Qatar National Bank’s Employees in Change Processes

Executive Summary

Human resource management is one of the most formidable tools for improving organizational performance. Many researchers have underscored its importance by demonstrating its relationship with the accomplishment of organizational goals. However, depending on the nature of business a firm is engaged in, getting the right type of human resource management (HRM) configuration to meet organizational goals could be a challenge. This issue stems from the fact that HRM is often implemented in bundles that include (but are not limited to) motivation-enhancing, ability-enhancing, and opportunity-enhancing variables. Based on this understanding, this dissertation focuses on investigating the impact of human resource bundles on change management processes in Qatar National Bank (QNB). Motivation-enhancing variables were selected for review because they were best aligned with the bank’s organizational performance. Job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal performance evaluation processes were the four main tenets of motivation-enhancing variables studied in this study, relative to their effects on QNB’s change management processes.

After collecting the views of 200 employees working for the bank and analyzing them using SPSS and Microsoft Excel Software, it was established that the four dimensions of motivation-enhancing HRM bundles had a positive effect on the change management processes of QNB. This finding means that if QNB improves its motivation-enhancing variables, there is likely to be a similar improvement in the adoption of change management processes in the bank. Based on this finding, it is deduced that motivation-enhancing variables define the best type of HRM configuration for QNB as it strives to improve its overall performance. If this finding is extrapolated to the larger Qatar banking industry, it is plausible to say that banks, which implement sound motivation-enhancing practices, stand a good chance of nurturing their inimitable human capital competencies for improved performance in change management.

Introduction

Background

Many organizations today are struggling to be competitive because globalization has created new business rivals in an increasingly unbounded global market (Mustafa et al. 2017). Therefore, characterized by technological advancements, organizations are experiencing the need to employ the best mix of organizational inputs to realize optimum performance (Sparrow & Cooper 2017). Although many factors lead to organizational excellence, human factors stand at the top of the list (Tadic & Pivac 2017).

This statement is true because human capital helps to create harmony among the many resources that organizations use to spur growth and competitiveness (Bolisani & Handzic 2014). Indeed, human resource practices adopted by different organizations are integral to their overall performance because they help improve employee performance. Therefore, organizations that have sound human resource (HR) practices stand a good chance of nurturing their inimitable human capital competencies. As Crouse, Doyle and Young (2011) contend, such competencies are also useful in achieving sustainable competitive advantages.

The importance of understanding how effective HR practices could be useful in increasing an organization’s competitive advantage is emphasized by researchers, such as Guchait and Choo (2010) who point out that today’s knowledge-based economy requires organizations to sufficiently utilize their human resource capabilities for the advancement of organizational strategies. This view has paved the way for a growing body of research, which has linked human resource practices with organizational outcomes and firm competitiveness. Consequently, organizations have to build and develop human competencies that will nurture a positive culture, which would allow them to improve organizational outcomes in the long-run (Kinley & Ben-Hur 2015).

Although HRM is a broad discipline, it has been traditionally categorized into different bundles and streamlined into one coherent field of management to help organizations meet their respective goals and objectives. The general subdivision of the discipline into different bundles comes from a school of thought, which presupposes that different tenets of the discipline work in concert to provide users with a synchronized organizational experience (Sparrow & Cooper 2017). This bundling view of HR is rooted in the configuration approach, which assumes that organizations operate effectively by merging their internal and external organizational fits (Mustafa et al. 2017). Here, internal fit refers to the process of encompassing HRM bundles consistently and coherently, while the external fit refers to the alignment of organizational processes with institutional settings (Tadic & Pivac 2017). Based on these perspectives of organizational processes, a formidable question that is often asked in human resource management (HRM) is which HRM bundles generate the best organizational outcomes and the highest levels of firm competitiveness. (Bolisani & Handzic 2014).

Research Aim

To examine the level, which the configuration of HRM practices in bundles impacts change management processes in a service sector context in the name of QNB.

Research Objectives

1. To investigate the relationship between bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices and employee turnover intentions in change management situations at QNB.
2. To investigate the relationship between bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices and perceived organizational support in change management situations at QNB.
3. To establish if motivation-enhancing bundles lead to increased employee task performance in change management situations at QNB.

Research Questions

RQ1: Do bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices adopted by QNB enable the an organization to reduce employee turnover during organizational change processes?

RQ2: Is there a positive relationship between bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices and perceived organizational support by employees of QNB during organizational change processes?

RQ3: What is the relationship between motivation-enhancing HR practices implemented by QNB and employee task performance during organizational change processes?

Hypotheses

RQ 1: Do the bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices adopted by QNB enable the organization to reduce employee turnover during organizational change processes?

• Hypothesis 1 (H1): Bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices adopted by QNB enable the organization to reduce employee turnover during organizational change processes.
• Null Hypothesis (H0): Bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices adopted by QNB have a neutral effect on the organization’s quest to reduce employee turnover during organizational change processes.
• Hypothesis 2 (H2): Bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices adopted by QNB do not help the organization to reduce employee turnover during organizational change processes.

RQ 2: Is there a positive relationship between bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices and perceived organizational support by employees of QNB during organizational change processes?

• Hypothesis 1 (H1): There is a positive relationship between bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices and perceived organizational support by employees of QNB during organizational change processes.
• Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no positive or negative relationship between bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices and perceived organizational support by employees of QNB during organizational change processes.
• Hypothesis 2 (H2): There is a negative relationship between bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices and perceived organizational support by employees of QNB during organizational change processes.

RQ 3: What is the relationship between motivation-enhancing HR practices implemented by Qatar National Bank and employee task performance during organizational change processes?

• Hypothesis 1 (H1): Motivation-enhancing HR practices implemented QNB has a positive relationship with employees’ task performance during organizational change processes.
• Null Hypothesis (H0): Motivation-enhancing HR practices implemented by QNB neither have a positive or negative relationship with employees’ task performance during organizational change processes.
• Hypothesis 2 (H2): Motivation-enhancing HR practices implemented by QNB have a negative relationship with employees’ task performance during organizational change processes.

Justification for the Research

Past studies that have strived to investigate the relationship between organizational outcomes and HRM bundles have mainly been focused on western professional and academic dogma. Particularly, they are concentrated in the United States (U.S). Others have been based on a few and selected European nations. These studies have generally shown that the configuration of HR bundles has generally had a positive impact on organizational performance (Kinley & Ben-Hur 2015; Sparrow & Cooper 2017).

However, because they have practically relied on western samples to generate the same findings, it is increasingly difficult to rely on the same information to investigate the same phenomenon in Arab countries. In this regard, context-specific dependent variables, such as religion and culture, influence the relationship between HRM bundles and organizational performance. Considering Qatar has a different social, economic, and political makeup from western nations, such as the U.S, it is pertinent to conduct a study that takes into account these national differences when investigating the relationship between HRM bundles and organizational performance and change management processes.

The importance of doing so is nestled on the need for Arab countries to find the best HRM configuration that will improve the performance of their organizations. Current research on HRM bundles and organizational performance does not highlight a common metric of HRM configuration that should be applied to maximize organizational output (Darwish, Singh & Mohamed 2013). Assuming that research on organizational performance parallels that of change management, it is essential to conduct a context-specific study and that is cognizant of the challenges associated with understanding which HRM bundles lead to the best organizational outcomes. This is the basis for this investigation. A review of existing literature on the topic appears as chapter 2 below.

