Impact of Selected Factors on Employees’ Satisfaction and Organisational Performance

9 TRENDY EKONOMIKY A MANAGEMENTU TRENDS ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT ISSN 1802-8527 (Print) / ISSN 2336-6508 (Online) 2020 35(1): 9–23 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13164/trends.2020.35.9 Impact of Selected Factors on Employees’ Satisfaction and Organisational Performance Dupe Adesubomi Abolade Abstract Purpose of the article: The general objective of this study was to examine the impact of working tools, training, organisation’s physical environment, organisational communication and organisational structure on employees’ job satisfaction and organisational performance. Methodology: The study adopted random sampling technique in selecting the participants. Self-structured questionnaires were used to elicit information from a sample size of one hundred and thirty-two respondents. One hundred and twenty-five instruments were properly completed and fit for analysis. Scientific aim: This study investigated the impact of some selected factors (working tools, training, organisation’s physical environment, organisational communication, and organisational structure) in determining job satisfaction of employees and organisational performance. Findings: The study found out that working tools, training, work environment, organisational communication and organisational structure significantly affected employees’ satisfaction and organisational performance. Conclusions: It was recommended that management and other decision makers in organisations should pay good attention to effective communication, conducive work environment, and appropriate organisational structure, provide appropriate tools for the employees, and give right training to the employees; these would enhance employees’ satisfaction and also improve the performance of the organisation. Key words: work environment, organisational structure, employee satisfaction and organisation’s performance JEL Classification: L16, L19, L25, L68, M53 Dupe Adesubomi Abolade: Impact of Selected Factors on Employees’ Satisfaction and Organisational Performance 10 Introduction The importance of employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance has captured the attention of researchers in management. This is as a result of the role played by these factors in ensuring that organisations are able to keep going in the present highly competitive business world. The human resources are the key factor in enhancing this, as the satisfaction of workers is the pillar upon which the overall performance of the organisation rests. Management should provide approprite work environment, right tools for work, train employees as and when due, ensure that there is participative communication with the employees and put in place the right structure that will enable the employees work easily. The strategy of ensuring that appropriate variables are provided for personnel in the workplace is a good motivational strategy. The manager and the managed and other stakeholders in workplace are constantly involved in communication. Communication is a very important factor that is used to conduct and put organisation’s resources to good use. Greenberg (2010) says that communication is a basic function of all mangers’ jobs, as managers spend eighty per cent of their daily duties communicating with others in order to achieve the organisation’s success. If communication is put to good use in the organisation, many of the challenges that dove-tail into employee turnover as a result of a lack of satisfaction will be better addressed. Any organisation that is unable to provide the right physical environment (such as proper ventilation, good lighting, roomy office spaces, comfortable furniture, rest rooms, canteen, sickbay, good water supply, and serene surrounding) that will aid the work of the employees and thereby improve the performance of the organisation may not survive in the present competitive global market. Agbozo et al. (2017) believe that the work environment is one of the major factors that influence employees’ satisfaction and that employees’ productivity is determined by the environment where they work. Herzberg (1986) concludes that when the employees’ work environment improves, the employees will perform better. The employee must be competent in their work to make them confident; training is needed in this respect. Robbins et al. (2008) believe that training is directed at upgrading and improving employee’s technical skills. Hallowell et al. (1996) finds out that training is one of the primary vehicles to improve entry-level worker’s productivity. With the right tools, and employees trained to use them, employees will be more efficient, which will positively affect their self-esteem, as they will be able to perform their duties with ease. The competent worker should be bold and happy doing their job; being competent is an attribute of job satisfaction, employee commitment and better organisation’s performance. Lee, Moreo (2007) establish that employee satisfaction is a key factor to an organisation’s success. When an employee is glad to come to work because the tools, the structure, the environment and all the factors that will enhance their job performance are put in place and functioning, they have the initial satisfaction. Employees that are thus satisfied are likely to be happy, committed and work harder for the success of the organisation. 