Managerial Competencies and Its Impact on Employee Engagement - Research Proposal Example

nаgеriаl Соmреtеnсiеs and its imрасt on Еmрlоyее Еngаgеmеnt Name Institution Course Date Introduction  Employee engagement is an important aspect of the human resource management practice. Over the past decades, varying definitions have been provided in an effort to conceptualize what it entails and establish a direction for modern academic researchers. While there are no particular differences between the earlier and modern definitions of employee engagement, recent studies center through the three aspects of employee engagement; psychological, behavioral and trait engagements (Macey and Schneider, 2008, p.3). Organizational observations suggests that the good leadership and management are the key driving factor towards enhanced employee engagement and organizational financial performance. In fact, one of the HR consulting firms indicated that they have already compelling findings regarding the relationship between engagement and profitability (Hewitt Associates LLC., 2005). Similarly, the Towers Watson 2007-2008 Global work force study showed a direct correlation between engagement and performance. That said, the critical question and which is the purpose of our study is how the managerial competencies influence the level of engagement in an organization.  The public sector in Oman has had past human resource problems. The development of the Huma Resource has recently focused in public sectors. In fact various studies have shown that the public sectors in Oman records very little application of the human resource practice effectively. The issues that are facing these organizations include those that relate to ageing, recruitment, training and development among others. In particular, the Oman public sector faces the challenge of underutilization of Oman resident since the country depends largely on expatriates (Al Wahshi, 2016, p.4). However, very little has been studied concerning the issue of competency and how it affects the employee engagement in public sectors. It is for this reason that this prosed study seeks to contribute to the few existing research regarding behavioral impact of managers on engagement process. This proposed study aims at contributing to the field of research in human resource management by analyzing through a descriptive and qualitative analysis approach the relationship between managerial competencies and employee engagement in Oman. The reason as to why our focus is on this topic is because there is a plethora of inconclusive and varying findings regarding the relationship. Our research will focus on various management behavior in two respective levels of management; first-level line manager and senior managers. We shall also look into the concept of competency and engagement in details.  Research Questions  1. Is there a relationship between managerial competencies and employee engagement?  2. How is competency and the level of engagement measured? 3. How does managerial competencies impact on employee engagement?  4. Does the hypothesis prove the correlation between level of competency and engagement? Research Aims and Objectives  The main aim of this proposed research is to find out whether managerial competencies influences employee engagement. Our objectives are to review various research studies and identify gaps and conceptualize the connection between employee engagement and managerial competencies. Research Hypothesis Null hypothesis 1: There is a statistical significant relationship between managerial competencies and employee engagement in both levels of management. Null hypothesis 2: There is no statistical significant difference in the competencies required by junior, middle and senior for higher engagements for those who work for them directly. Research Problem Statement The proposed research tries to solve the question of whether there are certain managerial behavior at every level of management that is required in order to foster employee engagement. Literature Review The relationship between employee engagement and managerial competence has been studies by many scholars. However, the different approaches and scopes of various studies have revealed contrasting views regarding the correlation. The reasons for varying empirical evidence is the different sampling techniques used, sample size and methodological approach. Nonetheless, there is a close connection in many findings which we shall review in details once the proposed research is approved. Luthans and Peterson, (2002, p.376) articulate that self-efficacy in managers and employee engagement would improve the effectiveness of the management. The study by these authors was aimed at ascertaining the role of the psychological state of self-efficacy affected the relationship between managers and employees. The investigation was carried out among 170 managers and the findings suggested that self-efficacy had a direct relationship with the way the managers and employees relate in the organization. This empirical finding was also observed in the research conducted by Fast, Burris and Bartel (2014, p.1034). In this study by Fast, Burris and Bartel it was found that manipulating low managerial self-efficacy led to an improved employee engagement (employees could be heard, there was decreased voice solicitation and reduced negative evaluation) (p.1034). Hence, managers with low self-efficacy are less likely to solicit input, thus leading to reduced engagement. A similar study also indicated improved employee performance where managers’ self-efficacy were high (Lunenburg, 2011, p.6). It is important to understand that self-efficacy in managers allow them to believe that even others have the ability to accomplish certain tasks. However, the study by does not look into the self-efficacy of managers only but also the employees themselves. This is an interesting approach since employee engagement also depends on whether the attitude and self-efficacy of the employees are positive. Stroud (2009, p.5) argues that the emotional and intellectual connection that employees have towards their managers, work and co-workers influences them in applying additional discretionary efforts. From the study, there is a cognitive aspect of psychological engagement that can be achieved if both the managers and employees have self-efficacy (Fitzgerald and Schutte, 2010, p.505; Higgs and Aitken, 2003; Jokinen, 2005, p.215). It is believed that the emotional intelligence of the managers results into good relationship with the employees and this can eventually improve engagement. Interestingly, another study revealed how organizational culture influenced the behavior of the management in regard to employee engagement (Bhatnagar, 2007, p.640). While managerial competencies seems to influence engagement, it is clear that this study show an indirect correlation. The investigation that was conducted on a sample of 272 employees revealed that employees at the intermediate levels of employment had high engagement