Urban vs. rural: human resource management in SMEs.

Pearson, Terry R. ; Stringer, Donna Y. ; Mills, LaVelle H. 等

ABSTRACT

Human resource management (HRM) practices, support systems and personnel profiles were examined in urban and rural enterprises. The investigation is an exploratory descriptive study employing a discussion of the results of a questionnaire. The authors' hypotheses are that urban and rural small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) would differ significantly in HRM practices, support systems, and personnel profiles. Data were analyzed using t-tests and chi-square tests, as appropriate, to detect statistically significant differences between urban and rural SMEs. No interventions were performed; data were self-reported responses to questions on a survey instrument. The research findings suggest the authors' hypotheses are generally incorrect. The results from the study may advance the concept that technology and information availability have developed equity in HRM activities and functions in both urban and rural enterprises. Moreover, rural firms are performing at a higher level of sophistication and experience in HRM practices, support systems and personnel profiles.

INTRODUCTION

The research study was developed to determine whether rural businesses, with smaller employee labor pools from which to recruit, use the same human resource management (HRM) functions and have a comparable amount of expertise to attract the necessary numbers of appropriately skilled prospective employees. The investigators will illustrate the current state of HRM practices, support systems, and personnel profiles in firms that typify the urban and rural American business climate. Webster (1979) defines urban as "characteristics of the city or constituting a city," while explaining rural as "of, like, or living in the country." This investigation begins with the question, "what is the state of HRM in rural America?" To further the goals of discovering differences between urban and rural enterprises, the investigation will include only small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to remove the effects which may be distorted by the inclusion of larger organizations. SMEs (small enterprises are defined as 0-49 employees and medium enterprises 50-250 employees for this study) have been recognized as forming an important component of our modern knowledge-based economies, but are different from large enterprises in many aspects (De Kok, 2003). It is the authors' contention that urban and rural firms are different in their HRM practices, support systems, and personnel profiles. This research instrument is the first step in the identification of human resource factors in urban and rural America in order to develop a collaboration of information for practicing managers.

Research on HRM and performance illustrates that HRM practices can impact performance, which further strengthens the need for HRM investigation (Boselie, 2002; Boselie, Paauwe & Jansen, 2001). Due to a number of trends (e.g., layoffs) and occurrences (e.g., threats of terrorism in larger cities) that have encouraged individuals to both leave urban areas and to begin their own businesses, it is somewhat discouraging and problematic to discover the dearth of research concerning HRM practices in rural organizations. Further, information regarding these same practices in SMEs are unclear (Heneman, 2000). This investigation of HRM personnel and practices in urban and rural enterprises proceeds as follows: the literature review; methodology; results; discussion; implications, limitations and future research directions; and conclusion.

LITERATURE REVIEW

An estimated one-fourth (22.5 percent) of the United States population lives in rural areas, defined as all places outside of metropolitan statistical areas (Fratoe, 1993). Rural communities have been depicted by such ideals as independence, freedom, self-reliance and life style traits which typically characterize the individuals that reside in rural America [Office of Advocacy-U.S. Small Business Administration (OA-USSBA), 2001].

Small businesses are the primary core of economic activity in rural areas (OA-USSBA, 2001) while urban areas are typically composed of a more diverse core of micro, small, medium, and large organizations. Miller (1990) indicates that smaller firms contribute more to the labor markets in rural areas than in urban areas (Bruce, 2000). A larger labor force exists in urban areas (Henry & Drabenstott, 1996), which provides a competitive advantage to firms that reside in these areas, while small businesses tended to cite labor force problems as a disadvantage due to their rural location (Strong, Del Grosso, Burwick, Jethwani & Ponza, 2005).

It would appear that rural areas suffer serious deficiencies in individual human resource capacity (human capital) compared to their urban counterparts. Additionally, educational attainment rates remain lower, dropout rates are higher, schools are chronically under funded, and training in entrepreneurship or other business subjects is limited in rural communities (Fratoe, 1993). Many businesses and individuals located in rural settings are significantly disadvantaged in terms of their access to and use of suitable training. (Bennett & Errington, 1995).

