CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1Background to the Study

Workers in the contemporary society are expressing a strong desire to pursue more than just a job. They are looking for employment opportunities that promise an extension of their interests, personality and abilities. They want a variety of things from their jobs besides a pay cheque and a few fringe benefits, and their commitment to the organization depends upon the degree to which their employer satisfies these wants (Agba, 2010).

High salaries, good working conditions, health and dental insurance, retirement plans, stock purchase programmes, reduced work hours, technological advancement, educational reimbursement programmes among others might seem to be the necessary ingredients for employee happiness and commitment at the place of work. Despite these benefits, there are many employees at all levels that appear to be dissatisfied with themselves, thereby impairing their commitment (Agwu, 2013; Mehmood, 2013).

However, as organization battles to get the most from their existing employees in an environment characterized by skill shortages, the role of human resource practices in the organization in fostering employees’ engagement and commitment is paramount. In doing this, many organizations are aware of the significant impact both positive and negative that employees have on organizational performance and productivity (Osa and Amos, 2014).

Employees’ commitment is one of the job related attitudes which has attracted the minds of scholars and practitioners in the field of Human Resources Management due to the impact it has on employees and organizational performance (Robbins, 2005). The literature suggests that individuals become committed to organizations for a variety of reasons, including an affective attachment to the values of the organization, a realization of the costs involved with leaving the organization, and a sense of obligation to the organization (Meyer and Allen, cited in Folorunsho et al., 2014).

Currently employees act like entrepreneurs when they work in a team and every member of the team tries his level best to prove himself the best amongst all others. Those things increase their commitment level in the organization that ultimately increases the performance of the organization. In the past, organizations provide job security to its employees to improve their commitment level in the organization and to improve their productivity. Higher level of employee commitment in the organization for individual projects or to the business is assumed as a major reason for better organizational performance that leads to organizational success (Zia-ur-Rehman et al., 2011).

Employee commitment has become one of the most popular work attitudes studied by practitioners and researchers. Akintayo (2010) and Tumwesigye (2010) noted that one of the reasons why commitment has attracted research attention is that organization depends on committed employees to create and maintain competitive advantage and achieve superior performance.

Committed employees who are highly motivated to contribute their time and energy to the pursuit of organizational goals are increasingly acknowledged to be the primary asset available to an organization (Hunjra, 2010). They provide the intellectual capital that, for many organizations, has become their most critical asset (Hunjra, 2010). Furthermore, employees who share a commitment to the organization and their collective well-being are more suitable to generate the social capital that facilitates organizational learning.

According to Suhartini (cited in Folorunsho et al., 2014) employee performance is a mutual result of effort, ability, and perception of tasks. Good performance is step towards the achievement of organizational aims. Hence more struggle is required to improve the organizational performance. It is against this backdrop that this study examines the relationship between employee’s job commitment and organizational performance in Nestle Nigeria Plc.

1.2Statement of the Problems

Employers are sometime baffled when their highly-rated employees put up poor performance and others resign and leave. Management sometimes fail to understand why some employees are not committed to the organization even though they have proactively implemented fair compensation policies and human resources (HR) practices to motivate and retain them. It can be costly if employees are not committed on their jobs, and if they lack the motivation to exercise their full potentials. The main focus of this study is to examine the effects of employee’s job commitment on organizational performance.

1.3Objectives of the Study

The primary objective of this study is to examine the relationship between employee’s job commitment and organizational performance in Nestle Nigeria Plc. Other salient objectives of the study are as follows:

a.To investigate the effects of employee’ job commitment on organizational performance

b.To examine the relationship between employee’s job commitment and labour turnover

c.To explore the influence of fair compensation management on organisational performance

1.4Research Questions

This study also attempts to answer the following research questions:

1.      Does employee’s job commitment have an effect on organizational performance?

2.      What is the relationship between employee’s job commitment and labour turnover?

3.      How does fair compensation management policy influence employees performance?

1.5Research Hypotheses

The research hypotheses to be tested during the course of research are the following:

Hypothesis One:

H0: Employee’s job commitment does not have effect on organizational performance.

Hi: Employee’s job commitment has an effect on organizational performance.

Hypothesis Two:

H0: There is no significant relationship between employee’s job commitment and    labour turnover in Nestle Nigeria Plc.

Hi: There is a significant relationship between employee’s job commitment and    labour  turnover in Nestle Nigeria Plc.

Hypothesis Three:

H0: Fair compensation management policies do not have influence on employees             performance.

Hi: Fair compensation management policies have an influence on employees         performance.