Academy of Marketing Studies Journal (Print ISSN: 1095-6298; Online ISSN: 1528-2678)

Research Article: 2022 Vol: 26 Issue: 2

Fitting In Organizations: Is It Crucial for Employee Management?

Swaty Wadhwa, Jagan Institute of Management Studies, Rohini, New Delhi

Kanika Wadhwa, Indira Gandhi Delhi Technological University for Women

Citation Information: Wadhwa, S., & Wadhwa, K. (2022). Fitting in organizations: is it crucial for employee management?. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 26(2), 1-4.

Abstract

Human Resource is weighed to be the most important basis of growth in the organizations. It is imperative to keep the employees engaged for their best utilization and for the same, it is crucial to align their skills, knowledge, and abilities with their assigned roles in the organization. It is since if an employee feels fit according to the culture of the organization, it leads to increase in productivity and/or reduction in employee turnover. Moreover, they will be more loyal to the organization. This paper attempts to study whether Person-Organization fit can help in better employee Management. A study was done on the teaching staff where gap between the actual atmosphere and the desired atmosphere which is required for Person-organization fit is measured and a difference between actual experience & perceived expectations was also found. So, it was concluded that the organization should try to minimize this gap to have more dedicated employees for better organizational performance.

Keywords

Work culture, Person-Organization fit, Teachers, Employee Management.

Introduction

Every sector’s success demand managing human resources rather than managing financial or physical resources. Organizations want to create such an environment at the workplace where employee engagement can be enhanced. Organizations believe that the net worth of an organization lies in its employees. If the employees are not satisfied with the workplace, organizations must suffer losses whether tangible or intangible. When an educational institute is being studied, it is argued that transparency and solidarity should be there in the organizations to have a better work culture. It will have some positive impact on teacher’s job satisfaction, intent to remain in the institute and their willingness to recommend the institute to others. When we talk of India, there is a mushrooming growth in private educational institutions and it becomes although more important to know the plight of the educational system, especially from the faculty’s perspective (Paul, 2003). Work culture is the totality of the various levels of interacting factors in an organization in its own goals and objectives, technology, management practices, resources as well as constraints Argyris, (1964); Ballout (2007).

Organization culture differs from one place to other. After various studies which have already been tested for reliability and validity, one standard model of measuring culture has been contributed by O’Reilly et al who gave P-O fit model.

They found that if the employees are satisfied, they are likely to stay more with their organization bringing organizational success Bretz & Judge (1994). A similar study has also been done by Schneider who also agrees that Person-Organization fit which is more suitable in measuring the impact of culture on behavioral outcomes of individuals. Thus, for effective People Management, it is imperative to make people more engaged bringing more loyalty, leading to organizational success Brown & Leigh (1996).

Key Objectives

1. To understand about Person-Organization fit.

2. To know how fitting in leads to better Employee Management.

3. To find P-O fit in an educational institution.

4. To suggest how P-O fit can be enhanced.

Literature Review

Coldwell et al. (2008) in their paper “Exploring the Impact of Person–Organization Fit on Organizational Performance” gave brief summary about Person-Organization fit and discussed some important issues like the association of organizational performance with PO fit and suggested the researchers to explore it more. So, in this paper, some of the key challenges were also discovered faced by the researchers studying the association of organisational performance with P-O fit.

Kristof?Brown et al. (2005) in their article “Consequences of Individuals' Fit at work: a meta-analysis of person–job, person–organization, person–group, and person–supervisor fit ” analyzed the match of person and job, person and group, person and organization and last but not the least, person and supervisor fit with their pre-entry which includes variables like intention to hire, attraction towards the job, acceptance of job etc. and the other criteria related to post-entry individual-level that includes variables like personal attitude, performance, behaviors related to withdrawal, job tenure etc. Meta-analysis of correlation between the various fit types was also done. Polynomial regression which is having a unique approach to assess fit was used as an analytic technique too Coldwell et al. (2008).

