HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES AND EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AT SONAS IN BENI CITY, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO BY KAVIRA KALONDERO MPA139849/13 1/DF A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE COLLEGE OF HIGHER DEGREES AND RESEARCH IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE OF MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY, UGANDA. OCTOBER, 2014 DECLARATION I Kavira Kalondero, hereby declare that this dissertation is original and has not been submitted for any other award to any other academic institution. Signed / / /,~__fp I Kavira Kalondero APPROVAL This dissertation proposal has been submitted for examination with the approval of the under signed supervisor; Signature -~ Dr. Kibuuka Muhammad ~upervisor Date Signed f ~—e DEDICATION I dedicate my dissertation work to my husband Mr. Emmanuel Ngong Ngwa, to my children Emmanuela NENG NGWA and Martino NGONG NGWA, to my parents Mr. and Mrs. KOMBI ZAY NDERYA and to my brother Mr. KASEREKA KASISIVAHWA PATRICK. My Husband, I thank you for your unconditional support. I am honored to have you as husband. Thank you for giving me chance to prove and improve myself through masters studies. Please do not ever change. I love you My children thanks for the encouragement and love you have shown me. I love you so much My parents thank you for believing in me for allowing me to further my studies. Please do not ever doubt my dedication and my love for you. My brother, hopping that with this research I have proven to you that there is no mountain higher as long as God is on our side. Hoping that you will continue encouraging me in all I still have to do. Thanks for all your help and advises. III ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to acknowledge the courage and advises given by my friends and colleagues Mr. Alex and Mr. Allan. I thank them for their uncountable hours of reflecting, reading, and most of all patience throughout the entire process. I am also grateful to my course Mets who participate in this study. I thank my lectures of MPA at KIU for their contribution in making me aware of current issues in education. Their input proved to be very helpful when writing the report. Lastly I wish to humbly acknowledge with sincere gratitude, my supervisor Doctor Kibuuka Muhammad for his advises and guidance during the writing of this report. It is his persistence criticism that brought hope and confidence in me, even at the most depressing moment. He was truly a source of inspiration. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. APPROVAL . DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES viii ABSTRACT ix CHAPTER ONE 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Background of the study 1 1.1.1 Historical Perspective 1 1.1.2 Theoretical Perspective 2 1.1.3 Conceptual Perspective 3 1.1.4 Contextual Perspective 4 1.2 Problem statement 4 1.3 Purpose 5 1.4 Objectives 5 1.5 Research questions 5 1.6 Hypothesis 5 1.7 Scope 6 1.7.1 Geographical scope 6 V 1.7.2 Content scope .6 1.7.3 Theoretical scope 6 1.8 Significance of the study 7 CHAPTER TWO 8 LITERATURE REVIEW 8 2.0 Introduction 8 2.1 Theoretical review 8 2.2 Conceptual Review io 2.3 Related studies 21 CHAPTER THREE 22 METHODOLOGY 22 3.0 Introduction 22 3.1 Design 22 3.2 Population 22 3.3 Sample size 23 3.4 Sampling strategies 23 3.5 Research Instruments 23 3.6 Validity and reliability of the instruments 24 3.7 Data Collection Procedure 24 3.8 Data analysis 24 3.9 Ethical Consideration 25 3.10 Limitations of the study 25 vi CHAPTER FOUR .27 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 27 4.0 Introduction 27 4.1 Profile of respondents 27 CHAPTER FIVE 35 DISCUSSIONS, CONLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 35 5.0 Introduction 35 5.1 Discussions 35 5.2 Conclusions 38 5.3 Recommendation 39 5.4 Areas for further research 40 REFERENCES 41 APPEND ICES 44 APPENDIX I: TRANSMITTAL LETTER FROM COLLEGE OF HIGHER DEGREES AND RESEARCH (CHDR) 44 APPENDIX II: TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR THE RESPONDENTS 45 APPENDIX III: CLEARANCE FROM ETHICS COMMITTEE 46 APPENDIX IV: INFORMED CONSENT 47 APPENDIX V: PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS 48 APPENDIX VI: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES 49 APPENDIX VI: QUESTIONNAIRE TO DETERMINE EXTENT OF TURNOVER 51 APPENDIX VII: WORK SCHEDULE 52 APPENDIX VIII: BUDGET ESTIMATED 53 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Profile of respondents 27 Table 4. 