Effects of Inventory Management Practices on Perspectives of Employees in Apparel Sector of Western Province in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Inventory items play a vital role in which it relates with all aspects of the warehouse. To manage the inventory items efficiently and effectively, warehouses adopt various inventory management practices in multiple aspects. As the working environment of employees recruited to the warehouse is affected much by those practices, the researchers met with the question whether the practices do have an effect on the satisfaction and motivation of the employees. Literature reveals that many other extrinsic and intrinsic dimensions which affect employee motivation and satisfaction have been reached, but a sufficient study has not been done to build a sophisticated body of knowledge on the impact of inventory management practices on employee motivation and satisfaction. The study was decided to conduct on a qualitative manner because it deals with human attitudes and behaviours. In order to conduct the study, two parties were interviewed in-depth until a saturation of data was observed. Thereby, the collected data were analysed using two analytical tools, namely thematic analysis and discourse analysis. The analysis generated the finding in which the inventory management practices have a remote relationship on the employee motivation and satisfaction together with other findings; in the current context, traditional policies which were included in theories are not practiced in majority of warehouses, and instead they have adopted some customized practices. Meanwhile it was found that employees were focusing more on other motivational aspects such as allowances, remuneration and welfare benefits other than the inventory management practices.