The impact of human resource management practices on performance : Evidence from a Public University

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of human resource management (HRM) practices on organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 300 employees from a public university comprising of both academicians and support staff responded to the survey. The survey questionnaire had 46 items covering selected HRM practices and university performance. Findings – The study has found that human resource practices: recruitment, training, performance appraisal, career planning, employee participation, job definition and compensation have a significant relationship with university performance. Research limitations/implications – The results come from a cross-sectional study which was done at the convenience of the researcher. The results may not be generalized across the country. The application of the results to other universities must be done with maximum care. Practical implications – If the university is to increase its performance to higher levels, it should emphasize more on job definition, training and employee participation. Some improvement needs to be done on the other HRM practices-recruitment, performance appraisal, career planning and compensation in order to increase their effectiveness on the university performance. Originality/value – Most studies on impact of HRM practices on firm performance have focussed on private sectors in Malaysia. In other countries, the studies have focussed only on academicians as a sample. This study has attempted to add to the body of knowledge on the impact of HRM practices on university performance in Malaysia combining both the academicians and administration staff.