Research Proposal: Competency Management and Employee Performance

This research proposal investigates the impact of competency management on employee performance, focusing on Accenture Bangalore. The study explores the significance of talent management, its practices, and their effects on employee performance. The introduction outlines the background, rationale, aim, objectives, and research questions. The literature review delves into the concepts of talent management, different talent management practices, and their effects on employee performance. The research methodology section details the research philosophy, approach, data collection, sampling, accessibility, ethical considerations, and data analysis plan. The proposal aims to understand talent management, explore practices at Accenture, analyze their effects, and recommend improvements. The study highlights the importance of retaining skilled employees, the challenges organizations face, and the need for effective talent management strategies to achieve a competitive edge and organizational success. The report also includes a time frame and references for the research.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL:
(Systematically study the impact of competency
management on employee performance: Accenture,
Bangalore)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1
Background of the study........................................................................................................1
Rationale for choosing topic..................................................................................................2
Research Aim and Objectives................................................................................................2
Aim.....................................................................................................................................2
Objectives...........................................................................................................................2
Research Questions................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................................3
What is talent management?..................................................................................................3
Different talent management practices that helps in enhancing the performance of
employees...............................................................................................................................4
Effects of talent management systems on the performance of employees.............................5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...............................................................................................6
Research Philosophy..............................................................................................................6
Research Approach................................................................................................................6
Type of Investigation.............................................................................................................6
Data collection method..........................................................................................................7
Sampling method...................................................................................................................7
Accessibility issues................................................................................................................8
Ethical issues..........................................................................................................................8
Data analysis plan..................................................................................................................8
Research Limitation...............................................................................................................8
TIME FRAME.........................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
According to Reis and Quental (2014) employees are considered to be the most
important part of any organization. Firms are highly responsible for managing and retaining
their workers by the way of adopting various practices. In this concern, there are various
strategies adopted by companies through which organizations can retain their employee.
Beardwell and Claydon (2007) stated in his article that talent management practices are
widely used concept nowadays in order to motivate workers and enhance their performance.
It will result in greater employee output and less investment as well. Managing competencies
are one of the most important ways to foster employee and organizational high performance.
With the help of this, company can easily motivate all the employees to perform more
effectively. However, workers are highly dependent on several factors which might leads to
enhance their commitment level as well as performance. From the past few years it has been
seen that competency management is increasingly discussed in the literature of HRM and
HRD. However, it helps the researcher in finding out most suitable information and data as
per the past studies of researchers. Majority of enterprises are following this practices in
order attract, select, develop and manage employees in an integrated and strategic way.
According to Williams (2000) talent management is a concept which helps in developing and
guiding all those workers of the firm who are effectively contributing towards the success of
an organization. However, the ability of this success does not lies to retaining the staff only
rather it helps in understanding, managing and developing their talents in best possible ways.
By the way of retaining talent among workers organizations can easily sustain better
performance of their workers. Motivation factor is one of the most important factors of the
increased performance of workers. They can be easily motivated by the way of appropriate
training and development programs. It enhances their level of talent and raises their
capabilities as well. For the same, Accenture provide can provide effective training to all their
workers as all of them are highly responsible for delivering quality services to all their
customers in more than 120 countries across the globe. All their employees are performing
best to deliver high quality services to their customers and maintaining profitable relationship
with them. They can even perform better if company is successful in retaining their talent and
maintaining appropriate competence management.
In this concern, it is quite possible for firms to adopt such strategies through which
they can acquire talent from the external labour market. Further, it has been seen that
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organizations has started focusing on investment in talent development activities in business
(Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). In this regard, the present study is taken into consideration
which presented appropriate information about the talent management and its impact on the
performance of employees. The organisation selected for the purpose of this research is
“Accenture Ltd.”. It is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing
company. The employee strength at this centre is more than 500 employees and for all of
them company is attaining various talent management practices in order to retain them.
Further, this study gives appropriate information about the effects of talent management
systems implemented at Accenture, Bangalore.
