Project proposal

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

(Workplace environment and culture over the motivational levels and

productivity of the employees and organisation)

Date of submission – 3 June 2016

Submitted to – Roberto poles

Submitted by – Amar Singh

Student id- s0275762

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3

Problem statement......................................................................................................................3

Research Aims...........................................................................................................................4

Research Objectives and Questions.......................................................................................4

Justification and potential output of the research project...........................................................4

Conceptual Framework..............................................................................................................5

Physical Environment............................................................................................................6

Working conditions................................................................................................................7

Co-workers Behaviour...........................................................................................................7

Methodology..............................................................................................................................8

Data Collection Methods........................................................................................................8

Data Sources...........................................................................................................................9

Tools for data collection.........................................................................................................9

Organisation of the Study.......................................................................................................9

References................................................................................................................................11
Introduction
Employees are the assets for an organization that contributes towards achieving the goals of
the organization. The employees tend to be a crucial element in a company because they
remain at the upfront while dealing with the consumers. If they do not perform in an
organization effectively, it is likely that the organization would experience a loss of
productivity. The effectiveness of the employees and their operations is primarily based on
the overall level of satisfaction that they possess in relation to what they do and what they get
[ CITATION End08 \l 16393 ]. Any employee who is unsatisfied with his job, it is likely that
he would not be able to perform well in the organization. When an employee enters an
organization, without a doubt, he has different aspirations, needs and wants that he expects to
fulfil from the organization. The level of employee dissatisfaction refers to the overall
difference between the expectations and the actual position of the employee within an
organization. An unsatisfied employee would turn out to be a weakness for an organization
and thus it raises the need for effective human resource management. Most of the times, the
working conditions have found to have a crucial impact over the motivational levels and
productivity of the employees [ CITATION Sol102 \l 16393 ]. The organizational culture of
an organization exhibits the values and the assumptions that are shared among the employees
within a workplace. If the organizational culture and environment is effective and efficient, it
is likely that the employees would be able to exhibit a high level of performance within the
organization. Thus, this research will aim at evaluating that how the workplace culture and
environment can be improved to align it to improve the overall level of employee motivation
and productivity.

Problem statement
An unsatisfied employee would turn out to be a weakness for an organization and thus it
raises the need for effective human resource management. Most of the times, the working
conditions have found to have a crucial impact over the motivational levels and productivity
of the employees [ CITATION Sol102 \l 16393 ]. The organizational culture of an
organization exhibits the values and the assumptions that are shared among the employees
within a workplace. If the organizational culture and environment is effective and efficient, it
is likely that the employees would be able to exhibit a high level of performance within the
organization. Thus, this research will aim at evaluating that how the workplace culture and
environment can be improved to align it to improve the overall level of employee motivation
and productivity.

Research Aims
The primary aim of this research is:

“To evaluate the overall impact of workplace environment and culture over the
motivational levels and productivity of the employees”

Research Objectives and Questions

The research will focus on undertaking the evaluation of the following research objectives:

1. To identify the role of workplace environment and culture over employee

productivity?
2. To identify that what all are the expectations of the employees working in the
organization
3. To compare the existing working conditions with the expected conditions and its
profound effect over employee productivity
4. To identify that what the organization can do to boost employee’s productivity

Justification and potential output of the research project

The productivity of the employees plays an important role in evaluating the overall
performance of an organization. When the employees within an organization are
unproductive, it is likely that the organization would not be able to perform in the best of its
capacity. Furthermore, it is a matter of fact that if the employees are not able to make an
effective contribution towards the organization, the organization would like to lay off the
ineffective and unproductive employees [ CITATION Tes01 \l 16393 ]. However, if this
aspect is reviewed from the point of view of the employees, then the situation is much more
important to be evaluated. The employees that are not satisfied with their jobs, they usually
remain stressed and live in isolation because of the overall problems that they are facing in
the organization. Considerably, when the employees finally realise that the employers are not
effectively able to manage their needs and requirements, eventually they decide to leave the
job.
With the increasing globalization, the productive and talented employees are in great demand,
and thus it really becomes tedious for the organizations to effectively retain the talented
employees in the organization. Hence it is important that not only the employees, but the
employers are also required to adjust themselves in the way of coping up with the dynamics
prevailing in the working environment. The HR Executives are required to consider several
different strategies for retaining and recruiting the talented employees that fit best within the
organization. It is generally considered that the monetary and non monetary compensation is
the most effective way of attracting the employees. However, it has been identified that the
quality of the workforce is likely to have a very strong influence over the ability of the
company in the way of attracting and retaining the talented employees within the company
[ CITATION Mob77 \l 16393 ]. The convenient conditions in the workplace are considered
to be a basic requirement for the improvement of the quality of outcomes, and productivity.
However, some of the inconvenient workplace conditions include the issues pertaining to the
lack of safety, comfort, and health, which may cover improper arrangements for ventilation
and lightening, access to necessities during the period of emergency, excessive level of noise,
etc. The people who are operating under inconvenient workplace conditions will generally
end up exhibiting low performance and may also face diseases in consideration to
occupational health and safety which will results in increased level of turnover and
absenteeism. There are several organizations that are actually facing this problem, and thus it
is important ensure that these problems can be eliminated because of these problems, the
companies are actually facing the issues in respect of increased direct and indirect costs
which is actually leading to the deterioration of the overall organizational performance.

