This study investigates the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational performance. Results based on a sample of 82 organizations from private and public sectors in Eritrea indicate that some of the practices have a significant impact on employee turnover, absenteeism, grievances and productivity. While compensation was the only independent variable found to be statistically significant in affecting grievances, employee selection had no effect across all performance measures. However, the study's results offer support for the assertion that investments in HRM practices results in better organizational performance.

Purpose -This paper seeks to examine employee reactions to human resource management (HRM) and performance. It placed employees on a centre stage in analysing HRM to provide theoretical insights. Design/methodology/approach -To explore the theme, a survey of 252 employees drawn from eight organisations was conducted. Furthermore, on-site interviews were carried out with managers, thereby contributing to the generalisability of the findings. Findings -The findings from the study indicate a positive attitude of employees to HRM practices, such as promotion from within, staffing, equal employment opportunity, quality of training, reasonable compensation and paid vacation and sick days. Moreover, the evidence also shows that productivity has been increasing while employee turnover, absenteeism, and grievances are low. However, the evidence also reveals that training was not integrated in a planned way to employee career development.Research limitations/implications -The present study adds to a growing literature that helps the understanding of HRM policies and practices in a developing country context. Future research would benefit from additional research in this area in other geographical settings to better understand the generalisability of the findings reported. Originality/value -In contrast with previous research, which has predominantly been conducted from a managerial perspective, this article deals with employee perceptions. This emphasises the importance of exploring employee reactions towards HRM practices, policies and other aspects of firm life.

Purpose -This article seeks to examine the challenges and prospects of human resource management (HRM) in a developing-country context. It focuses on contextual factors and employee involvement in analysing HRM to provide theoretical insights. Design/methodology/approach -To explore the above theme, on-site interviews were carried out with general managers, human resource professionals, line managers and union leaders in eight firms. Furthermore, a sample of 252 employees was included, thereby contributing to the generalisability of the findings. Findings -This article provides substantial and current information on HRM knowledge and practices in Eritrea. The paper argues that some contextual variables impose certain challenges to HRM practices. However, evidence also reveals that the concept and knowledge of HRM practices, such as training, recruitment, compensation, employee participation, performance appraisal and reward systems, are in place with some indicators of local influence. Research limitations/implications -In light of the above findings, the article informs multinational companies that transferring managerial expertise to Africa may not necessarily be required, as the knowledge already exists there. A major limitation may derive from the use of convenience sampling in selecting the firms, but extreme caution is taken to get a faithful representation. Originality/value -Contrary to the dominant view that African management is characterised by authoritarianism, this study shows the participative style of managers. Moreover, it incorporates the attitudes and perceptions of employees, a generally neglected part of HRM studies.

This study is designed to determine the use of internet and internet penetration in the city of Asmara, Eritrea with a view to inform policy makers and societal stakeholders on the implications of user behavior for future Internet related options. Self-designed questionnaire was distributed to the districts of the city based on stratified sampling method. 300 (86%) of the 350 distributed questionnaires were found useable on return. However, only 232 (77%) respondents have acknowledged to have made use of the Internet in the last three months. The results show that there is a glaring difference between the genders; female being in the minority and generally the younger ones and young adults constituted the highest users; majority of users are single with senior secondary school certificate followed by college graduates as highest qualification. In addition, users prefer regular visit and shorter browsing hours and the reasons for Internet use follow the usual trend including e-mail, social networking, information searching and video/voice calling.

There is little existing research that examines the relationship between the performance of civil servants and the variables that affect performance in third-world countries, and in the Eritrean civil service in particular. Hence, the principal objective of this study is to investigate the main factors that affect public servants’ job performance in the civil service in Eritrea. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 14 ministerial offices, but one ministry declined to participate. The Ministry of Defense was purposely excluded as it is a different establishment in terms of its nature and characteristics. The data were gathered from a sample of 267 randomly selected respondents. The research design employed a self-administered questionnaire as the data collection instrument. The items measuring the constructs were adapted from the extant literature, and data were analyzed using a regression test. The findings of this study reveal that training, organizational culture, and work environment positively affect employee performance. However, no evidence was found to indicate that leadership and motivation influence employees’ job performance.