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The British University in Egypt Faculty of Business Administration, Economics and Political Science Exploring OCB and its variables, its evaluation and implementation: The case of Carrefour Egypt A Dissertation submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the award of B. A. in Business Administration, Human Resources Management Specialization 2008/09 By Seif Mamdouh Ezzeldin ID: 100558 Honours Level – Class of 05/06 Under the Supervision of Dr. Hadia FakhrElDin 1 Organisational Citizenship Behaviour has not been dedicated enough research.
The topic is quite new to the HR professionals and challenging. It is also challenging to conduct research on the topic as it has been suggested that OCB is inconsistent and has been stated as an ill-defined science. This paper analysis previous literature done on OCB in parallel with conducting field research in a large multinational in Egypt – in attempt to measure their employees’ OCB and bring the suggested evaluation method into practice. It has been concluded that OCB is not consistent among all employees. However, guidelines to effective evaluate it across different employees have been suggested.
Adding to this, the questionnaires in this paper provides a jumpstart for future researchers who wish to evaluate the level of OCB in an organisation. 2 Contents 1. Introduction 1. 1 Research questions 1. 2 Research aims 1. 3 Research Methodology 2- Literature review 2. 1 Definition and history of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour 2. 2 Variables of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour 2. 3 Organisational Citizenship Behaviour can be controllable 2. 4 Organisational Citizenship Behaviour examination is challenging 2. 4. 1 Clarifying in and out role conduct 2. 5 Types of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour 2. Literature Summary 3. Aims and methodology 3. 1 Aims 3. 2 Methodology 3. 2. 1 Questionnaire (1) 3. 2. 2 Questionnaire (2) 3. 3 The research place 3. 4 Advantages and limitation of the methodology adapted 4. Data analysis 4. 1 Questionnaire (1) 4. 1. 1 Highest ranking agreed-with statements (above 66. 6 %) 4. 2 Questionnaire (2) 4. 2. 1 Most agreed upon as in-role (above 66. 6 %) 5. Conclusion 5. 1 Key aims and findings 5. 2 Limitation of the study 5. 3 Directions for future research References Appendix 4 8 9 10 12 12 14 17 19 20 21 25 27 27 30 31 33 34 35 37 37 40 42 46 48 48 51 52 53 55 1. Introduction International trade, European Union, labour mobility, ease of cross border transportation, competition, globalisation, desire to a better living standard and striving for achievement are all factors to employees shifting jobs. Unlike salaries, working conditions, job descriptions and appraisals, these factors cannot be controlled by an organisation. This has all increased interest in Human Resources Management (HRM), careers and Organisational Behaviours (OB) as sciences. An organisation can retain an employee who is not satisfied with his pay by increasing the salary.
However, it cannot retain an employee who does not feel committed to the organisation or does not actually feel the organisation is holding on to him/her or treating him as a valued asset; as human resources of organisations were recently categorised as assets since they contribute, develop, control, manage and add value all other different assets (Bisson & Branscombe, 2008) The external factors listed are usually considered threats to an organisation as it is always in fear of losing its human resources.
Imagine an organisation purchasing very expensive high-tech machines that generated a lot of profit giving it up to a competitor. The consequences are more or less the same if those high-tech machines were top performing employees who may need stronger motivation than money or benefits. The motivation then comes from a newer HR term called Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). One of the characteristics of being a citizen is being committed (to the norms, cultures, behaviours, attitudes and rules).
Commitment to an organisation is referred to as Organisational Commitment (OC). 4 OC has been defined as an attitude involving employee loyalty to the organisation with those employees who are committed being willing to contribute something of themselves to their organisations (Smith and Hoy, 1992). OC is one of the very first attitudes that lead to OCB. It is complemented by organisational trust, the degree of employee satisfaction, involvement in decision-making, sense of importance, career guidance and a sort of monetary motivation.
What makes the study challenging is that OCB, an inexact science, is defined as discretionary, ‘extra-role’ behaviour, not formally rewarded or punished by the organization, which, in the aggregate, benefits the organization by improving efficiency and/or effectiveness (Organ, 1988). Although OCB is not an obligation or not part of an evaluation process, employees who enjoy it find it an obligatory factor of the job.
Free trade, common markets, economic and political unions – which all fall under the umbrella of globalisation is a main reason why organisations, locally and internationally are now seeking; new areas for sustainable competitive advantages and in the eyes of most, Human Resources are one of the most important factors that cannot easily be imitated by others, which defines a sustainable competitive advantage. As being referred to, OCB is a matter of personal choice that goes beyond the call of duty.
It can be reflected in situations such as an employee having to decide on whether to attend an informal company event or spending the evening at home. 5 Below are some of the many types of OCB as identified by Bachrach et al. (2000: 516526) 1. Helping Behaviour or Altruism: Selfless concern to the help of others. For example, an employee may inform his/her absent colleague from a training about what has been missed 2. Sportsmanship: Knowing that there is no loss to a party when it comes to a win for the organisation 3.
Organisational Loyalty: Promoting the organisation to outsiders as well as supporting and defending it against threats or attacks 4. Organisational Compliance: The behaviour of complying by the organisation? s rules and norms, considering that not every employee initially complies even though it is a must. 5. Individual Initiative: This entails engaging in task-related behaviours at a level beyond minimally required or generally expected levels that it takes on a voluntary flavour 6. Civic Virtue: This is showing willingness to actively participate in the organisation? governance It can now be said that OCB refers to the ability, willingness and motivation to react and perform in a behaviour that is not required and not aiming to be rewarded for it. One other reason why OCB is being an important issue at the moment is the existence of some countries such as Japan, where a person spends his or her entire life working for one organisation and affiliates his or her name with the organisation. On the other extreme, there are countries such as Egypt where employees regard the organisation they work for part of their career. 6
Some research results indicate that desirable behaviour is determined and managed by the organization. With reference to the selected variables, this paper will justify whether they are in the controllable or uncontrollable environment of an organisation. 7 1. 1 Research questions The research is intended to answer the following questions through reviewing previous literature and conducting field analysis: What is an agreed upon definition for OCB? Why is OCB not disseminated among HR practitioners? Are there specific grounds for what is defined as in-role and out-role?