This research is focused on evaluating the different aspects and issues that are being faced by
the employees in an organization, and to assess that what all are the needs and expectations of
the employees and how the company can undertake the different innovative measures to
effectively meet the needs of the employees. However, it is important for the organizations
that they should focus on those aspects that they feel are reasonable and the company is
capable enough to meet those needs. These aspects should be assessed effectively and must
be decided with mutual agreement. It is expected that by undertaking these measures and
aspects, the organization would be able to overcome the problem of lack of productivity and
efficiency in the organization.
Conceptual Framework
Ryan and Deci (2000) have been focused on the mistakes that are undertaken by most of the
executives which provides that the overall level of the performance of the employees at the
workplace is directly proportional to the size of the compensation that is provided to the
employees [ CITATION Rya00 \l 16393 ]. Although it was identified in the research that the
compensation package is a form of an extrinsic tool for motivation that can have a short term
limited effect over the performance of the employees.

Physical Environment
The physical environment of an organization, its layout, and the design can impact the
behaviour of the employees within the workplace. As estimated by Brill (1992), the
improvements within the workplace can result in five to ten percent increased in the
productivity of the employees [ CITATION Bri84 \l 16393 ]. However, it was argued by
Kleiner and Stallworth (1996) that the physical layout of an organization must be designed on
the basis of the needs of the employees in the way of maximizing satisfaction and
productivity [ CITATION Sta96 \l 16393 ]. It was argued that the company can develop the
workplaces in an innovative manner to encourage the flow of information no matter what all
the boundaries of job. The employees are communicated across the departments freely.

Further it was also argued by Statt (1994) that the modernised physical environments are
generally characterized by computers, technology and machines [ CITATION Sta94 \l
16393 ]. If an organization wants to achieve a higher level of productivity among the
employees, the organizations are required to ensure that their physical environment is
conducive to the needs of the organization while facilitating privacy and interaction,
informality and formality, cross disciplinary and functionality. Eventually the physical
environment of the organization will act as a tool which can be leveraged to improve
employee well being as well as the improved organizational results. Employees must be
provided adequate facilities to attaining a higher level of productivity and employee
commitment. The provision of adverse working conditions, and inadequate equipment have
also impacted the commitment of the employees as well as their intention to stay in the
company. Moreover, this also impacts the overall perception of the employees toward their
fairness of pay and job satisfaction. In consideration to the safety, Gyeke (2006) has indicated
that the overall conditions of the environment have a direct impact over the safety perceptions
of the employees the affects the commitment of the employees [ CITATION Gye06 \l
16393 ].

H1: The physical environment significantly impact the employee performance

Working conditions
An extensive level of scientific research was conducted by Roelofsen (2002), it was identified
that that by improving the working conditions at the workplace, there has been a reduction in
the number of complaints from the employees and also reduced the rate of absenteeism,
which actually helped to increase the overall productivity [ CITATION Roe02 \l 16393 ]. The
internal environment plays an important role in affecting the overall productivity levels
pertaining to job dissatisfaction and job stress. It was further suggested by Govindarajulu
(2004) that in the 21st century, the business concerns are undertaking a much more focused
strategic approach towards the management of environment in the way of enhancing the
productivity levels by contributing towards the improvement of the employee performance
[ CITATION Gov04 \l 16393 ]. It is also evident from the findings of the research as laid by
Patterson et al. (2003) that more will be the satisfaction level among the workers, the
company is likely to perform in the ways o achieving a higher level of productivity
[ CITATION Pat97 \l 16393 ].