Literature Review

Introduction

This chapter contains a review of existing literature relating to the research topic. The goal of this review is to demonstrate the existence of a literature gap relating to configurations of human resource and change management processes that warrant further research. Key sections of this chapter will explore the concepts of HRM, its bundles, its relationship with organizational performance, and the configuration approach that underscores its relevance to the improvement of organizational processes.

Understanding HRM

As alluded to in the works of Darwish, Singh, and Mohamed (2013), most HRM practices adopted by companies cover five key areas of the discipline: “recruitment and selection, training, internal career opportunities, appraisals, and incentive and rewards” (p. 3347). As indicated in chapter one of this paper, existing studies show that there are usually two generic classifications of HRM practices – control and calculative HRM. Performance-related pay, which accentuates quantifiable exchanges between employers and employees as well as commitment-based HRM practices, are examples of these generic classifications. Relative to this classification, Bello-Pintado (2015) makes a nuanced contribution to the HRM discipline by saying that a sound strategy should have three defining characteristics: skills, ability, and competencies. They help to make HR more meaningful and improve the capacity of HR practitioners to motivate workers to put in discretionary effort in their work. If implemented correctly, these strategies should also enable employees to take part in the decision-making processes associated with the work processes that they participate in (Kinley & Ben-Hur 2015; Sparrow & Cooper 2017).

HR practices associated with recruitment and selection are often linked with the “abilities” tenet of human resource planning. Comparatively, HR practices associated with employee compensation are linked with the motivation attribute of HR practices (Kinley & Ben-Hur 2015; Sparrow & Cooper 2017). Employee-related incentives, performance-management practices, internal promotion, and job stability are also other aspects of employee management practices associated with this attribute. Lastly, as conceived by Bello-Pintado (2015), the opportunities attribute of HRM is linked to HR practices associated with information sharing, employee independence, and teamwork.

HRM Bundles

According to Ng and Dastmaichian (2011), HRM bundles refer to the effective combination of HRM practices. In line with this view, Darwish, Singh, and Mohamed (2013) say that the best combination of HRM bundles should be linked to the capacity to generate greater organizational effects based on the principle that the “whole” is greater than the sum of its components. Relative to this discussion, Verburg, Hartog, and Koopman (2007) say that optimum organizational performance is realized through the alignment of HRM bundles with an overall organizational strategy. Here, a distinction is made between universalistic and configuration approaches. The universalistic approach has been associated with the adoption of single HR practices (Verburg, Hartog & Koopman 2007). The latter consists of HR practices in a manner that promotes internal consistency. Here, the goal is to attain interrelated and synergistic practices of organizational processes (Ng & Dastmaichian 2011).

The bundle’s perspective of HR management traces its roots to the configuration approach of employee management (Mustafa et al. 2017). In it, there is often a strong relationship between the configuration of HRM bundles and organizational performance (Kinley & Ben-Hur 2015; Sparrow & Cooper 2017). These HRM bundles are often configured to generate the highest level of organizational output. Comparisons are often made to investigate organizational performance, relative to whether bundles are used or outcomes are independent of them. Current literature suggests that organizations can achieve the highest level of firm performance and competitiveness when they change their HRM configurations, as opposed to altering separate or single aspects of their HRM programs (Mustafa et al. 2017). Linked to this phenomenon, the bundled approach to organizational performance has been lauded by academicians and professionals alike for being a source of sustainable competitive advantage (Teng & Yazdanifard 2015).

The bundle’s approach to HRM is geared towards matching different employment types with their respective configurations. For example, knowledge-based, job-based, contract-based, and partnership-based employment types all have different configurations. The configurations could be either commitment-based, productivity-based, compliance-based, or collaborative (Mustafa et al. 2017). According to Kinley and Ben-Hur (2015), these different configuration metrics should be anchored on an organization’s strategic or administrative operations. At the same time, they could be based on organizational structures or cultures (Kinley & Ben-Hur 2015).

Broadly, there is a wide body of research on the categorization of HRM bundles to achieve optimal effectiveness and efficiency in organizational performance. Existing literature has categorized these HRM bundles into three distinct groups. They are ability-enhancing, motivation-enhancing, and opportunity-enhancing practices (Chenevert & Tremblay 2009; Bello-Pintado 2015). Ability-enhancing practices majorly include employee recruitment techniques, such as interviews or ability tests. They may also include the multiplicity of recruitment or selection techniques as well as simulations (Bello-Pintado 2015). Employee recruitment or selection criteria such as existing organizational standards to measure employee performance, development of interpersonal relationships, and having a positive work attitude are some aspects of employee behavior that fall within the ability-enhancing model (Bello-Pintado 2015). The same is true for employee development and training initiatives, which are typically initiated by employers to improve their workers’ performance (Bello-Pintado 2015).

Motivation-enhancing job practices are associated with job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal performance evaluation (Tadic & Pivac 2017). Issues about job security are broad but they typically involve an employer’s commitment to maintaining a long-serving relationship with their workers (Kinley & Ben-Hur 2015). Comparatively, concerns about internal promotion policies may involve an assessment of employers’ commitment to improving the welfare of their workers, while high-performance compensation could involve an employer’s motivation to peg the performance of his/her employees to their work (Tadic & Pivac 2017). Lastly, the formal performance evaluation process could involve the willingness of employers to tie incentives or benefits to the outcomes of formal performance evaluations.

Opportunity-enhancing HR practices are often associated with issues relating to job autonomy (Bello-Pintado 2015). Here, matters relating to employee independence, especially concerning their role in deciding when, how, and what job tasks to do suffice (Ceylan 2013). Information sharing and employee participation activities are also discussed in this context. Matters about information sharing are typically associated with an employer’s inclination to make sure that employees receive formal education regarding financial operations and the general performance of the organization (Bello-Pintado 2015). Employee participation programs loosely involve an employer’s quest to involve employees in decision-making processes so that they collectively tackle work-related issues (Ceylan 2013; Bello-Pintado 2015).

Relationship between HRM Bundles and Organisational Performance

Several researchers who have linked HRM practices and organizational change management have tried to find out the right HRM mix to improve organizational performance. For example, Chen and Wang (2014) used the process-based approach to examine how typologies of HR attributions affect two types of organizational outcomes in a Chinese-based study. The two HR attributions were “commitment” and “control,” while organizational outcomes included “task performance” and “employee turnover.” Within the process-based approach, Chen and Wang (2014) said that “employees may not respond to HR practices directly and passively, but instead actively perceive, recognize, conceive, judge, and reason about them in mental processes before taking action” (p. 1432).

This statement implies that employees may cope with organizational change processes passively, thereby making their actions objectionable. Based on this fact, some employers may feel the need to use commitment-focused HR practices to get the best outcomes from their employees. This way, they are likely to benefit from low turnover numbers.

In a different study, Molineux (2013) proposed the use of a system-based approach in the implementation of HRM practices. He proposed that organizations should focus on policies and practices to improve organizational performance (Molineux 2013). In his argument, he claimed that when organizations strive to improve different aspects of their HRM systems, such as recruitment and training processes, they are likely to realize improved success in HRM (Molineux 2013). Alternatively, other researchers have suggested the need to develop new competencies in change management as a strategy to bolster their human resource competencies (Tadic & Pivac 2017; Bolisani & Handzic 2014).

