International Journal of Asian Social Science

ISSN(e): 2224-4441/ISSN(p): 2226-5139

journal homepage: http://www.aessweb.com/journals/5007

 

Mahmoud Reza Esmaeili1  — Ali Pirzad2† — Ahmad Siahpour3

 

1 Assistant professor of management faculty, Lorestan University, lorestan, iran PhD student, Department of management, Lorestan University, lorestan, Iran

2 Department of management, College of graduate studies, Science and Research Branch of kohgiluyeh and boyer-ahmad, Islamic Azad University, yasouj, Iran

3 Department of management, College of graduate studies, Science and Research Branch of kohgiluyeh and boyer-ahmad, Islamic Azad University, yasouj, Iran

 

ABSTRACT

This research tries on exploring psychological enabling effects on effective factors of human force utilization. Statistical society of this research is management professors from several universities of Iran who filled questionnaires. Finally, 58 members were selected to analyze data. Utilization variable has been identified using effective factors by Hersey and Goldsmith (1980) including ability (knowledge and skill), clearance (perception and role image), organizational help (support), intention (tendency), evaluation (teaching and feedback), credit (manager decisions legacy), environmental adaptation and psychological enabling variables using Thomas and Velthouse (1990) model with being meaningful sense, qualification sense, having selecting right sense and being effective sense were identified. To analyze data structural equations modeling (SEM) method of least squares has been used. Research results show that psychological enabling effects is very high and positive on effective factors of human force utilization.

 

© 2015 AESS Publications. All Rights Reserved

† Corresponding author

DOI: 10.18488/journal.1/2015.5.9/1.9.543.550

ISSN(e): 2224-4441/ISSN(p): 2226-5139

 

 

1.  INTRODUCTION

In today present competitiveness and working arena, having powerful and valuable human force is the most permanent feature for managers for managers and organizations. Actually, investing on intellectual capitals and productive human force has relationship with employees’ utilization.

Many researches have been named on enabling as main element for organizations success. Employees enabling is so vital and necessary in a way that it becomes effective on employees intention and intention increase can lead to various personal and organizational consequences like higher efficiency, higher utilization, utilization improvement and employees commitment and satisfaction increase (Yang and Choi, 2009).

On the other hand, looking to statistics and information of utilization in country is anguishing, because utilization is very low in country and actually, it needs modification and reviewing in affaires related to utilization. Utilization reduction in recent years has made many economic and social problems and can solve these problems or makes them as minimum as possible by increasing in utilization.

Therefore, identifying variables and effective factors are so much important. In addition, mentioning to enabling importance in this study we want to study and explore potential effects of psychological enabling on human force utilization. Reason to select psychology enabling is psychological policy leaning on subordinate enabling and has positive effect on subordinates’ feelings that these effects on feelings in its role lead to utilization promotion, because just 25% is in relationship with other determining factors that is witness of the emotional and psychological factors importance in organization environment.

 

1.1.   Theoretical Bases and Research Background

Generally, utilization means effective and efficient usage of data to achieve outputs (Tangen, 2005). Moreover, in utilization definition, many researchers know it equals to efficiency and effectiveness sum, some others know it equals to efficiency multiple to efficiency. According to scientific points of view, efficiency means resources correct usage and effectiveness means achieving to purposes; therefore, utilization refers to resources optimum consumption to achieve successful or same as goals.

There are many researches have been done about effective factors on organizations utilization. Actually, maybe it can be said courageously, there are definitions as many as researchers in this field; and of course, effective factors have been offered on it. Hersey and Goldsmith (1980) know factors of ability (knowledge and skillful), clearance (perception and role image), organizational help (support), intention (tendency), evaluation (teaching and feedback), credit (managers decision legacy) and environmental adaptation effective on human force utilization. Totally, following diagram can be imagined for utilization definition:

 

Figure-1. Efficiency, effectiveness and utilization relationship

 

Robbins et al. (2002) in enabling definition used factors as inner intention, perceptions and commitment, job structure, power transfer or authority and resources and information divisions. Actually, enabling is continual and permanent process analyzed in motive environment in different levels.

