Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Forskningen om det psykologiska kontraktet är ofta okänd i organisationer som använder sig av mål- och prestationsstyrning (Petersitzke, 2009). Denna studies syfte var att undersöka med- arbetares upplevelser av mål- och prestationsstyrning relaterad till innehållet i deras psykologiska kontrakt. Mål- och prestationsstyrning undersöktes utifrån måltydlighet och feedback respektive psykologisk empowerment. Det psykologiska kontraktets innehåll studerades utifrån löften och åtaganden samt tillit och rättvisa. Urvalet bestod av 77 personer i olika organisationer som fick besvara en webenkät. Resultatet visade samband mellan upplevelsen av måltydlighet och feedback och tilliten till arbetsgivaren liksom ett samband mellan upplevelsen av måltydlighet och feedback och arbetsgivarens löften och åtaganden. Utifrån self-determinationteorin tycktes det finnas möjligheter att genom mål- och prestationsstyrning öka samstämmigheten mellan medarbetare och arbetsgivare gällande det psykologiska kontraktets innehåll.

This study sought to answer critical questions surrounding the impact that national culture has on specific parts of the employment experience of employees working for multinational organizations. As globalization expands and organizations are gaining larger footprints beyond regional operations, there has become a need to understand how cultural nuances could be playing a role in the employee experiences at these organizations. This study looks at two pieces of the employee experience in great detail, the psychological contract and job satisfaction. Understanding the process that builds psychological contracts between employee and employer is a critical piece to promoting a satisfied and productive workforce. The perception of a breach of the psychological contract has substantial negative implications. Understanding how the psychological contract and employee job satisfaction are linked is a key focus of this study. Binary logistic regression and path analysis were conducted on a sample of employees of multinational organizations which provided key findings and evidence that both nationality and job satisfaction play a statistically significant role in the perception of a psychological contract breach. The path analysis provided results that warrant further research, but was unable to substantiate the moderating effects of the dimensions of national culture on job satisfaction and psychological contract breach. Implications and recommendations for multinational organizations and learning technology practitioners are discussed as well as recommendations for future research.

Subsequent to the growing need for internationally mobile talent, alternative forms of international assignees have arisen (Collings, Scullion and Morley 2007; PricewaterhouseCoopers 2010). This study focuses on such newly appointed internationally working employees, particularly International Business Travellers (abbreviated to IBTs). Inspired by a lack of research attention relating to this labour population, this DBA project opens up the black7box of the IBT working partnership. This is achieved by surveying the role of the IBT as well as the distinctiveness and the state of the psychological contract that the employees involved have with their current employer. The research described and substantiated in this work was devised from the IBT’s perspective, and occurs within a Belgian context. Consistent with a – methodologically revitalising – interpretive phenomenological framework, the study was operationalised on the basis of qualitative, semi7structured interviews with nine IBTs. The thematic data analysis carried out indicated the multifarious, intercultural and strategic role of the IBT, and brought skills specifically characterising the IBT to light. The IBT psychological contract was summarised by eighteen content7related obligations, which contemporaneously display contrasts and similarities with related reference research. The contract in question proved to be evaluated generally positively by the research participants and to develop itself in a unique manner through a noteworthy relational base mixed with a non7negligible transactional facet. Along with a discussion of the principal insights found/contributions made, this thesis includes a number of study limitations, recommendations for further research and implications for successful IBT psychological contract management. Personal reflections are, where relevant, also provided throughout this work.

Forskning visar att ledares förväntningar på medarbetarna är betydelsefullt för att skapa ett gott arbetsklimat, trots detta är forskningsområdet relativt outforskat. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka ledares förväntningar på medarbetare, utifrån hur medarbetarna kan bidra till ett gott arbetsklimat. Studien utfördes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med 8 ledare, med ett åldersspann på 34-55 år, det var fem män och tre kvinnor. Det insamlade materialet meningskoncentrerades och analyserades med en narrativ metod. Resultatet visade att ledare kan tydliggöra sina förväntningar på sina medarbetare genom tydlig kommunikation, delaktighet och uppföljning. Resultatet visade även att de faktorer som ledarna beskrev som viktiga för arbetsklimatets framtid var; att ge feedback, att ha målfokus, att ta ansvar för arbetsklimatet och att tydliggöra förväntningar.Slutsatsen blev att det finns ett behov av att tydliggöra de förväntningar som ledarna har på sina medarbetare. Det visade också att involvera medarbetarna i arbetsklimatarbeten och att skapa en medvetenhet om ett gemensamt ansvar för arbetsklimatet kan vara ett betydelsefullt sätt att göra detta.