Several researchers in different economic fields have also conducted research investigating the relationship between HRM bundles and organizational performance. For example, there is evidence of such studies in the financial sector as seen from the works of Darwish, Singh, and Mohamed (2013). Their investigation was based on the analysis of HRM bundles in the Jordanian financial industry where they found that the bundles were associated with firm performance (Darwish, Singh & Mohamed 2013). Specifically, the scholars pointed out that HRM bundles, which were focused on recruitment and selection, training, and internal career opportunities, had a positive correlation with organizational performance (Darwish, Singh & Mohamed 2013). They also established a link between the same HRM bundles and low employee turnover (Darwish, Singh & Mohamed 2013).

Researchers such as Buckley, Wheeler, and Halbesleben (2017) have also explored the relationship between HRM bundles and different aspects of employment practices by arguing that it has a positive relationship with low employee turnover. Specific aspects of employment practices that were explored in their study include equal employment opportunities, information-sharing platforms, and employee rewards (Buckley, Wheeler & Halbesleben 2017). Collectively, most of these studies, which have strived to understand the effects of HRM bundles on employee performance in the financial sector, have demonstrated that it has a strong relationship with high levels of employee commitment. This finding means that managers may use HRM bundles to improve their employees’ commitment to their tasks and, by extension, the organization.

Relative to the above view, a study by Gooderham, Parry, and Ringdal (2008) found that calculative and intermediary HRM bundles have a significant impact on the performance and competitiveness of European firms. Afiouni, Karam, and El-Hajj (2013) held the same opinion when they found that collaborative HRM bundles had an insignificant impact on organizational performance. This finding prompted the researchers to say that HRM bundles played a marginal role in understanding firm performance (Afiouni, Karam & El-Hajj 2013).

Studies conducted by Chowhan (2016) and Ceylan (2013) also investigated the relationship between HRM bundles and organizational performance. Ceylan (2013) found a positive relationship between different typologies of innovative activities and commitment-based HR bundles because they both led to positive organizational outcomes. In particular, she found that these HRM bundles positively affected the innovation processes of different companies (Ceylan 2013). These findings also demonstrated an indirect impact between the aforementioned HRM bundles and firm competitiveness (Ceylan 2013). Relative to this assertion, Ceylan (2013) says that the “benefits of commitment-based HR practices are to provide career development and long-term growth opportunities and to increase group motivation and social interactions” (p. 211).

Bello-Pintado (2015) tried to explore the relationship between HRM bundles and the performance of firms in the manufacturing industry and came up with findings that are similar to those described above. Specifically, his views were based on the Uruguayan manufacturing sector. Bello-Pintado (2015) demonstrated that motivation-enhancing HRM bundles had the greatest effect on organizational performance. Some of the motivation-enhancing variables studied included job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal performance evaluation. The researcher also noted that other HRM bundles were dependent on the performance of the motivation-enhancing variable (Bello-Pintado 2015). Nonetheless, these findings prompted Bello-Pintado (2015) to recommend the need for organizations (especially in the manufacturing sector) to design their HR practices to motivate their workers.

Relationship between HRM and Organisational Change

Several studies have pointed to the need for organizations to develop the capacity to unlock their potential for embracing sustainable organizational change and competitive advantages by looking at human resource management more as a system than a single process (Tadic & Pivac 2017; Bolisani & Handzic 2014). According to Molineux (2013), looking at HR as a system as opposed to a single process helps managers to undertake successful change initiatives. He believes that this way, they will be able to concurrently exploit the capability for existing complementarities within the system to launch successful change management programs (Molineux 2013).

Relative to the above view, Gomes et al. (2012) say the implementation of HRM using the systems-based approach not only improves the ability of employees to perform better in their tasks but also encourages them to be motivated to complete their tasks. Here, it is essential to point out that employee motivation and commitment are key ingredients to the success of any change initiative. Similarly, researchers have pointed to a close association between the same attributes and the reduction of employee turnover as well as the improvement of employee task performance, especially during the change management process (Chang & Wang 2014; Banker 2012; Gomes et al. 2012). Teng and Yazdanifard (2015) add that they could also trigger a positive cultural change in the organization.

Molineux (2013) further reinforces the importance of employee commitment and motivation in the change management process by saying that if employee commitment is not properly taken into account, the initial impetus for change often “decelerates because of internal forces related to management’s inability to gain employee commitment and then maintain it over a long period” (p. 1594). Therefore, in a change management process, it is inevitable to use HRM bundles to successfully implement organizational change because they are the best influences of employee behavior. Indeed, as Gomes et al. (2012) and Langley et al. (2013) point out, these bundles allow managers or employers to benefit from improved employee commitment, which should be emphasized when they want to implement successful change management initiatives.

Studies that have investigated the impact of HRM bundles on organizational performance have focused their investigation on the public sector. For example, the review by Molineux (2013) established that large-scale employee behavioral change in the organization was sustained using HRM bundles. Fuchs and Prouska (2014) supported the same findings by pointing out that organizations, which used HRM bundles to implement organizational change, stood a better chance of realizing success in this endeavor (compared to those that did not have such a policy). In a related study, Chen and Wang (2014) used the promising process-based approach to understand the effects of HRM bundles on two typologies of HR attributions (commitment and control focus) and two important employee outcomes – turnover orientation and task performance. They found that commitment focused on HR bundles were positively correlated with perceived organizational support during times of change (Chen & Wang 2014). The authors also found that controlled-focused HR bundles were negatively correlated with perceived organizational support (Chen & Wang 2014).

The above findings were based on studies conducted in China and it was conceived that the process-based approach refers to the notion that workers would not respond well to organizational practices directly and passively; instead, they would perceive, recognize, conceive, judge, and reason about the human resource policies (mentally) before taking action or changing the same (Chen & Wang 2014). Here, it is integral to point out that commitment-focused HR bundles referred to those attributes of HR performance, which were intended to improve work quality and employee well-being (Chen & Wang 2014). At the same time, control-focused HR attributes were conceived as HR practices aimed at minimizing operating costs at the expense of employees (Chen & Wang 2014).

Summary

Most of the literature sampled in this paper point to a positive relationship between HRM bundles and positive organizational performance. Improved productivity, innovation, and competitiveness have also been associated with the same variable. Additionally, this paper has shown that many researchers have categorized HRM bundles into three distinct segments: motivation, ability, and opportunity-enhancing human resource practices. Motivation-enhancing HR bundles are pivotal HRM system bundles because all the other two bundles are influenced by it. It encompasses different elements, such as job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal performance evaluation. Since it touches on different aspects of job performance, most of the literature sampled in this report have pointed out that it has the greatest effect on firm performance.

Studies that have focused on change management have also greatly featured in this review and point to the need to include motivation and commitment as being integral in undertaking organizational change initiatives. This view has been affirmed by the power of employee motivation to influence employee turnover and task performance. These two aspects of employee performance can influence change processes and trigger a positive cultural revolution within an organization.

The process of selecting the best HRM fit for an organization depends on different aspects of organizational performance, such as job modes, structure, and culture. The strategic and administrative contexts of different organizations also play a key role in finding out the best systems of HRM practices to adopt. Therefore, the biggest challenge for organizations is understanding which types of HRM bundles reinforce their business goals. Based on the general analysis of this chapter, it is important to hinge the current study on motivation-enhancing HRM bundles because they are instrumental in triggering positive cultural change processes in an organization. Their proficiency in doing so is assessed in terms of turnover reduction, reinforcement of organizational support, and the enhancement of employee task performance.

Despite this realization, the literature on HRM and change management remains fragmented and inadequate. Consequently, this study will be context-specific by exploring the impact of human resource bundles on change management processes in QNB. The processes that will be adopted are explained in chapter 3 below.

