Impact of Effective Staffing on Organizational Performance
in Corniche Hospital, Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi University
Summer-B- 2012-2013
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
With the passage of time, UAE has become the most peaceful and economically stabled region across the world. For an organization located in UAE, the achievement of goals and objectives relies highly on the ability of the company to recruit and select the most appropriate applicant from the talent pool available. But staffing has become a prominent challenge in today’s market in UAE (Heyer, 2007).
Corniche is one of the leading hospitals in UAE providing its patients with maternity and neonatal facilities (Corniche Hospital, 2011b). As the hospital operates under the direct supervision of Abu Dhabi Health Services Company; PSJC (Seha), the hospital is provided with an ability to facilitate over 9,000 child births as well as 12,000 outpatients within a single year (Seha, n.d.). But in order to do so, the organization is in need of constant staffing as it has become one of the most challenging issues at Abu Dhabi. Addressing the staffing issues at Corniche Hospital can significantly provide the organization with an opportunity to enhance its performance and to provide better services to the patients in the hospital (Corniche Hospital, 2011a).
The hospital had to face serious issues in earlier years due to inappropriate staffing. Due to such issues, the organization witnessed loss in medical skills, dissatisfaction of the patients along with poor staff morale which ultimately reduced the organization’s ability to provide its patients with quality care and services.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The research would tend to focus highly on the issues related to staffing at Corniche Hospital in Abu Dhabi. For the organization to achieve consistency within its performance, it must ensure effective staffing and appropriate selection of applicants from the talent pool. This research is intended to evaluate the areas of concern in terms of staffing at Corniche Hospital.
1.3 Aims and Objectives
The aims of this study are as follows;
On the other hand, some of the most prominent objectives of this study are as follows;
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Staffing
Staffing is one of the most dominant functions within an organization. Staffing could be defined as a systematic and continuous process of selecting the right person for the right post in an organization (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2009). According to Newell, &Scarbrough, (2002) staffing is an ongoing process through which an organization keeps filling positions in the organizational structure. Staffing being a multi-step process can provide the organization with the best available applicant from the talent pool. But in order to do so, the organization must have reliable human resource team (Kramar, Mcgrew, & Schuler. 1997). To become part of the staffing team requires certain qualities to assess the behavioral and analytical skills of applicants. Some of the most prominent skills required to become part of an organization’s staffing team is as follows;
- Knowledge and Experience
- Analytical Skills
- Assessing Competency
- Presentation
- Managing Employees
- Promotion
On the other hand, Newman, &Hodgetts, (1998) revealed that staffing being a systematic process relies highly on recruitment, selection, development and compensation of employees from time to time. This significantly enhances the motivation of the employees along with the job satisfaction. As a result, the employees tend to enhance their performance for the profitable accomplishment of goals and objectives.
2.2 Nature of Staffing Function
Staffing is a managerial function that focuses highly on the providing the organization with the most capable person for the right job through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development (Stephens, 2010). The nature of staffing function within an organization is as follows;
- Dominant Managerial Function
Staffing is one of the most dominant managerial functions along with planning, organizing, leading and controlling. To achieve the organization’s goals and objectives effectively, an organization requires manpower that is made available through staffing function.
- Pervasive Activity
Staffing is carried out under the supervision of the manager by taking all the concerns of the organization into consideration. In order to carry the business activities effectively, the organization focuses highly on staffing of the most appropriate applicant in the talent pool.
- Continuous Activity
Staffing is an on-going process to meet the personnel requirements in an organization. The lifecycle of an organization is endless and to encompass the transfers and promotions, an organization constantly requires manpower. In addition, staffing is also taken into consideration due to retirement or resignation of an employee.
(Beatty & Schneier, 1997).
Efficient Management of Personnel
Staffing is an efficient management of personnel. This indicates that the procedures taken into consideration by an organization (i.e. recruitment, selection, placement, training and development etc) can significantly help the organization to improve its performance effectively and in a cost-efficient manner (Secord, 2003).
- Placement of Right Men at the Right Job
An organization might not possibly operate smoothly if the required personnel for the job lack the required skills. Staffing tends to provide the organization with the right person for the right job according to the requirements of the position (Beatty, &Schneier, 1997).
- Performed by Managers
Providing the organization with the most talented individual is the utmost responsibility of staffing. This is the particular reason that this function is continually carried out by managers in organizations (Secord, 2003).