A review of human resource management related literature for the past twenty years indicates that some scholars realize the importance of the role of HRM practices in SMEs (Deshpande & Golhar, 1994; Heneman, 2000; Hornsby & Kuratko, 1990; Katz et al., 2000). Research findings have demonstrated that managers of small firms have ranked personnel management as the second most important management pursuit behind general management activities (Hornsby & Kuratko, 1990). A review of the literature indicates a substantial lack of information in a number of areas: the extent of the utilization of traditional human resource management functions; the level of support systems; and the education, experience and expertise of the employee(s) responsible for human resource actions in small and medium sized enterprises. Consequently, the goals of this study are (1) to identify the breadth that traditional human resource practices are currently being utilized by urban and rural SMEs; (2) to ascertain the support that urban and rural SMEs provide to HRM as reflected by the number of full and part-time employees assigned to human resource activities and by the use of support systems such as formal communication processes, management information systems (MIS), employee handbooks, and legal advice employed by the firms' HRM personnel; and (3) to survey the level of education and experience of the human resource workforce, and to establish the employees' self-perceived levels of expertise in selected human resource practices in urban and rural SMEs.

Researchers have only recently initiated the examination of human resource management in SMEs. Empirical data has generally demonstrated that smaller organizations do not have formal HRM departments nor do they adopt traditional HRM paradigms or practices (Barron et al., 1987; De Kok & Uhlander, 2001; De Kok et al., 2003; Heneman & Berkley, 1999; Hornsby & Kuratko, 1990; Katz et al., 2000). Research to date has concentrated on SME determinants of HRM practices, such as firm size (De Kok & Uhlander, 2001; De Kok et al., 2003; Kotey and Slade, 2005; Ram, 1999), sector of the economy in which the firm competes (Curran et al., 1993; Mowday, 1998; Ram, 1999), business strategy employed (Lengnick-Hall & Lengnick-Hall, 1988; Schuler & Jackson, 1987; Youndt et al., 1996), family firm governance (Aldrich & Langton, 1997; Cyr et al., 2000; De Kok et al., 2003; Fiegener et al., 1996; Reid & Adams, 2001), performance and HRM practices (Barron et al., 1987; Boselie, 2002; Boselie et al., 2001; De Kok, 2003; Heneman & Berkley, 1999; Hornsby & Kuratko, 1990; Huselid et al., 1997; Kotey & Meredith, 1997; Management Services, 2001; McEvoy, 1984; Patton & Marlow, 2000; Zheng, 1999), recruitment (Aldrich & Langton, 1997; Carroll et al., 1999), training and development (Boocock et al., 1999; Carr, 1999; Hendry et al., 1991; Koch & McGrath, 1996; Marlow, 1998; The Nottinghamshire Research Observatory, July 2002; The Nottinghamshire Research Observatory, December 2002; Westhead & Storey, 1997; Westhead & Storey, 1999), performance appraisals (Jackson et al., 1989), specialists employed (Bacon et al., 1996; Heneman & Berkley, 1999; Jackson, et al., 1989; Wagner, 1997) and the development of a business plan (De Kok et al., 2003).

Despite these determinants as well as others, an escalating body of research findings would conclude that smaller organizations have less formal HRM practices, but variation among these practices is fairly dispersed (De Kok & Uhlander, 2001). Hill and Stewart (1999) demonstrated this variation by the different levels of the HRM taxonomy of practices and sophistication exhibited by smaller firms. Hill and Stewart (1999) also suggest that smaller businesses need flexibility and less formality to compete in an environment of uncertainty. Hornsby and Kuratko (1990) discovered that HRM practices were more sophisticated than predicted among smaller organizations. Deshpande and Golhar (1994) illustrated that HRM practices in small manufacturing companies were as sophisticated as large organizations. Hendry, Jones, Arthur and Pettigrew (1991) purport that poor planning for the future or inadequate resources are the rationale for informal HRM practices.

A longitudinal study of Australian manufacturing SMEs administered by Jones (2001) depicted a positive correlation between SME growth and certain industrial relation components as well as HRM practices. Results of a survey conducted on HRM practices and policies in Northern Ireland demonstrates that SMEs are more likely to employ and retain younger individuals with few qualifications (University of Ulster International HRM Research Group [UUI], n.d.). The findings indicated training and development activities are vital for growth and sustainability in the market place (UUI, n.d.). Other research outcomes from the survey are as follows: recruitment/staffing and appraisal functions are highly developed; approximately half of the companies have dedicated HRM departments operated by the owner, managerial director, or a member of the board of directors; typically the HRM department employs one or two people; only one-third of the companies have a HRM plan; employee relations are exceptionally strong; training and development is one of the greatest challenges faced by SMEs; and, most firms are committed to employee development (UUI, n.d.).

