Link Between Workplace Environment and Employee Performance

A STUDY ON LINK BETWEEN WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AT BIG BAZAAR, CHENNAI PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by S. POORNA VENKATA SUBRAMANI Register No: 1010301098 In partial fulfilment for the award of the degree Of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION In MANAGEMENT STUDIES SONA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY SALEM636 005. DECEMBER-2011

SONA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY SALEM- 636 005 Department of Master of Business Administration PROJECT WORK DECEMBER 2011 This is to certify that the project entitled A STUDY ON LINK BETWEEN WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AT BIG BAZAAR, CHENNAI is the bonafide record of project work done by S. POORNA VENKATA SUBRAMANI Register No: 1010301098 Of MBA ( Master of Business Administration) during the year 2011-2012. -----------------Project Guide -----------------------------Head of the Department

Submitted for the Project Viva-Voce examination held on

-------------------------Internal Examiner

------------------------External Examiner

DECLARATION I affirm that the project work title A STUDY ON LINK BETWEEN WORK PLACE ENVIRONMENT AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AT BIG BAZAAR being submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA) is the original work carried out by me. It has not formed the part of any other project work submitted for award of any degree or diploma, either in this or any other University

(Signature of the Candidate) S. POORNA VENKATA SUBRAMANI 1010301098 I certify that the declaration made above by the candidate is true

Signature of the Guide,

Ms. VIDHUBALA Lecturer

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am highly indebted to Mr. SELVARAJ, Director, Dept. of Master Of Business Administration for his guidance and motivation during the course of the project.

I wish to express my gratitude to Ms. VIDHUBALA Dept. of Master Of Business Administration head for his support and encouragement throughout the project.

I wish to thank Ms. AISHWARYA Sr. HR Executive at BIG BAZAAR, CHENNAI for allowing me to undergo training in their organization and her support and encouragement throughout the project.

Finally I bow my head saluting my parents for showering their blessings on me which has enabled me to attain success in this endeavour.

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER NO. LIST OF TABLE TITLE PAGE NO.

LIST OF CHARTS INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1.2 ABOUT THE INDUSTRY 1.3 INDUSTRY & COMPANY PROFILE 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY THE MAIN THEME OF THE PROJECT 2.1 PERSONALITY, HEALTH, WORK

I.

ENVIRONMENT AND PERFORMANCE 2.2 THEORY AND HYPOTHESIS 2.3 KEY FACTORS OF EMPLOYEES HEALTH II. THAT AFFECT THEIR PRODUCTIVITY 2.4 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OFFICE DESIGN AND PRODUCTIVITY 2.5 REVIEW OF LITERATURE III IV V RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, SUGGESTIONS QUESTIONNAIRE BIBLIOGRAPHY

LIST OF TABLES

S.NO

TITLE Employees belongingness towards team

PAGE.NO

1. Employees opinion towards challenging assignments 2. Employees view on training classes 3.

Importance of learning new job skills to employee 4. Employees view on need to learn more skills 5. Employees opinion towards opportunity to learn new skills 6. Employees opinion towards employment security in company 7. Employees view on feedback from supervisor 8. Employees view on performance appraisal 9. Employees perception towards work 10.

11.

Employee considers the work as personally rewarding Employees view on self determination in doing the work

12. Employees opinion on work place factors(being treated fairly) 13. Employees opinion on working conditions 14. Employees view on competence to do the job 15. Employees opinion on performance capacities 16.

Employees view on contribution towards success 17. Employees opinion on self-impact for success in work area 18. LIST OF CHARTS

S.NO

TITLE Employees belongingness towards team

PAGE.NO

1. Employees opinion towards challenging assignments 2. Employees view on training classes 3. Importance of learning new job skills to employee 4. Employees view on need to learn more skills 5. Employees opinion towards opportunity to learn new skills 6. Employees opinion towards employment security in company 7. Employees view on feedback from supervisor 8. Employees view on performance appraisal 9.

Employees perception towards work 10.

11.

Employee considers the work as personally rewarding Employees view on self determination in doing the work

12. Employees opinion on work place factors(being treated fairly) 13. Employees opinion on working conditions 14. Employees view on competence to do the job 15. Employees opinion on performance capacities 16. Employees view on contribution towards success 17. Employees opinion on self-impact for success in work area 18.

LINK BETWEEN PERFORMANCE Abstract

WORKPLACE

ENVIRONMENT

AND

EMPLOYEE

The workplace environment impacts employee morale, productivity and employee engagement both positive and negative. In general, it is to be noted that most of us believe that the level of employee performance is directly related to employees salary package. Instead, the quality of work place environment impacts the level of motivation and the performance.

How well they engage with the organization, in this case their immediate environment influences their error rate, collaboration with other employees, level of innovation, absenteeism and how long they stay in their current job. Creating a work environment in which employees are productive is essential to increased profits for the organization and businesses as well. In short the work place becomes an integral part of the work itself. Businesses must step outside their traditional roles to create a work environment where employees enjoy what they do, have pride in what they do, can reach their potential. Discussed below are some of the factors and how they can be utilized to boost the performance of the employees. Money is not sufficient motivator in creating superior work place environment. Supervisors will need to be comfortable with working with workplace factors that influence skills required to engage employees in mutual goal-setting, clarify role specifications, expectations and provide regular feedback, providing adequate resources and work place coaching. In todays competitive business environment, management cannot afford to waste the potential of their workforce. The key factors in work place environment impact greatly on employees level of motivation and their performance. The workplace environment set in place impacts employee morale, productivity and engagement both positive and negative. In an effort to motivate employees, organizations have implemented performance based pay, practices to help balance both work and family and various forms of information sharing. Managements new challenge is to create a work environment that attracts, keeps and motivates its workforce. Todays workplace is different, diverse and constantly changing. The responsibility lies with managers and supervisors across all levels of organization. The project discusses the quality of quality of workplace environment that impacts the level of employee performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between personality, work environment preferences, performance and commitment. And also to know the key factors in the employees workplace environment that impact the level of employee performance and effect of employees health on their work performance. The bottom line is that

the management started to realize if the employees are dissatisfied, they can find the job elsewhere easily. Hence, the organizations have started to create a positive work environment for their work force. Business leaders are urged to take account of the links between work place environment and employee performance when overhauling the old ones.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY It is the quality of the workplace environment creates impact in the work force motivation and their performance. How well employees engage with the organization (i.e) with their immediate environment, influences their error rate, level of innovation, collaboration with other employees, absenteeism and how long they stay in the job. The objective of this study is to find out the relationship between work place environment and productivity. For this purpose, 230 employees of Big Bazaar were contacted and studied. The

findings of this study shows that a good work place environment is essential in increasing employees productivity. Comfortable environment motivates the employees and increases their performance substantially. Most of the employees spend their time within indoor environment, which greatly influence their mental status, actions, abilities and performance. Better results, increased productivity is assumed to be the result of better workplace environment. Employees in different organizations have different work place designs. Every work place has unique furniture, lighting and heating arrangements. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of workplace factors on employees productivity. The literature shows that good work place design or environment has a positive effect on employees productivity and the same assumption is being tested in this study for Big Bazaar, Royapettah, Chennai. The study tries to find out the effects of work place environment design on employees productivity. The study will be based on primary data collected through structured questionnaire. Many managers do not have the flexibility in their employee pattern, hence they must deal with the hand they are dealt. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between personality, work environment preferences, the outcome variables, performance and commitment. In this study, first factors that serve to define the well being and health in the work place, favorable work environment are studied. Then factors associated with productivity and performance, the consequences of low well being work place factors that affect performance are studied. And future directions for research and practice regarding the work environment and working ability are highlighted from the organization point of view. The study begins with discussion of relationship between personality, work environment, health, employee performance and commitment. For this purpose, employees working in different work environment were contacted. The result of this study will show how the work place environment is essential in terms of improving the employee performance. Key factors that affect employees productivity and performance comes under two categories:

factors that are driven by procedures, management requirements. factors arise from premises, office (or factory) design.

