Analysis of Organisational Commitment of Employees of Public Sector Undertakings

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1 Analysis of Organisational Commitment of Employees Analysis of Organisational Commitment of Employees of Public Sector Undertakings Dr. Febi Varghese * & Dr.V. Mukunda Das ** ABSTRACT The organisational organisational commitment of the employees in three major Public Sector Undertakings in plantation sector in Kerala, namely, Plantation Corporation of Kerala Ltd.(PCK), State Farming Corporation of Kerala Ltd.(SFCK), and Oil Palm India Ltd. are subjected to a thorough study through respective Scales administered to top and middle level officers of these organisations. Organisational commitment of employees in these organisations are found to be inadequate in these organisations. Inculcating a sense of ownership in the minds of the employees and acknowledgement of loyalty to the organisation can create a high degree of organisational commitment. Keywords: Public sector undertaking, Plantation sector, Organisational commitment. INTRODUCTION Organisational Commitment refers to employee s commitment to their employer. Occupational Commitment refers to commitment to a particular line of work (Meyer, Allen, and Smith 1993). This conceptualisation is based on the three themes identified by Meyer and Allen (1991), viz., affective commitment, continuance commitment, and normative commitment. Briefly, employees with a strong affective commitment remain because they feel they ought to do so (Meyer et al., 1993). Commitment is the term used to explain employee s commitment towards the organisation on account of his job. The employee is satisfied in his job role which he is performing and the support and cooperation that he receives from his organisation and the interest on the job is influencing the occupational commitment. The organisational culture of employees of PSUs in Planatation Sector in Kerala are covered under the study. Review of Literature Beckers (1960) attempted in his work: Note on the concept of commitment, to verify the proposition that individual investments into a particular organisation act as a stabilizing or maintenance mechanism. Investments are posited to decrease an individual s propensity to leave * Managing Director, KSIE, Govt. of Kerala, Trivandrum ** Director, CIMP, Patna Global Journal of Business Management

2 92 Febi Varghese & V. Mukunda Das the organisation and to tie the individual to the organisation, even when the individual becomes dissatisfied. Grusky (1966) highlights the importance of rewards on commitment of private sector managers in his work titled: Career mobility and organisational commitment, and concludes that rewards are likely to have an impact on the commitment of managers. Brown (1969) in his studies on: Identification and some conditions of organisational involvement, concludes that satisfaction of the needs of employees can increase the level of their commitment. Porter, et al. (1974) in their study on job satisfaction, organisational commitment and turnover among the psychiatric technologists, states that commitment consists of a belief and acceptance of organisational goals and values, the willingness to exert effort towards organisational goal accomplishment and also a strong desire to maintain organisational membership. Mowday, et al. (1982) in their study titled: Employee- organisational linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism and turnover, have distinguished between commitment as an attitude and commitment as a behaviour and states that attitudinal commitment reflects the identification of individual with organisational goal and willingness to work towards them. Aswathy and Gupta (2010) in their study on organisational commitment of Indian managers in multinational companies found that the employee s commitment towards the organisation is based mainly on their perceptions about organisational practices. Objectives of the Study The major objectives of the study are: 1. To find out the level of organisational commitment of employees of public sector undertakings in plantation sector in Kerala 2. To compare the organisational commitment of employees of public sector undertakings in plantation sector in Kerala METHODOLOGY Normative Survey method was adopted as the appropriate means for gathering essential data for the study. The population for the present study consists of major public sector undertakings in plantation sector, namely, The Plantation Corporation of Kerala, The State Farming Corporation of Kerala and Oil Palm India. Primary data is collected through Organisational Commitment Scale (Meyer, Allen and Smith,1991). The sample for the present study constituted of 37 officers from The Plantation Corporation of Kerala, The State Farming Corporation of Kerala and Oil Palm India Ltd. This consists of only top and middle level officers of these organisations. Only experienced senior level employees were selected as they can inform about the existing organisational culture as well as commitment of the employees in a better and rational way when compared to less experienced junior level employees. Simple random sampling was used for selecting the sample for the study. Organisational Commitment Scale The Organisational Commitment Scale developed by Meyer, Allen & Smith (1991) was used for collecting the organisational commitment of employees in public sector undertakings in Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2015

