Executive Summary
It was evident that Asea Brown Boveri Ltd (ABB) needs to enhance the efficient communication between and among superiors and subordinates as well as among colleagues to foster better workplace environment. It was apparent that the employees are challenged by some factors that limit them to fully participate in the organization’s plans and decision-making processes and strategies which make them feel less important.
In terms of leadership among superiors, evaluation of the employees indicated that power and hierarchal distinctions beset the efficient interaction between the heads and followers within the organization. Moreover, the respondents also highlighted the political consciousness that exist in the company and threatens the productive performance among teams and work groups. Furthermore, the importance of training and development in the industry is acknowledged by the research participants.
A. Introduction
In 1988 Asea and BBC merged to form Asea Brown Boveri Ltd (ABB) as one of the largest electrical engineering companies in the world. A year later, the company acquired 40 other electrical companies including the power transmission and power distribution businesses of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The early 1990 paved way for a large-scale program of expansion in central and Eastern Europe, Asia and the Americas through a number of strategic investments, joint ventures and acquisitions. When ABB owned Elsag Bailey Process Automation as its largest acquisition ever, it became the market leader in the global automation market as the company divested its nuclear power, power generation and rail businesses in order to focus on developing its market strengths in alternative energy. The company is at present is concerned with building the world’s longest underwater HVDC power transmission link, connecting Norway and the Netherlands.
ABB’s corporate culture is characterized with competence, ambition and integrity as the core values that inculcated to the member of the business organization. As a successful international business enterprise, ABB believes that the key to achieving the corporate goals and objectives set by the company lies in their ability to understand and apply the business principles of personal, professional and corporate responsibility by showing respect to the views and needs of others. The management likewise believes that the slightest infringement to the reputation of the company has a great impact on the overall business operation of the organization which motivated them to maintain the highest ethical standards to enable them to perform efficiently and effectively so as to meet the needs of their clientele and the people who are part of the business.
Hence, this paper aims to provide discussion regarding the ways in which employee motivation can be improved through the critical evaluation of the importance of employee training and development, the different approaches to the said human resources concern and its impact on the organization and its people putting into context the case of Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.
B. Analysis
According to (2000), the quantitative research approach is most appropriate when conducting descriptive and exploratory study in order to quantify data that seem immeasurable, such as feelings, beliefs, and thoughts. This permits a flexible and iterative approach of analyzing and statistically manipulating the collected information. Hence, the survey method was used for data collection. Surveys are conducted to gather data from the field in order to generalize results from a sample to a larger population. The primary purpose and advantage of surveys is generalization of the results. Surveys are interested in gathering data from many than in obtaining intensive, detailed information from a few individuals; therefore, it is seldom for a survey to consist of one or very few individuals (2000).
The survey form is composed of queries that the respondents assessed using the Likert scale. The survey form constitutes several statements that argue on an individual’s agreement or disagreement on the presented queries. Situations and assumptions which are related to the topic were stated in the questionnaire so as to elicit the different points of view of the respondents. The survey form has five main parts which include the basic demographic characteristics of the respondents followed by the four key areas that were focused on by the research study. The Likert scale format was used to measure the level of agreeability of statements that were categorized according to the concepts of communication, leadership, team work, training and development, and compensation and benefits of the survey participants (See Appendix Section for the Questionnaire).
C. Needs Analysis
Communication. It has been argued that through the workplace culture, management can have control in the hearts and minds of its employees towards making them more committed to the organization. One way of manipulating the workplace culture is implementing a “shared value” ( 1999). Through shared value, each and every member of the organization will work towards adhering to it, thus inappropriate behavior can be lessened. Meanwhile,(1995) indicated that correctly applied employee participation increases productivity. A higher morale of the employees will reflect in their work attitude and will gradually become more committed to the aims of the organization and to the organization as a whole.
According to almost three-fourths of the participants of the study (68.6%), specifications regarding their work duties and responsibilities are explained to them by the management in order to promote a common entrepreneurial aim while the remaining one-third are not sure if that is the case in his/her experience in the company as they declared their uncertainty (19%) and disagreement among others (12.4%). Almost the same results were recorded when the respondents were asked regarding their ways of consulting their superior about the nature of their responsibilities. Majority of the respondents (83.8%) indicated that they can consult their superior regarding matters that concern their job while there are a few who thought otherwise and disagreed (4.8%). Slightly more than ten percent indicated their uncertainty on the issue (11.4%). See Table 1 in Appendix.
