Employee satisfaction and Employee retention

Employee satisfaction and Employee retention Introduction Human resource is a key component of organisation as people are the heart of the organisation and play a critical role in determining the performance of the organisation. Companies that are careful and meticulous in recruiting the appropriate people with the required skills and knowledge that will be useful in the organisation are likely to fare significantly better than organisations that are lax in their process of staff recruitment. Human capital is an important source of competitive advantage and provides the organisation with a competitive edge over their competitors (insert reference abt human capital being a competitive advantage). Careful selection and recruitment of people is hence an important process of human resourcing. Once an organisation has successfully recruited suitable and competent people into the organisation, the next step will be retaining this group of competent staff in the organisation as they, with their knowledge and skills are very much an invaluable asse t to the organisation. 2.2 Business Reasons Employee retention is very much a challenge faced by organisations today (insert references), especially the retention of highly capable employees, who are essential in the organisation in this dynamic 21st century business environment where organisations that wish to survive and be successful have to be highly versatile with the ability to respond swiftly and effectively and thus adapt well to the ever-changing business environment. Therefore, it is crucial for organisations to ensure that they are able to retain the best of their people, who are likely to contribute much to the survival and the success of the company. Organisations have long tried to tackle the problem of employee retention and limit turnover of skilled employees (insert references), however it is almost impossible to eradicate such incidences. It is a widely known fact that employee satisfaction is closely related to employee retention and numerous studies have been conducted to support the above statement (insert references). However, it is also likely that there are reasons other than employee satisfaction that might play a crucial role in employee retention (insert references). Organisations will need to look into other areas that impacts employee retention to have a better understanding of it and hence be better equipped in the management of retaining skilled employees. Personal reasons With reference to my prior work experience, where employee turnover was very high in the organisation I worked in, even though employers try to compromise with those employees (planning to leave) and retain them by increasing their salary and offering them more benefits (increasing their job satisfaction), it is not enough to keep them from leaving the organisation. As such, I am highly interested as to what other factors that could lead to peoples intention to leave an organisation even though there is an increase in job satisfaction. It would be certainly be very helpful to gain some insights about peoples intention to leave an organisation and what should be done to prevent them from doing so, should I acquire a managerial career after entering the workforce. Preliminary Review of the Literature Lambert, Hogan Barton (2001) measures the impact on turnover intent based on five factors. They are demographic characteristics (eg. age, gender, education), work environment measures (eg. role conflict, autonomy, co-worker relations), job satisfaction, turnover intent, and alternative employment opportunities. Turnover intent is largely affected by availability of alternative job opportunities, job satisfaction, work environment (financial rewards) and demographic characteristics (age and tenure) with job satisfaction having the greatest effect. Work environment and demographic characteristics generally have an indirect effect on turnover intent as both factors affects job satisfaction. Nonetheless, work environment was found to have a greater effect on job satisfaction than demographic characteristics. Meanwhile, job satisfaction had the greatest effect on turnover intent. Lambert, Hogan Barton (2001) suggested that managers emphasise on creating a favourable work environment to increase job satisfaction, which in turn lowers turnover intent. Besides job satisfaction, an individuals social identification with ones organisation (Moura et. al. 2009) also plays a role in predicting his/her intention to stay or leave the organisation. When employees identify with their organisations, they are prone to be more supportive and loyal to the organisation and desire to be part of a member of the organisation (Ashforth and Mael 1989, cited in Moura et. al. 2009). Results of a study done by Moura and colleagues (Moura et. al. 2009) found that social Identity has proven to be an important aspect people take into consideration when deciding to stay or leave the organisation. As organizational identification (ie. social organisation) largely impacts on employees intentions to turnover, organisations should concentrate on improving employees identification with the organisation. Nonetheless, job satisfaction should not be ignored as is still undoubtedly one of the most vital factors that affect turnover intent. However, as characteristics of each individual varies, it is thus necessary to take into consideration the different factors and levels of job satisfaction as perceived by an individual when analysing job satisfaction (Franek and Vecera 2008 cited from Lee and Way 2010). The impact of individual characteristics on job satisfaction and turnover intention should not be ignored. Factors of job satisfaction can be categorized into, Work Environment factor and Work Itself factor. Both factors, though mutually exclusive, were found to have a large impact on job satisfaction. The Work Itself factor not only evaluates job satisfaction but turnover intentions as well. Although job satisfaction increases motivation and productivity of employees, it does not mean that level of employee retention is at its most efficient. Job satisfaction factors are not necessarily the same as employee retention factors because not all job satisfaction factors will affect employee retention (Lee and Way 2010). Udechukwu and Mujtaba (2007) states that the reasons for employees to stay or leave an organisation can be divided into three main categories, that is, social affiliates, employee and employer, contrary to previous studies that only took employer and social affiliation factors into consideration. Social affiliation (eg. family, social club, religious