ENHANCING CAREER COMMITMENT: THE INFLUENCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices (training and development, compensation and promotion) with career commitment. Data was gathered through questionnaire from 253 employees of a multinational company in Malaysia. The regression results indicated that compensation, and training and development were significant predictors to enhance career commitment. The results also suggested that compensation was the most important factor that influence career commitment followed by training and development.Keywords: Career Commitment; HRM Practices; Training and Development; Compensation; Promotion.1. INTRODUCTIONThe manufacturing sectors in Asia have faced challenging task to keep talents for their continuous growth and expansion. Hence, keeping the right talented employees is not an easy task. It involves a complex process of designing HRM practices. Many skill sets might not be transferable between industries as different industries require specific skill sets which can be quite different. As such, it is reasonable to assume that different approaches are required to attract, retain and motivate employees.A core belief in human resources is to retain and develop employees to obtain competitive advantage. In order to retain valuable employees, it has become necessary for organizations to transform from using an employee controlling method to a more employee career commitment driven strategy. To gain employees' career commitment to the organization and increase retention, the employer needs to identify which HRM factors that will influence their career commitment.Research evidence (Armstrong-Stassen & Cameron, 2005; Minbaeva, 2008; Shipley & Kleiner, 2005; Uen & Chien, 2004) revealed that compensation, training and development are important HRM practices for an organization to generate a pool of motivated, competent and high performance employees that can be a significant factor of an organization's competitive advantage. Nabi (2003) stated that employees' career commitment is influenced by the employees' perceptions and attitudes toward their organization's HRM practices. He stressed that those employees who have positive perception toward an organization's HRM practices will be more motivated and committed to the organization. Evidence has shown that employees who are committed to their career enjoy relatively high positive career outcomes. Therefore, enhancing career commitment should be an important objective for those who desire to enhance their career achievement, and these will be influenced by their perceptions towards organizational HRM practices.Without denying the importance of HRM practices on employees' career commitment, this paper examines the relationship between individual perceptions of organizational HRM practices (specifically on compensation, training and development, and promotion) and career commitment. With the aim that this study can assist employers to better understand how employees' perceptions influence their career commitment. In addition, the findings of this study will also add knowledge to the examined company's management practices by developing and rewarding employees who are capable of aligning work performance with the standards set by the management.2. CAREER COMMITMENTEmployee career commitment has been defined as a mindset which ties the individual to an organization. Vandenberg and Scarpello (2004) define "career commitment" as a person's belief in and acceptance of the value of his or her chosen occupation or line of work and willingness to maintain membership in a particular occupation.Career commitment is characterized by the development of personal career goals, the attachment to, identification with, and involvement in those goals. Career commitment should exceed occupations or jobs (Hall, 1976). Career commitment involves self-generated goals and commitment to one's own career, which may lead to employment in several organizations. …