6.1 introduction -...
TRANSCRIPT
6.1 Introduction
Employee satisfaction is the terminology used to describe whether
employees are happy and contented by fulfilling their needs and desires at
work. Employees are the channels of service delivery and its promotion.
Service delivery is very closely related to the performance of employees.
Human resource has got its incomparable potential and status as far as other
resources are concerned. The real wealth of an organization is its employees
and therefore, the role of employees and their satisfaction needs to be fully
scrutinized to ensure high quality delivery of service.
Job satisfaction is the combination of physiological, psychological and
environmental circumstances that cause a person to say “I am satisfied with
my job” (Harper & Bros, 1935). There are many factors which affect job
satisfaction like, motivation, management style, organizational environment,
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250 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
employee involvement and autonomous work position. It is frequently
measured by organizations by using rating scales or Yes/No questions.
In IR, there are about 700 job categories spread over 68 divisions,
units and departments, each vary in job profile and duties. There lies the
complexity of the structure and the difficulty in managing an organization
having the largest number of employees in India.
In railway, labour is considered as a dominant factor of production for
increasing productivity. In order to get the best results from employees,
management must be aware of what employees expect from their employers.
Moreover, dynamic changes have been taking place at a faster rate in
technology; computerization, mechanization of track maintenance, organization
culture etc. to meet the emerging challenges of traffic requirements in
SR. Systematic manpower planning is essential to meet the challenges of the
changing environment, by ensuring that the existing manpower is utilized to the
maximum possible extent. In a service sector like railway, the quality, quantity
and the utilization of human resources become all the more important (Sar. A.
Levitan, Garth .L. Mangum and Ray Marshall,1972).
For the effective utilization of employees, to improve service quality
and for better financial performance, their satisfaction in various factors is
highly required. Performance is considered to be a function of ability and
motivation. Ability depends on education, experience and training. Well
motivated employees are productive and creative.
In this context, satisfaction of employees (who are engaged in running
of trains) across different departments and divisions relating to the changing
organizational environment, attitude of superiors, turnaround related factors
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 251
and passenger amenities and their co-operation towards employees during the
turnaround period are studied.
Before analyzing the employees’ satisfaction, a brief introduction of
the existing conditions of pay, allowances, medical facilities, hours of work,
rest period, participation in management, staff welfare and training are
furnished in succeeding pages.
6.1.1. Pay, Allowances and Medical facilities
Along with the usual pay, since the employees are liable to work
round the clock a year, they are given National Holiday Allowance and Night
Duty Allowance. Employees are also eligible to get variable pay schemes like
Productivity Linked Bonus for achieving higher productivity by way of
increased output and improved quality of service. Medical facilities are
provided not only to employees but also to dependents, which enable the
employees to work devoid of all worries about the health of employees.
Employees are also compensated on account of unusual working hours
or special nature of duties (such as Overtime Allowance and Running
Allowance) or uncongenial or expensive place of posting (such as Bad
Climate Allowance, Hill Allowance, House Rent Allowance, City
Compensatory Allowance etc.) Employees and their dependents are given
with free passes and Privilege Tickets Orders (PTOs) to travel throughout
India.
6.1.2 Hours of Work and Rest Period
HOER (Hours of Employment Regulations) is applicable to all
railway employees except, those who are covered by Factories Act, excluded
staff like supervisors, medical staff, persons in confidential capacity and
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252 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
railway training school staff. The employment of all railway servants is
categorized into four by the General Manager of a zone as:
a) Intensive- 42 hours a week,
b) Essentially intermittent- 48 hours a week,
c) Excluded staff, and
d) Continuous staff which do not fall in any of the category.
For intensive and continuous employees, rest of not less than 30
consecutive hours for every week and for essentially intermittent, rest of not
less than 24 consecutive hours including a full night is allowed.
Running staff are granted each month, a rest of at least 5 periods of
not less than 22 consecutive hours or a rest of at least four periods of not less
than 30 consecutive hours each including a full night. They shall not be away
from headquarters for more than 3 or 4 days at a stretch and the periodical
rest shall be given at headquarters.
6.1.3 Participation in Management
Employees are allowed to form unions to represent their grievances to
the higher ups. There is Permanent Negotiating Machinery (PNM)
functioning at three tiers viz., Railway Board, Zonal level and at the
Divisional level to address the grievances of employees for resolving disputes
between the organized labour and management. Employee’s participation in
management is allowed through PREM for effective interaction of employees
of all categories in decisions relating to safety, modernization, cost reduction
etc. Under participative management, employees feel committed and the staff
is more responsible and willing to carry out the organizational tasks.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 253
For improving productivity, better relation with employees is highly
required. There are two recognized federations at the apex level viz. National
Federation of Indian Railwaymen and All India Railwaymen Federation
(NFIR & AIRF). In Southern Railway, their affiliates are Southern Railway
Mazdoor Union (SRMU, a constituent of AIRF), and Dakshin Railway
Employee’s Union (DREU), affiliated to CITU.
6.1.4 Staff Welfare
SR owns and manages technical institutes and schools for providing
educational facilities and assistance to the children of railway employees,
handicraft centers for increasing family income, hospitals and health units,
financial assistance in sickness, subsidized housing and canteen facilities at
important work places and medical cover for employees and their families
during service and after retirement. In addition, SR has six book banks
functioning at each Divisional Headquarters to cater to the needs of technical
and non-technical students who are wards of railway employees engaged in
higher studies. SR provides funds from Central Staff Benefit Fund for
recreation, amusement and sports activities. Inter-railway cultural
competitions are held every year. Varieties of cultural programme and
holiday camps are being held periodically.
6.1.5 Training Facilities
Manpower planning emphasizes on training to different categories of
staff to improve the skill, to increase productivity and maximize manpower
utilization. Zonal Railway Training Institute at Tiruchirappally is providing
training for Station Masters, Guards and loco pilots on various aspects of
train operation. Technical training is provided at different training schools. A
system of on-the-job counseling is done by nominated supervisors and
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254 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
inspectors to ensure that staff works as per rules. Safety camps and annual
safety week are organized to inculcate safety awareness among staff.
Though the employees are provided with many allowances and
incentives, these cannot resolve all the problems. Every employee has certain
expectations, when failed; he develops a feeling of discontent or
dissatisfaction. Similarly, when an employee feels that something is unfair or
unjust in the organization, he confronts a grievance. Grievances may occur
due to a number of factors like, economic, work environment, supervision,
work group or other factors. In this context, the researcher attempts to study
the perceptions of employees relating to the turnaround strategies along with
organizational environment, attitude of superiors, provision of passenger
amenities and their attitude towards employees.
6.2 Employees in Southern Railway
The staff strength of SR for the year 2009-10 is 99329, reduced to
95741 in the year 2010-11 (Pocket book of SR 2010-11). This reduction is
done by downsizing employees in all the departments, except accounts and
administration. The employees of SR belong to nine departments and field
units and the nature of job varies from category to category. There are about
10,140 women employees working in different divisions / units in SR. The
spouse is equally important in the smooth running of the complex system and
plays a vital role in taking care of railway persons and their families in an
informal and passionate manner (R. R. Bhandari, 2005).
The number of employees of SR, category-wise from 2000 to 2010 is
illustrated in table 6.1.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 255
Table 6.1: Group-wise Distribution of Employees
Years Category of employees Total A B C D 2000-01 652 529 87557 44849 133587
2001-02 698 467 86595 42819 130579
2002-03 653 501 85043 40795 126992
2003-04 525 467 73441 32411 106844
2004-05 559 455 75446 29798 106258
2005-06 523 502 75257 28583 104865
2006-07 529 509 76805 27334 105177
2007-08 594 536 76752 26798 104680
2008-09 575 493 85936 15468 102472
2009-10 549 559 77251 20970 99329
Source: SR Annual Report 2000-2010
Table 6.1 reveals that employees’ strength in all categories has not
increased in proportion to the increase in rail traffic over the ten years under
study. In Group C&D categories, instead of an increase, a considerable decrease
is found. Amidst the technological improvement that has taken place in ticketing
and signaling, the pressure of workload of employees with the present volume of
traffic is much more in 2009-10. All these may adversely influence their job
satisfaction. The number of employees in Group D registered a negative trend
over the years and the vast variation for the year 2008 - 09 is due to the VI pay
commission recommendation to abolish the Group D category employees by
granting them Group C status on the basis of securing a pass in qualifying
examination.
An Efficiency Cell under the Planning department conducts crash
studies to identify surplus staff and to make recommendation for staff
reduction. The following categories of staff are taken for the purpose of study.
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256 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
6.2.1 Employees under Study
Here, the satisfaction of employees at the operating level through their
perception is analyzed. Operating division performs logistic functions by
which activities of several service departments are coordinated to produce the
end result- transportation. They comprise front-line employees like Station
Masters, Booking/ Reservation clerks, Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs),
and Mechanical staff like Loco pilots and Guards. Front-line employees, who
are in touch with the customers, have to face multiple tasks and it creates
tremendous stress in the minds of employees. They are the persons who
actually deliver service to the travelling public and are directly affected by the
strategies adopted during the turnaround period. The operating performance of
railway depends on team work and service of booking/reservation clerks,
station masters, loco pilots, ticket checking staff etc. They all belong to Group
C category.