However, other findings of the study focusing on the communication aspect of employee motivation revealed that the most of the employees are not appraised by their superior when it comes to the progress of their work (48.8%) although there not much difference with the percentage of those claimed otherwise (40%) while the remaining one-tenth of the respondents were not sure of the claims (11.4%). The study’s significant finding also revealed that more than half of the participants (56.2%) indicated that they are not able to address their thoughts and opinions during meetings and only slightly more than one-third of them stated that they are able to air their concerns (38.31%). See Table 2 in Appendix.
Leadership. According to (2002), credibility is the foundation of leadership. In addition, a leader should possess honesty, competence, aspiration, and a forward-looking approach. In the business point of view, good leadership proves to be quite beneficial. Good leadership aids in effectively meeting job-related demands, in creating higher-performing teams, in fostering renewed loyalty and commitment, in increasing motivational level and in reducing absenteeism and turnover of employees. It comprises the aptitude and ability to inspire and influence the thinking, attitudes, and behavior of other people ( 1991; 1985; 1989;1985; 1988; 1997). Although this specification seems relatively simple, the reality of leadership is very complex. Intrapersonal factors such as ideas and emotions interact with interpersonal processes to have effects on a dynamic external environment and bring complexity to the leadership process.
The results of the survey indicated that there is no significant difference in terms of the number of respondents who agreed (39%) and disagreed (37.1%) when asked if their superiors treat them as equal while the remaining one-third of the participants stated their uncertainty (23.8%). Half of the respondents (50.5%) also indicated that they are not sure if their superiors trust their confidence when it comes to accomplishing the tasks that are designated to them. This is relatively higher to the percentage of the survey participants who claimed clearer answers to the posted statement in the questionnaire. There were more respondents, which is one-third of the total number of participants, who believe that their superiors lack trust in them (29.5%) compared to those who claimed that they are trusted by their superiors (20%). However, when it comes to being a role model of performance and being professional at all times, the superiors of the company were evaluated favorably. Majority of the respondents agreed that their superiors are good performers and ideal model to them (78.1%) and that their bosses are very professional in conduct and behavior in the workplace (83.8%). But there were still few employees who indicated otherwise as 2.9% believed their superiors are not performance models and 3.8% they are not professional. See Table 2 in Appendix.
Team work. Leader skill in the facilitation of interaction among team members is becoming critical in organizations (1995). “Leadership is most appropriately evaluated in terms of team performance”, suggests (1997). (1992) claimed “the systems theory of management is built upon the tenet that ‘the whole is more than the sum of its parts.” For a quality improvement effort to truly succeed, such a whole must evolve.” According to (1995), teams with “substantive” participation outperform teams where subordinate input is limited to “consultative” participation. A less direct control and new risk for the leader is called substantive participation. Social acuity and interpersonal astuteness are factors needed to ensure leader effectiveness and subsequent group success ( 2000).
Majority of the research participants believe that the collective knowledge and skills of the entire workforce has direct relation and affects the individual performance of the members of the organization (92.4%). Similarly, there appears to be a common belief that the team where the respondents belong to undergo constructive evaluation of every members’ performance (71.4%). Other results of the study focusing on the aspect of team work in employee motivation indicated that there are relatively more participants who think that members of their teams prioritize personal gains instead of the teams’ overall output and performance. More than half of the participants believe that their team members uphold personal interest more compared to establishing their selves as a team. More than a quarter of the total number of participant indicated that their foster team work effort and interests setting aside individual concerns on performance (25.7%). Interestingly, however, is the majority’s unanimous ruling that enhancing the dynamics within work groups is important and should be encourage by the management through team building seminars outside the company (96.2%). See Table 3 in Appendix.
Training and development. There are various training and development methods as part of training menus that are all accessible to utilize and relate according to individual training and organizational training needs. Training is also on hand far beyond and outside the classroom. More prominently, training or learning, to look at it from the trainee’s view is anything offering learning and developmental experience. Training and learning development includes facets such as morals and principles; stance and behavior; skills and knowledge and as well as leadership and willpower. Development isn’t constrained to training; rather it’s anything that aids a person to nurture in aptitude, expertise, poise, broadmindedness, dedication, inventiveness, inter-personal skills, understanding, self-control, enthusiasm and some more (1987;1992; 2002).
