DOES THE USE OF A TRANSIENT WORKFORCE HAVE ANY IMPACT ON PRODUCT QUALITY IN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND?

nBy

nNAME

n(Registration Number)

nA Thesis to the School of (SCHOOL) in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of

n(DEGREE)

nJanuary, 2015.

nABSTRACTIn industry there is a recently developing trend for organizations to engage with companys who offer bespoke Workforce Solutions including high volume contingent and temporary recruitment solutions, seasonal volume ramp up in short timescales and delivery of short term specialist requirements. This offers the organization the ability to flex its workforce up and down according to demand and yet not have to carry the fixed labour cost during the less busy times. The downside to this will mean that the transient work force will be rotated through the process in a cyclic basis losing the tacit knowledge of the organization or the products being built up. Industrial law in Ireland (and in many areas worldwide) would see tangible links between length of service and employee entitlement, which dictates the basis of attrition of the transient work force through the organization. These employees will rarely create a sense of attachment to the parent organization and this research will investigate to see if this can associated to any trends in quality in organizations who engage with the flexible work force solution.

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nTable of Contents

n TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc408725963″ABSTRACT PAGEREF _Toc408725963 h iii

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725964″CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc408725964 h 1

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725965″Background of the study PAGEREF _Toc408725965 h 1

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725966″The study purpose/objective PAGEREF _Toc408725966 h 3

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725967″Research questions PAGEREF _Toc408725967 h 3

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725968″CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW PAGEREF _Toc408725968 h 5

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725969″Why need transient workforce PAGEREF _Toc408725969 h 11

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725970″CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY PAGEREF _Toc408725970 h 17

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725971″Introduction PAGEREF _Toc408725971 h 17

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725972″Research purpose PAGEREF _Toc408725972 h 17

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725973″Research design PAGEREF _Toc408725973 h 20

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725974″Sampling design/ technique PAGEREF _Toc408725974 h 21

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725975″Ethical considerations PAGEREF _Toc408725975 h 23

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725976″Validity and reliability of the study PAGEREF _Toc408725976 h 24

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725977″Data analysis PAGEREF _Toc408725977 h 25

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725978″CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION PAGEREF _Toc408725978 h 26

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725979″Employment Rights Bodies reviews in Ireland PAGEREF _Toc408725979 h 26

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725980″Impact of service quality on customer satisfaction PAGEREF _Toc408725980 h 29

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725981″Effects of customer satisfaction on the industry profitability PAGEREF _Toc408725981 h 32

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725982″CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION PAGEREF _Toc408725982 h 35

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725983″Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc408725983 h 35

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725984″Study limitations and recommendation for further research PAGEREF _Toc408725984 h 36

nHYPERLINK l “_Toc408725985″WORK CITED PAGEREF _Toc408725985 h 37

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nCHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONBackground of the studyDuring this time of economic improvement, organizations ranging from different industries and sizes have turn to contract transient workforce for the purpose of assisting their businesses to grow. Since the history of any economic downturn in Ireland, different companies have strategically utilized transient workers for the purpose of helping them move from the recently witnessed recession to recovery period (Hongyi, Sun, Yau Hon Keung, and Suen Eric Kwok Ming, 11). This kind of shift which is notable is occurring as a result of numerous benefits that are associated with transient workers. The main advantage in this case is based on flexibility. Even though the organizations are slowing coming to realize that there exists high demand for their products, there is no enough confidence for them to higher numerous permanent employees. Literatures argues that transient kind of work force give a given company adequate time for addressing their current needs without having to make decisions regarding long term personnel, minimizing the chances of a costly and endless employment cycle (Kottas, John and Lau Hon-Shiang, 30). Moreover, transient workers can help in prevention of overworking among the staff members who are permanently employed and hence improving service delivery. It is indeed therefore worth noting that transient workforce might have positive impacts on the quality of products of any given industry, not only in Ireland but all over the world.

