C/HR/47. Masters Dissertation. The importance of employee engagement to firm competitiveness: An analysis of firms in the BME voluntary sector

Many firms in the private, public and voluntary sector face levels of staff turnover, employee morale and motivation, staff commitment and job satisfaction that are lower than they would hope. This refers to what we call employee engagement. When employee engagement is low, or lower than a firm wants it to be, productivity and profitability are likely to be severely affected. This dissertation examines the importance of employee engagement to firm competitiveness in the voluntary sector, focusing specifically on the black minority ethnic (BME) sector. The literature review provides a comprehensive discussion of the key literature on employee engagement, which comprises detailed discussion of job satisfaction, employee commitment and motivation theory, as well as related aspects of work and physical conditions, job characteristics and roles, teamwork and co-workers, and the impact of leadership. A study across nine BME organisations with some 110 employees was conducted and the results were analysed and discussed before conclusions were made. This dissertation would be useful for anyone interested in employee engagement or its major facets Ï job satisfaction, employee commitment and motivation theory Ï for which there is a comprehensive literature review. It is also useful in highlighting how to perform and analyse primary research and then apply those findings to the literature that has been set out.