Understanding turnover intentions and behavior of Indian information systems professionals: A study of organizational justice, job satisfaction and social norms

Despite the phenomenal growth projected for the Indian information technology (IT) industry, one of the biggest challenges it faces is the high rate of turnover in offshore Indian-based supplier firms (Everest Research Group 2011). In this dissertation, we explored the following determinants of turnover intentions—social norms job attributes, job satisfaction, organizational alternatives, first order supervisory justice dimensions (distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational justice) and second-order organizational justice measured by the first order justice dimensions. The research design was longitudinal to assess turnover behavior and its relationship with turnover intentions. Telephonic interviews were conducted with 75 Indian IS professionals based in India. Ten months later the respondents were contacted again to determine their actual turnover behavior. Data was quantitatively analyzed using PLS graph. Qualitative analysis using content analysis was also performed to gain deeper insights. Seven out of the 11 hypothesized relationships were supported. Three out of 4 dimensions of justice were found to be significantly and negatively related to turnover intentions- distributive, procedural and informational justice. Also, the second-order latent construct of overall organizational justice was found to be negatively related to turnover intentions. The hypothesized relationships between social norms and turnover intentions and between organizational alternatives and turnover intentions were not supported. Job attributes for tasks not involving client interaction (programming, testing and project management tasks) was found to be negatively related to job satisfaction. Finally, turnover intentions was found to positively relate to turnover behavior. We made important contributions to the literature of turnover by being one of the few studies actually measuring turnover behavior. Also, we addressed a gap in the literature of IS turnover of studying IS populations across different nations. We contributed to theory by testing a model of turnover that had new constructs not tested before, like overall organizational justice (second-order) and supervisory focused four first-order justice dimensions, and social norms. For future research, revised model of turnover relevant for Indian IS professionals is proposed-this involved adding new constructs like work life balance, stress, organizational satisfaction and removing constructs that did not find support in Indian contexts like organizational alternatives and social norms

Work Alienation among IT Workers: A Cross-Cultural Gender Comparison

Information Technology (IT) has experienced a worrisome decline in female participation over two decades, much of which can be attributed to fewer women choosing IT careers. However, women IT professionals also demonstrate mid-career turnover for reasons such as work-life balance, work exhaustion, role ambiguity, role conflict, and growth needs. This study explores alienation among women IT professionals and examines factors that lead to work alienation and abandonment of IT careers. Such alienation appears to be less prevalent in Asian countries where women perceive IT careers to be more conducive to female participation. A comparison among women from American and Asian cultures is proposed

Implications of Human Resource Practices and Other Structural Factors on Commitment of Public Medical Professionals in India

In this paper we focus on often neglected issue and inadequately studied area of commitment of public sector health professionals and some of the issues surrounding human resources as its determinants. The paper argues that success or failure of new initiatives in health sector critically hinges on the commitment of the staff. This paper is based on the questionnaire study and focused group discussion of 175 doctors working as district medical officers at district level and holding key administrative positions at state level in four states in India. These four Indian states account for nearly 22 per cent of India’s population. The findings provide some important insights that would be useful in drawing future agenda of strengthening health sector and involving all stakeholders in implementation process. The study finds critical linkage between human resource (HR) practices and commitment of doctors working in the government. Specifically, following HR practices are found critical in influencing organizational commitment: transparency in selection/postings, supportive training and capacity strengthening climate, recognition of performance and regular performance feedback. Further, results suggest that certain work environment and structural factors facilitate these practices. Health officials’ roles need to be redefined and given complexity of coordination at various levels, officials need to be allocated higher responsibilities. There is also a need to improve interpersonal relations within departments and coordination among agencies and officials at various levels. It is also observed that the structural rigidities in the system leading to obstruction in information sharing across various levels needs to be addressed to ensure effective healthcare delivery. This study highlights the criticality of administrative and structural issues for reforms of healthcare sector in India. Addressing human resources issues is critical for ensuring commitment from staff in implementing new initiatives or health reform agenda. National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) also identifies the human resources and capacities as an important challenge. Institutions that are critical vehicles to implement the NHRM would remain weak owing to low commitment of people. It would be important to focus on HR issues before any new initiative is proposed and implemented. The departments of health across states need to broaden and deepen the understanding of HR management and planning issues. For this purpose they may need to set-up HR division having appropriate competency and skill-mix to address the issues and work towards making the right changes. The papers discusses that these changes will be required at both strategic and operational levels.

Comparing the Job Satisfaction and Intention to Leave of Different Categories of Health Workers in Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa.

Job satisfaction is an important determinant of health worker motivation, retention, and performance, all of which are critical to improving the functioning of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. A number of small-scale surveys have measured the job satisfaction and intention to leave of individual health worker cadres in different settings, but there are few multi-country and multi-cadre comparative studies. The objective of this study was to compare the job satisfaction and intention to leave of different categories of health workers in Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. We undertook a cross-sectional survey of a stratified cluster sample of 2,220 health workers, 564 from Tanzania, 939 from Malawi, and 717 from South Africa. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, which included demographic information, a 10-item job satisfaction scale, and one question on intention to leave. Multiple regression was used to identify significant predictors of job satisfaction and intention to leave. There were statistically significant differences in job satisfaction and intention to leave between the three countries. Approximately 52.1% of health workers in South Africa were satisfied with their jobs compared to 71% from Malawi and 82.6% from Tanzania (χ2=140.3, p<0.001). 18.8% of health workers in Tanzania and 26.5% in Malawi indicated that they were actively seeking employment elsewhere, compared to 41.4% in South Africa (χ2=83.5, p<0.001). The country differences were confirmed by multiple regression. The study also confirmed that job satisfaction is statistically related to intention to leave. We have shown differences in the levels of job satisfaction and intention to leave between different groups of health workers from Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. Our results caution against generalising about the effectiveness of interventions in different contexts and highlight the need for less standardised and more targeted HRH strategies than has been practised to date

