Business Commons^™

What Affects Do Managers Have On Employee Performance And Turnover?, Devan O'Donnell

Theses

This dissertation focused on whether managers affect employee performance and turnover. In particular, this research focused on multinational organisations in Ireland. The focal point was to gain an understanding of this topic from a manger and employee point of view. For the sake of this research the managers that were involved were only managers of employees and not other managers.

This research project adopts a mixed research method of data collections. It applies both face to face interviews with managers and online questionnaires with employees.

The findings revelled valuable insight into the relationship between managers and employee performance and turnover. …

A Research Study On The Impact Management Have On Employee Engagement In A Manufacturing Company, Alice Murphy

Theses

The purpose of this paper is to discover can management have an impact on employee engagement. Many companies put millions into creating the best fit policies for their organization without focusing on management behaviour and how it affects employees alone. Leadership theories have evolved over the years and will continue to change from generation to generation. The evolving term of the meaning of 'leadership' suggests to the researcher that there will never be enough studies done in this field. Despite the vast amount of research done, there seems to be a paucity in the area of leadership in the manufacturing …

What Is The Relationship Between Work-Life Integration And Job Satisfaction With Regard To Stress And Employee Well-Being?, Nicole King

Theses

The world of work is changing with the separation of work and personal life becoming an increasing challenge. Advances in technology have facilitated the mobility of work with over 6 billion people having access to a mobile phone which has led to greater demands on the modern worker which poses a question. What is the relationship between work-life integration and job satisfaction with regard to stress and employee well-being?

Due to the universal application of the chosen research topic, an industry focus was not chosen to allow for the collection of generalisable data. Questionnaires were the chosen research method and …

The Extent To Which Strategic Talent Management Is Understood, And Properly Utilised, In The Life Science Sector In Ireland, Jennifer O'Brien

Theses

In 2017, Ireland was named the best country in the world for attracting high-value foreign direct investment for the sixth year in a row and is home to the top ten global Life Science organisations. The Life Science industry in Ireland depends on a consistent pipeline of talent to realise the growth incentivised by this investment and as the war for talent rages, there is unrelenting pressure on these organisations to attract, manage, develop, engage and retain highly skilled STEM talent. The talent focus, consequently, has to become more strategic.

This thesis focuses on the extent to which Strategic Talent …

To What Extent Does Employee Engagement Impact On Business Productivity?, Leonie Kierans

Theses

Employee productivity is a critical element of business success. Employee engagement has a significant impact on an employee’s level of motivation and productivity. Due to the importance of engaged employees, this research will focus on engagement levels and what common motivators are driving engagement for employees within a recruitment agency. Specifically, the context of this study is focused around the researcher’s place of work, a small to medium sized recruitment agency with offices in Cork and Dublin, that recruit nationally for the life sciences sector. The researcher adopted a mixed methods approach, based on a sequential explanatory strategy for the …

Retaining Nurses In The Irish Health Service: What Role Does Human Resource Management Play In Employee Retention?, Aishling O'Gorman

Theses

This thesis focuses on the role of Human Resource Management for employee retention. Given the critical shortage of nurses within Irelands healthcare workforce, the need for first class recruitment and retention strategies is vital. Management should be actively working to attract, recruit and retain nurses within the sector.

In an attempt to investigate the turnover and retention of nurses in the Irish Healthcare workforce research was carried out in the form of surveys and semi structured interviews. The study draws upon a survey gathering both qualitative and quantitative data from 117 nurses currently employed in Irish hospitals. It also draws …

Exploring Organisations’ Awareness Of The Costs Associated With Millennial Employee Turnover., Ray Cronin

Theses

There has been much commentary in recent years regarding younger people, particularly Millennials, and that discussion has focused on whether they change employment more than previous generations. Additionally there has been debate regarding whether the Millennial generation show less loyalty to employers today. Loyalty, for the purposes of this study, is considered not m terms of dedication, commitment or dependability, but rather in terms of medium to long term allegiance, tenure and faithfulness to the existing employer. The counter argument to this theory is that tenure has more to do with life stage and nothing to do with being Millennial …

An Investigation Into Teleworking As A Flexible Working Arrangement In The Irish Private Sector, Elaine Galvin

Theses

This study is based on teleworking in the Irish private sector. The aim of the research study was to assess the impact teleworking has on work-life balance, motivation and performance levels of employees working within the private sector of Ireland. The researcher had a keen interest in the research topic due to two major storms that hit Ireland during late 2017 and early 2018. Storm Ophelia was one of the worst Atlantic hurricanes on record to hit Ireland in 50 years (Siggins, 2017). Storm Emma hit Ireland at the end of February and start of March 2018, this storm was …

Sitting With Nellie; Mentoring Relationships In The Office Of The Revenue Commissioners, Kieran Healy

Theses

Mentoring is a powerful HRD tool that has been shown to have a positive impact on career development and play a significant role in the psychosocial support of employees in the workplace. There is no definitive definition of mentoring or a clear concise methodology of how it works but it does work and has been shown to do so time and time again in a multitude of settings and organisations.