1. Literature review The organisational structure is generally seen as the arrangement of tasks to be performed by job holders in the different units within the organisation. Greenberg (2011) explains that the organisational structure is the formal configuration between individuals and groups concerning the responsibilities and the allocation of tasks which include the authority in the workplace. Damanpour (1991) says that the organisational structu- Dupe Adesubomi Abolade: Impact of Selected Factors on Employees’ Satisfaction and Organisational Performance 11 re includes the nature of formalisation, the layer of hierarchy, the level of horizontal integration, the centralisation of authority, and the patterns of communication. Walton (1986) says that the organisational structure enhances effectiveness. Jackson, Schuller (1995) believe that the structural forms in the organisation that are generally recognised for domestic firms include the functional departmentalisation, product-based divisionalisation, geographical divisionalisation, and matrix organisation. They go on to explain that different forms are presumed to result from and are associated with a variety of internal and external forces, including technology demands, organisational growth, environmental turbulence, and business strategy. The structure of an organisation is determined by the type of work that organisation is involved in. Without the structure, the organisation cannot operate, as workers would not know who is responsible to whom. The individuals in the organisation are interconnected and interdependent through a chain of command for effective running of the workplace. The structure ensures that there is coalition and coordination in the workplace. Robbins et al. (2008) explain that the organisation structure is how job tasks are formally divided, grouped and coordinated and that in designing the organisation structure, mangers must address work specialisation, departmentalisation, the chain of command, the span of control, centralisation and decentralisation and formalisation. Abolade (2018) concludes that the organisation’s performance is an analysis of the company’s performance as compared to the set goals and objectives; and that communication is the tool that gets people informed about their roles and responsibilities and allows them to be informed about the state of affairs in the organisation, so that the individuals will be able to work along with the management for the overall success of the organisation. Ion, Criveanu (2016) say that the performance consist in achieving the goals assigned to an individual in the convergence of the enterprise orientation; that the performance is not just finding the outcome but that it is the result of a comparison between the outcome and the objective. Training is a purposively planned activity put in place by an organisation after the necessary organisational and individual needs analyses have been carried out. Training helps to improve the skills of the employees so that they may be able to perform better and thereby improve the performance level of the organisation. In this respect, the customers will be satisfied, and the organisation will gain competitive advantage. The employees also benefit, as their confidence and expertise are enhanced, which is a catalyst for job satisfaction. According to Shaw (2011), training is a process that provides employees with skills, information and understanding of the organisation and its goals. Abolade (2013) concludes that training is an essential organisation’s strategy that keeps the organisation going and that for any firm to be able to compete and have increased productivity, the workers must be properly and adequately trained. McClelland (2002) claims that training motivates personnel. Jones et al. (2008) conclude that training is positively associated with job satisfaction and that job satisfaction is positively associated with performance. Kauffman (2010) believes that employers today use training of employees as a main tool for retaining employees. If employees are not willing to quit their job because they are trained to be better at their job, it is therefore a pointer to the fact that such employees are satisfied with the job. Khan et al. (2011) explain that human resource capital in the organisation plays an important role, hence, there is the need for training and re-training of the human resources so as to fortify the employees. Khan et al. (2011), making reference to the work of Thomas (1997), Partlow (1996) and Shepard (2003), state that the employee will not be able to perform well at the job without pre-training; that Dupe Adesubomi Abolade: Impact of Selected Factors on Employees’ Satisfaction and Organisational Performance 12 trained employees perform better than untrained employees, and that training and development increase the overall performance of an organisation. Effective communication is the hallmark of better interpersonal relationships which will enhance understanding among the actors in employment relations and the generality of the workforce. Communication is synonymous with life. Work procedures are conducted through appropriate communication, and managers work with the rest of the team via communication. The importance of communication in workplace cannot be over-emphasized. Effective communication motivates employees to work well. Abolade (2015) says that communication is a vital tool in any relationship; that good organisational communication aids the clarity of employee’s role, and that communication and business are intimately and inseparably linked, that no business can survive without proper communication, and that communication makes or breaks a business. Organisational communication in all its spheres is the breath, the air the organisation breathes, or the life blood the organisation needs for survival; it is the means through which the structures are put in place and functioning, and the different units within the organisations are therefore able to relate well and get the job done. Puni et al. (2016) explain that inability of managers to communicate clearly with the employees leads to the employees’ feeling of not being able to perform their duties well. Rudd, Mills (2015) explain that when there is failure of effective communication, there are negative direct or indirect impacts on individuals and the organisation. Stephen (2011) says that communication helps the workplace accomplish organisational goals. Syallow et al. (2017) establish in their study that organisational communication positively affects employees’ job satisfaction. According to Abugre (2011), communication helps to bring up teams and networks that ensure employees being committed and that they are satisfied with their jobs. According to Robbins et al. (2008), communication fosters motivation by clarifying to employees what is to be done, how well