Compensation Management and Organizational Performance A Study of Selected Pharmaceutical Companies in Awka, Anambra State
Compensation Management and Organizational Performance A Study of Selected Pharmaceutical Companies in Awka, Anambra State
Compensation Management and Organizational Performance A Study of Selected Pharmaceutical Companies in Awka, Anambra State
e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319-7668. Volume 20, Issue 9. Ver. III (September. 2018), PP 36-47
www.iosrjournals.org
Abstract: The realization of organizational objectives is in most cases achieved through the human resource
asset and there is need therefore to enhance the commitment of employees to the organization. Hence
identification of all possible factors that increase employee commitment is of utter importance. Indeed the
compensation policy is an important element of human resource management. It influences decision of potential
employee to join an organization and determines employer-employee relationship after employee joins the
organization. The compensation policy should in addition encompass both monetary and non-monetary rewards
paid to employee in exchange of the services rendered while taking into consideration employment contract,
competence and skills. This study aimed at establishing the influence of compensation policy on employee
commitment of selected pharmaceutical companies in Anambra state. Primary data was collected using self-
administered questionnaire and the data was analyzed by use of Pearson product correlation. The data was
presented using simple percentage table. Generally, the study found that pay for performance policy was the
popular compensation. It was also established that the compensation policy influences employee commitment
owing to the level of relationship established between the variables and this led to enhanced performance, trust
in management and strong relationship in the organization. Further, the cash rewards were reflective of
individual skills and effort which included allowances for extra duties and responsibilities. The employees’
compensation included pension schemes; personal security through illness, health or accident insurance covers;
safety in work environment, financial assistance for loans, purchase of organizational products and work life.
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Date of Submission: 29-08-2018 Date of acceptance: 13-09-2018
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I Chapter One
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Employees in pharmaceutical companies are of different category and department, ranging from
manufacturing, quality control and assurance, research and development, sales and marketing, administration
and consulting. The collective efforts of all and different employees in their respective capacities tends to
determine the performance of the organization at large. This is to say that the commitment of employees as a
factor in determining the level of performance in any organization cannot be over emphasized. Therefore it is of
almost importance to strategically device means of getting employees in an organization to be fully committed
to their work one o the ways of achieving this is by designing an effective compensation policy that is capable
of driving the employees into the perception of being part of the organization. Compensation is defined as the
different types of financial incomes and benefits that employees receive based on the employment relationship
(Bernadin, 2007). Direct compensation includes the basic pay that the employee is entitled for his or her job. It
includes all forms of salary, wages, overtime pay, and bonuses. Indirect compensation includes protection
programs, insurance plans, insurance plans, educational assistance and pay for time not worked, feeling of
advancement, achievement opportunity, opportunities for recognition and other forms of benefits (Adeniji and
Osibanjo, 2012). Compensation policies are the collection of rules that govern the calculation of the net pay for
all individuals employed in an organization. It goes a long way in determining the perception of employees in
the organization as regards the way their welfare is covered and thus contribute to hw committed they are to the
objectives of the organization.
The concept of organizational commitment has received attention particularly in the field of industrial
and organizational psychology (Cohen, 2003). It is a feeling of identification with organization’s values,
contribution in the interest of the organization, and loyalty, expressed by employees (Steers, 1977).
Organizational commitment is regarded as a dynamic construct comprising affective, continuance and normative
commitment (Malik, Wahab and Naheem, 2010). Commitment is also described as the psychological connection
that binds employees to their employing organization.
this is consequent to the time constraint on the duration of this research, so that the researcher can fully
investigate the problem area.
Therefore, the researcher have focused solely on Juhel pharmaceuticals and Gauze pharmaceuticals for the
research.
II Chapter Two
2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Compensation policy is an important element of human resource practice that influences decision of
potential employee to join an organization and determines employer-employee relationship after employee joins
the organization (Ira, 2010).
Psychological contract develops between the employer and the employee that serves to determine the nature of
mutual existence during the period of employment. The contract is largely influenced by the development and
management of compensation policy and the resultant employee commitment (Kwon, 2001).Compensation
policy as an area of research has outcomes which are of interest to the organization and to the employee. The
outcomes of compensation policy includes: employee commitment, organizational citizenship and
organizational performance. Compensation policy is an integral component of organization’s reward systems
and corporate strategy which when effectively utilized influences the level of employee commitment to the
company and work positively (Armstrong, 2007).
