THE EFFECT OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ON EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT IN ZENITH BANK PLC (A Study of Zenith Bank Plc)

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background to the Study

Globally, several attempts have been made to define employee commitment. Perhaps the most comprehensive of those definitions is that of Meyer, Stanley and Parfyonova (2012) who define commitment using a multidimensional approach and consider it to have affective, continuance and normative perspectives. The affective dimension of commitment refers to an emotional attachment to and involvement with an organization; continuance commitment denotes the perceived costs of leaving an organization; and normative commitment refers to the felt responsibility to support and remain a member of an organization. Thus it can be discerned from definitions such as the one above, that employee commitment is a bond between the employee and the organization such that he/she (the employee) wants to continue serving the organization and to help it achieve its objectives.

The concept employee commitment has grown in popularity in literatures (Cohen, 2010). Early studies on employee commitment viewed the concept as a single dimension, based on an attitudinal perspective, embracing identification, involvement and loyalty (Porter, Steers, Mowday & Boulian, 1974). According to Porter et al (1974) an attitudinal perspective refers to the psychological attachment or affective commitment formed by an employee in relation to his identification and involvement with the respective organization. Porter et al (1974) further describes employee commitment as “an attachment to the organization, characterized by an intention to remain in it; an identification with the values and goals of the organization; and a willingness to exert extra effort on its behalf”. Individuals consider the extent to which their own values and goals relate to that of the organization as part of organizational commitment; therefore it is considered to be the linkage between the individual employee and the organization.

Yilmaz and Çokluk-Bökeoğlu (2008) expound that employees with high organizational commitment feelings affect organizational performance in positive ways because they lessen the frequency of performing negative behaviour and improve quality of service. A committed employee is a more compatible and productive individual who has higher levels of satisfaction, loyalty and responsibility. They continue to observe that organizational commitment not only increases the success in a certain role, but also encourages the individual to achieve many voluntary actions necessary for organizational life and high standard system success.

Park, Christie and Sype (2014) advance that committed employees may be more likely to engage in organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs), that is, extra-role behaviours, such as creativity or innovation which are often what keep organizations competitive. Creativity according to Bosiok and Sad (2013) is the ability to think in ways and forms that are new, different and not seen in other individuals. Other authors (e.g. Lambert & Hogan, 2009) propose that employee commitment reduces employee turnover. Lambert and Hogan define employee turnover as the situation by which employees either voluntarily quit or are involuntarily terminated from their jobs. Allen, Bryant and Vardaman (2010) explain that with voluntary turnover, the employee initiates the quitting of the job; for example, quitting and taking another job while involuntary turnover is initiated by the organization; for instance, when a company dismisses an employee due to poor performance or when there is organizational restructuring. Lambert and Hogan (2009) state that committed employees are loyal to the organization, share its values, and identify with the goals of the organization. Thus, they have little reason to want to leave.

In Nigeria, for every business activity, there is the foot-soldier that pilots its affairs within and outside the organization. This personality is the employee. Organization can hardly survive without the employee commitment. Huezynsky and Buchanan (2001) elucidated that employee commitment is directly associated with organizational growth, expansion and sustainability. Robbins (2003) contended that as a result of commitment of firm’s workforce organization is able to withstand environmental turbulences. Another scholar Snell and Bohlander (2007) argued that workers’ commitment brings about increase in productivity and firm’s profitability. When employee is dedicated to his/her duty; employee-employer relationship is enhanced in the workplace (Truss, 2008). However, apart from workplace benefits from employee commitment, employee on his/her part receives satisfaction from the job itself. Supporting this submission, Nkpoyen (2003) contended that when employees’ are giving a sense of belonging in the organization, their commitment to the workplace increases without being coerced.

