Work environments for health care providers in acute care hospitals have become increasingly demanding due to the impact of economic constraints, the rapid advancement of treatment modalities, and value systems changes among clients, as well as among heath care providers. In Japan, health care industries also face severe economic constraints. Because Japan has socialized medicine, the government controls reimbursements. Due to the dramatic growth in health care expenditures, the Japanese government has imposed regulations that reward shorter lengths of hospital stays with higher reimbursement. As a result, only patients whose conditions are critical and require complicated nursing care are now hospitalized. Consequently, the acuity levels of patients have increased every year. Under such conditions, administrators are charged with keeping the organization financially solvent so that they can remain in business, while continuing to improve the quality of their services. Although systems research in health care settings has received considerable attention in North American countries, there has been little research in this area in Japan, where systematic leadership training for nurse managers is also still in a developmental stage. Research on organizational effectiveness has shown positive correlations between managers' leadership styles and employees' psychological well-being or self-efficacy.The purposes of this study were: 1) to test Laschinger's Work Empowerment Theory with incorporation of leadership behaviors in acute care hospitals in Japan, and 2) to investigate how leadership behaviors might mitigate burnout and empower staff nurses working in acute care hospitals in Japan. It was expected that employees who perceived a high level of Structural Empowerment would demonstrate high Psychological Empowerment and low burnout level. If employees perceived high leadership behaviors in their immediate supervisors, their Psychological Empowerment was expected to be higher and their burnout level was expected to be lower.The following four instruments were used: 1) Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II (CWEQ-II); 2) Psychological Empowerment Scale; 3) Nurse Manager's Action Scale; and 4) Maslach Burnout Inventory. The questionnaire was distributed to 1,377 staff nurses working on 50 inpatient care units in two acute care hospitals in Japan. Participant response rates for all units were equal or greater than 50%. Psychometric evaluation of the instruments was performed. Construct validity and reliability were established for all instruments at the individual level. At the group level, construct validity and reliability for two instruments (Structural Empowerment and Nurse Manger's Action Scale) were confirmed, but not for two others (Psychological Empowerment and Maslach Burnout Inventory).Results suggested that the Work Empowerment Theory also fits Japanese nurses, but there was little effect of leadership behaviors on staff nurses' perceived empowerment. A group level analysis indicated that leadership behaviors did not influence Psychological Empowerment or Burnout, but influenced Structural Empowerment.

<p>The primary objective of this study was to gain an understanding of the impact of psychological empowerment and job satisfaction on organizational commitment amongst employees in a multi-national organization. For the purpose of this study a quantitative, non-probability convenience sampling design was used to assess the three variables. The sample consisted of (N = 120) permanent employees were employed in the following departments namely: Administration, Engineering, Production, Quality and Commercial.</p>

Organizations in South Africa as in the rest of the world are under tremendous pressure to improve their performance and increase their competitiveness in the continuously changing world of work. Psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and organizational commitment are important concepts to consider when dealing with the changes in the world of work. Psychological empowerment refers to the experience of empowerment among employees. Empowerment heightens employees’ sense of personal control and motivates them to engage in work which in turn results in positive managerial and organizational outcomes (Conger & Kanungo, 1988;Quinn & Spreitzer, 1997; Siegall & Gardner, 2000). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment have both shown to be important outcomes of psychological empowerment.The primary objective of this study was to gain an understanding of the impact of psychological empowerment and job satisfaction on organizational commitment amongst employees in a multi-national organization. For the purpose of this study a quantitative, non-probability convenience sampling design was used to assess the three variables. The sample consisted of (N = 120) permanent employees were employed in the following departments namely: Administration, Engineering,Production, Quality and Commercial.A biographical questionnaire, The Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire (MEQ),Job Descriptive Index (JDI) and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire(OCQ) were administered to gather data. The MEQ consists of 12 statements and measures psychological empowerment on four cognitions namely; meaning, impact, self-determination and competence. The JDI measures job satisfaction on five job facets namely, pay, promotions, supervision, co-workers and the work itself. The OCQ measures organizational commitment and consists of 15 statements. Each statement attempts to extract the employee’s feelings towards organizational policies, goals and values, their willingness go the extra mile, and whether they are proud to be associated with the organization. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.The Product Moment Correlations Coefficient was computed to determine the extent to which the variable investigated is related to each other. The ANOVA was used to determine whether there are differences in psychological empowerment based on biographical characteristics and also to assess differences amongst the variable. The T-test was utilized to assess whether there is a difference based on gender. For the biographical information namely gender, race and tenure results indicate significant statistical differences in organizational commitment. A statistically significant relationship was also found between psychological empowerment and organizational commitment. However, the strongest relationship was found between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Furthermore results, indicate that employees at the multi-national organization are relatively satisfied with the nature of the work that they perform, with the supervision that they receive, as well as with their co-workers. Opportunities for promotion and compensation appeared to be however, the main sources of dissatisfaction. With regards to organizational commitment employees express below average belief in the organization’s goals and values, willingness to exert extra effort on behalf of the organization and desire to maintain membership of the organization.With the exception of gender, the relationship between race and tenure with job satisfaction was found to be significant. With the exception of race, the relationship between gender and tenure with psychological empowerment was found to be significant.Results indicated a significant and direct relationship between psychological empowerment and job satisfaction.A limitation of this research is that the sampling composition and research design prevent the results to this study to be generalised to other organizations and it is recommended that a stratified random sampling design be utilised for future research. / Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS)

The world of work has changed dramatically in the last decade and constant change has become the new normality. Employees are affected by possible re-organisation, retrenchments and downsizing which affects their behaviours and attitudes at work. Leaders have the responsibility of leading their followers through these difficult times to the best of their ability. A positive leader is seen as someone who recognises and focuses on the strengths and accomplishments of his or her employees. When a leader is positive and has a positive leadership approach, it may influence their followers’ feelings of psychological empowerment, work engagement and satisfaction with life. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between positive leadership, psychological empowerment, work engagement and satisfaction with life of employees in a chemical industry. A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample (n = 322). The measuring instruments used were the Positive Leadership Measure, the Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire, the Work Engagement Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test whether the measures of the constructs were consistent with the understanding of the nature of the constructs and to test whether the data fitted the hypothesised measurement model. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to examine the structural relationships between the constructs. The results show that there are statistically significant relationships between positive leadership, psychological empowerment, work engagement and satisfaction with life. Positive leadership has an indirect effect on work engagement and satisfaction with life via psychological empowerment. The implication of the results is that the work related aspects of positive leadership, psychological empowerment and work engagement has a positive effect on the non-work related aspect of satisfaction with life. Practical implications and directions for future research are offered. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

