Thesis work - Kerala NGO

EnsuringServiceQualityinNGO’s:
TheRoleofHRMinNGO’sinKerala,India
2015 - 2016
MasterofBusinessAdministration
Student TERESA VALLUKULAM
ID.No 2144783
Supervisor: Jeff Taylor

Abstract
Number of NGOs in India has increased dramatically in the past few years.
While there are many systems to watch their operations, there are only few
systems to monitor their performance and ability to fulfil the stated vision and
objectives. It has been brought to attention that NGOs in various sectors offer
very poor service quality, which could be improved by strategic interventions
aimed at improvement of organisational resources. This study aims at
analysing the role of the HRM function in determining the level of service
quality. Using a quantitative model descriptive study, and a questionnaire-
based survey instrument, this study analyses the level of HRM practices,
service quality, and employees’ intentions to deliver better service quality in
NGOs in Kerala. Results indicate critical implications for HRM function and
NGOs operating in the region, and found considerable relationship between
employee satisfaction and their intentions to deliver better service quality,
which is in fact related to the human resource function and its ability to
improve employee satisfaction. Some recommendations have also been

proposed in order to raise the present service quality level and employee
management practices among NGOs in Kerala, India.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction...........................................................................................................1
1.1 Research Problem...............................................................................................................................1
1.2 Aims and Objectives..........................................................................................................................3
1.3 Significance of the Study..................................................................................................................3
2 Literature Review..................................................................................................5
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................................5
2.2 Service Quality.....................................................................................................................................6
2.3 Quality of Work Life (QWL)............................................................................................................8
2.4 Human Resource Function in NGOs .........................................................................................11
2.5 Employee Motivation in NGO Sector........................................................................................13
2.6 Impact of Motivation on Job Satisfaction...............................................................................15
2.7 Link Between HRM Factors and Service Quality.................................................................17
2.8 Summary...............................................................................................................................................21
3 Research Methodology.......................................................................................22
3.1 Positivist Philosophy.......................................................................................................................22
3.2 Quantitative Method........................................................................................................................22
3.3 Descriptive Study..............................................................................................................................23
3.4 Data Collection Methods................................................................................................................23
3.5 Data Collection Instrument: Survey .........................................................................................24
3.6 Sampling Technique........................................................................................................................25
3.7 Time Horizon......................................................................................................................................25
3.8 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................................................26
3.9 Ethical Concerns................................................................................................................................26
4 Analysis and Findings..........................................................................................28
4.1 Demographic Features ...................................................................................................................28

4.2 Quality Outcomes and Intentions..............................................................................................29
4.3 HRM Interventions and Activities.............................................................................................34
4.4 Employee Satisfaction.....................................................................................................................40
4.5 Relationship between Service Quality and Overall Satisfaction of Employees.....43
4.6 Summary...............................................................................................................................................44
5 Discussion of Findings.........................................................................................45
6 Conclusion............................................................................................................49
7 Recommendations ..............................................................................................51
7.1 Implement HRM Function.............................................................................................................51
7.2 Implement Training and Development...................................................................................51
7.3 Better Pay and Benefits..................................................................................................................52
7.4 Monitoring and Evaluation...........................................................................................................52
8 Limitations and Future Studies...........................................................................54
9 References...........................................................................................................55
10 Appendices..........................................................................................................63
10.1 Appendix 1: Questionnaire...........................................................................................................63
10.2 Appendix 2: Survey Results Analysis.......................................................................................69

List of Figures
Figure 1 – Participants’ Salary............................................................................... 28
Figure 2 – Work experience of participants ......................................................... 29
Figure 3 – Extent to deliver adequate support to students ................................ 30
Figure 4 – Intentions to take special interests for children with special needs
............................................................................................................................. 30
Figure 5 – School have adequate facilities .......................................................... 31
Figure 6 – Adequate staffs to handle children in school .................................... 32
Figure 7 – Periodic review/assessment of learning needs for students .......... 32
Figure 8 – Intentions to take special interest in finding solutions ..................... 33
Figure 9 – Availability of performance evaluation methods............................... 34
Figure 10 – Excellent and positive work environment........................................ 35
Figure 11 – Periodic surveys to analyse level of motivation ............................. 35
Figure 12 – Periodic feedback surveys to analyse service quality................... 36
Figure 13 – Availability of periodic training to improve staffs’ knowledge ....... 37
Figure 14 – Needs better training for professional improvement ..................... 37
Figure 15 – Positive relationship between employees and management....... 38
Figure 16 – Effective quality of work life ............................................................... 39
Figure 17 – Who recruited you?............................................................................. 39
Figure 18 – Awareness of HRM practices in the organisation.......................... 40
Figure 19 – Rating of individual satisfaction measures...................................... 41
Figure 20 – Overall satisfaction with the job and organisation ......................... 42
List of Tables
Table 1 - Correlation between overall satisfaction and quality intentions ....... 44

1
1 Introduction
NGOs are one of the strongest escorts in any country, especially from a
perspective of social wellbeing since most NGOs operate with specific
interests in social welfare and wellbeing of the underserved or minority in a
society. However, since the focus and operating model of such organisations
are different, it is very difficult to develop a one-size-fits-all solution for
management of activities, especially those related to the achievement of its
operating outcomes (Batti, 2014). One of the biggest issues associated with
NGOs is maintaining adequate service quality. Since most NGOs operate with
volunteers or service minded professionals, such issues are mostly dealt from
an ethical point of view. However, when it comes to countries like India, where
volunteering is very low, NGOs often end up employing people, who needs to
be paid, motivated, and retained to meet the goals of the organisation (. Latha
and Prabhakar, 2011). This raises a lot of challenges for small and medium
scale NGOs operating in the country, especially in states like Kerala.
The implications of such practices may be far reaching, since NGOs will have
to ensure adequate motivation to influence employees to meet its goals and
so on. On the other hand, there are alternative options such as those stated
by Batti (2014) that effective HRM functions can improve employees’
intentions to deliver high quality service and achieve organisation’s goals and
objectives. Therefore, it is important to analyse and discuss these factors
further to identify key trends and possible outcomes as well as potential
suggestions to improve the present scenario. Hence, the present study was
directed at this direction, to analyse key HRM trends among the NGOs in
Kerala and how they affect service quality offered by professionals operating
in the NGO sector.
1.1 ResearchProblem
In a study conducted by Haseena and Mohammed (2014), they concluded
that one of the most critical issues faced by the study participants were lack of
educational quality provided to them, where various players emphasised on
quantity than on quality and equality. It must be noted that there are only few

2
number of studies conducted in the Indian NGO sector, since the sector is
diverse in nature, purpose, and approach, which makes it difficult, even for
rating agencies to assess the activities of the NGOs operating in India (Kutty,
2015). This means, Indian conditions indicate a different scenario, but there is
wide agreement among authors and researchers that service quality among
the professionals operating in NGOs are falling. For example, Nargunder
(2010) noted that service quality and intentions in NGOs have always been
the lowest, despite government interventions to maintain high quality service,
even in the healthcare areas.
Similarly, Latha and Prabhakar (2011) analysed the Indian NGO sectors in
order to identify the problems they face and concluded that the NGO sector in
India suffers from lack of funds, lack of dedicated leadership, inadequate
training of personnel, misuse of funds, lack of public participation, and lack of
effective human resource practices and such. Latha and Prabhakar (2011)
found that the practices at NGOs are not even close to the practices carried
out by NGOs with foreign origins. While lack of funds or misuse of funds and
lack of public participation or volunteerism is affecting the ability to provide
adequate service, lack of dedicated leadership and lack of effective training
provision is affecting NGOs’ ability to provide adequate service (Latha and
Prabhakar, 2011).
Hence, it can be argued that the service quality in Indian NGO sector is
declining, mainly due to the increasing lack of funds, and lack of effective
human resource practices in the field. There is considerable evidence that the
NGO sector in India suffer largely from lack of resources and capabilities, and
it often fails to deliver high levels of service quality. Hence, it is important to
understanding this scenario in order to further enhance the conditions of the
sector and to improve its service focus and delivery of service quality to the
stakeholders. Hence, a research question has been developed to address
these factors.
How do the HRM function and its practices affect service quality of
NGOs?

