The German University in Cairo

Faculty of Management Technology

Research Methodology

“Effect of Job Performance on job satisfaction in multinational companies”

Submitted by:
Alaa Wafeek Rateb 13-7177

Group number: T 01

Research Methodology Paper Submitted to the Management Department

Faculty of Management Technology The German University in Cairo

Submitted to:

Yousra Hosni

Date:

Thursday 29th January 2012

 Table of Contents

1. Introduction................................................................................................................3

2. Literature Review..........................................................................................................3

2.1. Job Satisfaction 3

2.1.1. Job satisfaction and its power in the organization...........................................3

2.1.1.1 Definition of job satisfaction......................................................................3

2.1.1.2 The influence of job satisfaction on organizational success......................3

2.1.1.3 Promotion as a main factor for satisfaction...............................................3

2.1.2. Different perspectives studying job satisfaction..............................................3

2.1.2.1 Organizational commitment.......................................................................3

2.1.2.2 Job design and its relation to job satisfaction............................................3

2.1.2.3 Salaries and compensations impact on job satisfaction.............................3

2.1.3. Different factors determining job satisfaction..................................................3

2.1.3.1 Personal performance evaluation..............................................................3

2.1.3.2 Motivation and its effect on workers..........................................................3

2.1.3.3 Effect of Management satisfaction on organizational improvement..........3

2.1.3.4 Impact of employee raining type on the management satisfaction.............3

2.2. Job Performance 3

2.2.1. Importance of job performance to the organization.........................................3

2.2.1.1 Job performance and its effect on productivity..........................................3

2.2.1.2 Training effect on performance..................................................................3

2.2.1.3 Competitive spirit in organization..............................................................3

2.2.2. Challenges of job performance........................................................................3

2
 2.2.2.1 Type of training..........................................................................................3

2.2.2.2 Quality of employed workers......................................................................3

2.2.2.3 Lack of material resources.........................................................................3

2.3. The effect of job satisfaction on job performance in each sector 3

2.3.1. In the manufacturing sector..............................................................................3

2.3.2. In the service sector..........................................................................................3

3. Research gap...........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

4. Methodology............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.1. Background about the variables in this research Error! Bookmark not
defined.

4.2. Instrument Design Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.3. Sample Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.4 - Procedures Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.5 - Survey Error! Bookmark not defined.

5. Conclusion...................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

6. References....................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Appendix..........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

3
 1. Introduction

Due to the fast paced changes in the work environments that have become evident in
this era of globalization, there has come to exist a need for acknowledging the
contribution of the employees to their organizations. Little research exists to identify the
relationship between organizational performance and employee motivation (Beltramini
& Evans, 1988),motivation can be defined in inspiral motivation by inspiring the
employees and encourage them to do there best in there working postions by motivating words
(Chu, et. al., 2011:3).Motivation can have other form such as economic motivation by
enhancing the working life and enviroment or by wage enhancment(Garrido, et. al.,
2005:4). These calls for further attention. Although the need for intrinsic motivation has
manifested and intensified over the recent years (Choong & Lau, 2011:2-4), it has been
identified that job satisfaction is one of the great factors that can build a very successful
organization that acknowledges the importance of the labour workers and treats them as
assets to the organization. Thus, this is important as the employee should be regarded as
the "organization's engine" (Azril, et. al., 2010:64) upon whom the success of the
organization relies. The work performance of the employees within a sector is indeed
one of the most critical pillars for success within an organization (Azril, et. al., 2010:64-
65). In order to achieve such satisfaction there exist number factors that need to be
considered; these include but are not limited to aspects such as health care, teamwork,
high wages, training, and finally leader ship style (Chu, et. al., 2011:3). It seems
possible to increase job satisfaction through establishing an appreciation for the role of
jobs and the employees’ existence within the organization (Beltramini and Evans,
1988). Moreover, the HRM (human resource management) style accompanied with how
the training and the job are designed can affect the work performance and
organizational moral commitments, all of which can be increased in the organization
through meeting the worker’s needs (Garido, et. al, 2005:2-4). This has become more
pertinent since employees whose needs are not fulfilled by the organization always
demonstrate their dissatisfaction by performing below their actual ability (Azril, et al.,
2010:65).

4
The purpose of this research is to explore the effect of job satisfaction on job
performance in multinational companies and how they affect each other. This is through
responding to the following research question; “what is the effect of job satisfaction on
job performance in Egypt?” This is with the aim of addressing the research gap,
covering the part that there is no focus on the job satisfaction in Egypt.

