employee satisfaction

Running Head: DEVELOPING EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION: AN ACTION RESEARCH1

Introduction

3

Purpose and Rationale

4

Issue and Purpose of the Study

4

Significance of the Study

4

Context 4

History 4

Organizational Structure in Deutsche Knowledge Services

5

Review of Related Literature

6

Employee Satisfaction

6

Theoretical Approach on Job Satisfaction

8

Methodology and Methods of Inquiry

9

Action Research

9

Methods of Data Collection

12

Strategies on Role Duality

13

DEVELOPING EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION: AN ACTION RESEARCH 2

References

15

Appendix 17


Introduction

No company can achieve its goals without the right set of

employees and these employees are the key to most successful

companies such as Deutsche Bank.

For Deutsche Bank, the employees are the core of its

operations and they are among the biggest investment for the

company. With this, the top-management sees to it that their

employees benefit from the work they deliver and the management

is strongly promoting that work-life balance should exist in the

workplace. They believe that a work-life balance lifestyle is the

key to maintaining the health and sanity of its employees as well

as encouraging greater productivity, creativity and energy in

one’s work. In today’s fast-paced and competitive work

environment, this blended lifestyle remains just a vision for

most employees. Ideally, this synergetic relationship between the

employee and its company will make an employee satisfied and

fulfilled in its work.

There are many benefits for employee satisfaction in the

work place. One of them is the quality of work delivered and good

performance of the employee. The success of a team is dependent


on its members and the achievements of an organization are the

results of the combined effort of each individual. For an

employee to perform well, there is a certain level of fulfilment

he acquires from the organization and at most time, employees who

perform well are the ones that are usually satisfied in their

work.

Since the employees largely determine the success of the

company, this is the reason why companies put in extensive

efforts in choosing candidates for their company. Most of the

time, skills and knowledge of the employee is considered to gauge

his performance in the company but one factor that is being

overlooked by most of the company owners is employee satisfaction

which is also an important facet.

Purpose and Rationale

Issue and Purpose of the Study

The proposed Action Research intends to investigate the

satisfaction level of the employees in the Global Market Listed

Derivatives (GMLD) team. On the other hand it also aims to

recognize what can be done to achieve a high satisfaction level

for the members of the team.


Significance of the Study

Knowing the level of satisfaction of the employees of the

team will help the Assistant Vice-President and Senior Associates

of the team to encourage and design strategies on how to keep

GMLD employees engaged in their job to achieve the company’s

goals and objectives. The study will help the managers realize

that by focusing on employee satisfaction they can create more

efficient and productive workforce. Results of this study will

also benefit the employees since the strategies will be directed

for the common good of the team.

Context

History

From the DB Website, Deutsche Bank was founded in 1870 as a

foreign trade bank, and within three years had opened branches in

Japan, China and the UK. By the end of the century we’d financed

a number of large-scale industrial projects, including the

development of Germany’s electrical engineering industry and the

building of the Baghdad Railway.

The first half of the twentieth century was dominated by

inflation, crisis and war, and we responded with consolidation


and by pioneering a number of huge mergers and acquisitions. In

the face of enormous challenges, the resilience, optimism and

hard work of our people helped us emerge stronger than ever.

Domestic and foreign expansion followed, and we made

fundamental reforms to our organizational structure. We moved

into general retail banking and, as our international business

grew, we developed into a truly global group.

Today Deutsche Bank is one of the world’s largest investment

banks. Employing over 100,000 people in more than 70 countries,

our international reach provides our workforce with unprecedented

opportunities to develop their careers and achieve their

ambitions.

In the Philippines, Deutsche Bank obtained a full commercial

banking license in mid-1995, after operating as an Offshore

Banking Unit (OBU) in Manila since 1977. Today, the Deutsche Bank

Group in the Philippines consists of joint venture Deutsche Regis

Partners and subsidiary Deutsche Knowledge Services; and employs

over 2,000 staff in the country.

Organizational Structure in Deutsche Knowledge Services

Figure 1: Organization Structure in DKS


Review of Related Literature

This section will look at literatures on employee

satisfaction, and a theory on job satisfaction that can be used

to measure its satisfaction level. Definition of terms will be

presented in this section.