6.2.1. A. Station Masters and Station Managers (SMs)
As the name suggests, they are the masters of railway stations and belong
to Traffic Department. Centralized operation of routes, (abolition of signal
cabins) electrification of tracks, doubling of lines and increase in number of
manned un-interlocked gates add immensely to the workload of SMs. In E Class
stations, they are also entrusted with the issue of tickets and provision of required
amenities to the passengers. Due to the new strategies, they are much
overburdened with the operating duties as well as commercial duties. Additional
SMs are not provided in sections where the line capacity exceeds 85 per cent. It
is also observed that additional responsibilities along with work are being thrust
on the cadre and they are overburdened with a lot of documentation work,
physical strain and mental stress.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 257
6.2.1. B. Train Ticket Examiners (TTEs)
TTEs who belong to Commercial Department, are mainly responsible
for ensuring that only bonafide reserved passengers occupy the reserved
seats/berths in trains or to curb ticketless travelling. They are also entrusted
with the safety of passengers inside the coaches against theft, unauthorized
hawking and assisting passengers in emergencies such as accidents, medical
attention etc. Normally, a TTE has to man two AC coaches and one sleeper
class coach or four sleeper class coaches. Now, due to the increase in number
of coaches and introduction of more trains, adequate staff is not provided and
it is observed that two or three TTEs are deputed to handle the whole train.
6.2.1. C. Loco Pilots
Loco pilots (Mail), Loco Pilot (passenger), Loco pilots (goods),
Motormen, Loco pilot (Shunting), Assistant loco pilots and firemen
constitute the category of train drivers and they belong to Mechanical
Department. Safety of passengers is entrusted in their hands. But, rest denial,
over-working through extension of routes, rest period of less than eight
hours, increased outstation detention – all these lead to mental agony and
affect rail safety. The loco pilots have complained through media reports
(Uttar Banga express accident) that their work is always stretched for long
hours without rest resulting in much strain and lead to human errors.
6.2.1. D. Guards
Guards, who belong to Traffic Department, also have the same
categorization as Mail/Express, Passenger, Goods, Assistant guards etc. With
the increase in number of trains, it is learnt that guards can stay at their
homes only after 4 to 5 days of duty. It is also observed that though Guards
are given running allowance and kilometer allowance for the performance of
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258 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
duty, they are under physical strain and mental stress due to long hours of
work with less than 8 hours of rest. With the introduction of Duranto trains,
the situation is aggravated. While the Rail Ministry announces a number of
new trains in every budget, the vacancies in operational posts remain unfilled
and the available staff is heavily overburdened.
6.2.1. E. Booking Clerk/ Enquiry Clerk
Booking Clerk/ Enquiry Clerk belong to Commercial department.
Interviews with enquiry/ booking clerks at stations disclosed that they are
working under poor and unhygienic working conditions without even basic
facilities such as toilets, drinking water and proper seating arrangements. They
do not even have secure space to store cash. The lack of customer care training
coupled with operational constraints may lead to poor counter service. It is
observed that in some stations, enquiry counters are manned by ticket collectors
on duty, which may result in serious compromise of their functions.
6.3 Perception
Perception is the process of interpreting the message of people’s
senses to provide order and meaning to the environment (EPW, 2010). It is
the quality of state or capability of being affected by something external.
Perception is not necessarily based on reality, but is merely a perspective
from a particular individual’s view of a situation. Perception has a significant
role in determining whether employees are disengaged, i.e., a phenomenon
where employees are at work, but are minimizing their work contribution.
Disengagement can exist under conditions of poor leadership and when the
co-operation and trust between management and employees is low (Winston.
G. Lewis, Kit. F. Pun, 2007). The managerial actions also affect employee
perception.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 259
6.4 Sample Profile
6.4.1 Age
Age of the employees has an important role in the level of satisfaction
and perception of employees. The age-wise distribution of employees is
given in table 6.2.
Table 6.2: Age-wise distribution of employees
Departments Below 30 30-39 40-49 50-59 Total
Traffic 4 21 22 22 69
(5.8) (30.4) (31.9) (31.9) (100.0)
Commercial 2 6 16 14 38
(5.3) (15.8) (42.1) (36.8) (100.0)
Mechanical 0 27 65 1 93
(0.0) (29.0) (69.9) (1.1) (100.0)
Total 6 54 103 37 200
(3.0) (27.0) (51.5) (18.5) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total
Age-wise classification shows that 51.5 per cent of the total
employees belong to 40-49 age group and 27 per cent belong to 30-39 age
group. Only 3 per cent employees are in the below 30 age group. It is
amazing to note that 70 per cent of the employees of Mechanical department
belong to 40-49 age group and 37 per cent of employees of Commercial
department and 32 per cent of the employees of Traffic department are in the
50-59 age group. This has a slight impact on the productivity of employees,
as they are sent to periodical medical examination after the age of 45 and if
they are found unfit, they are kept under supernumerary post.
6.4.2 Gender
Gender-wise classification shows that 86.5 per cent are male
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260 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
employees and 13.5 per cent are women employees. In all the three
categories, 10 to 15 per cent of the employees represent female and the
majority of employees (85% and above) are male. The domination of male
employees is comparatively higher in Commercial department. The reduction
in female employees in all the three categories may be due to arduous and
inconvenient shift duties at isolated places.
Table 6.3: Gender-wise Classification of Employees
Departments Male Female Total
Traffic 60 9 69
(87.0) (13.0) (100.0)
Commercial 34 4 38
(89.5) (10.5) (100.0)
Mechanical 79 14 93
(84.9) (15.1) (100.0)
Total 173 27 200
(86.5) (13.5) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total
6.4.3 Educational Qualification
The break-up of the educational background of employees belonging
to different categories of employees is presented in table 6.4.
Table 6.4: Profile of Educational Qualification
Departments SSLC Degree PG Professional/ Technical Total
Traffic 12 12 40 5 69
(17.4) (17.4) (58.0) (7.2) (100.0)
Commercial 0 11 24 3 38
(0.0) (28.9) (63.2) (7.9) (100.0)
Mechanical 7 16 1 69 93
(7.5) (17.2) (1.1) (74.2) (100.0)
Total 19 39 65 77 200
(9.5) (19.5) (32.5) (38.5) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 261
It is clear from the table that majority (71 %) of the employees is
either PG, Professional or technical graduates. In the case of traffic
department, 58 per cent of the employees are PG and in the Mechanical
department, 74.2 per cent of the employees are either professionals or with
technical qualification, as technical qualification is inevitable in Mechanical
department. In Commercial department, all the employees are either PG
(63.2%) or graduates (28.9%) or with professional qualification (7.9%).
Employees with SSLC only are comparatively higher in Traffic department.
6.4.4 Marital status
The classification of employees on the basis of marital status is given
in table 6.5. It is understood that more than ninety per cent of the employees
are married and hence the married employees dominate the sample.
Table 6.5: Distribution of Employees on the Basis of Marital Status
Departments Single Married Total
Traffic 6 63 69
(8.7) (91.3) (100.0)
Commercial 5 33 38
(13.2) (86.8) (100.0)
Mechanical 8 85 93
(8.6) (91.4) (100.0)
Total 19 181 200
(9.5) (90.5) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total
6.4.5 Employment of Spouse
As the majority of employees are married, the study attempts to find
out whether the spouse is employed or not. On an average, under all the three
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262 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
categories of employees, 55.5 per cent of the employees have employed
spouse. The employment of spouse is comparatively more in the case of
Mechanical department.
Table 6.6: Distribution of Employees on the Basis of Employment of Spouse
Departments Yes No Total
Traffic 35 34 69
(50.7) (49.3) (100.0)
Commercial 22 16 38
(57.9) (42.1) (100.0)
Mechanical 54 39 93
(58.1) (41.9) (100.0)
Total 111 89 200
(55.5) (44.5) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value, with a degree of freedom 2 is 0.615 and is not significant at 5% level.
6.4.6 Length of Service
Longer the service, greater the experience and the length of service
has an important role in the level of satisfaction. Table 6.7 indicates that 63.5
per cent of the employees have more than 20 years of service and the length
of service is comparatively lower among Mechanical category of employees
(57%). Those who have less than ten years of service constitute nearly 16.2
per cent in Mechanical department and 10 per cent in case of Commercial
department. Not even a single employee fall in this category in Traffic
department. This indicates that new appointments have not been made
significantly for the past ten years.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 263
Table 6.7: Distribution of Employees on the Basis of Length of Service
Departments Less than 5 years 5-9 years 10-14
years 15-19 years
20 and above Total
Traffic 0 0 17 4 48 69
(0.0) (0.0) (24.6) (5.8) (69.6) (100.0)
Commercial 1 3 3 5 26 38
(2.6) (7.9) (7.9) (13.2) (68.4) (100.0)
Mechanical 14 1 15 10 53 93
(15.1) (1.1) (16.1) (10.8) (57.0) (100.0)
Total 15 4 35 19 127 200
(7.5) (2.0) (17.5) (9.5) (63.5) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom, 4 is 0.233 and is not significant at 5% level.
