Job Satisfaction in Tea Plantation Sector

Job Satisfaction in Tea Plantation Sector

Ceylon Tea which is a world renowned brand name celebrates the 150^th year since the planting of the first tree by a British national in the Loolkandura Estate in the Central Hills of the country.  This blog is to analyze the Factory Employees’ Job Satisfaction and Productivity of the Sri Lankan Plantation Sector in Sri Lanka. Job Satisfaction and Productivity are widely spoken topics of the many other fields of the international forums and journals. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed among the Factory Officers of the Tea Estates. The response to four hundred questionnaires distributed among the factory employees, 370 were returned and the response rate was 92.5 percent. The data was analyzed by using descriptive analysis and structural equation methods. The findings show that job satisfaction has a significant positive impact on productivity. (Suranga Silva, 2018)

Job Satisfaction of Women Workers in Tea Estates India

Job satisfaction is an important indicator of how workers feel about their jobs and is a predictor of work behaviors. The study aimed to ascertain the job satisfaction levels of women workers employed in tea estates located in the Nilgiris District, TamilNadu. The Nilgiris being the largest tea tract in South India occupies an important place in the tea map of the country. Thus, tea plays a vital role in the economy of the district. Therefore, an attempt has been made in the present paper to identify the problems faced by the women workers, examine the facilities offered to them, and ascertain the satisfaction level of the women workers in tea estates in the Nilgiris district. The data was collected through a structured interview schedule from 300 respondents by using the convenience random sampling method. The tools used for analysis, that is, simple percentage, chi-square analysis, and factor analyses were applied to analyze the collected data. The results of the study revealed that there was a significant relationship between the demographic factors and the health related problems faced by the women workers. Furthermore, the findings show that the majority of the respondents were illiterate, and were employed in the process of plucking the tea leaves, as this activity generates a major chunk of the revenue for the tea estates. From the factor analysis, it was identified that the factors such as Work Allotment and Relationship with Colleagues, Support and Reward, Safe Environment, Compensation, and Training and Development influenced the levels of job satisfaction significantly. In addition, it was also found that four factors, that is, Disability, Workplace Environment, Pay and Conveyance, and Work Timings were the highly problematic factors causing dissatisfaction among the women workers employed in the tea estates. (J.Illavarasi 2013)

3 Key Factors to Job Satisfaction

1. Engagement.

When you are engaged in your work, you are present, focused, and productive.51 percent of workers reported not being engaged at work, many of which were millennials.

2. Respect, praise, and appreciation. 

Regardless of the job, you want to feel respected in the workplace as well as appreciated for the work you do. Employees are more satisfied in their positions when they feel respected and are praised for a job well done, even if it’s a simple thank you from a company manager. Supervisors are often vocal when an employee makes a mistake or something is needed of them but making the same effort to congratulate or voice appreciation can have a positive influence on worker’s satisfaction.   

3. Fair compensation.

The importance employees place on pay as a contributing factor to job satisfaction appears to be on the rise, according to the 2016 survey conducted by the SHRM.Workers currently rank pay as the second most important factor compared to the fourth most important factor the year prior. Benefits rank as the third most important factor with 60 percent rating them as crucial to job satisfaction. In essence, employees want to be compensated for their worth and are likely to look for work elsewhere if they’re not. (Emily Holland, 2016)

CONCLUSION

Majority of employees are satisfied with their welfare measures. They should take necessary steps to solve problems in those measures. So that the employee can do his job more effectively. The company can concentrate on the other non statutory measures to boost the employee morale.

REFERENCES

1. Suranga Silva, 2018. Available at https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/EJBM/article/view/40612

2. J.Illavarasi, 2013. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277901689_A_Study_on_Job_Satisfaction_of_Women_Workers_in_Tea_Estates_With_Special_Reference_to_the_Nilgiris_District

3. Emily Holland, 2016. Available at https://chopra.com/articles/5-key-factors-to-finding-job-satisfaction

Performance Management

 What is Performance Management?

Performance management is an ongoing process of communication between a supervisor and an employee that occurs throughout the year, in support of accomplishing the strategic objectives of the organization. The communication process includes clarifying expectations, setting objectives, identifying goals, providing feedback, and reviewing results.(UC Berkeley)

Six Steps to Effective Performance Management.