Compensation policy provides guidelines or approaches which the organization uses
in reward management. The policy apart from serving as an implementation tool for reward strategy is a
reflection of organization’s values, culture and philosophy in regard to compensation (Eisenberg, Fosdo &
Lamastro, 1990). Compensation policy helps in defining employment relationships, contractual obligations and
the implied psychological contract between the employer and the employee (Zacher, 2015). The policy promotes
employer employee relationship by having committed employees who have trust with the organization, are
willing to go an extra mile in their duties
and have readiness to assist other employees. Policy on compensation incorporates the following key
components; level of rewards, equity in pay, remuneration, contingent pay, competitiveness and transparency in
rewards management (Armstrong et al, 2007). Benefits refer to non-cash allowances which are part of total
reward. Benefits policy addresses issues of, pension schemes; personal security through illness, health or
accident insurance covers; safety in work environment, financial assistance for loans in house purchase schemes
or purchase of organizational products; work life balance, holidays, career breaks, counseling; and employee
development (Adler et. al, 2015). Compensation policy portrays the positioning of the employee in the
organization’s mind (Rajiv et.al, 2000).
Developing a compensation policy is a process that requires consideration of factors internal and external to the
organization. External factors include industrial practice, market consideration and competitor’s strategy on
rewards. Internal factors includes HR strategy adopted on; attracting recruiting, developing and retaining the
employees; values of equality, balance and quality of work life; organizational culture in relation to
performance, innovation and creativity or skills development (Ombasa, 2013). The organization’s philosophy on
whether to be in leader, medium or follower
position in the market shall act as a guide on the compensation policy to be adopted.
A compensation policy is composed of reward structure together with the values and
philosophies which serve to determine the policy (Armstrong 2007). Elements of compensation policy therefore
reflect the wholesomeness of the policy when viewed from the perspectives of: grade and pay structure; total
reward; philosophies and values upon which the compensation policy is grounded.
and the changes in the industry (Martochio, 2009). Gaver et al. (1995) uses vision as a strategy and posits that
the vision pursued by the organization influences compensation policy adopted. Organization with a vision of
growth pursue a compensation policy which is long-term compared to non- growth organization which have a
short term policy. Organizations with growth vision are investment ventures usually listed in security markets
where objective is growth of shareholders wealth. Non growth organizations are like government departments,
parastatals, NGO or church based organizations. Growth based firms will have compensation policy packaged in
performance awards, stock option grants and restricted stock grants while non- growth based organizations will
apply a compensation policy that is largely based on fixed salary and allowances. The long term incentive
reduces agency cost associated with manager-shareholder’s information asymmetry (Yandori et al, 2003).
(1999) defined commitment towards an organization as level at which an employee identifies with and works
towards the achievement of organizational goals. Commitment of employee to organization has no universally
prescribed definition. However, despite the differences in the definitions, there is agreement between the
scholars that commitment to organization influences employee’s attitude, attachment and perception towards an
organization. Pare et.al (2007) is of the view that employee commitment is associated with behaviors of high
involvement, reduced intentions of opting out of the organization, going extra mile to accomplish duties and
task, willingness to help and uplift others at work and corporate citizenship. Employee commitment can be
perceived as internal psychological force that makes an employee feel ready to work, accomplish tasks as
specified, stick to the organization and speak positively about the organization (Ira, 2010).
Employee commitment can take different forms which are influenced by employee mindset. The forms of
commitment according to Meyer and Allen (1991) are; affective, continuance and normative commitments.
According to Meyer and Allen (1991), affective commitment is grounded on psychological position of the
employee towards the organization.
Affective commitment is linked to emotional attachment, identification and involvement in the
organizations activities and values. The other commitment is continuance commitment which is associated with
opportunity cost considered by the employee were he to leave the organization. The cost is the psychological
cost of working relationships, informal social groups, growth prospects and image or organization’s brand. The
employee considers sticking longer in the organization if the opportunity cost is high. Normative commitment is
the feeling of an obligation to remain in the organization. Normative commitment is largely out of reciprocity
and the feeling of being highly indebted to the organization (Rajiv et.al, 2000).
Employee commitment can be focused on various targets which are considered to be of importance to the
employee (Cohen 2003). The foci include commitment to organization, occupation, team, customer, supervisor
or trade unions. The foci are influenced by values, morals, performance, compliance, and competency and
continuance culture of the organization also referred to as dimensions of commitment.
Pare et.al (2007) posits that the different forms and dimensions of commitment are critical in development of
HR strategies, policies and practices aimed at increasing commitment at workplace. The philosophy of
compensation policy is largely guided by values of transparency, compliance and performance (Zacher et al,
2005).
Expectancy Theory
Expectancy theory propounded by Vroom (1964) is a process theory which explains the mental process of an
employee in interpretation and perception of organizational compensation leading to behaviors of commitment,
motivation and effort increase.
