CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background of the Study

Employee satisfaction is perhaps the most frequently studied aspect in the

organizational sciences. Employee satisfaction has been defined as “a pleasurable or

positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job or job experiences”. It is

often assumed that employees who are more satisfied with their job condition are more

likely to produce better work outcomes. This is based on the rationale that higher levels of

satisfaction improve morale and reduce voluntary turnover (Mehran Nejati, MostafaNejati

and Azadeh Shafaei (2007).

Therefore, the researcher decided to carry out the research entitled “A study on

factors that contribute to employee satisfaction among Service Assistants at Petrosains

Sdn. Bhd.”. This research will be conducted internally among Service Assistants at

Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. Basically, this research will measure the factors that contribute to

employee satisfaction among Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. as well as the

effects of employee satisfaction towards company performance. As we know, each staff

within organization always cooperates and communicates with each other regarding

certain issues or problems. By doing this, they will be able to know and understand each

other has needs and want. In order to increase the level of employee satisfaction,

management should take several initiatives, such as promotion, bonuses increase salary

and so forth to appreciate their efforts and works. By doing this, it is also showing that

the organization is concerned with their employees.

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 Employee will then feel appreciated and motivated, while at the same time these

will affect company’s performance and effectiveness. Motivated and satisfied employee

will always produce excellence and productive works (Koys, 2001).

Generally, several elements or factors can contribute to employee satisfaction at

Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. The researcher has identified several factors that determine affect

employee satisfaction such as communication, fair rewards, motivation, organization

culture, and workplace environment. All these are crucial elements that will lead and

affect the level of employee satisfaction in Petrosains Sdn Bhd. In addition, the main

finding in previous research was found that employees are a critical element to enhance

perceived service quality. It is a hard task to manage perceived service quality directly,

consistently, and reliability as services have the characteristics of intangibility,

perishability, and simultaneous production, delivery, and consumption (Mehran Nejati,

Mostafa Nejati and Azadeh Shafaei, 2007). In the midst of the difficulties, it is

noteworthy to mention that services are delivered by the interaction between service

quality and by dealing with employees appropriately. In other words, it is essential for

employees to receive training. It is critical for employees to have a shared understanding.

2
1.1 Statement of the Problem

Nowadays, customer service and customer satisfaction is very important in every

organization. Many organizations aimed to be the best among the best. Recently, Toyota

has come out with the new slogan, “One Aim, 0 Defect”. In order to ensure their mission

to be accomplished, Toyota has strengthened skills among their employees. It can be

concluded that customer satisfaction is very crucial while human capabilities in the

organization should play their roles. According to Harris, (2005), customer satisfaction

can be defined as the customer’s overall feeling of contentment with a customer

interaction. Customer satisfaction recognizes the difference between customer

expectations and customer perceptions. Satisfaction may develop quickly or may be

cultivated over a period of time. Therefore, in order to gain customer satisfaction, the

organization must develop skills among their employees. In addition, employees must be

empowered to make decisions to benefits the customers as well as to ensure their

transaction between customers is smooth. This will help to save time and reflect

professionalism as well.

A study on factors that contribute to employee satisfaction among Service

Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. is all about professional conduct, delivery and

employee satisfaction in this organization. Furthermore, it is important to obtain the

performance of the employee, as it will provide genuine concern on the employees

because it will lead to the better performance of the organization. Satisfaction becomes

the major factor that creates loyalty of the employee towards the organization. This is

simply because, if the employees are dissatisfied with their work, it will lead to poor

3
performance of employee as well as affecting the productivity of the organization as a

whole.

This research will measure the level of employee satisfaction towards Petrosains

Sdn. Bhd. In this research, the researcher has chosen to analyze Service Assistants from

Operations Department as respondents. From the interview conducted with the Service

Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd., the factors mentioned above are the factors that lead to

employee dissatisfaction.

