TYPES OF COMMITMENT AND THEIR EFFECTS IN INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

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TYPES OF COMMITMENT AND THEIR EFFECTS IN INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

The topic of organizational commitment has been explored widely in relation to its various aspects and their subsequent resultant effects on the work output by the employees of a particular organization. This paper focuses on the different types of organizational commitments and the consequences they have on the employees and to the organization ultimately. Various sources of information including case study analysis involving the levels of organizational commitment are explored and examined to provide support to the purported claims. The paper seeks to establish the idea that enhancing organization commitment among employees in an organization results in improved job performance and organizational efficiency as well as output.

Mowday, Porter, & Steers (1982) described organizational commitment as “the relative strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in a particular organization.” Many researcher in the past four decades proposed that organizational commitment was better measured in relation to the organizations’ employee turnover rate as opposed to the level of job satisfaction among employees. However, Camp (1994) moves away from this school of thought and suggests that presently, organizational commitment denotes the degree to which employees’ and organizations’ goals are in agreement. It goes towards showing the extent to which employees identify and strain to fulfill organizational goals.

This present idea of gauging organizational commitment examines certain employee attributes. Key among these is the appraisal of employee identification with organizational goals; intention and willingness to remain working for the organization; and the level of motivation to fulfill organizational obligations and goal achievement. These attributes consolidate into the three types of organizational commitment which form the focus of this paper. They are categorized into: affective e commitment; continuance commitment and normative commitment. Camp (1994) points out that the degree to which employees commit themselves in each of this category has its own resultant effects in the role they play on achievement of organizational goals.

Affective Commitment

Out of the three types of organizational commitment, affective commitment (AC) can be regarded as the most explored area. Research on this particular attribute has proven that there is a significant positive relationship between AC and employee output in an organization. Rhoades, Eisenberger and Armeli (2001) argue that AC is the most imperative determinant of employee loyalty and dedication. In essence, their research found that employees that are affectively committed determined acquire a sense of identification and belonging with the organization, as opposed to those with little or no AC.

As a result, the resolve of such employees in the pursuit of organizational goals increases accordingly. They become willing to aggressively participate in organizational activities and push the given agenda forward, even at their own personal expense. They acquire an emotional bond and unique affiliation with the organization they work for which in turn increases their desire to remain with the organization. Studies conducted by Meyer and Allen (1997) also pointed out strong evidence on the relationship between AC and organizational turnover rate, absenteeism from work and performance levels among employees.

In the same study, certain attributes contributing to the experiences workers undergo at the workplace proved to be strong antecedents of employee affective commitment (Meyer and Allen, 1997). In particular, systems such as supervision support in the organization as well as employee rewards schemes and procedural justice processes proved to be closely associated with the levels of AC, as opposed to organizational structural features or even the individuals’ personal characteristics, among employees.

Rhoades, Eisenberger and Armeli (2001) reiterate that this phenomenon, where there is formation of emotional commitment towards the organization, may be explained by the Organizational Support theory. The theory has been put across by a number of scholars and it assumes that:

“In order to meet socio-emotional needs and to assess the organization’s readiness to reward increased efforts, employees form general beliefs concerning how much the organization values their contributions and cares about their well being (perceived organizational support)” (Rhoades, Eisenberger and Armeli 2001).

Perceived Organizational Support (POS) tends to make employees personify the organization. This is leads to the development of AC and based on the concept of reciprocity, employees connect emotionally and respond to their AC towards the organization commensurately.

The combination of positive POS and AC among employees leads them to reward the organization by increasing and improving their efforts towards attaining the goals set out for them by the organization. Another consequence of increased AC among employees is a reduction in the rate of voluntary employee turnover.

Continuance Commitment

Continuance commitment refers to the accumulated costs an employee acquires over a period of time while attached to a n employer. This include: transferability of skills, pension plans, seniority benefits among others. The value of these elements usually appreciates over time the more an employee remains with one employer. Continuance commitment (CC) therefore refers to the value of these elements that an employee risks losing if they quit their jobs.

Suliman and Iles (2000) conducted a study on the impact of CC on job performance amongst factory employees in three different companies. The employees were fulltime workers in an industrial manufacturing plant and when confronted with the subject of changing employers, most of them stated that it was not an option they would consider. Among the many concerns they listed were: lack of an attractive alternative opportunity and the benefits they had acquired during their employment period at their present workplace.

However, Dixit and Bhati (2012) state that the CC approach develops in an employee who has perceived the potential loss of the perks and benefits they have accumulated while working for an employer; and in an employee who while working realizes that they do not have any alternative employment opportunity should they decide to leave their current employer. In such a case, the employee can be termed as cognitive of his/her predicament.

In an employee, the awareness results in increased CC to the organization. Resultantly, this has been proven to increase the productiveness of employees and their dedication to achieving organizational goals. Increased positive CC is as a result of the realization that the risks of losing the accrued benefits might be a cost too high for them to bear. The realization also makes employees appreciate their work and commitment to improving it further to avoid losing any accrued “investments” that they have worked for. The organization benefits as a result.

Normative Commitment

Normative commitment (NC) refers to the commitment towards and organization by an employee due to the pressures arising from societal norms calling for employees to be committed to their organizations out of obligation. Some of the commitment may also arise from a personal sense of duty to the organization. Research on NC has nonetheless found that it positively affects the organization in relation to employee motivation and work output.

Meyer and Allen (1997) point out that NC develops based on influences from various experiences during the formative years of an individual. An example is that of growing up in a family where parents insist on and live by proper work ethics such as being punctual to work and remaining loyal to employers. Cultural influences may also come into play when developing NC.

According to Dixit and Bhati (2012), NC plays a significant role in determining individual employee work output and general attitude towards work. It is closely related to continuance commitment since it is based upon beliefs that the resultant benefits an employee gets from the organization oblige him/her to remain loyal to the organization. NC advocates for the acceptance of employment terms and subsequent reciprocation, irrespective of the level of fulfillment the job gives the employee or how much the organization rewards the employee (either by improving salary, status or other benefits) over the span of their employment.

Despite these shortcomings on the employees’ person as a result of NC, the organization usually ends up profiting from the loyalty of employees with high NC. However, most forward thinking organizations usually tap into the abilities of employees exhibiting high NC and reward them commensurately. This further motivates those employees into giving more time and energy in pursuing organizational goals and at the same time, motivates those employees with low NC to improve themselves and their efforts in the workplace and subsequently improve the organizations’ output.

References

Camp, S. D. (1994). Assessing the effects of organizational commitment and job satisfaction on turnover: An event history approach. The Prison Journal, 74(3), 279-305.

Dixit, V., & Bhati, M. M. (2012). A Study about Employee Commitment and its impact on Sustained Productivity in Indian Auto-Component Industry. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 1(6), 34-51.

Meyer. J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1997). Commitment in the workplace: Theory, research and application. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M. (1982). Employee-Organization Linkages: The Psychology of Commitment, Absenteeism, and Turnover. New York: Academic Press.

Rhoades, L., Eisenberger, R., & Armeli, S. (2001). Affective commitment to the organization: The contribution of perceived organizational support. Journal of applied psychology, 86(5), 825-836.

Suliman, A., Iles, P. (2000). Is continuance commitment beneficial to organizations? Commitment-performance relationship: a new look. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15 (5), 407–422