3
1.2 Aims and Objectives
The main aim of this study was to analyse human resource management
practices in Kerala NGOs, and to analyse HRM’s role in enhancing the quality
of service in the NGO sector. On the other hand, the main objectives of this
study are:
 To study the present system of HRM among NGOs in Kerala
 To analyse the effect of HRM in affecting service quality offered by
NGOs in Kerala
 To suggest recommendations for policy makers and NGOs for further
improvements in the sector
1.3 Significanceof the Study
According to recent news articles, India has more than 3.1million NGOs,
which is 1 NGO per 600 people, which is larger than the density of police or
any other force in India. However, less than 10% of the NGOs in India have
submitted adequate financial data to the government in the previous year
(Anand, 2015). Similarly, Johari (2014) addresses this problem by asking why
India has so many NGOs, twice as larger than schools, and as 250 times
larger than hospitals in India. India has seen a significant rise in the recent

4
past, while most of them are arguably disguised organisations for various
personal purposes, which will need to more debates on accountability and
healthy practices in the sector. While the heated debate continues, Peya
(2015) indicate that a large proportion of such NGOs in India have vested
interests, which is contributing to the increasing problems linked with poor
service quality and outcomes relate to achievement of its objectives.
Beyond the vested interests of NGOs, there are other issues affecting NGOs
operating in India, which is lack of funds and support, and lack of effective
management practices. While lack of funds cannot be altered by any
management practices, lack of ineffective management systems can be
changed through addressing specific issues that affect such conditions. While
it is evident from the research problem that the most critical issue is related to
human resource provisioning and its effect on delivering service quality, so
that such NGOs meet their goals and remain relevant in the sector, the results
obtained from this study can have long-term positive impacts on the operation
of NGOs in India. Hence, the outcomes of this study would help NGO
managements and policy makers in setting standards and guidelines to follow
in order to achieve high performance and high quality in service delivery,
while also addressing HRM related issues in the sector.

5
2 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
Service quality (SQ) is one of the most critical factors that affect customers’
perception about the organisation and overall organisational performance. SQ
has become an important role to play in the service sector. Since NGOs are
largely considered as service organisations, especially those operating in the
health and medical areas, social services, and so on. Whether the
organisation operates in a commercial or non-commercial sector, there are
different dimensions that define service quality, which has the power to affect
customers’ perception about the organisation and its service (Papanikolaou,
and Zygiaris, 2014).
On the other hand, various industries and sectors have various factors
affecting service quality. While service quality has various effects, such as
increased repeat patronage, high levels of loyalty, and improved operational
performance, which are applicable in all sectors, including NGO sectors
(Kanta and Srivalli, 2014). However, there are specific factors. For example,
service quality in healthcare sector is associated with quality of care provided,
patient safety, and so on (Nashrath et al., 2011), while service quality in a
restaurant is closely associated with speedy delivery of food, quality of food
served and so on (Kanta and Srivali, 2014). Hence, it is important to identify
and understand what factors lead to service quality in each industry for the
purpose of this research.
NGOs have a specific role to play in every economy. However, the term NGO
is widely applied to a large range of organisational types. According to Lewis
(2014), the term “NGO is largely an umbrella term used for referring to third-
world organisations concerned with improved services and wider social
change, whether part of the aid industry or not, including both public benefit
and self-help”. On the other hand, Lewis (2014) also observed that there is
also a narrow definition for NGO, which describes an NGO a donor-funded

6
intermediary organisation lay support community-level membership
organisations. From this perspective, it can be argued that many type of
organisations can be brought under the NGO concept, including aid
organisations, activist organisations, social welfare organisations and so on,
which is mainly due to the fact that even the narrow definition of the term
covers organisations at much deeper level.
In this case, the study mainly focuses on social welfare organisations, such as
schools for the differently abled children and such. Hence, this literature
review focuses on the issue of service quality on a much wider perspective,
because studies conducted in this area are much limited. This literature
review aims to address this issue by taking a step-by-step approach, such as
analysing factors related to service quality, analysis on the antecedent factors
affecting these factors and so on. This step-by-step process would help in
analysing the problem at a much border level and it would help in
understanding the common factors affecting service quality in common
settings, so that these findings could be used for primary data collection in this
research.
2.2 Service Quality
There have been many debates related to service quality and various other
factors, ranging from productivity, speed, and accuracy and so on. While all
these factors are important from the quality perspective, each of these factors
have its own its own influencers. Over these years service sector has
recorded notable improvement in terms of service delivery, and NGO sector
has also become part of this change. According to Calabrese and Sadoni
(2013), the trade-off concept is very strong in service quality area, which
means, organisations and managements need to understand what these
trade-offs are in order to deliver better service quality.
According to Sivakumar et al. (2014), service delivery and its associated
components are the most important factors affecting service quality in any
organisational environment. Sivakumar et al. (2014) argue that this service
delivery aspect of service quality may be affected by frequency, timing,
proximity, and sequence of failure and delights. However, they have identified

7
that service quality related dimensions such as satisfaction and delight are
entirely different from each other. Hence, the key to identify service quality is
identifying the level of satisfaction and customer service delight among
customers (Sivakumar et al., 2014).
For example, if service satisfaction is above average in an organisation, the
management should focus on increasing customer delight rather than
customer satisfaction. Improvements in both areas may have a visible effect
on perceived service quality among the key stakeholders (Sivakumar et al.,
2014). However, Markovic et al. (2014) doubt the application of similar
dimensions in any non-profit organisations, such as most of the NGOs. This is
mainly due to the fact that much of such empirical studies have been
conducted in the for-profit sector. However, while doubting the application of
these methods, Markovic et al., (2014) agree that such quality determinants
are very important in non-profit organisations as well.
Similarly, there are different school of thoughts in service quality; the
American and the European. While the European school of thought overlooks
the service quality paradigm through the physical settings, functional delivery
and technical aspects of the service and its delivery, its over reliance on the
place or the physical environment often leads to issues in determining the
level of service quality. On the other hand, the American school of thought
overcome this gap by conceptualising service quality as the difference
between the overall perception and the expectation of service delivery (Panda
and Das, 2014). In short, identifying this gap would lead to understanding the
level of service quality in any setting.
Accordin got Talluri et al., (2013), service quality is a measure of how well the
actual service delivery matches customers’ expectations, which means,
organisations often use them as proxy for employee performance. Hence, the
level of service quality has a significant effect on overall customer satisfaction
and the overall organisational performance. However, much of these findings
relate to commercial settings than an NGO environment. One of the main
differences is the trade-offs mentioned by Talluri et al. (2013) where low
priced services and alternatives are assumed to have a lower level of quality.
Unfortunately, such arguments cannot be accepted in case of NGOs, since

8
most services offered by NGOs are offered from an ethical and social-good
point of view than commercial intentions or profits. Hence, such factors must
be identified and analysed separately.
According to Yousuf et al., (2010), service quality in NGOs is a complex
phenomenon. Most NGOs receive funding from international donor
organisations in the form of donations and loans. Hence, it is important for
these organisations to exhibit the level of success they achieve through
enhanced performance, which can only be achieved by improving the quality
of service. Similarly, Blum (2009) found that NGOs have high ability to deliver
better services, because most of its programs are custom-tailored to suit the
needs of its key stakeholders at the local level. Similarly, Rivard et al. (2015)
identified, based on a study conducted among children with autism disorders
that the determinants of service quality may vary from domain to domain.
Rivard et al. (2015) identified continuity, accessibility, flexibility, and validity
are strong factors that affect parents’ perception on quality of teaching or care
at the research organisation.
Based on the above evidences, it is possible to question the credibility of
various service quality models used in the commercial and public sector, such
as those mentioned by Sivakumar et al., (2014) or Markovic et al., (2014).
However, it can be seen from literature that the SERVQUAL model relies on
similar principles, identified by Rivard et al. (2015), which involves tangibles,
reliability, responsibility, assurance, empathy and service cost (Basfirinci and
Mitra, 2015). Similarly, Rosian et al. (2015) state that the SERVQUAL model
is the most accurate model for identifying service quality in any given setting.
Hence, these factors need to be considered while analysing the quality of
work and the quality of service provided by professional working in NGOs.
2.3 Quality of Work Life (QWL)
According to Goyal (2013), the relationship between service quality and
quality of work/life (QWL) is very evident and empirically proven over time.
QWL can be described as “a generic term that encompasses an individual’s
outlook on his working conditions and environment” (Goyal, 2013). QWL may
involve factors such as benefits, compensation, rewards, and recognition, as

9
well as provision of sound and healthy work environment and so on. Similarly,
work relationships are also characterised as influencing factors affecting QWL
(Goyal, 2013). Although QWL is influenced and created by many components,
there is no doubt that it has the power to affect, encourage, or discourage
service quality among employees in any operating settings; not to mention its
roots in the human resource function in the organisation (Goyal, 2013).
Employees usually build up a mind-set concerning their feelings and emotions
against work, management practices, interpersonal relationships, and other
factors, which collectively becomes their perceptions about quality of work life
(Islam, 2012). According to Islam (2012), better QWL may have better
influence on job satisfaction and thereby improvements in quality of service
delivered to customers, which means, the role of HRM function in this case is
crucial, and all these factors are connected to each other. HRM plays a critical
role in formulating and maintaining policies to ensure better QWL to ensure
better service quality and job satisfaction among employees. Similar to this,
Lee et al. (2015) found that the level of QWL is a predictor of employees’
intentions to continue in their job and organisation.
Based on study conducted among nurses in various hospital settings, Lee et
al. (2015) found that nurses with low levels of QWL frequently changed their
jobs and organisations, and they have felt low levels of job satisfaction and
organisational commitment. Lee et al. (2015) also concluded that such
subjective satisfaction with one’s working life (QWL) might also lead to
providing inadequate service (in terms of quality) to customers, whether in
commercial or NGO settings. According to Lath and Prabhakar (2011), most
NGOs in developed countries were found to be weak in staff development and
most of the HRM’s functional activities such as recruitment, training, and
development and such, which not only affects their quality of work life
employees, but also affect the service quality delivered. In short, these
arguments indicate that any factor affecting employees’ wellbeing at work may
result in reduced QWL and deteriorating service quality.
However, most NGOs have a considerable level of part time employees and
volunteers. According to Kauhanen and Natti (2015) such differences in job
types and designations, as well as activities may have visible influences on