2.3 Factors Affecting Staffing – Internal and External
The internal factors that significantly affect the staffing process within an organization are as follows;
- Promotion Policy
The promotion policy of an organization significantly affects the staffing in an organization. This indicates that if the organization offers its employees with lucrative promotion policy along with career growth and development opportunities, only then will the organization provided with efficient and effective people. In order to get the right person for the right job, the organization can either select the right person from within the organization or from external sources (Stephens, 2010).
- Future Growth Plans
Staffing relies highly on the future growth plans of the organization. For instance, if an organization aims to expand its operations, it would require talented workforce. This is where staffing plays its dominant role. Providing the organization with the right talented persons would significantly help the organization to achieve its future growth plans. In order to pursue the future plans effectively, the right applicant for the job would be provided with training and development to garnish the individual’s skills (Stephens, 2010).
- Technology Used
The use of technology also plays an influential role in an organization. For instance, the use of modern machineries in an organization would require the workforce to gain technical knowledge. In order to do so, the organization would have to provide the workforce with continuous training programs to enhance and update the technical skills of the employees (Bondarouk, & Ruel 2009).
- Top Management’s Support
Staffing is also significantly affected by the management’s support. Lack of support from the top management would significantly reduce the organization’s ability to attract and retain the talent pool from time to time (Stephens, 2010). This indicates that through top management’s support, the organization would be able to have proper and unbiased selection, promotion and transfer policies etc.
- Organization’s Image
The image of the organization in the market can also significantly impact organization’s staffing process. If the organization is perceived to be a challenging organization, the organization would be provided with best employees and managers in the market. In order to do so, the organization first must earn a good image through proper implementation of staffing policies and practices (Bondarouk, & Ruel 2009).
On the other hand, some of the dominant external factors that affect staffing are as follows;
- Labor Law
Labor law is an external factor that could significantly impact the staffing of an organization. For example, the government in many countries has strict guidelines regarding the social equality due to which the organization becomes liable to focus highly on diversity management along with equal employment opportunity (EEO). In addition, the companies in many nations are liable to provide the physically handicapped persons with job. Similarly, it is mandatory for organizations to stop reliance on child labor (Lawler, and Mohrman, 2003).
- Competition
The global market is in search of talented and experience workforce due to which competition between the organizations to acquire the best talent pool is on the rise. Organizations in today’s era are competing with one another on the basis of workforce. To hire and retain the key employees, the organizations are constantly changing their staffing policies and regulations (Lawler, and Mohrman, 2003).
- Pressure from Socio-Political Groups
Staffing of an organization is adversely affected by the socio-political influence. Lawler and Mohrman, (2003) state that the organizations are constantly put under pressure to provide jobs to local people. For instance, the concept of ‘sons of soil’ is constantly on the rise. As a result, the organizations are continually forced to change their staffing policies due to pressure from political groups.
- Other External Factors
Some of the other external factors that influence the organization’s staffing process include; trade unions, social attitude towards work, poaching etc.
2.4Staffing Process
Staffing is a continuous and systematic approach of providing the organization with the right person for the right job. The eight steps involved in the process of staffing are as follows;
- Planning
Planning is the first step in the staffing process. This step is designed in such a way that it ensures that the personnel requirements of the organization are constantly and effectively met. In order to plan for the staffing, the internal and external factors are taken into consideration. Additionally, planning ensures that the organization’s personnel needs are according to the organization’s mission and vision statement and how can the staffing help in the accomplishment of organizational goals and objective (Stephens, 2010).
- Recruiting
Recruitment is the process of developing a talent pool for the organization through which the organization would be presented with talented and appropriate applicants for the job. In order to create a talent pool, the organizations are provided with variety of options such as professional advertisement journals, word-of-mouth, employment agencies and newspapers (Secord, 2003).
- Selecting
Providing the organization with the right person for the job is the responsibility of staffing team (Secord, 2003). Selecting the right candidate to work for the organization is quite essential for the organization due to which selecting the right candidate encompasses 7 different steps. The steps to select the best possible candidate for the job are as follows;
- Application form
- Initial interview
- Testing
- Background investigation
- In-depth selection interview
- Physical examination
- Job offer
- Orientation
Orientation is a step designed to make the employees feel comfortable in the working environment. Providing the employees with the basic knowledge regarding the organization can significantly increase the smoothness of the employees (Beatty, &Schneier, 1997). Orientation session, the goals and objectives of the organization are evaluated to the employees. In addition, the mission, vision and values of the organization are communicated to the employees to make sure they understand them as quickly as possible.
