Exploring employee recognition as a managerial tool: A consideration of the effects of team efficacy, goal commitment and performance monitoring

Bloch, A. C. (2006). Exploring employee recognition as a managerial tool: A consideration of the effects of team efficacy, goal commitment and performance monitoring PhD Thesis, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland.

Author Bloch, A. C.
Thesis Title Exploring employee recognition as a managerial tool: A consideration of the effects of team efficacy, goal commitment and performance monitoring
School, Centre or Institute School of Psychology
Institution The University of Queensland
Publication date 2006-03-03
Thesis type PhD Thesis
Supervisor Robin Martin
Nerina Lea Jimmieson
Total pages 243
Collection year 2006
Subjects 380108 Industrial and Organisational Psychology
Abstract/Summary Major challenges faced by organisations are employee motivation and performance. Motivated employees drive high productivity, customer satisfaction, and profits (Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). As a result, organisations need to find empirically supported ways to motivate employees (Ambrose & Kulik, 1999; Luthans & Stajkovic, 1999; Stajkovic & Luthans, 2003). One approach to enhancing motivation at work is recognizing employees for good performance, Employee recognition is a form of non-monetary, informal reward in which a manager acknowledges and praises employees who have performed according to the company’s values and principles. The literature describing the benefits of employee recognition has argued that recognition as an incentive is often more effective than monetary rewards (Graham & Unruh, 1990: Jeffries, 1997: Stajkovic & Luthans, 1997). Leadership scholars have called for research examining group processes by which managers influence employee outcomes (Goomdman, Ravlin, & Schminke, 1987: Buzzo & Salas, 1995: Hackman, 1992). As current studies have simply investigated the direct effects of recognition on work-related outcomes, a central aim of this research was to explore the role of team-efficacy and goal commitment as mediators in the recognition-outcome relationship. Which the present research, two primary contribution to the existing literature linking recognition and employees outcomes are made. First, drawing upon goal setting theory, social cognitive theory, and attribution theory conceptual hypotheses were developed and empirically tested, proposing mediating effects of team efficacy and goal commitment in the relationship between recognition and employee outcomes. The second main contribution to research on employee recognition lays in investigating performance monitoring by the manager (as perceived by employees), as a moderator that influences the power of employee recognition. The moderating role of performance monitoring was based on importance of applying recognition immediately and contingently on good performance to be most effective (Locke, 1968: Locke & Latham, 1990; Luthans & Staijkovic, 1999). By monitoring employees’ performance, managers are provided with information that can form the basis for delivering recognition in a timely manner. The proposed relationships were examined in three independent occupational samples. The model was explored in two homogeneous samples and then validated in a larger heterogeneous sample. This provides the opportunity to generalise results from specific groups of employees to a broader population of employed workers. In total, three cross-sectionals studies were conducted across a variety of different professional back grounds; looking at a range of outcome variables which are, job satisfaction, role clarity, and employee well-being. In Study 1 (N=69), the sample consisted of employees from a large private hospital pharmacy. Results from Study 1 provided evidence for the predictive validity of employee recognition and the mediating role of team-efficacy and goal commitment in the relationship between employee recognition and the outcome variables. In Study 2 (N=103), data was collected from a global company producing and dealing with harvest machinery. Path model analyses were conducted to evaluate whether the findings of Study 1 could be replicated in a sample of employees from a different organisation. Another aim was to examine the moderating role of performance monitoring in the relationship between recognition and job satisfaction. The meditational results from this study replicated those from Study 1, pointing to the generalisability of the relationships between the variables. The relationship between employee recognition and sob satisfaction was mediated by team efficacy and goal commitment. Moreover, evidence was found that performance monitoring moderated between employee recognition and job satisfaction. As predicted, the relationship between employee recognition and job satisfaction was stronger under high levels of monitoring. To enhance external validity, Study 3 involved 243 employees from a variety of professions and industries. Another aim was to explore the research model with employee well-being as an outcome variable. As predicted, results from SEM analyses confirmed initial findings of team-efficacy as a mediator in the relationship between employee recognition and well-being. Furthermore, evidence was provided for the mediating role of team-efficacy between employee recognition and goals commitment and the mediating effect of goal commitment in the relationship between team-efficacy and well-being. As in Study 2, results showed that the relationship between recognition and well-being is stronger under high condition of monitoring. Overall, the findings of this research provide a unique insight into the important role of employee recognition in predicting work-related consequences, As such, these results expand our understanding of the processes by which employee recognition exerts its influence. Extending the notion of goal setting theory, social cognitive theory, and attribution theory it was found that team-efficacy and goal commitment mediated the relationship between recognition and outcome variable. In terms of practical implications, these results show that by providing recognition managers can raise employees’ motivation and well-being.o
Keyword organisations
employees
motivation
performance
productivity
recognition

 
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Created: Mon, 08 Oct 2007, 11:59:13 EST by Allison Peacock