What are the variables that can be related to OCB and influence the behaviour? Since there are variables that can influence the behaviour, can OCB be aimed for by an organisation or is it uncontrollable? How can the level of OCB be evaluated? 8 1. 2 Research aims The research aims to assess the willingness and level of OCB within a large multinational as Carrefour as well as showing the importance of OCB and briefly reviewing the emergence of HR in Egypt. This adds to the existing literature the justification of why OCB is not a well-known concept in organisations within the business sector of this economy.
Moreover, clarification of the difference and the relationship between Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) and the variables outlined in addition to practically bringing the variables and type into field work is aimed for. This research also aims to integrate the different Human Resources (HR) activities that sum up and lead to OCB. ? OCB is an inexact science and the paper will try to identify factors which lead to this behaviour, that is desirable by all organisations, and how it can benefit them through examining the direct and indirect relation between OCB and the variables which include: ? ? ? ? Satisfaction Empowerment Involvement Trust Confidence Reaching a clear-cut agreement on what is regarded as in-role and out-role through employees, and checking the findings with other similar sources for consistency is also aimed for. 9 1. 3 Research Methodology ? Literature including internet research Academic research portals, case studies Questionnaires: Two questionnaires are used as part of the field research for this paper. The questionnaires were given to a sample of twenty-five employees at Carrefour Obour City, Egypt ? ? ?
Targeting random levels of employees throughout the organisation to test and evaluate their understanding of OCB ? The survey will include questions that test the three main variables and sub points listed above and will be designed to be as consistent as possible through getting the same result in different ways. ? The questions criterion of the questionnaire will be categorised into questions that measure 1. Trust; that include dimensions of integrity, competence and dependability Commitment; which will reflect the variable of culture Satisfaction Loyalty The six types of OCB studied in the literature . 3. 4. 5. 10 The surveys shall then attempt to evaluate to what extent is there OCB in Carrefour Egypt based on the variables. The results will be compared to: 1. The management expectations The relationships of the variables and literature on the topic The existence of OCB in the organisation, considering the fact that the management are not fully aware of OCB as a science and are consequently not directly enforcing it or progressing towards it 2. 3. 11 2- Literature review 2. Definition and history of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour OCB literature originited in the work of Katz and Kahn who argued that an important behaviour required of employees for the effective functioning of an organisation is the undertaking of innovative and spontanuous activities beyond the prescribed role requirement. (Vigoda 2000). Organisational Cititeznship Behaviour is the individual behavior that is descritionary, not directly or explicitly recognised by the formal reward system, and that in the aggreagate promotes the effective functioning if the organisation (Organ as cited in Denis W Organ 1997).
Organ in the same literature further clarifies that by descretionary, it is meant that the behavior is not an enforceable of the role or job description. It is is rather a matter of personal choice such that its ommision is not generally understood as punishable (1997: 86). Organizational citizenship behaviour has been the focus of attention from organizational behaviour researchers (Bachrach et al. , 2000; Organ & Ryan, 1995; Organ, 1997; George & Battenhausen, 1990 as cited in Chen; Huang; & Liu) since Organ in 1988 proposed that organizational citizenship behaviour could influence individual and organization erformance. There has, however, been very little interest in studying the topic. According to the research of Bachrach et al. (2000), very few interest and research was conducted on the topic before 1988. Bachrach et al. explain in their literature that an employee who religiously obeys all rules and regulations, even when no one is watching, is regarded as a “good citizen” (2000: 524) 12 OCB construct has also been defined as “… a general tendency to be co-operative and helpful in organisational settings … (LePine, Erez, & Johnson, 2002 as cited in Ladebo). Eran Vigoda supports the argument that OCB is regarded as the extra-role activities employees pursue by saying that extra-role behaviours describe activities beyond formal job requirement that one chooses to do without expecting any direct reward (2000: 191). The author also defined in-role as the tasks employees pursue as an integral part of a job. Views of a sample of employees in this regard will be shown further in this paper.
Previous studies on employment relations indicated that employees viewed the practice of such behaviours (OCB) as personal obligations to co-operate with co-workers in solving task-related problems and to assist the organisation to achieve its performance objectives (Kessler, Purcell & Shapiro, 2004; Buyens , De Vos & Schalk, 2001; Janssens, Sels, & Van den Brande, 2003 as cited in Ladebo). Hence, this raises the question of whether OCB is still a beyond-role activity or not. If the suggestion is valid; this means that organisations without those behaviours shall fail.
Robbins and Judge stated that evidence indicate that organisations only benefit from those employees who have a sense or citizenship to the organisation and those organisations outperform those that do not (2007: 30) and referred to such employees as a need for any successful organisation. 13 2. 2 Variables of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Katz (1964) states that three basic types of employee behaviours are critical for the overall effectiveness of any organization: ? tempted to remain within the system. carry out their role assignments in a dependable manner. ? innovative and spontaneous activity in achieving There must be organisational People must People must be objectives that go beyond the role specifications. Behaviours (2) and (3) are examples of OCB (Organ, 1988). Other examples of OCB are a willingness to give time helping others who have work-related problems, taking steps to prevent problems with other workers, and obeying organization rules, regulations and procedures even when no one is watching.
Podaskoff has argued that although research on OCB is on the increase, some unfortunate consequences has been brought up (Podaskoff et al. as cited in Chen, Huang & Liu). Adler, 1989; Hofstede, 1980 as cited in Chen, Huang & Liu further argued that different people from different cultures will not necessarily conform to the same set of norms and will have different beliefs of what can be viewed as OCB. It has been noted that the many occasions in which organizational functioning depends on supra-role behaviour cannot be prescribed or required in advance for a given job.
Such 14 behaviours are referred to as the gestures that lubricate the social machinery of the organisation (Bateman as cited in Katz and Kahn 1966). Some examples as portrayed by the authors include helping co-workers with a job related problem or tolerating temporary impositions without complaint. These were referred to as citizenship behaviours (Bateman 1983). The author has also concluded that there is a fundamental connection between satisfaction and OCB.
