THE EFFECT OF TALENT MANAGEMENT ON ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

TOPIC

THE EFFECT OF TALENT MANAGEMENT ON ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Surname and name: Molemole Seima

Student Number:

Assignment Unique Number:

Written for: College of Economic and Management Sciences

Degree: BCom Hons in Business Management

Institution: University of South Africa (UNISA)

RESEARCH QUESTION

What is effect of talent management on organizational performance in the 21st century?

 
Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION 2
   1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE PROPOSAL 2
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 3
   2.1 PREVIOUS RESEARCH 3
   2.2 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY 4
   2.3 THE SYNTHESIS OF KEY ACADEMIC VIEWS DRAWN FROM LITERATURE RELATED TO THE TOPIC 5
3. PROBLEM STATEMENT AND PURPOSE 6
   3.1 OVERVIEW OF THE PROBLEM 6
   3.2 HYPOTHESIS 7
   3.3 DEFINITION OF VARIABLES 8
4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 9
5. CONCLUSION 10
6. SYNOPSIS AT THE END OF THE REVIEW 10
   6.1 Introduction 10
   6.2 Literature review 11
   6.3 conclusion 11
7. LIST OF REFERENCES 12
8. INTRODUCTION
   This research proposal examines the effect of talent management (TM) on organisational performance in the 21st century. Limited attention to this topic given the dearth of material that clearly illustrate the link between TM and organisational performance has led to assumptions that previous studies have not done enough to display how performance of organisations are impacted by TM based on empirical evidence(Ibidunni et al. 2016:2).
   Technology advancement mark a useful indicator of human development hence understanding the effect of talent management on organisational performance in the 21st century offers a lens to view how talent management enhances organisational performance as well as competitive advantage and profitability for the organisation although the effect is known (Ariffin et al. 2017:32&33).
   1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE PROPOSAL
   Mohammed (2015) opined that there is a positive correlation between talent management and organisational performance. This, it is explained is because organisational strategy that is aligned with talent management has 73% success rate, so it is not surprising that 21st century organisations are determined to attract and retain suitable talents (Mohammed 2015:147). In the long-term the organisations would enhance their performance and strategic position, hence possibly achieving improvement in organisational performance.
   Mishra and Sareen (2016) expressed that in the 21st century the term talent management is controversial but they concluded that talent management leads to a growth in organisational performance. Hence the need to justify the granting of this proposal for actual research is deemed important.
   The publication of the war for talent generated significant interest among researchers to ascertain the term talent management because of lack of a globally acceptable definition: hence talent management is subjective to numerous interpretations across organisations and individuals on the planet (Naidoo et al. 2017:84).
   Going forward the layout of this proposal is given as follows: literature review, problem and purpose statement, research objective, conclusion and then synopsis at the end of the review.
9. LITERATURE REVIEW
   Devi (2017) opined that a review of literature pointed out that the effect of talent management is positively correlated to organisational performance while Van Zyl et al. (2017) in support states that talent management offers tangible benefits to mitigating recruitment costs and enhances organisational competitive advantage since less finances are spent on recruiting staff.
   The understanding and practice of talent management vary across organisations in the 21st century (Son et al. 2018:2). This is because both the bright and dark sides of the effect of talent management on organisational performance in the 21st century should be empirically tested.
   The proposal concludes that there is a mixed view among authors whose articles were reviewed in terms of the topic and perhaps the section underneath of previous research section offers more contexts to the matter in my view.
   2.1 PREVIOUS RESEARCH
   According to Son et al. (2018) the negative side of talent management is less explored by previous studies because the said common benefits of talent management practices on organisational performance is not questionable. There is suggestion that the uniform notion regarding highlighting the benefits only at the expense of exposing the other side of TM towards influencing organisations positively could be very detrimental to organisational performance. One strongly agrees with this claim because looking at both the dark and bright sides of the effect of talent management on organisational performance would inform a comprehensive and through position to be taken by stakeholders and organisations in terms of improving their competitive advantage.
   The link between talent management and organisational performance has been well captured by many studies due to environmental changes and the information edge (Yassin et al. 2018:141). As a result further research must look into surfacing a single definition of talent management so as to align its practice with organisational goals and objectives (Son et al. 2018:5). This is because talent management is alleged to be accountable to over 73% of organisational performance (Mohammed 2015:147).
   Majority of authors (Falola et al. 2015) whose articles were reviewed indicated that there is no a unified understanding of the effect of talent management on organisational performance in 21st century. However, they opined that talent management has a positive relationship with organisational performance (Hioo and Payambarpour 2015). Perhaps the knowledge based economy has made talent management rampantly fashionable prompting the interest of researchers and scholars alike to investigate the concept in order to bring clarity to the effects on organisational performance.
