Productivity growth and HRM: challenges and opportunities of employee potential in Fiji

Abstract

The linkages between productivity growth and human resources management are not new, nor are they totally unfamiliar to policymakers, bureaucrats and practising managers. However, what is often misunderstood and frequently understated is the extent to which the particularities of context impact on the extent to which strategies aimed at enhancing productivity growth and HRM are mapped out and put into effect. This paper aims to provide insights into the challenges and opportunities for maximising employee potential in the Fijian workplace. It seeks to provide an overview of the situation in Fiji and the case studies in public sector workplace. The Fijian experience shows that policies aimed at greater productivity and, consequently, greater economic growth, must incorporate strategies that acknowledge the essence and significance of the human factor. If it is understood that characteristics of the Fijian context create a situation where commitment and divided loyalties are two sides of the same coin, then the ironies of the dualism that pervades employee behaviour and motivation in Fijian workplaces can be better managed.