Effects And Influences Of Job Satisfaction And Employee Commitment In Asda Superstore Ltd

Literary Review

The global commercial scenario has developed considerably and has undergone huge modifications in the last few decades, becoming more integrated and inclusive as well as complex and multidimensional, much of which can be attributed to the international phenomena like Globalization as well as liberalization of the trade and commerce sectors of different countries, which has enabled more and more businesses to go global. This in turn has resulted significant competition in each of the industries with increasing number of supply side players, both domestic as well as international, entering the market. All of these factors have cumulatively affected the operational framework of the contemporary commercial organizations as each of them has to consistently upgrade and modify their activities in order to maximize their profits as well as to ensure their sustainability and long-term prospects in the increasingly competitive environment.

This in turn indicates towards the need for more efficient utilization of the productive resources present with the business organizations, which primarily include the human resources of production, that is the workers who are attached with the operations of a business organization. primary challenges of the business to retain their existing labours. The success of the business organizations is considerably dependent on the type of workers who are attached with the organizations and the traits of the workers in the same. Of the different factors affecting the performance of contemporary business organization and their long-term prospects as well as sustainability in the increasingly competitive commercial environment, the two primary aspects are that of employee commitment to the organization and employee satisfaction in their current job.

Keeping these two factors into consideration, the report conducts an extensive review of the existing literary evidences present in the aspects of the ideas, theories, conceptual framework and implications of employee satisfaction and employee commitment in the real business scenario. The section also tries to analyse the factors affecting the same and tries to discuss the implications of employee motivations on their commitment in their job roles in the organizations with which they are attached.

Introduction 

There exist considerable literary evidences in the current scenario regarding the significance of the aspects like employee satisfaction and employee commitment in the organizational dynamics and the success of the business organizations in the contemporary periods. Bakker and Demerouti (2014), in their working paper attach considerable importance on the different attributes of employees, especially employee satisfaction and organizational commitment of the employees in increasing the performance of the businesses as well as in giving the business organizations competitive edge over their rivals in the industry. Their assertions are augmented by Grissom, Nicholson-Crotty and Keiser (2012), who relate these attributes especially satisfaction of the employees with lower employee turnover rate in an organization, thereby linking higher employee satisfaction with higher employee commitment.

Factors Affecting Employee Satisfaction in Business Organizations

To understand these theories and assertions it is of utmost importance to have a clear insight about the terms “employee satisfaction” and “employee commitment” in the context of the contemporary business organizations. The following section of the literature review tries to incorporate the definitions of these two attributes, as is found to be present in the existing literary evidences.

Employee Satisfaction 

There exist different explanations of the notion of employee satisfaction from different perspectives, in the contemporary literary evidences. One of the most comprehensive definitions of the term, in this aspect, is provided in the works of Sageer, Rafat and Agarwal (2012). The authors define employee satisfaction as the indicator of the happiness of the employees in their professional scenario, which comes from fulfilment of the desires and needs of the employees in their workplaces. Employee satisfaction is thus, nothing but the measure of the level of happiness of the workers with their work and work environment (Saks and Gruman 2014). On the other hand, employee satisfaction is viewed as an antecedent of the engagement of the employees in their respective job roles in the concerned organizations where they are working (Eslami and Gharakhani 2012).

Factors affecting employee satisfaction in a business organization 

There exists considerable debate regarding the factors which contribute towards the presence of employee satisfaction in the business organizations in the contemporary global scenario. According to Brunetto et al. (2012), employee satisfaction is primarily a subjective attribute of the employees based on their own perceptions of satisfaction. According to the authors, based on their own individual perceptions of the implications of their experiences in the job places, the employees develop positive and negative feelings and attitudes towards the work that they do and the environment in which they work, which in turn determines their level of satisfaction in the work and work place (Abraham 2012). 

