Background of the study
Discuss about the Effect of Employee Engagement on the Organizational Performance of Woolworths.
In this research study, the researcher will showcase the impact of employee engagement on the organizational performance of Woolworths. In the competitive industry, employee engagement is a very important concept.
With the help of relevant theories and model the impact of employee engagement which is an independent variable have been assessed on the organizational performance of Woolworths which is a dependent variable.
In this section, the researcher will highlight the research philosophy, design, research method, approach, the data collection process, the sample size and the sampling method along with the ethical consideration and Gantt chart to carry out the analysis.
According to the view of Mone & London (2014), employee engagement is an alarming issue for the enhancement of the organizational performance of a company. This research depicts the effect of employee engagement of renowned organization of Australia, Woolworths which measures the performance of the company.
The research aim is to evaluate the effect of employee engagement on the organizational performance of Woolworths, Australia.
The research objectives are as follows:
- To analyze the effect of employee satisfaction on Woolworths.
- To recognize the problems of the employee engagement.
- To critically assess the effect of employee engagement on the performance of Woolworths.
- To identify the important factors which are required to raise the employee engagement.
- What is the effect of employee satisfaction on Woolworths?
- What are the alarming problems faced by Woolworths relating to the employee engagement?
- How is the issue employee engagement affected the Woolworths’ performance?
- What are the associated factors for raising the employee engagement of Woolworths?
In the words of Truss et al., (2013), de-motivation and dissatisfaction lower the productivity level of the employer which enhances the risk factor to run the business successfully in the competitive industry. The alarming issue of employee engagement is currently noticed in the Woolworths organization which severely hampers the performance level of this company.
H0: There is a negative effect of the employee engagement on the organizational performance of Woolworths.
H1: There is a positive effect of the employee engagement on the organizational performance of Woolworths.
Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y:
The above-stated theory depicts the motivation and nature of the employee engagement in which the theory X contradicts the theory Y. As argued by Park & Shaw (2013), the Theory X states the fact that employees are impartially motivated towards their work. Most of the time, they avoid their responsibilities and focus only on their needs. On the contrary, as per the view of Albdour & Altarawneh (2014), the Theory Y assumes that the employees are responsible and highly motivated towards their work. They always want to dedicate themselves to increase the profit level and effectiveness of the company and engage themselves to reach the desired goals of the company. On the other hand, there also exist different types of employees in the Woolworths in which some part are not responsible whereas others are totally dedicated and motivated.
Expectancy theory:
Research aim and objectives
According to this theory, the attitude of the employees is an important factor which can change the performance level of the organization. As opined by Shuck & Reio (2014), the change in the attitude and behavior of the employee is fully based on the expected satisfaction from the concerned organization. The employees get motivation if and only if the organization is satisfied them. The higher level of satisfaction enhances the productivity level of the employer (Barrick, Thurgood, Smith & Courtright, 2015). The increased productivity of the laborers helps to raise the performance level of the company and to reach the desired goal of the organization. As per the view of this theory, the organizational performance and future activities are highly significant as the employees’ change behavior, and expectation depends on that. As per the concept of this theory, Woolworths is concerned and aware of their future activities and their satisfaction level towards the laborers. The increased satisfaction level motivates the employee to dedicate themselves towards the success of Woolworths.
X model of employee engagement:
In the words of Menguc, Auh, Fisher & Haddad (2013), the X model relating to the employee engagement deals with the contribution and dedication factor of the employee towards their work along with the satisfaction level provided by the organization. The above-stated model showcases the fact that the higher level of job satisfaction enhances the level of dedication and engagement of the laborers towards their work (Crawford, Rich, Buckman & Bergeron, 2014). The satisfaction and contribution are two major factors which determine the employee engagement towards their organization. By applying the concept of this model, the concerned organization can improve the performance level of the employer through providing aspiration, values, and satisfaction to them (Borman & Motowidlo, 2014). In order to boost up the engagement and performance level of the employee, Woolworths can practically use the theoretical concept of this model. With the help of this X model, the Woolworths organization can be able to enhance the employee engagement along with the managerial, individual and executive performance of the organization.
From the literature review section, with the help of various theories and model, the impact of the independent variable on the dependent variable have been critically analyzed.
In this perspective, the researcher will apply the positivism research philosophy. According to Panneerselvam (2014), positivism research philosophy will be applicable when the sample size is large. Moreover, it would make the analysis a very structured one.