The motivation to write about this topic stems from the fact that it affects the globe,
although a number of researchers have written about this topic and how it affects the
organizations’ performance.( Chu, et. al., 2011:3-7) This paper is divided into three
sections; the first section covers job satisfaction and the factors affecting it, meanwhile,
the second section covers job performance and the factors affecting it and then finally
comes the effect of job satisfaction on job performance.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Job Satisfaction

2.1.1. Job satisfaction and its power in the organization

2.1.1.1 Definition of job satisfaction

Job satisfaction is one of the most pressing and evident factors that play a major role in
an employee's job experience (Choong & Lau, 2011:3-4). However, before proceeding
in this paper, it is important to first identify what is meant by job satisfaction. There are
a lot of definitions that researchers conducted in their papers each one defining job
satisfaction from their own point of view and their working perspective. For example,
people working in sales or different sectors of business giving insights on that basis,
however, the general definition of job satisfaction is identified as the degree in which
the worker is happy with their working environment and how it affects his life
(Rehman.S, 2011:2-8). Another perspective of job satisfaction is it being seen as a
multi-factor concept grouping several life factors related to the job design and the work
life environment (Garrido, et. al., 2005:1). Meanwhile, another perspective is the
employer perspective which identifies what the employer expects in relation to what the

5
organization can afford (Azril, et. al., 2010:3). Thus, job satisfaction is a very wide
concept that was studied from different perspectives however have all identified that
people are different and thus, they will need different kinds of satisfaction (Garrido, et.
al., 2005:3).

2.1.1.2 The influence of job satisfaction on organizational success

Researchers have identified that when there is an enhancement of employees’ job

satisfaction within the organization, this will lead to an increase in their overall
organizational productivity and performance (Choong & Lau, 2011, 875). Sales
achievements are used as a motivation for sales people that operate by combining
performance enhancement with job satisfaction (Beltramini and Evans, 1988).
The influence of job satisfaction on the organizational success varies since employees in
the organization can have different aims like sales people and how they acquired their
motivation from the team work and the competition between sales people can make
them compete to strive be the best (Okpara, 2004:7). This is while aspiring to have a
better target such as the title of the best-selling team which will directly affect the profit
of the organization and make employees satisfied with self-confidence. Here is the
question of whether satisfaction comes from job performance or vice versa. However, it
is noteworthy that when challenges came in to the working teams the working effort
increased. The sales people tried new ways of selling that gave them a lot of experience
(Beltramini, et. al., 1988:1-2) and better performance overall.

2.1.1.3 Promotion as a main factor for satisfaction

Although basic logic identifies that employee promotion plays a major role in employee
satisfaction, there seems to be inconsistency between rewards and satisfaction when
correlated against performance, especially between different age groups within the
organization (Beltramini & Evans, 1988:2). However it is notable that the
organizational approach for employee appraisal plays an important role for employee
satisfaction and overall employee performance. Promotion is a main factor of job
satisfaction since promotion is kind reward the more the employee is rewarded the more
his job satisfaction will increase and the more productive he will be so satisfaction is a

6
very important from that perspective because a lot of organizations needs high level of
performance through productivity and efficiency is a high priority for every
organization and the promotion or the reward program of any organization can help in
attracting very qualified people to work in the organization and to be part of its labour
force and the reward can be categorized into two groups which are intrinsic rewards and
extrinsic rewards. The intrinsic rewards are the physical rewards such as a raise in the
salary or a prize and certificates of honour, while extrinsic rewards are more like the
organizational commitment and responsibility achievement coupled with personal
growth challenge, all of these factors are motivating factors that facilitate getting a
promotion (Pushpakumari, 2008:1-3).

2.1.2. Different perspectives studying job satisfaction

2.1.2.1 Organizational commitment

Organizational commitment refers to the loyalty of the workers to their organization and
the commitment comes from high salaries and good working environment organizations
need to understand the elements involved in job satisfaction in order to upgrade
employees performance and productivity(Garrido, et. al., 2005:1-2). Such elements
directly affect the organizational commitment because underestimating these factors can
lead to turnover intentions and absenteeism which are considered as costs to the
organization and can lead to low morale accompanied with poor performance and lower
productivity (Okpara, 2001:4). Meanwhile, it is important to identify that organizational
resources that are invested may be wasted if employee morale remains low (Beltramini
and Evans, 1988:3-7).

