Organizational Commitment Essay Example for Free

Organizational Commitment Essay The focal point of effective human resource management (HRM) is on managing people within the employer-employee relationship. As banks are considered a very critical industry of the economy, it is important that the workforces supporting these banks are well motivated and are effective in delivering the necessary work output. It includes the productive utilization of employees to achieve the organization’s business objectives and satisfy individual employee needs (Stone, 1998). HRM seeks to strategically combine the interests of an organization and its employees (McGraw, 2003). Consequently, ineffective HRM can be a major barrier to employee satisfaction and organization success (McGraw, 2003). HRM practices in the banking industry play a key role in attracting, motivating, rewarding, and retaining employees. HRM practices include recruiting employees, selecting employees, designing work, compensating employees, and developing good labor and employee relations (Noe, 2005). For the purpose of this study, the researcher bundled five specific human resource management practices. These are HR planning, training, career development, performance appraisal, and employee participation programs. The researcher chose to bundle HRM practices since bundled HRM practices produce interrelated and complimentary functions. For example, training and development, and performance appraisal overlap each others’ results. The appraisal of an employee’s performance will show potentials and identify gaps in employee’s knowledge, skills, and abilities that will be filled in by training and development. Furthermore, the alignment of HR practices produce synergy contributing to increase productivity and corporate financial performance (Huselid, 1995). Bundled HRM practices contribute to overall firm performance by motivating employees to adopt desired attitudes and behaviors (Bowen Ostroff, 2004). Moreover, Chang (2005) argues that employees perceived HR practice as an exclusive and single practice rather than separate and diverse fields. According to Fishbein’s (1963) an individual’s overall attitudes towards each HRM practices can be represented by a summation of the belief held about each HR practices. It is important to study HRM practices and its relationship with work related attitudes, and behaviors. Attitude is a mental state of readiness that is organized through experience, applying a dynamic influence on the individuals response to objects and situations to which it is related such as job satisfaction and organizational trust. (Allport, 1935). On the other hand, behaviors are manners in which an individual or group conduct and respond to his/her environment like Organizational Citizenship Behaviors or OCBs ( Robbins, 2005). Employee perception of organizational banking practices and working conditions within the banks of Jamaica influence employee attitudes and behavior (Guest, 2001). Existing organizational practices within banks in Jamaica such as HRM should facilitate the development of desired employee attitudes and behavior that contribute to enhance firm performance. Previous studies have found that positive perceptions of HRM practices lead to positive employee attitudes and behaviors such as job satisfaction (Guest, 1999), organizational trust, organizational commitment, organizational justice (Greenberg, 1990). Job satisfaction, organizational trust and OCBs were the variables selected to be studied in relation with HRM practices as these three elements are key factors in organizational effectiveness and these variables are considered understudied. These facets affect and overlap each other’s functions and outputs that contribute to the development of HRM practices. Furthermore, this study contributes to the literature by examining a wide breadth of outcome measures within the same study. The study extends HRM literature in three ways. First, it provides additional research in the examining the role of HRM practices to employee attitudes and behaviors since there are limited studies in HRM conceptualized as a bundle (Chang, 2005; Guest, 2004; Huselid 1995). Second, it examines the proposition of Morrison (1996) on the role of HRM practices in contributing to extra-role behaviors. An examination of HRM literature revealed that there has no study conducted investigating HRM to organizational citizenship behaviors. Third, it also simultaneously examines HRM, job satisfaction, organizational trust, and OCBs in one study. Previous studies have examined these variables separately. For example, Ellickson (2002) and Bradley, Petrescu, and Simmons (2004) conducted the study on HRM practices to job satisfaction, Tzafrir (2004) examined HRM practices to organizational trust. Furthermore, since there are limited studies on HRM practices within the banking industry; this would contribute to the importance of HRM practices in the management organization. Review of Related Literature Human Resource Management Practices HRM contribute to the attainment of an organizations competitive advantage through the strategic implementation of a highly committed and competent workforce using an integrated range of cultural, structural, and personnel techniques. Effective HRM leads to an organization success by developing employees that contributes to the delivery of products and services bring customer satisfaction, business results, and shareholder value (Stone, 1998). The main purpose of HRM is to improve the productive contribution of people wherein the employees are being heard by the management and helping the employees to find new resources that enable them to successfully perform their jobs (Ulrich, 1997). The role played by human resource functions is best explained by determining the key objectives that they seek to align strategies, develop effective policies, systems and activities which are significant to the firm’s overall success (Torrington, Hall Taylor, 2002; Storey, 1995). HRM functions are critical in running an effective organization. Organizations need to have a competitive HRM functions in order to maintain a competent workforce and attain business objectives (Newman Hodgetts, 1998). HRM function includes planning, training and development, career development, performance appraisal, and employee relations. These functions help organizations to facilitate strategies that allow them to achieve efficiency and effectiveness (Stone, 1998). HRM functions must change in manner that it accomplishes new roles and new competencies. It also has to be transformed to deal creatively and practically with the emerging challenge. HRM practices have a tangible and various intangible organizational consequences. Prior researches have found support for the role of HRM practices in predicting organizational commitment (Davidson, 1998), job satisfaction (Bradley et al. , 2004), and procedural justice (Edgar Geare, 2005). Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is a pleasurable emotional state resulting from the valuation of his or her work (Locke, 1976; Steijn, 2002). Even though job satisfaction is a highly personal experience, there are a number of facets that seem to contribute the most to feelings of job satisfaction. Steijn (2002) stated that mentally challenging work, adequate compensation pay, career opportunity, the ready availability of promotions, people that are friendly, considerate, or good-natured superiors contribute to job satisfaction (Johns Saks, 2000). For instance, the ready availability of promotions is positively related to job satisfaction. The promotion given enhances the perception of the employees that they are valued enough by the organization (Garrido, Perez, Anton, 2005). Previous studies have shown that compensation (Bassett, 1994), opportunity for advancement (Schneider, 1994), psychological climate, and leadership style (Howell Frost, 1989) are antecedents of job satisfaction. Organizational Trust Trust is an individual’s expectation, assumption, or belief about the likelihood that another’s future action will be beneficial, favorable, or at least not detrimental to one’s interests (Meyer, Davis, Schoorman, 1995). Trust is considered to be an essential component in organizations since it is a consistent mechanism that supports organizational change and development in an unpredictable environment than hierarchical power and direct surveillance (Kramer Tyler, 1996). Several studies clearly indicate that the formation of trust within workplace relationships is complex and elusive (Tzafrir, 2003). Furthermore, workplace trust is a necessary element for the development of competitive advantage through support, co-operation, and improvement of systems. Trust is viewed as a feature of the social foundation that begins interactions among parties (Mayer Davis, 1999). According to Kramer and Tyler (1996), there is a need for organizational trust for the reason of there are organizational needs that are not to be disclosed and one of the elements to address these requirements are employees that trusts their organization. Currall and Judge (1995) defined trust as an individual’s reliance on another person under conditions of dependence and risk. Dependence means that one’s outcomes are reliant on the trustworthy or untrustworthy behavior of another. Furthermore, risk means that one would experience negative outcomes from the other person’s untrustworthy behavior (Kramer Tyler, 1996). Previous studies have shown that psychological contract breach (Costa 2001), leadership style and organizational communication are antecedents of organizational trust. Organizational Citizenship Behavior Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCBs) are behaviors that are discretionary, indirectly seen or recognized by the official compensation system, and as a whole encourage the effective functioning of an organization (Organ, 1998). It is also defined as an employee behavior that is above and beyond the call of duty and is therefore discretionary and not rewarded in the context of an organization’s formal reward structure (Konovsky Pugh, 1994). Social exchange is an explanatory mechanism to obtain OCBs. It refers to relationships that entail unspecified future obligations. Social exchange is a critical element in understanding OCBs. It is the theoretical basis and the starting point for OCBs to obtain. When HRM practices offered by the organization are perceived favorable by employees, they tend to reciprocate by OCBs (Organ, 1998). For example, when supervisors treat employees fairly, social exchange and the norm of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960) dictate that employees reciprocate, and OCBs are the avenue for employee’s reciprocation. There are five dimensions of OCBs (Organ, 1998). First is altruism that involves all discretionary behaviors that have the effect of serving a specific other person with an organizationally important task or problems. The second is conscientiousness it is the extent that a person goes well beyond the satisfactory or required level in work attendance; the person exemplifies the brand of OCBs. Third is sportsmanship which the employees’ goodwill in tolerating less than ideal circumstances without â€Å"complaining and making a federal case out of small potatoes. † The fourth dimension is civic virtue which is the behavior that shows a concern for participating in corporate life for example, by performing tasks that they are not required to perform, and doing so for the benefit of the organization. It also implies a sense o involvement in what policies are adapted and which candidates are supported. The last dimension is courtesy which involves such actions as â€Å"touching base† with those parties whose work would be affected by one’s decision or commitments. Touching base refers to actions done by employees that their co-employees values (Organ, 1998). Previous studies have shown that procedural justice (Alotaibi, 2001; Organ, 1998), organizational commitment (Alotaibi, 2001; Mayer Allen, 1997; Moorman et al. , 1993 ), and job satisfaction (Alotaibi, 2001; Moorman et al. , 1993) leads to OCBs.

