STRATEGIES FOR BOOSTING EMPLOYEE MORALE IN AN ORGANISATION

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1  Background of the Study
Employee Morale refers to an attitude of satisfaction with a desire to continue and strive for attaining the objectives of a factory. Morale is purely emotional. It is an attitude of an employee towards his job, his superior and his organization. It is not static thing, but it changes depending on working conditions, superiors, fellow workers pay and so on. Morale may range from very high to very low. High Morale is evident from the positive feelings of employees such as enthusiasm; desire to obey orders, willingness to cooperate with co-workers. Poor or low Morale becomes obvious from the negative feelings of employees such as dissatisfaction, discouragement or dislike of the job.  For the singular fact that much of the efforts that determine the successes or failures of any establishment depends less on the management and policies and more on the employees who execute and implement these policies, the importance of employees’ enthusiasm and work attitude cannot be overemphasized. The management of employees and the maintenance of their working spirit goes beyond the payment of salaries and the assignment of duties. The establishments rely on the employees for the attainment of whatever goal or target they have set for themselves which means that the maintaining of high performance and the spirit to meet the targets is also part of what is to be looked after by the employers; creating a conducive working environment and the incentive to go the extra mile beyond one’s job description. So that a great amount of managerial effort and resources go into the maintaining both the morale and attitude to work of employees in order to make sure that they go the extra mile more than their job description. Each establishment evinces different methods of achieving this aim depending on their aims and objectives. Every Organization be it people or private has the primary aim of achieving the organizational goals for which it was being set up. These goals can only be achieved by the judicious acquisition and effective utilization of its man power resources.
 
According to E.F.L. Brech (2016) Management in principle Pg. 10 Training and Development this is an aspect of management practice wherein a good deal of realistic and reliable knowledge is called for as well as the expertise to be able to interpret and translate the disclosed needs into the ways and means of improvement. Generally, guidance on this matter is not easy to offer and it could be unwise if allowed to become the substitute for expert assistance. This is also important that the programmes for development whether by training (learning) or by others means, should allow for and encourage the self-help efforts of gained from this factor improving competence. There is major benefit to be gained too, from wise counseling by older and senior managers. This is particularly true when the improvements called for lie the direction of personal attitude, of behaviour towards colleagues and subordinates or of judgment and decision. Such counseling should not occur only at the periodic appraisal reviews but, should rather be a feature of the everyday exercise of the managerial roles.
 
According to Lawrence L. Bethel, Franklin S. at water, George H.E. Smith, Harvey A. Stackman, Jr. and James L. Riggs, industrial Organization and Management Fifth Edition Pg. 427 says larger companies have been giving increasing attention to the training and development as one of the strategy in boosting employee morale above the foremen level: department heads, staff assistants and officers. The systematic inventory of executive potential which highlights the training need, the essence of this is a self-evaluation of training and experiences a soul-searching analysis present performance and a selection of specific items to be improved. If a man can recognized his own weaknesses and find means to strengthen them, this is one of the best forms of executive development.
 
Organizational success and an employee’s ability to thrive are influenced by a leader’s ability to ignite outstanding performance. When a leader creates resonance or a positive feeling that facilitates the best in people, then they generate natural motivation, morale and ongoing learning (Goleman et al. 2002). In the field of nursing, amongst many others, the concepts of developing emotional self-awareness in staff, self-control, adaptability and initiative in management, and organizational teamwork and collaboration in social networks have been poorly applied. Despite this, it has been suggested that nurse and physician collaboration is one of three strongest predictors of psychological empowerment of nurses (Larrabee et al. 2003). Relationships on the ward are integral to nurse satisfaction. Contentment in staff and the confidence to interact as an equal with other professionals are closely linked to self-esteem or one’s own morale. The issue of morale in nursing has not been extensively researched despite suggestions that effective clinical leaders are those who encourage the moral-boosting qualities of caring, support and balance in their staff to promote retention and feelings of renewal however, low morale on wards has been shown to adversely affect staff (Pearcey & Elliott 2004).
 
1.2  Statement of the Problem
Between creating an enabling environment for the employees and handing out incentives to them is the list of measures needed to boost the spirits of the employees. Without this extra nudge, the situation is usually one of apathy and the lack of the will to put extra effort past the agreed ones that are in their job description. However, often employers find that it is the extra efforts on the parts of the employees that make all the difference. So, employers device systems known as reward systems which “addresses these four areas: compensation, benefits, recognition and appreciation” (Entrepreneur Media). However, not only for appreciation and recognition, the ones who do not make it to this system are equally compensated in order to help boost their morale in the job. The research problem at the heart of this study is to identify and discuss the numerous strategies employed by organisations for the purpose of boosting their employee morale with Cadbury Nigerian PLC Lagos branch as a case study.