they are doing, and what can be done to improve performance if it is below the acceptable standard. According to Locke (1976), job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from appraisal of one’s job experiences. Spector (2003) claims that job satisfaction reduces employee turnover. In order to have the desired satisfaction through appraisal of job experience and reduce employee turnover, appropriate tools must be provided for the employees. Tools are the equipment that is provided by the management to enhance the performance of the employees based on the job the employees are engaged in within the organisation. When the right tools are available for the workers and they are trained to use them, and this serves as motivation for them. 2. Hypotheses The formulated hypotheses are: H1: Availability of tools does not have a significant relationship with employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. H2: Training has no significant relationship with employees’ job satisfaction and organisations’ performance. H3: Organisation physical environment does not significantly contribute to employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. H4: Organisational communication has no significant relationship with employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. H5: The organisational structure has no significant relationship with employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. Dupe Adesubomi Abolade: Impact of Selected Factors on Employees’ Satisfaction and Organisational Performance 13 3. Methodology This study adopted a survey research design to investigate if the identified variables individually have a significant relationship with employees’ satisfaction and organisation’s performance. Nigerian Breweries Plc Ibadan was used as a case study. Data were collected through the use of self-constructed questionnaire tagged Working Tools, Training, Organisational Physical Environment, Communication and Organisational Structure Questionnaire (WTTOPECOSQ). The questionnaire for this study consisted of two sections. Section one consisted of the questionnaire on the socio-demographic backgrounds of respondents such as gender, age, educational qualification, marital status and years of experience to provide a platform for balanced views of all the respondents. Sections two had five scales: A, B, C, D and E used to elicit information from the respondents on the five variables. “A” elicited information from the respondents on the availability of tools for work; “B” elicited information from the respondents on training; “C” was on the physical environment of the organisation; “D” elicited information from the respondents on communication within the organisation; and “E” elicited information from the respondents on the organisational structure. For the pilot study of these scales, reliability tests were performed to assess the internal consistency of each scale. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients reported as follows: 0.83 for the Working Tools Scale, 0.87 for the Training Scale, 0.77 for the Organisational Physical Environment Scale, 0.85 for the Communication Scale, and 0.74 for the Organisational Structure. All questions were close ended using a four-point Likert scale which ranged from 4 = “strongly agree” to 1 = “strongly disagree”. One hundred and thirty-two copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the target population but one hundred and twenty-five of the instruments were properly completed and fit for analysis. Five hypotheses were tested to establish the significance of the variables on employees’ satisfaction and performance of the organisation. The data were analysed using the regression analysis. The hypotheses generated for the study were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study established that the variables significantly affected employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. 4. Presentation and Interpretations Section A: Demographic Information of Respondents (n=125) Gender of the Respondents The data presented in Figure 1 show the distribution of the respondents’ gender. Male Figure 1. Distribution of the respondents by gender. Source: Field survey, 2019. Dupe Adesubomi Abolade: Impact of Selected Factors on Employees’ Satisfaction and Organisational Performance 14 respondents represented 55.2% and female respondents 44.8%. This shows that there are more male workers than female workers in Nigerian Breweries Plc, Ibadan. Both males and females workers of the selected organisations participated in the study without gender discrimination. Age Range of the Respondents The data presented in Figure 2 show the distribution of the respondents according to the age range. The majority of the respondents (40.0%) are within the age range of 40–49 years; the respondents within the age range of 30–39 years represent 26.4%; the respondents within the age range of 50 years and above account for 21.6%, while the respondents aged 20–29 years form the smallest group with 12.0%. Educational Qualification of the Respondents The data presented in Figure 3 show the distribution of the respondents by educational qualification. The majority of the respondents (56.0%) had HND/B.Sc./B.A. degrees as their highest academic qualification, followed by those who had an OND degree (27.2%), while 16.8% had S.S.C.E. The study indicated that workers of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Ibadan are educated, thus being able to participate in the study intelligently. Figure 2. Age distribution of the respondents. Source: FieldsSurvey, 2019. Figure 3. Distribution of the respondents by educational qualification. Source: Field survey, 2019. Dupe Adesubomi Abolade: Impact of Selected Factors on Employees’ Satisfaction and Organisational Performance 15 Marital Status of the Respondents The data presented in Figure 4 show the distribution of the respondents by marital status. 