Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

1: Introduction
Employee commitment is so critical for the organizations because if employees are committed to the organization, they will perform at the best of their abilities. Organizations can use these committed employees as a competitive advantage. How can employees abilities improve in public and private sector of Pakistan? What are the main variables which make them loyal to the organizations? Are there any positively related practices and policies to the organizational commitment? We tried to find solutions of above mentioned questions in Pakistani context as there is less research has been conduct in this regard. As the Gallup Organizations says, people join organizations but depart their boss. In other words, a manager's key job is to create shared values and trust with the people who report to them. When managers lead and manage their people successfully, their people are much more likely to be engaged and to achieve results for the organization. Gaining employee commitment results in greater profits because passionate employees stay, contribute flexible effort, and engage customers. Performance soars when customers are inspired and stay and when managers and employees are a collaborative team, united in achieving common goals. In many organizations there is a growing commitment gap, widening split between the hopes of employers and what workers are prepared to do. There are a number of reasons for this erosion of employee commitment; the most common one being a failure of management in some way or another. To succeed in the face of increasing competition, a business needs improved productivity at all levels. This requires the enthusiastic commitment of all employees which can only be achieved through better management practices. To be effective, the skills of good people management must be installed in an organization so they become part of its culture. In this way there will be consistency and equity with respect to how people are managed from the top down to the most junior employee. Therefore our research is based on findings facts regarding employee commitment .

Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

2: Literature Review
Employee s commitment has been pointed out as basic element of performance related to outcome, and organizational commitment defined as psychological state that binds the individual to the organization (Meyer and Herscovitch 2001). It was surprising for us that one could count on his or her finger tips the number of articles written about employee s commitment in Pakistani business context. Even scholars from Asia haven t explored the variables in depth which amend the loyalty of employees towards their organizations. But we found a remarkable Western studies regarding employee s commitment to their workplace which stimulated our interest to link this term with local employees. Like writers (Kim and Rowley 2005) researched that Management always tries to find out the ways of employee commitment. They found three types of commitment, company commitment, union commitment and dual commitment. Different variables which were related to particular commitment were analyzed and checked the relationship among them. It was observed that employees behavior and attitude were the key factors while choosing their desired commitment. If any employee was behaviorally attached with union then he actually wanted to work for union not for the organization. So (Kim and Rowley 2005) suggested that it is necessary that commitment should be dual: both for the organization and union as well. In another article, writers (Bayo Moriones and Larraza Kintana 2009) explored the relationship between the profit sharing plans and employee commitment. There was a positive connection between two of them. The effect of profit sharing plan on employee s commitment was varying when it was applied to different firm s size. Because firm size affects employee s perception to participate and contribute in firm s profit. They also pointed out various variables which were common between private and public organizations and influenced employee s commitment like age, gender, employee participation, skills and trust level. They discussed the profit sharing system among private and public organizations and related them with organizational commitment.

Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains There is another article on profit sharing written by (Coyle Shapiro 2002). They conducted a research particularly on profit sharing. Data was collected through questionnaire from employees of different organizations. After analysis it was formulated that profit sharing helps organizations to get desired result. It enhances organizational commitment as well as trust level in management. Employees usually try to find out a link between their efforts/performance and rewards. They concluded that if organizational and distributive justices have existed in any organization then profit sharing would surely be beneficial for getting the desired result. (Coyle Shapiro 2002) also suggested future research about finding the negative aspect of profit sharing. Satisfaction another core variable related to organizational commitment was tested by (Matzler and Renzl 2007). They claimed that employee s satisfaction is the main factor to increase the productivity and commitment. They linked the employee s satisfaction with their personality traits and therefore observed the different employees having different personality traits and commitment to their organization. There was 20% variation in employee s satisfaction due to different personality traits as some employees were found easier to satisfy than others. Further study has been suggested by them to explore the relationship between satisfaction and employee s commitment. Career adaptability was proposed as commitment variable by (Ito and Brotheridge 2005). But they also pointed out that this variable has strong influence on turnover directly or indirectly. Participation in decision making, autonomy and career support was identifies as positively related to effective employee commitment but negatively with turnover intensions. But these practices also may increase the risk that employees will leave. Therefore, they warned that these practices must be combined with other policies and then implemented to get desired results from them. (Ito and Brotheridge 2005) said that job security is strongly associated with career adaptability. In public sector job is much secure than private sector so turnover is much less in public organizations as compare to private organizations. A Pakistani article written by (Bashir and Ramay 2008) suggested career opportunities and job characteristics as variables to organizational commitment. A questionnaire was distributed among 155 IT professionals of 16 public and private organizations. Implications were given that

Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains employees must define their career path and organization must provide opportunities to employees to grow their career. Management was addressed to play an important role while designing job characteristics so that it can enhance organizational commitment. Similarly another article of (Ferreira, Basson et al.), was elaborated a question, organizational career-development influence employee s commitment ? After reading all the related articles to employee s commitment, we identify core variable which exists in Pakistani business scenario and on their basis we try to find out what are the main factors to organizational commitment? Is there any difference in the nature of commitment in public and private organizations? Are all the variables which have been tested be Western researchers effect the Pakistani employee in the same way as they suggested? Is there any difference of commitment between theory and practical as pointed out by (Shepherd and Mathews 2000) ? In the end, we have compiled all the core variables which have been discussed and examined in our subjected literature and helped us to construct our questionnaire. These variables are,  Authority  Balanced Life  Benefits Programs  Career Development  Job Security  Management Style  Profit Sharing  Pay  Working Condition  Work Load how much

Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

3: Research Methodology
The research was carried out through the development of hypotheses on the basis of past literature review. These hypotheses were further modified into research questionnaire that served as a track towards attaining the research goals. The research questionnaire were critically examined which after the complete investigation through descriptive research, operated as the inferences. Hence, the Descriptive research design and exploratory research design were used to conduct the research. We have selected six organizations, three from each sector public and private. Details as, Public Organizations National Bank of Limited PTCL Bank of Punjab Private Organizations Telenor Fatima Group of Industries Mobilink

So the employees from public and private organizations were our population and we captured Multan s employees as a sample for our research. As our subjected research is related to behavioral study, therefore we adopted qualitative research design throughout the research project. Qualitative research is a generic term for investigative methodologies described as ethnographic, naturalistic, anthropological, field, or participant observer research. It emphasizes the importance of looking at variables in the natural setting in which they are found. Interaction between variables is important. Main characteristics of qualitative research are, Purpose: Understanding - Seeks to understand people s interpretations. Viewpoint: Insider - Reality is what people perceive it to be. Data: Subjective - Data are perceptions of the people in the environment. Results: Valid - The focus is on design and procedures to gain "real," "rich," and "deep" data.

Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

3.1: Methods of Data Collection

As we were dealing with the determinants of employee s commitment therefore our collected data was practically concern with employee s views and opinions about their organizations and our presented variables. There are two major approaches to gather information about a situation, person, problem or phenomenon, Primary Data and Secondary Data. We used precedent researches and literature as our Secondary Data Resources but we choose the following tools and techniques for Primary Data Collection. 1. Observation: We actually adopted non-participant observation rather than participant observation in which a researcher do not get involved in the activities of the group but remains a passive observer, watching and listening to its activities and drawing conclusions from this. We being a research group observed the environment, working conditions and style during our visit to selected organizations which proved very effective at final stage of conclusions. 2. Interview: It is a very commonly used method of collecting information from people. Our respondent to questionnaire helped us even with oral interview regarding our research. We asked different questions in an unstructured interview style to get the grip on the determinants of employee s loyalty to their organizations. 3. Questionnaire: It was our main source of data collection as questionnaire is a written list of questions, the answers to which are recorded by respondents. Our questionnaire contained closed ended questions so that it would be easy for employees to give response. We used collective administration way of managing a questionnaire. One thing we observed during data collection process that employees from private organizations are more courteous or helpful as compare to government employees. The reason could be the age factor or fresh education of employees of private organizations, but we felt comfortable with them.

Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

4: Results and Analysis

We did analyze all the answers respectively which had been asked via questionnaire from sixty employees of six different public and private organizations. We used Cross-Tabulation tables (contingency tables) which display the relationship between two or more categorical (nominal or ordinal) variables. The size of the table is determined by the number of distinct values for each variable, with each cell in the table representing a unique combination of values. We implemented Descriptive Statistics which is used to describe the data set as measures of central tendency and measures of variability or dispersion with the combination of Histogram charts to show the findings. Then we applied independent sample t-test for the verification of our proposed result. Here, firstly we test some of the hypotheses related to difference in gender, organizational structure and pay-scale to organizational commitment.

4.1: Commitment on Gender Basis

H1: There are different preferences by male and female to different variables associated to job commitment. SPSS helped us to find out the most preferable variable selected by male and female unconnectedly. Our findings are, Most Important Factor selected by Female employees

Count: Working Conditions 1.00 Male Female Total 1 5 6 2.00 5 0 5 3.00 2 0 2 4.00 15 0 15 5.00 14 0 14 6.00 2 0 2 42 5 47

Gender

Total

Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

Pakistan has a man dominant society. Therefore we have less numbers of working women as compare to others countries. Although figures are in progress but according to Social Policy and Development Center which gives statistics on socio-economic indicators of gender for Pakistan, percentage share of women in employment is 17%, and only 8% of them are employed from urban Pakistan and 17% employed from rural Pakistan. In our sixty respondents there were only five female participants, four from private sectors and one from public organizations. They all ranked working conditions, the top variable to keep them satisfied that means they felt more committed to their job if their working conditions are appropriate for them. They all ranked it first among other variables. The variable of balanced life was also preferred by them as Pakistani women have to look after all the family matter along with their jobs. Therefore these variables lead their motivation to organizational commitment.

Most Important Factor selected by Male employees

Count: Pay 1.00 Male Female Total 31 0 31 2.00 9 0 9 3.00 4 0 4 4.00 6 2 8 5.00 1 2 3 6.00 3 1 4 55 5 60

Gender

Total

Thirty one male employees selected pay as their top priority and nine ranked it as second because in Pakistani culture men are supposed to take all households responsibilities. Therefore, our male respondents selected pay as a variable which is directly proportional to their job commitment. Others factors which have been preferred by male employees are benefits programs, career development and job security. As male respondents were large in numbers as compare to employee, therefore it could be every easy for us to identify the selected core variables on the basis of gender difference. But even then we applied sample ttest to verify our hypothesis.

Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

Group Statistics Gender Pay Male Female Male Female N 55 5 42 5 Mean 2.1091 4.8000 4.3333 1.0000 Std. Deviation 1.67412 .83666 1.47610 .00000 Std. Error Mean .22574 .37417 .22777 .00000

Working Condition

There is significantly difference among pay and working condition. Therefore on the basis of this test we can say that our hypothesis was correct.

4.2: Commitment Preference in Public and Private Organizations

H2: There are different preferences to different variables associated to job commitment at public and private organizations. We collected data from six organizations, three from public and three from private structured organizations. We used cross tabular technique to find out that which factor has been preferred by which group. Findings are, Most important Factor selected by employees from Public Sector
Count: Benefits Programs 1.00 Public Private Total
7 0 7

Sector 2.00
15 9 24

Total 5.00
0 4 4

3.00
5 9 14

4.00
1 5 6

6.00
1 1 2 29 30 59

Benefits program is the variable which has been ranked most at number one by public sector employees. It was also observed during our visit to public organizations that they had fewer facilities as compare to private offices. Our target private organizations were multinational chain so it could be one reason but there is no argument that private sector has more attractive

Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains benefits program than public sector in Pakistan. Mobilink and Telenor, our subjected private organizations, offer life insurance, medical facilities, TADA, two bonuses in a single year and lot of fringe benefits to their employees. Therefore employees from public sector ranked employee s benefits at high numbers because they think that it would influence their loyalty to their organizations. Most important Factor selected by employees from Public Sector
Count: Job Security 1.00 Public Private Total
0 5 5

Sector 2.00
5 0 5

Total 5.00
0 8 8

3.00
11 6 17

4.00
11 2 13

6.00
2 1 3 30 30 60

As private sector does not have credibility regarding job security therefore employees from private organizations gave high rank to job security. In public sector employees have more rights than private employees with respect to layoff as they can sue the organizations via court under labor act. Labor act also protected private employee but private organizations have their on by laws. Therefore job security has been detected as a core factor especially in private sector which is a major concern of workforce and ultimately responsible for their commitment to perspective firm. We applied t-test to check the result error.

Group Statistics Sector Public Pay Private Public Job Security Private N 29 30 30 30 Mean 2.1379 3.5667 3.5667 4.6667 Std. Deviation 1.05979 1.67504 1.30472 2.46819 Std. Error Mean .19680 .30582 .23821 .45063

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Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

4.3: Commitment on Pay-Scale Basis

H3: Pay is a major factor regarding employee s commitment in Pakistani business scenario. Our questionnaire contained five options for pay scale, ranging from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 60,000 which had been filled by employees having different pay scales. Results are, Most important factors selected at different Pay-Scale
Count: Pay 1.00 20,000-30,000 30,000-40,000 50,000-60,000 60,000 & above Total 7 2 8 14 31 2.00 1 4 2 2 9 3.00 1 0 0 3 4 4.00 2 1 1 4 8 5.00 1 1 0 1 3 6.00 2 1 0 1 4 15 9 11 25 60

Income

Total

Pay is our main findings during our research which has direct influence on employees whether they belong to any category. Although the preferences changing according to our research team but the process is very slow. Career development, working conditions and authority are some of the variables which have been pointed out by the employees but majority considered pay and benefits program as a source of motivation which leads to organizational commitment. As it is clear from the results that the fourteen employees having pay-scale Rs. 60,000 and above picked pay as their top priority. So on the basis of it we can say that our proposed hypothesis was accurate. Result statistics are,
Group Statistics Income N 15 9 11 25 Mean 3.0000 2.7778 1.4545 2.1600 Std. Deviation 2.36039 1.78730 .93420 1.54596 Std. Error Mean .60945 .59577 .28167 .30919

Pay

Rs. 20,000-30,000 Rs. 30,000-40,000 Rs. 50,000-60,000 Rs. 60,000 & above

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Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

4.4: Cumulative Result

On the basis of complete questionnaires the findings are, Q: In case of dissatisfaction by the above factors, does your performance get affected?

In case of dissatisfaction by the above factors, does your performance get affected? Frequency Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Total 14 41 5 60 Percent 23.3 68.3 8.3 100.0 Valid Percent 23.3 68.3 8.3 100.0 Cumulative Percent 23.3 91.7 100.0

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Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

Q: Is it satisfaction which makes employees committed to their organizations?

Is it satisfaction which makes employees committed to their organizations? Frequency Strongly Agree Valid Agree Neutral Total 16 41 3 60 Percent 26.7 68.3 5.0 100.0 Valid Percent 26.7 68.3 5.0 100.0 Cumulative Percent 26.7 95.0 100.0

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Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

Q: Are you committed to your organization?

Are you committed to your organization? Frequency Yes Valid Up to some extent Total 36 24 60 Percent 60.0 40.0 100.0 Valid Percent 60.0 40.0 100.0 Cumulative Percent 60.0 100.0

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Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

Q: What do you think which type of organization is better than the other?