Organisational citizenship behaviour is influenced by job satisfaction. (Bateman 1983). OCB Researchers in at least 15 independent studies as well found a reliable statistical relationship between OCB and job satisfaction (Dennis W. Organ, 1995). Bateman (Bateman 1983). Job satisfaction, especially intrinsic satisfaction, was directly related to OCB. Extrinsic satisfaction did not mediate the relationship between Job characteristics and OCB (SuFen Chiu and Hsiao-Lan-Chen, 2005).
As some appraisal methods such as achieving sales quote or calls are related to pay and extrinsic rewards, others including citizenship behaviour and the out-role behaviour are mainly motivated and encouraged through intrinsic rewards and one? s emotions regarding the self. Job characteristics are the attributes of jobs that can have motivational functions for employees. The job characteristics investigated by this study primarily include Hackman and Oldham’s (1975) five core job characteristics (or dimensions) as well as the job interdependence concept.
The five core job characteristics are as follows: job variety (the extent to which an employee can use different skills in doing his/her work), job identity (the extent to which an employee can complete the whole or identifiable piece of work), job significance (the extent of the significant impact of the job on others), autonomy (the 15 extent of freedom, independence, and discretion of an employee to plan his/her work pace and method), and feedback (the extent to which an employee knows his/her own job performance from the job itself, colleagues, supervisors or customers (Hackman & Oldham, 1980).
Job interdependence refers to the extent to which an employee in a team relies on others to complete his/her own tasks (Shea & Guzzo, 1987) (as cited in Su-Fen Chiu & Hsiao-Lan-Chen, 2005) The social exchange theory also suggests that when an employee feels satisfied with his or her job, he or she will reciprocate with positive behaviour (OCB) to benefit the organisation (Organ & Ryan, 1995). Organizations have become more reliant on interdependent social and departmental networks, which have changed the nature of core work activities within the individual work units (Ostroff & Smith, 1992).
This suggests that it is not only enough for some employees to enjoy such behaviours; OCB must be transmitted across all employees as none work independently. 16 2. 3 Organisational Citizenship Behaviour can be controllable Previous literature suggested that the desirable behaviours, OCB, can be manageable by an organisation (Gene et al, 2000). A good social climate with involvement, fair and competent management, good communication, satisfaction with the organization, and an emphasis on good planning are suggested by the authors to implant this behaviour.
Therefore, organisations are also part of the equation; not only the employees. Employees search for companies that are willing to be more committed to them, says Jan Stringer organizations who are more sensitive to their needs and who won’t lay them off during economic slumps (2009). Committed employees tend to have personal values that are similar to those of the company. They are proud to be a part of their company, care about the fate of the company, and recommend the company as a great place to work.
Stringer, in her article, suggests some factors in the workplace that influence commitment such as: ? ? ? ? ? Identifying the factors that satisfy employees Identifying factors that are source of dissatisfaction Ensuring that the recognition programmes are meaningful to employees Establishing clear career paths Establishing mentors to advise employees about career management inside the organization ? Identifying benefits that can be used to reward good performance. Ensuring the clarity of the organisation? values as well as ensuring its communication and practice across different organisational levels – clear values 17 help establish teamwork, cooperation and standards of behaviour within an organisation ? Examining the consistency and alignment of actions, policies, and procedures with values It has been argued that a leader? s fair or supportive behaviour may create a need in subordinates to reciprocate. One way to pay-back a leader for the support and fair behaviours is by performing better or engaging in citizenship behaviours (Vigoda 2000).
Vigoda? s argument could be linked with the existence of the psychological contract that is concerned with an individual? s subjective beliefs, shaped by the organisation, regarding the terms of an exchange relationship between the individual employee and the organisation (Rousseau as cited in Beardwell & Claydon, 2007). It is of importance, however, to mention that some literature proposed an argument that OCB can be a threat to the internal health of an organisation.
The literature suggests that OCB has more than two probabilities; present and absent – a third probability is that it can be of negative effect. Vigoda in his paper explains that supervisors and managers have direct influence over subordinates? behaviours by increasing fairness and equality in interactions with them. Hence, in organisations where there is political gamesmanships and power struggles, there will be low concern with values such as equity and fairness and this is where the in-role duties and OCB will be, for the first time, negatively related and result in dissonances (2000: 192).
Empirical evidence indicates that employees, who perform less OCB, are likely to exhibit withdrawal behaviours, consider leaving the organisation (Ladebo, 2005 as cited in Ladebo). 18 2. 4 Organisational Citizenship Behaviour examination is challenging Valid evidence to why OCB is not a major concern to Human Resources departments in organisations as other HR focuses is the fact that the rewards that accrue to OCB are at best indirect and uncertain, as compared to more formal contributions such as high productivity or technical excellence or innovative solutions.
Those contributions would have a greater likelihood of being expressly linked to the formal reward system. (Organ as cited in Denis W Organ 1997) Organizational citizenship is not a part of the formal evaluation and reward system therefore failure to engage in these behaviours cannot be formally penalized (Van Dyne, Cummings, & Parks as cited in Gene et al. , 2000) 19 2. 4. 1 Clarifying in and out role conduct There is a problem, however, that OCB aspects such as accepting tolerance and helping others would be considered part of the job (Organ as cited in Morrison 1994).
Morrison concludes her study saying that OCB is ill-defined and varies from one employee to the next and between employees and supervisors. The greater an employee’s perceived job breadth, the more activities he or she defines as in-role (1993:2). This supports the argument that OCB is an inexact science and is viewed differently by different people. The previous argument by Morrison suggests that a manager could define improving the morale of his team members as in-role yet a lower level employee would regard it as out-role. Hypothesis 1 in the article supports this.
