Abstract

It is good to be informed that human resource management is one of the major factors that have impacted the performance of employees at work within an organization.

Evidence derived from research showed that there is now an agreement amongst commentators that promotion, compensation, motivation and even training improve employees’ commitment at work in an organization.

Training from the company’s perspective can be seen to have added human capital and is also a means of securing workplace commitment. Compensation on the other hand improves employee’s welfare and that will also secure job commitment too.

The theoretical proposition is that the best of HRM practices will get employees more committed to their jobs and to the organization as a whole.

Organizational commitment when combined with job related behavioral commitment will lead to a better organization performance. In order to achieve a high level of performance, organizations require highly motivated and committed workers.

This research work explored the relationship between human resource management practices and employees’ commitment at work. The organizations in which this research was conducted include; Top Charisma, situated in Byemassi Yaounde. In this study you will find a completely filled questionnaire descriptive statistics and regression analysis which were conducted on the collected data.

To conclude, from our research we can say HRM practices have had a positive impact on the image, goodwill and growth of Commercial Enterprises in Cameroon. Customer satisfaction is of paramount importance to the achievement of organizational goals.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

The role of Human Resource Management in enhancing the performance of workers in various organizations has attracted so much research attention.

Although a widely accepted or specific definition to the concept of Human Resource Management does not really exist, many have put up their own conceptions or feelings about this phenomenon.

Human Resources are seen as the backbone of every organization, and the study of how to manage these human resources (workers) is extremely important for the employers in sustaining their competitive advantage in today’s business environment.

So, we can therefore say HRM plays the most important role in influencing the behavior of employees within an organization. Story in (2001) defines HRM as the distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve a competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of highly committed and capable workforce.

The general theory about this concept is centered on issues like quality, commitment and performance. Commitment can be achieved from training of employees in required skills, recognizing their efforts by rewarding and compensating them considerably and ensuring that they occupy positions in which they are most efficient at in the workplace.

Training is central to the development of work system that aims at increasing the contribution of employees to the production process (Brown et Al, 1994, and Keep 1991). New work practices involve workers becoming more skilled, proactive and committed to their jobs (Mac Duffie and Kochan, 1995).

For these to be achieved, both the new and the existing employees will need to be well trained, given an encouraging compensation package and have for themselves fulltime employment.

HRM is deemed to give a competitive advantage to companies because in addition to production related capacities, it also takes into consideration the human capital i.e. labor. It is very easy for competitors to copy other resources of a company like technology, production processes, capital, market etc but the human resources are distinctive and very difficult to imitate.

According to Khatri (1999) and cited again in Tiwari (2010), the personnel of a company is one of the most factors that provide flexibility and adaptability to organizations, with fairly skilled employees, a business can do well but with capable employees, the business will flourish at a faster pace. In the same way the employees with terrible qualities (unqualified employees) can make a business be derailed and may even lead to its collapse.

Having a team of good employees, and developing their skills and loyalty becomes very important and is also a continuous challenge. Constant and systematic approach to HRM policies or practices i.e. (recruitment, selection, training, appointing and development etc) reduces the movement of employees from one job to another and ensures long-term employment, internal promotion with little recognition, and the implementation of the productivity linked wage system, which could create a more committed employee towards the company.

It is crucial that the management tries to retain company’s best workforce and maintain their commitment to the organization in order to attract additional quality employees.

Sohailet (2011) explains that employee retention is an important process. Nowadays, organizations are experiencing a balance of power shifting from employers to employees. Employees can be retained and satisfied within those organizations which keep on learning how to keep employees’ satisfaction at the highest level.

If there is excess of turn over it indicates a basic problem within the company and for such an organization it is most important to be familiar with how to retain your employees. Attracting and retaining employees in the emerging economies like Cameroon, is a highly desired practice of the high performing organizations. microfinance institutions, commercial banks.

One of the most used ways of retaining employees is by compensating them and recognizing every good act of theirs. This will in a long run cause the employees to be more competitive amongst them to becoming the best talent in the organization.

1.2 Problem Statement

Human Resource Management (HRM)  is  the  most  important  function  in  all Organizations.  It contributes  to  the  success  of  the  organization  and  creates  competitive advantage for  the  organization.

During my time at Top charisma I noticed that Project Oriented Enterprises  exerts  pressures  on  the employees  by  the  very  nature  of  their  dynamic  work  environment  which  may  affect project performance.

This  requires  the  HRM  to  device  unique  ways  and  means  of adopting and adapting to work practices that are sensitive to the human resource in Top Charisma.

The HR management and leadership practices, ways of handling workers‟ welfare issues,  HR planning and employees skills may determine how the worker copes with temporary  work  structures  that  makes  workers  to  be  uncertain  about  his/her  future  and  leads  to reduced motivation  and  thus  project  performance.

If these  issues  are  identified  and addressed  and  due  attention  given  to  them,  project  performance  will  improve  and organizations will do well in terms of improved sales, service delivery and profitability.

One of  the  main  causes  of  project  failure  is  the  lack  of  effective  human  resource management practices (Berg &Karlsen, 2007; Ellemers, et al., 2004; Schmid& Adams, 2008). the need for effective human resource management (HRM) practices is accepted among academicians and practitioners of project management.

The objective of this study is  to  add  to  the  existing  body  of  project  oriented  HRM  research  by  investigating  how  HRM practices influence project-oriented enterprises performance in commercial Enterprises.

1.2.1 Research questions

This research will be guided by a set of questions, which are;

1. Does promotion affect workers’ condition?
2. Does training and development of employees affect condition of workers?
3. Does compensation and provision of social benefits affect workers condition?

1.2.2 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to discover how HRM policies in general have impacted  the effectiveness, quality, and efficiency of workers output at  Top Charisma, and how the performance of employees  has improved.

The specific objectives are:

1. To examine how promotion affect workers’ output.
2. To know how training and development of employees affect the efficiency and effectiveness of workers
3. To bring out the effects of compensation and provision of social benefits to workers performance
4. And finally, to make recommendations based on the findings.

1.3 Research Hypothesis

H0; HRM practices has no effects on the performance of Employees.

H1; HRM has high effects on the performance of employees.