EXPLORING THE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE: A STUDY OF EMPLOYEES’ PERCEPTIONS AT JOHOR STATE SPORTS COUNCIL

Purpose: We aim to study and examine the difference in Human Resource Management (HRM) practices perceived by employees at Johor State Sports Council based on gender. Method: 85 employees from the Johor State Sports Council participated in the survey. The data was collected through the administered questionnaire with 26 items divided into five practices; recruitment and selection, training and development, reward, performance appraisal and participation and communication. The statistical analysis was performed using the multivariate analysis of variances (MANOVA) test. Results and conclusion: Recently, gender inequality has become an important topic discussed in every organization, particularly in human resource management (HRM). The unequal treatment among employees has made the organization confront challenges in influencing employees to perform their job. Based on the finding, it demonstrate a non-significant difference in each HRM practice regarding gender. Therefore, this study illustrates that effective human resource management executed by the Johor State Sports Council eventually motivates employees to be responsible for achieving the mission and vision of the organization. Research implications: This study can provide necessary information and guidelines for the organization to evaluate HRM practices applied. The implication of the study can be worthwhile for the government and private sectors as they can


INTRODUCTION
Human Resource Management (HRM) has been recognized as having long-term benefits for organizations to survive and compete in the world's economy. Human resource is crucial in planning an event or conference, regardless of attendance. According to Islami et al. (2018), effective management and planning can produce good results to bring the organization's name further and achieve its objective. The HRM activities in public and private organizations play a mediating variable between human resources strategy and human resource performance (Harsasi et al., 2017). This is due to the HRM had techniques and a coherent approach to the system involved and sought the gain a competitive advantage with a highly dedicated and knowledgeable labour force through a broad variety of human resource planning and policies and procedures, including recruitment, screening, training, rewarding and evaluation by HRM (Madanat & Khasawneh, 2018). In the meantime, Hatamleh (2021) viewed the HRM as a responsible mechanism for recruiting and selecting the right people, training them to do their jobs well, maximizing their contributions and keeping them engaged with the organization.
Additionally, Sivapragasam and Raya (2018) emphasized that HRM practices are significantly related to the employees and organization as they can develop their well-being. This happens when employees are one of the organization's most valuable assets because they can enhance the capabilities and progress of work (Sarfraz et al., 2018). According to Sudiardhita et al. (2018), employees will be highly motivated to perform jobs when there is an investment in wages, which directly leads the organization to achieve its mission and vision. This demonstrates that the employees' morale can be developed when there is thoughtfulness in the reciprocal process between employees and employers. The failure of the supervisor to give essential assistance might have a more significant impact on employees' satisfaction with the overall HRM system (Naidoo, 2018). Therefore, HRM practices are seen as a learning process between employees and employers which can help to enhance their work efficiency. It also can interpret the level of HRM practices implemented in the organization. The previous researchers believed that good HRM practices in the organization would give employees the best results if the HRM department were successful in human resource planning. This will eventually make them secure employees who can deliver the finest work performance to reach their aims and objectives. Aware of such a fact, organizations may be able to leverage their HRM as a source to achieve their competitive advantage and motivate employee performance.
Recently, problems regarding HRM practices have persistently occurred worldwide, such as turnover, technology changes, and employees' attitude change toward work. First and foremost, the major problem thaognized is turnover intention among employees, whether voluntary or involuntary. According to Hee and Ann (2019), employee turnover is the trend of employees leaving their current positions for various reasons related to working conditions or personal preferences. Based on the statistics provided by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), in 2020, nearly 100,000 Malaysians were laid off from employment due to the pandemic issues. This indicates that the problem of employee turnover is a critical concern affecting organizations in Malaysia. Phang Ooi and Ban Teoh (2021) stated that when an employee decides to quit the firm, this would affect the company's cost and result in the loss of competitive advantages. Meanwhile, a survey by Workforce Institute (2017) indicates that 91% of respondents expressed the main challenges in their organization facing recruitment and retention. This is due to the inadequate information of employees on the qualifications required to fill a job which can lead to an underqualified or overqualified worker being engaged (Brunello & Wruuck, 2021).