10
employees’ perceived wellbeing at work and subsequently delivery of service
quality by them. Kauhanen and Natti (2015) found from a QWL based survey
that most temporary and part-time workers experienced lower QWL compared
to other groups, while volunteer groups have exhibited a high QWL, in
comparison. These differences can be linked with the perceived benefits and
other similar factors that employees expect from a job; Kauhanen and Natti
(2015) argue that job insecurity is the biggest factor affecting QWL among
employees, especially those falls into non-traditional employment categories.
Hence, type of employment can have significant influence on service quality
and QWL of employees.
Yee et al. (2015) found that there is a close relationship between work
relationships and QWL; subsequently, the level of QWL is a clear determinant
of service quality in any organisational setting. Yee et al. (2015) argue that
such work relationships can be in the form of same level relationships or
leader-member relations, which means, management policies, leader member
exchange policies and such may have clear influence on overall QWL of
employees. While it is relatively easy for service organisations to increase
service quality through standardisation and automation of services (Yee et al.,
2015), it may not be the case in NGOs, since most NGOs have custom
designed programs and relies solely on the human work force and their skills.
Hence, challenges associated with achieving high quality can only be
achieved through effective focus on QWL and employees’ perceived level of
job satisfaction.
Finally, Vasita and Prajapati (2014) noted that human resource function and
its activities have a direct link with QWL and its subsequent impact on overall
job satisfaction of employees. It is essential for the organisation and the HRM
function to create policies, regulations, and tactics to ensure high satisfaction
among employees in order to achieve high levels of QWL and service quality
(Vasita and Prajapati, 2014). It is clear from these evidences that the role of
HRM function in ensuring QWL is very crucial and direct. An organisation can
only ensure such high levels of QWL through various motivational and
engagement strategies. Hence, identifying the level of QWL would also lead
to identifying service quality levels and the influence of critical influencers.

11
2.4 Human Resource Function in NGOs
The most critical factor that determines the success and failure of an NGO is
its people and their performance (Brewster and Less, 2006); however, HR is
often neglected in this area. Since the workforce at an NGO comprise of both
regular employees and volunteers, not to mention the role of part-time and
temporary employees, the success of NGOs depend on the cost of achieving
missions, effective management of human resources, and ability to attract
income through donations and so on. Hence, the role of HRM is very clear,
which is to manage this workforce in order to leverage their capabilities to
achieve missions and goals. However, many studies (Brewster and Less,
2006) found that majority of NGOs do not regard HRM as a critical factor or a
strategic issue, while the existing HRM issues overlooked in favour of
campaigning programmers and towards directing resources from beneficiaries
to staff, which is not an effective practice.
Since most NGOs have international activities and cross-border roots, which
means, there are chances of cross-cultural issues in NGO management,
especially in HRM activities. According to Jackson and Haines (2007), the
comparative advantage of NGOs lies in its local responsiveness, social focus
and cultural sensitivity towards issues, challenges, and solutions. The role of
HRM in such cases is to ensure effective cross-cultural management in its
operations and activities. Since the operating principles of most NGOs revolve
around humanitarian principles, consideration of differences in cultural
principles and behaviours are essential. Another study conducted among
community health workers (CHWs - working for NGOs) found that CHWs’
conditions and expectations are not always met through existing HRM
practices in respective NGOs, which lead to dissatisfaction among CHWs
(Raven et al., 2015).
It is reasonable to question the ability of HRM function to meet their goals and
missions with a dissatisfied workforce, argued Raven et al. (2015), which
means, the primary aim of HRM function in an NGO, similar to any other
commercial or government organisation is to ensure both management’s and
workforce’ requirements and expectations are met with, at least on a mutually
agreeable level. However, Raven et al. (2015) argue that this is not the case

12
with majority of the NGOs operating across the world. On the other hand, the
policies, trends, and practices within an NGO must be shaped according to
the trends within the humanitarian, or the respective sector (Korff et al., 2009).
This is mainly because employees, or people in general have various reasons
for joining an NGO, which may range from intentions related to humanitarian
efforts and ethical interests to gaining experience and exposure, or building a
sustainable career. Hence, the intentions of the workforce in an NGO may be
different from that of commercial organisations (Korff et al., 2009). The role of
HRM is to identify these needs and respond to such demands.
According to Al-Jabari (2013), one of the key implications associated with the
HRM function in NGO settings is training and development. Al-Jabari (2013)
argues that NGOs cannot operate without trained and efficient workforce.
Hence, HRM needs to develop training methods to address the requirements
of its missions and goals. Al-Jabari’s (2013) study reveals that NGOs with
efficient HRM practices see training and development as a serious
investment. However, this is not the case across the globe. For example, Batti
(2014) found that a majority of NGOs operating in India see training and
development as a waste of resources due to various reasons; 1) cost of
training and development has increased dynamically over the years, and 2)
well-trained employees quit their job at the NGO too soon. This means, there
are management issues at HRM level in NGOs operating in India. These
factors may affect employees’ job satisfaction and quality, intention to provide
better service, and even their intention to stay with the organisation.
Sharma (2014) found that nearly 88% of the workforces in the Indian NGO
sector are volunteers, while an 18% of them are paid. This indicates a
proliferation of volunteers in the industry, which means, it would be very
difficult to attract volunteers to the sector without efficient HRM practices and
strategies. Similarly, Sharma (2014) found that such organisations are built on
the foundation of ethical dedication and work harmony based on trust,
openness and commitment. However, these characteristics among
employees can only be achieved through effective training and development,
which would further enhance the quality of work and service in this sector
(Sharma, 2014).

13
Finally, HRM’s role in NGOs is not limited to training and development and
recruitment, but it has complex challenges to attend to. Padaki (2007) argue
that the human resource environment in the NGO sector is volatile, since it
depends on donations and external sources of money. Similarly, there is not
enough scope in investing in human development efforts, due to the nature of
work and the sector. Hence, the role of HRM is to combine both ethical and
practical principles and objectives to develop effective HR policies to attract,
retain, and motivate employees to stay with the organisation and perform to
attain the NGO’s missions and goals. Overall, these arguments indicate that
HRM has a critical role to play in any NGO. While most of the Indian NGOs do
not have efficient HRM or HRD practices in place, it may lead to reduced
service quality, QWL, and reduced job satisfaction among its employees and
volunteers. Hence, development of standardised policies and frameworks are
necessary in this sector.
2.5 EmployeeMotivation in NGO Sector
One of the key issues addressed in this paper is how NGOs motivate its
employees and the role of HRM function in ensuring provision of optimal
motivation to achieve high service quality through high satisfaction. According
to Pacesilla (2014), NGOs use both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation models
to motivate employees. Some of these motivators, according to Pacesila
(2014) include professional and career development, knowledge and
experience, credibility of the organisation, professional visibility, networking,
financial incentives and so on (Pacesila, 2014). However, these are not
common in all the regions, such as those in the developing world. On the
other hand, Pacesila (2014) found that those who do not offer better training
programs and development opportunities suffered from lack of employee
motivation.
A study conducted by People in Aid (2007) agrees with these arguments, but
warns that such factors may change according to the type of NGO. However,
it is the role of the HRM function to identify the factors that motivate
employees within an NGO environment. According to Bakuwa et al., (2013),
motivation has a key role to play in staff retention, and their performance.

14
Bakuwa et al. (2013) found from their study that the level of motivation among
NGO employees is much lower than that of the governmental and private
sectors. Similarly, Gerhards (2015) found from an experimental study that
different individuals have different motivators to join and work with an NGO.
Based on a study conducted among experimental groups about their mission
match and overall effort, Gerhards (2015) concluded that employees with high
mission match put forward higher effort towards the goals. In other words,
high mission match, or the individual’s interest in the project, acts as a non-
financial incentive or as a motivator.
The arguments raised by Gerhards (2015) clearly indicate the presence of
non-monetary motivators in NGOs. These are similar across different job
positions, argue Taysir et al., (2013). According to the study conducted by
Taysir et al. (2013), there have been no differences among the managers and
volunteers or employees in terms of motivational factors. Although this finding
is contrary to the evidences examined so far, it should be noted that
motivation from a mission-match and ability perspective, might have similar
influencers (Taysir et al., 2013). On the other hand, Taysir et al. (2013)
observed that several factors motivate employees to join NGOs and operate
effectively, which are:
 Enhancing self-worth
 Learning through community
 Individual and professional networking
 Making contributions to the community (Taysir et al., 2013).
Based on the expectancy model of motivation, an employee is motivated
when her expectations match with the reality, specifically, when their
expectations about the benefits received from the job matches reality. Walk et
al. (2013) argue that employees with matching values, culture, experiences
and intentions with that of the organisation always exhibit a suitable match in
this regard, which is in agreement with the mission match arguments
examined above. On the other hand, Walk et al., (2013) found that age may
have critical impacts and influences on motivating employees in NGO
settings. It should be noted that these are the primary reasons for individuals
to join NGOs (Flanigan, 2010).

