SECTION B Sci.Int.(Lahore),28(4),61-70, 2016 ISSN 1013-5316;CODEN: SINTE 8 61 July-August THE IMPACT OF HIGH PERFORMANCE WORK SYSTEM ON EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE FLEXIBILITY Akhtar Mahmood 1 , *Muhammad Kashif Khurshid 2 , Mohsin Bashir 3 , Hazoor Muhammad Sabir 4 1 National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Islamabad, Pakistan 2 Lecturer Department of Management Sciences National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Islamabad, Pakistan 3 Assistant Professor Department of Business Administration Government College University Faisalabad 4 Director Advanced Studies/Principal Department of Business Administration Government College University Faisalabad *Corresponding Author: kashif041@gmail.com ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of high performance work system on employee attitude with the mediating role of human resource flexibility. The results of the study showed the partial mediation of human resource flexibility between HPWS and employee attitude. Primary data were collected from 223 employees working in telecom sector in Faisalabad region. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, simple regression, multiple regression and Sobel tests are applied. The results depict that HPWS influence the employee attitude (OC, JS and TOI) through HR flexibility (behavior flexibility, functional flexibility and skill malleability). HPWS is positively related to the individual’s job level attitudinal factors, i.e. turnover intention (TOI), organizational commitment (OC) and job satisfaction (JS). 24% proportion of variance of OC, 63% of job satisfaction and 18% TOI are explained by the independent variables. HPWS explained 29% portion of employee’s attitude. Some well -known theories; social exchange theory, cognitive dissonance theory, human capital theory, three component theory of organizational commitment and resource based view support the results of the current study. This study may help to realize that performance based pay, performance appraisal and employment security are the HRM practices which leads to increase turnover intention. Secondly, this study will help to managers that only CT, PA and PBA are the human resource practices which have positive relationship with organizational commitment. It could also realize to the managers that Reward systems, Selective staffing PA and Reward systems are the HRM practices which keep the employees satisfied with their job. Keywords: High Performance Work System (HPWS), Job Satisfaction (JS), Turnover Intention (TOI), HR Flexibility, Organizational Commitment (OC) 1. INTRODUCTION Global competition is demanding employees who become more flexible and learn to survive in the swift mutable environment. The organizational stakeholders and policy makers give meticulous importance to the employees working in the organizations and consider them the main source of prosperity, but there is a need to make the employees attitude favorable for the organization. Public demands are varying swiftly; due to this telecom service providing organizations are facing great challenges of competition. Organizations can increase employee‟s performance by increasing human skills. If the organization has flexible employees, it may use the skills of these employees as strategic alternative and can gain competitive advantage [1]. Presently old HRM practices have been converted into HPWS because the old practices do not describe the entire organizational performance [2; 3]. Researchers have subdivided the HRM practices into motivation enhancing HR practices (compensation and career development), opportunity enhancing HR practices (job design, work team and employee involvement) and ability enhancing HR practices (training, skill, recruitment & selection), [4; 5;6;7]. The scholars claimed that organizational commitment of the employees may be increased through best deployment of HR practices [8; 9]. Prior studies exhibited that different researchers used different practices to build the high performance work system and examined the effect of this system on employee attitude. For example, numerous researchers studied the relationship between high performance work system (HPWS) and job satisfaction and organizational commitment or both [10; 12; 13]. Few researchers found the impact of HPWS on turnover intention/voluntary turnover or simple turnover [7; 14]. But the combined effect of all three employee attitude, i.e. JS, OC, TOI is not shed lighted frequently. As well as HR flexibility is concerned, it was tested as mediating variable between HPWS and organizational performance, nevertheless, the mediating role of HR flexibility between HPWS and employee attitude (JS,TOI & OC) is focused [15]. In prior researche HPWS has been used as bundle of HRM practices, but less concentrated on the individual relationship perspective with the employee attitude. This type of relationship gives the broader understanding that what practice is more useful to reshape the attitude and which is less [7]. HR flexibility is the competency of the firm and it has a strong connection with Employee Attitude. The present study was taken into account to fulfill the gape, to examine the mediating role of HR flexibility between HPWS and employee attitude (EA). 1.1 Purpose of Research Following research objectives are set  To identify the effect of HPWS on turnover intentions.  To identify the effect of HPWS on job satisfaction.  To identify the effect of HPWS on organizational commitment.  To identify the mediating role of human resource flexibility between HPWS and employee attitude.  To identify the combined effect of HPWS on employee attitude. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW The debate on various perspectives regarding HPWS, employee attitude and HR flexibility has been included in the literature review. Furthermore association among the variables has also been added.