Besides that, previous researchers discussed that gender inequality treatment was also recognized as one of the issues argued in HRM (Al-Jedaiah, 2020). This has caused an imbalance between male and female employees in public and private organizations. According to the International Labor Organization, the current rate of women worldwide participating in the laborlaboure is just under 47% and 72% for males. There is a difference of 25 percentage points between the two, while some locations have a disparity that is greater than 50 percentage points. Shin et al. (2020) stated that the gendered system creates gender inequalities in beliefs, norms, and actions that can be seen in any social environment, including the organization. Researchers assert that this might happen when managers use their judgment to make a biased decision or the discrimination against gender is institutionalized by policies and procedures (Ugarte & Rubery, 2021). This implies that the unequal treatment occurring in the organization can negatively impact employees, especially related to the working environment. For that reason, there is a need for a good understanding of the difference between HRM practices and demographic factors to ensure that employees who will be hired are qualified to fill the vacancy. However, there was a dearth of studies regarding the evaluation of gender in HRM practices, as the past studies mainly focused on comparing public and private organizations (Ahmad et al., 2022;Ammad et al., 2018;Nagaraju & Pooja, 2017;Onsardi et al., 2021). Hence, this study investigates the differences in HRM practices based on gender among employees in Johor State Sports Council (MSNJ), Malaysia. Five practices were applied in measuring the purpose of the study; recruitment and selection, training and development, reward, performance appraisal, and participation and communication (Beijer, 2014).
MSNJ was chosen as the focus of this study due to several reasons. Firstly, it should be the host of Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA) 2021. Thus, it should be great to look at how the HRM practices among the organization that is preparing to host the biggest sport event in the country. However, the event was cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic. Secondly, Johor team has emerged as the champion of the event that was organized in 2022. Although the data of the current study was collected in June, 2021, this should be a great contribution to the achievement of the team as MSNJ is the main organization responsible for the preparation of athletes during the tournament.

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK
HRM can be characterized as the policies and practices required for implementing human resources routines in an organization, such as recruiting, staff growth, performance management, salary management, and the promotion of employee participation in decisionmaking (Hien, 2023). HRM is responsible for supplying qualified workers, educating them, making their efforts, and providing mechanisms to ensure employees sustain their positive affiliation to the organization. Although human resources need to minimize operating costs concerning the activities and services offered, they need to ensure that the welfare of employees should not be neglected to get profits alone (Arbab & Mahdi Abaker, 2018). This is due to the organization's performance being crucial to the industry's growth because it fosters cooperation between employees and employers. From this, it can reduce the issue in the organization, such as workplace discrimination. This indicates that HRM practices are essential in an organization as they can contribute to improving performance and achieving organizational objectives. The previous study shows a significant difference in HRM practices in the organization. Despite that, some scholars asserted that HRM practices provided by organizations had no significant difference between gender. Therefore, this literature review discussed the findings revealed by past researchers regarding gender differences in HRM practices.
Recruitment is the process of filling a vacant position with sufficient numbers and qualities of applicants that can meet the organizational objective (Obeidat et al., 2019). This is the first stage for an organization to identify capable employees to perform jobs efficiently. Hennekam et al. (2021) and Gustafsson and Gustafsson (2018) indicated that gender inequalities exist in selection processes due to the favorable conventional masculine characteristics demonstrated in the selection criteria. Raphael et al. (2021) revealed a nonsignificant difference in recruitment and selection between male and female employees in the IT industry. Fair treatment in selecting employees enables organizations to recruit highquality candidates (Koivunen et al., 2019). The result of past researchers aligned with a finding by Kudaibergenov et al. (2021)  5 recruitment and selection among employees in Kazakhstan. The previous researcher's results on employees in India also show no significant difference in recruitment practices based on gender (Jasmine, 2018). According to González et al. (2019), the selection of candidates is usually based on the relevant responsibilities toward the public. The ability possessed by employees acquires them to complete each other in achieving goals. This shows that qualified employees in an organization are not only focused based on their gender but also consider other factors that contribute to their hiring. Besides, training and development provide individuals with specialized technical knowledge applicable to their responsibilities. This can improve their expertise and capabilities and reconfigure actions to perform well. Previous researchers demonstrated a significant difference in training and development practice based on gender (Jasmine, 2018;Singh & Naidoo, 2017). According to Hammond and Churchill (2018), the inequality of training opportunities provided by organizations can make employees unsatisfied. This situation could lead to the investment of money in training programs conducted will be wasted. This shows the disparity of findings with previous researchers, where Dilshad et al. (2019) assert that organizations provide training and development to employees equally because the main objective of training provided was to enhance the knowledge and skills of employees. From this, it can enable employees to give the best service to the organization. This is also supported by Kudaibergenov et al. (2021), that show a similar perception towards the insignificant difference of gender in terms of training and development. This is because researchers perceived the availability and adequate training program designed to obtain employee information related to the job scope. Raheja (2020) also revealed the same result due to the training practice perceived by the organization as the fundamental approach to improving the development of employees. Therefore, it believes that training and development can develop more significant employee growth opportunities.