1) Commitment from the top

Performance management is for everyone in the organization. The minute it looks like senior managers are somehow ‘exempt’ from the process or are not interested in the outcomes, the process will lose credibility.

To prevent this it is essential that managers lead by example and go through the process themselves. They should also be held accountable for leading the process with their employees. A simple way of doing this is to include effective performance management as one of their objectives.

2) Clear objectives

Objectives should describe desired outcomes rather than tasks. Tasks are the way in which you achieve the outcome and may change whereas the outcomes remain unchanged unless the business priorities shift. Let us explore this in more detail. If I ask you to sweep the floor, dust the surfaces and clean the windows of a room, I am giving you a list of tasks. However if I ask you to clean the room so that all surfaces are free of dirt, I have described an outcome and you would then complete the previously described tasks in order to achieve that outcome. Outcome language is important because it explains what the desired future state is.

3) Balanced feedback

Feedback is essential information that tells the performer what to do more of or less of in order to improve their performance. To have the desired impact on performance it should be given immediately or as close to the situation that warrants feedback as possible. It should NOT be stored up during the course of the year and presented as evidence for a poor performance rating. Not only is this demotivating for the employee, it also represents a list of missed opportunities for performance improvement as well as missed opportunities for reinforcing good behavior.

4) Regular progress reviews

Any activity considered important will be reviewed in order to ensure that it happens. Imagine managing a project without review meetings? How do you know that you are still on track a few months down the line? How do you take into account changes in priorities? How do you know what progress has been made? What support will you need and when? For the same reasons, employee objectives and development plans must be reviewed on a regular basis.

5) Development plans

Part of improving performance is establishing where the shortfall is and finding a way to close the gap. Not only that, but you might be expecting employees to take on greater responsibility or new tasks (perhaps the job has changed or new technology has been implemented). Their performance reflects on you and it is logical that you would put a development plan in place to ensure that they are able to cope with the new challenges. Longer-term development goals not only increase employee motivation but also make good business sense, as it is more cost effective to grow your own skills rather than recruiting them in.

6) Capable managers

The best process will fail if managers do not have the skills to have effective performance management discussions. A productive discussion where employees feel listened to and part of the process will encourage employees and spur them on to achieve their objectives and more. On the other hand an inadequate discussion where employees feel ignored and treated unfairly will demotivate them and at worst persuade them that there is nowhere else for them to turn leading to resignations and high cost turnover.

(Gary Watkins. May 23, 2013)

CONCLUSION

Performance management is a corporate management tool that helps managers monitor and evaluate employees' work. Performance management's goal is to create an environment where people can perform to the best of their abilities to produce the highest-quality work most efficiently and.

References

UC Berkley. Available at https://hr.berkeley.edu/hr-network/central-guide-managing-hr/managing-hr/managing-successfully/performance-management/concepts

Gary Watkins. Available at http://www.workinfo.org/index.php/articles/item/573-six-steps-to-effective-performance-management

Organizational Flexibility

The Advantages of Flexibility in an Organization

In the contemporary world, a small business must be flexible. If your business is too rigid, then it will fail. Rapid changes will occur- in technology and also in the economy - which means that only organizations that are flexible so that they can adapt to these changes will succeed, which will give them a massive advantage over more-rigid organizations.

(Nicky La Marco. December 03,2018)

1)   Enhanced Competitiveness

2)   Improved Efficiency

3)   Your Scheduling Becomes More Flexible

4)   Better Team Building

5)   Better Continuity during Uncertainty

6)   Your Environmental Impact Is Reduce

7)   Hiring Costs and Turnover Costs Are Reduced

8)   Your Organization Will Grow Faster

The need for flexibility in the workplace

The need for organizational flexibility is very important. When looking at why there is a need a for flexibility there are factors that are creating the need for flexibility in the workplace. Things are changing all the time, which means an organisation, must be able to take on these changes. Aspects such as social, technological, economical, legal, political and other global factors in which a business operate within are changing all the time, so organisations should be able to adapt when these changes happen. So in other words they need to be flexible. As it says there is a need for flexibility in the workplace, but there is also a need for flexibility in the workforce, meaning the staff. As change happens, how work gets done too changes therefore the workforce should also be flexible.