1.2 Research Objectives

The objectives of this research is to review the factors that contributes to employee

satisfaction among Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. which has its own

objectives and goals that need to be achieved by the end of this study;

RO1 : To identify the factors that contributes to employee satisfaction

among Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd.

RO2 : To identify the level of employee satisfaction towards work

performance.

RO3 : To obtain possible recommendations for better improvement to

increase the level of employee satisfaction.

4
1.3 Research Questions

Several research questions are formulated throughout the study to facilitate the

solution to some problems regarding to the satisfaction of employee among Service

Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. The researcher has identified three questions, which

are:

RQ1 : What are the factors that contributes to employee satisfaction

among Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd.?

RQ2 : What are the levels of employee satisfaction towards work

performance?

RQ3 : What are the possible recommendations for better improvement to

increase the level of employee satisfaction

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1.4 Significance of the study

The finding of this study should be valuable references for many parties especially for

Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. itself and to the future researchers as well. In addition, the purposes of

conducting this study on this field are containing several reasons. It is crucial to study the

factors that contribute to employee satisfaction among Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn.

Bhd. Instead of identifying the factors that contribute to employee satisfaction among Service

Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd., this study is also purposely done to identify the effects of

employee satisfaction towards work performance. In addition, this study may be able to help

the management to increase the level of employee satisfaction while at the same time help to

achieve organization’s objectives as well as meeting their customer satisfaction. The

conclusion of this study helps the organization to identify the existing weaknesses in order for

them to make the necessary changes and improvements.

1.5 Limitation of the Study

This study has set limitation such as will be only used the Service Assistants from

Operations Department as respondents. Other than that, time constraint, we have limited time

to complete this research due to the extensive work and time to obtain data.

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 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

This study is aimed to identify the factors that contribute to employee satisfaction

among Service Assisants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. Apart from that, this chapter will review

literature the factors that researcher obtain from past researchers. According to the researcher,

employee satisfaction exists due to many factors. The factors that the researcher found in this

study are communication, fair rewards, motivation, organization culture, and workplace

environment. In addition, this chapter will also purposely review the available literature to

acknowledge and take into consideration for other researchers who have identified the factors

that is relevant to the concept of this study.

2.1 Employee Satisfaction

Locke (1976) defines job satisfaction as an emotional reaction that results from the

perception that one's job fulfils or allows the fulfillment of one's important job values,

providing and to the degree that those values are congruent with one's needs. Satisfaction had

been defined by Kreck (1974) as a function as the correspondent between the reinforced

system of the work environment and the individual’s need.

According to Voordt (2004), employee satisfaction refers to the degree to which the

working environment meets the wishes and the needs of the employees. It can relate to the

work itself (content, complexity, required knowledge and skills, degree of autonomy); the

social working environment (colleagues, management style, conditions of employment such

7
as salary, leave arrangement, and career prospects); the physical working environment

(workplace, lighting, daylight, view etc); and interactions between these aspects.

2.2 Communication

According to Arif Hassan, Chandaran (2005), communication is a key aspect in

conducting an efficient business. They said a more employee-centered communication style

encourages work satisfaction and supervision approval. Refer to Anderson (1984), managers

can communicate with a dominating style where they tell the employees what to do and offer

them no options as to how their jobs can be carried out. Yet, it was found that it is more

effective when leaders in an organization include the employees in the decision making

process (Anderson, 1984).

According to Goris (2006), it is important for employees to have independence and

individuality. Goris (2006) said workers are satisfied with their bosses when they use

employee-centered communication. They are also more fulfilled with their jobs in general.

When a manager does not openly communicate with his or her employees the employees may

feel abandoned, which could lead to dissatisfaction (Goris, 2006).

According to Jo and Shim (2004), found that communication problems might be the

result of underlying problems in the corporation. These problems could be related to many

variables such as managerial styles or coworker relations. Refer to Scott (2006), said that this

aspect of a business needs further study, as it does show us the importance of eliminating

misunderstandings in communication.

