Conclusión primera quincena

As highlighted in C hapter 3, there is no "best fit" practice of hum an resource m anagem ent th at is applicable to all com panies. In fact, the practice of h u m an resource m anagem ent is definitely based on the current a n d /o r specific needs of the particular com pany, w hich is very m uch related to a range of factors such as social system s, culture, industrial relations system , the organisation's goals and m anagem ent strategies (Chiah et al., 2003; K uruvilla, 1996; M aim unah, 1992 and 2005). C urrently, in the M alaysia context, h u m an resource m anagem ent practice is seen to be m oving tow ards fulfilling the needs of the K now ledge Based Economy M aster Plan (KEMP, 2002). In this regard, inform ation technology has em erged as the crucial elem ent in the survival of h u m an resource m anagem ent in the global era (Fong C han O nn, 2005). Therefore, serious attention has been paid to the issue of developing w orkers, also know n as hu m an resource developm ent. More detail on this m atter is p rovided in the com ing section, in w hich the researcher em phasises the im pact of the governm ent's affirm ative policies on hum an resource m anagem ent.

At this point, it w ould be beneficial to discuss the follow ing practices of hu m an resource m anagem ent in general term s rather th an specifically exam ining the public sector a n d /o r the private sector, the m anufacturing industry a n d /o r the inform ation technology industry etc., as the researcher considers the literature related to this m atter to be insufficient at present. For instance, the recent w ork of M ellahi an d W ood (2004) on h u m an resource m anagem ent in Malaysia seems to leave o u t the m ost im portant issue: the m ovem ent of M alaysia tow ards a know ledge based econom y u n d e r the OPP3 policy and NVP. The researcher w o u ld suggest this loophole could p erhaps offer a fruitful avenue for fu tu re w ork for researchers w ho are interested in analysing the cu rren t practice of hum an resource m anagem ent in Malaysia. Furtherm ore, the researcher w ould suggest th at the analysis of this issue could focus m ainly on tw o types of w orker - HRM practice for production w orkers (i.e. n o n-standard w orkers) and HRM practice for know ledge w orkers - by exam ining the exact definitions of these tw o groups. The current study could contribute to the latter issue. H ow ever, it is notew orthy that Mellahi and W ood (2004) highlight the M inistry of H u m an Resources as playing a key role in creating, encouraging and enforcing personnel policies and practices in Malaysia. H aving said this, it could also be the case th at industrial relations are considered by Rowley (2003) to be "soft" [few riots a n d /o r d isputes am ong the workers], w hich could be due to the strict endorsem ent by the M inistry of H um an Resources via its Em ploym ent Act (M aim unah, 1996). A part from that, it could also be due to the above- m entioned im pact of the M alaysian w orking culture as a w hole, w hich strongly adheres to the requirem ent to preserve "face" of others, respect leaders and avoid dissonance. Therefore, industrial relations in M alaysia are well know n for being "u n d er control" and it is reg ard ed as a friendly country. The advantage of this scenario is th at M alaysia is able to invite m ore FDI into the country and open m ore jobs to workers.

W hen it comes to the issue of the recruitm ent an d selection of w orkers, how ever, the evidence show s a preference for external recruitm ent (M ansor and Ali, 1998, cited in Mellahi and W ood, 2004), b u t the researcher has d oubts about this. In reference to large and stable com panies, then the w ork of M ansor an d Ali (1998) is applicable. H ow ever, in the case of small com panies, there is still a preference for internal context a n d /o r "w o rd of m outh" (see, for exam ple, C hapter 8, Section 8.2), especially for those in higher positions (Tay, 2001). A part from that, although the percentage is quite low in M alaysia, there is now a trend am ong applicants to use e-recruitm ent facilities such as JobStreet.com (David and Sivanand, 2005). Furtherm ore, due to the shortage of skilled w orkers, increased recruiting of foreign w orkers in M alaysia has been rep o rted (Mellahi and W ood, 2004).

In the case of em ployee rew ards, perform ance appraisal and com pensation system s, there are still n o n -stan d ard system s w ithin the public and private sectors, and even differences betw een industries. H ow ever, a recent m ovem ent has been seen tow ards becom ing flexible to such variations, w hich is prim arily based on "responsible autonom y" (Morris et al., 2003). For instance, according to M orris et al., the failure of the public sector's N ew R em uneration Scheme (NRS) to reduce brain d rain am ongst academ ics at the higher M alaysian institutions pro v id ed evidence of the need for m ore objective, rational, fair and tran sp aren t prom otional policies for pay systems. This su p p o rts the points em phasised by Cox (2000), w ho stated that, "pay system s are m ore likely to attain their objectives if em ployees have a real say in their structuring and im plem entation" (cited in M orris et al. 2003: p. 148). In addition, the com pensation system s are seen to be different betw een local com panies an d foreign com panies based in Malaysia. For instance, based on the w ork done by K uruvilla (1996: pp. 31-34), com panies such as Jotun Corro-Coat (JCC) are rather rigid in providing com pensation packages for their w orkers com pared to

A m erican co m p a n ies (such as M attel T ools) and E uropean m anufacturers (e.g. X Sem iconductors), w hich follow the m arket rate for operatives. H ow ever, good com pensation and benefits do not stand alone. According to Fong C han O nn (2005: p. 3):

"Legendary business icon Jack Welch of General Electric was once asked which reward people preferred - money or recognition. He replied, "You have to get rewarded both in the soul and the wallet." Mr. Welch understood that it is not enough that companies pay their employees well and expect great work in return. Companies must also empower their employees and provide incentives for them to perform at high levels...[this is] essential to any successful organisation."

Therefore the participation of w orkers th ro u g h em pow erm ent and partnership is a current issue of vital im portance, not only in term s of discussion b u t also in practice. In this regard, an exam ple of the practice of m anagerial participation in the M alaysian public sector has been reported by Jabroun and B alakrishnan (2000: p. 60). This provides a good indication of further participation activities not only w ithin the organisation b u t also perhaps w ith their custom ers. It is undeniable that leadership m u st play a very pertinent role, although overall observation show s th at there is still a lack of effective leadership, as Fong C han O nn (2005: p. 1) pointed out:

"...as more Malaysian companies venture overseas, these budding MNCs will require strong leaders who can drive the business into the global marketplace while effectively managing people in different cultures and environments. Unfortunately, many HR specialists admit that there is a leadership vacuum. HR must bridge this gap between current and future leaders by finding ways to develop the next generation of corporate leadership...."

This observation is consistent w ith the findings of FCCG (1999), w hich revealed th at incom petent leadership and poor know ledge of m anaging resources caused m any com panies to fail d u rin g the A sian financial crisis. Thus, h u m an resource developm ent has become the key topic of debate w ith regard to economic im provem ent (see Section 4.4.1 for further details). H aving said this, it is also p art of the challenge of the current study to explore this m atter further.