From the foregoing analysis, employee commitment can be further enhanced if the organization will develop their career by instituting programmes that will help improve their skills. In the words of Çiğdem and Belgin (2014), career development programs enable all the workers to make progress in the organization from the beginning. They also contended that career development also helps to determine career paths and remove all the obstacles against the progress of the workers. Werther and Davis (1992) posited that career development will enhance organizational loyalty among employees, result in higher levels of job satisfaction, lower employee turnover, and fewer employee complaints. Osibanjo, Oyewunmi and Ojo (2014) enunciated that career development enables organizations to have adequate, required, and formidable human resources for their growth and relevance in the industry. Byars and Rue (2004) in Osibanjo, Oyewunmi and Ojo (2014), put the following three major objectives of career development: (i) to meet the immediate and future human resource needs of the organization on a timely basis; (ii) to better inform the organization and the individual about potential career paths within the organization; and (iii) to utilize existing human resource programs to the fullest by integrating the activities that select, assign, develop, and manage individual careers with the organizations’ plans.

In summary, the various scholars above are unanimous to the effect that employee commitment is important in so far as enhancing employee job performance is concerned. This is because it lessens the frequency of employees performing negative behaviour; promotes employee’s OCB, reduces employee turnover; makes the employees more ready to accept organizational change; and enhances knowledge sharing among the employees.

Training and development in organizations is as long as the entire history of any business organizations (Miller, 2006). This is simply because the knowledge base or skills of the normal employees in the labour market is not sufficient for the specialized tasks within the organizations. However, the academic study of various forms of training did not start until about a century ago, when researchers started a branch of research under the name of “vocational training” (Salas & Cannon Bowers, 2001).

Global competition has caused organizations to focus on each aspect of their operations, questioning how each function and process can contribute to strategic goals. Training departments are also under pressure to demonstrate their organizational value in the same terms Steed, (2000) this is due to the fact that organizations spend a considerable time, effort and money in training their employees, and however the benefits from these efforts are not clearly visible in organizations in terms of improved performance. In order to make training and development very useful, it should be well planned and systematically implemented. The capacity of staff in an organization influences the ability to achieve the desired targets particularly in performance driven enterprises. Human resource is recognized as a critical resource for success in every organization. In order to sustain performance of the organization, it is important to optimize the contribution of employees towards achievement of the aims and goals of an organization (Armstrong, 2003).

At present, we are witnessing an overwhelming number of research studies from both descriptive and prescriptive traditions, focusing on several characteristics of training and development programs as well as their costs and benefits for businesses and organizations (Becker & Gerhart, 2007). At the same time, organizations have come to better understand the importance of training and development for their survival in knowledge-intensive and volatile markets of this era, and therefore have increasingly acknowledged the profitability of developing their human resources through various forms of training (Berge, 2001; Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2001). Human resource capital of any organization plays an important role, thus training and retraining helps in fortifying employees (Khan, Khan & Khan, 2011).

Armstrong, (2009) defines training as the formal and systematic modification of behavior through learning, which occurs as a result of education, instructions and development and planned experience. Training is the process of equipping the personnel with the needed knowledge, skills and right attitude to tackle the job responsibilities. Staff development on the other hand is improvement of the employees’ competences for future environmental demands and adaptability. Beardwell and Holden (2002) consider training and development as a planned process to modify attitude, knowledge or skill behavior through learning experiences to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. Corporations are offering a variety of training programs to meet their organizational needs. These include content on IT and systems, processes, procedures and business practices, industry-specific trainings, managerial or supervisory training, interpersonal skills, compliance, sales, executive development, basic skills, new employee orientation, customer service and quality. As Reynolds (2004) points out, training has a complementary role to play in accelerating learning. It should be reserved for situations that justify amore directed expected approach rather than viewing it as a comprehensive and all-pervasive people development solution. He also commented that the conventional training model has a tendency to emphasize subject –specific knowledge rather than trying to build core learning abilities.