It can be stated that Thomas and Velthouse (1990) offered comprehensive definition for enabling and add psychological expressions to it. Based on their roles, psychological enabling is as a collection of intentional recognizing extents that have three other recognizing extents besides self-efficiency. These four extents include: autonomy sense (selecting right), meaningful sense, being effective sense and qualification sense.

Blenchard et al. (1999) said that enabling is the most promising concepts of business world  that is mentioned less, but now it changes to today issue. In spite of plenty of discussions benefits, its utilization is low. Although, enabling gives this possibility to managers to use organization’s employees al experiences, skills and knowledge, unfortunately managers’ numbers and groups who know enabling roles and culture are less.

Blenchard summarized enabling process in 3 steps: 1- information divisions: that gives this possibility to employees know their organization‘s situation and analyze them for more precise exploration. Information division starts in organization with trust making in organization; and of course, conventional harsh hierarchical thought breaking; therefore, it leads to employees responsibility sense increase. 2- Autonomy and work independency all over the organization: organization limitation are determined by destination (why do you work), values (what is you guideline), images (what is your image of future), purposes (what, when, where, how and why you do), roles (who are you) and organizational structure and system (how can what you do be supported). 3- Replacing self-holding teams instead of hierarchical ones: when a group of employees are selected with special responsibilities for work and production, they plan and execute from A to Z, they manage all things and divide responsibilities fairly and equally.

 

In enabling literature, there are 2 policies for enabling:

1-    Communicational approach

2-    Psychological approach

 

Relationship approach leans on subordinates enabling and has important effect on subordinate emotions. Tomas and Velthouse model is the kind of models that are made according to psychological policies; for this reason, it has high importance among other enabling models. This model‘s elements are explained at the rest.

Qualification sense: qualification is said to a person’ degree that can do his job responsibilities skillfully and successfully. When people become enable, they feel qualified, or fell they have enough skill and capability to do successful tasks.

Enable people not only feel they are qualified, but also feel they feel they can do work efficiently. Qualification sense is a personal belief that a person feel he can do undertaken assignments successfully and for this reason 3 necessary clauses for people to  feel  qualified include: efficient people believe they have ability of doing tasks; efficient people believe they have enough trying capacity for tasks; efficient people believe no outer obstacle can prevent them from doing tasks. In other words, when people feel enabling that in spite of having the least skill and capability, they develop eagerness to do tasks and not having obstacles against success (Bandura, 1977).

Having selecting right sense: selecting right means a person’s practice freedom and independency in determining necessary activities to do job responsibilities (Thomas and Velthouse, 1990). When people are volunteers in doing their tasks instead of obligatory participation, they  have selecting right in work. Selecting right also deals with group and people attempts to increase control on how to do their works and has relationship with job satisfaction. The electoral choice because of individuals’ participation in programs and assisting them in various fields, leads to the organizational goals, human resources and priorities be linked and related together (Gibbs, 2009).

Being effective: being effective or personal consequence acceptance is a degree of a person ability to influence on his job’s guiding, official and organizational results. People who have high effectiveness feeling believe that they can make changes by influencing the environment they are in or work with achieved results. Capable people do not believe that outer environmental obstacles  can control their activities, but they believe that they can control these obstacles; actually, they  have controlling sense of activities. Being effective sense can be related to ability of controlling  and changing outer environment as much as it can be related to fields’ recognitions to have influence and penetration there. This aspect refers to a degree that person’s behavior is seen in executing different job purposes; it means expected results are achieved in job environment. Being effective sense is a feeling that a person can influence on strategies, managerial policies, consequences and job results (Thomas and Velthouse, 1990).

Yang and Choi (2009) stated that enabling facilitate in intentional behaviors and utilization multiplier. Beygi et al. (2010) in a study under the title of psychological enabling on amplifier factors of human force utilization understood that there is positive correlation between psychological enabling and human force utilization.

 

1.2.   Methodology and Research Conceptual Model

This research is surveying. Statistical society is management professors from several universities of country that filled questionnaire. Finally, 58 people were selected to analyze data.