nAs a way of responding to the pressure imposed by globalizations, markets which are becoming competitive day by day, and the volatile market dynamics currently experienced, numerous organizations in Ireland are busy seeking for ways in which they can add value to the quality of their products as well as improving the quality of their services (Kottas, John and Lau Hon-Shiang, 36). Such organizations have been very keen on making the efficiency of operation as one of their priorities. Operations management has stressed on the fact of optimizing the process of operations as a way in which they can deliver profitable values to the customers for the purpose of meeting or exceeding the expectations of the customers (Hongyi, Sun, Yau Hon Keung, and Suen Eric Kwok Ming, 12). Numerous research have for a long time been devoted to topics like managing, designing and optimizing of the systems of service delivery with the purpose of raising the quality of the service as well as efficiency of operation. Numerous firms have frequently applied the approach of centric-operation with a clear demonstration that it is one of the effective ways of improving the efficiency of any given organization (Kottas, John and Lau Hon-Shiang, 33). However, the impact that transient workforce has on quality delivery of products have been for a long period of time been overlooked. The importance of transient workers attitudes for instance their loyalty to work, job satisfaction, and the commitment their have towards the organization and the possible impacts that all these factors have on their quality performance have largely been neglected in most of the current studies (Hongyi, Sun, Yau Hon Keung, and Suen Eric Kwok Ming, 10). However, issues that are related to permanent employees/workers on the quality of products within the industries have been widely investigated within numerous disciplines including that of organizational behaviour. The existing pervasive interest that researchers have on the impact of permanent workforce on the quality of products that the industry is producing is always grounded on the premise that such kind of workforce usually plays a very important role in ensuring the effectiveness of the organization as well as the quality of their products.

n A good number of studies have also been conducted to investigate the attributes of employees and the extent in which such attribute of a given employee (whether transient or permanent) may influence their morale, performance and commitment to the job they are undertaking (Kottas, John and Lau Hon-Shiang, 36). Despite the fact that organizational operation and human resource are closely tied to one another mostly in all scenarios of business, the impact that transient workforce may have on product quality in industry in Ireland has largely remained unexplored. Studies on the impact of transient workers attributes on the organization operations are specifically important on service industry where the workforce of the service employee have a role of connecting the organization to the potential customers(Sun, Hongyi, Yangyang Zhao, and Hon Keung Yau, 576). This research attempts to address one fundamental question which has for a long time remained un-addressed by other studies: Does the use of a transient workforce have any impact on product quality in industry in Ireland? If so, what are the possible positive and negative impacts that such workforce has on the quality of products offered by numerous companies and how does that impacts on the profitability of the industry involved?

nThe study purpose/objectiveThe main objective of this study is to evaluate if the use of a transient workforce have any impact on product quality in industry in Ireland. Based on this main objectives, more information can be generated regarding how such impacts, if any exist influences the profitability and competitive advantage of any industry. With regard to the objective, the study seeks to answer the following research questions:

nResearch questionsDoes the use of a transient workforce have any impact on product quality in industry in Ireland?

nIf so, what are the possible positive and negative impacts that such workforce has on the quality of products offered by numerous companies?

nHow does that impact on the profitability of the industry involved?

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nCHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEWCurrent literatures indicate that the demand for transient workers is most likely to increase within the near future. While a fraction of this workforce are found within the permanent residential housing within specific areas established, majority of such workers are usually accommodated within what is referred to as short stay and Transient Workers Accommodation (TWA) facilities all over the country (Sun, Hongyi, Yangyang Zhao, and Hon Keung Yau, 576). It is reported that non-permanent workers have a greater impact on the supply issues of any given company, especially those within the housing industry together with the supply and demand for facilities and services. It is true that higher transient workers might accompany with itself some negative and positive impacts as far as the quality of products of the Ireland industry is concerned. Ariño, Miguel , Africa Ariño and Roberto( 629) acknowledges the role played by this kind of workforce when it comes to economic diversification. It has been reported that transient workers provide a significant contribution on the quality of the products since they tend to dedicate much of their efforts, time and resources when compared to the permanent colleagues.

