Determinants of Employees Performance in Ready-made Garments (RMGs)
Sector in Chittagong, angladesh! " Path "nalysis
Balasundaram Nimalathasan 1 & Syed Mohammad Ather 2 1 Department of Commerce, University of affna, Sri !an"a# 2 Department of Mana$ement Studies, University of Chitta$on$, Ban$ladesh# "#stract %he main o&'ective of the study (as to determine the employee)s performance in *M+s# A non,pro&a&ilistic samplin$ method, namely convenience samplin$, (as used in dra(in$ sample for this study# *espondents (ere from various $arment industries that (ere located in the Chitta$on$, Ban$ladesh# Both primary and secondary data (ere used for the purpose of the study# -pinions of the sample respondents as to the various aspects of employees) performance (ere recorded on the !i"ert,type five point ratin$ scales# .n the present study, (e, therefore, used Cron&ach)s alpha scale as a measure of relia&ility (hich value (as estimated to &e /01#234# 5ere, (e analysed the data &y employin$ simple correlation and path analysis# .n the analysis, it is found that each of the factors 6individual related factors 7.*89, 'o& related factors 7*89: and or$ani;ational related factors 7-*89< has a stron$ positive correlation (ith employees) performance 7=>9# >ath analysis disclosed that the direct effects of .*8 and -*8 are hi$hly si$nificantly influences on employees? performance 7=>9 and in most cases indirect effects of different factors on => are also apprecia&le# .n addition, the present study su$$ests some policy implications for formulatin$ effective strate$y for human resource development in Ban$ladesh and similar other countries# $ey%ords! =mployees? >erformance 7=>9: *eady,made +arments 7*M+s9: >ath Analysis &' (heoretical Paradigm and )iterat*re Re+ie% =mployees are the most valua&le asset in any or$ani;ation# A successful and hi$hly productive &usiness can &e achieved &y en$a$in$ them in improvin$ their performance# All employees are not e@ual in their (or"in$ and they have different modes of (or"in$ li"e some have hi$hest capa&ility re$ardless of the incentive &ut other may have occasional 'ump,start# .f they are handled effectively, the result can &e $reater productivity and increased employee morale# =mployees in a firm are re@uired to $enerate a total commitment to desired standards of performance to achieve a competitive advanta$e and improved performance for sustainin$ that competitive advanta$e at least for a prolon$ed period of time, if not forever# .n vie( of ud$e and 8erris 71AAB9, perhaps there is no more important human resources system in or$ani;ations other than performance evaluation and ratin$s of employees) performance represent critical decisions that are "ey influences on a variety of su&se@uent human resources actions and outcomes# 1 >erformance means &oth &ehaviour and result# Behaviour emanates from the performer and transforms performance from a&straction to action# Not 'ust the instrument for result, &ehaviours is also outcomes in their ri$hts the product of mental and physical effort applied to tas" and can &e 'ud$ed apart from the result 7Armstron$, 21119# Bates and 5olton 71AA39 pointed out that performance is a multidimensional construct, the measurement of (hich varies dependin$ on a variety of factors li"e salary, environment, peer $roup relations and so on 7as cited in Armstron$, 21119# A more comprehensive vie( of performance is achieved if it is defined as em&racin$ &oth &ehaviour and outcomes 7Armstron$, 2111). =mployees) performance 7=>9 is an important factor that contri&utes to improve the outcomes, &ehaviour and traits of the employees# .t helps to improve the productivity of the or$ani;ation# Nic"ols 7211B9 and 8ort and Coltero 7211D9 identified similar factor that are closely related and affect provider performance in the (or"place# %hey included a clear $oals and 'o& eEpectations, suita&le repertoire, immediate feed&ac", s"ills to perform, "no(led$e of the or$ani;ational structure, functional feed&ac" system, sound metal models, sufficient motivation throu$h self,satisfaction and incentives, supportive or conducive# ,' -*stifications of the St*dy %here are a num&er of factors (hich may &e affectin$ the employees) performance# =ach employee may have different effect from different thin$s at (or"place# %heir attitude and &ehaviour can play a vital role in their performance# =mployees don?t perform in a vacuum# %here are a variety