Using information in HR (UIN) assessment template

HR research project report

Name:

Word count:

Impact of Employee engagement on organizational success: A case of Apple Inc.

Contents

Context 2

Discussion of the issue. 2

Research aims and objectives. 2

Research aim.. 3

Research objectives. 3

Planning. 3

Stakeholders. 4

Research activity and findings. 8

References. 14

Context

Discussion of the issue

The employee engagement can be rightfully described as the full extent to which the different employees will feel passionate about their overall job role and are committed to the enterprise and place discretionary efforts in the workplace. According to Albrecht,   Breidahl  and Marty (2018), the employee engagement can be stated to be the extent of motivation, emotional intelligence and involvement.  Although several organizations as present around the globe often tend to focus on the employee motivation, however, they key to long term success is to focus on employee engagement which would result in better operational efficiency and effectively and lead to a creative workplace environment.  Byrne,   Hayes  and Holcombe (2017)states that the employee engagement as an activity or as an initiative which is undertaken by the enterprise goes beyond conducting several games, events, activities and others.  The employee engagement drives the employee performance and the employees who are effectively engaged tend to guarantee that they are being able to comprehend the entire operational efficiency and comprehend their purpose within the firm. The engaged employees work with respect to purpose of their organization and ensure that they will be able to contribute in the best manner. Instead of engaging in employee motivation, all enterprises should engage in employee engagement so that the productivity of the enterprise improves as the employees tend to contribute well to the objectives of the enterprise.

Fletcher (2017) states that there are several tools which are made use of by the business in order to measure the overall employee engagement. In this context, it can be outlined that, surveys are performed to gain an idea about the strategic alignment, the performance and the satisfaction of the different contributors. According to Kang  and Sung (2017), the engagement surveys must be validated in a strategic manner so as to ensure that, the efforts of the enterprise can be measured. Additionally, one of the best times to comprehend the importance and meaning of strategic management can be agreed to be at any convenient time. The employee engagement can be stated to be a crucial aspect and all firms must guarantee that, they are being able to engage their employees well.

Having discussed the overall background of the employee engagement, it can be outlined that, the employee engagement has an associated influence on several aspects of the enterprise such as productivity, efficiency, the overall organizational success and the revenues of the firm (Mann  and Harter  2016). Hence, through this study, it is proposed that the main research context is to comprehend the impact of the employee engagement on the overall organizational success at the Apple Inc (Apple.com 2020). Apple is one of the most popular enterprises as present around the globe and is quite popular for the varying initiatives which are taken later by the enterprise in order to engage in a considerate operational efficiency and to infuse creativity. However, although the company has achieved positive results from this initiative, it can be agreed to it that, the overall influence of the employee performance on the organizational success has not been understood yet and with reference to this, the study is aimed towards comprehending the manner in which the employee engagement positively influences the efficiency and success of the enterprises and the manner in which long term success can be engaged in (Men,   O’Neil  and Ewing  2020). With respect to this, the author will be able to comprehend the importance of employee engagement and its value in the employee welfare along with the firm`s welfare.

Research aims and objectives

Research aim

The primary aim of the study is to comprehend the method in which, the Apple Inc. as an enterprise applies several employee engagement strategy with the help of which, it will be able to ensure long term successful operations and the ways in which the success of Apple is a greater contribution of the employee engagement and their collective efforts. The study intends to establish an association between the engagement of employees as an independent variable and the organizational success as a dependent variable at Apple Inc.

Research objectives

The research objectives can be outlined as follows:

1. To comprehend the concept of employee engagement within the context of Apple Inc.
2. To examine the various employee engagement initiatives which are applied by the Apple Inc.
3. To analyse the concept of organizational success within Apple Inc.
4. To examine the impact of employee engagement and organizational success at Apple Inc.
5. To comprehend the association between employee engagement and organizational success at Apple Inc.
6. To provide recommendations based on which the Apple Inc., will be able to ensure long term successful operations through engagement of employees in the right manner.