Employees performance and Productivity:

Employees wellbeing and Work Environment:

Job Factors motivating Employees Performance to attain the Target Interesting work, opportunity to develop special abilities, adequate information, sufficient help and equipment, helpful co-workers, competent supervision, clearly defined responsibilities and good pay are considered to be the job factors that motivates employee performance to attain the target. Interesting work has got the highest significance for employees. In certain instances, employees agree with the fact that the interesting work motivates their performance to attain the target. If the company pays good pay according to their position and work, then most of the employees are

motivated by the good pay to perform their work. The company should also provide opportunity to develop special ability for the particular job which in turn helps them to gain knowledge and develop abilities. In an organization, each employee should be allocated to particular job which is to be completed before the stipulated time. Thus clearly defined responsibilities motivates the employee performance. The target to be attained has been set by the organization, where enough information about work is passed on to the employees. Thus each employee is getting enough information about the work to be performed which in turn motivates the employee to perform. WORK PLACE PERFORMANCE FACTORS Goal Setting Involve employees in setting meaningful goals and performance measures for their work. It could be informally between employees and their immediate supervisor or as part of organizational process. The key is that each employee takes ownership in the final agreed goals and work measures. Performance Feedback Regular feedback to employees should have both positive feedback on what the employee is doing right as well as feedback about what could be done for the improvement. The feedback should be delivered with appropriate conflict resolution skills.

Workplace Incentives Determine what motivates the employees and formal, informal structures can be created for rewarding employees. Rewards may consist a mix of internal rewards such as challenging assignments, external rewards such as higher compensation and peer recognition. Defined Process The Organization constrains the variability of how the work is actually performed through documenting processes and communicating such expectations to employees.

Office design and productivity:

Physical aspects Influencing Employees Performance at the workplace Office space is one of the physical aspect that influence the employees performance at the workplace. Studies reveal that if sufficient space is not provided by the company for the assigned job it leads to poor management of office space wastage of time and energy which hampers the effective work habits. At the organization if the furniture is not maintained in good condition, proper furnishing is not done then the employees may feel uncomfortable while they work. And adequate storage facilities for materials should be provided for the goods to be arranged properly. 1.2. About the industry Retailing Introduction: The Indian retail industry is divided into organized and unorganized sectors. Organized retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers, that is, those who are registered for sales tax, income tax etc. These include the corporate-backed hypermarkets and retail chains, also the privately owned large retail businesses. Unorganized retailing, in other hand, refers to traditional formats of low-cost retailing, for example, the local kirana shops, convenience stores, hand cart, pavement vendors etc.

Traditional markets are making way for new formats such as departmental stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets and specialty stores. Western style malls have begun to appear in metros introducing the Indian consumer to an unparalleled shopping experience. The Indian retail sector is highly fragmented with 90% of its business being run by unorganized retailers like the traditional family run stores, corner stores. The organized retail is at nascent stage though attempts are being made to increase its presence by bringing in huge opportunity for the potential new players. The sector is the largest source of employment after agriculture, and has deep penetration into rural India generating more than 10% of Indias GDP.

The last few years have witnessed tremendous growth by this sector, the key drivers being changing consumer profile and demographics, increase in the number of international brands available in Indian market, credit availability, improvement in infra-structure, increasing investment in technology and real estate building a world class shopping environment for consumers. In order to keep pace with the increasing demand, there has been hectic activity in terms of entry of international labels, expansion plans, focus on technology, operation and processes. This has led to more complex relationships involving suppliers, third part distributors and retailers, which can be dealt with the help of supply chain. A proper supply chain will help meet the competition head on, manage stock availability, supplier relation, new value added services, cost cutting and most importantly reduce wastage levels in handling the goods. Retailers can bargain with suppliers to reap economies of scale. Hence, discounting is being an accepted practice. Proper infrastructure is a pre-requisite in retailing, which would help to modernize India and facilitate rapid economic growth. This would help in efficient delivery of goods and value-added services to consumer making a significant contribution to the GDP. Growth drivers in India for retail sector Rising incomes and improvements in infrastructure are enlarging consumer markets and accelerating the convergence of consumer tastes. Liberalization of Indian economy.

Increase in spending per capita income. Advent of dual income families also helps in the growth of the retail sector. Shift in consumer demand to foreign brands like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic etc. The internet revolution is making the Indian consumer more accessible to the growing influences of domestic and foreign retail chains. Satellite T.V. channels is helping to create awareness about global products in local markets.

Foreign companies attraction to India is the billion-plus population.

Opportunities and Challenges AT Kearneys study on global retailing trends found that India is least competitive and least saturated of all major global markets. This implies that there is low entry barriers for players trying to setup base in India. The report further states that global retailers such as Walmart, Carrefour, Tesco would take advantage of favourable FDI rules in India and enter the country through partnership with local retailers. A good talent pool, unlimited opportunities, huge markets and availability of quality raw materials at cheaper costs is expected to make India overtake the worlds retail economies by 2042. The retail industry in India, according to experts, will be a major employment generator in the future. Currently, the market share of organized retail is just over 4% thereby leaving a huge untapped opportunity. Commanding such a large chunk of the organized retail business in India, fashion retailing has indeed been responsible for single-handedly driving the business of retail in India. Challenges in Retailing The industry is facing shortage of talented professionals at middle-level management. Most Indian retailers are under serious pressure to make supply chains more efficient in order to deliver the levels of quality of service expected by consumers. Lack of adequate infrastructure with respect to roads, electricity, cold chains and ports has further led to impediment of pan-India network of suppliers. Due to these constraints, retailers have resorted to multiple vendors for their requirements thereby, raising costs and prices.

The available talent pool does not back retail sector as the sector has emerged recently from its nascent stage. Further, retailing is yet to become the preferred career option for Indias educated class that has chosen sectors like IT, BPO and financial services. Even though the government is attempting to implement uniform value-added tax across states, the system is currently plagued with differential tax rate for various states leading to increased costs and complexities in establishing an effective distribution network. The retail sector does not have the industry tag making it difficult to raise finance from banks and fund their expansion plans. Non-availability of government land and zonal restrictions has made it difficult to find a good real estate in terms of location and size. Also, lack of clear ownership titles and high stamp duty has resulted in disorganized nature of transactions. 1.3 COMPANY PROFILE Future Group Introduction Future Group, led by its founder and Group CEO, Mr. Kishore Biyani, is one of Indias leading business houses with multiple business spanning across the consumption space. Led by its flagship enterprise, Pantaloon Retail, the group operates over 12 million sq.ft of retail space in 71 cities and towns and 65 rural locations across India. Headquartered in Mumbai, Pantaloon employs 30,000 people. The company follows multiformat retail strategy that captures almost entire consumption of Indian consumers. In the lifestyle segment, the group operates Pantaloons, a fashion retail chain and Central a seamless malls. In the value segment, its marquee brand Big Bazaar is a hypermarket format that combines the look and feel of Indian bazaars with the choice and convenience of modern retail. FUTURE VALUE BRANDS

The Future Group has built a strong portfolio of some of the fastest growing consumer brands in India. This activity is led by Future Brands India Limited, a subsidiary company set up to create and build powerful brands that address the aspirations of the new Indian consumer.

Leadership: to be a leader, both in thought and business

Respect & Humility: to respect every individual and be humble in our country

Future Group Firms

Pantaloon Retail(India) Limited Home Solutions Retail India Limited Future Brand Limited Future Supply Chain Solutions Limited Pantaloon Food Product(India) Limited Future Capital Holding Limited Future General India Insurance Company Limited Future General India Life Insurance Company Limited Future Bazaar India Limited Winner Sports(P) Limited Staples Future Office Products(P) Limited Talwalkars Pantaloon Fitness(P) Limited

COMPANY PROFILE BIG BAZAAR Big Bazaar caters to every need of your family. Where Big Bazaar scores over other stores is its value for money proposition for the Indian customers. Since its first outlet open in Kolkata in late 2001, the Big Bazaar has spread to towns and cities with currently 106 outlets. These multi-level shopping meccas stock everything from food to fridges, and cookware to clothes. Its been especially designed to Indian consumers. With slogan Is se sasta aur accha aur kahin nahi, the Big Bazaar targets itself directly at the average Indian love for following the crowd and scrambling for good discount. Parent-Pantaloon Retail India Limited Pantaloon Retail India Limited, is Indias leading retailer that operates multiple retail formats in both value and lifestyle segment of the Indian consumer market.