Conceptualisation

Person-Organization-Fit A measure which explains fit between workers and the organizations, very well defined by Silverthorne, 2004. In simple words, it means unique features of the employee matches with the organization where the employee is working. Individual’s own ideas, interests and principles comprise the individual’s unique characteristics whereas organizational characteristics include organizational norms, traditions, values, and above all the broad organizational culture. According to Kristof, (2005), Person-Organization fit advocates about the compatibility which exists between the worker and the organizations where both are held responsible for providing what the other entity prefers. When similar fit occurs, there would be positive work attitudes, more organizational commitment, performance, less turnover intentions etc.

Organizations must undergo various rapid and sudden changes that include the economic globalization, rapid utilization of information technology, competitive vigorous business environments and the like.

Thus, there is a need to understand how human resources are best organized and managed making the HR function's focus to be more strategic. There are various methods to effectively manage people in an organization like having a good selection of individuals, a better socialization, thinking of employee’s career development and the like but the most important one is to have a better fit with the organization. Here the employees will have more meaningful work, congenial work environment, and affectionate work culture taking care of employees feelings which lead to worthy relationships among humans at work.

Conception of Person-Organization Fit elucidated by Kristof (2005), in the model, values, goals, personality, and attitudes constitutes individual characteristics whereas the characteristics for organization include the culture, values, goals, climate, and norms. If the features of the individual and organization have some similarity between them, fit tends to exist.

Data Analysis

A small study was conducted to evaluate the actual gap of preferred & actual atmosphere essential for P-C (Person culture fit). A small questionnaire was designed for the teachers/ faculties, pilot testing was done, and it was finally administered in order to collect the primary data. The respondents’ sample size was 100 teachers Da Silva, et al. (2010) the analysis was done with the help of SPSS 17.00. The results are presented as follows Cable & Judge (1996).

Descriptive statistical analysis was used as a tool to measure the data. For all the variables, the difference between the actual experience and perceived expectations was considered. Finally, the mean value was considered for the 5 categories under which there were some statements relevant for that category Table 1.

Table 1 The Gap of The Desired & The Actual Atmosphere as Prerequisite for fit Between Person and Culture With Respect to Various Categories
Categories Gap
Differences in Job according to interest and abilities -1.42
Differences in Recognition and appreciation for the accomplishment of job -1.52
Differences with respect to financial benefits -1.61
Differences with respect to non-financial benefits -1.63
Differences related to Developmental and Promotional opportunities -1.65

Chart 1

The gap of the desired & the actual atmosphere as prerequisite for fit between Person and culture with respect to various categories Figure 1.

Figure 1 Mean Financial Benefits

Interpretation

A match between the actual experience and perceived expectations was done. A negative value displayed in the graph indicates higher expectations from respondents but experiences low value in the actual experience for that category. In fact, this negative value was displayed for all the variables Dawis (1992). In the mean table, the lowest score was observed on Job according to interest and abilities whereas highest differences were observed on Opportunities for development and Promotion. So, in conclusion, we can say that person-organization fit does not exist in the educational institute.

Conclusion

It has been observed that P-O fit is an important tool for effective people management and has some vital role in selection and socialization of personnel that acts as a net assest for the organization. Thus, the human resource executives should emphasize on matching the individual aspects like personality and values with that of the organization. This will bring more productivity to the organization and reduce turnover intentions of the employees. Periodic meetings should be there with the employees to know about their perception of work environment. By doing this, a better psychologically adjustment of employees with the organization will be maintained and they can then be managed very easily. P-O fit will make them more productive, more engaged towards the organization, thus leading to better organization’s performance and success.

References

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Received: 07-Jan-2022, Manuscript No. AMSJ-22-11052; Editor assigned: 09-Jan-2022, PreQC No. AMSJ-22-11052(PQ); Reviewed: 22-Jan-2022, QC No. AMSJ-22-11052; Revised: 24-Jan-2022, Manuscript No. AMSJ-22-11052(R); Published: 30-Jan-2022

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