ANB-Reckoned with the Past Four Decades of Exceptional Performance

Abstract

“Are you happy working in ANB?†Dr. Robert Eid the CEO asked the employees in a recently held meeting. Organizational theories and literature have recognized the need to maintain and improve job attitudes that enable businesses to develop and expand further. A healthy work environment which ultimately contributes to the bottom line matters the most. For instance, satisfied employees will communicate and share their experiences with other members inside or outside their workplace, thereby creating a good brand image for the company they work and thus having an impact on the company’s wellbeing, practicality and financial performance. Conversely, motivational techniques such as goal setting, value rewards, and other job motivators that include pursuing a national agenda (Saudization), economic growth and rewarding employees’ achievement are vital in explaining and predicting work behaviour and enhancing organizational performance. Given the importance of these job attitudes in the banking business environment, at the end of the day they are expected to have an effect on a company’s financial performance.

This case study of Arab National Bank (ANC) therefore aims to explore human resources management practices, including job motivation and job satisfaction. Special focus will be placed on the perceptions of male/female bankers in Saudi Arabia with regard to their job motivation and satisfaction. In particular, in what way do the bank’s employees perceive their level of job satisfaction and work motivation?

This case study data search of ANB has employed the concept of a face-to-face semi-structured interview with the bank employees as a primary tool of data collection. There were many target employees from different organizational levels who responded to the set of research questions. The results showed that there were clear themes about how employees perceive job satisfaction and internally driven work motivation. Four core themes thus emerged namely the role of team-work, achievement of national agenda, employee growth and promotion, compensation and benefits while inculcating culture and religious values adherence.  Interestingly, the results showed that religious values lead to more job satisfaction and work motivation. Indeed, they are considered to be a driving force for those working at the bank, in the sense that employees value themselves more when working in such an Islamic environment. With no less importance of other motivational factors, this study’s findings are consistent with those of other studies in that internally driven by a national agenda of Saudization and monetary motivation remained a vital factor in terms of the level of satisfaction and work performance. In addition, lethargy has been perceived as making negative impacts on employees’ level of satisfaction and work performance as it was seen as unfair business practice for the organizational growth prospects.