Headquartered in Mumbai, the company operates over 12 million sq.ft of retail space, has over 1000 stores across 71 cities in India and employs 30,000 people. The companys leading format include Pantaloons, a chain of fashion outlets, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, blends the look, touch and feel of Indian bazaars with aspects of modern retail like choice, convenience and quality. The company also operates an online portal www.futurebazaar.com. A subsidiary company, Home Solutions Retail(India) Limited, operates Home Town, a large format home solutions, selling home furniture products and e-Zone focused on catering to consumer electronics segment.

Target Consumers Big Bazaar targets higher and upper middle class consumers, the large and growing young working population is a preferred consumer segment. Big Bazaar specifically targets working women and home makers who are the primary decision makers.

Organization Structure (Big Bazaar)

Big Bazzar Organization ChartStore Manager

Assistant Store Manager

Support Functions

Department Manager

Human Resource Management

Assistant Department Manager

Cash

Team Leader

Visual Merchandise

Team Member

Administration

Logistics

Maintenance

Customer Service Department

STORE STRUCTURE STORE MANAGER

DEPERTMENT MANAGER

MARKETIN GMANAGER

HR MANAGER

ASSIS.DEPER. MANAGER

VIDUAL MARCHANDISIN G


CASHIER

CSD

ADMINISTRATIOR

TEAM LEADER SECURITY MAINTANANCE


Problem Statement 1) The purpose of this project is to examine the relationship between personality, work environment preferences, performance and commitment. 2) To know the key factors in the employees work place environment that impacts their level of motivation and performance. 3) To assess whether office design, employees health affect the work force productivity. 1) The purpose of this project is to examine the relationship between personality, work environment preferences, performance and commitment. Managements new challenge is to create an environment that attracts, motivates the work force. The responsibility lies with all levels of managers and supervisors. Organization must step outside their traditional and comfort zones to look for new ways of working. Work place environment should be created in such a way that people enjoy what they do, feel like they have purpose, have pride in what they do, can reach their potential. Todays workplace is different, diverse and constantly changing. The employer/employee relationship has changed turned upside down. A combination of factors have created an environment where businesses needs its employees more than employees need the business. Link between work environment and performance Studies have shown that environment has direct impact on organizations performance (financial/non-financial). Components of environment can be classified into two categories: 1. Organizations culture2. the climate within which the individual is working.

Organization Culture the way the things are done inside the premises comprised of formal and in-formal factors that go hand in hand. (e.g) the need to do things differently and the need for consistent process and procedures; the need to pay attention to external factors while making

decisions. Organizations which creates an effective to the above said are more able to achieve performance goals in Profitability Quality Innovation Sales growth Employee satisfaction

The majority of work occurs at the team or work group level. Much more than individuals, groups are responsible for innovation, processes and practices that have the ability to take organization to the next level. Whether the dimensions of personality is directly responsible for employee success in organizations, or the preferences the work force have for in their work environment play an major role in the link? Selecting employees on the basis of personality can be inaccurate. Considering the span of control and reduced contact between employees and managers in work situations, relying on employee selection processes to improve the performance and commitment could be less effective. In addition, managers do not have flexibility in their staffing patterns in short term. In such situations, the work environment could be controlled as an short term option beyond skill training, to improve the result outcome. 2) To know the key factors in the employees work place environment that impacts their level of motivation and performance. To keep employees satisfied today, it takes an entirely different approach than it did a decade ago. One-third of todays executives say that work environment is also one of the critical factors in keeping the employees satisfied today in business world. Other factors include the importance of praise and recognition, compensation, concern over promotions. An employees work place environment is an critical element which determines the level of work force productivity. How well the workplace engages an employee impacts their level of motivation to perform. This in turn influence the employees: error rate level of innovation engaging with other employees

absenteeism and how long they stay in the job

In a given work place, consistent absenteeism could be a potential problem. Absenteeism can be a result of combination of factors: Lack of incentives, including bonuses or recognition can cause employees to lose motivation. Unproductive working conditions may arise due to employees who are negative or disruptive, failure to equip employees with right tools, training, software and supplies. Managers and supervisors need to work with the combination of work place factors that influence employees motivation. Some of the keys to improve Employee Performance are: 1. Employees submit ideas on how to make company more efficient, cut costs, increase revenue. 2. All ideas will be evaluated. 3. There will no limit to the number of ideas selected for merit. All employees whose ideas are implemented will receive company wide recognition and a bonus. 3) To assess whether office design, employees health affect the work force productivity. A well designed office signals the values and objectives of the company and use of design in interior communicates the organizations values and identity. Good work place design can make a big difference in staff satisfaction, attraction, motivation and retention. It can also affect the knowledge and skills of workers how they respond to business and technological change, how effective the organization in attracting and retaining the customers. In order for employees to be productive, they have to be comfortable in their work environment. Proper lighting plays an important role in the visual comfort for employees and customers. Organizations should take more account of the link between good office design and improved business performance when planning for new buildings and overhauling old ones. Companies are striving to make office a healthy and comfortable work place, using proper ergonomic furniture and accessories, proper lighting and a functional design to minimize distraction and consequently making employees work more productively. Finding answers to some of the questions can improve the comfort level of an office to increase the productivity of its work force: 1. Where and how people work efficiently?

2. Insufficient light will impact on visual inspection activities. Hence, what is the requirement for light intensity and what type of light is ideal to enhance the productivity?3. Does the work environment has poor quality of air that could cause fatigue and reduce

the performance level? Employee health and morale are often interrelated when it comes to productivity in work place. Many factors contribute to poor employee performance, including stress and lack of communication. While managers can find ways to boost employee morale, employees should also find ways to release their stress. The working environment affects the sense of well being, health and motivation to go to work or not. Hence, it is the employers responsibility to create an positive work place because the environment can increase or decrease the work force morale. 1.4 Significance of the Study With the rise of global markets and intensifying competition for consumers, employees and other critical resources, the ability to develop innovative products, services, processes and strategies is essential. Innovation is the major driving force in organization today. As many as 40% of the employees believe that their company want to keep their cost low resulting in work places not designed properly, 46% of employees think that priority list of their company does not have work place design on top. When summarized, almost 1 out of every 5 employees rated their work place environment from fair to poor. 90% admitted that their attitude about the work is affected by their work place environment. Yet 89% blamed their working environment for job dissatisfaction (Gensler, 2006). It is evident that there is less importance given to office design, incentives and assisting facilities. The situation is that they cant complain about them. These circumstances are greatly affecting the performance of the employees in the form of delay in work completion, frustration, effect on personal growth etc. The project will try to find out the effects of office design in terms of furniture, noise, lighting, spatial arrangement on employees productivity. In management research there are studies which have attempted to chart the effect of physical work environment on performance and efficiency. The result indicate that a highly rated physical

working environment results in greater job satisfaction. The impact and significance of work environment on employees productivity is addressed in this project. The significance of goal-orientation preferences in mediating the relationship between personality and workplace provides evidence that intervening variables plays a substantial role. Increasing knowledge of the economic and social benefits of good safety and health performance at company levels plays an significant role in raising occupational health and safety levels. Safety and health of workers is a moral responsibility which cannot only depend on productivity criteria within particular company. This responsibility fits into the broader concept of performance of the company. Better understanding of positive effects of good work environment would support the implementation of effective safety and health policy at company level. It is not enough to create work environment on the basis of practical experience and professional preconceptions. Management wishes to have more interaction and information sharing with employees, so that creativity and efficiency at work place could be improved and better results will be achieved in the long run. 1.5 Terms Definition Productivity: Productivity is what people can produce with least effort. Productivity is the ratio to measure how well an organization (or individual, industry) converts input resources (labor, materials, machines etc.) into goods and services. Office design: The arrangement of workspace so that work can be performed in the most efficient way. Work Environment: Circumstances, influences, stresses, competitive, cultural, demographic, natural, political, regulatory, technological factors affect the growth, operations and survival of an organization. Mentoring: Act of providing guidance and support to another (new employees).

