Organizational Commitment and Employee Retention - Term Paper Example

 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 2 2.0 Job Satisfaction 3 3.0 Commitment 4 4.0 Employee Retention 5 5.0 Interrelation between Job Satisfaction, Commitment & Employee Retention 6 6.0 Conclusion 8 References 9 1.0 Introduction Job satisfaction, organizational commitment and employee retention are important constituents of management practices and policies. Job satisfaction is the employee’s satisfaction level towards a job that he or she performs. Organizational commitment refers to the dedication and loyalty that an individual can exert on the objectives and goals of an organization. Employee retention is the measures that are developed by the managers or the leaders in order to retain employees in an organization. All these three aspects are interrelated to each other. If job satisfaction is positive then it leads to strong organizational commitment and this may result in high level of employee retention. If there is negative job satisfaction, the employees will reduce their commitment towards work and organization which ultimately results in high level of turnover rate. In this paper, details of job satisfaction, organizational commitment along with employee retention have been discussed succinctly. The paper also covers the relationship between the three factors in a precise way. Finally, the paper is enclosed with a few concluding lines about the entire topic. 2.0 Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is the result of emotional reaction related to the specific job situation. The satisfaction is dependent on the level of outcome of the job that means whether the employees can meet the result or exceed their expectations. Job satisfaction turns to be negative when the rewards are less and this may result in negative attitude towards the job (Tella & Et. Al., 2007). Job satisfaction is the affective response of an employee; therefore it can be a source or may be related to high productivity. It is a fact that “the satisfied worker is the productive worker”. Thus, satisfaction level of the worker is extensively related to the performance and quality of work. However, various studies have shown that satisfaction or dissatisfaction has no relation to the productivity of work. Satisfied workers may or may not be high producers and those employees who are high producers may not be interested in their jobs. Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction may not result in explicit behavior such as positive or negative influence in productivity, grievance, absenteeism, turnover and others. It may depend upon the personal characteristics of an employee that may be his or her personality and prospects for self expression lying on the job (Smith, n.d.). 3.0 Commitment Organizational commitment has been defined in various ways by Beckeri, Randal and Riegel (1995). It is considered as a strong aspiration of the employees to be a member of a particular organization. It is also defined as high level efforts that can be applied by employees for the organization and the employees’ acceptability related to the values as well as goals of the organization. Organizational commitment is associated with several factors such as personal factors, for example, age, professional periods in the organization, external or internal ascription. The other factors are organizational factors and these encompass job design, leadership style; and other non-organizational factors consist of availability of substitutes (Tella & Et. Al., 2007). According to Mowday, Porter and Steer (1982), organizational commitment is considered as an attachment and loyalty. There are three components related to organizational commitment which involve identification related to the goals as well as standards of the organization, desire to be associated with the organization and finally, an eagerness to show efforts for the organization (Mowday & Et. Al., 1982). Organizational commitment can also be termed as the power of the recognition of an individual and his attachment within the organization. Organizational commitment is an emotional response towards the entire organization whereas job satisfaction is considered as an affective reaction to a particular job (Bull, 2005). 4.0 Employee Retention Employee retention has become a challenging factor in the present scenario in an organization. The reason may be due to inefficient skilled labor, economic growth along with high turnover of employees (Retention Connection, 2011). Retention has to be started from the initial level because sourcing, hiring and retaining the employees are vital responsibilities of the leadership of an organization along with the governing board. Besides HR departments, other leaders of the company may take part in developing retention strategies, processes and policies in an entire level in an organization. The major role of an organization is to direct the right employees towards their goals as well as targets and also take responsibility to help the employees to achieve success (Drake International NA, n.d.). 