2.1.2.2 Job design and its relation to job satisfaction

Although a number of factors that relate to job satisfaction have been identified, another
important aspect is the design of the job. This is critical as it should take into
consideration the employee’s capability and capacity and avoid overburdening them.
This is identified as the working environment which is another of the key elements for

7
employee satisfaction which stems from their comfort to exist in the workplace (Azril,
et. al., 2010). The research conducted by Beltramini & Evans (1988) identified that
there existed relatively strong internal consistency within sales teams and this reflects
upon the employee satisfaction in a positive manner. Hence, several researches have
identified that internal communication plays a major role on employee satisfaction,
especially since mis-communications can be averted (Azril, et. al., 2010:2-5), thus the
job should be designed in a manner that facilitates communication across the different
departments and within the departments as well.

Further elaboration on this issue raise the two topics of job design and job performance.
The first (job design) is based on the job characteristics and the job rotation and job
enlargement if “the job design is a basic principles in job design research is that
stimulating are associated with motivating psychological states that contribute to
favourable at attitudinal and behavioural work outcomes.” (Rehman, 2011:1-2)
Appropriate job design facilitates the employee's testing of their personal skills, their
capabilities and capacity accompanied with the achievement of increased sales volume,
which translates, into commission, which is converted into quality of life (Ismail, et. al.,
2010). Job design is built on the type and the amount of the job and the difference
between office working and field working, the latter in general needs more facilities in
order for them to be satisfied of their job (Rehman, 2011:9). Job performance measures
the level of achievement of business and social objectives and responsibilities from the
perspective of the judging party (Azril, et. al., 2010:65).

Thus, although the job design should be built upon the premise that new products and
customers are developed, it should aim to eliminate some of the more negative aspects
such as "neglect, conflict and dishonesty"(p.35) which may affect the overall
perspective of the job as it may be misleading (Beltramini and Evans, 1988) and would
impede the employees’ performance as their job satisfaction diminishes.

2.1.2.3 Salaries and compensations impact on job satisfaction

Remuneration elements have been highlighted as beneficial as they motivate employees

and enhance their performance, especially as a form of appreciation (Azril, et. al.,

8
2010:2-3). Moreover, unstable family and individual life has been identified as a key
discouraging element for employees, causing them unrest. Consequently, there exists a
connection between the quality of life (satisfaction) and work performance that is
imperative to the further progression of the field (Azril, et. al., 2010:1-2). Salaries and
compensations affecting job satisfaction wages is a very ideal factor because wages are
a great factor influencing the job satisfaction and performance because the employer is
satisfied. Work compensations are divided in to personal and physical compensations;
the personal is the organizational commitment (Ismail, et. al., 2010:5), while the
physical compensations is for the personal self-achievements accomplished by the
employees.

2.1.3. Different factors determining job satisfaction

2.1.3.1 Personal performance evaluation

Employees need to have confidence in their capability to perform their work effectively
(Choong & Lau, 2011:3) otherwise their lack of confidence will cause them to fail in
their jobs (Pushpakumari, 2008:11). Self-determination has also been identified as a key
driver in employee performance which entails the sense of freedom that employees have
to do their own work (Choong & Lau, 2011:3) Personal performance evaluation this is a
way of self-evaluation after every job is done to make the employer grade his own work
and to think of what he did to get experience of his mistakes or to get self-confidence if
the employee did good in the job given to him that way is very successful in the
working groups and the sales people and is a good way to increase job performance and
also help in increasing the job satisfaction.(Beltramini & Evans,1988).

2.1.3.2 Motivation and its effect on workers

Motivation and its effect on work there are long term motivations and short term
motivations the short term motivation is like the rewards given to the employees after a
cretin contest or a job done or a contest but this can make a huge difference in the job
performance because when there is a big motivation the effort well be doubled like the
sales men situation (Beltrammini & Evans 1988).There is relation between motivation

9
and job satisfaction the more the employee is motivated the more the employee is
satisfied this will be reflected on the productivity of the employee(Garrido, et. al.,
2005:4-6)

2.1.3.3 Effect of Management satisfaction on organizational

improvement

Previous researches have established that organizational policies coupled with

management styles play a major role in employee satisfaction as well due to the
pressures enforced upon the employee. These have been identified as the elements with
the highest ability to lessen motivation and increase turnover rates due to discouraged
employees (Azril, et. al., 2010:3). Meanwhile, Vroom (1964) explained that when an
individual’s job or job experience is evaluated and appraised by the organization, then
the employee will have a pleasant feelings and positive emotional state (Choong & Lau,
2011). Thus, when an employee feels appreciated and gets positive feedback from the
organization’s management, this will improve their job satisfaction and consequently
improve their performance.