H2: The working conditions at the workplace can affect the employee performance

Co-workers Behaviour
Sekar (2011) also offered an argument that the connection between the workplace, work, and
the equipments, develops the workplaces as an integral component of the job [ CITATION
Sek11 \l 16393 ]. The management that is focused on dictating that how they should
maximize the productivity of the employees, usually is concerned about the two prominent
aspects- persona motivation and the working environment. Haynes (2008) has highlighted
that while working in an organization, and employee expects that they work in collaboration
with the other employees and the working relations at the workplace are flexible and
consistent where the individuals will be able to find like-minded people in the organization
that will create a sense of belongingness among them and will directly impact their
performance [ CITATION Hay08 \l 16393 ]. Patterson (1997) has also figured out that the
interaction among the employees is a considerable component that can impact the
productivity of the employees in a positive manner, and any forms of distractions are
 generally considered to have negative impact over the productivity. Since human resources
are the most valuable asset within an organization, its management can significantly affect
the performance of the company [ CITATION Pat97 \l 16393 ].

H3: The behaviour of the co-workers can affect employee performance

Physical Environment

(Computers, machines etc)

Working Conditions (non-

Business Performance
hazardous area, safety Employee performance
( high profit, high
signs, equipped facilities (fast, efficient, productive,
productivity etc)
etc) high quality etc)

Co-worker’s behaviour
(helpful, motivated, busy,
productive environment
etc)
Methodology

The research will undertake a quantitative approach of research where the research will
involve the collection of primary data in the form of quantitative data. The quantitative
methods tend to be the easiest best descriptive methods for data collection using which the
researcher can limit the responses of the respondents to specific extent. In scientific terms, the
quantitative research undertakes the collection of data in a manner where the information can
be quantified and statistical treatment can be employed to draw relevant conclusions and the
outcomes for the research. The data collected is basically numeric and thus statistical tools
can be applied in an effective manner.
Data Collection Methods
The data for the research will be collected using the primary method as well as the secondary
method. The primary data in this research is important to ensure that the first hand
information from the respondents can be collected because the perceptions and the needs of
an individual vary from person to person. Thus, the primary method is effective to be
deployed to get access to the first hand information. On the other hand, only the review of the
first hand information is not enough unless it is correlated with the theoretical concepts to
effectively draw conclusions in regard of the dependent variables. The secondary information
will be collected from the previous researchers, books, and peer reviewed journals. The
primary data and the secondary data will be correlated and discussed, and a consistent
conclusion will be provided.

Data Sources
The sources of the primary data will be a sample of employees from an organization that is
facing these problems and the sample will be selected on simple random sampling basis
where a set of employees will be selected who are expected to represent the whole population
pertaining to the research. The data will be collected directly using a quantitative data
collection instrument that will be used to attain the first hand information to effectively
evaluate the dependent variables. Further the secondary data will be sourced from peer
reviewed journal, books, and prior researches. The secondary data will be used to critically
evaluate the primary data in a significant manner. Using the concepts from the secondary
research will be used to undertake a discussion of all the aspects surrounding the research to
draw conclusions.

Tools for data collection

Within a quantitative research, the best method of data collection seems to be the use of
questionnaire while conducting the primary research. To collect the primary data from the
respondents an effective questionnaire will be developed that will be focused on collecting
data from the respondents and will include a series of questions that will effectively identify
the problems and the challenges that are being faced by the employees within an
organization. The questionnaire will include closed ended questions where the responses will
be available as multiple choices or will be based on a likert scale where the employees will
have to answer the questions based on their experiences while operating in the organization.
The questionnaire will be distributed among the sample and they will be required to fill those
 questionnaires for the research. The data collected will then be evaluated using descriptive
analysis method to ascertain that what proportion of people are facing issues in consideration
to the variables provided above.

Organisation of the Study

The chapters of this research will be based on the following structure:

Section 1: Introduction

This will provide a detailed analysis of the research problem and the reasons behind
conducting the research. The introduction will provide an overview of the aspects and the
areas that will be evaluated in the research along with the description of the hypothesis that
will be the foundational base for the research.

Section 2: Literature Review

The literature review will evaluate the secondary data where the discussions and the
conclusions from the previous researches will be evaluated and considered to gain insights of
the deponent and the independent variable. This stage will help to develop an effective
questionnaire for the research.

Section 3: Methodology

This section will evaluate the research design that is likely to be used to conduct the research.
The section will not only define the research method, philosophy, sampling, data collection,
as well as the ethical considerations that are likely to be raised during the research.

Section 4: Findings and discussions

This section will provide an overview of the findings that are ascertained from the data
collected and the results will be discussed to draw conclusions.

Gantt chart

Details June July Aug Sep Oct

Proposal approval  
Selection of company  
Communicating with the company to seek permissions  
Conducting the research with the employees    
Data Analysis    
Discussions and Results      

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