According to the theory, commitment policy is futuristic and influences expectancy behaviors and attitude
towards a job. Vroom suggests that employees’ work behavior
is related to believe that their effort will result in achievement of outcomes that are of value to them. The theory
is based on three expectancies; effort- performance expectancy (E-P), performance – outcome expectancy (P-O)
and Valence (V).
The interplay of the three expectancies leads to interpretation of fulfillment or non-fulfillment of expectancies
by the organization.
E-P is the perception held by the employee that there is a positive and significant relationship between effort and
performance with increased effort resulting to performance. P-O is the employee prediction that high
performance will result to positive outcomes in the form of rewards or compensation. V refers to the value
expectation of the employee towards the rewards. Employee will be diligent in his work where such efforts
results to increased performance. Continuous effort will only be made where outcomes of reward are linked to
effort and performance and are perceived to be of value. Employee behavior to work will be positively
influenced when the rewards are predicted with a higher degree of continuity and such rewards are of presumed
value to the employee.
Compensation policy of an organization when well communicated guides employee in making predictions and
expectations about the words. Employees behavior is effort towards job will be positively influenced when the
employee interprets the predicted valence in the predicted rewards. The rewards provide intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation. The intrinsic motivation is derived from the job while extrinsic motivation is derived from the
organizational compensation policy. Valence is relative to employees and is influenced by position held in the
organization.
Equity Theory
Equity Theory by Adams (1965) is a comparative analysis by an employee of the rewards he receives
in relation to those of others who are in a similar position, with equal qualifications and carrying similar tasks in
form of effort, time and skills requirement. Out of comparison, employee develops a perception towards the
rewards which in turn influence his behavior towards work and the organization.
Equity theory is shaped by two ratios used in the reward analysis; my pay vs. others pay; and my
position on dimension relative to pay vs. others position on dimensions relative to pay. Inequality arising out of
any of the ratios will be interpreted as inequity leading to dissatisfaction and low level commitment to work and
the organization.
Anvari et. al (2011) points that the consequence of perceived inequalities results to behaviors of;
reduced commitment, psychological stress, reduced quality of out-put or reduction of effort in an attempt to
rationalize the inequality. Rajiv et. al (2000) provides a number of moderating factors to the employees’
perception towards the analyzed comparison. The internal moderating factors included; valence, clarity of
structure, fairness in salary administration and future plans of an employee. External moderating factors are;
industrial practice, competitors willingness to absorb the employee in case he leaves the organization and
communication channels provided to air the pay grievance. Organizations need to exercise equity in
compensation through carrying out salary market survey, adopting pay-skill-performance system, openly
communicating compensation policy of the organization and promptly dealing with salary grievances
(Armstrong, 2001). Rewards procedural justice serves to influence employees’ commitment because employees
interpret fairness from the organization where inequities are perceived (Pare et.al, 2007). .
Responses obtained from the Likert-type questionnaire design for the study was analyzed using frequency table
and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results showed a significant relationship between good welfare service
and employees performance; compensation management and improved productivity; and compensation
management and employees performance. The study thus posits that compensation management has positive
effect on employee performance.
Ayesha, Amna, Tahleel & Hina (2015) constructed a structured questionnaire with which they obtained
data to study the effects of compensation and motivation on employee performance. Using a sample of banking
sector of Faisalabad the simple regression model revealed that incentive and motivation have significant effect
on employee performance.
Oladejo & Oluwaseun (2014) examined the effect of compensation plan on workers performance in the
Nigerian food and beverage manufacturing companies using a sample of 125 questionnaires administered and
distributed to the staff of the selected food and beverages companies in Lagos state. Analyses from frequency
table and percentage and Chi- square test showed that compensation plan has significant and positive effect on
workers performance.
Hameed, Muhammad, Hafiz, Ghazanfar & Muhammad (2014) examined the impact of compensation on
employee performance of banks in Pakistan. a questionnaire was designed to collect the data on the factors
related to compensation like salary, rewards, indirect compensation and employee performance. Findings from
correlation and regression analyses showed that compensation has positive impact on employee performance.
Nnorom, Akpa, Egwuonwu, Akintaro, Shonubi & Herbertson (2016) examined the effect of compensation
administration on employee productivity. The data gathered from the structured questionnaire on 50 respondents
in Dangote Nigeria Headquarters in Lagos Nigeria, revealed that effective compensation administration has
significant positive effect on employee productivity.