2.1.3.4 Impact of employee raining type on the management

satisfaction

Chu (2011) identified that the employee training is another important aspect that ties in
with the different aspects of the organization starting with the employee as an
individual. By training the employees, they acquire skills and become more confident in
their abilities that would improve their performance and consequently the overall
organizational performance (Rehman, 2011:9-10).

2.2. Job Performance

2.2.1. Importance of job performance to the organization

2.2.1.1 Job performance and its effect on productivity

10
As the employees work within a specific environment, it is important for them to feel
comfortable and secure. On that basis, since performance is enhances with satisfaction,
the overall organizational performance and productivity are improved as a consequence
to better employee performance (Lazear, 1996). As the worker receives more incentives,
the overall performance is improved and as the employee is satisfied, they will wish to
work better for the organization, this is a cycle that is continues and only breaks if the
employees’ performance becomes less which would be mainly due to dissatisfaction or
insufficient incentives from the organization (Schmidt, Hunter & Outerbridge, 1986).

2.2.1.2 Training effect on performance

The overall objective of organizational training for their employees is to enhance the
employee’s capacities and capabilities such that the performance is improved (Chu,
2011). This comes at a cost to the organization; however it is always accounted for with
the premise that the benefits are much greater than the costs incurred. A trained
workforce has a higher degree of efficiency, better control levels, less waste and less
time per task (Bartel, 1994). Unfortunately, not many organizations view it from this
perspective and this leads to them employing untrained employees who incur higher
costs for the organization that are not needed (Rehman, 2011). This is most imminent
where the workforce has a redundant learning curve and organizations are incurring
losses both on the short and long terms.

2.2.1.3 Competitive spirit in organization

As humans, we are competitive creatures by nature, and thus, any competition that
would benefit the individual (employee) would definitely reap certain benefits for the
individual as well as the organization (Beltramini & Evans, 1988). As the employees
compete in a healthy environment, they will identify their personal capabilities,
communicate with others on a platform that is suitable and upon identifying weaknesses
within their skills/abilities, will strive to improve them so as to accomplish more and
achieve a higher degree of personal satisfaction that would then be reflected in their
performance within the organization (Melitz & Gianmarco, 2007). A fine example
would be the competitions between sales team members all for the earning of a small

11
commission that would improve the employee’s quality of life alongside their personal
satisfaction (Beltramini & Evans, 1988; Nickell, 1996).

2.2.2. Challenges of job performance

With every aspect of the organization that brings change, there exist challenges that act
as an obstacle to its implementation. The following are a few of those obstacles.

2.2.2.1 Type of training

As has been previously highlighted, employee training is beneficial for the employee
and the organization; however, it is important to identify who will give the training, how
it will be implemented and the structure of the training as well (Jacobs, 2003). This is of
high importance because should the structure be weak or fail to address the pressing
issues within the employee’s job, it would incur costs and yield no benefit whatsoever,
if not creating a problem and confusing the employees (Kotey & Folker, 2007; Lester,
2001). Thus, the type of training must be suitable for the jobs and tasks on hand and
must address relevant issues.

2.2.2.2 Quality of employed workers

Although the employee training is a critical aspect that would benefit the organization
and improve its overall performance through developing the employees, the quality of
the workers in itself is another obstacle (Campbell, 1994). If the workers are lacking in
experience or knowledge to begin with, thus do not have the bases upon which the
organization can build the knowledge, it will be an obstacle in trying to train them as
they will have insufficient cognitive capabilities (Mirvis, 1992).

2.2.2.3 Lack of material resources

Another important obstacle is the lack of material resources that are either sufficient
resource to make the employee’s job more satisfying or simply insufficient financial
resources to fund the training for the employees. This is a big obstacle as it means that

12
pressing issues cannot be resolved instantaneously and consequently employee
dissatisfaction increases (Chu, et. al., 2011:3).

2.3. The effect of job satisfaction on job performance in each sector

Job satisfaction plays an important role in the performance of the employee and the
organization as a whole, however, the question still stands if it differs between the
manufacturing and service sectors or not. There are diffrent need for each sector but
they have one common factor that both are knowledge-based and need mechanisms in
their framework guidelines (Rehman.S, 2011:8).