It has as well been suggested that one of the main problems with defining OCB is the fact that the concept of in and out role is inexact and unclear (Organ 1997) and this justifies the reason for experimenting what employees actually regard as in and out in this concern – theory on its own is a limitation in this regard. Vigoda? s literature as well supports that in and out-role is ill defined and varies from one employee to the other in her literature (2000: 191). 20 2. 5 Types of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour In an attempt to classify and breakdown OCB into different types, the author of this paper refers to Bachrach et al? literature (2000: 516). The authors organised different types of citizenship behaviours into seven main themes: (1) The helping behaviour involves voluntarily helping others with, or preventing the occurrence of, work-related problems and helping others by taking steps to prevent the creation of problems for co-workers (2000: 516, 517). Smith, Organ & Near previously discussed this behaviour in the name of altruism (Becker & Vance, 1993). (2) Organ (1990b: 96 as cited in Bachrach et al. , 2000) has defined sportsmanship as “a willingness to tolerate the inevitable inconveniences and impositions of work without complaining. However, his definition seems somewhat narrower than the label of this construct would imply. The authors added to Organ? s definition that “good sports” are people who not only do not complain when they are inconvenienced by others, but also maintain a positive attitude even when things do not go their way are not offended when others do not follow their suggestions, are willing to sacrifice their personal interest for the good of the work group, and do not take the rejection of their ideas personally (2000: 517). (3) Organizational oyalty entails promoting the organization to outsiders, protecting and defending it against external threats, and remaining committed to it even under adverse conditions as well as 21 spreading goodwill and protecting the organization and acts of supporting and defending organizational objectives (2000: 517). (4) Organisational compliance regards the behaviour of complying to an organisation? s policy as a form of citizenship behaviour is that even though everyone is expected to obey company regulations, rules, and procedures at all times, many employees simply do not (2000: 517).
The author of this article theoretically views this form of OCB inconsistent. However, because the authors argue that some employees do not originally comply by the policies and norms, the argument is considered valid. Smith, Organ & Near previously referred to organisational compliance by the term generalised compliance (Becker & Vance, 1993). (5) Individual initiative involves engaging in task-related behaviours at a level beyond minimally required or generally expected levels that it takes on a voluntary flavour.
Such behaviours include voluntary acts of creativity and innovation designed to improve one’s task or the organization’s performance, persisting with extra enthusiasm and effort to accomplish one’s job, volunteering to take on extra responsibilities, and encouraging others in the organization to do the same (2000: 524). (6) Civic virtue is projected by showing willingness to actively participate in the organisation? governance such as attending meetings and expressing opinion about what strategy the organisation ought to follow to monitor its environment for threats and opportunities such as keeping 22 up with changes in the industry that might affect the organisation, and to look out for its best interest even at great personal cost. These behaviours, add the authors, reflect an employee? s recognition of being part of a larger whole in the same way that citizens are members of a country and accept the responsibilities which this entails.
The authors further outlines that this dimension has not received any empirical confirmation in the citizenship behaviour literature. However, it does appear to be a discretionary form of employee behaviour that is conceptually distinct from the other citizenship behaviour dimensions, and might be expected to improve organizational effectiveness through somewhat different mechanisms than the other forms of citizenship behaviour. All these behaviours are consistent with Organ? s definitions of employees going beyond the formal requirements.
The literature portraying the seven types of OCB is regarded as very reliable and trusted as it is supported by arguments of several well known writers who provided literature on the same topic including George & Brief (1992), George & Jones (1997), Borman & Motowidlo (1993, 1997). Williams and Anderson (1991), Van Scotter & Motowidlo (1986) and (Organ, 1988) as cited in Bachrach et al. , 2000. As part of the field work for this research, results of a survey will be projected at a further stage showing what different employees regard as in-role and out-role.
The actions that employees were asked to comment on were also formed in grouping of the first six types mentioned above, as the self-development? s limitation is that it cannot be measured. The questions constructed were mostly inspired from Morrison? s literature (1994: 1553). 23 However, the addition of the OCB types as measures is an added contribution in this paper. 24 2. 6 Literature Summary The thought about OCB originated with the argument of Katz and Kahn who argued that only the undertaking of innovative and spontaneous activities beyond the regular shall effectively function an organisation.
Several authors pioneered by Denis W. Organ defined OCB as a behaviour that is of personal choice; it is discretionary, not intended for reward or recognition and considered beyond-role behaviour. As the term beyond-role was brought into existence, researches, academics and practitioners were not successful in finding agreed upon behaviour that is regarded in-role or out-role by everyone. Moreover, it has been stated that OCB is difficult to research and reach as it is not part of the formal evaluation and reward system.
Authors agreed that different employees categorise the same behaviours differently: a manager could define assisting an intern in another department as in-role, while an employee in the same department as the manager would find it out-role. OCB has many related variables that were identified by several authors. Among them are job satisfaction, empowerment, commitment from both the employee and the organisation, involvement, feedback and others. Literature mainly stressed on the job characteristics and satisfaction. Some researches also argued that the OCB, the desired behaviour, can be achieved by an organisation? management through empowering and embedding their employees with toolkits that include research about determinants of satisfaction, dissatisfaction, loyalty, career advisement and behavioural modification. 25 Bachrach and other authors (2000) were able to define seven major types of OCB in their literature titled Organizational Citizenship Behaviours: A Critical Review of the Theoretical and Empirical and Suggestions for Future Research that can provide great help to practitioners and researches attempting future research to classify, categorise and evaluate OCB within an organisation. 6 3. Aims and methodology 3. 1 Aims The research aims to assess the willingness and level or OCB within a large multinational as Carrefour. It has been observed that majority of the previous literature has either not recently tackled OCB practically and from a practitioner? s viewpoint or has not projected results in a manner simple and comprehended by some other researchers. Adding to this, the concept of OCB is not yet comprehended in the Egyptian business society. Human Resources itself is still considered a new concept.
Since the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, employees were granted excess rights that employers themselves were complaining. The rights outweighed the duties and responsibilities. By 1980, the employment law in Egypt was passed and tried to maintain a fair balance between employer and employee rights and was regarded as successful. The law was majorly concerned with three stakeholders other than the employer and the employee; those were the employment office, health office and the social insurance office.
Personnel and personnel affairs department (now named Human Resources) have started to exist in large hotels and banks in Egypt by mid 1980s. The concept started developing until what is now called Human Resources – ever since organisations begun realising that employees are one of the most valuable assets. The core duties of the Human Resources department, formerly known as personnel affairs, now include other sub departments such as compensation and benefits, equal opportunities, training and development as well as other functions.
