ASSESSMENT ON THE WAYS OF IMPROVING WORKERS SATISFACTION IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS : A CASE STUDY OF TANZANIA PORTS AUTHORITY
HEADQUARTER (DAR ES SALAAM)
By
Angelina Swebe & Stewart Mbegu
A Research Report Submitted to the Faculty of Public Administration in Fulfillment of the Bachelor Degree of Public Administration (Local Government Management) of Mzumbe University
June 2010
ABSTRACT
This study was carried out at Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Headquarters in Dar es Salaam between October 2009 and February 2010. The major objective of the study was to assess the ways of improving workers satisfaction of employment in public sector organizations.
For the organization to maintain higher level of employees’ satisfaction there should be an assessment of individual person to determine the need for satisfaction. This should be conducted through researches and surveys, and secret suggestion boxes. This would highly help to identify exactly what is needed by employees before starting any improvement because employees need for satisfaction differ from each other.
Tanzania Ports Authority faces employees’ complaints on work satisfaction. Employees’ satisfaction in this organization becomes difficult to be improved because of fear of employees to speak to their personal cause of dissatisfaction. This is because some of employees fear to lose the relationship with their bosses and some fear that if they speak they will be in the danger of losing the job. Therefore the organization relies on the dimensions that employees’ satisfaction is due to high payments, promotion, training and rewards. This might be somehow true but not exactly because satisfaction of employees does not depend only on the dimensions above but it is widely and it bases on internal feelings of a person.
CHAPTER ONE
PROBLEM DEFINITION AND BACKGROUND
1.1 Background to the problem
Job satisfaction has drawn attention of managers in various organizations for number of years. It also pays attention of philosophers, psychologist, educators, business and natural behavior scientists. Davis (1997) traced the historical background of job satisfaction that is about 175 years ago when modern industrial organizations needed improved and effective production.
Job satisfaction continues to be a case elsewhere especially in developing countries. Lack of employees’ satisfaction is a common problem in organizations (public and private) in Tanzania. Most of them are operating below capacity and one of the reasons for this problem is the lack of workers full participation and engagement in production activities, often resulting from lack of employees’ satisfaction, resulting from poor motivation. One of the critical challenges facing organizations today is how to make their employees feel satisfied with their employment and hence motivated to expand their mental and physical efforts to accomplish given organizational task. (Bake, 2000).
The concept of job satisfaction appears to employees of various categories within the organization. The core one’s workday is satisfaction within the organization, with an acceptable level of organization, employees tend to leave or at least to withdraw from the organization. They further go on to state that motivation is not necessarily tied to job satisfaction, but more to job satisfaction. In other words if the employees are satisfied they generally quite. When they are dissatisfied they are motivated to some form of action. This concept drives the need of empirically real data about the levels of job satisfaction in organization as a function of quality performance, (Pace & Faules, 1994).
However, Fredrick Hertzberg (1959), created the motivation-hygiene theory which ‘concluded that two groups of factors influence workers’ feelings about their jobs: motivators and hygiene. Achievement, recognition, responsibility, opportunity for advancement and the work itself are motivators. Hygiene includes such items company policy and administration, technical supervision, salary, working conditions and interpersonal relations.
On the other hand Armstrong (1992) says employees’ satisfaction is induced by provision of positive incentives such as employees training, recognition and involvement, satisfactory salaries, health care, conducive work environment and other employee services at work places. When these incentives are provided organizations stand a better chance of winning employees cooperation and commitment to performance, which bolsters organization’s competitive advantage. The HR management theory defines the workers as the source of productivity and competitive advantage. This goes without saying that their motivation and satisfaction are absolutely critical in any organization. Employees are also satisfied with good relationship with bosses and co-workers, prestige, physical work environment and type of work. If some of these motivators miss in the organizations is when employees become unsatisfied. This creates a danger of low productivity and frequent mistakes from workers in the organizations.
Employees’ job satisfactions become an ambiguity topic to study as it involves the feelings of individual person. The satisfaction of this employee may not be the same to another employee. Although much has been said by recent writers and researchers, to meet the high level of employee satisfaction the company need the assessment first to identify the need for satisfaction. This is because; the employee may demand this while actually needing something different. The intension of this study was to assess employees from Tanzania Ports Authority and analyze their problems so as to suggest how their satisfaction can be improved.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Job satisfaction is a relative simple concept. You have expectation about your work, when those expectations are met; then you are satisfied. When there is a gap between what you expect and reality of your job, dissatisfaction creeps in. Although the term job satisfaction is frequently used it is a relatively misunderstood topic. In large part, this lack of understanding comes when organizations assume that employees are satisfied with pay, promotion, rewards or training as addressed by writers and researchers. That is not only enough for employee to be satisfied, the experience shows employee satisfaction is complex, with a lot of dimensions and is more personal. The need for satisfaction differs from one employee to another. For instances, employee may complain that he is not satisfied due to salary and he want to leave the organization while the case is bad relation with boss and this always remains into his heart. This is because, most of them fears that once they speak they will be in trouble of losing the work. Therefore it is from the experience the researcher find the gap that there is a need to assess individual employee first the need for satisfaction and what could be the best way for their satisfaction improvements.
