Organizational Commitment: Meaning, Dimensions and Guidelines To Enhance

Table of Contents


(A).Meaning of Organizational Commitment


(B).Dimensions of Organizational Commitment

  • 1.Affective Commitment:-
  • 2.Continuance Commitment:-
  • 3.Normative Commitment: –

(C).Guidelines to Enhance Organizational Commitment
  • 1.Proper Promotion Plan:
  • 2.Supportive Management:-
  • 3.Clear Guidelines: -
  • 4.Proper Leadership:-
  • 5.Supportive Co-worker:-
  • 6.Proper Motivation:-
  • 7.Technological Advancement:-
  • 8.HR development:-
  • 9.Building Competitive Capacity:
  • 10.Resources Availability:-
  • 11.Job Security:-
  • 12.Ethical Behavior:-
  • 13.Challenging Job:-
  • 14.Feasible Target:-
  • 15.Health Security:-
  • 16.Grievance Handling:-
  • 17.Work Burden;-
  • 18.Participative Management:-
  • 19.Innovation:-
  • 20.Reputation:-

Meaning of Organizational Commitment:-

  • The higher willingness to remain in an organization, contribute more, and strictly follow the values, norms, cultures, and targets of an organization for a long run is known as organizational commitment.

  • It is the feelings and beliefs of employees towards  particular organization that make them loyal to organization.

  • Organizational commitment motivates employees to make self identification with organization.
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  • It motivates employees to make sure the future survival of both the organization and the employees.

  • It helps employees to perceive and believe in the mission, vision, objectives, rules, regulations, cultures, and norms of the organization.

  • It can also be said that willingness to get and keep continuous membership in an organization.
  • The level of organizational commitment of employees depends upon promotion policies, the quality of products and services, and ethical issues related to the organization.

  • Higher levels of organizational commitment are mostly found in people who have more success in organizations than others. The absentee rate and turnover rate are comparatively low for these types of people.

  • Therefore, the psychological sentiments of people toward getting and keeping continuous membership in particular organization, investing efforts for organizational success, and complying with boundaries as prescribed by organizations are known as organizational commitment. It is the craziness of employees towards achieving organizational success and making an organization a leader in the overall market.

Dimensions/Types of Organizational Commitment:-

The higher willingness to remain in an organization, contribute more, and strictly follow the values, norms, cultures, and targets of an organization is known as organizational commitment. Dimensions of organizational commitment are such as:-

1. Affective Commitment:-

  •  People with affective engagement love the organization the most.

  • They have a stronger sentimental attachment to the organization and the responsibilities given to them.

  • They have a higher level of desire to be in this organization.

  • They are aware of the organization's mission, vision, goals, services, rules, regulations and requirements.

  • They want to stay in the organization for the long term.

  • When people enjoy their work, they have a positive attitude and are satisfied with the organization. This job satisfaction drives employees to a higher level of organizational commitment.

  • People who love their job can develop further, think creatively and invent new working models in the organization.


2.Continuance Commitment:-

  • People with continuance commitment forecast the pros and cons of leaving their current organization.

  • They feel the need to stay in their organization.

  • They think that the loss of leaving their current organization will outweigh the benefits, so it would be better to continue with their current job and organization.

  • They may lose financial and non-financial benefits if they quit their job. Financial losses can come in the form of a higher salary, allowances, bonuses, etc. Non-financial losses may include loss of seniority, a demanding job, an opportunity for skill development, friendship, or other social connections that become more intense with age and experience. 
  • Successful people in organizations may have continuance commitment experience.

  • This commitment influences people to complete the assigned tasks within the given time and quality.

  • This commitment hinders employees from learning and developing. People with this commitment can enjoy promotions and take on new, challenging jobs.

3. Normative Commitment: –

  •  People with normative commitments are inherently ethical and responsible.

  • They feel a self-ethical pressure to stay in the organization.

  • They feel that they are liable to the organization.

  • Although they are dissatisfied with their current role in the organization, they recall having previously contributed to their need.

  • They may be eager to attain better opportunities, but they don't leave organizations when they consider their ethics and the contribution of organizations in their earlier need.

  • They feel that they should continue to stay in the same organization and try to improve it.

  • This engagement can come from people because organizations have previously invested money and time and given better rewards, facilities and awards.

  • This commitment can also result from their family and culture. When a family is more ethical about favors from others, they will believe in giving something back for them. That's why they never leave organizations when a good opportunity presents itself.

  • People with this commitment are unable to contribute more to the organization and maintain proper organizational relationships. They may leave job if small conflict occurs with management.

Managers must recognize the dimensions of employee commitment and utilize them for organizational success. They must try to recruit, retain, and motivate staff with affective commitment. It is because employees affective commitment is more beneficial to the organization.

Guidelines to Enhance Organizational Commitment:-

The higher willingness to remain in an organization, contribute more, and strictly follow the values, norms, cultures, and targets of an organization is known as organizational commitment. Organization can enhance organizational commitment by applying following guidelines:-

1.Proper Promotion Plan:-

Organizational commitment also depends on the promotion plan of the organization. If the organization has a proper plan for promotion without any bias or injustice and in a fair way, employees will enjoy being members of the organization. HR policies must clearly define criteria for open, internal, and file promotion so that employees' levels of organizational commitment will increase.

