CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.0Background to the Study This study is part of the ongoing contributions to the subject of alignment of HR practices with organization missions and goals. Recent studies have confirmed that the survival of any organization is hinged on its ability to fully realize the potential of its human capital. According to the study by Shah and Bandi (2000) HR practices has to be focused on the core asset of human capital so as to enhance the capabilities of organizations in the knowledge intensive IT enabled services in India. Bontis (2006) empirically studied 38 software development organization of Egypt and found a positive correlation between human capital and organization performance. Organizations are slowly dawning to the realization that most people will only give their very best when they feel they are being adequately rewarded and valued for their work. Over the last ten years, the noise about scarcity of talent has reverberated until it has reached an all time high; escalating into the now famous ‘talent war’ where people with valuable skills are being traded in the talent open market(Simpson, 2009:8). Organizations are currentlyfaced with ‘extremely pricey talent,
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background to the Study
This study is part of the ongoing contributions to the subject of alignment of HR practices with
organization missions and goals. Recent studies have confirmed that the survival of any organization
is hinged on its ability to fully realize the potential of its human capital. According to the study by
Shah and Bandi (2000) HR practices has to be focused on the core asset of human capital so as to
enhance the capabilities of organizations in the knowledge intensive IT enabled services in India.
Bontis (2006) empirically studied 38 software development organization of Egypt and found a
positive correlation between human capital and organization performance. Organizations are slowly
dawning to the realization that most people will only give their very best when they feel they are
being adequately rewarded and valued for their work.
Over the last ten years, the noise about scarcity of talent has reverberated until it has reached an all
time high; escalating into the now famous ‘talent war’ where people with valuable skills are being
traded in the talent open market(Simpson, 2009:8). Organizations are currentlyfaced with ‘extremely
pricey talent, less focus on people development and fewer people willing to give that extra to
win’(2009:9). According to Okeakialam(2011:4), the differentiating factor between a high
performance culture and ‘no’ performance culture is when people are enthusiastic about contributing
to the organization rather than giving minimal service out of merely doing a job.
Organizations , no matter how small, have some functions to perform. They exist because certain
objectives have to be achieved by them, and these organizations differ from place to place. However,
they have some factors that are common to them. The factors according to Robbins and DeCenzo
(1998) include people, objectives and structure. Therefore organizations are made up of people who
are individual members of the society. Individuals, with different perceptions, learning, experience
and attitude to their working world are a central factor of any organization. The success of any
organization largely depends on the effective management of people, their commitment and their
involvement with the organization. The management of any organization involves many activities
and the most essential ingredient of any organization is the ability to handle people
effectively(Okubanjo, 2001). It is obvious from this point of view that without people there cannot be
any organization and no meaningful activity could take place, for behind every action or document in
an organization, there are people.
People being referred to here are the individual members of the organization, who are very important
to an organization and necessary in any setting whether acting in isolation or as part of a group. In
response to expectations of the organization, or because of the external environment, people
significantly differ from one another. Each has unique perception, personality and experience from
life events. They have different ethnic backgrounds, different capabilities for learning and for
handling responsibilities; different attitudes, beliefs and aspiration levels(Okubanjo, 2001). Human
resources managers, therefore, need to be aware of various factors affecting individual behavior and
making them different from one another within the organization. The focus on the individual largely
differentiates employee engagement from other related constructs in organization behavior.
Employee engagement has been defined and operationalized in many ways and researchers agreed
that engagement can take different forms and that it is a complex construct(Meyer, Allen and Smith
1993; Mottaz 1998). According Saks (2006) practitioners and academics tend to agree that
consequences of employee engagement are positive. Moreover there is a general belief that there is a
connection between employee engagement and business results (Harter et al, 2002:272). It must be
noted, as earlier pointed out, that enagagement is “an individual level construct and if it does lead to
business results, it must first impact individual level outcomes”(Kular et al, 2008:11). This
consequently leads to the expectation that employee engagement is related to individuals’ attitudes,
intentions, and behaviours (2008:11) but then there is need to draw the line between employee
engagement and similar organizational behavior constructs.
Saks(2006) argues that organizational commitment differs from engagement in the sense that it refers
to a person’s attitude and attachment towards their organization, whilst an it could be argued that
engagement is not merely an attitude but it is the degree to which an individual is attentive to their
work and absorbed in the performance of their role in addition, while Organizationally Committed
Behaviour involves voluntary and informal behaviours that can help co-workers and organization, the
focus of engagement is one’s formal role performance rather than purely extra-role and voluntary
behavior. This view is also shared by Robbins et al (2004) by arguing that “… engagement contains
many of the elements of both commitment and OCB but is by no means a perfect match with either.
In addition, neither commitment nor OCB reflect sufficiently two aspects of engagement – its two
way nature and the extent to which engaged employees are expected to have an element of business
outcomes.
No doubts business leaders face certain workforce challenges which have great impact on business
bottom-line. The Key workforce challenges in achieving organizational goals are as follows
according to Kenny Ong(2011:3), former Vice President, CNI Holdings, Malaysia:
Right person, wrong job[5%]
Wrong person, right job[20%]
Wrong person, wrong job[1%]
Right person, right job but managed wrongly[74%]
The above is a pointer to the strategic importance of how people are managed on the job and it is no
longer news that employee engagement is one of themost powerful deciding factors either in
delivering excellent business results or in determining a company’s demise. According to the Gallup
organization (2010:4), ‘the world’s top-performing organizations understand that employee
engagement is a force that drives performance outcomes. In the best organizations, engagement is
more than a human resources initiative- it is a strategic foundation for the way they do business’.
This probably led Okeakialam(2011, p.5) to see a high performing organization as ‘one where
people can develop and contribute to their fullest potential, which indicates that performance is
directly tied to employee’.
The significant issues that have confronted businesses in the last two or three decades is the
increasing role of human capital as a key component of competitive advantage. Invariably other
issues like changing regulatory environment, corporate re-engineering, creative destructions in
especially the IT industry[to borrow Schumpeter’s popularized concept] and the ripple effects in the
new media and financial industries have more than any other secured the place of people as a
determinant of organizational performance. As a result of these, this study is concerned generally
with the role human capital play in business performance and particularly with the relationship
between employee engagement and business outcomes.
Research suggests that many companies are not succeeding and a huge percentage of ‘engine-room’
employees are disengaged(Haygroup,2001:8). Issues like Job burnout in contrast to vigour and
passion for a job within a typical organization has been increasing over the years(Bayram et al,2010).
Job burn out according to Maslach, Shaufelli and Leiter(2001) has three dimensions: exhaustion,
cynicism and inefficiency. These situations have increasingly led to companies seeing people as a
source of competitive advantage.
Accordingly if people are a key source of competitive advantage, their engagement and performance
levels can make any organizations’ strategy(Haygroup,2001:10). The study by Hay Group defined
engaged performance as ‘a result that is achieved by stimulating employees enthusiasm for their
work and directing it toward organizational success [and] this result can only be achieved when
employers offer an implicit contract to their employees that elicits specific positive behaviours
aligned with the organizational goals’(Haygroup,2001:5)
1.1 Statement of Problem
The Nigerian banking industry has witnessed a lot of turbulence in recent times. This, to much an
extent, was due to banking sector reforms which led to consolidation of banks during the 2004-2007
period and the recent banking reforms which started after the global financial crises of 2008-2009
and which led to the summary acquisition of troubled banks by the government through the Central
Bank of Nigeria in 2009. The reforms in the banking sector also led to the creation of special purpose
vehicle that will enable the government to intervene in the sector and thereby ensure the stability of
the financial system. The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) acquired ‘toxic
assets’ of banks and also managed the nursing back to financial health of the troubled institutions.