1.3 Objective of the study
1.3.1 General objective
The main objective of this study was to assess the ways of improving workers satisfaction of employment in public organizations.
1.3.2 Specific objective
The study was focused on the following objectives
• Assess the level of workers satisfaction
• Finding out factors for employees satisfaction or dissatisfaction
• Assess the ways used by TPA to ensure satisfaction of their employees
1.4 Research questions
• To what extent are employees satisfied with their work?
• What are the factors led to satisfaction or dissatisfaction of workers at TPA?
• What are the ways used by TPA to ensure satisfaction of workers?
1.5 Significance of the study
The study was significance because it has number of benefits to both individual and organization.
1. The study helps the management of TPA to improve the level of workers satisfaction for the benefit of organization.
2. The study helps to reduce unnecessary complaints on work satisfaction of employment in organizations
3. The study helps to increase morale of workers on performing their daily duties and hence increases production.
1.6 Delimitation of the study
The major focus of the study was to assess ways of improving workers satisfaction in public sector organizations. An assessment based on middle level employees and lower level employees. They were such as senior officers, officers, principal officers, Assistant officers and other employees from different departments at TPA (HQ) Dar es Salaam.
1.7 Limitation of the study
The study was facing the following constraints
• Financial constraints
The study was facing with the problem of enough financial due to the situation of a researcher
• Respondent negligence
A researcher was facing with the problem of negligence of the respondent due to that, some of the respondent were delaying with questionnaires and some were fired to respond to the questions.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
This chapter present the views of different authors concerning with the whole topic of job satisfaction, specifically it looks on those matters around the selected problem with its scope.
2.1 The concept of job satisfaction
According to Prasad (2005), Job satisfaction is a set of favorable or unfavorable feelings with which employees view their jobs, more specifically the nature of jobs they do, the quality of supervision they receive, co-workers pay and parks, and promotional avenues. Job satisfaction affects job performance, employees’ turnover and absenteeism. High job satisfaction results into high work performance, less employees’ turnover and less absenteeism. Job satisfaction is one of the important factors which have to productivity in the organization. Though there is no conclusive evidence that job satisfaction affects productivity directly because productivity depends on so many variables, it is still a prime concern for managers. Job satisfaction is the mental feeling of favorableness which an individual has about his job. It is amount of pleasure or contentment associated with a job. If you like your job intensively, you will experience high job satisfaction. If you dislike your job intensively, you will experience job dissatisfaction.
Job satisfaction is a complex phenomenon; it related to various casual factors like personal, social, cultural, environmental, and financial. The nature of the job is important factor in deciding the level of job satisfaction of employees. More important is the long-term prospect of employment in the organization that, which creates a sense of involvement and commitment to the job among employees. Job satisfaction is an individual’s attitude towards the job or it is an individual’s reaction to the job itself. Job satisfaction is also a positive emotional state that when a person fulfill his needs and aspirations. Job satisfaction may be general or specific. Many factors influence job satisfaction of the employees. First and most important is supervision and style of leadership. Employee oriented leadership styles enhances a greater amount of job satisfaction. On the other hand production oriented leader may cause low job satisfaction. Job content factors like achievement, responsibility, recognition and advancement lead to job satisfaction. (Weiss, 2002)
According to Hoppock (1935) job satisfaction is defined as “any combination of psychological, physiological and environment circumstances that causes a person truthfully to say I am satisfied with my job”. If you like your job intensively you will experience high job satisfaction and if you dislike your job intensively you will experience high job dissatisfaction.
However, Gupta (2006) defines job satisfaction as the end feeling of a person after performing a task. The feelings would be positive or negative depending upon whether need is satisfied or not. It is an employee’s general altitude towards his job. It is a worker’s sense of achievement and success generally perceived and directly linked to productivity as well as to personal wellbeing. It implies one’s enjoys, doing it well and being suitably rewarded for one’s efforts.
Generally, workers satisfaction is having a wide meaning. It comprises a degree to which an individual feels positively about the various facets of the job task, the work setting and relationship with co-workers. It is a sense of inner fulfillment and pride achieved when performing a particular job. On the other hand, it is a keying radiant that leads to recognition, income, promotion and achievement of other goals that lead to general feeling of fulfillment.
2.2 Factors behind job satisfaction
According to Prasad (2005), there are various factors which determine the degree of satisfaction as follows below.
Level of education
The level of education especially to higher level educated persons has very high expectations from their jobs. Therefore once they feel to reach their expectations is when they become unsatisfied.
Age
Individual experiences different degrees of job satisfaction at different stages of their life. Job satisfaction is high at the initial stage, gets gradually reduced, starts rising up to certain stage and finally dips to a lower degree. This is just because of cases of retirement and future time.
Job content
This refers to the intrinsic of the job which depends on the requirement of skills for performing it, and degrees of responsibility and growth it refers. The routine and repetitive job provides lesser satisfaction; the degree of satisfaction progressively increases in job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment.
Working condition
Particularly physical working environment like conditions of working place and associated facilities for performing the job determine job satisfaction. Provision of work conditions affects the individual’s perception about the organization.