Despite the fact that the evolution of HR concepts in Egypt started tens of years earlier, the concept of OCB is not yet used between HR executives and personnel as other terminology is. 27 For this reason and for other reasons such as globalisation and free trade, foreign investment is on increase in the Egyptian economy and the requirement of valuable and durable staff is on the increase. Hence, awareness and application of this term is of extreme importance and this paper could initiate the action. The research also aims to answer the following: ?
What is an agreed upon definition for OCB? o This question will be answered through reviewing previous literature and compiling the most important definitions of OCB. ? Why is OCB not disseminated among HR practitioners? o Literature review will be the main guide to answering this question. ? Are there specific grounds for what is defined as in-role and out-role? o The source depended upon for this aim is questionnaire (2) which will show what the sample studied regard is in and out role. ? What are the variables that can be related to OCB and influence the behaviour? Literature review will be the main guide to answering this question. ? Since there are variables that can influence the behaviour, can OCB be aimed for by an organisation or is it uncontrollable? o Literature review as well as questionnaires (1) and (2) will help answer this question as statements and questions in the surveys can guide HR professionals to find out where the loopholes are, and which areas employees need motivation or awareness at. 28 ? How can the level of OCB be evaluated? o The questionnaires given are one source of evaluating OCB. 9 3. 2 Methodology Reviewing the literature of renowned authors and writers about OCB and what has been previously said and published. Due to the fact that OCB is not widely discussed among HR academics and practitioners, extensive research was required to understand the origins, theories, implications and types of OCB. Furthermore, literature review provided solid grounds and a platform upon which the arguments are built. In addition to this, the review assisted the further field work carried on for this paper which will be discussed.
The literature review also assisted the author to specify the scope of the paper as well as building knowledge base for future research. Two questionnaires were also used as part of the field research for this paper. Two different questionnaires were given to a sample of twenty-five employees at Carrefour Obour City, Egypt. The respondents were from random departments. However, it has been ensured that only employees and supervisors complete the survey – not workers, in order to ensure consistency and fairness of the results.
An employee would find him/herself more committed to and rewarded by the organisation more than a security personnel – this is the present view of the business environment in this culture. 30 3. 2. 1 Questionnaire (1) This is a twenty-five question questionnaire that has been compiled and structured assessing the environment at Carrefour as a large multinational where employees are highly focused on their jobs and do not frequently interact with the top management. The questions were assessing dimensions of trust, integrity, confidence, empowerment, satisfaction, commitment and involvement.
The choices for respondents were (1) Agree, (2) Neutral, (3) Disagree. The dimension of trust tackles issues of trust between the employee and his/her organisation, the treatment and his/her colleagues. The dimension of integrity is focused on whether the respondent feels that integrity is demonstrated within the actions and promises of the organisation or not. The confidence is primarily focused on whether the employee is confident about the organisation and management? s capabilities or not.
Empowerment assesses whether or not the employee feels empowered enough to step outside his/her department, have opinions in other aspects of the organisation and encouraged to provide feedback in a decent manner even if not required. It has also been tested whether the employees are satisfied or not, in terms of the job, surrounding personnel, the organisation and job security. Commitment was not extensively focused upon in Questionnaire (1) as the primary focus of Questionnaire (2) is commitment – Organisational Citizenship Behaviour in particular.
However, Questionnaire (1) assesses the commitment of the employees in the aspect of loyalty and feeling that the organisation is also concerned with him/her as an employee 31 Finally, the involvement dimension tests whether the employee is involved in departmental work, organisational activities, announcements and decision making or not. The results are to indicate whether the employees fulfil and find fulfilled the dimensions mentioned in the organisation and are willing to portray citizenship behaviour or not. 32 3. 2. 2 Questionnaire (2) This is an eighteen question questionnaire adopted from Morrison (1994).
Adjustments were made and the questions are restructured and divided to serve the six types of OCB referred to in the literature – three questions assessing each type/component and the respondents mark whether they regard the statement written as in-role (part of what they regard as their formal duty) or outrole( referred to as OCB). The six types/components are individual initiative, organisational loyalty, sportsmanship, civic virtue, helping behaviour and organisational compliance. 33 3. 3 The research place Carrefour is a leading operator in the retail industry worldwide, French based.
It has been lastly ranked in the second half of 2007 as the first among twenty-two competitors and the thirty-second most profitable organisation among five-hundred (Global 500, 2007). It is the second-largest retailer in Europe and the first in Egypt. The Carrefour group has fifteen-thousand stores company-operated and franchises. Carrefour Egypt is a franchise to Majid-Al-Futtaim (MAF Group), a renowned business man from the United Arab Emirates who also operates Carrefour in several countries other than Egypt. Carrefour International? s principles guiding the HR policy: 1. Freedom 2. Responsibility 3. Sharing 4. Respect 5.
Integrity 6. Solidarity 7. Progress In values (1) to (5), the company included their employees as part of the principles and policy, expressing great concern towards them. In addition to this, points (2), (3), (4) and (5) in particularly is directly related, and part of OCB as have been discussed. 34 3. 4 Advantages and limitation of the methodology adapted Questionnaires as the main source for this field research where chosen as they carry the following advantages: ? As some of the questions are direct and the answers must be confidential, many respondents displayed relief as they found it there are no personal details required There is no risk of conflicting meanings – the questions are set and are not interpreted differently to different respondents. This makes translating a copy of the questionnaire into Arabic a valid action ? ? The questions do not differ from a respondent to another Questions can be re-organised and tackled with different manners after the surveys are completed There is a written record of people? s responses ? ? ? Easier to administer Less time consuming Easier to analyze There are, however, some disadvantages as well: ? ? ? Some people were possibly not honest with their responses Some people might have not fully understood some of the questions Some people may left blank spaces There has been a possibility that some people were biased due to the perception or belief that there is a pre-suggested or pre-agreed upon answer 35 ? ? ? Continuation of fear that the questionnaires could be seen by the HR department The questionnaires and data analysis rely on the honesty of respondents Some of the respondents were confused as Carrefour Egypt HR carry out questionnaires to their personnel twice a year, once in June Limited questions equals limited analysis, which is always a limitation of questionnaires Due to the existence and awareness of these disadvantages and limitations, actions were taken accordingly: ? Extreme confidentiality was given to respondents. The questionnaires projected the aim and privacy assurance to the respondents. Moreover, some of the respondents have been verbally re-assured that the surveys are kept confidential. ?