Employee Satisfaction

From the definition of Heithfield (n.d.), “employee

satisfaction is the terminology used to describe whether

CEO

ProjectDirector

ManagingDirector

AssistantVice-

SeniorAssociateAssociate

Analyst

AssistantVice-

AssistantVice-

SeniorAssociate

SeniorAssociate

AssociateAssociate

AnalystAnalyst


employees are happy and contented and fulfilling their desires

and needs at work. Employee Satisfaction is also used

synonymously with Job satisfaction, as explained by Locke (1976)

who defined job satisfaction as “a pleasurable or positive

emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job

experiences”

From Redmond and Hendries’ study on Job Satisfaction, “job

satisfaction has been linked to productivity, motivation,

absenteeism/tardiness, accidents, mental/physical health, and

general life satisfaction (Landy, 1978). A common idea within

the research has been that, to some extent, the emotional state

of an individual is affected by interactions with their work

environment”.

When employees are satisfied with their job, they become

loyal and committed. These employees are more likely to go above

and beyond to meet customer needs and are highly motivated to

work to the best of their ability. Both of these traits are

crucial for continued customer commitment and ongoing revenue and

growth for the company. (“The State of Employee Satisfaction”,

n.d.)


From an online article entitled, “The State of Employee

Satisfaction”, the true potential of an organization can only be

realized when the productivity level of all individuals and teams

are fully aligned, committed and energized to successfully

accomplish the goals of the organization.

While employee satisfaction is a general concern for any

company to address, a team manager is also responsible for the

satisfaction of its members. At any time, if an employee feels

unhappy or feels that the manager is not engaging or creating

right opportunities for its employees, he will leave a company

despite a high salary or great benefits.

Justin Field who was studying about retention and turnover

has designed a Job satisfaction model (Field, 2008) in order to

explain the real reasons for turnover. He has noted that the

fundamental reason that employees leave the organisation is that

because they are not satisfied. He has also explained that “it’s

handy to think of the reasons for dissatisfaction in terms of

push factors (things that make employees more dissatisfied) and

pull factors (things that make employees more satisfied).”

(Field, 2008)


Figure 2: Job Satisfaction Model (Field, 2008)

In this context, I have noticed that the employees in the

Global Markets Listed Derivatives (GMLD) team lack the

satisfaction to push them to work at its fullest. From the exit

interviews of those employees who have left the team, the main

reason for leaving is that they don’t find fulfilment in what

they are doing. Adding to this, it is very visible that for those

who are currently in the team, the level of performance is low

compared to other teams. There is lack of motivation and

proactivity to go the extra mile of informing the other members

of the full process in order to make the procedure seamless.


There is a sense of “kanya-kanya” attitude where they don’t care

about what will happen to the team as long as their personal

interests are met.

Theoretical Approach on Job Satisfaction

Range of Affect Theory

The principle behind this theory is that a person’s job

satisfaction can depend on two factors: the expectations he

has for a job, and the actual things that he is going to get

in that job. The smaller the gap between these two, the more

chances he is satisfied in his work. The Affect Theory also

states that a person prioritizes one aspect of the job more

than the other aspects, and that certain aspect can affect

how satisfied he is. For example, an employee prioritizes

social connections with his colleagues, and when this factor

is met appropriately, he may experience greater job

satisfaction.

This theory will be used as a way of measuring the

employee satisfaction by knowing their expectation from the

job versus what they actually get.


Reflecting from the definitions and the theory, it is

important to gauge the level of employee satisfaction in the

GMLD team. While successfully achieving the goals of the

organization is significant, it is also vital to note that

employees who are meeting these goals should be retained as

this will ensure and continue the success of the team and

the company as a whole.

Methodology and Methods of Inquiry

Action Research

The researcher will conduct an action research to

address the concern of the GMLD team. The action research

framework will be used by the researcher in resolving the

issue by engaging the individuals involved in the team which

includes the Assistant Vice-President, Senior Associates,

Associates and Analysts.