These reforms had largely resulted in the employment of downsizing, pay-cuts, staff rationalizing to
keep the financial institutions lean and mean. These measures had however resulted in the unintended
consequences of creating uncertain employment future, low morale and general unsatisfaction within
the sector. These consequences had started impacting on customer relations and business
performance. It must be noted that researches have been conducted to find the causes of the problems
in the Nigerian banking sector, no research work had tried to link employee engagement with
business outcomes as other factors are mostly advanced for the favourable and unfavourable business
outcomes. The high cost of doing business in Nigeria, the comatose level of social infrastructure
and the general uncertain politico-economic environment have been related to business outcomes in
Nigeria. For example the series of robbery events which targeted banks in many States in Nigeria
this year had led to summary and temporary closing down of affected branches and this now doubt
will have significant impact on business performance of the affected banks. To much focus on the
above challenges had obscured the role played by employee engagement in achieving business
outcomes.
Research done by Parasuraman and colleagues (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1988) serves as
the foundation for the framework linking service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intention of
customers. Frontline employees represent the organization and play a pivotal role in the employee-
customer interface. In other words service employees tend to the direct link between an
organizational’s goals and operational missions and the customers. However, while it is important to
gain the perspectives of customer on satisfaction levels of service delivered, it is equally essential to
essential to examine employees perceptions of organizational strategic practices to see how this
related to their levels of engagement which helps to promote service quality (Johnson, 2011:37).
Therefore since the tendency for most studies is to use the customers’ perspectives to gain insights
into level of service quality, the problem which this study set out to solve is firstly linking employee
engagement with service quality excellence. Secondly the study used employees’ perspectives to
know if engagement can be used as antecedents to service quality excellence in financial services
organizations.
1.2 Research Objectives
This study has the general objective of investigating the effect of employee engagement on business
outcomes in the Nigerian banking industry by using Access Bank Plc as case study. Importantly the
study aims at:
1. examining the state of employee engagement in the Nigerian Financial industry.
2. Identifying the role of human resource management practices and employee engagement
play as driver of service quality.
3. Contributing to the present scholarship on employee engagement and business performance
management.
4. Documenting and sharing knowledge of best practices as far as HR functions and policies are
concerned in Nigeria.
5. Understanding the effectiveness of employee engagement measures at bringing about desired
customer-service oriented attitudes.
1.3 Research Questions
The study provided answers to the following questions:
What is the relationship between employee engagement and service excellence?
To what extent does employee engagement constitute the antecedent of service quality
excellence?
1.4 Scope of the Study
The Study is strictly focused on identifying and measuring the variables of employee engagement
and examining their effects on service quality. The study is however limited to the activities of
Access Bank Nigeria Plc. in the financial years 2009 to 2010.
1.5 Significance of the Study
There are both theoretical and practical aspects regarding the significance of conducting a research
study of this nature. The outcomes of this research will improve the understanding of the relationship
between employee engagement and business outcomes in the Nigerian banking industry.
The theoretical significance of the study is demonstrated by the fact that it would contribute to the
existing knowledge and literature on people management and organizational development. Stemming
from this, evidence-based recommendations will be made so as to facilitate better strategies and
policies aimed at creating and sustaining high performing businesses. From the practical point of
view, this study will aid practitioners of strategic human resource management by contributing to
their knowledge on best practices in the linking human resource with the organization strategy.
1.6 Background /Business Context of Access Bank Plc
Access Bank Plc is a Nigeria-based bank, engaged in the provision of money market activities, retail
banking, granting of loans and advances, equipment leasing, corporate finance and foreign exchange
operations. The Bank operates four business segments: Institutional Banking, which provides
banking products and services to corporate organizations; Commercial Banking segment provides
commercial banking products and services to the middle and retail segments of the Nigerian market;
Investment Banking division offers financing and risk management solutions and advisory services
for the Bank’s corporate and institutional customers, and Retail Banking segment provides private
products, custody, credit and debit cards, and customer loans. The Bank has nine foreign and three
local subsidiaries include, among others, Access Bank (Gambia) Limited and Access Bank (Sierra
Leone) Limited.
The bank operates within the Nigerian financial system comprises several financial institutions,
instruments and operators. These institutions include the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal
Ministry of Finance (FMF) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which are the major
regulatory bodies. Others are the commercial banks, development banks such as the Federal
Mortgage Bank of Nigerian [FMBN], the Bank of Industry [BOI] among others. The banking
Ordinance of 1952 was the first legal instrument that shaped the operation of banking business in
Nigeria (Ekezie,1997). Prior to the ordiance, the era of 1892-1952 has been referred to the free-
banking era. According to Ekezie:
Since anybody could go into a banking business only by having a company registered as a limited liability company under the companies act. It was an era without any banking legislation. Many banks opened their doors to the public, collecting deposits during this period, only to close their doors, after a few years [some ,one year] of operations against their depositors. Thus, this era was defined as an era during which money was thrown down the drains, especially through the establishment of indigenous banks. (Ekezie, 1997:128)
The early 1990s witnessed reforms within the sector which led to gradual increase in the capital base
of commercial banks from One billion naira in 1991 to the present 25 billion capital base. In their
study, Inanga and Soyibo (1989) identified that the era of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) is
characterized by shift from regulation to deregulation and this resulted in the second banking boom
in the economy. As such the government assigned an increasing role to the market in the allocation
of resources. Consequently this period has been identified with an increasing number of new
commercial and merchant banks. According to Inang and Soyibo (1989), between 1986 and 1989, a
total of 40 new commercial and merchant banks opened doors for business. One of such banks is the
Access Bank Plc.
At Present, the Access Bank Plc operates in an increasingly regulatory environment as the global
financial crisis of 2008-2010 had demonstrated the need for increased regulation of the financial
markets and indeed putting place mechanisms that will enhance government intervention so as to
forestall a systemic collapse.
1.7 Need for the Study
There is a general for a study of this proportion so as to empirically link employee engagement with
service quality excellence in the financial services industry. Much of the studies on employee
engagement had been from HRM consulting practitioners, hence the need to contribute to scholarly
discourse on engagement.
There is particular need to examine the extent to organizational culture plays significant role in
creating wellbeing in the workplace and an engaged workforce.
1.8 Structure of the Dissertation
The first chapter introduced the study by providing the background to the study, statement of
problem, research objectives and questions, scope and significance of the study, need for the study.
The second chapter focused on the literature related to employee engagement in relation to the
intellectual development of the concept, its related constructs and the differences. The chapter also
examined the literature on service excellence and also hinged the study on the theoretical frameworks
of organizational culture and social exchange. The third chapter is concerned with materials and
methods. It included the introduction, research design, and population of the study, sampling and
sampling technique, research instruments, procedure for data collection and method of data analysis.
The fourth chapter analysed and interpreted the presented results of the study. It includes the general
description of the data, presentation of results and discussion of findings. The fifth chapter
summarized the findings of the study, inferred conclusion and provide recommendations based on
the findings
1.9 Researcher’s Role
The researcher is by no means connected to the Access Bank Plc as a staff or customer. The
researcher’s role in this study is limited to requesting from the Human Resource director the
permission to access the company’s files and records in terms of labour relations. However the
request was denied on the grounds of confidentiality. The researcher’s role in the study was largely
limited to data collection with research instrument and analysis of such.
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction
Relevant literature materials of theoretical as well as empirical importance are reviewed in this
chapter. It must be noted that employee engagement has received significant attention of human
resource management scholars and practitioners but there is still need for a sustained query of its
fundamental assumptions in the light of new evidences.
2.1 Review of Related Literature
2.1.1 Background Conceptual Issues
According to Masson et al (2008), organizational researchers have long recognized that organizations
cannot function through purely contractual relationships with employees. In their opinion,
organizations require cooperation from employees rather than mere compliance. Strennel (1991)
tested propositions concerning the relationship between organizational commitment, job satisfaction
and perceived availability of alternative employment to intentions to leave or remain in child care
work. Results indicated that commitment, satisfaction with pay and promotion opportunities and
perceived job alternatives contributed significantly to variance in intention to leave. Surveys of 350
teacher trainees in Singapore’s training institution were used by Lam et al (1995) to examine
relationships among quality of life, career commitment and job satisfaction amd withdrawal
cognition. Career commitment and job satisfaction were important predictors of withdrawal
cognition and perceptions of the social status of teaching strongly related to commitment to and
satisfaction with teaching.