(UK essays)

Types of Organizational Flexibility

• Functional Flexibility- Functional flexibility basically states that employees will do jobs that go beyond what they are actually there to do. So they will perform jobs that they weren’t originally specified to do. So employees should be able to do different jobs but still do their own. So the organisation will require multi-skilled employees. So for example would be in an organisation, a debtors clerk doing their own job, which is debtors, but also being able to do creditors when required.
• Numerical Flexibility- This basically involves an organisation bring labor in or taking labor out in accordance service or product demand. The state of the economy can also be a factor for the organisation to bring in or go without labor. They can control this by the number of employees they need at the time. Therefore they will hire as they need. They can do this by hiring casuals or part time workers.
• Financial Flexibility
• Procedural Flexibility
• Skills Flexibility
• Attitudinal Flexibility
• Structural Flexibility

CONCLUSION

The term organizational flexibility refers to the overall flexibility of an organization as a system (structure) defined by a set of resources (technology, personnel, financial resources, and knowledge), processes (operations, tasks, routines) and managerial functions (strategizing, organizing, planning, leading, directing)

REFERENCES

                                    

Nicky LaMarco. December 03,2018 (Available at;

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-flexibility-organization-37369.html)

UKessays (Available at; https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/definition-of-organisational-flexibility.php

Employee Engagement

What Is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals.

This emotional commitment means engaged employees actually care about their work and their company. They don't work just for a paycheck, or just for the next promotion, but work on behalf of the organization's goals.

Engaged employees lead to better business outcomes. In fact, according to Towers Perrin research companies with engaged workers have 6% higher net profit margins, and according to Kenexa research engaged companies have five times higher shareholder returns over five years.(Kevin Kruso., Jun 22,2012)

Employees could appear contented at work but this does not necessarily mean that they are engaged in the true sense. These employees may turn up at work without complaining and get along to doing their tasks of the day. However, making them happy is far different from making them engaged.(Heryati R)

               Performance = Engagement x Alignment x Competency

                               

10 Employee Engagement Strategies

1. Provide Opportunities for Development

Employees will feel disengaged if you don’t offer opportunities for them to progress. No matter your industry, everybody wants the opportunity to grow in their career and feel like they’re fulfilling their potential.

2. Adopt Transparent Leadership

Employees often struggle to trust business owners and managers, especially if things are often kept secret and communication is limited. As a result, you should communicate openly with all your employees and ensure they’re not left in the dark about certain developments. Provide job security and always deliver on your promises.

3. Ensure a Good Work-Life Balance

Maintaining an equal work-life balance is essential in all work environments. If employees feel under great amounts of pressure with workloads and deadlines, it contributes to employee burnout, staff being signed off work, and people leaving their job.

4. Offer Personal Incentives

To increase employee engagement, you shouldn’t just offer more incentives and benefits. Instead, offer ones that are personal and customized. Incentives should suit the specific needs and values of each specific employee, so ask them what benefits they’d like most from your business and work on arranging them.

5. Invest in Health and Wellness

When staff feel stressed at work they’re more likely to feel disengaged. Focus on improving employee wellbeing and consider even implementing your own work place wellbeing program.

6. Create a Better Work Environment

Motivation and production are reduced when environments are dark and dingy. On the other hand, when people are comfortable in their surroundings, their work improves and they feel more satisfied.

7. Celebrate Your Employees and Their Achievements

Nobody wants to feel that their hard work isn’t recognized or appreciated. You should always aim to give back to your employees – after all, you wouldn’t have a company without them. When a member of staff goes above and beyond you should reward them.

8. Establish a Great Company Culture

Company culture is especially important in all workplaces – nobody wants to work in an environment where people don’t get on, feel unmotivated, and where morale is low. All staff wants to feel comfortable and happy in the work environment they’re in.

9. Have Values

You should establish clear company values and communicate these to all employees so they know what they’re working towards.

10. Show Respect

Everybody wants to feel respected, especially in an environment where they spend 8 hours a day. You should always respect your employees and what they value.

(Ellie Collier., October 1, 2018)

CONCLUSION

Employee Engagement is a fundamental concept in the effort to understand and describe, both qualitatively and quantitatively the nature of the relationship between an organization and its employees.