Globalisation radically changed the way in which talent is sourced, organised and managed. The chemical industry as competitor in the global landscape is increasingly faced with challenges to attract and retain talent. The success and global competitiveness of the chemical industry largely depends on its employees, their ideas and intellectual resources. Highly talented employees are targeted by competitor companies and head hunters with substantial financial incentives and benefits. Leadership plays a vital role in creating a stimulating, empowered and challenging work environment that will attract and retain employees. Employees need to experience a sense of meaning, have the resources to do their jobs and most importantly, need to be empowered beyond being asked to meet performance goals. The aim of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between leadership empowerment behaviour, psychological empowerment, work engagement and turnover intention in a chemical industry. The study secondly examined whether leadership empowerment behaviour affected turnover intention via psychological empowerment and thirdly the study investigated if leadership empowerment behaviour affected work engagement via psychological empowerment. A random cross-sectional design with paper-based surveys as the primary method of data collection was used to accomplish the research objectives. The measuring battery for this study consisted of the Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire (LEB), the Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire (MEQ), the Work Engagement Scale (WES) and the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS). The simulation and statistical analysis was carried out using the Statistical Program for the Social Sciences IBM SPSS version 21 and Mplus. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) which is theory driven was used in the study. The results showed that a significant relationship existed between leadership empowerment behaviour, psychological empowerment, work engagement and turnover intention. Regression analysis indicated that leadership empowerment behaviour had significant predictive value towards psychological empowerment and work engagement. The results showed that leadership empowerment behaviour did not affect turnover intention via psychological empowerment, but rather had a direct effect on employee’s turnover intention. The results further showed that psychological empowerment did have an indirect effect on the relationship between leadership empowerment behaviour and work engagement. The results indicated that it would be worthwhile if organisations develop leader’s competence and skills to empower their workforces. This would lead to higher levels of psychological empowerment, work engagement and retention of talent. Recommendations for future research were made. / MA (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

Disertacijoje analizuojamas darbuotojų psichologinis įgalinimas – būsena, apimanti meistrystės (sugebėjimo atlikti darbus) ir energijos, skatinančios atlikti darbus, patyrimą. Šiai būsenai vertinti sudarytas lietuviškas psichologinio įgalinimo klausimynas. Analizuojama, kas yra būdinga darbuotojo psichologinio įgalinimo būsenai, kokioms sąlygoms esant darbuotojai tampa stipriai psichologiškai įgalinti, kokį vaidmenį psichologinis įgalinimas atlieka darbuotojų nuostatoms ir darbinei elgsenai, kokie yra specialistų ir vadovų psichologinio įgalinimo ypatumai. Lietuvoje šis tyrimas yra vienas pirmųjų psichologinio įgalinimo tyrimų. Tyrimo eigoje buvo išanalizuoti bei patvirtinti šie ginamieji teiginiai: a) psichologinio įgalinimo būseną charakterizuoja penkios dimensijos: prasmė, entuziazmas, sprendimų priėmimas, autonomija ir pasitikėjimas kompetencija, b) svarbiausi darbuotojo psichologinį įgalinimą prognozuojantys veiksniai yra įgalinantis tiesioginio vadovo elgesys, organizacijos lygmens veiksniai ir kognityviniai darbo reikalavimai, c) darbuotojai, kurie jaučiasi labiau psichologiškai įgalinti, yra labiau patenkinti darbu, rodo daugiau iniciatyvos, jų darbo atlikimas yra geresnis, d) ir specialistai, ir vadovai jaučiasi labiau psichologiškai įgalinti, jei dirba iššūkius keliantį darbą, kur tenka panaudoti visas turimas žinias ir įgyti naujų. / Psychological empowerment of employees (state of mastery and energy to do one‘s job) is analyzed in this dissertational research. In order to evaluate this state a Lithuanian psychological empowerment questionnaire was created. The characteristics of psychological empowerment, the antecedents of psychological empowerment, the role of psychological empowerment, and the characteristics of managers’ and specialists’ psychological empowerment were analyzed. This research is one of few pioneering studies of psychological empowerment in Lithuania. While implementing the dissertational research, main statements to be defended were explored and confirmed as well: i) the state of psychological empowerment is characterized by five dimensions: meaning, enthusiasm, decision making, autonomy, and confidence in one’s competence, ii) empowering leader behavior, structural empowerment, and cognitive job demands are the main antecedents of psychological empowerment, iii) state of psychological empowerment predicts greater job satisfaction, job performance, and demonstrating effort at work, iv) both managers’ and specialists’ psychological empowerment is predicted by challenging work, that is ability to use current and gain new skills.

