Browsing by Author "Balakrishnan, Rajani"

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    Human resource management practices and employee retention : job satisfaction as a mediator in Malaysia’s information technology (IT) industry
    (2024-08-14) Vasudevan, Asokan; Yong, E Swee; Krishnan, Anbalagan; Balakrishnan, Rajani; Nagaraj, Sriganeshvarun; Kengatharan, Navaneethakrishnan; Waheeda, Aishath
    This study investigates the impact of human resource management (HRM) practices on employee retention and job satisfaction within Malaysia’s IT industry. The research centered on middle-management executives from the top 10 IT companies in the Greater Klang Valley and Penang. Using a self-administered questionnaire, the study gathered data on demographic characteristics, HRM practices, and employee retention, with the questionnaire design drawing from established literature and validated measuring scales. The study employed the PLS 4.0 method for analyzing structural relationships and tested various hypotheses regarding HRM practices and employee retention. Key findings revealed that work-life balance did not significantly impact employee retention. Conversely, job security positively influenced employee retention. Notably, rewards, recognition, and training and development were found to be insignificant in predicting employee retention. Additionally, the study explored the mediating role of job satisfaction but found it did not mediate the relationship between work-life balance and employee retention nor between job security and employee retention. The research highlighted that HRM practices have diverse effects on employee retention in Malaysia’s IT sector. Acknowledging limitations like sample size and research design, the study suggests the need for further research to deepen understanding in this area.
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    Nurturing academic leadership : a quest for the ideal academic leadership style for Maldives higher education
    (Conscientia Beam, 2023) Waheeda, Aishath; Vasudevan, Asokan; Hai, Sam Toong; Balakrishnan, Rajani
    Higher education leadership is an understudied area, especially at the departmental or faculty level. The current study explored preferred academic leadership styles as perceived by academic deans and their lecturers in Maldivian Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). A sequential explanatory mixed method design informed by postpositivist techniques was used in this study. In the first phase, the survey method was used to directly reach many respondents, administer the instruments and to collect the required data. from deans (N=20) and lecturers (N=170) from nine different HEIs. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 23 was used to analyze the data using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as means, percentages, standard deviations, independent sample t-test and Pearson correlation coefficients. In the second phase, a qualitative approach was used to explain, validate and to triangulate the quantitative findings. This phase used semi-structured interviews for purposively selected deans (N=5) and lecturers (N=16) from seven different HEIs. The interview transcripts were thematically analyzed and coded using the template analysis method. The most preferred academic leadership styles in Maldivian HEIs were found to be transformational, distributed, and transactional leadership styles, respectively. To enhance academic leadership in HEIs in the Maldives, this study recommends academic leaders to use transformative and distributive leadership behaviors, which would also help HEIs in the skill development of academic deans.