Summarizing and providing generalizations of the prevailing research regarding HRM practices of small and medium sized enterprises is difficult. Information focused exclusively on HRM practices, support systems and personnel is severely deficient when evaluating urban and rural firms. Accordingly, the goal of this research investigation is to extend the knowledge about HRM by developing or confirming information related to HRM personnel, support systems and practices employed in urban and rural enterprises through information gathered from SMEs in those geographic area designations.

Research hypotheses

Regardless of the lack of research evidence to support the supposition of differences between urban and rural enterprises, arguments can be postulated for reasons why this may be the case. The reasons why significant differences in formal communication systems are expected is partly due to the fact that rural firms are located in less populated areas where employees are more likely to have known each other for longer periods of time and perhaps even be related to a number of people who live and work in the area. It is expected that these employees would be more likely to communicate informally rather than using formal communication systems. Variations in the utilization of MIS systems are expected to some degree because of the availability (or lack thereof) of personnel who have the expertise to design and operate such a system. The use of handbooks is consistent with a more formalized communication system. It was anticipated that rural enterprises would have fewer or less formalized communications and that they would be less likely to make use of employee handbooks for presenting policies and procedures to their personnel. It is expected that employees in urban firms would be less committed to the enterprise and have fewer prior long-term relationships with employees. Thus it is likely that an employee in an urban firm might be more inclined to file a lawsuit whereas an employee in a rural firm would not due to familial and familiar relationships. These arguments lead to the first hypothesis:

Hypothesis 1: Differences exist between urban and rural SMEs in the
 HRM support functions utilized.

If rural firms operate on a more informal basis, it is likely that there will be differences in the number of personnel dedicated to HRM activities. Informality of operations may lead to one of two situations: the owner/manager performs the HRM functions as a part of the overall job; or, individuals perform HRM-related activities as skills and time allow. In either case, it is doubtful that a rural enterprise would have one or more full-time personnel dedicated to implementing the functions of HRM. It is more probable that HRM will be performed on a piecemeal basis. Thus, the second hypothesis is advanced:

Hypothesis 2: Differences exist between urban and rural SMEs in the
 number of personnel dedicated to HRM activities.

If rural personnel performing HRM activities are doing so in an ad hoc fashion, it is improbable that they will accumulate any substantial level of experience. Further, if the HRM activities are distributed among personnel or accomplished on a rotating basis, it is conceivable that there will be substantial differences in the amount of experience amassed by rural HRM personnel. Thus, the following hypothesis is put forward:

Hypothesis 3: Differences exist between urban and rural SMEs in HRM
 experience of the primary HRM personnel.

In order to receive a HRM-related degree, it is likely that travel and time away from home and the job will be required for rural personnel. It is implausible that an employer would dispatch one or more employees to obtain such a degree. It is more credible that an individual would have coincidentally received a degree related to HRM before moving to the rural area. Similarly for certificates, a rural employee is likely to be required to travel or engage in correspondence (or other long distance learning), in order to receive a certificate. In both education and certificate acquisition, urban employees are more inclined to have the opportunity as well as the support to pursue such endeavors. It is suggested in the fourth hypothesis that these differences will be substantial between urban and rural HRM employees.

Hypothesis 4: Differences exist between urban and rural SMEs in
 HRM-relevant education and certificates obtained by the
 principal HRM personnel.

Formal schooling in HRM-related areas should increase perceptions of expertise. Since it is anticipated that rural HRM employees will have lower levels of formal education and certificates, it may also be presumed that perceptions of expertise will be lower in rural HRM employees. However, if there is no perceived need for formality in HRM practices, it is possible that there are fewer or less complicated HRM activities being performed in rural enterprises. It would not be unrealistic to assume that degrees of expertise would be reported at lower levels in rural firms. Thus, the fifth hypothesis is submitted:

Hypothesis 5: Differences exist between urban and rural SMEs in the
 perceptions of expertise reported by the organizations'
 primary HRM personnel.

METHOD

Design and Procedures

The research employed the use of a single administration of a survey. The data are self-reports of the participants' own perceptions and experience. The survey asked respondents to reply to questions about practices and functions, education and experience, and perceptions of expertise with regard to HRM in their organizations. These responses will be used to gain a better understanding of differences between urban and rural organizations on these inquiries.

The data for this paper were collected as a comprehensive research project of HRM practices in firms of various sizes in a 26-county area of the Texas Panhandle. A cover letter requested that the person responsible for HRM activity complete the instrument. The mailing list was provided by the local Better Business Bureau and included both members and non-members of the bureau. Criteria for this study were (a) 250 or fewer employees and (b) operational independence (independent firms are not components or extensions of larger organizations). There were 138 respondents that satisfied the established criteria for this study. Ninety-one were located in the urban area and 47 in the rural area.