2.3.1. In the manufacturing sector

The manufacturing sector is industrial and it basically means that the organizational
performance is based on technology and equipment. However, this is a misconception
as the satisfaction of the labour workers in the organization stem to the efficiency of
their performance which consequently affects the overall performance of the
organization and its productivity (Ismail, et. al., 2010:2-4). Manufacturing sector Job
satisfaction in the manfacturing sector is based on some factors such as how the
mangement understand the attitude of employees in the industry and the empowerment
they take in there organization and when the job satisfaction increase it will
subsequently lead to an increase in quality, productivity and performance. (Choong &
Lau, 2011:2)

2.3.2. In the service sector

The service sector is different from the manufacturing sector in the context that it relies
more on the individual performance of the employees. Consequently, the employee
satisfaction goes a long way in the service sector as a satisfied employee is one who will
go to work with a smile on their face such that they will conduct their work in the best
fashion possible and their interactions with individuals (customers/clients).

13
Consequently, employee job satisfaction is important in every type of industry as it
boosts employee performance and facilitates improved organizational achievements as a
whole (Ismail, et. al., 2010:2).

14
References

Adenike. (2011). Organizational Climate as a Predictor of Employee Job Satisfaction: 

evidence from covenant university. Business Intelligence Journal 4(1), 151-165.

Azril, M. S. H., Jegak, U., Asiah, M., Azman, A.N, Bahaman, A.S., Jamilah, O., &
Thomas, K., (2010). Can Quality of Work Life Affect Work Performance among
Government Agriculture Extension Officers? A Case from Malaysia. Journal of Social
Science 6(1), 64-73.

Bartel, A.P., (2008).  Productivity Gains from the Implementation of Employee

Training Programs. Industrial Relations: a journal of economy and society. 33(4), 411-
425.

Beltramini, R., & Evans, K. (1988). Salesperson Motivation to perform and job
Satisfaction: A sales Contest Participant Perspective. Journal of personal Selling &
Sales management 8(2), 35-42.

Choong, Y., & Lau, T. (2011). The Effect of Psychological Empowerment on Job
satisfaction: the development of conceptual framework. International Journal of
Academic Research, 3(2 Part III), 873-878.

Chu, L. L.C., (2011). A Research on the Influence of Leadership Style and Job
Characteristics on Job Performance among Accountants of County and City
Government in Taiwan. Public Personnel Management 40(2), 19.

Garrido, M., Perez, P., & Anton, C. (2005). Determinants of sales manager job
satisfaction. An analysis of Spanish industrial firms. The International Journal of
Human Resource Management, 16(10), 1934-1954.

15
Ismail, R., & Zainal Abidin, S. (2010). Impact of workers' competence on their
performance in the Malaysian private service sector. Business and Economic Horizons,
2(2), 25-36.

Kotey, B., & Folker, C. (2007). Employee Training in SMEs; effect of size and firm
type – family and nonfamily. Journal of small business management, 45(2), 214-238

Melitz, M.J., & Gianmarco, I.P. (2007). Market Size, Trade and Productivity. Review of
Economic studies, 75(1), 295-316.

Mirvis, P.H., (1992). The Quality Of Employment In The Nonprofit Sector: An update
on employee attitudes in nonprofits versus business and government. Nonprofit
Management and Leadership, 3(1), 23-41.

Nickell, S.J. (1996). Competition and Corporate Performance. Journal of Political

Economy. 104(4), 724-746.

Okpara, J. O. (2004). The impact of Salary differential on Managerial Job Satisfaction;

a study of the gender gap and its implications for management, education and practice
in a developing economy. The Journal of business in devoloping nations 8, 65-92.

Pushpakumari, M. D. (2008). The Impact of Job Satisfaction on Job Performance; an

empirical analysis. City Essays, 9(1), 89-105.

Rehman, M. (2011). Job design and job performance relationship: A study of Pakistan
Public Sector employees. Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research, 2(12), 16.

16
Schmidt, F.L., Hunter, J.E., & Outerbridge, A.N., (1986). Impact of job experience and
ability on job knowledge, work sample performance, and supervisory ratings of job
performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(3), 432-439.

Yee, R. W. Y., Yeung, A.C.L., & Cheng, T.C.E. The Impact of Employee Satisfaction
on Quality and Profitability in High-contact Service Industries. Hong-Kong Polytechnic
University.

Cooper, D.R., Schindler, P.S. (2008). Business Research Methods, McGraw Hill
Publications

17