As cited in the book of Coghlan and Brannick (2010), Shani

and Pasmore defined Action Research as:

“Action research may be defined as an emergent inquiryprocess in

which applied behavioural science is integrated withexisting orga-


nizational knowledge and applied to solve realorganizational prob-

lems. It is simultaneously concerned with bringingabout change in

organizations, in developing self-help competencies inorganizational

members and adding to scientific knowledge. Finally, itis an evol-

ving process that is undertaken in a spirit ofcollaboration and co-

inquiry. (1985: 439)

The action research cycle has four basic steps:

Constructing, Planning action, Taking action and Evaluating

action.

Figure 3: The action research cycle

Constructing involves framing of the issue that needs to be

resolved. From this paper, the researcher have identified the

issue which needs immediate attention in the team and that is

employee satisfaction. As the researcher, I have seen that most

of the employees in the team lacks motivation and as this issue

goes on, many of the employees leave the workplace.


Upon framing the issue, the second step is Planning.

Planning will involve taking into consideration the issue on hand

and the elements which needs to be factored in order to address

the issue. In Marilynn Allemann’s presentation on “Employee

Satisfaction: How do we keep the good ones?” she has noted that

there are elements for employee satisfaction. Using these

elements and the Range of Affect theory the researcher will

investigate the satisfaction level of the team and will plan the

courses of action to take.

Figure 4. Key Elements of Employee Satisfaction (Allemann, n.d.)


The third step, taking action is the process where the plans

will be implemented and evaluating the outcomes of the actions is

the fourth step of the action research cycle.

However action research cycle is not a just a single ended

cycle, it is a continuous cycle wherein the results of the first

action research will feed the succeeding action research cycle

that create a spiral action of research cycle as shown in Figure

5.

Figure 5: Spiral of Action Research Cycle (Coghlan and Brannick, 2010)

This action research project will include two action

research cycles. The first action research cycle is called the

core action research cycle and the second action research cycle

is called the thesis action research cycle. (Zuber-Skeritt and


Perry [as cited in Coghlan & Brannick, 2010, p.11] These two

action research cycles will work in parallel to aid the action

researcher in providing recommendations for the resolution of the

issue. The core action research cycle is comprised of a pre-step

(context and purpose). The thesis action research cycle is a reflection

cycle about the core action research cycle. To explain this, the

researcher will conduct an action research which includes

constructing, planning, taking action and evaluation of the

action research project itself in order to make sure that each

steps of the core action research are aligned with each other.

As cited by Coglan and Brannick (2010), Argyris argues that

this inquiry of the steps of the action research will result to

Meta learning wherein there is a reflection on the learning

process of action research. The foundation of using action

research is not just to create learning, but to conduct a

research with aims of taking actions to resolve an issue and

creating knowledge about the action by collaborating with those

individuals directly involved in the issue.

Methods of Data Collection


No paper will be complete without data. In order to have an

effective research, data will be gathered through various ways:

Survey

The main source of data for the research will be

survey. The researcher will conduct a survey to all members

in the team. The survey to be used is from the Qualtrics

website. Scott Smith (2013) has collected three useful

survey templates to be used in measuring employee

satisfaction. All of the three surveys will be used for data

collection which is deemed applicable for the research.

Sample survey can be seen in the appendix of this paper.

Observation

Observation will also be used in collecting data. As

defined by Lindzey Gardner (1975) observation is the

“selection, provocation, recording and encoding of that set

of behaviour and settings concerning organisms ‘in situ’

(naturalistic settings or familiar surroundings) which are

consistent with empirical aims” The researcher will

personally observe the employees’ attitudes and habits


towards their tasks. The main purpose for observation as a

means of data collection is to gather the behaviours as it

actually happens without controlling it. Observation can be

a good tool in data gathering as this provides direct access

to the issue of concern. A Journal will be kept in jotting

down behaviours observed by the researcher.

Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

The researcher will also conduct focus group discussion

with the help of the managers. The purpose of this is to

obtain the employees’ perception and ideas towards

satisfaction in the team and also in the workplace in

general. The discussion will be conducted to complement and

enhance the other methods of data collection: Survey and

observation.

Strategies on Role Duality

The focus of the proposed action research is on the issue of

employees’ satisfaction in Global Market Listed Derivatives Team.