2.Supportive Management:-

Supportive management makes employees committed. Management should always monitor what challenges are being faced by subordinates and what assistance is needed to complete the specific tasks assigned to them.

3.Clear Guidelines: -

Organizations should make clear rules, regulations, plans, policies, strategies, procedures, processes, and manuals about their work. The necessary experts to define and clarify these guidelines must also be prepared. So, employees will not have any dilemmas about work, and they will enjoy doing it. As a result, they become more committed to the organization.

 

4.Proper Leadership:-

The manager should make himself a great leader by solving unusual incidents and problems that arise in the organization. He should sketch strategies to fight against specific challenges. Particularly, he must have the capacity to make employees self-fight against critical situations and challenges.

5.Supportive Co-worker:-

The organization must create a supportive culture among co-workers.Juniors should respect seniors, and seniors should love junior co-workers. Senior staff must teach and support junior staff in learning working policy, technique, and procedure. Junior should help senior complete specific tasks assigned. This supportive culture makes employees committed.

6.Proper Motivation:-

Organizations must arrange a proper system for motivating employees on a regular basis. It should provide financial and non-financial techniques to motivate employees. Job rotation, job enrichment, flexible job schedules, performance-based pay, performance-based transfer, assigning challenging tasks, etc. can be used to motivate employees.

7.Technological Advancement:-

Employees want to work for a technically advanced organization. They don't prefer the traditional way of doing things. So, organizations should take advantage of machines, robotics, computers, information technology, artificial intelligence, operational technology, and invented ideas to do tasks.

8.HR development:-

Organizations should conduct training and development programs on a regular basis. It should properly monitor whether the training given is being properly applied or not in the organization. Training can be given using on-the-job training, simulation, role-playing, films and videos, coaching, instruction-based training, and technology-based methods. It increases the commitment of employees.

9.Building Competitive Capacity:-

Employees want to work for the leading organization in the market. Organizations should develop higher competitive capacity. Organizations can gain competitive capacity through low-cost supply, product differentiation, creativity, niche targeting, and employee differentiation.

10.Resources Availability:-

Employees are more committed to organizations having more resources. So, organizations should arrange optimal levels of labor, equipment, space, time, materials, money, and services. Excessive and lower levels of resource availability are not beneficial for organizations.

11.Job Security:-

Employees are more committed to the organization having more job security. They prefer more government jobs than private ones. It is because government jobs provide more job security. Job security involves the assurance of having a job for the long run.

12.Ethical Behavior:-

Employees are more committed to organizations with ethical norms and values. So, organizations should not exploit employees and customers. Employees should be respected and given a reasonable salary for their contributions. It should be careful to protect public health, the environment, and social norms while carrying out its activities.

13. Challenging Job:-

Employees are more committed to those organizations that provide challenging jobs. So, organizations should not provide the same work in the long run. Employees should be assigned those jobs that give them a sense of achievement after completion. It can be done through job rotation, job enrichment, job enlargement, job simplification, or providing unusual problems to solve.

14.Feasible Target:-

Organization must define properly the target of organization. It should be feasible. If an organization sets a feasible target, employees will achieve it properly. They want to be members of those organizations that keep their targets feasible. They quit their jobs from those organizations that keep putting pressure on employees by keeping impossible targets.

15.Health Security:-

Employees prefer those organizations that have maintained proper space, air flow, light, temperature, pollution safety, and physical safety for employees. They should be given a healthy physical and mental work environment. Organizations should also provide health and accident-related insurance facilities to employees.

16.Grievance Handling:-

Organizations should listen and solve work-related problems, personal inconveniences, expectations, disputes, financial crises, and difficulties of employees. Organizations should also respect and listen to the ideas, opinions, and advice of employees. If an organization has proper grievance handling mechanisms, employees prefer to remain members of the organization.

17.Work Burden:-

Employees neither like a higher work load nor a lower work load in an organization. So, organizations should assign the optimal work load to employees. They prefer working in organizations with optimal work volumes. It makes them more committed.

18.Participative Management:-

Participative management involves employees in decision-making. So, employees think decisions made have their own ownership too. So, they enforce decisions with a higher level of inspiration. They start thinking management should listen to their rousing voice, and they become more committed to the organization. So, organizations should apply participative management in their operations.

19.Innovation:-

Employees prefer to be members of organizations that promote innovation in working processes, methods, services, and products. Organizations should promote creativity, new ideas, imagination, and new techniques used or developed by employees to make work easier. Introducing novelty into an existing work method or product helps increase work speed, increase market share, increase revenue, and improve customer service.

20.Reputation:-

Employees prefer to be members of organizations with a high reputation. So, organizations should provide quality products or services at a reasonable price. It should also be responsible for the interests of employees and customers. So, organizations gain positive images from stakeholders.

Managers should follow all the guidelines mentioned above to enhance organizational commitment. So, organizations can develop organizational citizenship behaviors for the betterment of the organization.