Ashutosh Muduli

High Performance Work System in India: Examining the Role of Employee Engagement

ABSTRACT The research aims at examining the relevance of “high-performance work system” in Indian context. Further, influenced by the concept of “black box,” the mediating role of employee engagement has also been tested. Agreeing with the universalistic perspective, the study result proves the relevance of high-performance work system to India. Consistent with ability-motivation-opportunity theory, the result also proved that high-performance work system aligned with employee engagement can significantly improve organizational performance. The finding suggests the Indian corporate practitioners to adopt high-performance work system by suitably aligning with employee engagement to improve organizational performance.

High Performance Work System, HRD Climate and Organisational Performance: An Empirical Study.

Purpose – This paper aims to study the relationship between high-performance work system (HPWS) and organizational performance and to examine the role of human resource development (HRD) Climate in mediating the relationship between HPWS and the organizational performance in the context of the power sector of India. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical research paper has been conceptualized on the basis of extensive literature survey and examined through a case-based approach. Data and information collected to examine strength of the proposed hypothesis in the context of a power-based company in India. Findings – Agreeing with most of the research, HPWS is found to be positively related with organizational performance. The result does not agree with the HPWS research conducted in Asian countries. Taking clues from “Black Box” approach, the role of HRD Climate as a mediating factor has been studied. The result proved that HPWS influences organizational performance through a supportive development en...

Exploring the facilitators and mediators of workforce agility: an empirical study

Purpose Recognizing that very less number of research has been conducted on workforce agility, the current research aimed to examine the impact of organizational practices in the form of organizational learning and training, compensation, involvement, team work and information system (IS) on workforce agility. Influenced by the “Black Box” approach, the study also examined the role of psychological empowerment as a mechanism mediating the relationship between organizational practices and workforce agility. Design/methodology/approach The study has been conducted in selective Indian industries, representing manufacturing and service sector across public and private sectors. Quantitative and qualitative data have been collected from both executives and non-executives through reliable instruments validated in Indian context. Data have been analyzed using descriptive analysis, canonical correlation analysis and multiple regression. Findings Findings that organizational practices significantly related to workforce agility prove that organizational practices are capable of improving the agile attributes and behavior of the workforce. In detail, team work has the greatest influence on workforce agility, followed by Reward system, employee involvement, organizational learning and training and ISs. Further, the study result also proved the mediating role of psychological empowerment between organizational practices and workforce agility. Practical implications Organizations are to design practices related to organizational learning and training, compensation, involvement, team work and IS and implement them efficiently and effectively to enable agility within the workforce, as an agile workforce can only respond proactively to a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business environment. Further, the result also suggests that managers should design the organizational practices capable of enhancing psychological empowerment, as the combination can deliver better workforce agility. Originality/value The research is useful considering very less number of research on workforce agility.

Exploring the Determinants of Empowerment Climate in Indian Industry

The majority of research on empowerment has focused on the individual job incumbents psychological experience of empowerment and link this with various work-related outcomes. Work context capable of promoting empowerment has been neglected by researchers. Extensive literature survey explored information sharing, autonomy through boundaries, team responsibility, reward system, workplace independence and flexibility and skill acquisition and development as work context (managerial structures and practices) and conceptualized as empowerment climate construct. Regression analysis indicated autonomy through boundaries has the greatest influence on empowerment, followed by team accountability, workplace independence and flexibility reward system, information sharing and then skill acquisition and development.

Family Roles Posing Challenges for Women Leaders in India

The past decade has witnessed an increased number of women participating in the workforce in many spheres of India’s society. Yet, Indian women largely remain underrepresented in senior management and leadership positions. This can be attributed to existing patriarchal beliefs and other socio-cultural barriers that have led to struggles for Indian women to set themselves free from the challenges associated with gender stereotypic roles. Despite these obstacles, modern India is showcasing an expanding middle class and increased service sector jobs, gradually influencing the mindset of people. Due to the availability of higher paying information technology (IT) jobs for educated women employees, men are coming forward and the burden of handling household and childcare activities for Indian women is being reduced. Organizations are also making dedicated efforts to break the shackles of gendered family roles by implementing progressive human resource development (HRD) practices. India is slowly but steadily moving toward a gender-neutral culture and aspiring to strike the right chord between the personal and professional lives of Indian men and women.

HR Issues in Upstream Oil and Gas Industry of India: Some Reflections

The Indian oil and gas sector is one of the six core industries in India and has very significant forward linkages with the entire economy. Against a backdrop of rising demand locally as well as globally and intention of the government to actively explore further, a boom is expected in the Indian Exploration & Production sector. Further, Globalization leading to mergers and acquisitions, technological advancement, frontier and new production development, changing demographics and regulatory requirements all challenge the upstream petroleum industry more specifically the ability of the industry to attract and retain a skilled workforce. Survey reported a substantial supply and demand gap in the skills in India. The gap on account of demand-supply mismatch may get further aggravated by the exodus of these critical skills from the domestic industry on account of international requirements. With this backdrop in mind, this paper aims at exploring the HRM challenges in the Upstream oil and gas industry. Attempt is also made to suggest solutions to the problems. The HRM challenges are explored through the key characteristics of the Industry such as Cyclical nature, Restructuring, Regulatory processes, Industry cycle stage and Workplace skills. For example, Continuous restructuring in response to competitive pressures and commodity price fluctuations will have long term impact on attracting and retaining skilled workers. The new entrants to the job market may frequently see the oil and gas business as one that does not offer long-term career stability and growth. This affects industry’s ability to attract and retain top-flight people. Regulatory processes also influence the business development and, therefore, employment opportunities. The Industry life cycle can also affect the HRM practices. For example, HR strategies at the beginning of the life cycle are managed differently from mature regions. Finally, the paper suggested some action points for the government, the organizations and the education sector.