The human resource craze: human performance improvement and employee engagement

Citation

(2008), "The human resource craze: human performance improvement and employee engagement", Strategic Direction, Vol. 24 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2008.05624had.007

The human resource craze: human performance improvement and employee engagement

Article Type: Abstracts From: Strategic Direction, Volume 24, Issue 8.

EndresG.M., Mancheno-SmoakL. Organization Development Journal, Spring 2008, Vol. 26 No. 1, Start page: 69, No. of pages: 10

Purpose to clarify definitions of, and distinguish between, human productivity improvement (HPI) and employee engagement. Design/methodology/approach sees the two terms as human resource (HR) “buzzwords”, relates HR to competitive advantage, and refers to the American Society for Training and Development’s HPI model that offers a way to improve productivity through organizational “wellness”. Links organizational wellness to employee engagement, looks at definitions of employee engagement, cites prior papers in arguing that these definitions and associated classifications are incomplete, and contends that definitions do not distinguish between attitudes and behaviours, that the construct of employee engagement is not related to other constructs such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and that there is no agreed scale for measuring employee engagement. Profiles initiation of a project by the US Postal Service aimed at ascertaining if employee engagement and employee focus are the same or separate constructs, and, if different, which contributes to productivity, tables a comparison of the two constructs, and calls for development of a common HPI process, and an agreed definition and measure of employee engagement. Originality/value information for OD and HR researchers and practitioners. ISSN: 08896402 Reference: 37AF040

Keywords: Employee involvement, Human resource management, Organizational development, Performance measurement, Productivity rate, United States of America