KULLIYYAH OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT (TERM PAPER):

PREPARED BY:
AFIFAH NABILAH BINTI MOHD SAFEI (1321976)

SECTION: 2

SESSION:
SEMESTER 1, 2016/2017

LECTURER:
PROF. DR. JUNAIDAH BINTI HASHIM

SUBMISSION DATE:
29TH NOVEMBER 2016
 CONTENTS

ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................................ 3

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 3

Human Resource Management (HRM) in general.................................................................................. 4

Islamic Management in brief .................................................................................................................. 5

ISLAMIC GUIDELINES ON HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ............................................. 5

CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 8

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................... 9

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 ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to study on how Islamic teaching can contribute to a better

employee’s management. Islamic teaching does not only revolve around the faith, belief,

worshipping and religion, however, it covers the whole aspect of life including in business

and management. For a Muslim human resource manager, to know and to implement the

Islamic teaching while managing employees is an obligation which he must fulfills as a good

Muslim. Therefore, the main focus of this paper is on the Islamic guideline in managing

employees which may be useful for all human resource managers to know.

INTRODUCTION

Human resource management (HRM) differs from a company to another. More often

than not, it has been an immense challenge to the companies to practice an effective human

resource management which is able to influence and control the employees behaviour for the

company’s success. Most news on the media reported on the conflicts between employers and

employees; fraud, scandals and some other operational risks across various industries which

caused large losses and even the failure of a significant number of large firms. (M. Seidu,

2009). What causes this kind of things to happen? Is it because of the fault of the company’s

HRM or is it because of the behaviour of the employee itself? And there are some more

questions arise from this issues and manager started to find ways to prevent or overcome this

problem. Therefore, several studies have been made to study the influence of religion on the

employee’s behaviour at the workplace (Hashim, 2008). Alkahtani (2014, p. 184 ) stated,

“Until recently, management research alienated itself from religion and its

possible impact on employee behavior at work; organizations were treated

as “religion-free” zones (Matiaske & Grozinger, 2010). This notion

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 prevailed in the face of the acknowledgement of more than 80 percent

people that religion is an integral part of their daily life (Sedikides, 2010).

However, the interest of management researchers has incarnated the role of

religion in management. A number of studies have affirmed the influence of

religion on workplace behaviors, such as “satisfaction” (King &

Williamson, 2005), “leadership styles and effectiveness” (Reave, 2005),

“ethical behaviors” (Weaver & Agle, 2002), and “employment practices”

(Budhwar & Fadzil, 2000).”

Human Resource Management (HRM) in general

Human Resource Management (HRM) can be defined as a formal system for

managing people within an organization1. In other words, HRM is an organized way to

manage people of the organization. A human resource manager is responsible to manage the

employees within his organization through three major areas: staffing, employee

compensation and benefits, and defining/designing work2. Alkahtani (2014, p. 185) claimed,

“Human resource management (HRM) relates to the utilization and

management of human capital to attain organizational goals and objectives

(Armstrong, 1996: 2000; Armstrong & Baron, 2002; Osman et al., 2013).

HRM entails four basic functions: acquisition, development, motivation and

maintenance of human resource (Osman et al., 2013).

1
http://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/human-resource-management.html
2
http://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/human-resource-management.html

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Islamic Management in brief

Islam is not just a religion but it is a way of life. Islamic teaching covers all aspect of

life from the smallest atom to the biggest sun. “Islam not only concerns about the worldly

matters but also the hereafter since everything done by mankind in this world has the ultimate

end to seek Allah’s pleasure” (Sulaiman et al., 2014, p.190, as cited by Alkahtani, 2014). As

Allah said in the Quran, “This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My

favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.” (Quran, 5:3). Management in

Islamic perspective “is the process of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the efforts

of organizational members and by using all other organizational resources depending upon

the guidance of Allah (SWT) and His Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) with accountable

mentality, integrity and skills to achieve the predetermined objective” (Sulaiman et al., 2014,

p.192, as cited by Alkahtani, 2014).

ISLAMIC GUIDELINES ON HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Branine & Pollard (2010) as cited by Alkahtani (2014) believed that the principles of

Islamic management are including the Niyyah (intention), Taqwa (perfection), Ehsan

(conscious), Adl (justice), Amanah (trustworthy), Siddiq (honest), Itqan (hardworking), Ikhlas

(sincere), Shura (consultation) and Sabr (patience). These principles are guidelines that can

be applied in an organization’s human resource management. We discussed further only on

the 5 main principles as follows:

1. Niyyah (intention)

Niyyah or intention is one of the main criteria that a human resource manager should

consider when choosing and evaluating employees. “Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said

that; “the reward of deeds depends on the intentions” (Ibn Kather, 2003). Hence,

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 employees should be rewarded and punished for their intended activities; unintentional

mistakes should be overlooked.” (Alkahtani, 2014; p. 186). As an example, Kaki Copy’s

assistant manager said that the company takes serious of the intention of the candidates

when recruiting the employees in which, they will only hire the candidates that shows a

serious intention to work with Kaki Copy for a long period of time instead of choosing

someone who just want to play around and have no intention of working seriously.

