Commitment

Table of contents
1. Introduction
2. The impact of employee commitment on organizational outcomes
3. Disadvantages of low commitment of employees
4. Advantages of having committed employees
5. Factors influencing employee commitment
6. Conclusion
7. References

Introduction
The effective functioning of an organization highly depends on the commitment of its employees. In fact, the commitment of employees may be a key factor that determines the success of a company in the modern world since, in the situation of the growing competition and the constant implementation of new technologies a company needs to have well-qualified and reliable personnel to maintain its position in the market. At the same time, the effectiveness and productivity of work of employees still remain the major factors that can contribute to the progress of the company. On the other hand, nowadays it is obvious that financial stimuli solely can hardly motivate employees to work more effectively and productively. In such a situation, employees commitment turns to be of a paramount importance since it is due to the high commitment of employees they can perform positive results of their work, increase its effectiveness and productivity, while low commitment leads, as a rule, to poor results of the functioning of the entire organization.
The impact of employee commitment on organizational outcomes
Speaking about the effects of employee commitment on the functioning of organization and organizational outcomes, it is necessary to underline that the latter is directly dependent on the level of employee commitment. In other words, the more employees are committed the better is the performance of the entire organization and, on the contrary, low employee commitment leads to the poor performance of the organization.
Basically, employee commitment is really of a paramount importance since, as it has been already mentioned above, it contributes consistently to the motivational sphere of employees. This means that employee commitment brings in additional motivation and stimuli to his/her work. A committed employee apparently is eager to work and, what is even more important, the work becomes really meaningful for such an employee. Some specialists point out that it is not financial rewards that drive people at work, but, instead, it is “purpose that drives people at work” (Vergne). In such a way, employee commitment influence consistently the effectiveness of their work since if employees are committed than they will be more motivated and eager to work and work good.
At the same time, employee commitment is a very important psychological factor since it ameliorates the atmosphere within the company making all people work together and work enthusiastically in order to achieve the common goal of the entire organization. In such a way, it is possible to speak about commitment as the uniting factor that increases the effectiveness of work of employees and, therefore, leads to positive organizational outcomes not only through higher motivation of employees but also through creation of a positive atmosphere within organization and uniting of committed employees in their work for the improvement of the functioning of the organization.
Disadvantages of low commitment of employees
On the other hand, the low commitment of employees may lead to negative results and undermine the normal functioning of an organization or, at any rate, decrease the effectiveness of work of employees considerably. The low employee commitment has a number of disadvantages which deteriorate the work of each employee and the entire organization. To put it more precisely, low commitment leads to the low level of interest of employees in their work. Consequently, if employees are not sufficiently interested in their work they will naturally work worse than they can. In other words, the low commitment decreases the effectiveness and productivity of work for employees are not really interested in their work and its outcomes. Naturally, in such a situation, they can hardly be interested in a positive performance of the organization they work at.
Advantages of having committed employees
As for advantages of having committed employees they are actually contrary to the disadvantages of the low commitment. In this respect, it should be said that the high level of employee commitments means that employees are really enthusiastic about their job and, therefore, their performance will be better as well as the effectiveness and productivity of their work higher. At the same time, it is necessary to remember about the fact that employee commitment also evokes a profound interest of an employee to his/her work. This means that he/she enjoys the job he/she does. Consequently, the level of employees’ satisfaction will be high if they are really committed to their work.
Also, employee commitment may be also cost saving since committed employees are highly motivated that means that they do not need increasing financial rewards for their work, though it does not necessarily mean that employees should not receive financial rewards at all, but the expenses of the organization at this point may decrease.
Factors influencing employee commitment
Basically, there are several factors that influence employee commitment. Some specialists underline that key drivers of employee commitment are as follows: leadership, development, empowerment, and supervision (Employee Commitment U.S.: Leader or Follower). The quality of leadership is actually particularly important because a good leader can encourage employees and increase their commitment, while other factors can support the strong leadership making employees even more committed.
Conclusion
Thus, it is possible to conclude that employee commitment is a very significant factor contributing to the positive organizational outcomes. It may increase productivity, effectiveness of work and motivation of employees, while low commitment leads to the opposite outcomes. At the same time it is necessary to maintain high level of employee commitment through leadership, development, empowerment, and supervision.

References
Employee Commitment U.S.: Leader or Follower? Retrieved October 3, 2007 from <www.isrsurveys.com/pdf/insight/US_Leader_or_Follower2.pdf>
Employee Commitment in Europe. Retrieved October 3, 2007 from <www.isrsurveys.com/pdf/insight/europecommitment.pdf>
Employee Engagement, Employee Commitment, Employee Loyalty. Retrieved October 3, 2007 from <www.insightlink.com/employee_commitment.html>
Employer of Choice: Commitment - Case Study. Retrieved October 3, 2007 from <http://www.nbrii.com/Employee_Surveys/Commitment_Study.html>
Vergne, de la S. Employee Commitment. Retrieved October 3, 2007 from http://www.auxiliumtraining.com/EmployeeCommitment.htm