The Causes of Organizational Commitment: How to Create the Suitable Environment

Organizational commitment is very influenced by organizational design. In order to create commitment in the organization managers must create a suitable environment for it to evolve.

In principal manager who wish to create a suitable environment for commitment must strive to adopt characteristics of an organizational design which reduces class identity and increases company identity.

There are several, independent, ways to achieve higher levels of company Identity. In this article I will discuss some of the most common and effective ones.

1. Fine hierarchy – The opposite of manager/ employee hierarchy is a type of hierarchy which is understated. A message of self efficacy should be relayed: “Everyone can become a manager”. As every message this message should be composed of three elements: The source, the message and the target audience. For example, in order to create a finer hierarchy, managers might adopt a more collective decision process such as consulting with a team. This does not mean it’s the group’s decision but sharing often yields better results.

2. Internal Job Market – An organization which creates an internal job market relays a vote of confidence in employee capability and skills. Naturally employees of such an organization will have a general sense of potential and direction thus enhancing commitment. Creating an internal job market can be created by making a significant share of promotions from inside the organization, holding on to employee’s from life and by creating firm specific skills which enable employees to become distinct professional in the organization.

3. Social Mechanisms – We all know Google, Cisco, EY and many others as good places to work for. One of the main reasons this organizations have become so attractive to employees is their success in creating the right social mechanisms. In Google spare time for personal activities is available, welfare activities and environment such as gourmet foods and what not is readily available to all employees. You don’t have to be Google to create an attractive environment for employees. Allowing for personal time (no phones or emails for a couple of nights), vacations and proper working environment would work effectively to create commitment in employees.

4. Social Values – An identity of an employee’s and an organization’s values is a powerful tool in creating commitment. An organization which adopts employee values such as environmentalism, social responsibility and awareness and employee support will earn plenty in employee commitment.

5. Job Satisfaction and Job Design – Creating job satisfaction for employees obviously influences commitment positively. Job satisfaction and commitment are sometimes two sides of the same coin. People need to know they are making some sort of difference in the world. The level of difference a person makes can be influenced by proper marketing, titling and authority. Another side to job satisfaction is to allow employees to express them selves and their skills. There is much more to creating job satisfaction: Allowing for personal growth, providing training and opportunities, utilizing technology and more.

Commitment to an organization is more then the salary paid to an employee. People look for supportive, challenging and rewarding work places and will readily commit to the proper workplace.