The study attempts to look into the employees’ satisfaction regarding
organizational environment, attitude of superiors, turnaround related factors,
present passenger amenities and attitude of passengers to employees.
6.5 Organizational Environment
Job satisfaction usually varies according to the organizational
environment. Change in market condition, technology and government
policies necessitate change in environment.
6.5.1 Present Pay
Table 6.8 indicates that 40.5 per cent of the total employees feel that the
present pay is either less than they deserve or very low in relation to other jobs.
37.5 per cent of the employees opined it as moderate and 22 per cent of the
employees have the opinion as either well paid or commensurate with work.
45 per cent of Traffic department employees have the opinion that the pay is
less than they deserve or very low. However, 28.9 per cent of the employees
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264 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
of Commercial department expressed that they are well paid. Not even a single
employee of Mechanical department has expressed it as well paid and it
indicates that these employees are not satisfied with the present pay. Table 6.8: Employees’ Perception Regarding Present pay
Departments Well paid Commensurate with work Moderate Less than I
deserve
Very low in relation to similar jobs
Total
Traffic 2 14 22 17 14 69
(2.9) (20.3) (31.9) (24.6) (20.3) (100.0)
Commercial 11 4 7 16 0 38
(28.9) (10.5) (18.4) (42.1) (0.0) (100.0)
Mechanical 0 13 46 28 6 93
(0.0) (14.0) (49.5) (30.1) (6.5) (100.0)
Total 13 31 75 61 20 200
(6.5) (15.5) (37.5) (30.5) (10.0) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom, 6 is 0.002 and is significant at 5% level.
6.5.2 Promotion Policy
Regarding Promotion policy, 43 per cent of the total employees opined
that it is based on seniority, followed by 37 per cent as unfair. Majority of
employees of Mechanical (60.2%) and Commercial departments (31.6%) are of
the opinion that it is based on seniority and is fair and transparent. Dissatisfaction
towards promotion policy is at the maximum in case of employees of Traffic
department (52.2%). However, in Commercial department, equal number of
persons expressed it as both fair and unfair (28.9 %).
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 265
Table 6.9: Employees’ Perception Regarding Promotion Policy
Departments Fair and transparent
Based on seniority
Based on performance
Regular promotion Unfair Total
Traffic 2 18 3 10 36 69
(2.9) (26.1) (4.3) (14.5) (52.2) (100.0)
Commercial 11 12 2 2 11 38
(28.9) (31.6) (5..3) (5.3) (28.9) (100.0)
Mechanical 0 56 0 10 27 93
(0.0) (60.2) (0.0) (10.8) (29.0) (100.0)
Total 13 86 5 22 74 200
(6.5) (43.0) (2.5) (11.0) (37.0) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom, 4 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.
The difference in the level of satisfaction in promotion policy may be due to the variation in promotion policy adopted for different categories of employees.
6.5.3 Training
Table 6.10 shows that 72 per cent of the total number of employees gets sufficient training. 86.8 per cent of the employees of Commercial department and 68 per cent each of employees of Mechanical and Traffic department are of the opinion that they get proper training. It implies that all the three categories of employees are reasonably satisfied with regard to the training imparted to employees.
Table 6.10: Employees’ Perception on Training Facility
Departments Yes No Total
Traffic 47 22 69
(68.1) (31.9) (100)
Commercial 33 5 38
(86.8) (13.2) (100)
Mechanical 64 29 93
(68.8) (31.2) (100)
Total 144 56 200
(72.0) (28.0) (100) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 2 is 0.077 and is not significant at 5% level.
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266 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
Comparatively, more employees of Commercial department get
proper training compared to other departments.
6.5.4 Basis of Selection for Training
Table 6.11 indicates that while 72.7 per cent of the total employees
stated that training is given on seniority basis, 20.1 per cent as no basis and
7.2 per cent opined it as on merit basis. This may be due to the fact that
different types of training are given on the basis of the requirements of the
case. It is given mostly on the basis of seniority for all the three departments.
Besides, special types of training are given to Commercial department; based
on the requirements. It is observed that regular on- the- job refresher training
is given as and when it is due.
Table 6.11: Basis of Selection for Training
Department Basis of selection
Total Merit Seniority No basis
Traffic 14 39 13 66
(21.2) (59.1) (19.7) (100.0)
Commercial 0 19 19 38
(0.0) (50.0) (50.0) (100.0)
Mechanical 0 83 7 90
(0.0) (92.2) (7.8) (100.0)
Total 14 141 39 194
(7.2) (72.7) (20.1) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 2 is 0.002 and is significant at 5% level.
92.2 per cent of employees of Mechanical department get training
based on their seniority and not even a single employee in Mechanical and
Commercial department gets training based on merit. Only in Traffic
department, training is given on merit basis.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 267
6.5.5 Participation in Other Activities
To relieve them from their hectic schedule of work, employees are
allowed to participate in other activities like, running of co-operative
societies, cultural activities, trade union and other activities.
Table 6.12: Employees’ Participation in other Activities
Departments Employee's co-operative
societies Cultural Trade
Union Sports
activities Others Cultural &
Trade union
Total
Traffic 11 11 31 2 8 3 66
(16.7) (16.7) (47.0) (3.0) (12.1) (4.5) (100)
Commercial 7 1 8 11 6 3 36
(19.4) (2.8) (22.2) (30.6) (16.7) (8.3) (100)
Mechanical 20 16 40 0 5 12 93
(21.5) (17.2) (43.0) (0.0) (5.4) (12.9) (100)
Total 38 28 79 13 19 18 195
(19.5) (14.4) (40.5) (6.7) (9.7) (9.2) (100)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 6 is 0.036 and is not significant at 5% level.
Table 6.12 reveals that 40 per cent of employees are engaged in trade
union activities followed by 19.5 per cent in co-operative societies and 14.4
per cent cultural activities. The same trend is there in Mechanical and Traffic
departments. However, in Commercial department, 30.6 per cent of the
employees are participating in sports activities, 22.2 per cent in trade union
activities. Employees poorly participate in Cultural and other activities.
6.6. Attitude of Superiors
The attitude of superiors has an influence on the employees’
satisfaction. It is learnt from the table that none of the employees of both
Traffic and Mechanical department have viewed it as excellent and 28 per
cent of the total employees have stated it as poor. 31.6 per cent of the
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268 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
employees belonging to Commercial department have rated it as very good
and 8 per cent as excellent. 36 per cent of the employees of Mechanical and
25 per cent of Traffic department are of the opinion that attitude of superiors
is poor. Hence, it is found that level of satisfaction is very poor in case of
employees of Mechanical and Traffic departments and is better in case of
Commercial department.
Table 6.13: Perception on Attitude of Superiors
Departments Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Poor Total
Traffic 0 4 22 26 17 69
(0.0) (5.8) (31.9) (37.7) (24.6) (100.0)
Commercial 3 12 8 8 7 38
(7.9) (31.6) (21.1) (21.1) (18.4) (100.0)
Mechanical 0 11 31 18 33 93
(0.0) (11.8) (33.3) (19.4) (35.5) (100.0)
Total 3 27 61 52 57 200
(1.5) (13.5) (30.5) (26.0) (28.5) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 4 is 0.033 and is significant at 5% level.
6.6.1 Grievance Reporting
When employees face any grievance regarding the organizational
environment or any matter connected with their work, it is imperative to see
whether they report the grievances to the authorities and in what way they
respond to it. Table 6.14 shows that almost all the employees (98%) report
their grievances. Two per cent of the employees who do not report their
grievance belong to traffic department and it might be due to their
indifference.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 269
Table 6.14: Perception on Grievance Reporting
Departments Yes No Total
Traffic 65 4 69
(94.2) (5.8) (100.0)
Commercial 38 0 38
(100.0) (0.0) (100.0)
Mechanical 93 0 93
(100.0) (0.0) (100.0)
Total 196 4 200
(98.0) (2.0) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total.
6.6.2 Response to the Grievance
Table 6.15 illustrates the response to the grievance and it is learnt that 66.3
per cent of the total employees are of the opinion that the authorities respond only
with repeated reminders. Similar is the case with Traffic and Mechanical
department. 34.2 per cent of the employees of Commercial department opined that
the superiors are delegating powers to redress the grievance.
Table 6.15: Perception on Response to the Grievance
Departments Forwarding to
higher authorities
Delegating powers to
redress the grievance
Respond only with repeated
reminders No response Total
Traffic 14 6 39 6 65
(21.5) (9.2) (60.0) (9.2) (100.0)
Commercial 6 13 13 6 38
(15.8) (34.2) (34.2) (15.8) (100.0)
Mechanical 2 5 78 8 93
(2.2) (5.4) (83.9) (8.6) (100.0)
Total 22 24 130 20 196
(11.2) (12.2) (66.3) (10.2) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 4 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.