Fresko and Barbara (1997) investigated a model for predicting commitment to teaching as measured
by the extent to which Israeli teachers expressed an unwillingness to change careers. Surveys of
elementary and secondary teachers indicated that only job satisfaction directly predicted
commitment; other factors such as professional self-image, abilities, gender, job advancement and
Asselage and Eisenberger (2003) identified that in the development of exchange relationships
between employees and organizations, exchanging valued social and emotional resources is
important. The study further opined that the contributions from one party to another are valuable in
the exchange relations. Thirdly that procedural justice is regarded as an important antecedent of the
relationship between high-quality employees and an organization (Asselage and Eisenberger,
2003:75).
Schein’s Theory of Organization Culture
Organizational culture broadly refers to a relatively stable set of beliefs, values and behaviours
commonly held by a group (Lim, 1995). According to Schein (1992) culture is the most difficult
organizational attribute to change, outlasting organizational products, services, founders and
leadership and all other physical attribute of the organization. It is ‘ a pattern of shared basic
assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaption and internal
integration; that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore to be taught to new
members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems (Schein,
1992:12) The main reasons why cultures develop in organizations, according to Schein (1992:67) is
due to external adaptation and internal integration. Schein’s three cognitive levels of organizational
culture shall the model of the study. According to Schein (1992) the first level of organizational
culture model refers attributes that can be seen, felt and heard by the uninitiated observer collectively
known as “artifacts”. This include facilities, offices, furnishings, dress code of members, visible
awards, mode of interaction, slogans, mission, statements and creed. Artifacts comprise the physical
components of the organization relay meaning. The second level relates to the values or professed
culture of members. Information on both the first and the second and first level can be ferreted out
with the use of questionnaire and this leads to an understanding of employee attitudes.
The third level of organizational culture relates to the tacit assumptions. These are elements of
culture that are not seen and not cognitively identified in daily interactions of members. Those with
sufficient experience in the organization and who could understand this level of culture usually
become acclimatized to its attributes over time, thus reinforcing the invisibility. At this level, surveys
and casual interviews with members cannot draw out these attributes. A much more indepth means is
required to first identify and then understand organizational culture at this level.
2.3 Justification of the Study
The literature materials reviewed above and the theoretical framework had demonstrated the gap in
the scholarship. This gap is shown by the lack of firstly, adequate linkage between employee
engagement and service quality. In other words, employee engagement has been largely treated as an
end in itself even though most scholars and practitioners agree that business organizations will
benefit immensely from an engaged workforce. In addition the reviewed materials had demonstrated
the need for the present study in the sense that much work has been done on the linkage between
employees engagement and business outcomes in the Nigerian context. On the whole this study will
prove valuable by contributing firstly to the growing literature on employee engagement;
demonstrate whether it is a mere fad or an important workforce and business development strategy;
and finally provide insights from a Nigerian perspective.
CHAPTER THREE: MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.0 Introduction
This section presents the research design, population and sample used and the sampling procedure ,
instrument development and data collection method. Also to be contained in this section is the
method for data analysis.
3.1 Research Design
The study employed the descriptive research design of ex-post facto type. This is because the
variables being studied have already occurred . The task here is to see the extent to which the
independent variables of independent variables of employee engagement indicators affect and
influence the dependent variables of service quality excellence.
3.2 Population of the Study
The target population of this study consists of all employees of Access Bank Nigeria Plc.
3.3 Sampling techniques and Sample
1. Sampling frame
The sampling frame contains the basic details of all members of the population from which
samples are to be drawn[Omotoso,2009]. The sampling frame for this study is the employee
register of Access bank Plc.
2. Sampling Technique
The Sampling technique adopted for this study is the stratified and random sampling
technique. This is because of the study area, Access Bank Plc in Nigeria is structured along
100 branch network and hence the need for stratified sampling on branch basis and then
simple random sampling per branch. The participating Branches of the Access bank were
selected based on the criterion of the proximity of each branch to at least three other Banks’
branches within a 300 metres radius. Consequently, 12 respondents per branch, were
randomly selected from each branch’s employee register in a sequence of the third nominal
position after the previous. In all the sample consists of 120 respondents as the researcher
thought that this is appropriate for the study location of Lagos, being the commercial capital
of Nigeria.
3.4 Research Instrument
The survey research instrument used for this study was an adaptation of Nigeria’s Chartered Institute
of Personnel Management (CIPM) employee engagement measurement into a service oriented
structure. The CIPM measure fits into the HRM practices of Asset Bank and indeed the Nigerian
Financial services industry.
The design of the questionnaire included a first part that addressed the demographic issues, job
descriptions and branch location. The questionnaire consisted 32 items and was structured in Likert
Scale format so as to elicit the level to which respondents feel about a questionnaire item.
3.5 Validation and reliability of the instruments
The research instrument was validated by the assigned project supervisor from Middlesex University
Business School. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained through a pilot study made of 15
respondents. The pilot study revealed some internal validity problems and therefore necessitated the
need for a new design of the questionnaire.
3.6 Process and Participants
The participants in the research are made up of the permanent staff in the three departments of
banking Operations, Marketing and Office support of Access Bank Plc. The permanent staff are
those employees that works directly with the Bank, that is on payroll and have entitlement to other
benefits like housing, transport, health insurance, annual leave among others. The approval to
administer the question on the staff was gotten from the Group Head, Human Resource Management,
through the regional manager, Lagos 2.
3.7 Method of Data Analysis
The Statistical Package for the Social Science [SPSSVersion 15] was used to analyze the collected
data. The data was nominally code so as to facilitate input on the variable view. The analysis was
achieved with the use of descriptive statistics, particularly measures of central tendencies,
frequencies and simple percentages.
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF RESULTS, DATA ANALYSIS
AND INTERPRETATION
4.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the results, data analysis and interpretation of results. The study set out to
examine how well employee engagement can be linked with and drive service quality excellence in
the Nigerian banking industry. The Data was collected on a branch by branch basis with the help of
two research assistants employed by the researcher. The researcher also got permission from the
Bank’s Director of Human resources to administer the questionnaire on the member of staff in the
selected branches. It must be noted, however, that the Bank did not permit the employees to use
work-time to answer the questionnaires but were encouraged to take the questions home so as to
provide the answers. Access Bank Branches were selected based on the criterion of their proximity to
at least three other Banks’ branches within a 300 meters radius. The reason for this criterion was to
situate the study within a competitive context. On the whole, twelve branches in Lagos satisfied this
criterion and ten employees per branch were sampled.
The Collected data was analyzed through the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences’
[SPSS] Descriptive Statistics. The data was coded by the input of ordinal data.
4.1 Characteristics of the Respondents
The overall number male respondents is 49 and the female respondents, 71. In other words, about
41% of the respondents are male. The age range of the respondents is between 22 years and 46 years.
Of the total respondents, 23 responded YES to the question “do you supervise any-one?”. This
shows that 80% of the respondents have ‘non-supervisory role’ and therefore closer to the customers
because of their frontline role.
4.2 Presentation of Results and Interpretation of Findings
This section presents the results of the analyzed data. The researcher administered 120 questionnaires
and the study recorded a hundred percent rate of completion and return. This was made possible by
simplicity and understandability of the questions asked the relevance of the questions to the
respondent’s experience. Importantly the researcher gave adequate to the respondents to fill the
questionnaires and also followed up on them.
Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics Analysis of Result
Variables N-Valid N Missing Median ModeRelationship between work and corporate goal
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Intention and ability to build career in the Bank
120 0 3.0000 3.00
The bank values hard work and Commitment among employees
120 0 1.0000 1.00
It is in the interest of employees that the Bank remain a going concern
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Organizational Advocacy 120 0 1.0000 1.00level of balance btw organizational interest and Customer delight
120 0 3.0000 3.00
Empowerment to use discretion 120 0 3.0000 3.00Empowerment to use discretion 120 0 3.0000 3.00Grassroots ownership and contribution to business process
120 0 3.0000 3.00
Bank's employee welfare score 120 0 3.0000 3.00Level of Trust that the organization has on its employees
120 0 5.0000 5.00
Business Process Technology Adequacy 120 0 1.0000 1.00Customer Service Technology deployment level
120 0 2.0000 2.00
Technology Reliability as facilitator of efficiency
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Commitment towards Superior Customer Service
120 0 2.5000 3.00
Level of Employee Identification with Corporate Social Responsibilities
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Level of Employee involvment in CSR fomulation
120 0 2.0000 2.00
The Level of Value that Bank places on Grass-roots opinion
120 0 3.0000 3.00
Relationship btw Supervisors and junior colleagues
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Espirit De Corp 120 0 1.0000 1.00Physical Environment suitability 120 0 1.0000 1.00Opinion on fellow colleagues 120 0 2.0000 2.00Job-Ability Congruence 120 0 2.0000 2.00Professionl/Personal Development Encouragement level
120 0 2.0000 2.00
Personal Development Opportunities 120 0 3.0000 3.00Intention to leave 120 0 5.0000 5.00Labour Market Opportunities 120 0 5.0000 5.00Human Resource Stategy 120 0 1.0000 1.00Competitiveness of Reward and Pay 120 0 2.0000 2.00Recruitment 120 0 2.0000 2.00Adequacy of Training and Induction at Entry 120 0 2.0000 2.00Employee Voice and Grievance Resolution Mechanism
120 0 1.0000 1.00
Source: SPSS Analysis of Author’s field Survey, 2012
Question One: My work in this Bank is central to our customers’ financial well-being.
Table 4.2Relationship between work and corporate goal
Total 120 100.0 100.0 Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2012Interpretation of findings: Grass-roots ownership of business process initiatives is function of the
level of trust that employers have on employees. The tables above shows that most of the employee
were neutral when asked that “No matter our individual and collective resolve, suggestions and
opinion in this branch office, the head-office always have its way at all times and going against the
head-office is highly risky” but vociferously disagreed that “It does not matter if the customer is
delayed infinitely but when I’m not certain about a situation, even if no harm will be done, I must
refer the issue to my superiors as I can’t use my discretion at all”. The fact that respondents were
largely neutral to the first question shows that frontlline employees at the input into the overall
direction of the organization in some situations which is supported and encouraged by the head
office. This situation is called political will defined by Kutty (2008) as when people decide together
to do things by coming together on a platfoam. The fact this was encouraged is in line with the
principle of political authority which according to Kutty (2008) is the will of the authority to back
and implement the collective decision. The second question shows the level of individual
empowerment felt by employees and the fact that a majority strongly disagreed with the stated notion
shows the degree of empowerment enjoyed by the frontline staff. According to Lawler and
Worley(2006) for a high involvement work practices to be effective, and for it to have a positive
impact on employee engagement, employees must be given power as they argued that this will lead
to employees having the ability to make decisions that are important to their performance and to the
quality of the of their working lives, thus engaging them in their works. They further contend that
power can mean having final authority and accountability for decisions and their outcomes because
involvement is maximized when the highest level of power is pushed down to the employees that
have to carry out the decision, resulting in gaining maximum level of engagement possible from
employees.
Question 10: All that the Bank cares about is its profits and business position: Employees are just
Employee Voice and Grievance Resolution Mechanism3.503.002.502.001.501.000.50
Freq
uen
cy
100
80
60
40
20
0
Histogram
Mean =1.31Std. Dev. =0.577
N =120
Figure 4.
Interpretation of Findings: The tables above shows that most respondents agree that there is
efficient and visible grievance reolution mechanism that is accessible to all employees and customer.
It must be noted that employees would not have agreed to this question if it is non existence or
ineffectual. This also underscores the concept of organizational justice discussed in the previous
question.
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION
5.0 Introduction
In this chapter, the summary of the discussions in the previous chapter is provided as well as the
conclusion of the study , recommendations and suggestions for future studies.
5.1 Summary of the study
The aim of the study is to understand how and to what extent does employee engagement constitute
antecedents to service quality excellence in the Nigerian Banking Industry, with Access Bank Plc as
case study.
Chapter one introduced the topic of the research. The chapter stated the aims and the objectives of
the research, the need for study, significance of study, brief information about the study organisation
and its industry were all discussed.
Chapter two reviewed previous literature of some authors on employee engagement and service
excellence. The chapter discussed largely what constitutes employee engagement, its predictors and
set the study within the theoretical frameworks of the various job satisfaction theories and the Social
Exchange Theory. Job satisfaction can affect labour market behavior and influence work
productivity, work effort, employee absenteeism and staff turnover. Job satisfaction has been
discovered to be a strong predictor of overall individual well-being. The social exchange theory
posits that all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefits analysis and the
comparison of alternatives.
Chapter three presented the research methods used in carrying out this research. The participants in
the research organisation were chosen randomly, and most of them were highly skilled employees.
Questionnaires were administered to 120 employees in order to have their views and also to get first
hand information. The statistical tool chosen to analyse the data collected was with the use of SPSS
(Statistical Package for Social Sciences).
Chapter four also presented in detail the data analysis and its interpretation. With the use of SPSS,
frequencies and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data collated in order to achieve the
aims and objectives of the research.
5.2 Summary of Findings
This section presents the key findings of the research which shows the level and the extent that
employee engagement act as antecedent to service quality excellence.
5.2.1 Discussion of Empirical Findings
The fact that more than 70% strongly agreed that they believe that their job is central to the
customer’s financial wellbeing shows a high degree of organizational service orientation. According
to Wrzesniewski et al (1997) employees that can connect their work to a larger meaningful mission
or purpose of the overall organization are likely to have higher levels of interest. This is much better
when such interest is directed towards the customer. In addition, the study had further extended the
concept of organizational service orientation, which had been linked to employees attitudes such as
organizational commitment (Lytle and Timmerman, 2006), job satisfaction and organizational
citizenship behavior (Gonzalez and Gerazo, 2006), as a sine qua non of a service organization. It
must however be noted that employees’ perception of the relationship of their roles with the customer
cannot be seen as a ‘stand-alone construct’. Hence it has to be examined in relationship with their
perception of the criticality of their roles within various aspects of the service delivery ladder. 85% of
the respondents agreed that the failure of the bank will affect them directly. Therefore this fact
creates an high motivation for the employee identify with the corporate mission and goal. This is the
task significance element of Hackman and Oldham (1975) three dimensions of meaningfulness of
job.
Only 8.3% disagreed to seeing themselves working in the bank in the next three to five years with
expanded roles and responsibilities while around 40% were neutral. It must be noted that Men and
women do not come to work-places just to work as they also come there to make and build a career.
This shows that the employees believe that there are opportunities to build a career in the Bank and
perceive that there are such opportunities in the bank . A focus on achieving career outcomes is
certainly far superior to just drifting as it lifts employees out of the inertia and dullness that would
envelope them other otherwise. The employees’ perception on career opportunities in the bank is best
placed alongside other variables. Question three states that “ the Bank values hardwork, goodwork
and commitment and recognizes such when found in any member of staff”. This shows that the Bank
engage its employees by upholding procedural justice. According to Gaertner and Nollen (1998) the
successful organization is likely to be one that can manage employment practices and perceptions of
those practices by all groups of employees in a way that results in positive job related outcomes. The
person-environment fit addresses the question of whether the individual employee have an
opportunity to do what they do best in their current roles(Harter, Schmidt and Keyes, 2002:7). This is
key driver of employee engagement which will in turn have significant impact on service quality as
employees have the chance to do what fits their talents, qualifications and interest. This variable is
measured by the questionnaire 23, “ I get the opportunity to do what I do best everyday at work”.
That 69.2 % of the respondents strongly disagreed and 21.7% remained neutral when asked if they
intend to quit the company in the next six months if the opportunity appears only tends to reinforce
the perception that employees have high intention to build a career and stay with the bank, and this is
not because they were constrained by the structure of the labour market. 69% also strongly disagreed
to the view that if they quit their jobs today, it will be difficult to get another related job with same
level of pay”.
75% of the respondents agreed that it is not unusual for the staff members to brag about the bank
being the best place to work and do business. Organizational advocacy is significant element of
organizational citizenship behavior and it goes a long way in driving up service quality. The
tendency of organizational citizenship behavior has been directly linked with higher levels of
engagement among employees according to Dyne and Graham (1994).
