CHAPTER III

CONCEPT OF EMPLOYEE MORALE

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents a complete picture of employee morale

in the context of the textile industry. It deals with conceptual

explanations of Employee morale, Nature of morale, Characteristics

of morale, Features of morale, Approaches to morale, Assumptions

in the understanding of morale, Individual and group morale, Types

of morale, Importance of morale, Factors influencing employee

morale, Measurement of morale, and Effects of morale. As such this

chapter is purely descriptive in nature.

3.2 EMPLOYEE MORALE

Human resource is considered to be the most valuable asset

of any organization. It is the sum of inherent abilities, acquired

knowledge and skills represented by the talents and aptitudes of

the employed persons who comprise of executives, supervisors, and

employees. It may be noted here that human resources should be

utilized to the maximum possible extent in order to achieve

individual and organizational goals.

The attitudes, feelings and emotions of employees play a vital

role to determine their performance and behaviour. These in turn

determine the success and growth of the organization. It is for this

reason that personnel experts as well as line managers now keen

attention to the issues of motivation and morale in industry.

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 Morale is a very widely used term. It generally refers to

esprit de corps, a feeling of enthusiasm, zeal, confidence in

individuals or groups that they will be able to cope with the tasks

assigned to them. A person‟s enthusiasm for his job reflects his

attitude of mind to work, environment and to his employer, and his

willingness to strive for the goals set for him by the organization in

which he is employed. Morale is a synthesis of superiors, his

organization, his fellow-employees, his pay and so on. Feelings,

emotions, sentiments, attitudes, and motives-all these combine and

lead to a particular type of behaviour on the part of an individual or

his group; and this is what is referred to as employee morale. It

represents the attitudes of individuals and groups in an

organisation towards their work environment and towards

voluntary cooperation to the full extent of their capabilities for the

fulfillment of organisational goals.

3.3 APPROACHES TO MORALE

Morale is generally referred to as “willingness to work”. Job

satisfaction and dissatisfaction create the problem of low morale

among the employees. Good motivation leads to high morale. It

being a psychological concept, it is not easy to define it precisely.

Different authorities have variously defined morale. Different

definitions of morale can be classified into three major approaches.

1. Classical Approach

2. Psychological Approach

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 3. Social Approach.

3.3.1 CLASSICAL APPROACH

Robert M. Guion defined morale as the extent to which

individual needs are satisfied and the extent to which an individual

perceives that satisfaction stemming from total job satisfaction.

According to this approach, the satisfaction of basic needs is the

symbols of morale. If the basic needs of the employees are satisfied

their morale will be high.

3.3.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

In the words of Jucious and Slender, “morale is a state of

mind and emotions affecting willingness to work which in turn

affects individual and organisational objectives”. According to this

approach, morale is a psychological concept i.e., a state of mind.

Emotions are affect the willingness to work which in turn affect

individual and organisational objectives. Accordingly the attitudes

and willingness to work is morale. Morale is a mental condition or

attitude of individuals and groups which determine their

willingness to cooperate.

3.3.3 SOCIAL APPROACH

Morale is a social phenomenon which enables the men to live

in a society or group in pursuit of a common goal. According to

Blackmanship, morale is the feeling of togetherness. There is a

sense of identification with and interest in the elements of one‟s

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job, working conditions, fellow employees, supervisor, employer and

the company. Broadly speaking, morale is;

1. a stimulation of the feeling of togetherness

2. an identification of group interest and that of the interest

of the enterprise, fellow employees and the requirement of the job;

and

3. the creation of an atmosphere in the organisation

conducive to the achievement of the enterprise.

Morale is an indicator of the attitude of employees towards

their jobs, superiors and the organization‟s environment. It is a

collection of employees‟ attitudes, feelings and sentiments towards

these variables. Morale is a by-product of the group relationships

in the organisation. It is a mental process, which, once started,

permeates to the entire group creating a mood which results in the

formation of a common attitude.

3.4 NATURE OF MORALE

Generally, the term „morale‟ is used to describe an overall

climate prevailing among the members of a group. It is not an

absolute concept which can convey a specific meaning. Like the

word „health‟, the word „morale‟ by itself does not convey any

favourable or unfavourable meaning. Morale is an elusive thing. It

is not easy to define, control or measure. But it exercises a potent

influence on the human relations climate in an organization. It has

to be qualified with a degree, as high morale or low morale. Thus,

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