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270 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
Though almost all the employees from the three departments report
their grievances, the authorities respond only with repeated reminders. In
some cases, they don’t get any response also. The researcher could observe
while interviewing with certain employees that they are not satisfied with the
attitude of the superiors in redressing their grievances. The employees of
Commercial department get no response (15.8%) from the superiors.
6.6.3 Opportunity to give Suggestions
Participation of employees in management and operation by giving them
opportunity to provide suggestions would definitely add the morale of employees.
Table 6.16: Opportunity to give Suggestions
Departments Highly satisfied Satisfied Moderate Dissatisfied Highly
dissatisfied Total
Traffic 00 12 12 30 11 65
(00) (18.5) (18.5) (46.2) (16.9) (100.0)
Commercial 00 12 15 10 1 38
(00) (31.6) (39.5) (26.3) (2.6) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 7 37 39 10 93
(00) (7.5) (39.8) (41.9) (10.8) (100.0)
Total 00 31 64 79 22 196
(00) (15.8) (32.7) (40.3) (11.2) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 4 is 0.001 and is significant at 5% level.
It is shown that 51.5 per cent of the total employees are dissatisfied as
they are not given opportunity to make suggestions. Traffic (63.1%) and
Mechanical department (52.7%) employees opined that they are not given
enough opportunity to give suggestions. As far as employees of Commercial
department are concerned, the attitude of superiors in this respect is either
satisfied (31.6%) or moderate (39.5%). Hence the employees of Traffic and
Mechanical are dissatisfied with the prevailing opportunity to give
suggestions. Since they are given such an opportunity, the study attempts to
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 271
find whether their suggestions are considered in arriving at policy decisions.
6.6.4. Acceptance of Suggestions in Decision Making
It is evident from table 6.17 that 58 per cent of the total employees are
either dissatisfied or highly dissatisfied with the acceptance of suggestions in
decision making. Majority of employees belonging to Traffic (64.6%) and
Mechanical departments (60.5%) are either dissatisfied or highly dissatisfied
in this respect as they are not given opportunity to give suggestions.
However, the majority of employees in the Commercial Department (60.5%)
are of the view that their suggestions are accepted in decision making.
Table 6.17: Acceptance of Suggestions in Decision Making
Departments Highly satisfied Satisfied Moderate Dissatisfied Highly
dissatisfied Total
Traffic 00 1 22 37 5 65
(00) (1.5) (33.8) (56.9) (7.7) (100.0)
Commercial 00 10 13 11 4 38
(00) (26.3) (34.2) (28.9) (10.5) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 0 36 41 14 91
(00) (0.0) (39.6) (45.1) (15.4) (100.0)
Total 00 11 71 89 23 194
(00) (5.7) (36.6) (45.9) (11.9) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 4 is 0.004 and is significant at 5% level.
It is observed from the tables 6.16 and 6.17 that the Traffic and
Mechanical department employees are dissatisfied with the opportunity to
give suggestions and the acceptance of their suggestions for decision making.
However, Commercial department employees get more opportunities to give
suggestions and most of their suggestions are implemented. This may be due
to the fact that suggestions given by Traffic and Mechanical departments are
of technical nature, involving feasibility study and financial commitment.
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272 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
6.6.5 Punitive Action
It is evident from the table that majority of employees (67.7%) of all
the three departments are of the same opinion that punitive action is taken
against any lapse in duty, which may be safety violation, loss of revenue or
any other reason. The employees of Traffic department are penalized for
safety violation and for other reasons since they are dealing with costly
rolling stock and multi-farious duties. Since the employees of Commercial
department are dealing with various types of earnings, they are exposed to
penal action on account of revenue loss. However, the employees of
Mechanical department (82.8%) are subject to punitive action for all the
above reasons due to their nature of duty and limited manpower.
Table 6.18: Reasons for Punitive Action
Departments Safety violation Loss of revenue Other reason All of these Total
Traffic 18 2 14 34 68
(26.5) (2.9) (20.6) (50.0) (100.0)
Commercial 6 5 0 17 28
(21.4) (17.9) (.0) (60.7) (100.0)
Mechanical 7 2 7 77 93
(7.5) (2.2) (7.5) (82.8) (100.0)
Total 31 9 21 128 189
(16.4) (4.8) (11.1) (67.7) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 4 is 0.001 and is significant at 5% level
6.6.6 Dealing with the Fury of Passengers
Majority of the operating staff are frontline employees and they have
to deal with the problems of passengers. In this context, the study also
considers whether employees face the fury of passengers, while dealing with
their problems.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 273
Table 6.19: Facing the Fury of Passengers
Departments Yes No Total
Traffic 63 6 69
(91.3) (8.7) (100.0)
Commercial 32 6 38
(84.2) (15.8) (100.0)
Mechanical 55 32 87
(63.2) (36.8) (100.0)
Total 150 44 194
(77.3) (22.7) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 2 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level
It is clear from the table that 77.3 per cent of the total employees are facing the fury of passengers. The worst affected are the employees of Traffic department (91.3%), compared to the employees of Commercial department with 84.2 per cent and that of Mechanical department with 63.2 per cent. As Mechanical staff do not have much contact with the passengers, their percentage is slightly lower than that of other departments. Chi-square value shows that there is significant difference in their opinion among employees in facing the fury of passengers.
As majority of employees in the Traffic and Commercial department are facing the fury of passengers, the study attempts to find out whether it is physical assault or verbal abuse.
6.6.6 A. Physical Assault
It is learnt from the table that 55.9 per cent of the employees rarely face physical assault from the passengers and 41.2 percent opined that they never face it. This is true in respect of all the three departments. As the employees of Traffic department directly deal with the passengers they are targeted for physical assault rarely.
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Table 6.20: Facing Physical Assault
Departments Frequently Occasionally Rarely Very rarely Never Total
Traffic 00 0 30 00 18 48
(00) (0.0) (62.5) (00) (37.5) (100.0)
Commercial 00 1 11 00 9 21
(00) (4.8) (52.4) (00) (42.9) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 3 35 00 29 67
(00) (4.5) (52.2) (00) (43.3) (100.0)
Total 00 4 76 00 56 136
(00) (2.9) (55.9) (00) (41.2) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 2 is 0.687and is not significant at 5% level
6.6.6. B. Verbal Abuse
It is observed from the table that all the employees of the Traffic
department face verbal abuse from the passengers, rarely or occasionally. As the
Commercial department employees comprise of TTEs and CCs, who have close
contact with the passengers, they frequently face verbal abuse (43.5%) compared
to employees of other departments. As the employees of Mechanical department
do not have much contact with the passengers, they never face verbal abuse
(22.5%).
Table 6.21: Facing Verbal Abuse
Departments Frequently Occasionally Rarely Very rarely Never Total
Traffic 6 28 28 00 0 62
(9.7) (45.1) (45.2) (00) (.0) (100.0)
Commercial 10 7 5 00 1 23
(43.5) (30.4) (21.7) (00) (4.3) (100.0)
Mechanical 2 15 38 00 16 71
(2.8) (21.1) (53.5) (00) (22.5) (100.0)
Total 18 50 71 00 17 156
(11.5) (32.1) (45.5) (00) (10.9) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degrees of freedom 4 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 275
6.6.6. C. Response of Superiors
When employees face the fury of passengers, the attitude of superiors
will have an impact on their satisfaction and subjected to further analysis.
Table 6.22: Response of Superiors
Departments Immediate response by
RPF/GRP protection
Moral support
Measure to avoid the occurrence
Poor response Total
Traffic 19 2 13 32 66
(28.8) (3.0) (19.7) (48.5) (100.0)
Commercial 3 11 3 19 36
(8.3) (30.6) (8.3) (52.8) (100.0)
Mechanical 10 20 18 37 85
(11.8) (23.5) (21.2) (43.5) (100.0)
Total 32 33 34 88 187
(17.1) (17.6) (18.2) (47.1) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.073and is not significant at 5% level
It is learnt from the table that on an average 43 to 53 per cent of
employees express their view that response from superiors is poor when they
face the fury of passengers. Employees of Traffic department feel better in
getting immediate response by RPF. It is seriously noted that Traffic and
Mechanical department employees get remedial measures when there is a
dire need for it. It is observed that it is the lowest in Commercial department,
though it is urgently warranted there.
When the employees do not get moral support from the superiors and
they are forced to work under worse working conditions, they are put under
stress. Stress is an independent variable influencing employee satisfaction and
performance. Stress means an individual’s reaction to a disturbing factor in the
environment. Stressors generate from individual, group or organizational
sources. The causes of organizational stress are lack of better working
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276 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
conditions, insecurity of work, work overload, excessive rules and lack of
participation in decision making. Due to the innovative strategies to reduce the
cost and increase revenue, operating employees are overloaded with work and it
might lead to stress. More number of level crossing gates also put immense
psychological pressure and stress on station masters and loco pilots.
Stress has serious impact on health and work performance. High stress
is associated with diabetes, heart diseases, increased blood pressure and ulcer.
