“First Day on the Job” Malik Case Discussion
Factors Causing the Employee Dissatisfaction
Employees are the backbone of organizations; without them, organizations could never stabilize or grow. Nevertheless, the availability of employees alone does not guarantee that that organization could grow; they must be able to feel satisfied and motivated in order for them to render their very best.
Employee satisfaction refers employees’ affective responses to a job based on the likening of the actual outcomes and the desired outcomes (Morden, 2004).
The factors causing dissatisfaction as per the case study include inadequate career development opportunities, lack of organizational commitment to professional development, poor communication, poor recognition mechanisms and lack of employee participation in decision-making.
Factors that could be addressed to Improve the way organization handles Development of Employees
Most employees in the case feel dissatisfied because there is no opportunity for career development. When the organization they are working for does not institute measures aimed at promoting their future career aspirations, employees have nothing to look forward to.
Some of ways that could be explored towards career development include opportunities for learning and professional growth, job-specific-training, opportunities to network with others in order to advance their career opportunities to use their skills and abilities in work, and paid training.
In the case study, employees complain about lack of organizational commitment to professional development of employees. Professional development is advanced through opportunities such as attending conferences, attending trainings, as well as obtaining certificates.
These opportunities are thus expected to enable employees enhance their skills, and knowledge, in order to build their career profiles and enable them meet their professional goals. From the case study, this is a critical issue because as one employee indicated, she is ready to resign due to lack of commitment towards employee’s professional development in the organization.
For organizations to succeed, commitment to employees’ career development is crucial (Morden, 2004). Managers have to come up with programs that offer opportunities for learning and professional growth such as mentorship, cross training, job specific training, as well as the opportunity to network with other people elsewhere.
If such opportunities are not provided, employees might feel overworked and bored with their work, as is the story in the Case Study. Employees in the case study feel that whatever they are doing is too much and there is no opportunity for personal care i.e. they do not have the freedom in which they can take care of themselves.
Communication between management and employees is a critical factor for consideration. Communication problems are featured in the case study; though not mentioned directly. One of the complaining employees must have been experiencing dissatisfaction for quite some time, but due to inadequate communication, was unable to share them with the seniors.
The coming of the new manager, Malik, seems to have paved way for the employee to come forward and declare the desire to resign. Such a situation of poor communication framework between members of staff tremendously affects employee satisfaction and performance.
Employee participation in decision-making is critical in modern organizations (Morden, 2004). Whenever employees lack enough freedom to make their own decisions, there is bound to be an element of dissatisfaction and poor performance. Furthermore, this is likely to cause boredom because, then, employees will keep on doing only what they have been told to do and nothing further.
Finally, as evidenced in the case study, deficiency in management recognition of employee job performance is a great reason for lack of motivation. Recognition plays a very special role in employee job satisfaction and performance.
This is because once recognition is instituted employees are most likely feel valued and appreciated (Sofo, 2000). Performance appraisal is critical and employees have to receive clear feedback about their performance. In the case study, recognition appears lacking thus workers do not feel valued enough.
It is critical to deal with the question of training in the organization (Sofo, 2000). Training not only equips employees with more skills, knowledge and change in attitudes, it also ensures that the organization responds to changing environment. Whenever training and other mentioned factors are put in place, the organization is deemed to benefit from improved skills and performance.
Malik’s immediate response to the issue of dissatisfaction
The first thing Malik should deal with is find a way of getting employees and managers to talk and air out their issues. He has to, immediately, come up with a favorable framework to encourage all round communication among employees and the seniors without fear. This framework should sustainably encourage immediate airing of current problems but encourage proactive engagement between employees and management in the future.
Secondly, Malik should attempt to institute job-rotation so that employees get a chance of experiencing different tasks and then identifying the most appropriate tasks they would love to do. This way, employees participate in deciding what is good for them in the organization.
Finally, Malik has to, immediately; engage the employees in job evaluation against compensation and benefits. This is an important preliminary move given motivation is highly pegged on recognition and reward. Through the job evaluation, employees will begin to realize a sense of their work being appreciated.
Malik should evaluate the employee’s basic pay, variable pay, bonuses, and commissions and engage employees in dialogue to gauge their feel about the same. By doing so, Malik will be able to realize why the employees might be feeling undervalued and thus institute immediate remedial action.
Long-term changes that the manager should suggest for the organization
Based on foregoing discussions, for long term stability and motivation of employees, Malik should consider suggesting both job related and social changes that will motivate employees.
For instance, Malik should design and suggest training programs that will ensure that employees are kept at par with whatever that is going on in the industry. The training programs should contain both on job and off job elements. Off-the-job training can consist in the sponsoring of employees to study in their areas of choice whenever they find it necessary.
Secondly, Malik should consider proposing the organization of some social events such as tours, and sports in order to ensure that employees get to free their minds off the strenuous tasks in the office and bond among themselves.
Thirdly, Malik could propose continuous review of the compensation structure thus ensuring that employees are rewarded for their performance at work and related loyalty. The amount of disposable income determines the kind of efforts employees can put in on their own for personal development
Human Resource Policies that would support Development programs within the organization
The kind of policies that Malik suggests should be in line with aligning employee skills and talents with organizational needs. Secondly, the policies should encourage career development, employee recognition and adequate compensation or remuneration.
One important policy would be in line with ensuring that employees are assigned tasks or responsibilities for which they are talented to do and for which they have higher affinity. This will lead to employee being able to what they like and thus improving their productivity.
The organization needs a clear policy on promotion and advancement. By having a work performance pegged promotion policy, the organization will encourage better performance and consequently increase productivity. For instance, if an employee has successfully executed his/her mandate for quite some time, she/he should be given an opportunity for higher job responsibilities.
Reference List
Morden, T. (2004). Principles of Management. 2nd Ed., London: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Sofo, F. (2000). Human Resource Development: Perspectives, Roles and Practice Choices. London: Allen & Unwin.