Furthermore, monetary or non-monetary benefits motivate employees to contribute positively to organizational performance. Hakim (2020) stated that rewards provided by various organizations are designed to award employees bonuses and benefits for their efforts and sacrifices in achieving organizational objectives. The sufficient reward received by employees will help public and private organizations produce effective employees (Dinesh & Senthil Kumar, 2019). Jasmine (2018) and Isa et al. (2020) show a significant difference between men and women employees in receiving rewards. Men received more monetary benefits than women due to the good productivity they delivered to the organization (Abidin et al., 2016). Kuhn and Villeval (2015) also mentioned that men received higher salaries than women employees because of their attractiveness and competitiveness. This means that the advantages contribute rewards by employees. Despite that, the rewarding practice given to employees in Nigeria showed insignificant differences between genders (Owenvbiugie & Ekhaise, 2019). The employees felt the reward received for their position was good, the same as in other organizations. This is in line with the study Neelima and Gupta (2016) conducted that the legal policy established by human resources has resources at the reward practices received by male and female employees are equal. This is also supported by Kudaibergenov et al. (2021) the presence of specific measurements applied by the organization in reward has good relations among the workforce. Thus, the above discussion shows that a reward is a form of appreciation that will be received according to the agreement that employees and employers have agreed.
Moreover, performance appraisal is considered one of essential in HRM to evaluate employees' productivity in a workplace. Performance appraisal is related to the systematic method routinely used by employers to assess employees' work and performance (Abunaila & Kadhim, 2022). It is also a tool for determining an employee against a set of established standards used by most organizations. A study conducted in India demonstrated that the 6 appraisal system is made every year and was discussed comprehensively to avoid employee bias (Nadu, 2018). This is similar to a study by Kaur et al. (2018) on employees in PNB bank that emphasized that employees' contentment is important before instituting a performance evaluation system. This action is part of gaining their trust that the assessment will be conducted fairly. Raphael et al. (2021) also demonstrated the insignificant difference in performance appraisal regarding gender as the employees have been evaluated equally. Nonetheless, some scholars contend a significant difference between men and women in the performance appraisal (Jasmine, 2018;Topuz & Çağlayan, 2019). Women received a higher appraisal system than men as they tend to be serious about the task given (Mihat et al., 2020). Thus, quality performance appraisals among male and female employees can help in providing a clear picture of service performance. Lastly, the context of participation by Oikonomou (2018) refers to the employees that link any changes to decision-making, planning, solutions, and results. Meanwhile, Kaur and Kaur (2020) stated that participation is the involvement of employees in an activity that allows them to have authority in managing decisions that can significantly contribute to organizations. According to Tiwari et al. (2018), males have a higher level of participation and communication in the organization, especially regarding decision-making. This enables male employees to strengthen their decision-making skills. Apart from that, the communication style between men and women also has been recognized as one of the factors that cause differences. This is due to men being an individual that is more directive while women are courteous and emotional in communicating (Karjo & Wijaya, 2020). In the meantime, Jasmine (2018) revealed that women had a higher mean score in communication than men. However, participation and communication shown by Nadu (2018) do not reveal differences as the organization provides equal opportunities for employees to deliver their ideas and opinions. The feedback provided by employees will be accepted by management to improve the organization's good relations (Davidescu et al., 2020). From this, it can be concluded that the fair chances offered to employees to involve in the organization will eventually develop a good employment relationship.