   Authors whose articles were reviewed recommended future research on the topic so as to document and understand the impact of the variables used in the research on each other and their causality as well (Falola et al. 2015:2). There is a gap in literature agreed by authors further fuelling the notion that there is paucity of information on this topic after scouring through previous studies on the topic particularly referring to the experiences in Africa (Son et al. 2018:5-7).
   The literature cited in this proposal is recent and apparently the study views that no crucial references have been left out because updated publications were used as well as various views on the topic were examined in order to provide a broader context. Further context on the topic is provided in the section that follows below.
   2.2 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
   The context of the proposal is targeting the following countries Nigeria and Malaysia based on the reasons offered consequently:
   According to (Ibidunni et al. 2015) the Nigerian banking sector was examined in terms of the effect of talent management on organisational performance and it was pointed out that talent management impacts positively in reducing employee absenteeism and distracting them from the intention to leave the organisation; hence increasing organisational growth and success. This implies that talent management practice shows its potential to increase profitability and growth in Nigeria.
   Nigeria, in this instance, was chosen because it has the largest population in Africa and the research proposes that there is a direct link between that which affects Nigerian economy being seen to affect the rest of the economies in Africa. And this link opens up the opportunity to understand the importance of influences that talent in Africa has on organisations therein noting that it has since been reported above of the scarcity in previous research on this topic in developing economies such as that of Nigeria (Son et al. 2018:4).
   Besides in Africa, in Malaysia, it is reported that about 63% of organisations in Malaysia had implemented talent management and the results showed positive correlation between the organisation’s performance and talent management policies (Lyria 2014:4). This could mean that there is a positive link between talent management policy implementation and organisational performance although the said effect on organisational performances has not been adequately researched. One would suggest that the effect of talent management on organisations in Africa is poorly indicated due to little focused attention on the topic being found in previous studies on developing economies (Khan et al. 2018:12).
   So, this proposal is motivating for actual research to happen following views already highlighted above. Comparing developing economies to developed economies one might sum up the contesting issues by saying that the topic is not well researched hence there is a need for this proposal to into implementation of the research so as to enhance the understanding of these matters given the gaps in literature on the problems highlighted.
   2.3 THE SYNTHESIS OF KEY ACADEMIC VIEWS DRAWN FROM LITERATURE RELATED TO THE TOPIC
   Son et al. (2018) suggested that empirical evidence on the effect of talent management on organisational performance should be technology driven because technology is one of the driving forces in the 21st century, hence any framework that is not innovative and information based might be flawed. This is because technology has a role in inducing new innovative ways to evaluate the effect of TM on organisational performance (Obeidat et al. 2018:140). In fact, talent management within the organisation is felt to be effective when harmonized to fit the context of the organisation as well as enhancing its strategic competitiveness (Obeidat et al. 2018:148).
   Khan et al. (2016) highlighted that little attention has been paid on this topic in the context of emerging economies although the topic has the potential to turn around in a positive way the economies of developing countries. One thing of note is that perhaps the little attention mentioned here is in fact a reflection of lack of investment on research and development by governments in the developing economies; hence the advancement of knowledge based economy is slow paced in emerging economies as opposed to developed economies.
   In close, the proposal so far has presented arguments portraying the need for technology driven empirical data on the matter so as to enhance the understanding of the nuances involved with TM and organisations while in the process adding new impetus to the body of knowledge on the topic.
10. PROBLEM STATEMENT AND PURPOSE
    The problem to be investigated in this research proposal is to explore how organisations define and apply talent management practices to improve their competitive advantage (Unisa 2018). This is interesting to find out because authors have indicated that the practice of TM is different across organisations and hence they influence organisational performance differently and including affecting the organisation strategic position according to Son et al. (2018). This proposal brings to light gaps existing between theory and practice, hence discrepancies on the topic that would benefit from being addressed by technology driven empirical framework according to Najam and Manasrah (2017).
    3.1 OVERVIEW OF THE PROBLEM
    Although talent management could be defined as human being’s ability ranging from employee retention, attraction, management and career development and the term is said to have been studied from multiple angles, no one single definition is welcomed globally. As a result the application and understanding of TM is subjective and based on interpretation of institutional framework that is based on several different criteria according to Obeidat (2018).