5.0 Interrelation between Job Satisfaction, Commitment & Employee Retention Job satisfaction is the result of commitment of employees towards an organization and this may also be the cause of employee retention. In an organizational environment, job satisfaction plays a significant role. Developing negative job satisfaction may bring lethargy among the employees. This may also de-motivate the employees and results in reduction of organizational commitment. The dissatisfaction in the job may also result in high turnover rate and extensive challenges have to be faced by the organization for retaining employees (Tella & Et. Al., 2007). Job satisfaction along with organizational commitment is inversely connected to several withdrawal behaviors of the employees such as lethargy, absence and turnover. Besides these factors, job satisfaction and organization commitment are also related to high rate of productivity with organizational efficiencies (Bull, 2005). It was evident from various research that job dissatisfaction results in high turnover as well as absenteeism rate. It becomes a challenging task for an organization to retain dissatisfied workers than the satisfied ones. Job satisfaction is regarded as a valuable objective of management practices. Thus, the satisfaction level of the employees can be measured in order to evaluate the success of management policies and procedures. The measures can also be used to forecast the turnover or absences in future among employees (Smith, n.d.). The main job satisfaction areas such as satisfaction in nature of work environment may include job challenge, self-sufficiency and scope to bring satisfaction among the employees as well as employee retention (Saari & Judge, 2004). Since job satisfaction brings good job performance of the employees, it becomes a vital aspect of employee retention. Employees having satisfaction in their job become more productive as well as creative and are preferred to be retained by the company. Several factors exist that provide job satisfaction among employees. These factors include pay, motivation, benefits, communication and others that play a significant role to analyze whether the employees are content with their jobs or not (Gerhardt, n.d.). 6.0 Conclusion With reference to the above discussion, it can be concluded that organizational commitment, job satisfaction along with employee retention are all interconnected to each other. High level of job satisfaction increases employees’ commitment towards organization as well as his performance. More the organizational commitment, higher will be the retention of employees. Hiring top performing candidate is an easy task but to retain them for a longer period is a challenging task for both organizational leaders as well as the HR department. Retention of employees needs effective planning as well as implementation of useful strategies. It is a necessary fact that before hiring the candidate the recruiter needs to think over the retention otherwise the turnover rate will be high. The recruiter must encourage or motivate the employees to remain in the organization and plan long term goals along the organizational objectives. Higher job satisfaction may increase employees’ commitment towards the organization and this may lead to higher employee retention. References Bull, F. H. I., (2005). Organizational Commitment. The Relationship between Job Satisfaction And Organizational Commitment Amongst High School Teachers In Disadvantaged Areas In The Western Cape. Retrieved Online on April 27, 2011 from http://etd.uwc.ac.za/usrfiles/modules/etd/docs/etd_init_5116_1174552058.pdf Drake International NA, (No Date). Who Is Ultimately Responsible For Staff Retention?. Employee Retention. Retrieved Online on April 27, 2011 from http://www.drakeintl.co.uk/Publications/Employee-Retention.pdf Gerhardt, L. P., (No Date). Need For the Study. Employee Retention through Job Satisfaction. Retrieved Online on April 27, 2011 from http://www.paulgerhardt.com/homework/Employee%20Retention%20Proposal.pdf Mowday, R. T. & Et. Al., (1982). Employee-Organization Linkages: The Psychology of Commitment, Absenteeism, and Turnover. Academic Press. Retention Connection, (2011). Valuable Information. Employee Retention: Vital Strategy. Retrieved Online on April 27, 2011 from http://www.retentionconnection.com/ Smith, C. P., (No Date). What Is Job Satisfaction?. The Development of a Method of Measuring Job Satisfaction: The Cornell Studies. Retrieved Online on April 27, 2011 from http://www.sba.oakland.edu/Faculty/york/Readings434/Readings/Development%20of%20a%20method%20of%20measuring.pdf Saari, M. L. & Judge, A. T., (2004). Job Satisfaction and Job Performance. Employee Attitudes and Job Satisfaction. Retrieved Online on April 27, 2011 from http://www.utm.edu/staff/mikem/documents/jobsatisfaction.pdf Tella, C. & Et. Al., (2007). Job Satisfaction. Work Motivation, Job Satisfaction, and Organisational Commitment of Library Personnel in Academic and Research Libraries in Oyo State, Nigeria. Retrieved Online on April 27, 2011 from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/tella2.pdf Read More