METHODOLOGY
This study used a quantitative method in which the researcher did a questionnaire survey. The comparative research design was used and is aligned with the objective of determining the difference in HRM based on gender. The population of Johor State Sports Council (MSNJ) employees was included in this study. The sample collected based on the total number is 85. The questionnaire was given and collected in June, 2021. The questionnaire consists of two sections; section A consists of the respondent's demographic background, such as gender. Meanwhile, section B questions were measured using Beijer (2014), consisting of 26 items for five practices. Four items represented recruitment and selection, seven items of training and development, four items of performance appraisal, and six items of reward and participation communication consisting of five items. All items in Section B were rated on a 5-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). The Cronbach alpha was reported in Table 1.  (2023) The data extracted from the questionnaire distribution was then analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23 (IBM, US). First, the data obtained is analyzed to determine the normality and reliability of the data. The data analysis carried out consists of descriptive analysis and inferential analysis. To compare human resource management practices based on gender, the researcher used the ANOVA test. This ANOVA test analyzes the difference between the mean scores between genders based on the implementation of human resource management practices in the organization.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A one-way MANOVA was conducted to identify significant differences in human resource management practices among employees of the Johor State Sports Council based on gender. Before the MANOVA analysis test was completed, the researcher analyzed to test the homogeneity of the variance-covariance matrices by using the Box's M test. The results of this analysis are shown in the table below:  Table 2 shows the Box's M test output to test the homogeneity assumption of variance-covariance matrices across groups. The results of the analysis show the value of Box's M = 22.338 and the ssignificance level = 0.141 (p > 0.05). Therefore, there is no significant difference between the covariance matrices. This means that the dependent variable is homogenous across the independent variable and the covariance matrices are the same to meet the assumptions. One-way MANOVA analysis can be conducted to identify significant differences in human resource management practices among the Johor State Sports Council employees based on gender (Pallant, 2007). The results of the One-Way MANOVA analysis are in the following table 3.  (2023) The multivariate test shows that the P value (Wilks' Lambda) is 0.646, which is greater than the significant level α = 0.05 (p > 0.05). Therefore the results show that there is no significant difference for human resource management practice among employees of the Johor State Sports Council based on gender F (5, 79) = 0.671, p > 0.05; Wilk's Λ = 0.959, partial η2 = 0.041. The differences in each human resource management practice among employees of the Johor State Sports Council based on gender are illustrated in the following ANOVA summary table 4.   The analysis results show that the p values-value F Test for each practice is greater than the significant level α = 0.05 (p > 0.05). This means that there is no significant difference for each practice (recruitment and selection, training and development, reward, performance appraisal, and participation and communication) among employees based on gender.
The finding indicates a non-significant difference in recruitment and selection based on gender. This was aligned with previous researchers that found the recruitment and selection conducted in their organization fair (Okeke & Mukolu, 2020;Bano et al., 2020;Raphael et al., 2021). This shows that employees at MSNJ agreed with the management's implementation of the selection method as it follows the criteria and procedures set. Previous researchers support this; the employer's consideration in the hiring and selection process is seen as a persistent effort to avoid mistakes during the interview (Halpin & Smith, 2019). The good selection made by management can help create a proactive work environment where the capabilities possessed by employees can be used properly. Otoo et al. (2018) stated that the success of the HRM strategy depends on the effective recruitment and selection of employees. Nonetheless, Chan and Wang (2018) emphasized that men who possess masculine features like self-confidence are prioritized in many organizations, while women are more likely to be hired in a feminine occupation. This has contributed to one of the reasons that discrimination in hiring occurs. According to Hennekam et al. (2021), management's action in discriminating against the election of employees has made a difference. The improper use of power has caused the employer to bypass the law during the hiring procedure. Therefore, the organization must emphasize fairness in selecting employees to ensure a safe work environment.