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2.3 Fair Rewards

According to researcher, employees are more satisfied when they feel they are

rewarded fairly for the work they do. Considering employee responsibilities, the effort they

have put forth, the work they have done well and the demands of their jobs.

According to Caudron (2002), management team should ensure rewards are for

genuine contributions to the organization, practice consistency in reward policies. Caudron

(2002) said that it is very important to keep employees informed whether their wages are

competitive or not. Meyer (2004) said that reward can include a variety of benefits and benefit

other than money.

Refer to Nalina Govindarajulu and Daily (2004), said that the most often stated reason

for leaving a job was salary and benefits. However, the external factor of money shows some

inconsistencies. According to Buch and Talentino (2006), employees feel fair treatment can

lead to increased citizenship, which means they will go beyond what is expected of them. This

increased citizenship will theoretically lead to increased compensation. As a result, employees

are concerned that they are being fairly treated and comparatively rewarded for their work.

According to Maroney (2007), benefits offered by employer more important than pay.

2.4 Motivation

According to Schneider et al (2003), motivation literature offers insight into the

relationships between performance, motivation, and ability and assumes outcomes are direct

functions of motivation multiplied by ability According to this approach, “to achieve a high

level of performance a person must have both the ability and the motivation to perform

effectively”.

9
 According to Boltes et al (1995), motivation literature links these constructs to

concrete descriptions of perceptions; for example, motivation perceptions rely on effort, or the

displayed energy put into a behavior. Because ability represents a task-related, relative

construct however, it is hard to specify a perceptual definition. For example, Wattles and

Harris (2003) defines a person’s ability to perform a task as “the degree to which he possesses

all of the psychological attributes necessary for a high level of performance excluding those of

a motivational nature” but ignores to describe how abilities are perceived.

According to Scott et al (2003), motivation is clearly an imperative feature of a

successful business. Many pieces of information go into creating a company that encourages

employees. More research needs to be completed to fully understand the characteristics of

motivation and job satisfaction. Refer to Voordt (2004) said that if managers treat workers

with the same respect they treat customers, employees will respect their bosses, their

customers, and each other. Results for organizations can be achieved by focusing on

employees and what motivates them.

2.5 Organizational Culture

According to Ooi et al (2007), organizational culture has been defined as the set of

shared assumptions and beliefs about an organization and its function in the marketplace or

“the ways of thinking, behaving, and believing that members of a social unit have in

common”. As such, organizational researchers have commonly treated culture as a set of

cognitions shared by members of a social unit (Ooi et al, 2007).

According to Yusof and Ali (2000), an organization’s culture is thought to play a key

role in strategy formulation, firm performance, and competitive advantage. Culture may also

10
have indirect effects on performance in benefiting other aspects of an organization. For

example, researcher have found that organizational culture is linked to service quality and

employee performance, both of which have been identified as fundamental links in Harvard’s

Service Profit Chain leading to subsequent consumer and financial success indicators.

Pool (2000) and Hall (2001) suppose that during the process of encouraging

employees to want to learn, it is necessary for the existence of organizational culture to

support the organization learning so that it is available to obtain, improve and transfer the

required knowledge with ease. Furthermore, to enhance the trust between administrators and

employees, this actually poses the critical impact on whether the learning organization can be

successful or not (Lund, 2003). From the previously mentioned research reports, the

researcher found that leadership, and organizational culture, comes with critical relationship to

develop learning organization, and encourage employees to use the learning facilities. Thus,

the first research motive within this research is intended to investigate the relationship

between leadership, organizational culture and learning organization.

2.6 Workplace Environment

According to Lee (2006), it is often assumed that employees who are more

satisfied with the physical environment are more likely to produce better work outcomes.

Satisfaction had been defined by Wan (2007) as a function of the correspondent between a

reinforced system of the work environment and the individual’s need. Refer to Maimunah

(2005), workplace environment is an important part that can influence employee’s

satisfaction.

