A STUDY ON HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (HRM) AND JOB SATISFACTION OF EMPLOYEES OF PARAMEDICS IN PRIVATE HOSPITALS S.

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1 ISSN: IJMRR/May 2017/ Volume 7/Issue 5/Article No-6/ S. Ganapathy et. al., / International Journal of Management Research & Review A STUDY ON HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (HRM) AND JOB SATISFACTION OF EMPLOYEES OF PARAMEDICS IN PRIVATE HOSPITALS S. Ganapathy* 1, Dr. Ashokkumar M 2 1 Research Scholar, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. 2 Prof. & Head, Dept. of Management, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, ABSTRACT Tamil Nadu, India. Hospital organization faces various human resources management challenges. Managing human resources are a true challenge for hospital management. Human resource management contributes to the creation of good organizational climate which characterize the growth opportunities, proper distribution of work, reward and pleasant relationship. The correlation analysis shows that the recruitment and selection, compensation and rewards, training and development, team work and performance appraisal are moderately and positively associated with job satisfaction of the employees of paramedic in the private hospital. The private hospitals should appoint employees with skill and knowledge and make them to understand the state of affairs of their employment. In addition, the private hospitals should recruit new employees immediately when vacancy arises and must offer compensation as per the expectation of the employees of paramedics and give incentives and other fringe benefits to boost the employees performance. Besides, the private hospital should integrate compensation plan with its mission and goals in order to gain or sustain competitive advantages. Keywords: HRM Practices, Job Satisfaction, Paramedics, Private Hospital. INTRODUCTION Human Resource Management (HRM) practices in the health care sector stalks for improving the quality of services and patients satisfaction. The usage of variety of health care providers and better co-ordination of health services through inter disciplinary team work is required as a part of human resource management. Since all the health care is eventually delivered by people, effective human resource management will play a critical role in the success of health care delivery mechanism in any country. Human resource management practices deals not only deal with the individual but with the team work. Hospital organization faces various human resources management challenges. Managing human resources is the true challenge for the hospital management. Human resource management contributes to the creation of good organizational climate which characterize by the growth opportunities, proper distribution of work, reward and pleasant relationship. Quality healthcare starts with the human resource management practices. In the present scenario, every healthcare employee *Corresponding Author 584

2 becomes important to healthcare service delivery mechanism. Healthcare organizations need a skilled and competent labour force because of the advanced medical technologies and demand for more sophisticated patient care. Job satisfaction among the healthcare employees are increasingly being considered as a measure that should be incorporated in quality improvement programmes of healthcare system (Chaulagain and Khadka, 2012). The role of paramedical staff assumes significance in the context of their dealing with the human beings who are in suffering; further, they spend more time with the patients than the doctors themselves. In many cases, these paramedical staffs are not mandated to have any specific qualification or training. Yet they are expected to provide soothing care to the patients. Such a role by the paramedical staff in the private hospitals, an unorganized sector makes interest for a researcher to study about their job satisfaction. The job satisfactions of healthcare employees have a huge impact on quality, effectiveness and efficiency and also on healthcare costs. Besides, job satisfaction of healthcare employees is directly related with the absence, human relations and work (Visser, et. al., 2003). The satisfied employees are more productive, creative and committed to their healthcare organizations (Ho, et. al., 2009). Therefore, the present research is made to study the Human Resource Management Practices (HRM) and job satisfaction of employees of paramedics in the private hospitals, in Chennai city. OBJECTIVES To Study the socio economic factors of the paramedical employees and To Study the perception of paramedical employees on HRM. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Healthcare is one of India s largest sectors both in terms of revenue and employment. At present, the Indian healthcare market is worth of US$ 100 billion and is expected to grow to US$ 280 billion by the year 2020 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of per cent. The hospitals are facing many issues due to severe crunch of human resource. Every healthcare professional is integral to healthcare service delivery system. Healthcare organizations require skilled workforce because of the advancement in the medical technology and demand for more sophisticated patient care. Good HR practice shall help the hospitals in maintaining a quality health care system. The job satisfaction of the employees will help to maintain the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the hospital. Healthcare delivery contains hospitals, nursing homes and diagnostics centers, and pharmaceuticals, constituting 65 per cent of the overall market. There is a great scope for improving healthcare services considering that healthcare expenses as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is increasing. How do paramedical employees perceive HRM practices? Does the socio-economic factor of the employees influence HRM practices? REVIEW OF LITERATURE Patrick (1991) 1 viewed that soft HRM was characterized with a resource perspective of the employees and are characterized by an egalitarian culture, organic organization structures, Copyright 2017 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 585