of factors, .N8 7(hich is the com&ination of different attri&utes i#e#, value, &eliefs, critical thin"in$, and anticipation of success and (or" attitude9, *8 7i#e#, needs, self, concept, personal impact s"ills competence, feed&ac", incentives and re(ards9 and -*8 7i#e#, or$ani;ational culture, norms and standards used at (or", communication, supervisor and collea$ue support9 that affects their performance# .dentifyin$ these factors can help improve recruitment, retention and or$ani;ational results# %his research $ap induces the researchers to underta"e the present study# 2 .' /#0ecti+es %he follo(in$ o&'ectives (ere ta"en for the studyF %o identify and reco$ni;e the factors (hich determine $arments employees) performance: %o state the relationship &et(een factors and employees) performance: %o reco$ni;e the direct and indirect effects of independent factors on dependent factor: and %o offer some policy implications to enhance employees) performance# 1' Research Design and Methodology %hese descri&e research desi$n, research approach, unit of analysis, samplin$ desi$n, data sources and @uestionnaire development, relia&ility and validity, analytical method and operational definitions of "ey concept# # 1'& Research Design %his study is &asically an eEploratory study# =Eploratory studies are a valua&le means of findin$ out G(hat is happenin$: to see" ne( insi$hts: to as" @uestions and to assess phenomena in a ne( li$ht) 7*o&son, 21129# .t can &e lin"ed to the activities of the traveller or eEplorer 7Adams and Schvaneveldt, 1AA19# .ts $reat advanta$e is that it is fleEi&le and adapta&le to chan$e 7Naipul, 1A2A9# 1', Research "pproach As this study is a &usiness and mana$ement research, it has a characteristic of positivist and interpretivist and also involves in deductive approach 75ussey & 5ussey, 1AA4: *o&son, 1AAB9 as (ell as inductive approach 7=aster&y,Smith, %hrope & !o(e 721129# Com&inin$ these t(o research approaches in same piece of research is perfectly possi&le and advanta$eous for a research# 1'. 2nit of "nalysis Unit of analysis of the study (as $arments sector attached to Ban$ladesh *eady,made Manufacturin$ +arments Association 7B*M+A9 in Chitta$on$, Ban$ladesh# B 1'1 Sampling Design A non,pro&a&ilistic samplin$ method, namely convenience samplin$, (as used in dra(in$ samples for this study# 5undred 7i#e#, five respondents (ere selected from t(enty *M+s9 respondents (ere from various $arment industries that (ere located in the Chitta$on$, Ban$ladesh# 1'3 Data So*rces and 4*estionnaire De+elopment %he study (as complied (ith the help of primary and secondary data# >rimary data (ere collected direct personal intervie( (ith help of the @uestionnaire# Moreover, the des" study covered various pu&lished and unpu&lished materials on the su&'ect# %he @uestionnaire (as administrated to employees of $arment industries in Chitta$on$, Ban$ladesh# A five item scale from never 719 to al(ays 739 (as adopted to measure the employees) performance# 1'5 Relia#ility and 6alidity Before applyin$ statistical tools, testin$ of the relia&ility of the scale is very much important as its sho(s the eEtent to (hich a scale produces consistent result if measurements (ere made repeatedly# %his is done &y determinin$ the association in &et(een scores o&tained from different administrations of the scale# .f the association is hi$h, the scale yields consistent result, thus is relia&le# Cron&ach)s alpha is most (idely used method# .t may &e mentioned that its value varies from 1 to 1 &ut satisfactory value is re@uired to &e more than 1#H for the scale to &e relia&le 7Malhotra, 2111: Cron&ach, 1A319# .n the present study, (e, therefore, used Cron&ach)s alpha scale as a measure of relia&ility# .ts value (as estimated to &e /01#234, .f (e compare our relia&ility value (ith the standard value alpha of 1#H advocated &y Cron&ach 71A319, a more accurate recommendation Nunnally and Bernstein 71AAD9 or (ith the standard value of 1#H as recommendated &y Ba$o;;i and Ii)s 71A229 (e find that the scales used &y us are hi$hly relia&le for data analysis# Calidation procedures involved initial consultation of the @uestionnaire# %he eEperts also 'ud$ed the face and content validity of the @uestionnaires as ade@uate# 5ence, researchers satisfied content and construct validity# D 1'7 "nalytical Method .n the present study, (e analysed our data &y employin$ simple correlation and path analysis# 8or the