Political and Social Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Political and Social Theory - Essay Example As the paper outlines, team cohesion refers to the ability of employees and the management to work together towards attaining the same goal. Through the role theory, both parties know what duties they ought to perform. The role theory defines the expectations of the employee; therefore staff members perform their roles bearing in mind that they are individual members of a team aiming at eventually achieving the same goal (Harnisch, 2011). On the other hand, functionalism shows the employees that each department in an organization forms a synchronized system which ought to function in unison so as to obtain the key target (Kendall, 2007). Therefore, these two theories help in displaying the reason both the employees and management, who have different functions, should work synchronously to achieve the main interest.  Conflict resolution in institutions refers to the ability of affiliates to provide solutions that resolve group differences. In any group, lack of knowledge about oneâ €™s role and position often leads to conflict. Therefore, in order to avoid or resolve the differences that may develop, the management should apply concepts found in both the role theory and functionalism. Concepts of the role theory such as expectations and resources stipulate some of the duties an employee has to perform and the supplies provided (Harnisch, 2011). Similarly, the functionalism perspective describes some of the activities particular members of the organization need to accomplish in order to assist in the overall production of the whole corporation (Quah, 1990). Both theories are beneficial in preventing and resolving conflict since they help the management and employees to understand their individual roles.

Business Articles Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Articles Review - Essay Example In feminine cultures cooperation is more frequent which leads to people seeking the best joint outcome for society. A weakness of feminine culture is that people tend to be naively altruistic and sometimes get taken advantage of. Another negative aspect of feminine is that sometimes the economic expectations of such a society are too low. Participation of women in societies across the globe has increased during the past 60 years. A feminine culture does not necessarily increase the participation of women in economic and social life. I thought that the article was well written and it pointed out a lot of important arguments in regards to masculinity and feminine. I consider the United States a masculine society. Evidence of this is the fact that there has never been a women president in the history of the United States. Women are still being held back into positions of power by the glass ceiling effect. Despite my opinion that the U.S is a masculine society the article mentions other cultures in the world in which women do not enjoy the same freedoms and rights as in the U.S. In most Arab countries the women are seen as second class citizens. Men in Arab countries have all the power and women must obey the men at all times. In such a society women seldom hold positions of power such as managerial positions. ... Cultural barriers caused communication problems and conflicts and the team was very ineffective. â€Å"Cultural differences can create substantial obstacles to effective teamwork-but these may be subtle and difficult to recognize until significant damage has already been done† (Brett, Behfar, Kern, 2006, pg. 86). Work teams are supposed to be self-sufficient and managers should not intervene in interpersonal conflict because doing so is usually counterproductive and wastes valuable managerial time. It is imperative to avoid single culture approaches to solving problems among multicultural teams. Four types of challenges associated with multicultural teams are direct versus indirect communication, trouble with accents and fluency, differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority, and conflicting norms for decisions. Some of the most effective strategies identified by the author to deal with conflict are adaptation, structural intervention, managerial intervention, and exit. T eamwork has become more important than ever in the workplace of the 21st century. Due to the rise of the globalization movement many multinational corporations are exposed to forming multicultural teams as part of the day to day business activities. These teams can bring tremendous benefits to a company because diversity helps foster innovation and creativity. I agree with the author that managerial intervention to solve internal conflict in a team is a strategy that should only be used as a last resort. The multicultural team is supposed to go through the same team formation stages of any team which are forming, storming, norming, and performing. An

Overview And Causes Of Pica Disorder Biology Essay

Overview And Causes Of Pica Disorder Biology Essay Pica Disorder is the affliction that causes people to have a sudden urge to consume non-food related items (1). This disorder has baffled scientist for decades, and research has yet to come up with a clear reason or cause (1). Pica disorder can be found in literature as early as Hippocrates, and has been classified by many ancient scholars during the middle ages and Renaissance times (1). Many explorers, missionaries, and colonist have also written accounts about pica disorder in their journeys (1). Many of these early descriptions placed pica disorder as an intense desire to consume non-food related items, and has been described as a cultural phenomenon with no physiological cause(1). The word pica comes from the Latin word Pica pica which is the name of the magpie, a bird that is described to have an erratic appetite (1). Other names include cachexia Africana (named by doctors who took care of the African slaves), citta, mal destomac, and malacia (1). Pica disorder is prevalent among pregnant women and young children because they are the most biological vulnerable, and can also be found in people that are undergoing renal dialysis, have celiac disease, and those who have a red blood cell defect such as sickle cell anemia (1). The disorder can cause many different affects on the body with both positive and negative results (1). Some negative effects include: metal poisoning, damage to internal organs, and some weight gain (1). Positive effects may include: providing important micronutrients that the body lacks (Fe, Ca, or Zn), possible relieving stress on the gestational tract, and preventing harmful pathogens and bacteria from entering the blood stream (1). Several explanations have been provided to explain what causes pica disorder such as: psychological stress, dyspepsia, general hunger, protection against toxins and pathogens, and a side affect of iron deficiency which can cause anemia (1). In medical literature the definition of pica is, the craving and purposive consumption of substances that the consumer does not define as food with symptoms lasting longer then one month. (1). This clarification indicates that pica cannot be classified as the accidental ingestion of dirt or other non-food items, and the individual must voluntary consume the substance (1).The urge for pica can be compared to the addiction of tobacco, drugs, or the consumption of alcoholic beverages (1). The list of pica substances is countless, but a few of the major items include the consumption of: dirt, raw starch (uncooked pasta), ice, paper, chalk, eggshells, coffee grounds, matches, and in extreme cases needles or other sharp pointed items (1). Body Major Forms of Pica Disorder The consumption of dirt, clay, and chalk for the nutritional value that they might contain is called geophagy (1). This practice is prevalent among pregnant women, and in some communities might reach up to 60% of the population (1). The soil can be prepared by baking or frying, and the amount of dirt ingested ranges from 20-40g, and can range from consuming pieces of pottery, or eating beans that have a high concentration of dirt found in them (1). Most of these items include some type of clay in them, which contains a compound called kaolin, which is ingredient found in some anti-diarrhea medications (1). Another alternative to eating soil or clay is found in the consumption of other non-nutritional foods such as raw starch which is known as amylophagy (1). Most of these starches come in the form of raw foods such as uncooked rice, pasta, and starchy rubbers (1). The consumption of these starches ranges from a couple of grams per day to 1kg (1). One other major form of pica disorder can be found in pagophagy which is the consumption of ice (1). Unlike the average person that might suck on an ice cube or two, someone who practices pagophagy consumes several glasses of ice a day (1). Several Hypotheses There are