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 In Malaysia, every organization shall comply with Occupational Safety and Health

Act (OSHA), 1994. It means every organization must provide a safety work environment in

order to prevent hazards in the organization (Maimunah, 2005).

According to Quible (2003) it is found that employee satisfaction with their work

environment is directly related to their job satisfaction and indirectly related to organizational

commitment and turnover intention. Investigators have demonstrated that the physical

environmental quality affects job perception, attitudes, and job satisfaction.

According to Oliverio and White (2004), by integrating several disciplines, including

psychology, physiology, sociology, and communication theories, and ergonomics provides

useful guidelines for redesigning an effective environment. The integration of the various

disciplines helps ensure the employees’ well being and the ability to maximize their

productivity.

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 FOSAM MODEL OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION

Based on the previous model of Employee Satisfaction by Fosam et al. (1998), the

Dependent Variable is Employee Satisfaction. The Independent Variables of this model are

Job Satisfaction, Employee Morale, Colleague’s Morale, Perceived Public View, Perceived

Service Quality and Communication, Training, Resources and Career Development.

Compared with the conceptual framework that the researcher had developed, only one factor

was the same with the researcher’s model, which is communication. This Fosam Model got

six Independent Variables while the researcher got only five Independent Variables, which are

communication, fair rewards, motivation, organization culture and workplace environment.

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2.7 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

According to Sekaran (2003), a theoretical framework is a conceptual model of how

one theorizes or makes logical sense of the relationship among the several factors that have

been identified as important to the problem. In the study of factors that contribute to

satisfaction of employee among Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. consists of two

main variables where the variables are:-

2.7.1 Independent Variables

- Is of that influences the dependent variable in either positive or negative way. That is,

when the independent variable is present, the dependent variable is also present, and

with each unit of increase in the independent variable, there is an increase or decrease

in the dependent variable. In other words, the variance in the dependent variable is

accounted for by the independent variable. In this study there are five independence

variables that affect the dependent variables (Satisfaction of Staff), the variables are:-

1. Communication

2. Fair rewards

3. Motivation

4. Organization culture

5. Workplace environment

2.7.2 Dependent Variables

Are the variables of primary interest of the researcher.

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 The researcher’s goal is to understand and describe the dependent variables, or to

explain its variability, or predict it. In the study on factors that contribute to employee

satisfaction among Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd., the dependent variable is

satisfaction of employee.

Below is the framework that shows the relation of the Dependent and Independent

variables in the study of factors that contributes to satisfaction of employee among Service

Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd.

Independent Variables Dependent Variable

Communication

Fair Rewards

Employee
Motivation Satisfaction

Organizational
Culture

Workplace
Environment

Figure 2.7.1: Conceptual framework on the Factors that Contribute to Employee Satisfaction
among Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd.

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 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that contribute to employee

satisfaction among Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. Apart from that, this section

briefly describes the processes and includes research questions regarding factors that

contribute to employee satisfaction among Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd.

In particular, this chapter will describe the technique and methods that was used to

accomplish the aims of this research, which include the research design, sampling frame,

population, sampling technique, sample size, unit of analysis, data collection procedures,

instrument, validity of instrument and data analysis.

3.1 Research Design

This research is a descriptive research. According to Salkind (2003), descriptive

research describes the characteristics of an existing phenomenon. The research quantitatively

use in nature, describes the characteristics of respondents’ behavior and it is carried out in one

time. Descriptive research involves an ongoing event in relation to a particular outcome and

interest. Salkind (2003) also stressed some advantages of descriptive design. Descriptive

design enables a more in-depth examination of a particular situation than other design. In this

research, the researcher focuses on the factors that contribute to employee satisfaction among

Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd.

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3.2 Sampling Frame

The sampling frame has been drawn from the list of employee at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd.