Likewise, the training and development conducted by the organization demonstrated no difference between male and female employees. This is similar to a previous study that reported that the training and development program designed by organizations perceived by employees was consistent (Raheja, 2020;Neelima & Gupta, 2016). This implies that employees at MSNJ agreed that a high and equitable investment had been made in providing training and development to male and female employees. Past researchers asserted that fair training allocations to employees could impact their behavior to have vast career opportunities (Shortland & Porter, 2020). This is because the knowledge gained through training and development is essential to improve their skills at work. From that, it allows them to carry out tasks without assistance and supervision. Despite that, Singh and Naidoo (2017) stated that a difference in the treatment of female employees happened due to the barriers confronted in having opportunities provided by the organization. This kind of 9 situation has caused female employees not to be able to develop a better quality of work. In the meantime, Walk et al. (2019) emphasized that men who had received training were more likely to remain in the position than women. It shows that the difference between training and development courses has become a gap in employee skills. Hence, this study proves that the excellent training structure conducted in the MSNJ and other organizations will promote healthy employee competition. Additionally, the results of this study show insignificant differences in reward practice among employees at MSNJ. Past researchers have also proven that the reward method in their organizations is provided fairly based on employees' efforts (Kudaibergenov et al., 2021). This shows that MSNJ employees agreed with the equal extent of reward given by the organization as it was commensurate with the task given. This study was supported by past researchers who stated that providing a sufficient reward according to employees' contributions is a form of fair treatment towards them (Pandita & Ray, 2018). This statement illustrates that satisfied employees towards rewards can influence them to act positively in their job. Nevertheless, this study's finding was not parallel to a past survey by Isa et al. (2020) as they found significant differences in reward based on gender. Researchers expressed that employers preferred to be highly compensated men rather than women. According to Dominelli (2020), men gained high pay due to their family obligations, while women were more inclined to prioritize family over work. A survey by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) (2020) also reported that men are more likely to receive extra rewards due to their experience, while women decided on early retirement to focus on family. For that reason, the finding of this study shows that effective rewards from employers will impact the performance of employees and the organization, as well as their intention to stay.
On the other hand, the performance appraisal practice had no significant difference among employees at MSNJ regarding gender. A study by Kaur et al. (2018) also revealed that the appraisal system evaluated by management was accurate. The result indicates that employees in MSNJ agreed with the equal and constructive feedback received on the performance evaluation conducted by the administration. Moscatelli et al. (2019) highlighted that the evaluation committee of gender diversity might result in relatively higher equality in performance appraisals of male and female employees. This shows that the integrity of the assessment committees is required to produce an accurate evaluation of employees. As supported by Francis and Ahmad (2021), the fairness of the management in conducting the performance evaluation without bias can avoid conflicts in the organization. However, Topuz and Çağlayan (2019) showed a contradictory result when they found a significant difference in performance assessment based on gender. Researchers indicate that women had higher performance evaluations rather than men. This is due to their perception that the assessment was influenced by other factors, such as the evaluation method and supervisors' education. According to Yazid et al. (2017), vague evaluations and poor performance measurement can create problems for employees and managers who act as evaluators. Thus, the performance evaluation conducted in this study was good as the employee received a clear explanation from the organization.
Lastly, this study also established a non-significant difference in participation and communication practice among employees at MSNJ. This was in line with past researchers that demonstrated fair communication opportunities in their organizations (Nadu, 2018). Employees in MSNJ strongly agree that the open communication practice in the organization allows them to present ideas and opinions to the management. According to Mahbob et al. (2019), employees who receive positive support regarding their point of view tend to deliver good work to the organization. This allows employees to feel valued when they are involved in the organization. Jasmine (2018) indicates that women had better participation and communication than men. This is because female employees have a high level of attractiveness in communication which ultimately influences others. It was supported by past researchers that women are better listeners because they pay closer attention and are more likely to be persuasive during communication (Inks et al., 2020). An empathetic individual in the organization will help to convince more prospects. Maharani et al. (2020) also stated that women convey their attitude in interacting with people more politely than men. After all, it shows the organization needs to play a good role in developing a harmonious environment to have a high involvement of employees.

CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, the findings confirmed that five practices of HRM, including recruitment and selection, training and development, reward, performance appraisal, and participation and communication, do not significantly differ in terms of gender. This study can provide necessary information and guidelines for the organization to evaluate HRM practices applied. The implication of the study can be worthwhile for the government and private sectors as they can gain depth understanding of HRM practices. The depth observation of the practices will enable employers to observe the behavior and attitudes of employees to avoid the problem of voluntary or involuntary turnover. Also, the result obtained may add to the existing information in HRM as it enables an organization to design effective strategies that can develop a good relationship between employees and employers. This will surely positively impact employees to improve their performance while performing jobs. In addition, this result also can contribute to academicians' and researchers' further studies regarding HRM. They may use the limitations and recommendations suggested improving the study. This is because HRM practices are an essential mechanism for the organization to determine its success. Hence, it shows the promising implications of HRM practices that could produce satisfaction among employees. At last, future researchers are recommended to enlarge the study's sample throughout the Malaysian State Sports Council to view the employees' perception of the organization. Besides, future studies may add other dimensions of HRM practices in investigating gender differences. Additionally, future researchers can use the combination of interviewing respondents to obtain reliable results as this study only focuses on the survey through a questionnaire.