Rationale for choosing topic
One of the major research issues in the present study is retention of employees in
today’s highly competitive environment. There is an increasing demand for highly talented
and skilled employees within organizations. It same applies to Accenture Bangalore as well
as it is the world’s largest consulting firm measured by revenue. For maintaining their brand
positioning and image in the market they require to go through the proper competence
management. However, retaining and incorporating talented employees possesses various
challenges to the business units for developing high business growth while managing the cost
of the company. It is becoming a major issue that management of large organizations are
undergoing to high pressure for retaining skilled workers. Without having proper talent
management within the business organizations they are not able to sustain in this highly
competitive era. However, in incurs extra costing for appropriate training and development
which most of the time not possible for the company. In order to provide better consulting
services as well as digital services Accenture requires sustaining talented workers. Further,
the research focuses on the effective measures that Accenture can adopt for better talent
management. Due to sustain higher competitive advantage and retain more number of
customers organizations are spending enormous amounts of capital. The present study will
help in evaluating and understanding the factors which helps Accenture in enhancing
competitive edge and stability of the company.
Research Aim and Objectives
Aim
The aim of this study is systematically study the impact of competency management on
employee performance: A case study on Accenture Bangalore
Objectives
 To understand the concept and theories of talent management.
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 To explore different talent management practices that helps in enhancing the
performance of employees of Accenture Bangalore.
 To analyse the effects of talent management systems implemented at Accenture –
Bangalore, India.
 To recommend various ways through which firm can impose better talent
management practices.
Research Questions
 Does talent management system incorporated in Accenture improve their
organizational and employee performance?
LITERATURE REVIEW
What is talent management?
While going through the different studies related to the talent management, it has been
founded that there is great extent of debate presented the theoretical perspectives of talent
management as well as development. According to Belloti (2005) talent management is an
approach which helps in developing, retaining and attracting more number of people in order
to attain higher organizational success. However, this overall process includes the
development of individuals within the complex surroundings. On the other hand, Rankin
(2003) found that there are mainly three key streams related to the talent management in
which first one is highly related with the mere substitution of label talent management with
respect to HRM. In addition to this, second key stream defines the development of talent pool
which highly focuses on the managing progression employees as well as projecting staffing
needs. This research is highly focused with the succession planning literature (Veloso and
et.al, 2014). However, most of the studies have presented several ways through which needs
and demands of the employee’s development can be easily accessed.
The last stream and factor is highly focused with the management of talented people.
This section is highly focused with the workers who are “A performers”. After considering
all the above approaches and streams of talent management it has been founded that there is
one more stream. It presented the key positions that have got some potential of
differentiation. It clearly shows that all these situations are having direct impact on the
competitive edge of the firm (Berger and Berger, 2004). Here, in this stream the major focus
contributes towards the identification of key positions rather than looking after talented
individuals. However, a suitable talent management strategy involves various activities that
help them in identifying their key positions and attaining higher competitive advantage. With
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the help of this, firms can easily develop a talent pool that are highly potential and effectively
fill all their responsibilities.
According to Luecke and Hall (2006) talent management is a successful tool for
business organizations as well as human resource strategy that seeks to recognize, grow,
deploy and retain talented and high potential employees.
Different talent management practices that helps in enhancing the performance of employees
Kochanski and Ledford (2001) stated that in order to retain more number of workers
and enhance their performance it is quite essential or firm to adopt some of the best talent
management practices. On contrary, Hunt (2007) in his study stated that there are several key
components of a highly effective talent management process which includes:
 There must be a clear understanding of the current and future strategies of the firm
 Management team of company should go through the identification of key gaps
between the talent in place and talent required to attain the success in business
 In order to close the talent gaps a sound talent management plan need to be designed
 A firm must take appropriate promotion decisions as well as go through the accurate
hiring
 There should be an appropriate connection between the individuals and team goals to
corporate goals (Beardwell and Claydon, 2007). It provides a clear understanding
through which performance can be managed.