In this context various literary evidences put forward various factors which have considerable implications on the satisfaction level of the employees in the organizations, which are discussed as follows according to the weightage of the factors:

1. a) Job Security-Swarnalatha and Vasantham (2014), with the support of the empirically supported paper of Wangdi (2016) assert that one of the primary factors influencing the level of satisfaction of employees in their respective workplaces is the job security which they enjoy in the same. The term “Job Security” in the business scenario refers to the assurance or confidence of an employee about their retention in the current job, which in turn is affected by their performances as well as the performance of the company and the economy as a whole (Collinsdictionary.co 2018). According to the authors, the presence of high job security automatically increases the satisfaction level of the employees in their work places.
2. b) Freedom of utilizing their skills-Asegid, Belachew and Yimam (2014), point out one of the significant determinations of the satisfaction of the employees in their workplace to be the level of freedom which the employees enjoy in their work roles in the aspect of utilizing their abilities and skills. In generally, the workplaces and organizations which give their employees some extent of freedom to be creative and innovative and those which incorporate their ideas in the operational framework, tend to have a more happy and loyal workforce (Leblebici 2012).
3. c) Remuneration and financial or non-financial benefits- The level of remuneration and the perks which the employees of an organization get also have direct linkage with the level of satisfaction which the employees perceive in their work life (Yücel 2012). Augmenting the view of the author, Huang, You and Tsai (2012), assert that the companies which have robust incentive structure and perks for their employees and which provide transparent and standard salary structure to their employees tend to have a happier and more satisfied workforce, which reflects in their low employee turnover rates.
4. d) Stability and Performance of the organization itself- Apart from the individual operational attributes of the organizational structure and employee management framework of the organizations, the overall performance of the organizations and their financial stability and competency in the market. As suggested by Yeh (2013), the organizations which have higher credibility and financial stability in the markets, tend to have robust wage and incentive structure as well as provision of better career prospects for their employees and also provide higher job securities and a productive work environment for them, which in turn help them realise their potential and develop productive skills (Lee, Huang and Zhao 2012). This in turn increases the level of satisfaction in their current work place.
5. e) Types of jobs the employees do-Millán et al.(2013), highlights that the job satisfaction of the employees of any business organization also depend considerably on the types of jobs they are assigned to do and the levels of responsibilities imposed on them by the management of the organizations. According to Saks and Gruman (2014), in this context, argue that employees tend to relate greater responsibilities imposed on them with greater form of trust on them, which enables them to be more productive and satisfied with their work. On the contrary, if the employees are assigned tedious jobs and are not given any variations and challenges, they feel bored and demotivated, which in turn reflects on their dissatisfaction in their jobs and often lead to higher turnover of the employees.
6. f) Recognition of the efforts of the employees by management-Taking queue of the assertions made by Saks and Gruman (2014), the works of Wang and Hsieh (2013), suggests that an efficient leadership framework and the presence of effective and encouraging management structure in the commercial organizations also play considerably important roles in motivating the employees, thereby having positive implications on their level of job satisfaction. According to the authors, the satisfaction of the workers in their jobs increase manifold if their efforts and performances are acknowledged by the management of the companies (Dobre 2013). These recognitions can be materialistic (providing benefits in cash or kind) or can also be verbal (recognizing the efforts and praising the employees in front of the entire team). Both of these works positively in the aspect of employee satisfaction in the work places which in turn encourages them to be more productive, thereby benefiting the company in the long run.
7. e) Flexibility and work-life balance of the employees-Gayathiri et al. (2013) highlights the fact that the level of satisfaction of the employees in their job life is also attached with the level of flexibility which they enjoy in their work places as well as on the quality of their work life and personal life balance which they can maintain. The employees tend to remain more satisfied in their work if they get sufficient leisure time and family time after their work hours (Chandra 2012). The author argues that provisions of flexibility at work like home offices, flexible work timings as well as sufficient leaves and perks like vacation and travel allowances keep the employees satisfied and more dedicated towards their jobs. On the other hand, the organizations with extended and rigid work shifts devoid of proper employee compensation often have comparatively less satisfied and more complaining employees which effects negatively on the reputation of the organization itself (Estryn-Béhar and Van der Heijden 2012).