Supervision
The type of supervision affects job satisfaction as in each type of supervision; the degree of importance attached to individuals varies. In job oriented supervision, there is more emphasis on the performance of job and people become secondary. This situation decrease job satisfaction.
Equitable Rewards
If the rewards are perceived to be based on the job performance and equitable, it offers higher satisfaction. If the reward is perceived to be based on the considerations other than the job performance, it affects job satisfaction adversely.
Opportunity for promotion
Apart of seeking satisfaction in the context of job nature and work environment but individuals they also attach importance to the opportunity for promotion that these job offers opportunity of promotion in future, it provides more satisfaction.
According to Gupta CB (2006), Job satisfaction is determined by;
Sex
One study revealed that women are less satisfied than men due to fewer job opportunities for females. But female workers may be satisfied due to their lower occupational aspirations.
Marital status
The general impressing is that married employees and employees having more dependants tend to be more dissatisfied due to their greater responsibilities. But such employees may be more satisfied because they value their jobs more than unmarried workers.
Experience
Job satisfaction tends to increase with increasing years of experience. But it may decrease twenty years of experience particularly among people who have not realized their job expectations.
According to Robbins (2003) the following are the factors influencing satisfaction of workers
Salaries
The salaries are the significant factor in job satisfaction. Money not only helps people attain their basic needs but also is instrument in providing upper level need satisfaction. Employees often see pay as a reflection of how management view their contribution to the organization.
Job design
The content of work itself is a major source of satisfaction. For example, researches related to the job characteristics approach to job design are two of the major job related motivational factors. Some of the most important ingredients of a satisfying job uncovered by surveys include interesting and challenging work, work that is not boring, and a job that provides status.
Supervision
This is another moderately important source of job satisfaction. It can be said that there are seems to be two dimensions of supervisory style that affect job satisfaction. One is employee’s centeredness. This is measured by the degree to which a superior takes a personal interest in the employee’s welfare. It is commonly in ways such as checking to see how well the subordinate is doing, providing advice and assistance to the individual and communicating with the worker on a personal as well as an official level. Two, is participation or influence where managers who allows their people to participate in decision that affect their own jobs. In most cases this approach leads to higher job satisfaction.
Work group
The nature of the workgroup or team will have an effect on job satisfaction cooperative worker are most, a modest source of job satisfaction to individual employee. The work group serves as a source of support, comfort, advice and assistance to the individual worker. A good work group makes the job more enjoyable. However this factor is not essential to job satisfaction. On the other hand, if the reverse condition exist the people are difficult to get along with this, may have a negative effect on job satisfaction.
Working conditions
These have a modest effect on job satisfaction. If the working conditions are good (clean, attractive, surrounding) the person will find it easier to carry out their job. If the working conditions are poor hot, noisy surroundings the personnel will find it more difficult to get things done, the effect of working condition.
2.3 Impact of job satisfaction
According to Khanka (2007), the following are the results of job satisfaction;
i. Employees with high job satisfaction tend to have better mental and physical health.
ii. Employees learn new-related tasks more easily and quickly.
iii. Employees commit less mistakes including on the job accidents.
iv. Employees have and file fewer grievances about the job and management.
v. The satisfied employees tend to evince prosaically altitude towards their co-workers and customers.
According to Robbins and Timothy (2007), the following are the impacts of job satisfaction
Exist.
Behavior directed toward leaving the organization, including looking for new position as well as resigning.
Voice
There is actively and constructively to improve conditions, including suggesting improvements discussing problems with superiors and some forms of union activity.
Loyalty
Passively but optimistically waiting for conditions to improve, including speaking up for the organization in the face of external criticisms and trusting the organization and its management to do the right thing.
Neglect
Passively allowing conditions to worsen, including chronic absenteeism or lateness, reduced effort and increased error rate.
2.4 Effects of dissatisfaction
Absenteeism
Dissatisfaction of work is highly related to absenteeism. Workers who are dissatisfied are more likely to take “mental health” days off not due to illness or personal business in work units, where job satisfaction was low, attendance was much lower. Those group of workers with the highest levels to extent the high level of effort necessary to get work.
Increasing turnover
As might be expected, high job satisfaction is associated with lower employed turnover, which is the proportional of employees living an organization. More satisfied employees are less likely to think about quitting, search for new job or announce their intention to quit, and thus are more likely to stay with their employee. Similarly those employees who have lower satisfaction usually have higher rates turnover.
Theft / sabotage
Although there are many causes of employees’ theft, some employees may steal because they are frustrated by the impersonal treatment that they receive from their organization. In their own minds employees may justify this extra ordinary behavior as a way of gaining revenge for what they consider ill treatment at the hands of a superior. In contrast to the situation with absenteeism and tiredness, fighter organization controls and treats of punishment do not always solve theft problems, since they are directed at the symptoms and not at the underlying causes such as severe dissatisfaction.
Other effects are; Decreasing productivity, Insubordination, Conflict among employees and complaints.
2.5 Ways of overcoming workers satisfaction
Build employees competence
This can be done through training feedback and recognition. There is a relationship between high job satisfaction and feelings of effectiveness on the job. Self confidence is probably the number one way to clever higher job satisfaction.