The application and definition of TM is further brought to contention because it is touted to be solved by technology which presumably on the whole it is not and supported by the existence of empirical data of which none exists at the moment: hence 21st century organisations still define themselves and practice TM based on similar principles as organisations in the last two decades (Falola et al. 2015:2). Thus organisations in 21st century are lacking in terms of defining and applying the practice of TM associated with requirements of the 21st century to improve their competitive advantage linking their value chain with societal challenges.
Payambarpour and Hioo (2015) concluded that defining and applying TM practices is at the centre of sustaining and achieving organisational competitive advantage because human capital is a vital source to sustain organisational strategic position as well as differentiating the organisation from its competitors.
However, based on the analysis above, it is clearly known that the application and definition of TM practices impacts on organisational competitive advantage.
3.2 HYPOTHESIS
Considering this proposal for actual research would help bridge the gaps on the topic and the hypotheses that are listed and explained below so as to test their veracity in order to advance body of knowledge on the topic:

1. H1= is there a positive link between TM and organisational performance.
2. H2 = There is relationship between the effect of TM on organisational performance.
3. H3 = is there a link between how Tm is defined and practice with improving organisational competitiveness.
4. H4 = is there a link between TM to enhancing organisational performance and the effect.
   These hypotheses are contextualized and conceptualized because they are informed by reviewed literature and based on suggested framework (Devi 2017:19-20). As a result the hypotheses are clearly stated, they can be tested because they are grounded in conceptual framework and they create a clear association between variables on the topic and the variables are further examined below.
   3.3 DEFINITION OF VARIABLES
   Based on the topic and analysis thus far, the following variables could be listed and explained on the topic as shown below:
5. Effect, is a dependent variable.
6. TM (Talent management) is a dependent variable.
7. Organisational performance is a dependent variable.
8. 21st century is an independent variable.
   These variables would help provide context and redirect the research question as they are informed by the literature reviewed so as to establish their impact and influence on the topic and on each other according to (Son et al. 2018). Explanation of the variables is under:
   Effect could be described as impact which could be either positive or negative on something and effect helps to provide context on the topic, especially on organisational performance since the impact is derived from it (Ibidunni et al. 2016:2). In agreement with this definition what is evident is that the effect is critical on the topic since it forms basis on which this proposal should be granted for actual research due to lack of empirical data.
   Besides the effect, TM is defined as related activities to retention, development, recruitment and selection of employees (Devi 2017:18). Authors disagreed on TM definition although one has submitted this definition so as to help provide context under which the topic shall be investigated and understood. By so doing, the variables on the topic are clearly defined and understood by other scholars and researchers who might be interested in conducting the same research to ensure its compliance in the scientific research field.
   Although TM does not have a unified definition, organisational performance on the other hand seems viewed by authors in the same light and described as organisation successfully attaining its desired goals by utilizing its available resources to maximize on its achievements of the desired goals (Son et al. 2018:146). Organisational success is determined by its growth and profitability while the organisation is said to have achieved competitive advantage through sustaining and improving its strategic competitiveness.
   On the other hand, 21st century is described as knowledge based economy driven by information technology and globalisation (Son et al. 2018:140). This is because human capital has become indispensable and valuable for organisations to achieve sustained performance as this implies that people are the most valuable resource for an organisation (Falola et al. 2016:3). The proposal asserts that without people organisations are valueless because productivity depends on people management.
   In summary, one has clearly noted that both TM and organisational performance are still ambiguous among scholars and researchers in that gaps in literature are evident requiring to be redressed by empirical data and the starting point is have this proposal accepted for actual research due to reasons advanced thus far.
9. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
   This section considers the research objectives sent out by Unisia’s management in 2018:
   4.1 What constitutes a talent management practices?
   TM practices are subjective to individual and organisation interpretation based on policy framework ranging from employer retention, selection and development and these practices are defined differently by organisations across the industries both in the Western countries and in Africa (Son et al. 2018:2). The practices don’t align with 21st century knowledge based economies resulting in lack of comprehending of its impact on organisational performance caused by lack of investment on research and development in one’s opinion.
   4.2 How is talent management contextualized?
   TM is contextualized differently based on authors, organisations and scholar’s understanding, hence the context in Western countries such as in the United Kingdom and the United States of America can’t be applied in countries in Africa such as: Nigeria and Kenya due to differences in the environments and the same notion is applicable across industries globally (Abraham et al. 2016:394). However the situation is compounded by that most African countries depend on foreign organisations activities in their economies as well as relying on direct investments from western countries that directly impacts on the TM context by the insistence of use of western values in organisations (Abraham et al. 2016:394).
   4.3What is the impact of talent management on organisational performance?
   The impact of TM on organisational performance is well captured by previous studies although it seems gaps exists giving an impression of paucity of information in past studies, in particular where empirical evidence is needed to show the extent of the TM impact in western countries on organisations in such places as the United Kingdom and the United States of America while the need also is enormous to find similar material regarding countries in Africa (Abraham et al. 2016:393-395). However, the impact of TM on organisational performances so far has surfaced mixed views based on the articles reviewed and according to Son et al. (2018).
10. CONCLUSION
    The contestations in the proposal have so far highlighted the following arguments. TM presents mixed views among researchers and scholars and it is said to have a positive correlation with improving organisational performance although not research based. The synopsis section below would assist in shedding more light on the topic.
11. SYNOPSIS AT THE END OF THE REVIEW
    6.1 Introduction
    TM recently aroused interest within academia and researchers (Khan et al. 2016:9-10) due to the search for suitable talent skills that would advance organisation performance although the search has met with serious challenges ranging from lack of common definition and double edge phenomenon of positive and negative impacts of TM effect on organisation success (Son et al. 2018:3-5) is revealed.
    6.2 Literature review
    Previous studies have not found empirical data that clearly linking the effect of TM on organisational performance in the 21st century, although it appears such data exists in the western world resulting to posing a challenge in terms of context and growth of the topic in emerging economies as well as in the world.
    6.3 conclusion
    One can’t over emphasize the importance of empirical data on this topic and the starting point is to consider this proposal. However, the effect of TM on organisational performance appears mixed among authors because TM received attention within academia and researchers recently as revealed in the book title “The war for talent”.
12. LIST OF REFERENCES