Characteristics of the sample

A total of 64.6% of the participants identified their organizations as either retail (28.3%) or service businesses (36.2%). The remaining sample was 19.6% industrial, 9.4% health care, and 6.5% financial services. Of the 138 respondents, 91 (65.9%) of the firms were located in the survey area's SMA (population 174,000) and 47 (34.1%) were in the surrounding rural area.

Measures

The questionnaire contained five major divisions: (a) the firm's demographic data, (b) HRM management employee demographics, (c) personal data about the primary HRM individual, (d) perceptions of HRM expertise by the principal HRM employee, and (e) HRM support processes. Demographic data included size as measured by the number of employees, type of business (e.g., retail, service), and whether the firm was independent or functioning as an extension of another organization.

Data were collected concerning each firm's use of management information systems (MIS), formal employee communication processes, use of employee handbooks, and the solicitation of legal advice. In addition, respondents were queried about the firm's time commitment of personnel to HRM activities. For the employees who perform part-time HRM functions, participants were requested to estimate the percentage of time allocated to HRM activities. In addition, the principal HRM employee was asked about his/her years of experience, education level, and whether he/she had any HRM certificates.

The principal HRM employee was requested to rate his/her level of expertise in 15 separate HRM areas such as strategic HRM planning, recruitment, job design, and employee relations. The range of expertise ratings was from 1 (very little expertise) to 5 (extensive expertise).

All data were analyzed using a t-test or a chi-square test, as appropriate, to determine statistically significant differences between HRM support activities, personnel, and perceptions of expertise in rural and urban small and medium sized enterprises. The results of the analysis are presented in the following section.

RESULTS

HRM support functions

Firms were asked the extent to which they used formal employee communication processes, MIS systems, employee handbooks, and outside legal advice. The findings are presented in Table 1.

There is a significant difference between rural and urban firms with respect to the use of handbooks and utilization of outside legal advice. Urban firms tended to use handbooks (58.0%) and seek legal advice (53.4%) more than rural firms (38.6% and 23.9%, respectively). There were no differences encountered in the use of formal employee communication activities or formal MIS systems when all firms were included in the analysis.

HRM personnel dedicated to HRM activities

Respondents were queried about the deployment of full-time and part-time personnel to HRM functions. Also, the percent of work-time each week that part-time personnel devoted to HRM activities was requested. Table 2 presents the findings.

There was no variation noted between urban and rural organizations with regard to the number of full-time HRM personnel. Part-time employees of urban firms devote a larger percentage of their time per week to HRM activities (M = 19.2, SD = 16.7) than do those of rural firms (M = 10.6, SD = 10.1). There were no differences encountered in the number of full-time or part-time personnel when all firms were included in the analysis.

Years of HRM experience

The person primarily responsible for HRM functions was asked to provide information about years of experience. There was no significant difference among primary HRM personnel in rural and urban firms (Table 3).

Level of HRM personnel education

The person primarily responsible for HRM functions was asked to provide information about college degrees and HRM certificates. There was no significant difference among primary HRM personnel in rural and urban firms (Table 4). The percentage of rural HRM personnel obtaining college degrees is 21.3% and 11.3% have HRM certificates, While 22.0% of urban HRM personnel have college degrees and 9.3% have HRM certificates.

Perceptions of expertise

HRM personnel were requested to rate their levels of expertise for a variety of HRM functions. Table 5 provides a list of the functions and the results of the self-ratings. There is no substantial variation in perceptions between rural and urban HRM personnel on any HRM function.

DISCUSSION

HRM support functions

It was hypothesized that there would be differences between urban and rural firms in the use of formal communication processes, MIS systems, employee handbooks, and solicitation of outside legal advice

The authors expected that there would be significant differences in the use of formal communication systems between rural firms and urban firms. The reasons why significant differences were expected was partly due to the fact that rural firms are located in less populated areas where employees are more likely to have known each other for longer periods of time and perhaps even be related to a number of people who live and work in the area. It was anticipated that these employees would be more likely to correspond informally rather than using formal communication systems. However, these differences did not materialize. It seems that a large majority of firms realize the importance of careful documentation and the use of formal communications systems to correspond with their employees to prevent misunderstandings regardless of the community in which the company is located.

