Over the past year, three of the star salesmen at Family Resorts International's corporate office have been lured away to competitors. On top of that, Karina, the general manager of the sales department, has noticed that most employees come in, do their jobs, and leave. Family Resorts offers a good salary, benefits, and tuition reimbursement, as well as a number of development and training programs. Most employees seem contented enough, but Karina would like to do something to increase the level of engagement among her staff. What do you think Karina should do?
- initiate one or more fun, bonding activities for the staff, such as weekly themed parties and weekend retreats
- have fun weekly contests where teams and individuals compete for prizes, bonuses, and other monetary incentives
- investigate the causes of low commitment by asking employees to complete an anonymous survey detailing their feelings
- update and expand the kinds of development programs they offer, perhaps adding seminars that focus on technological skills
- organize a volunteer program, where staff can work to help kids from disadvantaged backgrounds prepare for professional careers
Family Resorts' employees appear to have average levels of continuance commitment and normative commitment, but they lack engagement with the company. What Karina should do is seek to foster affective commitment among her staff through parties and other bonding activities. For example, Ben & Jerry's holds monthly "joy events" during which all production stops for a few hours to be replaced by Cajun-themed parties, table tennis contests, and employee appreciation celebrations.
Engagement: A term commonly used in the contemporary workplace to summarize motivation levels.
The desire to remain a member of an organization due to emotional attachment to, and involvement with, that organization is called ________ commitment.
- continuance
- affective
- evaluative
- normative
- associative
Affective commitment reflects an emotional bond with the organization. Affective commitment is defined as a desire to remain a member of an organization due to an emotional attachment to, and involvement with, that organization.
Organizational Commitment: An employee’s desire to remain a member of an organization.
Sofia, Faisal, and Tad are coworkers at Crossroads, Inc. All three have worked at Crossroads for five years now. One day while eating lunch together, Sofia remarks that she heard their colleague Margo recently quit and went to work for a competitor. Each of the three has a different opinion about Margo's leaving, and they all have their own reasons for continuing to stay at Crossroads. Faisal remarks that it is not worthwhile for him to leave like Margo because he has put in the time and hard work for a promotion. If he left for another company, he would not likely get this opportunity again soon. Faisal is exhibiting ________ commitment.
- continuance
- affective
- obligation-based
- normative
- skill-based
Continuance commitment is defined as a desire to remain a member of an organization because of awareness of the costs associated with leaving it. Faisal feels that if he walks away from CI, he will be walking away from his promotion, which might turn out to be a loss for him in the future. Hence, he is exhibiting continuance commitment.
Compliance: When targets of influence are willing to do what the leader asks but do it with a degree of ambivalence.
Affective commitment exists when there is a sense that staying is the "right" or "moral" thing to do.
Normative commitment exists when there is a sense that staying is the "right" or "moral" thing to do.
Affective Commitment: An employee’s desire to remain a member of an organization due to a feeling of emotional attachment.
Affective commitment is defined as a desire to remain a member of an organization due to an emotional attachment to, and involvement with, that organization.
Affective commitment is defined as a desire to remain a member of an organization due to an emotional attachment to, and involvement with, that organization.
Affective Commitment: An employee’s desire to remain a member of an organization due to a feeling of emotional attachment.
Employees who feel a sense of ________ commitment tend to engage in more interpersonal and organizational citizenship behaviors, such as helping, sportsmanship, and boosterism.
- normative
- evaluative
- affective
- proactive
- continuance
Employees who feel a sense of affective commitment identify with the organization accept that organization's goals and values, and are more willing to exert extra effort on behalf of the organization.
Citizenship Behavior: Voluntary employee behaviors that contribute to organizational goals by improving the context in which work takes place.
Many companies pay all or part of an employee's tuition for master's degree programs. If an employee has taken advantage of this, it can increase the employee's level of ________ commitment.
- normative
- affective
- continuance
- psychological
- educational
Many companies pay all or part of an employee's tuition for master's degree programs. This can increase the employee's level of normative commitment.
Normative Commitment: An employee’s desire to remain a member of an organization due to a feeling of obligation.
A desire to remain a member of an organization due to a feeling of obligation is called ________ commitment.
- continuance
- affective
- associative
- normative
- evaluative
Normative commitment exists when there is a sense that staying is the "right" or "moral" thing to do.
Organizational Commitment: An employee’s desire to remain a member of an organization.
The factors that increase normative commitment include
- salary and other monetary benefits.
- availability of employment opportunities.
- a sense that the organization has invested in the employee.
- links to the local community.
- organizational culture.
The factors that increase normative commitment include a sense that the organization has invested in the employee, personal work philosophies, or more general codes of right and wrong developed over the course of one's life.
Normative Commitment: An employee’s desire to remain a member of an organization due to a feeling of obligation.
________ commitment exists when there is a sense that staying at a firm is the "right" or "moral" thing to do.
- Normative
- Evaluative
- Social
- Continuance
- Affective
Normative commitment exists when there is a sense that staying is the "right" or "moral" thing to do.
