Commitment in Corporate

We talk about commitment everyday in our corporate life. Especially in employee review meeting, this is the hottest topic ever. We try to define commitment in our terms differing in nature from person to person.

Commitment, as I learned from my professor, can be defined as:

• A strong desire to remain a member of the organization.
• A willingness to exert high level of effort on behalf of the organization.
• A belief in, and acceptance of the values and goals of the organization.

If we observe the tenure of an employee who leaves an organization after a long duration, commitment differs time to time.

Initially on joining, an employee is eager to know about organization, people and processes. If one likes these aspects, he or she creates emotional attachment with the culture of organization. We can define this commitment as Affective Commitment.

But after working for five years, the emotions may vanish due to certain bad experiences or may be by comparing one with some other good organization. In this situation, employee starts performing cost-benefit analysis of leaving the organization. If market is slow or job really pays high, the employee cant leave the organization. This type of commitment is known as Continuance Commitment.

The moment employee resigns, he or she stays in the organization for an obligatory notice period. Here the employee does not want to work with the organization, still he or she has to stay for certain duration and show commitment. This type of commitment is called Normative Commitment.

Now, dont start guessing what type of commitment, you have for your organization ;)