2. Taqwa (perfection)

Alkahtani (2014, p. 186) stated, “Taqwa is fear of Allah (SWT) and love of Allah (SWT),

i.e. to do what Allah (SWT) commands and abstain from Allah’s (SWT) prohibitions

.Taqwa not only keeps a person away from evil but also steers his actions towards

perfection (Nafs mutmainah). In organizational context, it spurs employees to engage in

constructive criticism and render opinions for the betterment of the organization”. Taqwa

is important to measure the ability of the employee to constantly improve themselves and

not hastily disagree or getting angry after getting feedback either from the customers or

employer.

3. Ehsan (conscious)

Alkahtani (2014, p.186) believed, “Ehsan can be inferred as seeking Allah’s (SWT)

pleasure, and worshipping Him as if one sees Him or at least acknowledge that Allah

(SWT) sees one. Islam has elevated work to a virtue and an act of worship (Ali A. J.,

2010), and while working, a Muslim is expected to be conscious of being watched by

Allah (SWT)”. Most human resource manager at a Muslim’s organization will stated

‘praying 5 times a day’ as one of the requirements for the candidates to work at the

organization. This is because if the candidate prays 5 times a day without missing, it

means that, he or she is conscious of Allah and thus, he or she will not do things or bad

deeds that Allah do not like such as stealing or cheating.

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4. Adl (justice)

Human resource management activities are always connected to the justice. Hashim

(2008, p. 150) claimed, “In recruitment and selection of employees, favouritism and

nepotism has always influenced hiring decisions. As Ali (2005) has pointed rightly,

selection is one of the most complicated tasks in organisation. This is due to the fact that

when there are many candidates applying for the jobs, employers have plenty of potential

candidates to select from. In order to ensure the recruitment is fairly conducted and a just

treatment is given to all applicants, Islam requires the person in charge of recruitment to

be pious and just.” Fair treatment and justice should be applicable to all employees

regardless of their ethnicity, races, genders, skin colors and religions in order to prevent

the unsatisfaction between the employee and employer relationship. Everyone deserves to

be treated fairly but not equally because equality does not necessarily justify justice. For

example, a workload that a male employee can manage to fulfil for 8 hours does not same

as the workload that a female employee can do and vice versa.

5. Siddiq (honesty)

Alkahtani (2014, p. 186) stated, “Islam highly admires the virtue of truth. In

organizational set up, truthfulness spouts into accepting responsibility for ones doings and

upholding fairness in work related activities.” Honesty is the main criteria that a human

resource manager should consider during the recruitment of the employee. Honesty

defines an employee value and shows how far an employee can make a decision based on

the organization’s interest, not for him or her own interest. The higher the position of the

employee, the higher the risk of the employee to be dishonest like the 1MDB and the

ministry’s bribery scandal cases where the person involved are not honest despite of their

high positions within the organizations.

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 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, religion does give big influence on the employees’ behaviour at the

workplace. A Muslim human resource manager should not ignore the Islamic principles and

guidelines when recruiting, managing and designing a job to the employee. These basic

Islamic principles are not only a talk that brings nothing but they are the things that will bring

success to the organization. As Allah said in the Quran, “Certainly will the Believers have

succeeded” (Quran, 23:1)

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 REFERENCES

Human Resource Management (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2016, from

http://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/human-resource-management.html

Seidu, A. M. (2006, December). Islamic Concept Of Employer-Employee Relationships: An

Instrument For Managing Human Resources And Certain Operational Risk Exposures. Legon

Journal of Sociology, 3(2), 45-69.

Hashim, J. (2008, August). The Quran-Based Human Resource Management and its Effects

on Organisational Justice, Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention. The Journal of

International Management Studies, 3(2), 148-159.

Alkahtani, A. (2014). An Application of Islamic Principles in Building a Robust Human

Resource Management System (In Islamic Countries). International Journal of Recent

Advances in Organizational Behaviour and Decision Sciences (IJRAOB), 1(3), 183-194.

Al-Mukminun (The Believers) (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2016, from

https://quran.com/23/1-10

Al-Maidah (The Table Spread) (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2016, from

https://quran.com/5/3