In the action research project I will take-on two roles and


handle both responsibilities of being a researcher and an

Associate member in the team.

First, I will be the action researcher and it is in my

advantage that I am an insider researcher in the team. Knowing

that I already have a pre-understanding on the issue at hand this

will give me leverage as a researcher since I already have in-

depth knowledge about the culture, structure and tasks done by

the team.

Second, I am an Associate member of the team. Being a non-

management member of the team, I have a role which is to deliver

tasks to achieve the goals of the team. It will be quite

difficult for me to conduct surveys and discussion due to the

daily tasks I do as a processor. With this, I will ask assistance

from the Assistant Vice-President to help me communicate that I

will be doing the action research for the team and that I will

need everyone’s participation on this.

To avoid uncertainty due to my role as researcher-

processor, I will ask assistance from the Assistant Vice-

President to help me on Focus Group Discussions. I will also need

the assistance of the HR team to help me conduct an Employee


Satisfaction Survey for the team and help me in analysing the

results of the survey.


References

Allemann, Marilyn. (n.d.). Employee Satisfaction: How do we keep

the good ones? Wroten & Associates, Inc. Retrieved from:

www.wrotenlaw.com/pdf/Employee_Satisfaction.ppt

Chaudhary, N. & Sharma, B. (2012). Impact of employee motivation

on performance (productivity) in private organization.

International Journal of Business Trends and Technology. Retrieved from

http://www.ijbttjournal.org/volume-2/issue-4/IJBTT-

V2I4P1.pdf

Coghlan, D. & Brannick, T. (2010).Doing action research in your own

organization (3rd ed). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

Deutsche Bank Philippines. Retrieved on August 16, 2013 from:

https://www.db.com/philippines/

Employee engagement research. (n.d.). In B2B International.

Retrieved from: http://www.b2binternationalusa.com/b2b-

market-intelligence/staff-satisfaction-survey/

Field, Justin. (2008) Job satisfaction model for retention. Retrieved on

August 17, 2013 from:

http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/job-

satisfaction-model-for-retention/

http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/job-satisfaction-model-for-retention/

http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/job-satisfaction-model-for-retention/

http://www.b2binternationalusa.com/b2b-market-intelligence/staff-satisfaction-survey/

http://www.b2binternationalusa.com/b2b-market-intelligence/staff-satisfaction-survey/

https://www.db.com/philippines/

http://www.ijbttjournal.org/volume-2/issue-4/IJBTT-V2I4P1.pdf

http://www.ijbttjournal.org/volume-2/issue-4/IJBTT-V2I4P1.pdf


Heathfield, Susan M. (n.d.). Employee satisfaction. About.com

Human Resources. Retrieved from:

http://humanresources.about.com/od/employeesurvey1/g/employe

e_satisfy.htm

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primary-data.html

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tion

https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/11.+Job+Satisfaction

https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/11.+Job+Satisfaction

http://faculty.washington.edu/janegf/goalsetting.html

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http://humanresources.about.com/od/employeesurvey1/g/employee_satisfy.htm

http://humanresources.about.com/od/employeesurvey1/g/employee_satisfy.htm


Smith, Scott. (2013). Employee Satisfaction Survey Questions: 3 Sample

Templates You Can Use Today. Retrieved on August 17, 2013 from:

http://www.qualtrics.com/blog/employee-satisfaction-survey/

Sylvestre-Williams, R. (2012). Why your employees are

leaving. Forbes Magazine, Retrieved from

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0/why-your-employees-are-leaving/

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http://www.insightlink.com/employee_satisfaction.html

What are the different Theories of Job Satisfaction? (n.d.)

WiseGeek. Retrieved from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-

the-different-theories-of-job-satisfaction.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-theories-of-job-satisfaction.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-theories-of-job-satisfaction.htm

http://www.insightlink.com/employee_satisfaction.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/reneesylvestrewilliams/2012/01/30/why-your-employees-are-leaving/

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http://www.qualtrics.com/blog/employee-satisfaction-survey/


Appendix

Survey

employee satisfaction

Documents

Transcript of employee satisfaction