group) affects employee voluntary turnover as it is something that an employee identifies with or is associated to, that has no connections to the organisation. The needs of an individual and their social affiliations are often in line with each other. Therefore, it is highly likely that an individuals social affiliation will affect his/her decision to stay or leave the organisation. Employers are now providing their staff with more benefits, such as flexi-work hours, to ensure that their needs are met, hence increasing job satisfaction and lowering probability of employee turnover (Udechukwu and Mujtaba 2007). Meanwhile, for employees, it is crucial to them that their needs can be satisfied as the inability to do so will have a negative impact on their performance and productivity (Senguder 2000 cited in Udechukwu and Mujtaba 2007), which could then lead to higher probability of turnover. Deery (2008) examined the reasons for employee turnover by dividing them under three categories as well. The first category is job attitudes (eg. job satisfaction, organisational commitment). The second category is the employees personal attributes of job burnout and exhaustion. The third category addresses employees work-life balance. Previous research emphasised on the role played by job satisfaction and organisational commitment on employee retention but focused less on job burnout, stress and exhaustion A recent contribution to the research on employee retention is the effect caused by work-life balance on employees decision to stay or leave the organisation. A poor balance between work and life (eg. family time) could lead to family conflicts and lower job satisfaction, hence increasing the possibility of employee turnover. Thus, to improve employee retention, it is recommended that employees be given the opportunity to find a balance between work and life. Deerys (2008) emphasis on the importance of a balanced work-life is supported by Griffeth and Homs (2001) (cited in Udechukwu and Mujtaba 2007) research findings that employees who face family-life conflicts have a higher probability of quitting their jobs than those who do not. Previous researchers have also assumed that determinants of employee turnover and employee retention are the same, that is, employee turnover and employee retention are two sides of the same coin (Johnston 1995 cited in Cho, Johanson and Guchait 2009) and when a factor negatively affects employee turnover, it will have a positive effect on employee retention. Cho, Johanson and Guchait (2009) decide to test the assumptions by researching on employee turnover intentions focusing on whether the determinants of measuring the possibility of an individual leaving the organisation are just as useful in measuring the possibility of an individual remaining in the organisation. Three main factors that have been repeatedly found to have a considerably large effect on employee turnover will be used in this study to find if they have the same level of effect on employee retention. The three factors used will be Perceived Organisational Support (POS), Perceived Supervisor Support (PSS), and Organisational Commitment (OC). Findings of the study have proven that the assumption is not necessarily right. POS does have an effect on both employee turnover and employee retention. However, the degree of effect varies, with POS having a larger impact on employee retention than employee turnover. Although PSS was found not to have any effect on employee retention, it does have an effect on employee turnover. OC reduces employee turnover, but does not necessarily have a positive impact on employee retention. As organisations today seek to retain their skilled staff, Cho, Johanson and Guchait (2009) suggested there should be more focused research on factors that lead to employee retention than on employee turnover. A research by Harris, Wheeler and Kacmar (2009) based on the LMX (leader-member exchange) theory which studies the quality of the leader-member (ie. supervisor-subordinate) relationship and assesses the effect that empowerment has on employees in terms of their job satisfaction, turnover intentions. Importance of LMX relationship is relative to the subordinates perceived level of empowerment. When a subordinates perceived level of empowerment is high, the work itself becomes a form of motivator and it is not necessary for them to have a high quality LMX relationship as a motivator. Hence, importance of LMX relationship is relatively low for highly empowered subordinates. However, when subordinates perceived level of empowerment is low, a high quality LMX relationship (eg. providing support and encouragement) will be crucial in making up for the loss of work motivation which could lead to high turnover intent. Therefore it is recommended that supervisors should give more attention on increasing subordinates level of empowerment. If the nature of the job or work environment does not permit high levels of job empowerment, supervisors should then build a high quality LMX relationship with those subordinates to make up for their low level of job empowerment. There appears to be limited business literature regarding job satisfaction and its effects on employee retention, specifically in the public and private sectors in the UK. As work environment and conditions vary between UK public and private organizations, factors and level of job satisfaction likely differs, so does its impact on employee retention. Apart from that, other possible factors that might possibly contribute to employee retention particularly in UK public and private organizations will also need to be explored. The findings from this research will give UK public and private sectors an idea on what would make their staff stay in the organisation. There is also little attention on recommendations that UK public and private organisations can undertake to retain their skilled staff. This is also essential as it gives UK firms, be it public or private, an idea of what they can do to best retain their skilled employees. Research Questions and Objectives 4.1 Research Questions Taking into consideration individual characteristics and differences in background and culture, what are the various perceptions on job satisfaction? What are the factors that could influence job satisfaction? How do these factors lead to employee retention? Do they have a direct or indirect impact on employee retention? How does job satisfaction differ between employees in public and private sectors in the UK? What is the consequent effect on employee retention between public and private sectors in the UK? What are the other possible factors that could lead