15
According to Flanigan (2010), people join and make career choices in NGOs
and similar non-profit organisations due to various reasons, which are
primarily related to emotions and values, and secondarily linked with career
and professional development. Hence, safeguarding these values and faith,
through maintaining better and positive psychological contract is essential in
ensuring maximum motivation to employees (Flanigan, 2010). On the other
hand, it should start from recruitment; argue Lee and Wilkins (2011). Every
individual choose a profession that best satisfies their interest, values, and
needs, which means, if the right people are chosen by the NGOs, there is a
better chance of motivation even at the lowest levels, provided there is
mission match.
On the other hand, they have also found that the more managers are
encouraged to take up responsibility, the more they are likely to take up
employment in employment and are motivated by their activities. This show
that the highest level of motivation in NGO settings come from intrinsic
methods, which is the biggest reason why many evidences in this study
indicates the importance of mission match, effort levels, and individual values
of employees. This indicates that there are many factors associated with
motivation in an NGO, ranging from people’ values, wages, and incentives to
career development and intrinsic motivation options.
2.6 Impactof Motivation on Job Satisfaction
Motivation and satisfaction is directly related to each other. Baruah and
Barthakur (2012) have successfully established that leadership and motivation
have critical influence on employees’ satisfaction and well-being, which in turn
affect employees’ service delivery performance and level of customer
satisfaction. Hence, there is a multidimensional relationship between
motivation and quality of service, which is collected through satisfaction of
employees (Baruah and Barthakur, 2012). Such results are visible in various
other studies as well, such as Singh and Tiwari (2011). The Great Man theory
states that the achievements of an organisation are primarily the
achievements of its people, which is equally applicable in the NGO sectors.
Hence, keeping employees satisfied through motivation help organisations in

16
achieving greater results, which also include better delivery of service and
service quality (Singh and Tiwari, 2011).
Similarly, Lut (2012) indicates that there is a strong connection between
employees’ performance and satisfaction, which is driven by motivation. On a
similar note, level of satisfaction is an indicator of motivation, and both have a
valid and strong relationship with job performance (Lut, 2012). While much of
these evidences were tested in for-profit environments, other studies indicate
the presence of similar theories and models in non-profits as well. In a study
conducted in a public organisation, Mafini and Dlodlo (2014) found significant
relationship between job satisfaction and different models of extrinsic
motivation, such as compensation, teamwork, QWL, and supervision and so
on. On the other hand, public sector employees were more satisfied and
motivated if they were feeling higher life satisfaction.
A study conducted in underdeveloped regions indicate that absence of career
path, lack of development opportunities, workload, lack of compensation, and
such could lead to decline in motivation and satisfaction, and may
subsequently lead to high levels of turnover in organisations, especially in
NGOs (Khawary and Ali, 2015). When it comes to school environments,
where the study was conducted (Khawary and Ali, 2015), this may lead to
learning issues among students along with lack of emotional connection and
eventually affect the entire learning process and hence the quality of service
delivery. Similarly, Convey (2014) found that commitment is the biggest type
of motivator leading to satisfaction among employees.
Convey (2014) also found that these motivators linked with satisfaction were
also related to their personal values and beliefs. Similarly, a study conducted
among welfare workers, operating in child welfare work, found that subjective
wellbeing of employees were very important to create an overall job
satisfaction, so that they can perform well and deliver better service (Shier et
al., 2012). On the other hand, they have found that overall life satisfaction was
very important in creating a perception of subjective wellbeing among
employees operating in welfare organisations (Shier et al., 2012), which is
similar to the findings made in pervious sections, such as mission match and
personal values.

17
Similar to Shier et al. (2012), Mpembeni et al., (2015) found that most of the
community health workers they examined indicated they were motivated to
become a community worker and perform was due to altruism, and intrinsic
needs. Achievement of these needs was found to be in significantly higher
correlation with job satisfaction and the level of service quality they delivered.
Finally, similar factors were found in correlation with volunteers operating in
various industries, especially community involvement, expression of values,
and love of the mission they involved in (Bang and Ross, 2008). This
indicates that the same values and personal beliefs could motivate people to
take up employment in the NGO sector and perform better. It is also evident
that these motivational values have visible influence on their perceived
satisfaction and performance.
2.7 Link Between HRM Factors and Service Quality
It can be seen from the literature review so far that service quality is very
much related to the activities and practices of the HRM function. However,
regardless of the domain of application, HRM practices are linked with service
quality in every area of business and other organisation, including NGOs. It
can be seen from the literature review that concerns examined so far, such as
ensuring quality of work life of employees, ensuring motivation and job
satisfaction among employees, or promoting an efficient environment for
employees and such, are strong factors associated with human resource
function in an organisation. However, there is more to HRM than motivation
and satisfaction. There are other factors such as training and development, or
strategies linked with human resource quality and so on.
Uen et al., (2012) found that increasing participation of the HRM function is
essential for driving ultimate performance from employees and thereby
increasing service quality of the workforce. However, there is an However, in
order for the HRM function to participate in the strategic functions of an
organisation, it is necessary for the function to have high levels of service
quality at the most basic level. According to Uen et al. (2012), HR’s service
quality influences the organisation’s innovativeness, strategic capabilities, and
customisation in HRM strategies, which can affect the overall performance of

18
the function through strategic partnership. On the other hand, strategic
partnership is necessary for the HRM function to influence service quality
within an organisation.
Ubeda-Garcia et al. (2014) identified that, there is a link between strategy,
training, and performance of employees, and the role of HRM is very essential
in coordinating this relationship. According to Ubeda-Garcia et al. (2014), the
necessity of HRM is very evidence since strategies related to learning and
development of employees must be related to the overall objectives and
needs of the organisation, which means, the function must analyse the
organisational conditions and requirement, and then develop a strategy that fit
the conditions. In turn, training strategies that are specifically developed to
achieve quality outcomes result in improving service quality in organisations
(Ubeda-Garcia et al., 2014).
It has been found that there are six HRM practices that contribute to improved
service quality in organisations (Ueno, 2014), which are:
 Recruitment and selection
 Teamwork
 Communication
 Appraisals and rewards
 Training
 Empowerment
Ueno (2014) argues that each of these factors are linked with each other and
the combination of these factors are necessary for driving high levels of
service quality in any organisation. According to Ueno (2014), identification of
the perfect candidate who can perform well in an organisation is the first step
in ensuring service quality through the recruitment and selection process,
while this enhanced team work facilitate better communication and
commitment among the team members, which intern facilitate empowerment
of employees. On the other hand, rewards and training and development also
contribute to better empowerment of employees. Empowerment is highly
associated with improving employees’ service mentality and thereby
influencing them to provide better service quality to customers or beneficiaries

19
of an NGO (Ueno, 2014). This indicates that all these six HRM factors are
essential driving service quality in an organisation.
Ueno (2012), in a previous study found that these factors are essential in
creating a service culture in the organisation, and also found strong
associations between organisational culture and HRM practices. This
indicates the development of a service culture is essential in delivering high
quality service to customers, or beneficiaries. According to Chand (2010),
relationship between HRM practices and service quality is very strong, which
in turn affect customer satisfaction. Chand (2010) found, from a study
conducted in the service industry that several HRM practices have critical
influences on the service quality offered by the organisation. According to
Chand (2010), the following factors affect service quality directly:
 Recruitment and selection
 Manpower planning
 Job design
 Training and development
 Pay system
Similarly, Chand (2010) also found that these HRM outcomes are not only
linked to service quality outcomes, but are also related to customer
satisfaction related outcomes and thereby organisational performance
outcomes.
Similarly, Tiwari and Saxena (2015) also agreed to the points made by Chand
(2010) that careful recruitment, remuneration, team working, training and
learning and such have critical influence on employees’ intentions to perform
better and delivery superior service quality to the beneficiaries. Similarly, Dhar
(2015) found considerable evidences indicating the relationship between
employee training and service quality delivered by employees, and argue that
training influence the level of commitment among employees, and such
commitment act as a mediator for delivering high service quality. Similarly,
Batt and Moynihan (2006) found that efficient HRM activities and strategies
are important for influencing employees to perform better in order to achieve
the goals and targets set by the organisation.