2: Human resource practices 29 Table 4.3: Level of employee Turnover 31 Table 4.4: Relationship between Employment contracts and employee Turnover 32 Table 4.5: Relationship between remuneration and employee turnover 33 Table 4.6: Relationship between Job security and employee Turnover 34 Table 4.7: Regression Analysis between the Dependent and Independent Variables..34 VIII ABSTRACT This study aimed at establishing the relationship between human resource practices and employee turnover in Societe Nationale d’Assurance (SONAS) national insurance group located in Beni, North Kivu Region, Eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The specific objectives were to establish the relationship between; I) type of employment contract and employee turnover; II) remuneration and employee turnover; and III) job security on employee turnover. A descriptive correlational and cross sectional survey design was employed to collect data from 114 insurance staff, selected purposively and randomly. A researcher made questionnaire was used to collect data, which was analysed using means, Pearson’s Linear Correlation coefficient and Multiple Linear Regression. The findings showed that human resource practices were generally satisfactory to the employees (overall mean= 2.89) and the level of employee turnover was generally high (overall rnean=2.68). The level of employee turnover was positively and significantly correlated with employment contracts (r = 0.345, sig. = 0.000), remuneration (r =.689; SigO.000) and job security (r 0.667 and sig = 0.000) respectively. Of all the three elements, remuneration (13=0.424, Sig=0. 000) had the strongest influence on employee turnover. The researcher concluded that good or satisfactory working terms and conditions can greatly enhance employee retention and reduce employee turnover. The researcher recommends that the management at SONAS should improve on the following terms and conditions if they want to maintain a reduced level of staff turnover and a high level of employee retention; improve the terms of service, give workers opportunities for promotion, increase on the monthly salary of workers and assure workers ofjob security. ix CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction This chapter shows the background, problem statement, purpose, objectives, research questions, hypothesis, scope and significance of the study. 1.1 Background of the study 1.1.1 Historical Perspective Globally, for over 50 years, personnel managers have sought to move beyond their roles as welfare officers and employment administrators to a more central and strategic position in the running of the business organization (Wright, 2008). Until the 1980s, most organizations used the term personnel management; fiom then on Human Resource Practices (HRP) became popular (Rudman, 2010). In the past, it is argued that human resource practices were about welfare and remuneration, but now it is centered on organizational reaction to changing environments with increases in globalization and the use of technology and knowledge-based workers. This is affecting the technical competency requirements of personnel practitioners and it is also having an impact on where the personnel function fits into the organization as a whole. The literature clearly states that personnel should be taking a more strategic role within organizations, and there is research evidence that this is actually taking place (Brewster et al, 2000). The UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the USA Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) are the oldest professional organizations for HR Professionals founded in 1913 and 1948 respectively and are the largest professional organizations in the world. Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA) is the next largest with 41,000 members established in 1994. The status of Human Resource Practices (HRP) and its standing as a managerial profession has been a recurring concern for practitioners over time. In recent years, a normative discourse has developed which asserts that the path to improved status for HR professionals involved reinvention of their role as business partners and internal consultants promoting enterprise competiveness 1 (Wright, 2008). Another view shared by many authors is that HR professionals need to adopt the characteristics of the professions and be more professional. In Africa, the South African state, like others during periods of transition, was in a paradoxical position. Weakened during the transition to democracy, the government, the courts, the police services and the public service is, nonetheless, called upon to play a leading role in stabilizing the new societiy and responding to a wide variety of social and economic demands. 1.1.2 Theoretical Perspective This study was guided by the social exchange theory developed by Gouldner (1960) which states that employees who perceive and feel that the organization values and treats them fairly, will feel obligated to “pay back” or reciprocate these good deeds with positive work attitudes and behaviors (Aryee, 2002). This suggests that employees, who perform enriched jobs devoid of stress, receive attractive pay, job security and fair treatment from the organization, are bound to express their gratitude for the support received by increasing their commitment to their organization. Studies have suggested that the norm of reciprocity is taught as a moral obligation and then internalized by both parties (i.e. employees and employers) in an exchange relationship such that whoever receives a benefit feels obligated to repay it (Gouldner, 1960).