The thesis examines the factors influencing the sustainability of employee involvement
strategies in the Sri Lankan manufacturing sector. Applying the psychological contract
perspective, the researcher attempts to explore how employee involvement strategies are
sustained at the factory floor level. More specifically, the attempt is to understand the
involved behaviour of employee in the perspectives of a relational as well as a transactional
psychological contract. The empirical evidence is drawn from three case studies in to
consumer products, tobacco products and garment manufacturing in Sri Lanka.
The thesis highlights several key findings relating to the process of sustaining employee
involvement strategies in Sri Lankan manufacturing firms. First, the existence of a
psychological contract in the form of a relational contract supports the sustenance of
employee involvement strategies. Second, the social exchange process that produces the
relational contract in an employer-employee setting draws from situational factors such as the
supportive climate created by employer and employee development programmes and the
psychological factors, such as work values, job involvement, and commitment of the
employee to organization. Third important factor: the trust placed in the organization by the
employee develops exchange relationships with the organization, managers and fellow
employees leading to a relational psychological contract, which results in the sustenance of
outcomes of employee involvement. Some confirming evidence for the third factor could be
drawn from situations where a break down of trust prompts a violation of the psychological
contract. In such situations, the relational contract is transformed into a transactional contract
resulting in the failure of employee involvement process. Finally, the thesis finds little
evidence to support the view that moving down power, information, knowledge and skills and
rewards to the frontline employees alone are sufficient to sustain an employee involvement
process.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218655 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Jayawardana, Ananda Karuna Liyana, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Business & Government |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Ananda Karuna Liyana Jayawardana |
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