Planning

Stakeholders

All research activities which are collected by various authors have certain theoretical and practical value. In this context, it can be agreed to it that, the results of the different research activities are used for both study purposes and practical implication purposes. Therefore, in context with this, it can be agreed that all research results have certain stakeholders (Nazir and Islam  2017). These stakeholders are the parties which would benefit the most from the results of the research work and in association with this, it becomes effective to gain an comprehending of the ways in which the study can find solutions to existing problems associated with the enterprise. Hence, the various stakeholders which have been identified for the purpose of this study, can be outlined to be as follows:

• Management at Apple Inc.: The management team at the Apple Inc. can be considered to be one of the most effective stakeholders who will be benefiting the most from the research work and the results of the association between the engagement of the employees and the organizational success. In regards to this, it can be agreed to it that, once they are being able to view the overall results, they would be able to identify and undertake the strategies as recommended and alongside will also be able to progress sufficiently in the long run (Ørngreen and Levinsen  2017).

• Other researchers in academia: Other similar researchers in the field of Academia can be stated to be the primary stakeholders of the research. In connotation to this, it can be deemed to be essential that, individuals researching in the field of human resource management will be greatly able to benefit from the given study as they will be able to identify the relevant strategies which can be incorporated in the field of human resource management.

• Enterprises seeking to engage in successful operations: Although the study is based around the Apple Inc., it can be identified critical to ensure that, the other small and medium sized enterprises which focus on engaging their employees will be able to benefit greatly and comprehend the ways in which the employees are required to be managed (Osborne  and Hammoud 2017).

Proposed methodology

Secondary sources	Information needed	Research source	Justification for the source	Advantages of the source	Disadvantages of the source
Theories and concepts which are associated with Employee engagement. Through this information, the author will be able to ensure that he is being able to gain a sufficient idea about the management theories and how the employees will be engaged effectively within the workplace.	Journals Textbooks News articles Related annual reports of various enterprises	The reason why these sources have been chosen can be described to be due to the reason that, the journals and textbooks along with the news articles act as a considerate source of information and in line with this, it can be deemed to be effective that using this source would help in finding the associated answers.	The source will assist in comprehending the proven theories associated with employee engagement and the established articles and journals would help in comprehending the issue in a relevant manner (Popli  and Rizvi 2016).	The theories have been already established overall after a particular time frame and they may not be relevant to the current line of study which is being undertaken.
Theories and concepts associated with the organizational success with the help of which the author would be able to gain an idea about the manner in which the different research aspects have to be collected and the overall organizational goals can be attained.	Journals Textbooks News articles Related annual reports of various enterprises	The reason why this source has been taken is in order to comprehend the associated manner in which the organizational success as a theory is built and in what context is the study based upon. With association to this, it can be outlined that, taking information from these sources would assist in successful attainment of research outcomes.	The source will assist in comprehending the proven theories associated with organizational success and the established articles and journals would help in comprehending the issue in a relevant manner.	The theories have been already established overall after a particular time frame and they may not be relevant to the current line of study which is being undertaken.
	The manner in which the employee engagement strategies are effectively carried out by the Apple as a part of their policy and overall strategy (Zangirolami-Raimundo,   Echeimberg and Leone  2018). Through this a direct idea about the overall performance of Apple Inc. in the context of the organizational management can be well understood.	Apple annual reports   News articles   Journals based on prior study undertaken in this field (Vatsa  2016).	As the information pertains to the Apple Inc. as an enterprise, it can be taken important to mention that, taking from the news articles is effective to comprehend the initiatives being taken by the enterprise.	As the information source aims to comprehend the manner in which the employee engagement policies are designed by the Apple Inc. undertaking the entire work procedure in an efficient manner and the different effects of the initiative.	The disadvantage is that although it may be written in the report, however, it is obligatory for the firm to follow all these norms and associated criteria’s in the right manner.
Primary methods	Information needed	Research method	Justification for the method	Advantages of the method	Disadvantages of the method
Viewpoint of the employees regarding the employee engagement activities being carried out by the enterprise and comprehending whether they are engaged or not.	Survey This survey will be undertaken by considering aspects associated with the employee engagement.	The reason why the survey method of primary data collection has been selected is due to the reason that, it will help in gaining the different viewpoints of the employees in a successful manner (Uddin  Mahmood  and Fan  2019).	Through this procedure the viewpoints of the different employees would be gained successfully and in line with this, the response shall be collected in a limited manner through which the idea about the manner in which the employees at Apple Inc. perform can be understood well.	As the questionnaire will be an open ended one, limited responses will be attained from the different respondents.
Comprehending their viewpoint towards these engagement aspects and additionally ensuring that this impacts the organizational success in a better manner.	The survey will also correspond aspects associated with the relationship between the employee engagement and the related operational success.	This will help in developing the association which exists between the employee engagement and the overall organizational success. In this context, it can be agreed to it that, using the survey will be most helpful.	The advantages will be that, the association between the related employee engagement and the organizational success would be identified.	The employees may not provide satisfactory answers for which the right kind of survey results may not be achieved.