Organizational justice, role stressors job satisfaction and turnover intention among IT professions in Thailand's ICT industry

Although turnover intention has been studied widely in Western countries, such studies are still small in number in Asia countries like Thailand. The aims of this quantitative research were: to empirically determine the significant predictors of organizational justice (distributive justice and procedural justice) and role stressors (role ambiguity, role conflict, work-overload and work-family conflict); to examine the mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between predictors and turnover intention, and to investigate the applicability of the Social Exchange Theory (SET) in explaining turnover intention in Thailand. A survey was conducted among 342 IT professionals in 21 ICT organizations located in Thailand‟s ICT industry‟s four sub-sector (Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Technology Information (IT) Services and Communication). Data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Out of the 13 hypotheses regarding turnover intention, seven had significant direct effects (distributive justice, procedural justice, role ambiguity, role conflict, work-overload to job satisfaction; job satisfaction to turnover intention). The finding of this study revealed that there is a positive significant relationship between distributive justice and procedural justice with job satisfaction. This study also revealed that there is a negative significant relationship between role ambiguity, role conflict, work-overload and work-family conflict with job satisfaction. This study found a statistically negative significant relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. The study also found that job satisfaction was a full mediator of the relationship between distributive justice, procedural justice, role conflict and work-family conflict with turnover intention. Finally, job satisfaction partially mediated the relationship of role ambiguity and work-family conflict with turnover intention. The present study also highlighted the implications of the study, future research work as well as its limitations

Elections, Ideology, and Turnover in the U.S. Federal Government

A defining feature of public sector employment is the regular change in elected leadership. Yet, we know little about how elections influence public sector careers. We describe how elections alter policy outputs and disrupt the influence of civil servants over agency decisions. These changes shape the career choices of employees motivated by policy, influence, and wages. Using new Office of Personnel Management data on the careers of millions of federal employees between 1988 and 2011, we evaluate how elections influence employee turnover decisions. We find that presidential elections increase departure rates of career senior employees, particularly in agencies with divergent views relative to the new president and at the start of presidential terms. We also find suggestive evidence that vacancies in high-level positions after elections may induce lower-level executives to stay longer in hopes of advancing. We conclude with implications of our findings for public policy, presidential politics, and public management

Strategies for Reducing High Turnover Among Information Technology Professionals

Organizations globally are spending millions of dollars replacing information technology (IT) professionals. IT professionals, who possess technical skills and competencies that interconnect business processes, are costly to replace. There are direct and indirect costs associated when an IT professional leaves, such as advertising fees, headhunting fees, and project delays. Lacking a firm understanding of the reasons why IT professionals leave their positions, many business leaders do not have strategies for reducing turnover rates. Building on Herzberg\u27s motivation-hygiene theory and March and Simon\u27s process model of turnover, this exploratory multiple case study sought to identify the strategies that business leaders view as essential for retaining IT professionals. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 IT managers in the Houston, Texas, area; participants were selected using a purposive sampling technique. Thematic analysis revealed eight strategies for addressing turnover: compensation, opportunity and advancement, rewards and recognition, relationship with the supervisor and coworkers, training and development, communications, meaningful work, and flexible work schedule. Findings from this study may contribute to positive social change by providing business leaders with more insight about how they can retain IT professionals. The high turnover among IT professionals affects individuals, families, communities, organizations, and the economy. Implementing strategies to reduce turnover rates can help keep individual employees and their family members together and reduce the unemployment rates

Subject: Careers and Occupations

Compiled by Susan LaCette.Careers.pdf: 808 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

The influence of distributive justice and procedural justice on job satisfaction among workers at Aqaba Container Terminal, Jordan

Human Resources Management (HRM) plays an important role in the performance and profitability of every organization. Similarly, the job satisfaction of employees is critical to the success of every organization. In the case of Aqaba Container Terminals in Jordan, many employees have been protesting their dissatisfaction on the issue of salaries and bonus payment. Therefore, this study examines the influence of distributive and procedural justice that lead to job satisfaction among workers of Aqaba Container Terminals in Jordan. Using survey questionnaires, data were collected from 200 workers of the Aqaba Container Terminals. The data were analyzed using both correlation and regression analysis. The findings of this study revealed that both distributive and procedural justice have significant influence on job satisfaction. The findings of this study theoretically contribute to explain factors that lead to employees’ job satisfaction. The practical implications of this study are evident in providing HR managers, especially in the Aqaba Container Terminals the importance of distributive and procedural justice and the reason for employees’ job satisfaction should be taken importantl

Strategies for Reducing Professional Turnover in Information Technology

The information technology (IT) industry workforce in the United States is expected to increase by approximately 50,000 jobs through the year 2024, creating opportunities for employees to change jobs if they are not satisfied. Replacing talented IT professionals can cost a business as much as 150% of the salary of the outgoing employee. The purpose of this descriptive single case study was to identify strategies successful IT business leaders used to reduce voluntary turnover among IT professionals. The research population was 4 leaders from an IT business in southeastern Virginia, who oversee supervisory and hiring. The conceptual framework was Herzberg\u27s 2-factor theory. The data were collected using semistructured interviews and reviews of applicable organization documents. Yin\u27s 5 phases of analysis were the means to process the data resulting in the 5 themes of flexibility, individual, recognition, team, and work-life balance. Recognition and flexibility were the 2 key themes that made significant contributions to the organizational culture and success for the business. The implications for social change include companies using unspent replacement cost dollars to invest in local communities, improve the local economic growth, and provide incentives for employee quality of life and improved work environment