The list of employees was obtained from Human Resource Department. The employees were

chosen are Service Assistants from Operations Department.

3.3 Population

The population of the study comprised of Visitor Service Assistant from Operations

Department. Generally, the population of Visitor Service Assistant at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. is

70.

3.4 Sampling Technique

Sampling is necessary, as there are constraints where the whole population cannot be

studied. Therefore, in this research, the technique that the researchers are going to apply in

selecting sampling technique is Convenience Sampling. Through this sampling technique, it

will be used when the members of the population are convenient to sample.

The researchers decided to choose this sampling method because it is convenience

form of prospect of sampling. These sampling methods are also inexpensive sampling

technique. Convenience sampling also will avoid bias and the invalid data concurrently

smoothing the research process because the sample is already being selected and chosen.

3.5 Sample Size

It has been identified that the sample size of this study was the population of Service

Assistants from Operations Department as stated above. The number of Service Assistants at

Petrosains is 70. Therefore, the sample size should be 70.

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3.6 Unit of Analysis

The unit of analysis in this study is the Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. from

Operations Department regarding of their position.

3.7 Data Collection Procedures

The researcher has used a set of questionnaire in collecting data for this study. A

questionnaire is a document that asks the same questions to all the respondents based on the

research objectives and research questions. Questionnaire is the main instrument used in this

study. The researchers based on the literatures reviewed from the journals and articles

developed it. Moreover, the researcher decided to use questionnaire as the methods for

collecting useful information due to respondents working situation. Besides, the questionnaire

also consists of standardize data from identical questions and requires fairly straight forward

information. The questionnaire can be completed in short period and would not interface

dramatically with the respondent’s schedule. Administering questionnaire to large number of

individual simultaneously is less expensive and less time consuming than interview.

Questionnaire also does not require as much skills to administer the questions as to conduct

interviews.

A cover letter will be attached to each set of questionnaire. The purpose of the cover

letter is to explain the objective of the study. The questionnaires are distributed personally to

the respondents.

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3.8 Instrument

The instrument that has been used in this study is a survey questionnaire. Researcher in

answering research questions precisely designed it. Questionnaire will be distributed to

Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. from Operations Department. There are three

section will be included in the questionnaire which are section A, B and C. The first section

(Section A) or categorization is based on demographic profile such as gender, race, age,

education background and others relevant facts to respondents. The next section (Section B)

is focusing on independent variables or factors that contribute to employee satisfaction among

Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. such as communication, fair rewards,

motivation, organization culture and workplace environment. The last part of the

questionnaire is the Section C, which consists of two questions. This section tries to

miscellaneous information such as the level of satisfaction towards their work performance as

well as requesting their suggestions.

It is very important to notice that, for the purpose of this research, the researcher has

decided to use the 5 points Likert scales measurements in order to measure the factors that

contribute to employee satisfaction among Service Assistants in Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. The

scaling used started from 1(Strongly Disagree), 2(Disagree), 3(Neutral), 4(Agree), and 5

(Strongly Agree).

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3.9 Validity of Instrument

For the purpose of this research, the researcher has used both content and faces

validity. It means that the researcher has asking an expert to check and make improvement on

the content. Meanwhile, for the face validity, the researcher has discussed with the supervisor

about the items that needed to be included in the questionnaire. The validation processes of

the instrument will be conducted to ensure that the questionnaire developed is relevant before

the researcher distribute it out for feedback. The researcher referred to Operations Executive,

which is Mr Masrur bin Mahmud for review and opinion. In addition, the researcher also

received an advice from supervisor regarding the contents of the proposal.

They were also made some necessary change in the proposal in order to ensure the

validity of the contents of the proposal particularly its grammars, structure, format, sentences

as well as the language matters.

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3.10 Data Analysis

Each result of the questionnaire response will be examined for completeness before

being entered into data analysis system. After that, the data collected will be analyzed using

Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 12.0. SPSS will be used as the analysis

tool because this research used a structured questionnaire and it is purposely used to provide a

broad range of capabilities for the entire analytical processes.