Action plan

Activity	Months
M July	M Aug	M Sept	M Oct	M Nov	M Dec	M Jan
Finalizing the topic of the research
Collection of the data from various  secondary sources
Forming the  layout of the research work
Conducting the  review of literature
Formation of the research plan
Selection of the  appropriate research methodologies
Collection of  data from  the primary  sources
Analysis of collected data sets for the study
Interpreting the collected data sets
Concluding the Study outcomes
Designing the rough draft of the study
Submission of the Final Work

Research activity and findings

Research activity summary

The primary research activity which has been chosen for the purpose of this proposal can be outlined to be the Close ended survey. In consideration to this, the author of the study made use of the Snowball sampling method and made use of certain connections to gain an idea of the manner in which the employees at Apple can be engaged in an adequate manner and the overall research ideas could be conducted. Hence, a set of five questions were prepared and 20 employees from Apple were asked to fill up the questionnaire and submit their responses. Their responses were extracted and saved in the excel sheet out of which various graphs and charts have been created (Taherdoost  2016). The reason why this associated research activity was carried out is due to the fact that, this assists in ensuring that the research outcomes can be attained in the right manner and the research questions can be answered in the right way. As the study has intended to comprehend the impact of employee engagement on operational success of the enterprise, undertaking this method has been critical. The next section outlines the overall research findings.

The questions asked are as follows:

1. Are adequate employee engagement activities carried out by Apple?
2. Do you believe that the employee engagement activity motivates you to perform well?
3. Are you adequately recognized for your efforts?
4. Do you work hard and place in creativity due to the engagement effort of the firm?
5. Does the firm practice equality, diversity and inclusion as an engagement initiative?

Research findings

Row Labels	Count of 1. Are adequate employee engagement activities carried out by Apple?
No	6
Yes	14
Grand Total	20

It was found that when the emplouees were asked about the activities carried out by the company, it can be agreed to it that, 14 out of the 20 employees surveyed agreed to it that adequyate initiatives were carried out by the enterprise to ensure successful operational efficiency.

Row Labels	Count of 2. Do you believe that the employee engagement activity motivates you to perform well?
No	5
Yes	15
Grand Total	20

It can be found that when the different employees were asked about the motivation to perform well which is provided by the engagement activities, then for this, it was rightfully agreed to it that, this provides adequate contribution to success.

Row Labels	Count of 3. Are you adequately recognized for your efforts?
No	4
Yes	16
Grand Total	20

Recognition is an integral part of employee engagement and the employees responded that 80% of them were recognized well.

Row Labels	Count of 4. Do you work hard and place in creativity due to the engagement effort of the firm?
No	3
Yes	17
Grand Total	20

The employees were asked about the faxct whether their contribution to the firm was a result of the hardwork of the firm for the engagement. To this, the employees replied that, their hardwork was integral for the enterprise operations.

Row Labels	Count of 5. Does the firm practice equality, diversity and inclusion as an engagement initiative?
No	5
Yes	15
Grand Total	20

Lastly, it was found that employee engagement is critical for Apple and they induldge in equality and divseirity.

Conclusions

Therefore, from the given results it can be witnessed that the employee engagement forms a critical part of the enterprise and in this context, it can be taken to be effective that, the study had aimed to propose a research into the context of comprehending the overall influence of the employee engagement strategies being undertaken by the firm on the overall manner in which organizational success can be attained in the right way. The study outlined the context of the study which was then followed by the manner in which the research activities would benefit the stakeholders. The research sources and methods were rightfully discussed. In line with this, the study has also outlined the research findings which was collected using 20 employees of the Apple Inc using informal connections. It was found that employee engagement strategies do influence the workplace motivation and assist in achieving organizational success. In this context, it was also found that, Apple undertakes critical activities with the help of which, the employee’s engagement can be held and successful outcomes can be attained in the right way. The recommendations for the study have been given in the next section which would be helpful for apple to ensure overall organizational success.

