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Article
Publication date: 29 September 2023

Susanna Kultalahti, Riitta Viitala, Maija Hujala and Tauno Kekale

The purpose of this study is to gain more understanding of how competence might matter from the perspective of well-being at work. The authors explore how perceived competence is…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to gain more understanding of how competence might matter from the perspective of well-being at work. The authors explore how perceived competence is connected to perceived work-related well-being among Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y employees.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors explore how perceived competence is connected to perceived work-related well-being among Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y employees. The frames of reference of the study are based on literature on employee well-being (measured with work engagement and overcommitment) and competence, as well as on generational discussions. The quantitative, questionnaire-based study was conducted in 88 companies in Finland, with the total number of respondents being 4,418.

Findings

The main finding was that perceived competence related to current duties is statistically significantly connected to employee well-being. The results indicate that high competence results in high employee well-being in all generational groups. Further, Generation Y estimated their work well-being, both in terms of work engagement and overcommitment, lower than Baby Boomers or Generation X. The results suggest that developing competence of employees in organizations seems to be an important means to also support work well-being. It is especially important to pay attention to that among Generation Y, who take their first steps in working life. Competence is a meaningful factor for coping in working life in continually changing work environments. Incompetence is not just a factor for poor performance but also a potential threat to employee well-being.

Originality/value

Most of the competence/workplace learning results research concentrates on cognitive competence and skills, often from the employers’ benefit viewpoint (useful skills, productivity increase). This study starts from the finding that new generations of workers rather look for a meaningful work life, and thus, a feeling of having the necessary competences directly improves their well-being and, thus, life quality. Furthermore, the study is based on an original questionnaire-based study conducted in 88 companies in Finland, with the total number of respondents being 4,418.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 35 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 January 2007

Malte L. Peters and Stephan Zelewski

This paper seeks to develop a model for the assignment of employees to workplaces. Assignment methods are of high relevance in practice because employees should be assigned to…

2605

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to develop a model for the assignment of employees to workplaces. Assignment methods are of high relevance in practice because employees should be assigned to workplaces according to their competences and preferences to ensure that motivated employees carry out tasks effectively and efficiently.

Design/methodology/approach

Two goal programming models are introduced with inputs and valuations using the analytic hierarchy process.

Findings

The two goal programming models for the assignment of employees to workplaces, which take into account both employee competences and preferences as well as workplace competence requirements and attributes, seem to be effective in helping to arrive at an optimal assignment decision.

Research limitations/implications

In practice, one major problem is that the input data for the goal programming models are not updated regularly. Thus, the documentation of the competence profiles and the preferences of the employees might be out of date or incomplete.

Originality/value

The development of the two goal programming models which could be applied immediately in practical competence management is what makes the work valuable and addresses a gap in the modelling of personnel assignment methodologies.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 June 2021

Md Shamirul Islam and Muslim Amin

The review aims to demonstrate a broader perspective of human capital and employee well-being concept. Moreover, the study attempts to analyse theoretical notions underlying human…

2530

Abstract

Purpose

The review aims to demonstrate a broader perspective of human capital and employee well-being concept. Moreover, the study attempts to analyse theoretical notions underlying human capital and well-being relationship and thus to guide the integration of two distinct concepts.

Design/methodology/approach

This review followed the systematic literature search protocols from the Academic Journal Guide 2018 generated by the Chartered Association of Business Schools. Sixty-nine quantitative research papers were selected for the review.

Findings

Human capital is not only about individual competence but includes acquisition, utilization and development of competence in a broader sense. Employee well-being has been discussed from subjective and objective viewpoints and categorized into happiness, health and financial aspects. The review results suggest that various organizational theories, workplace learning and learning organization perspectives underlie human capital and well-being relationship. The review guides that the high involvement working model encapsulates well-being as part of human capital development.

Research limitations/implications

This review discusses practical implications for human resource management practitioners.

Originality/value

This review is a unique attempt to assess the human capital and well-being literature systematically.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. 46 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 June 2020

Yingying Huang, Meng Zhang, Dogan Gursoy and Si Shi

Drawing from the compensation effects in social cognition theory, this study aims to investigate the interactive effects of employees’ warmth and competence and service failure…

2362

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing from the compensation effects in social cognition theory, this study aims to investigate the interactive effects of employees’ warmth and competence and service failure types on customer’s service recovery cooperation intention after a service failure and before service recovery is completed.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a scenario-based experiment with a 2 (high vs low) warmth × 2 (high vs low) competence × 2 (outcome failure vs process failure) service failure between-subjects design. Data were collected using an online panel.

