CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

Globally,retaining talented employees is challenging to organisations in the face ofhyper-competition, corporate failures, employees’ turnover, absenteeism andworkplace discrimination. The concern emanates from the philosophicalassumption that talented employees are instrumental to organisational success(Collins, 2006, 2009),and a determining factor in an organisation sustainability, and competitiveadvantage (Porter, 2008). Public and Private organisations depend highly on theinherent experience and technical ability of their talented employees to strivewith competitors (Armstrong, 2009) and to perform above average returns(Schuler, 2011, Vaiman, Scullion& Collins 2012). However, workplace discrimination has affected theretention of talented workforce in many organisations both public andprivate. 

The scholarlyargument for talented employees retention is anchored on intellectual capitalperspective (Becker, 2000) and resources based view (Penrose, 1959), and threereasons stated by Harvard Business Essential i.e. (1) the need for growth onintellectual capital, (2) the occasional relationship that connects talentedemployee and customer satisfaction, and (3) financial cost of employee’sturnover and lack of interruption of competitive goods and services (Chitra,2013). In addition, Armstrong (2006 & 2010) and Becker (2000) emphasised the effect of intellectualcapital as human intangible assets to organisation longevity and financialsuccess.  

Nevertheless,recent studies have revealed the difficulty in the retention of talentedemployees for the organisations as several employees are lured and hired withbetter rewards (Armstrong, 2006; Desseler, 2008; Michael & Crispen, 2009;Michael, 2008).  The after-effect has beenindustrial espionage and loss of intellectual property. Hence, competitiveadvantage is eroded when talented employees are not given chance to have a longstay in the organisation so as to maintain lack of disconnection of company’scompetitive products and services in the market within which it operates(Michael, 2008).

Abbasi and Hollman(2000) indicate that in an instance of losing a talented employee by anorganisation, it becomes a disadvantage to innovation, consistencies inproviding quality services become vulnerable, and there exists major setbacksin services rendered to customers.  Thesenegative effects emerged since talented employees are the progenitors ofknowledge, innovation, and creativity that constitute the main advantages of anorganisation over its rivals. From the foregoing, talented employees retentionis fundamental to an organisation’s competitiveness (Rath & Rath, 2014).

Talentedemployees’ retention is confronted with challenges due to workplacediscrimination in today’s business world. Proprietors, management and otheremployers of labour acknowledged the reality of workplace discriminationorchestrated by employees’ diversity; age, gender, marital status, socialstatus, health status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, personality,ethnicity, race, career focus, and culture (Kossek, Lobel,& Brown, 2005).In this regard, studies in the area of discrimination have examined suchcharacteristics in relation to organisational behavioural outcomes andperformance (Channar, Abbassi, & Ujan 2011).

In spite of theworldwide acceptance of the law as an appropriate instrument for dealing withworkplace discrimination challenges and the conscious efforts of organisationsto rid themselves of such practices, workplace discrimination remains a globalreality (Beauchamp & Bowie, 1993; Gregory & Thompson, 2010). Theconcern for workplace discrimination arises from the assumption that it causesdisparity, organisational injustices, and inequity among employees of differentgroups or associations within the organisation (Robins & Judge, 2014; Jie,Ashok, Brian & Manjit, 2009).

Weiss (2008) seesworkplace discrimination as a recent managerial task which demands seriousattention because its after-effect amplifies the intention of talented employeesto leave and hinders organisation from wining a competitive advantage. Authorswho research on discrimination rarely give close attention to variables such as(1) religion affiliation (2) work climate (3) managerial skills (4) careerdevelopment (5) institutional policy and (6) workforce diversity. Rather,attention has always been more on disability, ethnicity, gender, race, andsexual orientation, with others in relation to workplace discrimination(Channar, Abbassi, & Ujan 2011; Darity & Mason, 1998; Hoobler, Lemmon& Wayne, 2011).

As workenvironment is beginning to experience diversity in the aspect of culture,ethnicity, and religion, people’s social quality and discriminatory influencebecome more intense.  Consequently,employees would probably bring with them their religious beliefs and practiceswith them to the organisation.  Accordingto Oliverira (2004), Mitroff and Denton (1999), and Cavanagh (1999), whenorganisations foster free expression and practice of religion and spiritualityin workplace environment, such organisation would have a better chance tosucceed.  Work climate are driven byreactivation of work environment and interaction of religions (Marschke,Preziosi, & Harrington, 2009).