Research Objective Concept/Construct Measurement Scale

To identify the factors Employee satisfaction Q8-30: Statements

contribute to was defined as the related to factors that
employee satisfaction effectiveness of the contribute to Interval
among services provided employee satisfaction
Service Assistants towards the among Service
at Petrosains Sdn. customers. Assistants at
Bhd. Petrosains Sdn. Bhd.

To identify the level Q31: Statements

of employee related to level of
satisfaction towards satisfaction towards Interval
work performance. work achievement
and performance of
employees.

To obtain possible Q32: Statements Nominal

recommendations for related to
better improvement to recommendation for
increase the level of better improvement to
employee increase the level of
satisfaction. employee satisfaction
among Service
Assistants at Petrosains
Sdn. Bhd.

21
 CHAPTER 4
FINDING

This chapter describes the results of findings obtained from respondents who are

participated in A study on Factors that Contribute to Employee Satisfaction among Service

Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. It focuses on demographic background of the respondents,

factors that leads to employee satisfaction and miscellaneous information that requires

respondents to rank factors that leads to employee satisfaction and factors that should be

improve by the company.

4.0 SURVEY RETURN RATE

Questionnaires were randomly distributed to 70 Service Assistants from Operations

Department. All the respondents (70) returned the questionnaires after they have completed

filling the questionnaire. They have been given an ample time by the researcher to complete

the questionnaire as they have one week to complete it. The rational of doing this, is to avoid

from disturbing the employees in completing and handling their daily routine. As a result, the

questionnaires can be collected smoothly as desired.

22
4.1 Reliability Analysis

Cronbach's Alpha Based on

Cronbach's Alpha Standardized Items N of Items
.930 .929 26

Reliability is conducted in order to ensure the reliability of the measure. The six

variables been tested for the reliability of result. The reliability test has been assessed using

the internal consistency with the statistic of Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha. Cronbach’s

Coefficient Alpha reliability normally ranges between 0 and 1. The closer Cronbach’s alpha

coefficient is to 1.0 the greater the internal consistency of the items in the scale. According to

the “Rules of Thumb”, < .6 is categorized as a poor result, .6 to < .7 is categorized as a

moderate result, while .7 to < .8 is categorized as a good result, .8 to < .9 is categorized as a

very good result and >.9 is categorized as an excellent result. Regarding to our result

indicated that the value is .930, which considered being as higher reliability respectively.

4.2 (a) Respondents’ profile - Gender

This table shows the frequency of respondent’s profile, which consists of respondents’

gender accordingly to male, and female. From the frequencies obtained for the variables, it

was found that only 53% of respondents are female and only 47% of the respondents are male.

23
4.2 (b) Respondents’ profile - Age

This table shows the frequency of respondent’s profile which consists of respondents’

age accordingly from below 20 years old, 21 until 25 years old, 26 to 30 years old, 31 until 35

years old, 36 to 40 years old, 41 to 45 years old, 46 until 50 years old and the rest is 51 and

above. From the frequencies obtained for the variables, it was found that only 27.1% is the

highest result for the age from 21 until 25 years old and only 1.4% of the respondents is the

lowest result for the age of 51 years old and above.

4.2 (c) Respondent Profile- Marital Status

This table shows the frequency of respondent’s profile, which consists of single,
married, and others. From the frequencies obtained for the variables, it was found that 62% of
the respondents are single, 37% are married and about 1% is for others.