Methodology

Introduction

This chapter explains the methods used by the researcher to conduct the study. To recap, the study aims to empirically examine the level that the configuration of HRM practices in bundles impacts change management processes in a service sector context in the name of QNB. The study is guided by three key objectives. They focus on investigating the relationship between bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices and employee turnover intentions, exploring the relationship between motivation-enhancing bundles and perceived organizational support in change management situations at the bank, and establishing if the same bundles lead to increased employee task performance in change management. By meeting these objectives, it will be possible to understand whether the bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices adopted by QNB enable the organization to reduce employee turnover during organizational change processes. It would also be possible to know if they’re a positive relationship between bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices and perceived organizational support at QNB and if there is a relationship between motivation-enhancing HR practices implemented by the bank and employee task performance during organizational change processes.

Research Philosophy

This research was guided by the positivism research philosophy, which provides the groundwork for traditional scientific methods anchored in objectivity and precision (Creswell 2014). Premised on a quantitative assessment of the research phenomenon, this research philosophy helped to examine the level in which the configuration of HRM practices (in bundles) impacts change management processes in QNB. The justification for using the positivism research philosophy is enshrined in its capacity to enable researchers to derive accurate, valid, and absolute truths regarding the phenomenon of interest (Bryman & Bell 2008). To do so, the study was grounded on objectivity, which was rooted in its empirical findings.

The ability of the positivist research findings to integrate various statistical techniques in generating results was one motivation for using this research philosophy in this review. Similarly, it allowed the researcher to address issues relating to the applicability of findings in the wider organizational context of the Qatar financial industry, particularly about firms that have similar attributes as the QNB. The research approach complementing the positivism philosophy is explained below.

Research Approach

The quantitative research approach provided the overriding framework for undertaking this research. Its use was informed by the study aim, which was to examine the level that the configuration of HRM practices in bundles impacts change management processes in a service sector context and the type of data to be collected. According to Creswell (2014), the quantitative research approach is a systematic examination of a research phenomenon, which makes use of computational tools and techniques, to respond to research questions that pertain to an investigation.

Stemming from the above definition, it is important to point out that the quantitative research approach has specific rules for gathering and analyzing data. Ideally, it is heavily dependent on mathematical and statistical techniques in the data processing. In the context of this study, the justification for the use of the quantitative research approach is embedded in its capacity to enable the researcher to investigate the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Here, the independent variable is motivating-enhancing HRM bundles and the dependent variable is change management. The quantitative technique was also applied to this study because it allowed the researcher to quantify both the dependent and independent variables. Doing so created an opportunity to determine the relationship between these two variables in the context of generalizing their causal effects (Gelo, Braakmann & Benetka 2008; Yilmaz 2013). The research design that supported an investigation of their relationship is explained below.

Research Design

The descriptive research survey is the selected research design for this study. This technique is selected for use in this study because the respondents will be contacted at a specific point in time. Relative to this assertion, Welford, Murphy, and Casey (2012) say, “a survey provides a numerical description of trends, attitudes or opinions of a population by studying a sample of the research population” (p. 34). In this type of research design, the population to be sampled, and the choice of research instruments are usually predetermined by the researcher before going to the field to collect data. Typically, questionnaires of structured interviews are used to collect such information. The descriptive research survey was justifiably used in this study for two reasons.

The first one is that it allowed the researcher an opportunity to use a standardized questionnaire to collect data. In this context, there was an opportunity to generate quantitative descriptions of important aspects of the studied population through an assessment of the relationship between the variables (Creswell 2014). The second reason for using the research design was its capacity to enable the researcher to develop numeric descriptions of attitudes about HRM bundles and their effects on change management processes at QNB. The same results could be generalized across the larger Qatar financial sector, especially because the findings are developed within the context of the country’s business environment (Sekaran 2006).

Population and Sampling

The target population of this study was comprised of employees of QNB. They were recruited from different branches of the organization to provide a comprehensive understanding of the bank’s general operations throughout the country. The employees gave views of motivation-enhancing factors affecting the operations of the institution. Notably, their responses were sought, relative to how they believed the bank’s human resource practices assisted them to overcome the challenges posed by organizational change initiatives. To recruit the respondents, the researcher had to liaise with the managers of 20 branches of the bank. The convenient sampling technique was used to recruit the informants. In sum, 200 of them took part in the investigation. In detail, 10 informants were recruited from each branch. The main considerations that were followed by the researcher before including them in the research are enumerated below.

• Must be formally employed by QNB for not less than three years.
• Must be 18 years or older to ensure proper understanding of the questionnaire items.
• Must be citizens of Qatar to enable the researcher to demonstrate country-specific variations in the practice of the bundled approach to HRM.
• May be of any gender and willing to participate in the study.

The convenient sampling technique was not only chosen for use in this study because it provided the researcher with an opportunity to recruit only respondents who were ready and willing to participate in the study but also because it was easy to administer. It also provided the researcher with an opportunity to collect information in a context where probability-sampling techniques were difficult to administer (Sekaran 2006).

Data Collection

Information was collected using a structured and self-administered questionnaire. According to Harrell and Bradley (2009), questionnaires provide a “fixed set of questions that can be administered by paper and pencil, as a Web form, or by an interviewer who follows a strict script” (p. 6). The data collection instrument required the researcher to express their opinions about the responses using a 5-point Likert scale. Stated differently, the responses ranged from

1. “strongly agree,”
2. “agree,”
3. “neutral,”
4. “disagree,”
5. “strongly disagree.”

One advantage of using the structured questionnaire was its ability to provide the researcher with a data collection instrument that would collect various types of information from a large sample of people and at a low cost. At the same time, this capability means that the information collected from this type of data collection technique can be generalized across a large sample of employees. The capacity to reach a large group of respondents, which is geographically dispersed, means that there were huge time and cost savings accorded to the researcher. The use of the self-administered questionnaire in the data collection process was also informed by a quest by the researcher to minimize instances of bias, which was achieved by the use of a standardized data collection instrument. Lastly, the self-administered questionnaire was applied in the study because it provided a high degree of anonymity to the participants who took part in the research. This strategy is in line with the recommendations of Fowler (2008), Polonsky, and Waller (2010) who advocate for the protection of the respondents’ privacy as a prerequisite for getting quality information.

The questionnaire was structured and divided into two parts. The first one sought to find out the demographic details of the respondents, while the second one investigated their views regarding the four dimensions of motivation-enhancing variables (job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal performance evaluation). In the first part of the questionnaire, the respondents were supposed to state their age, gender, work experience, and job titles. Information relating to job titles was also sought in this part of the questionnaire to find out how their views will be distributed based on the kind of jobs or positions they held in the organization. The same logic was used when including information relating to the respondent’s age, gender, and work experience. In sum, these demographic variables were included in the survey to understand whether the findings would be skewed relative to the same variables.

The second part of the questionnaire sampled the respondents’ views regarding four dimensions of motivation-enhancing variables (job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal performance evaluation). These dimensions of motivation-enhancing factors were explored by asking the informants to respond to 24 statements (see appendix 1). The first dimension of analysis was used to evaluate the views of QNB employees regarding job security and change management processes. They were required to answer eight questions relating to this dimension of the study.