20
While it is possible for an employees to merely do her/his job, even though
coercive management or ineffective strategies, it is only possible to create the
best service for customer through effective influencing, which is often created
by effective employee management policies and methods, such as adequate
pay, benefits, performance rewards, recognition schemes, training and
development and so on. According to Batt and Moynihan (2006), lack of
service quality often has high cost on the organisation, since it fails to satisfy
customers and thereby affect retention of the most important stakeholders of
the organisation. While translating this to an NGO, factors influencing
employees’ or performance may be different, but such strategies are essential
in maintaining service quality, so that the organisational outcomes are met,
which would drive customers’ or beneficiaries’ satisfaction level even higher
(Anastasiou and Nathanailides, 2015).
On the other hand, Gupta et al. (2006) found that quality management in
service organisations and environment are often the result of effective
leadership, supporting and positive organisational culture, and high levels of
employee commitment, which indicates the implications associated with the
HRM function and its activities, since HRM plays a key role in developing all
the three antecedents examined by Gupta et al. (2006). On the other hand,
they argued and tested positively that all these thee antecedents must be
linked with the overall objectives chased by the firm, which means there must
be a strategic alignment between these factors. In other words, HRM
implements strategies that can help the organisation in achieving its business
or organisational goals (Gupta et al. 2006).
Finally, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits’ (2014) guide for nonprofits argue
that human resources is one of the key factor that can influence success of an
NGO, which means, the ability of an organisation to utilise its time, money,
and other resources depends on the ability of its human resources. Hence,
management of human resources is very critical in developing human
resource to meet these goals. Also, it is recommended that NGOs and non-
profits should place much emphasis on developing fair practices that attract
and retain employees. It must be noted that much of these findings are
strongly related to commercial organisation, whereas the environmental

21
conditions and operating environment is entirely different in NGOs. However,
there is a visible lack of literature in this area of literature, which means there
is much to explore in terms of delivering quality service in the NGO sector.
2.8 Summary
The main aim of this literature review was to develop a thorough
understudying about the key factor associated with service quality in NGOs.
The main aim of the study was to analyse the level of service quality delivered
by employees at NGOs in Kerala, the study location, and to establish the
relationship between employees’ intentions to deliver high quality service to
customers or beneficiaries and then determining how such conditions can be
improved, if it required any improvement. Hence, this literature analysis
developed a systematic process where it started addressing each issue one
by one.
The study examined what service quality is and how can it be measured in
NGO environments, and the second section dealt with quality of work life of
employees working in NGOs in Kerala, since this was the prime motivation to
conduct this study. The analysis then analysed various factors associated with
the HRM function, its activities, its relationship with employee motivation and
satisfaction, and finally on the relationship between HRM and service quality
outcomes. This analysis can be summarised by stating that there are strong
relationships between HRM activities or strategies and service quality
outcomes in any organisation.

22
3 Research Methodology
Kumar (2014) examined research as the systematic inquiry to find answers to
specific questions using scientific tools and methods, as well as using specific
strategies aimed at scientific discovery of facts. Each research derive from a
research problem, and has specific aims and directions. The main aim of this
study was to analyse the condition of service quality and the practice of HRM
in NGOs in Kerala. The study was aimed at analysing how such HRM
practices are affecting employees’ intentions to deliver high quality of care
and how such provisions can be improved, if there were any discrepancies
between their expectations and realities. This section of the chapter deals with
the research process and its strategy from a systematic and academic point of
view.
3.1 PositivistPhilosophy
This study was addressing a real world problem, as exist in real world
conditions, among real people. Hence, there was an objective reality
surrounding the study and its objectives. Since the problem and its answers
were distributed among the subjects that are associated with the problem, a
research philosophy aimed at identifying and analysing this objective view of
the world was used in this study. Apart from that, the researcher believe that
the reality is external to the researcher and must not involve with it; instead,
analyse it from another view point and describe its features. Hence, a
positivist approach was taken as the foundation of this research, since the
positivist approach is associated with the development of such models,
especially in analysing the reality that is distributed in real life conditions and
settings (Mukherji and Albon, 2014).
3.2 Quantitative Method
Since the study was aimed at analysing the level of service quality, the effect
of HRM function on ensuring such service quality in NGOs, it was essential to
use quantifiable data, or using measurable data, so that measurable
outcomes can be formed through the analysis of data obtained through the
study. On the other and, such a method would also ensure in analysing the

23
magnitude and degree of specific practices within the domain of inquiry
(Rubin and Babbie, 2010). According to Rubin and Babbie (2010), quantitative
methods are effective in establishing such measures and outcomes, while it is
important to use such a method when the study is aimed at generating
generalizable statistical findings that can be associated with casual
relationships between other variables. In this case, the study was aimed at
analysing how HRM influence employees and organisations in promoting high
service quality; hence, the quantitative method of study was employed in this
study.
3.3 Descriptive Study
It is evident from the problem description and the initial analysis that there are
very few studies happened in the specific problem area and not many studies
addressing service quality and its relationship with the HRM function, while
majority of the studies are associated with commercial industries. Hence, the
study conducted in this area was relatively new, especially in the light of new
developments in the Indian NGO sector. Hence, the study’s aims were set to
analyse and describe the findings of the scenario identified in the study
problem area. Therefore, a descriptive study method was used in this study.
According to Kumar (2014), a descriptive study is often used when a new
problem is found in a situation. Descriptive studies are usually associated with
specific questions such as what, when, where and such. For example, this
study examines the implications related to service quality and HRM among
the NGOs in Kerala. Hence, the aims of this study were to describe the
findings rather than interpreting it. Therefore, a descriptive study model was
implemented in this case.
3.4 Data Collection Methods
There are different types of data used in researches, such as secondary and
primary data. While secondary data is the data that is already published by
other, primary data refers to the data sources first-hand from subjects, or
through specific research related activities. In this case, both secondary and
primary data types were used. Secondary data was collected in order to
conduct a literature review to make a general understudying what was already

24
published in the study domain, so that such knowledge can be used while
developing the primary data collection model and method. On the other hand,
primary data collection was aimed at collecting information from employees at
various NGOs (names are not mentioned due to ethical concerns) operating
in Kerala. As examined above, a quantitative model study was devised in this
case. Hence, a quantitative data collection instrument was developed.
3.5 Data Collection Instrument: Survey
The data collection instrument used in this study was a questionnaire-based
survey devise. According to Taylor et al. (2006), questionnaire-based surveys
are common strategy used in quantitative studies. The benefit of such a
method is that it is cost effective, and fast process of collecting information.
On the other hand, surveys that use structured systems and closed-type
questions can be strategically coded to collect specific responses that are
essential for the study to analyse (Taylor et al., 2006). Hence, a
questionnaire-based survey model was devised in this study. The survey was
aimed at employees working at the NGOs studies in this case. The survey
included 20 questions aimed at analysing employees’ response towards
practices of HRM function and its applications in the organisation and
employees’ intentions to deliver quality care, as well as specific organisational
practices that motivate and satisfies employees.
Most of the questions used in the survey were frequency distribution
questions that allocated points of each alternative response, which were then
calculated to find the mean value of responses in order to determine the most
generalizable response from the participants. Surveys were distributed
through corresponding personnel, since the study location was remote. The
corresponding personnel approached staff members in different
organisations, after obtaining permission from the management by the author
through known contacts and telephone, and the surveys were filled in total
anonymity. The survey was conducted mainly in two NGOs in Kerala. The
filled forms were then scanned and returned to the author through emails by
the corresponding personnel. The study locations in this case were two
schools in Kerala, serving to the needs of children who need special attention.

25
3.6 Sampling Technique
In this case, a convenience sampling technique was used. According to Brink
et al. (2006) convenience sampling is the most common type of non-
probability sampling technique, which is used when the research depends on
the most easily accessible subjects for conducting the study. In many
occasions during a business research, or social research, it is often very
difficult to approach potential participants. Hence, researches often rely on the
most easily accessible participants, such as in this case. Since this study was
conducted in remote, and the data collection depended on very limited scale,
at approachable and available staff members, a convenience sampling
technique was used in this study. Data collected from all respondents were
taken for analysis. On the other hand, the survey was conducted among 35
employees working in different NGOs in Kerala. Although more numbers were
expected, availability and approachability limited the number of participants in
this case.
3.7 Time Horizon
According to Sekaran (2006), time horizon refers to the time scale or the time
at which the study was conducted. There are two major time-horizon models
used in researches, which are longitudinal time horizon and a cross-sectional
time horizon. Longitudinal studies refer to studies conducted over a period of
time, such as studying behaviour of subjects before and after a specific event
or intervention (Sekaran, 2006). On the other hand, cross-sectional time
horizon refers to the snapshot of subjects’ responses at a specific short period
of time. For example, data gathered at a single time or at once from all
participants can be called a cross-sectional study. Since this study was aimed
at analysing employees’ behaviour towards delivering quality service at a
single point of time, without having biased by other external and internal
influences, a cross-sectional time frame was used in this study, as it helps in
gaining a snapshot of the subjects and their responses.