What do you think which type of organization is better than the other? Frequency Valid Public Private Total 25 35 60 Percent 41.7 58.3 100.0 Valid Percent 41.7 58.3 100.0 Cumulative Percent 41.7 100.0

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Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

5: Conclusion
Pakistan has a man dominant society. Therefore we have less numbers of working women as compare to others countries. Although figures are in progress but according to Social Policy and Development Center which gives statistics on socio-economic indicators of gender for Pakistan, percentage share of women in employment is 17%, and only 8% of them are employed from urban Pakistan and 17% employed from rural Pakistan. By industry 67.4% women employed in agricultural whereas 15.8% involved in services. Estimates by the same report shows that 52.7% women earn between Rs. (0-1500), 22.9% earn between Rs. (1500-2500), 9.1% earn between Rs. (2501-7000) and 16.9% earn above Rs.7001. Our concern is the female population who is serving in organizations and having a pay above than Rs. 10,000. In our sixty respondents there were only five female participants, three from private sectors and two from public organizations. They all ranked working conditions, the top variable to keep them satisfied that means they felt more committed to their job if their working conditions are appropriate for them. The variable of balanced life was also preferred by them as Pakistani women have to look after all the family matter along with their jobs. Therefore these variables lead their motivation to organizational commitment. Male employees selected pay as their top priority because in Pakistani culture men are supposed to take all households responsibilities. Job security and career development were their proceeding variables which can play an important role to make them loyal to their organizations. Most of the female employees agreed upon that mentioned variables are directly proportional to their performance. They also believed that they are committed to their job and selected Public sectors as their first choice. When we analyzed our collected data on the basis of organizational structure then we found out that in public sector pay has been considered employees main concern. And respondents from private sectors worried about their job security. So we identified job security as a core factor in private sector which could be effective regarding organizational commitment. Pay is

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Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains their second choice as private sector in Pakistan gives handsome salaries to their employees as compare to public sectors. Career development got the place in top three variables selected by public and private organizations. It was interesting fact for us that the majority of respondents from private organizations liked public organizations and from public organizations adored private sectors. Analysis on pay-scale notified that the employees who had a pay below than Rs. 30,000 considered their salaries the most, regarding work motivation and organizational commitment. They also pointed out benefits programs as significant factor which could affect loyalty to organizations. Therefore low-salary takers liked to work in private sector rather than in public organizations. The employees with heavy salaries above than Rs. 30,000 found to be more conscious about their career development. Now at the end, if we talk about overall result than we can easily say that pay is the most important variables which is central aspect of employee motivation and ultimately to his or her commitment to organization. Pakistan is a developing country thus has fewer opportunities for good jobs. Poverty is the core issue in our society with the status disease. Therefore it seems logical that our result also indicates Pay as a focal variable or factor regarding employee commitment.

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Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

6: Suggestions

Organizations can make their employees more loyal and committed to them if they know their desired factors which can motivate them. Some suggestions from our side are, 1) Yes, being a poor nation we have to work for better life. Therefore organizations of Pakistan have to improve their pay scale due to continuously increasing rate of inflation. 2) Pakistani Public sector has lot of flaws regarding their environment and work policies. It must be develop according to the needs of existing scenario. 3) Organizations have to make sure to provide safe working conditions to their female staff and must be provide them an environment which would be helpful to balance their time between office and home. 4) It has been observed that young employees are more concerned about their future plans. Therefore it would be very beneficiary for organizations if they help them regarding career development. 5) Job security has been notified as core issue during our research especially in private organizations. So it is suggested that private sector must improve its credibility on the subject of layoff. Organizations have more loyal people with the passage of time so organizations have to make it sure that they have long term relations with their employees. 6) Benefits programs would be really affective in organizational commitment if have been designed for the settlement of workforce. Organizations are advised to spend time on planning best benefits program for their people. 7) 8 hours working time must be implemented as work load also have been found as important factor of motivation. 8) Both types of organizations have to make their employees more empower by giving them authority related to their work. 9) Management style would be very friendly with their workforce to get the maximum outcome.

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Employee s Commitment: Facts Behind the Curtains

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