The results of the study indicated that the respondents are updated on the latest developments in respective areas of their work (84.8%) and that they are given trainings in such developments (83.8%). But the results likewise records that there are employees who are lacking such knowledge in the industry developments disagreeing that they are updated (9.5%) and that they acquire trainings (13.3%) on such developments. Consistently, there are relatively more employees who claimed that they are encouraged by the management to take active participation in developmental trainings related to their work specifications and job descriptions (53.3%) compared to those who feel that the company lack support in their training needs (32.4%). Those who stated their disagreement are significant in number which implies that there a number of employees are willing to be trained but the management does not seem to recognize. All the participants in the research activity believe in the importance of the availability of career path planning services in the company. See Table 4 in Appendix.
D. HRD Intervention
Human resource management (HRM) is known and accepted in the broadest sense of the term, as a form of management that includes “all management decisions and actions that affect the nature of the relationship between the organization and the employees – its human resources” (1984). The tasks of those belonging in HRM can be complex as it involves all issues that encompass employee and firm relationship. Today, it can be said that role of HRM in the organization has been expanded and improved as new ways to handle employees are discovered.
Believing that the most important asset of a business is the people in order to achieve sustained business success is the core philosophy of human resource management (HRM). Realizing this leads to a strategic management of people within the organization. Its philosophy is based on the simple belief that human resources are the most important asset in achieving and sustaining business success. Human resource professionals basically deal with such areas as employee recruitment and selection, performance evaluation, compensation and benefits, professional development, safety and health, forecasting, and labor relations ( 2001).
In developing a training program to enhance the productivity of employees the manager will look at the competency problems of the employees and fashion the program to enable the employees to reach and even exceed the competency standard established for their work. This requires a great amount of perceptiveness on the part of the manager in determining what method of training will be most effective in improving employee competence. Some of the training includes computer software training, internet-based training and self teaching by encouraging innovativeness in the workplace ( 1998). Ensuring employee performance requires establishing a level of competence which the employee should be aware of as a target to be achieved. This is the measure to be used by managers in determining compliance with the standard and in identifying problems met by the employees in meeting the standard.
Employer-provided training is important because studies have found that on-the-job training is strongly associated with wage increases ( 1987; 1992; 2002). Moreover, training is a form of human capital investment whether that investment is made by the individual or by the firm ( 1975). A firm has the incentive to invest in the human capital of its workers only if there is an expectation of a return on its investment. (1997) found that firms often delay training to determine whether workers are good matches and therefore have a lower probability of leaving the firm. A strategic approach to training is imperative nowadays for training to be seen to be meeting business needs and adding value ( 2000). For this to happen, the training function needs to examine current and future business needs, and set appropriate priorities for training interventions.
In the present day work environment, expectations exceed regarding the workloads and task requirements among employers and employees. Multi-tasking defines the current situation in most of business organizations as advances in technology especially in the use of the computer and the Internet continues. (2001) highlighted the importance of high work life quality through good supervision, working conditions, pay and benefits as well as challenging and rewarding jobs. She said that these conditions will provide opportunities for employees to contribute in the overall effectiveness of the organization as they become more motivated and productive members of the company’s work force with positive self-esteem and improved morale.
E. Evaluation
Performance quality is highly correlated with the appreciation a person garners from his or her colleagues and supervisors which at the same time serves as a personal evaluation of one’s capabilities. The following suggestions state the possible approaches that Asea Brown Boveri Ltd (ABB) could adapt and implement in managing their human resources in order to avail of the benefits of enhancing the potential of the members of the workforce using Kirk Patrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation:
1. Reaction. It was evident according to the employees that Asea Brown Boveri Ltd (ABB) needs to enhance the efficient communication between and among superiors and subordinates as well as among colleagues to foster better workplace environment. It was apparent that the employees are challenged by some factors that limit them to fully participate in the organization’s plans and decision-making processes and strategies which make them feel less important. In terms of leadership among superiors, evaluation of the employees indicated that power and hierarchal distinctions beset the efficient interaction between the heads and followers within the organization. Moreover, the respondents also highlighted the political consciousness that exist in the company and threatens the productive performance among teams and work groups. Furthermore, the importance of training and development in the industry is acknowledged by the research participants.
2. Learning. Equal relations between the employer and the employees should be practiced to encourage productivity in the business organization. Enhancing good working relations among all the employees and preserving a good working environment and atmosphere ideally, will provide harmonious relationship inside the business organization. Maintaining such condition within the office will elicit productivity from the employees as they enjoy their duties of accomplishing their tasks and will help in reducing stress and eventual burnout in the workplace. Encouragement of wider work responsibility of basic skills such as development and learning courses should be given to employees on specified times of the year. This will restore fresh knowledge to old employees. Promoting individual competence and competitiveness among the staff and other members of the organization will be of benefit to the company since this will uphold and advance the initiative work attitude.
