Work Discipline Proven to Outperform Competence in Improving Plantation Employee Performance

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FORMOSA NEWS

Optimal employee performance in the agribusiness sector is driven more by a high level of discipline than by technical competence. This fact was discovered by Marina Fadilah and a research team from the Master of Management Study Program at Universitas Bina Darma through a 2022 study on employees at PT PP London Sumatra Indonesia Tbk Tulung Gelam Estate. These findings are crucial for the industry to re-evaluate human resource management strategies, especially amid the demands of adapting to digital work systems.

The agribusiness and plantation industries currently face real challenges regarding fluctuating labor productivity and technical capability gaps. At the research site, researchers found obstacles in mastering digital technologies, such as the e-Harvest Record and Digital Plantation Management System (DPMS), among some field workers. Additionally, disciplinary issues related to task completion punctuality frequently occur and impact company efficiency. This situation prompted a deeper examination into how competence, discipline, and job satisfaction influence employee performance.

Methodologically, this quantitative research involved 133 respondents selected from a total population of 200 employees using a cluster sampling technique. Data was collected through questionnaires and analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) method. This approach accurately maps the complex cause-and-effect relationships between variables.

From the data analysis, this research reveals several key findings that challenge traditional workplace assumptions:

• Discipline as the Key to Performance: Work discipline has a direct, positive, and significant impact on improving employee performance.
• Competence Does Not Guarantee Performance: The level of employee competence or expertise proved to have no significant effect on their work outcomes.
• Impact on Job Satisfaction: Both competence and work discipline are proven effective in increasing employee job satisfaction.
• Job Satisfaction is Not a Determinant: High job satisfaction does not significantly improve performance, nor does it act as a mediating factor bridging competence and discipline with final performance outcomes.

These research results carry strategic implications for the business world, particularly for plantation company management. Companies are advised not to focus solely on technical training but to aggressively strengthen disciplinary systems through the enforcement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and consistent supervision.

"Competence as a motivating factor has not been able to improve performance optimally if it is not supported by other factors such as the work environment, company policies, reward systems, and task clarity," emphasized Marina Fadilah and the research team from Universitas Bina Darma in their report.

AUTHOR PROFILE

• Lead Researcher: Marina Fadilah
• Research Team Members: Trisninawati, M. Izman Herdiansyah, and Septiani Fransisca
• Academic Affiliation: Master of Management Study Program, Postgraduate Program, Universitas Bina Darma, Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia
• Field of Expertise: Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior

RESEARCH SOURCE

• Article Title: The Influence of Competence and Work Discipline on Employee Performance at PT PP London Sumatra Indonesia Tbk Tulung Gelam Estate with Job Satisfaction as a Mediating Variable
• Journal Name: (Not explicitly mentioned in the source manuscript; distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license)
• Publication Year: 2022
• DOI / URL: https://doi.org/10.55927/ijbae.v5i2.18