The main purpose of this study is to explain the benefits and challenges of adopting HRM4.0 in public universities in Malaysia. Past studies stressed that the public universities of Malaysia are lacking in advanced HRM practices such as use of HRM 4.0. The semi-structured interviews have been conducted in the HR departments of six public sector universities in Malaysia. The findings of the study revealed five factors affecting the use of HRM 4.0 in HR departments of public universities, namely its advantages, system quality and usability, quick decision-making process, user satisfaction, and subjective norms. At the same time, the performance and productivity of the HR departments are positively related to the use of HRM 4.0. This study mainly focuses on the perceived modeling structure of HRM4.0 to assess the contributory factors and challenges that have an impact on the productivity of HRM4.0 in Malaysian public universities.
Top1. Introduction
According to the World Economic Forum (2020), 84% of respondents would accelerate the digitalization of work (such as video conferencing and remote working), and 50% would accelerate the automation of jobs, hence increasing the usage of digital technology. According to a survey conducted by Deloitte (Da Silva et al., 2022), just 33 percent of employees are prepared for technology advancements, particularly remote work, which poses a big challenge for HRM 4.0. This viewpoint is predicted to present challenges for the workforce. Further, the concept of HRM 4.0 was developed to help HR professionals understand how the changes brought about by the Industry would affect HRM 4.0 practices (Waris et al., 2022). Human resource management (HRM) has been given a new lease on life thanks to the use of Industry 4.0 technologies, which have made the field more nimble, safeguarded workers' well-being before entering the workforce, and unlocked the untapped human potential. Hence, HRM 4.0 must create a digital culture of digital workers who are trained in digital technology and have the necessary skills to increase productivity (Liboni et al., 2019).
The HRM 4.0 paradigm shift has far-reaching effects on how we educate our future workers and shape our industries (Malik et al., 2020). People will be able to showcase their abilities in ways that are more meaningful if they learn to engage in activities that demand more strategic planning, coordination, and originality and fewer simple, mindless tasks (Sima et al., 2020). Hence, human labor and individual analysis can be replaced by automated processes, and enormous amounts of data can be analyzed rapidly, intelligently, and precisely (Li et al., 2022). Pio et al., (2020), also demonstrated that Industries functioning in the information age utilize the digital technology developed by HRM 4.0. HRM duties benefit greatly from the incorporation of such technology into the management procedure.
Formerly time-consuming and laborious tasks like reviewing resumes and selecting candidates with the highest likelihood of meeting job requirements can now be automated with the help of big data and AI (Waris et al., 2021). Key performance indicators (KPIs) can help artificial intelligence (AI) evaluate workers and signal promotions, which were traditionally determined by a worker's tenure in a post and training requirements (Wang et al., 2022). Using AI as a management and learning system enables features like career plan development, which seeks to determine the best methods for fostering the growth, qualification, and motivation of the staff.
Despite the widespread adoption of HRM 4.0 software, it's crucial to be aware of how Industry is influenced by HRM 4.0 practices and how this, in turn, may affect employees and other key players in the labor market, such as schools, agencies that handle hiring and placement, and businesses that provide in-house training. Despite the research on HRM in the context of HRM 4.0, we still don't fully understand how HRM 4.0 affects the development of HRM and how people management adapts to the problems that arise when smart technologies are used. So, research is needed to confirm HRM 4.0 trends by considering how digital technologies are being used in the business world. Our goal in writing this paper is to investigate the following:
RQs: Discuss the difficulties and opportunities presented by implementing HRM 4.0 at Malaysia's public universities.