study, entire analysis is done &y personal computer# A (ell "no(n statistical pac"a$e i#e#, GStatistical Package for Social Sciences 7S>SS9 14#1 Cersion (as used in order to analy;e the data# 1'8 /perational Definitions of $ey Concepts %he follo(in$ are the operational definitions of the main concepts and eEplanation of terms in this study# Employees >erson (ho are hired to provide services to a $arments on a re$ular &asis in eEchan$e for compensation Employees Performance =mployees) performance 7=>9 is an important factor that contri&utes to improve the outcomes, &ehaviour and traits of the employees# Ready-made Garments (RMGs) *M+s are mass,produced finished teEtile products of the clothin$ industry# Correlations Co,efficient of correlations (as calculated in this study to measure the relationship &et(een dependent varia&les 7i#e#, .*8, -*8, and *89 and independent varia&les 7i#e#, =>9 Path "nalysis >ath analysis (as en$a$ed in this study to identify the direct and indirect effects of independent factors 7.*8, -*8 and *89 on dependent factor 7=>9# 3 3' Data analysis and 9indings Data analysis and findin$s (ere discussed under the follo(in$ su&,heads# 3'& Correlation "nalysis Correlation analysis (as performed to find out the relationship alon$ (ith test of si$nificance &et(een the follo(in$ factorsF .*8F .ndividual *elated 8actors *8F o& *elated 8actors -*8F -r$ani;ational *elated 8actors =>F =mployees) >erformance .n this re$ard ta&le ,1 provides the results# (a#le-&! Correlation MatriE :R9 -R9 /R9 EP :R9 1 -R9 1#31BJJ 71#1119 1 /R9 1#H1BJJ 71#1119 1#34AJJ 71#1119 1 EP 1#H1DJJ 71#1119 1#3HDJJ 71#1119 1#434JJ 71#1119 1 Mean B#BD32 B#11D2 B#32BB B#H1H4 Standard De+iation 1#3D322 1#3421A 1#342A1 1#3DB32 So*rce! 8ield Study JJ Correlation coefficient is si$nificant at the 1#11 levels %a&le,1 sho(s that the factors .*8, *8 and -*8 are independently positively correlated (ith => and also hi$hly si$nificant at 1K levels# 5ere it is o&vious that the maEimum correlation 7r 01#4349 is eEisted &et(een -*8 and =>, follo(ed &y the association 7r 01#H1D9 &et(een .*8 and =># %hat is, it should &e needed to $ive the hi$hest emphasis on -*8 for super& performance of employees# .*8 are also crucial for (onderful performance of *M+s) employees# Althou$h there has no so influential lin" 7r 01#3HD9 &et(een *8 and => li"e as .*8 and -*8, it also essential to serve the purpose of employees) performance# =Ecept =>, remainin$ three factors are pair,(ise positively correlated (ith one to another and also statistically si$nificant at >,value 1#111# Amon$ the three factors, the relationship 7r 01#H1B9 H &et(een .*8 and *8 is the hi$hest, follo(ed &y the lin" 7r 01#34A9 &et(een -*8 and *8# %he value of r01#31B implies that there has a considera&le association &et(een .*8 and *8# 3', Path "nalysis >ath analysis (as en$a$ed in this study to identify the direct and indirect effects of independent factors 7.*8, *8 and -*89 on dependent factor 7=>9# .n model 78i$ure,19 siE hypothesi;ed path coefficients are considered and amon$ the coefficients one is statistically insi$nificant, one is little &it si$nificant at 11K levels, and remainin$ coefficients are stron$ly si$nificant at 1K levels#
So*rceF 8ield Study: Lhere JJ 0> 1#11: J 0> 1#11 9ig-&F Model of .ndependent 8actors and =mployees) performance %here are three arro(s in path model that came from some un"no(n factors: the values alon$ (ith the arro(s indicate error effects on respective factor, (hich didn)t consider in the study# %he overall error effect 1#B42 discloses that only B2K effect of factors is i$nored due to unavoida&le circumstances# Moreover 71,1#B429 01#H22 0* 2 reveals that the considered factors are superior selection for the analysis# 4 1#B42 1# 4D4 -*8 -*8 => *8 *8 1#3DAJJ .*8 .*8 1#31BJJ 1#BHBJJ 1#21HJ 1#1DB 1#32H 1#DB1JJ (a#le-,! Analysis of =ffects of the 8actors Used in the >ath Model Dependent 9actor :ndependent 9actors Direct Effect :ndirect Effects thro*gh (otal Effect *8 -*8 *8 M -*8 EP .*8 1#21H 1#142 1#2B4 1#111 1#H13 *8 1#1DB , 1#1AA , 1#BD2 -*8 1#3DA , , , 1#3DA SourceF 8ield Study .n the ta&le ,2, it is seen that the total effects are the addin$ of direct and indirect effects# -ut of a&out H2K total effect 71#H139 of .*8 on =>, almost 21K is direct effect 71#21H9, approEimately 4K and 2DK are indirect effects throu$h *8 71#1429 and -*8 71#2B49 respectively, remainin$ 11K &e indirect effect via the factors *8 as (ell as -*8 71#1119# 8rom the a&ove discussion .