Utilization factor using identified effective factors by Hersey and Goldsmith (1980) include ability (knowledge and skill), clearance (role perception and image), organizational help (support), intention (tendency), evaluation (teaching and feedback), credit (manager decision legacy) and environmental adaptation and psychological enabling variable using Thomas and Velthouse (1990) with aspects of being meaningful, qualification sense, having selecting right sense and effective sense have been identified. All these aspects were explained in previous parts. In order to analyze data SEM method of least partial square has been used. This method is based on variance and need relatively fewer samples than Lizerl. In addition, this is relatively new method that little by little becomes replacement of axis covariance methods. To do this method, there are various softwares, but smartpls has been used for its higher ability and advance. Instead of having model total fitting indexes some statistical indexes like average variance extracted, Cronbach alpha coefficient and compound reliability have been used for their predicting natures in order to evaluate reflecting model creditability and reliability. Average variance extracted is related to creditability and 2 next indexes are related to model reliability. Accepted values of these indexes should be 0.5, 0.7 and  0.7, respectively. To measure SEM, oath and determining coefficients have also been used. For models related to one inner-originated latent variable with one or two outer-originated latent variables, determining variable is sufficient about 0.33; in addition, this software is significant is alpha=0.05 and less knows T statistics more than 1.96 significant.

 

Following figure shows research conceptual model.

Figure-2. Research conceptual model

 

1.3.   Research Hypothesis

Psychological enabling has effect on effective factors on utilization.

 

1.4.   Data Analysis

In following figure software out put us seen. Numbers in figures coincide with numbers in conceptual model of figure 2.

 

Figure-3. Software output in standard coefficient state

As it is seen, software shows output of psychological enabling effect coefficient output on effective factors on utilization. It is clear that effect coefficient of 0.67 is high amount.

 

Figure-4. Software output in significant coefficient state

As it is seen T statistics has value more than 1.96; therefore, psychological enabling effects are confirmed on human utilization in 95%. In addition, following table shows model reliability and creditability sub-indexes that all are higher than accepted limitation and therefore, model creditability and reliability are confirmed.

 

Table-1. Model reliability and creditability indexes

	AVE	Composite Reliability	R Square	Cronbachs Alpha
Productivity	0.536784	0.887700	0.442470	0.853839
psyempower	0.555631	0.829759		0.730099

 

2.  CONCLUSION

According to high positive and significant effects of psychological enabling from psychological point of view, it is suggested to act toward with emphasize on being meaningful sense, qualification sense, having selecting right sense and being effective sense. In addition, it is seen that among 7th effective factors on human force utilization ability (skill and knowledge) and among psychological enabling factors, having selecting right are the most important ones. Therefore, it is suggested to pay sufficient attention to promote employees knowledge and their flexibility using job enriching and expansion.

Finally, it is suggested to future researchers to explore and study enabling effects on organizational and personal performance and efficiency. In addition, researchers can explore and study enabling other aspects and models better and more to complete researchers in this field.

 

REFERENCES

Bandura, A., 1977. Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2): 191-215.

Beygi, N., Abdolreza, SArdari, Ahmad, N. Najari and Hassan, 2010. Employees’ psychological enabling  effect on reinforcing factors of human force utilization. Governmental Manamgent Landscape, 1(3): 79-102

Blanchard, D.C., Hebert, M.A., Blanchard, R.J., 1999. Continuity vs (political) correctness: Animal models and human aggression, in: Haug, M., Whalen, R. (Eds.), Animal models of human psychopathology. American Psychological Association, pp. 297–316.

Gibbs, D., 2009. Empowering programs with evaluation technical assistance: Outcomes and lessons learned.

Health Promotion Practice, 10(1): 38-44.

Hersey, H. and M. Goldsmith, 1980. A situational approach to performance planning. Training and Development Journal, 34(11): 38-44.

Robbins, T.L., M.D. Crino and L.D. Fredendall, 2002. An integrative model of the empowerment process.

Human Resource Management, 12(1): 419-443.

Tangen, S., 2005. Demystifying productivity and performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 54(1): 34-46.

Thomas, K.W. and B.A. Velthouse, 1990. Cognitive element of empowerment: An interpretive modle of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review, 15 (4): 666-681

Yang, S.-B. and S.O. Choi, 2009. Employee empowerment team performance. Team Performance Management, 15(5/6): 289-301.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Exploring the Links Between Empowerment Practices. Employee cognitions, and behavioral outcomes. 11th National Public Management Research Conference, Maxwell School, Syracuse University,  Syracuse, New York, June 2-4.