3 Analysis of Organisational Commitment of Employees plantation sector. This is a standardised tool to measure the organisational commitment of employees and it is regarded as one of the highly valid and reliable tool for measuring organisational commitment. Allen and Meyer (1990) proposed a three component model of organisational commitment, viz., emotional belongingness to their organisation (Affective Commitment), the cost associated with living in the organisation (Continuance Commitment) and the feeling of obligation to remain with the employer (Normative Commitment). The scale consists of 22 items to measure the three components of organisational commitment, viz., Affective Commitment, Continuance Commitment and Normative Commitment. A five-point scale is used for the rating purpose. The respondent has to rate his/her opinion in this scale with strongly disagree, disagree, not sure, agree and strongly agree. The summated score for the 22 items reflects the organisational commitment of a particular employee. Analysis of Organisationl Commitment Level of Organisational Commitment of Employees in Plantation Sector The level of organisational commitment of employees in public sector undertakings in plantation sector was identified through the Organisational Commitment Scale administered by the investigator to the officers of PCK, SFCK and Oil Palm India. In order to find out the level of organisational commitment of employees in public sector undertakings in plantation sector, the employees were classified into three groups, namely, those having high organisational commitment, those having moderate organisational commitment and those having low organisational commitment. For this purpose, the mean (m) and standard deviation (s) were calculated. Those getting scores above (m+s) were taken as employees having high organisational commitment, those getting score below (m-s) were taken as employees having low organisational commitment and those in between these groups were considered as employees having moderate organisational commitment. The details are given in Table :1 Table1: Level of Organisational Commitment of Employees in Public Sector Undertakings in Plantation Sector Level of Commitment % of Employees High Moderate Low Total 100 Mean = 65.92, Standard Deviation = 4.81 Above table shows that 18.92% of employees have high organisational commitment, 59.46% have moderate organisational commitment and 21.62% have low organisational commitment. It clearly shows that the organisational commitment of majority of the employees in public sector undertakings in plantation sector is not adequate. The graphical representation of the level of organisational commitment of employees in public sector undertakings in plantation sector is given in Fig. 1. Global Journal of Business Management

4 94 Febi Varghese & V. Mukunda Das Low, 21.62% High, 18.92% Moderate, 59.46% Fig. 1: Level of Organisational Commitment of Employees of PSUs in Plantation Sector Level of Organisational Commitment of Employees in Plantation Corporation of Kerala The level of organisational commitment of employees in PCK was found out through the Organisational Commitment Scale administered by the investigator to the employees of PCK. The details are given in Table 2. Table 2: Level of Organisational commitment of Employees in PCK Level of Commitment % of Employees High Moderate Low Total 100 Mean = 67.76, Standard Deviation = 5.72 Table 2 shows that 17.65% of employees have high organisational commitment, 58.82% have moderate organisational commitment and 23.53% of them have low organisational commitment. It can, therefore, be concluded that the organisational commitment of majority of the employees in Plantation Corporation of Kerala is not satisfactory. The graphical representation of the level of organisational commitment of employees in PCK is given in Fig. 2. Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2015

5 Analysis of Organisational Commitment of Employees High Moderate Low Fig. 2: Level of Organisational Commitment of Employees in PCk Comparison of the Organisational Commitment of Employees of PCK, SFCK and Oil Palm The level of organisational commitment of employees in PCK, SFCK and Oil Palm India was found to be inadequate. An attempt has been made here to compare the organisational commitment of employees in these institutions to find out whether there is any significant difference between the employees in these institutions in terms organisational commitment. The details of the analysis are given below: Comparison of Organisational commitment of Employees in PCK with SFCK The organisational commitment scores obtained by PCK and SFCK were compared in order to find out whether there exists any significant difference between PCK and SFCK in their organisational commitment. The data and results of the analysis are given in Table 3. Table 3: Test of Significance of Difference between Means of Organisational Commitment of Employees of PCK and SFCK Group No. of Mean Standard Value Respondents Deviation PCK t = 1.33 SFCK p =0.197 *Significant at 0.05 level It is evident from the above Table that there is no significant difference between PCK and SFCK with regard to their organisational commitment as the obtained t-value is not significant even at 0.05 level (t = 1.33; p > 0.05). This indicates that the organisational commitment of employees in PCK and SFCK are more or less identical. Global Journal of Business Management