Development is a long term education process utilizing a systematic and organized procedure by which managerial personnel learn conceptual and theoretical knowledge for general purpose. According to Campbell (2006) development implies an individual growth and self-realization in a brand base. Cole (2002) suggests a broader view of knowledge and skills acquisition training. He suggests that he is more concerned with employee potential than immediate skills and views employees as adaptable resource aiming at personal growth and realization of potential of an employee. Armstrong (2001) indicates individual development is the progression by individuals in their career with guidance encouragement and help from the manager.

Training and Development improves the workforce competence in order to create a competitive advantage and contribute to organizational success. Training and development is also a means for employers to address the employees’ needs. By offering the training and development opportunities employers help employees develop their own competitive advantage and ensure long term employability, Jackson (2008). Development implies it is an ongoing process and that progress is made over time and this fits also with the emphasis on long life learning.

Despite the obvious significance of training, the enormous expansion in the content of training and development programs over time has largely been taken for granted. Some Human Resources Departments often question the necessity and appropriateness of training a particular employee at a particular time. Often times, there’re ulterior motives why employees are sent on training. Najeeb, (2013) found out that some of those organizations that neglect employee training do so simply because of the enormous cost of training and the fear of losing those employees to other organizations after training them.

In summary, the commitment of employee seems to be a crucial factor in achieving organizational success. Individuals with low levels of commitment will do only enough to work by. They do not put their hearts into the work and mission of the organization. They seem to be more concerned with personal success than with the success of the organization as a whole. People who are less committed are also more likely to look at themselves as outsiders and not as long-term members of the organization. An attractive job offer elsewhere is very likely to result in their departure. By contrast, employees with high commitment to an organization see themselves as an integral part of the organization. Anything that threatens the organization is an imminent danger to them as well. Such employees become creatively involved in the organization’s mission and values, and constantly think about ways to do their jobs better. In essence, committed employees work for the organization as if the organization belongs to them.

The relationship between training and development and employee commitment has been studied under various disguise. Khan, (2011) investigated the impact of training and development on employee commitment from a sample of 153 public and private and public sector employees of oil and gas sector in Pakistan. The results revealed a positive relationship between training and development and employee commitment. Therefore, job performance emerged as a determinant of employee commitment. Thus, Khan, (2011) advised managers to pay special attention to antecedents of employee commitment and all the factors which foster employee commitment so as to increased employee performance and subsequently increase organizational productivity.

Gellatly, Hunter, Currie and Irving (2009) indicate that HRM practices aimed at building employee capabilities (e.g., skill training) increase feelings of internal control (autonomy) and competence, which, in turn, increase one’s identification, involvement, and emotional connection with the work and the organization as an individual and the organization as a whole. Recent empirical studies positively relating training and development and employee commitment include Mohyin, Dainty and Carrillo (2012); Savaneviciene and Stankeviciute (2011) and Truitt (2011). All the above studies however, were carried out in the context of the Western World, namely the UK (Mohyin et al., 2012), the USA (Truitt, 2011) and Lithuania (Savaneviciene & Stankeviciute, 2011). This contextual gap leaves the question of whether training and development influences employee commitment in other contexts such as Babcock University, Ilisan Remo, Ogun State.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Staff training and development is recognized as crucial element in the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. In order to sustain economic and effective performance, it‘s important to optimize the contribution of employees to the aims and goals of an organization Armstrong (2003). Training and development activities have implications for attempts to motivate and involve the workforce with an aim of improving performance. One of the primary objectives of human resource management is the creation of conditions whereby the latent potential of the employees will be realized and their commitment to the success of the organization secured. Chang (2005) points out that the scope of evaluating the training effort should explain how training contributes to the ‘big picture’ as it is implemented to bring about improvement in job performance. The ultimate purpose of training is to help organizations achieve their performance results. Training activities have effect on relative competitiveness and economic performance, at both the aggregate level of the national economy or industrial sector, and at the level of individual enterprises.