 To enhance the performance in current position there must be an appropriate
development of talent management practices.
 After formulating the talent strategy it there must be a successful evaluation as well.
According to the research of Belloti (2005) it has been shown that companies who invest
in talent management practices consistently can easily outperform their peers. On the other
hand, Williams (2000) has given 7 key talent management practices followed by
organizations to enhance the performance of their employees such as:
 Alignment of organizational goals appropriately and track the performance of
individuals
 Organize various sessions in which regular employee reviews need to be given to
keep employee performance on track
 An on-going feedback can be provided to workers in order to maximize their
performance
 Companies must invest in performance based development
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 There should be a process in which organizations need to identify and rewards high
performing workers (Veloso and et.al, 2014).
 Have an appropriate succession plan so that success can be easily attained.
All the above given approaches presented that there is a positive relationship between the
talent management practices as well as performance of workers. With the help of having
better talent management practices firm can easily retain and develop higher number of
employees.
Effects of talent management systems on the performance of employees
According to Kochanski and Ledford (2001) talent management is all about
developing the talent pool within the organization so that success can be easily achieved.
With the help of having best and talented workers within an organization they can easily
achieve their goals. On contrary, Rankin (2003) founded that proper management of workers
who are the blood of organizations is a must. However, the total success of firm is highly
dependent on the employee commitment and contribution. Williams (2000) argues that it is
quite essential for firms to use holistic approach for retaining talented employees, right from
selection of workers as well as their development and promotion to higher level. On the
opposition Reis and Quental (2014) contradicted the statement and stated that that there are
various HR policies, training and development as well as leadership commitment which are
the most important aspects to provide employees with the necessary knowledge and skills. It
helps them in cope with the problem solving in an effective way. However, employee
performance is totally dependent on their knowledge and skills and represented by the
opportunities for the individual growth within the organization.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
It is considered as a most important chapters of any research in which researcher can
find out appropriate sources of data collection. With the help of this effective findings can be
developed through valid results. There are different techniques of research i.e.:
Research Philosophy
It can also be define as a blueprint of study which gives deep insights about the ways
in which data should be evaluated and used. Interpretivism and positivism are two major
research philosophies which can be used by researcher as per the suitability. One of the most
suitable philosophy applied in this study is related to the will be Interpretivism. The rationale
behind employing this technique is its qualitative nature. However, there will no hypothesis
formulated due to which best suitable research philosophy is Intrepretivism. It helps in
making in depth accurate assessment of human behaviour as well as incorporating their
understanding as per the given subject matter.
Research Approach
Inductive and deductive are two main research approaches which help the researcher
in accumulating relevant information as per the given subject matter. Inductive approach
starts with accumulation of given topic and develop several theories on the basis of same. On
the other hand, deductive approach can be defined as a reverse process under which a
common theory is contracted to more specific one. This theory is being entailed at the time
when hypothesis is being frame. As far as this research is taken into consideration, Inductive
approach is one of the best suitable as not hypothesis is being developed. Another major
reason of incorporating this technique is that data will be gathered here firstly and then
particular inferences will be derived.
Type of Investigation
With the help of selecting most suitable type of investigation researcher can easily
gain better understanding as per the given subject matter. It is the most effective technique
through which researcher can decline the chances of misleading of information. Mainly there
are different types of investigations descriptive, exploratory, experimental, case studies etc.
All these investigation approaches used by researchers as per the nature of the study (Sam
and Daniel, 2011). Here, as far as this present study concern, descriptive approach will be the
most suitable. It helps the researcher in examining all the organizational practices related to
the talent management. It provides in depth analysis and description about the given subject
matter. One of the main purposes of incorporating this study is just to gain deep insights
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about the impact of competency management on employee performance. This type of design
clearly consists of observation and describes the particular action and behaviour of the
subjects without manipulating them in any manner. Through this, researcher is able to govern
the behaviour of all the employees. The main defence for using this method is that the
defendants are perceived in their natural settings.
