Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce ISSN: 1204-5357
ISSN: 1204-5357
+44-175-271-2024Maged Mustafa Al-Dubai*
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Management Development Institute of Singapore in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Visuanathan Gopalan
SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India
Mohd Sadad Mahmud
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Uzbekistan
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This paper aims to identify and understand the mediating role of leadership styles on the association that exists between recruitment and selection and employee satisfaction. This study was conducted among 203 employees from four telecommunication companies in Yemen, namely Sabafon, MTN and Yemen mobile. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences tool was used and several statistical methods were involved in the data and statistical analysis including the maximum likelihood estimate. Regression techniques were applied to understand the dimensionality of the variables. The results showed that recruitment and selection has positive relationship on employee satisfaction. In addition, leadership is positively mediating the relationship between recruitment and selection and employee satisfaction. Moreover, the findings showed that appropriate process of recruitment, selection will lead the managers and management to a new dimension with holistic approach in the employee satisfaction arena. Based on the study findings, practical and theoretical implications were discussed.
Employee Satisfaction; Leadership Styles; Recruitment and Selection; Yemen
Employee satisfaction relates to an ensemble of positive and/or negative feelings possessed by a person in regards to the job he or she is holding. Job satisfaction and life satisfaction are highly linked to one another. Further, job satisfaction entails the amount of pleasure or contentment that is linked with a job; it denotes an emotional reaction towards a job. In this regard, Spector regards job satisfaction as among the most popular and expansively scrutinised subjects in organizational psychology domain. Meanwhile, the notion of employee satisfaction has become very complex today in the organisation’s attempt to achieve higher levels of success [1]. Accordingly, the paper presents a clear understanding of the level of satisfaction among employees in telecommunication industries in Yemen. Indeed, the Yemeni telecommunication industries need to understand the effect of such factors on the level of employee satisfaction in order to achieve proper recruitment and selection in the Yemeni telecommunication industries. In addition to the relationship between recruitment and selection and employee satisfaction, is the theoretical significance. These papers will identify the key drivers of employee companies. It will provide insight to those striving for perfection in employee satisfaction in the Yemeni telecommunication industries.
Accordingly, this study attempts to achieve four research objectives as laid down below:
RO1: To examine the relationship between recruitment and selection and employee satisfaction.
RO2: To examine the relationship between Recruitment and selection and leadership styles.
RO3: To examine the relationship between Leadership Styles and employee satisfaction.
RO4: To examine the mediating role of leadership styles in the relationship between recruitment and selection, and employee satisfaction.
Research Questions
In accordance with the research objectives, this study will attempt to address four research questions as presented below:
RQ1: Is there a relationship between recruitment and selection, and employee satisfaction.
RQ2: Is there a relationship a relationship between Recruitment and selection, and leadership styles?
RQ3: Is there a relationship between Leadership Styles and employee satisfaction?
RQ4: Does leadership styles mediate the relationship between recruitment and selection, and employee satisfaction?
Transactional leadership highlights the transaction exchange happening between leaders and followers, whereby the exchange is dictated by the leader who provides the specifics to the followers on what is needed alongside the details on the conditions and the rewards as well. As highlighted in several past works [2-7], transactional leadership is therefore grounded upon the supposition that a system comprising of rewards (e.g., monetary incentives and promotion), and by punishment will motivate followers. Relevantly, three behaviours are arguably associated with transactional leadership namely: active management by exception (MBE-A), contingent reward, and passive management by exception (MBE-P).
In specific, contingent reward comprises the process of exchange that takes place between leaders and their followers, and followers’ efforts are exchanged for statedrewards. In this context, leader explains the expectations, and when these expectations are fulfilled, followers will receive rewards. Meanwhile, active management by exception contains corrective criticism made by leader after he/she had observed his/her followers. Here, mistakes were sought and wrong acts were rectified. As for passive management by exception, it includes the use of passive style (i.e., negative feedback) by leader in handling the problems that emerge [5,6,8].
Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership discussed how to manage performance in organisations effectively while transactional leadership focuses on two aspects, management by exception and contingent reward. As elaborated in Simola et al., contingent rewards are rewards that are dependent upon actions whereas management by exception contains destructive reinforcement as well a scriticism [9]. Rewards are employed for guaranteeing followers’ compliance in efforts for goal achievement and alignment with the goals and vision established by the organization. Transactional leaders have no regard towards the inspiration of their followers; rather, their concern is that the followers are in alignment with the vision set by the organisation [2], and as mentioned in Laohavichien, Fredendall, and Cantrell [10], having the rewards and expectations aligned would lead to increased performance.
Recruitment and Selection
Recruitment and selection comprises a process whereby actions and decisions deemed as apposite are taken, for assuring that an organisation is taking in applicants that are most fitting for all posts. In general, recruitment is associated with the arrangements made in order that prospective applicants absolutely understand the organisation’s intent to make an appointment and facilitate the procedure to allow potential applicants to provide appropriate information to demonstrate their suitability for the particular position to be filled. On the other hand, selection encompasses the employed procedures in examining the received applications and determining how well the applicant matches the job specification. Generally, the process involves short-listing a group of applicants and conducting some form of formal interview for the post.
Meanwhile, other researchers defined the concept of recruitment and selection as an operational HRM activity, and it is the way in which new employees are brought into the company [11]. In addition, Songini and Gnan reported that being small and suffering from resource constraints cause difficulty to small family businesses in attracting and keeping the skilled people as well in following the practices of formal HRM [12]. Chaminade observes that businesses compete to recruit the best talented staff and as the competition continues, each business will seek to poach from others at any opportunity [13]. A business has to put in place strategies for employee retention just in the same measure as they have for recruitment.
