EMPLOYEE VOICE AND CORPORATE PERFORMANCE (A STUDY OF SELECTED MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN PORT HARCOURT)

 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

Employee voice is an area of significant research interest to academics and an issue of great importance to many Human Resource Practitioners.  It is a topic that has brought about a lot of controversies in organizations where their performances are not encouraging.  Many researchers believe that one of the main contributing factors leading to low productivity in a number of organizations is where management ignores the voice or suggestions made by employees.  In the last quarter century, there has been a dramatic shift in the forms of employee voice used in private or public workplaces worldwide with non-union voice growing at the expense of union voice.  This means that even without the government or private employers encouraging employees airing their views, informally, employees through anonymous letters present their views to management.   From the words of Boxall and Purcell (2003), employee voice is the term increasingly used to cover a whole variety of processes and structures which enable and sometimes empower employees, directly and indirectly contribute to decision making in the firm.  This definition actually supports the views of Millward et al (2000) who sees employee voice as the ability of employees to influence the actions of the employer.  Employee participation is crucial in improving organizational performance since many motivational writers see it as a form of intrinsic motivation to enhance employees’ performance (Salamon 2000).  Employees’ voice improves communication and encourages staff retention through fair treatment.  Despite the numerous benefits of employee voice and why it should be encouraged, this is not the case in many organizations in the public or private sector.  It has been noted that productivity in many organizations has gone down considerably because employees are not allowed to air their views on issues concerning the organization.  This has greatly affected the performance and productivity of such organizations.  Employees are at risk of losing their jobs when they air their views at the workplace so they will rather be silent to the detriment of their companies.

Corporate Performance is an approach that creates long-term stakeholder value by implementing a business strategy that considers every dimension of how a business operates in the ethical, social, environmental, cultural, and economic spheres. It also formulates strategies to build a company that fosters longevity through transparency and proper employee development. Workers Performance is an evolution on more traditional phrases describing ethical corporate practice. The phrase is derived from two keys sources. This desire to grow without damaging future generations’ prospects is becoming more and more central to business philosophies. Within more academic management circles, Elkington (1997) developed the concept of the Triple Bottom Line which proposed that business goals were inseparable from the societies and environments within which they operate. Whilst short-term economic gain could be chased, a failure to account for social and environmental impacts would make those business practices unsustainable.

Measuring Workers Performance is possible through composite indicators which aggregate environmental, social, corporate governance and economic measures, e.g. Complex Performance Indicator.  Employee voice is one construct that can enhance Workers Performance.

Employees’ voice improves communication and encourages staff retention through fair treatment. Despite the numerous benefits of employee voice and why it should be encouraged organizations still resilient. This is not the case in many organizations in the public or private sector. Though, it is a topic that has brought about a lot of controversies in contemporary organizations where employees voice and performances are not encouraged. Many researchers believe that one of the main contributing factors leading to low productivity in a number of organizations is where management ignores the voice or suggestions made by employees. In the last quarter century, there has been a dramatic shift in the forms of employee voice used in private or public workplaces worldwide with non-union voice growing at the expense of union voice. From the words of Boxall and Purcell (2003), employee voice is the term increasingly used to cover a whole variety of processes and structures which enable and sometimes empower employees, to directly and indirectly contribute to decision making in the firms. This definition actually supports the views of Millward et al (2000) who sees employee voice as the ability of employees to influence the actions of the employer. Employee participation is crucial in improving organizational performance since many motivational writers see it as a form of intrinsic motivation to enhance employees’ performance (Salamon 2000). From the foregoing therefore, the study seeks to examine the relationship between employee voice and workers performance of selected multinational firms in Rivers State.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The immense contributions of employee voice in corporate firms have significantly been a great concern to management of most oil and gas firms over the years. As researchers continue to view and study the various ingredients and factors that can foster employee voice and Workers Performance in oil and gas industries particularly. This concept so far, cannot be over emphasized as it borders on employing vital strategies which could enhance active performance of the organization in terms of staff retention, effective communication, profitability, and employee participations etc. Empirical study has shown that there has been identify if there has been positive relationship existing between employee participation and adaptability, to organizational resilience which help to know whether employee participation in decision making influences Workers Performance.