Communicate the value of the organizations product and services.
People with high job satisfaction report an extraordinary high sense of mission, vision and their work. Workers could not alive that feeling if they didn’t enable them to get meaningful insight about the value they provide to customers.
Encourage and reward thoughtful risk-taking.
People with high job satisfaction score high on the desire, approaches, face challenge and perform problem-solving both individually and in groups.
According to Roberta C (2001) the following are the ways of overcoming satisfaction of workers
Share Mission or Vision:
Organizations that have a mission or vision statement and use it as a guide for decision-making find employees spend less time and resources on non-income-producing activities when their people management strategies are aligned to the mission. A team guided by a clearly stated and communicated mission is more cost-effective and competitive than one where the mission is fuzzy or nonexistent.
Have a regular Employee Input and Feedback Programs:
Building a corporate culture that requires employees to be an integral part of the organization can be an effective way of getting the most from the talents or competencies brought to the organization by each employee. Allowing employees at all levels of the organization to share their ideas and concerns will also help the company develop and maintain a safer and more productive work environment. Knowing employees' feelings for, and levels of commitment to, the organization can be essential to measuring whether people management programs are producing the desired results.
Clearly Defined and Communicated job Expectations:
When an organization makes the decision to fill a new position, it has an idea of what will be expected of the new employee. However, unless these expectations are clearly communicated, the result can be disappointing for both the employee and employer. Such situations cause conflict and inefficiencies in the workplace. Therefore, it is very important that the employer establish a mechanism for making sure the needs of the organization are clearly communicated and understood.
Have a regular and a fair Performance Feedback:
Research has found that most employees in today's economy want to believe that they contribute to the overall success of the organization. However, if the employee is not sure how his or her job fits into the bigger picture, an employer may suffer a reduction in productivity or morale. A well-designed, consistently-applied and fair system for discussing the business goals, objectives and individual employee contributions can be a valuable tool in ensuring each employee becomes and remains an integral part of the organization's team.
Compensation, Benefits and Rewards Programs that are aligned With Mission Accomplishment: There is no way to overstate the importance of developing properly aligned compensation, benefits and rewards programs. Employees emulate behavior that they see being rewarded. When employees see executive and management employees being rewarded for behavior or work product that does not support the stated mission and/or vision of the organization, they may become disgruntled. These employees will either change their own behavior to mirror the rewarded behavior or become disgruntled with the lack of recognition they receive for "towing the line." Consequently, the work group loses its mission alignment.
Promotion of a Diversified Work Force:
Diversity in today's global market is much different than the old Affirmative Action Plan that characteristically sits on the shelf in a binder and gathers dust. A truly diverse work environment not only welcomes but also encourages employees of different cultures and backgrounds. Such work environments promote the sharing of new ideas, diverse points of view and employees who challenge "the way we do things here."
Hire the Right Employees:
No, this is not a contradiction to the statements made in the previous section. It actually is a compliment to diversity. Mission and vision are guiding principles for employees as to why the organization exists, what services it provides and how it operates. Corporate culture flows from the mission and vision. Hiring the right people means not only finding employees with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities but also those who will be productive members of the organizational work team. Bringing in an employee who does not understand or support the shared mission and goals can be very disruptive and costly to the organization.
Comprehensive Employee Orientation and Integration Programs:
Once an organization has developed a clear mission, defined its expectations, developed and implemented appropriate feedback and rewards programs and hired the right people, it is important to make sure that all employees have the information and tools necessary to transition smoothly into the work environment. Well-developed employee orientation and integration programs help both new and current employees work together to form a productive and satisfying work environment. Organizations that lack such programs can find that it loses many new employees who just "never got off to the right start."
Have a strong commitment to Training and Development Programs:
One of the most important benefits offered by many employers is employee personal development. Employers that invest in personal development programs that encourage employees to update skills and expand their knowledge base can directly contribute to bottom line profitability. This is because the organization will remain competitive and be able to adapt to market changes quickly, with little interruption in daily operations.
2.6 Strategies to increase satisfaction
Pinpoint the problem
You could lose job satisfaction for a number of reasons difficult co-workers, poor working conditions, pay, boredom or a bad manager. Once you have pinpointed the problem, you will have a better idea of how to deal with it. If you have a conflict with a co-worker, you should try and talk to them. If this doesn’t work then you should speak to your manager. If you are bored ask your manager for a new project or more responsibility.
Clarify job expectations
Some managers are vague about their expectations of you; assign your new tasks with little prior warning notice and handout projects without providing training. While you can’t prevent things like this from happening together, you can ask your manager to explain what your objectives are when they will be revised, timeframes they expect you to work and when you can receive additional either on the job or through training course.
Assess attitude
Assess your current state of mind. Are you unhappy and negative at work? Do you expect too much from your manager and co-workers? Ask people you respect for objective feedback. If you find yourself thinking your job is terrible, stop the thought in its tracks. Put things in perspective. Everyone has good days and bad days at work.