Disertacijoje analizuojamas darbuotojų psichologinis įgalinimas – būsena, apimanti meistrystės (sugebėjimo atlikti darbus) ir energijos, skatinančios atlikti darbus, patyrimą. Šiai būsenai vertinti sudarytas lietuviškas psichologinio įgalinimo klausimynas. Analizuojama, kas yra būdinga darbuotojo psichologinio įgalinimo būsenai, kokioms sąlygoms esant darbuotojai tampa stipriai psichologiškai įgalinti, kokį vaidmenį psichologinis įgalinimas atlieka darbuotojų nuostatoms ir darbinei elgsenai, kokie yra specialistų ir vadovų psichologinio įgalinimo ypatumai. Lietuvoje šis tyrimas yra vienas pirmųjų psichologinio įgalinimo tyrimų. Tyrimo eigoje buvo išanalizuoti bei patvirtinti šie ginamieji teiginiai: a) psichologinio įgalinimo būseną charakterizuoja penkios dimensijos: prasmė, entuziazmas, sprendimų priėmimas, autonomija ir pasitikėjimas kompetencija, b) svarbiausi darbuotojo psichologinį įgalinimą prognozuojantys veiksniai yra įgalinantis tiesioginio vadovo elgesys, organizacijos lygmens veiksniai ir kognityviniai darbo reikalavimai, c) darbuotojai, kurie jaučiasi labiau psichologiškai įgalinti, yra labiau patenkinti darbu, rodo daugiau iniciatyvos, jų darbo atlikimas yra geresnis, d) ir specialistai, ir vadovai jaučiasi labiau psichologiškai įgalinti, jei dirba iššūkius keliantį darbą, kur tenka panaudoti visas turimas žinias ir įgyti naujų. / Psychological empowerment of employees (state of mastery and energy to do one‘s job) is analyzed in this dissertational research. In order to evaluate this state a Lithuanian psychological empowerment questionnaire was created. The characteristics of psychological empowerment, the antecedents of psychological empowerment, the role of psychological empowerment, and the characteristics of managers’ and specialists’ psychological empowerment were analyzed. This research is one of few pioneering studies of psychological empowerment in Lithuania. While implementing the dissertational research, main statements to be defended were explored and confirmed as well: i) the state of psychological empowerment is characterized by five dimensions: meaning, enthusiasm, decision making, autonomy, and confidence in one’s competence, ii) empowering leader behavior, structural empowerment, and cognitive job demands are the main antecedents of psychological empowerment, iii) state of psychological empowerment predicts greater job satisfaction, job performance, and demonstrating effort at work, iv) both managers’ and specialists’ psychological empowerment is predicted by challenging work, that is ability to use current and gain new skills.

Organisations are constantly undergoing major changes. These changes can have negative consequences on organisational functioning and employee well-being. It is therefore vital for organisations to focus on the elements of a healthy organisation so that a positive organisation can be built and the negative consequences avoided. A healthy organisation pays attention to six intenelated dimensions namely; organisational attributes, organizational climate, job design, job future, psychological work adjustment and negative outcomes (like that of turnover, absenteeism, alcohol and substance abuse, self-reported health, and psychological health). The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between leader empowering behaviour, role clarity, psychological empowerment, work engagement and intention to leave. A business unit consisting of managers, specialists, supervisors and administrative staff participated in this research. A cross-sectional design was used to attain the research objectives. The Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire (LEBQ), the Measures of Role Conflict and Ambiguity Questionnaire (MRCAQ), Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire (MEQ), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (U\VES), and Intention to Leave Scale (ILS) were administered for the study. The statistical analysis was carried out by utilising the SPSS program. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a three factor structure for LEBQ, a two factor structure for MRCAQ, a four factor structure for MEQ, a three factor structure for UWES and since ILS only consists of two items a factor analysis was not necessary. All the scales showed acceptable reliabilities. The results showed that leader empowering behaviour, role clarity and psychological empowerment predict engagement. Moderation effects showed that role clarity interacted with competence and meaning to affect employees' dedication, and role clarity interacted with the developing of employees (as a facet of leader empowering behaviour) to affect absorption. Finally, a regression analysis showed that work engagement predicts employees intention to leave. Once conclusions for the study were drawn, recommendations for the organisation as well as for future research were made. / Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The teaching context in South Africa is continuously transforming. Consequently, there are numerous challenges that the educator has to face. Schools are challenged in ways that are different from private sector companies. Lack of resources and funds, teacher turnover, dealing with discipline, lack of learner motivation and self-esteem, racism, violence, antisocial behaviour, shortage