Mentoring in Revenue is a mixture of the formal and informal and supports training courses and on the job training in equal measure. This dissertation will focus on mentoring in …

The Internal Organizational Factors And External Environmental Factors Affecting The Implementation And Management Of The Hr Department: A Case Study Of Kearys, Eva Spitere

Theses

Globalisation and an increased demand for competitive advantage have caused the contemporary HR department to face additional pressure to provide strategic value to the organization. To do so, the HR department must integrate with overall business strategy and continually monitor both the internal and external environments in which the organization operates. This thesis focuses on identifying these internal organizational factors and external environmental factors, and exploring how these factors can affect the implementation and management of a new HR department within an already established organization.

Given the unique position of the researcher, who is currently solely responsible for the establishment …

An Examination Of The Awareness And Practices Of Human Resource Professionals In How They Are Measuring The Effectiveness Of Employee Reward Practices, Eva Bermingham

Theses

Human Resource (HR) Analytics and the benefits that can be gained Irom the utilization of such has become a contemporary topic of interest in recent years. To clarify, HR Analytics is simply an evidence based approach to management. The prevalence of globalization and increased market competitiveness has commanded that organizations work more efficiently. The power of the use of HR Analytics in creating these unique business specific efficiencies can no more be ignored, and it has become ob\ious that Human Resources in its continuous evokitba has placed a greater focus on the business results that existing data can bring them …

Outsourcing Human Resource Activities - Impact On Organizational Performance In Multinational Organizations., Vesela Kacharova

Theses

Outsourcing some or all Human Resources functions is a part of a growing trend. Organizations have different reasons to contract HR to an outside provider such as to save money, focus on strategic Human Resources, improve compliance, gain access to skilled HR professionals, or take advantage of technology. This thesis focuses on the outsourcing of Human Resources activities and possible impacts on organizational performance. Due to the large amount of multinational organizations with presence in Ireland, the research focused on outsourcing of HR functions in multinational organizations.

Two different types of questionnaires were conducted targeting Human Resources professionals and Line …

The Shift From Work-Life Balance To Work-Life Integration., Annie Butler

Theses

This thesis focuses on the shift from work-life balance to work-life integration. The term ‘work-life balance’ was first introduced in Ireland in the mid-1980s, outlining the significance of balance between employees’ work and personal life activities. Studies on work-life balance most often show that work and life are perceived as mutually exclusive domains that are constantly competing for an individual’s time or energy. Work-life balance practices improve employee motivation and enhance their job performance and commitment. For employers, these policies are essential to maintaining an edge over competitors, and necessary to retain highly qualified staff Flexible working is seen as …

Why Do Multinational Companies Implement A Hr Shared Service Model, Emma Cooney

Theses

The Implementation of a HR Shared Services model is a recently new phenomenon but is a very necessary one to enable HR to become a more cost-effective, customer-focused organisation that enables the other HR functions to support the ever-changing business units in a rapidly changing commercial world. Reilly and Williams (2003) state that HR has spent considerable time examining itself in light of the perception of it within the organisation as a value-add organisation, so this has led to a change in the way that HR delivers its services. The HR function is now at a crossroads as it has …

The Structure Of Work Placement In A Third-Level Accounting Programme : Employers' Perspective, Laura O'Callaghan

Theses

Extant literature on the benefits of work placement extols the virtues of embedding work placement in accounting degree programmes, not only for the students, but also for the employers. It provides employers with an extended period to vet students for graduate position (Gault et al, 2000; Beard, 2007), a cost-effective solution to hiring for short-term projects (Ferkins, 2002) and a valuable link with local colleges (Gault et al, 2000; Me Gann and Anderson, 2012). However, there is a dearth of literature exploring how placement should be structured to maximise these benefits (Buckley and El Amond, 2010; Sheridan and Linehan, 2003). …

Are Employee Assistance Programs An Effective Mechanism For Preventing, Managing And Alleviating Stress In The Workplace?, Carol O'Keeffe

Theses

According to the EAP Institute (2015), the rise in litigation related to occupational illnesses in the 1980’s has spurred companies to take employee health and well-being more seriously, which, subsequently, led to a growth in Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). In particular, the employers' liability for workplace stress continues to be one of the growth areas in Irish employment law (CIPD, 2012), ultimately placing very substantial obligations on employers (Gorry, 2015). This includes the employer’s obligation to identify risk factors, and put in place remedial mechanisms for, preventing, managing and alleviating stress in the workplace.