The quest forreligion affiliation is now very popular due to the on-going confusion aboutorganisational identity that frequently follows an impression of lack of jobsecurity for employees in various organisations (Giacolone & Jurkiewicz,2003).  Organisation integrity isconstantly investigated  detailing humanresource challenges such as business ethics, corporate contributions, communitydevelopment, environmental policies, human right, and workplace success(Giacalone et al. 2003), which only a religiously motivated talented employeescould answer.  The motive of religionaffiliation and work climate has to do with employees giving and witnessinginter-dependence, pull and togetherness in the work environment that enablescorporate organisations to craft out strategies that produce competitive advantage(Harrigton et al., 2004; Mitroff & Denton, 1999). Developing a spiritualvision through religion and comfortable work climate can quench discrimination,fasten an employee to the organisation and improve retention.

In relatingmanagerial skills to workplace discrimination, skills and qualificationsideally speak for themselves and become one of the core aspects the managersconsider in the choice of retention of talented employee; however, this is notalways the case (Kadiresan & Javed, 2015). This introduces a barrier into ahealthy workplace relationship which, Naidoo (2009) affirms that talentedemployees discriminated against in this way tends to become more stressed,demotivated, and consequently develop an intention to leave.

Furthermore, ascendancyto the higher rank is a subtle challenge while planning to retain talentedemployees who have much concern for career development (Hoobler, Lemmon &Wayne, 2011). Hoobler et al, (2011) explains four main stereotypical reasonswhy certain gender is considered not fit for the highest echelon of theircareer. These are: (1) glass ceiling (2) pipe line argument (3) geneticpredisposition (4) 21st century work structure.  The assumptions have consequential effect ontalented employees’ retention and organisation longevity.

In the globalbusiness world of today, it is certain for organisation to recruit employeesfrom various socio-cultural and political backgrounds considering theunchangeable divergences in ethnicity, religion, race, gender, size,personalities, physical capabilities, age, and sexual inclination and others.In as much as organisation employs individuals, it is expedient that it investson workforce diversity management to foster organisational unity that enhancescompetitive advantages and produce a high rate of returns on investment (Green,Lopez, Wysock, Kepner, Farnsworth & Clark, 2015).

Workforcediversity is a priceless competitive property indispensable to any organisation(Robinson, 2002; Usmani, Kumari,& Hussain, 2015). Appreciating the worth of workforce diversity is acrucial part of effective management of talented employees (Anonymous, 2001). The reality of today’s business is the indiscriminateatmosphere that allows retention of diverse talented employees to have a levelplay field with their indigenous counterparts. An organisation that has varioustalented employees performs better in a competitive market (Kundu, 2001). More so,the legislation backs the notion that talented employees be treatedjustifiably (Pincus, 2000). The beginning of a business contract in theworkplace is supposed to be through the awareness of justice adequatelyinformed by institutional policies. Organisations are expected to construct standing principles andprocedures to form part of their institutional policies which suggest that allemployers have the obligation to treat their employees with worthiness andadmiration in the workplace (HumanRight Commission (HRC, 2013).

According to NewSouth Wale Industrial Relation Agreement (NSW, 2013) on Supporting Fair and Productive Workplace, a clear institutionalpolicy statement is described as a significant symbol of managementresponsibility in safeguarding not-conforming behaviours such as discriminationat workplace. However, the effectiveness of institutional policy depends on theinvolvement of all stakeholders coupled with corporate strategy forming aninherent fraction of the organisation. Institutional policy must carry alongall personnel at management cadres to secure their interests and construct thepolicy with the awareness of the employees and their representatives.

Everydayoperations at workplace can be a source of unintentional discrimination whichis capable of hindering organisational success. For the avoidance of this,organisations may need to review its current policies to follow-up withprocedures and practices that will identify areas where it needs to invest inchange. A good institutional policy helps in achieving broader performanceimprovements as it focuses on effectiveness and efficiency at workplace. A goodinstitutional policy defines what constitute workplace discrimination,highlights the influence on key areas such as managerial skills, careerdevelopment, and workforce diversity as it relates to interaction of certainelements such as religion, gender, and work climate to sustain talentedemployees’ retention in the organisation, and to win a competitive edge aboverivals.