Objective: This research intends to add to the understanding of the various factors that influence an employee’s intention to quit an organisation. Increasingly globalised markets and global competition have demanded that organisations retain scarce human resources. The moderating effect of an employees’ level of engagement on the relationship of an employees’ level of psychological contract breach and perceived supervisor support with the productivity outcome of the employees’ intention to quit the organisation is examined to deepen the understanding of the relevance and inter-relationships of these factors. Methodology: This quantitative explanatory study considered the level of an employees perceived supervisor support and psychological contract breach as the predictor of their intention to quit and their level of employee engagement as the moderator of the variable relationships. The study obtained 449 responses from the employees in the Johannesburg based business unit of a South African company. The Pearsons product moment correlation coefficients were observed to identify the extent of the relationships and a stepwise multiple regression analysis gave insight into which of the independent variables explained more of the variances in ITQ. Finally a two-way ANOVA was used to check for interaction to determine the moderating effect of EE. Outcome: The level of an employee’s engagement, perceived supervisor support and psychological contract breach were observed to have significant relationships with their intention to quit the organisation in this study. The level of employee engagement was not observed to significantly moderate the relationship of their perception of supervisor support and psychological contract breach with their intention to quit the organisation. This suggests that the relationship of an employees’ level of perceived super support and psychological contract breach on their intention to quit does not vary depending on their level of employee engagement. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / ccgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

The study investigated the concept of the psychological contract and its influence on engineers’ worker engagement. The underlying rationale for this study was to address the shortage of engineers and specialised artisans (that is, the shortage of skilled people in two of the professions where such a shortage poses a threat to the economic growth of South Africa) by determining the worker engagement of engineers. The study also attempted to identify the true drivers of engagement for engineers which can then be used as a baseline for further development of business specific strategies. The sample was engineering personnel in the South African project engineering sector, and a combination of two existing questionnaires, the Psychological Contract Inventory (PCI) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), was used to gather the data. It was concluded that generally engineers are loyal to the task at hand and not necessarily to the organisation that employs them. They are engaged in their work, but also indicate that they constantly seek to improve their education and experience to make future employment at other companies probable. A somewhat contradictory finding is that they claim to be satisfied with the employment offered to them, as well as the benefits they receive. To ensure the retention of skilled employees, the study proposes that employers of engineers diversify from time to time, or introduce some variation. Even internal shuffling can be used to continually challenge the engineers. It is further recommended that companies should ensure that there are clear career paths for engineering employees, combining secure employment with stable and realistic benefits. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Subsequent to the growing need for internationally mobile talent, alternative forms of international assignees have arisen (Collings, Scullion and Morley 2007; PricewaterhouseCoopers 2010). This study focuses on such newly appointed internationally working employees, particularly International Business Travellers (abbreviated to IBTs). Inspired by a lack of research attention relating to this labour population, this DBA project opens up the black7box of the IBT working partnership. This is achieved by surveying the role of the IBT as well as the distinctiveness and the state of the psychological contract that the employees involved have with their current employer. The research described and substantiated in this work was devised from the IBT’s perspective, and occurs within a Belgian context. Consistent with a – methodologically revitalising – interpretive phenomenological framework, the study was operationalised on the basis of qualitative, semi7structured interviews with nine IBTs. The thematic data analysis carried out indicated the multifarious, intercultural and strategic role of the IBT, and brought skills specifically characterising the IBT to light. The IBT psychological contract was summarised by eighteen content7related obligations, which contemporaneously display contrasts and similarities with related reference research. The contract in question proved to be evaluated generally positively by the research participants and to develop itself in a unique manner through a noteworthy relational base mixed with a non7negligible transactional facet. Along with a discussion of the principal insights found/contributions made, this thesis includes a number of study limitations, recommendations for further research and implications for successful IBT psychological contract management. Personal reflections are, where relevant, also provided throughout this work.

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