This dissertation focuses on examining whether …

Do Non Management Employees Value The Performance Management System, Especially The Performance Appraisal System Within A Cork Call Centre?, Caroline Mehigan

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the topic of Performance Management, especially focusing on the non-management Performance Appraisal. The value associates place on the performance appraisal is assessed along with the views from both management and non management on performance appraisals. Organisations are very mindful of the important role employees can play in the success of their business and of course, in the reputation within the local market, therefore developing associate is vital for a number of reasons.

For this thesis, semi structured interviews took place with 23 associates, which consisted of management and non-management associates. The main …

Impact Of The Agency Worker Directive In Ireland, Laura Harney

Theses

The use of temporary agency workers in Ireland has increased consistently in Ireland over the last 20 years. They provide a readily available, flexible and skilled resource that can help businesses to meet market demands quickly and effectively.

On December 11th 2011 the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Worker) Act 2012 came into effect in Ireland. This Act transposed the Directive on Temporary Agency Work (2008/104/EC) and it stated that all temporary agency workers must have equal treatment, in relation to their basic working conditions, as if they had been directly recruited by the hirer to do the same job. …

The Affect Of Employee Engagement Among Support Staff In Cork University Maternity Hospital, Marion Josephine Cottrell

Theses

In recent years the academic research relating to employee engagement has flourished. Despite the increase in engagement literature, there is a gap concerning employee engagement regarding support staff categories. This dissertation focuses of the minority grouping, support staff

The research methodology for this study is a quantitative method. In addition, questionnaires were administrated to ninety support staff working in Cork University Maternity Hospital, with seventy contributing to the data for this study. Analysis of questionnaires resulted in the identification of a number of findings.

One significant finding of this research study was the discovery of an extra dimension affecting employee …

Workplace Well-Being: Examining The Mental And Psychological Health And Safety Of Non-Unionised And Unionised Employees, Peter O'Mahony

Theses

A quantitative case study was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the mental and psychological health and safety of non-unionised and unionised employees within the researcher's organisation, a multi-national pharmaceutical company based in Ireland. One hundred and sixty-seven employees and seven senior managers were surveyed to explore their perspectives of psychological health and safety risks in the workplace across thirteen different psychosocial factors which are known to either have positive or negative effects on the psychological health and well-being of an employee.

The Guarding Minds at Work (GM@W) online survey resources were considered appropriate methods to collect the necessary …

Adding Value For An Organisation Through Employee Engagement: A Case Study Of A Temporary Workforce, Hannah O'Shea

Theses

Over the last 10 years, the requirement for temporary workers has shown significant increases. Casual and part-time workers, on the live register, have increased during this period from 20,752 to 71,744. In March 2013 the numbers rose to 89,798, an all-time high in Ireland (Central Statistics Office, 2014). Consequently, it is becoming increasingly important to observe how organisations undertake engagement with temporary employees. This research study focusses on the employee engagement levels of a temporary agency workforce, working in an e-commerce organisation, on behalf of a third party agency. Questionnaires were completed by 55 temporary agency workers and three direct …

Generation Y Perceptions Of The Traditional Career Model, Aoife Kelliher

Theses

Generation Y will be expected to play the most significant role in the work place as their careers develop and older generations retire. Much of the research carried out on their work related values and career progression to date has relied on the viewpoints of Generation Y as undergraduates, prior to gaining substantial experience in the work place. This study responds to Ng and Gossett’s (2013) call for further research into the values, attitudes and expectations of young people as they will emerge as leaders of tomorrow. The purpose of the study is to examine if the traditional career model …

Cultural Diversity In The Hotel Industry: A Study Of Performance Management Systems, Deirdre O'Donovan

Theses

Recent years have seen a sharp increase in the numbers of people immigrating to Ireland, making Irish society much more culturally diverse than in previous decades. At present, there are approximately 420,000 migrants living in Ireland, of whom approximately 350,000 individuals are of an age to work (Central Statistics Office 2006). Consequently, Irish workforces are now more culturally diverse.

