THE EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST ON EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT IN MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN ENUGU METROPOLIS, ENUGU STATE

An all important ingredient in obtaining a thriving relationship within the business environment which results to sufficiency in performance of any organization is trust. Most organizations focus mainly on the relationship with the external environment with lean concern on the internal environment. The specific objectives of the study were to ascertain the effect of open communication on employee participation and determine the effect of reward system on the morale of employees in organizations. The study adopted survey design method of research. The target population was seven hundred and eighty (780) management and staff of Innoson Technical and Industrial Company and Sunchi Integrated Farms Limited, Enugu State, Nigeria. From this, a sample size of 264 was determined using the Taro Yammane formula. Primary data were collected through the use of the questionnaire and oral interview. Data were collected from secondary sources which include textbooks, unpublished articles and journal publications. The validity of the instrument yielded r=0.75 using the Pearson's Product Moment of correlation while the reliability was tested with a pilot sample using the Cronbach Alpha giving a reliability coefficient of 0.85. The average mean score was used for analysis of data. Findings indicated that open communication affects employee participation in decision making positively and that fair reward system positively affects employee morale. Therefore, the study concludes that employee commitment which is a fundamental activity in the success of any organization is highly dependent on a healthy employment relationship which is characterized by organizational trust. The study recommends that employers/managers should not only focus on results but should also focus on building and maintaining positive behaviours that necessitates the existence of trust between organizational members and employee commitment. Senior management should take the lead in creating an atmosphere for trust and commitment in the organizations because these virtues are not imposed but gained through one's conduct.