In addition to this, further assurance was made to some of the respondents that the researcher is not affiliated with the organisation in any way and it has also been made clear by the HR personnel that this questionnaire has nothing to do with the company? s formal periodical evaluation. 36 4. Data analysis 4. 1 Questionnaire (1) This is a twenty-five question questionnaire that has been compiled and structured assessing the environment at Carrefour as a large multinational where employees are highly focused on their jobs and do not frequently interact with the top management.
The questions were assessing dimensions of: ? Integrity and equal opportunity: This dimension tests whether integrity is demonstrated in actions by the management and employees of the organisation as well as testing fairness among employees and equal opportunities. Example statement: This organization treats its employees fairly and justly ? Confidence: This dimension measures the degree of confidence among employees about the skills and abilities of the organisation as well as confidence of being generally valued. Example statement: I feel very confident about this organization? skills ? Empowerment: This dimension evaluates the degree of empowerment, autonomy and freedom that employees feel they are equipped with. Example statement: My manager/supervisor encourages creativity/innovation by reducing the fear of failure 37 ? General satisfaction: This dimension questions the level of satisfaction employees have – satisfaction from the job, working conditions, job security as well as informal networks. Example statement: The organization fails to satisfy the needs of its employees like me ? Commitment :
This dimension evaluates the degree of commitment in the organisation. Not only whether employees are committed; but also if they feel the organisation is mutually committed. Example statement: I feel that this organization is trying to maintain a long-term commitment to its employees and me ? Involvement: The involvement dimension evaluates to what extent are the employees involved in different aspects of the organisations – involvement in non-work related activities, company posts and updates, competitive position and information on other departments.
Example statement: I am usually aware and my supervisor keeps me informed of the company? s ongoing situations The results of the survey are shown in Figure 4. 1 38 Agree Satisfied This organization treats its employees fairly and justly This organization can be relied on to keep its promises I believe that this organization takes the opinions of its employees like me into account when making decisions I feel very confident about this organization? skills I think it is important to watch this organization closely so that it does not take advantage of its employees and me I feel that this organization is trying to maintain a long-term commitment to its employees and me Compared to my previous workplace(s), I value my relationship with this organization more I feel a sense of loyalty to this organization I think other employees are happy in their interactions with this organization The organization fails to satisfy the needs of its employees like me I am aware of the company? overall strategy I feel my department gets support and teamwork from other areas within the company My manager/supervisor encourages creativity/innovation by reducing the fear of failure My manager/supervisor demonstrates professionalism I understand how the company’s strategy differentiates us from the competition I am usually aware and my supervisor keeps me informed of the company? s ongoing situations (ups and downs, etc) How satisfied are you with with your job? How satisfied are you with the morale of the people with whom you work How satisfied are you with your own morale?
I feel that my work gives me a sense of personal accomplishment How satisfied are you that you receive appropriate recognition for your contributions? How satisfied are you with your overall job security? How satisfied are you with your informal life and networks within your organisation? Does your company show enough consideration to your personal time outside work? As an employee, I feel empowered to make decisions beyond my job description 14 13 7 23 6 18 23 21 5 2 18 16 19 23 20 15 21 12 16 20 12 14 8 12 7 Neutral 8 9 12 0 10 7 1 3 14 11 4 6 3 1 4 9 3 10 5 4 8 8 12 9 12
Disagree Dissatisfied 3 3 6 2 9 0 1 1 6 12 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 3 4 1 5 3 5 4 6 Percentage % Agree Neutral Satisfied 56 52 28 92 24 72 92 84 20 8 72 64 76 92 80 60 84 48 64 80 48 56 32 48 28 12 12 24 8 36 0 4 4 24 48 12 12 12 4 4 4 4 12 16 4 20 12 20 16 24 Disagree Dissatisfied 32 36 48 0 40 28 4 12 56 44 16 24 12 4 16 36 12 40 20 16 32 32 48 36 48 Figure 4. 1 Questionnaire (1) responses 39 4. 1. 1 Highest ranking agreed-with statements (above 66. 6 %) The highest ranking statements have been grouped into four categories: Job contributors, supervisory contributors, involvement contributors and commitment contributors. 1- Job: ? I feel that my work gives me a sense of personal accomplishment (80%) How satisfied are you with with your job? (84%) This shows that the majority of employees in Carrefour are both satisfied with their jobs there and feel that their jobs add to their sense of personal accomplishment. This can be attributed to the fact that Carrefour Egypt asks the employees for evaluations, said Mr. Hussein, which partially focus on weather an employee: ? ? ? ? Likes the job and likes the organisation Likes the job but dislikes the organisation Dislikes the job but likes the organisation Dislikes the job and the organisation – Supervisory: ? ? My manager/supervisor demonstrates professionalism (92%) My manager/supervisor encourages creativity/innovation by reducing the fear of failure (76%) This shows that the majority of employees are satisfied with their managers and supervisors in terms of being a „role-mode? within the organisation or being empowered 40 enough by them to be calculated risk-takers. This is attributed to the complex selection and recruitment at Carrefour Egypt, as well as a periodical corporate review. 3. Involvement: ? ? ?