The second dimension investigated in the questionnaire related to internal promotion. Six statements were attributed to this aspect of the motivation-enhancing variable. Comparatively, “high-performance compensation” was the third dimension investigated in the study and it explored the respondents’ views regarding how managers of QNB rewarded high-performing employees as well as how the same practice affected its change management processes. The fourth and last dimension of analysis explored the informants’ views regarding formal performance evaluation processes at QNB. Here, the emphasis was made to understand their opinions regarding how managers of QNB evaluated employee performance and how the same practices affected its change management processes. Four statements were asked to get their views on this matter. In sum, the four dimensions analyzed in the second part of the questionnaire amounted to 24 statements. The table below summaries these dimensions of analysis and the number of statements attached to them.

Table 3.1. Dimensions Analysed and Number of Statements (Source: Developed by the Author).

As mentioned above, the responses gathered in the questionnaire were categorized according to the measurements of the five-point Likert scale. In other words, the data collection process required the informants to express their opinions about motivation-enhancing variables using a scale that gathered their views on the same. Score intervals for the responses were calculated based on the same measurement scale. The formula involved a subtraction of the minimum from the maximum score. The product was divided by the outcome of the number of levels of responses. This formula is briefly described below.

Score interval = (Maximum score – Minimum score) / Number of levels = 5 – 1 / 5 = 0.8

Based on the above formula, the “degree of agreement” that the respondents polled were defined by a rating scale, which appears below.

Table 3.2. The Degree of Agreement and Rating Scale (Source: Developed by the Author).

Validity and Reliability of Instruments

The validity and reliability of the questionnaire, which was the main data collection instrument, were assessed using the Cronbach Alpha method. The findings are explained in table 3.3 below

Table 3.3. Cronbach Alpha Findings for the Study Dimensions (Source: Developed by the Author).

The table above shows the findings of the alpha coefficients for all the four dimensions (job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal-performance evaluation) highlighted in this study. The values depicted in the table above show that the dimensions explored are reliable because Behr et al. (2013), Engellant, Holland, and Piper (2016) say that Cronbach alpha values that are higher than 0.5 are reliable. This statement is true because the reliability of the four dimensions analyzed was 0.937.

It was important to measure the validity of the findings highlighted in this study because it aligns with the views of Birt et al. (2016) who say that the trustworthiness of a research process largely depends on the quality of information conveyed in it. Based on some of the recommendations of these scholars, the validity of the study’s findings was safeguarded by the member-check technique. This strategy refers to a process where a researcher shares their findings with the sampled respondents to establish whether the views presented in the final report convey what they meant to say in the first place (Newby 2013; West & Kreuter 2013). Therefore, the member-check technique helped to safeguard the validity of the data in the sense that the study’s findings were shared with the respondents for review before the final publication. Variations that occurred between the respondent’s views and those published in the final document were highlighted and discussed to create synchrony between the respondents’ views and the researcher’s interpretation of the same.

Data Analysis

The SPSS software (version 23) and Microsoft Excel were used as the main data analysis methods for this study. They were used because both included descriptive and inferential data analysis techniques. Descriptive analysis methods were used for their ability to collect, organize, and compare huge volumes of quantifiable data. This way, it was possible for the researcher to analyze discreet categorical and continuous non-discreet data. The data analysis techniques also helped the researcher to identify with ease the informants’ demographic information as well as their perceptions of the bundled approach to HRM and organizational change management (Trieman 2008). The ANOVA technique was also used to assess the normality of the data. This way, it was possible to demonstrate the relationship between the variables of interest. In the same manner, it was possible to understand the significance of the relationships between the variables with the view to comprehending whether they occurred by chance or design (Runyon 2010).

Limitations of Study

According to Bowling (2014), study limitations refer to aspects of an investigation that are beyond the researcher’s control. One limitation of the study is its indicative nature because the views presented in this document do not necessarily establish causation between the four dimensions of motivation-enhancing HRM variables and change management processes at QNB. Therefore, the findings of this study are only indicative of the relationship between motivation-enhancing factors and the change management processes of QNB.

Ethical Considerations

It is important to evaluate the ethical considerations associated with this study because human subjects were involved. This approach is in line with the views of Israel (2015) who also emphasizes the importance of evaluating ethical concerns in research studies that use human subjects. Relative to the importance of human subjects in this review, the following ethical considerations were considered.

Informed Consent

According to USC (2018) and Alderson (2017), research participants should be allowed to take part in studies voluntarily. Relative to this need, McGonagle, Brown, and Schoeni (2015) posit that the voluntary participation of research participants in studies should be guided by terms and conditions outlined in an informed consent form. Relative to this need, employees who participated in this empirical investigation did so voluntarily. Therefore, they were not offered financial incentives or coerced into giving their views on the research topic. Additionally, all of them signed an informed consent form, which is outlined as appendix 2.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality issues emerged in the study because the participants did not want their identity revealed or associated directly with the findings that will be presented in this report. Israel (2013), Couper, and Singer (2013) investigated this issue and proposed that the sensitivity of research information should be the guiding framework for how much privacy the research informants should be accorded. In line with this proposal, the views expressed in this study are not associated directly with the respondents or a specific employee group. At the same time, the information presented in this study was collected anonymously. The aim of doing so was to prevent any “blowback” from the bank’s managers based on the findings that would be presented at the end of the investigation. Szolnoki and Hoffmann (2013) partly support this strategy by saying that information relating to respondents should only be shared with authorized personnel and on a “need-to-know” basis.

Data Management

The last aspect that will be highlighted in this section of the document concerns data management. It is important to review this matter because the data was collected virtually. Relative to this need, it is pertinent to note that the data collected was susceptible to online attacks and manipulation. To prevent such acts from occurring, information was stored in the researcher’s computer and protected with a password. Therefore, only the researcher gained access to this information. After completing the research process, the information collected was destroyed.

Findings and Analysis

This chapter contains information relating to the findings gathered from the investigation. As highlighted in the third chapter of this report, the researcher collected information using questionnaires, which were administered, as virtual surveys. The appendix section shows that data was collected on two fronts. The first one was aimed at collecting the respondents’ demographic details, while the second one was designed to gather their views regarding the four motivation-enhancing factors (job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal performance evaluation). Respondents who took part in this study completed these two sections of the structured questionnaire and sent them to the researcher virtually. The findings of the first part of the questionnaire (demographic information) are highlighted below.

Demographic Findings

Gender

As mentioned above, gender was the first part investigated in this study. To recap, 200 respondents took part in this investigation and 79.5% of them were male. Comparatively, 20.5% of them were female. Table 4.1 below presents a summary of these findings.

Table 4.1 Gender Distribution (Source: Developed by the Author).

Age

Besides gender, the respondents were also asked to state their ages. This was the second demographic variable investigated in this study. According to table 4.2 below, employees of QNB were required to state how old they were by indicating their respective age groups, which were categorized into four distinct segments. The first one was made up of employees who were below the age of 30 years. The second group was comprised of those who were in the 30 years – 40 years age group, while the third group of respondents was comprised of respondents who were between 40 years and 50 years. The fourth age group consisted of respondents who were between the ages of 50 years and 60 years. There was no age group envisaged above 60 years because it was deemed that such employees were retired.

The findings showed that most of the respondents sampled were in the first age group (below 30 years). Out of the total sample of employees investigated, they accounted for 42.2% of people who took part in the study. The second-largest group of employees was made up of those who were between the ages of 30 years and 40 years. They were 37.6% of the total number of employees who took part in the study. The third-largest group of respondents was comprised of those who were between the ages of 40 years and 50 years. They made up 13.8% of the total number of respondents who took part in the study. Lastly, the smallest percentage of employees who participated in the study were between 50 years and 60 years. They were 6.5% of the total sample of respondents who participated in the study. Table 4.2 below summarises these findings.

