THE IMPACT OF REMUNERATIONS AND WORKING CONDITIONS ON ORGANIZATIONS PRODUCTIVITY

(A CASE STUDY OF LIFE BREWERY ONITSHA) 

INTRODUCTION

Remuneration is an important instrument that can insert into the workers, the strong effect to bring out their best in order to attain organizational objective.  Remuneration is concerned with the wage and salary administration for various jobs within particular organizations in other words remuneration is a form of compensation given to workers in exchange for work they performed.  Compensation is grouped into direct and indirect.

Direct compensation is the financial payment made at the time work is performed examples of direct compensation are wages, salaries, overtime pay, commission and bonuses.  Wages are usually distinguished from salaries and refer to direct compensation received by a worker paid according to hourly rates.

A worker paid on monthly, semi-monthly or weekly basics received a salary.  Workers receiving a salary receive their pay according to the specific number of hours they work.  Besides, wages and salaries, workers are also compensated for their efforts by certain benefits such benefits are paid during vacation days and holidays.  Health care, insurance and pensions are forms of indirect compensation.  Before remuneration can make an employee to work very well, it must have to be interns of the effort the job needs in other words a motivating remuneration is the one that is equitable to workers contribution towards the achievement of the organization’s objectives.

Therefore, a fair remuneration programme is one that responsive to this managerial and economic objective and ensures acquisition and maintenance of a regular adequate supply of labour for the worker not to feel cheated for a remuneration scheme to satisfy or favour the workers, it must embrace the following:-

1.                 Periodic review of organization’s wages/salary structure to be in tune with the changing nature of the environment.

2.                 control of differential rates of pay and evaluation of individual and group performance for equitable compensation, through such schemes as incentive payments, merits rating group bonus, overtime payment e.t.c.

just as better working conditions and equitable remunerations make workers to be effective and efficient in the same manner, poor working conditions and inequitable remunerations make workers to be ineffective and inefficient as a result of the uncared attitudes they might put up.

1.1            BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The term “working condition” is very wide.  It is wide in the sense that it involves diverse aspects of administration and management, such aspects as office environment, office communication, and motivation e.t.c.

Office environment as factor of working condition affect the performance of workers.  Workers today are more educated than before they are likely to raise questions about their environment of work, since, management is in itself a dynamic process, it has to support and address itself to the provision of good environment of work for workers for increased productivity.

Some of the internal conditions suitable for office environment include:-

1.       Cleanliness:-        For good health of workers and extension of life and conditions of equipment.

2.       Avoidance of other crowding:-       This permits free movement of both workers and materials as well as enhances effective operational processes.

3.       Temperature:-     Workers and certain machines are successful in cool or air-conditioner offices than in hot and noisy areas.

4.       Ventilation:-        Good ventilation is relevant and necessary for effective office work adequate number of windows that can allow enough into the office is preferred.

5.       Sanitary convenience:- Workers at work need toilets, wash hand basins, water towel, soap etc. for their convenience.

6.       Light:-        The offices should be adequately light to assist workers especially during clouding periods and peak periods when they have to stay far into the evening.

7.       Office premises:- Consideration should be given to banks, post offices restaurants, markets, customers etc.

All the above conditions it well provided for the workers, definitely their performance will be improved by a certain percentage.

Besides the condition of offices the organization should also be responsible in provision of the residential apartment of workers and unhealthy and poor residence can make workers to be unhealthy likewise a worker can only be able to put up his or her best when he or she is healthy.  Therefore, the management should care for their workers residential environment also.

Communication is also an important tool that is needed by workers for the effective and efficient performance of their job in an organization.  It is an inevitable tool when discussing the conditions of work, because it is the foundation upon which organization and administration must be build.

Motivation is another tool in working conditions of workers motivation affect workers performance a great deal that is why some workers perform better than others in an organization as a result individuals are motivated by different factors.  Based on that, managements should have at their finger tips that they have diverse and unpredictable groups of workers to motivate.  This diversify may result in different behavioural patterns which in most cases relate to needs and goals.  Some of the factors are training and development, salaries and wages, benefits, welfare services, understanding between workers and management staff.

Workers will prefer to work in an organization where the above motivating factors are well appropriated.  If the factors included in the working conditions of workers will work in happiness and good faith, a happy worker is a productive worker.  Therefore, there is no doubt that a motivated workers performance will be improved.