several hypotheses that explain the environmental factors that might cause the onset of pica. These hypotheses can be broken down into three sub-categories: hunger, micronutrient deficiency, and protection against toxin (8). Researchers, however, have found little to no information on the genetic basis or mechanism that is associated with pica disorder. This lack of data is associated with researchers not having acknowledged that pica disorder is prevalent among many populations of the world today, and the belief that pica is just a mental ailment (8). Conducted Research on Anemic properties and Pica Disorder The main hypothesis concerning pica disorder is the association between pica and anemia (1). Some researchers have hypothesized that pica is a symptom which is developed when one becomes anemic (1). In two different studies, pregnant women were tested for several different variables. In the first study, researchers took a group of 823 pregnant women from Turkey and analyzed their relationship between anemia and pica (5). The second study consisted of pregnant women found in Tanzania that were tested to see picas involvement with immunodeficiency diseases (HIV), iron deficiency, soil transmitted helminth infections such as malaria, and the potential danger of infection of parasites (7). The demand for iron in a pregnant woman is much greater then the average human because of the increasing amount of blood cells needed for the mother and the fetus (7). The lack of iron can result in iron-deficiency anemia, abortions, false labors, and multiparity (5). In a worldwide study it was found that 20% of all maternal deaths resulted from anemia, and can also lead to premature births, underdeveloped infants, increased infant fatality, and a decrease in fertility (5). In the study done in Turkey, researchers were able to find that out of the 823 pregnant women studied, 1 out of 10 exhibited pica behavior (5). Most of these women were illiterate and were in a lower social class that resulted in less consumption of animal protein, and the lack of funds to take iron supplements during their pregnancy which resulted in deficient amount of iron, folate, and vitamin B12 during their pregnancy (5). In the study done in Tanzania, researchers found that 82.6% of the women studied had anemia where about 29% ate soil on a regular bases (7). Those that consumed soil were 75% more likely to have severe anemia when compared to those that didnt (7). Women that showed signs of iron deficiency (such as a decrease number of hemoglobin) were also more likely to consume pica substances (7). T here was no correlation between HIV and geophagy, and women that had malaria did not consume soil which could be a result of soil containing traces of iron which makes the conditions of malaria worse (7). The amount of Ascaris lumbricoides (round worm) found in the pregnant women was much higher in those who practiced geophagy (7). Geophagy became more prevalent as the pregnancy progressed (7). This could be the bodys response of supplying more iron to form more hemoglobin (7). Another purposed hypothesis is that when an individual practices in consuming non-food related items this can result in anemia (1). This hypothesis states that the intake of non-nutritional elements does not result in a positive result or a decrease in this deficiency (1). The mechanism behind this phenomenon is found to be caused by tissue enzyme deficiency and this includes Fe and Zn deficiencies which play a role in appetite regulating brain enzymes (1). In one study, three subjects were tested that exhibited different types of pica (4). One subjected consumed at least two super-sized McDonald soda cups filled with ice a day which resulted in heavy bleeding during her menstrual cycle (4). Another subject would drink iced water three to four times a day which resulted in the formation of colonic polyps which caused bleeding (4). The third and final subject would chew on rubber bands with a specific color and diameter (4). All three of the individuals were mentally stable, and had no history of mental ailments (4). After treated with iron supplementation, one subject was able to stop their pica condition while the other two were still undergoing treatment (4). It has been suggested that the reason why individuals that have developed pica eat ice in an abnormal amount is because glossal pain on the tongue can develop because of iron deficiency, and the ice actually soothes the pain (4). It has also been suggested that stress that is formed in the upper gastrointestinal tract (such as heartburn or nausea) brings on the urge of consuming pica elements (1). This is because some pica elements contain high traces of alkaline which can act a suppressor and reduce the gastric pH in the gastrointestinal organs which would reduce the pain induced by heartburn or nausea (1). This however does not take into account for the individual that chewed on rubber bands (4). In another case report, a 22-year old African woman was diagnosed to have severe anemia (6). The woman had complained of immense fatigue, and it was found that she had been consuming a stone that was high in kaolinite and quartz for the past 15 years (5). After removing traces of the stone in her body and providing iron supplements, the woman was able to recover from her sever anemia, and a check up 3 months later showed a satisfactory blood count and stable iron levels (6). A possible reason to why this stone made the woman develop severe anemia is because of the high levels of kaolinite found in the stone (6). Kaolinite is a compound that is able to absorb concentrations of Fe2+ and Fe 3+ in the duodenum, which is where iron is absorbed by the body (6). This could have caused her to develop a deficiency in iron which could have led to her having severe anemia (6). In many cases of pica, iron deficiency or anemic properties are present in the individual (1). There have been positive results that show livestock that have developed iron deficiency and have engaged in pica activity have shown improvement in their iron deficiency (1). However, sodium is the only known nutrient that is craved in humans, and some data shows that most pica substances have little to no iron in them except for soil, which the iron content of is less known although some acid base tests have been taken which resulted in some pica substances containing nutritional elements such as Fe, Zn, Cu, and Ca (1). These tests however do not take into account the pH of the intestine, and the site of these nutritional elements such as Fe (1). Overall this hypothesis is an intriguing one, but does not have any current data that suggests that consuming pica elements actually help elevate iron deficiency or other nutritional deficiencies (1) Pica used as protection against pathogens and toxins A recent hypothesis that has come up in the scientific community is that pica substances are consumed to protect against harmful chemicals and pathogens (1). Clay is shown to exhibit toxin-binding properties, and kaolin (found in some clay) is an active ingredient found in some anti-diarrhea medications (3).These toxins can come from plants, which produce toxins as a protective measure against predators (1). These toxins can cause dizziness, muscle pains, and other unwanted side effects (1). Other chemicals can enter food via bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus (1). Viruses and parasites can also enter the body and cause damage (1). In a study done with rats, the rats were injected with a chemotherapy agent (cisplatin), and then given doses of kaolin (3). The rats that were given kaolin showed less acute symptoms then the rats that were injected with cisplatin which exhibited a decrease in appetite, and weight loss (3). Kaolin could have played a role in decre asing the anxiety felt by the rats, and possibly sped up the recovery process (3). The mechanism on how clay and kaolin work on the body is still a mystery, and does not solidify the hypothesis that pica substances play a role in elevating pain from toxins or other chemicals (3). Conclusion Although pica disorder has been known since the time of Hippocrates, it is still a mystery to many researchers (1). The next step to further the knowledge about pica is to take a multidisciplinary approach, and to shift the idea of pica just being a mental ailment to pica also playing a physiological role in individuals (8). It is not fully understood to whether pica plays a role in the onset of anemic properties or if pica is a side effect of anemia (8). There is also the possibility that pica can contribute to the prevention or relief of toxins and pathogens from entering the blood stream (1). Although pica is not fully understood, it still must be taken seriously, as the effects are still not fully understood and could result in many complications that can lead to suffering for individuals that experience pica symptoms (1).