Research questions
The researcher will opt for the deductive research approach to analyzing and test the hypothesis and assumptions of this study. Due to lack of time and source, the deductive research approach will be appropriate to analyze the data properly (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015).
The descriptive type of research design will be relevant which will help to describe the nature of the factors associated with this research analysis. Furthermore, it will support to acquire the detailed study.
For detailed analysis, the researcher will employ the primary research. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative research analysis will be applied here. The qualitative analysis will be done by interviewing the concerned managers of Woolworths. On the other hand, the quantitative analysis will be performed by the online survey of the employees of the Woolworths.
The simple random probability method is selected by the researcher for quantitative analysis. In the words of Flick (2015), the above-stated method provides the equal chance for being selected of all the laborers for this survey. Apart from this, the simple random non-probability sampling method is selected for qualitative analysis.
60 employees and five managers of Woolworths will be preferred for this analysis. A questionnaire based on ten questions has been set for the quantitative analysis which will be done by the online survey. Two demographic questions and others are close-ended questions relating to employee engagement of Woolworths. Three open-ended questions will be set for the managers of Woolworths.
The permission of the concerned managers and the organization, Woolworths will be needed to carry out the research analysis. The privacy and personal information of the organization have been maintained, and no biases have been done.
Activities |
Week 1 |
Week 2 |
Week 3 |
Week 4 |
Week 5 |
Week 6 |
Week 7 |
Week 8 |
Week 9 |
Week 10 |
Week 11 |
Week 12 |
Week 13 |
Week 14 |
Selecting the topic |
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Getting approval |
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Arranging the methods of the research |
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Secondary data collection |
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Literature review |
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Primary data collection |
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Evaluating the data |
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Interpreting the result and data |
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Arranging the findings |
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Preparing the final report |
With the help of research approach, design, method, data collection process, sampling process and sample size, the above-discussed research analysis has been performed. This procedure would help to critically analyze the effect of employee engagement on the organizational performance of the Woolworths. Hence, the qualitative and quantitative research analysis will enrich the study.
In this perspective, as both the quantitative and qualitative research analysis has been used, the opinions of the associated employees are critically evaluated in order to sort out the effect of employee engagement on Woolworths. On the contrary, the feedback of the managers of Woolworths will be represented in a descriptive manner. In order to evaluate the data, a regression analysis will be employed. The expected outcome will support the alternative hypothesis of this research study.
Conclusion and Recommendation:
Based on the above analysis of this research, it can be deduced that the null hypothesis of this research study will be rejected and the alternative hypothesis will be accepted. Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a positive effect of the employee engagement on the organizational performance of Woolworths. From this point of view, to improve the employee engagement, Woolworths employs several types of organizational activities like decision making system which increase the satisfaction level of the employees. The increased level of satisfaction will enhance the level of productivity of the laborers of Woolworths. Thus, the organizational performance of Woolworths will improve with the rise in employee engagement.
References
Albdour, A.A. & Altarawneh, I.I. (2014). Employee engagement and organizational commitment: Evidence from Jordan. International Journal of Business, 19(2), p.192.
Barrick, M.R., Thurgood, G.R., Smith, T.A. & Courtright, S.H. (2015). Collective organizational engagement: Linking motivational antecedents, strategic implementation, and firm performance. Academy of Management journal, 58(1), pp.111-135.
Borman, W.C. & Motowidlo, S.J. (2014). Organizational citizenship behavior and contextual performance: A special issue of human performance. Psychology Press.
Crawford, E.R., Rich, B.L., Buckman, B. & Bergeron, J. (2014). The antecedents and drivers of employee engagement. Employee engagement in theory and practice, pp.57-81.
Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology: A beginner’s guide to doing a research project. Sage.
Menguc, B., Auh, S., Fisher, M. & Haddad, A. (2013). To be engaged or not to be engaged: The antecedents and consequences of service employee engagement. Journal of business research, 66(11), pp.2163-2170.
Mone, E.M. & London, M. (2014). Employee engagement through effective performance management: A practical guide for managers. Routledge.
Panneerselvam, R. (2014). Research methodology. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..
Park, T.Y. & Shaw, J.D. (2013). Turnover rates and organizational performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), p.268.
Shuck, B. & Reio, T.G. (2014). Employee engagement and well-being a moderation model and implications for practice. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 21(1), pp.43-58.
Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. & DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
Truss, C., Shantz, A., Soane, E., Alfes, K. & Delbridge, R. (2013). Employee engagement, organisational performance and individual well-being: exploring the evidence, developing the theory. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(14), pp.2657-2669.