41.6% of them are single, while 55.2% respondents are married and 3.2% respondents are separated. The study shows that there are more married workers than the single and separated workers in Nigerian Breweries Plc, Ibadan. Years of Experience of the Respondents The data presented in Figure 5 show the distribution of the respondents according to years of experience. The majority of the respondents (42.4%) had 6–10 years of work experience, followed by respondents with 11 years and above of work experience (31.2%), while the respondents with 1–5 years working experience represented the smallest group with 26.4%. Section B: Test of Hypotheses Hypothesis One: H1: Availability of tools does not have a significant relationship with employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. Table 1 depicts the relationship between the independent variables (employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance) and the availability of tools; this indicates that 91.16% of variance is statistically significant to employee’s job satisfaction and organisational performance; the availability of tools is explained by employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. Figure 4. Distribution of the respondents by marital status. Source: Field survey, 2019. Figure 5. Distribution of the respondents by years of experience. Source: Field survey, 2019. Dupe Adesubomi Abolade: Impact of Selected Factors on Employees’ Satisfaction and Organisational Performance 16 Consequently, this means that other factors not studied in this research explain 8.84% of the influence of the availability of tools. The adjusted R2 of 0.9102 means the explanatory power of the independent variables is considerably high. DECISION RULE Reject the null hypothesis if the value of F calculated is greater than the value of F tabulated (F cal>F tab), otherwise accept it. At 95% level of significance (α = 0.05). The F calculated is given as 629.42. The F tabulated is given as: F0.05, (2, 122) = 3.07051216. DECISION Since F calculated = 629.42>F tabulated = = 3.07051216, it suffices to reject the null hypothesis. In conclusion, the results of the regression confirm with 95% confidence that “the availability of tools has a significant relationship with employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance”. Hypothesis Two: H2: Training has no significant relationship with employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. Table 3 depicts the relationship between the independent variables (employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance) and training; it indicates that 60.94% of variance in training of employees is explained by employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance, which is statistically high enough to explain that there is positive significant relationship between the variables. Consequently, this means that other factors not studied in this research explain 39.06% of the potency of training. The adjusted R2 of 0.6030 means the explanatory power of the independent variables is considerably high. Table 1. Summary of the regression analysis of employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance on the availability of tools a. Root MSE 0.25146 R-Square 0.9116 Dependent Mean 2.24800 Adjusted R-Square 0.9102 Coeff Var 11.18581 Source: Field survey, 2019. Table 2. Analysis of variance. Source DF Sum of Squares Mean Square F Value Pr > F Model 2 79.59786 39.79893 629.42 <.0001 Error 122 7.71414 0.06323 Corrected Total 124 87.31200 Dependent variable: Availability of tools. Predictors: Employees’ job satisfaction and Organisation’s performance. Source: Field survey, 2019. Table 3. Summary of the regression analysis of employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance on training a. Root MSE 0.77558 R-Square 0.6094 Dependent Mean 3.03200 Adjusted R-Square 0.6030 Coeff Var 25.57992 Source: Field survey, 2019. Dupe Adesubomi Abolade: Impact of Selected Factors on Employees’ Satisfaction and Organisational Performance 17 DECISION RULE Reject the null hypothesis if the value of F calculated is greater than the value of F tabulated (F cal>F tab), otherwise accept it. At 95% level of significance (α = 0.05). The F calculated is given as 95.16. The F tabulated is given as: F0.05, (2, 122) = 3.07051216. DECISION Since F calculated = 95.16>F tabulated = = 3.07051216, it suffices to reject the null hypothesis. In conclusion, the results of the regression confirm with 95% confidence that “training has a significant relationship with employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance”. Hypothesis Three: H3: Organisation’s physical environment does not significantly contribute to employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. Table 5 unveils the contribution of organisation’s physical environment to employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance; it shows that 92.04% of employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance is contributed by the organisation’s physical environment. The result of 92.04% is statistically high in the determination of employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. Consequently, this means that other factors not studied in this research explain 7.96% contribution of the organisation’s physical environment. The adjusted R2 of 0.9191 means the explanatory power of the independent variables is considerably high. DECISION RULE Reject the null hypothesis if the value of F calculated is greater than the value of Table 4. Analysis of variance. Source DF Sum of Squares Mean Square F Value Pr > F Model 2 114.48542 57.24271 95.16 <.0001 Error 122 73.38658 0.60153 Corrected Total 124 187.87200 Dependent variable: Training. Predictors: Employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. Source: Field survey, 2019. Table 5. Summary of the regression analysis of employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance on organisation’s physical environment. Root MSE 0.35840 R-Square 0.9204 Dependent Mean 2.56000 Adjusted R-Square 0.9191 Coeff Var 14.00015 Source: Field survey, 2019. Table 6. Analysis of variance. Source DF Sum of Squares Mean Square F Value Pr > F Model 2 181.12870 90.56435 705.04 <.0001 Error 122 15.67130 0.12845 Corrected Total 124 196.80000 Dependent variable: Organisation’s physical environment. Predictors: Employees’ job satisfaction and organisation’s performance. Source: Field survey, 2019. 24