*8 has the hi$hest relation (ith -*8 in case of =>, follo(ed &y .*8 due to direct effect on =># %he overall influence of *8 over => is 1#BD2, in (hich direct effect 71#1DB9 is not as dominant as indirect effect 71#1AA9 throu$h -*8# 5ere, it is undou&tedly true that -*8 is a $ood @uality secondary factor to manipulate employees) performance# %he direct effect 71#3DA9 of -*8 over => is the uppermost (hich itself is the total effect# 5ence, it is clear that -*8 is the "ey factor in case of the inspection of employees) performance in *M+s sector# 5' Concl*sion 8rom the correlation matriE, the hi$hest positive value of correlation &et(een -*8 and => clarify that the authorities of $arments sector is re@uired to $ive main focus on -*8 for $ettin$ fa&ulous employees) performance# %he maEimum avera$e point 7B#32BB9 of -*8 also discloses the identical conclusion# A stron$ positive relation &et(een .*8 and => spell out $arment industries cannot i$nore employees) individual factors to achieve satisfactory performance# %he minimum standard deviation 71#3D3229 represents that attri&utes (ithin individual related factors has a close connection# So if any one of the attri&utes in .*8 is ne$lected, employees) performance (ill &e severely hampered# Considerin$ the coefficients of correlation of 8> (ith other factors, *8 is the final factor accordin$ to the priority &asis &ut employees cannot deny it due to statistically si$nificant association (ith =># A po(erful lin" &et(een -*8 and .*8 says that an employee do not apart himself from or$ani;ation and vice,versa# Almost ali"e statement can dra( in case of relationship &et(een the pairs -*8 and *8, *8 and .*8# 2 !i"e correlation matriE, path analysis also declares that the maEimum individual 7direct9 effect is on => from -*8# %herefore, it is o&vious that (ithout -*8 employees) performance (ill &e lo(er than the &elo( avera$e# .*8 has the second maEimum direct effect over => and it also indirectly influences to => throu$h other factors -*8 and *8 separately and simultaneously# %o $ain more afford of employees, o(ners ou$ht to &e fleEi&le to .*8 factor of (or"ers as it has not only direct effect &ut also some su&stantial indirect effects on =># =ven thou$h the effect of *8 on => is not statistically si$nificant, it considera&ly operates => throu$h the factor -*8# 5ence employees) performance (ill &e &etter (hen 'o& related factors are considered alon$ (ith or$ani;ation related factors# %o achieve the ceilin$ economic $ain in *M+s sector, @uality product must &e ensured# -nly employees can provide @uality product throu$h their eEcellent performance and for that a $ood com&ination of .*8, *8 and -*8 is re@uired, (hich is released &y the path ta&le# 7' Policy :mplications Althou$h the present study (as confined to identify the factors of =>, it may &e appropriate to state &riefly the policy implications for the study# .n this conteEt, the follo(in$ policy actions may &e considered (orth(hile# 1# %he *M+s sector should create a supportive or$ani;ational climate# Unfortunately the or$ani;ations today continue to &e hi$hly formali;ed (ith accompanyin$ infleEi&le, impersonal climate# %herefore, the structure should &e decentrali;ed (ith participative decision,ma"in$ and up(ard communication flo(s# 2# =mployees should &e allo(ed to $et advice from their supervisor throu$h this: they (ill correctly perform their responsi&ilities and duties# B# *M+s sector should have to eEpand the health maintenance pro$rams: supervisor trainin$ pro$rams and stress reduction (or"shops# D# *M+s sector should handle the pro&lems and opportunities, (hich are common to all employees# 3# Ne( technolo$ies should &e used to reduce the (or" overload# H# Motivation for employees should &e $ranted (ithout &iased to perform their tas"# 8' Contri#*tion of the St*dy A .t is hoped that the study (ill contri&ute $reatly to the literature of => in Ban$ladesh and other similar countries# Besides, su$$estive recommendations (ill have much effect on improvin$ =># %he suita&le policy formulation &ased on the findin$s of the study, to the &est interest of the *M+s mana$ement as (ell as of the country (ill $o a lon$ (ay to open a ne( era in the field of the country)s human resource development# ;' Direction for 9*t*re Researches %he present research study is confined to 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