Organisational behavior 1

Organizational Behavior
Assignment question
It is widely stated that ‘there are many reasons for organizations to concern with their
employees’ level of satisfaction’. Discuss this statement and justify your answer using valid
reasoning underpinned by academic sources and personal/professional experience
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Contents
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Importance of job satisfaction ………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
Job satisfaction measurement ………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Employees needs ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7
Job satisfaction and productivity ………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
Consequences of job dissatisfaction ……………………………………………………………………………. 10
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11
References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12
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Introduction
Job satisfaction and motivation are vital in the work place, as they are associated with the
understanding of people’s behavior and they are fundamental for any company, in order to
achieve its goals to take into consideration these factors (Kwasi Dartey-Baah, 2010). The
employee satisfaction in an organisation needs to be a major research topic due to the
relationship between this factor and the quality of service and the efficiency of the company.
These factors have an essential role for a company that wants to defend its values such as
consistency, reliability, responsiveness and the work environment in general, and to achieve
that the company should invest in development, human resources, innovation, education and
recognition.
There are various terms for job satisfaction, but according to the study of Wright and Davis
(2003), it is the pleasant or positive state that is yielded as a result of job experience and
evaluation. On another study, Spector (1997) claimed that job satisfaction mirrors a procedure
between employees and their work environment, with a positive or negative effect according
to the degree of their expected satisfaction. Furthermore, he categorized satisfaction into two
main categories, external and internal. The external one, is related to wages, bonuses,
promotion systems and work environment. On the other hand, the internal one, is all about the
opportunity to improve their abilities and the recognition of their performance, their emotions
and how they are being treated as humans rather than machines.
Job satisfaction’s level is based on individual’s satisfaction with their job. Employee
satisfaction has to be among the most crucial issues in a business, either for humanitarian,
entrepreneurial or organisational issues as well and is associated with the psychological and
physical well-being of the worker (Cynthia D. Fisher, 2000). An organisation’s service quality
and satisfaction levels are both important since managers need to be aware of whether their
target is to provide the highest possible level of perceived quality service or whether satisfied
clients are correlated to the level of employee satisfaction.
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Importance of job satisfaction
The job satisfaction of an organisation’s employees is vital for the manager or the employer as
its associated with the efficiency and the quality of the company’s services. Satisfied
employees will show interest in their work and will be involved in the organisation’s needs
which can correlate with the company’s objectives. Employee satisfaction corresponds more
effectively to the individual demands of customers and they are more likely to undertake
actions in order to satisfy them and to raise the firm’s profits. Organisations with higher levels
of job satisfaction can attract and maintain more professional workers and also, the company
by itself is more profitable than others with lower levels of employee satisfaction (Reio and
Kidd, 2006).
It is essential for employees to have a decent remuneration including rewards, promotions and
wage raises as this can boost self-confidence because they feel rewarded for their efforts to
achieve high efficiency and quality in their work. Although wages are an expenditure for the
organisation, if the employers behave and treat their employees well, then in return they will
provide them with increased productivity and efficiency, which will lead to improved quality
of both services and products provided.
As stated from Christian Grund & Dirk Sliwka (2001), employees will perform at their best in
order to reach a new reward or bonus from the organisation as a sign of appreciation for their
efforts. According to Chi and Gursoy (2009), customers perceive good quality of service due
to employees job satisfaction and this is being reflected in the firm’s overall image.
As the job satisfaction is quite low in a lot of occupations around the world, working overtime
without wanting extra money is quite difficult, in contrast there are employees who have higher
levels of job satisfaction who are consciously working without the need to ask for extra money.
An example from my vocation, nurses, especially in the private sector, demand their extra
payment for any overtime required and extra benefits due to the low job satisfaction and if this
does not happen it will have a major impact on their performance and psychology. Nurses are
low paid, particularly in the private sector unlike the public sector or the nursing supervisors
or senior/chief nursing officers.
The efficiency of the organisation is depended on the employment relationship as it is the bond
between employers and employees which arises when a person provides work or services under
specific terms in exchange for remuneration (International Labour Organization, no date).
Getting advice and guidance from the company’s leadership has a positive effect on employee’s
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job satisfaction and it creates conditions that meet the objectives of both themselves and the
firm.