3 broadly defined jobs, and merit-based pay, gain-sharing and direct communications with employees. Wright and McMahan (1992) 2 found that the basic premise of the institutional approach was that many structures, programmes and practices in the organizations attain legitimacy through the social construction of reality. Venkata Ratnam (1995) 3 found that the Indian organizations needed to cope with the need of developing a highly diverse workforce into a well-trained, motivated and an efficient employees with the subsequent de-skilling, reretraining and multi-skilling problems, workforce reduction policies, and retention and career development issues. Gooderham et. al., (1999) 4 highlighted the needs to incorporate in the country-specific, institutional factors of patterns of organizational practices in general and SHRM practices in particular. Roehling et al (2000) 5 opined that the compensation and benefits were closely connected with the local labour market conditions. Swart et. al., (2003) 6 opinioned that HR practices improved the relationships according to their boundaries and the nature of the relational exchange. They suggested that the HR practices should improve the interactions between the individuals and groups within the organization. According to Edgar and Geare (2005) 7 HRM practices would give a positive influence towards the organizational fairness, employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The employees job satisfaction in the workforce is very important in every organization because it could help to decrease the absenteeism or turnover, behaviour problem and reduce the medical costs. Mamman and Adeoye (2007) 8 stated that the majority of practices of HRM adopted were based on the resources availability and attitudes of the employees which emphasized the gaining of competitive advantage by means of utilization of the resources of the organization through the employees in order to attain the objectives of the firms. Raj Kumar (2010) 9 was of the view that HR professionals needed to be encouraged to see themselves as a lifelong learners in the multi faceted technological environment and all high performing organization fostered a culture that encouraged the individual to have exclusive leadership. Yafe (2011) 10 found the job satisfaction to be independent of the gender and the job experience of the employees of the hospital. Demographic variables such as age, gender, current job position, marital status, and experience had the effect on job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Al-Aseeri (2012) 11 has identified the association of nurses' perception of commitment with the selective characteristics revealed the significant variations. Surprisingly, negative association was found between the nurses professional status (clinical ladder and education) with commitment. Saif and Sartawi (2013) 12 stated that the hospital managers had to pay serious attention to the relationship between the HRM practices and performance. They should also consider how to enhance the capabilities in the fields of human resource and skills development in order to increase the hospital performance. Naff et al (2014) 13 identified that the employees were more likely to pursue training opportunities because they believed in doing so was linked to the future promotion opportunities or at least favorable consideration for merit increases and positive performance reviews. Ali et al (2015) 14 indicated that the employees working in the hospital sector felt that they were satisfied with their jobs. Also they were provided with a good and healthy working environment. The employees were satisfied with the pay and the benefits. Wamuuru,G and Denis Muchangi Jamleck (2016) in their Empirical studies, in order to open the black box to get a better understanding of the relationship which would help in guiding organizations to attain their objectives and achieve high performance. Copyright 2017 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 586

4 RESEARCH GAP Though a series of articles are published in relation to this industry, yet it is observed that the factors considered by the researcher are not crucially analyzed. Hence, the researcher has taken the following factors based as an outcome of the past studies, such as Perception of the employees of paramedics about the HRM practices in the private hospitals, organizational factors for the effective implementation of the HRM practices in the private hospitals, job satisfaction and organizational commitment of employees of paramedics in private hospital, employers view on the HRM practices in the private hospitals and employees factors for effective implementation of HRM practices in the private hospitals. With the help of critical reviews of earlier research studies, the appropriate objectives and hypotheses have been formulated for the present research. METHODOLOGY The Chennai city is selected for the present study. The employees of paramedics in the private hospitals have been selected by adopting random sampling technique. The population of the study is the employees working in the health care industry in Chennai. The data have been collected from 900 employees of paramedics through structured questionnaire. It should be noted that; a)it is an unorganized sector.(b)the total number of paramedical employees in private hospitals in Chennai city is not known.(c)a large sample size of 900 is thought to be more appropriate for a good research study.(d)the study was done only with the paramedical employees who are forthcoming to share their views.(e) The employees are scattered among the different private hospitals across the city and suburbs. To examine the socio-economic profile of the employees of paramedics in the private hospital, the frequency and percentage analysis have been carried out. The mean and standard deviation have been worked out for HRM Practices and job satisfaction of the employees of paramedics in the private hospital. The correlation analysis has been carried out to study relationship between the HRM practices and job satisfaction of the employees of paramedics in the private hospital. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Socio-Economic Profile of the Employees of Paramedics in the Private Hospitals Copyright 2017 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 587