81.7% of the respondents are neutral when asked that is it true that customers are always right and
whether they will be sanctioned severely if they violate rules and established procedures so as to
cater for a customer’s legitimate request The question was posed to test the level of power that
employees enjoy to make decisions under uncertainty and also to balance organizational interest with
customer delight. It must be noted that this situation carries an element of risk and it depends on the
level of trust that the organization has in its workforce. This shows that the Bank largely empowers
its employees to use their discretion on good judgment, while the employees are aware of this fact
and would largely be guided by the situation on ground. According to Conger and Kanungo (1988),
employee empowerment would be able to give employee a control over job related situation and
decisions. Hartline et al(2000) submitted that with this control, employees are able to be flexible and
adaptive in the face of changing customer needs and resulting in customer oriented behavior.
60% of the respondents are neutral when asked whether if the standard rules apply, no matter the
uniqueness the situation. This perhaps suggests that the type of customer’s needs will play a crucial
role in this situation but they will have organizational support for their position. Organizational
support goes a long way in engaging employees and thereby increasing service quality as employees
are assured of support. Saks (2005) showed that perceived supervisor support is antecedent of
employee engagement and this can have significant impact customer service quality. Herkett etal
(1996:164) has it that service managers are cognizant of the fact that frontline workers and customers
need to be the center of the management’s concern.
54.2% of the respondents are neutral when asked “No matter our individual and collective resolve,
suggestions and opinion in this branch office, the head-office always have its way at all times and
going against the head-office is highly risky” . The fact that respondents were largely neutral to the
above question shows that frontlline employees at the input into the overall direction of the
organization in some situations which is supported and encouraged by the head office. This situation
is called political will defined by Kutty (2008) as when people decide together to do things by
coming together on a platfoam. The fact this was encouraged is in line with the principle of political
authority which according to Kutty (2008) is the will of the authority to back and implement the
collective decision. 70.8% of the respondents disagreed when asked It does not matter if the
customer is delayed infinitely but when I’m not certain about a situation, even if no harm will be
done, I must refer the issue to my superiors as I can’t use my discretion at all”. This shows the level
of individual empowerment felt by employees and the fact that a majority strongly disagreed with the
stated notion shows the degree of empowerment enjoyed by the frontline staff. According to Lawler
and Worley(2006) for a high involvement work practices to be effective, and for it to have a positive
impact on employee engagement, employees must be given power as they argued that this will lead
to employees having the ability to make decisions that are important to their performance and to the
quality of the of their working lives, thus engaging them in their works. They further contend that
power can mean having final authority and accountability for decisions and their outcomes because
involvement is maximized when the highest level of power is pushed down to the employees that
have to carry out the decision, resulting in gaining maximum level of engagement possible from
employees.
57.5% of the respondents are neutral when asked whether all the Bank cares about is its profits and
business position and employees are just mere tools to achieve this objective. Employee welfare is a
significant component of the exchange that occurs within the employer-employee relationship. 80%
of the respondents agreed that when compared to the industry standard they are well remunerated for
their jobs. 80% of the respondents also agreed that the bank’s recruitment process is independent,
fair and based on genuine need and merit. According to Johnson (2011:25), HRM practices have
been found to have a strong relationship with Employee Engagement and these practices pertain to
performance appraisal, benefits, reward, compensation, development and labour relations. Therefore
employees who perceive their organizations as having sound and satisfactory HRM practices may be
exchanging or paying back to their respective organizations by being positive, courteous and
hospitable toward customers (Tsaur and Lin, 2004). Salary level has also been revealed as being
significantly associated with organizational performance for both manager and non-managers (Fey,
Bjorkman and Pavlovskaya, 1988). Schneider etal (1985) had also found out that employee
perception of HRM practices were significantly related to customer perceptions of service quality.
This is demonstrated by the around 50% rate of the respondents that agreed and 35% neutral when
asked if they can call or call on a customer at their cost without option of reimbursement if a
customer filled a request form wrongly or possibly might need a service.
65% of the respondents agreed while 35% strongly agreed that the Bank has enough technology to
complement their efforts of serving the customers. 31.7% of the respondents strongly agreed, 37.5%
agreed and 13.3 % are neutral when asked if the customers are well motivated to use self-help
technologies like ATM, Internet banking , Call-centres . Around 50% of the respondents
agreed and 35% neutral when asked if the internet connection, software and hardware have always
been reliable for my customer service operations. Job performance is enhanced when delays are
eliminated from business process. Basic needs in the workplace start with clarity of expectation and
basic materials and equipment being provided. To some extent, when these needs are met, it reflects
the credibility of the organization to the employee. Bart (1998); Bart, Bontis and Taggar (2001)
submit that the degree to which an organization aligns its internal policies, structure and procedures
with its mission was positively associated with employee behavior which in turn had the most direct
relationship with financial performance.
More than 90% of the respondents agreed that if the bank had always carried out genuine CSR that
they really love and which keeps up with their beliefs and the aspirations of the external community.
Around 80% of the respondents agreed when asked if they have had opportunity to suggest CSR
initiatives and even if their suggestions have not been adopted ,will be adopted in future.
54.2 of the respondents are neutral while over 40% agreed when asked if the Bank values their
reports about customer needs and act on them at all times.
62.% of the respondents strongly agreed and 20% agreed that many times during the peak hours
when customers are numerous,their supervisors join them in the front to attend to customers. More
than 80 % of the respondents agreed that even though they have superiors, the truth is that everyone
is treated with mutual respect. This findings tends to support the view advocated in Church (1995)
that it is important that leaders create a service culture that will promote servce giving attitudes of
employees. Other studies have found that leadership behaviours of mangers are directly related to
service quality and performance at the unit level in organizations with attitudes of managers and
leaders shaping the service orientation of the organization( Berry, Parasuraman, Zeithaml, 1994). In a
study of study of airline service employees, it was found that employees’ satisfaction with leadership
and work demands were strongest predictor of service behavior.
More than 80% of the respondents thought that each of the fellow colleagues are highly efficient and
more than 80% of the respondents believed that they get the opportunity to do what they do best
everyday at work. The relationship between employees and their opinion of co-workers and the
suitability of the work physical environment goes a long way in determining the level of job –
turnover in an organization which is key driver of employee engagement. In their study, Walter and
Buch (2008) has it that positive group affective similarity and within group relationship quality are
reciprocally related in the form of a self reinforcing spiral which is driven by mechanism of affective
sharing and affective similarity –attraction between group members. This positive group effect spiral
is proposed to strengthen both the similarity of group members’ positive effect and the quality of
their interpersonal relationship (2008:12).
More than 80% of the respondents has the opinion that there is someone at work who encourages
their development. 45% are neutral while around 30% agreed that they have had opportunities at
work to learn and grow in the last one year. More than 70% of the respondents agreed that they
were well trained and inducted into the operation process when they joined the bank.Several studies,
for example Al-Emadi and Marquardt (2007), Bartlett (2001), Meyer and Smith (2000) and Hartline
and Jones (1996), have shown that there is significant relationship between various measures of
training and employee attitudes, especially higher level of employee service attitudes that been
strongly correlated with training. The importance of opportunities for such training is underscored by
Moorman and Felter (1990) by pointing out that influential situational characteristics to a great extent
reside at leadership levels.
Around 75% strongly agreed that the bank’s grievance resolution structure is visible, accessible and
fair to all employees and customers. Schneider and Bowen (1993) have shown that internal
organizational elements that are visible to employees spill over on the customers because of the
psychological and physical closeness that is encountered between both parties.
5.3 Conclusion
The above findings suggest that there is high level of employee engagement as shown by the low
intention to leave despite the fact that there is no constraint posed by the structure of the labour
market. In other words, the Access Banks employees demonstrated high intention to stay with the
bank because they have chosen to do so; because there are opportunities to make a career in the bank;
because the Human Resource Management Practices, a significant component of organizational
justice, is perceived to be fair and just by the employees; because the bank values the opinions of the
employees in relation to the business process and empowers them to make discretionary decisions
that will help the organization; because there are opportunities for personal development and learning
and the management also encourages such; and finally because through adequate training and
induction, the employees understand the mission of the Bank and the importance of their roles
towards achieving this mission.