24
4.2(d) Level of education of the respondents
Table : 4.2 (d)

Frequency Percentage
(%)
Valid SPM 17 24.3
STPM 7 10.0
DIPLOMA 25 35.7
MATRICULATION 3 4.3
BACHELOR / DEGREE 12 17.1
OTHERS 6 8.6
Total 70 100

The table above shows that 24.3% of respondents have SPM. Besides, another 10.0% of

respondents have completed their education at STPM level. In contrast, 35.7%, majority of

respondents have completed their study at Diploma Level. Respondents who possessed

matriculation represent of 4.3% out of total respondents. Respondents who have Bachelor/

degree represent 17.1%. 8.6% represents the respondents who possessed others level of

education.

25
4.3 Factors that lead to Employee Satisfaction

Factor Mean Standard

Deviation
Communication 3.68 .629
Fair Rewards 3.61 .594
Motivation 3.71 .559
Organization Culture 3.59 .603
Workplace Environment 3.67 .520

Table 4.3 exhibits the mean and standard deviation of level of employee satisfaction

among Visitor Service Assistant at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd., which are communication, fair

rewards, motivation, organization culture and workplace environment. Based on the mean

and standard deviation, the highest score factor are motivation (M=3.71, SD=.559), followed

by communication (M=3.68, SD=.629). Then, workplace environment (M=3.67, SD=.520),)

followed by fair rewards (M=3.61, SD=.594) and the lowest score is organization culture

(M=3.59, SD=.603).

4.4 Multiple Regression

26
 Unstandardized Stand.
Coefficients Coefficients

Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig.

1
(Constant) 0.311 0.545 0.571 0.57
COMM
0.125 0.032 0.52 3.929 0.00
FAIR
-0.049 0.034 -0.191 -1.408 0.164
MOT
0.015 0.043 0.057 0.363 0.718
WORK 0.042 0.04 0.146 1.071 0.288
ORG 0.049 0.037 0.193 1.308 0.196
a Dependent Variable: Level Of Satisfaction Toward Your Work Performance At Petrosains

Refer to the significant value at Table 4.4, it can be explained that there is only one variable

(communication) which is significant, and factor that contribute to the employee

satisfaction. Because the significant level is less than 0.05 which is 0.00 which is very

significant. The four others variables are identified are not significant since the significant

level is more than 0,05 .

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

27
 This chapter will focus will on the findings gathered from the study. The conclusion

comprises the analysis of demographic background, factors that lead to employees’ job

satisfaction and miscellaneous information. Besides, this chapter also will also highlight

several recommendations for the betterment in order to help the organization to increase the

level of employee satisfaction.

The respondents of this study consist of male and female Service Assistants at

Petrosains Sdn. Bhd., among those who are below 20 years old to above 51 years of age

while most of them are single. In addition, most of the respondents are female and the highest

level of education completed possessed by respondents was Diploma.

CONCLUSION

28
Research Question 1: What are the factors that contributes to employee

satisfaction among Service Assistants at Petrosains

Sdn. Bhd.?

Based on the finding obtained from the literature reviews, it can be concluded that

communication, fair rewards, motivation, organization culture, and workplace environment

are the factors that contribute to employee satisfaction among Service Assistants at Petrosains

Sdn. Bhd. However, the most important factor that leads to employee satisfaction among

Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. is communication.

Research Question 2: What are the levels of employee satisfaction towards

work performance?

Based on the finding acquired from the data analysis, it can be concluded that

majority of the Service Assistants at Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. is satisfied with all statements

asked in the questionnaire. However, most of the respondents stated that in order to increase

the level of satisfaction, employees should feel motivated in their jobs. Most of the Service

Assistants are however confident and content with their level of their contributions and work

performance.

Research Question 3: What are the possible recommendations for better improvement

29
 to increase the level of employee satisfaction?

Based on the feedback from respondents, they have suggested several

recommendations that can be implemented by the management to increase the level of

employee satisfaction. Firstly, management should review the salary of employee so that

employee will satisfied with what they earn. Secondly, management should increase the

communication and cooperation between staff and supervisor or managers. The management

should are providing more trainings on customer service skills that focuses more on service

quality. Others recommendation are providing more facilities such as more work space for

the employees’ conveniences.

