Journal of Resources Development and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2422-8397 An International Peer-reviewed Journal Vol.37, 2017 1 Influence of Employee Recognition on Organizational Performance in FMCGs in Kenya Ms. Kaveke Grace Mutisya * Dr. Susan Were Mr. Samuel Wabala COHRED; JKUAT P.O.BOX 62000-00100, Nairobi, KENYA Abstract Globalization and other change drivers in the world mean that especially now more than ever, organizations have to strive to remain relevant, easily recognizable and profitable. FMCGs around the globe find they are just as vulnerable to changes in the market and the stake they hold could easily be lost to a competitor in a similar niche. The purpose of the study was to establish the influence of employee recognition on organizational performance in FMCGs in Kenya. A descriptive research design was adapted involving the staff of Nairobi Coca cola Bottlers Limited. The data obtained was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The study established that employee recognition has significant influence on how organizations will perform and recommends that FMCGs who wish to get higher results from their human resources should consider how well they recommend their staff as this enhance s their organization performance. Keywords: FMCGs, Sub Saharan Africa, Organizational performance, Employee Recognition, Nairobi Coca Cola Bottlers Limited 1.1 Introduction Organizations are constantly trying to adapt, survive, perform and influence. However, they are not always successful. In the global struggle to find and retain top talent, employers must move beyond base pay and bonuses toward a total rewards approach. Companies that incorporate a wider range of employee and work-life benefits, and build a strong and supportive workplace culture, will improve their employee value proposition and gain an advantage. According to Elger, (2002), a performer can be an individual or a group of people engaging in a collaborative effort. Conditions for optimal performance and improvements in performance can be synthesized in three principles that involve engaging the performer in an optimal emotional state of mind, immersing the performer in an enriching environment and engaging the performer in reflective practice according to Thomlinson et al., (2002). The widespread use of individual performance measures in single studies and meta-analyses shows that individual performance is a key variable in work and organizational psychology (Sonnentag and Frees 2001). Interestingly, individual performance is mainly treated as a dependent variable—which makes perfect sense from a practical point of view: individual performance is something organizations want to enhance and optimize. A research done by Kohn, (2003) investigated the effects of recognition-based rewards on employees' efficiency and effectiveness on the job as compared to usual incentives particularly the monetary ones. Though incentives and recognition both motivate the employees in an organizational perspective, they have different locus of causality - extrinsic and intrinsic respectively. Recognizing excellent performance openly builds motivation within the entire organization. It is recognized that employee recognition has contagious effects. When employees see other employees being rewarded for the work they have done it becomes a chain reaction; employees repeat positive actions so that their work will also be appreciated. Findings of the study showed significantly positive relationship between dependent and independent variables. Jeffrey and Schaffer (2007) had almost similar conclusions out of their research who found that non- financial recognition based rewards are not only motivationally superior to cash rewards but also, from the employer perspective, they are favored since the employer does not need to pay out any cash, which is a scarce resource in most organizations All organizations and especially fast moving consumer goods organizations want to be high performers. However the challenge to improving own performance, empower the organization to help others learn and grow is closely related to learning-for-understanding (Wiske, 2000). Therefore, building performance capabilities is rightfully a major concern. When people learn and grow, they are empowered to create results that make a difference. 1.2 Background of the Study The Economy Watch, (2015), stipulates that the fast moving consumer goods industry provides a wide range of consumables and accordingly the amount of money circulated against fast moving consumer goods products is also very high. For example, in India, the fast moving consumer goods industry is regarded as the fourth largest sector with total market size of US$13.1 billion and was estimated to grow by 60% in 2010. When it comes to the fast moving consumer goods sector in Africa, there has significant scope to expand. brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals