The changing circumstances of the organizations these days; either political, cultural, social, or economical circumstances, are the result of many sequential changes due to the knowledge explosion and information and communication revolution (Hsu and Sabherwal, 2012; Kasasbeh 2015), the increased internal and external competition resulted in more challenges and difficulties for the organizations to keep up with these changes and adopting to them (Sweis et al., 2011; Krylova et al., 2016), all these events forced the organizations to respond to the changes creatively and to find modern and innovative ways and then they became obliged to make basic changes in their management styles; through finding creative individuals and provide the required and suitable tools that help creating new methods and modern work techniques and quick administrative solutions to face these challenges (Mughraj, 2015). The creative individual is considered as a fortune better than the materialistic fortune, and even the investment in developing the human element is one of the most successful investments, in addition to that, the human resource is one of the most important factors that help in the sustainability of the organizations by achieving the sustainable competitive advantage as a result of his creative abilities, skills, and tacit or explicit knowledge (Hawajrh and Al-Mahasneh, 2015; Inkinen, 2016). Thus, the trend of the organizations toward innovation shouldn’t be restricted to introducing the modern tools and techniques, but the management should be convinced that the employees can innovate and create solutions for the problems they face (Mughraj, 2015). Information systems are considered as a main part of the success of the modern organizations in light of competition and quick change and uncertainty, that gave the information systems a very vital role in the success and efficiency of any organization, and in the completion of the administrative tasks efficiently and effectively (O’Brien and Marakas, 2011), it also helps in cooperation and coordination between the members of the organization and between different organizations, this requires efficient design and management of these systems (Gil, 2009). Knowledge management is considered as the most important competitive advantage that the organizations are seeking to acquire and use, this resource is very important for the organizations in light of the huge development in communication and information, thus, the knowledge management became an important power for the success of business, in addition, such knowledge should be integrated in the strategies of the organization in order to respond to the environmental changes (Ababneh and Hatamleh, 2013; Giampaoli et al., 2017). While human interest, management, direction and motivation have become more important than other areas related to money, technology, and organizational structures (Khansharifan et al., 2015), that’s why from the human related subjects emerged the Employees’ Empowerment (EE), as a modern management concept and one of the most promising (Khansharifan et al., 2015).

One of the most significant factors known to affect organizational performance is employees’ level of job satisfaction ( Jiang et al., 2011; Paille, 2011; Zhang and Bartol, 2010). Extant literature suggests that job satisfaction refers to employees’ sense of fulfillment and enjoyment at the workplace, and determines their commitment to, and concern for, the organization (Hosie et al., 2013; Olcer, 2015; Top et al., 2015). Scholars have argued that job satisfaction is not only due to material factors, such as reward and promotion, but also reflects the autonomy enjoyed by employees in decision-making and implementation processes as a result of empowerment. An empowering organization emphasizes information-sharing, discretion and individual participation, thus enhancing employees’ feeling of self-confidence ( Joo and Shim, 2010; Spreitzer et al., 1997). Li et al. (2016) proposed that empowerment improves employees’ feeling of thriving at work, which can also increase job satisfaction. This explains why the relationship between employee empowerment and job satisfaction has gained much research interest, especially over the past two decades (Carless 2004; Olcer, 2015; Pelit et al., 2011; Seibert et al., 2004). In recent times, a key issue in organizational change management is how leadership and power relations can induce favorable employee responses in periods of rapid change and uncertainty (Bish et al., 2015). Based on the link between empowerment and job satisfaction, it would appear that leaders who empower their subordinates stand a better chance of gaining cooperation from their subordinates when the organization is experiencing tough changes. Yet because organizations operate in a bigger social sphere comprising various political, cultural and economic forces, the interpretation of the effect of empowerment on job satisfaction must be done in relation to the broader social and organizational contexts. This is especially urgent in transition and developing economies (Chiaburu, 2006), since very little is yet known about their social and organizational dynamics for change and innovation. Additionally, specific factors in the work environment such as management support and quality of communication affect empowerment and job satisfaction (Baird and Wang, 2010; Chiang and Hsieh, 2012), and this reinforces the importance of context when examining the relationship between the two variables. As a fast developing country, Malaysia makes a timely study of the above relationship between employee empowerment and job satisfaction. Due to high rates of employee turnover and brain drain (ESI International Asia Pacific, 2014; Wahab, 2014), this topic is of particular significance for Malaysian employers, who now face ever-increasing challenges in the areas of training, succession planning and sustainable organizational change (Beh, 2014). Especially in the cities, where there is stiff competition for skilled workforce between public and private sectors, the ability to manage and retain talent has become crucial for Malaysia’s urban organizations.