Stress can cause depression, absenteeism and reduced job satisfaction.
Moderate level of stress increases the ability of individuals to react and
perform better. As stress is linked to coronary heart diseases, a reduction in
stress is expected to improve the longevity of employees. Though stress is
inevitable in life, it can be minimized.
6.7 Turnaround Related Factors
Turnaround related factors include occurrence of turnaround in SR,
reasons, effect and result of turnaround, and also to see employees’
perception on safety.
6.7.1 Occurrence of Turnaround
Table 6.23: Occurrence of Turnaround
Departments Yes No Total
Traffic 53 16 69 (76.8) (23.2) (100.0)
Commercial 35 3 38
(92.1) (7.9) (100.0) Mechanical
55 32 87 (63.2) (36.8) (100.0)
Total 143 51 194
(73.7) (26.3) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 2 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 277
Majority (73.7%) employees of the three departments agree that there
occurred a turnaround in SR. Employees of the Commercial department
(92.1%) strongly feel that there occurred a turnaround, since they handle the
revenue earnings. Compared to other departments, 36.8 per cent of the
employees of Mechanical department disagree on the occurrence of
turnaround.
6.7.2 Reasons and Impact of Turnaround
Reasons of turnaround may be at the cost of overburdening
employees, boom in economy, the then Minister’s leadership, cost reduction
strategies and change in accounting practices. The impact of turnaround
includes increased workload, reduction in employees’ strength, increased
stress and health hazards.
The perceptions of employees regarding reasons and impact of
turnaround are studied using ranking method. Employees were asked to rank
their opinion and the scores are assigned as 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively for 1st,
2nd, 3rd and 4th rank. These scores are summated and averaged and final
ranking of the factors is exhibited in table 6.24.
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278 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
Table 6.24: Perception of Employees Regarding Turnaround
Department Traffic Commercial Mechanical Reasons for turnaround Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank At the cost of overburdening employees 3.15 1 3.37 1 2.85 1
Boom in economy 3.00 2 3.19 2 2.78 2
Leadership and strategies 1.46 4 1.48 4 1.05 4
Changes in accounting practices 1.97 3 1.81 3 2.33 3
Impact of turnaround: a) Increased workload
Increased traffic 3.25 1 3.02 1 3.28 2
Extended duty hours 2.58 2 2.22 3 3.45 1
Safety measures 1.38 4 1.21 4 1.03 4
New strategies 2.14 3 2.42 2 1.96 3
b) Reduction in employees’ strength
Advancement in IT and Communication 2.43 3 2.29 3 1.84 4
Unfilled vacancies 3.68 1 4.00 1 3.93 1
Out sourcing 2.71 2 2.86 2 3.00 2
Modernization of equipments and assets 2.00 4 1.71 4 2.00 3
c) Cause for risk and stress Lack of proper rest and leave 3.60 1 3.70 1 3.88 1
Number of night duties 3.44 2 3.33 2 3.21 2
Lack of supervision 1.87 4 1.67 4 1.65 4
Reluctance to adopt modern technology in
LC gates 2.62 3 2.50 3 3.07 3
d) Reason for health hazards Additional work load in relation to new
strategies 2.77 2 2.51 2 2.24 3
Usual nature of job 2.41 3 2.29 3 3.58 1
Risk and stress 2.80 1 2.84 1 3.19 2
Lack of basic amenities at work place 2.15 4 2.00 4 1.92 4
Source: Primary data.
It is learnt from the table that the employees belonging to all the three
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 279
departments are of the opinion that the turnaround was occurred at the cost of
over burdening employees and with the boom in economy. They ranked third for
changes in accounting policies and the last preference is given to leadership and
strategies. This shows that all the employees are of the opinion that turnaround
happened in railway not because of the Minister’s leadership and strategies.
With regard to the impact of turnaround, increase in workload is
mainly due to the increase in traffic as far as Traffic and Commercial
departments are concerned. However, according to the employees of
Mechanical department, increase in workload is mainly due to the extended
duty hours followed by increase in traffic. All the three categories of
employees have equal opinion that increase in safety measures (manning of
level crossings etc.) has the least effect in increase in work load.
As far as reduction in employees’ strength is concerned, all the
employees have ranked in the order that it is due to unfilled vacancies,
outsourcing and advancement of IT and communication and modernization of
equipments. However, in case of Mechanical department, the third rank is
given to modernization of equipments.
With regard to the reason for risk and stress, the employees
belonging to the three departments have opined that lack of proper rest and
leave is the major reason for risk and stress, followed by more number of
night duties and reluctance to adopt modern technology in LC gates. All the
employees have given last rank for lack of supervision.
Since the number of supernumerary posts due to health hazards is on the
increase every year, the study attempts to find the employees’ perception
regarding the reason for health hazards. The employees of Traffic and
Commercial departments are of the opinion that the reasons for health hazards is
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280 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
mainly due to risk and stress followed by additional workload, usual nature of
job and lack of amenities at work place. The employees of Mechanical
department have ranked it differently and according to them health hazards are
due to the usual nature of the job followed by risk and stress, additional
workload due to new strategies and lack of amenities at work place.
6.7.3 Impact of Turnaround on Safety
Employees are the persons who actually deliver service to passengers
and the study attempts to find whether safety in train operation is badly
affected with the new strategies like increase in axle load, reduction in
wagon turnaround, increase in frequency of trains, number of coaches and
extension of services.
Table shows that 93.6 per cent of the total employees opined that
safety is affected. Almost all the employees of Mechanical (98.8%) and
Commercial (97.3%) departments perceived that safety is badly affected due
to turnaround strategies.
Table 6.25: Impact of Turnaround on Safety
Departments Yes No Total
Traffic 58 10 68
(85.3) (14.7) (100.0)
Commercial 36 1 37
(97.3) (2.7) (100.0)
Mechanical 82 1 83
(98.8) (1.2) (100.0)
Total 176 12 188
(93.6) (6.4) (100.0) Source: Primary data Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 1 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.
As most of the employees are of the opinion that safety is affected, the study also attempts to know in what respect safety is affected.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 281
Table 6.26: Perception on Affecting Safety
Safety is affected in :- Traffic Commercial Mechanical
Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank Track maintenance 2.62 3 2.67 3 2.59 2
Rolling stock maintenance 2.88 2 2.86 2 2.98 1
Operating staff work 3.30 1 3.47 1 2.45 3
Others 1.00 4 1.00 4 1.89 4
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total.
Traffic and Commercial department employees have the same opinion
that safety is highly affected in operating staff work, followed by rolling stock
maintenance, and track maintenance. The employees of Mechanical department
have ranked first to rolling stock maintenance and second to track maintenance
as they are actually engaged in running the trains. It is observed that due to
turnaround measures, maintenance work is not being properly carried out.
6.7.4 Outcome (Result) of Turnaround
The study also attempts to find whether turnaround resulted in
increase in bonus and incentives, revenue earnings, improvement in service
quality, line capacity and accidents.
6.7.4. A. Increase in Bonus and Incentives
Out of the total 184 employees responded, 83.1 per cent of the
employees disagree that turnaround resulted in increase in bonus and
incentives and 9.8 per cent have expressed no opinion in this respect. In the
Traffic department (89.2%) and in the Mechanical department (86.7%),
employees disagree that it resulted in increase in bonus and incentives. Not
even a single employee strongly agrees that it resulted in bonus and
incentives. However, 27.8 per cent of the employees of Commercial
department agree that it resulted in increase in bonus and incentives and 63.9
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282 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
per cent of employees disagree in this respect. This may be due to the fact
that they might have received any incentive based on the increase in earnings.
Table 6.27: Perception on Increase in Bonus and Incentives
Departments Strongly agree Agree No
opinion Disagree Strongly disagree Total
Traffic 00 2 5 52 6 65 (00) (3.1) (7.7) (80.0) (9.2) (100.0)
Commercial 00 10 3 20 3 36 (00) (27.8) (8.3) (55.6) (8.3) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 1 10 51 21 83 (00) (1.2) (12.0) (61.4) (25.3) (100.0)
Total 00 13 18 123 30 184 (00) (7.1) (9.8) (66.8) (16.3) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.034 and is significant at 5% level.
6.7.4. B. Increased Revenue Earnings
Turnaround here means financial turnaround and the study attempts to
find whether it increased revenue earnings. Only 10.9 per cent have disagreed
to the statement that turnaround resulted in revenue increase.
Table 6.28: Perception on Increase in Revenue
Departments Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly
disagree Total
Traffic 2 48 1 14 00 65
(3.1) (73.8) (1.5) (21.5) (00) (100.0)
Commercial 1 35 0 0 00 36
(2.8) (97.2) (0.0) (0.0) (00) (100.0)
Mechanical 4 64 9 6 00 83
(4.8) (77.1) (10.8) (7.2) (00) (100.0)
Total 7 147 10 20 00 184
(3.8) (79.9) (5.4) (10.9) (00) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 2 is 0.228 and is not significant at 5% level.