The Importance of Each Decision in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken Es

The Importance of Each Decision in The Road Not Taken "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" is a lyrical poem about the decisions that one must make in life. When a man approaches a fork in the road on which he is traveling, he must choose which path to take. The choice that he makes, as with any choices made in life, affects him in a way that "has made all the difference . Thematically, the poem argues that no matter how small a decision is, that decision will affect a person's life forever. "The Road Not Taken" is told as a first-person narrative. The narrator is looking back on the decisions that have affected him. The decision that is illustrated in the poem occurred at a much earlier point in the narrator's life. It would be possible for a reader to be drawn into the poem to such a degree that the reader would become the narrator. Everyone has made decisions, and since it is the purpose of this poem to discuss and address those decisions, it would be easy to look beyond the narrator and see oneself. The word choice used in the poem very effectively portrays the speaker. The language used is very simple, almost as if the narrator is not speaking, but thinking, for the language of thoughts tends to be simple without using words that require a dictionary to define. The simple, almost quiet and seducing tone acts to draw the reader into the poem allowing the reader to become the narrator. Throughout the poem, Frost uses images that could be interpreted as either quite simple and very specific or incredibly involved and extremely general. For example, by interpreting images such as "Two roads... in a yello... ...ming lines do not necessarily contain the same number of syllables. This choice by Frost pulls the reader into the poem, but maintains the thought-like atmosphere as the narrator looks back unto his life at the decisions that he made and their results. In his perhaps best known poem, Frost recognizes something that everyone should realize. The simple picture of a man deciding which path to follow is suddenly changed into a description of life by the mastery of Frost's poetic hand. No matter how small a decision appears to be at the time that it is made, that decision will affect a person's life forever, or as Frost puts it, each and every choice will make "all the difference." Work Cited Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." The North Introduction To Literature. 6th ed. Eds. Carl E.Bain, Jerome Beaty, and J. Paul Hunter. New York: W.W Norton, 1995. 1097.

The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Organizational Commitment: Insight Into Devaraj Agency

ADP FALL 2011 ID 49801 Senior Project: Management Ms. Linda Title: The effect of job satisfaction on organizational commitment: Insight into Devaraj Agency VIJAY MUTHU RAJAH A/L ANNAVI SCSJ-0005836 Table of Contents No| Description | Page| 1| Objective | 1| 2| Methodology| 2| 3| Introduction| 3| 4| Literature Review| 4-6| 5| Findings| 7-19| 6| Result of the findings| 20-21| 7| Limitation| 22| 8| Recommendation| 23| 9| Conclusion| 24| 10| Reference | 25| 11| Appendix| 26-28| Objective The objective of this project is to analyze the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment among insurance agents in Devaraj Agency. The focus of this study is to analyze the general behavior of insurance agents towards job satisfaction, which may build higher levels of organizational commitment. This study is done based on Herzberg’s two- factor theory and more specifically, on Motivators factor. The findings of this project will help agency manager to understand the current level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment of agents towards their agency. Besides that, suggestions also will be given based on the result of the findings. If the satisfaction level and organizational commitment of insurance agents is low and then many suggestion will be given to solve the problem. If it is otherwise, suggestion will be to maintain or improve further the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the agents. By this, the agency manager gets suggestions to solve job satisfaction and organizational commitment problem if any or to improve them further. Methodology Numerous of methods are to be used to identify the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the agents. The method are as followed: Survey A survey was done with insurance agents from Devaraj Agency. The purpose of this survey is to find out the current level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the insurance agents. The survey would had 56 questions related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Interviews An Interview has been held with agency manager and few insurance agents. The purpose of interviewing agency manager is to get information about the human resource strategy, annual turnover rate and his perception on agent’s job satisfaction and organizational commitment. External sources The external sources were used in this research. The external sources were Internet and printed materials. These materials were very useful in doing literature review about job satisfaction, organizational commitment and the relationship of them. Introduction Devaraj Agency is one of the oldest Indian insurance agencies in ING Company. The main role of this agency is to sell the insurance as well as investment products of ING Bhd through direct selling techniques. Up to now, 100 over people working as insurance agents in this agency. However, there was no attempt has been taken to measure the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the agents in this agency. Job satisfaction means ‘a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences. (Locke, 1976). According to Porter (1968), organizational Commitment is a willingness of employees to exert high levels of effort on behalf of the organization, a strong desire to remain in the organization, and an acceptance of the organization’s major goals and values. It is important for Devaraj Agency to learn about job satisfaction and organizational commitment of its insurance agents because if agents satisfied with their job, they will have high commitment on their agency and that translate into high job performance and low absenteeism. Literature review Job satisfaction and organizational commitment receive considerable attention from industrial and organizational psychologists, management scientists, and sociologists. Three thousand studies had been done on job satisfaction alone by the time Locke prepared his study nearly 20 years ago (Locke, 1976). The interest of analyzing job satisfaction and organizational commitment stems from the concern of the behavioral consequences that hypothesized result in job satisfaction and/or organizational commitment. Among other topics, job satisfaction and/or organizational commitment have been shown or argued to be related to productivity, attendance at work, turnover, retirement, participation, labor militancy, sympathy for unions, and psychological withdrawal from work. Job Satisfaction According to Locke (1976, p. 300), job satisfaction is ‘a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences. There are many researchers found that Herzberg’s Two-factor motivation Theory is related with employees’ job satisfaction when apply intrinsic motivator (Cesare and Sadri, 2003;Hellriegel and Slocum, 1998; Slocum and Helliegel, 2009). The intrinsic or motivator factors consist of responsibility, recognition, advancement, ach ievement, and work itself (Slocum and Helliegel, 2009; Furnham et al. , 2009). Intrinsic motivator factor is one of the variables that use to find out the positive relationship with job satisfaction (Bhuian and Mengue, 2002). Shaffer et al. (2000) suggested that the satisfaction of work itself relate with job satisfaction while see job satisfactions itself as an individual enjoys on their job which is very much related on the classification of nature of work itself (Pool and Pool, 2006; Couger, 1988 cited in Thatcher, et al. , 2002). Besides this, Herzberg stated in his two factors theory that there are two categorizes of motives for the employees known as satisfiers and dissatisfiers. He related intrinsic factors with job satisfaction and extrinsic factors with dissatisfaction (Gagne, 200; Sarmad, 2007). Organizational Commitment Organizational commitment has been defined more pragmatically