In this aspect, Chimote and Srivastava (2013), argue that the perception of work life balance and extended work hours vary from region to region. According to the authors, a considerable difference is seen in this aspect in the eastern and the western countries in general. In the support of their assertions, the authors highlight the fact that the western countries, in general being the developed ones, have proper employee and employer regulations, where the concepts of work life balance, labour-leisure balance and extra pay for extra work are more prevalent as the workers are more aware of the same (Erdogan et al. 2012). On the other hand, the eastern countries, being mostly developing ones, the employee rights and entitled benefits are not clear to many of the workers. Many of them working on subsistence wages, little monetary benefits or perks encourage them to sacrifice their leisure time and work harder for their organizations (Kumari 2012). However, in the recent period, with the development of these countries, workers are getting aware about these aspects. 

Models for Measuring Employee Satisfaction in Business Organizations

f) Communication with senior management-The empirically supported works of Men (2014), also highlights the role of transformational leadership in increasing the level of work satisfaction of the employees in an organization. Through an online survey of 400 workers of different corporations of the USA, the author shows that the transformational new age leadership leads to creation of symmetrical channels of internal communication among the different strata of the organizations, thereby leading to efficient flow of information, ideas, as well as grievances of the employees. The notion that they are getting heard, increases the level of relational dynamics among the senior management and the employees thereby increasing the level of employee satisfaction in the organizations.

Apart from the above discussed attributes and factors, there also remain many other determinants like that of overall corporate culture of the business organizations, relationship with the co-workers,  the perception of the level of safety by the employees in their work places and the relationship of the employees with their immediate superiors and leaders as  well as different other factors have considerable implications on the level of satisfaction of the employees in the business organizations in the contemporary scenario.

Conceptual framework and Measurements of Employee Satisfaction 

The notion of satisfaction of an employee in his or her current job is primarily an abstract concept with no cardinal ways to measure the same. However, over the years, scholars have tried to conceptually frame different models for employee satisfaction in organizations and have also tried to form different indices to measure the same.

Range of Affect Theory- In this context one of the most popular theoretical framework is the Range of Affect Theory by Edwin A. Locke. According to this theory, the level of satisfaction in job is primarily determined by the difference between the advantages or facilities which an individual enjoys in a job and the expectations which he or she has from the job (Soane et al. 2012). The theory also suggests that different individuals value different attributes separately and thus, they can have different levels of satisfaction working in the same organization.

Dispositional Theory- According to Dugguh and Dennis (2014), the dispositional theory argues that the satisfaction of the employee in their jobs depend on their innate dispositions which lead to their own tendencies towards their satisfaction level. This theory gives way to Core Self-Evaluations Model.

Job Characteristics Model- This model, first proposed by Hackman and Oldham, tries to study the different characteristics of the jobs which affect the employee outcomes including that of job satisfaction of the employees. The model can be shown as follows:

Employee Commitment in Business Organizations

 

Figure 1: Job Characteristics Model

(Source: Researchgate.net 2018)

The different factors affecting the level of employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction is accumulated in the Job Satisfaction Model which comprehensively tries to show the factors and their cause and effect flows in the form of a diagrammatic representation:

 

Figure 2: Job Satisfaction Model

(Source: Azanza, Moriano and Molero 2013)

In the works of Jang and George (2012), two different indices for measurement of job satisfaction is explained which are as follows:

1. a) Job Descriptive Index-This index, in the form of questionnaire, measures the job satisfactions of the employees, in the aspects of pay, promotion, supervision, work roles and the co-workers.
2. b) Job in General Index-This measure, as suggested by the authors, is an upgradation over the primary model as it does not focus on only the facets but also on the overall satisfaction of the workers in their jobs.

There also exists various other models and indices which have been developed over the years with the objective to measure and interpret the aspects of employee satisfaction in the business organizations in general. 

Another important aspect, apart from employee satisfaction, which significantly impacts the performance of the employees as well as the organization is the aspect of employee commitment. Hill et al. (2012), defines employee commitment as the psychological or emotional attachment of the employees with the organizations in which they work. It is also an aspect which determines how hard and passionately the employees work for their organizations or employers.