Being An International Student in a Post 9/11 World :: Terrorism Terrorists Essays

Being An International Student in a Post 9/11 World "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free," just not your students. "I knew what was going to happen after 9/11. It was understood," said Tariq Halela, a 21-year-old student at Boston University. What he understood was simple: for an international student, living in the United States would never be the same. Halela, an Indian born Kuwaiti native, has been studying stateside for over two years. He is an accounting major and speaks four languages -- English, Arabic, Hindi and Gujarati -- fluently. "I love it here in the states," he said. "That is why I was so worried when I got a call from the ISO [international student's office] saying I could be deported." Confusion over the new immigration rules and regulations is what gave Halela his first deportation scare. With stricter visas guidelines, the culmination of new policies the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have undertaken is the Student Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS. Now, new international students can choose to study at any one of the over 7,000 SEVIS-certified universities in America. The schools, in turn, provide a plethora of information on the students ranging from the mundane - name, enrollment verification, date of birth - to the normally considered private information such as grades and field of study. Essentially, the SEVIS is a program designed to keep tabs on all the approximately one million international students studying here in the U.S. The SEVIS keeps a database housing all of a student's information to determine whether he or she can stay in the U.S. or can be allowed to come here in the first place. Although the program seems like a reaction to the 9/11 attacks, the birth of SEVIS dates back to the early '90s. One of the men convicted of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Eyad Ismoil, had gained access to the U.S. through a student visa. In an attempt to help regulate the student visas system, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which commissioned the government to create a system that manages information on all international students but Congress never pressed to make that system operational. When it was learned that two of the 9/11 highjackers, Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehi, also came tot he U.S. through student visas, Congress changed their tune.

The Great Alaska Adventure team is planning a five-day

The Great Alaska Adventure team is planning a five-day fly-fishing trip for the executive team of BlueNote, Inc. at the bequest of the President. The trip will be into the remote back country of Tikchik River, an area known for its wildlife and rugged terrain.The area is best known for its salmon fishing.   The trip will be all-inclusive except that the executives will be responsible for their own transportation to the Dillingham base camp. We will need to provide transportation from Dillingham to the Tikchik River Basin, boat transportation with motors, camping equipment and meals, guides and a four-hour fishing class. We will provide fishing licenses for all the guests and four experienced river guides.DiscussionThe first thing we need to find to deal with in the planning process is to find a way to get from Dillingham to the Tikchik. Most of the time people going on float trips down the river begin by taking a float plane to the lake at the head of the river.Our first concern wi ll be the cost of renting the float plane and making certain that it has sufficient space for our guests and our equipment. We will also need to hire four experienced guides who are also adept at fly-fishing and can teach our guests how to fly fish once we get on the river.   Once we get to the river, we will be able to make the float trip in 4 to 5 days. We will plan on food for six days at minimum and also take additional equipment for immediate preparation of our catch. In case of really bad luck fishing, we will take sufficient food to take care of three meals per day for at least six days.We will also want to take water purification tablets for drinking water and snacks. The boats will then be taken to the river and we will commence our trip down the river. The first thing will be our fly fishing class and then we will have lunch. Then we will float down the river for about four hours and get to the campsite for the evening. We will make camp and begin the first evening of se rious fishing. This will be repeated for the next four days.It sounds simple and like nothing could go wrong, right? Right. Nothing. Except what if the motors on the boats don’t work,   it rains every day and the raft capsizes the first day and we lose our food. What if we encounter a grizzly who thinks our guests look like a good morning snack or one of the guests is allergic to fish?   What if they forget their hip waders and end up with hypothermia?Some of these risks we can plan for and account for and some we try to mitigate. For example, by hiring experienced guides we should be able to minimize the chance of capsizing the raft and losing our equipment. In addition, we will hire at least one, preferably two guides with extensive first aid training and survival training, so that they can deal with injuries or illness in our guests and whatever the wildlife try to thrown at us.We will precheck the equipment before leaving Dillingham to make certain that the equipment is functional. This should reduce the chance of malfunction once we get into the wilderness. In addition, we will take both cellphones and a CB radio so that we can communicate with civilization should we need immediate medical assistance.   We will carry flares and the guides will be armed with shotguns in case of an animal attack.Since we are going in June, the likelihood is that the weather will be cooperative and we should have warm enough temperatures, but we will need to consider what alternatives will be in place should the week of the trip arrive and the weather be inappropriate for a trip into the back country. For example, if we find that the entire week is expected to be rainy and cold, we need to have an alternative plan in place. What is our responsibility if the trip must be canceled due to inclement weather?   