Based on the above, the employees demonstrated engagement importantly by an high level of
commitment to superior customer service as most are ready to incur personal costs to help the
customers. This has shown that Access bank had managed to transform its employees into customers’
champions. Customer Champions are employees that are ready and motivated to serve the customer
and make his day [Kutty,2008:676). The customer champion organizations are peopled with
employees who have the eye for quality and that are ready and willing to go the extra-mile to satisfy
the customer. Therefore when employees are highly engaged in the financial services industry, the
customers are the top gainers as they are kept satisfied by the internal customers of the organization
who had in turn discovered that the only way to reward an organization to satisfies them both bodily
and spiritually is to repay by giving their best at their jobs.
From the foregoing it could be generally submitted that employee engagement tends to act as
antecedent to the achievement of service quality excellence in the Nigerian banking industry.
This study is a contribution to the extant studies on the drivers of service quality in the service
industry, especially the financial sector. According to Cronin and Taylor (1992), service quality, an
antecedent of customer satisfaction measures how well the level of service delivered is compatible
with the expectation of customers.
5.4 Theoretical Implications
The study had shown that, for employee engagement to be a successful driver of service quality
excellence, it had to be seeped within the organization culture and not as a one-off HR intervention
or program. This is demonstrated by the suggestion of grass-root ownership and contributions to
trivial issues like getting employee suggestions for CSR initiatives. Importantly the value placed by
the Bank on employee reports, the carte-blanche given to the branch office by the head office in
some issues all suggest an organizational culture of engagement. This had reinforced the theoretical
underpinnings of the study: Theories of Organization Culture and Social Exchange.
According to Bowen and Schneider (1988) and Gronroos (1990), the task of managing the
relationship between employees and customers requires a service oriented culture. In service
organizations, like banks, a strong and firmly rooted culture which develops an appreciation for good
services is very important. This is more so when it is realized that situations vary in that customers
behavior cannot be fully predetermined and standardized(Johnson, 2011:22). Therefore a service
oriented culture is needed to convey to employees how they should respond to new and unforeseen
circumstances. The study has shown that Access bank demonstrated a mastery of the service oriented
culture by equipping employees with discretionary powers as 60% of the respondents are neutral,
with a few disagreeing when asked whether if the standard rules apply, no matter the uniqueness the
situation. This perhaps suggests that the type of customer’s needs will play a crucial role in this
situation but they will have organizational support for their position.
The low intention to leave and the willingness to go extra-mile to satisfy the customer, perhaps
provides an insight into the employee side of the social exchange occurring between the employer
and employees. The research suggests that the employees are willing to make a career in the bank as
there are opportunities for such, understood there role in ensuring that the bank remains a going
concern and are ready to provide superior customer service. This is because the employees
understand that their jobs are crucial to customer’s financial wellbeing.
The major theoretical implication of this study is that it had extended the bilateral model of Social
Exchange Theory, that is employer-employee relations to a trilateral model of Employer-Employee-
Customer relations, with employees being at the centre and thus the critical path for the exchange of
values going on within the relationship portrayed.
5.5 Recommendations
Stephen R. Covey in his book, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness has it that people do
have and make choices, whether consciously or subconsciously. According to Covey(2004:22), their
choices can ascend incrementally from rebel or quit; engage in malicious obedient; willing
compliance; cheerful cooperation; heartfelt commitment; to the highest rung of creative excitement.
This study therefore recommends that:
In the time of global economic crises, it is the onus of the leadership of the financial services
organization to implement sound corporate governance because employees apart from
earning money desire the job security that will provide the opportunities to build career. If
unsound decisions by the corporate leadership lead to crises, experience has shown that it is
the hardworking frontline employees that become victim of downsizing or rightsizing. Hence
service organizations had to get it right from the beginning.
Stemming from above, the financial services organizations should understand that employees
are really the tangible product as they are the ones that translate the intended meanings of the
intangible services provided to the purchasing public. It is suggested that one-off HRM
programmes will not work as they will betray the temporariness of such interventions.
Therefore, what is needed is an organization culture of service orientation that is bent on
creating the much needed win-win scenarios at all times. The major problem that is being
witnessed in the Nigerian Insurance industry is that Insurance agents are not remunerated in
terms of basic salary at all, hence they lack the financial security to start-off in the business.
This had resulted into huge rate of agents turnover in that industry and the consequence is the
low market penetration by the insurance industries. In fact according to Okeke(2012) most
insurance companies in Nigeria depend and rely solely on government and institutional
patronage.
The greatest source of empowerment comes from adequate and consistent training and
mentorship programs. Financial service organizations should take training as the canon of the
business.
Finally it is necessary for financial services organizations should periodically carry out
organizational service climate surveys because as it has been noted several times, a hundred
years of business success does not determine the future success.
5.6 Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for future research
All research studies have limitations and this study is by no means an exception. The study largely
suffers from limitation imposed by methodology. The use of survey research design is accompanied
by several limitations that may have influenced the direction of the study. The study relied solely on
self-report questionnaire data and single source informants (employees at branch offices). As a result,
common method variance could have created possible threat to internal validity. According to Gall,
Gall and Borg,(2007), common method variance applies when variable are assessed using the same
research method. In addition participants could have misinterpreted questions or deliberately
answered questions falsely. When this happens, there is a threat to internal validity. Moreover
differences in individual motivation an knowledge of respondents are also limitations that are
inherent in surveys (Schneider, etal, 1996).
Based on the above limitations, the study suggests that the research should be extended to other areas
of financial service industry with emphasis on the adoption of other methods of data collection like
interviews, direct observations and focus group discussions to address the issue of limitations
suffered by relying solely on surveys. This will, however, involve deployment of higher level of
financial resources which is another limitation suffered by the present study.
CHAPTER SIX: LEARNING REVIEW
6.0 Introduction
This section presents the researcher’s learning review which is a part of the dissertation process.
Limitations, findings, expectations, strengths, and skills developed are discussed with some other
identified issues.
6.1 Review
The research had been intellectually renewing and interesting. This is because there were initial false
starts but with the help of the project supervisor, the researcher was able to be guided in the right
direction. At the end what had largely been tentative came to be empirically tested. Employee
engagement, in the view of the researcher is not a new HRM fad but is a concept that is defining
winning organizations in the new knowledge economy. Organizations that have discovered this key
to success will always achieve business success.
The researcher was exposed to insights in the area HR practices, especially employee enagement
from a practical point of view and the study had largely shown that as far as the financial services
industry is concerned, where the product remains inseparable from the mode of delivery or
distribution, employee engagement is the sole determiner of service quality. Employees personalize
good or bad service and it lies in the management to kindle the flame of creative excitement in their
employees or go on with business as usual.
The dissertation initially started with the topic “the impact of employee engagement of business
outcomes in the Nigerian financial services industry-A case study of Access Bank”. However with
the help of the supervisor, the researcher was able to firstly clarify the “business outcome” part of the
topic as profits, credit ratings, customer perception/loyalty. This approach however created a
problem as the supervisor logically showed that it will be virtually impossible to interview or sample
the opinions of customers. Besides, the supervisor also pointed out that there are several intervening
variables between employee engagement and the business outcomes issues identified above.
Consequently the topic witnessed metamorphosis until the researcher found out from literature
reviews that there is gap in scholarship between employee engagement and service quality. In fact
employee engagement in most literature materials tend to be treated as an end on it self and in cases
where it is identified as a means to an end, the extant studies in a large part glossed over the issue.
Therefore the research had been enlightening as it had contributed, howbeit in little way, to existing
knowledge on employee engagement, where it is the antecedent to service quality excellence in the
services industry.
The researcher encountered some limitations while on the course of the study. For example the
Access Bank Plc Officials did not provide the opportunity for employees to answer the qustioaire
during work hours. This invariably increased the research cost as the researcher had to return at
different times to retrieve the completed questionnaire. In fact, the researcher had to return to the
same branch more than twice because an employee forgot to bring the completed questionnaire from
home.