The work environment is linked to job satisfaction and is a vital sign for the employers to have
in mind the safety of their employees (Krishna Murari Pandey, 2011). By increasing the safety
in the organisation facilities, employees will feel more secure, relieving the stress from them
and in return their efficiency and productivity will be boosted (Haile, 2015).
The development of a healthy and safe environment, without the risk of workplace accidents
among the workers, minimizes expenses due to accidents to their workers at work as they
include economic, human and social expenses and also, it will enhance in the efficiency and
productivity of the workforce (Ayim Gyekye, 2005).
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Job satisfaction measurement
For a better understanding of the reasons why companies are interested and worried about the
level of job satisfaction for their employees, we must first identify how job satisfaction is being
measured. We have found some major variables that are associated with job satisfaction and
we are going to discuss them.
Firstly, the work level ranking is of particular significance as the higher you are in rank, the
higher the salary, the better the bonus and benefits, and the more respect and reputation you
will earn. However, a higher ranking will definitely bring on increased the responsibilities of
the individual.
Moreover, previous experience in a similar organisation is also a significant variable for job
satisfaction as the employees can be recognized and others may show to them more respect as
they might know the job better. Although, employees who have had experience on other jobs,
may also know to pursue the necessary negotiations and demand the appropriate terms and
conditions for their contracts depending on if their current job is better or worse from the
previous one.
An extremely important variable is the significance and the challenge degree a job has for the
employees and their sense of achieving their work by meeting their deadlines. It’s very
motivational for employees to know that their job is crucial for the company’s growth. As the
employers assign to their employees deadlines and demand more achievements, the level of
job challenging will be increased and workers will be encouraged to meet these deadlines in
order to make the company aim for more.
Finally, most employees will seek and appreciate the training provided by the company, a good
salary and job safety conditions. By providing the employees with these benefits, they will get
more motivated, feel more important and that they are respected and intended for permanent
recruitment.
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Employees needs
To have a better understanding of why employers are interested and concerned about the level
of job satisfaction of their employees, its essential to be aware of their demands as there are
several different theories which are divided into two major categories, content ones and process
ones.
Content concentrates on the scope of motivation and attempts to describe the content and kinds
of requirements that satisfy people. They classify human needs into five subcategories
according to Maslow and when these needs are met, the employee is fulfilled.
Firstly, we have the physiological human needs, the necessary ones which are linked to the
biological existence of humans and it is the first priority people try to satisfy like water, food,
sleep etc.
As we continue, safety and security are the second subcategory which emerges after the basic
needs are satisfied and is the result of human’s need to feel self-supported. This category
includes a permanent address, job safety and building a stable social network.
Moving on, the feeling of belonging and love is the next one as everyone craves for family and
connection which are included under the roof of social needs. People often would like to have
the feeling of being accepted and to develop friendly relationships.
Another subcategory is the esteem where acquiring self-confidence and respect among others
is an essential step as it encompasses fame, power, joy, autonomy and freedom. Humans can
proceed to this category only after they have found love and belonging and then work towards
creating healthy relationships with both themselves and others.
According to the last subcategory, it includes self-actualization as we all desire a life with
purpose. There is absolutely nothing more satisfying than when you feel like you’ve reached
your highest potential.
All these categories are organized hierarchically and the first step for individuals is to fulfill
their physiological needs and the last step to satisfy their self-actualization needs (Natalie
Conway, 2021).
Process tends to concentrate on the procedure of motivation and the types of factors that are
involved in job satisfaction and work performance. A typical theory is Vroom’s expectancy
motivation.
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Vroom attempts to explain the mechanism by which employees would be motivated. He
hypothesizes that behavior is the result of conscious choices among alternatives whose aim is
to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain. Thus, employees improved performance is the
outcome of motivation to increase their rewards.
He uses the variables of Valence, Instrumentality and Expectancy to define a person’s
motivation. Valence is the importance a person attaches to the desired result. Instrumentality
is the perception that if you have performed effectively, you will be awarded with a valuable
reward. Expectancy is the perception that increased effort will lead to increased performance.
Vroom’s theory outlines an interaction process between employees and their organisations.
Employees select among the possible options the one that offers the highest probability of
providing them with the greatest benefits.
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Job satisfaction and productivity
Employee productivity is one of the most crucial factors in evaluating a company’s
performance. High employee productivity is associated with low firm production costs and
also, the performance of employees is greater when they are well paid. Under these
circumstances employee productivity is greater when they earn a decent wage and the level of
job satisfaction is higher (Shikdar and Das, 2003).