Slavery And The American Revolution - 1132 Words

Slavery, was an institution strongly integrated into American society. This economic system was primarily used in the Southern states of the United State on the plantation areas where tobacco, rice, corn, and eventually cotton were grown. Inspirations of freedom and liberty spread throughout the United States prior to the American Revolution. Along with thoughts of liberty came thoughts of emancipation of this system. â€Å"Even after the prolonged battle for independence, when cries for liberty rang throughout the countryside, opportunities for both emancipation and free blacks diminished.† Slavery stilled had a strong hold of the foundations of the southern economy. The â€Å"peculiar system† continued to grow rapidly, especially at the beginning of the nineteenth century, within the United States. Slavery, was an injustice to both male and female slaves however, women would endure more physical and emotional injustices than men by the means of themselves and their c hildren. The status and importance of a slave women within the â€Å"peculiar system† changed immensely in 1808. External slave trade was prohibited in 1808, making the survival and growth of the slave population an importance to slave owners. To insure there would be a sustainable and growing slave population, slave women were expected to reproduce more frequently. â€Å"Suddenly, enslaved African American women already expected to perform harsh and exactly physical labor, became the sole legal source of slave labor.† SlaveShow MoreRelatedSlavery And The American Revolution938 Words   |  4 Pagesconcepts that are constantly changing, and the American Revolution brought upon major changes to their definitions in the colonies. Two major changes of beliefs were in the concept of slavery and also the roles of women in society. The American Revolution was partly based on the right for American’s to control their own property. At this time property could include other human beings. Before the revolutionary war, slavery was a central institution in American society in the late 18th century. AlthoughRead MoreThe American Revolution And Slavery3056 Words   |  13 Pages Slavery Demetria Juarez 1301.11 US History From 1763-1877 Dr. Gwinyai P. Muzorewa Lamar University Abstract This mission involves discovering how the Civil War was remembered during the nineteenth century. Slavery was a controversial concern during this era, especially for those that endured the pain and suffering, the victims. Examining events, such as the Three-fifths Clause, the Fugitive Slave Clause, the Civil War and the abolition of Slavery. Observing these events,Read MoreSlavery And The American Revolution1987 Words   |  8 PagesSlavery has been a key issue in American history since the first settlers settled here in 1607. Historians such as Vincent J Rosivach writes that when the issue of slavery is mentioned the first thing people think about is the slavery model of the deep south, the cotton kingdom. Rosivach writes that there were many different slave models such as the northern American colonies and 4th century Athens. Rosivach and many other historians agree that the way slavery was done in the north was totally differentRead MoreSlavery And The American Revolution2902 W ords   |  12 PagesThat is the reason behind me choosing my topic on slavery in that era because it is such a wide and important topic with so much relevance and importance to creating the U.S. that we live in today not only building the foundation but creating the melting pot that the U.S. prides itself on. 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These idea played a big role in slaves wantingRead MoreEssay on Slavery and the American Revolution1243 Words   |  5 Pagesthe slave population in the United States of America grew to 500,000 in 1176, documenting slavery as part of the American Revolution became increasingly important. America was rooted in slavery; and it contributed to the economy and social structure. The revolution forced citizens of the new nation to be conscious of slavery and its potential dismissal from every day life. Two articles that prove slavery only succeeded because of the false reality that slave owners created and the conformity toRead MoreSlavery During The American Revolution Essay1523 Words   |  7 PagesSlavery was held out until 1865, but during this time period abolitionist are trying to do anything to stop slavery. The reason being is because slavery wasn’t slavery anymore. Slavery was beginning to become more advance due to technological innovation. The Abolitionist are people that were against slavery and would boycott anything to get rid of slavery. The argument that the Abolitionist had during this time period was its conditions as violating Christian’s principals and rights to equalityRead MoreAntebellum Slavery And The American Revolution879 Words   |  4 PagesAmerican slavery was something that not only mentally challenging, but it was physically demanding as well. Many slaves did not have the luxury of a â€Å"kind† master, and many were mistreatment from birth. Slaves fought masters, and master fought slaves without regard to the human condition. Antebellum slavery was different than past form of American slavery, because slaves had gained a taste of the ideas that were spread from the American Revolution. These idea played a big role in slaves wanting freedomRead MoreEssay on Slavery and the American Revolution1771 Words   |  8 Pagesto slaver y and underwent the American Revolutionary War. Colonization of the New World by Europeans during the seventeenth century resulted in a great expansion of slavery, which later became the most common form of labor in the colonies. According to Peter Kolchin, modern Western slavery was a product of European expansion and was predominantly a system of labor. Even with the introduction of slavery to the New World, life still wasn’t as smooth as we may presume. Although the early American colonistsRead MoreEssay about The American Revolution and the Institution of Slavery580 Words   |  3 PagesIntroduction The American Revolution is defined as the political turbulence that took place towards the end of eighteenth century when thirteen colonies in America united to attain freedom from the British Empire (Clifford, 2005). The union of the thirteen colonies is now known as the United States of America. According to Clifford (2005), the American Revolution occurred because of a series of political, intellectual, and social transformations in the American government and society, which is