be generalised in Eastern countries. In an effort to illustrate the concept of job-hopping, the empirical study has developed a scale that can be used to evaluate the concept of job-hopping. Furthermore, the authors appreciate the existence of independent variables that stimulate employee turnover, but most of them have been unexplored.
The rationale of this paper is based on the high rate at which organisations are experiencing a high rate of employee turnover, which is affecting their productivity (Baines 2009). The paper appreciates that employee turnover can emanate from voluntary and involuntary causes, which constitute the study’s conceptual framework as illustrated by the chart below.
Despite this aspect, organisations’ management teams have an obligation to maintain a high rate of employee retention, which is one of the sources of competitive advantage. Jang (2009, p.1) emphasises that employees ‘are the most valuable organisational assets’. Therefore, organisations that do not appreciate the significance of their workforce are likely to lose their competitiveness arising from loss of talent. Furthermore, McGovern and Shelly (2008) emphasise that attracting and retaining an optimal and efficient level of human capital is critical in pursuit for organisational excellence. Ranganayakulu (2003) contends that organisations cannot attain long-term excellence if they ignore the concept of employee turnover in their strategic human resource management practices.
The significance of employee retention is evidenced by the high rate at which organisations are investing in human resource management practices such as training of employees. Despite the numerous employee retention efforts made, it is impossible to eliminate employee turnover (Wasbeek 2007). Furthermore, Al-adaileh (2008, p.1) emphasises that employee turnover ‘is a global phenomenon that affects all firms irrespective of their economic sector’.
The empirical study identifies the demographic, voluntary, and involuntary causes of employee turnover. The study identifies demographic factors as one of the sources of employee turnover. Findings of previous studies show that turnover intentions are correlated negatively with three main demographic factors, which include the income level, age, and tenure. McGovern and Shelly (2008) assert that the probability of turnover amongst young employees is higher as compared to older employees. Ghuman (2010) asserts that employees characterised by long job experience are likely to stay in an organisation longer as compared to their newly hired counterparts.
Available literature shows that the level of employees’ education is related directly with turnover intention as workers seek jobs that align with their level of education (Craig 2009). Moreover, the rate of employee turnover varies across genders. For example, male employees in Singapore are more likely to quit their jobs as compared to their female counterparts due to their family responsibilities [they are the breadwinners]. The study also takes into account push factors such as job satisfaction as one of the major causes of employee turnover. The push factors are within the management teams’ ability to control as they emanate from within an organisation (Greenberg 2011). Colbert and Kurucz (2007, p.135) assert that push factors ‘account for the largest proportion of employees who quit their jobs’.
Research methodology and design
The article has adhered to the best practices in conducting the study. The study has adopted mixed research design by taking into account qualitative and quantitative research design. Adopting mixed research design enhances the outcome of a particular research study (Bryman & Bell 2011).
This assertion arises from the view that the researchers are in a position to explore the prevailing research problem using multiple approaches. Using mixed research design improves the effectiveness with which researchers interpret findings of a particular study (Demming 2002). Moreover, the choice of mixed research design has played a fundamental role in improving the researchers’ ability to address the research question considered in the study from different perspectives. Additionally, integrating mixed research design increases the validity of a particular research study. Maxwell (2005) asserts that using mixed research design increases the degree to which qualitative research findings of a particular study can be generalised.
The authors appreciate the importance of effective data collection. Demming (2002) opines that data collection can only be successful if researchers identify the right target population from which the research sample is selected. The target population in this study is comprised of employees in the Singaporean manufacturing and services sectors. In order to develop an understanding on the concept of employee turnover, the study focuses on one industry with the highest rate of employee turnover and one industry with the lowest rate of employee turnover. Subsequently, four main industries, which include the food and beverage, marine and shipping, retail, and banking industries are considered. In order to improve the validity of the research findings, the study has evaluated the trend in the rate of employee turnover in the selected industries over a period of four years.
The study has appreciated the importance of sampling as evidenced by the adoption of simple random sampling technique in order to make the study easy and manageable. Additionally, simple random sampling enables the study to eliminate bias in the sample selection process. Fourteen [14] retail firms, 6 banking firms, 25 marine and shipping companies, and 48 food and beverage firms were selected. However, the selected banks declined to participate in the research study. Subsequently, the sample study was comprised of 77 companies, which is adequate to generalise the findings of the study on the rate of employee turnover within the organisational context in the Asian region.
In an effort to improve the credibility of the research findings, the study relied on primary sources of data. The primary sources of data considered include obtaining information from the selected respondents [employees in the industries selected]. The study relied on questionnaires during the data collection process. The questionnaires were designed effectively by eliminating any form of ambiguity. The questionnaires were sent to the employees of the selected companies through fax. The questionnaires used were simple and clear, which increased the overall rate of response amongst the respondents considered in the study to 69%.