26
3.8 Data Analysis
Researches rely on different data analysis techniques, such as qualitative
analysis models, statistical models of analysis, and so on. In this case, two
types of analysis models were implemented. Analysis of secondary data
depended on a literature review, which took secondary information through a
step-by-step analysis process to identify and analyse specific knowledge and
insights related to the study area. According to Kumar (2014), this is a very
common practice. The analysis findings were then used to formulate the
primary data collection instrument and questions. When it comes to primary
data analysis, this study relied on frequency distribution model analysis, which
is a simple descriptive type statistical analysis to analyse and represent the
findings.
On the other hand, data was analysed using central tendency models, as
described by Rubin and Babbie (2009), especially the mean of the responses
in order to understand the central tenancy of the responses, so that a
generalised conclusion could be made in each case or each question. Finally,
simple correlation analysis, which is one of the simplest methods of analysing
relationships (Rubin and Babbie, 2009) were conducted between different
variables in order to understand employees’ behaviour and their service
outcomes. The study relied mostly on Microsoft Excel for analysing data, and
used SPSS for conducting the correlation analysis.
3.9 EthicalConcerns
Ethical concerns are critical in every research. Every research must operate
within an ethical framework and should approach subjects and the research

27
from a fair perspective (Sekaran, 2009). In this case, high efforts were given
to stay relevant and compliant with ethical requirements. The study was
primarily associated with NGOs with social welfare interests. One of the first
measures taken was to avoid the chances of mentioning the NGOs that took
part in the study, mainly due to their social recognition and reputation, and
secondly the study avoided collecting personal information or identifiable
information from the participants of the study. Although the study initially
designed in such a way to collect data from the beneficiaries of the
organisation, it was avoided since it collided with the ethical objectives and
intentions of this study. Hence, there have been informed and strategic
attempts to avoid ethical conflicts. Finally, the intentions, objectives, expected
outcomes and its impacts have been explained to each participant before
taking part in the survey through a consent form attached with the
questionnaire.

28
4 Analysis and Findings
A survey was conducted among 23 participants from NGOs in Kerala. The
participants were professionals in providing education and similar services to
students with special needs. The study was conducted through corresponding
personnel in the remote location. Most of the survey relied on frequency
distribution model analysis techniques.
4.1 Demographic Features
While the survey involved 20 questions altogether, the first two questions
were aimed at understanding the respondent better. According to the results,
most of participants had a salary between Rs 10,000.00 to Rs 15,000.000,
which is equivalent to £100.00 to £150.00 per month, followed by 9% drawing
in a salary of less than Rs 10,000.00 per month, while only 17% making a
salary between Rs 15,001.00 and Rs 25,000.00. This indicates that the salary
conditions or the benefit conditions in the surveyed organisations are very
poor (Figure 1).
Figure 1 – Participants’ Salary
Calculated by author
Question 2 examined the work experience of participants. According to the
findings, majority of the employees were working with the organisations for
more than 3 years (39%), followed by 26% (each) working for 1-2 years and

29
2-3 years, while a 9% indicated a work experience of less than one year.
Hence, most participants in this study have a work experience of minimum 2
years (Figure 2).
Figure 2 – Work experience of participants
4.2 Quality Outcomes and Intentions
The main aim of this study was to analyse the quality outcomes, as perceived
by employees. The second part of the survey involved 6 questions aimed at
understanding the level and intentions of employees to deliver quality service.
In this case, the definition of quality has been taken as the provision to meet
the needs of the service users. 3rd question examined whether employees
would go to the largest extent to provide the beneficiaries, or students with the
adequate support they need or not. According to the responses (Figure 3),
majority of the respondents only indicated a neutral agreement (39%),
followed by 30% indicating an agreement, and 26% indicating a
disagreement. On the other hand, only 4% strongly agreed to the statement.
Similarly, a 3.3 mean response indicates a neutral agreement among the
respondents.

30
Figure 3 – Extent to deliver adequate support to students
Figure 4 – Intentions to take special interests for children with special needs
4th question asked whether the respondents talk any specifically individual
interest in developing individual students who need special needs or not. The
main aim was to understand whether there was individualised consideration
from employees to meet the need of students or not. According to the
responses, majority respondents indicated an agreement (39%), while 35%
indicated neutral agreement, followed by 17% disagreeing to the statement.

31
On the other hand, only 9% made a strong agreement to the statement
(Figure 4). However, a central tendency of 3.39 indicates a neutral agreement
among the participants.
Figure 5 – School have adequate facilities
5th question examined whether the schools provide adequate facilities
required by the children who need special assistance and have special needs
or not. According to the responses, there is a mixed agreement among the
respondents. While 48% agreed that there are adequate facilities provided by
the organisation, 22% strongly agreed to the question while 22% also
indicated a neutral agreement to the statement raised by the survey. On the
other hand, only 9% indicated a disagreement towards the response. On the
other hand, a central tendency of 3.83 among the responses indicates a
neutral agreement with a strong shift towards a general agreement. Hence,
most employees make a general agreement that the organisations provide
adequate facilities for respondents.
6th question examined whether the organisations are staffed effectively or
not. Since it is important and critical to have adequate staffing to ensure
effective delivery of service, the question asked respondents directly about
these factors. According to the responses, it is evident that majority of the
respondents indicated a disagreement (43%), while 4% indicated a strong
disagreement. On the other hand, 13% indicated an agreement while 13%

32
indicated a strong agreement. On the other hand, 26% indicated a neutral
agreement towards the statement (Figure 6). When it comes to the central
tendency of responses, a 2.87 response rate indicates a disagreement with a
strong shift towards neutral agreement. This indicates that the staffing levels
in the study organisations were not adequate.
Figure 6 – Adequate staffs to handle children in school
Figure 7 – Periodic review/assessment of learning needs for students

33
7th question examined whether the organisations had any periodic
assessment or evaluation systems for analysing students’ needs or not. The
results indicate that there are not many such practices, indicated by a central
tendency of 2.65. Most participants disagreed with the statement (47%),
followed by 22% making a neutral agreement. On the other hand, a combined
population of 21% agreed to the argument, while 9% strongly disagreed to the
statement (Figure 7). Overall, it is evident that organisations do not have
special evaluation and assessment systems to analyse the needs of students.
Figure 8 – Intentions to take special interest in finding solutions
The last question in quality intentions section examined whether employees
were inclined towards finding and providing adequate solutions and whether
they take special interest in solving the problems faced by their students or
not. A central tendency of 3.43 indicates a neutral agreement only. It is also
evident that the responses are mixed in this case, where majority of
respondents are making an agreement (39%), followed by 26% making a
neutral agreement to the statement, and a 22% making disagreement to the
statement. Only 13% indicated a strong agreement that they do take time and
interest to find solutions for the problems faced by their students (Figure 8).

34
4.3 HRM Interventionsand Activities
The third section of the survey examined the HRM practices followed by the
study organisations. There were 10 questions aimed at analysing these
factors. 9th question examined whether their respective organisations have
adequate mechanisms to evaluate employees’ performance or not. A central
tendency of 2.91 indicates a disagreement with a strong shift towards a
neutral agreement. According to the results, 47% disagreed to the statement,
while 26% indicated a neutral agreement. On the other hand, 13% of
respondents indicated agreement and strong agreement towards the
statement. Overall, it can be argued that there aren’t strong methods for
evaluating employees’ performance (Figure 9).
Figure 9 – Availability of performance evaluation methods
10th question examined whether the employees perceive their work
environment as excellent or not. According to the central tendency of the
responses, there is a disagreement with strong shift towards 2.83. On the
other hand, 35% of the respondents indicated disagreement to the statement,
whereas 30% indicated neutral agreement, followed by 17% agreeing and 9%
strongly agreeing that they consider their work environment as positive and
effective. However, 9% indicated strong disagreement. Therefore, there is a
disagreement among the employees about the statement.

35
Figure 10 – Excellent and positive work environment
Figure 11 – Periodic surveys to analyse level of motivation
11th question examined whether the organisation conduct periodic surveys to
understand employees’ motivation levels or not. According to the central
tendency of the responses, there is a strong disagreement with a strong shift
towards a disagreement state. Majority of the respondents indicated a
disagreement to the statement (43%), whereas 35% indicated strong
disagreement to the statement. On the other hand, 22% indicated a neutral
agreement to the statement. Overall, the response indicates that there are no

36
such practices to identify and analyse motivation levels of employees (Figure
11).
12th question examined whether their respective organisations had any
method of feedback to analyse the level of service quality or not, such as
surveys or general feedback systems and such. According to the responses,
35% of the respondents strongly disagreed to the statement while majority of
the respondents indicated a strong disagreement (52%). An agreement is only
visible at a neutral level, as indicated by 13% of the respondents (Figure 12).
On the other hand, a central tendency of 1.78 indicates a strong disagreement
among employees with a strong shift towards a disagreement.
Figure 12 – Periodic feedback surveys to analyse service quality
13th question examined whether their respective organisations had any
periodic training activities aimed at improving employees’ skills and
knowledge. A central tendency response rate of 2.22 indicates a
disagreement among the participants, which indicates there are no such
practices of providing periodic provision of training and development to
employees. The responses indicate disagreement among the participants
(57%), followed by 26% who indicated a neutral agreement, while 4%
indicated an agreement. On the other hand, 13% indicated a strong
disagreement towards the statement (Figure 13).