Findings

This study finds that employees’ low warmth and high competence in outcome failure situations and high warmth and low competence in process failure situations are most effective at increasing customers’ service recovery cooperation intention. The findings further suggest that customers’ cooperation intention is prone to tradeoffs between customers’ perceptions of employees’ warmth and competence as suggested by compensation effects in social cognition theory, such that the effectiveness of employees’ warmth (competence) is curtailed by employeescompetence (warmth).

Practical implications

The findings of this study provide insights to hospitality managers for effective service recovery management. Hospitality companies can enhance customers’ behavioral intentions by training employees to demonstrate appropriate warmth and competence combination that meet customers’ expectations for a specific failure type.

Originality/value

This study argues that customer’s service recovery cooperation intention depends on the combination of warmth and competence displayed by employees after a service failure. The expected combination of warmth and competence varies depending on the service failure context.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 32 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 May 2023

Md Shamirul Islam, Muslim Amin, Feranita Feranita and Jonathan Winterton

This paper aims to examine the effect of high-involvement work systems (HIWSs) on completing work and avoiding distraction as two dimensions of presenteeism. It also investigates…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the effect of high-involvement work systems (HIWSs) on completing work and avoiding distraction as two dimensions of presenteeism. It also investigates competence as a mediator of the effect of HIWS on presenteeism.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 343 Bangladeshi bank employees using an online survey. The partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to assess the abovementioned linkages.

Findings

The findings demonstrate HIWS directly avoid distraction but do not significantly impact the completing work dimension of presenteeism. The findings also indicate that competence mediates the effect of HIWS on completing work but not on avoiding distraction.

Originality/value

Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, this study empirically demonstrates the contrasting role of HIWS in completing work and avoiding distraction related to presenteeism. It also provides a novel perspective on the unexplored mediating mechanism of competence on the relationship between HIWS and presenteeism and offers new directions for HIWS and presenteeism research.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 June 2021

Aldona Glińska-Neweś, Akram Hatami, Jan Hermes, Anne Keränen and Pauliina Ulkuniemi

The purpose of this study is to examine how employee competences can be developed through corporate volunteering (CV). Specifically, this study focuses on diversity of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how employee competences can be developed through corporate volunteering (CV). Specifically, this study focuses on diversity of volunteering studies categorized according to the type of beneficiaries and intensity of volunteer contact with them. The study examines how the beneficiary-employee relation influences the development of employee competences in CV projects.

Design/methodology/approach

In this qualitative empirical study, interview data collected in Poland about the perceived effects of CV projects on employee competences was used.

Findings

The findings suggest that to understand the competences generated in CV, attention needs to be paid to the nature of the volunteering study itself. The study proposes four different logics of competence development in CV, based on the type of the beneficiary and contact with them.

Research limitations/implications

The study builds on managers’ perceptions of competence development. For a holistic understanding, future research should include employees’ perceptions of the process. Also, more research is needed regarding national and organizational settings as factors in competence development through CV.

Practical implications

The study suggests how companies could best engage in volunteering programs and improve existing ones to make them more beneficial for all parties involved.

Social implications

The findings build the better business case for CV and other corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, i.e. they deliver rationales for business engagement in this regard.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the conceptual understanding of CSR activities by presenting four logics of competence development in CV.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2011

Nha Nguyen and André Leclerc

The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of benevolence as a moderator variable that enhances the effect of service employees' competence on the customer's…

2551

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of benevolence as a moderator variable that enhances the effect of service employees' competence on the customer's perception of a service firm's image.

Design/methodology/approach

A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed on data collected from 445 customers in a financial service setting to assess the influence of competence and benevolence, as well as their interactive effects on corporate image.

Findings

The results show a significant interaction between competence and benevolence in their influence on corporate image. The results reinforce the idea that benevolence intervenes as a moderator variable that enhances the impact of competence on corporate image.

Research limitations/implications

The study has limited generalisation given the convenient sample and the great variety of service industries. The efficacy of the direct measures and the hierarchical multiple regression must be considered. It would be helpful to realise similar studies in other service settings by using multidimensional scales of competence, benevolence and corporate image.

Practical implications

Service firms should not only highlight the role of the service employees' expertise but also their attitude and behaviour during the service encounter in a manner so as to increase the customer's trust in the firm's capability, to satisfy his/her needs and to enhance the firm's image.