This thesis focuses on the implications of cultural diversity on performance management practices in a number of Irish hotels. Due to the large number of culturally diverse employees in the hospitality industry, the hotel sector was chosen as the focus of …

The Cost And Benefits Of Upskilling The Irish Labour Force, Peter Daly

Theses

This study assesses the position of Irish businesses in relation to upskilling their workers in the globalised business environment. There is a scarce amount of data published on the implications for Irish businesses and their interaction state supports for upskilling the Irish labour-force.

This study has found that Irish businesses recognise that they now operate in a global market and that they believe that a strong third and vocational level of skills exist but work based skills must improve. Outsourcing parts of the business process is not considered a preferred option of skills replacement by Irish businesses but business networks …

Management Challenges Of A Culturally Diverse Workforce In The Irish Hotel Sector: An Investigative Study Of Four And Five Star Hotels In Cork, Amy Jordan

Theses

In recent years Ireland has changed from a nation of emigration to one of immigration, facilitated by the Irish Celtic Tiger, the globalisation of labour markets and the erosion of labour restrictions across frontiers. Thus there is increased employee diversity in the Irish work environment, with many different races, cultures, norms, values and religions now in evidence in the Irish workforce. These changes have a significant effect on managers as the Irish workplace becomes increasingly culturally heterogeneous, and forms the basis for change in management practice.

Primary research was undertaken in the form of six interviews with hotel managers to …

Towards A Model Of Best Practice: An Irish Perspective On Employee Empowerment, Richard O'Connor

Theses

This dissertation examines the topic of Employee Empowerment within an Irish context. The aim is to provide a model of best practice for its implementation Empowerment is defined as a process whereby: a culture of empowerment is developed, information is shared, competency is developed, and resources and support are provided. Each of the components of empowerment—culture, information sharing, resource provision, and support—is examined in detail. The benefits of employee empowerment are noted and the theoretical foundations of both Employee Empowerment and Internal Marketing are examined in an extensive literature review. A model of best practice is proposed and conclusions, recommendations …

Improved Sales Performance Through Effective Sales Training., Michael Falahee

Theses

Ireland’s economic success has been unprecedented between the period of 1993 and present. A number of internal and external factors accounted for this success. The economic performance was driven primarily by a relatively small number of foreign based firms who chose Ireland as their European base. Factors such as globalisation, an increasing domestic cost base and changes in EU legislation have lessened the Irish economy’s attractiveness to foreign direct investment.

Ireland has strong production and operational capabilities; it must develop expertise in two areas to ensure continued future success. These two areas are, building expertise in export sales and marketing …

Family Friendly / Work Life Balance Policies: Perspectives Of Irish Employers And Employees, Caroline Williams

Theses

This study assesses the emergence of family friendly / work life balance arrangements within Irish organisations in view of changing conditions on the labour market, particularly with the increased participation of women. It incorporates the experiences, opinions and commentaries of both Human Resource representatives responsible for the implementation of such practices, and employees availing of them in a broad spectrum of public and private sector organisations.

This research addresses the perceived explicit and implicit barriers, such as organisational size, location and culture which challenge employers and employees in terms of alternative working arrangements. It illustrates the significance of introducing and …

An Evaluation Of Fás's Excellence Through People Award, Antoinette Hogan

Theses

In 1997 FAS introduced the Excellence Through People Award, a human resource based quality standard. The main objective was to increase the level, relevance and quality of training being conducted in Ireland. It had become apparent that it was no longer sufficient to offer customers low cost products to try to gain advantage over competitors. Customers were becoming more sophisticated, with more disposable income. Also, technological developments were constantly shortening product lifecycles. Thus, what companies required was for their employees to know in real time what their customers value and to know how to provide it for them. It has …

Empowerment Of A Uaw Workforce, Paula L. Hughel

Theses

This thesis will investigate whether empowerment of a workforce has a positive correlation on employee job satisfaction.

Research supports that the automotive industry is continuously focusing on the reduction of structural costs. One area that is commonly focused on is the reduction of manpower, specifically management. As the number of managers are reduced some of the work is being redistributed to the employees. Along with the additional work comes decision making responsibilities.

Although research supports that empowerment has a positive correlation on business results and working environments, it is inconclusive that empowerment has a positive correlation relative to job satisfaction. …