nMajority of such employees always have higher satisfaction with their jobs during the short period of time they are at the work place and hence would try their best to produce high quality products. Based on the fact that such employees are always cheap to hire and maintain, they help the industry to maximize their profitability and hence ability to employ more work force at a cheaper price for the purpose of producing quality products at a lower cost and within a short period of time. Studies have shown that satisfaction of employees, whether transient or permanent, is most likely to influence them towards hard work and provision of better services through the citizenship behaviours of the organization (Parks, John S., et al, 54). Transient workers who are satisfied are often deeply involved within their employing organizations and more dedicated towards delivering services which are of more quality. Several previous studies have also indicated that loyal transient workers are usually very eager to and readily capable of delivering service quality which is of high level. According to the scholarly researchers, product/service quality is majorly influenced by individual employee satisfaction and not whether one is a transient worker or a permanent one. Vogel and Richard (58) findings concur with this statement as they highlight that job satisfaction have a higher influence on the quality of service. Such arguments on the quality of service versus job satisfaction among the transient employees are grounded majorly on the theory of equity within social exchange.

nDespite the fact that different views have been witnessed with regards to social exchange theory, majority of the theorists have agreed that social exchange involve numerous interactions for the purpose of generating a specific obligation. Such interactions are in most cases viewed as independent within the action of any other individual (Ariño, Miguel , Africa Ariño, and Roberto, 629). The main underlying reason in this case is based on the fact that exchange requires transaction which is bidirectional- an opportunity is given and in the long run, high quality service is delivered. Such transactions also have the potential of generating a kind of relationship which is of high quality among the different kind of parties that are involved (Vogel, Richard, 58). The main assumption regarding equity within social exchange is that majority of individuals always expect equity or social justice to prevail within interpersonal transactions. Based on such arguments, an individual who is accorded some kind of social gift that is in excess inequitably of what had been anticipated is most likely to express greater gratitude and feel the obligation of reciprocating the benefactors enjoyed by producing goods and services which are of high quality (Vogel, Richard, 58). Such kind of relationship of positive reciprocals often evolves with time into loyal, trusting, and mutual commitments. Within the social exchange theory context, when a given employer offers good working conditions for their transient workers that make them somehow satisfied, such employees with in turn tend to be much committed and would make some extra efforts to such individual organization as a way of reciprocity to the employer, hence resulting into a high level of quality of service offered (Ariño, Miguel , Africa Ariño, and Roberto, 629). Based on this theory of equity within the social exchanges, we strongly posit that the use of a transient workforce have some positive impact on product quality in industry in Ireland.

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nDifferent scholars have always defined quality based on their own understanding. To others, quality is all about meeting the aesthetic, legal, and the functional requirements of a given project within the industry. Such requirements might be simple or complex, or they can as well be stated in terms of the required end results or sometimes as a detailed description of what is required to be done (Ariño, Miguel , Africa Ariño, and Roberto, 629). Despite the way in which it is expressed, quality is usually obtained when all the requirements have been considered as adequate or in the event that the project which has been completed within the industry shows some conformity with what is required in the market (Ariño, Miguel , Africa Ariño, and Roberto, 629). The law of Ireland have defined quality in terms of the professional liability, a legal concept that need all the individuals within a profession, whether temporary or permanent to understand their practice and trade in a more responsible manner (Castañeda, Jorge, Richard, Tucker and Carl, 799). Other professionals argues that quality is mainly measured by the aesthetics of the kind of facilities that each given individual have designed. Based on this kind of traditional definition, quality is based on issues such as how proper a given building blends within the surrounding, the psychological impacts of a building to the inhabitants, the ability of the design for landscape to match the themes of the existing adjacent structures(Castañeda, Jorge, Richard, Tucker and Carl, 803). Based on the fact that the aesthetic definition of quality is majorly subjective, a high number of disagreements always arise on whether there has been achievement of quality or not. It is however worth noting that quality of the products or service can be defined by how close the products or a given project confirms to all the requirements of the customer which ultimately result into their satisfaction (Vogel, Richard, 58). Based on this definition, a high quality service or product is one which satisfies the highest number of customers if not all. Within the industry of construction, quality can be defined as meeting all the requirements of the constructor, designer, regulatory agencies together with the owner.