5 Table 1: Hospitals Socio-Economic Profile of the Employees of Paramedics in the Private S. No Particulars Frequency % 1 Gender Male Female Age Group years years years years years Above 45 years Educational Qualification Secondary Higher Secondary Diploma Graduation Post Graduation Designation Head / Supervisor Staff Nurse Technician Attendant Store Keeper Monthly Income Rs.5,001 Rs.10, Rs.10,001 Rs.15, Rs.15,001 Rs.20, More than Rs.20, Work Experience 1-3 years years years years Above 12 years From the above table it is found that the highest respondent s is, 55.89% and they are female % of employees belong to the age group of years. The results indicate that 29.56% of employees have the educational qualification of graduation. It is observed that 46.78% of employees are staff nurses, per cent of employees are technicians. The results reveal that 33.00% of employees belong to the monthly income group of Rs.10, 001 Rs.15, 000. It is apparent that 33.11% of employees have the work experience of 4 6 years. Perception of Employees of Paramedics about HRM Practices in the Private Hospital: The perception of the employees of paramedics about the HRM practices in the private hospital are analyzed and the results are presented. Recruitment and Selection: The perception of the employees of paramedics about the recruitment and selection in the private hospital are analyzed and the results are presented in the Table-2. Copyright 2017 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 588

6 Table 2: Recruitment and Selection in Private Hospital S. No Recruitment and Selection Mean SD 1 My hospital has sound recruitment and selection policy My hospital always looks for skilled and knowledgeable employees The recruitment is done on the basis of merit in my hospital I am aware of the state of affairs of employment in my hospital I am aware of vision and goals of my hospital My hospital recruits new employees immediately when vacancy arises Recruitment and selection policy in the hospital has the highest mean of 3.78 and employment in the hospital has lowest mean of Skilled and knowledgeable employees have lowest standard deviation of 0.47; hence the data are not widely spread so the reliability of data are high. Employment in the hospital has highest the standard deviation of 0.80, hence the reliability is less. Table 3: Distribution of Employees of Paramedics on The Basis of Their Perception about Recruitment and Selection in Private Hospital S. No. Level of Perception about Number of % Recruitment and Selection Employees 1. Low Medium High Total The results indicate that per cent of the employees of paramedics in the private hospitals perceive that the level of recruitment and selection at the medium level are followed by the low level (22.45% and high level (22.33%). Compensation and Rewards: The perception of the employees of paramedics about the compensation and rewards in the private hospitals are analyzed and the results are presented in the Table-4. Table 4: Compensation and Rewards in Private Hospital S. No Compensation and Rewards Mean SD 1 The compensation for employees is directly linked to their performance In this hospital, compensation is decided on the basis of competence of the employees In this hospital, salary and other benefits are comparable to the market This hospital gives incentives to boost employees performance Compensation offered by this hospital matches the expectancy of employees This hospital integrates compensation plan with its mission and goals in order to gain or sustain competitive advantages Out of the total respondents considered for the study it is observed that an average of 3.73 has agreed that their compensation for the employees are linked to their performance which means that hard work is rewarded has admitted that compensation is decided on the basis of employees competence. Salary and other benefits were also compared on par with the market value of other hospitals for better stay and also for offering quality service (3.68). Copyright 2017 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 589

7 3.24 of the sample population admitted that they are rewarded with the incentives. The rest of the sample population agreed that the compensation as well as mission and vision goals are also achieved. Training and Development: The perception of the employees of paramedics about the training and development in the private hospitals are analyzed and the results are presented in the Table-5. Table 5: Training and Development in Private Hospital S. No Training and Development Mean SD This hospital provides every employee with training opportunities to improve their knowledge, skill and abilities Training programmes organized by this hospital is able to enhance employees competency This hospital provides different kinds of training programmes for their employees This hospital organizes on-the-job or off the-job training for their employees This hospital frequently organizes training programmes for their employees This hospital emphasizes on long term development for employees training 6 plans The employees of paramedics agree that their hospitals provide every employee with training opportunities to improve their knowledge, skill and abilities, and the training programmes organized by their hospital are able to enhance the employees competency, The hospitals provide different kinds of training programmes for their employees and they organize on-thejob or off the-job training for their employees. The employees are neutral with their hospitals for frequently organizing training programmes. They emphasize on long term development for employees training plans. Table 6: Distribution of Employees of Paramedics on the basis of their Perception about Training and Development in Private Hospital S. No Level of Perception about Number of Training and Development Employees % 1. Low Medium High Total The results indicate that 53.89% of the employees of paramedics in the private hospitals perceived that the level of training and development at medium level are followed by high level (28.67%) and low level (17.44%). Team Work: The perception of the employees of paramedics about the team work in the private hospitals is analyzed and the results are presented in the Table-7. Copyright 2017 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 590