The feedback on the research outcome has been sent by email to the Group Head, Human Resources
Management, who initially gave the permission for the questionnaires to be administered on the
employees.
Om the whole, the researcher had learnt critical reasoning, problem analysis and a high level report
writing skills. The researcher had also been exposed to dexterity in the use of search engines to get
needed journal materials for the study. In fact the study relied 100% on online journal materials.
REFERENCES
Al-Emadi, M.A and Marquardt, M.J (2007) “ Relationship between employees beliefs regarding training benefits and employees organizational commitment in a petroleum company in the State of Qatar” International Journal of Training and Development Vol.11[1]
Allen ,M.J and J.P Meyer (1993) Organizational Commitment: Evidence of Career Stage effects” Journal of Business Research Vol.26[7]
Allen, J..A. and Meyer, J.P. (1996). “Affective Continuance and Normative Commitment to the Organisation: An Examination of Construct Validity” Journal of Vocational Behaviour. Vol. 49.
Allen, N.J and Meyer J.P (1990) “ The Measurement and antecedent of effective continuance and normative commitment to the organization” Journal of Occupational Psychology Vol.63
Angle, H.L. and Perry, J.L. (1983). “Organisational Commitment: Individual and Organisational Influences” Work and Occupations. Vol. 10.
Barsky, D.J and Labagh, R. (1992) “A strategy for customer satisfaction” The Cornell H.R.A Quarterly October
Bart, C (1998) “Mission statement rationales and organizational alignment in the no-for-profit public health care sectore” Health Care Management Review Vol.23[4]
Bart, C.K et al (2001) “A model of the impact of mission statements on firm performance” Management Decision Vol. 39 [1]
Beardwell, J and Claydon, T., (2007) Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach [5th Edition] Harlow: Prentice-Hall
Begley, T.M. and Czaijka, Y.M. (1993). “Panel Analysis of Moderating Effects of Commitment on Job Satisfaction, Intent to quit and health following Organisational Change”. Journal of Applied Psychology vol. 78.
Benett, H. and Durkin, M. (2001). “The Effects of Organisational Change on Employee Psychological Attachment: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Managerial Psychology. Vol. 15(2).
Berry.L.L., Zeithaml, V.A., and Parasuraman, A. (1994) “Improving service quality in America: lesson learned” Academy of Management Executive Vol.8[2]
Berry.L.L., Zeithaml, V.A., and Parasuraman,A (1985) “A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research” Journal of Marketing Research Vol. 18, May
Billingsley, B.S. and Cross L.H. (1992). “Predictors of Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Intent to Stay in Teaching: A Comparison of General and Special Educators” Journal of Special Education Vol. 254(4).
Chen, Z. X. et al. (1998) “Loyalty to Supervisor Organisational Commitment and Employee Performance: The Chinese Cake” Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings 98. OB:J1-9.
Christian, S.A., and Slaughter, J.E (2007, august) “Work engagement: a meta-analytic review and directions for research in an emerging ares” being a paper presented at the 67 th annual meeting of Academy of Management, Philadelphia
Church, A.H (1995) “Linking leadership behaviors to service performance: do managers make a difference? Managing Service Quality Vol.5[6
Conger, J.A., and Kanungo, R.N., (1988) “The empowerment process: integrating theory and practice” Academy of Management Review Vol.13
Corty, Stephen, R. (2004). The 8th Habit: Forum Effectiveness to Greatness. New York: Free Press.
Cronin, J.J., and Taylor, S.A (1992) “Measuring service quality: A reexamination and extension” Journal of Marketing Vol.56
Cropapanzano, R et al (2002) “ UIsing Social Exchange Theory to distinguish procedural from interactional justice” Group and Organization Management Vol.27[3]
Cropazano, R and Mitchell, M.S (2005) “Social Exchange Theory: An Interdisciplinary Review” Journal of Management Vol.31
Crotts, John C. and Ford, R.C (2008) “ Achieving service excellence by design: the organizational alignment Audit” Business Communication Quarterly Vol.71[233]
Cufaude, J. (2004) “Are your employees highly engaged?’ Credit Union Executive Newsletter Vol.19
Deci, E.L., and Ryan, R.M., (2005) “The support of autonomy and the control of behavior” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Vol.116
Eby, I.T., et al (1999) “Motivational bases of Affective Organisation Commitment: A Partial Test of an Integrative Theoretical Model”. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology. Vol 72(4).
Ekezie, U. (1997). Elements of Banking Onitsha: Africana First Publishers plc.
Fey, C.F., Bjorkman and Pavlovskaya, A. (2000) “The effect of human resource management practices on firm performance in Russia” The International Journal of Human Resource Management Vol.11[1]
Fresco and Barbara (1997) “Predicting Teacher Commitment” Teaching and Teacher Education. Vol. 13(4).
Friendman, I.A. and Faber, B.A. (1992). “Professional Self Concept as a Predictor of Teachers Burnout” Journal of Educational Research. Vol 86 (1).
Gaertner, K.N and Nollen S.P (1998) “ Career experience; perceptions of employment practices and psychological commitment to the organization” Human Relations Vol.42
Gall, M.D., Gall, J.P. and Borg, W.R., (2007) Educational Research: An Inroduction (8th
Edition) Boston: Pearson Eduication, Inc
Gouldner, A.W. (1960). “The Norm of Reciprocity: A Preliminary Statement” American Sociological Review. Vol. 25(2).
Gronroos, C., (1996) “Relationship approach to marketing in service contexts: the marketing and organizational behavour interface” Journal of Business Research Vol.23
Gustafson, S.B. et al (1995) “Personal Style and Person Environment Fit: :A Pattern Approach” Journal of Vocational Behaviour Vol. 46(2).
Hackman, J.R.. and Oldham, G.R. (1975). “The Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey” Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol. 60.
Hallberg, U.E and Schaufelli, W.B (2006) “Same-same” but different? Can work engagement be discriminated from job involvement and organizational commitment? European Psychologist Vol.11
Harter J.K, Schmidt, F.L. and Hayes, T.L (2002) “ Business unit level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement and business outcomes: a meta-analysis” Journal of Applied Psychology Volume 87[2]
Harter, J.K and Schmidt , F.L and Keyes C.L (2002) “Wellbeing in the workplace and its relationship to business outcomes: a review of the Gallup Studies in Keyes C.L and Handt J (eds) Flourishing : The Positive Person and Good Life Washington DC: American Psychological Association
Hartline, M.D., and Jones, K.C (1996) “Employee Performance Cues in a hotels service environment: Influence on perceived service quality value and word of mouth intentions” Journal of Business Research Vol.35[3]
Hartline, M.D.., et al (2000) “Corridors of Influence in the determination of customer-oriented strategy to customer contact service employees” Journal of Marketing Vol.64
Jagger Linda, et al. (2002) “Congruence between Personality Traits and Chosen Occupation as a Predictor of chosen Job. Satisfaction for People with Disabilities. Rehabilitation Counselling Bulletin Vol. 36(1).
Johanson M.M and Wood, R.H., (2008) “Recognizing the Emotional Element in Service excellence” Cornell Hospitality Quarterly Vol.49[310] August
Johnson K.R (2011) “ The relationship among organizational service orientation, customer service training and employee engagement” unpublished PHD. Thesis submitted to the Graduate School, University of Minnesota
Kandampully, J. and Atonacopuoluo Elena (2000) “Alchemy: the transformation of service excellence” The Learning Organization Vol.7[1]
Khan, H. and Matlay, H. (2009). “Implementing Service Excellence in Higher Education” Education and Training. Vol. 5 (89).
Khan, W.A., (1990) “ Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work” Academy of Management Journal Vol.33
Kruml, S., and David, Geddes (2007) “Exploring the dimension of emotional labour: the heart of Hochschilds work” Managent Communication Quarterly Vol.14
Kuler, S., et al (2008) “Employee Engagement : Literature Review” Working-Paper series 19
Lanver, K.J. and Kristof-Brown, A. (2001). Distinguishing between employees Perceptions of the Person Job and Person – job Organisation fit” Journal of Vocational Behaviour Vol. 59(3).