Set new challenges
Set achievevable daily goals. If you’re working to achieve a goal each day, you might find yourself looking forward to the day-to-day challenge. If your goals are achievable, you will gain a sense of satisfaction from successfully reaching them. Working on something you care about can boost your confidence mentor a co-worker develop your own project. It can motivate you and give you a sense of control.
Beat the boredom
Anyone who is bored at work on a regular basis will be unhappy. Alleviate boredom by breaking up the monotony of your day. Listen to music while you work and take occasional breaks to get up and move around. Changing your tasks around will give your day some variety. One of the most rewarding ways to boost job satisfaction is to learn a new skill. Think about what would make your job more interesting and book yourself on a training course.
Organize your time
Only attend meeting you really need to be at politely decline others. Avoid impromptu meetings which are really interruptions and are huge time wasters. Make your outgoing calls in blocks. You’ll probably keep conversations shorter. Keep your emails short. The shorter your email is, the more likely you are to get a response. If your message is longer is longer than five sentences then pick up the phone and call instead.
Know your strengths
Often people don’t do well, instead, think about all your strengths and how you can add value to your company. If you meet your deadlines, your manager is likely to overlook the fact that you forget little details occasionally.
Deal with conflict as it happens
Most people don’t like dealing with conflict but don’t deal with it quickly it will only grow bigger and uglier. If you are unsure how to handle conflict directly and quickly, then speak to your boss who can advise you. If you deal with a conflict as soon as it arises, you’ll better as it won’t be hanging over you.
Maintain a good work balance
Have a look at your current lifestyle and see which areas are out of balance. Do you have enough time for relationship, hobbies, sleep, and exercise, in addition to your work responsibilities? If not, the next step is to look at your priorities and make some changes so that your lifestyle reflects them better.
Bonus tip- Take some time off
Sometime you can feel burnt out at work if you haven’t had time for relaxation. Take a few days off and go somewhere where you can relax and recharge. You can go back to work totally refreshed.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
3.0 Introduction
This chapter presents research methodology and general procedures used by the researcher to accomplish the writing of this research report.
3.1 Research design
The approach to the study was a case study design. This is because the study was concentrated in a single organization that is TPA (HQ). The main reason for choosing TPA (HQ) as a case study was because it enabled the researcher to collect enough data since large number of employees are at the headquarter. On the other hand a case study design is less expensive compared to other designs like survey. The time given was insufficient and due to lack of enough financial, a researcher decided to use a case study.
3.2 Area of the study
The area of the study was Tanzania Ports Authority (Headquarters), the researcher selected that area because of the nature of the problem as it is known no organization is perfect concerning with satisfying their employees. TPA also faces a lot of complaints from workers on work satisfaction.
3.3 Unit of enquiry
The study crossed over various departments such as the Human Resources Department, Procurement and Supplies Department, Department of Information Technology, Department of Operations, Medical Department and Security Department.
3.4 Population and sample size
The targeted population was that of workers at TPA HQ in specific departments. The study concentrated on 134 workers from various departments stated above. From this population the researcher selected a sample of 60 which equals to 44.8% of the population selected. The main reason for choosing this sample is because it provides representativeness of the whole population that gives reliability and validity of the study.
Table 3.1 Number of population and sample size
S/NO Department Total population Sample size Sample size (%)
1 Technology 6 5 83.3
2 Operations 5 5 100
3 HR 70 30 12.9
4 Supplies 26 5 19.2
5 Medical 4 4 100
6 Security 23 11 47.8
Total 134 60 44.8
3.4.1 Sampling techniques
The sample size was selected using simple random sampling and stratified random sampling. This is simply because the population of the TPA HQ was not homogeneous; it was stratified into various levels like lower level employees, middle level employees and higher level employees. Therefore the study was crossing to these levels trying to get the views from different employees’ categories. In addition to that, simple random sampling was applied to the study because the population of TPA HQ was too big to deal with and every employee was having equal chance of being selected to form sample size.
3.5 Data collection methods
The researcher used various means of collecting data such as documentary review, questionnaires, interview, group discussion and participant observation method. All these were used as sources of getting data.
3.5.1 Questionnaire
The information was gathered using close ended questionnaire and open ended questionnaire. The questionnaires were only distributed to employees of TPA HQ who were included in the sample. The questions were administered using English and Swahili Languages. This is simply because employees selected in the sample were of different educational status for example lower level employees were not competent with English language hence they were given Swahili questionnaires. The main reason for choosing this method is because it is simple to apply and it enables instant collection of data from various respondents. By using this method, Forty (40) questionnaires were distributed to various employees who were included in the sample and only thirty three (33) questionnaires; equal to 55% were returned to the researcher.
3.5.2 Interview
According to Krishnaswami (2002), interview is defined as a two-way systematic conversation between an investigator and an informant, initiated for obtaining relevant information relevant to a specific study. Therefore, this is another method which was adopted in approaching the selected employees to get the relevant data. The researcher asked face to face questions to the respondents. The researcher also preferred this method because it is less cost full, it also gives a spot response and it is very easy to approach. Twenty (20) were selected in the interview, only thirteen (13) employees responded which is equal to 65%.