by Porter (1968), who holds that it consists of a willingness of employees to exert high levels of effort on behalf of the organization, a strong desire to remain in the organization, and an acceptance of the organization’s major goals and values. Organizational commitment of the employees has been measured in several different ways and it has been related with many job related variables. Allen & Meyer (1990) developed a measure of organizational commitment with three major components: Affective component of organizational commitment refers to employees’ emotional attachment, identification and involvement in the organization; the Continuance component refers to commitment based on the costs that employees associate with leaving the organization; and Normative commitment reflects an employee’s feeling of obligation to remain with the organization. Link between job satisfaction and organizational Commitment Job satisfaction has been associated with organizational commitment (Boles, et al. 2007; Pool and Pool, 2007; Brown and Peterson, 1993), which is broadly defined as the â€Å"psychological bond between people and organizations† (Buchanan 1974; Tett and Meyer, 1993). The study of Klaus, et al. , (2003) found that there is an effect of work challenging (intrinsic motivation) as a work nature, which can impact on affective organizational commitment . According to Steinhaus & Perry (1996) committed and satisfied employees are unlikely to indicate low performance and are normally highly productive who identify with organizational goals and organizational values (Churchill et al. , (1993). Similarly, if employees are highly satisfied with their work, promotion chances and that derive high level of overall job satisfaction with their jobs they are more likely to be committed to the organization than if they are not satisfied. The focus on this concept was not over stated because job satisfaction and commitment are primary determinants of employee turnover, performance, and productivity (Opkara, 2004). Beside that, Balfour and Wechsler (1996) pointed out that overall organizational commitment is an appropriate and significant aspect to focus for organizational productivity and performance. Ayeni and Phopoola (2007) also have found that there is a strong relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. According to them Job satisfaction is mostly determine how well the organization meets employees expectations. According to Cote & Heslin (2003). Findings The job satisfaction and organizational commitment survey has been done with the insurance agents in two weekly meetings held in ING Damansara office and ING Klang office. All insurance agents attended the meeting participated in this survey. In total, the survey form had 47 questions including three demographic questions. It was divided into three sections. The first section was contained 36 questions about job satisfaction. The second section contained 8 questions about organizational commitment. The third section contained 3 questions about demographic. All questions of job satisfaction in this survey were originally derived from the job satisfaction survey form developed by Paul E. Spector. The survey form contained 36 questions of both motivator and hygiene factor. The questions related to motivator factor ware given utmost importance in this survey compared to the questions of hygiene factors because motivator factor leads to job satisfaction but hygiene factor does not and it leads to job dissatisfaction. The question number 2,5,8,11,14,17,19,20,24,27,31,32,33 and 35 in the survey had been identified as motivator factor related questions while the other questions were related to hygiene factor. The rating scale used for job satisfaction survey was a 6-point scale which ranging from â€Å"disagrees very much† to â€Å"agree very much†. The survey questions of organizational commitment were taken from the affective commitment related questions in Allen and Meyer’s Organizational Commitment Scale. Allen and Meyer’s organizational commitment scale’ original 7 point scale has been modified in this survey to 6 points scales by removing neither agree or disagree option. It is to get more accurate answers from the participants. The modified scale ranging from (1) disagrees very much to (6) agree very much. Findings of demographic In total, 56 insurance agents participated in this questionnaire. Out of 56 espondents, 36 respondents were male while 20 respondents were female. The majority of the respondents participated in this survey were aged between 30 to 39 years old. The age of other respondents were 16 respondents were between 20 to 29 years old, 12 respondents were between 40 to 49 years old and 12 respondents were between 50 to 59 years old. The race of participants did not ask in this questionn aire because Deveraj Agency is the Indian agency and all agents should be Indians. Majority of respondents (16 respondents) said their income range was between RM 4,100 to RM 5,000. The income range of others was 12 respondents was between RM2,100 to RM3,000, 8 respondents was between RM 3,100 to RM4,000, 8 respondents was more than RM5,000 and 4 respondents was between RM1,000 to RM 2,000. Findings of Job satisfaction on motivator factor The findings of Job satisfaction on motivator factor| No| | Disagree very much| Disagree moderately| Disagree slightly| Agree slightly| Agree moderately| Agree very much| 2| There is really too little chance for promotion on my job. | 28| 5| 3| 4| 7| 9| 5| When I do a good job, I receive the recognition for it that I should receive. 0| 0| 0| 5| 9| 42| 8| I sometimes feel my job is meaningless. | 23| 10| 0| 7| 16| 0| 11| Those who do well on the job stand a fair chance of being promoted. | 4| 7| 9| 0| 5| 31| 14| I do not feel that the work I do is appreciated. | 16| 17| 3| 18| 0| 2| 17| I like doing the things I do at work. | 4| 0| 0| 2| 14| 36| 19 | I feel unappreciated by the organization when I think about what they pay me. | 24| 10| 7| 3| 8| 0| 20| People get ahead as fast here as they do in other places. | 7| 0| 9| 16| 19| 17| 24| I have too much to do at work. | 6| 6| 2| 22| 5| 15| 27| I feel a sense of pride in doing my job. 0| 3| 0| 0| 34| 19| 31| I have too much paperwork. | 2| 11| 0| 26| 9| 8| 32| I don't feel my efforts are rewarded the way they should be. | 25| 12| 4| 4| 5| 6| 33| I am satisfied with my chances for promotion. | 0| 0| 0| 12| 10| 36| 35| My job is enjoyable. | 0| 8| 0| 3| 10| 35| The findings of Job satisfaction on motivator factor| No| | Agree| Disagree| 2| There is really too little chance for promotion on my job. | 34%| 66%| 5| When I do a good job, I receive the recognition for it that I should receive. | 100%| 0%| 8| I sometimes feel my job is meaningless. 33%| 67%| 11| Those who do well on the job stand a fair chance of being promoted. | 64%| 36%| 14| I do not feel that the work I do is appreciated. | 36%| 64%| 17| I like doing the things I do at work. | 93%| 7%| 19 | I fee l unappreciated by the organization when I think about what they pay me. | 27%| 73%| 20| People get ahead as fast here as they do in other places. | 71%| 29%| 24| I have too much to do at work. | 75%| 25%| 27| I feel a sense of pride in doing my job. | 93%| 7%| 31| I have too much paperwork. | 71%| 29%| 32| I don't feel my efforts are rewarded the way they should be. 29%| 71%| 33| I am satisfied with my chances for promotion. | 100%| 0%| 35| My job is enjoyable. | 86%| 14%| The findings of the statements that related to motivator factors in the job satisfaction survey as followed: 2) There is really too little chance for promotion on my job. Higher percentage of respondents (66 percent) said disagrees to the statement if compared to the number of respondent said agree (34 percent). The large number of respondents (28 respondents) said they â€Å"disagrees very much† to the statement. 5) When I do a good job, I receive the recognition for it that I should receive. For this statement, the 100 percent of respondents said that they agree that when they do a good job, they receive the recognition that they should receive. The higher number of respondent (42 respondents) said they â€Å"agree very much† to the statement. 