Employee Satisfaction
At present, staff satisfaction is a very complex phenomenon which has input and output point of view. Employee satisfaction is a notion that is multidimensional and is a multidisciplinary term. Many researchers and practitioners from countless domains (e.g., psychology, human resource management, organizational behaviour, TQM, etc.) have demonstrated their interest in exploring this notion. Accordingly, countless scholars have scrutinised the concept of employee satisfaction from diverse points of view as well as on this concept’s relationship with numerous organizational variables [14]. Unfortunately, as noted by Garcia-Bernal et al., there is yet a universal definition of employee satisfaction that simultaneously addresses all these dimensions.
Meanwhile, as described by Haque and Taher, job satisfaction encompasses a state of emotion that is generated from the assessment of a person’s job that is construed as pleasing or positive [15]. Hazriyanto and Ibrahim on the other hand describe job satisfaction as the general attitude exhibited by a person pertaining to his or her job [16]. Job satisfaction and motivation have direct association. As added by Moorhead and Griffin, factors including the needs and desires of employees, social relationships, compensation, style and quality exhibited by management, job design, working conditions, long-term perceived opportunities, as well as opportunities seen elsewhere, have been reported as the determinants of job satisfaction [17]. The authors further mentioned the significant impact imparted by job satisfaction on staff organizational commitment, absence, turnover, delays, grievances, and accidents. Satisfactory workforce is less distracted due to the low level of absence or turnover, damaging behaviour occurrence, and medical costs, and this leads to the increase of organizational productivity.
This research selected 203 employees from Yamen telecommunication companies to be participants. Data were collected online via GOOGOLE DOC. The questionnaire comprises one part which includes five key constructs that has association with employee satisfaction. This would help the evaluation on the likelihood of the level of acceptance. A number of items representing the constructs were included in the questionnaire and the 5-point scale was employed to measure the level of employee satisfaction.
The outcomes of the data analysis demonstrate the significance of all constructed hypotheses according to the zero-order correlation test. Each hypothesis is supported at this level. As for the predictive model, it entails 65.0% of the variance in employees’ satisfaction. This result is directly explainable by Recruitment and selection and leadership styles as well. Moreover, the model accounts to 72.0% of the variance in mediating role in the relationship between Recruitment and selection and employee’s job satisfaction. Table 1 highlights the predictive models with R² alongside the path coefficients in the research model. The study contributes to the development of instruments to examine recruitment and selections towards employee satisfaction. This finding is consistent with previous studies of recruitment and selection toward employee satisfaction [18,19] rather than the other factors such as transformational and transactional leadership style. As expected, the study showed a positive relationship between recruitment and selection and employee satisfaction with 0.004 significant values. In addition, the relationship between recruitment and selection with leadership style was significant with 0.001significance level. Moreover, leadership styles were mediating the relation between recruitment and selection and employee satisfaction with value. Finally, it can be seen clearly that leadership styles have strong relationship with employee satisfaction with 0.002 values. In summary, the hypotheses mentioned in Table 2 were accepted (Figure 1).
Table 1: Regression analysis.
| Predictors | Recruitment and selection | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| B | R2 | P | |
| Leadership Styles | 0.001 | 0.72 | 0.355** |
| Employee satisfaction | 0.004 | 0.65 | 0.217** |
| Predictors | Leadership Styles | ||
| B | R2 | P | |
| Employee satisfaction | 0.002 | 0.65 | 0.254** |
Table 2: Hypothesis testing summary.
| Hypothesis | Result |
|---|---|
| H1: There is a statistically significant relationship between Recruitment and selection and employee satisfaction. | Accepted |
| H2: There is a statistically significant relationship between Recruitment and selection and leadership styles. | Accepted |
| H3: There is a statistically significant relationship between Leadership Styles and employee satisfaction | Accepted |
| H4: Leadership styles have significant mediating role in the relationship between Recruitment and selection and employee satisfaction. | Accepted |
Figure 1: Proposed framework.
To sum up with, this study showed significant support for the relationship between recruitment and selection and employee satisfaction. In addition, the highest effect on employee satisfaction was due to leadership styles, which provided strong support to the practice of the proper type of leadership style to effectively and practically enhance employee satisfaction and make improvements on employee performance. In addition, there are identified weak areas based on the enhancement [20-23].
The results revealed that it is important for organizations to master and align with appropriate leadership style such as transformational and transactional styles that can contribute to the enhancement of employee satisfaction. This study has contributed to body of knowledge in the areas covering HRM practices and mainly in recruitment and selection and employee satisfaction and its relationship to leadership styles. This study also contributes to the body of knowledge by providing tools and concepts for educating current and future Human resource managers on the effective methods of improving their perspective probability or chances of enhancing the level of job satisfaction among their employees.
Researchers have acknowledged a few limitations to study, which could be translated into opportunities for future studies. First, considering that the data were acquired from telecommunication companies from one country that is Yemen, this study recognizes its potential limited generalizability of results. For this reason, having this study replicated in other countries might be of value in expanding the outcomes generalizability. Secondly, the mix methods could not be applied in this study because Yemen’s current condition has presented the researcher to conduct interviews with the target sample.
This study investigated the relationship between recruitment and selection, leadership styles and employee satisfaction. Based on the study results and findings from the study, it is recommended that further researchers could investigate the relationship between recruitment and selection with association of new variables such as technology advancement, commitment, employee engagement, culture and team work, using larger sample. New mediator variables such as 4.0 technology revolution and human resource information system. Additionally, given that this study was conducted only in Yemen, a similar study could be done in different countries.
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