of skilled personnel and educator strikes are some of the challenges in the educational environment. The education profession needs to re-think and re-design its existing management processes in order to retain staff. It can be expected that educators will be negatively influenced by the above challenges and will therefore express intentions to leave the profession. The ability of any school to achieve excellence will depend on the quality, level of competence and energy of the educators. The school requires motivated educators and should attract, develop, care for, retain and inspire the best people on a continuous basis. The school principal should be competent and willing to empower educators. Leadership empowerment behaviour and psychological empowerment could lead to lower levels of teachers' intention to leave. The aim of this research was to investigate the extent to which leader empowerment behaviour and psychological empowerment predict educators' intentions to leave the teaching profession in the Sedibeng West District of the Gauteng Province. The research method consisted of a literature study that served as the foundation of the empirical research. A cross-sectional survey design was used to achieve the research objectives. Three standardized questionnaires were used in the empirical study, namely the Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire, Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire and Intention to Leave Questionnaire. The statistical analysis was conducted with the aid of the SPSS program. The statistical methods applied in the study consisted of factor analyses (validity), descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients (reliability), correlations and regression analyses. Significant correlations were found between Leader Empowering Behaviour, Psychological Empowerment and Intention to Leave. Leader Empowering Development and Leader Empowering Decision predicted a high percentage of the variance in Psychological Empowerment. Leader Empowering Development and Leader Empowering Decision predicted 18% of the variance in Psychological Empowerment (Attitude). Leader Empowering Behaviour predicted 11% of the variance in Intention to Leave. When Influence was entered into the equation, 19% of the total variance in Intention to leave was predicted. Based on the results, recommendations were made for schools and for future research. Leadership and empowerment of educators are important challenges that influence Intention to Leave and that could ultimately reduce turn-over rates of talented people. The empowerment and retention of staff are not only important challenges for schools, but for the growth and prosperity of the country. This research will hopefully contribute in assisting other researchers to develop strategies for improving leader empowerment behaviour and educators' meaning of work. / Thesis (M.Ed. (Education Management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

Organisations are constantly undergoing major changes. These changes can have negative consequences on organisational functioning and employee well-being. It is therefore vital for organisations to focus on the elements of a healthy organisation so that a positive organisation can be built and the negative consequences avoided. A healthy organisation pays attention to six intenelated dimensions namely; organisational attributes, organizational climate, job design, job future, psychological work adjustment and negative outcomes (like that of turnover, absenteeism, alcohol and substance abuse, self-reported health, and psychological health). The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between leader empowering behaviour, role clarity, psychological empowerment, work engagement and intention to leave. A business unit consisting of managers, specialists, supervisors and administrative staff participated in this research. A cross-sectional design was used to attain the research objectives. The Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire (LEBQ), the Measures of Role Conflict and Ambiguity Questionnaire (MRCAQ), Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire (MEQ), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (U\VES), and Intention to Leave Scale (ILS) were administered for the study. The statistical analysis was carried out by utilising the SPSS program. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a three factor structure for LEBQ, a two factor structure for MRCAQ, a four factor structure for MEQ, a three factor structure for UWES and since ILS only consists of two items a factor analysis was not necessary. All the scales showed acceptable reliabilities. The results showed that leader empowering behaviour, role clarity and psychological empowerment predict engagement. Moderation effects showed that role clarity interacted with competence and meaning to affect employees' dedication, and role clarity interacted with the developing of employees (as a facet of leader empowering behaviour) to affect absorption. Finally, a regression analysis showed that work engagement predicts employees intention to leave. Once conclusions for the study were drawn, recommendations for the organisation as well as for future research were made. / Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.