All the employees of Commercial department, who are actually
handling the revenue, have agreed that it resulted in revenue increase. The
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 283
disagreement is higher in respect of employees of Traffic department (21.5%)
compared to other departments.
6.7.4. C. Increased Repairs and Maintenance
It is evident from the table that 31.5 per cent expressed no opinion as
the employees under study are not fully aware of the amount of repairs and
maintenance. Not even a single employee strongly agrees that it resulted in
increase in repairs.
Table 6.29: Perception on Increase in Repairs and Maintenance
Departments Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly
disagree Total
Traffic 00 26 27 11 1 65
(00) (40.0) (41.5) (16.9) (1.5) (100.0)
Commercial 00 23 5 4 1 33
(00) (69.7) (15.2) (12.1) (3.0) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 39 25 15 4 83
(00) (47.0) (30.1) (18.1) (4.8) (100.0)
Total 00 88 57 30 6 181
(00) (48.6) (31.5) (16.6) (3.3) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.116 and is not significant at 5% level.
48.6 per cent of the total employees agree to the statement that
turnaround resulted in increase in repairs and maintenance. In Traffic
department, 40 per cent and in Commercial department, 69.7 per cent agree
that turnaround resulted in increase in repairs. In Traffic department, 41.5
per cent and in Mechanical department, 30.1 per cent have expressed no
opinion in this regard.
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284 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
6.7.4. D. Improvement in Quality of Service
Table 6.30: Perception Regarding Improvement in Service Quality
Department Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly
disagree Total
Traffic 00 38 10 17 00 65
(00) (58.5) (15.4) (26.2) (00) (100.0)
Commercial 00 29 2 5 00 36
(00) (80.6) (5.6) (13.9) (00) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 29 12 42 00 83
(00) (34.9) (14.5) (50.6) (00) (100.0)
Total 00 96 24 64 00 184
(00) (52.2) (13.0) (34.8) (00) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 2 is 0.133 and is not significant at 5% level.
Table 6.30 shows that 52.2 per cent of the total employees feel that
turnaround resulted in improvement of service quality. More than 80 per cent
of the employees of Commercial department feel that turnaround resulted in
improvement in service quality. More that 50 per cent of the employees in
Mechanical department (50.6%) have stated that there is no improvement in
quality of service. In Traffic department, 15.4 per cent of employees have no
opinion and 55.4 percent agreed that turnaround resulted in increase of
service quality. It is amazing to note that not even a single employee strongly
agrees that there is improvement in service quality.
6.7.4. E. Increase in Line Capacity
Increase in number of trains and frequency of trains require increase in
line capacity and hence it is also considered.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 285
Table 6.31: Perception Regarding Increase in Line Capacity
Departments Strongly agree Agree No
opinion Disagree Strongly disagree Total
Traffic 00 31 15 6 4 56
(00) (55.4) (26.8) (10.7) (7.1) (100.0)
Commercial 00 21 9 2 3 35
(00) (60.0) (25.7) (5.7) (8.6) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 58 14 1 8 81
(00) (71.6) (17.3) (1.2) (9.9) (100.0)
Total 00 110 38 9 15 172
(00) (64.0) (22.1) (5.2) (8.7) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.448 and is not significant at 5% level.
Majority of the employees (64%) do agree that turnaround resulted in
increase in line capacity, 22.1 per cent have no opinion and 13.9 per cent
disagree to the statement. 71.6 per cent of the employees of Mechanical
department opined that turnaround resulted in increase of line capacity, since
they are actually engaged in running of trains.
6.7.4. F. Improvement in Punctuality of Trains
Punctuality of trains depends on several factors in addition to the
involvement of these three departments. Therefore, 40-50 per cent of the total
employees have expressed no opinion about the improvement in punctuality
of trains, 32.1 per cent have agreed that it resulted in improvement in
punctuality and 23 per cent have disagreed with the statement. However, in
Commercial department, 51.4 per cent of the employees agree that
turnaround resulted in increase of punctuality.
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286 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
Table 6.32: Perception Regarding Improvement in Punctuality of Trains
Departments Strongly agree Agree No
opinion Disagree Strongly disagree Total
Traffic 0 18 22 16 00 56
(.0) (32.1) (39.3) (28.6) (00) (100.0)
Commercial 0 18 14 3 00 35
(.0) (51.4) (40.0) (8.6) (00) (100.0)
Mechanical 2 18 42 21 00 83
(2.4) (21.7) (50.6) (25.3) (00) (100.0)
Total 2 54 78 40 00 174
(1.1) (31.0) (44.8) (23.0) (00) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.045 and is significant at 5% level.
6.8 Passenger Amenities and Co-Operation of Passengers with
Employees
6.8.1. Basic Amenities
The basic passenger amenities at stations and trains will also affect the
level of satisfaction of employees and the Railway has taken initiatives to
improve such amenities during the turnaround period.
Table 6.33: Perception on basic passenger amenities at stations/trains
Departments Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Poor Total
Traffic 1 4 19 37 8 69
(1.4) (5.8) (27.5) (53.6) (11.6) (100.0)
Commercial 1 11 9 15 2 38
(2.6) (28.9) (23.7) (39.5) (5.3) (100.0)
Mechanical 0 14 37 32 4 87
(.0) (16.1) (42.5) (36.8) (4.6) (100.0)
Total 2 29 65 84 14 194
(1.0) (14.9) (33.6) (43.3) (7.2) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.060 and is not significant at 5% level.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 287
It is evident from the table that 77 per cent of the total employees have expressed their view that basic passenger amenities in trains and stations as good and satisfactory and 14.9 per cent as very good. This holds true in all Mechanical and Commercial departments. 11.6 per cent of employees of traffic department rated it as poor.
6.8.2 Modern Amenities
Though many modern amenities are provided to passengers, the study takes into account only ‘Touch screen facility’ and ‘139 telephone enquiry’ as they are beneficial both to the employees and passengers.
6.8.2. A. Touch Screen Facility
Touch screen facility is provided in station platforms to provide information regarding late running of trains, coach position, availability of seats etc. Table 6.35 indicates that 40.5 per cent of the total employees feel good and very good and 40 per cent as satisfactory with the touch screen facility. At the same time 20 per cent of the employees rated as poor.
Table 6.34: Perception on Touch Screen Facility
Departments Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Poor Total
Traffic 00 3 16 34 15 68
(00) (4.4) (23.5) (50.0) (22.1) (100.0)
Commercial 00 10 15 8 4 37
(00) (27.0) (40.5) (21.6) (10.8) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 1 33 34 20 88
(00) (1.1) (37.5) (38.6) (22.7) (100.0)
Total 00 14 64 76 39 193
(00) (7.3) (33.2) (39.4) (20.2) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total
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288 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
6.8.2. B. Efficiency of Telephone Enquiry 139
For the convenience of passengers, a nation-wide telephone enquiry
system ‘139’ has been implemented by the Railway. This has benefitted the
employees also. Hence, the study attempts to find out the efficiency of the system.
Table 6.35: Perception on Telephone Enquiry 139
Departments Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Poor Total
Traffic 00 2 22 18 27 69
(00) (2.9) (31.9) (26.1) (39.1) (100.0)
Commercial 00 5 19 6 8 38
(00) (13.2) (50.0) (15.7) (21.1) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 2 47 5 33 87
(00) (2.3) (54.1) (5.7) (37.9) (100.0)
Total 00 9 88 29 68 194
(00) (4.6) (45.4) (14.9) (35.1) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.002 and is significant at 5% level.
It is clear from the table that the system is not so efficient and 35.1 per
cent of the total employees perceived it as poor, 45.4 per cent as good and
14.9 per cent as satisfactory. Comparatively, Commercial (63.2%) and
Mechanical department (56.3%) employees are more satisfied with the
facility than the employees of Traffic department (34.8%). In both the
modern amenities not even a single employee has rated it as excellent.
6.8.3 Ticket Fare for all Classes
During the turnaround period, ticket fare for all the classes reduced
and the study attempts to look into employees’ perception in this regard.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 289
Table 6.36: Perception on Ticket Fare for all Class of Travel
Departments Very high High Moderate Low Very low Total
Traffic 3 00 13 34 19 69
(4.3) (00) (18.8) (49.3) (27.5) (100.0)
Commercial 4 00 1 28 5 38
(10.5) (00) (2.6) (73.7) (13.2) (100.0)
Mechanical 0 00 2 53 32 87
(0) (00) (2.3) (60.9) (36.8) (100.0)
Total 7 00 16 115 56 194
(3.6) (00) (8.2) (59.3) (28.9) (100.0)
Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.011 and is significant at 5% level.
It is clear from the table that 88 per cent of the total employees have
expressed their opinion as low or very low. Among the employees of Traffic
Department, (76.8%) and Commercial department (86.9 %), the same trend is
found. In Mechanical department, almost all the employees are of the
opinion that it is low or very low.
6.8.4 Number of Trains in the Section
Number of trains in the section based on line capacity is denoted by the
term ‘density’. Traffic and Commercial department employees are more aware
of the number of trains run in the section, compared to Mechanical department.