nThe current new generation of employees who are entering the workforce has risen within the world of innovation and change. The currently existing employees have the desire of learning more in a continuous manner and also expect their employers to nurture and value the potential within them(Castañeda, Jorge, Richard, Tucker and Carl, 801). The mobile, global, and transient nature of the current workforce has made easier for the employees to jump ship from one organization to another one depending on the ones they feel are offering development opportunities for them (Lyons and Lenore, 244). In order for a given employer to become one who retains talents, then the organizations have the responsibility of creating a high impact learning culture. Transient workers always serve different functions for their employers and hence usually offer advantages with regards to operation management. Employers usually use temporary workers to occupy the position of employees who are absent together with providing a temporary individual with work vacancy (Vogel, Richard, 58). They also seek for transient workforce so as to add to their staff during the busy seasons like the one experienced during the holiday shopping season. Such employers also look for transient workforce when it comes to completing projects which are of shorter duration. Temporary jobs are argued to provide workers for the positions that are scheduled to be phased out as a result of the cuts of budget or reorganization (Lyons and Lenore, 212). Despite the fact that an employer having transient workforce will be providing benefits to the workers such as overtime pay and compensation, they will be in a position to save on dental/medical benefits, sick and vacation pay as well as retirement and other benefits on income security that are usually reserved for permanent workers (Ariño, Miguel , Africa Ariño, and Roberto, 629). Nevertheless, a number of employers usually offer high wages to their transient workers that are not entitled to other job benefits like the traveling nurses, this makes such short time workers to feel more attracted with the job hence able to attract high skills professionals who are seeking flexibility (Lyons and Lenore, 16). Moreover, it has been reported that a good number of employers find it more advantageous to recruit transient workers who are highly skilled for the purpose of determining if they are actually suitable for such particular job. In the event that such employee is found to be of good match, then the manager in charge of hiring can always hire such worker on a permanent position (Ariño, Miguel , Africa Ariño, and Roberto, 629). This is more advantageous to the business than when the position is offered directly since high quality has now been guaranteed. Additionally, positions which are temporary usually offer a way of attracting good talents in the event that a given organization is waiting for some funding like the non-profit organizations waiting for grants from other developed countries (Lyons and Lenore, 208). Literatures also argue that transient kind of workforce can help a given industry who might be in need for extra income to save a lot of money on overtime costs.

nBased on the knowledge of majority of the scholars, transient is defined as remaining at the place of work for only a shorter period of time. This definition is better than the one relevant to physics which means “undergoing decay with time” (Castañeda, Jorge, Richard, Tucker and Carl, 799). While giving the definition of transient, it becomes very essential to provide the definition of contracting. A contractor is an individual who has been employed for a given contract (Lyons and Lenore, 208). This gives it a fixed term that associates it with a few days hence more transient by their nature. In its simple definition, a contract is a short term agreement which usually last for three years or less. This give an illustration that the certainty within the long term is not known since such kind of work usually involve peak loading which is done under contract on a basis which is non-permanent. Terms used in this case can be as short as within one week (Castañeda, Jorge, Richard, Tucker and Carl, 799). There are a number of factors within the contract workforces which participates in accelerating the transition of employment. It is critical to remember that contract workers (transient workforce) usually intend to work in a manner that can help them get the best outcome both for the industry and the individual families. When faced with work that strains the situation of their family, such kind of workers always opt for transiting to another kind of work or work places that satisfies their needs in the best way.

