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SYNERGY
Presentation on staff morale at
Robinson Mason (Pvt) Limited

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Definition of morale
An intangible concept that refers to how positive and supportive a
group feels toward the organisation to which it belongs and the
special feelings members of the group share with others, such as
trust, self-worth, purpose, pride in one‟s achievement, and faith in
the leadership and organisational success. (Haddock, 2010)
Employee morale as the general level of confidence or optimism
experienced by a person or a group of people, especially if it affects
discipline and willingness. (Seroka, 2009)

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Impact of HRM on organisational
performance

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Importance of morale in
organisations
 Neely‟s research (1999) revealed a pattern that links the
productivity of employees with their level of morale
 Morale is also regarded to be the fuel that drives an organisation
forward or the fuel that feeds the fires of employee discontent and
poor performance (Ewton, 2007)
 Low morale carries a high cost: the Gallup Organisation, (2008)
estimates that there are 22 million actively disengaged American
employees, with a price tag to the economy at the tune of $350
billion per year in lost productivity
 Millet (2010) gives six reasons why staff morale is important:
improved productivity; improved performance and creativity;
reduced number of leave days; higher attention to detail; a safer
workplace; and increased quality of work.

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Causes of low morale
 Poor leadership qualities of the immediate supervisor (Schuler,
2004)
 Change and poor leadership (Robbins, 2003)
 Leadership not serving as exemplars, little or no accountability, a
lack of career and succession planning, too many silos, and
departmental infighting (Stevens, 2009)
 Leadership culture of command and control (White,2009)
 Distrust of management, poor interpersonal relations, and
inflexible working conditions (Dye and Garman, 2006)
Some of the leadership skills that are critical in enhancing morale
are good communication, and the ability to deal with change,
manage people, set goals and solve problems (Psychometrics
Canada, 2010)

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Strategic change and HRM:
Warwick Model

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Issues affecting morale at Robinson
Mason (Pvt) Ltd (RM)
 Culture: disconnect between the firm‟s value statement and
the way it conducts business in practice; Staff afraid to express
concerns for product quality; Fear of facing Operations
Director‟s wrath.
 Structure: Layered organizational structure with limited
empowerment at the lower level
 Competiveness and leadership: fragmented approach to
product positioning, pricing and consumer proposition; CEO‟s
forceful leadership style and tight control over important
decisions; lack of accountability at executive level
 Change consultants: used technical jargon; appeared
personally disorganised; fondness for expensive restaurants;
cavalier attitude to travel;

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Recommendations
 Geoff should incorporate humility as one of his practices: “The servant leader is
servant first.” (Greenleaf, 1996)
 RM should conduct a survey to determine the issues that are affecting staff
morale
 Management at RM should foster openness and be more accessible to staff
(Dye and Garman, 2006)
 Develop effective communication, build cohesiveness in teams and develop the
ability to energise staff (Dye and Garman, 2006)
 RM should seek to attract the right talent, hire for skill and behaviour, look at
best practice, hiring for passion and focus on the customer (Stevens, 2009)
 Create platform to allow staff an opportunity to voice their concerns and provide
input to management anonymously
 Recognise and compensate „good‟ work and pay performance related salaries

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References
Neely, G., (1999). The relationship between employee morale
and employee productivity. National Fire Academy as part of the
executive Fire Officer Program. Tulsa. Oklahoma
Schuler, A.D., (2004). Turning around low morale. Available:
www.schulersolutions.com. [2012, July,6]
Senge, P., (1990). The Fifth Discipline. Currency Doubleday. New
York
Seroka, J., (2009). Boosting employee morale needs to occur
daily, not only during times of crisis. Available: http://www.hrtools
/insights {2012, July, 5]

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References
Armstrong, M., (2009). Armstrong's Handbook of Human
Resource Management Practice, 11th edition,