A manager who cares about employee job satisfaction is likely to produce more value for his
company due to maintaining the company employees highly productive. Examples of these
companies are PwC, Google, Facebook and other enormous firms that offer their staff good
remuneration, good working conditions and have made people more productive and more
satisfied with their jobs. These firms are so profitable and have been number one in their
segment, not just for the innovation in their sector, but also for their ability to recruit and retain
exceptional personnel. They pick the best employees and provide them with the best working
conditions over their competitors.
Researchers have found that job satisfaction gives employees more motivation to do their jobs
more effectively because they are more satisfied with their jobs. There are two definitions for
this. Firstly, job satisfaction leads to higher employee performance as those who are more
satisfied, work harder and perform more effectively. An employee who performs more
effectively has more opportunities to receive bonuses and this provides incentives which aid in
improving that person’s job satisfaction (Caldwell and O’Reilly, 1990).
Job satisfaction is linked to job performance and is higher when performance is being rewarded
with money. From these facts it is clear that employees with high performance are being
rewarded with more money, so the level of job satisfaction of employees rises as performance
increases (Shikdar and Das, 2003).
According to Evans and Jack (2003) study, they hypothesize that job satisfaction has a positive
effect on the firm’s market performance and that has an effect on the firm’s financial efficiency.
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Consequences of job dissatisfaction
According to the study of Rusbult and Lowery (1985), they propose a model for worker’s
dissatisfaction to assess employee reactions and attitudes when the level of job satisfaction is
low. There are four kinds of reactions about this model, namely exit, voice, loyalty and neglect.
Firstly, the exit relates to employees looking for another career option and consider resigning
from theirs existing job. The voice category, concerns employees having an active role through
discussing their problems with their employers and recommend ways for satisfaction levels to
improve and circumstances to get better. At the loyalty category, a passive behavior is
implemented by workers which means they stay compliant and wait for the problems to resolve
themselves. Final neglect is where employees have a passive attitude by allowing situations to
get worst and also having a negative approach towards their work, which reduces productivity
and work quality while increasing idle hours and lateness in coming to work.
These categories differentiate from each other in two ways by having constructiveness and
activity on one side and destructiveness and passivity on the other. These variations among the
four classifications are valuable in explaining the attitude of private sector workers and the
characteristics of public sector workers (Rusbult and Lowery, 1985). The absence of quality
career progression opportunities encourages exit and voice and inhibits neglect attitudes by
workers. Some years ago, in the Cyprus General Hospitals, nurses were paid a higher hourly
rate and an additional bonus for taking on night shift hours. Nowadays, only a few hours of the
shift are considered night shift hours and are eligible for the higher hourly rate and the bonus
resulting in job satisfaction levels to decrease, with nurses not wanting to work night shifts due
to the decreased pay. Due to the high unemployment levels and lack of alternative quality jobs
they remain at their current job but neglect their duties by taking sick leaves in order to have
insufficient staffing at night, letting patients without proper care and voicing their
dissatisfaction by protesting.
Job dissatisfaction has an impact on the quality of the firm’s services and productivity since it
is associated with poor attitudes towards customers and may be responsible for the poor image
of a firm (J B Miner and Dachler, 2003). Non-rewarding, disagreeable or uncomfortable
activities at work have withdrawal attitudes from workers. Studies have revealed that
dissatisfied workers have a higher probability to quit their job or choose to take early
retirement, while managers who manage workers with lower satisfaction levels are more likely
to be dismissed.
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Conclusion
Managers have to make a positive impact and show support towards the happiness of the
company’s employees. The reason for this is not only to benefit the staff, as businesses also
gain a lot from employee satisfaction. In an economic climate like today’s, employers often
ignore the costs associated with dissatisfied employees by assuming that these workers are tied
to their present roles and will tolerate uncomfortable work conditions. Many studies indicate
that a high degree of job satisfaction raises the efficiency and productivity of the firm and by
extension profitability. It is clear that employees should be aware of the importance and impact
their job satisfaction levels might have since a happy worker is a win for both them and the
business. Several of the reasons for staff dissatisfaction are under the firm’s jurisdiction and
proper managerial techniques will allow a business to reduce or eliminate these factors. Happy
and satisfied staff personnel are more likely to work harder for the organisation and intend to
continue working for the organisation, which eventually decreases the training and labor costs
of that organisation.
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