nThe best case scenarios that can be used to explain a transient type of workforce are people who are following the mine site work for contract. Such kind of workers might be contractors of long term as they are the backbone of the contract industry. However, the reality here is that works within such areas incurs transition of the highest rate. Instead of the certainty of the years which are well known at work place, the worker in this case is usually not very sure with the amount of work they are going to be doing within the next few months to come (Jean-Jules, Joachim, and Alain, 23). Such individuals live in the camps of constructions of quality which are varying and employment which is full time equivalent might only occur through moving between mines on a regular basis.

nThe other factor that detract employees from staying in such kind of work in what is considered as long term is the associated unpredictable periods of underemployment which individuals are entitled to face. Such kind of periods which are slack make it very impossible to guarantee consistent and regular income, this occurs despite the reasonable annual income that such individuals always achieve. Literatures reports that individual would rather prefer less money so long as it is regular (Gammack and John, 45). This kind of remote from home and the regular work pattern involved do create a drive for a larger percentage of people to seek change. Another issue is the experience gained during the short period of contracting facilitates its own turnover as the time spent working on contract helps an individual to build his or her resume for the purpose of future permanent job which is somehow better (Jean-Jules, Joachim, and Alain, 22). With such view, individuals under transient basis often try their best to offer their best services as a way of building their resumes as well as attracting potential permanent employers. It is evidence therefore to note that transient works as a kind of entry process for individuals who are seeking to permanently get into the industry (Gammack and John, 45). The current high demand of workers in the Ireland industry has further fueled the rate of movement of workers through alternatives and opportunities for even individuals who are having very limited experience.

nWhy need transient workforceIt is always very hard to measures something which moves around and goes down and up, but one strong indicator is the generic induction found within many industries in Ireland, especially contract industries. The tech sector in Ireland employs a total of 105,000 people across an array of sectors and career disciplines and is responsible for €72bn of Irelands exports (Gammack and John, 46). It is very clear that the number of new entries into the industry is relative large and so is the number which is moving from one mining company to the other.

nThe owners of these companies have argued that the easiest solution to such added difficulty of the ownership of behavioral safety within transient workforces is to do away with transient workforces. In a more practical manner, majority of the industries that are having peak loads or are in need of specialists skills might not operate any machine or undertaking without requesting for an outside help which is of intermittent in nature. It is better to achieve base loads in all possible ways through workforces which are fixed ( Gammack and John, 23). The requirement for the services of a specialist, shutdown, construction, and labor breakdown as well as load requirements of peak operation are managed practically by involving the outside workforces (Jean-Jules, Joachim, and Alain, 21). For instance, Agriculture and food exports are two type of industries that has constantly changing needs of labor with peaks of a month, week, and day and in the event of over burden stripping, it can sometimes occur in years. Operation which is sustainable need the labor cost to stop during the period when such need diminishes. The fastest growing industries are: IT Services/Computer Software/Hardware, Accounting and Auditing, Innovation and Intellectual Property Related Enterprises and green Sector Jobs

n In simple terms therefore, there exist transient type of workforce within the industry of Ireland, there is actually a great need of one. Literatures report that new starters are quite common especially within the short term works such as relocations and maintenance. With regards to such context, and with relevancy to safety and quality goals of any company, the role of providing education and ensuring ownership of behavioral safety within the workshop is quite challenging as well as being very difficult (Liu, Ling, Carlton Pu, and Duncan Ruiz, 27). It is however possible to enhance the quality of products and services offered by transient workforce. This can be achieved by offering screening of such employees so as to make sure that their individual internal make up is closely aligned with the overall culture of the organization in which they are working (Jean-Jules, Joachim, and Alain, 23). There is need in this case for the companies to carry out inductions that help such workers familiarize themselves with the kind of work they are required to undertake as well as the quality expected. Such individual workers are then exposed to the companys culture and behavioral patterns. With that regard, transient workers are immersed so as to make them become like the rest of permanent workers who can produce high quality products (Liu, Ling, Carlton Pu, and Duncan Ruiz, 27). Then there comes the issue of rest. It is very important to get new people, who can fit in, but maintaining and improving the safety and working standard of the workforce which already exists is a task which is much more demanding. This kind of work is never a once off event but rather a process which is never ending. This is the situation in which the organizations usually get to reinforce its induction message, or might also erode the commitment base of its workforce (Liu, Ling, Carlton Pu, and Duncan Ruiz, 13).