Originality/value

The present study contributes specifically to understanding how major characteristics of service employees can influence the assessment of corporate image by consumers.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 25 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2021

Anastasiia Popelnukha, Shamika Almeida, Asfia Obaid, Naukhez Sarwar, Cynthia Atamba, Hussain Tariq and Qingxiong (Derek) Weng

Although voice endorsement is essential for individuals, teams and organizational performance, leaders who consider followers' voice to be threatening are reluctant to implement…

1183

Abstract

Purpose

Although voice endorsement is essential for individuals, teams and organizational performance, leaders who consider followers' voice to be threatening are reluctant to implement followers' ideas. The authors, taking note of this phenomenon, investigate why leaders who feel a threat from followers' voice exhibit voice rejection at the workplace and when this detrimental tendency can be diminished. Thus, based on the self-defense tendency as per self-affirmation theory, the authors argue that those leaders who experience threat triggered by followers' voice, justify voice rejection through the self-defense tactics: message derogation and source derogation. In addition, the authors also propose that a leader's positive (negative) affect experienced before voice exposure may decrease (increase) self-defense and voice rejection.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the authors’ moderated mediation model, they conducted two independent vignette studies (N = 269; N = 208). The purpose of the first vignette study was to test the simple mediation (i.e. the direct and indirect effects), whereas the second study aimed to test the moderated mediation model.

Findings

In Study 1, the authors found that the leader's perceived threat to competence provoked by followers' voice was positively related to voice rejection, and the relationship was partially mediated by message derogation and source derogation. In line with this, in Study 2, the authors tested the moderated mediation model and replicated the findings of Study 1. They found that the effects of leader's perceived threat to competence on voice rejection through self-defense tactics are weaker (stronger) at the high (low) values of a leader's positive affect. In contrast, the effects of a leader's perceived threat to competence on voice rejection through self-defense tactics are stronger (weaker) at the high (low) values of a leader's negative affect.

Originality/value

This study suggests that leaders who experience a threat to competence instigated by employee voice are more likely to think that ideas proposed by employees are non-constructive and employees who suggest those ideas are not credible, and these appraisals have a direct influence on voice rejection. However, if leaders are in a good mood vs. bad mood, they will be less likely to think negatively about employees and their ideas even when they experience psychological threats. The findings highlight several avenues for future researchers to extend the literature on employee voice management and leadership coaching by providing theoretical and managerial implications.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 51 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2003

Stefan Thorbjørnsen and Jan Mouritsen

On the basis of three examples of intellectual capital statements that make the individual its central figure, this article discusses the role of individuals in knowledge…

2014

Abstract

On the basis of three examples of intellectual capital statements that make the individual its central figure, this article discusses the role of individuals in knowledge creation. After all, it is often claimed that the individual is the “container” of knowledge and therefore, what it means to account for the individual is an issue. However, analysing these individual competence statements (intellectual capital statements), it is clear that the individual is never alone. It is always related to organisational purposes and the individual competency statement makes the individual an organisational entity because individual competency is related either to organisational bonus systems, to corporate revenues or to the organisational configuration of its knowledge resources. Through the individual competency statement, the individual is made an organisational entity.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 4 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2009

Margareta Bjurklo, Bo Edvardsson and Heiko Gebauer

The aim of this paper is to suggest a new competence‐based framework for describing and analysing the initiation of the transition of goods‐dominant companies to service…

1757

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to suggest a new competence‐based framework for describing and analysing the initiation of the transition of goods‐dominant companies to service providers. The paper seeks to illustrate the relevance of the new framework in an empirical study of a knowledge‐intensive mechanical engineering company.

Design/methodology/approach

A single‐case study of the world's leading maker of tool steel forms the empirical basis for the paper. A study based on a qualitative research methodology, involving inductive inquiry and a field study over six years focusing on “narratives from the field” was conducted.

Findings

New competencies are needed to initiate the transition from products to service and to manage service‐based offerings. The findings are summarised in two categories. The first, “customer value socialisation”, refers to the sharing of experiences and knowledge among employees. The second, “customer value management”, refers to management's ability to encourage employees to create value‐in‐use for the customers.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature by: focusing on issues related to competence (rather than organisational structures and strategy); identifying “customer value socialisation” and “customer value management” as the important dimensions for engendering competence in employees; and introducing the concepts of “unfreezing”, “movement”, and “refreezing,” into the management of the necessary cultural change that must accompany the transition.

Details

Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, vol. 19 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-4529

Keywords

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