Performance and Commitment in the Workplace

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Context/ Situation
Discussion and Analysis
Recommended Approaches
Conclusion and Reflections
References

Abstract

Colquitt, Lepine & Wesson (2010) analyzed the essentials that improve performance and commitment in any organization. Of all the essentials, they particularly found that job satisfaction, stress, and motivation do play a significant role in changing workplace dynamics. Most employees of an organization would like to remain in their current employment as long as they feel that their needs are being met. Colquitt et al (2010) find that some employees go out of their way to ensure that they remain in their current employment especially where terms and conditions of work are satisfactory. This is the main drawing point of this paper. I analyze how these three ingredients; job satisfaction, stress, and motivation influence the employees feeling of wanting to remain in their current organization. Performance and commitment have long been linked to the mental attitudes of employees (Meyer & Allen, 1997; Aguinis & Henle, 2003; Colquitt et al, 2009). This means that the perception that employees have of their employment conditions are bound to affect their output and intention to remain in their current employment. In this paper, I give a good example of a situation in my place of employment that affected my performance and feeling of commitment to the organization.

Introduction

Organizational behavior has been a topic of research for quite some time due to the impact that it has on performance. With the growth of privately-owned companies and a growing drive for profits and better organizational output, most executives are looking towards ways and means through which the output of their employees can be maximized and at the same time keep the employees satisfied enough to remain in their current employment. The purpose of this research paper is to look at some of the essentials of organizational behavior that have to be considered in achieving the above goal. Specifically, we look at the role of job satisfaction, stress, and motivation and how they bring about changes in the output of employees in an organization. The research is drawn from a case study that is drawn from an experience I had during my employment at a certain Coffee shop that affected my performance and commitment towards the organization.

The key points that I look into include the job characteristics, pay, and relationship with my manager and how they are all related to my feelings of job satisfaction and motivation.

Context/ Situation

In the summer of 2007, I was offered a job as an assistant store manager at a Starbucks coffee shop. The job was simple since it involved handling of procurement documents, the regular taking of stock, reporting to the store manager, and at times supervising waiters when the overall store manager was not present. The pay was good and the benefits were inclusive of a medical cover. However, after some time, the manager fell sick and he was constantly hospitalized. This meant that I was often in charge of supervising waiters, a role in which I did not receive additional pay and which was very stressful since the waiters were not cooperative due to their perception that I was too young to issue instructions.

The situation got out of hand when the manager became very ill and had to go on a long sick leave. I had to fill his position as well as perform the tasks assigned to me as an assistant store manager before the store could find a replacement for about two weeks. During this time, my relationship with waiters deteriorated and due to the impact this had on my mental health, I made several errors in procurement. When the new manager came in, he decided to carry out an audit and discovered the errors. Due to these errors, I was issued with a warning letter. This served to erode my morale further since I felt that I had not been appreciated for keeping the store afloat without a store manager. Thereafter, the new store manager kept finding mistakes in my work and I eventually quit a month after his appointment.

Discussion and Analysis

Through the scenario above, there is a clear indication of how the feeling of job satisfaction, stress, and motivation can affect one’s performance and commitment to his/her job. Initially, when my store manager as well, I felt that I was in the right place. I was satisfied with my job specification, hours of work, pay, benefits, and the relationship that I had with my store manager. As Colquitt et al (2010) state, all the essentials of organizational behavior were in place and that is why my job performance was satisfactory. I made no errors and the store manager always commended me for my good work. Consequently, I felt that I would work for this organization for a long time and possibly wait to be promoted to higher levels in the company.

After my store manager fell ill, several things went wrong that affected my performance and eventually my commitment to the organization. The first of these was stress which was built up from the lack of cooperation by waiters. Additionally, I had not had sufficient experience and training for the role of the store manager and so mentally, it was challenging. The overall workload of handling both the tasks of the assistant store manager and store manager also contributed to the stress build-up.

Eventually, due to the feeling of burnout, I lost motivation to do my job. The fact that I did not receive remuneration for my short stint as store manager also played a part in lowering my morale since I felt that my efforts had not been rewarded. After I was issued a warning letter, I felt that the organization did not appreciate my efforts and that they did not understand that for a person of my age and experience, the workload was too much and I was bound to make some errors. The final blow to my morale and desire to work came with the scrutiny and criticism of the new store manager. In conclusion, a combination of stress, lack of motivation, and low job satisfaction led to my resignation from the job.

After analyzing the above situation, I think that Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is the most applicable motivation theory in this context. According to Maslow, human needs are classified into five levels namely physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and finally self-actualization at the top of the hierarchy. In the business sense, the theory states that since a level has to be satisfied before the person moves to the next, employers should ensure that they anticipate the needs of their employees and meet them as they arise to keep them motivated.

In my scenario, I felt that due to the good pay, benefits, and working conditions, my needs at the first two levels had been met and until then, I was motivated to work. However, my social needs of being understood and loved were not met and I could not break past this level, which resulted in my loss of motivation.

Recommended Approaches

In this part, I look at the possible approaches that could have taken to avoid or remedy the situation that led to my departure. First, I look at the situation from the perspective of the company. At the time the first store manager was in good health, the company should have ensured that he trained me to handle his roles by constantly delegating some of his work to me. Under his close supervision, I would have gained the necessary skills for the job and possibly built a rapport with the other employees, which would have assisted me greatly during his absence. From the above, it is apparent that managers must delegate some of their tasks and sufficiently expose their juniors to the job.

Another approach the company should have taken is to be prepared if the manager went on sick leave, there was a suitable replacement since they knew that I did not have sufficient skills and experience to take over. Proper planning and foresight would have alleviated the problem. In another perspective, the company should have been supportive and understanding of my predicament. Their support especially on the issue of uncooperative employees would have kept me motivated to work. The company should also have increased my pay for the additional role that I took.

From my perspective as an employee, I feel that I should have been more patient with the new manager to allow him to settle down in his new job. I should have seen through his scrutiny and criticism to understand that he was interested in bringing out the best in me and the company. Additionally, I should have told him how I felt about my job, which might have helped resolve the situation.

Conclusion and Reflections

Colquitt et al (2010) opine that job satisfaction is very important to keep employees motivated and committed to the organization. Also, Pfeffer (1998) found that successful organizations were those that put the interest of their employees before profit. Through the situation above, these issues come to the fore and reinforce the statements by the scholars. Through the in-depth analysis of my situation, it is apparent that organizations need to be keen on monitoring the stress and motivation levels of their employees to ensure they perform their tasks efficiently. This can be made possible through keeping the channels of communication open and by ensuring that managers are vigilant of employee morale levels.

It is interesting to note that motivation building is a complicated process since even with good pay and satisfactory working conditions, a lack of motivation in employees is still possible. This is why Colquitt et al (2010) state that job satisfaction varies from employee to employee. Organizations need to come up with ways to ensure that they keep their employees in the right state of mental health and motivation.

References

Aguinis, H & Henle, C.A. (2003). The Search for Universals in Cross-Cultural Organization Behaviour. In Organizational Behaviour: The State of the Science. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Colquitt, J., Lepine, J. & Wesson, M. (2010). Organizational Behaviour: Improving Performance and Commitment in the Workplace. Sydney: McGraw Hill.

Colquitt, J., Lepine J., Wu, X. & Wesson, M. (2009). Organizational Behaviour: Essentials for Improving Performance and Commitment. Dalian: Dongbei University of Finance & Economics Press.

Meyer, J.P & Allen, N.J. (1997). Commitment in the Workplace. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishers.

Pfeffer, J. (1998). The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

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