Attracting and engaging talented people, the 'star performers', is an on-going challenge for organisations. Our theoretical understanding of the nature of star performance and the way in which HR systems facilitate such performance is limited. Drawing from theories of human resource management, leadership, performance, job characteristics and organisational justice, this research develops and tests a model of the role of High Performance HR systems in facilitating task and contextual performance. This model proposes that the way in which organisational systems influence individual levels of performance is via two intervening mechanisms - perceptions of work processes and organisational justice. The program of research is comprised of two studies. In Study 1, I explored the utility of the task and contextual performance framework for understanding stars using supervisor-employee dyads (N = 174) from a large Australian government agency. The results of this study provide support for the central hypothesis of this thesis. Task and contextual performance are key components of star ratings, and other elements such as being self-directed, having a big picture viewpoint, and a willingness to lead, also contribute. In Study 2, I employed two well-established frameworks of employee responses to situational factors and psychological perceptions to examine the role of HR systems and practices in facilitating star performance. Specifically, the study used substitutes for leadership theory (Kerr & Jermier, 1978) and the formation of psychological contracts (Robinson, Kraatz & Rousseau, 1994) to examine the way in which HR practices are connected with task and contextual performance. It was proposed that HR practices are positively associated with task and contextual performance, and that this relationship is moderated by job characteristics and teamwork. It was also proposed that the relationship between HR practices and performance is mediated by perceptions of justice. The results of this study indicate that complex relationships exist. Specifically the findings provide support for one of the core propositions. Job characteristics and teamwork can moderate the relationship between HR practices and performance. The patterns of moderation indicate that HR practices provide marginal gains where jobs are perceived by employees as being enriched, but are able to make a more substantial contribution under conditions of less enrichment. Under these conditions HR practices are able to make a greater contribution to performance by providing performance cues and establishing expectations and clarifying roles. The relationship between HR practices and performance was not found to be mediated by perceptions of justice. In this thesis I provide evidence of the relevance of the task and contextual performance framework to conceptualising star performance. Furthermore, I examine the conditions under which High Performance HR systems facilitate star performance. Both of these aspects are necessary for designing appropriate HR strategies and interventions for managing talent.

The prevailing conceptualization of employee performance is that performance is due to both innate and acquired characteristics of the employee. While the innate characteristics (such as personality or intelligence) are viewed as outside the manager's ability to control, the acquired characteristics (such as skills or behaviours) are subject to managerial control. As a result of this, a great deal of emphasis in Western theories has been on accurately measuring performance, and on providing appropriate interventions to being about an improvement in performance. In particular, the Western theories have concentrated upon the cognitive models underlying managers' evaluations of subordinate performance, since these cognitive models influence both the evaluations and actions that managers take. Using the knowledge, systems have been developed to help managers improve the accuracy and effectiveness of performance evaluation. Examples of practices adopted include the setting of external performance standard through job analysis, the development of rating methods to guide the evaluation process, and the provision of feedback. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2005.

Thesis (DBusinessAdministration)--University of South Australia, 2005.

Thesis (PhDBusinessAdministration)--University of South Australia, 2003.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2000

Thesis (MEd) -- University of South Australia, 1993

Thesis (MRes)--University of South Australia, 2000

Thesis (MSocSc)--University of South Australia, 1997

Major challenges faced by organisations are employee motivation and performance. Motivated employees drive high productivity, customer satisfaction, and profits (Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). As a result, organisations need to find empirically supported ways to motivate employees (Ambrose & Kulik, 1999; Luthans & Stajkovic, 1999; Stajkovic & Luthans, 2003). One approach to enhancing motivation at work is recognizing employees for good performance, Employee recognition is a form of non-monetary, informal reward in which a manager acknowledges and praises employees who have performed according to the company’s values and principles. The literature describing the benefits of employee recognition has argued that recognition as an incentive is often more effective than monetary rewards (Graham & Unruh, 1990: Jeffries, 1997: Stajkovic & Luthans, 1997). Leadership scholars have called for research examining group processes by which managers influence employee outcomes (Goomdman, Ravlin, & Schminke, 1987: Buzzo & Salas, 1995: Hackman, 1992). As current studies have simply investigated the direct effects of recognition on work-related outcomes, a central aim of this research was to explore the role of team-efficacy and goal commitment as mediators in the recognition-outcome relationship. Which the present research, two primary contribution to the existing literature linking recognition and employees outcomes are made. First, drawing upon goal setting theory, social cognitive theory, and attribution theory conceptual hypotheses were developed and empirically tested, proposing mediating effects of team efficacy and goal commitment in the relationship between recognition and employee outcomes. The second main contribution to research on employee recognition lays in investigating performance monitoring by the manager (as perceived by employees), as a moderator that influences the power of employee recognition. The moderating role of performance monitoring was based on importance of applying recognition immediately and contingently on good performance to be most effective (Locke, 1968: Locke & Latham, 1990; Luthans & Staijkovic, 1999). By monitoring employees’ performance, managers are provided with information that can form the basis for delivering recognition in a timely manner. The proposed relationships were examined in three independent occupational samples. The model was explored in two homogeneous samples and then validated in a larger heterogeneous sample. This provides the opportunity to generalise results from specific groups of employees to a broader population of employed workers. In total, three cross-sectionals studies were conducted across a variety of different professional back grounds; looking at a range of outcome variables which are, job satisfaction, role clarity, and employee well-being. In Study 1 (N=69), the sample consisted of employees from a large private hospital pharmacy. Results from Study 1 provided evidence for the predictive validity of employee recognition and the mediating role of team-efficacy and goal commitment in the relationship between employee recognition and the outcome variables. In Study 2 (N=103), data was collected from a global company producing and dealing with harvest machinery. Path model analyses were conducted to evaluate whether the findings of Study 1 could be replicated in a sample of employees from a different organisation. Another aim was to examine the moderating role of performance monitoring in the relationship between recognition and job satisfaction. The meditational results from this study replicated those from Study 1, pointing to the generalisability of the relationships between the variables. The relationship between employee recognition and sob satisfaction was mediated by team efficacy and goal commitment. Moreover, evidence was found that performance monitoring moderated between employee recognition and job satisfaction. As predicted, the relationship between employee recognition and job satisfaction was stronger under high levels of monitoring. To enhance external validity, Study 3 involved 243 employees from a variety of professions and industries. Another aim was to explore the research model with employee well-being as an outcome variable. As predicted, results from SEM analyses confirmed initial findings of team-efficacy as a mediator in the relationship between employee recognition and well-being. Furthermore, evidence was provided for the mediating role of team-efficacy between employee recognition and goals commitment and the mediating effect of goal commitment in the relationship between team-efficacy and well-being. As in Study 2, results showed that the relationship between recognition and well-being is stronger under high condition of monitoring. Overall, the findings of this research provide a unique insight into the important role of employee recognition in predicting work-related consequences, As such, these results expand our understanding of the processes by which employee recognition exerts its influence. Extending the notion of goal setting theory, social cognitive theory, and attribution theory it was found that team-efficacy and goal commitment mediated the relationship between recognition and outcome variable. In terms of practical implications, these results show that by providing recognition managers can raise employees’ motivation and well-being.o

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2000