Lawler , E and Worley, C.G (2006) “Winning support for organizational change: designing employee reward systems that keep on working” Ivey Business Journal March/April
Macey, W.H and Schneider, B. (2008) “The meaning of employee engagement” Industrial and Organizational Psychology: perspectives in Science and Practice Vol.1
Maslach, C., Schaufelli, W.B., and Leiter, M.P., (2001) “Job Burnout” Annual Review of Psychology Vol.52
Masson et al (2008) “Leveraging employee engagement: the practical implications” Industrial and Organizational Psychology Vol.1
Meir, E.I. et all (1997). “Environmental Congruence Group Importance and Job Satisfaction” Journal of Career Assessment. Vol. 5(3).
Meyer, J.P. and Smith, C.A. (2000) “HRM practices and organizational commitment: test of a mediation model” Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences Vol.17[4]
Mottaz, C.J. (1988) “Determinant of Organisational Commitment” Human Relations. Vol. 41.
Mowday, R.T. et al. (1982). Employee – Organisation Linkages. The Psychology of Commitment, Absenteeeism and Turnover. New York: Academic Press.
Niehof, B.P., and Moorman R.H (1993) “Justice as a moderator of the relationship between methods of monitoring and organizational citizenship behavior” Leadership of Management Journal Vol.36
Nijhof, W.F. et al (1990) “Employee Commitment in Changing Organisations: An Exploration” Journal of European Industrial Training. Vol. 22(6).
Okeeke Cadric (2012). A History of Modern Insurance Business in Nigeria Unpublished B.A.. Long Essay Submitted to Department of History and International Studies, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo.
Okubanjo, Anthony, O. (2001). Person-Environment Congruence: Job Satisfaction and Self Efficacy as Predictors of Organisational Commitment. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis Submitted to the Department of Educational Foundations, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye.
Peter, T. and Austin, N. (1994). Passium for Excellence: The Leadership Difference New York: Harper Collins
Porter, L.W. et al (1974) “Organisation Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Turnover among Psychiatric Technicians”. Journal of Applied Pyschology Vol. 59.
Prabhu , V.B., and Robson, A. (2000) “Achieving service excellence- measuring the impact of leadership and senior management commitment” Managing Service Quality Vol.10[5]
Robinson, I. (2006) Human Resource Management in Organizations London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Development
Saks, A., (2006) “Antecedents and Consequences of Employee Engagement” Journal of Managerial Psychology Vol.21
Salancik, G.R. and Pfeiffer, J. (1978). “A social Information Processing Approach to Job Attitudes and Task Design” Administrative Science Quarterly. Vol. 23.
Sasser, W.E (1976) “Much supply and Demand ins service industries” Harvard Business Review Novemeber-December
Schneider B et al (1996) “ Design validity and use of strategically focused employee attitude surveys” Personnel Psychology Vol.49[3]
Schneider, B and Bowen D.E (1993) “The Service Organization: Human Resourcees Management is crucial” Organizational Dyanmics Vol.21
Schuck B and Wollard K (2010) “Employee Engagement and HRD: a seminal review of the foundations” Human Resource Development Review Vol.9[1]
Shah, V., and Bandi, R., (2005) “Developing People capabilities in knowledge intensive remote services” Research and Practice in Human Resource Management Vol.11[1]
Supremant, C.F. and Solomon, M.R. (1987). “Predictability and Personalization in the Service Encounter” Journal of Marketing Vol. 51 (2).
Sutter, M.T. (1996). “What do we know about the job and career Satisfaction of Secondary School Assistant Principals” NASSP Bulletin. Vol. 80 (578).
Thomas, K.W. and Velthouse, P.A. (1990). Cognitive Elements of Empowerment: An Interpretative “Model of Intrinsic Task Motivation” Academy of Management Review Vol. 16.
Tsur, S. and Lin. Y (2004) “Promoting Service quality in tourist hotels: the role of HRM practices and service behavior” Tourism Management Vol.25
Wefeld, A.J., Reichard, R.J. and Serrano, S.A “ Fitting engagement into a nomological network: the relationship of engagement to leadership and personality” (2011) Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies Vol.18[522]
Wikipedia, (2011) “Social Exchange Theory” www.en.wikipedia.org/socialexchangetheory accessed on 24th December 2011
Yousef, D.A. (2000) “Organisational Commitment: A Mediator of the Relationships of Leadership Behaviour with Job Satisfaction and Performance in a Non Western Country” Journal of Managerial Psychology. Vol. 15(1).
My name is Fasiku Abidemi and I am a student of the above named institution. I am conducting a
research in partial fulfillment of the requirements of M.A Human Resource Management and I need
you to answer the following questions honestly and within your ability. The research is strictly for
academic purpose and all responses will be treated with utmost confidentiality and care.
Thank you.
PART A: RESPONDENTS’ BIO-DATA
Please fill the below. Information you supply here shall strictly be treated confidentially.
Age: ……………………………………………………………………..
Sex: ………………………………………………………………………
Job Title…………………………………………………………………
Department…………………………………………………………………...
Branch Location: ………………………………………………………….
Do you supervise anyone[answer YES or NO]…………………………….
Part B: I would like to get your opinion concerning your work in Access Bank Plc. This part deals extensively with your experience on the job as well as your general career objectives. You do not need to answer any question that you feel you do not want to answer. However what is needed
is simply your views and feelings concerning your job experience your job experience. Strict confidentiality of responses is assured. There are no right or wrong answers so please tick the answer you feel is appropriate. Thank you
S/No Questions SD D N A SA1 My work in this Bank is central to our customers’
financial wellbeing2 I see myself working in this bank in the next 3-5 years
with expanded roles and responsibilities3 The Bank values hardwork, good-work and
commitment and recognizes such when found in any staff member.
4 I understand that the failure of this Bank will affect me directly as our customers are protected by the government laws and provisions.
5 It is not unusual for Staff members [including me] to brag about the bank being the best place to work and to do business
6 It is true that ‘Customers are always right’ but I will be severely sanctioned if I violate rules and established procedures if I help a customer fix a legitimate problem
7 No matter the uniqueness of the situation, the standard rules applies at all times when dealing with customers.
8 Even if it is in ultimate benefit of the Bank, I will have no supervisor to back me up, if I take a unilateral position relating to a customer need
9 No matter our collective resolve, suggestions and opinion in this Branch office, the head-office always have its way at all time and going against the head-office directive is highly risky
10 All that the Bank cares about is its profits and business position. Employees are just mere tools to achieve this objective
11 It does not matter if the customer is delayed infinitely but when I’m not certain about a situation, even if no harm will done, I must refer the issue to my superiors as I can’t use my discretion at all
12 The Bank has enough technology to complement my effort of serving the customers
13 The customers are well motivated to use self-help technologies like ATM, Internet banking and Call-centres and only some of the issues are resolved in the Banking hall
14 The internet connection and the Software have always been reliable for my customer service operations
15 I can call or call on a customer at my cost without
option of reimbursement if a customer filled a request form wrongly or possibly might need a service,.
16 The Bank had always carried out genuine CSR that I really love and keeps up with my beliefs and the aspirations of the external community
17 I have had opportunity to suggest CSR initiatives and even if mine suggestions have not been adopted, I believe that mine can be adopted in future
18 The Bank values our reports about customer needs and act on them at all times
19 Many times during the peak hours when customers are numerous, our supervisors join us in the front to attend to customers
20 Even though we have superiors, the truth is that everyone is treated with mutual respect as fellow team members.
21 The physical environment in my workplace is highly suitable for the job I’m doing
22 My Colleagues are highly efficient 23 I get the opportunity to do what I do best everyday at
work24 There is someone at work who encourages my
development 25 I have had opportunities at work, learn and grow in
the last one year26 I intend to quit this company in the next six months if
the opportunity appears27 If I quit this job today, it will take me years to get
another related job with same level of pay28 I get rotated between departments and roles regularly 29 When compared to the industry standard I am well
remunerated for my job.30 The recruitment process is independent, fair and
based genuine need and merit31 I was well trained and inducted into the operation
process when I joined the bank32 The grievance voicing and resolution mechanism is
visible and accessible to all staff members and customers.