employee loyalty

International Management Journals www.managementjournals.com International Journal of Applied HRM
Volume 3 Issue 1

Employee Loyalty at the Workplace:
The Impact of Japanese Style of Human Resource Management

Hooi Lai Wan
ISSN 1742-2604

www.managementjournals.com

International Journal of Applied HRM: Volume 3 Issue 1

Introduction
In this era of globalization and liberalization, employees are becoming the competitive advantage for business. A business may manage with mediocre employees but competent employees can propel an average business to greater heights. Likewise, bad employees can cause flourishing business empires to collapse. In a tight labor market, keeping good employees and developing employee loyalty becomes increasingly important and a continuing challenge.
With the tight labor market, employers therefore need a strategy to retain their key experts and crucial skilled workers. As prospective employers continuously bid for top performers, management strategies must therefore give due consideration and sufficient resource allocation to keep employees motivated and satisfied. The idea is that the satisfied employee is less likely to pursue greener pastures. Thus, implementing desirable human resource management policies will have a positive effect on employee loyalty.
Japan obviously relies extensively on its human capital to fulfill its national economic objectives. The "Look East Policy" was developed to emulate Japanese style of management, especially human resource management. Japanese human resource management places great emphasis on the internal labor market to fill promotion opportunities, long-term development programs and job security, among others. All these are contributory factors for employee loyalty. For Malaysia to sustain economic growth, appropriate human resource management policies that promote employee loyalty are essential.
Continuous and systematic approach to training and development,

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