CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The employee morale of a factory is characterized by a contented satisfaction and a willingness to continue working toward the company’s objectives. Morale is essentially emotional in nature. It refers to an employee’s attitude toward his work, his superiors, and his organization. It varies based on working circumstances, superiors, coworkers’ salaries, and other factors (Millett, 2013). Morale may vary from very high to extremely low. The positive feelings of employees, such as excitement, the desire to follow directions, and the readiness to collaborate with coworkers, are indicative of high morale. Poor or low morale is evident from the negative feelings of employees, such as unhappiness, discouragement, and aversion to their jobs (Vetrivel, 2015). The significance of workers’ enthusiasm and work ethic cannot be overstated due to the fact that a large portion of the efforts that define the success or failure of any establishment rely less on management and policies and more on the employees who execute and enforce these policies. The management of employees and the preservation of their work ethic extends beyond the assignment of assignments and payment of wages (Choudhary, 2014). The establishments rely on their employees for the achievement of whatever goal or target they have set for themselves, which means that the maintenance of high performance and the motivation to meet the goals is also a responsibility of the employers, along with the creation of a conducive working environment and the incentive to go above and beyond one’s job description. In order to guarantee that employees go above and beyond their job description, a substantial amount of managerial effort and resources must be devoted to sustaining employee morale and attitude toward work (Gumusluoglu, 2013). Depending on their goals and objectives, each establishment employs a unique strategy for reaching this goal. Every organization, whether public or private, has as its principal objective the accomplishment of its founding objectives. These objectives can only be attained via the prudent acquisition and efficient deployment of its human resources.
According to Brech (2016), Management in Principle, page 10, Training and Development is a facet of management practice that requires a substantial amount of realistic and dependable knowledge, as well as the ability to interpret and translate the disclosed needs into the means and methods of improvement.
In general, counsel on this topic is difficult to provide, and it would be inappropriate to use it to serve as a replacement for professional aid (Busser, 2018).
It is also essential that development programs, whether via training (learning) or other methods, permit and support the self-help efforts that result from this aspect in enhancing competence. Additionally, the counsel of more experienced and senior managers may be tremendously valuable. This is especially true when the required adjustments pertain to personal attitude, conduct toward coworkers and subordinates, or judgment and decision-making. This counseling should not be limited to periodic performance assessments but rather be an integral part of the day-to-day management duties.
According to Lawrence and James (2017), bigger organizations have been focusing more on training and development as a strategy for boosting employee morale among department heads, staff assistants, and officers above the foreman level. The systematic assessment of executive potential, which identifies training requirements, consists of a self-evaluation of training and experience, a soul-searching appraisal of current performance, and a selection of particular things to be improved. One of the finest types of executive growth is a man’s ability to identify his own deficiencies and discover ways to enhance them.
The ability of a leader to inspire exceptional performance impacts the success of an organization and an employee’s capacity to flourish.
When a leader generates resonance or a pleasant emotion that encourages the best in others, they provide natural motivation, morale, and continuing learning (Goleman 2012). The principles of creating emotional self-awareness in staff, self-control, flexibility, and initiative in management, and organizational cooperation and collaboration in social networks have been inadequately implemented in the area of nursing, among many others. Despite this, it has been proposed that cooperation between nurses and physicians is one of the three biggest determinants of nurses’ psychological empowerment (Larrabee, 2013). Relationships on the ward are essential to the satisfaction of nurses. Self-respect and one’s own morale are intimately connected to staff satisfaction and the ability to communicate with other professionals as an equal. The topic of morale in service organizations has not been fully researched, despite claims that great leaders are those that cultivate the morale-boosting traits of compassion, support, and balance in their employees in order to increase staff retention and feelings of renewal. However, it has been shown that poor morale on wards negatively impacts employees (Pearcey & Elliott 2016).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The list of actions required to enhance the morale of the employees covers both establishing a conducive atmosphere for the employees and providing them with incentives. Without this extra push, the scenario is often one of indifference and a lack of motivation to put in additional effort above what is required by their job description. However, businesses usually learn that workers’ additional efforts make all the difference. Therefore, employers create incentive systems that “address these four areas: salary, perks, recognition, and appreciation” (Entrepreneur Media). Those who do not make it to this system are rewarded equally in order to raise their morale on the job, and not only out of respect and recognition. This study’s central research issue is to identify and examine the different tactics implemented by organizations to increase employee morale, using Unilever Nigerian PLC’s Lagos branch as a case study.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to identify the different strategies employed by organisations in boosting their employees’ moral and attitude towards their work by looking at that of Unilever Nigerian PLC Lagos branch. Specific objectives include;
- Determine whether there is need for boosting of employee morale for the benefit of the establishment.
- Identify the strategies for boosting employees morale in an organization.
- Determine whether there is a correlation between boosting employees morale and enhanced employees performance.
1.4 Research Questions
The study will be guided by the following questions;
- Is there need for boosting employee morale for the benefit of the establishment?
- What are the strategies for boosting employees morale in an organization?
- Is there any correlation between boosting employees morale and enhanced employees performance?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The value of this work extends beyond its immediate purpose of boosting and enumerating the many tactics adopted by organizations such as Unilever Nigerian PLC Lagos branch to increase employee morale. It throws light on the human resources myths that have become stale and gives effective and workable incentive strategies. This work is also essential for understanding the brains of typical corporate and public employees and identifying the elements that have the greatest impact on them.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The focus of this research work is on the strategies employed by Unilever Nigerian PLC Lagos branch in order to boost the morale and work attitude of its employees. The strategies involved and discussed in this work border on the ones that aim at recognizing and awarding employee excellence and sustain their interest in the work namely annual leave, car loans, medical insurance, etc.
1.8 Limitations of the study
The demanding schedule of respondents at work made it very difficult getting the respondents to participate in the survey. As a result, retrieving copies of questionnaire in timely fashion was very challenging. Also, the researcher is a student and therefore has limited time as well as resources in covering extensive literature available in conducting this research. Information provided by the researcher may not hold true for all businesses or organizations but is restricted to the selected organization used as a study in this research especially in the locality where this study is being conducted.
Financial constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
Finally, the researcher is restricted only to the evidence provided by the participants in the research and therefore cannot determine the reliability and accuracy of the information provided.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Strategy:Strategy is an action that managers take to attain one or more of the organization’s goals. Strategy can also be defined as “A general direction set for the company and its various components to achieve a desired state in the future. Strategy results from the detailed strategic planning process”.
Boosting:To lift or raise by pushing from behind or below. to advance or aid by speaking well of; promote: She always boosts her hometown. to increase; raise: to boost prices; to boost the horsepower of the car by 20 percent.
Employee’s Morale: Employee morale is defined as the attitude, satisfaction and overall outlook of employees during their association with an organization or a business. An employee that is satisfied and motivated at workplace usually tend to have a higher morale than their counterparts.
