EMPLOYEE MORALE

Employee Morale

Employee Morale

Introduction

Globalization has opened newer markets for businesses across the globe, especially for big corporations in the West. The major corporation can now enter new markets and at the same time they can outsource their manufacturing units for profit maximization. At the same time, organizations from the east now have access to the gigantic and consumer rich markets of the west. The success of these companies in the western markets do not only depends on the size of the western consumer base but the major force driving the success of the eastern corporations in the west is their productivity and efficiency.

Higher productivity and efficiency in the operations is directly related to the employees' morale because higher morale dramatically boosts competency and productivity of the employees. Research conducted in the past years has shown that there is a definite positive relationship between employee satisfaction and organizational success. (Schneider, White, & Paul, 1998; Zohar & Luria, 2005)

Literature Review

Research concerning employee perceptions has been progressing for over 40 years. Employee perceptions relative to organizational fairness is believed to be predicated on employee investment and outcome comparisons. Scholars have examined theories concerning relationships between employee investments and outcomes such as Adams equity theory (1965) and what constitutes fair processes in organizations (Blader & Tyler, 2003).

Early studies which took the subject of employee morale started with baehr & Renck, 1958. baehr & Renck, 1958 described morale as an emotional state consisting of aspects related to the relationship between employees and the structure through which the organization transmit information to the employees. Organizations, which have a transparent structure for the conveyance and flow of information, have better employee participation and productivity(Garten, 2002).

Employee perception has remained a crucial topic for researchers finding out patterns in organizational success. Employees who have positive perception about organization have boosted morale, inevitably becoming a major factor in organizational performance. (Schneider, White, & Paul, 1998; Zohar & Luria, 2005).

In 1950s research was conducted to study employee morale. It was an attempt to examine the needs that can act as a catalyst and inspire the employees to attempt to reach goals that would enable them to access those needs. This study was done by baehr and renck (1958). In the same study they described morale as an emotional state that depends on management in organization, monetary and tangible rewards, contentment of an employee with his job. The relationship of management and the employees of the organization plays vital role in developing employee morale and this relationship is also the basis of the structure for conveyance of information. The monetary and material rewards works as catalyst boost employees' morale and make them outperform their own benchmark. The job satisfaction factor in the morale is the delight that an employee enjoys in completing his assigned tasks. Employee morale can also be enhanced by transparency in the organizational information.

Another study found that only perception of fairness may not heighten morale and productivity Sashkin and Williams ...