8) I sometimes feel my job is meaningless Percentages of respondents (67 percent) disagree to the statement, which was higher than the percentages of respondents agree (33 percent). From the 67 percent of respondents said agree, the highest number of respondents (23 respondents) responded as â€Å"disagree very much† 11) Those who do well on he job stand a fair chance of being promoted. The percentage of respondent agree and disagree to the statement was (64 percent) agree and 36 percent of respondent said disagree. So, the percentage of respondents who said agree was higher than the percentage of respondent said disagree. Most number of respondent (31 respondent) said that they â€Å"agree very much† to the st atement. 14) I do not feel that the work I do is appreciated. For this statement, 64 percentage of respondents said that they disagree while 36 percentage of respondent said agree. So the percentage of respondents who disagree that they do not feel that the work they do is appreciated was higher than the percentage of respondent who agree. 17) I like doing the things I do at work. The majority of respondent in percentage said they agree that they like the things they do at work were 93 percent. Only 7 percentage of respondent said that they disagree to the statement. â€Å"Agree very much† option received most number of responses from the respondents (36 responses) if compared to the other four options. 19) I feel unappreciated by the organization when I think about what they pay me. For this negative statement, higher percentage of respondents (73 percent) disagree if compared to the percentage of respondent (27 percent) agree. The large number of respondent who said disagree were disagree very much (24 respondents). 20) People get ahead as fast here as they do in other places. The response for this positive statement was positive where 71 percent of respondent said agree. The percent of respondent said disagree was 29 percent. The highest number of respondent answered to the statement as they agree moderately and that followed by agree slightly and agree very much. 4) I have too much to do at work. For this statement, the percentage of respondents (75 percent)who said, â€Å"Agree† is higher than the percentage of respondents(25 percent) who said, â€Å"Disagree†. The highest number of respondent (22 respondents) responded as â€Å"agree slightly†. 27) I feel a sense of pride in doing my job. The large percentages of respondents (93 percent ) said agree to the statement while only small percentages of respondents (7 percent) disagree to the statement. So when compare the response received to the five scales for this statement, the scale â€Å"agree moderately† received highest response. 1) I have too much paperwork For this negative statement, higher percentages of respondent (71 percent) said agree that they have to do too much paperwork. Only lower percentage of respondents (29 percent) said that they disagree to the statement. Most respondent agree to this statement were agree slightly (26 respondents). 32) I don't feel my efforts are rewarded the way they should be For this statement, higher percentages of respondent disagree to the statement than agree. The percentage of disagree and agree was 71 percent and 29 percent respectively. The high response of respondents for â€Å"disagree† was received for â€Å"disagree very much†(26 responses). 33) I am satisfied with my chances for promotion. All responses received for this statement was positive where the percentage of respondents who said agree was 100 percent. None of the participant disagree to this statement. The high response of respondent for â€Å" agree† was received to â€Å"agree very much†(36 respondents) 35) My job is enjoyable. For this statement, the percentage of respondent who agree was (86%) which is far higher than the percentage of respondent (14%) who said disagree. The majority of respondent (35 respondents)who said agree, responded as â€Å"agree very much†. Findings of job satisfaction on hygiene factor The findings of hygiene factor related questions were also included in this paper. This finding was not used in this paper to discuss about job satisfaction because they are not related to job satisfaction but instead they are related to job dissatisfaction. But, this finding was used to identify the job dissatisfaction level of the insurance agent in Devaraj Agency. Based on the outcome, recommendation will be given if there are any hygiene factor related problems. The findings of Job satisfaction for hygiene factor| No| | Disagree very much| Disagree moderately| Disagree slightly| Agree slightly| Agree moderately| Agree very much| 1| I feel I am being paid a fair amount for the work I do. | 8| 0| 0| 8| 8| 32| 3| My supervisor is quite competent in doing his/her job. | 4| 0| 5| 3| 24| 20| 4| I am not satisfied with the benefits I receive. | 30| 0| 8| 14| 0| 4| 6| Many of our rules and procedures make doing a good job difficult. | 4| 12| 7| 9| 14| 10| 7| I like the people I work with. 3| 0| 0| 13| 8| 32| 9| Communications seem good within this organization. | 0| 0| 0| 8| 8| 40| 10| Raises are too few and far between. | 24| 12| 0| 0| 16| 4| 12| My supervisor is unfair to me. | 32| 0| 12| 8| 4| 0| 13| The benefits we receive are as good as most other organizations offer. | 4| 15| 0| 5| 20| 12| 15| My efforts to do a good job are seldom blocked by red tape. | 16| 8| 8| 12| 12| 0| 16| I find I have to work harder at my job because of the incompetenc e of people I work with. | 8| 0| 0| 8| 16| 24| 18| The goals of this organization are not clear to me. 35| 4| 0| 8| 7| 0| 21| My supervisor shows too little interest in the feelings of subordinates. | 34| 7| 2| 7| 6| 0| 22| The benefit package we have is equitable. | 0| 0| 14| 2| 16| 20| 23| There are few rewards for those who work here. | 3| 16| 1| 27| 4| 5| 25| I enjoy my coworkers. | 0| 4| 0| 12| 12| 28| 26| I often feel that I do not know what is going on with the organization. | 26| 7| 3| 13| 3| 4| 28| I feel satisfied with my chances for salary increases. | 0| 4| 0| 8| 12| 32| 29| There are benefits we do not have which we should have. 8| 5| 12| 14| 10| 7| 30| I like my supervisor. | 2| 0| 0| 7| 5| 42| 34| There is too much bickering and fighting at work. | 20| 13| 2| 7| 3| 11| 36| Work assignments are not fully explained. | 16| 17| 4| 4| 12| 3| | | | | | | | | The findings of Job satisfaction for hygiene factor| No| | Agree| Disagree| 1| I feel I am being paid a fair amount f or the work I do. | 48| 8| 3| My supervisor is quite competent in doing his/her job. | 47| 9| 4| I am not satisfied with the benefits I receive. | 18| 38| 6| Many of our rules and procedures make doing a good job difficult. 33| 23| 7| I like the people I work with. | 3| 52| 9| Communications seem good within this organization. | 56| 0| 10| Raises are too few and far between. | 20| 36| 12| My supervisor is unfair to me. | 12| 44| 13| The benefits we receive are as good as most other organizations offer. | 43| 13| 15| My efforts to do a good job are seldom blocked by red tape. | 24| 32| 16| I find I have to work harder at my job because of the incompetence of people I work with. | 38| 8| 18| The goals of this organization are not clear to me. 15| 41| 21| My supervisor shows too little interest in the feelings of subordinates. | 13| 43| 22| The benefit package we have is equitable. | 46| 10| 23| There are few rewards for those who work here. | 36| 20| 25| I enjoy my coworkers. | 52| 4| 26| I often feel that I do not know what is going on with the organization. | 20| 36| 28| I feel satisfied with my chances for salary increases. | 52| 4| 29| There are benefits we do not have which we should have. | 33| 23| 30| I like my supervisor. | 54| 2| 34| There is too much bickering and fighting at work. 21| 35| 36| Work assignments are not fully explained. | 19| 37| Overall, job dissatisfaction of insurance agents in Devaraj Agency is low. The evident is that the respondents responded positively to 22 statements in the hygiene related job satisfaction questionnaire but only for 3 statements they respondent negatively. Findings of Organizational Commitment Findings of Organizational Commitment Survey (Affective Commitment)| No| | Disagree very much| Disagree moderately| Disagree slightly| Agree slightly| Agree moderately| Agree very much| 1| It would e very hard for me to leave my agency right now, even if I wanted to| 2| 0| 5| 7| 10| 32| 2| I do not feel any obligation to r emain with my current employer| 24| 13| 7| 0| 0| 12| 3| I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this agency| 0| 0| 4| 0| 7| 45| 4| Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave my agency now| 5| 0| 3| 9| 15| 24| 5| I really feel as if this agency’s problems are my own| 6| 6| 0| 5| 24| 15| 6| Right now, staying with my agency is a matter