- Training and Development
Training and development is the 5th step that focuses highly on increasing the employee’s skills and knowledge. Increase in the ability of the employees would significantly lead to enhancement in organization’s effectiveness which will help in better accomplishment of desired organizational goals (Beatty, &Schneier, 1997).
- Performance Appraisal
Performance appraisal is the process to measure the employee’s current job performance against the pre-defined standards set by the organization for that particular position.
- Promotion
Promotion marks the change in individual’s position from one job to another. Shift in the position eventually provides the employees with added salary, empowerment to make decisions and enhanced authority and status (Beatty, &Schneier, 1997). This significantly enhances the employee’s motivation level along with job satisfaction level.
- Resignation or Retirement
Separation is the end of employee’s lifecycle at an organization (Secord, 2003). The separation could be in the form of resignation, layoff, discharge or retirement. As a result, the organization would have to staff once again and the lifecycle would start from step 1 all over again.
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
A research methodology could be defined as the process of collecting data and information from variety of individuals to make effective business decisions (Goddard, & Melville, 2004). In simpler terms, research methodology is the systematic process to solve problems of the research through the information gained from educated professionals in the market (Saunders, Lewis, &Thornhill, 2009).
This research was designed to evaluate the staffing process of the company along with the challenges and difficulties faced by the organization due to inappropriate staffing. This chapter focuses would remain on elaborating how the data was gathered and organized. This chapter will also demonstrate the procedures to collect relevant data through different methods like questionnaire survey, data collection along with the limitations that were faced during the collection of data.
3.2 Research Design
The research design most suitable for this project would be a descriptive research through a survey and a naturalistic observation. The descriptive research in this case would be evaluating the policies and regulations that regard the selection and recruitment of staff at Corniche Hospital. The research in this case would entail carrying out a survey of the current practices at the hospital’s human resources department. This survey can be done using questionnaires that are administered to the hospital management, especially those in charge of the recruitment and selection of staff. This correrational study also helps in meeting the third objective of the study. The questionnaires used to interview the staffing team at Corniche Hospital should bear questions that seek to establish the needs of training and development at the hospital.
In response to the second objective of this study, a correrational study can be adopted. In this research design an observational study is conducted with the aim of establishing the areas in regard to staffing where the hospital can improve. Part of this research design involves case-study comparisons of staffing at Corniche Hospital as compared to another hospital where staffing is effective. The standards of the hospital used in the case-study can be used as the benchmark or the basis of gauging what needs to be done at Corniche Hospital to make staffing effective.
3.3 Sampling
The sample of respondents required for this study comprises of members of Corniche Hospital’s staffing team, employees of the hospital and some members from the hospital’s management. A sample of 50 respondents was selected for the survey. The sampling factored in gender balance, age, length of employment and diversity of having employees from different sections or departments of the hospital respond. Members of the staffing team who had served as employees for a long time in the hospital were prioritized as bearing information crucial to the study. The sample established was to be used to collect primary data by responding to questionnaires.
3.4 Data Collection Method
In order to collect the data regarding staffing at Corniche Hospital, both primary and secondary data sources were used. For instance, the primary data was collected through questionnaires which provided relevant information regarding the staffing at Corniche Hospital. The use of primary data collection method is quite prominent in the success of the research as this data is collected first-hand and according to the needs of the researcher (Sekaran, 2006).Questionnaires are the most prominent data collection tool as it significantly helps in collecting information from large number of people in comparably less time and in a relatively cost efficient way. As the effect on validity and reliability is limited in questionnaires, this tool would significantly help in gaining the required information as quickly as possible. The data collected through questionnaires can be analyzed more scientifically and objectively as compared to other forms of research due to which questionnaire survey would remain the spotlight in this research.
On the other hand, other relevant data would be collected through secondary data. Secondary data is one that is already collected and analyzed by other researchers (Stewart, 1993). The secondary data would be collected through journals, articles, magazines, books, newspapers and reliable sources available over the internet.
Collecting information regarding the research topic is an essential part of the research as the result and conclusion are based on the findings (i.e. through both primary and secondary data). This collection of information would significantly help in the accomplishment of research aims and objectives effectively and efficiently.