8 Table 7: Team Work in Private Hospital S. No Team Work Mean SD 1 Team working helps employees to improve their performance Employee expresses trust in his team members This hospital encourages team work Employees are provided opportunity to suggest improvements in the way things are done here Employees are invited by superiors to participate in related decisions Employees at each level in this hospital take part in decision-making process up to an extent No doubt that working as a team will increase the productivity. Moreover, all the members of the team shall be trustful in order to achieve the mission and vision of the organisation. In order for an overall growth it can be understood that on an average 3.63 of the sample agreed the same and is followed. With a mean score of 3.63, it is inferred that the employees are provided opportunity to suggest improvements. The other scores indicate employees involvement in decision making to a considerable extent. All the opinions of the employees are proved in the table 7. Table 8: Distribution of the Employees of Paramedics on the basis of their Perception about the Team Work in the Private Hospitals S. No. Level of Perception Number of about Team Work Employees % 1. Low Medium High Total The results indicate that 57.78% of the employees of paramedics in the private hospitals perceived that the level of team work at medium level is followed by low level (22.33%) and high level (19.89%). Performance Appraisal: The perception of the employees of paramedics about the performance appraisal in the private hospital is analyzed and the results are presented in the Table-9. Table 9: Performance Appraisal in Private Hospital S. No Performance Appraisal Mean SD 1 Performance is measured on the basis of objectives and quantifiable results This hospital allows involvement and participation of employees in the entire performance appraisal process Appraisal system in this hospital is growth and development oriented Employees are provided performance based feedback and counseling Performance appraisal process employed by this hospital is able to point out areas which employees need to improve Appraisal system is unbiased and transparent The employees of paramedics agree that the performance is measured on the basis of objectives and quantifiable results. They disagree with their hospitals in allowing the employees involvement and participation in the entire performance appraisal process. Copyright 2017 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 591

9 Besides, they are neutral with the appraisal system in the hospital, is growth and development oriented, employees are provided performance based feedback and counseling, performance appraisal process employed by the hospital is able to point out the areas which employees need to improve and the appraisal system is unbiased and transparent. Table 10: Distribution of Employees of Paramedics on the basis of their Perception about Performance Appraisal in Private Hospital S. No. Level of Perception about Number of Performance Appraisal Employees % 1. Low Medium High Total The results indicate that 65.89% of the employees of paramedics in the private hospitals perceived that the level of performance appraisal at the medium level is followed by low level (22.22%) and high level (11.89%). Job Satisfaction: The job satisfaction of the employees of paramedics in the private hospital is analyzed and the results are presented in the Table-11. Table 11: Job Satisfaction in Private Hospital S. No Job Satisfaction Mean Sd 1 I am satisfied with the pay I receive for my job I am satisfied with the employment security the hospital offers me I am satisfied with the freedom to take initiatives with how my job is done I am satisfied with career progression in this hospital I am satisfied with benefits offered by this hospital I am satisfied with working conditions in this hospital I am satisfied with working hours in this hospital I am satisfied with my superior s leadership I am satisfied with interpersonal relationship among employees I am satisfied with hospital s concern for employees well being The employees of paramedics are agreed that they are satisfied with the freedom to take initiatives for their performance, they are satisfied with working conditions in the hospitals, they are satisfied with working hours in the hospitals, they are satisfied with the superior s leadership, they are satisfied with interpersonal relationship among the employees and they are satisfied with hospital s concern for employees well being, but, they are neutral with the satisfaction of the pay they receive for their job, they are satisfied with the employment security the hospital offers, they are satisfied with career progression in the hospital and they are satisfied with the benefits offered by their hospital. Table 12: Distribution of Employees of Paramedics on the basis of Job Satisfaction in Private Hospital S. No. Level of Job Satisfaction Number of Employees % 1. Low Medium High Total Copyright 2017 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 592