nWithin the contract environment, these kind of challenges are even much higher as the level of future uncertainty continue to rise, an internal need for each individual to land on the next job, a need by a given contractor to win the next job on their side as well as lack of long term alignment within their immediate role at work place. All these challenges are most likely to compromise the quality of products and services offered by such kind of employees. Despite this, quality behavior change can be delivered within a transient workforce just in the same manner through which it can be done in a permanent one, in which case some additional pre-work is often required as well as some tighter constraints when it comes to delivery (Liu, Ling, Carlton Pu, and Duncan Ruiz, 17). That is why despite the existence of challenges with regards to transient workforce, numerous organizations in Ireland have witnessed a 30 percent improvement in the turnover rates of their labor since 2007. This has assisted the businesses in the country to bring the turn over closer to workforce levels which are permanent (Liu, Ling, Carlton Pu, and Duncan Ruiz, 8). There are key points that are required within such process; giving transient workers a career with a path and options, providing them with communication which is consistent, making such individual workers feel that they are permanently part of the team, improving the livability involved, and also simulating a permanent workforce.

nThere always exist two spheres of influence on the side of a given employee, both in which should deliver a strong and consistent message for the purpose of achieving behavioral ownership. These are the overall quality standard of the industry as well as the employers sphere of influence. The effectiveness of the two of these can easily be enhanced through communication (Liu, Ling, Carlton Pu, and Duncan Ruiz, 17). Achieving a business with high quality products is a continuous pivot point for proper business management and profit maximization. Communicating the reasons behind approaching a project in some particular ways, managing any bad quality detected rather than avoiding it is critical to transient employee buy in the culture of quality products. As with the issues of high quality standard, safety of high standards majorly relies on the right human resource environment for the purpose of allowing successful communication integral to quality assurance (Schifter and Catherine, 45). Whether the business is having a transient or permanent workforce, the area of focus for each individual employer majorly revolve around concentrating on the basics of good communication as well as leadership such as: inductions, the goals of the company, core values, Human resources focus which is strong, engaged workforce, managing all the employees performance, visible leadership as well as audit and review.

nOne of the most important ways of improving quality production among the transient workers is through short time but intensive training (Schifter and Catherine, 44). Though some scholars always view that as expensive in the long run since the industry will not accommodate such employees for a long period of time, it is cheap and convenient when it is viewed in terms of quality production. The importance of training is recognized by all the experts of quality. Under the concept of Total Quality Management, it is everybodys responsibility to ensure quality and the training should be targeted for all level of the company (Schifter and Catherine, 35). Customized training plans for management technicians, engineers, field and home office staff, field labor and support personnel is highly required. It is possible to argue that transient workforce can be quite different with other stable permanent workforce since the kind of transient nature of such workforces makes it somehow difficult and expensive to train workers, especially craft labor for any particular industry (Schifter and Catherine, 45). There are however numerous aspects like training and awareness that poses some similarities between the safety consciousness of the firm and TQM concepts implementation. Majority of the construction companies in Ireland that were having safety being forced on them have since proved the cost effectiveness of their existing programs and currently use their records of safety as a tool for marketing (Hamza, Salah, 44). Some of these tools that have been used in instilling safety awareness among the craft labor might be similarly adaptable in instilling equivalent quality awareness. It is somehow easy to envision a proper quality performance record as a marketing tool which is som