Therefore, majority of employees of traffic (52.6%) and commercial
departments (75%) have expressed their opinion as high and very high.
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290 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
Table 6.37: Perception on Number of Trains in the Section
Departments Very high High Moderate Low Very low Total
Traffic 8 22 15 12 00 57
(14.0) (38.6) (26.3) (21.1) (00) (100.0)
Commercial 6 21 7 2 00 36
(16.7) (58.3) (19.4) (5.6) (00) (100.0)
Mechanical 7 10 64 6 00 87
(8.0) (11.5) (73.6) (6.9) (00) (100.0)
Total 21 53 86 20 00 180
(11.7) (29.4) (47.8) (11.1) (00) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.
In Mechanical department, 74 per cent of the employees feel it as
moderate and 21 per cent of the Traffic department rated it as low.
6.8.5 Observing Cleanliness by Passengers
Cleanliness within the working environment is an important factor
determining the level of satisfaction. Both employees and passengers have
equal responsibility in maintaining cleanliness. Though employees are taking
many measures to keep the working environment clean, passengers also have
the moral responsibility to maintain cleanliness. It is evident that 70 per cent
of the total employees viewed that maintaining cleanliness by passengers as
poor and the rest 30 per cent rated as either good or satisfactory.
Table 6.38: Perception on Keeping Cleanliness by Passengers
Departments Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Poor Total
Traffic 00 00 2 15 42 59
(00) (00) (3.4) (25.4) (71.2) (100.0)
Commercial 00 00 9 7 17 33 (00) (00) (27.3) (21.2) (51.5) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 00 1 20 67 88 (00) (00) (1.1) (22.7) (76.1) (100.0)
Total 00 00 12 42 126 180 (00) (00) (6.7) (23.3) (70.0) (100.0)
Source: Primary data Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 291
6.8.6. Co-operation from Passengers
For efficient and proper discharge of duties, co-operation from
passengers is highly required. This, in turn affects the level of satisfaction of
employees.
Table.6.39: Perception on Co-operation from Passengers
Departments Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Poor Total
Traffic 00 10 3 25 24 62
(00) (16.1) (4.8) (40.3) (38.8) (100.0)
Commercial 00 10 4 11 12 37
(00) (27.1) (10.8) (29.7) (32.4) (100.0)
Mechanical 00 1 0 53 34 88
(00) (1.1) (.0) (60.3) (38.6) (100.0)
Total 00 21 7 89 70 187
(00) (11.2) (3.7) (47.6) (37.5) (100.0)
Source: Primary data Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total
Regarding co-operation from passengers, 37.5 per cent of the total
employees viewed as poor and 62.5 per cent have the opinion as very good,
good or satisfactory. Commercial department employees get very good
(27.1%) co-operation from passengers compared to other departments. 60.3
per cent of the employees in Mechanical department feel it as satisfactory and
39 per cent rated as poor.
6.9 Overall Satisfaction of Employees
To find out the overall level of satisfaction, the Mean Percentage
Score is found out for each of the variable using the formula:
MPS⎛ ⎞=⎜ ⎟
⎝ ⎠
Mean score of the variable×100Maximum possible score
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292 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
And to find out the stability of the variable, the Coefficient of Variation of
each of the variable is found out.
CV⎛ ⎞=⎜ ⎟⎝ ⎠
Standard deviation of the variable×100Mean of the variable
Table 6.40: Overall Satisfaction of Employees
Maximum Mean Std. Deviation CV Mean % Score Organization environment
related 36.00 18.17 4.42 24.33 50.46
Attitude of Superiors 46.00 26.29 5.12 19.48 57.15
Turnaround related factors 149.00 59.51 23.62 39.69 39.94
Passenger Amenities and co-
operation of Passengers 47.00 23.39 6.18 26.44 49.76
Employees perception regarding attitude of superiors is having the
highest mean score with minimum standard deviation and co-efficient of
variation. The minimum Standard deviation and Co-efficient of variation
indicates that the degree of variability is the minimum. Similarly, employees’
perception regarding turnaround related factors is having the lowest mean
score with highest standard deviation. By comparing the mean percentage
score, it is found that employees are least satisfied with the turnaround related
factors, (39.94) followed by amenities and attitude of passengers (49.76),
organization environment (50.46) and most satisfied with the attitude of
superiors (57.15). The mean score is not much greater than 50 per cent in all
the factors under consideration. It means that employees in the Open line,
who are directly engaged in running of trains, are not satisfied much with the
organization environment, turnaround related strategies and co-operation of
passengers.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 293
6.9 Inferential Analysis
Inferential analysis is done to find out if there exists any significant
difference in the perception of employees in respect of organization
environment, attitude of superiors, turnaround related factors and passenger
amenities and their attitude towards employees across divisions, departments
and also on the basis of length of service.
6.9.1 Division-wise Analysis
The employees are taken from four divisions, viz. TVC, PGT, MAS
and SA. Hence division-wise analysis is done to see whether there is any
significant difference in the perception of employees across division.
Table 6.41: Mean and Mean Percentage Score across Divisions
Division Organization environment
Attitude of Superiors
Turn Around related factors
Passenger Facility and passenger
attitude to employees
TVC Mean 17.48 25.14 62.98 23.24 Std. Deviation 5.21 5.74 23.68 6.02 Mean % Score 48.56 54.65 42.27 49.45
PGT Mean 18.12 25.30 58.20 21.86 Std. Deviation 3.57 3.75 27.29 6.11 Mean % Score 50.33 55.00 39.06 46.51
MAS Mean 18.02 29.04 58.34 25.62 Std. Deviation 4.58 5.58 17.58 6.42 Mean % Score 50.06 63.13 39.15 54.51
SA Mean 19.04 25.68 58.52 22.82 Std. Deviation 4.15 4.23 25.19 5.72 Mean % Score 52.89 55.83 39.28 48.55
TOTAL Mean 18.17 26.29 59.51 23.39 Std. Deviation 4.42 5.12 23.62 6.18 Mean % Score 50.46 57.15 39.94 49.76
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294 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
With regard to organization environment, the employees of all the
divisions, except TVC are satisfied with a mean score of more than 50 per cent.
The employees of all the four divisions are satisfied with the attitude of
superiors; particularly employees of MAS division with a mean score of 63.13
per cent, followed by SA division with 55.83 per cent, PGT with 55 per cent
and TVC division with 54.65 per cent. However, employees of all the four
divisions are least satisfied with the turnaround related factors, as the mean
percentage score is far below 50 per cent. (39.94%) In respect of passenger
amenities and attitude of passengers towards employees, employees of MAS
division only are satisfied with a mean score of 54.51 per cent.
To find out whether there exists a significant difference in the opinion of
employees of four different divisions, one-way ANOVA is done which indicates
that there is significant difference in the perception of employees across
divisions regarding attitude of superiors, (F (3,196) =7.104, P=<0.001) and
also in passenger amenities and attitude of passengers towards employees. (F
(3,196) =3.463, P= 0.017).
Therefore, it is found that there is significant difference among
employees in respect of attitude of superiors and passenger amenities and co-
operation from passengers. There is no significant difference in the opinion of
employees of four divisions under study in respect of organization culture and
turnaround related factors.
Post-hoc Tukeys analysis is done to find out which division is more
significant and it is given in table 6.42.
Table 6.42: Post-hoc Analysis
Variables/Factor *Difference group Attitude of Superiors MAS with TVC, PGT and SA Present Passenger Facility and attitude of passengers MAS with PGT
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 295
One-way ANOVA shows that there is significant difference in respect of
attitude of superiors and passenger amenities across divisions. Hence, the null
hypothesis is rejected and concluded that there is significant difference in the
opinion among employees across the selected four divisions in respect of attitude
of superiors and passenger amenities. Post-hoc analysis shows that employees of
MAS division are more satisfied with the attitude of superiors and with the
passenger amenities and co-operation of passengers with employees.
6.9.2 Department-wise Analysis
Employees under study belong to three different departments and
hence department-wise analysis is done to find out the significant difference
among the group.
Table 6.43: Mean and Mean Percentage Score across Departments
Department Organizational environment
Attitude of Superiors
Turn Around related factors
Present Passenger amenities and
attitude of passengers
Traffic Mean 15.91 25.91 60.33 22.09 Std. Deviation 4.25 5.82 19.24 4.33 Mean % Score 44.20 56.33 40.49 46.99
Commercial Mean 19.68 29.18 64.32 27.79 Std. Deviation 4.61 6.12 20.70 6.71 Mean % Score 54.68 63.44 43.16 59.13
Mechanical Mean 19.22 25.39 56.94 22.55 Std. Deviation 3.80 3.50 27.28 6.38 Mean % Score 53.38 55.19 38.21 47.98
Total Mean 18.17 26.29 59.51 23.39 Std. Deviation 4.42 5.12 23.62 6.18 Mean % Score 50.46 57.15 39.94 49.76
Table shows that employees of Commercial department are more
satisfied with the organizational environment, (54.68%) attitude of superiors
(63.44%) and also with the passenger amenities and co-operation towards
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296 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
employees (59.13%). The highly dissatisfied category is Traffic department.