The authors suspected that employees in urban firms would feel less committed to the enterprise and have fewer prior long-term relationships with employees. Thus, it was postulated that an employee in an urban firm might be more inclined to file a lawsuit whereas an employee in a rural firm might be less inclined to file a lawsuit since they may be related to other employees in the firm or have known them since childhood. Additionally, an underlying rationale was the utilization of formal communication systems could be a means of documenting disclosure to provide proof of intent in the event a lawsuit was filed.

The authors anticipated that there would be significant variations in the use of MIS systems between rural firms and urban firms. A rationale of why the researchers did not discover any of the anticipated discrepancies may be due to the availability as well as access to robust software packages currently available that do not require specialized programming support. If access to such software is the reason for the findings of no significance, it is reasonable to assume that such software could be purchased as easily by rural enterprises as by urban enterprises through the Internet.

There are differences in the use of employee handbooks and the solicitation of legal advice. The utilization of employee handbooks and the solicitation of outside legal advice may represent the existence of a more litigious environment for urban firms. The discrepancies expected in the application of formal communication systems and MIS systems is not significant, although trends follow in the forecasted direction with a larger percentage of urban than rural firms reporting use of these systems. It is possible that the proliferation of standardized programs as well as increased intranet and internet usage has created increasingly similar internal operating environments for both urban and rural firms.

HRM personnel dedicated to HRM activities

The researchers envisioned that there would be differences in the use of full-time and part-time employees dedicated to HRM activities in urban and rural firms. A comparable number of full-time employees were reported by both urban and rural enterprises. However, a larger number of part-time HRM employees as well as a higher percentage of part-time employees' work hours were dedicated to HRM activities in urban enterprises. Several potential explanations exist for such a pattern. Employers could employ a larger number of part-time employees throughout the organization as a form of cost control (assuming that only full-time employees receive healthcare and other benefits). Moreover, employers in an urban area could require additional employee time for HRM activities because of the need to furnish HRM support similar to that provided by other employers in the same urban area. That is, employees in urban principalities may have higher expectations of more formalized HRM functions within the firm. This may require increased employee time for HRM activities than would be needed in a firm of comparable size located in a rural region. In a rural area, many of the HRM functions may be more informal and provided as needed by individual employees.

Level of HRM personnel experience

Differences in HRM personnel experience were expected between urban and rural firm employees. Rural HRM personnel reported more years of experience than did urban HRM employees, although not enough to be statistically significant. It is likely that turnover in rural settings is relatively low and that many employees have chosen to remain in the town in which they were born and raised. Employees in urban areas may have similar amounts of HRM personnel experience but it may or may not be with the same firm. Employees in rural geographic areas appear to have most of their HRM personnel experience with the same firm or a limited number of firms.

Level of HRM personnel education

Variations in HRM education were contemplated between urban and rural firm employees. It was hypothesized that a higher percentage of urban HRM employees would have acquired relevant education and certificates than rural HRM employees. Approximately equal percentages of urban and rural HRM employees reported possessing a human resource management college degree. Currently in the area surveyed for this research project, the universities and community colleges do not offer specialized HRM-related degrees. Specialized training in preparation for HRM certification is available at one of the community colleges and HRM classes are offered at all higher education campuses in the survey geographic area. While HRM-related degrees are not currently available locally, certainly such degree programs could be accessed through online programs and from a wide variety of educational sources. When queried if the primary HRM person has any human resource management-related certificates, employees in both urban and rural reported similar levels of certificates.

Perceptions of expertise

Differences in perceptions of expertise were expected; few were realized. If experience levels, education levels, and certificate levels are similar for both urban and rural HRM personnel, it may be unrealistic to expect differences in perceptions of expertise. Urban HRM personnel report more expertise concerning pay and promotion, whereas rural HRM personnel have higher ratings of expertise on employee development. This is consistent with rural enterprises being more individually-focused and urban enterprises being more organizational-focused. Rural enterprises are concerned with the person, the individual, and his or her development, whereas urban organizations appear to have a greater emphasis on pay and advancement. Perhaps there is more opportunity for advancement and greater resources (and competition) in urban organizations. For rural organizations, pay and promotions cannot be as easily offered; therefore, they must resort to other enticements, such as personal betterment.

IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

This research adds to the knowledge base in the field of HRM practices in rural and urban areas. Both urban and rural firms take actions regarding employees that are required to assist the firm's competitiveness. It appears that in rural firms, those actions are more employee-centered than policy-centered. That is, the rural firms are more likely to make adjustments as needed for individual employee situations. Firms in urban areas are more likely to use policy-centered approaches that are based on standardized policies and practices.

Employees in firms located in rural areas are likely to have longer tenure with one firm. There is a greater likelihood for employees to have stronger personal relationships with co-workers in rural areas and to pursue career growth by staying with one company for longer periods of time. This can be valuable to the employer because the labor pool from which they recruit is considerably smaller than urban areas.

This research contains some limitations. First, the information gathered for this project is self-reported data. It would be helpful in future inquiries to acquire data in addition to self-reported data. The size of the sample respondents in the study could have precluded the researchers from discovering differences because of the statistical power associated with a sample of this size. This issue could be addressed by developing a larger sample population in future studies.

It is recommended that this study be replicated in several other geographical regions with a rural/urban mix to determine if these findings are consistent across different regions. Additionally, future research could investigate the extent to which HRM practices do (or do not) influence a particular company's success. Finally, it is recommended that future investigations examine specific industries to determine if utilization of HRM varies by industry.

CONCLUSION

Urban and rural SMEs necessarily perform the same basic HRM practices and functions as large organizations. Moreover, they appear to have a surprisingly more sophisticated approach to HRM functions than has been previous speculated. Urban and rural enterprises had a greater number of employees performing HRM functions than one may have suspected. Further, there is a surprisingly large HRM experience tenure in both urban and rural organizations. Overall, this indicates a lack of HRM differentiation between urban and rural SMEs and points to a higher level of sophistication and experience than expected.

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Terry R. Pearson, West Texas A&M University

Donna Y. Stringer, West Texas A&M University

LaVelle H. Mills, West Texas A&M University

David F. Summers, University of Houston--Victoria

Table 1. Differences between Urban and Rural Enterprises on HRM Support
Functions

 Urban Rural

 Observed Expected Observed Expected

Formal communication system 50 46.8 21 24.2
MIS system 56 52.9 24 27.1
Employee handbook 51 45.3 17 22.7
Outside legal advice 47 38.1 11 19.9

 c2 p

Formal communication system 1.393 .238
MIS system 1.319 .251
Employee handbook 4.383 .036
Outside legal advice 10.706 .001

Table 2. HRM Employee Demographics

 Urban Rural

 N M SD N

Full time employees devoted to HRM 87 0.43 0.58 44
Part time employees devoted to HRM 84 1.29 1.37 41
Percent of part time employee's work time 63 19.24 16.67 33
devoted to HRM

 Rural

 M SD t

Full time employees devoted to HRM 0.48 0.63 -0.469
Part time employees devoted to HRM 0.88 1.65 1.462
Percent of part time employee's work time 10.64 10.08 2.713 ***
devoted to HRM

* p < .10. ** p < .05. *** p < .01

Table 3. Years of HRM Personnel Experience

 Urban Rural

 N M SD N M SD t

Years of 84 15.08 11.61 44 18.59 12.51 -1.546
experience

Table 4. Level of HRM Personnel Education

 Urban Rural

 Observed Expected Observed Expected

College Degree 29 19.8 10 10.2
HRM Certificate 8 8.6 5 4.4

 c2 p

College Degree 0.009 .925
HRM Certificate 0.137 .711

Table 5. HRM Personnel Perceptions of Expertise

 Urban Rural

 N M SD N M SD t

Strategic HRM planning 85 2.19 1.18 44 2.30 1.17 -0.490
Recruiting 88 2.84 1.14 44 2.82 1.13 0.108
Selection 88 3.30 1.14 44 3.09 1.05 0.999
Orientation 88 3.22 1.21 44 2.95 1.10 1.207
Employee training 88 3.51 1.13 45 3.49 1.10 0.109
Employee development 88 3.20 1.20 44 3.27 1.15 -0.313
Career development 88 2.85 1.26 43 2.70 1.19 0.670
Job design 87 3.07 1.25 44 3.05 1.26 0.101
Performance appraisals 87 3.28 1.27 44 3.25 1.24 0.112
Compensation 88 3.33 1.20 44 3.07 1.13 1.202
Employee benefits 88 3.34 1.26 43 3.07 1.35 1.102
Safety and health 88 3.36 1.19 44 3.32 1.18 0.209
Communications 88 3.61 1.13 44 3.39 1.10 1.106
Employee relations 88 3.65 1.14 43 3.63 1.16 0.093
Personnel records 88 3.36 1.31 43 3.28 1.26 0.350

* p < .10. ** p < .05. *** p < .01