levels (Bhatnagar, 2007, p.640). Notably, it appears that organizational factors other the managerial competencies impact on the engagement. However, a different study involving 12,698 HR professionals provides insight into a useful concept of the competencies on the value addition to the organization. The HR managers that expressed professionalism were perceived to be more competent and thus, were believed to have positive impact in the organization (Ulrich, et al., 1995, p.473). Impacting an organization positively and professionally would also incorporate the engagement of employees. The leadership style is determined by the level of competence of a manager. In a study that contributed to the role of leadership in employee motivation, the findings provided that the communicator’s competence had a direct increased employees’ communication satisfaction (Madlock, 2008, p.61). Also, the leadership style whether transformational or servant depends on the trait of the manger. Articulate that there is a direct relationship between leadership style and employee engagement (Johnson, 2015, p.69). Seema (2008, p.34) uses statistical method to ascertain the correlation between employee engagement and managerial competence. The authors found that there are certain managerial behavior that directly influence the receivers of such behavior. This cannot go without being competence does not only entail the skills to work but also the way of managing attitude and stress so as to create a friendly environment for the employees. Where the voice of the employees are low, it indicates that the communication is not effective in motivating employees to be engaged. The proposed research will provide a detailed review of the above literature works. In summary, the managerial competencies affect the employee engagement on the grounds of behavioral, trait and psychological factors. Research Method The research method for the proposed study involves a descriptive analysis and qualitative analysis. The descriptive statistics is used to carry out a qualitative analysis of various variables. It involves the calculations of covariance, correlation co-efficient, ANOVA analysis, skewedness, standard deviation and many more (Doane and Seward, 2005). The research strategy that we will adopt is the ANOVA analysis since it is an exploratory research. The correlation technique will be used to determine the type and the strength of the relationship between the two variables. Notwithstanding, the hypothesis will eventually be incorporated to test the statistical significant relationship and the difference in managerial levels impacting employee engagement. The ANOVA analysis will be conducted by the use of statistical software such as the R-Studio or Stata. The results of the statistical analysis will help to understand the correlation between various variables. Ultimately, we will be able to answer the first research question. Both the primary and secondary sources of data will be incorporated. The primary data will be sourced from an interview process. The research team will structure interview questions in questionnaires that will be used in the interview process. The participants we will involve include 100 management staff from various public sectors. The data that will be gathered, coded and statistically analyzed. The secondary data will be collected from the past research studies so as to identify the milestone that has been made with regard to this proposed research topic. Ethical Consideration We will conduct the proposed research on the basis of the institutional and professional guidelines. We will ensure that the research team communicates in advance with the participants and schedule for their interview. We will strictly ensure that our activities do not interfere with the duties of the participants. Project Timeline: Gantt chart Reference List Al Wahshi, A.S., 2016, Human resource planning practice in the Oman public sector: An exploratory study in the ministry of education in the Sultanate of Oman. Edith Cowan University. Bakker, A.B. and Schaufeli, W.B., 2008. Positive organizational behavior: Engaged employees in flourishing organizations. Journal of organizational behavior, 29(2), pp.147-154. Bhatnagar, J., 2007. Talent management strategy of employee engagement in Indian ITES employees: key to retention. Employee relations, 29(6), pp.640-663. Doane, D.P. and Seward, L.E., 2005. Applied statistics in business and economics. USA: Irwin. Fast, N.J., Burris, E.R. and Bartel, C.A., 2014. Managing to stay in the dark: Managerial self-efficacy, ego defensiveness, and the aversion to employee voice. Academy of Management Journal, 57(4), pp.1013-1034. Fitzgerald, S. and Schutte, N.S., 2010. Increasing transformational leadership through enhancing self-efficacy. Journal of Management Development, 29(5), pp.495-505. Gruman, J.A. and Saks, A.M., 2011. Performance management and employee engagement. Human Resource Management Review, 21(2), pp.123-136. Hewitt Associates LLC. (2005). Employee engagement. RetrievedApril 29, 2005, from http://was4.hewitt.com/hewitt/services/talent/subtalent/ee_engagement.htm Higgs, M. and Aitken, P., 2003. An exploration of the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership potential. Journal of Managerial psychology, 18(8), pp.814-823. Johnson, A.R., 2015. The effect of leadership style on employee engagement within an organizational environment of change: A correlational study (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University). Jokinen, T., 2005. Global leadership competencies: a review and discussion. Journal of European Industrial Training, 29(3), pp.199-216. Lunenburg, F.C., 2011. Self-efficacy in the workplace: implications for motivation and performance. International journal of management, business, and administration, 14(1), pp.1-6. Luthans, F. and Peterson, S.J., 2002. Employee engagement and manager self-efficacy. Journal of management development, 21(5), pp.376-387. Macey, W.H. and Schneider, B., 2008. The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and organizational Psychology, 1(1), pp.3-30.  Madlock, P.E., 2008. The link between leadership style, communicator competence, and employee satisfaction. The Journal of Business Communication (1973), 45(1), pp.61-78. Rich, B.L., Lepine, J.A. and Crawford, E.R., 2010. Job engagement: Antecedents and effects on job performance. Academy of management journal, 53(3), pp.617-635. Seema U., 2008, The effect of managerial competencies on employee engagement in multinational IT industries. International Journal of Latest Trends in Engineering and Technology Vol.(7)Issue(3), pp. 028‐034. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21172/1.73.504e‐ISSN:2278‐621X. Stroud, R.N., 2009. The relationship between leadership competence and employee engagement. Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. Ulrich, D., Brockbank, W., Yeung, A.K. and Lake, D.G., 1995. Human resource competencies: An empirical assessment. Human Resource Management, 34(4), pp.473-495. Read More