3. Transfer. Since workplace learning and training programs in business organizations is a common practice nowadays, more trust should be given to the work team of the company. Entertaining and respecting solicited opinions and ideas of ordinary employees will be of help in setting the corporate goals of the company since the staff is encouraged to think as owners of the business enterprise. Team building exercises wherein work peers as well as the supervisors will be participating should be regularly held. Bonding activities like out of town trips can be psychologically helpful to all the employees that will elicit bond among the people inside the company as well as for the employers to know their work team. In the case of newly hired staff, more comprehensive and rigorous training exercises should be applied to better prepare them of the workloads they will be responsible of in the actual business transaction and work process.
4. Results. Employers need to enroll their staff in annual or quarterly training courses to upgrade their skills and enrich their knowledge so as to foster individual and personal development and improvement. Possibilities of promotion through their acquired knowledge and improved skills as competitive employees should always be reminded to the staff as a form of motivation to encourage productive outputs. Incentives in the form of financial aids like bonuses and other material compensations as well as intrapersonal rewards such as positive critical feedbacks and recognition should be endorse by the company to boost confidence and motivate the employees. This in turn will also be profitable to the organization itself due to increased output of the work force.
In this light, the management should be able to foster workplace setting that upholds team effort and recognizes individual contribution of the employees to enhance healthy working competition among the members of the organization. As such, their collective perceptions and beliefs were able to clearly state of the high value they place on enhanced skills and knowledge. Such voluntarism among the respondents could serve the company in maximizing the potential of its workforce.
F. Costing
Business organizations offer two-way learning experience within the company between and among the employers and the employees. Employers benefit largely from trainings that they offer to staff and members of the firm given that the expected knowledge and skills were learned through the organizations venture on their human resources. At the best possible results, the organization will gain competitive attitude in the business world by housing in competitive and qualified workers. Employees on the other hand, are given the opportunity to improve on their work capabilities as qualified and productive members of the modern and information age work force. Hence, training ensures the achievement of both the long-term and immediate goals of the company.
The importance and demand for workplace learning though is clearly evident in companies that offer integrated learning solutions to different industries. Today, workplace learning is changed into a productive business venture. There are companies now that offer such workplace training services through modules and Internet links and other instructional materials to a lot of business industries. Workplace learning benefit both the employee and the employer in attaining the same work goal of the business company, that is, to gain higher productivity through good working conditions between and among qualified and competitive work teams.
But in a competitive labor market workers should invest in their own general (and to some extent, specific) training: the return on their investment comes in the form of subsequently enhanced earnings. Expectations with respect to future skill requirements and occupational demands may well be less than fully rational, and any inherent biases will lead to inappropriate decisions on investments in training. However, the effectiveness of training depends so much on the trainer: the assessment on the weaknesses and strengths of the company and the workforce, job satisfaction, competency of the employees and several needs assessment analysis and interviews needs to be conducted first before a training program can be chosen from an array of approaches and techniques.
G. Challenge
It is a common belief that acquiring knowledge can empower an individual for the notion of facts and truths guides a person on how to proceed on things that must be attended to. In every decision an individual makes, comprehension and weighing of information play a vital role on what and how certain actions and attitudes will be conceptualized and performed. When the complexity of the nature, source and limit of a particular knowledge is exposed in terms of the perspective used by a person, conflict on what point of view to follow along with the beliefs and values a person holds, most often than not determines the behavior, given that the person is a ware of the possible principles and truths he or she could consider. The role of communication in making learning possible has long been acclaimed as the most efficient way of sharing and acquiring facts and information. The relevance of being a knowledgeable individual has likewise been appreciated and credited in evaluating a person.
Businesses have evolved since in the way the staff and employees work. I have been a witness to the importance of effective communication in order to meet the expectations of the clients, customers, suppliers, distributors, middlemen, business partners, business associates, business allies, contacts, colleagues, coworkers and my employees which enable me to attain the objectives I set for myself. Through effective communication and skills with diverse set of people in different cultural and social settings, I was able to work efficiently and effectively to achieve the tasks, responsibilities and duties I am inclined to perform. I take pride in all the effort and hard work I have contributed not just for the overall well-being of the company but also in helping the people whom I work with for the knowledge and skills they have imparted for my career and personal development. I am grateful in any contributions I made in improving their work and the principles they hold as productive members of the company’s workforce.