Data collection method
At the time of conducting any research one of the most important factors to go
through the valid conclusion is the selection of appropriate data collection method. There are
majorly two ways i.e. primary as well as secondary. These are the most important techniques
through which researcher can find out and collect the most suitable information as per the
given subject matter (Cooper and Schindler, 2003). Primary information can be gathered by
the way of using different techniques such as interview, questionnaire survey etc. It helps in
gathering information from the viewpoint of third party.
On the other hand, secondary data can be gathered from various online sources such
as internet, online magazines, journals etc. In the present study, data will be gathered by the
way of using primary technique. Here, in the present study primary sources will be taken into
consideration in which employees of Accenture Bangalore will give better response about
their work (Jonker and Pennink, 2010). In order to gather information, questionnaire survey
technique will be incorporated and it will be filled by all the current employees who have
experience with Accenture Ltd. They can give better response about the effects of talent
management practices on their performance within the organization.
Sampling method
At the time of gathering responses from different respondents it is essential to select
the appropriate sample from the whole population. With the help of this technique researchers
can save their time by selecting most desirable respondents for data collection. In this
concern, the whole Sampling process is of two type’s i.e. probabilistic and non-probabilistic
sampling technique (Dey, 2002). As far as the present research takes place, probabilistic
sampling technique will be taken into consideration. Under this, simple random sampling
technique will be the most suitable technique in which sample size of 100 employees of
Accenture will be incorporated. One of the major reasons behind selection of this technique is
to many employees are just to gather more accurate information. There is a huge number of
workers work with Accenture and due to this it is highly essential for researcher to select the
appropriate sample. It is not possible to select all the workers due the limited availability of
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time. It is the only way through which apparent and most suitable information can be
gathered.
Accessibility issues
At the time of gathering primary as well as secondary data there are various issues
which might face by researcher. In this, accessibility issue is considered as a major issue
which researcher can face at the time of gathering information from the employees of
Accenture. There must be a possibility that they are not interested to give any information
regarding their performance as well as company (Kumar, 2005). On the other hand, at the
time of secondary data collection also researcher might face an issue where he/she is not able
to access information and get a message to access denied at some particular websites.
Ethical issues
It is quite essential for researcher to follow all the ethical practices while conducting
research. According to this concern, it is essential that the whole study should be followed
under which not plagiarized content should be found. In the present study, researcher will
require to collect all the information from authentic sources (Kimmel, 2009). It is also
necessary to keep third party information secure. In order to gather appropriate and relevant
information researcher requires an informed agreement from the research participants and
their responses remain anonymous and confidential.
Data analysis plan
It is considered as a most important sections of any research in which researcher can
draw a valid conclusion as well as better findings. With the help of most suitable conclusion
researcher can easily suggest the various ways or strategies through which firms can impose
better talent management practices (Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation Methods, 2007).
There are mainly two ways of data analysis i.e. qualitative as well as quantitative. In the
present study, proper investigation will take place by the way of using qualitative technique.
In this technique a proper research inquiry will made to govern the behaviour. Here, as per
the given subject matter data will be analysed by the way of using thematic as well as well as
graphical representation. Under this, different themes can be developed by the researcher on
the basis of different themes
Research Limitation
While conducting any research one of the major limitations that might face by
researcher is related to the availability of time, financial resources etc. (Kimmel, 2009). Due
to these limitations, researcher will not be able to conduct researcher in a more effectively.
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TIME FRAME
ACTIVITY/WEEK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Writing the research proposal
Reading and understanding the
literature
Finalization of the objectives
Collection of primary and
secondary data
Analysis of the primary &
secondary data
Development of research
approach
Drafting of research
methodology
Formulating the questionnaire
Arranging interviews
Conducting interview
Gathering of the information
Findings of the Draft
Evaluation of the data
Finalizing other chapters
Draft findings chapter
Submission to tutor and awaiting
feedback
Revising the final draft
Printing and binding
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