I am aware of the company? s overall strategy (72%) I feel very confident about this organization? s skills (92%) I understand how the company’s strategy differentiates us from the competition (80%) This shows that employees across Carrefour are aware of the company? s strategy and therefore aware of the vision and mission statements. The result shown is possibly because of communication the vision and mission across the organisation, as well as the employees initiating eagerness to learn more about the organisation. 4. Commitment: ? I feel a sense of loyalty to this organization (84%) Compared to my previous workplace(s), I value my relationship with this organization more (92%) ? I feel that this organization is trying to maintain a long-term commitment to its employees and me (72%) The majority of the employees value Carrefour more than their previous employers as well as feeling they are loyal to this organisation. This goes back to the fact that commitment is shown both from the organisation and the employees at the same time. 41 4. 2 Questionnaire (2)
This is an eighteen question questionnaire adopted from Morrison (1994). Adjustments were made and the questions are restructured and divided to serve the six types of OCB referred to in the literature – three questions assessing each type/component and the respondents mark whether they regard the statement written as in-role (part of what they regard as their formal duty) or out-role( referred to as OCB). The six dimensions are: ? Individual initiative: This dimension evaluates to what extension the employees themselves are eager to perform more duties than their job entails.
Example statement: Thinking you should also think of what is best for the organisation even if not asked or involved ? Organisational loyalty: This dimension examines the level of loyalty employees possess. Loyalty in this case is examined by actions employees perform that are non-work related that prove they are, for no reward, loyal to the organisation. Example statement: Attending voluntary functions that help the organisation? s image ? Sportsmanship: This dimension tests to what extents could employees prioritise work requirements and exceptions even on their own expense. 2 Example statement: Not taking excess time off, even if you have extra vacation days ? Civic virtue: Other than fulfilling the job, some employees show willingness to participate or provide viewpoints in governing the organisations. Civic virtue tests this perspective. Example statement: Attending voluntary meetings considered important ? Helping behaviour: The helping behaviour is shown by employees through the willingness to help others and as well prevent problems for occurrence. Example statement: Covering for co-workers who are absent or on break ?
Organisational compliance: Although organisational rules and policies should be abided by, some employees still don? t. This dimensions, therefore, tests to what extent employees comply. Example statement: Not spending time on personal telephone conversations Based on questionnaire (2) and the responses, Figure 4. 2 shows the contribution of each dimension to the whole (OCB) as shown by the employees at Carrefour. Figure 4. 3 shows the results of Questionnaire (2) 43 Organisational Citizenship Behaviour The Dimensions
Individual Initiative Organisational loyalty Sportsmanship %12 Civic virtue Helping behaviour Organisational compliance %19 %19 %31 %8 %11 Figure 4. 2 OCB components 44 Action Thinking you should also think of what is best for the organisation even if not asked or involved Keeping up with changes and developments in the organisation Helping people outside department when they have a problem Reading and keeping up with organizational announcements Helping organize departmental get-togethers Attending voluntary functions that help the organisation? image Coming to work early if needed Having to work overtime because of a colleague? s mistake, not you Not taking excess time off, even if you have extra vacation days Attending voluntary meetings considered important Volunteering to do things without being asked Helping orient new people even when not asked Covering for co-workers who are absent or on break Helping others with work when they have been absent Giving time to help others with work-related problems Being punctual everyday regardless of weather, traffic, etc Not spending time on personal telephone conversations Not spending time in non work related issues
Regarded in-role 9 Percentage % 36 Dimension Individual Initiative 4 5 18 2 5 3 6 19 17 4 21 11 20 13 22 23 25 16 20 72 8 20 12 24 76 68 16 84 44 80 52 88 92 100 Individual Initiative Individual Initiative Organisational loyalty Organisational loyalty Organisational loyalty Sportsmanship Sportsmanship Sportsmanship Civic virtue Civic virtue Civic virtue Helping behaviour Helping behaviour Helping behaviour Organisational compliance Organisational compliance Organisational compliance Figure 4. 2 Questionnaire (2) responses Adopted from Morrison, E. W. 1994) „Role definitions and organizational citizenship behaviour: The importance of the employee? s perspective.? Academy of Management Journal, 37, 1556 45 4. 2. 1 Most agreed upon as in-role (above 66. 6 %) 1. Organisational compliance: ? ? ? Being punctual everyday regardless of weather, traffic, etc (88%) Not spending time on personal telephone conversations (92%) Not spending time in non work related issues (100%) It is clearly observed the majority of employees regard complying with rules, policies and the psychological contract as in-role behaviours.
In theory, organisational compliance has to be regarded as in-role already. However, due to the suggestion that not all employees comply, it has been surveyed. This proves the opposite of Morrison? s hypothesis that it might not be regarded as in-role – it is. The dimension of organisational compliance is the most agreed upon as in-role among the questioned employees and constitutes thirty-one percent of the OCB in Carrefour. Like in Morrison? s research, organisational compliance is the most agreed upon dimension as being in-role – 89, 80 and 68 percent respectively. . Helping behaviour: ? Helping others with work when they have been absent (80%) This may be attributed to the culture of Egyptian people more than for the business environment – people known to be helpful and cooperative. In Morrison? s research, agreement to this behaviour as in-role was 78 percent. 3. Civic Virtue: ? Attending voluntary meetings considered important (68%) 46 In comparison to the original research, the result here shows 18% higher agreement. This would further justify the 80% loyalty demonstrated in questionnaire (1). 4. Sportsmanship: ?
Not taking excess time off, even if you have extra vacation days (76%) This is backed up by the fact that 80% of the respondents in questionnaire (1) agree to the statement which says that their work gives them a sense of personal accomplishment. Moreover, it supports the result in section 4. 4. 1 as job satisfaction is one of the highest contributors to the employees? commitment. The result in this research exceeds the original work by 10 percent. 5. Organisational loyalty: ? Reading and keeping up with organisational announcements (72%) The original research exceeds this result by 12 percent.
However, 72 percent of employees regarding this statement as in-role is quite a satisfactory rate, especially that only 56 percent of the employees agreed to the statement that their manager/supervisor cares to keep them updated in questionnaire (1). Furthermore, loyalty has been also proved in several other statements. The general agreement between this research and the original research done by Morrison (1994) shows consistency and proof that these elements are regarded as in-role by most employees. 47 5. Conclusion 5. 1 Key aims and findings
The research aims at defining OCB from an academic and a practical viewpoint as well as assessing the willingness and level of OCB within a large multinational as well as showing the importance of OCB and briefly reviewing the emergence of HR in Egypt. Moreover, clarification of the difference and the relationship between Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) and the variables outlined in addition to practically bringing the variables and type into field work is aimed for. This research also aims to integrate the different Human Resources (HR) activities that sum up and lead to OCB.