of necessity as much as desire| 0| 0| 3| 12| 24| 17| 7| I do not feel a strong sense of â€Å"belonging† to my agency| 16| 14| 4| 12| 7| 3| 8| I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this agency| 16| 2| 0| 25| 7| 8| Findings of Organizational Commitment Survey (Affective Commitment)| No| | Agree| Disagree| | It would be very hard for me to leave my agency right now, even if I wanted to| 88%| 12%| 2| I do not feel any obligation to remain with my current employer| 21%| 79%| 3| I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this agency| 93%| 7%| 4| Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave my agency now| 68%| 32%| 5| I really feel as if this agency’s problems are my own| 79%| 21%| 6| Right now, staying with my agency is a matter of necessity as much as desire| 95%| 5%| 7| I do not feel a strong sense of â€Å"belonging† to my agency| 39%| 61%| 8| I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this agency| 29| 71%| For the first question of organizational commitment, 88 percent of respondents said that they wound not leave the agency right now even if they wanted but only 12 percent of respondents said they would. The large numbers of respondents (32 respondents) â€Å"agree very much† that they would not leave the agency if they wanted also. The next question was â€Å"I do not feel any obligation to remain with my current employer†. 79 percent of respondents said that they disagree to the statement and said that they do have the feeling of obligation to remain with their current employer. The number of respondents who â€Å"disagree very much† to the statement (24 respondents) was higher than the total number of respondents who said they â€Å"agree slightly†, â€Å"agree moderately† and â€Å"agree very much†. For the statement â€Å"I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this agency†, 93 percentage of respondents said agree while 7 percent of respondents said disagree. So, the number of respondents who said agree is higher than the number of respondents who said disagree. Out of the 93 percentage of respondents, the highest numbers of respondents (45 respondents) â€Å"agree very much† than agree slightly or agree moderately. The statement â€Å"Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave my agency now† received higher number of agree as response than disagree from the participants. The percentage of respondents who said agree and disagree was 68 percent of respondents said agree and 32 percent of respondents said disagree. Most respondents â€Å"agree moderately† and â€Å"agree very much† to the statement. The fifth statement in the organizational commitment questionnaire â€Å"I really feel as if this agency’s problems are my own, 79 percent of respondent said they agree they do feel the agency’s problem as their problem while 21 percent of respondents said they do not feel so. Thus, the number of respondent agree to the statement is higher than the respondents who disagree. Similar to the previous statement, most respondents â€Å"agree moderately† and â€Å"agree very much† to this statement. The next statement was â€Å"Right now, staying with my agency is a matter of necessity as much as desire†. For this statement also the majority of respondents said that they agree that staying with this agency is a matter of necessity as much as desire. The percentage of respondent who said agree and disagree was 95 percent of respondents said agree while only 5 percent of respondents said disagree. Of 95 percent of respondents, the largest number of respondents said that they agree moderately and that followed by â€Å"agree very much† and then â€Å"agree slightly†. For the statement â€Å"I do not feel a strong sense of â€Å"belonging† to my agency, the number of respondents who disagree is higher than the respondents who agree. 39 percent of respondents and 61 percent of respondents said agree and disagree respectively to the statement. The number of respondents â€Å"disagree very much† to the statement. The last statement was â€Å"I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this agency†. Higher percent of respondent (71 percent of respondents) answered as disagree and said that there are many options available out there to consider if they wanted to leave the agency but 29 percent of respondents said disagree and support the statement. However, most respondents just â€Å" agree slightly† to the statement. Findings from interview Based on the interview with Mr Devaraj, the information of the average agents’ performance, overall agency’s performance and turnover rate has been collected. The average agent’s performance level from January 2011 to 9 November 2011 was 69 percent. He also said that the major contributor for the higher average agent’s performance level was a small number of high performers. Besides that, he said the overall agency’s performance was 71 percent. It enabled Deveraj Agency to still hold on the title of top Indian agency in Klang Valley, which it was defending more than 5 consecutive years. Besides that, he said turnover rate of insurance agent was a major problem. The average annual turnover was 6 % percent. The major contributor to this turnover was new insurance agent because when they find hard to sell insurance products, they quit the job. The turnover of senior agents was not even 0. 5 percent of annual turnover. Result of the findings The relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment has been proven once again through this research. According to the findings, the job satisfaction of the insurance agents in Devaraj Agency is high. The proof is the result of motivator factor questions in the job satisfaction questionnaire. There was 13 motivator factor related questions in the questionnaire. Out of the 13 questions, for 11 questions the insurance agents responded positively while only for 1 question they responded negatively. Positive response means the insurance agents agree to the positive statement about job satisfaction and disagree to negative statement. Example of positive statement in this job satisfaction questionnaire is â€Å"I am satisfied with my chances for promotion. † The overall response of respondents to this positive statement was positive means they gree to the statement. Negative response means the insurance agents disagree to positive statement and agree to negative statement. Example of negative statement in job satisfaction questionnaire that received positive response from respondent s was â€Å"I have too much paperwork†. It means the respondent agree to the negative statement. Overall, positive response to the questionnaire is higher than the negative response. It means that insurance agents were highly satisfied with their job. As the respondents responded positively to the job satisfaction questionnaire, the same way they responded positively to organizational commitment questionnaire. In the organizational commitment questionnaire, there were 8 statement related to affective commitment. Out of the 8 statements, the respondents responded positively to all the statements. An example of positive statement and positive response was â€Å"It would be very hard for me to leave my agency right now, even if I wanted to† is the positive statement and the positive response is 85. 7% of respondents said agree to the statement. Similarly, the example of negative statement and negative response is I do not feel any obligation to remain with my current employer was the negative statement and negative response was 78. 6% of respondents said disagree to the statement. The negative statement and negative response shows positive response toward organizational commitment. Based on job satisfaction and organizational commitment questionnaire result, it is proven that there is a strong relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. So, if job satisfaction of an employee is high, the organizational commitment also high. It is what happened in Devaraj agency; the job satisfaction of the insurance agents was high so the organizational commitment also high. Due to the higher organization commitment, the average job performance of the insurance agents was as high as 69% and average agency performance was as high as 87% and turnover rate was as low as 6% low annually. So, the high organizational commitment of an insurance agent will result in higher job performance, higher overall agency performance and lower turnover rate. Limitation There were two limitations in my research. The first limitation was that not all insurance agents in Devaraj Agency have taken the job satisfaction and organizational commitment survey. The survey only have been done with the agents attended the meeting. So the result of the survey could not be guaranteed, as 100% accurate as the views of the insurance agents who did not attend meeting were not taken. The second limitation in my research was that the connection of job satisfaction leads to organizational commitment could not be proven through the help of job satisfaction and organizational commitment questionnaire. But the relationship of job satisfaction and organizational commitment has been proved in a way that if job satisfaction of an employee is high, the organizational commitment is also high and it is otherwise if the job satisfaction is low. Recommendation Recommendations were done based on the problem identified through job satisfaction and organizational commitment questionnaire. 