Cui, W., Khan, Z. and Tarba, S.Y., 2018. Strategic talent management in service SMEs of China. Thunderbird International Business Review, 60(1), pp.9-20.

Erasmus, B., Naidoo, L. and Joubert, P., 2017. Talent Management Implementation at an Open Distance E-Learning Higher Educational Institution: The Views of Senior Line Managers. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(3).

Son, J., Park, O., Bae, J. and Ok, C., 2018. Double-edged effect of talent management on organizational performance: the moderating role of HRM investments. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, pp.1-29.

Van Zyl, E.S., Mathafena, R.B. and Ras, J., 2017. The development of a talent management framework for the private sector. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(1), pp.1-19.

Masa’deh, R.E., Yassin, H., Shatnawi, Y. and Obeidat, B., 2018. Reviewing the Literature of the Effect of Talent Management on Organizational Effectiveness. Journal of Social Sciences(COES&RJ-JSS), 7(2), pp.131-148.

Devi S., 2017. IMPACT OF TALENT MANGEMENT ON ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE: ROLE OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT. International Journal of Management Studies (online) 2231-2528.

Falola, H., Salau, P.O., Adeniji, A., Osibanjo, O. and Ibidunni, S., 2015. Talent Retention and Organisational Performance: A Competitive Positioning in Nigeria Banking Sector. Periodica Polytechnica Social and Management Sciences 24(1), pp. 1-13, 2016.

Hioo, C. and Payambarpour, A.S., 2015. The impact of talent management and employee engagement on organisational performance. International Journal of Management Practice Vol. 8, No. 4, pp.311–336
Mishra, S. and Sareen, P., 2016. A Study of Talent Management and Its Impact on Performance of Organizations. Journal of Business and ManagemenT
ISSN: 2319-7668. Volume 18, Issue 12. PP 66-73.

Abraham, M., Pannusamy, V. and Kaliannan, M., 2016. EFFECTIVE TALENT
MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIAN SMES: A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK. The Journal of Developing Areas Special Issue on Kuala Lumpur Conference Helding Volume 50 No. 5

Lyria, K.R., 2014. Effect of Talent Management on Organizational Performance in Companies Listed in Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya.

Uddin, R. and Arifin, A.A., 2016. Talent Management and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Study in Retail Sector in Sylhet City, Bangladesh. Journal of Business and Management p-ISSN: 2319-7668. Volume 18, Issue 10. PP 11-18.

Shabudin, A. and Salmah, Y., 2017. Effectiveness of talent management to improving organisational performance in government owned bank. Journal of Advanced Research in Business and Management Studies 7, Issue 1 (2017) 32-38.

Mohammad, A., 2015. The Impact of Talent Management on Employee Engagement, Retention and Value Addition in achieving Organizational Performance. International Journal Of Core Engineering & Management (IJCEM) Volume 1, Issue 12.

Manasrah, K.A. and Najm, A.N., 2017. The effect of talent management on organizational performance: applied study in Jordanian banks. Review of Applied Socio- Economic Research (Volume 13, Issue 1), pp. 36.