Just as a motivated worker is expected to perform his work properly, if the need or condition of a workers is left unsatisfied, the highly deficient need or condition can lead to frustration, conflict and stress.  Social ills associated with frustration, conflict and stress include:-

1.       Defensive behaviour:-   This type of behaviour can occur when one tries to protect one’s image absenteeism or withdrawal is part of defensive behaviour.

2.        Aggression:-        This is a reaction to unsatisfied condition in work environment.  This type of action is directed towards an organization by a worker in an improper working condition.

3.       Rationalisation:- This a situation where by a worker explain failure in manner that is acceptable to others because his/her working condition is poor.

1.2            STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

As far as the life brewery is concerned, the following problems below are the resultant of the poor performance.

1.       The poor remuneration:-       The package of the worker of life brewery is very poor, compare to the nature and risks they ar exposed to in cause of performing their tasks or duties.

2.       Better fringe benefits are not assigned to them, certain bonuses and welfare services that are supposes to be provided for the workers are not called for.

3.       Poor working condition etc all the above mentioned problems are resulted to workers poor performance in the life brewery.

 

1.3            OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Objectives is to critically examined the list of available conditions of workers and better pay packages, their practicability and execution, as well as their importance towards improving the performance of the workers.  Hence, the basic aims of the study includes:-

1.                 To identify the effects of working conditions and compensation on workers performance.

2.                 To examine the mode of compensations currently applied in life breweries and how effective they are in motivation of workers.

3.                 To determine what an organization should bear in mind when designing remunerations for workers.

4.                 To identify the strategies that is available to the life brewery in order to obtain the greatest capacity of workers.

1.4            RESEARCH QUESTIONS

For the researcher to locate better and genuine answers to the research problems, the following research questions have been put forward thus:

1.                 What are the effects of working condition and compensation on workers performance?

2.                 What are the methods of compensation applied in life Brewery Company?

3.                 Does life brewery carry out performance appraisal?

4.                 What strategies will life Brewery Company apply in order to increase productivity of workers?

Although these questions might be answered during formulation of hypothesis, the exact responses might yet be unrevealed unless the research is carried out.

1.5            FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS

Hypothesis is an intelligent or educated answer of guess to the problem of the researcher under investigation so as to have a base for a companies and a guide towards achieving the best result about the researcher problem, the researcher formulated the hypothesis below:-

Ho:    A satisfactory working condition does not motivate the life brewery workers.

Hi:     A satisfactory working condition motivates the life brewery workers.

Ho:    An equitable compensation scheme do not lead to high performance or

low performance of workers.

Hi:     An equitable compensation scheme lead to high performance or low performance of workers.

Ho:    The life brewery do not carryout performance appraisal exercise.

Hi:     The life brewery carryout performance appraisal exercise.

1.6            SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The importance of this study is numerous. They include:-

1.     It would allow the life brewery to better handle the issue of working conditions and remunerations as motivational tools for the employers.

2.     This research work would contribute to the already existing knowledge of man in the field of working condition and remunerations.

3.     Yet it will help workers to understand better their needs, aspiration at work

4.     Finally, having gone through this work, potential workers/manager will be allowed the insight to the reality of their working environment, which lies ahead of them when they might have been fully employed.

1.7   SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this research is limited to life brewery Onitsha Division within the station, however, all categories of staff were studied as questionnaires were distributed ranging from senior staff to junior staff.

1.8     LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Factors which served as constraints to this project include shortage of fund.  The distance between my school and place of study, non-chalant attitudes of the workers in filling questionnaires and shortage of standard materials (written and audio/visual) required for proper work.  Hence, despite all odds, the researcher is still confident of the findings of this research work.

1.9            DEFINITION OF TERMS

Employees/workers:-    These are members of staff of a particular organization.

Environment:-              It is the place where the organization is situated or where the staff reside.

Remuneration:-            This is the wage and salary administration for various jobs with a particular organization.

Organization:               Meant in the study as the lift brewery.

Salary:-                         A compensation received by a worker on monthly,

semi-monthly, or weekly basis for performing a task.

WASE:-                         The direct compensation received by a worker paid according to hourly rates.

Compensation:-            A remuneration given to workers in exchange for work they provided to their employees.

Management:-                  The staff at the top of the organization of a firm that  control and direct the operational.

Motivation:                        It is energizing force that induces or compels and maintains behaviour of workers.

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