1.6 Limitations of the project Potential limitations of this project include cross sectional nature of data. This project relies on self-report surveys to measure employee perceptions of their personality, commitment, work environment preferences which raises the potential for common method variance. Following are few limitations of this project: The limitation of this project is the fact that this study is applicable for settings similar to those where further research can be conducted. By this one can assume that the findings could be only relevant to blue-collar employees working in production line and to some extent whose salary is based on their performance. And also, there is no guarantee that the same result can be applied to companies in other industries, countries, cultures, companies having different organization structure. However, this project could be researched further to see how findings of this project could be applied to those particular settings.

The data collected was based on subjective productivity measurement; other methods could also be used. Data was collected by the method of structured questionnaires. The survey was conducted in English, hence it is limited to English speaking employees. The survey was bound to be completed in a certain time, so time limit was a barrier to investigate employees for more information.

CHAPTER 2 Concepts and reviews

A widely accepted assumption is that better workplace environment produces better results. The performance of an employee is measured by the output of that individual and is related to productivity. At corporate level, productivity is affected by many factors such as employees, technology and objectives of the organization. It is also dependent on the physical environment and its effect on employees health. 2.1Personality, Health, Work Environment and Performance According to Schneider(1987), people makes place. Costa, McCrae and Holland(1984) assert that people begin this process by selecting the vocation that match their personalities. Similarity between a job applicants and the values of recruiters and employees within the organizations results in improved work attitudes and increased performance after organizational entry (Chatman, 1991; Judge and Cable, 1997). Research by Cable and Judge (1994) provides evidence that the applicants pro-actively choose the organizational environment based on their personal preferences, as they found job candidates seek organizations with reward systems and culture that fit their personalities. Personality traits as Sources of Stress: Past studies have indicated the potential impact of personality traits on job stress. Five personality traits that have been identified are neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness (Costa and McCrae, 1985; Costa and McCrae, 1992; McCrae, 1992). The neuroticism means ones degree of emotional stability and adjustment. Extraversion assess the extent to which individuals are assertive, active and talkative. Openness measures the extent to which the persons are open to new experiences, creative, imaginative and prefer variety. Agreeableness reflects the extent to which one is altruistic and cooperative. The general consensus is that personality holds the key for performance. Research by Motowidlo and Van Scotter (1994, 1996) suggests that personality has larger impact on performance level, especially extraversion and agreeableness were strongly related to interpersonal facilitation. Hurtz and Donovan (2000) found that emotional stability and agreeableness also plays an significant role in interpersonal facilitation and a predictor of task performance.

It is widely accepted that better workplace environment produces better results. Mostly office is designed in tune with nature of job, individuals who are going to work in that office. The performance of an employee is measured by the output that the individual produces and related to productivity. The workplace environment either leads to engagement or disengagement. The key factors that affect employees productivity and performance fall in two categories: Management driven factors: Organization plans such as the allocation of responsibilities at all levels, definition of job descriptions, degree of access to management and administrative support needed to complete the task. Working patterns, shift-working, break times, absence or holiday cover. Health and safety policies.

The factors arise from company premise, office design: Furniture Workspace availability Light intensity Ventilation/humidity Noise/vibration Premises hygiene/ welfare facilities 2.2 Theory and Hypothesis It is believed that the personality factors conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion will work specifically through goal orientation and relationship work environment preferences on their way to influencing job performance and commitment. The personality factors openness to experience and emotional stability will manifest themselves in relationship and system maintenance work environment preferences. Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Extraversion and Employee Performance: Conscientiousness is the personality trait that is strongly linked to performance outcomes. Two analyses provide strong linkage between conscientiousness and employees productivity. Salgado (2003) found, of the personality factors, conscientiousness is directly connected to job performance.

Research by Witt, Burke, Barrick and Mount (2002) and Witt and Ferris (2003) found that low levels of social skill on the part of conscientiousness employees removed the significant relationship with performance. This indicates the potential importance of the interpersonal interaction-oriented relationship dimension of work environments. The importance of goal achievement dimension and maintaining goal orientation in work environments on the conscientiousness-performance relationship has been indicated in research by Stewart, Fulmer, Barrick and Hollenbeck (2005), where conscientiousness employees were shown to focus on task role behavior in their pursuit of team performance outcomes. The relationship between the personality dimension agreeableness and performance shows that, agreeableness leads to enhanced consumer relations, improved relationships and communication with managers ( Costa and McCrae, 1995; Sackett and DeVore, 2001). The work environment factor goal achievement also play a significant role in relationship between extraversion and employee productivity (performance). In the study conducted by Barrick et aL (2002, for sales job), found that individuals striving for status and accomplishment negated the extraversion-employee performance relationship. Barry and Stewart noted that extraverts induce perceptions of their contributions to group outcomes by focusing on providing task related inputs. Such task oriented approaches indicate the importance of goal oriented work environments. In conclusion, the review of literature suggests that the personality traits conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion manifest themselves in goal and task oriented work environments which in turn affect employee performance and commitment.

Openness to Experience and Employee Performance: Openness to experience has been described as an employees desire to be curious, imaginative and open to possibilities. The research on openness to experience-performance relationship has reinforced the idea that in the continuously evolving working environment were learning and adaption are required to enhance the openness-performance link. In general, research indicates the link between openness to experience and enhanced performance in learning and adaptionoriented environments as decision making ( Lepine, 2000; Colquitt et al., 2002) and training proficiency (Salgado, 1997).

Employees with high levels of openness to experience may benefit from highly relationshiporiented work environments, as Nikolaou (2003) found that openness to experience is related to performance only for professions involving higher levels of social interaction. 2.3 The Key Factors of Employees Health that effect their productivity: Health concerns, are a big drain on employees ability to be productive. Researchers noted that the effects of fatigue, most related to wide range of physical and mental health problems, employees not able to perform at maximum level due to health reasons.

Costs of occupational accidents Non-tangible Victim Pain and suffering, moral and psychological suffering Tangible Loss of salary and premiums. Reduction of professional capacity. Loss of time Family and friends Moral and psychological Financial loss

suffering. Medical and family burden. Colleagues Bad feeling Worry or panic (in case of serious accidents) Company Detoriation of social climate. Bad reputation.

Extra costs

Increase of work load. Training of temporary workers Internal audit Decrease in production Quality losses Training of new staff Increase of production costs

Society

Reduction of human labor potential Reduction in quality of life

Loss of production. Increase of social costs Decrease in standard of living

The above table shows that occupational accidents and ill health may have serious consequences for individual employees. Emotional stability and Employee performance We all have emotional ups and downs. Emotional stability is the ability to handle pressure and stress, to consistently carry out responsibilities, self discipline. Emotionally stable employees are able to maintain a problem-solving attitude when dealing with wide range of stressful conditions. Neuroticism reflects ones tendency to experience negative effects such as fear, sadness, embarrassment, anger, guilt (Costa and McCrae; 1992). People with neuroticism traits are those who experience more negative emotions, which will be reflected in poor job attitudes and high level job stress. Tellegen (1985) suggested that neuroticism functions as a warning system, activated by perceptions of environmental uncertainty and tends to interfere with ones ability to adapt. Thus, individuals high in neuroticism are thought to be less able to control their impulses and cope

effectively with stress and also emotionally unstable and experience negative effect. Such information seems to suggest that these individuals are likely to perceive great organizational stress, which in turn lead to higher job stress. Generally, the stress level of employees with low levels of neuroticism shows an increasing trend when the unfavorable work environment increases from low to high. Specifically, increase in job stress is at an increasing rate when the level of unfavorable work environment is perceived to range from low to moderate. These traits would not facilitate effective job performance, and Barrick and Mount (1991) have said that such individual are often selected out of the labor pool altogether. The impact of emotional stability/neuroticism seems to be related to the ability to form and maintain positive relationships in ones work environment. Van Vianen and De Dreu (2001) found that high levels of emotional stability contributed social cohesion in teams and high levels of neuroticism predicts anger and neglect in relationships (Barta and Kiene, 2005). 2.4 Relationship between Office Design and Productivity Over the years, many organizations have been trying new designs and techniques to construct office buildings which can increase productivity and attract more employees. Many authors noted that, the physical layout of the office, along with efficient management processes plays a major role in boosting employees productivity and improving organizational performance (Uzee, 1999; Leaman and Bordass, 1993; Williams et al. 1985). These research findings suggest that businesses that ignore the design and layout of their workplaces are failing to optimize. The work environment can also have an impact on individuals ability to work safely, competently and in compliance with operational performance targets. It is important to address the following: Furniture Workspace availability Light intensity Weather/temperature Ventilation/humidity Noise/vibration Premises hygiene/welfare facilities Furniture