RECOMMENDATIONS

30
 Nowadays, many organizations feel that their employees are satisfied with their works

due to their continuous contribution for many years. Management should also be concern on

their employees needs in order to ensure that they are motivated to be able to deliver an

excellence service and performance. The cost of employee dissatisfaction and high turnover

can severely damage a company’s targets and purposes. Instead of focusing on factors such

as attitude of the employees, customer satisfaction, service quality and leadership, the

researcher has 10 other recommendations that can be used by Petrosains Sdn. Bhd. as well as

other organizations for improving employee satisfaction. Using some combination of these

suggestions should measurably improve overall employee satisfaction and help to reach talent

retention levels that benefit both staff and company.

1. Use clear, brief communications and expectations. Whether the company’s

expectations for employees are extremely high or simply average, always be clear and

precise in communicating these official desires. Studies have shown that the level of

expectation rarely creates a problem, but the lack of employee understanding of the

performance level desired can generate a seriously negative situation.

2. Get to know employees. Management should take the effort to know their

employees. People are individuals being asked to spend one-half of their waking

hours being a valuable component of a group. Managing as though every individual

had the same personality and background is a recipe for failings.

3. Give staff regular, consistent feedback. Employees will always want to know how

managers perceive their performance. A lack of feedback can also make semi-annual

or annual written performance reviews ineffective.

Picture the employee who believes they are performing at an accepted level, and give

a written review containing multiple “areas of improvement” data. Give your staff

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 regular feedback of their performance, attitude, and value to the team and the

company.

4. Clearly reinforce the importance of a “team” philosophy. Few companies reach

success on the efforts of one or a few individuals alone. Almost all success stories

include the vision and effectiveness of a leader or senior management group and the

positive response of a fine-tuned team of employees. Humans are basically social

beings and most enjoy being valued as part of a successful team. Emphasizing and

reinforcing these factors will eventually lead to higher employee satisfaction without

fail.

5. Actively train, educate, and mentor staff. Surveys have proven that the majority of

employees want to learn more, enlarge their education, and become more valuable to

their employers. Take advantage of this mindset and improve operations too. Maintain

a training and education program for all levels of staff. If possible, create a mentoring

program for newer employees. Studies indicate that staff satisfaction will measurably

increase.

6. Implement an incentive and/or reward program. Forward thinking companies

realized that all employees strongly appreciate being recognized for excellent

performance. The amount of money or size of the reward is secondary to the public

recognition of superior achievement. Effective incentive/reward programs need not be

expensive. Sometimes a meal voucher, a prized parking space, or a free lunch is

sufficient to improve employee satisfaction.

7. Make the effort to empower all employees. Everyone knows senior management

has the public power to direct the company. However, all staff appreciates the

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 opportunity to contribute and to believe their ideas and efforts are at least recognized.

This feeling of empowerment, at even the smallest level, can result in huge benefits to

the attitude and morale of staff.

8. Provide written performance reviews and evaluations when due. Staff members

are eager for a review of their performance. Whether it is a very positive report or one

that requests improvement, all employees want to know where they stand in their

employer’s judgment. Performance reviews delivered on time have proven to be the

best way to increase employee satisfaction.

9. Communicate coming operational changes in a timely fashion. Change can be a

troublesome component to the workplace. It has been proven that, even if changes

will benefit every employee, modifications to the way “we do things now” make most

staff very uncomfortable. If a company has decided to change operations in the future,

management should begin communication of these changes to the employee

community as soon as the decision has been made. This high level of communication

and concern for staff usually improves satisfaction significantly.

10. Display respect for every staff member, regardless of job responsibility. In

addition to all formal employee recognition programs, a simple “Thank you” or other

oral or written display of respect for the person and the job they do can increase

satisfaction on a consistent basis. At times, even an “I’m sorry” if you learn of an

occurrence of disrespect can generate the same positive benefit.

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