Importance of Job Satisfaction
Many researchers have drawn a link between job satisfaction and motivation. Most of them have used different terms to define them. For example, Champoux believes it refers to the overall level of contentment people have with their jobs (198). Job satisfaction (and by extension, motivation) is important to different organizations, as they strive to stay relevant in today’s competitive business environment. The following sections of this paper explain its importance to public sector organizations and the available strategies to manage them.
High Productivity
High levels of job satisfaction and motivation are bound to increase the productivity of public service workers because research has pointed out that, irrespective of job grades or position in the organization, satisfied employees are more productive than unsatisfied ones (Champoux 198).
Low Employee Turnover
Low levels of job satisfaction and motivation often prompt many employees to look for jobs elsewhere. Comparatively, high levels of job satisfaction and motivation often lead to low employee turnover, which is vital in protecting the institutional memory of public organizations (Champoux 134).
Improved Employee Loyalty
High levels of job satisfaction and motivation are synonymous with loyal employees. Employees often show loyalty this way as a reward for their manager’s appreciation for their work. Thus, motivated and satisfied employees often show a high level of loyalty, which is critical in the provision of quality services (Champoux 290).
Summary
Based on the above findings, we find that job satisfaction and motivation are important to public sector organizations because they improve their productivity through increased employee loyalty and low employee turnover. These organizations could easily manage these performance factors, by appreciating their employees and providing a supportive environment for them to work.
Change Management in Public Sector Organizations
According to Champoux, change management refers to the ability of organizations to correctly structure, equip, and support the successful adoption of the change in a work setting (462). In this paper, we explore how to successfully initiate and manage change in public sector organizations.
How to Initiate Change
Change can be successfully initiated in public sector organizations by conducting a gap analysis to understand the organization’s position, relative to shortfalls in attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge, and where it should be (Champoux 198). Understanding the gap in organizational performance would often lead to change.
A researcher, Philip Kotler, refers to this gap analysis as the “big opportunity,” defined by eight steps, which include creating a sense of urgency, building a guiding coalition, forming a strategic vision for the organization, enlisting volunteers, enabling action by removing barriers, generating short-term wins, sustaining acceleration, and finally instituting change (Champoux 198).
Conditions Necessary for Change
A flexible organizational culture is necessary for the successful realization of change in public sector organizations because it supports innovation and creates a general sense of understanding, that change is essential for organizational growth (Champoux 164).
Long-term Sustainability of Change
The long-term sustainability of change in an organization depends on the willingness of leaders and managers to uphold the spirit of change in the organization. Usually, this is a top-down exercise where managers and leaders should lead by example and show the rest of employees that their ideas for change management are welcome and supported. Effective communication that involves all organizational stakeholders is also essential in the change management process because they need to know the main reasons for the change (Champoux 242).
Summary
According to the paper, we find that public sector organizations can successfully initiate change by conducting a gap analysis. It is necessary to have a culture of change to make this process happen. However, more importantly, leaders and managers need to demonstrate that they are serious about the process.
Role of Organizational Culture in Public Sector Organizations
All organizations have a unique set of values and standards of working that often contribute to the creation of their cultures. The culture of an organization could have a significant impact on its performance. This paper explains the role of organizational culture in public sector organizations, in terms of strategy and performance.
Uniting Employees
Although many public sector organizations often employ people from different backgrounds, organizational culture allows them to overcome this diversity and promote the “greater good” of the organization. This is a critical tool for strategic performance because all employees need to work together to be successful (Champoux 227).
Creating an Identity
According to Champoux, it is difficult to find organizations that share similar cultures (85). In this regard, organizational culture helps to create an identity for public sector organizations, which adds to their brand identity. This tool could help public sector organizations to gain public trust and garner significant public support as well.
Extracting the Best Performance out of the Employees
Productive organizational cultures often push employees to perform better than what they believe they can do. This way, organizational cultures help to extract the best performance out of employees. This is a useful tool for improving the strategic performance of public sector organizations (Champoux 85).
Summary
According to the findings of this paper, we see that organizational culture is important in the improvement of organizational strategy and performance because it unites employees, creates an identity for the organizations, and extracts the best performance out of teams. In this regard, public sector organizations that want to excel must adopt a culture of excellence.
Work Cited
Champoux, Joseph. Organizational Behavior: Integrating Individuals, Groups, and Organizations. Routledge, 2010.