The article illustrates that the researchers took into account diverse ethical considerations, which are critical in conducting a research study. Some of the ethical issues considered include ensuring a high level of confidentiality on the respondents’ identity. The researchers also obtained informed consent by seeking the permission from the management team of the selected organisations. Moreover, informed consent was obtained by ensuring that the respondents understood the purpose of the study in advance. This aspect played a fundamental role in increasing the rate of respondents’ participation in the study by eliminating any suspicion.
The study has incorporated diverse statistical measures in the research design. Some of the designs taken into account include the t-test and research indexes such as the Porter et al.’s 15-item index. Furthermore, the credibility of the research design has also been enhanced by the integration of reliability statistics such as the cronbach α and inter-item correlations. Using cronbach alpha enabled the researchers to test the reliability of diverse sources of employee turnover such as nature of work, level of supervision, pay, and level of satisfaction. Considering the view that there is no standard measure for job-hopping, the researchers developed their own measure, hence increasing the ability to test the concept statistically. In summary, the study’s research design has taken into account the various elements of an effective research methodology, which increases its applicability in other research studies in the future.
Main findings and implications
The research study has led to a number of findings through testing of the research hypothesis. Findings of the study show that the level of employees’ education and age are not correlated strongly with the rate of employee turnover in Singapore. Subsequently, there is no discrepancy with regard to turnover intentions amongst employees of different educational background and age. On the other hand, the study shows that a positive correlation exists between the employees’ occupation and turnover intention, which explains the difference in the turnover between the Singaporean shipping and marine industry and the food and beverage industry.
Additionally, the study shows that turnover intention is higher among employees in the managerial level compared to those in the non-managerial levels (Hollingworth 2012).
The study also shows that the impact of income level on employee turnover varies across industries. For example, the study did not identify any correlation between turnover intention and income level amongst employees in the retail industry. On the other hand, the study shows that income level has a strong impact on the employees’ turnover intentions within the shipping, marine, food and beverage industries. The findings also show that employees in the Singaporean industries under consideration are not concerned with the level of satisfaction in their job. Thus, the nature of job assigned has minimal impact on the employees’ turnover intentions. However, the study shows that firms in the Singaporean food and beverage industry attach high value to supervision.
Findings of the study show that poor management is one of the major causes of employee turnover amongst workers in Singapore. The study shows that controllable factors explain the major reason for the high rate of employee turnover. Subsequently, the study shows that failure to implement effective strategic management practices such as ensuring an optimal level of job satisfaction, promoting organisational commitment, and fostering an effective relationship between the management and subordinates are a major source of turnover intentions. The study shows that organisational employees are concerned with the nature of the working environment and implementation of an equitable and fair reward system.
The study shows that the variance between turnover intention and the controllable factors is 37.6%, which is high. On the other hand, the study shows that the degree of variation between turnover intention and the uncontrollable factors amongst the firms under consideration is 5% while the degree of variation between turnover intention and the employees’ demographic characteristics is 3.8%, which is low. Therefore, the probability of employees quitting their job due to uncontrollable factors is relatively higher as compared to demographic and uncontrollable factors.
The study provides insight on the major causes of employee turnover across organisations in different economic sectors through the identification of the impact of controllable, demographic, and uncontrollable factors on the employees’ turnover intentions. According to the study, it is possible for organisations to influence turnover intention amongst their workforce by adopting effective strategic human resource management practices (Boros 2008).
The study illustrates the importance of human resource managers conducting continuous evaluation on the controllable factors in order to identify gaps that might trigger turnover intentions. For example, organisational managers should implement a holistic reward system, which integrates both financial and non-financial rewards (Jarratt & O’Neill 2002). Furthermore, the study illustrates the significance of nurturing a favourable working environment in order to improve the extent to which the employees identify with the organisation (Armstrong 2012).
Findings of the study also show that it is fundamental for organisations to nurture a high degree of organisational commitment by fostering an effective relationship between employees in the managerial and non-managerial levels (Redman & Wilkinson 2009). Such a relationship will improve the effectiveness with which employees interact with the organisational managers, hence improving organisational identity (Armstrong & Baron 2005). The study also illustrates the importance of improving the level of job satisfaction amongst employees by focusing on job characteristics. Thus, firms should be effective in their job designing processes in order to attract and retain employees (Tourani & Rast 2012).
Conclusion
The authors of the article under analysis have taken into account the major causes of employee turnover amongst organisations in Singapore. Findings of the study show that controllable factors are a major cause of turnover intention amongst employees in Singapore. Therefore, it has provided insight on the significance of implementing effective strategic human resource management practices in order to foster the rate of employee retention. The study has taken into account an effective research design, which entails the mixed research design. The mixed research design adopted can be used in undertaking a further exploration on employee turnover.
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