According to Meyer, Stanley and Parfyonova (2012), the commitment of the employees to their organizations may be of three conventional types according to the Three Component Model of organizational commitment, which are as follows:

Affective Commitment- This is primarily in the form of an emotional attachment of the workers with their organizations and their desire to work with the same organization in the long run.

Normative Commitment- This type of commitment of the employees come from the sense of obligation and responsibility which induce them to stay and work for the organizations.

Continuance Commitment- This kind of commitment to the commercial organizations come from the perceptions of the concerned employees regarding the costs which they need to bear if they leave the organization, which can be in the form of cost of looking for other jobs, displacement costs and others (Eslami and Gharakhani 2012).

Factors affecting employee commitment 

Different literary evidence emphasizes on different factors affecting the commitment of the workers in the organization, the primary ones being discussed as follows:

1. a) Work Values-As per the assertions of Dixit and Bhati (2012), one of the primary attributes of the organizations which encourages the employees to stay committed to their organizations is the presence of workplace values. That is, if the organizations value good quality works and dedicated participation of the employees and if the employees perceive that their efforts are acknowledged then they tend to feel closer to the organization, which leads to an increase in the level of organizational commitment of the concerned employees.
2. b) Job Characteristics and sense of control-Brown et al.(2013), in their paper on the factors affecting the retention of the nurse managers, highlight another important aspect which influences the level of commitment of the employees to their organization. According to the authors, the types of the jobs which the employees do as well as the level of control they have in the hands regarding their job roles play a crucial role in the organizational commitment. In general, with greater controls in their hands, the employees perceive that the organizations trust them, which increases their level of job commitment.
3. c) Leadership and employee-employer relation-Wallace, de Chernatony and Buil (2013) assert that the type of leadership as well as the relationship of the employees with the employers also play crucial role in determining the level of commitment of the employees with the organizations. 

Conceptual Framework 

Yücel (2012), in this context, provides a conceptual model relating the different aspects of employee dynamics with that of the turnover intention of the employees in an organization, with indirectly indicates towards their level of attachment and willingness to stay with the current organizations in which they work:

Implications of Employee Motivations on Commitment in Business Organizations

 

Figure 3: Relationship between satisfaction, commitment and turnover of the employees

(Source: Yücel 2012)

As can be seen from the above figure, the author argues that the level of job satisfaction of an employee directly affects his or her level of commitment to the organization, which can be of three types (Affective, Normative and Continuance) as well as the turnover intention of the employees.

The relation between the satisfaction of the employee and their commitments can also be seen from the assertions of Mowday, Porter and Steers (2013), which they try to put forward in the form of the following self-explanatory framework:

 

Figure 4: Factors affecting employee satisfaction and organizational commitment

(Source: Mowday, Porter and Steers 2013)

Impact of employee motivation on organizational performance 

Dobre (2013), in their paper, emphasizes considerably on the motivation of the employees as one of the crucial factors which have considerable implications on their overall level of satisfaction as well as engagement and commitment, which in turn affects their performance as well as the performance of the organization.

 

Figure 5: Employee Motivation and its impact on Organizational Performance

(Source: Anitha 2014)

According to Anitha (2014), the different financial incentives as well as non-financial attributes have considerable impacts on the overall job satisfaction as well as motivation of the employees, which in turn directly effects their performance as well as the overall performance of the organizations in which they work.

Conclusion 

From the above review of the literatures, it is evident that the satisfaction, motivation and the commitment of the employees act as significant factors in the organizational performance in the contemporary period. There also exists various theoretical assertions regarding the factors which affect these attributes of the employees, especially the overall satisfaction level of the employees in their current jobs. However, all these attributes being highly ordinal and subjective, there does not exist one single indicator which takes into account all the factors and attributes and their cause and effect relationships comprehensively, which thereby appears as one of the significant gaps in the existing literatures, thereby leaving scopes for further research and exploration in the future, in these aspects of employee management and employee performance enhancement, thereby having immense impacts on the organizational performances in the coming years. 

References 

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Conclusion

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