to employee retention in the UK public and private sectors? What can be done to increase rate of employee retention in both public and private sectors in the UK? 4.2 Research Objectives To critically appraise the significance of employee satisfaction on employee retention To compare and contrast the impact of employee satisfaction on employee retention between the public and private sectors in the UK To critically evaluate other factors contributing to employee retention in UKs public and private sectors To recommend possible course of action to enhance rate of employee retention in both public and private sectors in the UK Research Plan 5.1 Research Perspective The research will be done taking into consideration the realistic working environment in UK organizations today. Most of the information required for the research will be obtained from secondary data (slightly more qualitative than quantitative data), primarily from theoretical and empirical journal articles. As such, both deductive and inductive reasoning will be required for the research. 5.2 Research Design This research uses a comparative design as my area of focus is on two broad categories and a comparative designed research will clearly highlight the differences between the two categories. However, one possible limitation of this is that there might be more similarities than differences between the two categories, hence defeating the purpose of using the comparative research design. 5.3 Data Collection Methods Secondary Data: The sources of secondary data for the research will mostly be textbooks, journal articles, Databases such as EBSCO, Emerald and Science Direct. Textbooks on Human Resource Management (HRM) which can be sourced from Coventry Universitys Lanchester Library will be used to gain some theoretical knowledge about the main subject of research, employee satisfaction and employee retention. Textbooks written in the UK will be particularly useful as the subject and areas of research will be written within the context of the UK, and may even include case studies based in the UK. This will help in answering Research Objectives 1 and 4. Some of the textbooks that may be used are People Planning and Talent Planning: HRM in Practice by Stephen Pilbeam Marjorie Corbridge AND Human Resource Management at Work: People Management and Development by Mick Marchington and Adrian Wilkinson. Journal Articles relative to the area of research will be the primary source of secondary data for this research. They can be sourced either from print journals available from Coventry Universitys Lanchester Library or from journals available through Web Databases such as EBSCO, Emerald and Science Direct. Both theoretical and empirical journal articles will be used as they will be very useful in providing insights as well as the latest and up-to-date findings regarding my area of interest in my research. Journal articles written in the UK context will be particularly useful, especially empirical journal articles that include data collected from surveys conducted in the UK. Moreover, there seem to be a lot of journal articles available via the databases on the topic of my research. I may probably get the bulk of my information needed for the research from journal articles. Therefore, Journal Articles and Web Databases will be used to answer all my Research Objectives, especially for Research Objectives 2 and 3. I will source the journal articles from journals such as the European Journal of Social Psychology, Human Resource Development Review, and Personnel Review. Websites may also be used, such as the UK Government Website which contains some statistics which may be used in the research. One such website would be the Office for National Statistics (ONS) at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/default.asp . Government Websites Peer-reviewed Valid-as I can get up-to-date articles regarding my area of research.

Recent Trends on China Activated Carbon Industry Essay

All Market Research include new market research report â€Å"http://www.allmarketresearch.com/wiki/china-activated-carbon-industry-report-2013-2015.php† to its huge collection of research reports. All Market Research announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:â€Å"http://www.allmarketresearch.com/wiki/china-activated-carbon-industry-report-2013-2015.php† . In recent years, China has seen a growing surge in terms of the production and demand of activated carbon with the export proportion ever declining, on account of intensifying environmental-friendly policies in China as well as accelerated trade protectionism carried out by European and American countries. In 2012, China’s production of activated carbon sustained upward mobility, with the output growing by 5.4% year-on-year to 521,100 tons; and the domestic demand surged by 13.5% year-on-year to 303,000 tons, while the export volume slightly decreased by 3.6% year-on-year to 232,500 tons, with the proportion in output dropping to 48.8%. The estimation shows that the production and consumption of activated carbon in China will grow in a steady way till 2015, with the respective targeted figure realizing 754,000 tons and 448,000 tons. To Have a Copy:http://www.allmarketresearch.com/wiki/china-activated-carbon-industry-report-2013-2015.php In China, the production of activated carbon concentrates in regions abundant in coal resources such as Shanxi and Ningxia. In 2012, enterprises with the annual capacity exceeding 50,000 tons included Ningxia Huahui Activated Carbon Company Limited and Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group. In addition, other coal tycoons also spread their wings towards activated carbon field. A case in point was Datong Coal Mine Group, which started its 100,000 tons/a coal-based activated carbon project in June 2012 with total investment of RMB1.17 billion. Once finished, the expected sales will harvest RMB760 million annually. Wooden activated carbon enterprises in China are largely located in Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. But most of them are small-sized ones with the annual capacity ranging from hundreds of tons to thousands of tons. As of late 2012, Fujian Yuanli Actice Carbon Co., Ltd. had realized the capacity of 55,000 tons/a in the wake of capacity expansion and merger of Huaiyushan Activated Carbon and Manzhouli XinFu Activated Carbon, with business coverage from sugar making, food & beverage and food fermentation to medical, water treatment and waste gas treatment. Moreover, enterprises with the annual capacity of wooden activated carbon surpassing 20,000 tons consisted of Zhixing Activated Carbon, Xinsen Carbon Corp., Ltd, etc.