Using a sample of 126 workers of the work at Local Apparatus Work Unit (LAWU) at Local Revenue
Management in Kendari, Muhamad, Idrus, Djumahir, & Mintarti (2014) investigated the effect of compensation
on motivation, organizational commitment on employee performance. The data analysis from SEM (Structural
Equation Model) indicated that compensation has significant effect on motivation and organizational
commitment, but does not have significant effect on employee performance. The study posits that compensation
cannot directly improve employee performance thus contradicting the earlier assertions that compensation has a
direct effect on performance.
Company B
Qualification Frequency Percentage
NCE/ND 10 20%
BSc/HND 28 55%
MSC/PhD 13 25%
Total 51 100%
The table shows that 55% of the respondent have either BSc or HND qualification 20% have either NCS and
ND while 25% have acquired MSC and PhD
4.2.1 Presentation of questionnaire
4.2.2 Company A
Response Frequency Percentage
SA 130 28%
A 202 30%
UN 144 17%
D 135 15%
SD 119 10%
Total 720 100%
Company B
Response Frequency Percentage
SA 115 18%
A 129 27%
UN 93 20%
D 114 19%
SD 59 16%
Total 510 100%
Table 4.3.2
Response X Y X2 Y2 Xy
SA 5 30 25 900 150
A 4 12 16 144 48
UN 3 1 9 1 3
D 2 9 4 81 18
SD 1 20 1 400 20
n=5 x= 15 y= 72 x2= 55 y2= 1526 xy= 239
COMPANY B
Table 4.4.1
Responses Frequency
SA 21
A 15
UN 0
D 8
SD 7
Total 51
Source: Field of survey 2018
Rating of the response: The reverse rating is used SA=5, A=4, Un=3, D=2 and SD=1
Table 4.4.2
Response X Y X2 Y2 Xy
SA 5 21 25 441 105
A 4 15 16 225 60
UN 3 0 9 0 0
D 2 8 4 64 16
SD 1 7 1 44 7
n=5 x= 15 y= 51 x2= 55 y2= 779 xy= 188
Discussion Of Findings
By interpretation of the result from the findings, there is a relationship between the two variables
except that company B results to strong correlation than company A with a relative low correlation. But
generally there exists a relationship between compensation management and organizational performance of the
two companies.
V. Chapter Five
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 CONCLUSIONS
From the findings of this study, it can be concluded that effective compensation policy enhances
employee commitment. When employees perceive that the policies in place encompasses their welfare,
performance will be enhanced through commitment to work and intention to leave the organization will be
drastically reduced. The subject of compensation poses a critical challenge for the Nigerian workforce. This
poses a threat to the achievement of organization; objective as human capital is already the sure way of
achieving them. A fairly designed compensation policy will have a positive impact on performance outcomes
and enhance the commitment levels of employees.
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations are provided for high performance based on the finding of this study:
This study found that compensation policy has a significant relationship with employees commitment. It is
therefore recommended that:
1. Appropriate and equitable compensation policy should be designed to facilitate increased employees
commitment.
2. The policy should be assessable to all/potential employees
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APPENDIX 1
QUESTIONNAIRE
Request for competing questions
I am a MSC student of the prestigious Nnamdi Azikiwe University currently researching on the performance of
pharmaceutical companies in Awka, Anambra state in relation to its compensation management.
For this reason, am soliciting your response to the question following and assures that your response would be
strictly held for academic purpose.
Thanks
Please tick () where appropriate to indicate which of the options best answers the question.
S/N Questions SA A Un D SD
1 A good compensation policy positions an organization in a market nitch
2 The current policy operational in the company gives the employee a
strong feeling of motivation
3 Pay for performance is the best functional compensation policy
4 It is appropriate to involve employees in the pinion in the design and
review of compensation policy
5 Every employees on same category should have equal and fair
compensation to work done
6 The policy held by the company on compensation makes employees
feel committed to their work
7 There is an easy asses of information about the compensation policy of
the company to all/potential employee
8 Human resources are capital assets necessary for the achievement of
organizational objectives.
9. Commitment o organization influences employees attitude, attachment,
and perception towards organization
10 A well compensated staff feels obligated to perform effectively to the
attainment of organizational goals.
APPENDIX 2
SUMMARY OF RESPONSE OF COMPANY A
SA A Un D SD Response
Q1 24 15 9 16 8 72
Q2 30 12 1 9 20 72
Q3 4 1 29 15 23 72
Q4 18 20 19 - 15 72
Q5 17 40 4 11 - 72
Q6 - 35 23 8 6 72
Q7 10 20 2 17 23 72
Q8 9 18 23 17 5 72
Q9 4 34 18 2 14 72
Q10 14 7 6 40 5 72
130 202 144 135 119 720