6 96 Febi Varghese & V. Mukunda Das Comparison of Organisational commitment of Employees in PCK with Oil Palm India The organisational commitment scores obtained by PCK and Oil Palm India were compared in order to find out whether there is any significant difference between these organisations in their organisational commitment. The data and results of the analysis are given in Table 4. Table 4: Test of Significance of Difference between Means of Organisational Commitment of Employees in PCK and Oil Palm India Group No. of Mean Standard Value Respondents Deviation PCK t = 2.46* Oil Palm p =0.021 *Significant at 0.05 level It is evident from Table 5.12 that there is significant difference between PCK and Oil Palm India with regard to their organisational commitment as the obtained. t-value is significant (t = 2.46; p < 0.05). The higher mean organisational commitment of employees in PCK shows that PCK employees have a better organisational commitment compared to the employees in Oil Palm India. The graphical representation of the mean organisational commitment of employees in PCK, SFCK and Oil Palm India is given in Fig Mean Occupational Comitment PCK SFCK Oilpalm Organisation Fig. 3: Organisational Commitment of Employees in PCK, SFCK and Oilpalm India Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2015

7 Analysis of Organisational Commitment of Employees FINDINGS The organisational commitment of employees in public sector undertakings in plantation sector was found to be too inadequate. While no significant difference was observed between employees in PCK and SFCK in their organisational commitment, significant difference was observed between PCK and Oil Palm India, where employees of PCK showed a better organisational commitment compared to employees of Oil Palm India. Loyalty to the organisation is to be duly acknowledged and a harmonious atmosphere is to be maintained in the organisation. Irrespective of their position in the organisation, employees must be encouraged to communicate frankly even on vexing issues relating to the organisation. This will create a pleasant atmosphere for out of the box thinking, which in turn can improve the organisational commitment. Higher level authorities should also share the problems of the organisation with employees even at the lower level which will infuse in them a sense of belonging and make them emotionally attached to the organisation. A performance appraisal system is to be put in place and based on that, rewards and incentives are to be timely disbursed to the employees. It is important that the personal problems of the employees also need to be addressed by the top management and a mechanism for timely advice to redress the problems is to be maintained permanently within the organisation. Only a sensitive and caring organisation can inculcate a high level of organisational commitment of employees. REFERENCES Allen, N.J., & Meyer, J.P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organisation. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, Angle H.L., & Perry, J.L. (1981). An empirical assessment of organizational commitment and organizational effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26 (1), Aranya, N., Kushnir, T., & Valency, A. (1986). Organisational commitment in a male dominated profession. Human Relations, 39 (5), Balaji, C. (1984). Organisational commitment and HRM: A study of managers in co-operatives. Ph.D. Thesis, IIMA, Ahmedabad. Cook, J., & Wall, T.D. (1980). New work attitude, measures of trust, organisational commitment and personal need non fulfilment. Journal of Occupational Psychology, Curry, J.P., Wakefield, D.S., Price, J.L., & Mueller, C.W. (1986). On the casual ordering of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Academy of Management Journal, 29 (4), Ferris, K.R., & Aranya. N. (1983). A comparison of two organizational commitment scales. Personal Psychology, 36 (1), Grusky,O. (1966). Career mobility and organizational commitment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 10, Matheiu. J.E., & Kohler, S.S. (1990). A test of the interactive effects of organizational commitment and job involvement on various types of absence. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 36 (1), Oliver, N. (1984). An examination of organizational commitment in six workers co-operative Scotland. Human Relations, 37 (1), Padaki, R. (1982). Organisational climate and work behaviour. Ph.D. Thesis, Gujarat University, Ahemedabad. Scholl, R. W. (1981). Differentiating organizational commitment from expectancy as a motivating force. Academy of Management Review, 6: Global Journal of Business Management

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