Organisational Commitment: A Literature Review (MNG82001)

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This is a solved literature review on organizational commitment.

Organisational Behaviour (MNG82001)
Assignment 1 (Part b): Literature Review draft
1

1. Define the term ‘Organisational Commitment’ and describe the types of organisational
outcomes it might lead to.
The term ‘Organisational Commitment’ means that the employee is fully devoted to the
organisation, i.e, the employee is loyal towards the organisation. The ‘Organisational Commitment’
is one of the dearest topics of the research scholars around the globe due to its influence on
organisational goals. The ‘organisational commitment' has a pronounced effect on workforce
turnover and the accomplishment of the organisational goals. The ‘organisational commitments’ are
classified into three categories, namely ‘affective’ commitment, ‘continuance’ commitment,
‘normative’ commitment. According to the ‘affective commitment,' the employee has an emotional
attachment towards the organisation; there is a good sense of congruency between his/her own
personal goals and the organisational goals (Eslami & Gharakhani, 2012).
The ‘continuance commitment’ is the commitment based on the cost-benefit analysis of the
employee. The individual commits himself/herself towards the organisation if the benefits are in
excess of the costs. There is a strong willingness among the employees to remain part of the
organisation for longer periods of time due to the benefits like pensions, relationship with
colleagues, etc. The last one is ‘normative commitment’, it can be defined as the obligation of an
individual, this obligation can be for various reasons like the organisation has invested in the training
programme, so the employee has an obligation to put the best efforts. There are several factors
which determine these commitments for example skills, loyalty, responsibilities, etc. The
commitments of employees are a two-way thing, the leadership also have to make the employee
feel the sense of belongingness i.e., the organisation considers them as an asset. To accomplish
desired results, an organisation also has to treat is employees well, which will encourage them to be
more productive at their job. When the employees are not treated with dignity, this would hamper
their productivity and their commitment would also be not that strong towards the organisation.
This would reflect is the business of the organisation (De Nobile, 2017). So, to achieve satisfactory
results the commitments should be from both the sides, the employees and the organisation,
otherwise, it would lead to the deviations from the desired results.
2

Reference List
 Eslami, J. & Gharakhani, D, 2012, ‘Organizational commitment and job satisfaction’, ARPN
Journal of Science and Technology, 2(2), pp.85-91.
 De Nobile, J., 2017, ‘Organisational communication and its relationships with job satisfaction
and organisational commitment of primary school staff in Western Australia’, Educational
Psychology, 37(3), pp.380-398.
3

2. Briefly describe two strategies, supported in the academic literature that might lead to
Organisational Commitment.
There are several strategies to maintain a higher level of organisational commitment for the
employees. Through the organisational commitment, the organisation tries to get the competitive
advantage against its competitors because when the employees are committed towards the
organisation they bring out the best in them to help the organisation to achieve its desired results.
Here two strategies are discussed that might lead to an organisational commitment from the
employees:
 Egalitarianism or Impartiality: when the employees are treated equally they get the feeling that
they are a part of the important human capital resource of the organisation. The organisation should
strictly follow the labour laws; provide equal opportunities to every member of its labour force in
accordance with the desired skills sets. This sort of just and impartial behaviour of the organisation
develops a sense of commitment in the employees. The higher level management ought to have a
strict watch that there is no sort of gender and racial bias in its decisions. The egalitarianism
atmosphere in the organisation helps build the commitment of the employees towards the
organisation. It's a straightforward task if the organisation treats its employees well, they would
want to be part of the organisation for the longer term and be a part of its success story (Aladwan,
et al, 2015). If the employees are treated with biases or the employers are skewed towards some
employees, why would a person want to stay in that organisation?
 Collaboration: when the higher authorities in the organisation collaborate and take suggestions
from the employees this shows that the organisation has faith and trust in them; this also builds the
organisational commitment. When the employees are not allowed to take part in any of the decisive
steps of the organisation they just don’t get the sense of belongingness for the organisation (Mesu,
et al., 2015). The participation or engagement of the employees in the organisation is very crucial for
the growth and prosperity of the organisation. This tends to build loyalty among the employees.
4

Reference List
 Mesu, J. Sanders, K. and Riemsdijk, M.V., 2015, ‘Transformational leadership and
organisational commitment in manufacturing and service small to medium-sized enterprises:
The moderating effects of directive and participative leadership’, Personnel Review, 44(6),
pp.970-990.
 Aladwan, K. Bhanugopan, R. and D'Netto, B., 2015, ‘The effects of human resource
management practices on employees’ organisational commitment, International journal of
organizational Analysis, 23(3), pp.472-492.
5