Office furniture comprises of desks chairs, the filing system, shelves etc. All these components have a specific role to play in proper functioning of any office and the productivity and the efficiency of the employees. Ergonomic office furniture ensures that each employee gels with the things around him, like chairs, desks, even environmental factors. If employee is uncomfortable due to any reason, his work is bound to be affected. Office furniture like desks can be designed to give greater leg room and adequate support to the elbows while working on the computer. The positioning of the computer monitor and the mouse should also be adequate. Noise: Noise harms us in more ways than we can think of and at times without us even knowing about it. There are various sources of noise pollution. In some places noise from construction projects predominate, while in others it is vehicular traffic or noise from airport. In our country unleashed loudspeakers disturb the neighborhood on seemingly endless nights, where the laws are either battered in the name of religion or just for fun. Architects and interior designers have a big and profound responsibility to design functional and safe environments. It is very essential to meet functional and sound safe environments by considering acoustics. Acoustics is essential to the functioning of almost every type of environment. Some environments could be dangerously loud and unsafe for the occupants. In order to effectively address these issues, acoustics should be considered at design phase itself. Very often noise does not create visible results. Hence, people believe that noise does not cause health hazards. Instead, different studies shows noise creates health hazards affecting children the most, with extremely high noise levels even causing hearing loss in newborns. Light Intensity: Common knowledge, backed by scientific research proves that quality of indoor lighting in the office can have significant effects on performance. In recent years, the understanding of how light impacts upon our health has grown by leaps and bounds. The brightness of office light effects alertness, concentration and task performance. Adjusting the type and quality of light can significantly improve working experience and productivity. Over-lighting can actually make a workplace uncomfortable and distracting. In addition, giving workers control over their lighting has been demonstrated to increase productivity and workplace

satisfaction. Task lamps relieve inefficient overhead lights of their massive duties, notably reducing energy use and over lighting. Using direct lighting to illuminate specific areas instead of relying on ceiling fixtures that light entire rooms in an innovative idea. Task lamps, desk lamps are essential pieces of office equipment, offering workers the control they need to be comfortable and productive, while reducing energy use. Workers who use computer display terminals prefer relatively low lighting levels to minimize glare and reflections on their display screens. On the other hand, workers who read, write and draw on paper typically prefer higher lighting levels so they can see small letters and fine details. The ability to adjust lighting levels is particularly important for workers seated near windows, who must adopt to varying levels of sunlight during the day and workers who require adjusted lighting levels for the different daily tasks that they perform. Employee Comfort Temperature and humidity can have a significant impact on how alert or tired somebody might feel. This in turn, can have a dramatic effect on performance of a worker. In hot environment, it is not uncommon for staff to become irritable and less efficient. A lot of emphasis has been placed in recent years on issues such as maximum working hours, ergonomically designed offices but the overall comfort of the working conditions of employees can sometimes be overlooked.

Productivity and Temperature An ergonomics study by Cornell Institute, US concluded that there were definitive link between the efficiency/productivity levels of workers and the environmental conditions in offices. Temperature and humidity monitoring in workplace environments has often been overlooked as a mechanism for ensuring that workforce is efficient. Health and safety regulations mean that some form of ongoing monitoring should be carried out by employers, but in addition it could also help companies and organizations to identify how environmental conditions could be adjusted to improve productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Review of Literature

Openness measures the extent to which the persons are open to new experiences, creative, imaginative and prefer variety. Agreeableness reflects the extent to which one is altruistic and cooperative. The general consensus is that personality holds the key for performance. Research by Motowidlo and Van Scotter (1994, 1996) suggests that personality has larger impact on performance level, especially extraversion and agreeableness were strongly related to interpersonal facilitation. Hurtz and Donovan (2000) found that emotional stability and agreeableness also plays an significant role in interpersonal facilitation and a predictor of task performance. It is widely accepted that better workplace environment produces better results. Mostly office is designed in tune with nature of job, individuals who are going to work in that office. The performance of an employee is measured by the output that the individual produces and related to productivity. The workplace environment either leads to engagement or disengagement.

CHAPTER 3 Research Methodology Objectives of the Study 1. To analyze work place physical design in Big Bazaar, Express Avenue, Chennai. 2. To determine the impact of work environment on employees productivity and performance. 3. To analyze the effect of employees health on their performance.

I.To analyze work place physical design in Big Bazaar, Express Avenue, Chennai. In todays competitive environment store design has become a strategic tool for differentiating the offering and retaining the consumers. Consumers perception regarding in-store design has changed. Consumers like to shop in changing and exciting environment. Retailers are developing innovative strategies for store design. Thoughtful design of physical elements is a significant aspect for communicating store image to consumers. Retailers are giving more attention to create a favorable environment for consumers, this requires deep understanding of target consumers. In retail environment more systematic attention is given efficient designing of the store which influences the buying behavior of the consumer. Thoughtful in-store display creates favorable appearance of the store for the target consumer and attracts them towards products. Effective display provide easy accessibility of product to target consumers and demonstrate the product in a way to make selection process easy for consumers. Efficient design of the store contributes to profitable utilization of store space. Retailers adopt different patterns of store layout to encourage circulation of consumers to all parts of the store and provide easy access to merchandising. The ultimate aim of an efficient store design is to increase sales and profit of the store. Directly or in-directly the elements have some impact on consumer buying behavior. Retailers always try to create favorable psychological impact on consumer by designing the store element in more sophisticated way. (e.g) Retailers use graphics with social message to associate consumer with some life style. People complain that Big Bazaar outlet always look crowded. But few realize that it concisely designed that way. When the shop look neat and empty, the masses dont walk into it. Big Bazaar layout consists of long rows and parallel fixtures, with no aisles because aisles restrict the available space. It uses spaces efficiently. It provides easy sitting of merchandise and linking of product throughout the store. It allows more consumers in the store at any time. Allows staff of the store to work alongside with consumer without disturbing them. Provide self-service atmosphere.

Interior design

The interior design of Big Bazaar is very vibrant with color combination of blue and orange that leave an impression on Indian consumers. It is designed as agglomeration of bazaars with different sections selling different categories. Following are the internal attributes:

Envelope: the internal structure and decoration of the building that provides physical boundaries within which shopping takes place. Internal layout: the internal path the consumer use are in order to view merchandise. Methods of display: including fixtures, their positioning, the color and textures are within the product themselves. Visual merchandising: display of the items on sale together with pictures and other items that illustrate product use or create lifestyle impressions relating to their use.