The research questions: ? What is an agreed upon definition for OCB? (Chapter 2) Organisational Cititeznship Behaviour is the individual behavior that is descritionary, not directly or explicitly recognised by the formal reward system, and that in the aggreagate promotes the effective functioning if the organisation. It is also regarded as the extra-role activities employees pursue by saying that extra-role behaviours describe activities beyond formal job requirement that one chooses to do without expecting any direct reward. ? Why is OCB not disseminated among HR practitioners? Chapter 2) OCB is still regarded as a new term. Moreover, there has been a very limited number of literature on OCB in comparison with other HR terms. Adding to this the difficulty of defining the actions and conduct that is regarded as beyond-role. 48 ? What is defined as in-role and out-role? (Chapters 2 & 4) There has been agreed upon behaviours for what is regarded as in-role. As for out-role or beyond-responsibility conduct, it is concluded that the difference in employment level will always let individuals interpret in and out-role differently.
Hence, it is also concluded that OCB varies proportionately with the level of employment which agrees with the common sense. Like most managers are more satisfied with their jobs (due to pay, prestige and benefits), they are also more committed and portray more citizenship behaviours. Furthermore, like a new employee is not used to the organisation and not regarded as loyal yet, his OCB is still in the introduction phase. ? What are the variables that can be related to OCB and influence the behaviour? (Chapter 2) The literature outlined many variables that are related and complements the favourable behaviour.
Among these variables are job satisfaction, loyalty, commitment, sportsmanship, compliance and integrity. ? Since there are variables that can influence the behaviour, can OCB be aimed for by an organisation or is it uncontrollable? How can the level of OCB be evaluated? (Chapters 2 & 4) From the literature, it is concluded that organisations can focus more on studying the variables and elements that lead to the favourable behaviours desired such as identifying the factors that satisfy employees, establishing clear career paths and examining the consistency and alignment of actions, policies, and procedures with values.
In addition this, the field research in chapter 4 summarises and adds the 49 contributors, variables and components of OCB which, if read and analysed by organisations, will provide assistance on how to modify their employees behaviours and enable them to reach the behaviour needed for success and prosperity of any successful organisation. The surveys conducted provide valid foundation to organisations who wish to evaluate their level of OCB as the surveys successfully reached this aim – with further modifications that suit every organisation. 50 5. Limitation of the study Due to the fact that OCB has not been granted enough interest from researchers and practitioners up-to-date, the amount of literature available was not of high assistance to the theoretical study. Moreover, direct help from the practitioners, especially in Egypt was difficult to find as they have not been informed of OCB and its implications. Adding to this, many organisations are not in favour of researchers conducting surveys in their premises, especially of critical and confidential information such as commitment, loyalty, fairness and trust.
Another limitation is the small number of sample as only one branch of Carrefour (Obour) was examined. This may influence the result as not to reflect the opinions of employees in Carrefour in Egypt, but only Carrefour Obour. However, the researcher has been assured that the same managerial and leadership style as well as working conditions are followed not only in Carrefour Egypt; however it is internationally abided by. The topic also limits researchers due to the fact that the level of OCB differs from one employment level to another.
Finally, it is concluded that as a conduct or action is considered to be in the employment/psychological contract, it is automatically more regarded as in-role. Evidence of this is the fact that organisational compliance is the highest contributor to the OCB of the organisation while the all elements of the compliance are elements of any employment contract. 51 5. 3 Directions for future research It has been concluded in this paper that the level of OCB varies from an employment level and duration to another.
As a result, the topic needs to be further expanded in future research. Future field research should assess different levels of employees as well as grouping employees that have been employed in an organisation for similar durations to maintain fairness and consistency. Furthermore, research in different types of organisations should take place. It is expected that in a service industry, the level of OCB should be higher than in others due to the fact that employees are more empowered as they interact more with their customers – the main source of revenue and sustainability.
The future research should take place in different industries and questioning whether the results could or could not be compared against each other. Adding to this, conducting the research in a non-for-profit organisation would be a very good example of OCB for reasons that include the fact that NPOs do not compensate its employees, or the compensation is not profit generating. As a result, employees have more committing reasons than monetary rewards and motivation. This research was initially intended to research this issue. However, due to the limited time and resources, this has not been feasible.
A suggested NPO is AIESEC (www. aiesec. org). An international NPO considered role model to NGOs and NPOs. Members of this organisation demonstrate the highest levels of OCB that can be observed. Word count 9,072 52 References Bachrach, et al. (2000) „Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: A Critical Review of the Theoretical and Empirical and Suggestions for Future Research.? Journal of Management, 26, 51. 1-61. 1 Bateman, T (1983) „Job Satisfaction and the Good Soldier: The Relationship between Affect and Employee ”Citizenship”? 26(4), 587-595 Beardwell, J & Claydon, T (2007) Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach.
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Public Personnel Management, 29, 185-210 Interview with Mr. Amr Hussein, Carrefour Obour H. R. Manager. Dated May 12, 2009 at Carrefour Obour offices. (2007, 23 July) „Carrefour?. Fortune Global Five 500. Retrieved May 18, 2009 from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/global500/2007/snapshots/7881. html www. carrefour. com 54 Appendix Questionnaire (1) This is not a test. There are no „right? or „wrong? responses to the statements that follow. A response is only „right? if it reflects your personal opinion, and the strength of your reaction, as accurately as possible.
Please indicate the level of your agreement with the following statements. Answers are to be kept confidential and shall only be used for academic purposes; no names or personal information required. It should not take more than 10 minutes to complete this questionnaire. This organization treats its employees fairly and justly Agree Disagree This organization can be relied on to keep its promises Agree Disagree Neutral Neutral I believe that this organization takes the opinions of its employees like me into account when making decisions Agree Neutral Disagree I feel very confident about this organization? skills Agree Disagree I think it is important to watch this organization closely so that it does not take advantage of its employees and me Agree Neutral Disagree I feel that this organization is trying to maintain a long-term commitment