Table 4.2 Distribution of Respondents According to Age (Source: Developed by the Author).

Job Title

The third demographic variable investigated in this study was a job title. It was included in the survey questions because of the need to understand the relationship between the employees’ responses and the type of job they did in the organization. This way, it was possible to comprehend how their work profiles influenced their perceptions of the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. In sum, it was established that the respondents who took part in the study held eight types of positions at QNB. They included financial analysts, bank tellers, loan officers, financial managers, human resource managers, human resource assistants, customer relationship managers, and senior compliance officers. The largest group of respondents said they were bank tellers. They made up 33% of the total sample of employees who took part in the study. The second biggest group of respondents comprised of financial analysts who were 17% of the total number of employees sampled. The third-largest group was made up of human resource assistants who were 14% of the total sample, while the fourth largest sample comprised of loan officers who were 12% of the total sample.

The number of human resources and senior compliance managers was the same (eight respondents). They both accounted for 16% of the total sample. Ten respondents said they worked as customer relationship managers and they accounted for 5% of the total number of informants who took part in the study. Financial managers constituted the smallest percentage of respondents. Only six employees said they held this position, thereby accounting for the last 3% of the total sample. These findings are summarised in table 4.3 below.

Table 4.3. Job Title Findings (Source: Developed by the Author).

The high number of bank tellers who took part in the study could stem from the fact that many banks have multiple positions for tellers, relative to other positions in the industry. The organizational structure of QNB also emphasizes the same finding because at its bottom tier of the employee structure are bank tellers who form a large percentage of workers in the organization (QNB Group 2018). Therefore, it is not a surprise that the largest percentage (33%) of respondents who took part in the study held the same position. The same logic could explain the percentage distribution of all the other seven positions at QNB. Therefore, the findings depicted in this report are consistent with the work layout and distribution of jobs at the bank.

Work Experience

Employee work experience was the last demographic variable explored in this study. It was categorized into five groups: “3 years – 5 years,” “5 years – 7 years” “7 years – 9 years,” “9 years – 11 years,” and “more than 12 years.” Based on this classification, most of the employees sampled said they had a work experience of between five and seven years. Those who polled this way constituted 27.8% of the total employees who took part in the study. This finding could be deduced to mean that the findings of this paper were largely provided from a relatively informed point of view because a majority of the respondents who took part in the study had worked in the organization for more than five years. This type of work experience also means that most of the informants had worked in the organization long enough to understand its processes.

The second-largest percentage of respondents was comprised of those who had accumulated work experience of more than 12 years. They accounted for 25.9% of the total number of employees who took part in the research. If this percentage (25.9%) is merged with the largest percentage of employees who took part in the study (27.8%), it is possible to deduce the fact that a majority of the respondents were highly experienced about the activities and processes of QNB. This is because, collectively, employees who had worked between 5 years and 7 years, as well as those who had accumulated more than 12 years of work experience, made up 53.7% of the total number of respondents who took part in the study. This percentage means that more than half of the population sampled were highly knowledgeable about the bank’s operational processes.

The third-largest group of respondents had a work experience of between 3 years and 5 years. They accounted for 22.4% of the total sample. The smallest group of research participants was made up of employees who had a work experience of between 7 years and 9 years. They accounted for 4.3% of the total sample. Table 4.4 below summarises these findings in a tabular format.

Table 4.4 Work Experience Findings (Source: Developed by the Author).

Findings of the Relationship between the Independent and Dependent Variables

In the second and third chapters of this document, it was reported that the second part of the questionnaire sought to find out the views of the respondents regarding four main variables relating to motivation-enhancing HRM bundles. They were job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal performance evaluation. Stated differently, these variables were highlighted as the four main dimensions of motivation-enhancing bundles of HRM that affected change management processes at QNB. The results for the first dimension of analysis are highlighted below.

Job Security (1^st Dimension) Findings

Supported by the views of Paauwe and Farndale (2017), it is difficult to measure job security directly. However, by getting information regarding the respondents’ views on job tenure and contingent employment, it was possible to get a holistic understanding of this first dimension of analysis, relative to the HRM practices of QNB. To understand this dimension of analysis, the informants responded to eight statements. Their views are captured in table 4.5 below.

Table 4.5. Job Security Findings (1^st Dimension) Findings (Developed by the Author).

According to the table above, the statement with the highest response was S8, which stated, “A continued pursuit of the organization’s short-term contractual employment plan is likely to increase barriers to change in the firm.” It had a mean of 3.192 and a standard deviation of 1.1798. The second highest response rate was statement S7, which stated, “Developing a good change management plan is dependent on the organization’s willingness to make employees feel secure about their jobs.” It had a mean of 3.282 and a standard deviation of 1.1650. The statement with the third highest response rate was S6 and it stated, “Increasing employee job security would help to improve the clarity, ease, and successful implementation of change management initiatives in the organization.” It’s mean and standard of deviation were 3.222 and 1.1630 respectively.

The fourth highest response rate was attributed to statement S5, which stated, “Being secure in my job would increase my contribution towards instituting change in the workplace.” It had a mean of 3.192 and a standard deviation of 1.1600. The statement with the fifth-highest response was S1. It stated, “My perception of job security significantly affects how I process the urgency for change in the organization.” It’s mean and standard deviation were 3.251 and 1.1412, respectively. Comparatively, the sixth-highest response rate was attributed to statement S3, which read, “A heightened level of job security would increase my buy-in to the organization’s strategic vision for change.” It had a mean of 3.275 and a standard deviation of 1.0196. The statement with the seventh-highest response was S4. It stated, “An increased level of job security would encourage action in change management by removing barriers towards change.” It’s mean and standard deviation were 3.282 and 1.1650, respectively. Finally, the statement with the least response was S2 and it stated, “An increased level of job security would improve my willingness to be a part of a guiding coalition for supporting change management.” It’s mean and standard deviation were 3.222 and 1.0385, respectively.

In sum, the results depicted above show that the mean of the first dimension of analysis was 3.24 with a standard deviation of 1.088, respectively. These results mean that the respondents affirmed a positive relationship between job security and change management processes. The second dimension analyzed in the study related to internal promotion and its results is highlighted below.

Internal Promotion (2nd Dimension) Findings

When responding to questions relating to the second dimension of analysis (internal promotion), the informants responded to six statements relating to the relationship between internal promotion and change management processes at QNB. The findings are highlighted in table 4.6 below.

Table 4.6. Internal Promotion (2^nd Dimension) Findings (Developed by the Author).

According to the table above, the statement with the highest response was S9, which stated that “Internal promotion programs in my organization would improve communication planning for change management processes.” It had a mean of 3.90 and a standard deviation of 0.895. The second highest response rate was statement S10, which stated, “Improving the organization’s internal promotion programs would enhance the quality of change management processes in the firm.” It had a mean of 3.79 and a standard deviation of 0.865. The statement with the third highest response rate was S14 and it stated that “Our internal promotion policies and practices are designed to support change management processes.” It’s mean and standard deviation were 3.50 and 0.994, respectively. The fourth highest response rate was attributed to statement S13, which stated that, “Bad experiences during employee promotion processes would affect my willingness to embrace change in the organization.” It had a mean of 3.44 and a standard deviation of 1.134.