Normative Commitment: An employee’s desire to remain a member of an organization due to a feeling of obligation.
Mohammed's company recently began offering a series of free leadership seminars aimed at helping lower-level employees enter a management track. It has been very successful, and Mohammed's department manager remarks to his colleague that he has seen a marked increase in ________ among the employees who have taken it.
- employee retention
- affective commitment
- perceptions of support
- normative commitment
- continuance commitment
From a normative commitment perspective, the employer can provide various training and development opportunities for employees, which means investing in them to create the sense that they owe further service to the organization.
Normative commitment from employees can result from all of these except
- the personal work principles of employees.
- organizational socialization.
- the creation of a feeling that the employee is in the organization's debt.
- an increase in the organization's charitable activities.
- implementation of a matrix structure in the organization.
Normative commitment exists when there is a sense that staying is the "right" or "moral" thing to do. Normative commitment from employees can result from personal work philosophies of employees, organizational socialization, creating a feeling that the employee is in the organization's debt, and increasing the organization's charitable activities.
Hector works as an assistant coach for the Boise Geysers in the U.S. Basketball Association. Recently, he was offered the position of head coaching duties with the Boulder Mountain Goats. Though their offer was very attractive, and it would have been a huge career move for Hector, he declined the offer. He felt it was with Geysers that he had learned and developed as a coach and that staying with the team was the right thing to do. This is an example of ________ commitment.
- continuance
- intuitive
- evaluative
- normative
- affective
Normative commitment exists when there is a sense that staying is the "right" or "moral" thing to do.
Team: Two or more people who work interdependently over some time period to accomplish common goals related to some task-oriented purpose.
Omar and Sari work as designers at Hologram Marketing. Recently, Sari's husband got a new job in a city fifty miles away, and they have decided to move there. Sari already has a new job lined up that pays about the same as her current one and has a better benefits package, but she is sad about leaving because she has made so many close friends during her fifteen years at Hologram. Omar is relatively new to the company, having just completed his design degree a few months ago. He completed an internship while in school, but Hologram was the first agency to make him a job offer. Sari tells him she has considered turning down the job offer in the new city and commuting to Hologram instead. She then asks Omar how he feels about working at Hologram. How would Omar most likely respond?
- "I'm just thrilled to have any job, even if it's not my ideal in the long run. The job market is terrible right now."
- "Even though the pay isn't what I hoped for, I can apply for a raise in six months. Most companies make you wait a year."
- "You should take the new job. I like it here, but the salary's not all that great. If I got a better offer, I'd leave in a heartbeat."
- "It's a great offer, but I'd never leave unless I had to. Even though I haven't been here as long as you, I felt welcomed right away."
- "I think if you decide to take that other job, I will probably leave as well. Hologram is great, but I'm sure there's something else out there for me."
The fact that Hologram offered Omar a job despite his relative lack of work experience suggests that he may have a high level of normative commitment. While Sari's level of affective commitment is high, Omar's is likely to be less so since he's only been there a few months. The response in which Omar explains that he would not leave unless he had to is most likely, as it indicates that Omar feels a sense of obligation to Hologram for taking a chance on him.
Organizational Commitment: An employee’s desire to remain a member of an organization.
Hung and Suzanne's company has instituted a new volunteering program where more experienced employees mentor the youngest employees, many of whom are fresh from college or internships. Hung signs up, but Suzanne does not. A few months later, how does Hung likely feel about having become a volunteer?
- She feels resentful, since she is essentially working for free.
- She feels more engaged in the company and in her primary role.
- She likes it but finds the extra time commitment a major problem.
- She enjoys it, but her colleagues think she is kissing up to the management.
- She likes it but feels her mentees take advantage of her time, becoming a distraction.
Many companies encourage employees to engage in volunteering-the giving of time or skills during a planned activity for a nonprofit or charitable group. Such companies may encourage volunteering on employees' own personal time, or may create "corporate volunteering" programs where employees can give time or skills during the workday. Are such efforts a distraction for employees that interferes with their jobs? Quite the contrary, as research suggests that employees who volunteer are actually more engaged in their work than employees who don't. Moreover, employees who volunteer are given "credit" for those activities by their colleagues.
Role: The behavior a person is generally expected to display in a given context.
When Faisal and Tad ask Sofia her thoughts on the matter, she notes that Margo had no bonds to CI. She was relatively new and had not invested any time there. Sofia says, "Crossroads gave me an opportunity and invested so much in mentoring me, preparing me for the position, and showing me the ropes. There is no way that I could desert them by leaving for another company." Sofia is exhibiting ________ commitment.
- continuance
- intuitive
- evaluative
- normative
- affective
Normative commitment is defined as a desire to remain a member of an organization due to a feeling of obligation. Sofia feels that she "owes" the company and that staying at CI is the right thing to do. Hence, she is exhibiting normative commitment.
Mentoring: The process by which a junior-level employee develops a deep and long-lasting relationship with a more senior-level employee within the organization.