More so, it is to know if the practice can improve staff retention and profitability expansion which can in a long run solve problems of poor productivity, and general Workers Performance.

Subsequently, in spite of this plethora of study results, most contemporary organizations have not seen to abreast themselves to the contents of these findings as to be able to work themselves out of the challenges of Corporate Performance. It is against these backgrounds that this study is designed to evaluate the impact of employee voice and sustainability.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to examine the relationship between employee voice and Corporate Performance in some selected manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt. The specific objectives are as follows:

i.        To determine the relationship between effective communication and Corporate Performance in some selected manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt.

ii.       To determine the relationship between staff retention and Corporate Performance in some selected manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt.

iii.      To determine the relationship between employee participation in decision making and Corporate Performance in some selected manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions were proposed to guide the study.

i.        Does effective communication associate with Corporate Performance in some selected manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt?

ii.       Does staff retention associate with Corporate Performance in some selected manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt?

iii.      Does employee participation in decision making associate with Corporate Performance in some selected manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt?

1.5 Research hypotheses

H01: There is no significant relationship between the effective communication and corporate performance.

H02: There is no significant relationship between staff retention and corporate performance.

H03: There is no significant relationship between employee participation in decision making and corporate performance.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The research under study is designed to benefit the society and the respective corporate organizations, particularly the commercial banks within the state. Through active practices of resilience in the organization, staff retention, decision making and active communication between the employees in the can always be realized. In the banking sector, as well as other organizations will see the research study more useful in controlling the productiveness and adaptability behavior of the organizations.

An added benefit of employee resilience concerns the positive spillover effects resilient employees will also be better equipped to handle challenges outside or work, and by facilitating employee resilience, organizations can support community resilience. We integrate employee-level information with specific organizational initiatives to create a deeper understanding of whether the processes currently in place effectively support resilience among employees. In addition, we identify areas of intervention to address and facilitate Workers Performance. The goal of our research and collaboration with practitioner is to contribute to resilient employees, who are healthy and active contributors in their organization, as well as in their community. Resilience in organizations and among employees is relevant in any context which introduces challenges and change, and transcends a post-disaster context. We therefore couple rigorous scientific methodologies with practitioner expertise to encourage organizations to capitalize on employee resilience, and guide the process of increasing Workers Performance and performance through staff capabilities.

1.7 Scope/Limitation of the Study

The study is delimited under the following heading: content scope, geographical scope and unit of analysis.

Content Scope: The content scope of this study involves on investigation to ascertain the relationship between strategic planning and organizational Reliance. The dependent variable is Corporate Performance. While independent variable is employee voice measure by effective communication, staff retention and employee participation.

Geographical Scope: This study is delimited in Port Harcourt Metropolis with special reference to some selected manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt.

In course of carrying out this research, the researcher met with a lot of constraints. Among these constraints is: Time frame which this research was expected to be completed which was too short.

Secondly, the cost in carrying out this research work act as a barrier as we were not financially buoyant to carry out all investigation.

Finally, assembling the relevant materials needed for this work was a problem. It is difficult due to the fact that some of the respondents were not willing to give us the required corporation.

1.8 Definition of Terms

COMMUNICATION

Communication is a process of exchange of information, facts, ideas, thoughts, and opinions between two or more persons or group of persons.

Employee Voice

Employee voice is the ability of employees to influence the actions of the employer.

Efficiency

It is the ability to avoid wasting materials and time in doing something or in producing a desired result (Mah’s (2003).

Workers Performance: Is the working result of the employee within a certain time period. Performance is the degree to which the employee reaches the job requirements (Simamora, 1995).