                                        

REFERENCES

Kevin Kruso., Jun 22, 2012. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/06/22/employee-engagement-what-and-why/#3345264b7f37

Heryati R. Available at: https://inside.6q.io/the-definition-of-employee-engagement/

Ellie Collier., October 1,2018. Available at: https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/employee-engagement-strategies/

The Learning Organization

Leadership and "The Learning Organization"

The term "learning organization” describes an organization with an ideal learning environment, perfectly in tune with the organization's goals. Such an organization is a place "where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole (reality) together." (Senge 1992)

                                     

What are the five disciplines of learning organizations?

1. Building a Shared vision

In learning organizations, the vision should be created through interaction with the employees in the enterprise. Many leaders have personal visions that lack transferring them to a shared vision. The only way to create a shared vision is by compromising the organization’s and individual’s visions. People who do not share the same vision might not contribute as much to the organization.

2. Systems Thinking

Instead of focusing on individual issues, systems thinking reflects the observational process of an entire system. Managers have to understand that every action and consequence is correlated with another.

3. Mental Models

The employees must identify the values of the company and what the business is all about. A correct understanding of who we are will enable us to visualize where to go and how to develop further. The organization has to be flexible in accepting changes to new mental models and a new image of the company.

4. Team Learning

To accomplish excellent functional team dynamics, team-learning is a primary importance. It is the discipline by which personal mastery and shared vision are brought together.

 5. Personal Mastery

Personal mastery occurs when an individual has a clear vision of a goal, combined with an accurate perception of reality. The gap between the vision and reality drives the employee to practice all necessary related activities to realize the vision. This creative tension depends on a clear understanding of current reality. For this reason, for personal mastery and the related discipline of a shared vision, looking at, and sharing the truth is a crucial fundamental.

CONCLUSION

A learning organization is the term given to an organization which facilitates the learning of its employees so that the organization can continuously transforms itself. Learning organization develops as a result of the pressures which are being faced by the organizations these days for enabling them to remain competitive in the present day business environment.

  

·        

REFERENCES

•           Peter Senge(1992)  https://www.knowledge-management-tools.net/leadership-and-the-learning-organization.html 
•          Alexander Zeeman  https://www.toolshero.com/management/five-disciplines-learning-organizations/

Organisational Stucture

What is Organisational Stucture?

Organizational structure provides the guidelines for the system of reporting that drives an organization, dividing it into areas or departments that are responsible for certain aspects of the organization's purpose; it shows the relationships between areas and individuals needed to achieve more efficient operations while attaining the goals of the organization.( By: Carole Ann Updated September 26, 2017)

Factors to Consider when Designing an Organization Structure

Organization structure generally refers to the way in which a business or similar organization arranges its tasks, people and techniques. A properly organized organizational structure will help provide transparency within the organization, ensuring the complete and timely disclosure of information. The main factors to consider when designing an organizational structure include clarity, understanding, decentralization, stability and adaptability.( By: Amanda L. Webster Updatekd January 22, 2019)

The broadest kind of organizational structure are as mentioned below:

1. Administrative Structure

Administrative structures include a specific level of regularization. They are preferably suitable for greater scale or larger multifaceted organizations, most compelling on an extraordinary structure. The stress between non- administrative and administrative structures is resounded difference between gradual and automatic structures.

2. Functional Structure

Functional Structure organizational is a structure which includes undertakings like supervision, direction, management, and allocation of responsibilities. The organizational structure selects how the processes and presentations of the organization can carry.

3. Divisional Structure

The divisional structure, which is also called as product structure is an arrangement of a business that breakdowns the organization into separation which is self-concerned with. A division is self-oriented and includes groups of functionalities that execute to make a product.

4. Matrix Structure

The roles and duties incline to be considerably more complex defined in the matrix structure. The matrix structure bonds employees by both function as well as the product. 

CONCLUTION

Every organization has an organizational structure; otherwise, chaos takes over. An organizational structure shows employees a clear reporting system which helps to avoid conflicts and supports good communication. An organizational structure is important for an organization’s smooth functioning.

REFERENCES

  Bizfluent https://bizfluent.com/facts-5030896-organization-structure.html

·         Amanda L. Webster Updatekd January 22, 2019

·         Carole Ann Updated September 26, 2017

 Hierarchy Structure https://www.hierarchystructure.com/types-organizational-structures/