Exterior design The exterior of Big Bazaar includes entrance of the store, architectural design of the building and window. The exterior design of Big Bazaar is easily visible from the distance and can be distinguished from competitors. Window display is used as an effective medium to introduce new offerings of the company. Hence, special attention is given in designing the windows of the store. The entrance of store is designed to welcome consumers and provide easy access to merchandising. External features Car parking sculpture, lighting outdoor seating, trolley parking and other miscellaneous

II. To determine the impact of work environment on employees productivity and performance In general, improving the work environment increases productivity. There are number of factors which affect productivity including privacy, communications, social relationships, office system organization, as well as environmental issues. It is much higher cost to employ people who work than it is to maintain and operate the building. Hence, spending money on improving the work environment may be the effective way ot improve productivity.

Work Environment Factors Affecting Performance Source Paper Aronoff and Kaplan Factors affecting Performance Physical setting, motivation, respect, satisfaction with goals, camaraderie Bakke Job specification and requirements, communication system, status, reward, pay, job security, control, pride and self respect Blackler and Williams Identity, meaning of work, social interaction, goal setting, expectancy, peer pressure Brown Relationship with management, responsibility, self-respect, status, control over work.

III. To analyze the effect of employees health on their work performance Work related stress is one of the main reason for mental ill health. Stress can manifest itself in absenteeism, reduced productivity, fatigue, impaired judgment and decision making and onset of both mental and physical health problems. As employers explore ways to improve the health, wellness and productivity of workforce, incentives have emerged as an attractive tool. A better understanding of positive effects of good working environment would support the implementation of effective health and safety policy at company level. It would complement set of rules and regulations with a decisive parameter that is linked to intrinsic motivation of a company. 3.1 Research Methodology The purpose of the methodology section is to describe the research procedure. It involves overall research design, the sampling procedure, the data collection methods, the field methods and analysis procedure.

Research Design A research design specifies the methods and procedures of conducting a particular study. The type of research employed here is descriptive study. Because descriptive study focus mainly on defining the problem. A descriptive study aims at portraying a particular group or situation. Descriptive studies are designed primarily to describe what is going on or what exists. In this project the study should portray the link between workplace environment and employee performance, hence descriptive method is chosen. Questions are structured to discover which organizational factors (i.e., workplace design features, management support, technology and equipment, and coworker support) in relevant workplace workers perceive to hamper or encourage their ability to perform effectively.

Methodology Data Collection Sampling Procedure Sample Size Sample Area Method used Sampling Technique Sampling technique employed for this study is questionnaire method. Sample Design The sample design used is simple random sampling which comes under probability sampling where each and every item in the population has equal chance of inclusion in the sample. Sources of Data - Primary data and secondary data - Random Sampling - 150 employees - Big Bazaar, Express Avenue, Chennai - Questionnaire

After determining the objectives of study and research design, the next step is data collection method. The information has to be collected from the respondents. During the process of study the data is collected from the employees with the help of questionnaire. The sources of data collection are Primary Data These generally include the survey or questionnaire method, telephonic interview, personal interview method of data collection. In this project, questionnaire method has been employed to collect the data from the employees of Big Bazaar, Express Avenue, Chennai. Secondary Data These include books, internet, company brochures, product brochures, company website, competitors website, newspaper articles etc. In this study company employees and company website play a vital role in collecting secondary data apart from the sources.

Statistical Tools Used 1.Percentage Analysis Simple percentage analysis refers to a special kind of ratio in making comparison between two or more data and to describe the relation between the data. Percentage can also be used to compare relative items, the distribution of two or more series of data. Simple percentage = No.of Respondents x 100 Total no. of respondents

2.Correlation Correlation is a statistical technique that can show whether and how strongly pairs of variables are related. The main result is called the correlation coefficient (or r). It ranges from -1.0 to +1.0. The closer r is to -1 to +1, the more closely the two variables are related. If r is close to 0,

it means there is no relationship between the variables. If r is positive, it means that as one variable gets larger the other gets larger. If r is negative it means that as one gets larger, the other gets smaller (often called an inverse correlation).

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION

Analysis and Interpretation The data collection has to be processed and analyzed in accordance with the outline laid down for the purpose of developing the research plan. This is essential for a specific study and for ensuring that we have relevant data for many contemplated comparisons and analysis. Processing implies editing, coding, classification and tabulation of collected data. Analysis is the process of breaking complex substance into smaller parts to gain better understanding of it. The term analysis refers to computation of certain measures along with the searching for pattern of relationship exist among data groups. Analysis of data in a general way involves a number of closely related operations, which are performed with the purpose of summarizing the collected data and organizing them in such a manner the project answer the questions posed by the project.

TABLE NO: 4.1 Employees belongingness towards team No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree or Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 50.0 35.3 8.0 3.3 3.3 100.0

Valid Percent 50.0 35.3 8.0 3.3 3.3 100.0

Cumulative Percent 50.0 85.3 93.3 96.7 100.0

75 53 12 5 5 150

Inference 50% of the employees strongly agree that they feel like part of team, 35.3% agree that they feel like part of team, 8% are not sure about whether they are part of team or not, 3.3% of employee believe they are not part of team and 3.3% of employees strongly believe that they are not part of team. CHART NO: 4.1 Employees belongingness towards team

TABLE NO: 4.2 Employees opinion towards challenging assignments No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 36.7 47.3 6.0 2.7 7.3 100.0

Valid Percent 36.7 47.3 6.0 2.7 7.3 100.0


55 71 9 4 11 150

Inference 36.7% of the employees strongly agree that they are given challenging tasks, 47.3% agree that they are given challenging tasks, 6% are not sure that they are given challenging tasks, 2.7% of employee disagree that they are given challenging tasks and 7.3% of employees strongly disagree that they are given challenging tasks. CHART NO: 4.2 Employees opinion towards challenging assignments

TABLE 4.3

Employees view towards training classes No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 34.0 40.7 11.3 4.7 9.3 100.0

Valid Percent 34.0 40.7 11.3 4.7 9.3 100.0


51 61 17 7 14 150

Inference 34% of the employees strongly agree that they need more training classes, 40.7% agree that they need more training classes, 11.3% are not sure whether they need more training classes, 4.7% of employee disagree that they need more training classes and 9.3% of employees strongly disagree that they need more training classes. CHART NO: 4.3 Employees view towards training classes

TABLE NO: 4.4 Importance of learning new job skills to employee No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 15.3 48.7 13.3 12.0 10.7 100.0

Valid Percent 15.3 48.7 13.3 12.0 10.7 100.0


23 73 20 18 16 150

Inference

15.3% of employees strongly agree that learning new job skills is important, 48.7% agree that learning new job skills is important, 13.3% are not sure that learning new job skills is important, 12% of employee disagree that learning new job skills is important and 10.7% of employees strongly disagree that learning new job skills is important. CHART NO: 4.4 Importance of learning new job skills to employee

TABLE NO: 4.5 Employees view on need to learn more skills No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 36.0 40.7 13.3 6.0 4.0 100.0

Valid Percent 36.0 40.7 13.3 6.0 4.0 100.0


54 61 20 9 6 150

Inference 36% of employees strongly agree that they need to learn more to perform well, 40.7% agree that they need to learn more to perform well, 13.3% are not sure whether they need to learn more to perform well, 6% of employee disagree that they need to learn more to perform well and 4% of employees strongly disagree that they need to learn more to perform well. CHART NO: 4.5 Employees view on need to learn more skills

TABLE NO: 4.6

Employees opinion towards opportunity to learn new skills No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 40.0 38.7 12.7 3.3 5.3 100.0

Valid Percent 40.0 38.7 12.7 3.3 5.3 100.0


60 58 19 5 8 150

Inference 40% of employees strongly agree that company gives more opportunity to learn, 38.7% agree that company gives more opportunity to learn, 12.7% are not sure whether the company gives more opportunity to learn or not, 3.3% of employee disagree that the company gives more opportunity to learn and 5.3% of employees strongly disagree that the company gives more opportunity to learn. CHART NO: 4.6 Employees opinion towards opportunity to learn new skills

TABLE NO: 4.7 Employees view on employment security in the company No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 34.0 38.7 12.7 6.0 8.7 100.0

