To Help Develop Your Management Skills You Have Been Asked

Among the factors which contribute to a healthy organizational climate, high morale and motivation, is the extent to which members of staff have a sense of commitment to the organization. The extent to their commitment will have a major influence on the level of work performance. Walton suggests that a significant change in approaches to the organization and management of work is from organizational control to commitment in the workplace. The evidence is well grounded that underlying all the policies of commitment strategy is a management philosophy at the centre of which ‘is a belief that eliciting employee commitment will lead to enhanced performance’.

The concept of commitment itself, and the manner in which it is actually created, is not easy to describe. There does, however, appear to be a growing acceptance of the notion of attachment and loyalty. Commitment may be defined in terms of the relative strength of the employee’s identification with, and involvement in, a particular organization.

O’Reilly explains organizational commitment as:

Typically conceived of as individual’s psychological bond to the organization including a sense of job involvement, loyalty, and a belief in the values of the organization.

O’Reilly suggests three processes or stages of commitment:

• Compliance, where a person accepts the influence of others mainly to obtain something from others, such as pay; this is followed by

• Identification, in which the individual accepts influence in order to maintain a satisfying relationship and to feel pride in belonging to the organization; with leads to

• Internalization, in which the individual finds the values of the organization to be intrinsically rewarding and compatible with personal values.

A sense of belonging to the organization

This builds upon the loyalty essential to successful industrial relations. The sense of belonging is created by managers through ensuring that the workforce is:

• Informed

• Involved

• Sharing in success

A sense of excitement in the job

Improved results will not be achieved unless workers can also feel a sense of excitement about their work which results in the motivation to perform well. This sense of excitement can be achieved by appealing to the higher-level needs of:

• Price

• Trust

• Accountability for results

Confidence in management

The senses of belonging and excitement can be frustrated if workers do not have respect for, and confidence in, management leadership. This respect is enhanced through attention to:

• Authority

• Dedication

• Competence

A large measure of the success of the companies studies derives from their management of people and from creating a climate for commitment. For example: “If people feel trusted, they will make extraordinary efforts to show the trust to be warranted.’ However, creating commitment is hard. It takes time, the path is not always smooth and it requires dedicated managers.

Drennan suggests that most managers believe that with real commitment from