Research Problem:

What factors contribute to retain the work force at

Millennium Information Technologies (PVT) Ltd?





























Chapter 03
Research Methodology

3.1. Conceptual Framework of the Research
The objectives of this research are included identifying the factors affecting the employee
retention in the Millennium Information Technologies (MIT) and identifying the
correlation between the factors identified and the employee retention in order to identify
strongest relationships. Accordingly following conceptual framework has been adopted
by the researcher in order to find the answers for the research questions.

By going through the literature the researcher identified twelve main factors that affect
the employee retention within the organizations and has divided these twelve factors in to
three main factors in order to gather and analyses data easily as follows;
Factors relating to the employee
Factors relating to the job
Factors relating to the management
Accordingly the by optimizing the variables operationalised under each of these factors
the organization can maximize the employee retention or eliminate the turnover intention.
Accordingly the researcher builds following framework for this study;







Accordingly the independent variables of this study are included five factors under the
factors relating to employee, four factors relating to the management and three factors
relating to the job itself as shown in operationalisation of variables. The dependent
variable of the study is employee retention.


Factors relating to the
employee
Factors relating to the job
Factors relating to the
management


Employee
Retention
3.2. Development of Research Questions
Three hypotheses were developed in order to assess the relationship between employee
retention and factors identified as that affect the employee retention. The first hypothesis
is developed to assess the linkage between employee retention and factors relating to the
employee. The factors relating to the employee can be included motivation, learning,
career development and etc which have been shown under operationalisation of variables.

The second hypothesis is developed to assess the linkage between retention and factors
relating to the management; such as communication, training, instructions and etc. The
third hypothesis is developed to assess the linkage between retention and factors
associated with the job itself. These factors included benefits, flexibility and recognition.
Accordingly following three hypotheses are developed;


Hypothesis Description
H1a
There is a positive, strong relationship between employee retention and
factors relating to employee
H1o
There is no relationship between employee retention and factors relating to
employee
H2a
There is a positive, strong relationship between employee retention and
factors relating to management
H2o
There is no relationship between employee retention and factors relating to
management
H3a
There is a positive, strong relationship between employee retention and
factors relating to job
H3o
There is no relationship between employee retention and factors relating to
job
Table 3.1: Hypotheses


3.3.Operationalisation
A set of twelve factors were identified by going through the literature that as having
positive relationship with employee retention. A structured questionnaire was developed
by using these variables and they included job recognition, flexibility, benefits, career
development, organizational commitment, superior-subordinate relationship, motivation,
learning climate, cost-effectiveness and training and instructions (Akinboye, 2001;
Mooday et al, 1979; Griffeth and Horn, 2001, Arnold, 2005; Redington, 2007). For the
easiness of operationalising thee variables categorized in to three areas as factors relating
to the employee, the management and the job itself (refer the table 3.2). The questionnaire
was developed specifically in order to achieve the research objectives. The first section of
the questionnaire was aimed at collecting demographic factors of the participants such as
age, gender, marital status, tenure and etc. In order to assess the validity of the
questionnaire the expert judgment method was adopted. Accordingly the questionnaire
will be presented to several university professors/ lecturers and several senior managers
of recognized companies. Necessary amendments will be done based on their guidance ad
instructions. The measures will be evaluating the work behaviors, attitudes, perceptions of
the participants. The likert scale from 1: Strongly disagree to 5: Strongly agree is used to
obtain response and to eliminate the biases.



Dimensions Factors
Factors relating to employee Employee motivation
Learning work climate
Cost effectiveness
Career development
Commitment
Factors relating to the management Communication
Superior-subordinate relationship
Training
Appropriate instructions
Factors relating to the job Benefits
Flexibility
Recognition
Table 3.2: Operationalising of Variables

3.4.Research Design
The study is adopted the descriptive survey design. As explained by Ezeani (1998) the
purpose of descriptive survey is to collect detailed and factual information which describe
the phenomenon under study. The literature review supported the disclosure of variables
that explain the phenomenon. In this study a selected organizational context has been
adopted.

1.1.1. Sampling Design
The target population is 633 employees. Accordingly carrying out a 100% survey is
impractical. Thus a 20% of the total population was considered as sufficient to carry out a
substantive study of the research problem. When selecting employees from each
department a proportionate basis was used in order to represent the whole sample.
However researcher inserts some amount of bias when selecting the employees from the
departments by assuming a higher proportion for the departments in which the employee
turnover is relatively high.

1.1.2. Population
The population for the study has been identified as the employees of the selected study
organization. The employees can be inclusive of managerial, executive and junior level
employees. MIT is comprised of seven departments and each department has employed
specialized persons who possess necessary expertise in the relevant areas. Following
Table 3.3 presents the departments and the employment of each department of MIT.

Departments No. of Employees
Software Engineering 304
Business Consultant 97
Project Management 46
Quality Controlling 31
System Support 80
Technical Sales 15
Admin Operations 60

Total 633
Table 3.3: Departments and number of Employees

Accordingly population size is 633 employees.
1.1.3. Sample selection Procedure
The clustered sampling technique has been adopted in order to select department wise
employees from each department to undergo the questionnaire survey.

1.1.4. Sample Size
As discusses earlier the sample size is 20% of the total employment which is
approximated to 126 employees. When selecting department wise representatives for the
samples the employee turnover was considered. Following table carries out the sampling
procedure department wise.


Departments
No. of
Employees
Employee
Turnover
% of
Turnover
Sampling
%
No of employees
for the sample
Software Engineering 304 61 20.07 10 13
Business Consultant 97 31 31.96 10 13
Project Management 46 21 45.65 10 13
Quality Controlling 31 38 122.58 20 25
System Support 80 31 38.75 10 13
Technical Sales 15 16 106.67 20 25
Admin Operations 60 35 58.33 20 25

Total 633 233 100 126

Table 3.4: Sampling Procedure

3.5.Data Collection Methods and Techniques used by Research Analysis
In order to collect data a questionnaire survey was carried out among the employees of
the company. Department wise employees were selected to undergo the survey and it
indicated that all possible reasons for employee turnover can be disclosed through the
survey of employees. Employee retention can be achieved through minimizing the impact
of factors which drive employee turnover. Accordingly the survey among the employees
in the departments in which the employee turnover is high mostly reflects the factors that
would affect the employee retention.

When analyzing data, the quantitative methods were adopted. SPSS statistics and MS
excel office application have been used to analyze data. The unit of analysis is the
employee of each department and department wise analysis have been conducted since
there is a abnormal distribution of employee turnover among the departments reflecting
some specific reasons of such departments in which turnover is high.