1) Hiring more clerical staff Based on the job satisfaction questionnaire, most insurance agents responded that they have to do too much paperwork. It may affect the agents’ job satisfaction. So Devaraj Agency should hire more clerical staff to help the insurance agents to do the paperwork. 2) Revise current code of procedure Many respondents said through the questionnaire that they are not happy with their current rules and procedures because they make their job difficult. So, the agency manager should bring this issue to ING management and find ways to solve this problem. Revising current rules and procedure would be ideal solution. 3) Introduce more monetary benefits Many insurance agents expressed their concern that there are benefits they do not have which they should have. The benefits such as petro allowance and toll allowance is given to sales people from other company but ING Bhd do not give such benefits to its insurance agents. So Devaraj Agency should bring this issue to ING management. Conclusion The relationship of job satisfaction and organizational commitment has been proved through literature review and from my research on Devaraj Agency. The result showed that there are strong relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Overall, the job satisfaction of insurance agents in Devaraj Agency is high and organizational commitment is also high. There was also relationship between organizational commitment and job performance, turnover rate and agency performance. It was also proved where the job performance, turnover rate and agency performance was high because the organizational commitment of insurance agents was high. Reference Appendix JOB SATISFACTION SURVEY| PLEASE CIRCLE THE ONE NUMBER FOR EACH QUESTION THAT COMES CLOSEST TO REFLECTING YOUR OPINIONABOUT IT. | Disagree very muchDisagree moderatelyDisagree slightlyAgree slightlyAgree moderatelyAgree very much| 1 | I feel I am being paid a fair amount for the work I do. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 2| There is rea lly too little chance for promotion on my job. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 3| My supervisor is quite competent in doing his/her job. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 4 | I am not satisfied with the benefits I receive. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 5| When I do a good job, I receive the recognition for it that I should receive. 1 2 3 4 5 6| 6| Many of our rules and procedures make doing a good job difficult. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 7| I like the people I work with. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 8| I sometimes feel my job is meaningless. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 9| Communications seem good within this organization. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 10| Raises are too few and far between. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 11| Those who do well on the job stand a fair chance of being promoted. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 12| My supervisor is unfair to me. 1 2 3 4 5 6| 13| The benefits we receive are as good as most other organizations offer. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 14| I do not feel that the work I do is appreciated. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 15| My efforts to do a good job are seldom blocked by red tape. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 16| I find I h ave to work harder at my job because of the incompetence of people I work with. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 17| I like doing the things I do at work. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 18| The goals of this organization are not clear to me. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| PLEASE CIRCLE THE ONE NUMBER FOR EACH QUESTION THAT COMES CLOSEST TO REFLECTING YOUR OPINIONABOUT IT. | Disagree very muchDisagree moderatelyDisagree slightlyAgree slightlyAgree moderatelyAgree very much| 19 | I feel unappreciated by the organization when I think about what they pay me. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 20| People get ahead as fast here as they do in other places. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 21| My supervisor shows too little interest in the feelings of subordinates. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 22| The benefit package we have is equitable. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 23| There are few rewards for those who work here. 1 2 3 4 5 6| 24| I have too much to do at work. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 25| I enjoy my coworkers. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 26| I often feel that I do not know what is going on with the organization. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 27| I feel a sense of pride in doing my job. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 28| I feel satisfied with my chances for salary increases. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 29| There are benefits we do not have which we should have. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 30| I like my supervisor. 1 2 3 4 5 6| 31| I have too much paperwork. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 32| I don't feel my efforts are rewarded the way they should be. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 33| I am satisfied with my chances for promotion. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 34| There is too much bickering and fighting at work. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 35| My job is enjoyable. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 36| Work assignments are not fully explained. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT SURVEY| | PLEASE CIRCLE THE ONE NUMBER FOR EACH QUESTION THAT COMES CLOSEST TO REFLECTING YOUR OPINIONABOUT IT. Disagree very muchDisagree moderatelyDisagree slightlyAgree slightlyAgree moderatelyAgree very much| 1| It would be very hard for me to leave my agency right now, even if I wanted to| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 2| I do not feel any obligation to remain with m y current employer| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 3| I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this agency| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 4| Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave my agency now| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 5| I really feel as if this agency’s problems are my own| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 6| Right now, staying with my agency is a matter of necessity as much as desire| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 7| I do not feel a strong sense of â€Å"belonging† to my agency| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 8| I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this agency| 1 2 3 4 5 6| Demographic questions Personal Particulars Are you Male or Female? (a) Male (b) Female What is your age? (a) 11 to 19 years old (b) 20 to 29 years old (c) 30 to 39 years old (d) 40 to 49 years old (e) 50 to 59 years old (f) 60 years old and above What is your income? a) Less than RM1000 (b) RM1000 to RM2000 (c) RM2100 to RM3000 (d) RM 3100 to RM4000 (e) RM4100 to RM5000 (f) More than RM5000 Reference 1) Noor Harun, A. K. & Noo r Hasrul N. M. N. (2007). Evaluating the psychometric properties of allen and meyer’s organizational commitment scale: A cross culture application among Malaysian academic librarians. Malaysian Journal of Library & information science, 11(1), Retrieved from http://myjurnal. um. edu. my/filebank/published_article/2034/360. pdf. 2) Price, James L & Mueller, C. W. (1997, October). Measures of job satisfaction Retrieved 7 October 2011 from http://home. ubalt. edu/tmitch/641/jsscales. htm ) Shrivastava. A and Purang. P. (2009). Employee Perceptions of job satisfaction: Comparative study on Indian banks. Asian Academy of Management Journal, 14(2), Retrieved from http://web. usm. my/aamj/14. 