Firms are constantly pressured to think beyond satisfying the existing customers. They have to focus on identifying and anticipating potential changes in customer desires. This requires balancing between exploitation of what is done well, and exploration of new fields that may generate profitability in the future (Kang and Snell, 2009). The ability to do both is referred to as ambidexterity and consists of pursuing explorative as well as exploitative activities (March, 1991). Explorative activities are related to risk-taking, experimentation and innovation, while exploitative activities are associated with refinement, selection and improving existing products, services, organizational routines and procedures (March, 1991). Several studies have investigated various organizational outcomes of ambidexterity (Donate and Guadamillas, 2011; Darroch, 2005), or antecedents of organizational ambidexterity, such as organizational structure (Gibson and Birkinshaw, 2004), team hierarchy (Peretti and Negro, 2006), knowledge transfer and integration (Gibson and Birkinshaw, 2004), and managerial leadership and commitment (Smith and Tushman, 2005). While ambidexterity at the organizational level has been widely explored and debated, much less studies focus on ambidexterity at the employee level. Yet, the firm’s employees are the ones who generate new knowledge and perform explorative and exploitative activities (Minbaeva, Mäkelä and Rabbiosi, 2012). Authors have coined the term “employee ambidexterity” in this respect. Employee ambidexterity is defined as the behavioural orientation of employees towards combining exploitation and exploration related activities within a certain period of time (Mom, Van Den Bosch, & Volberda, 2009; Caniëls & Veld, 2016). Employee ambidexterity has received remarkably little attention from a theoretical and empirical perspective. Several studies have called for a more focused analysis of employee ambidexterity and its antecedents (e.g. Prieto and Santana, 2012; Junni, Sarala, Taras and Tarba, 2013; Caniëls and Veld, 2016).

Today, few companies can survive in their market environment by maintaining their status quo (Kofoed et al., 2002; Swartling and Olausson, 2011). The ability of an organisation to stay flexible and responsive towards changing conditions requires continuous improvement (CI), leading to a dynamic company culture whose natural state is centred around incremental change and improvement (Hong et al., 2014). CI is defined as a bundle of principles, activities and tools within a company that aim to generate a planned and systematic improvement process of incremental and ongoing change (Lillrank et al., 2001; Kofoed et al., 2002). Through this ongoing change, CI aims to eliminate sources of imperfection within a company based on a high degree of employee participation to improve the quality of products and processes, and thus enhance the company’s performance (Imai, 1986; Kofoed et al., 2002; Wynder, 2008; Singh and Singh, 2013). However, after great enthusiasm at the beginning of a CI initiative, most programmes lose momentum and management realises that few of the intended principles and behavioural patterns have become institutionalised within the company (Swartling and Olausson, 2011). Among other potential reasons, studies by Kotter (1995), Lillrank et al. (2001), Angell and Corbett (2009) and Holtskog (2013) reveal that the successful institutionalisation of CI is closely linked to contributions made by individual employees. This contribution is not only dependent on one’s interest in participating, but is also determined by one’s personal abilities with regard to CI (e.g. Lok et al., 2005; Lam et al., 2015). While different terms can be found in relation to this phenomenon (e.g. “empowerment or engagement”; Rother, 2010, p. 176), we use the term “CI empowerment” as we adopt the concept of structural empowerment as the underlying theory (Kanter, 1993).  CI empowerment covers the acquisition of required knowledge to undertake CI activities, as well as understanding of the CI goal to realise the impact of CI in one’s daily work (Lillrank et al., 2001). In addition, empowered employees feel supported by their management and colleagues to use their problem-solving skills actively, by openly talking about improvement opportunities and possible difficulties (Holtskog, 2013).

Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) theory, in this work an original theoretical framework is articulated, relating megatrends in the field of human resources – considered here as a unique source of companies’ competitiveness – such as Electronic HRM, green employee empowerment, and HR Business Partner Role when adopting Green HRM practices. The framework is then tested based on empirical evidence from Malaysian companies. Countries around the world, be they developed or developing, have faced a multitude of impacts from the huge demand for a more sustainability oriented and environmental friendly agenda, hence the call for an urgent change to adopt green practices. HRM is considered as having great potential for the incorporation of sustainability (Jabbour & Santos, 2008). A myriad of concerns for the environment have been embedded in broader Human Resource Development (HRD) models and frameworks (Scully-Russ, 2015; Jackson, Schuler, & Jiang, 2014) and recently the term Green Human Resource Management (HRM) has emerged to specifically relate the HRM with environmental concerns (Jabbour, Santos, & Nagano, 2010; Jabbour & Jabbour, 2016; Renwick, Redman & Maguire, 2013). Pursuing organizational sustainability requires attention to human and behavioral aspects (Graves, Sarkis & Zhu, 2013; Jackson et al., 2014; Kim, Kim, Han, Jackson, & Ployhart, 2016; Walker, Seuring, Sarkis, & Klassen, 2014). RBV theory provides the conceptual assumptions for the Green HRM field of research. RBV suggests that human resources can be considered key to sustain companies’ competitive advantage (Barney, 1991). RBV has been applied to better understand how critical human aspects are when adopting new organizational practices (Wright, McMahan, & McWilliams, 1994). RBV has been a theoretical pillar to understand the expansion of Green HRM within firms (Jabbour, Mauricio, & Jabbour, 2017).

مقاله سال 2016

ایجاد رضایت شغلی بدون شک یکی از اهداف هر سازمان به شمار می‌رود. این پژوهش به‌منظور بررسی اثرات توانمندسازی، کارتیمی و آموزش کارمندان روی رضایت شغلی در بخش تحصیلات عالی می‌باشد. داده‌ها از میان 242 کارمندان دانشگاه‌های دولتی در شمال مالزی از طریق پرسشنامه آنلاین می‌باشد. داده‌های جمع‌آوری از طریق معادلات ساختاری از طریق برنامه آماری AMOS موردبررسی و تحلیل قرار گرفتند. نتایج حاکی از این بود توانمندسازی کارکنان دارای اثر مثبتی روی رضایت مشتری می‌باشد. همچنین مشاهده شد کارتیمی دارای اثر مثبتی روی رضایت شغلی می‌باشد. درنهایت، یافته حاکی از این بود که آموزش کارکنان دارای اثر مثبتی روی رضایت شغلی می‌باشند.

مقاله سال 2016

 مجله تحقیقات بازاریابی – Journal of Business Research

Meetings are an important context for understanding organizational behavior and employee attitudes. They provide a window into social dynamics in the workplace (Meinecke & Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2015) and take up substantial work time for employees of contemporary organizations: a typical employee spends about 6 h per week in scheduled meetings (Rogelberg, Leach, Warr, & Burnfield, 2006). Meetings are de- fined as work-related interactions between three or more people that have purpose and structure; they are usually scheduled in advance, last between 30 and 60 min, and can be conducted face to face as well as virtually (Schwartzman, 1986; Rogelberg et al., 2006). Employees’ behaviors and experiences in meetings can affect many different aspects of their jobs and also influence the general success of an organization (e.g., Kauffeld & Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012; Rogelberg, Allen, Shanock, Scott, & Shuffler, 2010). Unfortunately, meetings can be a nuisance rather than a site for productive collaboration, and employees evaluate almost half of their meetings as ineffective (Lehmann-Willenbrock, Allen, & Belyeu, in press; Schell, 2010). In addition to wasting time and money, bad meetings negatively impact employee outcomes such as job satisfaction, co-worker trust, and other job attitudes as well as well-being (Luong & Rogelberg, 2005; Rogelberg et al., 2006, 2010; Allen, Yoerger, Lehmann-Willenbrock, & Jones, 2015).

In this paper, we depart from this negative view and highlight the positive sides of workplace meetings. Instead of viewing meetings as hassles or interruptions at work, we argue that meetings can function as sensemaking episodes. Sensemaking in organizations occurs through interpersonal communication, for example when employees discuss a problem, develop solutions, and identify necessary action steps (e.g., Maitlis, 2006; Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 2005). Such sensemaking activities are typically observed behaviors in many organizational meetings (cf. Kauffeld & Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012). Recent theorizing suggests that sensemaking in meetings occurs because meetings are often called in an effort to share information, reduce ambiguity, and promote collaboration (Scott, Allen, & Rogelberg, 2015). As such, meetings can create a work context that can be conducive to employee empowerment.

Empowerment refers to a cognitive orientation toward an employee’s own work role that is typically characterized by an individual’s perceived sense of meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact (Spreitzer, 1995). Although research on empowerment initially focused on individual differences as predictors of empowerment, more recently the focus has shifted toward contextual factors that relate to psychological empowerment (e.g., Seibert, Wang, & Courtright, 2011). When meetings go well, they can constitute one such contextual factor. Satisfying meetings can provide psychological resources to employees (Cohen, Rogelberg, Allen, & Luong, 2011), which suggests that satisfying meetings may contribute to individual psychological empowerment in the workplace.