| dc.description.abstract | The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of organizational rewards on employee
commitment in the banking industry in Uganda. Strong commitment is correlated with high
productivity, low employee turnover, pride in the organization, loyalty and low absenteeism, while
weak commitment operates in reverse. Organizational rewards were explored using financial, non financial and social rewards. The specific objectives of this research were to assess the effect of
financial, non-financial and social rewards on employee commitment in the banking industry in
Uganda. To achieve these objectives a survey was conducted to canvas the opinions of respondents
in the Ugandan banking industry, using a case study of United Bank of Africa, Uganda ltd. The
Social Exchange theory by Goerge Hommans was considered as the main theory that guided this
study, although theories like Expectancy theory by Vroom, Herzbergs’ two factor theory by
Fredrick Herzberg and Equity theory were also thought of for purposes of enriching and better
understanding of the study. A cross-sectional research design incorporating both qualitative and
quantitative aspects was used. Data was collected by use of self-administered structured
questionnaires and an interview guide. A sample size of 92 respondents were selected from a
population frame of 120 employees as guided by Krejcie and Morgan table, (1970). Further
analysis using Pearson correlation coefficient test revealed a strong, positive and significant
relationship between financial rewards and Employee commitment given (r = 0.791) and
significance p< 0.01 (0.000). A moderate positive relationship between Non-financial rewards and
Employee commitment given by Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.559 and significance p< 0.01
(0.000). A moderate, positive and significant relationship between social rewards and Employee
commitment given by Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.662 and significance p< 0.01(0.000).
Furthermore, the findings revealed that 44.8% of variations in employee commitment is predicted
by organizational rewards as represented by the Adjusted R Square (0.448). The researcher
recommended that there is a great need to evaluate financial rewards and ensure that they are
commensurate. Where possible, benchmarking financial rewards can help minimize the frequency
of employees moving from one organization to the other. According to the findings, Non-financial
rewards had an average influence on employee commitment of the lower level category, but
management staff attached more value on this type of category, therefore, the researcher
recommended the need to have different reward systems to cater for the needs of different staff
categories, for example a conversion of most of the non-financial rewards into financial and social
rewards to satisfy the largest group of employees. Social rewards were the second most influencing
variable of Employee commitment according to the study. Therefore, special attention should be
given to issues like supervisory support, respect, empathy and creation of more staff interaction
opportunities among others. This study has implications for management of banks in Uganda since
they can influence employees to achieve optimized motivation and commitment, by designing a
good reward that is perceived as fair, equitable and consistent. | en_US |