3.5.3 Documentary review
Information from this source was obtained from company gazette, memos, company structure, company files and TPA scheme of service. This method helped the researcher to find the information existing in the form of written documents of the organization.
3.5.4 Observation
Observation may be defined as a systematic viewing of a specific phenomenon in its proper setting for the specific purpose of gathering data for a particular study, (Krishnawami, 2002). This was also one of the methods a researcher used to get information. The researcher was watching carefully and noting down various events. The researcher was observing the relationship of workers and their supervisors, physical working environment, working tools and altitude of employees’ perception at TPA HQ. This method was used throughout the period the researcher stayed in the organization. This method played a great role whereby the data which was not given in questionnaires and interview was clearly justified by this method.
3.6 Data analysis and presentation
A researcher used both qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyze the data. The data collected from TPA HQ were in the form of words, when the researcher was analyzing the data qualitatively; the data were transformed into percentages and then were tabulated. A researcher used quantitative method when the data collected was in the form of numbers and percentages.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.0 Introduction
This chapter seeks to present the findings from the study conducted. The findings presented are mainly based on TPA HQ as the case study. The findings have been presented with reference to the study objectives and research questions which were developed by the researcher. The specific objectives of the study were:
i. Assess the level of workers satisfaction
ii. Finding out factors for employees satisfaction or dissatisfaction
iii. Assess the ways used by TPA to ensure satisfaction of their employees
4.1 Assess the level of workers satisfaction
Table 4.1 Responses on the level of satisfaction
Respondents High level Moderate level Low level
Principal officers 3(100%) 0(0%) 0(0%)
Senior Officers 2(17%) 8(66%) 2(17)
Officers 0(0%) 9(90%) 1(10%)
Assistant officers 4(29%) 7(50%) 3(21%)
Other employees 0(0%) 2(29%) 5(71%)
Total 9(20%) 26(57%) 11(23%)
Source: Field data
Table 4.1 above indicates that respondents from principal officers which were 3(100%) from the questionnaires had high level of satisfaction, senior officers 2(17%) had high level of satisfaction, 8(66%) had attained moderate level of satisfaction and only 2(17%) had attained low level of satisfaction, Officers 0(0%) had attained high level of satisfaction, 9(90%) had attained moderate level of satisfaction and only 1(10%) attained the level of satisfaction, Assistant Officers 4(29%) attained high level of satisfaction, 7(50%) attained the moderate level satisfaction and only 3(21%) had attained the low level of satisfaction, Other employees 0(0%) had attained high level satisfaction, 2(29%) attained moderate level of satisfaction and 5(71%) had attained low level of satisfaction.
The qualitative data analyzed above shows that the level satisfaction varies according to job position, where the data shows that there is high level satisfaction in the top management and decreases as it goes to the lower employees. This means that there is very low level of satisfaction to the lower employees compared to the high employees.
In fact this is on the concept that as being discussed to the factors of dissatisfaction at TPA that the top management has unfair treatment and favoritism that’s why the analysis above indicates that the high level employees are highly satisfied this is on the concept that they are satisfier of themselves and the lower employees are very dissatisfied due to unfairness done by high employees upon them.
In fact for the need of efficient and effectiveness of the TPA has to devote much of his time rectify any of the factors in myriads of ways to ensure that each and every employee get satisfied since employees are vehicles of the organization on fulfilling the corporate objective.
4.2 Factors for employees’ work satisfaction at TPA
According to the research conducted at TPA organization, the following are the factors for employees work satisfaction.
Salaries and allowances
According to findings on interview conducted employees are given transport allowances rent payments and at least the salaries motivate the employees to work though the rate of satisfaction is viable between employees. Most of these employees are found at senior level, officer level and principal level.
The percentage analysis of qualitative data
Table 4.1 Responses on salaries and allowances factors
Designation of respondents Number of respondents who are satisfied Number of respondents who are dissatisfied
Assistance office 6 2
Principal officers 3 0
Officers 4 2
Senior officers 6 0
Other employees 23 4
TOTAL 38(83%) 8(17%)
Source: Field data
The table 4.1 above indicates that greater percentage (%) of workers from different positions responded to questionnaires and interviews were satisfied with salaries and allowances offered by the organization that is 38 (83%), and 8(17%) who were not satisfied. This indicates that at TPA workers do satisfy with the salaries and allowances given to the organization, therefore this befits that at TPA there is high rates of workers satisfaction though not optimally
Employment security:
Table 4.2 Responses on employment security
Designation of employees General number of respondents Unspecified contract Specified
Asst Officers 8 8 -
Officers 6 6 -
Senior Officers 6 6 -
Principal Officers 3 3 -
Other employees 23 18 6
Total 46 (100%) 40 (86%) 6 (13%)
Source: Field data
From Table 4.2 above, according to questionnaires distributed and interview conducted to various employees, the findings reveals that, majority of employees who responded through questionnaire and interview were satisfied with security of employment that is 40 (86%) and 6 (13%) were not satisfied with the employment security. Those who were satisfied; most of them are employees who worked for longtime, they are elders and they fall under unspecified contract of employment. Therefore at TPA it shows that there is high degree of satisfaction which indeed suits for the performance of the organization to fulfill its objectives.