10 The results indicate that 47.44% of the employees of paramedics in the private hospitals perceive that the level of job satisfaction at the low level are followed by medium level (34.89%) and high level (17.67%). Relationship between HRM Practices and Job Satisfaction of Employees of Paramedics in Private Hospitals: The relationship between the HRM practices and job satisfaction of the employees of paramedics in the private hospitals are analyzed by carrying out correlation analysis and the results are presented in the Table-13. Table 13: Relationship between HRM Practices and Job Satisfaction of Employees of Paramedics in Private Hospital Particulars Recruitment and Selection Recruitment & Selection 1.00 Compensation and Rewards Training and Development Team Work Performance Appraisal Compensation and Rewards Training and Development 0.36 ** 0.32 ** 1.00 Team Work 0.37 ** ** 1.00 Performance Appraisal 0.34 ** 0.41 ** 0.61 ** Job Satisfaction 0.44 ** 0.49 ** 0.47 ** 0.43 ** 0.41 ** 1.00 Note: ** indicates significance at one per cent level Job Satisfaction The correlation co-efficient between the recruitment and selection, and job satisfaction is 0.44, which is positively associated with each other at one per cent level of significance. The compensation and rewards and job satisfaction is positively correlated with each other with the value of 0.49, significant at one per cent level of significance. According to Evans (1996) if the r value is between 0.40 to 0.59 it is said to be positively correlated. The correlation coefficient between the training and development and job satisfaction is 0.47, which is positively associated with each other at one per cent level of significance. The team work and job satisfaction is positively correlated with each other with the value of 0.43, significant at one per cent level of significance. The correlation co-efficient between the performance appraisal and job satisfaction is 0.41, which is positively associated with each other at one per cent level of significance. The results show that there is a significant relationship between the HRM practices and job satisfaction of the employees of paramedics in the private hospitals. Hence, the null hypothesis of there is no significant relationship between the HRM practices and job satisfaction of the employees of paramedics in the private hospitals is rejected. CONCLUSION The study reveals that the majority of the employees are females and most of the employees belong to the age group of years. Majority of the employees have the educational qualification of graduation and most of the employees are staff nurses. Majority of the employees belong to the monthly income group of Rs.10, 001 Rs.15, 000 and most of the Copyright 2017 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 593

11 employees have the work experience of 4 6 years. The correlation analysis shows that the recruitment and selection, compensation and rewards, training and development, team work and performance appraisal are moderately and positively associated with the job satisfaction of the employees of paramedics in the private hospitals. SUGGESTIONS Based on the above findings and conclusion drawn, the following suggestions are made to make private hospitals to attain greater efficiency and gains through better HRM practices. 1. The private hospitals may do well to appoint skilled and knowledgeable employees and make their employees to understand the state of affairs of their employment. Besides, new employees may be recruited immediately when vacancy arises. 2. The private hospitals should try to match the compensation and the expectation of the employees of paramedics and give incentives and fringe benefits to boost employees performance. Besides, the private hospitals should integrate their compensation plan with their mission and goals in order to gain or sustain competitive advantage. 3. The private hospitals may organize training programmes frequently for their paramedical employees for improving their knowledge and skills emphasizing on long term development. 4. The private hospitals may encourage the paramedical employees at each level to take part in decision making process, especially the superiors should involve their immediate juniors in making decisions. 5. The private hospitals may allow involvement and participation of paramedical employees in the entire performance appraisal process; the appraisal system should be growth and development oriented. The private hospitals must provide performance based feedback, pointing out areas where the paramedics need to improve and do the appropriate counseling. Also, the private hospitals can maintain their appraisal system as unbiased and transparent. REFERENCES [1] Patrick G. Personnel Policy Choice: The Context for Human Resource Development. Journal of European Industrial Training 1991; 15(3): [2] Wright PM, McMahan GC. Theoretical Perspectives for Strategic Human Resource Management. Journal of Management 1992; 18(2): [3] Venkata Ratnam CS. Multinational Companies in India. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 1995; 9(4): [4] Gooderham PN, Nordhaug O, Ringdal K. Institutional and Rational Determinants of Organizational Practices: Human Resource Management in European Firms. Administrative Science Quarterly 1999; 44(3): [5] Roehling MZ, Cavanaugh MA, Moynihan LM, Boswell WR. The Nature of the New Employment Relationship: A Content Analysis of the Practitioner and Academic Literatures. Human Resource Management 2000; 39(4): [6] Swart J, Kinnie N, Purcell J. People and Performance in Knowledge Intensive Firms. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London, 2003; 86. [7] Edgar F, Geare A. HRM Practice and Employee Attitudes: Different Measures - Different Result. Personal Review 2005; 34(5): Copyright 2017 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 594

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