Sanjay T. Menon

Employee Empowerment: An Integrative Psychological Approach

An integrative psychological approach to employee empowerment was developed based on the premise that the psychological experience of power underlies feelings of empowerment. This research extends existing perspectives on empowerment by incorporating the empowering effect of valued goals, such as those provided by transformational leadership. Goal internalisation was identified as a major component of the psychological experience of empowerment, in addition to the two traditional facets of perceptions of control over the work environment and perceptions of self-efficacy or competence. Standard measure development procedures using a sample of employed individuals from Quebec, Canada and subsequent validation with an organisational sample from Ontario, Canada yielded a three-factor scale of psychological empowerment corresponding to these three dimensions. The implications of defining empowerment as a psychological state and the need for multiple measures of empowerment are also discussed.

Generalizability of Menon's Empowerment Scale Replication and Extension with Australian Data

this study tests the generalizability of the psychological empowerment model proposed by Menon in 2001 by replicating and extending the original Canadian study, using Australian samples. In phase 1 of the research, a replica of the original scale development questionnaire was administered to 266 employed individuals taking courses at a university in South Australia. Factor analysis of the scale items faithfully reproduced the original three factors from Menons study and the subscale reliabilities were: perceived control (.87), perceived competence (.81) and goal internalization (.86). In phase 2 of the research conducted with 80 employed individuals, empowerment was found to be negatively correlated with centralization and positively correlated with delegating supervisory behavior, again in line with the original results. In addition, empowerment was found to be positively correlated with Manhardts values favoring career advancement and a work environment that includes sources of intrinsic motivation.

Human resource practices, supply chain performance, and wellbeing

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to identify management and human resource (HR) practices that lead to satisfaction with the performance of an organizations supply chain as well as employee wellbeing, and to develop recommendations for practicing managers. Design/methodology/approach - Adopting an empirical approach, a Delphi expert panel study was first carried out to identify the possible impact of supply chain integration, particularly with regard to human resource management (HRM) policies and practices. Then, using a survey of 228 supply chain professionals, hypotheses linking satisfaction with supply chain performance to non-traditional HR practices, training, and team organization were tested. Findings - The Delphi study identified specific HR practices, such as flexible job descriptions and teamwork training that would need to accompany successful supply chain integration. Regression results indicate that flexible job descriptions, team organization, teamwork training, and the use of performance metrics to determine rewards, are significantly related to satisfaction with supply chain performance. Research limitations/implications - The Delphi results are subjective by nature and the cross-sectional survey design limits inferences of causality. Practical implications - This paper identifies management and HR practices that lead to satisfaction with supply chain performance, which is particularly relevant to modern industrial organizations where the trend is toward inter-organizational networks in the form of integrated supply chains. Implications for employee wellbeing are also discussed. Originality/value - This paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach and links HRM practice with supply chain management; two separate fields with their own research traditions.

Managerial Resourcefulness Measuring a Critical Component of Leadership Effectiveness

Kanungo and Misra (1992) distinguished ‘skills’ from managerial ‘competencies’, the latter being the basic components of a manager’s resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is critical in performing leade...Kanungo and Misra (1992) distinguished ‘skills’ from managerial ‘competencies’, the latter being the basic components of a manager’s resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is critical in performing leadership roles that require coping with non-routine, unprogrammable and ill-structured tasks. This paper attempts to clarify the nature of the resourcefulness construct by operationalising it in terms of three basic competencies: affective, intellectual and action-oriented. An empirical study involving 485 managers revealed the underlying structure of resourcefulness as closely paralleling the three competencies. In addition, a fourth overarching dimension of goal-directed problem orientation emerged from the analysis. The study yielded a psychometrically sound measure of managerial resourcefulness with convergent, discriminant and criteria-related concurrent validity. The measure can be used as a diagnostic tool for recruitment and training purposes.

Managerial Resourcefulness: The Construct and Its Measurement

This paper attempts to operationalise the construct of managerial resourcefulness. The construct was first proposed by Kanungo and Misra 1 who suggested that managerial resourcefulness is a constellation of three generic competencies—affective, intellectual and action-oriented, which helps the manager deal with the non-routine, non-programmable aspects of the managerial role. The present study involving 485 managers, develops a psychometrically sound measure of managerial resourcefulness and tests a nomothetic network for the construct. Analysis also revealed an underlying three-factor structure.

A quarter century of management research in South Asia – I

Purpose – Research from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka has received relatively less attention of management scholars. To date, there has been no major review of the content of management research in these rapidly growing economies. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by reviewing management research in these six countries over a 25-year period from 1990 to 2014. Design/methodology/approach – An electronic search of 11 databases was carried out using 53 search terms pertaining to the field of management. Only articles in journals rated A*, A, or B by the Australian Business Deans Council and either Q1 or Q2 in the Scopus/Imago ratings were included in the study. The articles were then classified as belonging to one of the divisions of the Academy of Management. Results are presented in thematic clusters, highlighting the major focus of management research in these countries. Findings – A total of 211 articles were identified as a result of the search process. T...

Workplace Empowerment: A Grid Approach

The empowerment grid is introduced as a conceptual tool to better understand the phenomenon of workplace empowerment. First, working conditions, work processes, and strategic governance are identified as the three broad domains of workplace empowerment. Next, three empowering agents are identified – management, government, and the workers themselves. Examination of the resulting 3 times 3 grid reveals that the current focus of organisational researchers is only one of the many possible facets of workplace empowerment. Historical analysis suggests that different aspects of workplace empowerment were emphasized at different times. Further, although it enjoys the status of being the latest management buzzword, many of the notions underlying workplace empowerment seem to have been researched and practised under various labels. Possible future trends in workplace empowerment are also discussed.

The power of goal internalization: studying psychological empowerment in a Venezuelan plant

This study, based in a manufacturing plant in Venezuela, examines the relationship between perceived task characteristics, psychological empowerment and commitment, using a questionnaire survey of 313 employees. The objective of the study was to assess the effects of an organizational intervention at the plant aimed at increasing productivity by providing performance feedback on key aspects of its daily operations. It was hypothesized that perceived characteristics of the task environment, such as task meaningfulness and task feedback, will enhance psychological empowerment, which in turn will have a positive impact on employee commitment. Test of a structural model revealed that the relationship of task meaningfulness and task feedback with affective commitment was partially mediated by the empowerment dimensions of perceived control and goal internalization. The results highlight the role of goal internalization as a key mediating mechanism between job characteristics and affective commitment. The study also validates a Spanish-language version of the psychological empowerment scale by Menon (2001).