The recognition of the importance of training in recent years has been heavily influenced by the intensification of competition and the relative success of organizations where investment in employee development is considerably emphasized. Of recent, banking sector faces problems which in turn might lead to employee retrenchment, these challenges portray the sector’s dire need of highly skilled bank employees that are up to the present challenges, hence the employees need training for effective functioning bringing us to the main objective of this study which is to investigate the effects of training and development on employees’ job performance.

Mentoring: In recent years there has been an increasing need trend for organizations to implement mentoring programs to improve employee morale and productivity by reducing absenteeism and turnover (Torrington 2005). However, very little effort was implemented by the banking sector to improve job retention and improving job satisfaction through mentoring programs.

Job Delegation: There are many problems associated with delegating of authority with regards to making good decisions for the organization. Especially as there are many individual differences. Employers know the importance of employees’ participation and satisfaction and their effects in the achievement of organizational objectives. To be able to achieve better results with minimum supervision and attention, the manager should ensure that he or she delegates his authorities to a capable hand and at the same time, authority should be delegated with the same time and should be delegated equal responsibility Noe, (2006).

Job Empowerment: Employee empowerment is a philosophy associated with real benefits for an organization. The entire benefits enable an organization achieve a competitive advantage and improve its performance. There has been a growing interest in the concept of empowerment and related management practices among both management researchers and practitioners (Gilaninia, 2012). This interest is due to the fact that the practice of empowering subordinates is a principal component of managerial and organizational effectiveness and empowerment techniques play a crucial role in group development and maintenance. This study will seek to investigate the practice of employee empowerment in First Bank Plc, Lagos state.

Job Rotation: Making employees perform the same transactional duties everyday usually makes them tired, bored and unsatisfied with the jobs they are performing. Thus, the importance of job rotation is introduced to reduce the physical and mental stress endured by employees when working in the same job position, year after year. This study will also look into the effectiveness of job rotation in First Bank and ways to create awareness of job rotation (McCourt & Eldridge 2003).

This study seeks to determine the effects of training and development on employees’ job performance by determining the relationship between training methods such as mentoring, job rotation, job empowerment and delegation and employees’ job performance in first bank plc.

1.3. Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to establish the effect of training and development on employee commitment among the employees of Zenith Bank Plc, Lagos State. However, to achieve this main objective, the following sub-objectives will be considered;

1. To determine the effect of mentoring on employee commitment
2. To investigate how job delegation can affect employee commitment
3. To examine the effect of job empowerment on employee commitment
4. To find out the effect of job rotation on employee commitment

1.4 Research Questions

The questions of interest in the study are:

1. To what extent is the effect of mentoring on employee commitment?
2. What is the role of job delegation on employee commitment?
3. To what effect does job empowerment have on employee commitment?
4. What effect does job rotation have on employee commitment?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

Based on the objectives, the following hypotheses were developed in order to make valid conclusions on the subject matter. The hypotheses are expressed in their null form:

H₀₁: Mentoring has no significant effect on employee commitment

H₀₂: Job Delegation has no significant impact on employee commitment

H₀₃: Job Empowerment has no significant effect on employee commitment

H₀₄: Job Rotation has no significant effect on employee commitment

1.6. Rationale for the Hypotheses

The rationale for the research is a set of reasons offered by the researcher for conducting a research into the effect of training and development on employee performance, using a descriptive survey design. Hypothesis testing is an essential procedure in statistics. A hypothesis test evaluates two mutually exclusive statements about a population to determine which statement is best supported by the sample data. It refers to the comparison of the assumption and the same results. The rationale is to identify the null hypothesis, alternative hypothesis, test statistics, P-value, conclusion about the null hypothesis, and final conclusion that address the original claim of the study.

1.6. Operationalization of the Variables

The dependent variable is employee’s job performance, represented by employee commitment (EC). On the other hand, training and development, being the independent variable, is proxied by Mentoring (M), Job Delegation (JD), Job Empowerment (JE), and Job Rotation (JR).