37
Figure 13 – Availability of periodic training to improve staffs’ knowledge
Figure 14 – Needs better training for professional improvement
14th question examined whether employees ever felt they need better training
to meet their goals or to provide adequate services, such as training to their
students or not. The central tendency response of 3.83 indicates a neutral
agreement with a strong shift towards an agreement among the respondents.
Majority of the respondents agreed (48%) and 22% strongly agreed that they
have felt such needs often. While 22% indicated a neutral agreement to the

38
statement, 9% disagreed to the question, and there has been no
disagreement to the statement (Figure 14).
15th question examined whether there was any positive relationship between
the management and employees or not. According to the responses, 43%
made a neutral agreement to the statement, while a 35% of the respondents
disagreed to the statement, followed by 22% indicating an agreement to the
statement. Similarly, the central tendency rate of 2.86 indicates a
disagreement among the response with a strong shift towards a neutral
agreement (Figure 15). This indicates lack of positive relationships between
management and employees in the respective organisations.
Figure 15 – Positive relationship between employees and management
16th question examined whether the quality of work life experienced by
employees were effective or not. According to the results, there is a neutral
agreement among the respondents, which is indicated by a central tendency
rate of 3.30. It is evident that 39% of the respondents made a neutral as well
as general agreement towards the statement, while 17% disagreed and 4%
strongly agreed to the statement. Overall, there is a neutral agreement in this
case that the quality of work life feelings among the participants are mixed
(Figure 16).

39
Figure 16 – Effective quality of work life
The past two questions of the third section of survey was aimed at analysing
the most basic functions of HRM.
Figure 17 – Who recruited you?
17th question asked who recruited the respective person to the organisation,
in order to examine the role of HRM. While the common practice surrounding
schools is the involvement of the principal or the director making recruitment
decisions. I this case, there have been mixed responses, where 35%
indicated they were recruited by the director, and 26% indicated that principal
was the person who recruited them. On the other hand, 22% indicated they

40
were recruited by the manager, and 17% indicated they were recruited by a
NGO board member (Figure 17). This indicates mixed practices, and not a
unified approach in the respective organisations.
Finally, 18th question examined whether the respondents were aware of any
HRM functions or related activities within the organisation. Not so surprisingly,
only 13% indicated a positive response with a Yes, while majority of the
participants indicated No (48%), and 39% stated they were not sure (Figure
18). Overall, employees are not aware of HRM practices in respective
organisations.
Figure 18 – Awareness of HRM practices in the organisation
4.4 EmployeeSatisfaction
The last part of the survey was aimed at analysing and discussing satisfaction
levels of employees. Instead of getting deeper into the satisfaction level
conditions and factors, the survey used a strategy of directly identifying how
participants felt about the satisfaction they experience at their job. 19th
question examined individual factors related to employees’ job satisfaction,
such as salary, benefits, management treatment, training and development,
and work environment and such. According to the overall responses, it can be
seen that the satisfaction scenarios are not much bright (Figure 19).

41
Figure 19 – Rating of individual satisfaction measures
For example, employees indicated that their level of satisfaction with the
salary they receive were very poor, with 65% responding not satisfied with
salary, followed by 17% indicating a strong dissatisfaction, whereas a
combined 17% indicated some level of satisfaction. Similarly, majority of the
respondents were not at all satisfied with the benefits they receive (61%),
while 17% indicated a strong dissatisfaction, followed by a combined 21%

42
indicating some level of satisfaction in benefits section. When it comes to
management treatment, there were mixed responses, since no specific
alternative was able to secure a strong position. While majority indicated a
general satisfaction (39%), 22% were somewhat satisfied, followed by 26%
who were generally satisfied and 13% were extremely satisfied with the
management treatment.
When it comes to training and development, there is a strong dissatisfaction
similar to salary and benefits, which is also visible in case of the work
environment scenario. In training and development, 61% indicated
dissatisfaction, while 17% indicated a strong dissatisfaction, followed by a
combined population of 17% indicating some level of satisfaction, while a 4%
indicated a neutral satisfaction condition. Finally, work environment was
poorly perceived in terms of job satisfaction among employees, indicated by a
strong dissatisfaction among the participants (52%), followed by 22% making
a strong dissatisfaction and somewhat satisfaction, while a 4% of the
participants indicated satisfaction with the work environment they worked in.
Overall, it can be argued that the individual satisfaction scenarios are not very
bright.
Figure 20 – Overall satisfaction with the job and organisation
On the other hand, 20th question examined the overall satisfaction level of
employees. According to the responses, 48% are not satisfied with their job

43
and the organisation, while a 30% is somewhat satisfied with their work. On
the other hand, 22% indicated a general satisfaction while nobody indicated a
high level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Figure 20). Overall, it can be
argued from the last two questions that the satisfaction scenario in the
organisation is not very bright.
4.5 Relationship betweenService Quality and Overall
Satisfaction of Employees
In order to understand the relationship between employees service quality
behaviours and overall employee satisfaction levels, a correlation analysis
was performed. Correlation was performed between employees’ personal
behaviours, and not related to the organisations’ behaviours towards
delivering quality, and employees job satisfaction levels. According to the
analysis conducted (Table 1), the relationship has been found to be strong
between the individual quality outcomes and employees’ satisfaction levels.
The first variable examined the relationship between employees’ overall
satisfaction levels and employees’ willingness to deliver the best service even
by gong through the largest extent. According to the results, the correlation is
strong with a Pearson correlate coefficient of .567, significant at 0.01 level.
This indicates a positive relationship that highly satisfied employees indicated
a high intention related to delivering the best service quality to the
beneficiaries, or students.
Similarly, the study examined the relationship between employees’ interest in
taking special interests or individualised consideration to students who need
special attention and their overall satisfaction levels and found a similar
relationship with a Pearson Correlation coefficient of .589, which is much
stronger than the previous relationships, and also significant at 0.01 level.
This also indicates that employees with high levels of satisfaction were willing
to spend more time, and providing individual consideration to student who
needed special attention and vice versa. A similar relationship has been found
between employees’ intentions to find solutions for students’ problems and
concerns and their overall job satisfaction. With a correlation coefficient of

44
.657, with a high significance rate of 0.001, the relationship is much stronger
than the previous relationships.
Table 1 - Correlation between overall satisfaction and quality intentions
Correlations
QUAL1 QUAL2 QUAL6 SAT6
QUAL1 PearsonCorrelation 1
Sig. (2-tailed)
N 23
QUAL2 PearsonCorrelation .518* 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .011
N 23 23
QUAL6 PearsonCorrelation .775** .621** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .002
N 23 23 23
SAT6 Pearson Correlation .567** .589** .657** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .005 .003 .001
N 23 23 23 23
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Overall, it can be argued that the individual intentions related to service quality
are highly related to employees’ overalls level of satisfaction, which is
indicative of strong influence by employees’ job satisfaction levels,
perceptions, happiness and so on. However, it must be noted that all these
relationships are moderately above the average, and hot very high, which
may be indicative that other factors are also affecting their intentions to deliver
high quality service to the beneficiaries in the study NGOs.
4.6 Summary
This chapter examined the results obtained from the survey, and it indicates
interesting scenarios. It is evident that the employees in the NGOs studied
have some level of quality service mentality, while their motivation scenarios
are weak since most of the HRM practices are absent in the organisations. On
the other hand, it is evident that job satisfaction among employees is very
poor, which is also reflected in their service mentality. Overall, the findings
indicate a negative scenario in the NGOs analysed in this study.

45
5 Discussion of Findings
Main aim of this study was to analyse quality of service in NGOs and role of
HRM in ensuring effective service quality in NGOs. The study was conducted
among NGOs in Kerala. A total of 23 surveys were conducted among NGO
professionals in the chosen study location. According to the findings, it is
evident that employees suffer from lower salary levels in the study
organisations. Similarly, the study found that the quality outcomes in the study
locations were not adequate as well. In terms of quality intentions, it was
found that most employees are willing to provide maximum service quality to
students, but there are wide discrepancies in magnitude and degree of such
intentions, and similar effects are visible in employees’ willingness to provide
individual support to students who have special needs. Both these factors
indicate lack of commitment from employees due to the variation in responses
and drastic changes between satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
It was identified during the literature review and analysis that provision of
resources and organisational support is very essential in delivering quality
service. Similarly, there are agreements among participants that the
respective organisations provide adequate resources for the children, which
can be related to organisational commitment towards providing adequate
service to the beneficiaries. However, there are no adequate staffing at the
respective organisations, which may be indicative of ineffective HRM
practices. On the other hand, lack of adequate staffing may result in
increasing workload on existing staffs, which may affect their ability to provide
adequate services to the beneficiaries. Lack of periodic reviews and learning
needs assessment at work indicates lack of the organisations’ focus on
providing a necessary environment for staff to improve, so that they can
deliver better service quality.
The final assessment related to quality provision indicates that employees are
very much interested in finding solutions for employees’ solutions. This
indicates a contradictory effect that the organisation has mixed interests
towards providing adequate service quality to the beneficiaries, while
employees are somewhat more interested in delivering high levels of service