The statement with the fifth-highest response was S12. It stated, “Promoting me to a higher position in my department would make me embrace change better than If I was not promoted in the first place.” It’s mean and standard deviation were 3.251 and 1.1412, respectively. The statement with the least response rate was attributed to S11, which stated that “Internal promotion opportunities in my organization are designed to improve employees’ readiness for change.” It had a mean of 3.33 and a standard deviation of 1.064. In sum, the results depicted above show that the mean of the second dimension of analysis was 3.55 with a standard deviation of 1.0002. This finding reveals that the respondents generally had a positive view of their pay.

High-Performance Compensation (3^rd Dimension) Findings

The third dimension investigated in the questionnaire related to the respondents’ views regarding the relationship between high-performance compensation and change management processes. In this analysis, the informants responded to six statements. The findings are depicted in table 4.7 below.

Table 4.7. High Performance (3^rd Dimension) Findings (Developed by the Author).

According to the table above, the statement with the highest response was S20, which stated that “I am more productive and motivated to engage in change management processes because of my organization’s employee recognition program.” It had a mean of 3.74 and a standard deviation of 1.1081. The second highest response rate was linked to statement S16, which stated, “Improving high-performance compensation programs would reduce employee resistance towards change.” It had a mean of 4.23 and a standard deviation of 0.868. The statement with the third highest response rate was S19 and it stated that “An increase in my salary would make me more receptive to change.” It’s mean and standard deviation were 4.05 and 1.154, respectively. The fourth highest response rate was attributed to S15, which stated that “Our compensation program and policies are supportive of change management processes.” It had a mean of 3.93 and a standard deviation of 0.961.

The statement with the fifth-highest response was S18. It stated, “An improvement of the organization’s compensation practices would lead to an increase in compliance for change management policies.” It’s mean and standard deviation were 3.88 and 0.931, respectively. Finally, the statement with the least response rate was S17, which stated that “I would feel more motivated to support change management programs if my salary was increased.” It had a mean of 3.74 and a standard deviation of 1.071. In sum, the results depicted above show that the mean of the third dimension of analysis was 3.96 with a standard deviation of 0.997. This finding shows that there was a relationship between employee recognition programs and change management processes.

Formal Performance Evaluation (4th Dimension) Findings

The last dimension investigated in the questionnaire related to the respondents’ views regarding the relationship between formal performance evaluation and change management processes at QNB. In this assessment, they responded to four statements. The findings are depicted in table 4.8 below.

Table 4.8. Formal Performance Evaluation (4^th Dimension) Findings (Developed by the Author)

According to the table above, the statement with the highest response was S24, which stated that “Performance evaluation makes me feel defensive and unable to concentrate on change management processes.” It had a mean of 3.50 and a standard deviation of 0.994. The second highest response rate was attributed to statement S23, which stated, “Improving performance evaluation standards would provide us with a platform for undertaking constructive discussions about change management processes.” It had a mean of 3.44 and a standard deviation of 1.1134. The statement with the third highest response rate was S22 and it stated that “The organization’s formal performance evaluation program would allow me to understand my weaknesses and correct them for the fulfillment of organizational tasks.” It’s mean and standard deviation were 3.39 and 1.1060, respectively. The statement with the least response rate was S21, which stated that “A high-performance culture in the organization would support change management processes.” It had a mean of 3.33 and a standard deviation of 1.064. In sum, the results depicted above show that the mean of the fourth dimension of analysis was 3.55 with a standard deviation of 1.002. These results also reveal that the respondents generally had a positive view regarding the opportunities for work in their organizations.

According to PCS (2015), change management processes often fail 70% of the time. Although the reasons for this failure are widespread and far-between, poor communication has been highlighted as a key factor undermining change management processes. Although the findings of this study show that performance evaluation has a significant impact on change management processes, a survey conducted by Deloitte and published in the works of PCS (2015), suggests that only 8% of companies reported an increase in value because of performance evaluation processes. In the same survey, it was also reported that in some of the companies sampled, performance evaluation was regarded as a “waste of time.” Based on such remarks, it was important to carry out more tests as seen below.

Group Statistics and Variances

Table 4.9 below explains the results of the group statistics.

Table 4.9. Group Statistics (Source: Developed by the Author).

An analysis of the effects of job security and change management processes was done using the ANOVA method and the results appear in table 4.10 below.

Table 4.10. ANOVA Findings (Source: Developed by the Author).

According to the statistics shown above, the significance value of the relationship between motivation-enhancing factors and change management processes is indicated as 0.028. This means that the two factors are significantly related. An analysis of the sum of least squares also highlights the same point because the findings between groups emerged as 5.599. Comparatively, the value within groups was 204.190. Broadly, this finding means that motivation-enhancing factors affected change management processes. This fact is supported by the value of 0.028, which affirms a positive relationship between the two variables (motivation-enhancing factors and change management processes). Table 4.11 below also alludes to the same view.

Table 4.11. Job Security and Change Management Processes (ANOVA Findings) (Source: Developed by the Author).

An analysis of the correlation between the four dimensions highlighted in this paper revealed the following outcomes in table 4.12 below.

Table 4.12 Correlation among Dimensions (Source: Developed by the Author).

According to table 4.11 highlighted above, all the four dimensions (job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal performance evaluation) investigated in the paper were correlated. The 0.000 significance level highlighted in the table above supports this view. Correlation is affirmed because such significance is often reported at 0.01 for a 2-tailed analysis. This fact is based on the 0.000 significance value attributed to them. Again, it represents correlation because such an outcome is significant at level 0.01 for a 2-tailed analysis.

Despite the existence of correlation among all the four dimensions investigated in the study, the strongest correlations were observed between the fourth and first dimensions (formal performance evaluation and job security). The second highest correlation was observed between dimensions three and four (high-performance compensation and formal performance evaluation). The third and second dimensions (high-performance compensation and internal promotion) had the third-highest correlations, while dimensions one and three (job security and high-performance compensation) had the fourth highest correlation. Lastly, dimensions two and one had the weakest correlation (internal promotion and job security). Broadly, because the findings highlighted in this section of the report affirm correlation between all the four dimensions, change management processes also emerged as having a strong relationship with the variables mentioned.

Hypotheses Testing

The process of hypothesis testing involved the use of the simple linear regression technique. Table 4.13 below highlights the outcomes of the hypothesis test

Table 4.13 Hypotheses Test Findings (Source: Developed by the Author).

According to the table above, it was established that H1 for the first research question, which states, “Bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices adopted by QNB enable the organization to reduce employee turnover during organizational change processes” is true. This view stems from the fact that the significance is 0.000 and the r-square value is 0.476. It was also established that the first hypothesis for the second research question, which states, “There is a positive relationship between bundles of motivation-enhancing HR practices and perceived organizational support by employees of QNB during organizational change processes” is true. This view was affirmed by the significance value of H2, which was 0.000, and the r-square value of 0.217, which affirms significance as well.

The above table also shows that Motivation-enhancing HR practices implemented at QNB have a positive relationship with employees’ task performance during organizational change processes. This view is established because the significance value of H3 is 0.000, while its r-square value is 0.442, which signifies correlation. Based on these findings, the first hypotheses derived from all three research questions are affirmed.

Broadly, the findings of this study align with the views of previous researchers who have demonstrated that motivation-enhancing variables have an impact on organizational performance. For example, in the literature review section of this study, it was established that there is a strong relationship between the configuration of HRM bundles and organizational performance. Since it was reported that the four dimensions of motivation-enhancing variables had an impact on change management processes, the similarity between the findings of chapters two and three are established. In other words, the declaration that the configuration of HRM bundles and organizational performance is emphasized. However, the gap in the literature that emerged in chapter two was premised on the difficulty of understanding which HRM configuration is appropriate for the accomplishment of organizational goals. It is from this premise that motivation-enhancing bundles were selected for analysis because they emerged as having a stronger effect on change management processes compared to the other variables.

