Understanding the Relationship between an Organization and its Employees

This document is intended to provide information regarding the purpose of GI Systems and its operating environment. Furthermore, this information sheet will give an idea of the structure, culture and functions of the company.

An employment relationship describes the dynamic, interlocking economic, legal, social and psychological relations that exist between individuals and their work organizations. Palgrave Macmillan (2013), Glossary [online] Available at: < http://www.palgrave.com/business/brattonandgold/glossary/glossary.htm> [Accessed 17th September 2013]. Factors that impact on this relationship both have a detrimental effect to the running of a business. I will focus on two internal and two external. These being:

Limitations that could be identified in the study were the small sample size that included only managers, was conducted only in New Zealand and therefore may not be able to be generalized to other countries (Cable, 2010). Results and discussion suggests that future research could expand the understanding on how the fulfillment of the psychological contract could impact an individual employee’s attitudes and behaviors (Cable, 2010).

In the article Contractualization written by Ute Gerhard, Trudie Knijin and Jane Lewis it is said that contractualization is a good thing in the way that you exhibit individualism but until the end of time it became a threat due to different circumstances. Contractors nowadays don’t get sufficient benefits because they have no right to complain because they are not a permanent employee. Our point in this research is the same as the article written by  Ute Gerhard, Trudie Knijin and Jane Lewis because they are also pinpointing that even before contractors don’t get what they deserve and an addition to it is there is a gender inequality that time that worsen the situation. In a connection also for our research problem, the group is aiming to

My understanding about the employer-employee relationship has also been shaped by these articles. I have learnt that

The use of skilled contract workers is rising because of changes in the ways that workers see their employment experience, and in turn there are some reasons for companies to use such labor as well, including lowering their fixed labor costs. There are a number of challenges that arise from this arrangement. The first is that the organizational culture becomes harder to establish with these workers. On a specific project, that might be less important because each project has its own culture, but there are instances where it is beneficial for contract workers to have the same high level of culture buy-in as full-time workers. Having a consistent, coherent organizational culture allows for employees to have a shared mission, to feel as part of something bigger than themselves, and can be a source of motivation. When the motivation for a contract employee is a paycheck and something for the CV, these objectives are not necessarily congruent with the objectives of the hiring company.

By understanding what research has been conducted in the past in the field of the psychological contract, it allows future literature to unearth more complex and innovative findings. Argyris (1960) first used the term ‘psychological work contract’ to describe the values held by both the organisation and individual in relation to the employment relationship. This concept has evolved through time and now the psychological contract encompasses pay for performance, training, duty of care and promotion opportunities,

Psychological contract plays a vital role in an organisations working culture, and it is an applicable aspect of people 's behaviour and attitude. In other words, a psychological contract is defined as the expectation that employers and employees have about each other (De Cieri et al. 2009). It is an intangible, informal contract that the employee perceives about their employment relationship. This includes factors such as, workplace condition, work place environment and what is expected to be completed on a daily basis.

An important aspect of the notion of a psychological contract is that it can be continually re-negotiated, changing with an individual's, and an organisation's, expectations, and in shifting economic and social contexts. It is not static, but dynamic and shifting. However, most research provides only a snapshot of one point in time thereby capturing only one stage in this social process.

Employers adopt certain practices to make sure that their employees are happy and satisfied with their jobs. It is very important to gain employees loyalty as people are constantly looking for new hires and if a worker feels neglected and is not satisfied with their job, they are very likely to jump ship. Employees offer a variety of benefits and compensations that often increase job satisfaction. For many workers, these benefits are key and they help

Management of people is based on scientific research and countless theories that focus on individual motivation and behaviour, culminating into a relationship between the manager and the employee. Part of the relationship is a direct outcome of the written contract between the organisation and the individual. However, a significant part of it is an understanding or an unwritten promise by the organisation to fulfil its obligations to the individual. The promise could range from dignity, fairness and respect in interaction to career advancement and confidentiality. This promise, across academic literature, has been termed as the ‘psychological contract’.

Research into the effective management of the relationship between employers and employees has yielded many management theories that have helped shaped the present business landscape. These different theories have allowed managers to organise and manage people the way they best see fit. Two enduring management approaches are based off the Human Relations Management Theory and the Scientific Management Theory. Both theories address the issue of workplace optimisation with eminently different focuses.

In any organisation, its members could display varied behaviour where minimalists would contribute inadequately just enough to maintain affiliation while others may exhibit overt and discretionary behaviour which is beyond their stipulated job description and likely to benefit the organisation (Turnipseed and Rassuli: 2005). Such latter behaviour where the employee proactively goes the extra mile engaging in extra role activities amounts to Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB).

It seems logical to assume that job satisfaction should be a major determinant of an employee’s organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). Satisfied employees would seem more likely to talk positively about the organisation, help others and go beyond the normal expectations in their job. They might go beyond the call of duty because they want to reciprocate their positive experiences. Consistent with this thinking, evidence suggests that job satisfaction is moderately correlated with OCB; people who are more satisfied with their jobs are more likely to engage in OCB. Why? Fairness perceptions help explain the relationship. Those who feel that their colleagues support them are more likely to engage in helpful behaviours, whereas those who have antagonistic

Katz (1964) proposed that for an organization to operate successfully, employees must be willing to do more than the minimal performance and specific technical aspects of their job (Rioux & Penner, 2001). Out of this comes the development of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). OCB represents “individual behaviour that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognised by the formal reward system, and in the aggregate promotes the efficient and effective functioning of the organization” (Organ 1988, p. 4). The study of OCB has become increasingly important as the prevalence, importance, and costs of counterproductive, or deviant, behaviour in the workplace have been increasingly recognised (Lee & Allen, 2002). Theoretically, OCBs are of interest because they cannot be explained by the same mechanisms as those motivations that encourage people to perform within formal role requirements (Smith, Organ & Near, 1983). OCB’s are not easy enforced by the possibility of punishment, as they are discretionary behaviours that are beyond in-role requirements (Smith et al. 1983). The recognition of the costs of deviant workplace behaviour, and the intrigue behind determining what motivates OCB warrant the ever-increasing studies in this field. Research has shown there are multiple determinants of OCB, not all of which will be discussed here. This paper attempts to synthesize the research on OCB only in relation to the predictor of job satisfaction, looking at whether job