Valid Percent 34.0 38.7 12.7 6.0 8.7 100.0


51 58 19 9 13 150

Inference

34% of employees strongly agree that they have good future in the company, 38.7% agree that they have good future in the company, 12.7% are not sure whether they have good future in the company, 6% of employee disagree that they have good future in the company and 8.7% of employees strongly disagree that they have good future in the company. CHART NO: 4.7 Employees view on employment security in the company

TABLE NO: 4.8 Employees opinion on feedback from supervisor No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 19.3 32.0 16.7 8.0 24.0 100.0

Valid Percent 19.3 32.0 16.7 8.0 24.0 100.0


29 48 25 12 36 150

Inference

19.3% of employees strongly agree that they get meaningful feedback from supervisor, 32% agree that they get meaningful feedback from supervisor, 16.7% are not sure whether they get meaningful feedback from supervisor or not, 8% of employee disagree that they get meaningful feedback from supervisor and 24% of employees strongly disagree that they get meaningful feedback from supervisor. CHART NO: 4.8 Employees opinion on feedback from supervisor

TABLE NO: 4.9

Employees view on performance appraisal No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 28.0 36.0 11.3 5.3 19.3 100.0

Valid Percent 28.0 36.0 11.3 5.3 19.3 100.0


42 54 17 8 29 150

Inference 28% of employees strongly agree that they can find out how well they are doing, 36% agree that they can find out how well they are doing, 11.3% are not sure whether they can find out how well they are doing, 5.3% of employee disagree that they can find out how well they are doing and 19.3% of employees strongly disagree that they can find out how well they are doing. CHART NO: 4.9 Employees view on performance appraisal TABLE NO: 4.10 Employees perception towards work No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 28.7 36.7 13.3 5.3 16.0 100.0

Valid Percent 28.7 36.7 13.3 5.3 16.0 100.0


43 55 20 8 24 150

Inference 28.7% of employees strongly agree that the work they do is important, 36.7% agree that the work they do is important, 13.37% are not sure whether the work they do is important or not, 5.3% of

employee disagree that the work they do is important and 16% of employees strongly disagree that the work they do is important. CHART NO: 4.10 Employees perception towards work

TABLE NO: 4.11 Employee considers work as personally rewarding No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 34.0 38.0 14.7 4.0 9.3 100.0

Valid Percent 34.0 38.0 14.7 4.0 9.3 100.0


51 57 22 6 14 150

Inference 34% of employees strongly agree that the work they do is rewarding, 38% agree that the work they do is rewarding, 14.7% are not sure whether the work they do is rewarding or not, 4% of employee disagree that the work they do is rewarding and 9.3% of employees strongly disagree that the work they do is rewarding.

CHART NO: 4.11 Employee considers work as personally rewarding

TABLE NO: 4.12

Employees view on self determination in doing the job No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 46.0 34.0 10.0 4.7 5.3 100.0

Valid Percent 46.0 34.0 10.0 4.7 5.3 100.0


69 51 15 7 8 150

Inference 46% of employees strongly agree that they have freedom in the job, 34% agree that they have freedom in the job, 10% are not sure whether they have freedom in the job or not, 4.7% of employee disagree that they have freedom in the job and 5.3% of employees strongly disagree that they have freedom in the job. CHART NO: 4.12 Employees view on self determination in doing the job TABLE NO: 4.13 Employees opinion on work place factors(being treated fairly) No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 30.0 37.3 10.7 10.7 11.3 100.0

Valid Percent 30.0 37.3 10.7 10.7 11.3 100.0


45 56 16 16 17 150

Inference 30% of employees strongly agree that they are treated fairly, 37.3% agree that they are treated fairly, 10.7% are not sure whether they are treated fairly or not, 10.7% of employee disagree that

they have freedom in the job and 11.3% of employees strongly disagree that they are treated fairly. CHART NO: 4.13 Employees opinion on work place factors(being treated fairly)

TABLE NO: 4.14 Employees opinion on working conditions No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 34.0 38.7 12.7 6.7 8.0 100.0

Valid Percent 34.0 38.7 12.7 6.7 8.0 100.0


51 58 19 10 12 150

Inference 34% of employees strongly agree that they are satisfied with working conditions, 38.7% agree that they are satisfied with working conditions, 12.7% are not sure whether they are satisfied with working conditions or not, 6.7% of employee disagree that they are satisfied with working conditions and 8% of employees strongly disagree that they are satisfied with working conditions. CHART NO: 4.14 Employees opinion on working conditions

TABLE NO: 4.15 Employees view on competence to do the job No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 22.7 58.7 14.0 .6 4.0 100.0

Valid Percent 22.7 58.7 14.0 .6 4.0 100.0


34 88 21 1 6 150

Inference 22.7% of employees strongly agree that they are confident about their ability to do the job, 58.7% agree that they are confident about their ability to do the job, 14% are not sure whether they are confident about their ability to do the job or not, 0.6% of employee disagree that they are confident about their ability to do the job and 4% of employees strongly disagree that they are confident about their ability to do the job. CHART NO: 4.15 Employees view on competence to do the job TABLE NO: 4.16 Employees opinion on performance capacities No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 3.3 20.0 48.0 26.0 2.7 100.0

Valid Percent 3.3 20.0 48.0 26.0 2.7 100.0


5 30 72 39 4 150

Inference

3.3% of employees strongly agree that the work they do is important, 20% agree that the work they do is important, 48% are not sure whether the work they do is important or not, 26% of employee disagree that they are confident about their skills and 2.7% of employees strongly disagree that the work they do is important. CHART NO: 4.16 Employees opinion on performance capacities TABLE NO: 4.17 Employees view on their contribution for success No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 5.3 41.3 46.0 7.4 100.0

Valid Percent 5.3 41.3 46.0 7.4 100.0

Cumulative Percent 5.3 46.7 92.7 100.0

8 62 69 11 150

Inference 5.3% of employees strongly agree that they influence on success of the job, 41.3% agree that they influence on success of the job, 46% are not sure whether they influence on success of the job or not, 7.4% of employee disagree that they influence on success of the job. CHART NO: 4.17 Employees view on their contribution for success

TABLE NO: 4.18

Employees opinion on self-impact for success in work area No. of Respondents Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree TotalSource: Primary Data

Percent 2.0 17.3 36.7 34.0 10.0 100.0

Valid Percent 2.0 17.3 36.7 34.0 10.0 100.0


3 26 55 51 15 150

Inference 2% of employees strongly agree that they do the work for success, 17.3% agree that they do the work for success, 36.7% are not sure whether they do the work for success or not, 34% of employee disagree that they do the work for success and 10% of employees strongly disagree that they do the work for success. CHART NO: 4.18 Employees opinion on self-impact for success in work area

CORRELATION ANALYSIS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EMPLOYEES AND SUPERVISOR

Correlations Employees are provided with Managers the resources discusses the to perform training needs Employees are Pearson Correlation provided with the Sig. (2-tailed) resources to N perform Managers discusses the training needs Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N 1 .534** .000 150 .534** .000 150 150 150 1

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Since calculated value r = 0.534 is positive, there exists positive relationship between employees and supervisor.

CHAPTER 5 Suggestions, Discussion and Conclusion SUGGESTIONS

The management can come up with innovative methods which will help to know the employees expectations. A reward system can be brought in for employees who perform better after the training is given. Supervisors can be asked to inform the employees as and when the change is taking place. Employee satisfaction survey can be conducted once in a quarter. Regular activities of the store should be informed to all. Training should be provided to employees with clear explanation. Inter-departmental communication should be reliable so that work can be done efficiently.

Work Environment and Productivity To gain more insight to phrase people make place, the project examined the relationship between individual personality, work environment preferences, performance and commitment in the organization. The result suggests that an employees work environment preference for goal orientation plays a predominant role in performance and the outcomes. Agreeableness is significantly related to both goal orientation and system maintenance, but these relationships did not translate into either performance or commitment. The result suggests that agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness shall combine to form a preference for work environment that offer high level of goal orientation. Challenging goals may communicate high level of confidence in the abilities of the employees and increase self-efficacy and these positive feelings may manifest themselves into improved employees commitment (Whittington et al., 2004). If managers provide goal-oriented environment to individuals with these desirable personality characteristics, they shall reap the benefits of enhanced performance and commitment. The ability to retain high performers is becoming increasingly important in todays competitive business environments. The result of this study indicates that developing goal-oriented work environments shall be an effective means of improving employee performance and commitment.

