Organizational behavior and HR management
Part A
Psychological empowerment is a system of motivation that is founded on ‘meaning’, ‘competence’, ‘self-determination’ and ‘impact’ (Hersey, 2000). These four concepts, that define psychological empowerment, enable the employees to be more active in the workplace and improve their job performance. These four concepts influence the basic motivation that comes from within an individual.
Meaning: This is the degree to which an employee feels the work they do is meaningful to them. A direct link between ‘meaning’ and work performance cannot be made but ‘meaning’ and job satisfaction are directly linked. For an individual to be satisfied with the work they do, they have to feel that this work helps them achieve the work values they hold. When the level of meaning is low, the employee will not be satisfied with their work and their work performance will be reduced.
Competence: The level of individual efficiency in job performance is also a factor that will influence work performance. Employees who feel they perform their work with competence are more likely to be satisfied with the work they do (Hersey, 2000). The intrinsic interest of the employee will therefore be elevated based on the pride in previous personal successes.
Self-determination: This is the individual drive an employee has as they execute their duties. Self-determined employees are very effective in their performance of duties as they often will have complete knowledge as well as information about their work. As a result, their ability to plan and schedule work is enhanced and they are also able to identify potential barriers to optimal performance and avoid them.
Impact: The employees in the work place that believe they can influence the outcomes of the organization have a higher chance of actually making an impact on the outcomes of the organization than those that do not. Their individual belief in their ability will enhance their self-determination and result in improved job performance.
Informal training is mainly responsible for the tacit knowledge that employees posses. Such knowledge is not based on academics, but rather skill that is gained over time. Employees with this knowledge do not have to think before they perform a particular task that falls in their field, but rather the approach they choose as they execute this duty comes automatically (Hersey, 2000). This type of knowledge can be understood as the ability to perform a particular task without having to think about it like when one rides a bicycle.
Formal training offered in the work place imparts explicit knowledge on the employees. This type of knowledge can be expressed in words as it is information passed on in formal language. Such knowledge has a point of reference and requires the employee to refer back to books, manuals, research findings, web content, and such storage media before they can make a decision in their work. Because of the need to constantly refer back to the academic data taught, explicit knowledge will often be carefully sorted and …