They are satisfied only with the attitude of superiors (56.33%). All the three
department employees are satisfied with the attitude of superiors with a mean
score of 57.15 per cent and are dissatisfied with the turnaround related factors
with a mean score of 39.94 per cent.
One-way ANOVA shows that there is significant difference in the
opinion of employees in respect of organizational environment, (F (2,197)
=15.895, P=<0.001) (0.001) attitude of superiors (F (2,197) =8.263,
P=<0.001) and passenger amenities and passenger attitude to employees (F
(2,197) =13.522, P=<0.001). However, in respect of turnaround related
factors, there is no difference in the perception of employees and all the
employees are dissatisfied.
Post-hoc Tukeys analysis is done to find out whichever department is
more significant and it reveals that the difference is between Commercial
with Traffic and Mechanical.
Table 6.44: Post Hoc Analysis
Variables/Factor *Difference group Organization environment related Commercial with Traffic and Mechanical
Attitude of Superiors Commercial with traffic and Mechanical.
Passenger facility and attitude of passengers Commercial with traffic and Mechanical.
Hence, the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the
perception of employees across departments is rejected and concluded that
there is significant difference in the opinion among employees across the
three departments in respect of organization environment, attitude of
superiors and co-operation from passengers. Post-hoc analysis shows that
employees of Commercial department are more satisfied with the
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 297
organization environment, attitude of superiors and with the passenger
amenities and co-operation from passengers.
6.9.3 Length of Service
Employees under study differ in their years of service and the study
attempts to find out whether their opinion differs in respect of selected
variables.
Table 6.45: Mean and Mean Percentage Score across Length of Service
Length of service Organization environment
related
Attitude of Superiors
Turn Around related factors
Passenger amenities and
attitude of passengers
Less than 5 years Mean 26.00 27.00 64.00 27.00 Std. Deviation 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Mean % Score 72.22 58.70 42.95 57.45
5-9 years Mean 20.00 26.50 76.00 26.00 Std. Deviation 4.62 1.73 12.94 1.15 Mean % Score 55.56 57.61 41.01 55.32
10-14 years Mean 15.69 24.06 65.23 22.43 Std. Deviation 5.11 5.70 26.86 3.03 Mean % Score 43.57 52.30 43.78 47.72
15-19 years Mean 22.47 26.84 50.05 25.26 Std. Deviation 1.98 2.48 14.87 0.99 Mean % Score 62.43 58.35 33.59 53.75
20 and above Mean 17.22 26.73 58.30 22.86 Std. Deviation 3.15 5.48 24.81 7.41 Mean % Score 47.83 58.11 39.13 48.63
Total Mean 18.17 26.29 59.51 23.39 Std. Deviation 4.42 5.12 23.62 6.18 Mean % Score 50.46 57.15 39.94 49.76
All the employees are satisfied with the attitude of superiors, (57.15%).
Employees with less than 10 years of experience, constituting less than 10 per
cent of the total, are more satisfied with organization culture, attitude of
superiors and passenger amenities, compared to the other groups. All the
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298 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
employees are dissatisfied with the turnaround related factors (39.94%) and the
employees with more than fifteen years of experience, who constitute nearly 70
per cent of the total employees, are the least satisfied group (33.59%)
To find out whether the difference is significant, one-way ANOVA is
done and found that there is significant difference among employees with
different years of service in the organization environment related factors
only. (F (4,195) =34.661, P=<0.001) Post Hoc test reveals that in respect of
organization environment, employees with less than five years of service are
more satisfied compared to the employees with more than 10 years of service.
Hence, the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the
perception of employees with different years of service is rejected and
concluded that there is significant differences in the opinion among employees
with different length of service in respect of organization environment and
employees with less than five years of service are more satisfied with the
organization environment.
6.10 Structural Equation Model for Satisfaction of Employees
Structural Equation Model (SEM) is used to measure the satisfaction
level of employees on organizational environment, attitude of superiors,
turnaround related factors and also with passenger amenities and cooperation
with employees. Employees’ satisfaction is evaluated using these variables
and to analyze in which factor employees are more satisfied, Confirmatory
factor analysis is used.
Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), also known as latent variable
analysis is a development from multiple regression analysis to combine a series
of multiple regression equations within one structural model. SEM is a
confirmatory approach and is used to test theory rather than to develop theory.
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 299
Although SEM provides a number of advantages over other statistical
approaches there are also limitations associated with its use. The normed chi-
square Statistics is used to overcome some of the concerns over the chi-square
statistic and is calculated as chi-square statistic divided by the degrees of
freedom. Here, a five point scale is used for the four variables under study.
These choices are given values as 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 for the five point scale positive
questions. The calculation of the structural equation modelling and the Split half
reliability is measured using Cronbach’s alpha. It is found that the reliability for
the satisfaction level of the 200 respondents is found to be 0.785. Initially input
model was developed and was tested and verified by using the indices χ2,
normed χ2, GFI, AGFI, NFI, TLI, CFI, RMR, and RMSEA.
Hypothesized model /Input model
Initially an input model was developed by using AMOS-7 graphics.
The rectangle represents observed factors, ovals in the diagram represents
unobserved variable, and here it is Satisfaction. The curved double headed
arrows represent correlations or co-variances among the unobserved variables
and the straight headed arrows represent the factor loadings of the observed
variables. The small circles with arrows pointing from the circles to the
observed variables represent errors /unique factors, which are also known as,
Squared Multiple Correlation of the Standard Error. This was tested and
verified by using the indices χ2, normed χ2, GFI, AGFI, NFI, TLI, CFI, RMR,
and RMSEA. (Goodness of Fit Index (GFI), Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index
(AGFI), Root Mean Square Residual (RMR) and the Root Mean Square of
Approximation (RMSEA). The incremental fit measures include the normed
fit index (NFI) and the comparative fit index (CFI). Using the regression
weight, the level of satisfaction of each of the variables is ranked.
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300 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
Table 6.46: Indices of Variables
χ2 DF P Normed χ2 GFI AGFI NFI TLI CFI RMR RMSEA
5.375 2 .068 2.688 .987 .935 .923 .842 .947 4.187 0.092
OER-Organization Environment Related AS-Attitude of Superiors TRF-Turnaround related Factors PF- Passenger amenity and co-operation of passengers
Table 6.47: Mean and Regression Weights
Mean Std. Deviation
Standardized Regression Weights
Organization environment related 18.16 4.42 .378
Attitude of Superiors 26.29 5.12 .423
Turn Around related factors 59.51 23.61 .322
Passenger amenity and co-operation of
passengers 23.38 6.18 .844
Employees’ Satisfaction
Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 301
From the table it is observed that the employees in general are
satisfied only with Passenger amenities and cooperation of passengers, with a
standard regression weight of 0.844 and highly dissatisfied with turnaround
related factors with a standard regression weight of 0.322, organization
culture related factors with 0.378 and attitude of superiors with 0.423
regression weights.
Summary
Dedicated and loyal employees are the assets of any organization and
they expect job security, work satisfaction and adequate financial rewards. If
they are properly managed and taken care of by fulfilling their needs,
organizations are likely to grow fast. The efficiency of an organization
depends up on the performance of the employees, which in turn, depends
upon the satisfaction of employees. Job performance is based on morale and
motivation to work. A satisfied worker will certainly help in creating a good
morale, but that alone may not lead to high productivity unless it is
accompanied by good motivation. This may be evaluated only on the
employees’ attitude towards the objectives of the organization. The needs of
the employees are to be studied and analyzed by the management for the
purpose of achieving the organizational objectives.
The study attempts to find out whether employees belonging to
Traffic, Commercial and Mechanical departments who are engaged in
running of trains are satisfied with the organization environment, attitude of
superiors, turnaround related factors and also with the passenger amenities in
stations/trains and their attitude towards employees.
Though SR administration is not lagging behind in providing staff
welfare schemes, the employees are not fully satisfied with these. The
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302 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway
turnaround strategies have overburdened them. The organizational culture
and attitude of the superiors have not changed and the employees expect a
change in this. The open line staff has a different work environment and this
is not taken into consideration in their welfare schemes.
Division-wise, department-wise and period of service analysis reveals
that employees are highly dissatisfied with the turnaround related factors and
according to their opinion, turnaround was occurred in railway by
overburdening them with the strategies. However, they opined that passenger
amenities of SR have improved considerably. Inferential analysis shows that
employees are satisfied with the organization environment and attitude of
superiors and dissatisfied with the turnaround related factors. CFA analysis
also shows that employees are highly dissatisfied with the turnaround related
factors.
The man behind the machines is to be made the best through better
human resource methods. In service turnarounds, communication and
participation make the people feel committed to actions they choose.
Employees’ morale and motivation is to be increased. Without loyal
employees, an organization cannot develop and survive. Improved quality of
staff with broad vision will not only benefit railway’s finance, it can benefit
the staff by way of better quality of living also. That should be encouraged in
Railway to sustain this turnaround in future.