Recommendations

In order to ensure that Apple is able to carry out its legacy in an effective manner and is being able to achieve all its research aims, the following strategies can be rightfully recommended to the firm:

1. Apple needs to ensure that it will be required to conduct the employee engagement surveys in a regular manner. Through this initiative, the management at Apple would be able to ensure that, they are successfully being able to engage in successful initiatives and comprehend the needs of the employees in the right manner (Saadat and Saadat  2016).
2. The employee engagement activities should be such that, they are creative and fun oriented with the help of which, the engagement activities can turn out to be more interesting for the different employees as present and outcomes are easier to achieve (Saks 2019).
3. Focusing on the diversity and the inclusion activities can be considered to be very effective (Stoyanova and Iliev  2017). In association with this, it can be rightfully mentioned that, when Apple would be able to provide respect to the employees then in such a scenario the results of the firm would be positive in nature (Snyder 2019).
4. Providing adequate incentives and benefits to the employees can be taken to be essentially important (Sandhya  and Sulphey  2020). With line to this, it can be deemed to be very crucial that, when the firm would keep its employees satisfied, they would be more inclined towards engagement.
5. Recognition of the employees can also be considered to be a key to success for Apple (Singh et al. 2016). When the employees work hard, they want to be appreciated for the work as conducted by them and in this context, it becomes essential to outline that, they need to be encouraged and recognised for their hard work.

References

Albrecht, S., Breidahl, E. and Marty, A., 2018. Organizational resources, organizational engagement climate, and employee engagement. Career Development International.

Apple.com 2020.. Investor relations and annual reports [online]. Available at: https://investor.apple.com/investor-relations/default.aspx (Retrieved on: 08 Aug. 2020).

Byrne, Z.S., Hayes, T.L. and Holcombe, K.J., 2017. Employee engagement using the federal employee viewpoint survey. Public Personnel Management, 46(4), pp.368-390.

Fletcher, A.J., 2017. Applying critical realism in qualitative research: methodology meets method. International journal of social research methodology, 20(2), pp.181-194.

Kang, M. and Sung, M., 2017. How symmetrical employee communication leads to employee engagement and positive employee communication behaviors. Journal of Communication Management.

Mann, A. and Harter, J., 2016. The worldwide employee engagement crisis. Gallup Business Journal, 7, pp.1-5.

Men, L.R., O’Neil, J. and Ewing, M., 2020. Examining the effects of internal social media usage on employee engagement. Public Relations Review, p.101880.

Nazir, O. and Islam, J.U., 2017. Enhancing organizational commitment and employee performance through employee engagement. South Asian Journal of Business Studies.

Ørngreen, R. and Levinsen, K., 2017. Workshops as a Research Methodology. Electronic Journal of E-learning, 15(1), pp.70-81.

Osborne, S. and Hammoud, M.S., 2017. Effective employee engagement in the workplace. International Journal of Applied Management and Technology, 16(1), p.4.

Popli, S. and Rizvi, I.A., 2016. Drivers of employee engagement: The role of leadership style. Global Business Review, 17(4), pp.965-979.

Saadat, V. and Saadat, Z., 2016. Organizational learning as a key role of organizational success. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 230, pp.219-225.

Saks, A.M., 2019. Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement revisited. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance.

Sandhya, S. and Sulphey, M.M., 2020. Influence of empowerment, psychological contract and employee engagement on voluntary turnover intentions. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management.

Singh, S.K., Burgess, T.F., Heap, J. and Al Mehrzi, N., 2016. Competing through employee engagement: a proposed framework. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management.

Snyder, H., 2019. Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, pp.333-339.

Stoyanova, T. and Iliev, I., 2017. Employee engagement factor for organizational excellence. International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), 10(1), pp.23-29.

Taherdoost, H., 2016. Sampling methods in research methodology; how to choose a sampling technique for research. How to Choose a Sampling Technique for Research (April 10, 2016).

Uddin, M.A., Mahmood, M. and Fan, L., 2019. Why individual employee engagement matters for team performance?. Team Performance Management: An International Journal.

Vatsa, M., 2016. Leveraging Employer Branding for Organizational Success. Review of Management, 6. Mohajan, H.K., 2018. Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related subjects. Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, 7(1), pp.23-48.

Zangirolami-Raimundo, J., Echeimberg, J.D.O. and Leone, C., 2018. Research methodology topics: Cross-sectional studies. Journal of Human Growth and Development, 28(3), pp.356-360.