46
quality to beneficiaries. This indicates a contradictory relationship between the
factors, which means, employees cannot perform tasks in quality, since the
management does not support much of these efforts and needs. This is also
visible in human resource function and its practices in the organisation. The
results indicate that the organisation lack effective HRM functions and
activities and such. For example, there are no effective practices for analysing
employee performance in the organisation, or periodic surveys on motivation
levels among employees and such. Similarly, it was found that the work
environment is not very positive or supportive of motivating employees or
delivering effective quality.
Similarly, lack of periodic assessment on service quality may be indicative of
lack of commitment from the organisation. It should be noted that, as
examined in the literature review, an organisation must understand the level
of service quality it provides to its beneficiaries, so that it can either maintain
or improve its service quality through formulating new strategies. However,
such strategies are not visible in this case. Lack of training is another issue.
Employees must be trained to deliver high quality service. There will be new
requirement arising from changing trends and requirements; hence, it is
important for the organisation to train their employees to meet these needs.
However, lack of such provisions may lead to workforce that are inadequately
skilled, which may lead to issues related to service quality.
As it is evident from this analysis that employees are willing to provide better
service, and organisations are not providing adequate resources, another
evidence indicates employees are seeking more training from the
organisation, despite the organisation’s negligence to provide necessary
training to employees. Hence, there are many discrepancies between the
expectations vs. reality in provision of support through effective HRM
practices. The survey found that the relationship between the organisations’
managements and employees are not so positive, or employees themselves
are confused among such a relationship, which is indicated by the mixed
response received for the question (question 15). The survey also found the
quality of work at the organisations are somewhat good, while the recruitment
scenarios and employees’ awareness of HRM function and its activities within

47
the organisation indicate the absence HRM function or effective HRM
practices in the organisations studied in this case.
These results indicate that the organisations lack effective HRM practices or
the HRM function itself. One of the main reasons for lack of effective
motivation practices, lack of surveys and feedback systems to monitor
organisation’s performance, or lack of effective or adequate staffing levels and
such. On the other hand, it can also be understood from the literature review
conducted that most of these factors may have influence on employees’
intentions and ability to deliver high service quality, since adequate work
environment, better management support, adequate training and motivation
and such are essential influencing employees to provide high levels of service
quality to beneficiaries of NGOs. On the other hand, it can be argued that
employees feel somewhat motivated to deliver better service quality due to
the ethical and social welfare dimensions associated with the organisation
and its service, which is commonly found among NGO employees and charity
volunteers.
However, there are basic needs beyond these ethical commitments. It is
evident from the analysis that employees are not satisfied with the pay and
benefits they receive, which is of a concern since most of these employees
work full-time rather than volunteering or part time jobs. While management
treatment gained considerable support from employees, in terms of
satisfaction, training and development has not received much support from
participants. Since it is evident front the analysis that pay and benefits,
training and development, internal communication scenarios and such are
indicative of driving better employee satisfaction and thereby influencing their

48
intentions to deliver high quality service. However, lack of such provisions is
the result of lack of HRM alignment with the strategy and the entire
organisational goals.
It is evident from the literature review that service quality of HRM function is
essential in delivering maximum service quality, the evidences in this study
show lack of such provisions, and lack of effective HRM practices itself.
Finally, the relationships indicate moderately high relationships between
employees’ intentions to deliver high quality service and their overall
satisfaction levels. These strong relationships indicate satisfaction has high
influence and impact on employees’ intentions to deliver quality support and
service to students in the NGOs studies. However, these findings may have
further implications since it indicates that lack of effective HRM practices in
the organisation may be leading ineffective job satisfaction among employees.
As a result, it may affect employees’ intentions to deliver adequate or optimal
service quality. Hence, it can be concluded that the HRM practices and
service quality are highly linked to each other.

49
6 Conclusion
Main aim of this study was to analyse factors related to service quality in
NGOs. Using a quantitative model descriptive study and a survey design, the
present study found considerable evidences related to service quality issues
in the case study NGOs. The study relied on a systematic approach to
analysing the data. It can be concluded from this study that the motivation
levels are very low among the study participants. Although there are enough
motivation to deliver high quality support and education to the students in the
NGOs, these can largely be linked with the ethical dimensions of their job
roles and the social welfare reasons associated with such practices, since the
study indicates high levels of dissatisfaction among employees, especially
those that promote service mentality such as salary, benefits, training and
development and so on.
It is also observed in this study that there is a strong relationship between the
evidence found in the literature review and the findings made from the present
study. The literature review analysed and concluded that there are
relationships between employee motivation, satisfaction, employee
empowerment, and such against the service quality delivered by employees.
Similar findings have been made in this primary analysis that these relations
are evident and there are moderately high relationship between such factors.
However, as concluded in the literature review, effective HRM practices are
necessary for implementing such techniques and formulating such outcomes.
However, this study concludes that the study organisations do not have
effective HRM practices that can have an efficient impact and influence on the
organisation and its employees. This is also visible in the motivations scenario
and this study concedes that the organisation doe not conduct any evaluation
or assessment to understanding employee motivation levels.
Finally, the study found that the participants suffer from poor salaries, poor
motivation, and lack of satisfaction in the NGO sector in the chosen
organisation. Correlation analysis conducted in this study indicates strong
relationships between such factors, and the surrey indicates poor HRM
activities and strategies at the organisations studied in this case, which in turn

50
affected their satisfaction rates. Hence, this study can be concluded that there
are very few HRM interventions directed at employee wellbeing, and
employee welfare. Similarly, the HRM practices and strategies followed by the
organisations are ineffective in addressing concerns of service quality in the
organisations studied. Overall, it can be concluded that the HRM system
currently followed by the company are very limited and not filly focused on
organisational outcomes.
Similarly, it can be concluded that the effect of HRM in affecting service
quality offered by the organisation and its employees, since such ineffective
focus and strategies are not capable of influencing employee in delivering
adequate service quality, and making them capable of providing high service
quality. The current scenario indicates that the service quality offered by the
organisations is low. Hence, this study can be concluded that the service
quality offered by the case organisations in this study is low. Also, the
evidences and discussions indicate that the effect of HRM on ensuring service
quality is evident since employee satisfactions scenarios in this study is very
low due to ineffective practices, and the correlation analysis concluded there
are considerable relationships between employees’ intentions to provide high
quality service to customers and employees’ job satisfaction. Therefore, it can
be concluded that efficient HRM practices are necessary in ensuring high
quality service delivery in the NGO sector.

51
7 Recommendations
It is evident from this study that there are considerable relationships between
HRM practices and employees’ job satisfaction, which in turn affect
employees’ intentions to deliver high quality service to the beneficiaries. Since
the scenarios in this study are entirely different and towards the negative side
due to its bad effects, few recommendations have been made for
improvement.
7.1 ImplementHRM Function
Organisations must understand that HRM function is necessary for
implementing and achieving the organisations’ goals and objectives,
regardless of its profit orientation. Hence, it is important for the organisation to
implement an HRM function or department to oversee the organisational
goals and objectives. As it is evident from the secondary analysis conducted
in this study that HRM divisions and activities helps in formulating strategies
related to recruiting and selection, training and development, motivation and
retention and similar strategies to promote organisational goals and achieve
them, the application of such a system would benefit the organisation in
attracting and retaining the best talent that match the organisational culture,
values, and attitudes and such that would subsequently lead to high levels of
performance, even in service quality.
7.2 ImplementTrainingand Development
Needs for training for an organisation and employees change over time. It is
evident that employee training is essential in empowering employees, which is
an essential ingredient in ensuring high quality service in service
environments. On the other hand, effective training and development
scenarios would introduce new material, skills, and knowledge to employees,
which may have an influence on the workforce in performing their roles and
tasks more effectively, and thereby improving the overall service quality
delivered to service beneficiaries. Therefore, the organisation must focus on
delivering better training and development programmes to employees.

52
7.3 Better Pay and Benefits
The study concluded that the pay and benefits received by employees are
inadequate in every way, and their satisfaction levels indicate low satisfaction
towards pay and benefits. On the other hand, it is evident from the present
study that there are considerable relationships between pay and benefits, and
employee satisfaction, which in turn result in creating a service culture within
the organisation and promote better service quality mentality among
employees. On the other hand, it is also evident from the report that NGOs in
India are largely suffering from lack of funds, especially those with local
origins and relationships. Hence, it is important for organisations to develop a
balanced strategy for improving the present scenario, such as combining both
government grants and donations to achieve maximum financial sustainability
and such.
7.4 Monitoring and Evaluation
As it is found from the study that monitoring and evaluation is very critical in
analysing service quality scenarios and performance scenarios in an
organisations; so that the organisation can take strategic alternatives to
overcome the challenges and achieve strategic performance. However, to is
evident from the primary study that such monitoring and evaluation, both at
employee side and beneficiary side lack efficiency and are found to be much
weaker. Hence, it is important for this organisation to establish efficient
monitoring and evaluation systems to analyse and identify on-going service

Thesis work - Kerala NGO

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (13)

Similar to Thesis work - Kerala NGO

Similar to Thesis work - Kerala NGO (20)

Thesis work - Kerala NGO