Abstract
M.Com. (Business Management)
The objective of this study is to examine the impact of optimism on productivity amongst sales employees in the banking industry. Banks in South Africa have evolved over the years due to unpredictable and fast-paced changes in the internal and external environment. Rapid changes in technology and the economy resulted in some banks re-engineering themselves in pursuit of a sustainable competitive advantage. Part of this is augmenting and redefining the focus on human capital. People are no longer just part of the organisation, they can either make or break the organisation. Being a successful salesperson in the banking industry also comes with its own set of challenges, such as the ability to handle repeated rejection.
This quantitative cross-sectional study conducted, investigates the correlation between optimism and productivity amongst sales employees. The LOT-R instrument which measures optimism levels, was administered to 180 sales employees in one of the five major banks in South Africa through a face-to-face setting. The optimism items were measured on an ordinal scale which also includes the application of ordinal regression models, a non-parametric Chi-square test, Kendal Coefficient of Concordance, and the contingency Tables. The sales employees’ recent performance ratings were obtained with permission from participants from the HR Department and used to measure the employees’ productivity. The sales manager usually rates employees using the balance scorecard twice a year.
The findings confirmed, based on 95% confidence levels, optimism impacts the productivity of sales employees within the South African banking industry. This is similar with other studies conducted previously. The results also showed other demographic factors that also impact the productivity of sales employees.