2. 2009/AAMJ_14. 2. 4. pdf. 4) Shrivastava. A and Purang. P. (2009). Employee Perceptions of job satisfaction: Comparative study on Indian banks. Asian Academy of Management Journal, 14(2), Retrieved from http://web. usm. my/aamj/14. 2. 2009/AAMJ_14. 2. 4. pdf. 5) Sangroengrob. T. Techachaicherd choo. The impact of employee’s satisfaction, organization commitment and work commitment to turnover intention: A case study of IT outsourcing company in Thailand. Retrived from http://bai-conference. org/files/BAI2010%20Proceeding/Papers/7. OB&HRM/7204. pdf 6) Samad. S, (2011). The Effects of Job Satisfaction on Organizational Commitment and Job Performance Relationship: A Case of Managers in Malaysia’s Manufacturing Companies. European Journal of Social Sciences, 18(4). Retrieved from http://www. eurojournals. com/EJSS_18_4_11. pdf 7) Padala. S. R,(2011). Employees’ Job Satisfactions and Organisational Commitment in Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited, India. International Research Journal of Management and Business Studies, 1(1). Retrieved from http://interesjournals. org/IRJMBS/pdf/2011/February/Padala. pdf

Classical Approach to Management Essay

The classical school of thought, established in the late nineteenth century, was composed of the writers who first contributed to organisational theory. Over the last one hundred years, the perception on management has evolved significantly. However many of the original views devised by the classical theorists are still evident. The theories formulated by Henri Fayol, Max Weber and Frederick W Taylor focus predominantly on efficiency, leading to a rational perspective on management and organisations. This essay will discuss the opinions portrayed by these writers and demonstrate that their approach remains relevant today. Henri Fayol suggested management should be classified as a separate activity in business. Within this managerial class he composed five primary objectives that managers should follow and adhere to. These were to plan and forecast, organise, command, co-ordinate and control. He also determined fourteen principles of management, which included specialisation, authority and unity of command. Fayol’s approach seemed very logical and rational, regarding management as a science – something that could be taught. He believed his principles could be educated to managers and as a result, encourage them to manage more efficiently. Fayol was a lucrative businessperson and his research was based upon this success. This led others to believe his findings were more plausible. Fayol’s work could be deemed as being too idealistic and to a certain extent some of his principles could be classed as being rather old-fashioned. Much of his work is based upon the assumption of compliant labour, however in this modern century employees are not always happy to oblige to new procedures or regulations. On the other hand, his identification of distinct managerial activities is still able to influence modern day managers. His principles can be commonly found in twenty first century organisations. The specialisation of labour sees large corporations broken down into smaller departments such as marketing, finance and human relations whilst remuneration of personnel sees workers being rewarded in the form of wages and bonuses for their efforts. Although Fayol’s observations were derived from an economy dissimilar to our present one, his efforts very much provide the basic building blocks to the more modern and dynamic style of management. Max Weber was concerned with the structure of authority and identified three sources. Firstly, charismatic authority, often indicated by politicians, is when a person is able to persuade others through their personality. Secondly traditional authority, when authority is passed on from one generation to the next, is frequently seen in monarchies and family run firms. Thirdly rational-legal authority, when an individual has power through the position they hold due to experience or ability. It is the last example, Rational-legal, which is the main form of authority in modern society. Weber is responsible for introducing the term â€Å"bureaucracy†, a type of organisational structure, which has been developed from the principles of rational-legal authority. Although a bureaucratic organisation repels the use of charismatic authority and has a definitive hierarchical structure, there tends to be a high level of efficiency because workers are normally following a designated set of tasks whilst adhering to set rules. This can particularly be seen in large fast food chains e. g.  McDonald’s and Burger King, whereby employees have different roles within the organisation which contributes towards a sustained level of efficiency and productively. Work is centred on achieving goals instead of the need to innovate and be creative. Other examples are government organisations, the military or large monopolistic companies such as royal mail, which all focus greatly on specialisation and efficiency. Weber’s approach to management is shown in today’s police force, which has a definitive authority structure and is effective at delivering a productive service to society. Frederick W Taylor developed ideas on scientific management. He conducted numerous experiments on activities such as shovelling and bricklaying, in order to maximise efficiency and productivity throughout the workplace. He achieved this by simplifying procedures and enhancing specific variables in order to ascertain an optimum level. Taylor’s efforts are evident within the Bethlehem Steel works, where productivity was increased by four hundred per cent. There is a great degree of controversy surrounding Taylor’s theories, the main criticism being his dehumanising approach. Workers are often likened to resources, a lack of regard is experienced towards their feelings and the opportunity for individuality is limited. However, his findings do lead to efficient production levels and wages are distributed accordingly to performance levels. The quotation â€Å"a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work†, often expressed by Taylor, is limited in modern times due to the introduction of a minimum wage. However, remuneration is achieved in the form of bonuses. There is a lot of evidence of Taylorism being used by a wide variety of industries in the twenty first century. The McDonald’s franchise is a modern example of a corporation who operates using scientific management. The roles and tasks to be undertaken are made clear to staff and the process of ordering and supplying a good to the consumer remains the same in every single outlet. The service provided by the staff, outlet and ultimately brand, remains consistent. Taylor’s theories have also been closely linked to Henry Ford and in modern automobile production plants, as well as call centres, fast food chains and countless other mass-produced goods such as computers  Although the classical school were dominant in a previous century, much of their work is still evident in contemporary management styles; in particular Henri Fayol’s and Frederick Taylor’s. The ideas put forward by the classical theorists were in effect, a set of rules on how to manage. There is little room for flexibility, which is not the case in this modern economy – which is very dynamic. Companies are focused on globalisation, consumers have different desires and needs, attitudes towards careers have changed and technological advancements have led to people being replaced by machines to complete simple or tedious tasks. With that being said, the classical school has a huge influence on the way managers behave in today’s society. Fayol’s five managerial objectives are repeated throughout the office and the scientific approach is frequently seen by planning tasks and assigning them to individuals who are most appropriate for them. The classical approach has provided a fundamental basis for management, not only in the past and present but also for the future.