Medical services
The findings revealed that forty one (41) employees who responded through various sources of information; are satisfied with the medical services provided by the organization and five (5) employees were not satisfied with the medical services. This is equal to 89% of all respondents who were satisfied with the medical services and only 11% were not satisfied with the medical services provided by the organization. The findings show that employees are satisfied with good medical services provided by TPA hospital and it’s given free to employees and their family members. On the other hand; they are satisfied because they can be treated any where even outside the county if doctors recommend so, and the company is responsible for all payments. In fact some of the employees were not satisfied with the medical services that there is shortage of experts who are professional in dealing with complex health problems. Therefore medical services act as a satisfier at TPA to employees thus to make it more advanced the authority has to do review and make improvements in matters concerning health services.
4.3 Factors that led to employees dissatisfaction at TPA
According to the study conducted at TPA the findings revealed that employees are dissatisfied with the following.
Unfair promotion
According to the study conducted the findings revealed that, about 42(91%) employees out 46 of all employees responded through interview and questionnaires they are dissatisfied with unfair promotion in the authority. This shows that few group of workers enjoyed the promotion and some respondents said that a worker may stay ten years (10) or (20) years in the same position without being promoted even if qualified the promotion. The further prescribed that other workers may stay one year or two years and get promoted in fact this situation discourage other workers in performance and creates conflicts. In fact this is a critical area that organization has to take measurements since it is a vital junction that facilitates workers morale to perform their duties to fulfill the organization objectives as well individual’s goals like career development.
Poor working environment
Through participatory observation the study found that there was poor working environment at TPA. Offices were overloaded with useless files which lead to shortage of space in working places. This created the state of being uncomfortable during working hours. Also there is lack of enough office facilities like computers and photocopy machines. Therefore, this hinders the production because tools like computers are so important for cases of saving time and simplify work. Thus the organization has to devote much of time to deal with this situation so as provide a cordial environment to the workers to increase their efficiency and the level of satisfaction towards corporate objectives.
Selfishness of leaders
The findings showed that 30 employees out of 33; who responded through questionnaires which are approximately 91%, said that their leaders undermine them. Leaders do not want lower level employees to progress to the higher positions even if employees show efforts of working hard. The findings show that some of leaders have personal jealous with employees when they speak truth about the worse of leaders. In fact the subjectivity and biasness of the leaders at TPA alter the qualities of the leadership and management ethics, whereby they tend to be unfair in making decision hence this affects the morality of the employees towards performing the organization objectives. Thus the TPA has to improve to be unbiased and adhere to codes of conduct so as to motivate the employees to work properly and fulfill as well individual objectives to attain higher levels of satisfaction.
Overlapping of instruction from supervisors
The findings revealed that, twenty eight (28) respondents out of thirty three (33) which is equal 85% of the respondents; who were given questionnaires, showed that employees are dissatisfied with overlapping of instructions from various supervisors. The respondents said that they fail to perform their normal duties which are part of their daily routine. This is because employee may receive instruction of duties from principals, managers at the same time from the directors. This creates confusion and frustrations because at the end of the day they become irresponsible with normal duties. As per this explanation TPA has to devote much of the time to improve and make clear the chain of command so as to avoid the misinformation and multi direction from different heads of departments to ensure achievement of the corporate objectives, in fact this disturbs the working morale of employees, thus this act as dissatisfaction factor of the employees.
4.4 Assessment on ways to improve workers satisfaction
The assessment on the ways of improving workers satisfaction of employment concept in public organizations was critically examined and assessed by the researcher. As per study conducted at TPA HQ the following ways were observed to be practiced to improve the workers job satisfaction as follows;
Education grant to employees
According to interview conducted between the researcher and the Recruitment officer (Mr. D.D Mtima) it was revealed that employees have the opportunity to self-fund their studies and thereon being reimbursed the amount expended after the completion of their studies. This approach discourages the workers satisfaction because it becomes too difficult for some of the employees especially those at low level; to fund themselves for training programmes as their payroll is not adequate to sustain their training programmes as well as maintaining their family responsibilities. The organization should make some amendments on this area so as to raise the level of satisfaction. What employees feels have large impact on the effectiveness of the organization.
Training of employees
Also the study observed that at TPA HQ there has been training programmes being conducted in case there is lack of an expert in certain field or changes in job requirements. For example from the department of information and communication technology three employees were sent to Museum Hill College Centre in Nairobi for improving IT skills. However the study has unveiled that there are some complaints from employees pertaining training scrutiny that there was nepotism in provision of training opportunities. This portrays that though there is training in this organization some of the employees are not satisfied due to favoritism amongst employees. There should be an assessment of workers to get the information which areas to put more emphasis on training policy improvements so as to reduce the complaints and raise the level of satisfaction of employees’.
Provision of employees’ rewards
The study observed that to ensure that there is workers’ satisfaction; the organization provides some annual rewards to the employees pertaining to their level of performance and effectiveness with regards to the organization’s mission and vision statements. Also rewards are normally awarded to the veteran employees as the part of appreciation for their long-stay and contribution to the organization. This approach reveals that there are some efforts put forward by the organization to ensure that there is continuing workers’ job satisfaction to accomplish organization as well as individual objectives.