Strickland and Galimba (2001) provide structure to ambiguous situations, reducing the effects of cognitive interference on task performance. Work environments will provide social cues to organization members to act accordingly (Salancik and Pfeffer, 1978; Schneider, 1975). Thus, if a work environment develops a strong goal orientation, employees are more likely to align their individual goals to that of company norms to maintain harmony with their surroundings (Neal et al., 2000). Whittington et al., (2004) found that goal setting enhanced the transformational leadership and employee commitment, performance and concluded that goal-oriented environment provides clarification, direction, focus and long-term perspective into performance effectively. Employers have an obligation to make provision for emergencies that may affect the health of employees, hence it is essential to recognize the needs of all employees. There should be an procedure in place to ensure managers are confident of action taking place in seeking such advise. Decisions affecting the employee should be only based on medical advice as it applies to specific work environment. This may be when: Frequent short-term/ or long-term absence from work. Employee appears to be experiencing side effects from medication. Perceived unusual behavior patterns take place. Employee Stress Reduction and Tips for Boosting Morale While its important for employees to develop stress management and coping skills, there are other things that managers and business owners can do to help employees to reduce their stress. Encourage feedback, especially when faced with, when rolling out new products. Incorporate an outside facilitator or coach into the employee program. Employees are more willingly to give input to outsider and supervisor will gain from anonymous feedback. Understand limitations, expecting too much in limited amount of time produces stress and decreases the quality of employee output. Work environment Stressors: The purpose of this study is to explore and understand the relation between job performance and well being. From the established research that exists today, factors of performance are stated to

be influenced by a number of motivators such as rewards and appraisal with ambiguous results. Factors influencing performance can also be different environmental stressors such as workload and work tools. The findings show that the link between performance and well-being is provided through positive feelings arising when employees perform as required. However, when the stress causes obstacle to perform, the relation between well-being and performance occurs through negative feelings causing stress, which in turn decrease in both well-being and performance. When a direct influence occurs, the performance will instantly decrease due to the stressor shows itself in decreased well-being because of existing and constant pressure to perform required from management. In case of in-direct influence the well being is negatively affected by feelings of frustration, tiredness and stress when the employee has less inclination towards work performance. Due to the fact that each person is different and unique, there is no one way of handling performance based issues and well-being of employees. These are experiences, attitudes and feelings of the individuals that shape how they act and response to different stress and influences, directly or indirectly. If companies aim at achieving increased performance from their employees, they should be aware that both well-being and performance are intertwined and have cause and effect on each other.

Managing Employee Attitudes: Given the consistency of employees job attitudes, the relationship between goal-oriented work environment and commitments gives impetus to the argument that the employers should try to organize work environment in a positive way so that work is more satisfying and rewarding experience. The study suggests that unfavorable work situations can directly impact employee performance regardless of personality dispositions, whereas the development of supportive work environments will have positive effect on employees. Future research

Most of the studies conducted in the past focused on concept of job satisfaction. By focusing on well-being, the researchers managed to explore the same title but in different perspective. The research might suggest a link between performance and well-being when certain stressors are present in work environment. The study admit the use f qualitative methods (interviews) which allowed to reach their goals, also suggest conducting further research and explore the same topic from quantitative perspective. It would enable us to get more precise and reliable information on performance and well-being. Recommendation for further research would be to test and supplement present projects result by conducting experiments and explore every possible factors influencing employee well-being and performance at any given point of time. Following the recommendations of research by Luthans and Sommer (2005) and Tata and Prasad (2004), future studies can examine the effectiveness of human resource department functioning as strategic partners in creating performance-oriented work climates and team self-management contexts to aid in adaption towards increasing larger span of control in contemporary work environments. The primary contribution of this study was the examination of unique variance contributed by personality and work environment preferences in determining employee performance. The result of this project indicates the relationship between personality, workplace environment and employee outcomes and in need of further research. It should also examine the dimensionality of both personality and outcomes in the workplace to understand the complexities of the relationship. Summary of Findings It becomes imperative to identify the major contributory factors to performance, bearing in mind that an organization continues to exist only on the basis of employees performance. The absence of the following working conditions such as conducive office setting, attractive pay, proper communication by management retard the management from attaining the set goals. Adequate and conducive working condition should be put in place so that employees can perform better in their job. The organization should ensure a channel of communication to enable employees to know about the events happening in the organization. Furthermore, management should ensure that jobs are designed in such way that it leads to employee satisfaction which in turn enhance the employee performance.

Employees should be allowed to participate in decision making process of an organization. Once the organization carry its employee in decision making process, performance will rise and the company can achieve its desired goals.

QUESTIONNAIRE Questionnaire for Link between Workplace Environment and Employees Performance INSTRUCTIONS: Please READ each question carefully. SELECT the option you think best suits you. Put tick mark to only ONE option for each question. Name :( optional) Designation:

Department: ______________________ Age:____ Gender:___________ 1. How long have you worked at (company)? a) 1-3 months b) 3-6 months c) 6-9 months d) more than 1 yr 2. How do you view this job for your further career growth? a) Challenging b) Responsible c) Motivating d) Secured

Ratings: SA-Strongly Agree A-Agree NA-Neither agree nor disagree D-Disagree SD-Strongly Disagree

S.N O

SA

A

NA

D

SD

1.

I feel like part of my team(shared mission, goals)

2.

I feel challenged and am given assignments that stretch my abilities

3.

My efforts are recognized and acknowledged

4.

Receive constructive feedback that emphasizes positives

5.

Innovations are expected from me and encouraged to take initiative

6.

I am encouraged to solve as many work related problem as possible

7.

I believe in and take pride in my work and workplace

8. 9.

I feel in control of my work and capable of carrying out my daily tasks I tend to see problems as challenges rather than obstacles

10.

I am encourages to give honest feedback to my supervisor

11.

I am able to keep encounters with other staff workcentered rather than ego-centered

12.

I receive enough opportunities to interact with other employees at formal level

13.

I feel accepted and valued by my colleagues

14.

I have clear path for career development

15.

I feel accepted and treated with courtesy, invited to express my thoughts by my supervisor

16.

The administrative team provides an environment which I feel safe and secure

17.

My job requirements are clear

18.

I feel safe sharing my plans with my team leader

19.

My team manager is committed to finding win-win solutions

20.

I could do better in my current job if I get more training

21.

I have good opportunities to improve my skills

22.

I have a good future in this company

23.

I know whether I am performing well or not

24.

The work I do is important to me

25.

The work I do is personally rewarding

26.

I can decide on my own on how to do the job

27.

I have considerable freedom in how to do my job

28.

I am confident in my ability to do job

29.

I am capable of performing various job tasks

30.

How well I do my job is important to my work area

31.

I have significant influence on the success of my work area

32.

It is important to the success of my work area that I do my job well

33.

The company clearly communicates its goals and strategies to me

34.

The company is flexible with respect to your family responsibilities

BIBLIOGRAPHY American Society of Interior Designers (1999) Recruiting and retaining qualified employees by design. Arthur Jr., W., D. Woehr and W. Graziano. 2001. "Personality Testing in Employment Settings." Personnel Review 30 (5/6): 657-676.Baron, R. M. and D. A. Kenny. 1986. "The Moderator-Mediator Variable Distinction in

Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations."Barrick, M. R. and M. K. Mount. 1991. "The Big Five Personality Dimensions and Job Performance: A Meta-analysis." Personnel Psychology 44: 1-26. And J. P. Strauss. 1993. "Conscientiousness and Performance of Sales Representatives: Test of the Mediating Effects

of Goal Setting."YoMrna/ of Applied Psychology 78: 715-722.

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Link Between Workplace Environment and Employee Performance