EMPLOYEES’ AWARENESS AND PERCEPTIONS OF FRINGE BENEFIT PACKAGES: A Case of Local and Foreign Owned Companies in Tanzania

Year 2011, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 43 - 53, 01.12.2011

Ashatu Hussein

Abstract

This paper is based on two research questions which intended to investigate employees’ awareness of the availability and perceptions of the fringe benefit packages offered by local and foreign owned companies in Tanzania. The findings indicate that employees are not aware of the availability of most fringe benefits they receive even those which are legally mandated. Accordingly, the findings show that employees in foreign owned companies had positive perceptions on the fringe benefits packages they receive, while employees in local companies demonstrated negative feelings on the fringe benefit packages offered by their employers. Implications for practitioners and suggestions for further research are presented

Keywords

Fringe benefit packages, human resource management, local companies, foreign companies

References

• Balkin, D. B., & Griffeth, R. W. (1993). The Determinants of Employee Benefits
• Satisfaction. Journal of Business and Psychology, 7(3), 323-339. Coetzee, M., Schreuder, D., & Tladinyane, R. (2007). Organizational Commitment and its Relation to career anchors. Southern African Business Review, 11(1).
• Conroy, M., Caldwell, S., Buehrer, R., & Wolfe, W. (1997). Flextime revisited: The need for a resurgence of flextime. Journal of Compensation and Benefits, 13, 36-39.
• Danhower, C., & Lust, A. J. (1996). How aware are employees of their benefits?:
• Findings from two companies. Benefits Quarterly, 12, 57-61. Dreher, G., Ash, R., & Bretz, R. (1988). Benefit coverage and employee cost: Critical factors in explaining compensation satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 41, 237-254.
• Dulebohn, H. J., Molloy, C. J., Pichler, M. S., & Murray, B. (2009). Employee benefits: Literature review and emerging issues. Human Resource Management Review, 19(2), 86-103.
• Ghauri, P. (2004). Designing and conducting case studies in international business. In
• R. Marschan-Piekkari & C. Welch (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for International Business. Northampton: Edwards Elgar Publishing Limited. Iles, P., Mabey, C., & Robertson, I. (1990). HRM practices and employee commitment: Possibilities, Pitfalls and paradoxes British Journal of Management, 1, 157.
• Kroeger, N. W. (1995). Person-environment fit in the final job of retirees. Journal of
• Social Psychology, 135(5), 545-551. Leibowitz, A. (1983). Fringe Benefits in Employee Compensation. In J. Triplett (Ed.),
• The Measurement of Labor Cost (pp. 371-397). Chicago, United States: The University of Chicago Press/The National Bureau of Economic Research. Milligan, A. (1999). Retention one goal of work/life benefits. Business Insurance, (10).
• Oyer, P. (2008). Salary or Benefits?” forthcoming, Research in Labor Economics.
• Rhine, S. L. W. (1987). The Determinants of Fringe Benefits: Additional Evidence.
• The Journal of Risk and Insurance, 54(4), 790-799. Sinclair, R. R., Leo, C. M., & Wright, C. (2005). Benefit system effects on employees' benefit knowledge, use and organizational commitment. Journal of Business and Psychology, 20(1), 3-29.
• Tremblay, M., Sire, B., & Pelchat, A. (1998). A Study of the Determinants and of the Impact of Flexibility on Employee Benefit Satisfaction. Human Relations, 51(5), 667
• Weathington, L. B., & Tetrick, E. L. (2000). Compensation or Right: An Analysis of
• Employee Fringe Benefit Perception. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, (3), 141-162. Yin, R. K. (1994). Case Study Research Design and Methods. London: Sage.