Appendices:
Survey Questionnaire
The researcher is conducting a study on employee motivation specifically the areas of communication, leadership, team spirit and training and development. To enable the researcher to reach the necessary conclusion and make helpful recommendations, it would be very much appreciated if you answer all the items in the questionnaire. It would only take not more than 15 minutes of your time.
Information given will be treated in strictest confidence.
Thank you very much.
Part 1. Personal Data
Direction: Please fill up in all the necessary information about yourself. Kindly don’t leave any item unanswered.
a. Age ________
b. Sex
Male ( ) Female ( )
c. Civil Status
Single ( ) Married ( ) Separated ( ) Widow/Widower ( )
d. Year/s of Employment in the company: __________
Part 2: Survey Proper
Directions: Encircle the number that best corresponds to your answer.
5 - Strongly Agree
4 - Agree
3 – Uncertain
2 - Disagree
1 - Strongly Disagree
A. Communication
1. I am informed of the reason why a job is 5 4 3 2 1
done in the particular manner I am
required to do.
2. I can consult my superior if I have any 5 4 3 2 1
concerns about my job.
3. I am appraised by my superior of the 5 4 3 2 1
content of my progress reports.
4. I am able to voice out my opinions on our 5 4 3 2 1
staff meetings.
B. Leadership
1. My superior treats me as his/her 5 4 3 2 1
colleague.
2. My superior shows trust and confidence 5 4 3 2 1
in me by giving tasks which are best suited
to my abilities.
3. My superior is a role model in terms 5 4 3 2 1
of performance.
4. My superior displays professional 5 4 3 2 1
behaviour at the workplace at all times.
C. Team work
1. The entire workforce’s collective 5 4 3 2 1
knowledge and skills affect individual
performance.
2. My team participates in a 5 4 3 2 1
constructive evaluation of each other’s
performances.
3. My team considers their goals 5 4 3 2 1
and purpose as a team and not
for individual gains.
4. The team should participate in team 5 4 3 2 1
building seminars to enhance the
dynamics among team members.
D. Training and Development
1. I am updated on the latest 5 4 3 2 1
developments in areas of work.
2. I have trainings on the latest 5 4 3 2 1
developments in areas of work.
3. I am encouraged to participate 5 4 3 2 1
in seminars outside the company.
4. Employees should have career path 5 4 3 2 1
planning service available within the
organization.
Table 1. Communication
I am informed of the reason why a job is done in the particular manner I am required to do.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
72
20
13
Percentage (%)
68.6
19.0
12.4
N = 105
I can consult my superior if I have any concerns about my job.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
88
12
5
Percentage (%)
83.8
11.4
4.8
N = 105
I am appraised by my superior of the content of my progress reports.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
42
12
51
Percentage (%)
40.0
11.4
48.6
N = 105
I am able to voice out my opinions on our staff meetings.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
40
6
59
Percentage (%)
38.1
5.7
56.2
N = 105
Table 2. Leadership
My superior treats me as his/her colleague.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
41
25
39
Percentage (%)
39.0
23.8
37.1
N = 105
My superior shows trust and confidence in me by giving tasks which are best suited to my abilities.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
21
53
31
Percentage (%)
20.0
50.5
29.5
N = 105
My superior is a role model in terms of performance.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
82
20
3
Percentage (%)
78.1
19.0
2.9
N = 105
My superior displays professional behavior at the workplace at all times.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
88
13
4
Percentage (%)
83.8
12.4
3.8
N = 105
Table 3. Team Work
The entire workforce’s collective knowledge and skills affect individual performance.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
97
5
3
Percentage (%)
92.4
4.8
2.9
N = 105
My team participates in a constructive evaluation of each other’s performances.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
75
3
27
Percentage (%)
71.4
2.9
25.7
N = 105
My team considers their goals and purpose as a team and not for individual gains.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
27
20
58
Percentage (%)
25.7
19.0
55.2
N = 105
The team should participate in team building seminars to enhance the dynamics among team members.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
101
1
3
Percentage (%)
96.2
1.0
2.9
N = 105
Table 4. Training and Development
I am updated on the latest developments in areas of work.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
89
6
10
Percentage (%)
84.8
5.7
9.5
N = 105
I have trainings on the latest developments in areas of work.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
88
3
14
Percentage (%)
83.8
2.9
13.3
N = 105
I am encouraged to participate in seminars outside the company.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
56
15
34
Percentage (%)
53.3
14.3
32.4
N = 105
Employees should have career path planning service available within the organization.
Level of Agreement
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
Total (N)
105
-
-
Percentage (%)
100.0
-
-
N = 105
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