The motivation enhancing variables were explored as the four dimensions discussed in the questionnaire. Again, they included job security, internal promotion, high-performance compensation, and formal performance evaluation. These findings meant that the configuration of HRM bundles based on a change of job security, internal promotion, high-performance evaluation standards, and formal performance evaluation processes would affect change management processes. Based on the findings depicted in this study, it is important to point out that motivation is essential in implementing successful change management programs at QNB.

The four dimensions explored in this study share a close relationship with the views of Saridakis and Cooper (2016), who say that employee motivation is strongly influenced by four factors, which include leadership style, the reward system, the organizational climate, and the structure of the work done by the employees. The leadership of QNB could have a strong impact on the job satisfaction levels of employees in the firm if they embrace this type of HRM configuration. In this regard, since it was established that job security has a significant relationship with change management processes at the bank, it is essential to vary leadership styles to realize the best outcomes. As Tracy (2018) posits, leadership is a key factor in determining how employees feel about a company and their level of motivation to embrace or support change management processes. Nonetheless, the leadership style that could be adopted at the bank to realize the highest level of support for organizational change management processes depends on the goals and objectives of the organization. The stakeholders of the company as well as its operating environment could also influence how the managers design their HRM strategies.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Conclusion

From the onset of this study, it was established that getting the right HRM bundle mix is a problem for many organizations because existing proposals to improve HRM practices are often not aligned with their goals. Based on this problem, an effort was made to understand the impact of human resource bundles on change management processes at QNB. Stated differently, the organization’s human resource practices were analyzed as bundles and evaluated separately to comprehend how they affected the bank’s change management processes. Within this scope of analysis, the researcher also mentioned that many past studies investigated the relationship between HRM bundles and organizational outcomes by relying on western-based firms to come up with their findings.

Consequently, their views are skewed towards similarly western organizations. This line of research ignores the unique cultural and social dynamics of employees who work in non-western organizations and how the same factors influence their motivation levels and response to change management processes. This paper sought to address this problem by providing a context-specific analysis that focused on understanding the impact of human resource bundles on the change management processes of QNB.

The findings highlighted in chapter 4 of this paper showed that the four dimensions of motivation-enhancing HRM bundles had a positive effect on the change management processes of QNB. This analysis means that the first hypotheses highlighted in chapter 1 of this paper are all affirmative. They were partly explored through the dimensional analysis in chapter 4. To recap, the first dimension of analysis was aimed at examining the impact of job security on change management processes at QNB. Based on the findings highlighted in chapter 4 of this report, this question is answered affirmatively in the sense that a correlation is established between the job security levels of QNB and its change management processes. The same correlation was established when studying the relationship between the internal promotion processes of QNB and its change management processes.

In the analysis of the relationship between the high-performance compensation practices of the bank and its change management processes, the same affirmative response was established because it was established that the performance compensation practices of the institution had a positive effect on its change management processes. This finding helped the researcher to find out whether the high-performance compensation practices of QNB affected its change management processes. The last dimension analyzed sought to investigate whether the formal performance evaluation strategies of QNB affected its change management processes. Relative to this discussion, it was established that formal evaluation processes had an impact on how the bank’s employees would respond to change management processes.

The above findings mean that if motivation-enhancing variables are enhanced, there is likely to be an improvement in the adoption of change management processes. Based on this relationship, we find that motivation-enhancing variables should underscore the best type of HRM configuration for QNB as it strives to improve its overall performance. If we extrapolate this finding to the larger Qatar banking industry, it is plausible to say that banks, which have sound HR practices, stand a good chance of nurturing their inimitable human capital competencies for improved performance. Such competencies could also be useful in developing their competitive advantages because they would allow them to leverage their human resource capital for maximum employee output.

Several researchers, who have been reviewed in the second chapter of this document, emphasize the importance of understanding how effective HR practices could be useful in increasing QNB’s competitive advantage. They reinforce some of the views highlighted in the first chapter of this paper, which suggest that today’s knowledge-based economy requires organizations to sufficiently utilize their human resource capabilities for the advancement of their objectives. This operational paradigm has paved the way for a growing body of research, which has linked human resource practices with organizational outcomes and firm competitiveness.

The findings of this paper add to a growing list of studies, which categorize HRM into different bundles and streamline them to help organizations meet their respective goals and objectives. As highlighted in the first chapter of this document, the subdivision of the discipline into different bundles comes from a school of thought, which presupposes that different tenets of the discipline work in concert to provide users with a synchronized organizational experience. The configuration approach provides the framework for analyzing the application of these HRM bundles in organizational processes.

Therefore, the perfect configuration would be that which helps organizations to operate effectively by merging their internal and external processes to create coordinated synchrony of HRM activities that support improved performance. The goal here is to realize the best blend of organizational fit, which encompasses HRM bundles that align with the organizational objectives consistently and coherently.

Comparatively, realizing a good external fit would imply the alignment of organizational processes with institutional settings or other external factors to create perfect synchrony of HRM processes that support QNB’s success. Based on these perspectives of organizational processes, this paper points out that the best organizational outcomes for QNB are rooted in the configuration of motivation-enhancing HRM bundles to achieve the highest levels of firm competitiveness through the improvement of change management processes. These findings imply that if employees feel frustrated or demotivated to do their work, change management processes are likely to fail. Broadly, this study could act as a model for understanding how HRM processes affect Middle-East organizations and more specifically those that are in the financial service sector.

Recommendations

QNB and many organizations of its stature are struggling to compete favorably with other financial institutions in today’s globalized world. The strategies for competing favorably are limited because of the unique internal and external organizational dynamics that affect their processes. However, the findings of this paper are timely in the sense that they provide a contextualized focus on how to improve the company’s HRM practices as one tool for improving its performance through change management processes.

The findings highlighted in the second chapter of this study provide direction on where management should focus when enhancing their change management processes because evidence shows that focusing on motivation-enhancing HRM bundles would reliably improve the efficacy of its change management processes. This view is hinged on the fact that the four dimensions of motivation-enhancing variables have a significant effect on change management processes.

Since the focus of this study was only on motivating bundles, future researchers should strive to investigate whether the other bundles mentioned in this paper would have an impact on change management processes. Particularly, these studies should strive to find out if ability and opportunity-enhancing bundles have the same effect on change management processes. Lastly, it is important to point out that the findings of this study are specific to QNB. Therefore, it may be difficult to generalize them beyond populations that do not share the same organizational dynamics. The specificity of these findings means that they are integral to the improvement of the bank’s change management processes. Stated differently, its managers could use them to configure their motivational enhancing processes as a variable that could improve the efficacy of their change management processes.

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Appendix

Appendix 1: Questionnaire

Please answer the following statements by selecting your degree of agreement or disagreement by ticking (√) the appropriate box based on the merits or demerits of the questions outlined in the matrix below.

Key:

Appendix 2: Informed Consent Form

I ………………………………….. agree to participate in this study voluntarily. The researcher has informed me about its nature, objectives, and goals. I have also been informed about my right to withdraw from the research without any repercussions and sureties have been given to me that my participation will have no bearing on my work or future job appraisals. Based on my understanding of these terms and conditions, I hereby consent to take part in the study.

Signature…………………………..