Prompt monthly salary payment
The organization also makes on time salary payments to every employee so as to increase their job morale and satisfaction. When salary is paid early enough, most employees being vehicles of the organizational performance tend to increase their working efficiency, effectiveness as well as raise their satisfaction level. This is one of the way of raising the level of satisfaction of employees’ but it should be in mind that for more salary improvements the management of TPA should consider the opinions of employees concerning with what areas to make some improvements there should be collection of
Provision of Loans
The study further revealed that there are some provisions of loans to employees. This usually depends on the scale of the salary and the terms of the contracts of an employee with an organization. Those employees with unspecified terms of contract are usually given high priority to access the loans. As per study conducted; this situation leads to workers’ job satisfaction and work morale. However, it was also revealed that some of the employees especially those on contract have no access to these loans.
CHAPTER FIVE
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Recommendations
The study has come out with some recommendation techniques that should be adopted by TPA (HQ) and other organizations in general so as to improve the level of job satisfaction to the workers. There should be an assessment of individual employee’ to determine the need for satisfaction before any improvement. Job satisfaction plays the most important role in any organization, and then it should be observed and ensured in the organization so as to raise individual performance and reduce turnover, absenteeism and poor organization performance.
Suggestion boxes: The management of TPA should make sure that it introduces the suggestion box system. The management can use suggestion box system to collect information about a state of being satisfied or dissatisfied. If this is the case, employees may be encouraged to drop a synonymous complains as they may develop a feeling that their identity for reporting complaints may invite victimization especially when complaints relates to management or supervision styles and other personal matters. This method is more appropriate in those organizations where there is lack of trust and understanding between employees and their supervisors.
Opinions surveys: Also, it should conduct an opinion surveys. If this is conducted periodically on the employee related issues; it can provide relevant information about the state of complaints among them. Such surveys may be in the form of morale survey, altitude survey and job satisfaction survey or more comprehensive survey including all the above aspects. The surveys encourage the employees to express their views and opinions more openly as they are conducted by persons who are not the supervisors of the employees.
Exit interview: In addition to these, the management of TPA should ensure that it conducts an exit interview. This is simply because an employee may leave the organization either because of his dissatisfaction with the organization or because of greener pasture somewhere else. Exit interview if conducted properly elicits important information about various aspects of the organizational functioning relevant to employees. Such information is more valuable than the information elicited by the existing employees as they may not be frank enough to express themselves fully. They may avoid much relevant information as they see their career linked to the organization and frank expression of their views may jeopardize their career in an exit interview, there is no such inhabitation.
Open-door policy: The management of TPA should introduce the system of open-door policy. This implies that the employees are invited to discuss their problems freely and frankly at any time or drop their complaints to relevant managers’ rooms at any time. The basic objective of an open-door policy is to encourage an upward communication. However, open-door policy works effectively when the managers develop positive approach and keep their doors open physically and physiologically. In large organizations such open-door policy should be adopted at each successive management level.
5.2 Conclusion
From the study conducted, the findings have revealed that, when an employee or a group of employees are dissatisfied, the first step for improving satisfaction should be to determine the reason for the dissatisfaction. There may be a variety of causes, such as poor supervision, poor working conditions, lack of job security, inequitable compensation, lack for opportunity for advancement, interpersonal conflict among co-workers, and lack of opportunity to fulfill higher order needs. For employees who desire to perform their jobs well, dissatisfaction may be due to unnecessary restrictions and delays (red tape), inadequate supplies, or faulty equipment. In case of managers, dissatisfaction may result from insufficient authority to deal with their problems and carry out their responsibility.
It is not always easy to discover the cause of employee dissatisfaction. Employee may complain or file complaints about one aspect of their job, when in fact it is really something else that bothers them. For example, employee may complain about working conditions when the problem is actually inconsiderate supervision. Employees may be reluctant to reveal their real complaints if they fear retaliation for being critical. When dissatisfaction is fairly widespread among employee, use of anonymous questionnaires is a good approach for discovering the reasons, although even this approach may not be successful if employees are very suspicious.
An approach called non-directive counseling is sometime effective for handling an individual employee who is upset about something. Here it is important to find out whether the employee is dissatisfied with some aspect of the job or has a personal problems not directly related to the job. The supervision should initially try to get the employee to talk about what is bothering him or her. The supervisor should be careful to avoid making a diagnosis or suggesting solutions at this time, since the employee may perceive this as a criticism. Instead, the supervisor should encourage the employee to diagnose the problem and suggest some solutions. This non-directive approach avoids making defensive, allows the employee to reduce tension by talking about problems and enhances self-esteem by allowing the employee to develop his or her own remedies .
However, if the problem involves other employees or the solution requires significant job changes, the supervisor may need to take a more active role in planning how to deal with the problem after the employee has had a chance to make the initial diagnosis. Finally, it is important to remember that there are certain kinds of psychological problems that supervisors are not trained to handle. When this is the case, the employee should be preferred to a professional counselor.
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