History of The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy joins forces with governments, non-profit organizations, local stakeholders, indigenous communities, corporate partners, and international organizations to find solutions to conservation challenges. Their conservation tactics include the protection of private lands, the creation of conservation-minded public policies, and the funding of conservation projects around the world. Among The Nature Conservancys more innovative conservation approaches is the debt-for-nature swaps. Such transactions ensure biodiversity conservation in exchange for debt owed by a developing country. Such debt-for-nature programs have been successful in many countries including Panama, Peru, and Guatemala. History The Nature Conservancy was formed in 1951 by a group of scientists who wanted to take direct action to save threatened natural areas around the world. In 1955, The Nature Conservancy acquired its first parcel of land, a 60-acre tract along the Mianus River Gorge which lies on the border of New York and Connecticut. That same year, the organization established the Land Preservation Fund, a conservation tool that is still used today by The Nature Conservancy to help provide funding for worldwide conservation efforts. In 1961, The Nature Conservancy formed a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management that was aimed at protecting old-growth forests in California. A gift from the Ford Foundation in 1965 made it possible for The Nature Conservancy to bring on its first full-time president. From that point on, The Nature Conservancy was in full swing. During the 1970s and 1980s, The Nature Conservancy setup key programs such as the Natural Heritage Network and the International Conservation Program. The Natural Heritage Network collects information about species distributions and natural communities throughout the United States. The International Conservation Program identifies key natural regions and conservation groups in Latin America. The Conservancy completed its first debt-for-nature swap to fund conservation work in Braulio Carillo National Park in 1988. During that same year, the Conservancy joined forces with the US Department of Defense to help manage 25 million acres of military land. In 1990, The Nature Conservancy launched a large-scale project called the Last Great Places Alliance, an effort aimed at saving entire ecosystems by protecting core reserves and establishing buffer zones around them. In 2001, The Nature Conservancy celebrated its 50th year anniversary. Also in 2001, they acquired Zumwalt Prairie Preserve, a protected area on the edge of Hells Canyon in Oregon. In 2001 through 2005, they purchased land in Colorado that would later form the Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, as well as expand the Rio Grande National Forest. Most recently, the Conservancy organized the protection of 161,000 acres of forest in the Adirondacks of New York. They also recently negotiated a debt-for-nature swap to protect the tropical forest in Costa Rica.

Prostitution Is The Practice Of Performing Sexual Activity

Prostitution is the practice of performing sexual activity to get paid. This practice has existed for centuries and yet the question remains – is prostitution moral? It is because prostitution involves selling something very personal to earn money. Many people think that prostitution encourages slavery for women and selling body in return for money is very wrong while others think that prostitution is just like any other service so there is nothing immoral about it. In this paper, I will argue that prostitution is morally impermissible with reference to three competing moral viewpoints. The three approaches to prostitution that I will discuss are Marxist, consequentialist and virtue ethicist approaches. Virtue Ethics: Virtue ethics†¦show more content†¦This might make prostitution seem morally permissible under this ethics. Prostitution can involve honesty on the side of both parties. Kindness is also very much possible in prostitution and the sex in this case can be consensual. Also any kind of force may not be involved in this practice. There are also people who don’t have much to boast on except for their looks. So if their livelihood depends on sex work, this might be understandable since it might be one of the few ways for them to survive. Pg 185 halwani However, Respectfulness is questionable in prostitution as it may not be very respectful to pay someone just to have sex with them. Moreover, even though consent is one of the very necessary elements for a morally permissible sexual act, it is still not sufficient. â€Å"Disloyalty, unfaithfulness, dishonesty, vengefulness, humiliation, greed, vanity, and arrogance form a partial list of reasons why sexual acts can be wrong even if they were consensual† pg 179 halwani While having sex with a prostitute, the client or the prostitute herself might be disloyal, unfaithful and dishonest to his/her wife, girlfriend, husband or boyfriend because they wouldn’t approve of such act. 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