Where Y= Dependent variable

X= Independent variable

Y= f(X)

X= Training and Development

X = f(x_1, x_2, x_3, x₄)

x₁= Mentoring

x₂= Job Delegation

x₃= Job Empowerment

x₄= Job Rotation

Y= Employee’s Job performance

Y= f(y₁)

y₁ = Employee Commitment

The four specific objectives are operationally expressed as:

To determine the effect of Mentoring on Employee Commitment

y1= f (x1)

y1= b0 + b1x1 + u

To investigate how Job Delegation can affect Employee Commitment

y2= f (x2)

y2= b0 + b1x2 + u

To examine the effect of Job Empowerment on Employee Commitment

y3= f (x3)

y3= b0 + b1x3 + u

To find out the effect of job rotation on employee commitment

Y4= f (x4)

Y4= b0 + b1x4 + u

1.8. Scope of the Study

The study is streamlined to training and development variables such as mentoring, job delegation, job empowerment, job rotation, and employee performance variable namely employee commitment. The study is carried out in Zenith Bank Plc, Lagos State. The unit of analysis of the study is the employees of Zenith Bank Plc at Junior, middle level, senior and management level positions.

1.9. Significance of the Study

The findings from this study will help to highlight those areas where there are problems among employees and thus will be of great benefit to the management of organizations, employees, human resource department, stakeholders, scholars and the researcher. The results of this study would hopefully be significant in the sense that it would enable the bank management to better understand how the training and development programs could be harnessed to inspire staff to increase and sustain organizational performance.

1.9.1. Management

The study will help the top management in taking strategic decision that affect training and development for the overall growth of the industry. It will able be of use to management by encouraging them to embrace training and development to increase competitiveness, it will also help to establish how training has impacted on performance of its employees and what improvements can be done to help equip the agents further as well motivated them to work better for better performance

1.9.2. Employees

Members of Staff of the Bank will have adequate knowledge as to the importance of training and why it is necessary that they are trained from time to time

1.9.3. Human Resource Department

The study will help the Human Resource Department in proper planning and execution of training and development programmes

 1.9.4. Stakeholders

The study will also be useful to stakeholders who will be able to identify with a growing organization as a result of good performance. This will ensure that they invest in an organization whose performance is promising as a result of effective training and development of its staff

1.9.5. Scholars

Scholars will find it important as it will increase the body of knowledge in this area

1.9.6. Researcher

The study will also add value to the researcher in the area of training and development, and could also assist the researchers in doing further studies of the same. Also this study will be useful to the researcher as it will help him in actualizing his dream and lead him to the completion of B.Sc. program in Business Administration.

1.10. Definition of Terms

Human Resource Management: is the way organizations manage their employees and help them to develop in order to be able to execute organizations’ missions and goals successfully.

Training: is a type of activity which is planned, systematic and it results in enhanced level of skill, knowledge and competency that are necessary to perform work effectively.

Development: is a broad ongoing multi-faceted set of activities (training activities among them) aimed at bringing someone or an organization up to another threshold of performance, often to perform some job or a new role in the future.

Employee Performance: is defined as the outcome or contribution of employees to make them attain goals while performance may be used to define what an organization has accomplished with respect to the process, results, relevance and success.

Mentoring: this involves having the more experienced employees coach the less experienced employees

Job Rotation: is a way of developing employee skills within organization involves movements of employees from one official responsibility to another for example taking on higher rank position within the organization, and one branch of the organization to another.

Job Empowerment: collection of required capacity in staff for enable them to creating added value in organization and role playing and responsibilities are responsible in the organization, with efficiency and effectiveness

Job Delegation: involves training and development techniques that attempt to capture and bring forth decision making situations to the employee being trained

Employee Commitment: is a psychological state that characterizes the employees’ relationship with the organization and has implication for the decision to continue membership in the organization.

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